Most people were taught the works of William Shakespeare in school, but, interestingly enough, most scholars know little about his life, outside of his writings. There are many unknown elements to Shakespeare's life in England. While the bard wrote timeless classics such as Hamlet and Macbeth, most people don't realize that his entire family was completely illiterate. Find out more in this amazing list, brought to you by Zero2Hero! Click here to subscribe: https://goo.gl/NXuChu Space is pretty amazing, too! Find out more about our universe here!!! https://youtu.be/mIc4HpYRdWM Much mystery surrounds the famous English writer William Shakespeare. With little evidence surviving from the times, scholars have had to piece the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle. From Crazy facts of the universe to illiteracy…stay tuned to find out if Shakespeare was really even Shakespeare! Number 10: Coat of Arms. In the 16th century it was it was considered ‘respectable’ to have a coat of arms. They had no practical purpose and were more for show - A symbol of status. But getting one wasn’t easy. People would have to make an application to the College of Arm with supporters, and they had to prove that the family was worthy of it. Oh, and they had to have money - a lot of money. The coats of arms were considerably expensive, and for many it would have been a lot more than a year's salary! As a result, they served as excellent status symbols and it's perhaps not surprising that they were very sought after. William’s father, John, applied for a coat of arms from the College of Heralds, but unfortunate changes in his financial situation prevented him from obtaining it. Thankfully, William later revived the claim on his father’s behalf and was successful in obtaining a family Coat. It’s always handy to have successful son! Number 9: Birthday Confusion. As with a lot of things about Shakespeare, scholars are not 100% sure of his exact date of birth. His baptism is recorded in the register of the Holy Trinity Parish Church in Stratford as taking place on the 26th of April 1564. It was tradition during the 16th century to have a christening as soon as possible after the birth. This has led some scholars to set his birth date as three days earlier, on April the 23rd – which is also Saint George’s Day in England. The claim of this date can be traced back to the 18th century, however, no hard evidence exists. What makes it even more difficult is that, for most of the 16th century, England still used the Julian calendar. This was not changed until October 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar which had a 0.002% correction in the length of the year. It’s likely we’ll never know the exact date, but it’s one more mystery add to the several others surrounding Shakespeare life. Number 8: Shakespeare, American & Starlings. Starlings are one of the any birds referenced throughout Shakespeare’s play, but one species has been causing serious issues in America - the European starling. In 1890, German immigrant Eugene Schiefelin, who was a big fan of Shakespeare’s works and who, for unknown reasons, thought it would be a good idea to populate North America with as many of Shakespeare’s birds as possible. Well, one day Eugene did exactly that and released 60 starlings into Central Park in New York – the rest is history! These birds were very good at reproducing, and now there are estimated to be about 200 million European Starlings in North America. Eugene was part of the American Acclimatization Society who sought to introduce as many old work species of animals and plants to the new world. But what’s the issue? Well, not only did they introduce an invasive species, one that now dominates the skyline, they are also causing other issues: i.) They are having an impact on the agricultural industry. On average, European starlings cause up to $1 billion worth of damage. ii.) They’ve even been known to have an influence on the dairy industry. The more the starlings eat the grains, the less grain is available for the cows to eat, which in turn means they produce less milk. iii.) Perhaps the most frightening thing is their impact on flights and their capacity to endanger human lives. In 1960 a flock of bird flew into the engine of a flight departing from Boston airport. What would Shakespeare think of this? Well, we’ll never know, but, it certainly is interesting! Number 7: Illiteracy Although we don’t know much about Shakespeare, scholars believe most of his family would have been illiterate. This is not uncommon on the time-period, and taking into consideration his apparent humble origins, it’s not surprising that they were illiterate. The general belief is that his parents were illiterate, as his father signed his name on documents with a mark, but it’s also believe that his wife and children might have also been illiterate.
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