Raphael Holinshed
Raphael Holinshed (died ~1580) was an
English chronicler, whose work was one of the major sources used by
William Shakespeare for his "history" plays. Relatively little is known about the author of the chronicle. He is thought to have come from
Cheshire, but lived in
London, where he worked as a translator for the printer,
Reginald Wolfe. His great work, entitled
The Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, was published by Wolfe in
1577; in fact, several writers apart from Holinshed himself were involved in its production, including
William Harrison,
Richard Stanyhurst and John Hooker.