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Glossary
Bard A poet and/or storyteller.
bequest A gift made to someone in a will.
certificate A document in which facts have been recorded by someone in authority.
Clink A prison in Southwark, London.
dramatist A writer of plays.
Exchequer The government department responsible for receiving and giving out public money.
executor Person appointed to carry out the instructions of a will.
folio Another word for a book.
Globe Theatre A theatre built by Cuthbert and Richard Burbage on the south side of the river Thames in Southwark, London in 1599. William Shakespeare's plays were performed there.
lease A contract allowing someone to live in a building or have some land for a certain amount of time and money.
Lord Chamberlain's Men The most important theatre company in Elizabethan England, based at the Globe Theatre.
Pipe Roll Also called 'Great Rolls of the Exchequer'. Sheepskin (parchment) rolls which look like pipes. They contain yearly financial accounts of royal officials.
plate Dishes and utensils made of valuable metal.
silver gilt Silver coated with a layer of gold.
sonnet A poem of fourteen lines which rhymes according to a fixed pattern.
tax commissioner A person appointed by the government to collect an amount of money.
pounds, shilling, pence (£ s d) In old money, a 'pound' = a pound in weight of silver. This was divided into 20 pieces of silver called shillings or 240 pieces called pence.
ward A division of a city.
The Wardrobe Also called the 'King's Wardrobe' and the 'Great Wardrobe'. The Crown's building for the storage of furniture, armour, documents etc. It stood in an area of the City of London called Blackfriars, but burned down in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The site is still marked by the street name Wardrobe Place.