Raphael Holinshed facts for kids
Raphael Holinshed was an English writer who lived a long time ago, in the 1500s. He is most famous for writing a very important history book called Holinshed's Chronicles. This book was the first complete printed history of England, Scotland, and Ireland. It was a huge book that told stories about the past in a continuous way. Many famous writers from the Renaissance period, like Shakespeare, used Holinshed's book to get ideas for their own plays and stories.
About Raphael Holinshed
Not much is known about Raphael Holinshed's life. We don't even know exactly when he was born! Most of what we know about him comes from his work on the Chronicles. He was known as a skilled translator. Holinshed retired to the countryside near Warwick a few months after his big book was given permission to be printed. He passed away around 1580. We don't know much about his other jobs or achievements.
Holinshed's Famous Chronicles
The idea for Holinshed's Chronicles started in 1548. A printer in London named Reyner Wolfe wanted to create a huge book. He imagined a "Universal Cosmography" that would cover the history of the whole world. He also wanted it to include specific histories of every known country. Wolfe planned for the book to be in English and to have maps and pictures.
Wolfe gathered many old writings and used them to create timelines and updated maps. But he soon realized this was too big a job for one person. So, he hired Raphael Holinshed and William Harrison to help him.
Publishing the Chronicles
Reyner Wolfe died in 1573 before the book was finished. The project then changed to focus only on the British Isles. A group of three London printers took over the work. They kept Raphael Holinshed on the team. Holinshed then hired other writers like William Harrison, Richard Stanyhurst, Edmund Campion, and John Hooker.
In 1577, the first edition of the book was finally published in two large volumes. Some parts of the book, especially those about Ireland written by Stanyhurst, were removed by a group of royal advisors called the Privy Council. They thought these parts were not suitable. The section about Scotland was mostly a translation of an earlier history book.
A second edition of the Chronicles was printed in 1587. This version also had some parts that the Queen and her advisors found offensive. So, those pages were ordered to be taken out. The missing parts were later published separately in 1723. A complete reprint of the entire work came out in 1807.
See also
In Spanish: Raphael Holinshed para niños
