The story of
William Shakespeare
Through documents held in The National Archives, we can gain an incredible insight into the life of one of the world's most famous playwrights.
Series
Court of Requests: William Shakespeare: Documents of Shakespearean Interest
Catalogue reference: REQ 4
What's it about?
REQ 4
These documents consist of the pleadings and depositions in three lawsuits in the Court of Requests involving Shakespeare. They were found among the uncatalogued records of the Court of Requests in REQ 2. The case of Belott v Mountjoy concerns a...
Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
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REQ 4
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Title (The name of the record)
- Court of Requests: William Shakespeare: Documents of Shakespearean Interest
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Date (When the record was created)
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1610-1620
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Description (What the record is about)
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These documents consist of the pleadings and depositions in three lawsuits in the Court of Requests involving Shakespeare. They were found among the uncatalogued records of the Court of Requests in REQ 2. The case of Belott v Mountjoy concerns a marriage dowry, and contains Shakespeare's signed deposition; the documents pinpoint his residence in 1604. The case of Keysar v Burbage and others describes the King's Men company's involvement in the Blackfriars Playhouse. The case of Witter v Heminges and Condell describes the way in which the shares in the syndicate which leased the Globe playhouse were distributed.
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
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Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
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English
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
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files and flat sheets
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Subjects (Categories and themes found in our collection (our subject list is under development, and some records may have no subjects or fewer than expected))
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- Topics
- Marriage and divorce
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Publication note(s) (A note of publications related to the record)
- All these (and related) documents are transcribed and discussed by the man who discovered them, C W Wallace, in 'Shakespeare and his London Associates as revealed in recently discovered documents', in the journal The University Studies of the University of Nebraska, vol. X, no 4, October 1910, pp 261-360. A copy of this is available at The National Archives
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C13325/
Catalogue hierarchy
Over 27 million records
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
26,312 records
Within the department: REQ
Records of the Court of Requests
You are currently looking at the series: REQ 4
Court of Requests: William Shakespeare: Documents of Shakespearean Interest
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