Why did William Shakespeare's company change their name?

Answer 1

It was a new company in 1594, made up of men from other companies, especially Lord Strange's. Shakespeare had possibly been with Pembroke's before he hooked up with the group that became the Lord Chamberlain's men. They got their names from their patrons; the moment they got the patronage of the Lord Chamberlain they got their new name.

Answer 2

When the company was formed in 1594 it was under the patronage of the Lord Chamberlain, Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, and so it was called the Lord Chamberlain's Men. In 1603, King James I became the patron and the company became known as The King's Men.

Answer 3

The company had been known as Lord Chamberlain's Men for its patron Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon, who was the Lord Chamberlain. When he died in 1596, it was briefly Lord Hunsdon's Men, for his son, George Carey, until he, too, was made Lord Chamberlain in 1597.

With the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, her successor (James I) became the group's patron and it took the name King's Men.

Note that it was not Shakespeare's decision to change the name of the company; it was the king's.

Answer 4

Shakespeare did not change the name of his acting company, for two reasons. First, it was not his in the sense that it belonged to him entirely. It was his company in the sense that he belonged to it. Can a Baseball player change the name of his team? Of course not, it doesn't belong to him.

But in any case even if the owners had wanted to change the name of the company (there were a group of owners, including Shakespeare, who was one of the minor shareholders), they couldn't. Acting companies in Shakespeare's day took the names of their patrons. Patrons were sort of like sponsors, except what they gave the acting company was not money (they had nothing to do with the business side of things) but legitimacy. Any acting company which did not call itself "Lord Something's Men" was clearly illegal and would end up in jail, and you could only attach the name of a nobleman to your company if he agreed to do it.

The noblemen were generally quite happy to do this, as it gave them prestige as patrons of the arts. If they changed their names or titles, the company's name changed. If the company got a different patron, the company's name changed. This is what happened with Shakespeare's company--they got a new patron (King James I) and so they became The King's Men instead of the Lord Chamberlain's Men.

Shakespeare had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Answer 5

The company William Shakespeare worked for changed their name to The King's Men after King James took over in 1603.

Answer 6

When King James I became the company's new patron in 1603, it assumed the name of The King's Men.

Answer 7

The Lord Chamberlain's Men became the King's Men in 1603.

Answer 8

He didn't. The changes in the name of theatrical companies had nothing to do with the members of the companies.

Answer 9

• The company William Shakespeare worked for changed their name to The King's Men after King James took over in 1603.