An Upstart Crow

This day the world celebrates the birth and death of the "upstart Crow, beautified by our feathers", William Shakespeare, the greatest writer in the English language and among the foremost dramatists in history.[1]

For centuries there has been much debate over Shakespeare's religious beliefs and today the question still remains, was he a Roman Catholic? Though no definitive documentation has been provided, not the least in his own hand, there is circumstantial evidence which suggests that he was a Catholic, albeit in secret. However this evidence depends to a great extent on Shakespeare, and his parents before him, having practiced the faith during the reign of Elizabeth I and not having subscribed to the new religion.

Among the evidence which has been put forward in support of his Catholicism are: accusations of recusancy against both his father and daughter for not attending Protestant services; Catholicity of his mother's family; influence of Catholic schoolteachers in Stratford; his possible kinship to the Jesuit martyr Robert Southwell; discovery of a pamphlet written by another Jesuit martyr, Edmund Campion, and hidden in the rafters of the family home, which includes a formal profession of Catholicism by his father; absence of Shakespeare's own name on registers of those attending Protestant services; his purchase of Blackfriars Gatehouse, which was purportedly a Catholic hiding place; and the Catholic character of his writings.

While no one piece of evidence is enough, together they at least lend weight to the idea that Shakespeare was at least sympathetic to the Catholic faith, going as far as to incorporate its vision into his works.

For those wanting to read a little more in the claims for Shakespeare's Catholicism, readers may wish to look at the following articles:

Shakespeare's Millenium by Edward T. Oakes in First Things December 1999
Assurances of Faith: How Catholic was Shakespeare? How Catholic are his Plays? by Paul J. Voss in Crisis July/August 2002
Cracking Shakespeare's Catholic Code: An Interview with Clare Asquith by Debra Murphy of Godspy.com

[1] The first published reference to Shakepeare as a playwright was in a pamphlet written by another playwright, Robert Greene. In it Greene criticises Shakespeare the actor for believing he can put his hand to writing plays and produce anything equal to the works of university educated playwrights such as Christopher Marlowe and Greene himself, who were considered the only ones capable of writing poetry.

The pamphlet is also an attack ad hominum against the power which actors wielded in the Elizabethan age, when there were no copyright laws to prevent them staging plays and playwrights received no royalties. As such Shakespeare was in the unique position of being to earn a living from his plays by staging them as well.