Wednesday 29 September 2010

Shakespeare the Hackney Man? Updated





Shakespeare is certainly a man of mystery and in-case some of you haven't yet caught on William Shakespeare is a mythical character engineered to change the very fabric of the English language among other deeds. So what the Hackney connection i hear you ask. Where does Stafford upon Avon fit into all this? Put quite simply, it doesn't, the main stage of play was indeed Hackney. At this point i should mention that we're not fully clear on whether tis was the mythical Shakespeare that lived here or the man purporting to be Shakespeare. Nonetheless history states that he lived in the borough and many of his early works such as Romeo and Juliet were performed at the so named Theatre circa 1590's in Shoreditch (hackney). Wood and materials from the Theatre were later reused to build the world famous Globe  on Bankside. Shakespeare was said to have lived on the border between the City of London and Hackney. The words Romeo Wherefore Art Thou? were first muttered in the hollow walls of the Theatre. 


What do others say about the man of intrigue?


Was the man we know as Shakespeare really the author of the "Shakespearean Works"? We know little about the man called Shakespeare, Did he really write the plays, or is he just a man that  got confused within history? (Sobran 44) There is not even a correct spelling of this mans name, Some of the spellings include Shakspere, Shakespeare, And Shaxpere. Shakespeare, Is it the man, Or  is it another? (Hayes 1D)


Shakespeare is both fact and fiction, he was no concern until nearly two hundred years after he perished, and there is still no  definite or probably will there ever be a conclusion to this mystery. (Sobran 44) There is another man that can be attributed with  the works of "Shakespeare", His name is Edward DeVere, the 17th Earl  of Oxford. (Bethell 47)           

The man known as Shakespeare does not fit perfectly into the necessary criteria to determine the author of these works. Thomas  Looney invented a series of criteria that had to be filled, in order  to be a possible candidate for the authorship of the Shakespearean  works. To have all the knowledge that is portrayed in the works, the  author must have accomplished many things. These including a superior  education, from what we know of "Shakespeare", this was not a possibility.(Bethell 46) We do not even know if Shakespeare has ever written anything in his life, Nor do we know that he was paid for  writing these works. The man Shakespeare does not even make a claim  that he is the author.(Bethell 50) He may not have been able to write  the simplest thing of all, His own name.(Hayes 1D)


Its not how little we know about Shakespeare that causes  confusion and difficulty, Its the things that we do know about this  man that cause the confusion and difficulty. We know Shakespears  father, a glover, could not write. When he signed documents, he simply  made an "X", This is why it is beleived that Shakespeare could not  write also, Because he probably did not attend school therefore his  education was passed down from his father. (Bethell 48)          

We do know much more about the man Edward DeVere. We know that because deVere was a nobleman, he could not have his name written upon  his writings because he would be considered of a lower class. The  plays contain a sense of hate towards some of the noblemen of that  time period, which also point the authorship towards DeVere.  (Hayes  1D) When DeVere was a young man, he spent a lot of time in Italy and  Europe, This could explain the great detail used in the Shakespearean  plays of Venice, and other European locations.(Sobran 45) The sonnets  have never been able to fit into Shakespears life, On the other hand  they fit into DeVere's life well. (Sobran 45)


There are facts that lean both ways in this age old mystery of authorship, Though the Strafordian man does not fit into the story  very well, He may have some advantages that the Oxfordian man may not.  DeVere on the other hand, has mostly every fact pointing towards him  as the valid author for the "Shakespearean" works, From his education,  to his experiences, to his travel. The Oxfordian seems to come out on  top. Shakespeare: Stratforidan, or DeVere?





Anonymous (Movie)


The theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, who penned Shakespeare's plays. Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I and the Essex rebellion against her.


Sunday 26 September 2010

St Augustine's Tower (Knights Templar) - Interior Shots


 
'The tower is all that remains of the old church of St. Augustine, which was built at the end of the thirteenth century when Hackney was a village separated by fields from the City of London.
During the 17th century the dedication changed to St. John. Why the change of name? The Knights Templar, a military order, were important landowners in Hackney, and probably gave the land on which the church was built. They were influenced by the writings of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. After the order was suppressed in 1308, their estates passed to another military religious order, the Knights Hospitaller, or Knights of St. John, and this led to the church being renamed St. John-at-Hackney. In turn, the Order of the Knights of St. John was dissolved during the Reformation...'

 The above quote states the order was dissolved but just one look at the Temple Mills location which is the site of Olympic's 2012 and you'll find all the road names into the site have a connection to religion in some format...The St Augustine site was their stronghold in the borough as the tower had long range views across the vast landscape. We had a chance to legally climb the spiral staircase to the roof and see the views for ourselves...


















 
Bring me my bow of burning gold:
Bring me my arrows of desire:
Bring me my spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire.
I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.
    William Blake 


Wednesday 22 September 2010

More Light More Power - What Does it Mean?




More Light More Power? Official history says that Shoreditch, Hackney was the second borough in the country to have electric street lights, the first being Brixton. As discussed elsewhere on the blog where did the evil looking double bodied lion come from but not even the guide (Shoreditch Town Hall) that showed us around the building who represents the trust which maintains and manages the site knows where its from or why its used 'something to do with a coat of arms' she said. 


It appears the closer we get to knowledge the further it seems away. Take the word 'light' for example throughout my life I've heard this word used in a very positive context. I guess it first came to me as a child when hearing of near death experiences and talk of searching for the 'light', walking into the 'light', 'light' at end of tunnel. I was conditioned to look and run for the 'light' if ever i found myself knocking on heavens door and I'm sure YOU were too. When the new age movement happened and apparently hijacked, the main theme was and still is 'light' based.


Then you discover that the force deemed as satan, devil or Lucifer is also a representation of 'light'. Lucifer definition is 'light-bearer'  (lucem ferre) which left me bemused as Im sure many that didn't know that are at this moment. I then learn many hundreds of different terms we use daily are actually in reference to Lucifer the light-bearer.

Examples:

When rising through the ranks of corporations, sports or the arts individuals are often referred to as Rising Stars…

Smart people are often refereed to as Bright…

Light hearted fun…

They shone too brightly...

There are many examples of this you can find or remember yourself. So the question must be asked. What did the men of power actually mean when they created the slogan and connected it to a one headed doubled bodied lion that appears to have blood on its tongue and mounted on a red shield (?)…

If you can shed
'light' on this matter then do tell...


'Lucifer is a Latin word (from the words lucem ferre), literally meaning "light-bearer", which in that language is used as a name for the dawn appearance of the planet Venus, heralding daylight. Use of the word in this sense is uncommon in English, in which "Day Star" or "Morning Star" are more common expressions…Wiki'

'Lucifer is a Latin word meaning "light-bearer" (from lux, lucis, "light", and ferre, "to bear, bring"), a Roman astrological term for the "Morning Star", the planet Venus. The word Lucifer was the direct translation of the Septuagint Greek heosphoros, ("dawn-bearer"); (cf. Greek phosphoros, "light-bearer") and the Hebrew Helel, ("Bright one") used by Jerome in the Vulgate, having mythologically the same meaning as Prometheus who brought fire to humanity…Masonic Traveler'