There were several pamphlets published during Shakespeare's lifetime featuring a menacing giant rabbit, sometimes even wielding a sword and looking very scary. It would be easy to think this character the pamphlet calls a “cony catcher” was invented for marketing purposes, except that we see the phrase “cony catcher” come up several times throughout Shakespeare’s plays including Merry Wives of Windsor, Taming of the Shrew, and even in Henry VI Part 3. We can see from the passing references Shakespeare’s writes that a cony is a word for a rabbit, and it follows then that a catcher of conies is one who catches rabbits, but then why is the rabbit being used in early modern England as a fierce sword wielding villain? There are so many cultural questions to unpack with this symbol and that’s why today our guest and author of a new book about the Cony Catcher and other Shakespearean criminals and malcontents, Ari Friedlander, is here to take us through what we should understand when we discover rabbits running rampant in Shakespeare’s plays.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cony Trapper with Ari Friedlander

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British sign language has existed in some form among deaf communities at least since the 15th century, when some of the earliest records of sign language reveal descriptions of specific signs, many of which are still in use today. However, for Shakespeare’s lifetime, sign language was far from formalized among the Deaf, and certainly not widely accepted by the hearing community. Similarly, education of the deaf, in terms of schools established to educate the Deaf, Mute, or otherwise alternatively abled, would not take root in England until after Shakespeare’s lifetime, and that wasn’t until well into the 18th century. To help us understand what life was like for a deaf person in Shakespeare’s lifetime, as well as what signs existed, and what records we have from the late 16th and early 17th century for deaf people, sign language, and the deaf community for Shakespeare’s lifetime is our guest, Mary Lutze.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign Language and Deaf Culture in 16th Century England

Before William Shakespeare was the great playwright of the age, he was “just Will” fromStratford Upon Avon. The one person in the world who not only loved him before he wasfamous, but walkedbeside him for the entire journey from young man with nothing but relentlessoptimism to successful playwright patronized by the monarchy of England, was his wife, AnneHathaway. Anne married William in 1582, and by the time Shakespeare was skyrocketing tofame in the 1590s with plays like his Henry VI series, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Romeoand Juliet, the couple were parents to three children, including one set of twins. In honor of theperson who quite literally kept the home fires burning so that theman who conquered the worldwith his work would have somewhere, and someone, to come home to, our guests this weekhave compiled a poetic tribute to Anne Hathaway called the Anne-thology. The collectionfeatures poetry and sonnets by modern scholars of Anne Hathaway as well as a few written byAnne’s children. In our first ever group interview here on That Shakespeare Life, we are pleasedto welcome our friends Chris Laoutaris, Katherine Scheil, Aaron Kent, and Paul Edmondson tothe show to tell us more about Anne Hathaway and the making of this memorial poetrycollection Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anne Hathaway, her life and her legacy

Close to 300 years before Shakespeare’s birth, in the year 1290, King Edward I expelled anyone of Jewish descent from England all together. It would not be until 40 years after Shakespeare’s death that Jews would be allowed to return to England. This law makes it somewhat confusing to find over 100 references to Jews and “Jewry” in Shakespeare’s plays. How did he know about Jewish people if there weren’t any in England? Additional history further muddies the waters with the story of Roderigo Lopez, a Spanish Christian of Jewish ancestry that worked as a private physician to Elizabeth I. Ultimately, Lopez was executed, his sentence being influenced heavily by rampant antisemitism in England at the time. Lopez was not the only Jew in England for Shakespeare’s lifetime, but his story shines a light on the plight of racial Jews as well as anyone seeking to practice the Jewish religion, who lived during the life of William Shakespeare. Here with us to tell us more about Lopez’s life, Jews in early modern England, and the references to Jews found in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice are our guests, Rhona Silverbush and Sami Plotkin.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roderigo Lopez and Jews in 16th Century England

There is something uniquely fascinating about the place where someone famous was born and grew up. As many of us travel long distances just for the chance to visit the birthplace of one of our heroes, we seem to recognize the importance of home as the foundation for future greatness. William Shakespeare’s home is no exception. WilliamShakespeare’s life journey began at his birthplace, making it an essential part of his history and the foundation of what he would go on to become. Here today to share with us the history of Shakespeare’s birthplace, how it was built, and what we know about how the property was used before, and after, Shakespeare’s residence there, is our guest, and author of the first book in the world specifically examining the history ofShakespeare’s Birthplace, Richard Shook Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Story of Shakespeare's Birthplace

In October of 2023, the Norfolk Guildhall at King’s Lynn, London was undergoing a bigrefurbishment when 600 year old oak floorboards were discovered beneath the floor. A religioushouse in the 15thcentury, the site became a performance venue by 1593, hosting, amongothers, Shakespeare’s acting company according to company accounts. That discovery meansthat these newly discovered floorboards could have held the footsteps of William Shakespearehimself. Here today to tell us about the floorboards, the history, and what’s going on with thefind today, is our guest, and create director at the guildhall, Tim Fitzhingham Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cony Trapper with Ari Friedlander

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