Edward Hall
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Edward Hall ( – ) was an English lawyer and historian, best known for his ''The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke''—commonly known as ''Hall's Chronicle''—first published in 1548. He was also several times a member of the
Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...
.


Family

Edward Hall, born in 1497, was the son of John Hall (died 22 February 1528) of Northall in
Kynnersley Kynnersley is a village in Shropshire, England. Kynnersley lies in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, in a remote, rural location north of Telford. The village has a population of approximately 180 based on the 2001 census and taking into accoun ...
, Shropshire, a London
grocer A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...
and Merchant of the Staple who resided in the parish of St Mildred in the Poultry.Catherine Gedding (died 1557), A Who’s Who of Tudor Women: G, compiled by Kathy Lynn Emerson to update and correct ''Wives and Daughters: The Women of Sixteenth-Century England'' (1984)
Retrieved 24 June 2013.
The surname Hall appears in the records of the
Worshipful Company of Grocers The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London and ranks second in order of precedence. The Grocers' Company was established in 1345 for merchants occupied in the trade of grocer and is one of the Gr ...
for several generations prior to Hall's birth, suggesting that members of the family had been London merchants for some time. Hall's father served as Warden of the Grocers in 1512. According to some sources, Hall's mother, Katherine Geddyng, was the daughter and coheir of Thomas Geddyng of
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, while according to others she was the daughter of John Geddyng, great-grandson of William Geddyng of
Lackford Lackford is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around four miles north-west of Bury St Edmunds on the A1101, in 2005 it had a population of 270. The parish contains the Lackford Lake ...
, Suffolk, and Mirabel Aspale, daughter and heiress of Sir John de Aspale. Katherine (née Geddying) Hall's burial on 19 June 1557 in the church of St Benet Sherehog was recorded by the diarist
Henry Machyn Henry Machyn (1496/1498 – 1563) was an English clothier and diarist in 16th century London. Machyn's ''Chronicle'', which was written between 1550 and 1563, is primarily concerned with public events: changes on the throne, state visits, i ...
. She appointed as executor of her will Sir
William Garrard This Profile Is Managed By / Garrett(-Garwood), Garrard, Gerard, FitzGerald, FitzWalter, FitzOtho, Gherardini Family Tree Research/Redesign Plan 2022/23. Family Tree Link : https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/184159457?dtid=100 Sir W ...
, and as supervisor Dame Joan Warren, the second wife of Sir Ralph Warren,
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...
. According to some sources, Katherine was the 'Mistress Hall' who in 1555 was imprisoned in Newgate for her faith under Queen Mary Tudor, and with whom the religious reformer
John Bradford John Bradford (1510–1555) was an English Reformer, prebendary of St. Paul's, and martyr. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for alleged crimes against Queen Mary I. He was burned at the stake on 1 July 1555. Life Bradford was born ...
corresponded. Hall had a brother, William, who survived him, but no other known brothers or sisters.


Marriage and issue

There is no evidence as to whether Hall ever married. His will, made in 1546–1547, makes no mention of a wife or children, and the only family members named are his brother, William, whom he appoints as executor of his will, and his mother, whom he appoints as overseer. In his will he requested burial in the
Greyfriars, London In London, the Greyfriars was a Conventual Franciscan friary that existed from 1225 to 1538 on a site at the North-West of the City of London by Newgate in the parish of St Nicholas in the Shambles. It was the second Franciscan religious ...
, but he was instead buried in the church of St Benet Sherehog, which was subsequently destroyed in the Great Fire of London and not rebuilt. He left all his books in French and English to his brother, William, and his manuscript of his chronicle to
Richard Grafton Richard Grafton (c. 1506/7 or 1511 – 1573) was King's Printer under Henry VIII and Edward VI. He was a member of the Grocers' Company and MP for Coventry elected 1562-63. Under Henry VIII With Edward Whitchurch, a member of the Haberdashe ...
, entrusting him with its publication.


Career

Hall began his education at
Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
. In 1514 he was admitted to
King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
, graduating BA in 1518. At about the time of Hall's graduation from university, the second son of
Robert Fabyan Robert Fabyan (died 1512) was a London draper, Sheriff and Alderman, and author of ''Fabyan's Chronicle''. Family Robert Fabyan was the son of John Fabyan and his wife, Agnes. He is said to have been born in London. He had a brother, John. His n ...
(died 1513) became apprentice to Hall's father, and according to Herman, it was perhaps through this connection that Hall developed what became a lifelong interest in chronicling the events of English history. Hall was a student at
Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...
by 1521, and became a lawyer by profession. He was
Autumn Reader A reader in one of the Inns of Court in London was originally a senior barrister of the Inn who was elected to deliver a lecture or series of lectures on a particular legal topic. Two readers (known as Lent and Autumn Readers) would be elected annu ...
at his Inn in 1533, and Lent Reader in 1540. According to Herman, Hall may have been first elected to Parliament as early as 1523. He was elected to represent Much Wenlock in 1529, and represented the borough again in 1539. In 1542, and again in 1545, he was elected for
Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. Histor ...
. Hall served as
Common Serjeant of London The Common Serjeant of London (full title The Serjeant-at-Law in the Common Hall) is an ancient British legal office, first recorded in 1291, and is the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court after the Recorder of Lon ...
from 17 March 1533 to 2 June 1535, and as Under-Sheriff from 2 June 1535 until his death.


''Chronicle''

Hall's best-known work, ''The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke'', commonly called ''Hall's Chronicle'', was published by the printer
Richard Grafton Richard Grafton (c. 1506/7 or 1511 – 1573) was King's Printer under Henry VIII and Edward VI. He was a member of the Grocers' Company and MP for Coventry elected 1562-63. Under Henry VIII With Edward Whitchurch, a member of the Haberdashe ...
in 1548, the year after Hall's death. A revised edition (printed for Grafton by
Richard Jugge Richard Jugge (died 1577) was an eminent English printer, who kept a shop at the sign of the Bible, at the North door of St Paul's Cathedral, though his residence was in Newgate market, next to Christ Church in London. He is generally credited a ...
) appeared in 1550. Both included a continuation from 1532 compiled by Grafton from the author's notes. The only complete modern edition, entitled ''Hall's Chronicle, Containing the History of England During the Reign of Henry IV and the Succeeding Monarchs to the End of the Reign of Henry VIII'', was prepared under the supervision of Sir
Henry Ellis Henry Ellis may refer to: * Henry Augustus Ellis (1861–1939), Irish Australian physician and federalist * Henry Ellis (diplomat) (1788–1855), British diplomat * Henry Ellis (governor) (1721–1806), explorer, author, and second colonial Gover ...
and published in 1809. A reprint was issued in 1965. In 1904, the concluding chapter dealing with the reign of Henry VIII was edited by
Charles Whibley Charles Whibley (9 December 1859 – 4 March 1930) was an English literary journalist and author. In literature and the arts, his views were progressive. He supported James Abbott McNeill Whistler (they had married sisters). He also recommended ...
. The ''Chronicle'' begins with the accession of Henry IV to the English throne in 1399; it follows the strife between the houses of Lancaster and York, and with Grafton's continuation carries the story down to the death of Henry VIII in 1547. Hall presents the policy of this king in a very favourable light and shows his own sympathy with the Protestants. He has a lawyer's respect for ceremonial of all kinds, and his pages are often adorned and encumbered with the pageantry and material garniture of the story. The value of the ''Chronicle'' in its early stages is not great, but increases when dealing with the reign of Henry VII and is considerable for the reign of Henry VIII. To the historian it furnishes what is evidently the testimony of an eyewitness on several matters of importance which are neglected by other narrators, and to the student of literature it is of interest as one of the prime sources of
Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
history plays. On 22 June 1940, Alan Keen, a dealer in antiquarian books, discovered an extensively annotated copy of Hall's ''Chronicle'' among the contents of a library from outside London which he had just purchased. Keen considered that the marginal annotations, most of which are found in the chapters covering the reigns of Henry IV,
Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
, and Henry VI, were made by
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
. Keen published his findings in two journal articles, and in a book co-authored with Roger Lubbock in 1954, ''The Annotator''. After his death Keen left the volume in the hands of trustees, who placed it in the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, where until 2007 it was catalogued as Loan MS 61.E-mail from Manuscripts Department, British Library, 31 May 2013.


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

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External links


Edward Hall
in
The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...
online, digitized from
Will of Edward Hall of Gray's Inn, Middlesex, proved 25 May 1547, PROB 11/31/518, National Archives
Retrieved 24 June 2013
Will of John Hall, grocer, of London, proved 13 March 1529, PROB 11/23/60, National Archives
Retrieved 24 June 2013
Will of Katheryn Hall, widow, of Saint Benet Sherehog, City of London, proved 18 August 1557, PROB 11/39/329, National Archives
Retrieved 24 June 2013
''Hall's Chronicle'', 1809 edition
Retrieved 24 June 2013
''Hall's Chronicle'', 1965 reprint of 1809 edition, HathiTrust Digital Library
Retrieved 24 June 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Edward 16th-century English writers 16th-century English historians 16th-century male writers 1496 births 1547 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Common Serjeants of London English chroniclers 16th-century English judges English MPs 1529–1536 English MPs 1539–1540 English MPs 1542–1544 English MPs 1545–1547 People educated at Eton College