Does a tomb in St Mary's church in Warwick hold secrets of the
works of William Shakepeare?
Parishioners at St Mary's church in Warwick have sought permission
to examine the contents of the 17th monument built by Fulke Greville,
a writer and contemporary of Shakespeare who some believe is the
true author of several of the Bard's works.
The search has been prompted by the discovery by an historian of
clues in Greville's writings which suggest he had several manuscripts
buried there, including a copy of Antony and Cleopatra.
A radar scan of the sarcophagus has already indicated the presence
inside of three "box like" shapes. The searchers believe
these could contain documents and a further examination is now being
proposed which they hope will finally prove the link between Greville
and Shakespeare.
The initial search, using ground penetrating radar, was approved
by the parochial church council and the diocesan council. The team
now wants to use an endoscope – a tiny video camera on a long
thin tube – to be inserted into the monument to test his claims.
The
work would be supervised by Professor Warwick Rodwell, consultant archaeologist
to Westminster Abbey, who is keen for the project to go ahead.
Experts said that any manuscripts inside might have disintegrated over the years
but could have survived if they are, for example, in "lead-lined boxes",
which were common at the time.
The search has been prompted by the work of the historian AWL Saunders.
He believes there are several clues suggesting Greville, who is a
distant ancestor, is responsible for writing a number of Shakespeare's
works.
Greville was an eminent dramatist and poet himself, as well as a favourite of
Queen Elizabeth I and Chancellor of the Exchequer under James I.
Analysis of the biographical details of his life and the style of his known writings
show a very close match to those of Shakespeare, suggesting they could be the
same person.
They lived in the same street, had the same friends – including Christopher
Marlowe and Francis Bacon – and enemies and were member of the same literary
circles. Greville also said in his writing that he was "the Master of Shakespeare".
In another intriguing link, Mr Saunders said that Greville was involved with
the Rosicrucian (Rose Cross) Order, a secret society of mystics which existed
in England in the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of three swords originally on the tomb in St Mary's church and now in Warwick
castle appears to have the Rosicrucian symbol.
Many eminent Shakespearean scholars agree that the author of The Tempest has
a deep knowledge of Rosicrucian philosophy.
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Again, as with the United States' Supreme Court justice John
Paul Stevens, it all boils down to the "deniers" believing that
only a person as posh as themselves could possibly have been as clever as themselves.
Follow
this link to another defence of William Shakespeare's
authorship >