Contrary to what is usually written about the life of our William, Anne Hathaway may not really have been the real name of Mrs. Shakespeare.
When he married her in November 1582, the record in the local Register for the granting of a special licence states that 'Willelmum Shaxpere et Annam Whateley de Temple Grafton may lawfully solemnise matrimony together.' This licence, issued by the Bishop of Worcester, was special as it was issued during Lent when marriages were not normally solemnised.
An idealised picture of William Shakespeare, the family man.
However, on the following day, Fulk Sandells and John Richardson, both from Anne's village of Shottery signed a bond which exempted the bishop from all liability if there should be any irregularity in the speeded up marriage between William Shagspere...and Anne Hathwey of Stratford in the Diocese of Worcester. It has therefore been concluded that this Whateley/Hathaway record was written by a careless clerk.
The reason for the speeding up of this wedding was that the future Mrs. Sha(x/gs)pere was heavy with child, and in fact gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Susanna, six months later.
Apart from this minor detail, what else do we know about the Bard's wife? Not much really. The first time she is mentioned in the Stratford-upon-Avon's parish records is when our Will registers his intention to marry her. He did so, because as I've already said, she was pregnant and the question of love and marriage was irrelevant. In those days, if the alleged father was able to, he had to marry the young lady. This meant that the new-born child would have parents to care for it and the local parish would not be responsible for its future.
Anne Hathaway is thought to have been the illiterate daughter of Richard Hathaway, a local farmer. She was born in Shottery, a small village west of Stratford-upon-Avon in 1556. We know she was born then because on her gravestone in Holy Trinity Church it says that she was 67 years old when she died in 1623.
From this we conclude that she was 26 years old on her wedding day and that our Will was eight years younger. In addition to giving birth to her first daughter, she also bore twins two years later in 1585. They were named Judith and Hamnet.
Apart from being the Bard's wife, Anne Hathaway's name is generally connected with the cottage bearing her name. This cottage, which is one of the most visited tourist sites in the UK, was originally an Elizabethan farmhouse. It was bought by Anne's brother, Bartholemew in 1610 and has been linked to Anne Hathaway since the late 18th century. In 1892 the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust bought it and they maintain it until today.
Anne Hathaway's other well-known claim to fame is that in WS's will, she receives his 'second-best bed.' This is one of the most famous clauses of the most famous will ever. Experts have generally decided that she received this second-best bed, not because the Bard was particularly mean to his spouse, but that this was the bed in which he would have enjoyed his more intimate moments with his (sometimes estranged?) wife. The first-best bed would have been the one reserved for visitors.
Finally, AH may also appear at the end of Sonnet 145. Here, various lit. crits have suggested that our William was not very pleased to have been forced into a shot-gun wedding and so expressed himself poetically thus:
'I hate from hate away she threw,
And saved my life, saying 'not you.'
&&&&&&&&&&&
Next time I will deal with the famous Elizabethan actor: Edward Alleyn.
When he married her in November 1582, the record in the local Register for the granting of a special licence states that 'Willelmum Shaxpere et Annam Whateley de Temple Grafton may lawfully solemnise matrimony together.' This licence, issued by the Bishop of Worcester, was special as it was issued during Lent when marriages were not normally solemnised.
However, on the following day, Fulk Sandells and John Richardson, both from Anne's village of Shottery signed a bond which exempted the bishop from all liability if there should be any irregularity in the speeded up marriage between William Shagspere...and Anne Hathwey of Stratford in the Diocese of Worcester. It has therefore been concluded that this Whateley/Hathaway record was written by a careless clerk.
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| Was this the Bard's wife? The classic but posthumous picture of Anne Hathaway. |
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| Or was it this Anne Hathaway? |
Apart from this minor detail, what else do we know about the Bard's wife? Not much really. The first time she is mentioned in the Stratford-upon-Avon's parish records is when our Will registers his intention to marry her. He did so, because as I've already said, she was pregnant and the question of love and marriage was irrelevant. In those days, if the alleged father was able to, he had to marry the young lady. This meant that the new-born child would have parents to care for it and the local parish would not be responsible for its future.
Anne Hathaway is thought to have been the illiterate daughter of Richard Hathaway, a local farmer. She was born in Shottery, a small village west of Stratford-upon-Avon in 1556. We know she was born then because on her gravestone in Holy Trinity Church it says that she was 67 years old when she died in 1623.
From this we conclude that she was 26 years old on her wedding day and that our Will was eight years younger. In addition to giving birth to her first daughter, she also bore twins two years later in 1585. They were named Judith and Hamnet.
Apart from being the Bard's wife, Anne Hathaway's name is generally connected with the cottage bearing her name. This cottage, which is one of the most visited tourist sites in the UK, was originally an Elizabethan farmhouse. It was bought by Anne's brother, Bartholemew in 1610 and has been linked to Anne Hathaway since the late 18th century. In 1892 the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust bought it and they maintain it until today.
Anne Hathaway's other well-known claim to fame is that in WS's will, she receives his 'second-best bed.' This is one of the most famous clauses of the most famous will ever. Experts have generally decided that she received this second-best bed, not because the Bard was particularly mean to his spouse, but that this was the bed in which he would have enjoyed his more intimate moments with his (sometimes estranged?) wife. The first-best bed would have been the one reserved for visitors.
Finally, AH may also appear at the end of Sonnet 145. Here, various lit. crits have suggested that our William was not very pleased to have been forced into a shot-gun wedding and so expressed himself poetically thus:
'I hate from hate away she threw,
And saved my life, saying 'not you.'
&&&&&&&&&&&
Next time I will deal with the famous Elizabethan actor: Edward Alleyn.
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