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35 chapters
“FOREWORDS.”[1]
“FOREWORDS.”[1]
I am unwilling to send out this Harrison , the friend of some twenty years’ standing, without a few words of introduction to those readers who don’t know it. The book is full of interest, not only to every Shakspere student, but to every reader of English history, every man who has the least care for his forefathers’ lives. Though it does contain sheets of padding now and then, yet the writer’s racy phrases are continually turning up, and giving flavour to his descriptions, while he sets before
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EDITORIAL NOTE.
EDITORIAL NOTE.
No book is more quoted and less read than Holinshed’s Chronicles . Since the original editions of 1577 and 1587 (the latter an expansion of the former), the work has been but once republished. Early in this century a syndicate of the great London booksellers issued an expensive reprint, far more inaccessible to the general reader than are the folios of the time of Elizabeth. Even morsels of the work have never been attempted until the issue by the “New Shakspere Society,” a dozen years ago, of D
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HARRISON’S PREFACE.
HARRISON’S PREFACE.
To the Right Honourable, and his singular good Lord and Master, Sir William Brooke, Knight, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Baron of Cobham, all increase of the fear and knowledge of God, firm obedience towards his Prince, infallible love to the commonwealth, and commendable renown here in this world, and in the world to come life everlasting. Having had just occasion, Right Honourable, to remain in London during the time of Trinity term last passed, and being earnestly required of divers m
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OF DEGREES OF PEOPLE IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND.[54]
OF DEGREES OF PEOPLE IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND.[54]
We, in England, divide our people commonly into four sorts, as gentlemen, citizens or burgesses, yeomen, and artificers or labourers. Of gentlemen the first and chief (next the king) be the prince, dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons; and these are called gentlemen of the greater sort, or (as our common usage of speech is) lords and noblemen: and next unto them be knights, esquires, and, last of all, they that are simply called gentlemen. So that in effect our gentlemen are divided i
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OF CITIES AND TOWNS IN ENGLAND.
OF CITIES AND TOWNS IN ENGLAND.
As in old time we read that there were eight-and-twenty flamines and archflamines in the south part of this isle, and so many great cities under their jurisdiction, so in these our days there is but one or two fewer, and each of them also under the ecclesiastical regiment of some one bishop or archbishop, who in spiritual cases have the charge and oversight of the same. So many cities therefore are there in England and Wales as there be bishoprics and archbishoprics. [70] For, notwithstanding th
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OF GARDENS AND ORCHARDS.
OF GARDENS AND ORCHARDS.
After such time as Calais was won from the French, and that our countrymen had learned to trade into divers countries (whereby they grew rich), they began to wax idle also, and thereupon not only left off their former painfulness and frugality, but in like sort gave themselves to live in excess and vanity, whereby many goodly commodities failed, and in short time were not to be had amongst us. Such strangers also as dwelled here with us, perceiving our sluggishness, and espying that this idlenes
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OF FAIRS AND MARKETS.
OF FAIRS AND MARKETS.
There are (as I take it) few great towns in England that have not their weekly markets, one or more granted from the prince, in which all manner of provision for household is to be bought and sold, for ease and benefit of the country round about. Whereby, as it cometh to pass that no buyer shall make any great journey in the purveyance of his necessities, so no occupier shall have occasion to travel far off with his commodities, except it be to seek for the highest prices, which commonly are nea
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OF THE LAWS OF ENGLAND SINCE HER FIRST INHABITATION.
OF THE LAWS OF ENGLAND SINCE HER FIRST INHABITATION.
That Samothes (or Dis) gave the first laws to the Celts (whose kingdom he erected about the fifteenth of Nimbrote), the testimony of Berosus is proof sufficient. For he not only affirmeth him to publish the same in the fourth of Ninus, but also addeth thereto how there lived none in his days of more excellent wisdom nor politic invention than he, whereof he was named Samothes, as some other do affirm. What his laws were, it is now altogether unknown, as most things of this age, but that they wer
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OF THE ANCIENT AND PRESENT ESTATE OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
OF THE ANCIENT AND PRESENT ESTATE OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
There are now two provinces only in England, of which the first and greatest is subject to the see of Canterbury, comprehending a part of Lhoegres, [100] whole Cambria, and also Ireland, which in time past were several, and brought into one by the archbishop of the said see, and assistance of the pope, who, in respect of meed, did yield unto the ambitious desires of sundry archbishops of Canterbury, as I have elsewhere declared. [101] The second province is under the see of York. And, of these,
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OF THE FOOD AND DIET OF THE ENGLISH.
OF THE FOOD AND DIET OF THE ENGLISH.
The situation of our region, lying near unto the north, doth cause the heat of our stomachs to be of somewhat greater force: therefore our bodies do crave a little more ample nourishment than the inhabitants of the hotter regions are accustomed withal, whose digestive force is not altogether so vehement, because their internal heat is not so strong as ours, which is kept in by the coldness of the air that from time to time (especially in winter) doth environ our bodies. It is no marvel therefore
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OF OUR APPAREL AND ATTIRE.
OF OUR APPAREL AND ATTIRE.
An Englishman, endeavouring sometime to write of our attire, made sundry platforms for his purpose, supposing by some of them to find out one steadfast ground whereon to build the sum of his discourse. But in the end (like an orator long without exercise), when he saw what a difficult piece of work he had taken in hand, he gave over his travel, and only drew the picture of a naked man, [149] unto whom he gave a pair of shears in the one hand and a piece of cloth in the other, to the end he shoul
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OF THE MANNER OF BUILDING AND FURNITURE OF OUR HOUSES.[162]
OF THE MANNER OF BUILDING AND FURNITURE OF OUR HOUSES.[162]
The greatest part of our building in the cities and good towns of England consisteth only of timber, for as yet few of the houses of the communalty (except here and there in the West-country towns) are made of stone, although they may (in my opinion) in divers other places be builded so good cheap of the one as of the other. In old time the houses of the Britons were slightly set up with a few posts and many raddles, with stable and all offices under one roof, the like whereof almost is to be se
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OF PROVISION MADE FOR THE POOR.
OF PROVISION MADE FOR THE POOR.
There is no commonwealth at this day in Europe wherein there is not great store of poor people, and those necessarily to be relieved by the wealthier sort, which otherwise would starve and come to utter confusion. With us the poor is commonly divided into three sorts, so that some are poor by impotence, as the fatherless child, the aged, blind, and lame, and the diseased person that is judged to be incurable; the second are poor by casualty, as the wounded soldier, the decayed householder, and t
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OF THE AIR AND SOIL AND COMMODITIES OF THIS ISLAND.
OF THE AIR AND SOIL AND COMMODITIES OF THIS ISLAND.
The air (for the most part) throughout the island is such as by reason in manner of continual clouds is reputed to be gross, and nothing so pleasant as that of the main. Howbeit, as they which affirm these things have only respect to the impediment or hindrance of the sunbeams by the interposition of the clouds and of ingrossed air, so experience teacheth us that it is no less pure, wholesome, and commodious than is that of other countries, and (as Cæsar himself hereto addeth) much more temperat
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OF SUNDRY MINERALS AND METALS.
OF SUNDRY MINERALS AND METALS.
With how great benefits this island of ours hath been endued from the beginning I hope there is no godly man but will readily confess, and yield unto the Lord God his due honour for the same. For we are blessed every way, and there is no temporal commodity necessary to be had or craved by any nation at God’s hand that he hath not in most abundant manner bestowed upon us Englishmen, if we could see to use it, and be thankful for the same. But alas! (as I said in the chapter precedent) we love to
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OF CATTLE KEPT FOR PROFIT.
OF CATTLE KEPT FOR PROFIT.
There is no kind of tame cattle usually to be seen in these parts of the world whereof we have not some, and that great store, in England, as horses, oxen, sheep, goats, swine, and far surmounting the like in other countries, as may be proved with ease. For where are oxen commonly made more large of bone, horses more decent and pleasant in pace, kine more commodious for the pail, sheep more profitable for wool, swine more wholesome of flesh, and goats more gainful to their keepers than here with
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OF WILD AND TAME FOWLS.
OF WILD AND TAME FOWLS.
Order requireth that I speak somewhat of the fowls also of England, which I may easily divide into the wild and tame; but, alas! such is my small skill in fowls that, to say the truth, I can neither recite their numbers nor well distinguish one kind of them from another. Yet this I have by general knowledge, that there is no nation under the sun which hath already in the time of the year more plenty of wild fowl than we, for so many kinds as our island doth bring forth, and much more would have
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OF SAVAGE BEASTS AND VERMIN.
OF SAVAGE BEASTS AND VERMIN.
It is none of the least blessings wherewith God hath endued this island that it is void of noisome beasts, as lions, bears, tigers, pardes, wolves, and such like, by means whereof our countrymen may travel in safety, and our herds and flocks remain for the most part abroad in the field without any herdman or keeper. This is chiefly spoken of the south and south-west parts of the island. For, whereas we that dwell on this side of the Tweed may safely boast of our security in this behalf, yet cann
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OF OUR ENGLISH DOGS AND THEIR QUALITIES.
OF OUR ENGLISH DOGS AND THEIR QUALITIES.
There is no country that may (as I take it) compare with ours in number, excellency, and diversity of dogs. The first sort therefore he divideth either into such as rouse the beast, and continue the chase, or springeth the bird, and bewrayeth her flight by pursuit. And as these are commonly called spaniels, so the other are named hounds, whereof he maketh eight sorts, of which the foremost excelleth in perfect smelling, the second in quick espying, the third in swiftness and quickness, the fourt
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OF FISH USUALLY TAKEN UPON OUR COASTS.
OF FISH USUALLY TAKEN UPON OUR COASTS.
I have in my description of waters, as occasion hath served, treated of the names of some of the several fishes which are commonly to be found in our rivers. Nevertheless, as every water hath a sundry mixture, and therefore is not stored with every kind, so there is almost no house, even of the meanest boors, which hath not one or more ponds or holes made for reservation of water unstored with some of them, as with tench, carp, bream, roach, dace, eels, or such like as will live and breed togeth
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OF QUARRIES OF STONE FOR BUILDING.
OF QUARRIES OF STONE FOR BUILDING.
Quarries with us are pits or mines, out of which we dig our stone to build withal, and of these as we have great plenty in England so are they of divers sorts, and those very profitable for sundry necessary uses. In times past the use of stone was in manner dedicated to the building of churches, religious houses, princely palaces, bishops’ manors, and holds only; but now that scrupulous observation is altogether infringed, and building with stone so commonly taken up that amongst noblemen and ge
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OF WOODS AND MARSHES.
OF WOODS AND MARSHES.
It should seem by ancient records, and the testimony of sundry authors, that the whole countries of Lhoegres and Cambria, now England and Wales, have sometimes been very well replenished with great woods and groves, although at this time the said commodity be not a little decayed in both, and in such wise that a man shall oft ride ten or twenty miles in each of them and find very little, or rather none at all, except it be near unto towns, gentlemen’s houses, and villages, where the inhabitants
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OF PARKS AND WARRENS.
OF PARKS AND WARRENS.
In every shire of England there are great plenty of parks, whereof some here and there, to wit, well near to the number of two hundred, for her daily provision of that flesh, appertain to the prince, the rest to such of the nobility and gentlemen as have their lands and patrimonies lying in or near unto the same. I would gladly have set down the just number of these enclosures to be found in every county; but, sith I cannot so do, it shall suffice to say that in Kent and Essex only are to the nu
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OF PALACES BELONGING TO THE PRINCE.
OF PALACES BELONGING TO THE PRINCE.
It lieth not in me to set down exactly the number and names of the palaces belonging to the prince, nor to make any description of her grace’s court, sith my calling is, and hath been such, as that I have scarcely presumed to peep in at her gates; much less then have I adventured to search out and know the estate of those houses, and what magnificent behaviour is to be seen within them. Yet thus much will I say generally of all the houses and honours pertaining to her majesty, that they are buil
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OF ARMOUR AND MUNITION.
OF ARMOUR AND MUNITION.
How well or how strongly our country hath been furnished in times past with armour and artillery it lieth not in me as of myself to make rehearsal. Yet that it lacketh both in the late time of Queen Mary, not only the experience of mine elders, but also the talk of certain Spaniards not yet forgotten, did leave some manifest notice. Upon the first I need not stand, for few will deny it. For the second, I have heard that when one of the greatest peers of Spain espied our nakedness in this behalf,
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OF THE NAVY OF ENGLAND.
OF THE NAVY OF ENGLAND.
There is nothing that hath brought me into more admiration of the power and force of antiquity than their diligence and care had of their navies: wherein, whether I consider their speedy building, or great number of ships which some one kingdom or region possessed at one instant, it giveth me still occasion either to suspect the history, or to think that in our times we come very far behind them. [211] I must needs confess therefore that the ancient vessels far exceeded ours for capacity, nevert
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OF SUNDRY KINDS OF PUNISHMENT APPOINTED FOR OFFENDERS.
OF SUNDRY KINDS OF PUNISHMENT APPOINTED FOR OFFENDERS.
In cases of felony, manslaughter, robbery, murder, rape, piracy, and such capital crimes as are not reputed for treason or hurt of the estate, our sentence pronounced upon the offender is, to hang till he be dead. For of other punishments used in other countries we have no knowledge or use; and yet so few grievous crimes committed with us as elsewhere in the world. To use torment also or question by pain and torture in these common cases with us is greatly abhorred, since we are found always to
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OF UNIVERSITIES.
OF UNIVERSITIES.
There have been heretofore, and at sundry times, divers famous universities in this island, and those even in my days not altogether forgotten, as one at Bangor, erected by Lucius, and afterward converted into a monastery, not by Congellus (as some write), but by Pelagius the monk. The second at Caerleon-upon-Usk, near to the place where the river doth fall into the Severn, founded by King Arthur. The third at Thetford, wherein were six hundred students, in the time of one Rond, sometime king of
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A.—Holinshed’s Dedication.
A.—Holinshed’s Dedication.
Holinshed himself does not come on the scene in the work that goes by his name until in the second volume, devoted to the History of Scotland, which he dedicates to Dudley, whose star was about to set. The third volume was much the larger of the three, being the History of England, which is inscribed to Burghley in this fashion:— TO THE Right Honorable and his singular good Lord, Sir William Cecill, Baron of Burghleygh, Knight of the most noble order of the Garter, Lord high Treasu- rer of Engla
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B.—An Elizabethan Survey of England.
B.—An Elizabethan Survey of England.
Harrison closes Chapter 16 of his first book (which is the last of several chapters describing all the English rivers) with a most interesting complaint of a literary theft of which he was the victim. From his words it is evident that a complete and minute survey of England may still be possibly hidden away in some heap of manuscripts, and which was the work of Thomas Seckford, who died three or four months after the Holinshed of 1587 was issued, and who was evidently intimate with the group eng
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C.—Somebody’s Quarrel with Harrison.
C.—Somebody’s Quarrel with Harrison.
The last section refers to Harrison’s loss by somebody’s pilfering. Now comes another of the tribulations he had to endure. Somebody is in a huff about something, and refused the aid promised to describe all the towns in England. It must have been no ordinary topographer, and may possibly be young Camden, whose name seems never to be mentioned by Harrison, although in 1587 at least his initial labours must have been well known to every scholar in London, especially a man like Harrison who knew a
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D.—Harrison’s Chronology.
D.—Harrison’s Chronology.
Dr. Furnivall has told in a note to his “Forewords” that the manuscript of Harrison’s still unpublished “Chronology” was unearthed in the library of Derry diocese. How it came there is very evident. Harrison’s only son and heir, Edmund Harrison, was the first prebendary of the diocese, who is described in the Visitation as “a man very well qualified both for life and learning.” From the manuscript Dr. Furnivall extracted various entries relating to Harrison’s own time, which are of most pictures
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THE CAMELOT SERIES.
THE CAMELOT SERIES.
London: WALTER SCOTT, 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row....
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GREAT WRITERS.
GREAT WRITERS.
A NEW SERIES OF CRITICAL BIOGRAPHIES Edited by Professor Eric S. Robertson, M.A. MONTHLY SHILLING VOLUMES. VOLUMES ALREADY ISSUED— LIFE OF LONGFELLOW. By Prof. Eric S. Robertson. “A most readable little work.”— Liverpool Mercury. LIFE OF COLERIDGE. By Hall Caine. “Brief and vigorous, written throughout with spirit and great literary skill.”— Scotsman. LIFE OF DICKENS. By Frank T. Marzials. “Notwithstanding the mass of matter that has been printed relating to Dickens and his works ... we should,
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The Canterbury Poets.
The Canterbury Poets.
Edited by William Sharp. In SHILLING Monthly Volumes, Square 8vo. Well printed on fine toned paper, with Red-line Border, and strongly bound in Cloth. THE FOLLOWING VOLUMES ARE NOW READY. London: WALTER SCOTT, 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row. Crown 8vo, Cloth. Price 3s. 6d. per Vol. ; Hlf. Mor. 6s. 6d. THE Contemporary Science Series. Edited by HAVELOCK ELLIS. Most of the vols. will be illustrated, containing between 300 and 400 pp. The first vol. will be issued on Oct. 25, 1889. Others to foll
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