Religious views of William Shakespeare the Anglican church in Stratford in order for his wedding to be performed as a Catholic sacrament. He was thought to have rushed his marriage ceremony, as Anne was three months pregnant. In 1611 the historian John Speed asserted Shakespeare's links with Catholicism, accusing him of satirising in "Henry IV" the Lollard (or proto-Protestant) martyr John Oldcastle (first portrayed by Shakespeare under his character's real name, then the alias John Falstaff after complaints from Oldcastle's descendants) and linking the playwright with Jesuit Robert Persons, describing them together as "the Papist and his poet". Modern critics have attributed other motives for
Siôn Cent cover of Alex Gibbon's book "The Mystery of Jack of Kent & the Fate of Owain Glyndŵr". It has been said to depict Sir John Oldcastle, Sir John Scudamore, Owain Glyndŵr or Sion Cent. Sion Cent is said to have been a chaplain to the Scudamore family, secretary to Sir John Scudamore, tutor to his children, later joining a Franciscan order abroad and returning again several years later as chaplain once more. He was said to be highly educated, fluent in Welsh, Latin and English and he is also said to have translated the Bible into Welsh. Siôn is most