Read The Marlowe Papers Online
Authors: Ros Barber
Tags: #Fiction, #Historical, #Literary, #Biographical, #Women's Prize for Fiction - all candidates
The Marlowe Papers (35 page)
DEATH’S A GREAT DISGUISER
‘the plague pit where Kit Marlowe now belongs’
Marlowe is supposed to have been buried in an unmarked grave in the grounds of St Nicholas Church, Deptford.
Marlowe is supposed to have been buried in an unmarked grave in the grounds of St Nicholas Church, Deptford.
CAPTAIN SILENCE
‘You learnt the tongue from Huguenots?’
After the Paris massacre of 1572, Huguenot refugees flooded into southern England. Many settled in Canterbury, where Marlowe was born and spent his boyhood.
After the Paris massacre of 1572, Huguenot refugees flooded into southern England. Many settled in Canterbury, where Marlowe was born and spent his boyhood.
TOM WATSON
Tom Watson
was a poet and playwright who wrote in Latin. A documented friend of Marlowe, Watson was nine years his senior and a friend of
Thomas Walsingham
, first cousin once removed of
Sir Francis Walsingham
, Secretary of State, who set up the first English intelligence network to help Queen Elizabeth gauge and contain the Catholic threat.
was a poet and playwright who wrote in Latin. A documented friend of Marlowe, Watson was nine years his senior and a friend of
Thomas Walsingham
, first cousin once removed of
Sir Francis Walsingham
, Secretary of State, who set up the first English intelligence network to help Queen Elizabeth gauge and contain the Catholic threat.
Richard Harvey
was rector at St Nicholas, Chislehurst, in Thomas Walsingham’s parish.
was rector at St Nicholas, Chislehurst, in Thomas Walsingham’s parish.
Gabriel Harvey
, his brother, was a don at Cambridge while Marlowe was a student. He published numerous references to Marlowe and quarrelled bitterly with his friend Thomas Nashe.
, his brother, was a don at Cambridge while Marlowe was a student. He published numerous references to Marlowe and quarrelled bitterly with his friend Thomas Nashe.
Lord Burghley
, as Lord Treasurer one of the most powerful men in England, signed the 1587 Privy Council letter testifying that Marlowe ‘had done Her Majesty good service … in matters touching the benefit of his country’.
, as Lord Treasurer one of the most powerful men in England, signed the 1587 Privy Council letter testifying that Marlowe ‘had done Her Majesty good service … in matters touching the benefit of his country’.
‘my only other option was the Church’
The scholarship under which Marlowe attended Cambridge for six years, graduating both BA and MA, had been bequeathed by Matthew Parker, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, and under its conditions Marlowe would have been expected to take Holy Orders.
The scholarship under which Marlowe attended Cambridge for six years, graduating both BA and MA, had been bequeathed by Matthew Parker, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, and under its conditions Marlowe would have been expected to take Holy Orders.
THE LOW COUNTRIES
The Low Countries
include the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. From 1581 parts were under Spanish occupation, while others, such as
the area around Flushing and nearby Middelburg, were held by the English. Protestant England had been under threat from Catholic Spain since the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign, as the Spanish king, Philip II, had been made King of England and Ireland through his marriage to the previous queen, Elizabeth’s half-sister, Mary.
include the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. From 1581 parts were under Spanish occupation, while others, such as
the area around Flushing and nearby Middelburg, were held by the English. Protestant England had been under threat from Catholic Spain since the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign, as the Spanish king, Philip II, had been made King of England and Ireland through his marriage to the previous queen, Elizabeth’s half-sister, Mary.
‘the daughter stumbles in/with bleeding stumps for hands’
alludes to
Titus Andronicus
. The first recorded performance of this play, on 24 January 1594, suggests it was written in 1593, and though some consider it an earlier work it includes, like
The Rape of Lucrece
published in the same year, the rape and brutal silencing of a heroine.
alludes to
Titus Andronicus
. The first recorded performance of this play, on 24 January 1594, suggests it was written in 1593, and though some consider it an earlier work it includes, like
The Rape of Lucrece
published in the same year, the rape and brutal silencing of a heroine.
‘the silenced woman turned to nightingale’
In
Titus Andronicus
, Lavinia, whose hands and tongue have been removed by the rapists so she cannot identify them, points to Ovid’s tale of Philomel to explain what has happened to her. Philomel was raped and had her tongue cut out by her brother-in-law Tereus, but wove a tapestry to tell her story, and was transformed into a nightingale.
In
Titus Andronicus
, Lavinia, whose hands and tongue have been removed by the rapists so she cannot identify them, points to Ovid’s tale of Philomel to explain what has happened to her. Philomel was raped and had her tongue cut out by her brother-in-law Tereus, but wove a tapestry to tell her story, and was transformed into a nightingale.
ARMADA YEAR
In May of 1588, the Spanish Armada would set sail.
‘Still hiring the horse, though’
Marlowe had hired a grey gelding and tackle when first arriving in London in August 1587, a status item he clearly had problems affording. In April 1588, he borrowed money from fellow Corpus Christi alumnus Edward Elvyn and was sued for non-repayment six months later. In the same law term he was sued by the hackney man for failing to return the horse.
Marlowe had hired a grey gelding and tackle when first arriving in London in August 1587, a status item he clearly had problems affording. In April 1588, he borrowed money from fellow Corpus Christi alumnus Edward Elvyn and was sued for non-repayment six months later. In the same law term he was sued by the hackney man for failing to return the horse.
‘who now is qualified a gentleman’
Marlowe’s MA gave him gentleman status, meaning, among other things, he was allowed to carry a sword.
Marlowe’s MA gave him gentleman status, meaning, among other things, he was allowed to carry a sword.
‘The execution of the Queen of Scots’
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, had been executed the previous February, after the exposure of the Babington Plot. Several people connected to Marlowe – including his patron Thomas Walsingham and the two official witnesses to his ‘death’ in 1593 (Robert Poley and Nicholas Skeres) – were involved in the government’s framing and unmasking of this plot. The messages that led to Mary’s execution for treason were passed through double agent Gilbert Gifford, whose name is an intriguing reversal of that of the man arrested with Marlowe in 1592.
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, had been executed the previous February, after the exposure of the Babington Plot. Several people connected to Marlowe – including his patron Thomas Walsingham and the two official witnesses to his ‘death’ in 1593 (Robert Poley and Nicholas Skeres) – were involved in the government’s framing and unmasking of this plot. The messages that led to Mary’s execution for treason were passed through double agent Gilbert Gifford, whose name is an intriguing reversal of that of the man arrested with Marlowe in 1592.
‘Tom had been writing plays for Ned for months’
Though no plays are extant, Tom Watson’s employer, William Cornwallis, testified that devising ‘twenty fictions and
knaveries in a play’ was his ‘daily practice and his living’, and Francis Meres in 1598 lists him as among ‘our best for Tragedy’.
Though no plays are extant, Tom Watson’s employer, William Cornwallis, testified that devising ‘twenty fictions and
knaveries in a play’ was his ‘daily practice and his living’, and Francis Meres in 1598 lists him as among ‘our best for Tragedy’.
MIDDELBURG
Middelburg
is adjacent to Flushing (or Vlissingen), their centres being less than five miles apart. It is here that Marlowe’s translation of Ovid’s
Amores
was apparently printed – a book that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London ordered to be banned (and burnt) in 1599.
is adjacent to Flushing (or Vlissingen), their centres being less than five miles apart. It is here that Marlowe’s translation of Ovid’s
Amores
was apparently printed – a book that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London ordered to be banned (and burnt) in 1599.
Le Doux
and his trunk suggest one way in which Marlowe might have led his ‘posthumous’ existence. Marlovian researcher Peter Farey’s discoveries among the Bacon Papers in Lambeth Palace Library include a list of books in a trunk belonging to a Monsieur Le Doux. The Bacon Papers are the papers of Anthony Bacon (brother of lawyer and philosopher Francis), a spy who lived abroad from 1579 and sent intelligence back to his uncle, Lord Burghley, and Sir Francis Walsingham. Returning to England in 1592 he became spymaster for the Earl of Essex, gathering intelligence through an international network of agents. One of these was Le Doux, who Farey and fellow Marlovian A.D. Wraight speculate was an English agent posing as a Frenchman, as other English agents, such as Anthony Standen, had done. The presence on the book list of French and Italian dictionaries, but no English one, supports this theory, as does the fact that the list, though in French, is written in English secretary hand rather than the italic hand a French writer would have used. According to the International Genealogical Index, the only occurrence of the name Le Doux in England in three hundred years (sixteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries) was in the Huguenot population of Marlowe’s home town, Canterbury; Louis Le Doux was more or less the same age as Marlowe and therefore a possible boyhood friend (Farey, 2000). The trunk contained numerous books identified by scholars as Shakespeare sources, and a number pertinent to Marlowe’s canon. Le Doux was in Exton, Rutland, in late 1595, in London briefly in early 1596 and then abroad (Wraight, 1996), writing to Bacon for the last time from Middelburg on 22 June 1596.
and his trunk suggest one way in which Marlowe might have led his ‘posthumous’ existence. Marlovian researcher Peter Farey’s discoveries among the Bacon Papers in Lambeth Palace Library include a list of books in a trunk belonging to a Monsieur Le Doux. The Bacon Papers are the papers of Anthony Bacon (brother of lawyer and philosopher Francis), a spy who lived abroad from 1579 and sent intelligence back to his uncle, Lord Burghley, and Sir Francis Walsingham. Returning to England in 1592 he became spymaster for the Earl of Essex, gathering intelligence through an international network of agents. One of these was Le Doux, who Farey and fellow Marlovian A.D. Wraight speculate was an English agent posing as a Frenchman, as other English agents, such as Anthony Standen, had done. The presence on the book list of French and Italian dictionaries, but no English one, supports this theory, as does the fact that the list, though in French, is written in English secretary hand rather than the italic hand a French writer would have used. According to the International Genealogical Index, the only occurrence of the name Le Doux in England in three hundred years (sixteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries) was in the Huguenot population of Marlowe’s home town, Canterbury; Louis Le Doux was more or less the same age as Marlowe and therefore a possible boyhood friend (Farey, 2000). The trunk contained numerous books identified by scholars as Shakespeare sources, and a number pertinent to Marlowe’s canon. Le Doux was in Exton, Rutland, in late 1595, in London briefly in early 1596 and then abroad (Wraight, 1996), writing to Bacon for the last time from Middelburg on 22 June 1596.
‘the outline of a marigold’
Two different versions of Marlowe’s
Hero and Leander
were published in 1598. On the title page of the quarto published by Paul Linley a woodcut shows two marigolds, one open to the sun, the other closed at night, with the motto
Non Licit Exigius
, which means either ‘not permitted to those of mean spirit’ or ‘not
permitted to the uninitiated’. The marigold was a flower with strong Catholic connotations; often linked with the Virgin Mary, it was also explicitly linked with Mary Tudor.
Two different versions of Marlowe’s
Hero and Leander
were published in 1598. On the title page of the quarto published by Paul Linley a woodcut shows two marigolds, one open to the sun, the other closed at night, with the motto
Non Licit Exigius
, which means either ‘not permitted to those of mean spirit’ or ‘not
permitted to the uninitiated’. The marigold was a flower with strong Catholic connotations; often linked with the Virgin Mary, it was also explicitly linked with Mary Tudor.
T.T.
are the initials under the mysterious ‘Mr W.H.’ dedication of
Shake-speare’s Sonnets
(1609), usually taken to be Thomas Thorpe. Thorpe, it was recently discovered, worked (like Marlowe) as an intelligencer, and was connected to Catholic figures who were considered a threat to the realm. In autumn 1596, he was in Madrid as ‘the guest of Father Robert Persons, the outspoken Jesuit opponent of the English government and close adviser to the Spanish’ (Martin and Finnis, p.4).
are the initials under the mysterious ‘Mr W.H.’ dedication of
Shake-speare’s Sonnets
(1609), usually taken to be Thomas Thorpe. Thorpe, it was recently discovered, worked (like Marlowe) as an intelligencer, and was connected to Catholic figures who were considered a threat to the realm. In autumn 1596, he was in Madrid as ‘the guest of Father Robert Persons, the outspoken Jesuit opponent of the English government and close adviser to the Spanish’ (Martin and Finnis, p.4).
TAMBURLAINE THE SECOND
Robert Greene
was a popular writer of romances and plays, described by the
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
as ‘England’s first celebrity author’.
was a popular writer of romances and plays, described by the
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
as ‘England’s first celebrity author’.
‘Alphonsus, King of Aragon’
is widely acknowledged as one of Greene’s several attempts to cash in on Marlowe’s success.
is widely acknowledged as one of Greene’s several attempts to cash in on Marlowe’s success.
Thomas Walsingham
was Marlowe’s senior by three or four years. He was in Paris with Tom Watson in 1581, working from his older cousin Sir Francis Walsingham’s embassy. At one point involved with intelligence operations, he was to become Marlowe’s friend and patron.
was Marlowe’s senior by three or four years. He was in Paris with Tom Watson in 1581, working from his older cousin Sir Francis Walsingham’s embassy. At one point involved with intelligence operations, he was to become Marlowe’s friend and patron.
HOTSPUR’S DESCENDANT
Hotspur’s descendant
In 1592 Marlowe claimed to be ‘very well known’ to Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, also known as the Wizard Earl, a direct descendant of Henry Hotspur of
Henry IV, Part I
fame. Marlowe’s friend Tom Watson dedicated two works to Northumberland. The earl, who amassed a library of over two thousand books at Petworth in Sussex, visited the Low Countries in 1588. His librarian, Walter Warner, was named by Thomas Kyd as an associate of Marlowe’s (Nicholl, p.508).
In 1592 Marlowe claimed to be ‘very well known’ to Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, also known as the Wizard Earl, a direct descendant of Henry Hotspur of
Henry IV, Part I
fame. Marlowe’s friend Tom Watson dedicated two works to Northumberland. The earl, who amassed a library of over two thousand books at Petworth in Sussex, visited the Low Countries in 1588. His librarian, Walter Warner, was named by Thomas Kyd as an associate of Marlowe’s (Nicholl, p.508).
‘a history play’
The fashion for English history plays began with Marlowe’s
Edward II
and the
Henry VI
trilogy, plays attributed to Marlowe by scholars for two hundred years until the late 1920s (Riggs, p. 283).
The fashion for English history plays began with Marlowe’s
Edward II
and the
Henry VI
trilogy, plays attributed to Marlowe by scholars for two hundred years until the late 1920s (Riggs, p. 283).
FIRST RENDEZVOUS
Venus and Adonis
, registered anonymously six weeks before Marlowe’s ‘death’, was on the bookstalls two weeks after it. It is the earliest historical record to associate the name ‘William Shakespeare’ with literature (and there are no theatrical records mentioning that name before this date either). Scholars recognise ‘compelling links’ between this poem and Marlowe’s
Hero and Leander
, which was not to be published for another five years (Duncan-Jones and Woudhuysen, p.21).
, registered anonymously six weeks before Marlowe’s ‘death’, was on the bookstalls two weeks after it. It is the earliest historical record to associate the name ‘William Shakespeare’ with literature (and there are no theatrical records mentioning that name before this date either). Scholars recognise ‘compelling links’ between this poem and Marlowe’s
Hero and Leander
, which was not to be published for another five years (Duncan-Jones and Woudhuysen, p.21).
Richard Field
, printer of
Venus and Adonis
and originally from Stratford-on-Avon, is usually referred to as a ‘school friend’ of Shakespeare’s. He worked frequently for Lord Burghley, whose ward was the Earl of Southampton, to whom
Venus and Adonis
was dedicated.
, printer of
Venus and Adonis
and originally from Stratford-on-Avon, is usually referred to as a ‘school friend’ of Shakespeare’s. He worked frequently for Lord Burghley, whose ward was the Earl of Southampton, to whom
Venus and Adonis
was dedicated.
‘Let base conceited wits admire vile things.
/
Fair Phoebus lead me to the Muses’ springs’
is Marlowe’s translation (from
Amores
) of the two-line Latin epigram on the title page of
Venus and Adonis
. This poem closes, ‘Then though death racks my bones in funeral fire,/I’ll live, and as he pulls me down, mount higher’.
/
Fair Phoebus lead me to the Muses’ springs’
is Marlowe’s translation (from
Amores
) of the two-line Latin epigram on the title page of
Venus and Adonis
. This poem closes, ‘Then though death racks my bones in funeral fire,/I’ll live, and as he pulls me down, mount higher’.
THE FIRST HEIR OF MY INVENTION
‘The first heir of my invention’
is the author’s description of
Venus and Adonis
in his dedication to the Earl of Southampton.
is the author’s description of
Venus and Adonis
in his dedication to the Earl of Southampton.
THE JEW OF MALTA
Thomas Nashe
, one of the University Wits, was a writer of satirical and topical pamphlets. He, too, was educated at Cambridge, but by summer 1588 was living in London. Gabriel Harvey referred to Marlowe and Nashe as ‘Aretine and the Devil’s Orator’; Nashe defended Marlowe as one of his ‘friends that used me like a friend’. His name appears with Marlowe’s on the 1594 quarto of
Dido
,
Queen of Carthage
.
, one of the University Wits, was a writer of satirical and topical pamphlets. He, too, was educated at Cambridge, but by summer 1588 was living in London. Gabriel Harvey referred to Marlowe and Nashe as ‘Aretine and the Devil’s Orator’; Nashe defended Marlowe as one of his ‘friends that used me like a friend’. His name appears with Marlowe’s on the 1594 quarto of
Dido
,
Queen of Carthage
.
‘Religion is made by men’
‘That the first beginning of Religion was only to keep men in awe’. This and other of Marlowe’s views on religion are listed in the famous Baines Note. (See note on ‘A SLAVE WHOSE GALL COINS SLANDERS LIKE A MINT’. Three versions of the note exist. The transcripts of these, and other documents relating to Marlowe, can be found in Kuriyama (2002)).
‘That the first beginning of Religion was only to keep men in awe’. This and other of Marlowe’s views on religion are listed in the famous Baines Note. (See note on ‘A SLAVE WHOSE GALL COINS SLANDERS LIKE A MINT’. Three versions of the note exist. The transcripts of these, and other documents relating to Marlowe, can be found in Kuriyama (2002)).
William Bradley
In March 1588, William Bradley borrowed £14 from John Alle(y)n, innkeeper, manager of the Admiral’s Men at The Theatre, and Edward Alleyn’s brother,
promising to pay it back the following August. This defaulted loan caused the subsequent feud between Bradley and those associated with John Allen, including Watson, his brother-in-law Hugh Swift, and Marlowe (Eccles, pp. 57–68).
In March 1588, William Bradley borrowed £14 from John Alle(y)n, innkeeper, manager of the Admiral’s Men at The Theatre, and Edward Alleyn’s brother,
promising to pay it back the following August. This defaulted loan caused the subsequent feud between Bradley and those associated with John Allen, including Watson, his brother-in-law Hugh Swift, and Marlowe (Eccles, pp. 57–68).
Hugh Swift
is thought to have acted as John Allen’s lawyer after Bradley’s loan defaulted. In autumn 1589 he was threatened by Bradley’s friend George Orrell and took out a surety of the peace. A similar surety was lodged shortly after by Bradley, naming Hugh Swift, John Allen and Tom Watson.
is thought to have acted as John Allen’s lawyer after Bradley’s loan defaulted. In autumn 1589 he was threatened by Bradley’s friend George Orrell and took out a surety of the peace. A similar surety was lodged shortly after by Bradley, naming Hugh Swift, John Allen and Tom Watson.
THAT MEN SHOULD PUT AN ENEMY IN THEIR MOUTHS
‘A comedy’
It is a common misrepresentation of Marlowe that he couldn’t be funny. We know there were comic scenes in
Tamburlaine
which the printer confessed to omitting, thinking them too frivolous for the serious subject matter.
Doctor Faustus
contains a number of comic scenes and
The Jew of Malta
can be played as a farce. There is also a great deal of comedy in
Hero and Leander
. Marlowe was widely referred to as a wit, and one has only to read the accusations in the Baines Note to appreciate Marlowe in full comedic flow.
It is a common misrepresentation of Marlowe that he couldn’t be funny. We know there were comic scenes in
Tamburlaine
which the printer confessed to omitting, thinking them too frivolous for the serious subject matter.
Doctor Faustus
contains a number of comic scenes and
The Jew of Malta
can be played as a farce. There is also a great deal of comedy in
Hero and Leander
. Marlowe was widely referred to as a wit, and one has only to read the accusations in the Baines Note to appreciate Marlowe in full comedic flow.
Padua
was the university attended by Danish students named Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in 1596.
was the university attended by Danish students named Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in 1596.
Chronicles
Hall’s Chronicles,
chief source for the history plays.
Hall’s Chronicles,
chief source for the history plays.
THE UNIVERSITY MEN
Poley
Robert (Robin) Poley was a key figure in the Elizabethan government’s intelligence service. Described by Ben Jonson’s tutor William Camden as ‘very expert at dissembling’, he had been instrumental in trapping the conspirators associated with the Babington Plot, which in turn led to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Robert (Robin) Poley was a key figure in the Elizabethan government’s intelligence service. Described by Ben Jonson’s tutor William Camden as ‘very expert at dissembling’, he had been instrumental in trapping the conspirators associated with the Babington Plot, which in turn led to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Cornwallis
William Cornwallis (not to be confused with his cousin the essayist) bought Fisher’s Folly in Bishopsgate from the Earl of Oxford in autumn 1588. A suspected Catholic recusant, he was under government surveillance. Watson, appointed as the family tutor not long after his arrival in London, was likely part of this surveillance.
William Cornwallis (not to be confused with his cousin the essayist) bought Fisher’s Folly in Bishopsgate from the Earl of Oxford in autumn 1588. A suspected Catholic recusant, he was under government surveillance. Watson, appointed as the family tutor not long after his arrival in London, was likely part of this surveillance.
Arbella Stuart
was first cousin to James VI of Scotland, and at this time, like him, was considered a strong contender to succeed to the throne. In spring 1589 (when her tutor ‘Morley’ was appointed) she was fourteen years old.
was first cousin to James VI of Scotland, and at this time, like him, was considered a strong contender to succeed to the throne. In spring 1589 (when her tutor ‘Morley’ was appointed) she was fourteen years old.
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