had to tread lightly between the King's well-known pacifism and the Prince's more martial frame of mind. He had the Lady of the Lake present the Prince with a shield, rather than the more usual and typical sword, like the shield given by Thetis to Achilles in the Iliad. Merlin warns the young Prince to beware of militaristic urges. The name "Meliadus," or "Moeliades," applied to Henry in Jonson's text, is an anagram for Miles a Deo, "soldier of God." The Arthurian theme was the Prince's idea rather than Jonson's, who in fact disparaged Arthurian romance, and preferred James's suspicion of militarism to Henry's enthusiasm. Jonson's text was first published in the first folio collection of Jonson's works in 1616, and was thereafter included in editions of his works. References External links The text online. 1610 plays Arthurian theatre Masques by Ben Jonson English Renaissance plays