Shakspeare and His Times Vol I of II by Nathan Drake MD

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Title: Shakspeare and His Times [Vol. I. of II.]
Including the Biography of the Poet; criticisms on his
genius and writings; a new chronology of his plays; a
disquisition on the on the object of his sonnets; and a
history of _the manners, customs, and amusements,
superstitions, poetry, and elegant literature of his age

Author: Nathan Drake

Release Date: November 28, 2016 [EBook #53625]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

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Transcriber's Notes: In footnotes and attributions, commas and periods seem to be used
interchangeably. They remain as printed. Variations in spelling, hyphenation, and accents
remain as in the original unless noted. A complete list of corrections as well as other notes
follows the text.

Bust of Shakspeare by W. T. Fry.

SHAKSPEARE.

Engraved by W. T. Fry after a Cast made by Mr. George Bullock from

the Monumental Bust at Stratford-upon-Avon.

SHAKSPEARE

AND

HIS TIMES:

INCLUDING

THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE POET;

CRITICISMS ON HIS GENIUS AND WRITINGS; A NEW CHRONOLOGY OF HIS

PLAYS;

A DISQUISITION ON THE OBJECT OF HIS SONNETS;

AND

A HISTORY OF

THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND AMUSEMENTS, SUPERSTITIONS,

POETRY, AND ELEGANT LITERATURE OF HIS AGE.

BY NATHAN DRAKE, M.D.

AUTHOR OF "LITERARY HOURS," AND OF "ESSAYS ON PERIODICAL LITERATURE."

Triumph my Britain! thou hast one to show,
To whom all scenes of Europe homage owe.—

————— Soul of the age,

The applause, delight, the wonder of our stage,
My Shakspeare, rise!

Ben Jonson.

The very age and body of the time, his form and pressure.

Shakspeare.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR T. CADELL AND W. DAVIES, IN THE STRAND.

1817.

Printed by A. Strahan,
Printers-Street, London.

[iii]

PREFACE.

Though two centuries have now elapsed, since the death of Shakspeare, no attempt has hitherto been made to

render him the medium for a comprehensive and connected view of the Times in which he lived.

Yet, if any man be allowed to fill a station thus conspicuous and important, Shakspeare has undoubtedly the best

claim to the distinction; not only from his pre-eminence as a dramatic poet, but from the intimate relation which his
works bear to the manners, customs, superstitions, and amusements of his age.

Struck with the interest which a work of this kind, if properly executed, might possess, the author was induced,

several years ago, to commence the undertaking, with the express intention of blending with the detail of manners, &c.
such a portion of criticism, biography, and literary history, as should render the whole still more attractive and complete.

In attempting this, it has been his aim to place Shakspeare in the fore-ground of the picture, and to throw around

him, in groups more or less distinct and full, the various objects of his design; giving them prominency and light,
according to their greater or smaller connection with the principal figure.

More especially has it been his wish, to infuse throughout the whole plan, whether considered in respect to its entire

scope, or to the parts of which it is composed, that degree of unity and integrity, of relative proportion and just bearing,
without which neither harmony, simplicity, nor effect, can be expected, or produced.

With a view, also, to distinctness and perspicuity of elucidation, the whole has been distributed into three parts or

pictures, entitled,—"Shakspeare in Stratford;"—"Shakspeare in London;"—"Shakspeare in Retirement;"—which,
though inseparably united, as forming but portions of the same story, and harmonized by the same means, have yet,
both in subject and execution, a peculiar character to support.

The first represents our Poet in the days of his youth, on the banks of his native Avon, in the midst of rural imagery,

occupations, and amusements; in the second, we behold him in the capital of his country, in the centre of rivalry and
competition, in the active pursuit of reputation and glory; and in the third, we accompany the venerated bard to the
shades of retirement, to the bosom of domestic peace, to the enjoyment of unsullied fame.

It has, therefore, been the business of the author, in accordancy with his plan, to connect these delineations with their

relative accompaniments; to incorporate, for instance, with the first, what he had to relate of the country, as it existed in
the age of Shakspeare; its manners, customs, and characters; its festivals, diversions, and many of its superstitions;
opening and closing the subject with the biography of the poet, and binding the intermediate parts, not only by a
perpetual reference to his drama, but by their own constant and direct tendency towards the developement of the one
object in view.

With the second, which commences with Shakspeare's introduction to the stage as an actor, is combined the poetic,

dramatic, and general literature of the times, together with an account of metropolitan manners and diversions, and a
full and continued criticism on the poems and plays of our bard.

After a survey, therefore, of the Literary world, under the heads of Bibliography, Philology, Criticism, History,

Romantic, and Miscellaneous Literature, follows a View of the Poetry of the same period, succeeded by a critique on
the juvenile productions of Shakspeare, and including a biographical sketch of Lord Southampton, and a new
hypothesis on the origin and object of the Sonnets.

Of the immediately subsequent description of diversions, &c. the Economy of the Stage forms a leading feature, as

preparatory to a History of Dramatic Poetry, previous to the year 1590; and this is again introductory to a discussion
concerning the Period when Shakspeare commenced a writer for the theatre; to a new chronology of his plays, and to a
criticism on each drama; a department which is interspersed with dissertations on the fairy mythology, the apparitions,
the witchcraft, and the magic of Shakspeare; portions of popular credulity which had been, in reference to this
distribution, omitted in detailing the superstitions of the country.

This second part is then terminated by a summary of Shakspeare's dramatic character, by a brief view of dramatic

poetry during his connection with the stage, and by the biography of the poet to the close of his residence in London.

The third and last of these delineations is, unfortunately, but too short, being altogether occupied with the few

circumstances which distinguish the last three years of the life of our bard, with a review of his disposition and moral
character, and with some notice of the first tributes paid to his memory.

It will readily be admitted, that the materials for the greater part of this arduous task are abundant; but it must also be

granted, that they are dispersed through a vast variety of distant and unconnected departments of literature; and that to
draw forth, arrange, and give a luminous disposition to, these masses of scattered intelligence, is an achievement of no
slight magnitude, especially when it is considered, that no step in the progress of such an undertaking can be made,
independent of a constant recurrence to authorities.

[iv]

[v]

[vi]

[vii]

How far the author is qualified for the due execution of his design, remains for the public to decide; but it may,

without ostentation, be told, that his leisure, for the last thirty years, has been, in a great decree, devoted to a line of
study immediately associated with the subject; and that his attachment to old English literature has led him to a familiarity
with the only sources from which, on such a topic, authentic illustration is to be derived.

He will likewise venture to observe, that, in the style of criticism which he has pursued, it has been his object, an

ambitious one it is true, to unfold, in a manner more distinct than has hitherto been effected, the peculiar character of the
poet's drama; and, lastly, to produce a work, which, while it may satisfy the poetical antiquary, shall, from the variety,
interest, and integrity of its component parts, be equally gratifying to the general reader.

Hadleigh, Suffolk,

April 7th, 1817.

CONTENTS

OF

THE FIRST VOLUME.

PART I.

SHAKSPEARE IN STRATFORD.

CHAP. I.

Birth of Shakspeare—Account of his Family—Orthography of his Name.
Page 1

CHAP. II.

The House in which Shakspeare was born—Plague at Stratford, June 1564—Shakspeare educated at the

Free-school of Stratford—State of Education, and of Juvenile Literature in the Country at this period—
Extent of Shakspeare's acquirements as a Scholar.
21

CHAP. III.

Shakspeare, after leaving School, follows his Father's Trade—Statement of Aubrey—Probably present in his

Twelfth Year at Kenelworth, when Elizabeth visited the Earl of Leicester—Tradition of Aubrey
concerning him—Whether there is reason to suppose that, after leaving his Father, he was placed in an
Attorney's Office, who was likewise Seneschal or Steward of some Manor—Anecdotes of Shakspeare
—Allusions in his Works to Barton, Wilnecotte, and Barston, Villages in Warwickshire—Earthquake in
1580 alluded to—Whether, after leaving School, he acquired any Knowledge of the French and Italian
languages.
34

CHAP. IV.

Shakspeare married to Anne Hathaway—Account of the Hathaways—Cottage at Shottery—Birth of his

eldest Child, Susanna—Hamnet and Judith baptized—Anecdote of Shakspeare—Shakspeare apparently
settled in the Country.
59

CHAP. V.

A View of Country-Life during the Age of Shakspeare—Its Manners and Customs—Rural Characters; the

Country-Gentleman—the Country-Coxcomb—the Country-Clergyman—the Country-Schoolmaster—
the Farmer or Yeoman, his Mode of Living—the Huswife, her Domestic Economy—the Farmer's Heir—
the Poor Copyholder—the Downright Clown, or Plain Country-Boor.
68

CHAP. VI.

[viii]

[ix]

[x]

A View of Country-Life during the Age of Shakspeare—Manners and Customs continued—Rural

Holidays and Festivals; New-Year's Day—Twelfth Day—Rock-Day—Plough-Monday—Shrove-tide—
Easter-tide—Hock-tide—May-Day—Whitsuntide—Ales; Leet-ale—Lamb-ale—Bride-ale—Clerk-ale
—Church-ale—Whitsun-ale—Sheep-shearing Feast—Candlemas-Day—Harvest-Home—Seed-cake
Feast—Martinmas—Christmas.
123

CHAP. VII.

A View of Country-Life during the Age of Shakspeare—Manners and Customs, continued—Wakes—

Fairs—Weddings—Christenings—Burials.
209

CHAP. VIII.

View of Country-Life during the Age of Shakspeare, continued—Diversions—The Itinerant Stage—

Cotswold Games—Hawking—Hunting—Fowling—Fishing—Horse-racing—The Quintaine—The Wild-
goose Chase—Hurling—Shovel-board—Juvenile Sports—Barley-breake—Parish-Top.
246

CHAP. IX.

View of Country-Life during the Age of Shakspeare, continued—An Account of some of its Superstitions;

Winter-Night's Conversation—Peculiar Periods devoted to Superstition—St. Paul's Day—St. Swithen's
Day—St. Mark's Day—Childermas—St. Valentine's Day—Midsummer-Eve—Michaelmas—All
Hallow-Eve—St. Withold—Omens—Charms—Sympathies—Superstitious Cures—Miscellaneous
Superstitions.
314

CHAP. X.

Biography of Shakspeare resumed—His Irregularities—Deer-stealing in Sir Thomas Lucy's Park—Account

of the Lucy family—Daisy-hill, the Keeper's Lodge, where Shakspeare was confined, on the Charge of
stealing Deer—Shakspeare's Revenge—Ballad on Lucy—Severe Prosecution by Sir Thomas—never
forgotten by Shakspeare—this Cause, and probably also Debt, as his Father was now in reduced
Circumstances, induced him to leave the Country for London about 1586—Remarks on this Removal.
401

PART II.

SHAKSPEARE IN LONDON.

CHAP. I.

Shakspeare's Arrival in London about the Year 1586, when twenty-two Years of Age—Leaves his Family at

Stratford, visiting them occasionally—His Introduction to the Stage—His Merits as an Actor.
413

CHAP. II.

Shakspeare commences a Writer of Poetry, probably about the year 1587, by the composition of his Venus

and Adonis—Historical Outline of Polite Literature, during the Age of Shakspeare—General passion for
Letters—Bibliography—Shakspeare's Attachment to Books—Philology—Criticism—Shakspeare's
Progress in both—History, general, local, and personal, Shakspeare's Acquaintance with—Miscellaneous
Literature.
426

CHAP. III.

View of Romantic Literature during the Age of Shakspeare—Shakspeare's Attachment to, and Use of,

Romances, Tales, and Ballads.
518

CHAP. IV.

View of Miscellaneous Poetry during the same period.
594

[xi]

[xii]

[xiii]

[xiv]

Five genuine Shakspeare signatures

Five genuine Autographs of Shakspeare

No. 1 is from Shakspeare's Mortgage 1612-13.

2 is from Mr. Malone's plate II. No. X.

3 is from the first brief of Shakspeare's Will.

4 is from the second brief of the Will.

5 is from the third brief of the Will.

SHAKSPEARE AND HIS TIMES.

PART I.

SHAKSPEARE IN STRATFORD.

[1]

CHAPTER I.

BIRTH OF SHAKSPEARE—HIS FAMILY—THE ORTHOGRAPHY OF HIS NAME.

William Shakspeare, the object almost of our idolatry as a dramatic poet, was born at Stratford-upon-Avon, in

Warwickshire, on the 23d of April, 1564, and he was baptized on the 26th of the same month.

Of his family, not much that is certain can be recorded; but it would appear, from an instrument in the College of

Heralds, confirming the grant of a coat of arms to John Shakspeare in 1599, that his great grandfather had been
rewarded by Henry the Seventh, "for his faithefull and approved service, with lands and tenements given to him in those
parts of Warwickshire, where," proceeds this document, "they have continued by some descents in good reputation and
credit." Notwithstanding this assertion, however, no such grant, after a minute examination, made by Mr. Malone in the
chapel of the Rolls, has been discovered; whence we have reason to infer, that the heralds have been mistaken in their
statement, and that the bounty of the monarch was directed through a different channel. From the language, indeed, of
two rough draughts of a prior grant of arms to John Shakspeare in 1596, it is probable that the service alluded to was
of a military cast, for it is there expressly said, that he was rewarded "for his faithful and valiant service," a term,
perhaps, implying the heroism of our poet's ancestor in the field of Bosworth.

That the property, thus bestowed upon the family of Shakspeare, descended to John, the father of the poet, and

contributed to his influence and respectability, there is no reason to doubt. From the register, indeed, and public writings
relating to Stratford, Mr. Rowe has justly inferred, that the Shakspeares were of good figure and fashion there, and
were considered as gentlemen. We may presume, however, that the patrimony of Mr. John Shakspeare, the parent of
our great dramatist, was not very considerable, as he found the profits of business necessary to his support. He was, in
fact, a wool-stapler, and, there is reason to suppose, in a large way; for he was early chosen a member of the
corporation of his town, a situation usually connected with respectable circumstances, and soon after, he filled the office
of high bailiff or chief magistrate of that body. The record of these promotions has been thus given from the books of
the corporation.

"Jan. 10, in the 6th year of the reign of our sovereign lady Queen Elizabeth, John Shakspeare passed his

Chamberlain's accounts."

"At the Hall holden the eleventh day of September, in the eleventh year of the reign of our sovereign lady Elizabeth,

1569, were present Mr. John Shakspeare, High Bailiff."[2:A]

It was during the period of his filling this important office, that he first obtained a grant of arms; and, in a note

annexed to the subsequent patent of 1596, now in the College of Arms[2:B], it is stated that he was likewise a justice of
the peace, and possessed of lands and tenements to the amount of 500l. The final confirmation of this grant took place
in 1599, in which his shield and coat are described to be, In a field of gould upon a bend sable, a speare of the first,
the poynt upward, hedded argent; and for his crest or cognisance, A falcon with his wyngs displayed, standing on
a wrethe of his coullers, supporting a speare armed hedded, or steeled sylver.[3:A]

Mr. John Shakspeare married, though in what year is not accurately known, the daughter and heir of Robert Arden,

of Wellingcote, in the county of Warwick, who is termed, in the Grant of Arms of 1596, "a gentleman of worship." The
Arden, or Ardern family, appears to have been of considerable antiquity; for, in Fuller's Worthies, Rob. Arden de
Bromwich, ar. is among the names of the gentry of this county returned by the commissioners in the twelfth year of King
Henry the Sixth, 1433; and in the eleventh and sixteenth years of Elizabeth, A. D. 1562 and 1568, Sim. Ardern, ar. and
Edw. Ardrn, ar. are enumerated, by the same author, among the sheriffs of Warwickshire. [3:B] It is well known that the
woodland part of this county was formerly denominated Ardern, though, for the sake of euphony, frequently softened
towards the close of the sixteenth century, into the smoother appellation of Arden; hence it is not improbable, that the
supposition of Mr. Jacob, who reprinted, in 1770, the Tragedy of Arden of Feversham, a play which was originally
published in 1592, may be correct; namely that Shakspeare, the poet, was descended by the female line from the
unfortunate individual whose tragical death is the subject of this drama; for though the name of this gentleman was
originally Ardern, he seems early to have experienced the fate of the county district, and to have had his surname
harmonized by a similar omission. In consequence of this marriage, Mr. John Shakspeare and his posterity were
allowed, by the College of Heralds, to impale their arms with the ancient arms of the Ardrns of Wellingcote.[3:C]

Of the issue of John Shakspeare by this connection, the accounts are contradictory and perplexed; nor is it

absolutely ascertained, whether he had only one wife, or whether he might not have had two, or even three. Mr. Rowe,
whose narrative has been usually followed, has given him ten children, among whom he considers William the poet, as
the eldest son.[4:A] The Register, however, of the parish of Stratford-upon-Avon, which commences in 1558, is
incompatible with this statement; for, we there find eleven children ascribed to John Shakspeare, ten baptized, and
one, the baptism of which had taken place before the commencement of the Register, buried.[4:B] The dates of these
baptisms, and of two or three other events, recorded in this Register, it will be necessary, for the sake of elucidation, to
transcribe:

[2]

[3]

[4]

"Jone, daughter of John Shakspere, was baptized Sept. 15, 1558.
"Margaret, daughter of John Shakspere, was buried April 30, 1563.
"William, son of John Shakspere, was baptized April 26, 1564.
"Gilbert, son of John Shakspere, was baptized Oct. 3, 1566.
"Jone[4:C], daughter of John Shakspere, was baptized April 15, 1569.
"Anne, daughter of Mr. John Shakspere, was baptized Sept. 28, 1571.
"Richard, son of Mr. John Shakspere, was baptized March 11, 1573-4.
"Edmund, son of Mr. John Shakspere, was baptized May 3, 1580.
"John Shakspere and Margery Roberts were married Nov. 25, 1584.
"Margery, wife of John Shakspere, was buried Oct. 29, 1587.
"Ursula, daughter of John Shakspere, was baptized March 11, 1588.
"Humphrey, son of John Shakspere, was baptized May 24, 1590.
"Philip, son of John Shakspere, was baptized Sept. 21, 1591.
"Mr. John Shakspere was buried Sept. 8, 1601.
"Mary Shakspere, widow, was buried Sept. 9, 1608."

Now it is evident, that if the ten children which were baptized, according to this Register, between the years 1558

and 1591, are to be ascribed to the father of our poet, he must necessarily have had eleven, in consequence of the
record of the decease of his daughter Margaret. He must also have had three wives, for we find his second wife,
Margery, died in 1587, and the death of a third, Mary, a widow, is noticed in 1608.

It was suggested to Mr. Malone[5:A], that very probably, Mr. John Shakspeare had a son born to him, as well as a

daughter, before the commencement of the Register, and that this his eldest son, was, as is customary, named after his
father, John; a supposition which, (as no other child was baptized by the Christian name of the old gentleman,) carries
some credibility with it, and was subsequently acquiesced in by Mr. Malone himself.

In this case, therefore, the marriage recorded in the Register, is that of John Shakspeare the younger with Margery

Roberts, and the three children born between 1588 and 1591, Ursula, Humphrey, and Philip, the issue of this John, not
by the first, but by a second marriage; for as Margery Shakspeare died in 1587, and Ursula was baptized in 1588-9,
these children must have been by the Mary Shakspeare, whose death is mentioned as occurring in 1608, and as she is
there denominated a widow; the younger John must consequently have died before that date.

The result of this arrangement will be, that the father of our poet had only nine children, and that William was not

the eldest, but the second son.

On either plan, however, the account of Mr. Rowe is equally inaccurate; and as the introduction of an elder son

involves a variety of suppositions, and at the same time nothing improbable is attached to the consideration of this part
of the Register in the light in which it usually appears, that is, as allusive solely to the father, it will, we think, be the better
and the safer mode, to rely upon it, according to its more direct and literal import. This determination will be greatly
strengthened by reflecting, that old Mr. Shakspeare was, on the authority of the last instrument granting him a coat of
arms, living in 1599; that on the testimony of the Register, taken in the common acceptation, he was not buried until
September 1601; and that in no part of the same document is the epithet younger annexed to the name of John
Shakspeare, a mark of distinction which there is every reason to suppose would have been introduced, had the father
and a son of the same Christian name been not only living at the same time in the same town, but the latter likewise a
parent.

That the circumstances of Mr. John Shakspeare were, at the period of his marriage, and for several years

afterwards, if not affluent, yet easy and respectable, there is every reason to suppose, from his having filled offices of the
first trust and importance in his native town; but, from the same authority which has induced us to draw this inference,
another of a very different kind, with regard to a subsequent portion of his life, may with equal confidence be taken. In
the books of the corporation of Stratford it is stated, that—

"At the hall holden Nov. 19th, in the 21st year of the reign of our sovereign lady Queen Elizabeth, it is ordained, that

every Alderman shall be taxed to pay weekly 4d., saving John Shakspeare and Robert Bruce, who shall not be taxed
to pay any thing; and every burgess to pay 2d." Again,

"At the hall holden on the 6th day of September, in the 28th year of our sovereign lady Queen Elizabeth:

"At this hall William Smith and Richard Courte are chosen to be Aldermen in the places of John Wheler and John

Shakspeare, for that Mr. Wheler doth desire to be put out of the company, and Mr. Shakspeare doth not come to the
halls, when they be warned, nor hath not done of long time."[6:A]

[5]

[6]

The conclusion to be drawn from these memoranda must unavoidably be, that, in 1579, ten years after he had

served the office of High Bailiff, his situation, in a pecuniary light, was so much reduced, that, on this account, he was
excused the weekly payment of 4d.; and that, in 1586, the same distress still subsisting, and perhaps in an aggravated
degree, he was, on the plea of non-attendance, dismissed the corporation.

The causes of this unhappy change in his circumstances cannot now, with the exception of the burthen of a large and

increasing family, be ascertained; but it is probable, that to this period is to be referred, if there be any truth in the
tradition, the report of Aubrey, that "William Shakspeare's father was a butcher." This anecdote, he affirms, was
received from the neighbours of the bard, and, on this account, merits some consideration.[7:A]

We are indebted to Mr. Howe for the first intimation concerning the trade of John Shakspeare; his declaration,

derived also from tradition, that he was a "considerable dealer in wool," appears confirmed by subsequent research.
From a window in a room of the premises which originally formed part of the house at Stratford, in which Shakspeare
the poet was born, and a part of which premises has for many years been occupied as a public-house, with the sign of
the Swan and Maidenhead, a pane of glass was taken, about five and forty years ago, by Mr. Peyton, the then master
of the adjoining Inn called The White Lion. This pane, now in the possession of his son, is nearly six inches in diameter,
and perfect, and on it are painted the arms of the merchants of the wool-staple—Nebule on a chief gules, a lion
passant or. It appears, from the style in which it is finished, to have been executed about the time of Shakspeare, the
father, and is undoubtedly a strong corroborative proof of the authenticity of Mr. Rowe's relation.[7:B]

These traditionary anecdotes, though apparently contradictory, may easily admit of reconcilement, if we consider,

that between the employment of a wool-dealer, and a butcher, there is no small affinity; "few occupations," observes
Mr. Malone, "can be named which are more naturally connected with each other."[8:A] It is highly probable, therefore,
that during the period of John Shakspeare's distress, which we know to have existed in 1579, when our poet was but
fifteen years of age, he might have had recourse to this more humble trade, as in many circumstances connected with his
customary business, and as a great additional means of supporting a very numerous family.

That the necessity for this union, however, did not exist towards the latter part of his life, there is much reason to

imagine, both from the increasing reputation and affluence of his son William, and from the fact of his applying to the
College of Heralds, in 1596 and 1599, for a grant of arms; events, of which the first, considering the character of the
poet, must almost necessarily have led to, and the second directly pre-supposes, the possession of comparative
competence and respectability.

The only remaining circumstance which time has spared us, relative to the personal conduct of John Shakspeare, is,

that there appears some foundation to believe that, a short time previous to his death, he made a confession of his faith,
or spiritual will; a document still in existence, the discovery and history of which, together with the declaration itself, will
not improperly find a place at the close of this commencing chapter of our work.

About the year 1770, a master-bricklayer, of the name of Mosely, being employed by Mr. Thomas Hart, the fifth in

descent, in a direct line, from the poet's sister, Joan Hart, to new-tile the house in which he then lived, and which is
supposed to be that under whose roof the bard was born, found hidden between the rafters and the tiling of the house,
a manuscript, consisting of six leaves, stitched together, in the form of a small book. This manuscript Mosely, who bore
the character of an honest and industrious man, gave (without asking or receiving any recompense) to Mr. Peyton, an
alderman of Stratford; and this gentleman very kindly sent it to Mr. Malone, through the medium of the Rev. Mr.
Davenport, vicar of Stratford. It had, however, previous to this transmission, unfortunately been deprived of the first
leaf, a deficiency which was afterwards supplied by the discovery, that Mosely, who had now been dead about two
years, had copied a great portion of it, and from his transcription the introductory parts were supplied.[9:A] The
daughter of Mosely and Mr. Hart, who were both living in the year 1790, agreed in a perfect recollection of the
circumstances attending the discovery of this curious document, which consists of the following fourteen articles.

1.

"In the name of God, the Father, Sonne and Holy Ghost, the most holy and blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God,

the holy host of archangels, angels, patriarchs, prophets, evangelists, apostles, saints, martyrs, and all the celestial court
and company of heaven: I John Shakspear, an unworthy member of the holy Catholic religion, being at this my present
writing in perfect health of body, and sound mind, memory, and understanding, but calling to mind the uncertainty of life
and certainty of death, and that I may be possibly cut off in the blossome of my sins, and called to render an account of
all my transgressions externally and internally, and that I may be unprepared for the dreadful trial either by sacrament,
pennance, fasting, or prayer, or any other purgation whatever, do in the holy presence above specified, of my own free
and voluntary accord, make and ordaine this my last spiritual will, testament, confession, protestation, and confession of
faith, hopinge hereby to receive pardon for all my sinnes and offences, and thereby to be made partaker of life
everlasting, through the only merits of Jesus Christ my saviour and redeemer, who took upon himself the likeness of
man, suffered death, and was crucified upon the crosse, for the redemption of sinners.

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

2.

"Item, I John Shakspear doe by this present protest, acknowledge, and confess, that in my past life I have been a

most abominable and grievous sinner, and therefore unworthy to be forgiven without a true and sincere repentance for
the same. But trusting in the manifold mercies of my blessed Saviour and Redeemer, I am encouraged by relying on his
sacred word, to hope for salvation, and be made partaker of his heavenly kingdom, as a member of the celestial
company of angels, saints, and martyrs, there to reside for ever and ever in the court of my God.

3.

"Item, I John Shakspear doe by this present protest and declare, that as I am certain I must passe out of this

transitory life into another that will last to eternity, I do hereby most humbly implore and intreat my good and guardian
angell to instruct me in this my solemn preparation, protestation, and confession of faith, at least spiritually, in will
adoring and most humbly beseeching my Saviour, that he will be pleased to assist me in so dangerous a voyage, to
defend me from the snares and deceites of my infernal enemies, and to conduct me to the secure haven of his eternal
blisse.

4.

"Item, I John Shakspear doe protest that I will also passe out of this life, armed with the last sacrament of extreme

unction: the which if through any let or hindrance I should not then be able to have, I doe now also for that time demand
and crave the same; beseeching his Divine Majesty that he will be pleased to anoynt my senses both internall and
externall with the sacred oyle of his infinite mercy, and to pardon me all my sins committed by seeing, speaking, feeling,
smelling, hearing, touching, or by any other way whatsoever.

5.

"Item, I John Shakspear doe by this present protest, that I will never through any temptation whatsoever despaire of

the divine goodness, for the multitude and greatness of my sinnes; for which, although I confesse that I have deserved
hell, yet will I steadfastly hope in God's infinite mercy, knowing that he hath heretofore pardoned many as great sinners
as myself, whereof I have good warrant sealed with his sacred mouth, in holy writ, whereby he pronounceth that he is
not come to call the just, but sinners.

6.

"Item, I John Shakspear do protest, that I do not know that I have ever done any good worke meritorious of life

everlasting: and if I have done any, I do acknowledge that I have done it with a great deale of negligence and
imperfection; neither should I have been able to have done the least without the assistance of his divine grace.
Wherefore let the devill remain confounded: for I doe in no wise presume to merit heaven by such good workes alone,
but through the merits and bloud of my Lord and Saviour Jesus, shed upon the cross for me most miserable sinner.

7.

"Item, I John Shakspear do protest by this present writing, that I will patiently endure and suffer all kind of infirmity,

sickness, yea, and the paine of death itself: wherein if it should happen, which God forbid, that through violence of paine
and agony, or by subtilty of the devill, I should fall into any impatience or temptation of blasphemy, or murmuration
against God, or the Catholic faith, or give any signe of bad example, I do henceforth, and for that present, repent me,
and am most heartily sorry for the same: and I do renounce all the evill whatsoever, which I might have then done or
said; beseeching his divine clemency that he will not forsake me in that grievous and paignefull agony.

8.

"Item, I John Shakspear, by virtue of this present testament, I do pardon all the injuries and offences that any one

hath ever done unto me, either in my reputation, life, goods, or any other way whatsoever; beseeching sweet Jesus to
pardon them for the same; and I do desire that they will doe the like by me whome I have offended or injured in any
sort howsoever.

9.

"Item, I John Shakspear do here protest, that I do render infinite thanks to his Divine Majesty for all the benefits that

I have received, as well secret as manifest, and in particular for the benefit of my creation, redemption, sanctification,
conservation, and vocation to the holy knowledge of him and his true Catholic faith: but above all for his so great
expectation of me to pennance, when he might most justly have taken me out of this life, when I least thought of it, yea,
even then, when I was plunged in the durty puddle of my sinnes. Blessed be therefore and praised, for ever and ever,

[11]

[12]

his infinite patience and charity.

10.

"Item, I John Shakspear do protest, that I am willing, yea, I do infinitely desire and humbly crave, that of this my last

will and testament the glorious and ever Virgin Mary, mother of God, refuge and advocate of sinners, (whom I honour
specially above all saints,) may be the chiefe executresse, togeather with these other saints, my patrons, (Saint
Winefride,) all whome I invoke and beseech to be present at the hour of my death, that she and they comfort me with
their desired presence, and crave of sweet Jesus that he will receive my soul into peace.

11.

"Item, In virtue of this present writing, I John Shakspear do likewise most willingly and with all humility constitute

and ordaine my good angell for defender and protector of my soul in the dreadfull day of judgment, when the finall
sentence of eternall life or death shall be discussed and given: beseeching him that, as my soule was appointed to his
custody and protection when I lived, even so he will vouchsafe to defend the same at that houre, and conduct it to
eternall bliss.

12.

"Item, I John Shakspear do in like manner pray and beseech all my dear friends, parents, and kinsfolks, by the

bowells of our Saviour Jesus Christ, that since it is uncertain what lot will befall me, for fear notwithstanding least by
reason of my sinnes I be to pass and stay a long while in purgatory, they will vouchsafe to assist and succour me with
their holy prayers and satisfactory workes, especially with the holy sacrifice of the masse, as being the most effectual
means to deliver soules from their torments and paines; from the which, if I shall by God's gracious goodnesse, and by
their vertuous workes, be delivered, I do promise that I will not be ungratefull unto them for so great a benefitt.

13.

"Item, I John Shakspear doe by this my last will and testament bequeath my soul, as soon as it shall be delivered

and loosened from the prison of this my body, to be entombed in the sweet and amorous coffin of the side of Jesus
Christ; and that in this life-giving sepulcher it may rest and live, perpetually enclosed in that eternall habitation of repose,
there to blesse for ever and ever that direful iron of the launce, which, like a charge in a censore, formes so sweet and
pleasant a monument within the sacred breast of my Lord and Saviour.

14.

"Item, Lastly I John Shakspear doe protest, that I will willingly accept of death in what manner soever it may befall

me, conforming my will unto the will of God; accepting of the same in satisfaction for my sinnes, and giving thanks unto
his Divine Majesty for the life he hath bestowed upon me. And if it please him to prolong or shorten the same, blessed
be he also a thousand thousand times; into whose most holy hands I commend my soul and body, my life and death:
and I beseech him above all things, that he never permit any change to be made by me John Shakspear of this my
aforesaid will and testament. Amen.

"I John Shakspeare have made this present writing of protestation, confession, and charter, in presence of the

blessed Virgin Mary, my angell guardian, and all the celestial court, as witnesses hereunto: the which my meaning is, that
it be of full value now presently and for ever, with the force and vertue of testament, codicill, and donation in course of
death; confirming it anew, being in perfect health of soul and body, and signed with mine own hand; carrying also the
same about me, and for the better declaration hereof, my will and intention is that it be finally buried with me after my
death.

"Pater noster, Ave maria, Credo.
"Jesu, son of David, have mercy on me.—Amen."[14:A]

If the intention of the testator, as expressed in the close of this will, were carried into effect, then, of course, the

manuscript which Mosely found, must necessarily have been a copy of that which was buried in the grave of John
Shakspeare.

Mr. Malone, to whom, in his edition of Shakspeare, printed in 1790, we are indebted for this singular paper, and for

the history attached to it, observes, that he is unable to ascertain, whether it was drawn up by John Shakspeare the
father, or by John his supposed eldest son; but he says, "I have taken some pains to ascertain the authenticity of this
manuscript, and, after a very careful inquiry, am perfectly satisfied that it is genuine."[15:A] In the "Inquiry," however,
which he published in 1796, relative to the Ireland papers, he has given us, though without assigning any reasons for his

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[14]

[15]

change of opinion, a very different result: "In my conjecture," he remarks, "concerning the writer of that paper, I
certainly was mistaken; for I have since obtained documents that clearly prove it could not have been the composition
of any one of our poet's family."[15:B]

In the "Apology" of Mr. George Chalmers "for the Believers in the Shakspeare-Papers," which appeared in the year

subsequent to Mr. Malone's "Inquiry," a new light is thrown upon the origin of this confession. "From the sentiment, and
the language, this confession appears to be," says this gentleman, "the effusion of a Roman Catholic mind, and was
probably drawn up by some Roman Catholic priest.[15:C] If these premises be granted, it will follow, as a fair deduction,
that the family of Shakspeare were Roman Catholics; a circumstance this, which is wholly consistent with what Mr.
Malone is now studious to inculcate, viz. "that this confession could not have been the composition of any of our poet's
family." The thoughts, the language, the orthography, all demonstrate the truth of my conjecture, though Mr. Malone did
not perceive this truth, when he first published this paper in 1790. But, it was the performance of a clerke, the
undoubted work of the family-priest. The conjecture, that Shakspeare's family were Roman Catholics, is strengthened
by the fact, that his father declined to attend the corporation meetings, and was at last removed from the corporate
body."[16:A]

This conjecture of Mr. Chalmers appears to us in its leading points very plausible; for that the father of our poet

might be a Roman Catholic is, if we consider the very unsettled state of his times with regard to religion, not only a
possible but a probable supposition: in which case, it would undoubtedly have been the office of the spiritual director of
the family to have drawn up such a paper as that which we have been perusing. It was the fashion also of the period, as
Mr. Chalmers has subsequently observed, to draw up confessions of religious faith, a fashion honoured in the
observance by the great names of Lord Bacon, Lord Burghley, and Archbishop Parker[16:B]. That he declined,
however, attending the corporation-meetings of Stratford from religious motives, and that his removal from that body
was the result of non-attendance from such a cause, cannot readily be admitted; for we have clearly seen that his
defection was owing to pecuniary difficulties; nor is it, in the least degree, probable that, after having honourably filled
the highest offices in the corporation without scruple, he should at length, and in a reign too popularly protestant, incur
expulsion from an avowed motive of this kind; especially as we have reason to suppose, from the mode in which this
profession was concealed, that the tenets of the person whose faith it declares, were cherished in secret.

From an accurate inspection of the hand-writing of this will, Mr. Malone infers that it cannot be attributed to an

earlier period than the year 1600[16:C], whence it follows that, if dictated by, or drawn up at the desire of, John
Shakspeare, his death soon sealed the confession of his faith; for, according to the register, he was buried on
September 8th, 1601.

Such are the very few circumstances which reiterated research has hitherto gleaned relative to the father of our poet;

circumstances which, as being intimately connected with the history and character of his son, have acquired an interest
of no common nature. Scanty as they must be pronounced, they lead to the conclusion that he was a moral and
industrious man; that when fortune favoured him, he was not indolent, but performed the duties of a magistrate with
respectability and effect, and that in the hour of adversity he exerted every nerve to support with decency a numerous
family.

Before we close this chapter, it may be necessary to state, that the very orthography of the name of Shakspeare has

occasioned much dispute. Of Shakspeare the father, no autograph exists; but the poet has left us several, and from
these, and from the monumental inscriptions of his family, must the question be decided; the latter, as being of the least
authority, we shall briefly mention, as exhibiting, in Dugdale, three varieties,—Shakespeare; Shakespere, and
Shakspeare. The former present us with five specimens which, singular as it may appear, all vary, either in the mode of
writing, or mode of spelling. The first is annexed to a mortgage executed by the poet in 1613, and appears thus, Wm

Shakspea: the second is from a deed of bargain and sale, relative to the same transaction, and of the same period, and
signed, William Shaksper̄: the third, fourth, and fifth are taken from the Will of Shakspeare executed in March 1616,
consisting of three briefs or sheets, to each of which his name is subscribed. These signatures, it is remarkable, differ
considerably, especially in the surnames; for in the first brief we find William Shackspere; in the second, Willm
Shakspe re, and in the third, William Shakspeare. It has been supposed, however, that, according to the practice in
Shakspeare's time, the name in the first sheet was written by the scrivener who drew the will.

In the year 1790, Mr. Malone, from an inspection of the mortgage, pronounced the genuine orthography to be

Shakspeare[17:A]; in 1796, from consulting the deed of sale, he altered his opinion, and declared that the poet's own
mode of spelling his name was, beyond a possibility of doubt, that of Shakspere, though for reasons which he should
assign in a subsequent publication, he should still continue to write the name Shakspeare.[18:A]

To this decision, relative to the genuine orthography, Mr. Chalmers cannot accede; and for this reason, that, "when

the testator subscribed his name, for the last time, he plainly wrote Shakspeare."[18:B]

It is obvious, therefore, that the controversy turns upon, whether there be, or be not, an a introduced in the second

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[17]

[18]

syllable of the last signature of the poet. Mr. Malone, on the suggestion of an anonymous correspondent, thinks that
there is not, this gentleman having clearly shown him, "that though there was a superfluous stroke when the poet came to
write the letter r in his last signature, probably from the tremor of his hand, there was no a discoverable in that syllable;
and that this name, like both the other, was written Shakspere."[18:C]

From the annexed plate of autographs, which is copied from Mr. Chalmers's Apology, and presents us with very

perfect fac-similes of the signatures, it is at once evident, that the assertion of the anonymous correspondent, that the
last signature, "like both the other, was written Shakspere," cannot be correct; for the surname in the first brief is
written Shackspere, and, in the second, Shakspe re. Now the hiatus in this second signature is unaccounted for in the
fac-simile given by Mr. Malone[18:D]; but in the plate of Mr. Chalmers it is found to have been occasioned by the
intrusion of the word the of the preceding line, a circumstance which, very probably, might prevent the introduction of
the controverted letter. It is likewise, we think, very evident that something more than a superfluous stroke exists
between the e and r of the last signature, and that the variation is, indeed, too material to have originated from any
supposed tremor of the hand.

Upon the whole, it may, we imagine, be safely reposed on as a fact, that Shakspeare was not uniform in the

orthography of his own name; that he sometimes spelt it Shakspere and sometimes Shakspeare; but that no other
variation is extant which can claim a similar authority.[19:A] It is, therefore, nearly a matter of indifference which of these
two modes of spelling we adopt; yet, as his last signature appears to have included the letter a, it may, for the sake of
consistency, be proper silently to acquiesce in its admission.

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[20]

FOOTNOTES:

Communicated to Mr. Malone by the Rev. Mr. Davenport, vicar of Stratford-upon-Avon.

Vincent, vol. clvii. p. 24.

See the instrument, at full length, Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 146, edit. of 1803.

The History of the Worthies of England, part iii. fol. 131, 132.

See Shakspeare's coat of arms, Reed's Shaksp. vol. i. p. 146.

Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 58, 59.

Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 133.

"It was common in the age of Queen Elizabeth to give the same Christian name to two children

successively. This was undoubtedly done in the present instance. The former Jone having probably
died, (though I can find no entry of her burial in the Register, nor indeed of many of the other
children of John Shakspeare) the name of Jone, a very favourite one in those days, was transferred
to another new-born child."—Malone from Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 134.

Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 136.

Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 58.

MS. Aubrey, Mus. Ashmol. Oxon. Lives, p. 1. fol. 78, a. (Inter Cod. Dugdal.) Vide Reed's

Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 213.

Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 214. and Ireland's Picturesque Views on the Upper or Warwickshire

Avon, p. 190, 191. Since this passage was written, however, the proof which it was supposed to
contain, has been completely annihilated. "If John Shakspeare's occupation in life," observes Mr.
Wheeler, "want confirmation, this circumstance will unfortunately not answer such a purpose; for
old Thomas Hart constantly declared that his great uncle, Shakspeare Hart, a glazier of this town,
who had the new glazing of the chapel windows, where it is known, from Dugdale, that such a shield
existed, brought it from thence, and introduced it into his own window."—Wheeler's Guide to
Stratford, pp. 13, 14.

Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 214.

Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 197, 198.

Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 199. et seq.

Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 197.

Malone's Inquiry, p. 198, 199.

As a specimen, let us take the beginning of this declaration of faith, and see still stronger terms in

the conclusion of this protestation, confession, and charter.

"The place too, the roof of the house where this confession was found, proves, that it had been

therein concealed, during times of persecution, for the holy Catholick religion." Apology, p. 198, 199.

Chalmers's Apology, p. 200.

Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 198.

Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 149.

Malone's Inquiry, p. 120

Chalmers's Apology, p. 235.

Malone's Inquiry, p. 117, 118.

Inquiry, Plate II. No. 12.

A want of uniformity in the spelling of names, was a species of negligence...