Fresh gamesters

[pe_marti]

Hello there,
I was wondering if anyone could help me with the meaning of "fresh gamester" in this line:
(It´s just the begining of the second scene)

NANO. Wow, room for fresh gamesters, who do will to know
They do bring you neither play nor university show
And therefore do entreat you that whatsoever they rehearse
May not fare a whit the worse for the false pace of the verse
(...)

Thanks...

 

[kitenok]

Hi pe_marti,
In Middle English a gamester could refer to an actor or, in the words of the OED, any "merry, frolicsome person." A third meaning at the time, also in the words of the OED, would have been "one addicted to amorous sport; ...a lewd person...." Since the emcee here denies that they are putting on a play, we might understand it here to mean lower-grade, possibly lewd "entertainers" rather than actors.

Fresh, in a literal sense, would mean that they are new to the scene, just being introduced, etc. In a figurative sense it could also mean that they are inexperienced and young (which does seem to be the case in this scene).

 

[pe_marti]

Thanks a lot kitenot,

At home, I had the Collins American English dictionary (2007) and Oxford Pocket American Dictionary (2002), and have no answers.

Thanks again