Lord Verulam
Who was Laneham?
There is little doubt that Francis was present with the Court at the entertainment of the Quuen at Kenilworth Castle, August 1572, and in July 1575. There are two accounts of The Princely Pleasure of Kenilworth obviously from the same hand, by some person who signs himself “Laneham” and “Geo. Gascoign.” The descriptions are replete with the exuberance of youth. The writer is a poet, full of the joy of life, with an extensive vocabulary and imaginative wit.
“Laneham” 1 was possessed of inside information and he could not have been an ordinary outsider. The little descriptive booklet was suppressed on the instructions of the “Master of Requests,” whose agent, W. Patten, writes to Lord Burleigh that “with the exception of six copies to Mr. Wilson, two to his Lordship and the Lord Keeper Bacon, I have not let more than three copies pass.” So we know the “Laneham” book was thus brought directly into relation with the “Bacon Circle.”
One of the scenes in the Kenilworth Pageant is described in Midsummer Night’s Dream. These descriptions are so akin, even the “Melody of the Seven-sorted Music of the Dolphin,” that Shake-Speare must have known of the suppressed book. The commentators are virtually agreed that the author of the plays must have seen the Revels and Devices at Kenilworth to have written the passage in the Dream, that he and “Laneham” were one and the same or that he had read his book. [It should be remembered that the booklet was suppressed and only thirteen in total copies were circulated; see extract from Patten’s letter above.] There is not the slightest evidence that the actor of Stratford saw the Kenilworth Revels at the age of eleven, but Francis Bacon, as one of the inner circle, is certain to have been present. And if we take the hint of “Lean Ham” 2 as the cover name for “Bacon” there is at least a strong presumption that the young Francis was present, wrote the description anonymously, and thus early embarked on a careet of concealed authorship. Such scenes of splendour would necessarily quicken the imagination necessary to dramatic invention. ~ Extract from Alfred Dodd's Francis Bacon’s Personal Life Story, p. 76-77.1 If we take the last syllable of the name as an open hint, “Ham,” we may not be far wrong in assuming the identity of the writer as Bacon, for is not Bacon, “Ham?” And if we remember that the word “lean” was sounded like the first syllable “Lane” we get the anonymous letter writer jesting at the name of Bacon. He is a “Lean Ham,” i.e., Laneham. This idea of laying with words to convey other meanings was quite characteristic of Francis Bacon’s humour. Ordinarly, it would seem to be very far-fetched, but these diamond words appear as punning in Shake-Speare; and the very word “Ham,” with other words such as PIG, SOW, SHOAT, are given repeatedly in the Initial Captials of the Shake-Speare Text usually with a message that the author is playing with his name and wants the reader to know that his real name is “Bacon.” We must remember that Ben Jonson records that Francis Bacon could not let an opportunity pass for making or cracking a joke. Ibid.
2 “Laneham” is said to be a youth of fourteen whom the Kenilworth Revels were held in 1575. This was the age of Francis Bacon. Who “Laneham” was no one knows. Ibid.
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