Shakespeare's England: General Q & A

In 1875, Mr. Charles W. Bardsley proposed that the name Shakespeare belonged to a class of nicknames in Renaissance England. He claimed that:

...the nicknames given to lower-class officials some centuries ago were invariably hits at the officious and meddlesome character of their duties. Such names generally referred to the implement or badge of office, with the additional wag or shake . Thus we find Shake-buckler, shake-lock (as the designation of a turnkey), Waggestaff, Wag-tail, Wagspere; and the still existing Waghorn, Simon Shake-lock, Henry Shake-launce, and Hugh Shakeshaft occur in ancient records. In the year 1487 a student at Oxford of the name of Shakespeare changed it into Sawndare (Saunders) because he considered his name too common (Hugh Sawndare, alias dictus Shakespeare, sed mutatum est istud nomen ejus, quod vile reputatum). (As quoted in William Rolfe, A Life of William Shakespeare, Boston: Estes & CO., 1904 (19)).

 Playing Fast and Loose with Shakespeare's Name
 Daily Life in Shakespeare's London
 What did Shakespeare drink?
 What did Shakespeare look like?

 Was Shakespeare popular in his own day?
 Famous Quotations About William Shakespeare
 Shakespeare's Characters A to Z
 A Shakespeare Glossary
 How many plays did Shakespeare write?

 The History of Othello
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