Hello and welcome to Home School History. I'm Greg Jenner, the historian behind TV's

Horrible Histories, and the host of the BBC podcast, You're Dead to Me, though that one's

mostly for the grownups. I'm here to deliver a snappy history lesson to entertain and

educate the whole family, who says that homeschooling can't be fun. Today we are journeying

back to 16th century England to explore the life of one of the greatest ever-writers. Some

people call him England's national poet, others the Bard, but most people know him as

William Shakespeare, because you know, that was his name. Or was it? Hmm, more on that

later. You may have seen films inspired by Shakespeare plays, such as Nomeo and Juliet,

based on Romeo and Juliet. Even Lord of the Rings contains references to Macbeth, or the

Lion King. Faced roughly on Hamlet. But this extraordinary writer came from a surprisingly

ordinary background. William was born to John and Mary Shakespeare in April 1564, in a town

called Stratford upon Aven in the West Midlands. His family wasn't poor, but they certainly

weren't rich either. Dad John worked a few different jobs as a glovemaker, a trader

of leather and wool, and even a beer-taster. Ordinary jobs for an ordinary dad. William

was the third child of eight, but his two older sisters died tragically young, making him

the oldest. A home shared with five younger siblings would have been quamit cramped.

Oh, William, go away! And the house was also their dad's glove shop, talking about working

from home. William went to the local perfectly ordinary grammar school, where he would have

learned all sorts of things, including Latin. But one of the things he wasn't taught was

spelling. People just spelled things any way they liked back in those days, even their

own names. William Shakespeare spelled his name at least six different ways, including

William Shakespeare and Wom Shakespeare. Hmm, maybe I'll add a few more Gs to my name.

...