Editing William Harrison (priest) (section)

==Works==
Harrison is best known for his ''Description of England'', first published in 1577 as part of ''[[Holinshed's Chronicles]]'', and reissued in revised form in 1587. This work enumerated England's geographic, economic, social, religious and political features and represents an important source for historians interested in life in [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabethan]] England. He gathered his facts from books, letters, maps, the notes of [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]], and conversations with [[Antiquary|antiquaries]] and local historians like his friends [[John Stow]] and [[William Camden]]. He also used his own observation, experience and wit, and wrote in a conversational tone without pedantry, which has made the work a classic.<ref>Harrison's ''Description of England'' found a place among the [[Harvard Classics]], (Vol. 35, Part 3), the "Harvard five-foot shelf".</ref> The result is a compendium of [[Elizabethan England]] during the youth of [[William Shakespeare]]. "No work of the time contains so vivid and picturesque a sketch," was the assessment of ''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature''.<ref>''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature'', ''eo. loc.''</ref>

Harrison also wrote a number of unpublished manuscripts, including ''The Great English Chronologie''. This work traced fortunes of the Christian church in history, stretching from [[Creation myth|creation]] to his own time. In the ''Chronologie'', Harrison revealed his sympathy with the [[Calvinist]] perspective of those seeking to reform the [[Church of England]]. At the same time, Harrison also indicated his distrust of the political intentions of England's [[Puritan]]s and his ultimate loyalty to England's ecclesiastical authorities.