Raphael Holinshed

Raphael Holinshed (; before 24 April 1582) was an English chronicler, who was most famous for his work on ''The Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande'', commonly known as ''Holinshed's Chronicles''. It was the "first complete printed history of England composed as a continuous narrative". The ''Holinshed Chronicles'' was a major influence on many Renaissance writers, such as Shakespeare, Spenser, Daniel and Marlowe.

Biography

Little is known about Holinshed's life and for the most part his early years are primarily a matter of speculation. Holinshed was most likely born to Ralph Holinshed of Cophurst in Sutton Downes, Cheshire. The date of his birth is unknown. Holinshed is assumed to have received an education from student records from Christ's College in Cambridge, which show a student under the name Holinshed attending the college from 1544 to 1545. In his later years, he lived in London where he worked as a translator for the printer Reginald Wolfe. Wolfe gave him the project of compiling a world history from the Flood to the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Holinshed was only one contributor to this work; others involved in its production included George Bishop, John Hunne and Lucus Harrison.

Vernon Snow, an author who writes an introduction to ''Holinshed's Chronicles'' in the later edition, remarks that Holinshed was an experienced Cambridge-educated translator. As far as anyone knows, no other known works by Holinshed are available. A few months after the ''Chronicles'' had been licensed, Holinshed retired to the countryside near Warwick where he died around 1580. His will was proven on 24 April 1582, leaving his belongings and estate to a Mr. Burdet, whom he referred to as his master. ''Holinshed's Chronicles'' was published soon after his death.

''Holinshed's'' ''Chronicles''

The idea for ''Holinshed's Chronicles'' was born from Reginald Wolfe. A London printer, Wolfe was one of the original members of the Royal Stationers' Company. In 1548, Wolfe conceived the idea of creating a "Universal Cosmography of the whole world, and there with also certain particular histories of every known nation". He wanted the work to be printed in English and he wanted maps and illustrations in the book as well. Wolfe acquired many of John Leland's works and with these he constructed chronologies and drew maps that were up to date. This took over 24 years of his life; however, when Wolfe realised he could not complete this project on his own, he hired Raphael Holinshed and William Harrison to assist him.

Wolfe died with the work still uncompleted in 1573, and the project, changed to a work about Britain (England and Scotland) and Ireland, was run by a consortium of three members of the London stationers. They kept Raphael Holinshed, who employed William Harrison, Richard Stanyhurst, Edmund Campion and John Hooker. In 1577, the work was published in two volumes after some censorship by the Privy Council of some of Stanyhurst's contribution on Ireland.

A second edition was issued in 1587 (which also included many woodcut illustrations to go along with the chronicles), but it contained some passages that were considered offensive to the Queen and her ministers. The pages in question were removed by order of the Privy Council. The missing passages were separately published in 1723, and a complete reprint appeared in 1807. ''Holinshed's Chronicles'' was an "extremely popular work when it was first published," but "by the seventeenth century it was already considered outdated and inaccurate", losing its popularity and credibility.

Renaissance writers inspired by Holinshed

Shakespeare

William Shakespeare used the revised second edition of the ''Chronicles'' (published in 1587) as the source for most of his historical plays, such as ''Richard III'', the plot of ''Macbeth'', and portions of ''King Lear'' and '' Cymbeline''. According to Alison Taufer, "We care about the ''Holinshed Chronicles'' because Shakespeare read them". It is because of Shakespeare's writing that the public was educated on many important points in history. While dramatised, the innate messages behind the history are portrayed through the history plays.
* King Lear – ''Holinshed's Chronicles'' goes into depth about Welsh king Llŷr from the 8th century BCE, which accurately describes the plot of ''King Lear''. The king's madness is Shakespeare's own creation; the rest of the play follows ''Holinshed's Chronicles'' closely, such as the emphasis on Cordelia's love for her father. The added dramatics, however, are what make the play an effective popular piece of culture.
* Macbeth – ''Holinshed's Chronicles'' retells the story of Duncan of Scotland and his reign. It is now believed that King Duncan is based on a legend rather than an actual king. Holinshed's Duncan is characterized as a weak king with a "soft and gentle nature", while Macbeth is a cruel leader. Shakespeare, in contrast, gives Lady Macbeth a larger role in his play and included her sleepwalking habits and suicidal thoughts into his characterisation.

Marlowe

* Edward II – Like Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe was greatly inspired by the ''Chronicles'', particularly in ''Edward II''. Details he borrows from the story include class issues and inheritance and details of Edward II's brutal murder at Berkeley Castle.

References

Sources

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Further reading

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External links

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The Holinshed Project
at Oxford University, wit
parallel texts
of the 1577 and 1587 editions.

Holinshed's ''Chronicles''
from the Horace Howard Furness collection at the University of Pennsylvania

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holinshed, Raphael
16th-century English historians
English male non-fiction writers
16th-century English male writers
16th-century English scholars
1580s deaths
English chroniclers
Year of birth unknown
Place of birth unknown
1520s births
Writers from Cheshire
Holinshed's Chronicles