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March 15, 1595
By March 15, 1595, and inferentially by Christmas 1594, William Shakespeare had become a leading member of his company, the Lord Chamberlain’s players, sufficiently senior to serve with William Kempe and Richard Burbage as a financial trustee.
June 26, 1601
James Burbage died in 1597. His sons Richard and Cuthbert, who were principal shareholders of the Globe, inherited Blackfriars Theater from their father. In 1601, they purchased rooms adjacent to it. Their signatures on the “bargain and sale” indenture appear in the photo above.
February 2 and March 13, 1602
The earliest mention of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is in a notebook of gossip, observations and sermon notes kept by John Manningham while a law student at Middle Temple, one of the Inns of Court in London.
ca. 1606
In several scenes, the Cambridge University play Progress to Parnassus mocks the literary tastes and talents of the London commercial stage, depicting Shakespeare as a popular but unsophisticated playwright and poet.
February 8, 1610
SHAKESPEARE DOCUMENTED IS STILL GROWING! Descriptive content and transcriptions will continue to be added, updated and expanded. Check back for regular updates!
February 12, 1610
SHAKESPEARE DOCUMENTED IS STILL GROWING! Descriptive content and transcriptions will continue to be added, updated and expanded. Check back for regular updates!
June 19, 1610
SHAKESPEARE DOCUMENTED IS STILL GROWING! Descriptive content and transcriptions will continue to be added, updated and expanded. Check back for regular updates!
1632
The lawsuit shown here, Burbage et al. v. Brend, is of greatest importance in allowing scholars to reconstruct the building of the 1599 Globe playhouse and its 1614 post-fire replacement in considerable financial detail.
ca. 1633 - 1643
This document provides a unique record of Shakespeare, at the peak of his career, gathering with friends and colleagues at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, and all of them cutting their names into the paneling of one of the public rooms there.
