Editing Raphael Holinshed

{{Short description|16th-century English chronicler}}
{{redirect|Holinshed|the Chronicle|Holinshed's Chronicles}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
[[File:1577 printing of Holinshed's Chronicles.jpg|thumb|First edition of ''Holinshed's Chronicles'']]
'''Raphael Holinshed''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɒ|l|ɪ|n|ʃ|ɛ|d}};<ref>{{Cite LPD|3}}</ref> {{circa|1525}}{{dash}}before 24 April 1582) was an English [[chronicle]]r, 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".{{sfn|Taufer|1999|p=135}} The ''Holinshed Chronicles'' was a major influence on many Renaissance writers, such as [[Shakespeare]], [[Edmund Spenser|Spenser]], [[Samuel Daniel|Daniel]] and [[Christopher Marlowe|Marlowe]].{{sfn|Holinshed's Chronicles, 1577}}

==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.{{sfn|Clegg|2015}} Holinshed is assumed to have received an education from student records from [[Christ's College, Cambridge|Christ's College]] in [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], which show a student under the name Holinshed attending the college from 1544 to 1545.{{sfn|Stockard}} 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 [[Genesis flood narrative|the Flood]] to the reign of [[Elizabeth I|Queen Elizabeth]]. Holinshed was only one contributor to this work; others involved in its production included George Bishop, John Hunne and Lucus Harrison.{{sfn|Taufer|1999|p=135}}

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.{{sfn|Cooper|1858|p=431}} ''Holinshed's Chronicles'' was published soon after his death.

==''Holinshed's'' ''Chronicles''==
{{main|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 (antiquary)|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.{{sfn|Taufer|1999|p=135}}
 
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 [[Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers|London stationers]]. They kept Raphael Holinshed, who employed [[William Harrison (priest)|William Harrison]], [[Richard Stanyhurst]], [[Edmund Campion]] and [[John Hooker (English constitutionalist)|John Hooker]]. In 1577, the work was published in two volumes after some censorship by the [[Privy Council of England|Privy Council]] of some of Stanyhurst's contribution on Ireland.{{sfn|Clegg|2015}}

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.{{sfn|Clegg|2015}} ''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.{{sfn|Taufer|1999|p=135}}

== 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 (play)|''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".{{sfn|Taufer|1999|p=135}} 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 (King Lear)|Cordelia]]'s love for her father.{{sfn|Holinshed's Chronicles, 1577}} The added dramatics, however, are what make the play an effective popular piece of culture.
* Macbeth – ''Holinshed's Chronicles'' retells the story of [[Duncan I of Scotland|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 (character)|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.{{sfn|Holinshed's Chronicles, 1577}}

=== Marlowe ===
* Edward II – Like Shakespeare, [[Christopher Marlowe]] was greatly inspired by the ''Chronicles'', particularly in [[Edward II (play)|''Edward II'']]. Details he borrows from the story include class issues and inheritance and details of [[Edward II of England|Edward II's]] brutal murder at [[Berkeley Castle]].{{sfn|Holinshed's Chronicles, 1577}}

==References==

{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite web |last1=Stockard |first1=Emily |title=Raphael Holinshed |url=https://link-gale-com.libdatabase.newpaltz.edu/apps/doc/H1200003024/LitRC?u=newpaltz&sid=LitRC&xid=5e4a388b |website=go-gale.com}}
*{{cite web |last1=Augustyn |first1=Patricia |last2=et |first2=al |title=Raphael Holinshed |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Raphael-Holinshed |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}
*{{cite web |title=Holinshed's Chronicles, 1577 |url=https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/holinsheds-chronicles-1577 |website=The British Library|ref={{harvid|Holinshed's Chronicles, 1577}}}}
*{{cite book |last1=Taufer |first1=Alison |title=Holinshed's Chronicles |date=1999 |publisher=Twayne Publishers |location=New York |isbn=0805745815 |pages=135–137}}
*{{cite book |last1=Hadfield |first1=Andrew |title=The Oxford Handbook of English Prose, 1500-1640 |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199580682 |pages=310–325 |edition=First }}
*{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Charles |title=Athenae Cantabrigienses |date=1858 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780511700941 |page=[https://archive.org/details/athenaecantabri00unkngoog/page/n448 431] |edition=Volume 1 |url=https://archive.org/details/athenaecantabri00unkngoog}}
*{{cite ODNB |title=Holinshed [Hollingshead], Raphael (c. 1525–1580?) |last=Clegg |first=Cyndia Susan |year=2015 |orig-year=2004 |id=13505 }}
*{{cite book |title=Athenae Cantabrigiensis |last1=Cooper |first1=Charles Henry |author1-link=Charles Henry Cooper |last2=Cooper |first2=Thompson |author2-link=Thompson Cooper |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge |orig-year=1858 |year=2010 |volume=1 |isbn=9780511700941 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511700941 |via=[[Cambridge Core]] |ref={{harvid|Cooper|Cooper|1858}}}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |title=Reading Holinshed's Chronicles |last=Patterson |first=Annabel |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |location=Chicago |year=1994 |isbn=0226649113 |ref=none }}
*{{cite book |chapter=Raphael Holinshed: new light on a shadowy life |last=Summerson |first=Henry |pages=701–706 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Holinshed's Chronicles |editor1-last=Kewes |editor1-first=Paulina  |editor2-last=Archer |editor2-first=Ian W. |editor2-link=Ian Archer |editor3-last = Heal |editor3-first=Felicity |editor3-link=Felicity Heal |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-956575-7 |ref=none }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wikisource author}}
{{commons category|Raphael Holinshed}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=5166| name=Raphael Holinshed}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Raphael Holinshed}}
* {{Librivox author |id=12171}}
* [http://www.cems.ox.ac.uk/holinshed/news.shtml The Holinshed Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912021500/http://www.cems.ox.ac.uk/holinshed/news.shtml |date=12 September 2011 }} at [[Oxford University]], with [http://www.english.ox.ac.uk/holinshed/ parallel texts] of the 1577 and 1587 editions.
* [http://sceti.library.upenn.edu/sceti/printedbooksNew/index.cfm?TextID=holinshed_chronicle&PagePosition=1 Holinshed's ''Chronicles''], from the [[Horace Howard Furness]] collection at the [[University of Pennsylvania]]

{{Cymbeline}}
{{King Lear}}
{{Macbeth}}
{{Henriad}}
{{Shakespeare tetralogy}}

{{Authority control}}

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