Shakespeare was the third child of eight born to John and Mary Shakespeare, but he was their first son and their first child to survive past infancy. In 1564, the year of his birth, plague struck Stratford, and by year’s end had killed 200 people, about 20% of the town’s population. The Shakespeare household was spared, but families just a few streets away lost children. The Parish Register for Stratford, housed in Holy Trinity Church, records William’s baptism on 26 April 1564. A digital image of this record is housed on the Shakespeare Documented site.
Guiliamus filius Johannes Shakspere, which is Latin for
William son of John Shakspere
The entry is in Latin, the official language of the Church of England, and reads, Guiliamus filius Johannes Shakspere
; that is, William son of John Shakspere
.
John Shakespeare would have taken his newly born son to the parish church, Holy Trinity Church, accompanied by the child’s godparents, on the next Sunday or other holy day (such as a saint’s day) after the child’s birth. William’s mother Mary would not have attended, but rather remained secluded at home in a
Here shall the priest aske what shall be the name of the childe, and when the Godfathers and Godmothers have tolde the name, then shall he make a crosse upon the childes forehead and breste, saying.receyve the signe of the holy Crosse, both in thy forehead, and in thy breste, in token that thou shalt not be ashamed to confesse thy fayth in Christe crucifyed, and manfully to fyght under his banner against synne, the worlde, and the devill, and to continewe his faythfull soldiour and servaunt unto thy lyfes ende. Amen.And this he shalt doe and saye to as many children as bee presented to be Baptised, one after another.
While the record from Holy Trinity Church indicates the date of Shakespeare’s baptism, the actual date of his birth is unknown, although it is traditionally celebrated on April 23. Because children were typically baptized two or three days after being born and on the Sunday or holy day closest to their birth, April 23 remains a likely date; however, it is also the day on which Shakespeare died in 1616, giving a pleasing, though possibly artificial, symmetry to his life. He is also buried in the same church in which he was baptized.
April 23 is St. George’s Day, a day on which the nation of England celebrated its patron saint. St. George’s day and the red and white St. George cross flag gained increasing importance in England after the Reformation, which discouraged the use of saint’s images to disassociate its practices from those of the Church of Rome. The association of Shakespeare’s possible date of birth with the patron saint of England shakes the certainty of April 23 as Shakespeare’s actual birthdate and moves into legendary territory.