de habeas corpus cum causa coram domina regina r. in curia prox. post xviij. Pascæ. Jun. 20, 30 Eliz. Johannes Shaxpere queritur versus Johannem Tomson in placito debiti. Jul. 3, 30 Eliz. Continuatur actio inter Johannem Shaxpere quer. et Johannem Tompson deff. ex assensu partium. Jul. 17, 30 Eliz. De Johanne Shackspere quia non pros. April. 23, 31 Eliz. Johannes Shakespere queritur versus Willielmum Gren de placito debiti (concord.) Oct. 22, 31 Eliz. Johannes Shaxpere queritur versus Johannem Tompson in placito debiti.-Johannes Shaxpere queritur versus Ricardum Sutton in placito debiti. Nov. 10, 31 Eliz. Fiat distr. versus Johannem Tompson ad sect. Johannis Shaxpere in placito debiti; et altera versus Ricardum Sutton in placito debiti. Nov. 19, 32 Eliz. Johannes Tompson esson. ad sect. Johannis Shaxpere in placito debiti. Feb. 24, 33 Eliz. Adrianus Quiney, Humffridus Plumley, et Ricardus Hyll quer. versus Johannem Shaxsper in placito debiti. Mar. 10, 33 Eliz. Quyney et aliorum in Fiat distr. versus Johannem Shaxspere ad sect. Adriani placito debiti. Mar. 24, 33 Eliz. Fiat capias pro corpore Johannis Shakspere et Ricardi Sponer ad sect. Adriani Quyney, Humffrd. Plumley, et Ricardi Hyll, in placito debiti. Apr. 7, 33 Eliz. Johannes Shaxspere esson. ad sect. Adriani Quyney et al. in placito debiti. Apr. 21, 33 Eliz. Johannes Shaxspere defalt. fecit super esson. ad sect. Adriani Quyney et al. in placito debiti.-Johannes Shaxspere queritur versus Thomam West in placito. . . . -Johannes Shaksper quer. versus Robertum Jones de placito debiti ix.s. j.d. ob. Maij 19, 33 Eliz. Actio inter Adrianum Queeney et alios quer. versus Johannem Shaksper deff. est in respectu usque proximam curiam.-Thomas West deff. profert hic in cur. unum de le cantheriam ad sect. Johannis Shacksper etc. et finit. est actio.-Robertus Jones comparuit ad actionem Johannis Shaksper quer. de placito debiti &c. quer. petit diem ad narr.-Transgr. super casum, &c. Johannes Shakspere manucepit pro deff. et Thomas Greene m. pro quer.Johannes Shaxpere queritur versus Robertum Yonge in placito transgr. super casum.-Johannes Shaxpere queritur versus Thomam West in placito transgr. super casum. Jun. 2, 33 Eliz. Johannes Shaxpere defalt. fecit super esson. ad sect. Adriani Quyney, Humffrd. Plumley, et Ricardi Hylle, in placito debiti.— Johannes Shaxpere narr. versus Robertum Jones in placito debiti. Jun. 30, 33 Eliz. Robertus Jones nichil dicit ad accionem Johannis Shaxpere in placito debiti. Ideo conc. per cur. quod præd. Johannes recuperet debitum suum præd. et pro misis suis &c. July 14, 33 Eliz. Henricus Shakspere attachiat. fuit ad sect. Ricardi Ange in placito transgr. super casum et def. r. in prison. ... Sept. 22, 33 Eliz. Ricardus Ange narr. versus Henricum Shaxkespere* in placito transgr. super casum.-Judicium redd. est versus Robertum Jones pro pro misis et cust. Johannis Shaxsper quer. sibi adjudicat. fuerint. Oct. 20, 33 Eliz. Henricus Shaxspere nichill dicit ad narr. Ricardi Ange in placito transgr. super casum. Ideo fiat precept. ad inquirend. quæ dampn. præd. Ricardus sustinuit accione.-Johannes Shaxspere et Robertus Jones concord. sunt. Jan. 10, 35 Eliz. Ricardus Tyler queritur versus Johannem Shaxpere in placito debiti. Jan. 24, 35 Eliz. Fiat distr. versus Johannem Shaxpere ad sect. Ricardi Tyler in placito debiti. Feb. 21, 35 Eliz. Ricardus Tyler narr. versus Johannem Shaxpere in placito debiti et deff. li. lo.-Johannes Shaxpere attachiat. fuit per servient. ad clavem ibidem ad respondend. Henrico Wilson in placito transgr. Mar. 21, 35 Eliz. Johannes Shaxpere nichill dicit ad actionem Ricardi Tyler in placito debiti. Mar. 19, 37 Eliz. Idem [Adrianus Quyney] versus Philippum Grene, chaundeler, Henricum Rogers, butcher, et Johannem Shaxspere, in placito debiti v.li. This last entry, dated 1595, contains the latest mention of Shakespeare's father in the registry of the Court of Record, and is in itself a proof that he was engaged in no craft at that period. Had he been a glover, or any other trade of the kind, it is impossible not to conclude that it would have been so inserted in the registry, the callings of the other two defendants being particularized; and we may safely infer that the reason we find in no case after that of 1556 the trade of John Shakespeare noticed, is the most probable fact that, becoming a yeoman not many years after his marriage, he relinquished his retail trade, and afterwards occupied himself chiefly in agricultural matters. It should be added, that in the action here mentioned, Adrian Quiney proceeded afterwards against the other defendants, omitting John Shakespeare; so that probably he settled whatever claim was preferred against him; but the pleas or declara *I do not remember this form of the name elsewhere. The present entry relates to John Shakespeare's brother. tions having been preserved in very few instances, we are unfortunately without the means of ascertaining the precise nature of most of the transactions alluded to in the above notices. The following plea is one of the few that remain, and refers to the cause brought by Lane against John Shakespeare, 1 Mar. 29 Eliz. : Stratford Et prædictus Johannes Shakesper per Willielmum Court attorn. Burgus. suum venit, et defend. vim et injuriam quando &c. Et dicit quod prædictus Nicholaus Lane actionem suam inde versus eum habere non debet, quia dicit quod narracio prædicti Nicholai minus sufficiens in lege existit, ad quam ipse necesse non habet, nec per legem terræ tenetur, respondere; protestando quod prædictus Henricus Shakesper in narracione ipsius Nicholai specificat. per scriptum suum obligat. concessisset se teneri præfat. Nicholao Lane in . . . . . libris pro solucione viginti duarum librarum, viz. in festo Sancti Michaelis archangeli ult. præterit. debit. modo decem librar. et in festo Sancti Michaelis archangeli ex tunc prox. futur. duodecim libras de prædictis viginti et duarum librarum resid. et non cognoscend. aliqua in narracione prædicti Nicholai fore vera, sed pro placito idem Johannes Shakesper dicit quod prædictus Nicholaus Lane non solvebat præfat. Johanni Shakesper quatuor denarios legal. &c. in consideracione assumpcionis et promissionis dicti Johannis; ac salvis sibi omnibus advantagiis tam ad narrationem quam ad querelam prædicti Nicholai dicit ulterius quod ipse non assumpsit modo et forma prout idem Nicholaus Lane in narracione sua prædicta superius versus eum narravit. Et de hoc ponit se super patriam &c. The preceding document refers to the same action as the plea of Nicholas Lane, printed at p. 9; but the reader must be warned from these, which might appear in the brief record as conveying inferences against the prosperity of John Shakespeare's circumstances, but which do not when thus exhibited in particulars, that he cannot safely use these entries in every case as a history of his pecuniary affairs. The ancient forms of process in actions of debt must also be considered, and it will, I think, be found that even the most formidable circumstance which is entered under the date of Jan. 19, 1586, "quod prædictus Johannes Shacksperc nihil habet unde distringi potest," must be construed in a great measure by legal formality, not necessarily as an actual fact. On Feb. 16th we find a capias issued against John Shakespeare, and on March 2d an alias capias, but the marginal note to the entry of the latter seems to imply that the debt after all was not discharged. When the return was made in January, that John Shakespeare had no goods on which distraint could be made, there can be little doubt of the fact that he was keeping himself out of the way of the service of a process; and on March 29, 29 Eliz. 1587, when mention is made of his producing a writ of habeas corpus, we can conclude with tolerable certainty that he was in custody or imprisoned for debt. When we compare these facts with the probable date of Shakespeare's removal to London, it will, I think, be found to raise a strong probability in favour of the supposition that the circumstances of the family had some relation with that important step in the poet's life. Shakespeare was born in 1564, and the Chamberlains' accounts for that year exhibit his father in a creditable social position, and selling to the corporation "a pec tymbur," probably from his estate of Ashbies. The apparent smallness of the sum will not create surprise, when the value of money at that period is taken into consideration, and when we find the corporation being indebted to him in the sum of £1 58. 8d., we may safely conclude that his pecuniary affairs were not doubtful. Thaccompt of John Tayler and John Shakspeyr, chamburlens, made the x.th day of January in the syxte yere of the reigne of our sovereigne lady Elyzabethe, by the grace of God quene of Englond, Fraunce, and Irelond, Defender of the feythe, &c. ut sequitur. Item, payd for makyng yrons for the gret bell ij.8. Stratford. anno prædicto. At a hall ther holdon the xxvjt day of January anno prædicto, the chambur ys ffound in arerage and in dept unto Lews ap William, xxvj.s.vij.d. Item, at the same hall the chambur ys found in arrerage and ys in det unto John Shakspeyre And in a similar account for 1565,- Item, payd to Shakspeyr for a rest of old det xxv.s.viij.d. iij.li. ij.s. vij.d. ob. In this accompt the chambur ys in det unto John Shakspeyr to be payd unto hym by the next chamburlens vij.s. iiij.d. We have good evidence of his position in the year of Shakespeare's birth in a list of contributions paid towards the relief of the poor. Being then only a burgess, not an alderman, he appears as a donor of twelve-pence, the second in amount in the list of subscriptions of the burgesses. This document has hitherto been printed with such extraordinary inaccuracy, Malone's copy containing nearly forty errors, that I here give it at length from the original MS. in the council chamber at Stratford. Jhon Tayler, viij.d. At the hall holldyn in oure garden, the 30. daye of Auguste, a 1564, moncye Wm. Smyth, habberdasser, xij.d. 醫醫 vij.s. iiij.d. On Sept. 6th the bailiff and six aldermen gave twelvepence each" to the relief of those that be visited," and John Shakespeare gave six-pence; and on Sept. 27th another |