Shakespeare’s plays refer to a napkin at least 20 times, including As You Like It where Rosalind mentions a bloody napkin, in Hamlet the title character is offered a napkin to “rub thy brows.” In Henry IV Part 1, Falstaff talks about someone’s shirt being made of “two napkins” sewn together, Merry Wives of Windsor scorns the greasy napkin, while Othello complains that Desdemona’s napkin is too small. When it comes to sizes, shapes, material, and uses for napkins in Shakespeare’s lifetime, we are looking to Maura Graber, Director of the RSVP institute for Etiquette, and the founder of Etiquipedia, the online encyclopedia of Etiquette, to walk us through the history of napkins and their uses for Shakespeare’s lifetime. Maura is here for two episodes with us on dining and etiquette for the 16th century. Today is Part 2 in our series with Maura on Table History, we’ll have links to Part 1 in the show notes of the episode.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Napkins in Shakespeare's England

Hosted by Cassidy Cash, That Shakespeare Life takes you behind the curtain and into the real life of William Shakespeare. Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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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.

Uncovering the Stage Boards Shakespeare Walked Upon

In Shakespeare’s lifetime, sound was often relied upon by playwrights to let an audience know a battle was taking place, an army was taking action, or a particular military event was about to occur. Some of these military sound cues are found in the stage directions of Shakespeare's plays when we see him indicate musicians should sound specific pieces. For example, the musicians are directed to “sound a parley” in Coriolanus Act I, and to play an “Alarum to battle” in Henry IV Part I. Here today to share with us the 16th century military history behind these sounds, is our guest Christian Dahl.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alarum and Parley: Military Sounds in Stage Directions

All total, Shakespeare includes 21 Clowns and Fools in his works, that frequency wasn’tjust personal preference. It was, as you may have guessed, a reflection of actualhistory. The Fool dates all the way back to the Romansas an appointed member ofsociety whose job it was to entertain with honesty, mockery, and behavior that wouldhave been foolish for anyone else. Since it is April Fool’s Day today, that makes it theperfect time to explore the history of fools, which iswhy today, we’re meeting with TimFitzhigham, who is currently completing his PhD on Robert Armin, the man who is mostfamous for playing some of those Clowns and Fools you see in Shakespeare’s plays.Tim joins us today to help us unpack the history behindthe Fools of Shakespeare, thereal people who served as fools in the royal court for Shakespeare’s lifetime, the role ofRobert Armin had in developing the role of Shakespeare’s fools, and to share with uswhat we should know about the 16-17thcentury history of clowns, jesters, and foolswhen we see them in Shakespeare’s plays. Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Napkins in Shakespeare's England

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