This page includes family trees for 8 of Shakespeare's history plays. Click the
buttons below to view them as printable PDF documents.
Why Trees?
In these 8 plays, Shakespeare, working in the late 16th century, was writing about his own country’s 15th-century history. He knew his audience would be familiar with the stories and the characters. Our perspective, over four hundred years later and in another country, does not provide the same level of context.
Imagine we were watching a play about the American Civil War and characters made various passing references to “the president,” “Lincoln,” and “Honest Abe.” We would understand these are all the same person, no explanation needed. But someone unfamiliar with our history might appreciate a little help. In Shakespeare’s histories, characters refer to each other by last name, nickname, and title interchangeably, and their iconic status in English memory compels very little exposition. When we do get a first name, it’s usually one of the same six or seven names recycled repeatedly throughout the generations.
And so, as an aid to the reader, I have put together a family tree for the Plantagenets that spans all eight plays. For each play, I provide a one-page printable PDF version of the tree that shows the current state of the family as the action begins. It shows who’s living, who’s dead, who’s related to whom, who is actually in the play, and what names might be used to reference them.
Imagine we were watching a play about the American Civil War and characters made various passing references to “the president,” “Lincoln,” and “Honest Abe.” We would understand these are all the same person, no explanation needed. But someone unfamiliar with our history might appreciate a little help. In Shakespeare’s histories, characters refer to each other by last name, nickname, and title interchangeably, and their iconic status in English memory compels very little exposition. When we do get a first name, it’s usually one of the same six or seven names recycled repeatedly throughout the generations.
And so, as an aid to the reader, I have put together a family tree for the Plantagenets that spans all eight plays. For each play, I provide a one-page printable PDF version of the tree that shows the current state of the family as the action begins. It shows who’s living, who’s dead, who’s related to whom, who is actually in the play, and what names might be used to reference them.