Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland: England

Raphael HolinshedProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.8

Word count: 315K words
Chapters: 32

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (2 of 6): England (06 of 12)Author: Holinshed, Raphael, -1580?,Language: English, Class: DA: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Great Britain, Ireland, Central Europe, Release Date: Sep 27, 2005

Editor's review

This is the second of the six volumes of Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, and the sixth of that volume's twelve parts—an electronic reprint of a public-domain historical text. Its value lies not in narrative fluency but in the raw material of history: it preserves the framework, genealogies, and anecdotes through which Tudor Englishmen understood their own past, making it a primary source for studying sixteenth-century historiography, political discourse, and national imagination. For Shakespeare scholars it is especially crucial, since Macbeth, King Lear, Cymbeline, and other plays drew heavily on this chronicle; reading them side by side reveals how the playwright selected and rewrote his sources. It is best used as a reference work and source collection rather than a history to read straight through; familiarize yourself with the volume's structure first, then search by theme or person. The electronic edition lacks modern notes and introduction, so beginners should pair it with relevant scholarship.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary scholars studying the sources of Shakespeare's histories and tragedies
Historians of sixteenth-century English historiography and national narrative
Researchers needing to consult Tudor primary-source passages for papers
Collectors interested in early English texts and public-domain electronic editions

Not a good fit for

Beginners wanting a连贯, accessible general history of England
General enthusiasts needing modern notes, maps, and chronological tables
Readers whose English is not yet up to early modern texts

Reading tips

Read the opening note and contents first to confirm the period and figures covered in this part, then decide how to search.
Read alongside the relevant Shakespeare plays and note differences between source and dramatic adaptation.
Prepare a name and place reference list, marking genealogical relationships as you go to avoid confusion.
Do not read page by page; extract passages by theme and take excerpts for cross-checking.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book the complete chronicle?

No. It is the second of six volumes and the sixth of that volume's twelve parts, covering only a portion of the chronicle. Confirm the period and figures covered before reading, and do not treat it as the whole work.

Why should Shakespeare scholars read it?

Holinshed's Chronicles was a major source for several of Shakespeare's histories and tragedies, including Macbeth, King Lear, and Cymbeline. Reading them side by side shows how the playwright selected, compressed, and transformed his sources, illuminating the source logic behind the plays' structure.

Does the electronic edition have notes and an introduction?

This is a public-domain electronic reprint and generally lacks modern scholarly notes, introduction, or maps and tables. Beginners should use it with relevant scholarship or a reliable translation, and consult specialized dictionaries and background materials when early modern spelling and syntax pose difficulties.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Raphael Holinshed Author · British

Raphael Holinshed (died perhaps 1580) was an English chronicler. Public information about his life is limited, and later generations have known him chiefly through the historical work he edited. Employed by the London publisher Wolfe, he presided over the compilation of the first edition of the Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1577. The chronicle recounts the events and figures of the history of the British Isles in annalistic form, drawing on earlier writings and documents; its narrative is detailed and carries a strong tone of political and moral instruction. The work circulated widely and became a principal source for Shakespeare's history plays and for Macbeth, bridging English historiography and literature. The collection contains 27 works related to him.