admitted to King's College, Cambridge, graduating BA in 1518. At about the time of Hall's graduation from university, the second son of Robert Fabyan (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 by 1521, and became a lawyer by profession. He was Autumn Reader 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. Hall served as Common Serjeant of London 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 in 1548, the year after Hall's death. A revised edition (printed for Grafton by Richard Jugge) 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 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. 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.