Edward Hall is famous today as the author of

The Union of the two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and York

(1548), crowned by one of the earliest – and most glorifying – histories of the reign of Henry VIII, which became William Shakespeare's primary source for his first history plays, and which also influenced Holinshed and other later historians.

Edward Hall, the son of John Hall, a successful London grocer, had an early acquaintance with history through one of his father's apprentices who happened to be the son of the renowned London chronicler, Robert Fabyan. The exact date of his birth is unknown. He was educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, two foundations of King Henry VI, as he recalls in his account of this “Trobleous” reign. The seventeenth-century

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Citation: Goy-Blanquet, Dominique. "Edward Hall". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 September 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1940, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1940 Edward Hall 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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