Years 1588-1590
| Shakespeare's life | contemporary events |
| 1588 | |
| [The "lost years." Shakespeare becomes associated with Strange's and Admiral's Men sometime between 1588 and 1594.] |
The defeat of the Spanish Armada. The Marprelate Letters are published from a hidden printing press, viciously attacking the Anglican Church. First paper mill erected in England. Robert Armin is born. Death of the Earl of Leicester. Assassination of Duc de Guise, ordered by Henri III. |
| 1589 | |
|
Henry III of France murdered; civil war in France. Stocking loom invented by William Lee. | |
| 1590 | |
|
Scottish trials for witchcraft. Thomas Lodge's Rosalynde: Euphues Golden Legacy published (the source for As You Like It). First performance of Marlowe's The Jew of Malta. Spenser's The Faerie Queene (books 1-3) is published. Sidney's Arcadia is published. | |