6. Holinshed's Chronicle

By 1587, a second edition was issued. This was extensively reworked and extended – in particular the history of Ireland section was rewritten by Protestant John Hooker. Additional contributors were John Stow, (c. 1525 – 1605), William Patten (d. c. 1598) and Francis Thynne (c. 1545 – 1608).

Once completed, the work was printed in 1577 by Henry Bynneham (c. 1542 – 1583) and illustrated with copious woodcuts.

The vast work was immediately popular – used by Lord Burghley and Sir Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser as a reference work.

As Holinshed was by then dead, the overall management of the second edition was undertaken by Anthony Fleming. The printer, too, changed, Bynneham having gone bankrupt, to Henry Denham and Ralph Newbury (c. 1536 – c. 1604).

The edition pictured is that of 1577 in a private collection. It is fascinating as it has the margins and blank pages have been used for doodling and making notes. It is bound in brown leather and is about the dimension of a standard hardback book – perhaps a little squatter.

If you’d like to know more about this fascinating source, see http://www.cems.ox.ac.uk/holinshed/index.shtml

The edition pictured is that of 1577 in a private collection. It is fascinating as it has the margins and blank pages have been used for doodling and making notes. It is bound in brown leather and is about the dimension of a standard hardback book – perhaps a little squatter.

The edition pictured is that of 1577 in a private collection. It is fascinating as it has the margins and blank pages have been used for doodling and making notes. It is bound in brown leather and is about the dimension of a standard hardback book – perhaps a little squatter.

If you’d like to know more about this fascinating source, see http://www.cems.ox.ac.uk/holinshed/index.shtml