Raphael Holinshed
Raphael Holinshed (* around 1520; † around 1580 in Bramcote) was an English writer whose work - known as Holinshed's Chronicles - William Shakespeare served as the source of many of his dramas.
life and work
Very little is known about his life. He worked in London as a translator for the printer Reginald Wolfe . From this he was commissioned to write a chronicle of the world from the Flood to the present, i.e. the reign of Queen Elizabeth . This ambitious historical work was never completed, but a part appeared as The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1577 . Holinshed himself was only one of the authors. Co-authors were William Harrison, Richard Stanyhurst and John Hooker.
Such a chronicle was not a history book in the modern sense, but rather a collection of stories, anecdotes and evaluations; it was based more on traditions, assumptions and political guidelines than on conscientious research into sources.
Shakespeare used the second edition of the Chronicle of 1587 as the source for most of his historical dramas, as well as for Macbeth and for parts of King Lear and Cymbeline .
Web links
- Literature by and about Raphael Holinshed in the catalog of the German National Library
- Holinshed's Chronicles, 1577 at the British Library
- Facsimile representation of the Chronicles at the HathiTrust
- Text versions of the Chronicles editions at the Holinshed Project
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Holinshed, Raphael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1520 |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 1580 |