The Merry Wives of Windsor in 1597, after which controversy over the original naming of Falstaff (he was originally the historic Sir John Oldcastle, which presumably did not please Oldcastle's descendants) forced Shakespeare to rename the character. It appears that the joke in V,v,85–90 is that Oldcastle/Falstaff incriminates himself by calling out the first letter of his name, "O, O, O!," when his fingertips are singed with candles—which of course works for "Oldcastle" but not "Falstaff." There is also the "castle" reference in IV,v,6. 18 January 1602 was the date the play was entered into the Register of the Stationers Company. The first quarto was
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