Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 27.djvu/137

Holinshed history and cosmography, with maps and illustrations. He had inherited Leland's notes, and he himself began the compilation of the English, Scottish, and Irish portions. Holinshed worked for some years under his direction, and had free access to Leland's manuscripts. ‘After fiue-and-twentie yeares travell spent therein,’ Wolfe died in 1573. No part of the great project was then ready for publication, but three well-known publishers, George Bishop, John Harrison, and Luke or Lucas Harrison, determined to persevere with it, and Holinshed continued his labours in their service. Alarmed at the size the work seemed likely to assume, Wolfe's successors resolved to limit their plan to histories and descriptions of England, Scotland, and Ireland only, and to omit maps. [q. v.] was engaged to assist Holinshed in the descriptions of England and Scotland, and Richard Stanihurst to continue from 1509 to 1547 the history of Ireland, which Holinshed had compiled, chiefly from a manuscript by [q. v.] At length on 1 July 1578 a license for publishing ‘Raphael Hollingesheds Cronycle’ was issued to John Harrison and George Bishop, on payment of the unusually high fee of ‘xxs and a copy.’ A fortnight later the widow of Luke or Lucas Harrison, the third publisher interested in the venture, was allowed to sell her copies to Thomas Woodcock (Reg. Stationers' Comp. ed. Arber, ii. 329, 332). The work appeared in two folio volumes, and was admirably illustrated with portraits, battle-pieces, and the like. The title of vol. i. ran: ‘The firste volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande, conteyning the description and chronicles from the firste inhabiting unto the Conquest. The description and chronicles of Scotland till  1571. The description and chronicles of Irelande untill  1547, faithfully gathered and set forth by Raphael Holinshed.’ The engraved title-page bears 1577 in an upper panel, and ‘God saue the Queene’ in the lower. The arms of William Cecil, lord Burghley, to whom Holinshed dedicated the book, are at the back of the title-page. ‘The Historie of Scotland,’ which Holinshed dedicated to Leicester, has a new title-page, and is followed by an exhaustive ‘table of the principall matters,’ occupying twenty-four pages, each divided into four columns. The ‘Historie of Ireland,’ which is dedicated to Sir Henry Sydney, has a third title-page, and is followed by a ‘table.’ The title of vol. ii., which fills 1876 pages, ran: ‘The laste volume of the Chronicles conteyning the Chronicles of England from the Norman Conquest until this present time.’ The latest event recorded is the burning of anabaptists in 1575, but a long list of English authors of Elizabeth's time precedes the ‘faultes escaped’ and one more elaborate ‘table.’ Perfect examples of these volumes, especially with the folding plate of the siege of Edinburgh, between pages 1868 and 1869, and a duplicate page, 1593, are extremely rare. Some copies bear the imprint of John Harrison, others of George Bishop, Luke or Lucas Harrison, and John Hunne (cf. Notes and Queries, 6th ser. xi. 269, 351). All copies were printed by Henry Bynneman. A few passages (pp. 74–8 and pp. 90–1) in the ‘Historie of Ireland’ dealing with the rebellion of Gerald Fitzgerald, ninth earl of Kildare [q. v.], or reflecting on the character of John Alen or Allen [q. v.], archbishop of Dublin (1528–34), offended the queen and her ministers, and were ordered to be cancelled and replaced by others omitting the offending sentences. Heber possessed an original unexpurgated copy, which was purchased by Thomas Grenville (1755–1846) [q. v.], and the cancelled pages were excised and inserted in an admirable copy of the revised version already in Grenville's collection. This copy is now in the British Museum.

Holinshed's ‘Chronicle’ met with immediate success, but the compiler did not long survive its publication. He made his will on 1 Oct. 1578, and there describes himself as steward to Thomas Burdet of Bramcote, Warwickshire. Wood says that he died at Bramcote about the end of 1580. By his will, which was proved on 24 April 1582, all his property passed to his master, Burdet, who thus, according to Wood, became possessor of Holinshed's ‘notes, collections, books, and MSS.’ The only manuscript of Holinshed known to be extant is a translation, prepared for the ‘Chronicle,’ of Florence of Worcester, which is now in Brit. Mus. MS. Harl. 563.

After Holinshed's death the publishers of his ‘Chronicle,’ Harrison and Bishop, joined with themselves Ralph Newberie, Henry Denham, and Thomas Woodcock to prepare a new edition. They employed John Hooker, alias Vowell [q. v.], as editor. He continued the work till 1586, inserting many new passages on topics insufficiently treated of in the early edition, and employing Francis Thynne [q. v.] on the Scottish continuations, and Thynne, Abraham Fleming [q. v.], and John Stow [q. v.] on other portions of the book. The new edition, which was printed in 1586, appeared in three folio volumes in January 1586–7, and was without illustrations. The freedom with which Hooker and his colleagues wrote of nearly contemporary events led the privy council to order extensive