Abstract: That William Shakespeare and his fellow players were patented early in his reign as “these our servants” by James I is well known. Not so well understood is why this happened. Ready answers have been brought forward as self-evident: the new king favored plays and players and also understood that Shakespeare’s was the best company in London. We are thus to understand that ten days after having arrived in London for the first time, without ever having seen a London play, the new king was now familiar enough with the city companies to initiate immediately the patent process for one particular acting group. The socio-political climate of London and of England generally, however, suggests other possible scenarios according to which Shakespeare and his fellows might have been awarded a royal patent. The political situation in England awaiting a new monarch newly arrived from Scotland can suggest other royal motivations for awarding a group of players a royal patent so early in the reign. This regnal gesture may have had less to do with the artistic climate of London and more to do with its political climate.

中文翻译：

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莎士比亚、他的同伴和新的英国国王

摘要：众所周知，威廉·莎士比亚和他的同伴在他统治初期就被詹姆斯一世授予“这些我们的仆人”的专利。不太清楚这就是为什么会发生这种情况。已经提出了不言而喻的现成答案：新国王喜欢戏剧和球员，也明白莎士比亚是伦敦最好的公司。因此，我们了解到，在第一次抵达伦敦十天后，从未看过伦敦戏剧，新国王现在对城市公司足够熟悉，可以立即为一个特定的表演团体启动专利程序。然而，伦敦和英国的社会政治气候总体上暗示了莎士比亚和他的同伴可能被授予皇家专利的其他可能情况。英格兰等待新来的苏格兰君主的政治局势可以暗示其他皇室动机在统治初期向一群球员授予皇家专利。这种王权姿态可能与伦敦的艺术氛围关系不大，而更多地与其政治氛围有关。