Judith Shakespeare

Judith Quiney
Born	Judith Shakespeare
Baptised	2 February 1585
Died	9 February 1662 (aged 77)
Nationality	English
Known for	Being the younger daughter of William Shakespeare
Spouse(s)	Thomas Quiney

Judith Quiney (baptised 2 February 1585 – 9 February 1662), née Shakespeare, was the younger daughter of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway and the fraternal twin of Shakespeare's only son Hamnet Shakespeare. She married Thomas Quiney, a vintner of Stratford-upon-Avon. The circumstances of the marriage, including Quiney's misconduct, may have prompted the rewriting of Shakespeare's will. Thomas was struck out, while Judith's inheritance was attached with provisions to safeguard it from her husband. The bulk of Shakespeare's estate was left, in an elaborate fee tail, to his elder daughter Susanna and her male heirs.

Judith and Thomas Quiney had three children. By the time of Judith Quiney's death, she had outlived her children by many years. She has been depicted in several works of fiction as part of an attempt to piece together unknown portions of her father's life.

Judith Shakespeare was the daughter of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. She was the younger sister of Susanna and the twin sister of Hamnet. Hamnet, however, died at the age of eleven. Her baptism on 2 February 1585 was recorded as “Judeth Shakespeare” by the vicar, Richard Barton of Coventry, in the parish register for Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. The twins were named after a husband and wife, Hamnet and Judith Sadler, who were friends of the parents. Hamnet Sadler was a baker in Stratford.

Unlike her father and her husband, Judith Shakespeare was probably illiterate. In 1611 she witnessed the deed of sale of a house for £131 to William Mountford, a wheelwright of Stratford, from Elizabeth Quiney, her future mother-in-law, and Elizabeth's eldest son Adrian. Judith signed twice with a mark instead of her name.

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