Happy anniversary, William and Anne! On November 28, 1582, William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway were joined in holy matrimony.
William Shakespeare is well-known for his plays and other writings. Not much is talked about regarding his wife and home life. Some may not even realize that he was married, and it was quite scandalous! William was only eighteen when he married twenty-six year old Anne Hathaway. When they wed, she was already three months pregnant! Historians and scholars have debated whether or not that was the only reason they got married. Going off of that, it’s speculated that theirs was a tumultuous marriage. However, there’s no evidence of this, and the original scandal was merely that the two were seeing each other, despite such a big age gap, with Anne being older. In fact, due to this, William had to ask his own father, John's, permission to marry Anne! Other historians point to this aspect as proof that William wanted to marry Anne and did whatever needed to be done. The pregnancy just happened to rush things.
The Shakespeare and Hathaway families knew each other, and Anne and William most likely came together through the families’ acquaintanceship. That didn't prevent their names being misspelled on documents pertaining to the marriage. Long time friends of the Hathaway family, Fulk Sandells and John Richardson, signed the surety of the marriage of one “William Shagspere and Anne Hathwey.”
Another less-than-conventional fact of the marriage is that William brought nothing to it. He had not started his writing and acting career yet so, essentially, had nothing to offer. Along with that, his family had fallen into financial ruin. On the contrary, the Hathaway family was socially and financially favored.
The year before Anne was married, September 1581, her father, Richard, had died. In his will, he left her ten marks; the equivalent of six pounds, thirteen shillings, four pence, then…roughly $10,000 USD today.
The couple's daughter, Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583. About two years later in January 1585, they had twins, a boy and a girl; Hamnet (not a typo for Hamlet) and Judith, named for Judith Sadler who was a friend of the Shakespeare family. Shortly after their birth, William set off for London to start his career. Finding success with his acting and writing, he mostly lived in London, while Anne stayed in Stratford-upon-Avon. Some say that his living mainly in London was proof of an unhappy marriage. According to friends, he did return home for a period every year. However, when he eventually retired, he returned home to his wife.
Sadly, when Hamnet was eleven, he contracted the bubonic plague and died on August 11, 1596. He was buried in Stratford-upon-Avon, where his parents and sisters would eventually be buried.
In 1607, Susanna married the local doctor, John Hall. The following year, she gave birth to their only child, Elizabeth.
Judith followed in her mother's footsteps by marrying a younger man. In February 1616 when she was thirty-one, she married twenty-seven year old Thomas Quiney. He was a vintner and tavern owner from a good family. However, it was discovered that he had gotten a young woman, Margaret Wheeler, pregnant and she died during childbirth. This discovery happened merely one month after his marriage to Judith and he was forced to make penance before the church congregation. In addition, it was disclosed that he had not obtained the special license necessary to marry during Lent, and Thomas and Judith were excommunicated on March 12, 1616.
This caused William to alter his will on March 25, 1616, leaving Judith £300 (over $130,000USD today) in her own name, and nothing for Thomas. He left most of his property to Susanna and her husband. William wanted Susanna to pass her share, intact, to “the first son of her body.”
Elizabeth, John and Susanna's only child, married twice, but died childless in 1670. Judith had three sons; Shakespeare, Thomas, and Richard, all born after her father’s death. Tragically, none of them reached adulthood. Thus ended William Shakespeare's direct line.
A mere one month after changing his will, William Shakespeare died on his fifty-second birthday, April 23, 1616. He is buried at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Anne followed seven years later on August 6, 1623 and is buried next to him.
His epitaph:
Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear to dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones and cursed be he that moves my bones
Her epitaph: (the latter part is in Latin, thought to have been written by her son-in-law, John Hall, on behalf of his wife, Susanna)
Here lieth the body of Anne, wife of William Shakespeare, who departed this life the sixth day of August 1623, being of the age of 67 years. (Latin):Breasts, o mother, milk and life thou didst give. Woe is me — for how great a boon shall I give stones? How much, rather, would I pray that the good angel should move the stone so that, like Christ’s body, thine image might come forth! But my prayers are unavailing. Come quickly, Christ, that my mother, though shut within this tomb, may rise again and reach the stars.
Have a blessed day!
December 19th (the last one of the year for this publication) Subject TBD
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