Parish register entry recording Judith Shakespeare and Thomas Quiney's marriage

Judith, William and Anne Shakespeare’s younger daughter, married Thomas Quiney on February 10, 1616, according to the Holy Trinity Church parish register. Next to the entry, an “X” added by a later hand highlights its significance. Judith was 31 and Thomas, the third son of Richard Quiney, was 27. Judith was well above the Stratford average age of first marriage over the period 1570–1640 (24) which was also the age at which the highest number of women were first married. Thomas was closer to the average age of first marriage for men (26), though it was unusual for men to be younger than women.

Judith and Thomas were married during Lent (which in 1616 ran from January 28 to April 7), a traditionally prohibited season. In theory, the couple would therefore have required a bishop’s license to be married, but they did not receive one. How strictly this practice was observed is not clear, but in this particular case, Judith and Thomas’ failure to observe proper process was reported to the diocesan court. Presumably banns were still called but the irregularity of a Lenten wedding implies some haste, which may be attributed to Thomas Quiney’s illicit relationship with Margaret Wheeler. Margaret died just over a month later on March 15, giving birth to his illegitimate child, who also died.