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All Site ContentRomeo and JulietAct 1Scene 4
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"benefice"
Allusion
Act 1,
Scene 4
Lines 75-79

An explanation of the historical meaning of “benefice” in the Queen Mab speech of Act 1, Scene 4 of myShakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Mercutio

Sometime she gallops o'er a courtier's nose,
And then dreams he of smelling out a suit;
And sometime comes she with a tithe-pig's tail,
Tickling a parson's nose as he lies asleep —
Then dreams he of another benefice.

In the Anglican church, the head priest in charge of a parish received compensation — a benefice — from the parish church. If a priest could manage to become the top priest of multiple parishes, then he received multiple benefices.

(Girolamo and Cardinal Marco corner investing Marco, Abbot of Carrara, with his Benefice, Titian and workshop, c. 1520)