November 15, 2008
Much Ado About Shakespeare’s Taxes (1597)
The might and majesty of British law caught up with William Shakespeare today when he is listed among the tax evaders who failed to pay a subsidy of 5 shillings.
Shakespeare always considered money to be a good friend and was reluctant to part with any. In addition to the income from acting, writing and part-ownership of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, Will also made a little money buying and reselling corn and malt in Stratford, and, by ignoring Polonious' advice to "neither a borrower, nor a lender be," lent money at interest.
We know this because of a copy of a letter that surfaced, from fellow Stratfordian Richard Quiney to Shakespeare. Quiney was in London representing the village, and found himself in need of some coin for personal expense. In an era before ATMs, he wrote this note, which I translated into our English:
Loving countryman, I am bold of you, as a friend, craving your help with £30, Mr. Bushells as my security, or Mr. Myttens with me. You shall friend me much in helping me out of all the debts I owe in London, I thank God, and much quiet my mind, which would not be in debt, which would not be in debt. I am now towards the Court, in hope of answer for the dispatch of my business. You shall neither lose credit nor money by me, the Lord willing; and now but persuade yourself so, as I hope, and you shall not need to fear, but, with all hearty thankfulness I will hold my time, and content your friend, and if we bargain further, you shall be the paymaster yourself. My time bids me to hasten to an end, and so I commit this [to] your care and hope of your help. I fear I shall not be back this night from the Court. Haste. The Lord be with you and with us all, Amen! From the Bell in Carter Lane, the 25 October, 1598. Yours in all kindness.We don't know how Shakespeare handled the matter, but it shows that other people thought he was willing to loan money, and that he could cover £30.
But giving Queen Elizabeth 5 shillings was another matter, since there's not record of a payment. Perhaps he decided to ignore the dunnage. Maybe he remembered his words, from "As You Like It," that "he that wants money, means, and content is without three good friends."
Next year, Will surfaced again in the public records. The authorities in the London borough of Shoreditch record that Will failed to pay 13 shillings, 4 pence tax on goods valued at 5 pounds.
It wasn't as if Shakespeare couldn't afford to pay. He earned twice that much in a week. In fact, this same year, he bought the second-largest house in Stratford.
So with Shoreditch's equivilent of the IRS hot on his heels, Shakespeare moved across the river, where his company built the Globe Theater. But while the wheels of justice (and tax collectors) grind slow, they grind fine. By 1599, they had caught up with Will, and this time, he paid up.
There's still one mystery left: that of the bill for 5 shillings. We hope that he covered that debt as well. One shudders to think of the interest charge over 400 years.
Born: Gerhart Hauptmann, playwright, poet, author, Ober-Salzbrunn, Silesia, 1862; FPA (ps. Franklin Pierce Adams), columnist, essayist, poet, Chicago, 1881; Marianne Moore, poet, St. Louis, Mo., 1887; Richmal Crompton, novelist, children's author, Bury, England, 1890; Antoni Slonimski, poet, translator, journalist, Warsaw, Poland, Russian Empire, 1895.
Died: Caroline Gilman, author, publisher, Washington, D.C., 1888; Charles Chesnutt, novelist, Cleveland, Ohio, 1932; Margaret Mead, anthropologist, author, New York City, 1978; Elizabeth Speare, children's author, Tucson, Ariz., 1994.
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