7. Named as Fellow in a Fellow Player’s Will
Phillips’ Will, 1605
Augustine Phillips was a long-time member of the same playing company as William Shakespeare — the Lord Chamberlain’s and later the King’s Men. His will, dated 4 May 1605, provides a nearly complete roster of the King’s Men at that date, and names Shakespeare as a “fellow” on the fifth line from the bottom. Provisions of the will later provoked lawsuits which further document the history of the Globe playhouse. Wills are sworn legal documents. Phillips had no literary-historical axe to grind.
The National Archives, Kew. PROB 11/105/342. Will of Augustine Phillips, proved 13 May 1605 in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. Phillips left Shakespeare a thirty-shilling gold piece. The will also names Richard Burbage, Henry Condell, Christopher Beeston, and other King’s Men. The National Archives.