8. Left Money to Fellow Players in His Will
Shakespeare’s Will, 1616
The will was signed on 25 March 1616 and proved on 22 June 1616, a few weeks after Shakespeare’s death on 23 April. The bequests to his fellow players — 26 shillings and 8 pence each to buy mourning rings — are brief but significant. Heminges and Condell are named together, as they would be again seven years later on the dedication page of the First Folio. The web of mutual obligation documented in their wills is not the residue of a commercial arrangement — it is the residue of a friendship.
The National Archives, Kew. PROB 1/4. Will of William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon, proved 22 June 1616 in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. The will is written on three sheets of paper with Shakespeare’s signature on each sheet. The third sheet bears the most confident signature. The National Archives.