What is the Significance of the Mortgage in Love's Labour's Lost?

The purpose of this article is to explain the significance of the mortgage in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost. Hitherto, there has been a lack of clarity regarding the precise nature of the transaction entered into between the Kings of France and Navarre, described at the beginning of the play. Accordingly, a lawyer's perspective on the transaction is provided here in order to explain how Love's Labour's Lost provides a commentary on what was an emerging and contentious area of law at the time. The depiction of the mortgage also enables a more accurate pinpointing of the play's probable date of composition. The transaction also mirrors the main plot of the play and illustrates how, irrespective of whether the King of Navarre is ever reconciled with the Princess of France, his financial loss is of a much longer duration.