Today in 1563 Arthur Brooke died in a shipwreck. He was an English poet, and in 1562 he published a poem called The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, the key source for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Brooke supposedly translated it from an Italian novella by Matteo Bandello.
Little is known about Arthur Brooke. He became a member of Inner Temple on 18 December 1561, sponsored by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton. When he drowned he was on his way to help Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion.
Brooke’s poem is much different Shakespeare’s play – in the end the nurse is banished and the apothecary is hanged for their involvement in the deception, while Friar Lawrence leaves Verona to end his days in a hermitage.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there is a recent episode on what Shakespeare tells us about love in Renaissance England.
Suggested links:
Episode 097: Shakespeare and Love
Episode 044: Elizabethan Theater
To commemorate Women’s History Month, here are the Top Ten Tudor Women Episodes you might have missed!
Looking for your next Tudor read? Here’s a list of Tudor Book Recommendations.
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.