Chronicles (1 of 6): The Description of Britaine

by Raphael Holinshed

"Chronicles (1 of 6): The Description of Britaine" by Holinshed, Harrison, and Hooker is a collaborative historical work published in 1577, with a revised edition in 1587. This comprehensive chronicle of British history became one of Renaissance literature's most influential sources, providing material for Shakespeare's history plays and tragedies including Macbeth and King Lear. The work emerged from an ambitious project to document the British Isles through detailed descriptions, maps, and chronologies, transforming historical narrative into a resource that shaped literary imagination for generations.