beyond the villages of Wilmecote and Aston Cantlow; secondly, we have the picturesque road to Warwick, close to which lay the already-mentioned estate of Ingon, and further on the village of Snitterfield; the third road ran along the Avon to Bidford; and the fourth across Clopton's Bridge to Charlecote, Hampton-Lucy, and beyond. These four roads must, each in its own way, have enticed the boy Shakespeare into the open country, whether we picture him, walking by his father's side, in the company of some merry schoolfellow, or by himself.' Directly beyond the town, only a few hundred steps from the supposed house of the poet's birth in Henley Street, stood the famous old boundary elm, which may not only have been a favourite spot with the boys for their games, but may also have been a point where the processions, held during Rogation-week, made a halt; these solemn perambulations were continued after the Reformation, and the schoolboys were expected to take part in it under the supervision of the clergy and the schoolmasters. We may, therefore, imagine the boy Shakespeare forming one of the procession as a singer or standard-bearer, not only passing this very elm-tree, but perambulating round the entire boundary of the parish; for the object of these annual processions-like the Roman terminalia-was to prevent the boundary from becoming indefinite, and, at the same time, to impress the line of boundary upon the mind of the younger generation." Whoever has read the detailed descriptions given by Knight of life in and around Stratford in Shakespeare's day, can scarcely doubt that the growing boy often wandered up and down the winding and picturesque banks of the Avon, with its pretty villages and stately mansions (Welcombe, Hampton-Lacy, Bidford, Charlecote, Fulbrooke, &c.); and several passages in Shakespeare's dramas show what a deep impression that lovely river must have made upon the boy's mind. These places, therefore, See Knight, Wm. Shakspere; a Biography, pp. 52, 63 ff. 2 Brand, Popular Antiquities, ed. Ellis, i. 116 ff. 3 Knight, p. 231 ff., p 254 ff. Two Gentlemen, ii. 7: "The current, that with gentle murmur glides," &c.; As You Like It, ii. 1: "As he lay along, under an oak," &c.; Hamlet, iv. 7: "There is a willow grows ascaunt the brook," &c. Hence doubly significant and beautiful is Ben Jonson's well. known eulogy of the poet, where he addresses him as: Sweet Swan of Avon. It may, however, seem doubtful whether this epithet was actually one of Ben Jonson's own making, if we compare the epigram "Cignus per plumas were the scenes of the boy's first excursions and gambols. The pleasant country districts, the undulating hills, the rich green meadow-land, the woods and splendid trees, among which the villages lay snugly hidden-may frequently be recognized in Shakespeare's descriptions of country landscapes. In fact the scenery in the "Midsummer Night's Dream," in "The Winter's Tale," in "As You Like It," and various other of his plays corresponds exactly with the scenery of Warwickshire. The poet often refers to the rich orchards, that were so numerous on the outskirts of Stratford, and to the special kind of apples cultivated there. The charming picture of Warwickshire which is revealed to us in the poet's works, becomes still more interesting when we bear in mind that upon this part of the country fell the last rays of the roseate light and the fragrance associated with the popular poetry of merry old England-when Puritanism, with its leaden feet, stepped in and crushed the joyous and poetical character of the nation. Of all the commentators on Shakespeare none have given us fuller accounts of these merry-makings, the customs and the ballads of the rural population, than Drake and Knight, and the remembrance of them is found running, like a red thread, through all Shakespeare's poetry. He, in every case, regards these festivals and games (e.g., the sheep-shearing in "The Winter's Tale"), as an essential and pleasant part of the life of the people, and in every case, too, he protects them from the attacks of the Puritans, as in "As You Like It," ii. 3, where it is asked: "Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?" Knight is certainly right in assuming that the poet, as a boy and youth, must "in gleeful companionship" have taken part, not only in the above-mentioned perambulations, but also in the celebration of St. George's Day, the pageants, butt-shooting, Anser," from Laquei Ridiculosi, 1613; see Part III. Garrick has written a lovely poem on the Avon: "Thou soft-flowing Avon." Compare S. Ireland's Views of the Avon. 1 Wise, Shakespeare, his Birthplace, &c., pp. 6-12. For instance: "warden-pies" (Winter's Tale, iv. 2); "leather-coats" (Henry IV., Second Part, v. 3); "apple-John" (Henry IV., First Part, iii. 3); "pippen" and "caraway" (Henry IV., Second Part, v. 3); " bittersweeting" (Romeo and Juliet, ii. 4); "pomewater" (Love's Labour's Lost, iv. 2); "crab-apples" (Love's Labour's Lost, closing lines). See Wise, Shakespeare, his Birthplace, &c., p. 96 ff.; C. Konch Smith, The Rural Life of Shakespeare (London, 1870), p. 20. quintain, barley-breaks, and other sports. Hence the boy's imagination at an early age found abundant food in these popular festivals and pageants. But the youthful heart and youthful imagination are usually more deeply impressed by localities famous for their his torical remains and monuments, by legends and stories, than by mere beauty of landscape and popular merry-makings. And such localities abounded in Warwickshire, which Michael Drayton-in his "Polyolbion "-has called the heart of England. Even the Romans have left important traces of their dominion in Warwickshire. All the roads from the south of England, leading northwards and towards Ireland, pass through the county, and thus we have here three great Roman roads traversing Warwickshire; to the west the Ikenield Way, to the east the Fosse Way, running from southwest to north-east, and lastly Watling Road, on the borders between Warwickshire and Leicestershire. In Shakespeare's time these Roman roads were considered to have been made by the Britons, at all events they are expressly declared to be so, by Robert of Gloucester, and in Fabyan's Chronicle. At the confluence of the Arrow with the Alne, where the Ikenield Way crosses the Alne, we have the small town of Alcester, about six miles west of Stratford. As is evident from the name (Alni castrum, Alncester, Alcester), as well as by the discovery of walls, urns, and coins, a Roman camp existed here, to protect the ford across the river. Another though less important Roman camp-traces of which may still be seen-existed on the Fosse Way seven or eight miles to the north-east of Stratford. Nay, Stratford, itself-owing to its ford-appears to have been a Roman station, for numerous Roman coins have been dug up there, and are preserved in the Shakespeare Museum. And near Welcombe, quite close to Stratford, traces of Roman fortifications are still found. There is nothing in Warwickshire, or in any other part of England, that recalls the Danish occupation; the remembrance of the Danes is connected only with their devastations. Richer and more significant are the recollections connected Michael Drayton (1563?-1631) was himself a native of Warwickshire, and in his Polyolbion he gives us a very minute description of the county, calling it : "That Shire which we the Heart of England well may call." 2 Knight, p. 149 ff. The roads are marked in the map Britannia Saxonica, in Lappenberg's History of England, vol. i. with the two oldest, and, at one time, the most important towns in the county-Warwick and Coventry. The magnificent and exceedingly romantic castle of Warwick, was the seat of the powerful Earls of Warwick, a brave and warlike race, which has played a prominent part in the history of England. The founder of the family is said to have been the legendary Guy of Warwick, the subduer of the Danish giant Colbrand, who after his warlike exploits retired to what is now called Guy's Cliff, Where with my hands I hewed a house Out of a craggy rocke of stone; Within that cave myself alone: And daylye came to begg my bread Not knowne unto my loved wiffe Who dayle mourned for her mate, &c. The legends and ballads relating to Sir Guy must undoubtedly have been told or sung to the boy Shakespeare; and no doubt he had also seen the statue of the old hero at Guy's Cliff.1 Among the famous Norman Earls of Warwick are the Beauchamps, especially Thomas Beauchamp, the fourth Earl, whom parliament appointed guardian of Richard II.; and Richard Beauchamp the fifth Earl, surnamed the Good (1381-1439),3 who distinguished himself in the struggle with Owen Glendower, and at the battle of Shrewsbury against the Percies; it was he who negotiated the marriage of Henry V. with Catherine of France, and was appointed "tutor" to Henry VI. up to his fifteenth year. This Richard Beauchamp was likewise one of the heroes of the Wars of the Roses. He died as Regent of France at Rouen, and his body was brought to Warwick and buried in St. Mary's Church in the Beauchamp Chapel, which had been erected there by him; his tomb, which is said to have cost the extravagant sum of nearly £2,500, is still an object of admiration to persons visiting Warwick. His son Henry was not only made Earl of Warwick, by Henry VI., but sub With regard to the legends and ballads referring to Sir Guy of Warwick, see Warton, H. E. P., Percy's Reliques (The Legend of Sir Guy), &c. This Thomas Beauchamp is said to have been the one who became known by the name of Bold Beauchamp. See Nares under Bold Beauchamp. 3 Knight, Wm. Shakspere; a Biography, pp. 58, 155 ff. E sequently even King of the Isle of Wight, of Jersey and Guernsey. With him the male line of the Beauchamps became extinct in 1445, and the lands and possessions passed, through the female line, into the hands of the Nevilles, the first and mightiest of these being the famous Richard Neville, the "kingmaker." He was the mainstay of the Yorkists (the White Rose) for whom he gained the victories of St. Albans and Northampton. He was less successful at the battle of Wakefield and at the second battle of St. Albans. In conjunction with the Duke of York, however, he drove the Lancastrian party back northwards, and in March, 1461, proclaimed his cousin king in London, as Edward IV. By his victory at Towton he secured the throne for the newly-made king, who in return, showered honours and rewards upon him and his family. Nevertheless, discords gradually arose between the dependent king and his all-powerful vassal, which ended in the latter having to flee to the Continent in 1470; while there he gave his daughter Anne in marriage to Edward Prince of Wales, the son of Queen Margaret. Thereupon at the head of a considerable force he landed at Plymouth, and proclaimed Henry VI. king. Edward IV., meanwhile, fled to Holland, where he likewise raised an army, which he brought over and landed at Ravenspurg, in Yorkshire, in March, 1471. At the battle of Barnet, the Lancastrians were at last thoroughly beaten, but the King-Maker and his brother Lord Montague lost their lives on the field of battle. Richard Neville left two daughters, Isabella, married to the Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV., and Anne (mentioned above), who after the murder of her first husband in 1741, married the Duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard III. These were the great historical characters whom young Shakespeare could not fail to have thought of, when entering Warwick Castle by the passage cut through the solid rock, and gazing at its massive towers built to withstand the wear and tear of hundreds of years, or when visiting the Beauchamp Chapel and looking inquisitively at its monuments and tomb Richard Neville lived in pompous style, and wherever he resided kept open house. Tradition says that he had daily to provide for 30,000 persons on his different estates. When he came to London, says Stowe, six oxen were consumed at breakfast by his household, and every tavern was full of meat provided by him. See The Diary of the Rev. John Ward, ed. Severn, p. 139 ff. |