Rare Shakespeare Folio Discovered

[Lex]

Sounds an interesting find: http://www.stratford-herald.com/30545-rare-shakespeare-first-folio-discovered-in-france.html

[Margaret]

More and more evidence keeps coming to light on how closely Shakespeare was bound up with the turbulent and violent age in which he lived.
This is undoubtedly an important find for a number of reasons.
The older view was that there was very little penetration on the continent of Shakespeare's works prior to about the 18th century.
What's looking more likely is that there was quite a strong tradition of performing Shakespeare's works in France as early as the first decade or so after his death and probably earlier during his lifetime.
This is all linked as everything was then, with the religious background, because in the Elizabethan age, religion equaled politics and if you were on the wrong side you could find yourself in very hot water.
From work that has been done over the last 30 years or so by a number of scholars, it now looks as though Shakespeare was on the wrong side, ie. a secret Catholic.
This is important because we know that the Jesuit college at St. Omer was sending over priests to England and to almost certain death, but at the seminary or college there, they were performing certain of Shakespeare's plays and there may have been some code used to smuggle messages out. Another point is that it is in English so it's more likely to have been read by English priests at the college. Perhaps Shakespeare himself had a connection with St. Omer. The first French translation of Shakespeare was not until the eighteenth century.
This is fascinating because St. Omer is close to Lille where this very rare Folio was found.