Nomination form International Memory of the World Register 1.0 Checklist Nominees may find the following checklist useful before sending the nomination form to the International Memory of the World Secretariat. The information provided in italics on the form is there for guidance only and should be deleted once the sections have been completed. Summary completed (section 1) Nomination and contact details completed (section 2) Declaration of Authority signed and dated (section 2) If this is a joint nomination, section 2 appropriately modified, and all Declarations of Authority obtained Documentary heritage identified (sections 3.1 – 3.3) History/provenance completed (section 3.4) Bibliography completed (section 3.5) Names, qualifications and contact details of up to three independent people or organizations recorded (section 3.6) Details of owner completed (section 4.1) Details of custodian – if different from owner – completed (section 4.2) Details of legal status completed (section 4.3) Details of accessibility completed (section 4.4) Details of copyright status completed (section 4.5) Evidence presented to support fulfilment of the criteria? (section 5) Additional information provided (section 6) Details of consultation with stakeholders completed (section 7) Assessment of risk completed (section 8) Summary of Preservation and Access Management Plan completed. If there is no formal Plan attach details about current and/or planned access, storage and custody arrangements (section 9) Any other information provided – if applicable (section 10) Suitable reproduction quality photographs identified to illustrate the documentary heritage. (300dpi, jpg format, full-colour preferred). Copyright permissions forms signed and attached. Agreement to propose item(s) for inclusion on the World Digital Library if inscribed 1 Nomination form International Memory of the World Register The ‘Shakespeare Documents’, a documentary trail of the life of William Shakespeare ID Code [2016-103] 1.0 Summary (max 200 words) William Shakespeare’s genius endures through his creative works, his characters, stories and language. Understanding the man behind the works has long captured public imagination. The ‘Shakespeare Documents’ are the key archival sources for understanding the life of the world’s most celebrated poet and playwright. These unique handwritten documents, dating from within Shakespeare’s lifetime, name him and provide an evidential basis for understanding the narrative of his life and how this inspired and influenced his creative works. They provide glimpses into Shakespeare’s personal life, his birth, death, family affairs, property and business dealings, as well as his context within a period of history that saw major changes in cultural, religious and socio-political society. The privilege and responsibility for caring for this material is shared by archive repositories across the UK and one in the US. The dispersed nature of this material reflects both Shakespeare’s activities within his lifetime and his ongoing literary and cultural legacy . The ‘Shakespeare Documents’ are also powerful beyond their evidential value. They provide a tangible connection to Shakespeare, allowing us to get closer to a man who died 400 years ago and continues to have an unparalleled influence on language and culture across the world. 2.0 Nominator 2.1 Name of nominator (person or organization) Partnership nomination: (i) Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) (ii) The National Archives (TNA) (iii) Folger Shakespeare Library (FSL) (iv) Worcestershire Archives and Archaeology Service (WAAS) (v) College of Arms (vi) The British Library (BL) (vii) London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) 2.2 Relationship to the nominated documentary heritage Archive and library repositories, which preserve and provide access to the nominated material. 2.3 Contact person(s) (to provide information on nomination) (i) Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) – Mrs Amy Hurst, Collections Archivist 2 (ii) The National Archives (TNA) – Dr Katy Mair, Head of Early Modern Records (iii) Folger Shakespeare Library (FSL) – Dr Heather Wolfe, Curator of Manuscripts (iv) Worcestershire Archives and Archaeology Service (WAAS) – Dr Lisa Snook, User Services Manager (v) College of Arms – Dr Lynsey Darby, Archivist (vi) The British Library (BL) – Dr Scot McKendrick, Head of Western Heritage Collections (vii) London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) – Ms Charlie Turpie, Head of Public Services (Principal Archivist) 2.4 Contact details (i) The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Shakespeare Centre, Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6QW, Tel. +44 (0) 17 8920 4016, Fax. 01789 262 073, [email protected] (ii) The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, TW9 4DU, +44 (0) 20 8876 3444 (iii) Folger Shakespeare Library: 201 East Capitol Street, Washington, DC 20003, USA, 202- 675-0325, [email protected] (iv) Worcestershire Archives and Archaeology Service: The Hive, Sawmill Walk, The Butts, Worcester, WR1 3PD. Tel +44 (0)1905 822866 (v) College of Arms: College of Arms, 130 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4BT, tel. 020 7248 2762, e-mail [email protected] (vi) The British Library: 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB, Tel. +44 (0)330 333 1144 (vii) London Metropolitan Archives: London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB, Tel. +44 (0) 20 7332 3823 3.0 Identity and description of the documentary heritage 3.1 Name and identification details of the items being nominated If inscribed, the exact title and institution(s) to appear on the certificate should be given This is a multi-partner project involving major UK archives, regional repositories and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC: (i) Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) (ii) The National Archives (TNA) (iii) Folger Shakespeare Library (FSL) (iv) Worcestershire Archives and Archaeology Service (WAAS) (v) College of Arms (vi) The British Library (BL) (vii) London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) There is currently understood to be just over a hundred ‘Shakespeare Documents’ - that is handwritten records that name Shakespeare within his lifetime. The seven partner repositories care for ninety of these ‘Shakespeare Documents’. A full list of documents is provided in the table below, along with details of the custodian, owners and catalogue references. Please note that the documents are listed chronologically, which shows how the ‘Shakespeare Documents’ interconnect and together provide a narrative of Shakespeare’s life and times. A works 3 chronology is also included for reference. The relationship between biographic and literary analyses is discussed in section 5.3 ‘Comparative Criteria’. Custodian Owner Catalogue Description Chronology of Reference Shakespeare’s works1 SBT since 1966 Parish of DR243/1 Parish register, Holy Trinity (on receipt of Stratford-upon- Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, the Stratford Avon baptism of William Parish records) Shakespeare, 26 April 1564 (fol. 5r, baptisms) Worcestershir Diocese of WAAS An entry in the Bishop of e Record Worcester x716.093 Worcester’s Register recorded Office from BA2648/10(i) the grant of a marriage license 1947, to “wm Shaxpere et Anna Worcestershir whatley”, 27 November 1582 e Archive and Archaeology Service from 2012 Worcestershir Diocese of WAAS x797 A bond for the marriage of e Record Worcester BA2783 “willm Shagpere... and Anne Office from hatchway” under the special 1947, condition of a single asking of Worcestershir the banns, 28 November 1582 e Archive and Archaeology Service from 2012 SBT since 1966 Parish of *DR243/12 Parish register, Holy Trinity (on receipt of Stratford-upon- Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, the Stratford Avon baptism of Susanna, daughter Parish records) of William Shakespeare, 26 May 1583 (fol.20v, baptisms); baptism of Hamnet and Judith, children of William Shakespeare, 2 February 1585 (fol.22v, baptisms) PRO since TNA KB 27/1311 King's Bench, Coram Rege Roll, c. 1590, The 1838, TNA rot.516 complaint of John Shakespeare Two since 1997 against John Lambert, relating Gentlemen of to property in Wilmcote, Verona Stratford-upon-avon, 9 October 1589. Includes the c.1591, The first reference to William Taming of the Shakespeare in the public Shrew; The records. First Part of the FSL since FSL FSL V.a.460 Entry recording purchase of Contention (2 1972. fol.9r Venus and Adonis “per” Henry VI); Shakespeare, in the diary of Richard Duke Richard Stonley, 12 June 1593 of York (3 1 The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare, edited by Michael Dobson and Stanley Wells (Oxford University Press, 2001), p533. 2 *Please note that in this chronological list some records have been noted more than once, where they are relevant at multiple dates in Shakespeare lifetime. 4 PRO since TNA E 351/542 Exchequer, Pipe Office account, Henry VI) 1838, TNA m.207d payments by the Treasurer of since 1997 the Chamber to William Kempe, c.1592, 1 Henry William Shakespeare and VI; Titus Richard Burbage for performing Andronicus ‘severall Comedies or Enterludes’ before ‘her c.1593, Richard majestie’, 15 March 1595 III SBT since 1966 Parish of *DR243/1 Parish register, Holy Trinity (on receipt of Stratford-upon- Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1593, the Stratford Avon burial of Hamnet, son of publication of Parish records) William Shakespeare, 11 August Venus and 1596 (fol.29r, burials) Adonis College of College of Arms Draft Grant of Two drafts of grant of arms to 1594, Comedy Arms since Arms to John John Shakespeare of Stratford of Errors; 1684 Shakespeare 1 upon Avon.