Sir John Oldcastle 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 of the same play. The name Falstaff was derived from Sir John Fastolf, who was also a historical person—allegedly a greedy and grasping individual, who had a (probably undeserved) reputation for cowardice at the Battle of Patay in 1429. Fastolf, however, died without descendants, making him safe for a playwright's use. He had already appeared as a cowardly knight in Henry VI, part 1. The name change and the Epilogue disclaimer were required,
John Shakespeare 20th century that showed the original to be very likely genuine. The only non-genuine portion was the first leaf of the document; it had been forged by John Jordan, a man who had acquired the manuscript and attempted to have it published. John Shakespeare John Shakespeare (c. 1531 – 7 September 1601) was the father of William Shakespeare. He was the son of Richard Shakespeare of the Warwickshire village of Snitterfield, a farmer . He moved to Stratford-upon-Avon and married Mary Arden, with whom he had eight children, five of whom survived into adulthood. A well-to-do glover and whittawer (leather