HOLINSHED, or HOLLINGSHEAD, M1' 1117.11(414 RAPHAEL ( 15tin). An English chroni cler. Little is known of his life save that lie was of a Cheshire family. probably the son of Ralph Holinshed of Cophurst. in the township of Sutton Downes. Ile is celebrated as the author of a history of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which the Elizabethan dramatists drew upon for material in the construction of their historical plays. The work had been started originally by Wolf;, who, however, died in 1573 before it. completion. Thereupon Holinshed un dertook the work, and in 1578 appeared llaphael llollingeshed's cronyele, in two folio volumes. Holinshed had been assisted by William Harrison, who wrote the historical descriptions of England and Scotland, and by Richard Stanihurst, who contributed a part of the history of Ireland. All copies of the work were printed by Henry Bynne man. The publishers were George Bishop, John Harrison, and Luke Harrison. A second edition
appeared in 1587, after Holinshed's death. This edition was chiefly revised by Hooker, and con tained some passages disagreeable to Elizabeth, who immediately ordered them cut out A mod ern edition in six volumes was published in Lon don (1807-08), with the 'disagreeable passages' restored. But after all Holinshed's Chronicle, though popular in its day, would be seldom re called to-day were it not for Shakespeare's in debtedness to it. From it the data for most of the great historical plays were probably derived; and in Macbeth, Lear, and Cymbc/inc most of the borrowed action and dialogue can be illustrated by excerpts from Holinshed. Consult: Cooper, .4 thence Cantabrigienses( Cambridge, Eng., 1858) ; P,oswell-Stone, Shakespere's Holinshed (New York, 1890).