Holinshed’s Chronicles
Holinshed’s Chronicles is a collaborative work that describes the history of England, Scotland and Ireland. It was first published in 1577. It was a principal source of many literary writers like William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser.
In 1548, A famous London printer Reyner Wolfe decide to publish a universal history and cosmography of the world. After the death of Wolfe his assistant Raphael Holinshed took over the project and finally first published in 1577. The revised and second edition came in larger folio format in 1587 by Abraham Fleming.
William Shakespeare used Holinshed’s Chronicles as the main source of his plays. King Lear, Macbeth and Cymbeline are links to Holinshed’. This is also the source for the other writer’s works such as Marlowe, Spenser, Daniel.
