That Shakespeare Life

Shakespeare uses the word “castle” over 40 times in his works. He talks about sieging a castle, the power of castle walls, and even mentions specific real life castles by name including Berkley Castle and “Pomfret” castle which is another name for Pontefract Castle, along with at least a dozen more. These castles were prominent features in the landscape of Shakespeare's lifetime, playing roles both in their commanding presence on the visual horizon on the physical landscape, but also their place in society, monarchy, and the broader political landscape as well. In this week's episode we'll explore the castles of Shakespeare's lifetime, looking at which castles were actively in use around England, as well as what they were used for, major events that occurred there, and which of these architectural giants survive to the present day, allowing us to visit them centuries later. Here this week to take us on a tour of the real castles mentioned in Shakespeare's plays is our guest, Audrey Thorstad.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Merry Wives of Windsor, Falstaff says “the appetite of her eye did seem to scorch me up like a burning-glass!” Burning glasses were a specific kind of lens, that allowed you to harness the sun's rays to create fire. They were a predesessor on the road to later lens construction that allowed for the convex shape which allows someone to create prescription glasses. In Shakespeare's lifetime, a specific kind of spectacles known as aphakic spectacles were prescriped as a matter of routine in post operative care for someone that underwent a cataract surgery .Paintings from this tim period show a variety of spectacles and eyewear that were used in this time period, and Shakespeare's plays themselves reveal the cultural impression of glasses and how they were perceived. Here today to explain the development of lenses form Shakespeare's lifetime, the post operative care for cataract surgery in particular, and to tell us more about special lenses like “burning glasses” and “reading stones” are our guests and ophthalmological historians, Chris Leffler and Charles Letocha.    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Orlando, from the play As You Like It, talks about church bells knolling, and later in that same play, the Duke talks about how we “have with holy bell been knoll'd to church.” There's a conversation in Act II of Pericles where two fishermen discuss a parish getting swallowed by a whale, and they refer to the parish as “The whole parish, church, steeple, bells, and all.” These references demonstrate the important cultural place of bells in England for Shakespeare's lifetime. While Moses is credited with introducing bells to Jewish religion, Italian monks are given credit for introducing bells to Europe, with Saint Bede bringing them specifically to England when he introduced their use in funerals around 700 AD. By the time of William Shakespeare, metallurgy and construction had experienced a metamorphosis, with churches in Europe adopting not only intricate design, but seeking to increase both the size and the sound of their church bells. Here this week to tell us about the history, size, shape, sound, and technical process of building a church bell in Shakespeare's lifetime, is our guest Guthrie Stewart  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elizabeth I is perhaps the most famous Queen of England, reigning from November 1558 until her death in 1603. When you study her life, you quickly learn that she was known as “the Virgin Queen” for her staunch stance against marriage. Despite directives from her court and intense peer pressure from those around her, Elizabeth faced down scandal, rumors, and suspicion throughout her reign, only to remain stalwart in her commitment to not only never marry, but to never be known as someone whose virginity was taken from her. Given that the royal lineage is so important not only in England, but in all monarchal governments, and that literal wars have been fought over the rightful heir to the throne, it is definitely a challenge to the status quo that Elizabeth not only did not produce an heir, but intentionally chose not to do so. Here this week to help us explore what this stance was like for people of England, why it was so important to Elizabeth that she risked so greatly to maintain her choice, as well what happened at her death that prevented a war from rising up with the lack of an heir, is our guest, British historian, and professional history podcaster, Carol Ann LLoyd.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since 1939, when Francios E. Matthas wrote it into scientific literature, the Little Ice Age has been known as a period in history between the 15th and 19th centuries, when the climate was significantly colder than what is typical. The history generally divides the Little Ice Age into sections, which alternate with periods of warming to create wild weather phenomena, including long frozen winters and cold, wet summers. According to the latest research from our guest this week, this Little Ice Age was delayed in England, specifically, not taking hold there until much later, in the first part of the 17th century. While continental Europeans encountered Little Ice Age conditions during the sixteenth century, the English population faced volatile seasonal variations with extremes of drought and severe storm weather and violent tidal surges. Our guest this week, Laurie Johnson, joins us to share some of the weather data he is compiling for his latest publication that looks at the impact of climate and weather on how we should understand the plays that were written as these climate phenomena were occurring, as well as the playing companies staging them.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Get me the ink and paper.” Cleopatra demands in Antony and Cleopatra (I.5) In Henry IV Part I, Peto says “Nothing but papers, my lord.” (II.4) These are just two of over 100 references to paper in Shakespeare's plays, with characters reading papers, carrying papers, delivering them, and of course, writing on papers. Naturally, the technology of paper itself isn't that remarkable, being centuries older than Shakespeare, but what is surprising is that in addition to over 100 references to paper, Shakespeare's plays also contain references to parchment, with Hamlet himself asking if parchment was made from sheepskins. There's even a reference in Cymbeline to tablets. These words suggest that paper and parchment were common for Shakespeare's lifetime, but as far as paper like material goes, there's also canvas that some of the most famous 16th-17th century paintings were prepared upon, along with vellum, linen, and even wax tablets. With all of these options for what to write on, I wanted to learn more about how paper was made, what it was made from, whether Hamlet was right about parchment and sheep, and to know which of these options was most popular, and why. That's why we are delighted to welcome Cathy Baker to the show today to help us explore the history of paper, vellum, and canvas, from Shakespeare's lifetime.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Shakespeare's play, Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra declares “It is my birth-day: I had thought to have held it poor: but, since my lord Is Antony again, I will be Cleopatra.” Indicating that she was relieved to be marking the occasion in a better way. Julius Ceasar, similarly declares in Act V, “This is my birth-day; as this very day was Cassius born.” In Pericles, the First Fisherman says “he hath a fair daughter, and to-morrow is her birth-day;” (Act II).  In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Marcellus talks about celebrating our Savior's birth with singing. Other references to the day of one's birth show up in Henry VI Part II the Earl of Suffolk talks about having a cunning old man calculate the day of his birth (Act IV), and later in that same act, Jack Cade talks about how his father was ignorant of both his birth and parentage. All of these mentions of birth days, their calculations, and their celebrations, has me wondering what exactly birthdays were like for Shakespeare's England. We always celebrate Shakespeare's birthday in style in around here, but would the bard have celebrated his own day of birth? To find out, we've invited one of the authors of the article “Debating the Birthday: Innovation and Resistance in Celebrating Children” Peter Stearns, to the show to day, to help us explore the history of marking a birthday with cakes, gifts, and a gathering of friends. Would this have occurred for Shakespeare's lifetime? Let's find out right now, on That Shakespeare Life.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we have a special opportunity here on the show to explore the Historic home of Shakespeare's eldest daughter, Susanna Shakespeare Hall, that has been brought to life in a beautiful digital 3Dformat thanks to a pioneering new digital archive that has created an augmented reality exhibition that lets visitors like you and me, visit and virtually walk through Susanna's home known as Hall's Croft, from anywhere in the world. The 3D component allows users to bring 17th-century early modern objects into their own spaces using the AR feature, while the digital archive allows users to explore 3 rooms from Hall's Croft from the comfort of their own homes. This week we are delighted to welcome Ailsa Grant Ferguson, the lead on this digital project, back to That Shakespeare Life, to tell us about the research that went into this program, what they learned about Hall's Croft, and about Susanna Shakespeare through their research, and to share the details on how you can explore this 3D model for yourself.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Shakespeare's plays, he talks about “Travel” or “Traveller” just under 80 times, including references that suggest people travelled by foot and by horse, the Queen Mab speech by Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet talks about a wagon used for transportation, and there are references that indicate there were items which would add comfort to someone's travel, and one reference from Comedy of Errors talks about being “stiff and weary” from long travel. We also know that in a personal connection to William Shakespeare the man, playing companies often travelled around England visiting various inns and establishments of their patrons who hired out a production, this applied to the Lord Chamberlain's Men as well. With all of this travel, it begs the question of exactly what getting around England, particularly in a large group, might have entailed. What kind of vehicles would have been traversing the cities and countryside for Shakespeare's England? Were there paved roads, dirt paths, or maybe cobblestone streets? What about rules of travelling such as stop signs, round abouts, or other kinds of travel infrastructure? Whose job was it to decide where a road would be put, and then who carried the responsibility of maintenance of the paths? Could you get a traffic ticket in Elizabethan England? Here today to help us answer these questions, including sharing with us what kind of vehicles travelled along England's roadways in Shakespeare's lifetime, details about what the roads were like, and the rules for travelling them, is our guest, Robert Bucholz.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On previous episodes of That Shakespeare Life, we have talked about the numerous early modern card games that show up in Shakespeare's plays, and even that Ferdinand and Miranda are playing the game of Chess in the Tempest. What you may be surprised to learn is that another form of early modern game playing—the game of dice—comes up over half a dozen times across Shakespeare's works, with references to playing the game, using them to predict the future, and of course, losing at the game of dice. Dice was a huge sport for Elizabethan, and later Jacobean, England and here today to share with us about this history, what games were played, and some specifics on the history of the playing pieces themselves is Historic Games expert, Charles Knutson.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, there's a famous banquet scene, with a huge food spread and of course, a few ghosts because what's a party without a few spectres, right? This scene is fictional, but it is based on a real historical person, the real King Macbeth of Scotland, and holding banquets in a castle absolutely happened. Here today to share with us what foods would have been eaten at the real banquet of the actual Macbeth is historical chef, and host of Tasting History on YouTube, Max Miller.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The last time we talked about Judith Quiney was to discuss her youth as the younger sister of Susanna Shakespeare, the twin of Hamnet, and the overall blacksheep of her famous family due to her husband's excommunication and the marriage scandal causing her father, William Shakespeare, to re-write his will to exclude Judith. The details of Judith Quiney's life are as sparse, as they are tantalizing, and historical fiction has jumped on the opportunity to try and piece together the fragments. We welcome one such writer this week, Grace Tiffany, having just completed her second book on Judith Quiney, that offers a fictionalized rendering of what was possible for Judith in the second half of hr life, where she not only far outlived her scandalous youth, but she lived far beyond the life of her famous father, dying at the old age of 77 in 1662, close to 50 years after the death of Shakespeare himself.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In As You Like It, Orlando says “Which I take to be either a fool or a cipher.” that's one of a dozen references to ciphers in Shakespeare's plays, which reflects the place of ciphers as a common way to keep secrets, particularly among the elite, for Shakespeare's lifetime. One of the most famous ciphers for Shakespeare's lifetime was written between 1578 and 1584, while Shakespeare was just getting his career started in London as a playwright, when they were written by none other than Mary, Queen of Scots. For 19 years prior to her execution, Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in England, and during that time, she wrote extensively, including letters in code. It was known that between 1578 and 1584, just 3 years before her death, Mary wrote a series of letters in code to the French ambassador, but those letters were considered to have been lost. Surprisingly, the letters survived, but because they consist of unreadable encoded text, no one knew what they were about, and they were stored away in unrelated collections in the National Library of France, where they went unexplored, until 400 years later. In 2023, an international team of codebreakers happened to stumble upon the documents when they were looking for historical ciphers in order to crack them. They not only found Mary's lost letters, but managed to decode them, and present the contents to the world for the first time in almost half a millennia. Lead author and Israeli computer scientist, George Lasry, is here today to tell us about the team's efforts, the decoding process, what Mary wrote, and why it was so important for the letters to be in cipher in the first place.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A “Last Will and Testament” is a document listing out the instructions for how to handle your remaining worldly goods after your death. It is an opportunity for the living to share their wishes from beyond the grave. In As You Like It, Orlando mentions this practice by saying “...give me the poor allottery my father left me by testament; with that I will go buy my fortunes.” In Julius Caesar the group cries out “The will! the testament!” Again in In Timon of Athens, the Painter says “performance is a kind of will or testament which argues a great sickness in his judgment that makes it.” Obviously, Shakespeare's making a metaphorical statement in that last use of will or testament, but the references declare a history here to documenting one's final wishes and the process of carrying out your bequests. Here today to help us explore what wills and testaments were like for the 16-17th century, who wrote them, what they included, and taking a look at the details of Shakespeare's own will and testament, is our guest and expert in the history of wills and testaments from the 16th all the way to the 19th centuries, Laura Sangha.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With all the death in Shakespeare's works, you may not be shocked that the word “Funeral” comes up in Shakespeare's plays over 20 times, but what is surprising is that funeral ceremonies are used by Shakespeare in multiple plays to serve a specific role, almost a character in and of themselves for how they impact the plot. Most notably, and my apologies here for any spoilers, the play is still worth seeing, but there's an elaborate funeral for Hamlet ordered by Fortinbras at the end of the play. This funeral is said to mirror the real funeral of English poet, Sir Philip Sydney that had happened in 1587.If we're going to appreciate Shakespeare's portrayal of Hamlet's funeral, then it becomes important to understand how funerals worked for Shakespeare's lifetime, what the steps and rights were involved in an official, or unofficial, service and what constituted a fitting tribute to the dead. Here today to take us through what funerals involved for the 16-17th century, why Sir Philip Sydney's service was so remarkable, and what all of this history means we should notice when we see funerals used for dramatic impact in Shakespeare's plays, is our guest, and author of “Death, Religion, and the Family in England 1480-1760", Ralph Houlbrooke.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Curtain Theatre was built in 1577 in a section of London called Shoreditch. Constructed only about 200 yards, or 600 feet, away from The Theater, which is the building James and Richard Burbage built as the first purpose built theater in London. For context, this distance about half a city block in Manhattan, and little less than 1 city block in Chicago. In 1585, the Burbages took advantage of this close proximity and struck a deal with the owner of The Curtain to use it as a second performance venue. From 1597-1599, The Curtain was home to the Lord Chamberlain's Men and saw the staging of some of Shakespeare's most famous plays including Romeo and Juliet, and Henry IV Part 1 and 2. The Curtain also staged contemporary plays by John Marston and even one production of Ben Jonson's Every Man in His Humour in 1598, which is a significant production for Shakespeare history, since William Shakespeare was listed as a member of the cast, making The Curtain theater a place we know Shakespeare would have performed himself. There are no records of the Curtain after 1627, so historians are unclear what happened to cause the theater space to be closed down, but a recent development of a square in Shoreditch is bringing The Curtain back to life by having uncovered remains of The Curtain theater that have not only been preserved, but are being showcased as the new Museum of Shakespeare in London, that will allow patrons to literally stand where Shakespeare once stood. Here today to share with us the details behind the dig, and how you can visit the Museum of Shakespeare, is our guest, and lead archaeologist for the excavation with the Museum of London Archaeology, Heather Knight.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona, Proteus says “Here's too small a pasture for such store of muttons.” Proteus is speaking metaphorically here, but the phrase refers to the relationship between animals raised in a field, and then processed for food to be stored away in a cache that can be drawed upon for consuming later. Stephano, in the Tempest, shares the location of his store of wine, saying “The whole butt, man: my cellar is in a rock by the sea-side where my wine is hid.” Indicating that a cellar was one place to store bottles of wine long term. Both of these references demonstrate for us that 16th-17th century society was familiar with the idea of storing fresh food for the winter, but it leaves us with the question of what exactly was a “store of muttons,” for example? I mean, Shakespeare and his contemporaries didn't have refrigeration, so what methods were used to keep fresh meat from going rancid? Back with us again this week, to help us understand Tudor and Renaissance England food preservation methods, as well as storage options, like cellars, is our guest and food historian, Neil Buttery.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

William Shakespeare never mentions the celebration of Candlemas by name in his works, but we know Shakespeare was involved in the celebration of Candlemas in 1602 from a diary entry written by a man named John Manningham, who wrote about attending a performance of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, on February 2 of that year, the traditional Feast Day of Candlemas.This 1602 performance took place at Middle Temple Hall, one of the ancient and prestigious training and education establishments for lawyers in the heart of London. Shakespeare also spent Candlemas in other years with his acting troupe at the royal court, producing plays for Elizabeth I and James I.What was Candlemas? How was it celebrated? Why was Shakespeare involved in staging plays for the Queen and King? What did they look like, and why were they performed on Candlemas? Who was there? And what do we know about how the plays were received?To answer these questions, and to introduce us to the holiday of Candlemas, and to Shakespeare as a court performer, welcome to our guest Brett Dolman, historian and curator at Hampton Court Palace, where Shakespeare himself once performed. Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shakespeare uses the phrase, “Hue and cry” twice in his plays. Once in Henry IV Part 1and again inMerry Wives of Windsor. In the Middle Ages, this phrase represented acivilian peacekeeping effort that remained officially on the books in England until the19thcentury. Amounting, on an extremely basic level, to what those in the US mayrecognize as a “citizen's arrest,” hue and cry allowed the average person to performpolicing duties in the face of witnessing a crime. Hue and Cry remained active as apunitive measure for Shakespeare's lifetime and here today to explain for us exactlywhat it means to “raise and hue and cry” in both legal and practical terms, as well aswho was allowed to use this method of civic policing, along with why and when it wasuseful, is our guest, Samatha Sagui Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The spectacular downfall of King Richard II, followed by the successors Henry IV and then Henry V, are famously depicted in Shakespeare's plays. The Life and Death of King Richard II is a prequel to what's known as Shakespeare's Henriad plays, or the Henry Plays, consisting of Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV part 2, and Henry V. Richard II is believed to have been written around 1595, and while the plays tow the line in terms of what Tudor monarchs would have wanted you to believe the histories of these men, there are some places where Shakespeare's version conflicts with known history about Richard II and Henry IV. Our guest this week has recently completed a book on both these Kings of England, titled appropriately, THE EAGLE AND THE HART: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV, in which she details the real history of two of the most famous, yet also two of the most often misunderstood (thanks in no small part to Shakespeare) Kings of England. To help us wade into Shakespeare's history plays and sort out fact from fiction, we are delighted to welcome Helen Castor to the show today.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shakespeare may not mention the word “golf” in his plays, and in exploring history, it seems that the game was a little bit obscure, certainly not something played widely, but nevertheless it was present for Shakespeare's lifetime, with some major moments for golf history overlapping with the life of William ShakespeareFor example, it was England's King James I, patron of Shakespeare's company the King's Men, who allowed golf to be played on Sundays. Here today to help us explore the history of the game of golf for Shakespeare's lifetime, including what equipment was used, what kind of rules were in place for the game, and what archaeological records survive to tell the tale about what golf was like in the 16-17th century is our guest and founder of the Society of Golf Historians, Connor Lewis.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

January 6 is the day that many celebrate a holiday called Epiphany, the first manifestation of Jesus as the Son of God to the Gentiles, which happened through the visit of the Magi, or the Three Kings, who visited Jesus and brought him the now famous gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrr. The holiday was celebrated in Shakespeare's lifetime, but just like today when the holiday is marked by cultural and regional variations for exactly what those celebrations will include, Epiphany in the 16-17th century was unique as well. Here today to walk us through the history of Epiphany and how it was celebrated in Shakespeare's lifetime is our guest, Beatrice Groves.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the weather was cold in England, it could get frigidly cold, even causing the rivers and lakes to freeze over. In Elizabethan England, you may be surprised to learn that ice sports, such as skating, even hockey, were practiced on the ice in wintertime. To share with us the history of these sports, the archaeological record that survives to demonstrate that history, as well as what we know about ice skating and physical skates that were used to accomplish these activities, is our guest and historian, Tomas Masar.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A drink, as much as it was songs and a group activity, wassail has been a traditional part of the Christmas season in England, and particularly a favorite of Twelfth Night celebrations, for centuries, including before and during the life of William Shakespeare. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Lady Macbeth talks about wine and wassail going together to muddle up the brain, Falstaff mentions a wassail candle in Henry IV Part II, and three other references in Shakespeare's plays refer to wassail as something that happened at night and existed somewhere between a greeting and something that could lead to trouble. Here today to share with us the songs from Shakespeare's lifetime that were considered wassail songs, as well as to help us unravel the complicated history of what it meant to go wassailing from the house and how that's related to Christmas and even apple trees, is our guest and musical historian, Debi Simons.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shakespeare's plays mention horses over 300 times across his works, reflecting the huge place in the every day lives of people that this animal occupied. For something that was so essential for travel and for work, it makes sense that a horse owner would want to make sure their horse received the best of care. The art of horse doctoring in the 16th century generally fell under the purview of the blacksmith, who was responsible for the horse shoeing. The word for practicing medicine on animals for the medieval period was known as “marshalcy” in English, and it comes from the word “menescalia” in Catalan. Today, they are best known as farriers. Our guest this week, Carmel Ferragud, is an expert in the history of veterinarian medicine and specifically the history of Marshalcy. Today he joins us to discuss the activities of the 16th century farrier, what kind of medical care was available for animals in the 16-17th century, and exactly what veterinarian medicine would have been like for Shakespeare's lifetime.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mead has been made since ancient times and is the poster drink for historical gatherings, often being carried around in a large mug. You may know that this beverage is alcoholic, but you may be surprised to learn how it is different from other alcoholic drinks, particularly in the 16th century. If you look up mead today, it's known as a honey wine and can be mixed with a variety of herbs and spices, and as the recipes describe it, mead starts to sound more like a beer than a wine, and since wine is made from grapes, not honey, you may confused about what makes a “honey wine” like mead. To learn more about what defines this classic historic brew, and how that's different from other varieties of distilled or fermented beverages, as well as to walk through the history of how to make mead, we are delighted to welcome our guest, Laura Angotti.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the nurse complains of a headache saying “Lord, how my head aches! what a head have I! It beats as it would fall in twenty pieces.” In 1582, Bartholomew the Englishman's 13th century text was reprinted in London, describing a condition called “emigraina” that Bartholomew defined as “similar to hammers beating in the head.” Whether it was called emigraina, head aches, or megrym, as some contemporary accounts have called it, it is plain that migraines were a common problem for Shakespeare's England, with proposed solutions ranging from mild tonics and elixirs, all the way to dangerous blood letting and even brain surgery. Here this week to help us understand the history of migraines, their diagnosis, and their treatment, for the 16-17th century is our guest and author of the chapter titled “History of migraine” in the Handbook of Clinical Neurology, Dr. Peter Koehler.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Samoset is a name spoken with respect around American dinner tables every November as we celebrate Thanksgiving, when Samoset is remembered with gratitude, for being willing to bridge the language gap for the English colonists who had just arrived at Plymouth. While Samoset's visit to the colonists happened 5 years after Shakespeare's death, the rest of Samoset's life is actually contemporary with Shakespeare, spanning from the 1590s through the mid 1600s, which is why Samoset is our topic for our Thanksgiving episode this year, so we can get to know more of the backstory of this man whose contact with the Pilgrims you may remember, but whose life story may be new for you, as it was for me. Here today to share the life of Samoset and what led up to him making contact with the Pilgrims at Plymouth in the 1620s is our guest, and author of the book titled “Here First, Samoset and the Wawenock of Pemaquid, Maine” Jody Bacheldor Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shakespeare has all kinds of references to doors in his works, at least 195 instances of the actual word “door” in fact, and for many of us, we probably gloss over the word ‘Door” thinking we understand what he's talking about. However, architectural history tells us that doors were actually quite different for Shakespeare's lifetime than what we have today from how they were made, to how they were constructed, and even how they were locked. Our guest this week, James Campbell is an expert in architectural history and joins us today to help us understand more about what doors were like in the 16-17th century including what kind Shakespeare might have had on his house.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All 4 of Shakespeare's references to the word “gamut” show up in his play Taming of the Shrew where the characters talk about learning, and teaching, the “gamut.” If you've ever heard the expression “run the gamut” or “cover the gamut” these expressions are based on an 11th century understanding of the word “gamut” developed by the musician and monk named Guido d'Arezzo, who used the term to described a whole range of notes. While there was no national standard of education in England for Shakespeare's lifetime, knowing about music, how to play, and scales like that of D'Arezzo, were considered a sign of nobility, which is the cultural perspective Shakespeare utilizes when he puts a gamut in his play. Here today to share with us the history of the gamut, the 16th century musicians contemporary with Shakespeare that might have influenced the musical scenes of this play, as well as what exactly is meant by the phrase “run the gamut” is our guest and professor at the O'Neill Hall of Music at the University of Notre Dame, Alexander Blachly.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tomorrow night, November 5, is when many in England will celebrate an occasion known as Bonfire Night. They celebrate this day to mark the moment King James I was saved from the Gunpowder Plot (along with many in his government) when Guy Fawkes was thwarted in his attempt to blow up England's Parliament using gunpowder hidden beneath the building during an official government meeting. The event was a terrorist attack of the 17th century, to put the plot in contemporary terms, and the aftermath in England impacted William Shakespeare personally. Newly minted as the King's Men in 1603, the gunpowder plot is taking place just two years later, in 1605. Just one month after the Gunpowder Plot in December of 1605, Shakespeare writes King Lear, which contains many nods to the state of James' government, but the real play most connected to The Gunpowder Plot has to be Macbeth, which I argue was the play whose performance would silence all doubt about William Shakespeare's involvement, or suspected treasonous connections, in the aftermath of The Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Here today to walk us through the history of this event, and help us understand how the Gunpowder Plot connected to Shakespeare, is our guest, James Travers.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shakespeare made the three witch sisters famous in his play, Macbeth, by showcasing their manupulative power, encantations, and their famous pot of double double toil and trouble. While this version of witches makes for a fun spoof at Halloween parties today, when Shakespeare was originally bringing these sisters to life on stage, witches were not only considered real beings, but were thought to be clandestine actors, hiding their real identity behind normal appearances so as to be better position themselves to inflict harm on others. Everything from natural disasters to household accidents could be blamed on this kind of magic, and seemingly innocuous actions like speaking sharp words, having the wrong birthmark, or sometimes just owning the wrong kind of house pet, could all land people, and women in particular, in a fight for their lives at a witch trial where they were often hopelessly charged with proving their innocence against charges of witchcraft. Many of these individuals stories have been lost to history, or relegated to a list of names on an accusation list, but our guest this week seeks to bring the real life stories of actual women who were tried as witches to the fore with her latest book titled Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials  that takes a look at 13 specific witch trials from the 16-18th centuries. Here today to help us understand the history of how someone would find themselves accused of witchcraft, what was involved in the process of an official witch trial, and the real events blamed on witchcraft that had a powerful influence on King James I of England, who wrote his publication titled “Daemonology” just a couple of years before Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, is expert in the history of witches, and return guest to our show, Dr. Marion Gibson.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Revenge Tragedy is a genre of plays, applied posthumously to Shakespeare's works. Just like modern day film and tv has genres like romance, western, or comedy, plays of Shakespeare's lifetime had these categories, too, and today we're going to explore a particular subcategory of tragedy known as Revenge Tragedies. While the genre itself didn't exist in Shakespeare's lifetime, the plays and what they are known for, were a very popular form of entertainment in both Elizabethan and Jacobean England. In fact, many consider Shakespeare's Hamlet to the best example of Revenge Plays from this period. We are delighted to welcome back to the show Rhona Silverbush and Sami Plotkin to talk with us the ghosts, madness, and other spooky elements that constituted a good revenge play, what made them so popular for Shakespeare's lifetime, and which playwrights in addition to Shakespeare, were penning this category into history for the 16th and 17th century. Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1552, a lexicographer gave us the word “noctivagation” which means walking around at night. The word itself was a legal term for Shakespeare's lifetime, used to describe someone that wandered around at night without any particular purpose. Vagrancy, on the whole, was frowned upon for Shakespeare's lifetime, but vagrancy at night was viewed with extreme suspicion. In fact, walking around at night illegitimately was so bad that in his play King Lear, Shakespeare implies that the poster boy for night walkers is Satan himself. This negative understanding of nightwalkers gets confusing though, when we consider Falstaff in Henry IV talks about walking from tavern to tavern at night with Bardolph, and mentions it as fun, certainly not anything they were worried about, and other period references from the 16th century talk about Link Boys, who were young boys paid to escort travelers as night while carrying a torch to light the way. What does this mean about travelling at night in a city like London? Were there legitimate reasons to be out after dark, and what options were available for creating artificial light prior to the advent of the light bulb? Here today to answer these questions and introduce us to the concept of night walkers, and night lights, for Shakespeare's lifetime is our guest, Matthew Beaumont.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Shakespeare was writing plays in the 16th to early 17th century, he was participating in an industry that was both established, as well as rapidly evolving. Shakespeare himself ushered in innovation for the theater industry, while the bard, along with his contemporaries, equally embraced long held traditions that included shamelessly copying one another's work. Acknowledging that copying someone's work was industry standard for Renaissance England raises some questions about plagiarism, as well as who should get the credit for writing a particular story. Our guest this week, Darren Freebury Jones, has visited with us before to look at the influences of Thomas Kyd and even Robert Greene on the works of William Shakespeare, and Darren is back again this week to share with us the theater industry he has uncovered for his latest book, Borrowed Feathers, where he uses you'll remember we called “textual sleuthing” in an earlier episode, to examine production, influence, authorship, and collaboration amongst playwrights such as Lyly, Kyd, Fletcher, and of course, Shakespeare. We are delighted to welcome Darren back to That Shakespeare Life again this week to talk with us about what it looked like to be a colleague in the theater industry for the 16th century, what constituted industry standard when you were writing plays, and how much influence a modern lens looking backwards at history has had on what we think we know about how Shakespeare produced his works.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Henry IV Part 1, Vernon refers to the clothing of young Harry saying “I saw young Harry, with his beaver on…” There are at least 6 other references to the large, semi-aquatic rodent known as the beaver to be found in Shakespeare's plays, and while many of Shakespeare's references are talking about the helmet feature that opens and closes on the front of soldier's face, the references are a reflection of the animal beaver that had been plentiful in the UK right up until Shakespeare's lifetime, when they had been hunted for their fur, meat, and castoreum, a substance produced by their anal scent glands that was used in products like perfume. While beavers were once native to Britain, they were hunted to extinction during the 16th century, and have only recently started to be reintroduced to the UK. Our guest this week, Lee Raye, joins us to talk about the journey from native species to extinction for the beaver, how that impacted commerce and the landscape of England during Shakespeare's lifetime, and to update us on the efforts to reintroduce the beaver to the UK that have been taking place recently.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During Shakespeare's lifetime England, along with other European nations, began intentional exploration to the New World, where they not only established colonies but established commerce relationships with the native tribes they found there. Exchanges in what the Dutch West India Company called ‘New Netherland' included trades of beaver pelts and shell beads with tribes like the Algonquian Indians, who you may remember from our episodes on Squanto, Samoset, and The establishment of Fort Raleigh. Our guest this week has done an indepth project into the trade, commerce, and diplomatic relationships between Europeans and the native tribes of the New World, specifically looking at how beaver pelts (which were hugely popular in England for the 16-17th century) were traded and used for everything from hats to medicine. We are delighted to welcome Molly Leech to the show today to help us understand the role of wampum in Shakespeare's history.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the image of William Shakespeare himself, perhaps the most famous objects associated with William Shakespeare has to be the quill pen, but was this pen actually made of goose feathers, and if so, how was it made? Of course the quill pen is far from the only use for geese in the 16-17th century, as reflected in Shakespeare's plays where the bard mentions geese well over a dozen times, talking about them being taken to market, people getting in trouble for stealing them, and as you might expect, there's even references to plucking feathers. We have seen portraits of 16th century geese being used for elaborate meals, but you may not be as familiar with the process of getting from goose to table, or what kinds of products were made in the 16-17th century from geese, and what kind of people were in charge of overseeing this creation. Our guest this week is an expert in the history of early modern geese, having performed archaeological research that investigates how geese were kept, what they ate, and their uses in society for Shakespeare's lifetime. We are delighted this week to welcome Dale Serjeanston to the show to share with us the history of the goose for Shakespeare's England.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Clown in Alls Well That Ends Well talks about picking his teeth, and Coriolanus gives an admonishment about hygiene when he says “Bid them wash their faces And keep their teeth clean.” John Holland in Henry VI Part 2 talks about having teeth pulled, and in the Winter's Tale the clown talks about being able to identify a nobleman by how he picks his teeth. Of the more than 50 references to teeth in Shakespeare's plays, most of them are using idiomatic expressions for strength or determination, like to set your teeth against a problem, for example, but a few of the toothy references we can find from the bard demonstrate that when it comes to oral hygiene, Renaissance society had established methods for cleaning your teeth, and even for prescribing oral surgery. Here today to talk to us about 16th century toothbrushes, mouthwash, oral surgery, and exactly why it was considered noble to pick food out of your teeth is our guest and author of “‘Carry Not a Picke-Tooth In Your Mouth': An Exploration of Oral Health in Early-Modern Writings” Dr. Laura Kennedy.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You may be surprised to learn that marriage in the 16th century was not required, nor a foregone conclusion, for all women of this time period. In addition to spinsters, who were older women that had never been married, there were widows that lost their husband, women who were divorced or separated from their husbands, and still some women who our guest this week calls “never married” women. A “never-married” woman chose never to get married at all, and provided for themselves financially. While Shakespeare doesn't use the phrase “never married” he does talk about spinsters, widows, prostitutes, and even divorce, reflecting the society of his time period. While all versions of single women in Shakespeare's lifetime operated outside of what we generally expect for the 16th century, the reality is that being single, and even women who were independently made, occupied a much larger section of society than you may have assumed. Here today to tell us about all the single ladies of the 16th century, and what life was like for a women who never married, is our guest, Amy Froide.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To live in England during Shakespeare's lifetime was to be Protestant, or at least as far as the Queen was concerned. The lack of religious freedom in early modern England doesn't mean alternate belief systems did not exist, only that they were hidden. One powerful belief system that riled up conservative members of society and incited objection pamphlets to be written is atheism. Here today to discuss the real people from Shakespeare's lifetime who were atheists, the punishment if your belief system were found out, and the role of playing companies in spreading atheism is our guest, Peter Herman.    Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deaths were a common occurrence on stage for Shakespeare's characters, but the wild and often macabre deaths we see in his plays were not actually far off from the deaths that occurred in real life for the 16-17th century. From poisonings to beheadings, one person who knew a lot about how people died in Shakespeare's lifetime was the coroner who job it was to catalog deaths and keep track of any that seemed suspicious. Our guest this week has done a great deal of research into accidental deaths for Shakespeare's lifetime and joins us today to introduce us to the job of 16th century coroner in Shakesepare's England, tell us about some of the more bizarre ways people died, and how all of these incidents connect to William Shakespeare. To learn all these things, and more this week, we are delighted to welcome Steven Gunn to the show today.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is a frequent misconception that people from Shakespeare's lifetime believed the world was flat. In fact, the publication of the world on a spherical globe was not only well established across Europe by Shakespeare's lifetime, but there are numerous portraits from the 16-17th century showing individuals owning and displaying spherical globes. The first English person to create a spherical globe published it in 1592, just 7 years before William Shakespeare chose “The Globe” as the name for his newly relocated circular theater in Southwark. Here today to walk us through the history of displaying the Earth as a globe, the artisans who undertook this task, the materials they used, and where they got their data to map out the world on a giant physical ball, is our guest, Sylvia Sumira.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even William Shakespeare had to take out the garbage. In his hometown of Stratford Upon Avon, public waste was managed through a system of piles known as muck hills. In 1552, William Shakespeare's father, John Shakespeare, was charged a fine for one of these muck hills that was kept across the street from his home on Henley Street. For a long time, scholars have thought this fine meant that John Shakespeare was keeping the dung heap illegally, or perhaps using it inappropriately, but recent research into how muck hills operate and the history of public sanitation in Stratford Upon Avon have caused us to see this record of John Shakespeare in a new light. Here today to share with us how taking out the garbage worked for Shakespeare's lifetime is our guest, Elizabethan Tavares.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the late 16th to early 17th century, a medical movement saw a meteoric rise in popularity known as Paracelsianism. Based on the writings of a physician who had died in 1541, the movement developed quite a cult following, with many claiming Paracelsus was able to work miracles of healing. Debate over the legitimacy of Paracelsus' work became so heated that some Europeans were executed just for owning on of his books. Shakespeare takes aim at this cultural divide in his play, Alls Well That Ends Well, when in Act II Scene 3, Lafeu and Parolles have a conversation about miracles, and arguments, with Lafeu saying “They say miracles are past; and we have our philosophical persons, to make modern and familiar, things supernatural and causeless.” Parolles calls this perspective the “the rarest argument of wonder that hath shot out in our latter times.” with Lafeu responding it is of “Both Galen and Paracelsus.” This scene is Shakespeare's only use of the word Paracelsus, while Galen gets used elsewhere repeatedly, even alongside Hippocrates in Merry Wives of Windsor. As a reflection of the culture of his day, Shakespeare's plays suggest that while Galen was the established foundation of medicine for this period, Paracelsus made a significant mark on the medical landscape. Here today to introduce us to Paracelsus, the medical movement launched by his followers, and what we should know about why Parolles would call this “The rarest argument of wonder” is our guest and author of “Renaissance Medicine“, Vivian Nutton.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

William Shakespeare's mother, Mary, was Mary Arden before she married her husband, John Shakespeare. Mary's possible connection to the gentry Arden family has fascinated scholars and Shakespeare fans for many years. The Arden family was an established English gentry family in Warwickshire, and 1 of a handful of Tudor families in England who could trace their lineage back to the Anglo-Saxons. The family took their name from the Forest of Arden, used as a setting in Shakespeare's play, As You Like It. In 1583, when William Shakespeare was 19, the head of the family, Edward Arden was executed, having been convicted of treason. Here today to share with us more history about the Arden family and Edward in particular is our guest, Cathryn Enis.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1616, the year that William Shakespeare died, anatomist Helikiah Crooke published a book of medical diagrams that included a surprisingly high level of detail about human anatomy for a society that didn't yet have powerful instruments like a microscope. However, noticeably absent from his medical drawings are any anatomically correct terms for the female body. For example, Crooke's drawings correctly name many parts of the male anatomy, like the epididymis, peritoneum, penis, and the testicles, but when it comes to the female anatomy diagram, even though he has the fallopian tubes correctly drawn in the picture, he labels them as “Spermatical veins.” In another diagram, the uterus is definitely drawn in the shape of a man's primary sexual organ, only it is labeled as a “womb,” with no mention of the cervix or the vagina. Shakespeare's plays give us some examples of how this level of medical knowledge was known by general society because in his works Shakespeare uses anatomical terms like ‘urine” as well as “sperm” and even “Nerves and veins”, so we can see that some knowledge of human anatomy was broadly available in Shakespeare's lifetime, but Helikiah Crooke's diagrams raises some major questions about not only the medical understanding of women's bodies, but exactly what kind of medical care was available for women in Shakespeare's lifetime. In order to explore the 16-17th century understanding of human reproduction, and what the hyper-masculinization of women's bodies meant for women's medicine and gynecological care in Shakespeare's lifetime, we are talking today with Roz Sklar.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It wasn't only people who served as performers in Shakespeare's lifetime, animals, too were often trained to perform in street demonstrations, and one very unique animal captured the hearts of the popular entertainment word as a famous dancing horse named Morocco. Morocco was famous during Shakespeare's lifetime, with over 70 woodcuts published showcasing his talents at entertaining crowds of all sizes. He and his owner traveled across England and even internationally displaying circus feats, tricks, and even magic. Here today to share with us the history of Morocco the horse, including where his story overlaps with that of William Shakespeare, is our guest, Natalia Pikli.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Shakespeare mentions ballads in his plays, he uses adjectives like odious and woeful, mentioning both the ballad makers in Coriolanus, and the people who sell them, known as the ballad mongers, in Henry IV Part 1. Shakespeare's has over 20 references to ballads throughout his works, all of which tell us that these songs were written in ink, published by printers, and performed in songs that not only rhymed, but that could be just as merry as it was painful, particularly if the ballad was sung out of tune, as Cleopatra complains in Antony and Cleopatra. Here today to share with us some of the exact ballads that were popular for Shakespeare's lifetime, as well as the history of how they were created, and performed, is our guests, and masterminds behind the 100 Ballads Project that seeks to recreate and preserve ballads from the 17th century, Angela McShane, Chris Marsh, and Andy Watts.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Throughout his works, Shakespeare references math terminology that goes well beyond the artithmetic education we expect him to have received at grammar school. There's history behind the references that shares not only where Shakespeare would have learned about higher mathematics, but Shakespeare's choices for specific math terms reflect major changes in England for the numerals that were being used to record data, as well as official acts of parliament that were being passed to define and standardize lengths and measures for the very first time. Here today to share with us some of the history behind a few of Shakespeare's mathematical terms is our guest and author of the book Much ADo ABout Numbers, Rob Eastaway.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shakespeare talks about unbuttoning your sleeve in As You Like It, King Lear undoes a button in Act V of that play, and Moth talks about making a buttonhole lower in Love's Labour's Lost. We've talked about clothes here on the show previously, but what about the buttons that hold things like sleeves together, and various buttonholes. What were buttons like for Shakespeare's lifetime, who was making them, and what material was used? How are 16th century buttons different from the ones we have today, and would we find buttons in the expected places, or were there unusual ways to use buttons in Shakespeare's lifetime? To find out the answers to these questions, we are talking with the Renaissance Tailor, who specializes in recreating 16-17th century clothing, Tammie Dupuis.  Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.