When was Holinshed's Chronicles first published?
Holinshed's Chronicles was first published in 1577 in two volumes. A revised and expanded second edition followed in 1587.
Questions about Holinshed's Chronicles
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who wrote Holinshed's Chronicles?
Holinshed's Chronicles was a collaborative work. Reginald Wolfe conceived the project in 1548 and hired Raphael Holinshed and William Harrison. After Wolfe died in 1573, a consortium from the Stationers' Company oversaw completion, with Holinshed also employing Richard Stanyhurst, Edmund Campion, and John Hooker.
How did Shakespeare use Holinshed's Chronicles for Macbeth?
Shakespeare drew on the second 1587 edition of Holinshed's Chronicles for Macbeth, adapting characters, prophecies, and plot events in modified form. He transformed the Chronicles' description of the three women from nymphs and fairies into dark, ugly witches, and shifted Macbeth from a just ruler of 17 years into a tragic villain.
How does the Chronicles version of Macbeth differ from Shakespeare's play?
In Holinshed's Chronicles, Macbeth is depicted as a fair king who rules Scotland for 17 years and implements commendable laws. King Duncan is portrayed as a weak ruler, Banquo is an accomplice in Duncan's murder, and Duncan is killed in battle rather than in his sleep. Macbeth rules for 10 years before being slain by Macduff.
How does the King Lear story in Holinshed's Chronicles differ from Shakespeare's version?
In Holinshed's Chronicles, Cordelia survives to rule as queen for five years after restoring her father Leir to the throne with the military help of her husband Aganippus, King of the Franks. She later dies by suicide after being imprisoned by the sons of her sisters, rather than being killed at the play's end as in Shakespeare's version.
Which other Renaissance writers used Holinshed's Chronicles as a source?
Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, and George Daniel are among the Renaissance writers identified as likely having used Holinshed's Chronicles as a primary source. Spenser is also named as a possible influence on Shakespeare's King Lear specifically.