TJic Nczvly-Discoz'ercd Shakespeare Documents 3 



This is the first important addition to the Hst of documents 

 touching the hfe of Shakespeare since the discoveries by J. O. 

 HalHwell in 1870/ Of approximately one hundred seventy-five 

 evidences- upon which rests the history of the poet's family, 

 life, and works, these take their place among that limited class 

 of legal and other official records made between his birth and 

 death, and containing the name of William Shakespeare. This 

 list has hitherto numbered twenty. Six entries relating to births, 

 marriage, and deaths ; the privy seal and patent to the King's 

 company of players ; a record of assessment in Bishopsgate ; five 

 evidences of property ownership in Stratford and county War- 

 wick ; two documents in a suit? and one in an agreement over the 

 Stratford tithes ; the poet's will ; the deed and mortgage con- 

 cerning Blackfriars property. Alost of these have been known 

 for more than one hundred twenty-five years. 



The only signatures of the poet are in this small list, — three 

 times in the will, once in the deed, and once in the mortgage of 

 Blackfriars property of present concern. These latter three 

 documents, because of the signatures and the information fur- 

 nished, are the most valuable of all. 



The newly discovered records are of less worth than the three 

 signed documents, but in comparison with the other seventeen 

 they furnish their fair quota of information. Of course a final 

 statement can not yet be judicially made because all clues have 

 not been followed out. Every new name and new fact suggests 

 lines of further research. These may serve to trace ancient 



'See Halliwell's announcement in The Athenaeum, August 13, 1870, con- 

 cerning the Blackfriars Share-papers of 1G35, etc. These and other discov- 

 eries were first pubUshed in his Illustrations of the Life of Shakespeare. 

 Lond. 1874. Minor records, mainly from Stratford, were published by him 

 from time to time until 1884, all of which are now collected in his Outlines 

 {ut infra). 



^For all known evidences see the following: 



J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps: Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare. Eighth 

 Edition. Lond. 1889. [Contains all records then known, but not chrono- 

 logically arranged. ] 



D. H. Lambert: Shakespeare Documents; A Chronoloq^ical Catalogue of 

 Extant Eindence, etc. Lond. 1904. [Indispensable and convenient, but 

 not complete.] 



Sidney Lee: A Life of William Shakespeare. Fifth edition (Revised). 

 Lond. 1905. [The last judicial weighing of evidences.] 



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