The account at the writing desk
Farnese remembered having to write as quickly as the pen would move. Some of the opinions that emerged on paper surprised the transcriber, who had expected life after death to be quite different. In the preface Farnese used that disagreement to explain why responsibility for the story belonged to Franchezzo.
What the signature preserves
Farnese also described seeing Franchezzo materialise and said that friends had recognised him. That testimony gives a close view of how the transcriber understood the experience. The early edition supplies little independent evidence about the person at the desk. The initial, surname, place and date survive more clearly than a family history or a career.
