Dragon Wagon Radio. (2026, March 20). The Rape of Princess Elizabeth [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m-Ctmz-GXE
The puzzle which is the subject of this post is found in the First Folio of Shakespeare (1623) on page 139 of the Comedies, a page from Love’s Labour’s Lost. The solution to the puzzle results in the message OXE-AN-FORD, the title of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.
As an introduction to this post, there are several lines on the first page of Love’s Labour’s Lost that I have been puzzling over. Here are the lines:
Berow. By yea and nay sir, than I swore in iest.
What is the end of study, let me know?
Fer. Why that to know which else wee should not
know.
Ber. Things hid & bard (you meane) frõ cõmon sense.
Ferd. I, that is studies god-like recompence.
Bero. Come on then, I will sweare to studie so,
To know the thing I am forbid to know:
As thus, to study where I well may dine,
When I to fast expressely am forbid.
Or studie where to meet some Mistresse fine,
When Mistresses from common sense are hid.
Or hauing sworne too hard a keeping oath,
Studie to breake it, and not breake my troth.
If studies gaine be thus, and this be so,
Studie knowes that which yet it doth not know,
Sweare me to this, and I will nere say no.
The solution to finding the name of the hidden bard (the Earl of Oxford) relies on a series of word counts based on the 1740, 17, 40, 57 (17 + 40 = 57) number concept originated by Alexander Waugh. (See reference above.) The solution is presented in the image below.
Berow. By yea and nay sir, than I swore in iest.
What is the end of study, let me know?
Fer. Why that to know which else wee should not
know.
Ber. Things hid & bard (you meane) frõ cõmon sense.
Ferd. I, that is studies god-like recompence.
Bero. Come on then, I will sweare to studie so,
To know the thing I am forbid to know:
As thus, to study where I well may dine,
When I to fast expressely am forbid.
Or studie where to meet some Mistresse fine,
When Mistresses from common sense are hid.
Or hauing sworne too hard a keeping oath,
Studie to breake it, and not breake my troth.
If studies gaine be thus, and this be so,
Studie knowes that which yet it doth not know,
Sweare me to this, and I will nere say no.
Love’s Labor’s Lost (Folio 1, 1623) :: Internet Shakespeare Editions. (2019, January 11).https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/doc/LLL_F1/complete/index.html
Thus, the first clue is that the hidden bard is “hid & bard...from common sense.” The second clue is that we are supposed to use French to solve the puzzle:
Rosa. What would these strangers?
Know their mindes Boyet.
If they doe speake our language, 'tis our will
That some plaine man recount their purposes.
Know what they would?
The etymology of the word “common” is--
common (adj.)
c. 1300, "belonging to all, owned or used jointly, general, of a public nature or character," from Old French comun "common, general, free, open, public" (9c., Modern French commun), from Latin communis "in common, public, shared by all or many; general, not specific; familiar, not pretentious."
https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=common.
“Common” can also mean “[f]ound in large numbers or in a large quantity; usual.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/common.
The Old French word for “sense” is sens, meaning “reason; ability to reason or think.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sens#Old_French. In addition, the French words cense, meaning “(obsolete) a census”, and censé, meaning “supposed to, meant to” (synonym: supposé; past participle of supposer, meaning “to suppose, to think, to reckon, to surmise; to suggest, to imply”) are homonyms of the French word sens. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cense; https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cens%C3%A9. The Latin root of the word censé is censeo, the meaning of which includes “to count or reckon, assess." https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/censeo#Latin.It should also be noted that at the conclusion of the battle of wits Boyet says:
Boyet. The tongues of mocking wenches are as keen
As is the Razors edge, inuisible:
Cutting a smaller haire then may be seene,
Aboue the sense of sence so sensible:
Seemeth their conference, their conceits haue wings,
Fleeter then arrows, bullets wind, thoght, swifter things.
Love’s Labor’s Lost (Folio 1, 1623) :: Internet Shakespeare Editions. (2019, January 11). https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/doc/LLL_F1/complete/index.html
Therefore, since [F.] censé and [L.] censeo mean “to count or reckon,” Boyet’s mention of “sense” (i.e., censé) three times could allude to three successive word counts. As seen in the image of the puzzle solution, there are three successive word counts: one count of 57 words, followed by a count of 17 words, and finally a count of 40 words.
The Latin word censeo also means “to register the citizens, perform the task of a censor.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/censeo#Latin.
In ancient Rome, a censor was--
This interpretation is reinforced by Lady Rosaline’s statement before the mask scene:
Rosa. What would these strangers?
Know their mindes Boyet.
If they doe speake our language, 'tis our will
That some plaine man recount their purposes.
Know what they would?
The French word for “speak” is parler, which means “(transitive) to be able to communicate in a language; to speak.” However, it can also mean “(heraldry) to cant; (of a coat of arms) to make a pun of its bearer's name.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/parler. The word “cant” can mean “A private or secret language used by a religious sect, gang, or other group,” and “(heraldry) [a] blazon of a coat of arms that makes a pun upon the name (or, less often, some attribute or function) of the bearer, canting arms.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cant#English; https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=cant. Therefore, the French word parler alludes to the punning word play that hides the “Oxenford” message at the top left-hand column of page 139 of Love’s Labor’s Lost.
The French word for “plain” is ordinaire (ordinary). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ordinaire. The etymology of ordinaire is “[i]nherited from Old French ordinaire, borrowed from Latin ōrdinārius, from Latin ōrdō (whence French ordre) + -ārius (whence -aire).” The Latin word ordinarius is derived “from ōrdō, ōrdinis (“order, arrangement”) + -ārius.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ordinarius#Latin. The Latin word ordo means “a methodical series, arrangement, or order; regular line, row, or series.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ordo#Latin. Therefore, the French word ordinaire hints at the methodical, ordered numerical arrangement of the words at the top left-hand column of page 139 of Love’s Labor’s Lost that hide the “Oxenford” message. In addition, the –aire ending of the word ordinaire hints that the fact that Edward de Vere was the hidden Tudor heir to the throne of England.
The line “[t]hat some plaine man recount their purposes” in Lady Rosaline’s statement also contains complex wordplay.
The English word “some” can be translated into French as certains, meaning “some, some people” (plural of certain). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/certains. The French word certain can mean “certain, guaranteed (sure, positive)”, or “of indefinite, unknown or simply unmentioned identity, quality or quantity.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/certain#French. As certain can mean “sure,” it may allude to the Latin words vero and verus, which mean “in truth, in fact, certainly, truly, to be sure, surely, assuredly.” https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0060:entry=vero. Vero and verus are wordplay on the name de Vere. Since "certain" can also mean “of indefinite, unknown or simply unmentioned identity, ... quantity," it alludes to the numerical puzzle that hides the “Oxenford” solution at the top of the left-hand column of page 139.
The word “plain” (F., ordinaire) has already been discussed; however, we have not yet discussed its homonym “plane” (i.e., level). A French word for “plane” is niveler, which means “to level, level out (ground); to even, even out (put on the same level),” and niveler happens to be an anagram of “nil Vere.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/niveler. "Nil” is “[b]orrowed from Latin nīl, a contraction of nihil, nihilum (“nothing”).” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nil. Furthermore, a dated meaning of the word “cipher” is “zero; nothing,” and “cipher” can also mean “[a] method of transforming a text in order to conceal its meaning.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cipher. Therefore, through its homonym, “plane,” the word “plain” in Lady Rosaline’s lines alludes to the numerical cipher about Edward de Vere that leads to the “Oxenford” message on page 139 of Love’s Labour’s Lost.
The word “recount” in Lady Rosaline’s lines is an obvious clue to count the words at the top of the left-hand column of page 139 to find the message “Oxenford.” “Recount” means “[t]o tell; narrate; to relate in detail; (dated) [t]o rehearse; to enumerate.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/recount. (The word “tell” ([f]rom Middle English tellen (“to count, tell”)) can mean (transitive, archaic outside of idioms) [t]o determine the number, amount, or value of [something].” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tellen#Middle_English) In addition, the word “count” can be translated into French as comte, meaning “count, earl,” which would refer to the Earl of Oxford. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/comte#Old_French
To “recount” might also allude to the idea of a mémoire:
memoir (n.)
early 15c., "written record," from Anglo-French memorie "note, memorandum, something written to be kept in mind" (early 15c., Old French memoire), from Latin memoria...
https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=m%C3%A9moire
The word “purpose” also appears in Lady Rosaline’s lines. The French word for “purpose” is but. The Latin word for the English word “but” is verum, which is another pun on the name de Vere. The word “propose” can be traced to Old French word proposer, which means “to propose (offer); to place on top of.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/proposer#Old_French. This is a clue that the puzzle is placed on top of the left-hand column of page 139 of Love’s Labour’s Lost. The Latin root of “purpose” is propono, which means “to set forth, to put forth, to lay out; to expose to view, display; to make known; to propose; (Ecclesiastical Latin) to designate.” Alexander Waugh posited that Edward de Vere was the “Fourth T,” so “to set forth” may allude to this idea. See Alexander Waugh. (2022, January 28). The incalculable genius of John Dee [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-PWR7-0Hp4.
There is also a hint in the text to begin counting words at the top left-hand column of page 139. The hint is at the bottom of page 138. At the very end of page 138, after a long exchange between the men and women, these lines appear:
Qu. Let it not be sweet.
Ber. Thou greeu'st my gall.
The hint to start counting words at the top of page 139 is the word “greev’st.” The English word "grieve," meaning "[t]o cause sorrow or distress to", is the plain meaning; however, a homonym of "grieve" is "greeve." The English word “greeve” means “a reeve; steward,” and is derived from “Middle English gryve, grayve, from Old Norse greifi (“a count, earl, steward”), akin to Swedish and Danish greve (“a count, earl”), Old English ġerēfa (“reeve”).” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/greeve. Therefore, the line “Thou greev’st my gall” is witty wordplay that conveys this hidden meaning:
"You [count] my [word] gall."
Or, with some editorial fill-in-the-blanks:
“You [must] count [beginning with the word] ‘gall’ [at the top left-hand column of page 139 to find the earl (of Oxford)].”
The word “gall” is also a reference to one of the four humors in humorism (the humoral theory, or humoralism), which was "a system of medicine detailing a supposed makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers." According to humoral theory--
Regarding the word “bitter” (in “Gall, bitter”), the word can be divided into two words: “bit” and “her.” (Phonologically a 't' can sound like an 'h' or similar aspiration through processes like aspiration and debuccalization, where the closure of the tongue is lost, leaving only a glottal fricative sound (h). This frequently occurs in English at the end of words or in specific dialects.)
Considering the line “Gall, bitter” in its entirety, the wordplay from the line results in “G” (for God), “all” (a pun on “every” and the name E. Vere), “gall” (which leads to [L.] colere, meaning “guardian, tutor” (a pun on the name Tudor), and “bitter” (“bit” ([F.] mors) and “her” ([F.] ses, son)), which results in wordplay leading to the message “Seymour’s son.” Therefore, the words “Gall, bitter,” which begin the numerical puzzle at the top of page 139 that results in “Oxenford,” is in fact wordplay for “God and de Vere,” the name Tudor, and the message “Seymour’s son,” so all the elements of Edward de Vere’s true identity are encoded.
The word “cant” (discussed above) can also imply something bordering on the edge of a circle:
* * *
Perhaps [cant] comes via Old North French cant "corner" (itself perhaps via Middle Low German kante or Middle Dutch kant), from Vulgar Latin *canthus, from Latin cantus "iron tire of a wheel," which is possibly from a Celtic word meaning "rim of wheel, edge, brim" (compare Welsh cant "bordering of a circle, tire, edge," Breton cant "circle").
Therefore, the word “cant” suggests that we can draw some circles to point out the puzzle.
To keep things consistent, the size and coloring of each circle shown in the images below are the same as that shown in the post above.
On page 139 the word “Roses” appears three times. In a simple cipher of the alphabet, the letter “C” is the third letter (C = 3). There for the three appearances of the word “Roses” appears to represent the “Rose Cross,” or “R.C.,” which is the symbol of the Rosicrucians.
In addition, the word “Roes” appears (a "roe" is a type of deer). The word “Roes” is the word “Rose” hidden in a combined homophone and anagram. Alexander Waugh has posited that Edward de Vere was associated with the hidden fourth “T” in the Triple Tau cross. The appearance of the hidden “Rose/Roes” seems to again point at Edward de Vere.
The first image below shows a circle drawn from the first appearance of the word “Roses,” with a second circle drawn from the “hidden” word “Roes.” The circles intersect or cross at the line “Take all and weane it, it may proue an Oxe.” This is the final line in the puzzle solved in this post.
The meaning of words "ween," [L.] reor, [Gk.] ἀριθμός, and [L.] ars are clues to the process of counting the words in the text at the top left-hand column of page 139 and combining the words "Oxe-an-affoord" to find the message "Oxenford" (Oxford).
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