Massinger

Massinger, Philip (1584-1640), an English dramatist, was at Oxford from 1602 to 1606; but there is little knowledge of his life, and most statements about him are conjecture. In 1621 his first play was produced at Court. From the character of his Virgin Martyr (1620), which deals with the story of St. Dorothea and resembles one of the old miracle-plays, the Renegade, the hero of which is a Jesuit priest, and the Maid of Honour, it has been thought that he was a Catholic, but nothing is known for a certainty upon this head. Of his many plays 19 only are extant. Of these one of the best known is A New Way to Pay Old Debts (1633). Others are a Roman Actor, which was his favourite among his productions, the Bondman, the Buke of Milan, and the Grand Dulie of Florence.