The Book Switch Theory

[asteckley]

Given that Rudolf I reigned from 1 October 1273 – 15 July 1291 and Bacon died c. 1292, I'm not sure why it is "unbelievable" Voynich could have made that mistake.

You seem to be implying that someone DID say it was as unbelievable (and that you think it IS believable). I did not say it was unbelievable; I was wondering if Rene was of that belief.

My wording may have been a bit confusing though. What I was suggesting is this:

One may infer either 
1) that Wilfrid had not read the letter (in which case there is a huge coincidence that he not only knew of the letter's historical content, but happened to mention to others the very same names mentioned by Marci -- Ferdinand, Rudolph, and Bacon, as well as the 600 ducats transaction -- even if he was talking of different people with different ordinal suffixes). 
OR
2) that Wilfrid read the letter (by 1915) but did not recognize (from the context given in the letter) that Marci was talking about Rudolph II

if (2) is not believable, then it means that Wilfrid had not read the letter by for at least 3 years after acquiring the manuscript. I was asking Rene if that was his belief, since it implies scenario 1 instead.

The other possibility is that Wilfrid had read the letter and, despite knowing otherwise, he was intentionally telling people it was Rudolph I instead of Rudolph II. But that seems to be a scenario that Rene has always rejected.