Leonard Digges inscribes the flyleaf of a copy of the 1613 edition of Lope de Vega's 'Rima,' destined for Will Baker via the Spanish scholar James Mabbe. De Vega is the Spanish Shakespeare; 'if you like [Shakespeare] not, you must never reade Spanishe Poet.' Digges may have been a contemporary of Baker at University College, and Mabbe possibly his teacher: evidence suggests that Digges and Mabbe were in Spain together at the time of the inscription. The comparison with Shakespeare stands not only as praise for de Vega, but also as evidence of Shakespeare's reputation as a poet by this time.
| Name | Event Role(s) | Document Role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| de Vega, Lope | poet | |
| Shakespeare, William | poet |