Nevillean theory of Shakespeare authorship

Henry Neville (1596)

The Nevillean theory of Shakespeare authorship attributes the work of William Shakespeare to the English parliamentarian and diplomat Sir Henry Neville (1564 – 1615).^[1] It was first proposed in 2005 by Brenda James and William Rubinstein in their book The Truth Will Out.^[1] James had set the 144 letters of the dedication to Shakespeare’s Sonnets (1609) in a grid of 12 vertical columns of 12 letters and performed various manipulations to find the name "Henry Nevell", a name that was unknown to her. Further investigation led her to Neville, who as ambassador to France (1600-1601) used codes extensively for state security.^[1]

Academic Shakespeare scholars consider the idea of alternative Shakespeare authorship to be a fringe belief and reject all arguments for any alternate author of the Shakespeare canon, including the Nevillean theory. James's code theory has been challenged as unsubstantiated and that this undermines the research in her first book.^[2] In The Truth Will Out James and Rubinstein propose that notes in the Tower notebook concerning the coronation of Ann Boleyn and which may resemble a scene in King Henry VIII were written by Neville when he was a prisoner in the Tower. This proposition has also been challenged as unproven.^[3]

Biography

Many aspects of Neville's biography may be seen as relevant to his candidacy. Neville's dates (1562-1615) align closely with those of William Shakespeare. The Nevilles have been identified as the most widely honoured of any family in English history.^[4] Casson and Bradbeer observe that many of Sir Henry's ancestors feature prominently and favourably in the history plays.^[5]

Neville himself was born in the building that later became Blackfriars Theatre. Later his father assisted with the lease of Blackfriars to the Children of the Chapel for this purpose.^[6] Neville spent his childhood at Billingbear near Windsor where his father was a forester.^[7]

Education and Network

As a boy, Neville was educated within the household of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley.^[7]

From 1578 as a student at Oxford, Neville toured Europe for three years acquiring books for the university with Sir Henry Savile. This tour included many locations depicted in the plays; Denmark, Poland, Austria, Paris, Prague, Vienna, Padua, Venice, and Rome.^[1]

The calamitous change of fortune suggested in the chronology of Shakespeare’s plays^[8] coincides with Neville's imprisonment for treason in 1601. Neville had participated in the Essex rebellion together with the Earl of Southampton, Shakespeare’s notional patron. Although 10 years younger than Neville, Southampton and Neville had been intimate friends since Southampton became a child ward of Sir William Cecil. However, by the same token, William Shakespeare might have also seen the event as a calamity, and might have been suspected of participating in the rebellion.^[8]

Many commentators have observed that the character of Polonius in Hamlet seems to be a parody of Cecil. Neville had been educated in his youth within Cecil’s household, and was later married to Cecil’s niece.^[9]

Neville was kinsman to Leonard Digges^[10] whose poems preface both Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623) and the Benson’s edition of Shakespeare’s Sonnets (1640). Digges's father was the famous astronomer Thomas Digges whose theory of "infinite space" endured until the 20th century and seems to be referred to in Hamlet (Act II Scene ii). Neville studied astronomy at Oxford.^[1]

Ben Jonson whose personal references to Shakespeare are taken to be among the strongest evidence in favour of his authorship addressed Neville directly in his Epigram 109 which begins – "Who now calls on thee, Nevil, is a Muse…".

Law and Politics

Brenda James noted that alongside Neville’s 30-year parliamentary career, he presided in a variety of local government offices^[7] which might provide exactly the right legal experience to explain the infusion of legal knowledge evidenced in the works of Shakespeare.^[11]

For 11 years Neville strove to influence King James I to balance the needs of the King, the nobility and commons.^[12] James notes that these efforts are consistent with the recurrent theme of “Kingship in Crisis” in Shakespeare.^[1]

Code theory

The Dedication to Shakespeare's Sonnets (1609)

Leslie Hotson first suggested that the strange Dedication to Shakespeare's Sonnets may be a code in 1964.^[13] In 1997 John Rollet discovered the word “Henry” in a 15-column setting of the Dedication to Shakespeare's Sonnets (1609).^[14] Rollet surmised that this might refer to Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. In 2005, using the same setting, Brenda James assembled additional fragments which first led her to identify and to research the biography of Sir Henry Neville^[1] a name which was previously unknown to her. Following this investigation she concluded that Neville was the true author of the works attributed to William Shakespeare.^[1] Matt Kubus evaluated James's code theory and wrote "It is difficult to relate James's argument without appearing derisive", and that it is "peppered with assumptions".^[15]

In 2015, Leyland and Goding used the same setting but included punctuation from the original text (not included by either Rollett or James) to reveal additional text.^[16] In addition they argue that there are many instances where the grid co-ordinates of a key letter in the Dedication may be paired with the number of a sonnet, such that the sonnet illuminates the encrypted text.^[16] They also claim that the Dedication code is very similar to the distinctive diplomatic codes used by Neville himself - both rely on grids of paired letters and numbers.^[16]

References