6. Returning to As You Like It and the Mention of Judas’ Kisses and Children:
Just before I made my diversion into Doctor Faustus, I was analyzing the two instances of the word “children” in As You Like It and the lines around them. I have not yet dealt with the reference to Judas Iscariot, so I will do that now:
Ros. His very haire
Is of the dissembling colour.
Cel. Something browner then Iudasses:
Marrie his kisses are Iudasses owne children.
It’s well-known that Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss for 30 pieces of silver. Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and John 18. The price of 30 pieces of silver received by Judas was not considered to be a large amount. The price paid—the price of a slave—by the chief priests and religious leaders for Jesus suggests that he was deemed of low worth to them. The amount was prophesied in Zechariah 11:12-13 —
12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, withhold them.” And they counted out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.
13 Then the LORD said to me, Throw it in the treasury—the handsome price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the treasury in the house of the LORD.
Zechariah, CHAPTER 11. (n.d.). USCCB (footnotes omitted). https://bible.usccb.org/bible/zechariah/11
The specific sum of 30 pieces of silver is the amount provided in Mosaic Law, in Exodus 21:32, as the mandatory compensation paid to a master if their male or female slave was gored to death by someone else’s ox:
31 This ordinance applies if it is a boy or a girl that the ox gores.
32 But if it is a male or a female slave that it gores, he must pay the owner of the slave thirty shekels of silver, and the ox must be stoned.
Exodus, CHAPTER 21. (n.d.). USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/exodus/21
Therefore, the line in As You Like It referring to the Judas’ betrayal of Jesus with a kiss, alludes to the price Judas received—30 pieces of silver—and to the Mosaic Law at Exodus 21:32. With regard to Exodus 21:32, it should be noted that the price paid is restitution to the owner of a slave for his slave being gored by an ox. (Also, the punishment for the ox is stoning. The Latin word for “stone” (marble) is marmor (“a block or piece of marble,” “(figuratively) the surface of the sea; the sea”). Thus, there is another pun on the name Seymour imbedded here.)
If Christopher Marlowe was in the employ of Oxford, that is, his servant (figuratively a slave), then the allusion to Exodus 21:32 suggests that Oxford either stabbed (figuratively “gored”) Marlowe above the right eye, killing him, in a murder or an extra-legal state execution.
7. Another Motive for Murder: Oxford, Marlowe, John Penry and the Martin Marprelate Tracts.
In As You Like It, the lines where the character Sir Oliver Mar-text briefly appears in the play to marry Touchstone and Audrey contain hidden references to Edward de Vere, Christopher Marlowe, and John Penry, the puritan preacher executed for his role in the publication of the Martin Marprelate tracts.
The controversy over the publication of the Martin Marprelate tracts has a long and complex history that is beyond the scope of this paper; however, information is available on the Internet. See e.g., Wikipedia contributors. (2025b, November 6). Martin Marprelate. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Marprelate.
In a nutshell, in 1588 a tract was illegally published under the pen name Martin Marprelate (sometimes printed as Martin Mar-prelate). “Martin's tracts are characterised by mockery of Anglican dignitaries and satire against the corruptions of the Church of England.” The tracts incensed John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, member of Queen Elizabeth I's Privy Council, and ignited a multi-year war of pamphlets between detractors and defenders of the episcopacy.
Publication of the tracts was linked to John Penry, a Welsh Protestant preacher with strong Puritan tendencies, but the identity of the writer who used the pen name Martin Marprelate has never been conclusively determined. Penry was clearly linked to the establishment and movements, to avoid detection, of the secret illegal press that published the Marprelate tracts. Penry was eventually identified by an informant vicar and was arrested and executed for high treason on 29 May 1593, the day before Christopher Marlowe was killed on 30 May 1593. The signature of John Whitgift is the first signature that appears on Penry’s death warrant. The site of John Penry’s execution, at St. Thomas-a-Watering (in Old Kent Road, Surrey), is approximately 2-4 miles from where Christopher Marlowe’s was killed, at a house in Deptford Strand (near London).81,82,83
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81 Wikipedia contributors. (2026g, March 2). Marprelate controversy. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marprelate_Controversy
82 Wikipedia contributors. (2025e, November 6). Martin Marprelate. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Marprelate
83 Wikipedia contributors. (2024b, November 11). John Penry. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Penry
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The pen name Martin Marprelate is a clue to the identity of the real writer. The only documented signature of Marlowe, in his last will and testament, shows that he spelled his last name “Marley.”84 As noted elsewhere in this paper, Marlowe’s last name was spelled in various ways in the documentary record. The spelling “Marley,” however, is significant because of its etymology:
This long-established surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is locational from any of the various places thus called, including Marley in Devonshire, Durham, Kent and the West Riding of Yorkshire, or Marley Farm in Brede (Sussex). The Yorkshire place, recorded as "Mardelai" in the Domesday Book of 1086, derives its first element from the Olde English pre 7th Century "mearth" meaning (pine) marten, plus "leah", a wood or clearing.85
The marten, a short-legged, bushy-tailed animal, is “any carnivorous mammal of the genus Martes.” As a noun, the word “marten” is the “archaic form of martin (the bird).”86 Thus, the etymology of the surname Marley, and the way Marlowe spelled his last name, leads to the name Martin, the first part of the pen name Martin Marprelate.
The word “prelate” (in Mar-prelate) has its root in the Latin word praelatus, which can mean “preferred,” and “preferred” means “favored” or “favorable,” and a Latin word for “favorable” is faustus. The word faustus is, of course, a pun on the main character in the play The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. In addition, the term “Pilate” is a late 14th century “as a term of reproach for a corrupt or lax prelate, from the Roman surname, especially that of Pontius Pilate, a governor of the Roman province of Judaea under Tiberius, from Latin Pilatus, literally ‘armed with javelins,’ from pilum ‘javelin’.”87 “The verutum, plural veruta (Latin: spit), was a short javelin used in the Roman army.”88 Verutum is a pun on the name de Vere (whose motto was Vero Nihil Verius ("Nothing truer than Truth")). Therefore, the pen name Mar-prelate implies that the writer was armed, or backed by, the power of truth embodied in Edward de Vere, and Pallas Athena (Minerva), the “spear-shaker.”
Therefore, the etymologies shown above link the pen name Martin Mar-prelate to Christopher Marlowe’s name. This indicates that Marlowe was the writer, or one of the writers of the Marprelate tracts.
It is accepted that there is an indirect but significant connection between John Penry and the character Sir Oliver Mar-text (a curate) in As You Like It. The character Sir Oliver Mar-text (a curate) appears only once, and only briefly, in Act 3, Scene 3, when he arrives to marry Touchstone and Audrey. I can add more indirect evidence to connect Penry and Edward de Vere to the character Sir Oliver Mar-text.
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84 Wikipedia contributors. (2026c, February 26). Christopher Marlowe. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Marlowe#cite_note-Kathman_2-1 (at Note a., citing, Kathman, David. "The Spelling and Pronunciation of Shakespeare's Name: Pronunciation". shakespeareauthorship.com. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
85 SurnameDB. (n.d.). SurnameDB | Marley Surname: Meaning, Origin & Family History. SurnameDB. https://surnamedb.com/Surname/marley
86 marten - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/marten#English
87 Pilate - Etymology, Origin & Meaning of the name. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/Pilate
88 Wikipedia contributors. (2024, November 1). Verutum. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verutum
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Two characters in As You Like It have the first name of Oliver. One is Oliver de Boys, Orlando’s elder brother. Michael Stepniewski has proposed that the name Oliver (‘O-le-Vere’) is wordplay on the name de Vere, so Oliver de Boys represents aspects of Edward de Vere.89 We agree and propose that Sir Oliver Mar-text's first name also means that he represents aspects of Edward de Vere. In addition, the title “Sir,” in “Sir Oliver” alludes to Edward de Vere. “Sir” is a homonym of [F.] sur (“on/about”). The French word vers means “towards/around.” Although sur and vers are not synonyms, they can be used in similar situations. For example—
Je vais sur Paris. (I am going to/towards Paris - implies reaching it.)
and,
Je vais vers Paris. (I am moving in the direction of Paris - does not imply reaching it).
Since, the words sur (a homonym of “sir”) and vers have similar meanings in some contexts, the “Sir” in “Sir Oliver” is a pun on the name Vere. Since both "Sir" and "Oliver" are word play on the name Vere, there is also word play leading to "deux Vere" (de Vere).
In addition, the word “olive” and the name Oliver are anagrams of the Latin word ovile (“a sheepfold, a sheep pen”).90 The word “pen” is, of course, a homophone of “pen” (“a writing instrument”) and a pun on the first syllable of John Penry’s last name. Also, because the letter “R” (the extra letter in Oliver as compared to ovile) is the 17th letter of the Elizabethan alphabet, Oliver may allude to “Pen [of] 17th [Earl of Oxford].” In addition, John Penry’s last name is a pun in itself because it is a homonym of “Pen-rey ([Sp.] king)” (“the king’s or prince’s pen,” or perhaps “the kings publisher”), so perhaps one reason Edward de Vere involved Penry in the publication of the Martin Marprelate tracts was simply because of this pun.
The word “text” means "(late 14c.), ‘an authoritative writing or document’.” So, Sir Oliver Mar-text's last name implies that the Martin Mar-prelate tracts were somehow a marring of an original authoritative version. That is, Penry and Marlowe seem to have done something (or altered something) they shouldn’t have during the publication of the Marprelate tracts.
Touchstone expressly states that Oliver Mar-text is “the Vicar of the next village.” John Penry was “a commoner of St. Alban Hall, Oxford.”91 Therefore, although St. Alban Hall was a medieval academic hall in the University of Oxford and was not part of Edward de Vere’s earldom, Penry’s home village was a place that alludes to the title Earl of Oxford. Penry, however, was not a vicar because he refused to take deacon's or priest's orders. Id. Thus, it’s curious that a character representing, at least in part, John Penry, would be a vicar. The answer seems to be in the Old French and Latin sources of “vicar.” In Old French vicaire means “deputy, second in command”, from Latin vicārius (“vicarious, substitute”).92 This etymology implies that Penry was a deputy or vicarious substitute for someone else. This is discussed below.
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89 Stepniewski, M., Jacques Revaux, Claude Francois, John Heminges, & Henry Condell. (2024). Understanding as you like it. https://oxford-seymour.com/documents/Understanding-Shakespeares-AsYouLikeIt-20260106.pdf
90 ovile - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ovile
91 Contributors to Wikimedia projects. (2020, December 26). Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Penry, John. Wikisource, the Free Online Library. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Penry,_John#:~:text=His%20principles%2C%20he%20declared%20in%20later%20life%2C,priest's%20orders%2C%20although%20both%20were%20offered%20him
92 vicar - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vicar
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The Latin word for “next” (as in “next village”) is mox (“soon, anon; in the next place”).93 Mox is a pun on “ox,” and the letter “M” (from mox) is linked to the Hebrew letter mēm מ, which has a numerical value of 40 in Gematria. The number 40 (pronounced “for-D”) is Edward de Vere’s code number. Also, “[i]n the Sefer Yetzirah, the letter Mem is King over Water,”94 and so is an allusion to the idea of “King of the Sea,” which may, in turn, be an allusion to the office (i.e. Lord High Admiral) held by Edward de Vere’s real father, Thomas Seymour.
Another word for “village” is “hamlet.”95 The reference to a hamlet is a pun on the title of the play The Tragedy of Hamlet. Furthermore, the word Latin root of “village” is villa (“country house; estate”).96 Roman villas were the estates of the wealthy Roman elite and were essentially the Roman equivalent of Castle Hedingham in Essex, the ancestral county seat of the Earl of Oxford. The French term for villa is maison de campagne, and if this term is implied, it would be a pun on the word “Mason,” or the term “country Mason,” which would allude to “Freemason.” This would imply that John Penry was a brother (country, rural, low-ranking) Mason (or Rosicrucian) working for other brother Masons (Edward de Vere and Francis Bacon).
The implication of the hidden meaning of the text is that John Penry was a Freemason (or member of the Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross) acting as a representative or vicarious substitute of the writer, or writers, of Hamlet (i.e. Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford (“ox-for-D"), and possibly Francis Bacon). However, something clearly went wrong, and Penry, a person only linked to the concealment and migration of an illegal printing press, ended up being executed by hanging. Perhaps Christopher Marlowe went rogue with the Martin Mar-prelate tracts (with Penry's collusion?) and that led to Penry’s arrest and execution for high treason.
There are other hints in Act 3, Scene 3, of As You Like It that Sir Oliver Mar-text represents Penry. When Sir Oliver Mar-text arrives, Touchstone greets him as follows:
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?
The root of the word “dispatch” is the French dépêcher, which means “to send, dispatch (urgently) (synonyms: envoyer, missionner),” and “to hasten, to hurry up (synonyms: hâter, presser, urger).” Thus, “dispatch” alludes to “envoy”—
“literally ‘one sent’ (12c.), noun use of past participle of envoyer ‘send’... The same French word was borrowed in Middle English as envoi in the sense ‘stanza of a poem “sending it off” to find readers’ (late 14c.).”97
The word “dispatch” alludes to, through punning on the French words hâter and presser, to “a hated operator of an illegal printing press.”
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93 Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, mox. (n.d.). https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=mox
94 Wikipedia contributors. (2026c, March 2). Mem. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mem
95 village - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/village
96 villa - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/villa#Latin
97 Envoy - Etymology, Origin & Meaning. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/envoy
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The French word missionner means “to commission,”98 and the Latin root of the word “commission” is commissio, “from committō (“to bring together; to commence a contest; to commit a crime”) + -tiō.”99 This etymology implies that Penry was commissioned, or brought together with others, probably in a group including Christopher Marlowe, to operate an illegal printing press, and then perhaps went completely rogue.
As a verb, the meaning “dispatch” as “‘get rid of promptly by killing’ is attested from 1520s; [and] that of ‘attend to, finish, bring to an end, accomplish’ is from 1530s.”100 Touchstone and Audrey meet Sir Oliver Mar-text under a tree. A tree (a gallows tree) was often used as places for execution by hanging.
According to Etymonline, the second element (“patch”) of “dispatch”—
apparently has been confused or corrupted, and its exact source and meaning is uncertain. One proposal is that it is Vulgar Latin *pactare "to fasten, fix" or *pactiare. Another says it is Latin -pedicare "to entrap" (from Latin pedica "shackle;" see impeach)...”101
The etymology of the word “impeach” derives from—
Anglo-French empecher, Old French empeechier "to hinder, stop, impede; capture, trap, ensnare" (12c., Modern French empêcher), from Late Latin impedicare "to fetter, catch, entangle," from assimilated form of in- "into, in" (from PIE root *en "in") + Latin pedica "a shackle, fetter," from pes (genitive pedis) "foot" (from PIE root *ped- "foot").
In law, at first in a broad sense, "to accuse, bring charges against" from late 14c.; more specifically, of the king or the House of Commons, "to bring formal accusation of treason or other high crime against (someone)" from mid-15c.102
Thus, the etymology of “impeach” alludes to the charge of high treason brought against Penry and to his entanglement, ensnarement, capture, arrest and imprisonment for his role in the publication of the Martin Mar-prelate tracts.
Touchstone also mentions going to Sir Oliver Mar-text's “chapel.” The word “chapel” is derived from “Middle English chapele, chapel, from Old French chapele, from Late Latin cappella (‘little cloak; chapel’), diminutive of cappa (‘cloak, cape’).” In addition, “chapel” can mean “(printing office): Said to be because printing was first carried on in England in a chapel near Westminster Abbey.”103 Therefore, Touchstone’s mention of Sir Oliver Mar-text's “chapel” is a witty allusion to John Penry’s illegal secret printing press.
The following lines hint at Penry’s execution by the Tudor monarch:
Ol. Is there none heere to giue the woman?
Clo. I wil not take her on guift of any man.
Ol. Truly she must be giuen, or the marriage is not
lawfull.
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98 missionner - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/missionner#Etymology
99 commissio - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/commissio#Latin
100 Dispatch - Etymology, Origin & Meaning. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/dispatch
101 Dispatch - Etymology, Origin & Meaning. (n.d.-b). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/dispatch
102 Impeach - Etymology, Origin & Meaning. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/impeach
103 chapel - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chapel
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The word “here” is a homophone of “hear,” and the Latin word for “hear” is audire. Audire is an anagram of “a de Vir” (“a de Vere).
The word “cipher” means “(dated) zero” and can refer to “none.”104
The words “to give” can be rendered as “to [L.] dare,” which is a pun on the name Tudor ("to dare"). “Woman” can be translated into Latin as marita (“a married woman, wife”), which is also the “second-person singular present active imperative of marītō” (“to marry, wed (in the sense of ‘give a husband to someone’, ‘give someone in marriage’,” [or] “to impregnate”).105 The Latin word marita can be divided into mar-ita. The Latin word ita can mean “yes”106 (and is “sey” spelled backwards), so mar-ita hides “Sey-mar” (St. Maur) a pun on the name “Seymour,” and implies a woman Princess Elizabeth Tutor, later Queen Elizabeth I, who is impregnated by [Thomas] Seymour, resulting in the birth of Edward de Vere.
Therefore, the line “Is there none heere to giue the woman?” has the hidden meaning—
[Is there [not a cipher de Vere] here to give the Tudor-Seymour woman (i.e. Queen Elizabeth I)?]
In the next line, Touchstone makes a witty remark that “he wil not take [Audrey] on guift of any man.” This is a pun on the last name of John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury— Touchstone is making a “Whit-ty gift" remark (i.e., "a Whitgift" remark). Get it? As discussed previously, in Old English wit can mean (“we two”).
The word “take” can be translated into French as accepter (to accept), “borrowed from Latin acceptāre” (acceptō, “to take, receive, accept (regularly); to submit to; to understand, comprehend”). The English word “accepter” means “a person who accepts; a taker”; “(obsolete) A respecter; one who views others with partiality,” or “(law) an acceptor; one who accepts an order or a bill of exchange.” The word “accepter” is also a pun on “accept her” and “a sceptre” (“scepter” (U.S.)) (“an ornamental staff held by a ruling monarch as a symbol of power”).
In Latin, “gift” can be translated as donum, meaning “gift, present; offering, sacrifice.” Thus, Touchstone’s witty remark has the hidden meaning—
[(John Whitgift) would not accept the offering of sacrifice of the two people (i.e. Penry and Marlowe) [responsible for the Mar-prelate tracts] on gift of any man ([L.] vir (a pun on the name Vere)), (because he was being offered the culprits by a woman— Queen Elizabeth I.)]
The next line, “Truly she must be giuen, or the marriage is not lawfull,” may mean—
[Truly ([L.] vere) she (i.e. the queen) must be [a Tudor with authority to order execution] (and, therefore, her relationship with Thomas Seymour cannot be exposed to undermine her authority), or the marriage (i.e.“mar- [L.] rigeo (‘to be stiff’)” (i.e. implying making Marlowe stiff from rigor mortus)) is not lawfull.]
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104 cipher - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cipher
105 marito - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/marito#Latin
106 ita - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ita
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Touchstone also has this exchange with Jaques:
1685 Iaq. Wil you be married, Motley?
Clo. As the Oxe hath his bow sir, the horse his curb,
and the Falcon her bels, so man hath his desires, and as
Pigeons bill, so wedlocke would be nibling.
The first syllable of “married” (“mar”) and the second syllable of “Motley” (“ley”) spell the name Marley, which was the way Christopher Marlowe spelled his last name. Mot is French for "word," and "word" in Latin is verbum, and "reid" is Welsh for "ride; mount." (And, I'll leave it at that.) “Motley” can be translated into Latin as varius (“(of colors) motley, mottled, variegated”), and [L.] varius translates into French as divers, meaning “various, diverse," [L.] diversus). The words [F.] divers, diverse, and [L.] diversus are puns on the name de Vere. Consequently, the words at line 1685 allude to a marriage, or collaboration, between Edward de Vere and Christopher Marlowe.
The word “Wil” can refer to “(law) A formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes. [from 14th c.].”107 A codicil to a will is "‘a writing added to a will to explain, alter, add to, or revoke original terms,’ early 15c., from Latin codicillus ‘a short writing, a small writing tablet,’ diminutive of codex (genitive codicis) ’book’...”.108 Therefore, in the context of the hidden meaning, the word “will” (and a codicil revoking a will) implies a marriage of writings or authorship, and a writing collaboration between de Vere and Marlowe.
In the next lines, Touchstone makes witty comments about how it's natural for a man to be married:
1685 Iaq. Wil you be married, Motley?
Clo. As the Oxe hath his bow sir, the horse his curb,
and the Falcon her bels, so man hath his desires, and as
Pigeons bill, so wedlocke would be nibling.
Line 1686 begins with the words “As the” can allude to several meanings. In Latin, “as” can be translated into Latin as ut, and in Old English “ut” means “out, outdoors,” and “outdoors” is an anagram of Tudors. Thus, “as” is word play on the name Tudors.
The words “as the” have almost all the letters to spell the word “asthenia,” which means “(figurative) weakness.”109 The Ancient Greek root of “asthenia” is ἀσθένεια, which means “weakness; sickness; moral weakness, depravity.”110 (The word “asthenia” is also an anagram of Shaitan (“(Islam) Iblis, Satan”) and shaitan (“(Islam) a demon/devil; or evil jinn”).111 “The Hebrew term śāṭān (Hebrew: שָׂטָן) is a generic noun meaning ‘accuser’ or ‘adversary, and is derived from a verb meaning primarily ‘to obstruct, oppose’.”112
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107 will - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/will#English
108 Codicil - Etymology, Origin & Meaning. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/codicil
109 asthenia - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/asthenia
110 ἀσθένεια - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BC%80%CF%83%CE%B8%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%B5%CE%B9%CE%B1#Ancient_Greek
111 shaitan - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shaitan#English
112 Wikipedia contributors. (2026i, March 14). Satan. Wikipedia. (footnotes are omitted). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satan
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The word “Oxe” is, obviously, an allusion to Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.
In the plain context of the text, the word “bow,” in “Oxe hath his bow,” refers to the “The U-shaped piece which goes around the neck of an ox and fastens it to the yoke.” A homonym of “U” is “ewe” (“female sheep”). In Middle Dutch “ewe” means “moral law.”113 The Middle Dutch word “ewe” is from Old Dutch ewa, which means “law; eternity; ever (in negative sentences).” “Ever” is, of course, a pun on the name Vere or E. Vere. The Old Dutch word ewa is related to Old High German ewa, which means “law; eternity; marriage.”114 The meaning of “marriage” refers to the subject of the scene (the marriage of Touchstone and Audrey) and alludes to the hidden “marriage” (relationship or collaboration) of Edward de Vere and Christopher Marlowe.
Furthermore, the concept of a yoke is associated with Jesus and the Cross: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Matthew 11:29–30.115 In addition, the word “ford” means “a location where a stream is shallow and the bottom has good footing, making it possible to cross from one side to the other with no bridge, by walking, riding, or driving through the water; a crossing.”116 Consequently, the hidden reference to Edward de Vere’s title can be found: “Oxe-[ford]” (Oxford).
The word “bow” can also refer to “a type of knot with two loops, used to tie together two cords such as shoelaces or apron strings, and frequently used as decoration, such as in gift-wrapping.”117 In the early 17th century, the wealthy wore ornate bows known as “shoe roses” (or “shoe rosettes”) on their shoes. The play The Devil is an Ass, by Ben Jonson, has a reference to shoe roses “big enough to hide a cloven hoof.”118 Therefore, reference to an ox’s bow alludes to the Cross and roses. That is, “bow” is an allusion to the Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross, the Rosicrucian Brotherhood. This allusion could add another meaning to Touchstone’s name—stone masons work with stone, so they “touch stone.”
As a verb, “bow” means “to bend oneself as a gesture of respect or deference.”119 In this sense, “bow” can be translated into French as courbe (i.e. bow [in obeisance]). Courbe is a homonym of the English word “curb,” so the phrase “the horse his curb” in Touchstone’s lines confirms the translation of “bow” into [F.] courbe. In this sense “bow” (i.e. bow [in obeisance]) is an allusion to Edward de Vere’s duties and obligations to Queen Elizabeth I.
The words “has his” translate into [F.]“a son.” This might be a pun on “Kit” (standard nickname for "Christopher" in Elizabethan England) and the word “kid” (“young goat”). Etymoline provides this information on the etymology of “kid”:
“The extended meaning ‘child’ is perhaps by 1590s (‘I'm old, you say; Yes, parlous old, kids, and you mark me well!’ in "The Old Law," by Massinger, etc.*
“* lechery, as well as youth, might be the notion. In the same brief speech he also calls them jack-boys, glyster-pipes, lank suck-eggs, weasels, and lecherous dog-bolts.”120
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113 ewe - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ewe
114 ewa - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ewa#Old_High_German
115 Life, M. C. (2021, July 14). The Yoke of Christ. Catholic Daily Reflections. https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2021/07/14/the-yoke-of-christ/
116 ford - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ford
117 bow - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.-b). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bow
118 Lee, H. J. (n.d.). roses / rosettes | Fashion History Timeline. Fashion History Timeline. (quoting from The Devil is an Ass). https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/roses-rosettes/
119 bow - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bow
120 Search “kid” on etymonline. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=kid
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The mention of an “Oxe” (and “Oxe-[ford],” see above) in Touchstone’s lines is, obviously, an allusion to Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.
The next example Touchstone provides is “the horse his curb.” “Horse” can be translated into Latin as equus (“horse”), equitatus (“cavalry; (rare) the order of equestrians (i.e. knighthood)”), and mannus (“small horse or pony”). The Latin word equitatus is a near homonym, or a pun on, the Latin word aequus (“equity”). “Equity” means “early 14c., equite, ‘quality of being equal or fair, impartiality’... from Latin aequitatem (nominative aequitas)... ‘just or equitable conduct toward others,’ from aequus ‘even, just, equal’.” In law, “equity” means—
"fairness in the adjustment of conflicting interests; the settlement of controversies by the dictates of good conscience" (natural equity), late 14c., from Roman naturalis aequitas, the general principles of justice which corrected or supplemented the legal codes ("governed by benevolence, while justitia yields to another only what is strictly due," Lewis & Short).121
Therefore, the words used by Touchstone, “the horse his curb,” alludes, through the Latin words equus (“horse”) and aequus (“equity”), to the idea of equity being “curbed” or restrained, and equity restrained leaves only justitia— cold, unforgiving, strict justice. Therefore, the line “the horse his curb” means that any compassion that Edward de Vere might have for Christopher Marlowe was “curbed” by his duty, that is, his courbe (bow [in obeisance]), to the queen to carry out her order to execute Marlowe.
The next phrase in Touchstone’s lines to examine is “the Falcon her bels.” The French word for falcon is faucon, which is “Inherited from Middle French faulcon, from Old French falcun (“falcon”), from Late Latin falcōnem, accusative form of falcō (“falcon”), probably of Germanic origin.”122 The Latin root word falco can mean, in one sense, “falcon” or “pigeon-toed person, person whose toes point in.” A second meaning of falco, a derivation of Latin falx, is “to mow.”123 This meaning recalls one meaning of [F.] faux (“scythe”) (see previous discussion of faux).
In addition, the words “her bels” are used in the phrase “the Falcon her bels.” The words “her bels” is a homonym of “herbals” (“made from or with herbs”). The word “herbal” can be traced back to the Latin word herba, which means “grass, herbage; herb; weed; plant.” Therefore, the word “herbal” can be traced to a word meaning “grass” or “herbs,” and grass is something that must be cut, mowed, or scythed from time to time, and so “herbal” relates back to [L.] falco (“to mow”) and [F.] faux (“scythe”).
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121 Search “equity” on etymonline. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=equity
122 faucon - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/faucon#Old_French
123 falco - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/falco#Latin
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Furthermore, the word “herbal” implies that some sort of concoction made of herbs was used on Christopher Marlowe. Based on the hidden messages that have been found in As You Like It, Marlowe was asleep under a tree before he was killed. So, is there some sort of herbal concoction that was known in Elizabethan times that would render someone unconscious? Yes, there is. The concoction is known as dwale, and the word dwale is from “Middle English dwale (“stupor; deception; delusion, evil”), from Old English dwala, dwola (“error, heresy; doubt; madman, deceiver, heretic”) and Old Norse dvala (“sleep, stupor”).”124 Christopher Marlowe was facing charges of heresy at the time of his death, and he was known to be reckless and to behave like a madman. Clearly, in the hidden messages he is a deceiver like Satan and an oath breaker. Even more significantly, another word for dwale is Belladona, which is “borrowed from Italian belladonna (altered by folk etymology: bella donna (“beautiful lady”)) from Medieval Latin blādōna (“nightshade”), of Gaulish origin.”125 Therefore, the words “her bels” in the line “the Falcon her bels” is a pun on “herbals” and an allusion to Belladona (“nightshade”).
In this regard, the words “shade” and “bels” appear together in some interesting contexts in As You Like It. For example:
Orl. Speake you so gently? Pardon me I pray you,
I thought that all things had bin sauage heere,
1085 And therefore put I on the countenance
Of sterne command'ment. But what ere you are
That in this desert inaccessible,
Vnder the shade of melancholly boughes,
Loose, and neglect the creeping houres of time:
1090 If euer you haue look'd on better dayes:
If euer beene where bels haue knoll'd to Church:
If euer sate at any good mans feast:
If euer from your eye-lids wip'd a teare,
And know what 'tis to pittie, and be pittied:
1095 Let gentlenesse my strong enforcement be,
In the which hope, I blush, and hide my Sword.
I don’t have time and space here to fully analyze these lines, but if “shade” is read “nightshade” and “bels” is read “Belladona,” the allusions are easy to see.
The implication of this is that Christopher Marlowe was probably drugged, mercifully, with Belladona and Edward de Vere hid his sword to inflict a quick dagger blow to Marlowe above the right eye. Marlowe probably never knew what hit him.
The words “her bels” in “the Falcon her bels” may also refer through the word “herbal” to “herball” (an alternate spelling of “herbal”) and the concept of “her ball,” an allusion to the “Sovereign Orb of England” symbolizes the monarch's role as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England and their "Defender of the Faith" title. Therefore, the words “her bels” (her ball (i.e. orb) alludes to Queen Elizabeth I’s duty to defend the Church of England, and its episcopacy, especially John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, from threats and attack like those represented by the Martin Marprelate tracts, the tracts that Christopher Marlowe and John Penry created.
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124 dwale - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dwale
125 belladonna - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/belladonna#English
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The next lines Touchstone speaks are “so man hath his desires, and as / Pigeons bill, so wedlocke would be nibling.” The word “man” is [L.] vir and “desire” is [F.] désir. These words are puns on the name de Ver. (See the previous discussion on the wordplay of “Sir,” [F.] sur, and [F.] vers.) Also, the “desire” of a queen is effectively a demand or command. The implication is that Edward de Vere was ordered or obliged to kill Marlowe.
The word “Pigeon” (pigeon), from “Pigeons bill,” means (from the 1590s) “one easily duped, a simpleton to be swindled.”126
The word “bill,” from “Pigeons bill,” can mean--
[written statement] late 14c., "formal document; formal plea or charge (in a court of law); personal letter," from Anglo-French bille, Anglo-Latin billa "a writing, a list, a seal," from Medieval Latin bulla "decree, seal, sealed document," in classical Latin "bubble, boss, stud, amulet for the neck" (hence "seal"); see bull (n.2).127
A “bill” can also mean—
[bird's beak] Old English bill "bill, bird's beak," related to bill, a poetic word for a kind of sword (especially one with a hooked blade), from Proto-Germanic *bili-, a word for cutting or chopping weapons (see bill (n.3)).128
Therefore, “Pigeons bill” is wordplay implying “someone who is a pigeon (a dupe [perhaps alluding to duplicate]),” a bill or order (alluding to an execution order from Queen Elizabeth I), and a bill (a sword with a hooked blade). These meanings refer to an order from Queen Elizabeth I to Edward de Vere to kill Christopher Marlowe and to the method used by de Vere.
Touchstone’s comment that “wedlocke would be nibling” probably alludes to the meaning of “nib”—
1580s, "beak or bill of a bird," Scottish variant of neb "beak or bill of a bird." Perhaps influenced by nibble (v.). Meaning "point" (of a pen or quill) is recorded by 1610s (neb in this sense is from 1590s).129
Thus, “nibling” refers to a “little pen,” which is what Christoper Marlowe was. He was a lesser writer, or front man. “Nibling” also alludes to a small point of a blade or dagger and to the method used to kill Marlowe.
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126 Search “pidgeon” on etymonline. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=pidgeon
127 Bill - Etymology, Origin & Meaning. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/bill
128 Bill - Etymology, Origin & Meaning. (n.d.-b). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/bill
129 Search “nib” on etymonline. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=nib
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Touchstone’s farewell remarks to Sir Oliver Mar-text allude to John Penry twisting and swinging in the wind from some gallows:
Farewel good MrOliuer: Not O sweet Oliuer, O braue
Oliuer leaue me not behind thee: But winde away, bee
gone I say, I wil not to wedding with thee.
“Winde” is an obsolete spelling of “wind.” Wynden, the Middle English form of the word, means “to twist; to move or toss about; (rare) to wind (cause to lack breath); to wind (perceive by scent).130 In Old English the word gewind means “a winding, circuitous ascent.”131
[END OF PART 4]
THE END
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130 wynden - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wynden
131 gewind - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gewind#Old_English
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