• Christopher Marlowe was a leading figure in Elizabethan drama, known for plays like Dr Faustus and Tamburlaine the Great.

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• His life was controversial, marked by accusations of atheism, blasphemy, and rumours of espionage.

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• Marlowe was killed by a single dagger wound above the right eye.

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• The coroner’s inquest stated that Marlowe died during a quarrel over "The Reckoning" (the bill).

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• Ingram Frizer claimed self-defence and was quickly pardoned.

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• Theories and speculations included

  • Political assassination - Marlowe’s intelligence work and heretical views made him a threat to powerful figures. Theories suggest Robert Poley, a known spy, orchestrated the murder.​

  • Revenge for heresy - Marlowe’s alleged atheism and blasphemous statements (detailed in the Baines Note) could have incited retaliation.

  • Espionage gone wrong - All three men present at the tavern—Frizer, Poley, and Nicholas Skeres—had ties to Elizabethan intelligence.

  • Cover-up - The swift resolution and lack of further investigation suggest a deliberate suppression of details.

  • Faked death - Some believe Marlowe staged his death to escape charges of heresy and continued writing under the pseudonym William Shakespeare.

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• The tavern, owned by Eleanor Bull, was a known meeting place for individuals engaged in covert activities.

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• The Baines Note, submitted shortly before Marlowe’s death, accused him of scandalous statements against Christianity and societal norms.

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• Marlowe’s death remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of literary history.

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• His work profoundly influenced contemporaries, including Shakespeare, and his death has inspired endless theories, from assassination to literary conspiracies.