Othello Tweet Alignments

Topic: Othello Tweet Alignments

1. Verified Sourced Facts

A. The Shirt-and-Sword Scene (letter_018, 7 August 1599 O.S.)

Full passage (local image witness: 1134896629570363398-D7_2d_oUYAABne2.jpg):

“Upon Twysday Night last, after they had all accompanied the King from the place where he had supped to his Lodging to Zametz House, the Duke of Guise, Prince of Joynville, le Grand and his Brother, and Monsieur de Termes, went all out together; and the rest being already entered into le Grand his Coche, Joynville pulled le Grand by the Cloke, and required to speake with him, who thereupon drawing himself alyde from the Company, Joynville told him, he had bin wronged to the King by a Report, that he should make Love to Mademoiselle de Guines, which thing le Grand denyed of him... and withall pulled out his Sword and ranne him in, the other having no Weapon about him; but with hafte, or fom accident, his Thrust lighted lower then he intended, and ranne him into the Flank and through the Thigh, without Danger of Life. After Complaint made to the King, the Vidame de Mans, and an Efcuier of le Grands were very fore hurt, and the Vidame not like to escape as I hear. The King hearing of the matter lept out of his Bed, and rane downe in his Shirt with a Sword in his Hand, by that time the reft were gone, and le Grand was brought in wounded as he was. The King having it examined it carefully, and fent forth for his Court of Parliament, and willed them to do fevere Iustice upon the Fact.”

Key elements of the scene:

• Night-time sword fight
• Wound to the leg/flank (same as Cassio’s wounding in Othello 5.1)
• Man of authority leaping from bed in his shirt with a weapon
• Investigation, legal consequence

B. Treaty Clause Wording (letter_014, 18 July 1599 O.S.)

“to make the clause copulative, which is now disjunctive”

C. Kersey Cloth Trade (letter_014, 18 July 1599 O.S.)

“the sale of our clothe, kersey, bayes and cotton here”

2. Ken Feinstein Twitter and Blog Information

• The specific Othello scene comparisons in this packet are still carried mainly through Ken Feinstein tweet/image work rather than through a separate direct-witness Play: Othello packet.

1 June 2019

• “Could this have been a source for Othello?”
• “The King hearing of the matter lept out of his Bed, and ran down in his Shirt with a Sword in his Hand”
• “Here’s one comes in his shirt, with light and weapons.”

7 Oct. 2019

• “This scene described by Henry Neville in August 1599 is very reminiscent of one in Othello, written a few years later.”

3 Jan. 2020

• “Henry Nevillle's letter August 1599. Shakespeare's Othello.”
• “Please understand the specificity here.”

1 Nov. 2020

• “Henry Neville is using the word ‘copulative’ in a technical sense in reference to treaty negotiations.”
• “Neville is writing here about English kersey in reference to French import duties.”
• “Then he uses the exact same idea in his creative writing about 3 years later.”

18 Aug. 2024

• “This letter from Henry Neville (1600) appears to include a plot point from Othello (1603).”

3. Citations

• Feinstein, Ken. Tweet, 1 June 2019, https://twitter.com/user/status/1134896629570363398. Local preservation: twitter_Othello.md.
• Feinstein, Ken. Tweet, 7 Oct. 2019, https://twitter.com/user/status/1181067783800360960. Local preservation: twitter_Othello.md.
• Feinstein, Ken. Tweet, 3 Jan. 2020, https://twitter.com/user/status/1213210639763554304. Local preservation: twitter_Othello.md.
• Feinstein, Ken. Tweet, 1 Nov. 2020, https://twitter.com/user/status/1322929945304203264. Local preservation: twitter_Othello.md.
• Feinstein, Ken. Tweet, 18 Aug. 2024, https://twitter.com/user/status/1825268043125338608. Local preservation: twitter_Othello.md.
• Neville_Letters_Corpus_v8.xml, direct local witness for letter_018 (7 Aug. 1599 O.S.) and letter_014 (18 July 1599 O.S.).
• venice_newsletters_and_othello.md, related Venice/Othello packet.

4. Notes on Access

• This packet now preserves both direct Neville letter witnesses and Ken Feinstein tweet leads.
• The packet’s strongest current value is the Neville-side witness layer.
• The Othello side is no longer limited to tweet-stage work alone. The stronger current Othello-side research now lives in:
• venice_newsletters_and_othello.md
• OTHELLO_CINTHIO_COMPLETE_MARKUP.md
• index.html
• So this packet should now be read mainly as a Neville-side and tweet-trail lead packet, not as the main Othello packet.

5. Local Images