That Shakespeare Life

For the entirety of Shakespeare’s life, the Tabard Inn was a well established public inn on the mainstreet of Southwark, leading to London Bridge, and it was famous because Chaucer had set the opening scene of The Canterbury Tales there, but according to a 27 page hand written document once owned by famous antiquary David Laing, the Tabard Inn served as a frequent meeting place for William Shakespeare, who gathered there with famous friends like Richard Burbage, Ben Jonson, and other “roystering associates” of the 16th century, all of whom carved their names into the wooden panels of this iconic public house in an act of graffiti that turns out to be a key piece of history.

This paper record was left unnoticed for decades inside the Edinburgh University Library until a reference to it was rediscovered by Martha Carlin in 2013. Martha is Professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and she joins us today to share with us her fantastic discovery, the history of the Tabard Inn, why Shakespeare and his friends were writing on the walls there in the late 16th century.

In 1572, when William Shakespeare was 8 years old, a large supernova streaked across the sky making a lifelong mark in the memory of not just a young William Shakespeare, but across the consciousness of all of England who saw it that night. At the height of Renaissance thought, and during the time Galileo was presenting his ideas in Italy, William Shakespeare was writing Hamlet, King Lear, and other plays which not only allude to the work of famous physicists and astronomers of the 16th century, but in some cases, including the stars they studied, and even some family relatives of these astronomers, by name.

We do not often connect William Shakespeare and his work in theater with Euclidean Geometry, or the Copernican theory of the universe, but when we study the life of the bard, we discover that he was not only well educated in both, but contemporaries to the bard like Thomas Digges, and Tycho Brahe, were publishing works right alongside the plays of Shakespeare that captured the attention of England, and Europe, during the 16th century. Our guest this week, Dr. Michael Rowan Robinson has published extensively on the topics of mathematics, astronomy, and Shakespeare, and he is here today to explain the mathematical history of the bard, including the influence of Copernicus and Kepler on plays like Hamlet and King Lear.

In 1572, when William Shakespeare was 8 years old, a large supernova streaked across the sky making a lifelong mark in the memory of not just a young William Shakespeare, but across the consciousness of all of England who saw it that night. At the height of Renaissance thought, and during the time Galileo was presenting his ideas in Italy, William Shakespeare was writing Hamlet, King Lear, and other plays which not only allude to the work of famous physicists and astronomers of the 16th century, but in some cases, including the stars they studied, and even some family relatives of these astronomers, by name. 

We do not often connect William Shakespeare and his work in theater with Euclidean Geometry, or the Copernican theory of the universe, but when we study the life of the bard, we discover that he was not only well educated in both, but contemporaries to the bard like Thomas Digges, and Tycho Brahe, were publishing works right alongside the plays of Shakespeare that captured the attention of England, and Europe, during the 16th century. Our guest this week, Dr. Michael Rowan Robinson has published extensively on the topics of mathematics, astronomy, and Shakespeare, and he is here today to explain the mathematical history of the bard, including the influence of Copernicus and Kepler on plays like Hamlet and King Lear.

We sit down to a properly set table and expect to see at minimum a fork, knife, and a spoon. More elaborate settings may have more utensils, but for William Shakespeare, his lifetime was the first moment in England's history when dining habits were caught somewhere between the age of eating with one's hands, and the advent of proper utensils at the dining table. While the invention of the fork happened centuries prior to Shakespeare, the fashion of using them to eat with at a table for meals did not arrive in Europe until the youth of Shakespeare's parents, when in 1533 Catherine de Medici of France travelled from Italy to France to marry Henry II. Across Europe the couple held festivals to demonstrate their power, including the showcase of Catherine's unique eating methods, namely--the use of a fork. As the custom of eating with a fork made its' way across Europe, the fork was met with a mixed reception, and even morphed into a political symbol. By the time William Shakespeare was taking the world by storm, the fork was a novel eating instrument in England, fascinating some, and infuriating others.

Here to help us explore what the experience of eating at a table, and using a fork, would have been like for William Shakespeare is our guest, now three time a visitor here at That Shakespeare Life, Tudor enthusiasts, expert culinary historian, and my friend, Brigitte Webster.

We sit down to a properly set table and expect to see at minimum a fork, knife, and a spoon. More elaborate settings may have more utensils, but for William Shakespeare, his lifetime was the first moment in England’s history when dining habits were caught somewhere between the age of eating with one’s hands, and the advent of proper utensils at the dining table. While the invention of the fork happened centuries prior to Shakespeare, the fashion of using them to eat with at a table for meals did not arrive in Europe until the youth of Shakespeare’s parents, when in 1533 Catherine de Medici of France travelled from Italy to France to marry Henry II. Across Europe the couple held festivals to demonstrate their power, including the showcase of Catherine’s unique eating methods, namely--the use of a fork. As the custom of eating with a fork made its’ way across Europe, the fork was met with a mixed reception, and even morphed into a political symbol. By the time William Shakespeare was taking the world by storm, the fork was a novel eating instrument in England, fascinating some, and infuriating others.

Here to help us explore what the experience of eating at a table, and using a fork, would have been like for William Shakespeare is our guest, now three time a visitor here at That Shakespeare Life, Tudor enthusiasts, expert culinary historian, and my friend, Brigitte Webster.

Do you know the origin of the word "whiskey"? Turns out we have Scotland to thank for not only the drink we know as whiskey today, but the word we use to describe it as well. The earliest record of whiskey on paper happens in 1494 with a reference to aqua vitae in the Exchequer Rolls, but there was a great interest--and a good deal of illicit smuggling of Scotch whiskey-- happening not just in Shakespeare's lifetime, but under the title "aqua vitae" (which is used no less than 6 times in Shakespeare's plays), the beverage was also hugely popular for centuries prior to Shakespeare's life in the Catholic Church as a kind of holy water. After the Dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, the monks with skills in distillery went underground to create whiskey, and in so doing formed one of the largest illegal operations in Europe. You may have thought all of the parodies of drunken friars like Friar Tuck from the Robin Hood tales, and in similar way, even Shakespeare's own Falstaff, may have been merely jokes for a story, but as our guest this week, Rosie Wilmot of the Scotch Whisky Association in Edinburgh Scotland is here to share with you today, these stories and aqua vitae, in particular, have a real historical basis directly from the life of William Shakespeare.

Do you know the origin of the word “whiskey”? Turns out we have Scotland to thank for not only the drink we know as whiskey today, but the word we use to describe it as well. The earliest record of whiskey on paper happens in 1494 with a reference to aqua vitae in the Exchequer Rolls, but there was a great interest--and a good deal of illicit smuggling of Scotch whiskey-- happening not just in Shakespeare's lifetime, but under the title "aqua vitae" (which is used no less than 6 times in Shakespeare's plays), the beverage was also hugely popular for centuries prior to Shakespeare’s life in the Catholic Church as a kind of holy water. After the Dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, the monks with skills in distillery went underground to create whiskey, and in so doing formed one of the largest illegal operations in Europe. You may have thought all of the parodies of drunken friars like Friar Tuck from the Robin Hood tales, and in similar way, even Shakespeare’s own Falstaff, may have been merely jokes for a story, but as our guest this week, Rosie Wilmot of the Scotch Whisky Association in Edinburgh Scotland is here to share with you today, these stories and aqua vitae, in particular, have a real historical basis directly from the life of William Shakespeare.

The Paston Letters are a collection of over 1,000 pieces of correspondence between 1422 and 1509 which, while never intended to last into the modern era, have been preserved throughout the centuries for the unique light they shed on the everyday events in 15th century England. John Paston was a lawyer in England, and while the letters sometimes represent the communication of John Paston to members of the aristocracy most of the letters are written by his wife Margaret, who is writing to her husband at work in London. Replete with illustrations as well as words, the letters detail mundane items like shopping lists and recipes, provide examples of medieval colloquial expressions, and perhaps the most powerful content found in the Paston Letters is their timeline of how the War of the Roses unfolded. During the late 15th century, England was effectively lawless whilst the King was paralyzed due to his surrounding nobles stifling the enforcement of law. The Paston Letters show that the government of England was hugely disorganized, with even the succession to the crown coming under contestation. This overarching discontent led to the rising of Jack Cade, and outlines the rise of the War of the Roses. Since Shakespeare's history plays, also detail the rise of the War of the Roses, including characters like Jack Cade, and the character of Falstaff whom some scholars believe was based on a relative to the Pastons, a John Fastolf, there is often the suggestion that Shakespeare used the Paston Letters as a source for his plays. Is this true? Our guest, Rob Knee, from the Paston Heritage Society, is here this week to separate legend from fact as we explore the Paston Letters and their role in the life of William Shakespeare.

The Paston Letters are a collection of over 1,000 pieces of correspondence between 1422 and 1509 which, while never intended to last into the modern era, have been preserved throughout the centuries for the unique light they shed on the everyday events in 15th century England. John Paston was a lawyer in England, and while the letters sometimes represent the communication of John Paston to members of the aristocracy most of the letters are written by his wife Margaret, who is writing to her husband at work in London. Replete with illustrations as well as words, the letters detail mundane items like shopping lists and recipes, provide examples of medieval colloquial expressions, and perhaps the most powerful content found in the Paston Letters is their timeline of how the War of the Roses unfolded. During the late 15th century, England was effectively lawless whilst the King was paralyzed due to his surrounding nobles stifling the enforcement of law. The Paston Letters show that the government of England was hugely disorganized, with even the succession to the crown coming under contestation. This overarching discontent led to the rising of Jack Cade, and outlines the rise of the War of the Roses. Since Shakespeare’s history plays, also detail the rise of the War of the Roses, including characters like Jack Cade, and the character of Falstaff whom some scholars believe was based on a relative to the Pastons, a John Fastolf, there is often the suggestion that Shakespeare used the Paston Letters as a source for his plays. Is this true? Our guest, Rob Knee, from the Paston Heritage Society, is here this week to separate legend from fact as we explore the Paston Letters and their role in the life of William Shakespeare. 

With court records of Mary Queen of Scots playing cards, as well as James I of England preferring the game Maw when entertaining royal dignitaries, we know that playing cards was not just popular for royals but a pastime at all levels of society during Shakespeare's lifetime, and it was a relatively new arrival to England overall. Playing cards did not reach Europe until 1360, and the first mention we have of playing cards in England comes in 1463 when King Edward IV banned the import of playing cards to England in an effort to bolster the English economy by focusing production of cards at home. With the influx of French and Spanish playing cards during Shakespeare's lifetime, along with laws trying to have cards made in England exclusively, what did the average playing card look like? There is a representation of a six of diamonds on the wall of a small Suffolk church in Hessett, near Bury St Edmunds, which dates from the 15th century and that provides one example of design, but the pack of cards which has historically come to be associated with England specifically is a pack from Rouen, France, designed by Pierre Marechal. As playing cards grew in popularity, so did their design and the invention of various games--some of which like Noddy and Maw show up by name several of Shakespeare's plays. The suits, size of card, as well as material used to make playing cards was also widely varied in the 16th century, so how do we determine what counts as historically accurate for William Shakespeare? To find out this week, we turn to Kathryn James, Curator of Early Modern Books and Manuscripts at the Beinecke Library at Yale University. She joins us today to share about the collection of 16th century playing cards in house at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library with some key insights on the economics, design, and appearance of playing cards from the life of William Shakespeare.

Kathryn James is the Curator of Early Modern Books and Manuscripts at Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. She is a Lecturer in the Yale History Department and the co-founder of the Yale Program in the History of the Book. Her new book, English Paleography and Manuscript Culture, 1500-1800 (2020) is available through Yale University Press.