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Moreover, the manuscript might have been recognized as the important Shakespeare manuscript it truly is, were it not for some other and more controversial names and phrases also being included on this paper, thus transforming it into an enigma:    

- Francis Bacon’s name appears several times on the page, making it the only contemporary document that combines the names of William Shakespeare and Francis Bacon.

 

- In connection with the phrase: “By Mr. Francis Bacon” the document continues: “by the same author”, and then lists a few by 1596 anonymously published Shakespeare-plays: Richard II and Richard III. Many see this as a suggestion that Bacon might have been authoring these plays.

 

- The table of contents is a mystery, because it lists both Bacon and Shakespeare's writings, but inside of the wrapping, when this pile of manuscripts was discovered, only Bacon’s writings remained. The Shakespeare manuscripts were all but missing. In light of this one can ask the question: Did someone remove the Shakespeare documents, perhaps fearing that finding them here would reveal the true author? Or maybe for another reason - like finding safe and suitable storing place for all the now-missing manuscripts of Shakespeare?

 

Sir Henry Neville’s name, another recently launched candidate vying for the authorship title, is also mentioned on the document, along with his family’s Latin motto: Ne Vile Velis.

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