Thomas Phillips Exhibition
13th - 16th Century
Raphael Holinshed. Chronicles. London, 1585.
Raphael Holinshed (1529-1580) was the primary author and editor of this comprehensive historical record of the events which shaped the development of Great Britain from pre-Christian times to the Tudor era. The revised second edition, shown here, was used by William Shakespeare as source material for most of his history plays, the plot of Macbeth, and for portions of King Lear and Cymbeline. Shortly after its publication it was censored by Queen Elizabeth I. The excised sections were first published in 1729. The Chronicles contains a history of England and Scotland and a history of Ireland composed by Giraldus Cambrensis. Although the work is compendious, its chief interest lies in the Shakespeare connection.
