Raphael Holinshed, The... Chronicles, 1577 - woodcut of King from page margin, p. 219.

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Date:1577

Description:A marginal woodcut that draws attention to an English king studied by Shakespeare.

The first edition of Holinshed’s Chronicles woodcuts is illustrated throughout, and the kings are presented with emblems of their position and power : crown, orb and sword. In his work Holinshed was assisted by William Harrison and later Richard Stanihurst. The History of Scotland by Hector Boece was also used to create the final text. The English volume was dedicated to William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Scotland to Robert Dudley, Lord Leicester, and Ireland to Sir Henry Sidney. Despite the need to alter some pages to suit the Queen the books were an immediate success, even though it cut Holinshed's original plan of a history of the world from the time of Noah's flood to the reign of Elizabeth I to just the British Isles. After 1577 Holinshed and his colleagues embarked on a much more detailed new edition, but they still limited coverage to England, Scotland and Ireland.

Full title: Raphael Holinshed, The firste [laste] volume of chronicles of England, Scotlande and Irelande. Conteyning the description and chronicles of England from the first inhabiting unto the conquest; the description and chronicles of Scotland from the first originall of the Scotts nation, till the yeare of our Lorde 1571; The description and chronicles of Yrelande likewise from the firste originall of that nation untill the yeare 1547. Faithfully gathered and set forth by Raphaell Holinshed. London, imprinted for George Bishop, 1577.


Timeline

The timeline shows resources around this location over a number of years.

1570s
Henri Estienne, A mervaylous discourse upon... Katherine de Medici…, 1575 - title page
Henri Estienne, A mervaylous discourse upon... Katherine de Medici…, 1575 - title page

Shakespeare may have owned this book. Shakespeare purchased New Place, the largest ...

1590s
William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis, 1594, leaf F4v.
William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis, 1594, leaf F4v.

Shakespeare’s first published works. The long poem, Venus and Adonis, was ...

1610s
George Tuberville, The Noble Art of Venerie or Hunting, 1611 -  A royal picnic, p.91.
George Tuberville, The Noble Art of Venerie or Hunting, 1611 - A royal picnic, p.91.

A picnic for Shakespeare's royal patron. Among the many engravings of huntsmen ...

1630s
William Shakespeare, Quartos, Love's Labour's Lost, 1631 - title page
William Shakespeare, Quartos, Love's Labour's Lost, 1631 - title page

A play for the Blackfriars Theatre: Shakespeare's Love’s Labour’s Lost. The ...

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Donor ref:SR/OS 93 [2620-1-ii] (32/10499)

Source: The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust - Library

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