Elizabeth I’s physician-in-chief, Rodrigo Lopez, was executed in 1594 for allegedly conspiring to poison the queen. Lopez was born in Portugal to parents of Jewish descent. He was raised a Catholic before he moved to London in 1599 and became the queen’s physician-in-chief in 1581. Unfortunately, he mortally offended some of Elizabeth I’s courtiers, […]Continue reading
The earliest recorded performance of Richard II was on 9 December 1595. The play was performed for Sir Robert Cecil at Sir Edward Hoby’s house in Canon Row. On 7 December 1595 Sir Edward Hoby had written to Robert Cecil inviting him to supper and to see a performance of the play: Sir, finding […]Continue reading
Shakespeare first made his name in London as the poet who wrote Venus and Adonis. Shakespeare’s poem is an erotic and ironic tale of frustrated seduction. It was printed in ten editions during the poet’s lifetime and it was an instant favourite. In Epigrammes in the oldest cut, and newest fashion (1599) John Weever wrote a […]Continue reading
Welcome to Shakespeare’s World blog! The only blog dedicated to exploring Shakespeare’s life and works in historical context. We’ll be exploring key events in Shakespeare’s life as well as his immediate and extended family. Some of the questions we will ask are: How did Shakespeare get a free education? Was Shakespeare a ‘jack-of-all-trades’? What was […]Continue reading
