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Early life

Marlowe was born to a shoemaker in Canterbury named John Marlowe and his wife Catherine.^[2] His date of birth is not known, but he was baptized on 26 February 1564, and thus born a few days before.

He attended The King's School, Canterbury (where a house is now named after him) and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge on a scholarship and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1584.^[3] In 1587 the university hesitated to award him his master's degree because of a rumour that he had converted to Roman Catholicism and intended to go to the English college at Rheims to prepare for the priesthood. However, his degree was awarded on schedule when the Privy Council intervened on his behalf, commending him for his "faithful dealing" and "good service" to the Queen.^[4] The nature of Marlowe's service was not specified by the Council, but its letter to the Cambridge authorities has provoked much speculation, notably the theory that Marlowe was operating as a secret agent working for Sir Francis Walsingham's intelligence service.^[5] No direct evidence supports this theory, although the Council's letter is evidence that Marlowe had served the government in some capacity.