Part 10-- Messages About the Murder of the Poet Christopher Marlowe; Possible Cipher Clue to Page 48 of The Merry Wives of Windsor

Well, I spoke too soon about writing my last post about the play As You Like It for awhile.  I found a little cipher that I want to share.

I went back to Act III, scene ii (p. 196-197 of the Comedies) to take another look at Orlando's line that Jaques will see a "cipher" if he looks in the brook.  (see Part 4 of my posts about the murder of the poet Christopher Marlowe.)  So, I decided to try take another look for a cipher in Act II, scene i (p. 190 of the Comedies) where Jaques is described laying by a brook.  (I am really hoping to find some sort of substitution cipher somewhere because it would be wonderful proof.)

Here is the dialogue again from Act III, scene ii: 

Iaq. By my troth, I was seeking for a Foole, when I

found you.

Orl. He is drown'd in the brooke, looke but in, and

you shall see him.

Iaq. There I shal see mine owne figure.

Orl. Which I take to be either a foole, or a Cipher.

http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/Texts/AYL/F1/scene/3.2

When I examined Act II, scene i (p. 190 of the Comedies) again I noticed a reference to a "sum of more."  Here is the text: 

Du.Sen. But what said Iaques?

Did he not moralize this spectacle?

1. Lord. O yes, into a thousand similies.

First, for his weeping into the needlesse streame;

Poore Deere quoth he, thou mak'st a testament

As worldlings doe, giuing thy sum of more

To that which had too must....

http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/Texts/AYL/F1/scene/2.1

(underline added)

Taking this as a clue, I decided to use a simple cipher chart to sum the values of the letters in the word "more" to find a number.  I have found that summing this type of clue can be a clue to a page number in the First Folio.  Here is a simple cipher chart for the printed alphabet that was in use at the time the First Folio was printed: 

SIMPLE CIPHER
A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T	V	W	X	Y	Z
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24

The value of the letters in word "more" is 48:

(M = 12) + (O = 14) + (R = 17) + (E = 5) = 48

In the Comedies part of the First Folio, page 48 is a page from The Merry Wives of Windsor. That page includes a comic scene where Dr. Casius confronts Sir Hugh Evans. Sir. Hugh is a Welsh clergyman (called a parson or priest in the script). Sir Hugh is an obvious satire of John Penry, the preacher caught up in and executed for the Martin Mar-prelate tracts. Penry was executed the day before Marlowe was killed. Penry was convicted of sedition based on a draft of a petition to Queen Elizabeth I that contained some harsh criticism.

On page 48 of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Dr. Casius says, "By gar, me vill kill de Priest, for he speake for a Jack-an-Ape to Anne Page."

The point is not that John Penry is associated with the play As You Like It. (The play does include a character named Oliver Mar-text.) The important point is that there seems to be a hidden cipher clue on page 190 of As You Like It to go to page 48 of The Merry Wives of Windsor to read more messages about Penry, and specifically Dr. Casius' statements about him.

There is also an interest mention in The Merry Wives of Windsor of  the legend of Herne the Hunter:

Mis.Page. There is an old tale goes, that Herne the
Hunter (sometime a keeper heere in Windsor Forrest)
Doth all the winter time, at still midnight
Walke round about an Oake, with great rag'd-hornes,
And there he blasts the tree, and takes the cattle,
And make milch-kine yeeld blood, and shakes a chaine
In a most hideous and dreadfull manner.
You haue heard of such a Spirit, and well you know
The superstitious idle-headed-Eld
Receiu'd, and did deliuer to our age
This tale of Herne the Hunter, for a truth.

This reminds me of the messages I wrote about in As You Like It concerning the murder of the poet Christopher Marlowe under an oak tree.  The tale of Herne the Hunter also reminds me of Act IV, scene ii, of the play (see Part 9). This is a very brief and seemingly insignificant scene where an unnamed "Lord" claims the credit for killing the deer.

Iaq. Which is he that killed the Deare?

Lord. Sir, it was I.

Iaq. Let's present him to the Duke like a Romane

Conquerour, and it would doe well to set the Deares

horns vpon his head, for a branch of victory; haue you

no song Forrester for this purpose?

In Part 9, I proposed that Edward de Vere is the Lord who killed Marlowe (the allegorical deer).  Is de Vere also Herne the Hunter? 

Part 9-- The Murder of the Poet Christopher Marlowe

This is probably going to be my last post for awhile about the play As You Like It and my hypothesis that the play contains hidden messages about the murder of the poet Christopher Marlowe.  I am going to try to tie a few things together and show that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, may have been the person who murdered Marlowe.

In my previous posts, I put forward the idea that scene in Act II, scene i, where the character Jaques is described as being sorrowful over the plight of a mortally wounded deer, is actually an allegory for the murder of the poet Christopher Marlowe.  In the allegory, Marlowe is the deer and a fool.  In the scene, the deer (or stag) is described as hiding under an oak tree on the "extremest verge" of a brook in the forest.

As I noted in part 8, the coroner's inquisition into Marlowe's death states that Marlowe died "within the verge."  The "verge" was the area within a circle of 12 miles radius measured from the queen's court as the center of the circle.  As it so happens, the word "Court" appears three times on page 190 (the page where act II, scene i appears).  I decided to draw a circle from the letter "C" in each instance of the word "Court."  Once again, I am using the "mark upon him, two courses off" compass setting.  (I explain why I used this in my other posts.)  The circumference (or verge) of each circle is shown in the first image.  One arc falls near the words "a poore sequestred Stag."  This seems appropriate as the stag is described as being "sequestered" on the verge of the brook.  The other circles seem to indicate the following lines:

To day my Lord of Amiens, and my selfe,

Did steale behinde him as he lay along

Vnder an oake

Since the "poore sequestred Stag" was on a verge, I decided to move the "melancholie Jaques" line up to the other verge.  If this is a correct placement (and I am not completely confident of this), the messages is

My Lord of Oxford and myself did steal behind him [i.e., Marlowe] as he lay along [under the oak].  

I believe the oak tree clue is important because there are other references to an oak tree in the play. In Act 3, scene ii, Orlando is described as lying under a tree "like a drop'd Acorne." Of course, an oak drops acorns. (Orlando is also described as stretch'd along like a Wounded knight.")
  Cel. It is as easie to count Atomies as to resolue the

propositions of a Louer: but take a taste of my finding

him, and rellish it with good obseruance. I found him

vnder a tree like a drop'd Acorne.

Ros. It may vvel be cal'd Ioues tree, when it droppes

forth fruite.

Cel. Giue me audience, good Madam.

Ros. Proceed.

Cel. There lay hee stretch'd along like a Wounded

knight.

http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/Texts/AYL/F1/scene/3.2

(underlining added.)

In Act IV, scene iii, Oliver, Orlando's brother, describes lying under an oak tree and being saved by Orlando from a viper and a lioness. I decided to try an alignment of this page (page 203) to find out if I could find the name Marlowe in an overlay message. I moved the text so that the words "wretched man" appear under the word "Oake." The message that results is

And mark what object did present itself--MARLOWE..[is the] wretched man under an old oak. 

Here are the images:

It also seems that this section of text is written in a way that the name Marlowe can be found using numerous different overlay clues.

The last set of images is Act IV, scene ii, of the play. This is a very brief and seemingly insignificant scene where an unnamed "Lord" claims the credit for killing the deer. (Since I have hypothesized that the deer is an allegorical Christopher Marlowe, it is important to know who is supposed to have killed him.)  In the accepted meaning of the play, the only point of the scene seems to be for a little comic song to be sung. (The scene is so insignificant, I would not be surprised if the it has been omitted in many productions of the play.) The clues to an overlay message seem obvious from the lines of the scene:

Iaq. Which is he that killed the Deare?

Lord. Sir, it was I.

Iaq. Let's present him to the Duke like a Romane

Conquerour, and it would doe well to set the Deares

horns vpon his head, for a branch of victory; haue you

no song Forrester for this purpose?

http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/Texts/AYL/F1/scene/4.2

(underlining added.)

The clues are to present the word "him" to the word "Duke" and to place the word "horns" on the words "his head." The result is that [Edward] de Vere is the Lord who killed the deer. Edward de Vere is the killer of Marlowe. (There may also be an alignment (or alignments) of "Romane" and "Conquerour" that results in the message "Rose Cross" and "RC" or "CR." Here are the images:

Part 8-- The Murder of the Poet Christopher Marlowe; The Coroner's Inquisition

I am posting a link to Peter Farey's Marlowe Page and the English translation (from the original Latin) of the coroner's inquisition into the death of Christopher Marlowe.  As noted below, the coroner's inquisition was discovered by Leslie Hotson, and this transcription was printed in his The Death of Christopher Marlowe (pp.29-31).  Peter Farey has reposted it and that is where I found it.  Peter Farey's Marlowe Page explains his views on the Shakespeare authorship question.  I think it is safe for me to say that he is a Marlovian.

I am posting the coroner's inquisition so you can read it, of course, but I want to note one point. The report states that Christopher Marlowe (spelled Morley in the report), Ingram Frizer, Nicholas Skeres, and Robert Poley met at 10:00 a.m. at Dame Eleanor Bull's establishment.

In the section of the script of As You Like It, that I discussed in a previous post, from Act II, scene vii--the section that begins with Jaques saying "a Foole, a foole: I met a foole i'th Forrest"-- Jaques relates that the fool he met looked at a clock and noted that the time was 10 o'clock.  I just think that is an interesting correspondence between the coroner's inquisition and the play.

 Good morrow foole (quoth I:) no Sir, quoth he,

Call me not foole, till heauen hath sent me fortune,

And then he drew a diall from his poake,

And looking on it, with lacke-lustre eye,

995Sayes, very wisely, it is ten a clocke:

Thus we may see (quoth he) how the world wagges:

'Tis but an houre agoe, since it was nine,

And after one houre more, 'twill be eleuen,

And so from houre to houre, we ripe, and ripe,

1000And then from houre to houre, we rot, and rot,

And thereby hangs a tale.

http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/Texts/AYL/F1/scene/2.7

Here is Peter Farey's Marlowe Page:

http://www2.prestel.co.uk/rey/


Here is the information about the coroner's inquisition into the death of Christopher Marlowe (PRO Chancery C260 / 174 / 27) that was discovered by Leslie Hotson, with this transcription printed in his The Death of Christopher Marlowe (pp.29-31) (as posted on Peter Farey's Marlowe Page (http://www2.prestel.co.uk/rey/inquis~2.htm).

THE CORONER'S INQUISITION (Translated)
The original was discovered by Leslie Hotson and this, his translation, given in his The Death of Christopher Marlowe (1925).

KENT / INQUISITION Indented taken at Detford Strand in the aforesaid County of Kent within the verge on the first day of June in the year of the reign of Elizabeth by the grace of God of England France and Ireland Queen defender of the faith &c thirtyfifth, in the presence of William Danby, Gentleman, Coroner of the household of our said lady the Queen, upon view of the body of Christopher Morley, there lying dead & slain, upon oath of Nicholas Draper, Gentleman, Wolstan Randall, gentleman, William Curry, Adrian Walker, John Barber, Robert Baldwyn, Giles ffeld, George Halfepenny, Henry Awger, James Batt, Henry Bendyn, Thomas Batt senior, John Baldwyn, Alexander Burrage, Edmund Goodcheepe, & Henry Dabyns who say [upon] their oath that Ingram ffrysar, late of London, Gentleman, and the aforesaid Christopher Morley, and Nicholas Skeres, late of London, Gentleman, and Robert Poley of London aforesaid, Gentleman, on the thirtieth of May in the aforesaid thirtyfifth year, at the aforesaid Detford Strand in the aforesaid County of Kent within the verge about the tenth hour before noon of the same day met together in a room in the house of a certain Eleanor Bull, widow; & there passed the time together & dined & after dinner were in quiet sort together & walked in the garden belonging to the said house until the sixth hour after noon of the same day & then returned from the said garden to the room aforesaid & there together and in company supped; & after supper the said Ingram & Christopher Morley were in speech & uttered one to the other divers malicious words for the reason that they could not be at one nor agree about the payment of the sum of pence, that is, le recknynge, there; & the said Christopher Morley then lying upon a bed in the room where they supped, & moved with anger against the said Ingram ffrysar upon the words aforesaid spoken between them, and the said Ingram then & there sitting in the room aforesaid with his back towards the bed where the said Christopher Morley was then lying, sitting near the bed, that is, nere the bed, & with the front part of his body towards the table & the aforesaid Nicholas Skeres & Robert Poley sitting on either side of the said Ingram in such a manner that the same Ingram ffrysar in no wise could take flight; it so befell that the said Christopher Morley on a sudden & of his malice towards the said Ingram aforethought, then & there maliciously drew the dagger of the said Ingram which was at his back, and with the same dagger the said Christopher Morley then & there maliciously gave the aforesaid Ingram two wounds on his head of the length of two inches & of the depth of a quarter of an inch; whereupon the said Ingram, in fear of being slain, & sitting in the manner aforesaid between the said Nicholas Skeres & Robert Poley so that he could not in any wise get away, in his own defence & for the saving of his life, then & there struggled with the said Christopher Morley to get back from him his dagger aforesaid; in which affray the same Ingram could not get away from the said Christopher Morley; and so it befell in that affray that the said Ingram, in defence of his life, with the dagger aforesaid to the value of 12d, gave the said Christopher then & there a mortal wound over his right eye of the depth of two inches & of the width of one inch; of which mortal wound the aforesaid Christopher Morley then & there instantly died; And so the Jurors aforesaid say upon their oath that the said Ingram killed & slew Christopher Morley aforesaid on the thirtieth day of May in the thirtyfifth year named above at Detford Strand aforesaid within the verge in the room aforesaid within the verge in the manner and form aforesaid in the defence and saving of his own life, against the peace of our said lady the Queen, her now crown & dignity; And further the said Jurors say upon their oath that the said Ingram after the slaying aforesaid perpetrated & done by him in the manner & form aforesaid neither fled nor withdrew himself; But what goods or chattels, lands or tenements the said Ingram had at the time of the slaying aforesaid, done & perpetrated by him in the manner & form aforesaid, the said Jurors are totally ignorant. In witness of which thing the said Coroner as well as the Jurors aforesaid to this Inquisition have interchangeably set their seals. Given the day & year above named &c.

'by WILLIAM DANBY Coroner'.

Link to original latin version:
http://www2.prestel.co.uk/rey/inquis~1.htm

Post 7 on The Murder of the Poet Christopher Marlowe; The Martin Mar-Prelate Tracts

In this post, I will continue showing evidence of hidden messages in the play As You Like It about the murder of the poet Christopher Marlowe.  In this post I am working with page 198 (of the Comedies) of the play As You Like It (the end of Act III, scene ii, and Act III, scene iii).  In the images below, I show how circles drawn with a compass indicate certain parts of the page as being important.

I used the compass setting I call the "mark upon him, two courses off" setting and the words "me" and "you" to draw the circles.  I discovered the "mark upon him, two courses off" compass setting in my work with messages on the first page of The Tempest and page 125 of Love's Labor's Lost (see chapter 8 of my book posted elsewhere on this blog).  With this compass setting I usually use the words "upon" or "him" as the pivot point of the compass.  In this case, I used the words "me" and "you" as the pivot point.  I did this because the first lines of script on the page indicate that these words are important. Here are the lines:

Orlan. Now by the faith of my loue, I will ; Tel me

where it is.

Ros. Go with me to it, and Ile shew it you: and by

the way, you shal tell me, where in the Forrest you liue:

Wil you go?

http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/Texts/AYL/F1/scene/3.2  (underlining added.)

Frequently, in my word on other puzzles, I have also found that the word "me" is important.  For example, on the first page of The Tempest, I found a puzzle where the "me" in the word "roome" is used as the pivot point of a series of circles that reveal a message.  (Coincidentally [or prehaps not], the word "roome" is an anagram for "Romeo.")  As it turns out, the word "roome" appears in the puzzle on page 198 of the play As You Like It that we are working with here.

The compass settings lead, at first, to these lines of the script:

Clo. When a mans verses cannot be vnderstood, nor
a mans good wit seconded with the forward childe, vn-

derstanding: it strikes a man more dead then a great rec-
koning in a little roome: truly, I would the Gods hadde
made thee poeticall.

http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/Texts/AYL/F1/scene/3.3

These lines are very famous and are generally accepted to be an allusion to the killing of the poet Christopher Marlowe in the room at Dame Eleanor Bull's victualing house during an argument over the bill (not famously known as the "Reckoning").  As I noted above, the word "roome" falls on one of the arcs drawn by the compass.

Switching the pivot point of the compass to the word "me" in "roome," and other instances of "me," the compass indicates the part of the script where Oliver Mar-text is mentioned.  Here is the text:

Clo. Well, praised be the Gods, for thy foulnesse; slut-

tishnesse may come heereafter. But be it, as it may bee,

I wil marrie thee: and to that end, I haue bin with Sir

Oliuer Mar-text, the Vicar of the next village, who hath

promis'd to meete me in this place of the Forrest, and to

couple vs.

http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/Texts/AYL/F1/scene/3.3

This text is also indicated:

Enter Sir Oliuer Mar-text.

Heere comes Sir Oliuer: Sir Oliuer Mar-text you are

wel met. Will you dispatch vs heere vnder this tree, or

shal we go with you to your Chappell?

http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/Texts/AYL/F1/scene/3.3

The two parts of the text about Oliver Mar-text, and other part of the text, can be used as clues for an overlay of the page.  (Also, note that the meeting with Sir Oliuer Mar-text takes place under a tree.) The following messages can be found:

MARTIN MAR-VICAR TEXT (i.e., MARTIN MAR-PRELATE TEXT)

and

MARLOWE MAR-TEXT, 

or, using some interpretative license, 

MARLOWE MAR-PRELATE TEXT

 Once the messages appear, the text takes on possible new meanings.  I believe there is still much more to be found, but this will do for now.