Arbella Stuart (* 1575; † 27 September 1615) was the daughter of Elizabeth Cavendish and Charles Stuart Darnley, making her a direct cousin of James VI of Scotland. Her parents' clandestine marriage defied Elizabeth I’s consent, thrusting Arbella into contention for the English throne. Orphaned early, she was raised by…
Audrey Shelton (* 10 June 1568; † May 1624) was distantly related to Elizabeth I (her great-grandmother had been an aunt of Anne Boleyn.) She married Thomas Walsingham, but the date of the marriage is not known. (According to Charles Nicholl (Nicholl 2002), the marriage did not take place until…
Christopher Marlowe was obviously quicker and harderworking than I am. Unfortunately, this post is still a work in progress.
Edward "Ned" Alleyn (* September 1566 near London, † 25 November 1626) was a member of the acting company of William Somerset, Earl of Worcester, when he was seventeen. In 1587 at the latest, he joined the Admiral’s Men.1 In addition to Tamburlaine, he also played Faustus and Barabas. Together…
Edward Stafford († 1605) came from a famous family and was a relative of Elizabeth I. In 1583 he replaced Sir Henry Cobham as ambassador in Paris. Francis Walsingham distrusted Stafford from the beginning. He put a man named Nicholas Berden, alias Rogers, on to him, who soon confirmed that…
Eleanor Bull (* ~ 1550; † 1596) was a daughter of James Bull and Sybil Whitney. Through her mother, she may have been related to Blanche Parry, one of Elizabeth I’s most influential ladies-in-waiting and cousin of William Cecil. Anyway, Blanche Parry bequeathed her £100. In 1571 she married Richard…
Christopher Marlowe was obviously quicker and harderworking than I am. Unfortunately, this post is still a work in progress.
Étienne Jodelle (1532-1573) was a French writer who belonged to the Pléiade group that formed in Paris in the mid-16th century. Jodelle introduced several innovations to the French theatre with the comedy L’Eugène (1552) and the tragedy Cléopâtre captive (1533). Another tragedy Didon se sacrifiant was written in 1555. Around…
Francis Walsingham (* 1532, † 16 April 1590) first studied at Cambridge without graduating. Afterwards, he travelled through Europe and decided to become a lawyer on his return. Under Mary I, Walsingham left England and studied in Switzerland and Italy. He only returned when Elizabeth I became Queen. As a…
Gabriel Harvey (* c. 1552/3; † 1631) was from Saffron Walden, Essex. He first studied at Cambridge and was a good friend of Edmund Spenser. After graduating from Oxford in 1585, he set up as a lawyer in London. Harvey enriched the English language with several words that are still…
