Oxford Handbook of Holinshed's Chronicles

The Chronicles of England Scotland and Ireland (1577 1587) issued under the name of Raphael Holinshed was the crowning achievement of Tudor historiography and became the principal source for the historical writings of Spenser Daniel and above all Shakespeare. While scholars have long been drawn to Holinshed for its qualities as a source they typically dismissed it as a baggy collection of materials lacking coherent form and analytical insight. This condescending verdict has only recently given way to an appreciation of the literary and historical qualities of these chronicles.