Each week here at That Shakespeare Girl, I share a video on YouTube exploring one aspect of Shakespeare’s life, times, food, writing, and general lore. After each video, I post links to further research so you can keep exploring! This topic was also covered inside Episode 15 of That Shakespeare Life where we interview Ninya Mikhaila, professional costumier, about Shakespeare’s dress, including whether or not it is historically accurate to think Shakespeare might have worn an earring. Listen to that here.
This week, we ask the question “Did Shakespeare wear an earring?” You can watch the video here or on YouTube to learn what conclusion I come to based on this limited research, and you can keep scrolling to see the text and links.
If you explore this topic further and discover something new, please share with us in the comments so we can learn with you! That’s what this space is all about, after all, is generating fun conversations about cool Shakespeare topics for a community of people who love the bard and 16th century England.
Text of the video:
In Depth Sources For You To Explore
Bill Byson’s Book, The World As Stage
“Some lusty courtiers also and gentlemen of courage do wear either rings of gold, stones, or pearl, in their ears, whereby they imagine the workmanship of God not to be a little amended.”
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32593/32593-h/32593-h.htm
“Dr Cooper also said that the earring and the loose shirt-ties worn by the sitter point to a representation of a poet.” https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/mar/02/arts.books
“Earrings became an object of male fashion at the time of the English Renaissance, in the late 1500’s. “Some lusty courtiers and gentlemen of courage do wear either rings of gold, stones or pearls in their ears,” reports a document dated 1577 and produced by clergyman William Harrison.” https://ornamentstudio.wordpress.com/2012/09/19/william-shakespeares-earring/
Search for Shakespeare book by Tarnya Cooper:
https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300116113/searching-shakespeare
We interviewed Ninya Mikhaila, professional historical costumier, on the viability of the suggestion that Shakespeare might have worn an earring here. https://www.cassidycash.com/ep15/
