Thomas Lord Cromwell is an Elizabethan play, published in 1602. It depicts the life of Thomas Cromwell. The Elizabethan Era is the period associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603) and is often considered to be a golden age in English history. ... Thomas Cromwell: detail from a portrait by Hans Holbein, 1532-3 Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex ( 1485 - July 28, 1540) was an English statesman, one of the most important political figures of the reign of Henry VIII of England. ...
Because its title page attributes it to 'W.S.', it is classed with the Shakespeare Apocrypha. It is a very badly-written play and no modern reader has ever been convinced of Shakespeare's authorship. However, it is conceivable that Shakespeare might have been in charge of tidying up an old play. It is thought more likely, however, that the attribution was merely an attempt by the publisher to increase sales by seeming to link the play with a popular playwright. The Shakespeare Apocrypha is the name given to a group of plays that have sometimes been attributed to Shakespeare, but whose attribution is questionable for various reasons. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...
It is also conceivable that the 'W.S.' of the title page is actually intended to represent Wentworth Smith, a much more obscure contemporary playwright with the same initials. Wentworth Smith (fl. ...
Cromwell was the most prominent of those who suggested to Henry VIII that the king make himself head of the English Church, and saw the Act of Supremacy of 1534 through Parliament.
The marriage to Anne of Cleves, a political alliance which Cromwell had urged on Henry, was a disaster, and this was the real motive for Cromwell to be charged with treason.
Cromwell was subject to a writ of Attainder and was privately executed at the Tower of London on July 28, 1540.
ThomasCromwell, Earl of Essex, born probably not later than 1485 and possibly a year or two earlier, was the only son of Walter Cromwell, alias Smyth, a brewer, smith and fuller of Putney.
Cromwell could be most useful to the government in parliament, and the government, represented by Norfolk, undertook to use its influence in procuring him a seat, on the natural understanding that Cromwell should do his best to further government business in the House of Commons.
Cromwell was not affected by the iniquities of the monks except as arguments for the confiscation of their property.