Shakespeare of Stratford/Documents Mentioning William Shakespeare which are either Spurious or Relating to a Namesake of the Poet
DOCUMENTS MENTIONING WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE WHICH ARE EITHER SPURIOUS OR RELATING TO A NAMESAKE OF THE POET
1589. Appeal of the sharers in the Blackfriars Theatre to the Privy Council, Shakespeare’s name being twelfth in the list. Manuscript published by Collier in New Facts, 1835. The date is quite inconsistent with what we know of Shakespeare’s interest in the Blackfriars Theatre.[1]
1596. July. List of inhabitants of Liberty of Southwark, Shakespeare being sixth. Printed in Collier’s Life of Shakespeare, 1858. Malone quoted a now missing memorandum of Alleyn, indicating Shakespeare’s residence ‘near the Bear Garden’ in Southwark (Lee, Life of Shakespeare, p. 274). Compare document XIV, Note, p. 20.
1596. Petition of owners and players of Blackfriars Theatre to Privy Council. Shakespeare’s name fifth. Printed in Collier’s History of English Dramatic Poetry, 1881, i. 298–300. No evidence that Shakespeare’s company played in Blackfriars before 1610.
1596. List of Shareholders in Blackfriars Theatre. Shakespeare listed as having four shares worth nearly a thousand pounds. MS. printed by Collier in New Facts, 1835. Spurious on the face of it.
1596? Letter signed H. S. (ostensibly Southampton) asking Egerton’s protection for Blackfriars players, particularly Burbage and Shakespeare. Collier, New Facts. Manifest forgery.
1600. March. Authentic document relating to suit by William Shakespeare against John Clayton of Bedfordshire for a debt of seven pounds contracted May 22, 1592. Judgment for Shakespeare with twenty shillings costs. No sufficient reason for identifying this Shakespeare with the poet. Cf. Lee, Life of Shakespeare, p. 321; Mrs. Stopes, Shakespeare’s Industry, pp. 259, 262.
1603. Oct. 3. ‘Mr. Shakespeare of the Globe’ mentioned in letter from Mrs. Alleyn to her husband. Printed by Collier, Memoirs of Edward Alleyn, 1841, p. 63. Spurious.
1604. Apr. 9. Shakespeare named in list of players appended to Privy Council letter to Lord Mayor. Printed by Collier, ibid. p. 68. Spurious.
1604. July. Suit of William Shakespeare against Philip Rogers in Stratford court for debt on malt. Document printed by Halliwell-Phillipps, Outlines, ii. 77 f. Cf. Mrs. Stopes, Shakespeare’s Industry, p. 268: “There was another William Shakespeare . . . born at Rowington in 1564, whose trade was the selling of malt.’
1605. Sept. 28. William Shakspere listed as a trained soldier in a Rowington muster roll. Probably refers to the above.
1609. Apr. 8. Shakespeare named in list of taxpayers in Southwark. Printed in Collier’s Memoirs of Edward Alleyn, 1841, pp. 90–92. Spurious.
1609 [1610]. Jan. 4. Warrant appointing Robert Daborne, William Shakespeare, etc., instructors of the Children’s Revels company. Printed in Collier’s New Facts, 1885. Certainly spurious.
- ↑ For facsimiles and discussion of the forgeries ascribed to Collier see C. M. Ingleby, A Complete View of the Shakspere Controversy, 1861, pp. 241 ff.