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I interpret the data mined from Holinshed as follows; other interpretations are welcomed and encouraged.

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  1. All of the plays, poems (with the possible exception of Phoenix and the Turtle) and sonnets were written in at least early forms by 1586. 

  2. Holinshed 1577, rather than 1587 is the primary source for the canon.

  3. The high number of additions in the chapters on Henry II (38), Henry III (47) and Henry VII (41) indicate that Oxford may have had plans for further Henry plays or that the plays have been lost.

  4. Some have commented [OV pp. 1715/6] that there are so many additions from Fleming that it is more like Fleming’s Chronicles rather than Holinshed’s Chronicles. That should be rephrased as Oxford’s Chronicles. 

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Potential areas for further research:

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1. Was Oxford involved with the first edition of  Holinshed’s Chronicles (1577)?

2. A high correlation of Philip Sidney’s vocabulary in the last three books of The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia with the Shakespeare canon and the Holinshed additions suggest that Oxford had a greater input in publishing Sidney’s work after his death than previously believed.

3. Vocabulary similarities suggest that Oxford’s hand in Marlowe’s Lust’s Dominion and Jew of Malta is possible.

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Please feel free to contact me on alisterhill1@gmail.com for more information.

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