The Real Shakespeare's Birthplace And Why It Matters
Hedingham Castle, the birthplace of Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, and the author of the Shakespeare canon.
History is more interesting than myth. It is a richer resource than religion. Some history we may never be able to uncover because of the long distance of time, but the Elizabethan era is not that long ago.
Since Shakespeare was constructed as a national figure, the taboo of questioning his identity as the author of the plays runs deep across all layers of society.
A lot of people for whatever reason don't want to believe that an arrogant nobleman was the real progenitor of the Shakespeare canon. But all the facts say so. And thank God for that, because the real Shakespeare, the aristocratic Shakespeare with Norman lineage, is more fascinating than the image of Shakespeare we've been presented with all these years.
Reimagining Shakespeare means reimagining history. To learn that the great wordsmith of the English language was born not in a village hut to an obscure family, but, instead, in one of the greatest castles of the land, surrounded by scholarly works and historical personalities, makes all the sense in the world.
Positioning him at the heart of the royal court, close to the pulse of power, fits with the themes and settings of his extraordinary plays.
And recognizing his real birthplace matters. Situating him in the correct time and place would better explain, for example, the Calvinist bent in his dramas. To know that Arthur Golding, the translator of Ovid's Metamorphoses and John Calvin's treatises, was his uncle, is highly informative.
And this isn't knowledge for knowledge's sake. Knowing who the real Shakespeare was isn't useless information. A better understanding of his plays and their real origins ennobles us. A false reading of its author takes something away. It takes the history away. It removes the context, the subtleties, the life, the drama.
We must remember that in medieval and ancient times, long before universal literacy, great works of literature were largely created by individuals with means, a cultivated education, a great amount of leisure, a sense of patriotic duty, egotistic ambition, and access to power. The real Shakespeare, the man behind Shakespeare, had those attributes and qualifications in spades.
Poets like Shakespeare, Goethe, Dante, or Virgil, had to be from well-off families. Writing and publishing poems was not a money making pursuit then or now. It was a creative pursuit, and, more importantly, a matter of state politics.
Royal patronage of poetry to disseminate court propaganda, imperial ideology, and religious dogma happened everywhere on earth. "Shakespeare's" legacy cannot be understood without this historical and political context.
Poetic epics and holy books were not penned by men in caves or small towns in the countryside. They were officially sanctioned state business, emanating from the throne.
Some researchers who have studied the origins of Islam now speculate that the production of the Koran text took the span of decades, even centuries, before it was finally standardized. It was a collaborative effort driven by military conquerors to solidify their rule on religious grounds, and not the inspiration of one man.
The development of a language, the awakening of a nation, the creation of a religion, and poetry is indispensable to all three, are all elite-driven activities.
The founding fathers of America were not average men. The original martyrs of any religious movement are the elite of a society. But, in their cases, they only founded a country, and popularized a religion. Edward de Vere aided in the discovery and development of a language. His accomplishments are greater because the consolidation of a language comes before nation and faith.
Undoubtedly a better knowledge of the man behind Shakespeare will help illuminate his works, thereby increasing our appreciation for his genius when we read them. Reclaiming him from the grave of falsehoods and honouring his memory is not a futile task or a mad fantasy.
Hedingham Castle, in the village of Castle Hedingham, Essex, is arguably the best preserved Norman keep in England. The castle fortifications and outbuildings were built around 1100, and the keep around 1140. However, the keep is the only major medieval structure that has survived, albeit less two turrets. It is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument. The keep is open to the public.
. . .Hedingham Castle may occupy the site of an earlier castle believed to have been built in the late 11th or early 12th century by Aubrey de Vere I, a Norman baron. Hedingham was one of the largest manors among those acquired by Aubrey I. The Domesday Book records that he held the manor of Hedingham by 1086, and he ordered that vineyards be planted. It became the head of the Vere barony.
Nestled in the Essex-Suffolk border in England, Hedingham Castle is a remarkable example of Norman architecture, with a history dating back almost a millennium. Constructed by the first Earl of Oxford, Aubrey de Vere, around 1140, the well-preserved keep is one of the best of its kind in the country. Aubrey was a prominent Norman nobleman who was granted the land by William the Conqueror after the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Edward de Vere was the only son of John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford, and Margery Golding. After the death of his father in 1562, he became a ward of Queen Elizabeth I and was sent to live in the household of her principal advisor, Sir William Cecil. He married Cecil's daughter, Anne, with whom he had five children. Oxford was estranged from her for five years and refused to acknowledge he was the father of their first child.
A champion jouster, Oxford travelled widely throughout France and the many states of Italy. He was among the first to compose love poetry at the Elizabethan court and was praised as a playwright, though none of the plays known as his survive. A stream of dedications praised Oxford for his generous patronage of literary, religious, musical, and medical works, and he patronised both adult and boy acting companies, as well as musicians, tumblers, acrobats and performing animals.
Video Title: HEDINGHAM CASTLE - England's Best Preserved Norman Keep! Source: Go Visit Castles. Date Published: July 27, 2022. Description:
The stone keep at Hedingham is arguably the best preserved Norman keep in England. It was constructed around 1141 by the De Veres, who had been awarded the land by William the Conqueror and who went on to be given the title Earls of Oxford. The keep owes its remarkable preservation to the little military action it saw, being attacked only once by King John. The 13th Earl, John de Vere, was commander of Henry Tudor's army at the Battle of Bosworth.
