Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland

by Raphael Holinshed

Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (2 of 6): England (2 of 12) William Rufus was written by Raphael Holinshed. Raphael Holinshed was a 16th century English chronicler, whose work, commonly known as Holinshed's Chronicles, was one of the major sources used by William Shakespeare for a number of his plays. In 1548 Reginald Wolfe, a London printer, wanted to create a Universal Cosmography of the whole world. Although never completed Chronicles of England was part of that project. Holinshed wrote the history of England before the Norman Conquest. The second volume encompassing the history of England from 1066 up to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I was written by Holinshed. This volume covers the time of William Rufus. William II (c. 1056 - 1100), the third son of William I of England (William the Conqueror), was King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers over Normandy, and influence in Scotland. His red faced appearance gave him the nickname William Rufus.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Classics, Ireland, Scotland

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1577

About the author

Raphael Holinshed (1529 - 1580) was an English chronicler, whose work, commonly known as Holinshed's Chronicles, was one of the major sources used by William Shakespeare for a number of his plays.

He is thought to have come from Cheshire, but 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 the Flood to the reign of Queen Elizabeth. This ambitious project was never finished, but one portion was published in 1577 as The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Holinshed was only one contributor to this work; others involved in its production included William Harrison, Richard Stanyhurst, and John Hooker.

Shakespeare used the revised second edition of the Chronicles (published in 1587) as the source for most of his history plays, the plot of Macbeth, and for portions of King Lear and Cymbeline.

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A greatly abridged edition of the classic Elizabethan history of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The abridgment includes the chapters that Shakespeare and his contemporaries used as source material for history plays, as well as, for Shakespeare, such masterpieces as Macbeth and King Lear.

[Carole-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a 1955 J. M. Dent hardback copy

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

remembering that "i" = "j" (except when it doesn't) and "u" = "v" (except when it doesn't) takes at least two chapters. Much is Shakespeare revisited especially when one gets to Richard III and Henry V but it's still worth the slog.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[sologdin · Rating 2 out of 5]

no idea if this is any good for the study of history, but it is one of those primary source texts for the english renaissance.

[Chaya Gornish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very interesting, but dry. Very enlightening

[Matie]

Read sections on Kings Duncan, Macbeth, and Duffe