Old Court, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge where Marlowe resided as a student.

Cambridge University produced many of the University Wits such as Marlowe who provided the precedents and rivals for Shakespeare. However, Marlowe's studies at Cambridge were not well maintained. Surviving college records indicate Marlowe had unusual absences from the university – much longer than permitted by university regulations – that began in the academic year 1584-1585. Surviving college dining-room accounts indicate he began spending lavishly on food and drink during the periods he was in attendance – more than he could have afforded on his known scholarship income. In 1587 the Privy Council ordered Cambridge University to award Marlowe his MA, denying rumours that he intended to go to the English Catholic college in Rheims, saying instead that he had been engaged in unspecified "affaires" on "matters touching the benefit of his country". This is from a document dated 29 June 1587, from the Public Records Office – Acts of Privy Council. Image author: Jerzy Kociatkiewicz from Colchester, United Kingdom. Some data courtesy of Wikipedia, and image via the Yorck Project. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.