William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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In 1010, possibly 1015, Pope Alexander II was born Anselm of Baggio.
On 30th September 1061 Pope Alexander II (age 51) was elected Pope.
Flowers of History. 25th December 1066. William (age 38) was consecrated king, and crowned on the day of the Nativity of our Lord, on the second day of the week, by Ealdred, archbishop of York, as I have said before, because Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury, had been suspended by pope Alexander (age 56) as a schismatic. At that time there was a very powerful officer, Eadric, surnamed Silvaticus, the son of Aelfric, the son of Edric Streona; and the chatelains of Hereford, and Richard, the son of Scrob, frequently laid waste his territories, because he disdained to submit to the king, but, as often as they attacked him they lost a great number of their soldiers and men-at-arms. Therefore Edric invited Bleothwin and Biwathe, kings of Wales, to come to his assistance; and, about the day of The Assumption of the blessed Virgin, he laid waste the province of Hereford, as far as the bridge over the river Wye, and carried off a large booty.
On 21st April 1073 Pope Alexander II (age 63) died.