Questions about Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Was Henry Wriothesley the Fair Youth of Shakespeare's Sonnets?
Many scholars have argued he was. Nathan Drake first proposed the identification in 1817, noting that Southampton's initials H.W. could be reversed to produce 'Mr. W.H.', the 'onlie begetter' named on the Sonnets' title page. Edward Chaney later proposed that 'Mr. W.H.' was actually William Hervey, who married Southampton's mother. The academic Park Honan argued against the identification, pointing out that the Young Man in the Sonnets is described as 'lascivious' and 'sensual to a fault.' No documents beyond the two poem dedications have survived to confirm any personal relationship between Shakespeare and Southampton.
Why was Southampton sentenced to death in 1601?
Southampton was deeply involved in the Essex Rebellion of February 1601, in which Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, attempted to seize control of the government. Southampton was convicted and sentenced to death. Robert Cecil persuaded the Queen to exercise maximum clemency, and the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He was freed when James I acceded to the throne in 1603.
What was Southampton's connection to colonial ventures in America?
Southampton was an active member of the Virginia Company's governing council and worked alongside Sir Edwin Sandys, who became the company's Treasurer. His faction sought a permanent English colony at Jamestown that would expand British territory and markets. His name is thought by many to be the origin of Hampton Roads, the Hampton River, Southampton County, and Northampton County in Virginia, though the attribution is contested because the name Southampton was common in England.
How did Southampton die?
In 1624 Southampton was appointed to command English troops fighting the Spanish in the Low Countries. His eldest son James died of an unspecified fever at Roosendaal. Five days later, on the 10th of November 1624, Southampton died of the same fever at Bergen-op-Zoom, aged 51. Both were buried at the parish church in Titchfield, Hampshire.
Who were the writers and artists Southampton patronised?
In the 1590s Southampton received dedications from Shakespeare, Thomas Nashe, Barnabe Barnes, Gervase Markham, John Florio, Henry Lok, and William Burton. Florio spent several years in his 'pay and patronage.' In the Jacobean era Southampton promoted the work of George Chapman, Samuel Daniel, Thomas Heywood, and the composer Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger. In January 1605 he hosted a private performance of Love's Labour's Lost by Burbage's company, which included Shakespeare.