1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,840 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: show that uncovers a little bit more about history every day. 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier, and in this episode, we're exploring the 5 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: enduring mysteries surrounding the life, death, and authorship of Christopher Marlowe. 6 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: The day was May thirtieth, fifteen ninety three. English playwright 7 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 1: Christopher Marlowe was stabbed to death in a London tavern. 8 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: The twenty nine year old dramatist was said to have 9 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 1: spent the day drinking and playing backgammon with three acquaintances 10 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: Ingram Freiser, Nicholas Scaris and Robert Poley. But according to witnesses, 11 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: a fight broke out over the bar tab and in 12 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 1: the scuffle in Ingram Freiser plunged a dagger into Marlowe's head, 13 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: killing him instantly. However, not everyone's convinced that's what really happened. 14 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: Just like with William Shakespeare and other playwrights of the 15 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: Elizabethan era, we don't know very much about Marlowe's life 16 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 1: outside of his written work and a few basic facts. 17 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: For instance, we know he was born in Canterbury, in 18 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 1: February of fifteen sixty four, two months before the birth 19 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:32,560 Speaker 1: of Shakespeare. We also know he was the son of 20 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: a prosperous shoemaker and a clergyman's daughter, and that he 21 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: was an exceptionally bright student. In fact, Marlowe won scholarships 22 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: to two prestigious institutions, Cambridge, where he earned his bachelor's 23 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: degree in fifteen eighty four, and Corpus Christi College, where 24 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: he later earned his masters. Marlowe's university years are one 25 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: of the most tantalizingly vague periods of his brief life. 26 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,520 Speaker 1: His class attendance at Corpus Christie was so spotty that 27 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: he was nearly denied his diploma in fifteen eighty seven, 28 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: and while we can only speculate about the reason for 29 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: his chronic absences, many historians are convinced that marlow was 30 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: away operating as a secret agent. The main support for 31 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,079 Speaker 1: this theory is that the Privy Council, Queen Elizabeth's advisors 32 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: intervened on his behalf, telling the college that Marlowe was 33 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:30,640 Speaker 1: to be commended for his quote good service to the crown, 34 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: with the Queen herself to vouch for him. Marlowe was 35 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: swiftly awarded his degree no questions asked. It was also 36 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 1: in the tail end of his college days that marlow 37 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: began writing stage plays, the fruit of a literary career 38 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: that would only last six brief years before his death. Still, 39 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: he accomplished quite a lot in that short time, penning 40 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: a total of seven plays, including the highly acclaimed Tamberlaine, 41 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 1: The Great Parts one and two, and his most famous work, 42 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: Doctor Faustus. Through these plays, Marlowe popularized the use of 43 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 1: blank verse poetry, written with a regular meter but without rhyming. 44 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: It quickly became the standard form of the era, with 45 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: William Shakespeare later adopting Marlowe's meter of choice iambic pentameter. 46 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: Marlowe also published several books of original poetry, as well 47 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: as translations of the ancient Roman poets Luken and Avid. 48 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: His celebrated verses and plays placed him at the forefront 49 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 1: of the sixteenth centuries literary Renaissance, but several other works 50 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: attributed to Marlowe landed him squarely in the government's crosshairs. 51 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: In early fifteen ninety three, a series of heretical papers 52 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: began to circulate around London. Some outlined supposed inconsistencies in 53 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: the Christian Bible, while others took a pro atheist, anti 54 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: immigrant stance on the recent wave of Protestant immigration to England. 55 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: In May of that year, one of Marlowe's fellow playwrights 56 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: and former roommates, Thomas Kidd, was arrested on charges of 57 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: libel after one of the heretical tracts was found in 58 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: his possession. Under interrogation and likely torture, Kidd told authorities 59 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: that Marlowe had written the offending papers, in accusation that 60 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: was seemingly substantiated by the document itself. Not only was 61 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: it written in Iambic pentameter, it also contained allusions to 62 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: Marlowe's plays and was even signed Tamberlaine. About a week later, 63 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:41,160 Speaker 1: on May twentieth, Marlowe was arrested on suspicion of being 64 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:46,280 Speaker 1: an atheist, which she reportedly was blasphemy and other forms 65 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:50,160 Speaker 1: of heresy were still serious crimes in Elizabethan, England, the 66 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:54,239 Speaker 1: penalty for which was being burned at the stake once again, 67 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: though Marlowe's mysterious past service to the Queen seems to 68 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: have earned him a reprieve, as he was inexplicably released 69 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: without punishment. Instead, he was given a kind of probation 70 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,800 Speaker 1: and was required to report each day to the Privy 71 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: Council until further notice. It's unclear whether Marlowe abided by 72 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: that order or not, but in the end it didn't matter. 73 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: He would be killed just ten days later. On the 74 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:26,360 Speaker 1: morning of May thirtieth, fifteen ninety three, Marlowe met up 75 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: with three friends at a lodging house in Deptford Strand. 76 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: They spent the day there smoking and drinking, playing games, 77 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: and walking in the garden. Then in the early evening, 78 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,479 Speaker 1: the men returned to the tavern and had dinner together. Later, 79 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: when the bill arrived, marlow began to quarrel with another 80 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 1: member of the party, Ingram Freiser. The dispute was reportedly 81 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: over who should pay the tab, and when the argument 82 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:55,840 Speaker 1: turned to insults, Marlowe is said to have drawn Freiser's 83 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 1: own dagger and struck him in the head. After a 84 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: brief str ruggle, Fraser wrestled the blade away from Marlowe 85 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: and drove it right into the playwright skull, just above 86 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 1: his right eye. Marlowe died on the spot, but the 87 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: man who killed him was pardoned for the crime just 88 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 1: a few weeks later, after swearing that he had only 89 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:21,679 Speaker 1: acted in self defense. That said, modern day historians don't 90 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 1: think Marlow's death was as clear cut as witnesses claimed. 91 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,599 Speaker 1: Many now believe he was set up by the men 92 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:31,359 Speaker 1: he had dined with, and that the drunken brawl that 93 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 1: took his life was actually an assassination in disguise. There's 94 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,119 Speaker 1: no shortage of people who may have wanted Marlowe dead, 95 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: but perhaps the likeliest suspects were other prominent figures who 96 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:49,160 Speaker 1: secretly shared his atheist beliefs. This included respected noblemen such 97 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 1: as Sir Walter Raleigh and Henry Percy, as well as 98 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: members of the Queen's Privy Council, all of whom would 99 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 1: have had much to lose if they should be incriminated 100 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:03,839 Speaker 1: by Marlowe at his event vitual trial. Another popular suspect, though, 101 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,160 Speaker 1: is the Queen herself, who may have wanted to silence 102 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: Marlowe before his subversive views could win over the public. 103 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: There's no solid proof one way or the other, but 104 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: it's interesting to note that the three men present at 105 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: his death, including the killer, had all been employed at 106 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: one time or another by Sir Thomas Walsingham, the Queen's spymaster. 107 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 1: Of course, these theories all hinge on the belief that 108 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: Marlowe truly died on May thirtieth, fifteen ninety three, But 109 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: there are some scholars who argue that we can't even 110 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: be sure of that. These skeptics subscribe to the so 111 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: called Marlvian theory, which holds that marlow faked his death 112 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: as a way to escape a future conviction for heresy. 113 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: This would mean that Ingram Freser and the other diners 114 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: that night played a role in the scheme, and presumably 115 00:07:55,800 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: the local coroner did too. The thinking goes that once 116 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: this ruse was pulled off, Marlowe fled the country, perhaps 117 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: with the aid of Sir Thomas Walsingham, with whom marlow 118 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: was alleged to have a romance. Then, once he was 119 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: safely out of England, the playwright continued producing new work, 120 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: which he then sent back to his home country to 121 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:23,840 Speaker 1: be performed. Of course, in this imagined scenario, Christopher Marlowe 122 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: wouldn't be able to sign his own name to those plays. 123 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: He would need to invent a pseudonym, or, if he 124 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:34,200 Speaker 1: really wanted to play it safe, let another playwright put 125 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,440 Speaker 1: his name on them instead. It's just a theory, mind you, 126 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: and a rather fanciful one at that, but based on 127 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:46,040 Speaker 1: similarities and style, scope and subject matter, there is one 128 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:50,960 Speaker 1: obvious guess for whom Marlowe's hypothetical frontman might be, none 129 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: other than William Shakespeare. But again just a theory. I'm 130 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,679 Speaker 1: Gay Blues and hopefully you now know a little more 131 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. If you'd like 132 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: to keep up with the show, you can follow us 133 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and 134 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 1: if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to 135 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:19,559 Speaker 1: send them my way by writing to This Day at 136 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:24,559 Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to kazb Bias for producing the show, 137 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 138 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:40,960 Speaker 1: here again tomorrow for another day in History class.