Edward Hall

Edward Hall 1499?-1547, English chronicler. He wrote The Union of the Noble and Ilustre Famelies of Lancastre and York (1548), usually called Hall's Chronicle. A glorification of the Tudors, it is important for the light it sheds on social life early in the reign of Henry VIII and for the use Shakespeare made of it in his historical plays.

Hall, Edward (or Edward Halle), (d. 1547), was the author of a chronicle glorifying the House of Tudor entitled The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and York, which is interesting for the account it gives of the times of Henry VIII. It was used by Shakespeare as a source in his early history plays.

Hall, Edward (c.1497–1547). Hall published posthumously in 1548 his Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre and Yorke, tracing royal history from Henry IV to Henry VIII. He was a keen spokesman for the Tudors, whom he saw as restorers of order after decades of anarchy, greatly admired Henry VIII, disliked Wolsey and the clergy, and supported the Reformation. His book was consequently burned in Mary's reign for its anticlerical tone. Hall was born in London, educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, became a Gray's Inn lawyer, and served as a member of Parliament. He was made common serjeant of London in 1533 and under-sheriff from 1535. His early history owed much to Polydore Vergil but, as he approached his own times, he added eye-witness accounts, particularly of the London scene. Shakespeare's use of his works in his historical plays helped to popularize Hall's view of the past.

J. A. Cannon