Several years ago, I told Mark Johnson, an administrator of the “Oxfraud” group Facebook page, that when I had time, I would provide a written evaluation of their self-styled “Prima Facie Case (PFC)” (without conceding they have one) for the proposition that William Shaxpere/Shakespeare of Stratford was the true author of the Shakespeare works, as is traditionally assumed (presented at https://oxfraud.com/sites/PrimaFacie.html).
Using a legal analogy, the “Oxfraudians” (“Stratfordians” who reject the claim that Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford (1550-1604), was the true Shakespeare) have claimed their statement of the case was so strong that it entitled them to a presumption a favorable legal stance–which would put the burden on their opponents to rebut their proof. Under modern rules of civil procedure (New York, for example): if the rebuttal was insufficient (as hypothetically decided by an impartial judge), they would win the case on the pleadings. If the rebuttal raised reasonable doubt, there would be a full trial on the evidence.
Actor and Educator Jono Freeman on top incisive and iconoclastic form, examines the legitimacy of the Stratfordian argument, as advocated by three well-known figureheads. The Francis Bacon Society provides a platform for discussion of subjects connected with the Objects of the Society, but the Council does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed by contributors or correspondents.
Members of the public are welcome to pitch suitable videos they have made or will make which can be uploaded to the Francis Bacon website and/or YouTube Channel.
To celebrate the 139th birthday of the founding of The Francis Bacon Society we are organising a special Members’ event at Canonbury Tower in Islington, London.
This is a most extraordinary building that was occupied by Francis Bacon and was The Francis Bacon Society Headquarters in the 20th Century. The event will include a tour of the Tower lasting around 1 hour and then a short stroll for a pub lunch together. Members are welcome to bring a guest.
DATE & TIME: Tuesday 15th April 12.00 midday
PLACE: Canonbury Tower, 6 Canonbury Place, London N1 2NY
More Than 100 Contemporary Witnesses to Francis Bacon’s Authorship of the Shakespeare Poems and Plays
The Stratfraudian claim that William Shakspere of Stratford was the writer of the Shakespeare poems and plays and that none of his contemporaries ever doubted this, is a demonstrable falsehood.
The ‘Witness’ book and video series presents over a hundred contemporary witnesses to Francis Bacon’s Shakespeare authorship.
The whole foundation of the fraud that William Shakspere of Stratford wrote the Shakespeare poems and plays rests upon the lie/falsehood that none of his contemporaries in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras expressed any doubts about his authorship: never once did any whisper, even hint of it, ever leak out. In fact this lie/falsehood extends much further with a whole phalanx of orthodox Shakespeare scholars insisting not only did any of the Stratford man’s contemporaries not hint, allude to, or raise any doubts about his authorship, but none were raised for some two hundred years after his death. This fraudulent and dishonest fabrication is absolutely critical to the deception that William Shakspere wrote the Shakespeare poems and plays because it allows orthodox Shakespeare scholars to insist that the authorship question is a modern phenomenon that only took root in the second half of the nineteenth century and need not be taken seriously.
This fictitious and mendacious narrative is a demonstrable falsehood one known to some of the key institutions and orthodox Shakespeare scholars who peddle this transparent fraud. It is an attestable and provable truth that there were an enormous number of expressions of doubt about the authorship of the Shakespeare works which began literally weeks after the publication of the Shakespeare poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, the first works to carry the pseudonym William Shakespeare below their dedications to the Earl of Southampton.
Yet this scarcely scratches the surface and only serves to conceal an overwhelming mountain of irrefutable evidence revealing and confirming that the great philosopher-poet Francis Bacon was the true author of the Shakespeare works, a secret known to many of his contemporaries, who repeatedly alluded, indicated and pointed to it, in their respective literary publications.
This work presents more than a hundred various witnesses to Lord Bacon’s authorship of the Shakespeare works from a wide range of different perspectives.
1] Francis Bacon, the Earl of Southampton, Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594), the first two works to carry the pseudonym, William Shakespeare – p. 51
2] Thomas Edwards, L’ Envoy to Narcissus (1593) revealing the name William Shakespeare in Venus and Adonis is a mask for Francis Bacon – p. 56
3] T. H., Oenone and Paris (1594) revealing the name William Shakespeare in Venus and Adonis is a mask – p. 68
4] Epicedivm, A Funerall Song… – p. 70
5] The Sonnet by Jean la Jessee… – p. 74
6] The Mural of Venus and Adonis… – p. 77
7] The Satires of Joseph Hall and John Marston… – p. 81
8] The First Shakespeare play The Troublesome Reign of King John… – pp. 109
9] Francis Bacon and The Comedy of Errors… – p. 115
10] Bacon, Henry Herbert, second Earl of Pembroke and The Pembroke’s Men… – p. 119
11] Francis Bacon and his relative Henry Carey… – p. 124
12] Francis Bacon, Anthony Bacon, Love’s Labour’s Lost and The Merchant of Venice… – p. 131
13] Francis Bacon, his cousin Sir Edward Hoby… – p. 142
14] Francis Bacon’s Private Manuscript Notebook, known as the Promus… – p. 145
15] Francis Bacon and the so-called ‘Dering Manuscript of Henry IV’… – p. 151
16] Francis Bacon and his Unique Copy of the 1587 edition of Holinshed’s Chronicles… – p. 168
17] His collection of MSS known as The Northumberland Manuscript… – p. 189
18] The Six So-Called Signatures… and ‘Hand D’… – p. 195
19] John Weever (1599)… – p. 227
20] Bacon, the Earl of Essex and Richard II… – p. 241
21] Bacon’s Letter to Sir John Davies… – p. 251
22] Hamlet (1603-4) A Tudor Family Tragedy – p. 255
23] Henry Chettle, England’s Mourning Garment (1603) – p. 261
24] The monogram of Francis Bacon in the first sonnet in the 1609 edition of Shakespeares Sonnets… – p. 266
25] John Davies of Hereford, The Scourge of Folly… – p. 269
26] The eight Shakespeare Quartos Discovered at the Bacon Gorhambury Estate… – p. 273
27] Henry Peacham, Minerva Britanna (1612) Bacon is Shakespeare – p. 275
28] Thomas Freeman, Rubbe and a Great Cast… – p. 299
29] The Historian William Camden reveals Bacon is Shakespeare (1614) – p. 303
30] The Rosicrucian manifesto Confessio Fraternitatis (1615)… – p. 306
31] The Plempii Emblem (1616)… – p. 312
32] The frontispiece to Speculum Sophicum Rhodo-Stauroticum (1618)… – p. 313
33] The Veiled and Feathered Sunburst Symbol found in Canonbury Tower… – p. 314
34] Francis Bacon and his alter-ego Sir Tobie Matthew – p. 319
35] The Extensive Revision & Amendments in the Pavier/Jaggard Shakespeare Quartos… – p. 328
36] The poet John Borough researcher for Bacon’s prose history of Henry VII… – p. 332
37] The letter from Bacon to Count Gondomar (6 June 1621)… – p. 341
38] The Baconian AA headpieces in the Shakespeare Quartos & Folios (1593-1623) – p. 347
39] Bacon and his Hidden and Obscured Relationship with Ben Jonson… – p. 380
40] Bacon and the Jaggard family, printers & publishers of the First Folio… – p. 415
41] The Shakespeare First Folio: A Baconian-Rosicrucian-Freemasonic Illusion (1623) – p. 422
42] Bacon, Martin Droeshout and the Droeshout Mask… – p. 423
43] ‘To The Reader’… by Ben Jonson (1623) – p. 456
44] ‘To the memory of my beloued, The Avthor Mr. William Shakespeare’ by Ben Jonson – p. 463
45] The Dedication to the ‘Incomparable Paire Of Brethren’… – p. 469
46] The poet George Herbert… – p. 483
47] ‘To the great Variety of Readers’ signed in the names of Heminges & Condell – p. 486
48] Bacon, Leonard Digges and the verse… – p. 488
49] Bacon, Hugh Holland and the verse… – p. 491
50] Bacon, James Mabbe and the verse… – p. 495
51] The Tempest the First Play in the First Folio: A Baconian-Rosicrucian Manifesto – p. 508
52] Hidden Baconian Acrostics & Anagrams in the Shakespeare First Folio – p. 516
53] Secret Hidden References & Allusions to Bacon and the Bacon Family… – p. 526
54] Thomas Powell, The Attourneys Academy (1623)… – p. 562
55] Title page of Cryptomenytices et Cryptographiae (1624)… – p. 566
56] The Baconian-Rosicrucian-Freemasonic Stratford Shakespeare Monument… – p. 571
57-89] Bacon, Dr Rawley and the Thirty-Two verses in the Memoriae (1626)… – p. 583
90] Lord Keeper Bishop John Williams… – p. 604
91] The diplomat Sir William Boswell… – p. 606
92] A Banquet of Jests (1630)… – p. 609
93] The verse ‘On Worthy Master Shake-speare’… – p. 612
94] The 1640 edition of Shakespeare Poems… – p. 615
95] The frontispiece of Bacon’s La Saggesse Mysterieuse… – p. 627
96] The title page of the 1642 Latin edition of The History and Reign of King Henry the Seventh… – p. 630
97] The title page of the 1641 Latin edition of Bacon’s Essays… – p. 631
98] The title page of The Prophecy of the Life, Reign and Death of William Laud… – p. 632
99] The Great Assises Holden in Parnassus by Apollo (1645)… – p. 633
100] The title page of De Augmentis Scientiarum (1645)… – p. 634
101] The title page of the rare 1655 edition of The Rape of Lucrece… – p. 635
102] His second editor Thomas Tenison, Baconiana (1679)… – p. 636
103] The Secret Life and Writings of Francis Bacon in 39 Shakespeare Poems and Plays – p. 638
Sixteenth and early-seventeenth century portraiture is notoriously fraught with difficulties of artist attribution and subject identification. A perfect example of how little we actually know about the silent stories that all old master paintings conceal is the Gorhambury Estate’s untitled portrait of an infant boy holding and apple.
The more one studies this picture the more mysterious it becomes. Traditionally thought by many to be a portrait of Francis Bacon at about eighteen months of age, it shows an alert, curious child attracted to something just outside the frame. The baby boy’s dark blue outer shirt has slashed sleeves – an indication of wealth and social status. More significantly, the left hand touches the heart, while the right hand holds an apple. This symbolic configuration of gestures stokes our suspicions that the subject of the picture is no run-of-the-mill aristocratic offspring. If, instead of an apple, the child was holding a crystal orb we might assume that this is a painting of a royal infant, or perhaps even a secular saviour, born to serve humankind. The Gorhambury portrait contains another symbolic component in the form of the pendant on a gold chain slung around the baby’s shoulders and resting between both hands. Without access to the original painting it is difficult to analyse the significance of the three figures one can just make out in the only image of the picture available online. A high resolution image is needed to examine this detail more closely.
Although preliminary and unresolved, perhaps for the first time this study of the Gorhambury baby portrait identifies five extant variants of the same portrait and ultimately argues in favour of the Gorhambury portrait as being the original prototype of the other versions. The present article is also a plea for further scientific examination of this group of Renaissance baby portraits in order to establish their dates of creation, countries of origin, and much more besides.
“A sense of humor is superior to any religion so far devised.” “People are never perfect, but love can be”. Tom Robbins (the late, and Great, novelist)
Happy Valentine’s Day to All
Albert Camus once said the only question to ask is whether or not kill oneself. Tom Robbins wonders what side of the bed Camus woke up on and if his alarm clock went off that day because for Tom, the only question to ask is,” how to make love stay?” According to Tom once you answer how to make love stay then you can return to answering Camus’ question.
Did Bacon and Shakespeare think the same on the subject of Love or did they think differently?
Slide show of images of Sir Francis Bacon with soundtrack, “Destiny” vocals and song produced by Maryellen McCabe from her album “Heros & Heroines” https://sirbacon.org/links/maryellen.htm
