intended.

Freeman, in his "Epigrams," 1614, asks:

"Why hath our age such new-found 'gentles' found
To give the 'master' to the farmer's son?"

But his high praise of Shakespeare elsewhere shows he does not refer to
him.

[82] John Davies of Hereford's "Microcosmus, The Civil Warres of Death
and Fortune."

CHAPTER VI

THE ARDENS OF WILMECOTE

It is unfortunate that we know so little about Thomas Arden, Mary
Shakespeare's "antecessor." A quiet country gentleman he seems to have
been, marrying for love, and not for property, or his wife's descent
might have helped us to clear his own. I do not think she was a
Throckmorton, but I think she was very probably a Trussell, which Mr.
French also suggests. Joane was a Trussell name, and Billesley held some
attraction to the family. We are not sure of anything about Thomas
except the purchase of Snitterfield, the year before Sir Walter Arden's
death, and his payment of the subsidies in 1526 and 1546. It is probable
he was the "Thomas Arden, Squier," who witnessed the will of Sir Walter
in 1502; it is _possible_ he was the Thomas Arden who witnessed the will
of John Lench[83] of Birmingham in 1525, though it is more likely that
this latter Thomas was his nephew, the heir of Park Hall. Thomas of
Wilmecote is supposed to have died in 1546, but no will has been
discovered. Probably he had handed over his property to his son in his
lifetime. There is no trace of another child than Robert.

Robert was probably under age when his father purchased Snitterfield,
and hence the need of trustees in association with the purchase. On
December 14 and 21, 1519, Robert Arden purchased another property in
Snitterfield from Richard Rushby and Agnes his wife,[84] and he bought
also a tenement from John Palmer on October 1, 1529.[85] One of his
tenants was Richard Shakespeare. He and his tenant were both presented
for non-suit of court in 30 Henry VIII.

He contributed to the subsidy in Wilmecote in 1526 and 1546. We know no
more of his first wife than we know of his mother. She might have been
either a Trussel or a Palmer. But we know that he had seven[86]
daughters, who all bore Arden family names: _Agnes_, who married first
John Hewyns, and secondly Thomas Stringer, by whom she had two sons,
John and Arden Stringer; _Joan_, who married Edmund Lambert, of
Barton-on-the-Heath, who had a son, John Lambert; _Katharine_, who
married Thomas Edkyns of Wilmecote, who had a son