Holinshed's Chronicles, also known as Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, is a collaborative work published in several volumes and two editions, the first edition in 1577, and the second in 1587. It was a large, comprehensive description of British history published in three volumes (England, Scotland and Ireland).
The Chronicles have been a source of interest because of their extensive links to Shakespearean history, as well as King Lear, Macbeth and Cymbeline. Recent studies of the Chronicles have focused on an inter-disciplinary approach; numerous literary scholars have studied the traditional historiographical materials through a literary lens, with a focus on how contemporary men and women would have read historical texts.
The Chronicles would have been a primary source for many other literary writers of the Renaissance such as Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser and George Daniel.
Description
In 1548, Reginald Wolfe, a London printer, conceived the idea of creating a "Universal Cosmography of the whole world, and therewith also certain particular histories of every known nation". He wanted the work to be printed in English, and he wanted maps and illustrations in the book as well. He acquired many of John Leland's works, and with these he constructed chronologies and drew maps that were up-to-date. When Wolfe realised he could not complete this project on his own, he hired Raphael Holinshed and William Harrison to assist him.
Wolfe died with the work still uncompleted in 1573, and the project—changed to a work specifically about the British Isles—was run by a consortium of three members of the London stationers. They retained Holinshed, who employed Harrison, Richard Stanyhurst, Edmund Campion and John Hooker. In 1577, the work was published in two volumes after some censorship by the Privy Council of some of Stanyhurst's contribution on Ireland.
The Chronicles narrative is characterised by a set of rhetorical figures and thematic paradigms that establish the national, royal, chivalrous and heroic ideals that define a state, its monarch, its leaders, and the political role of the common people.
Influence on Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is widely believed to have 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 portions of King Lear and Cymbeline.
Several other playwrights, such as Christopher Marlowe, used the Chronicles as a source.
The Chronicles and Macbeth
Shakespeare used Holinshed's work extensively in Macbeth, but in modified form. An instance is the Three Witches, whom Holinshed describes as "creatures of the elderwood ... nymphs or fairies". Nymphs and fairies are generally viewed as beautiful and youthful, but Shakespeare's three witches in Macbeth are ugly, dark, and bizarre. It is believed that he made the change to heighten the suspense and darkness of the play. However, the Chronicles lacked any descriptions of Macbeth's character, so Shakespeare improvised on several points. The characters Banquo and Fleance were also taken from Holinshed's works, but they are now considered to be inventions of the 16th century.
The primary difference in the Chronicles is through characterisation. The character of Macbeth is primarily depicted as a good ruler, a king who was fair and just for 17 years. The plot displays King Duncan as a minor character and a weak king. It is possible that the reading of Shakespeare's King Duncan was inspired by the tale of King Duffe contained within the Chronicle. This story follows a similar narrative, as King Duffe and his murderer Donwald closely mirror the narrative of King Duncan and Macbeth. The bad omens following the murder of Duffe are similarly mirrored in Shakespeare's narrative.
Synopsis
The Chronicles tale of Macbeth differs from Shakespeare's version in numerous ways. The play features a scene in which Banquo and Macbeth encounter three women, each of whom speaks of a prophecy that would contribute to the characterisation of these women as 'otherworldly'. The first woman says "All hayle Makbeth Thane of Glammis" (the title which he had just inherited following the death of his father). Two of the women say "All hayle Macbeth, Thane of Cawder". The third also says "All hayle Makbeth that hereafter shall be king of Scotland". As soon as they had appeared, the three women "vanished immediately out of theyr sight".