The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
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Paternal Family Tree: Spencer
Maternal Family Tree: Margaret Donnington Countess Bath 1509-1561
Anne Spencer Countess Dorset was born to [her father] John Spencer and [her mother] Katherine Kitson.
Before October 1545 [her father] John Spencer [aged 21] and [her mother] Katherine Kitson [aged 21] were married. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Thomas Kitson and [her grandmother] Margaret Donnington Countess Bath [aged 36].
On 15th August 1560 Thomas Stanley 2nd Baron Monteagle [aged 53] died at Hornby. His son [her future husband] William [aged 32] succeeded 3rd Baron Monteagle. Anne Spencer Countess Dorset by marriage Baroness Monteagle.
In 1572 [her future husband] Henry Compton 1st Baron Compton [aged 27] was created 1st Baron Compton of Compton in Warwickshire.
Before 1574 [her future husband] Henry Compton 1st Baron Compton [aged 29] and Frances Hastings Baroness Compton [aged 40] were married. She by marriage Baroness Compton of Compton in Warwickshire. She the daughter of Francis Hastings 2nd Earl Huntingdon and Catherine Pole Countess Huntingdon [aged 62]. He the son of Peter Compton and [her future mother-in-law] Anne Talbot Countess Pembroke [aged 50]. They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward III of England.
On 29th December 1574 [her brother-in-law] George Carey 2nd Baron Hunsdon [aged 27] and [her sister] Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Hunsdon and Eure [aged 22] were married.
Around 1579 [her brother-in-law] Ferdinando Stanley 5th Earl of Derby [aged 20] and [her sister] Alice Spencer Countess Derby [aged 29] were married. He the son of Henry Stanley 4th Earl of Derby [aged 47] and Margaret Clifford Countess Derby [aged 39].
In February 1580 [her future husband] Robert Sackville 2nd Earl Dorset [aged 19] and Margaret Howard [aged 18] were married. She the daughter of Thomas Howard 4th Duke of Norfolk and Margaret Audley Duchess Norfolk. He the son of [her future father-in-law] Thomas Sackville 1st Earl Dorset [aged 44] and [her future mother-in-law] Cicely Baker Countess Dorset [aged 45].
On 10th November 1581 [her future husband] William Stanley 3rd Baron Monteagle [aged 53] died. His grandson William [aged 6] succeeded 4th Baron Monteagle.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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After 10th November 1581 Henry Compton 1st Baron Compton [aged 37] and Anne Spencer Countess Dorset were married. She by marriage Baroness Compton of Compton in Warwickshire. He the son of Peter Compton and Anne Talbot Countess Pembroke [aged 58].
Around 1584 [her son] Henry Compton was born to [her husband] Henry Compton 1st Baron Compton [aged 39] and Anne Spencer Countess Dorset. He married his fifth cousin once removed Cecily Sackville, daughter of Robert Sackville 2nd Earl Dorset and Margaret Howard, and had issue.
On 8th November 1586 [her mother] Katherine Kitson [aged 62] died.
On 8th November 1586 [her father] John Spencer [aged 62] died. He was buried at St Mary and All Saints Church, Fotheringhay [Map].
On 10th December 1589 [her husband] Henry Compton 1st Baron Compton [aged 45] died. His son William succeeded 2nd Baron Compton of Compton in Warwickshire.
Before 1591 [her future husband] William Stanley 3rd Baron Monteagle and Anne Leybourne [aged 58] were married.
After 1591 William Stanley 3rd Baron Monteagle and Anne Spencer Countess Dorset were married.
On 4th December 1592 Robert Sackville 2nd Earl Dorset [aged 31] and Anne Spencer Countess Dorset were married. He the son of Thomas Sackville 1st Earl Dorset [aged 56] and Cicely Baker Countess Dorset [aged 57].
On 25th September 1593 Henry Stanley 4th Earl of Derby [aged 62] died at Lathom, Lancashire. His son [her brother-in-law] Ferdinando [aged 34] succeeded 5th Earl Derby, 13th Baron Strange Knockin, 9th Baron Mohun of Dunster, 6th Baron Stanley. [her sister] Alice Spencer Countess Derby [aged 44] by marriage Countess Derby.
On 23rd July 1596 Henry Carey 1st Baron Hunsdon [aged 70] died at Somerset House [Map]. Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland [aged 62] was present. She, apparently, proposed he be made Earl of Wiltshire. He refused saying... "Madam, as you did not count me worthy of this honour in life, then I shall account myself not worthy of it in death". His son [her brother-in-law] George [aged 49] succeeded 2nd Baron Hunsdon. [her sister] Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Hunsdon and Eure [aged 44] by marriage Baroness Hunsdon.
On 20th October 1600 [her brother-in-law] Thomas Egerton 1st Viscount Brackley [aged 60] and [her sister] Alice Spencer Countess Derby [aged 51] were married.
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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After 1606 Thomas Compton and Mary Beaumont 1st Countess Buckingham [aged 36] were married. He the son of Henry Compton 1st Baron Compton and Anne Spencer Countess Dorset. They were half fifth cousin once removed.
Before 1608 [her son-in-law] Henry Mordaunt 4th Baron Mordaunt [aged 40] and Margaret Compton Baroness Mordaunt were married. She by marriage Baroness Mordaunt. She the daughter of Henry Compton 1st Baron Compton and Anne Spencer Countess Dorset.
On 19th April 1608 [her father-in-law] Thomas Sackville 1st Earl Dorset [aged 72] died suddenly at the council table, having apparently suffered a stroke. His funeral was held at Westminster Abbey [Map]. He was buried in the Sackville Chapel St Michael's Church Withyham East Sussex. His son [her husband] Robert [aged 47] succeeded 2nd Earl Dorset, 2nd Baron Buckhurst. Anne Spencer Countess Dorset by marriage Countess Dorset.
On 27th February 1609 [her husband] Robert Sackville 2nd Earl Dorset [aged 48] died at Dorset House. He was buried at Sackville Chapel St Michael's Church Withyham East Sussex. His son [her step-son] Richard [aged 19] succeeded 3rd Earl Dorset, 3rd Baron Buckhurst and inherited Knole House, Sevenoaks. Anne Clifford Countess Dorset and Pembroke [aged 19] by marriage Countess Dorset.
On 27th February 1609 [her step-son] Richard Sackville 3rd Earl Dorset [aged 19] and Anne Clifford Countess Dorset and Pembroke [aged 19] were married. The same day that his father [her husband] Robert Sackville 2nd Earl Dorset [aged 48] died. She the daughter of George Clifford 3rd Earl of Cumberland and Margaret Russell Countess Cumberland [aged 48]. He the son of Robert Sackville 2nd Earl Dorset and Margaret Howard. They were fourth cousin once removed.
Letters of John Chamberlain Volume 1.199. [2nd May 1610] The last widow Lady Dorset found the way to the Fleet [Map] again, where she lay sixe or seven dayes for pressing into the privie chamber and importuning the King contrary to commaundment.
Memorials of affairs of state in the reigns of Q Elizabeth and K James I Volume 3. [5th June 1610] The next Day was graced with a moft glorious Maske, which was double. In the first, came first in the little Duke of York between zwo great Sea Slaves, the cheefest of Neptune's Servants, attended upon by twelve little Ladies, all of them the Daughters of Earls or Barons. By one of these Men a Speech was made unto the King and Prince, expressing the Conceipt of the Maske; by the other, a Sword worth 20000 Crowns at the least was put into the Duke of York's Hands, who presented the same unto the Prince his Brother from the first of those Ladies which were to follow in the next Maske. This done, the Duke returned into his former Place in midst of the Stage, and the little Ladies performed their Dance to the Amazement of all the Beholders, considering the Tenderness of their Years and the many intricate Changes of the Dance; which was so disposed, that which way soever the Changes went the little Duke was still found to be in the midst of these little Dancers. These light Skirmishers having done their devoir, in came the Princesses; first the Queen, next the Lady Elizabeth's Grace, then the Lady Arbella [aged 35], the Countesses of Arundell [aged 25], Derby [aged 34], Essex [aged 20], Dorset, and Montgomery [aged 23], the Lady Hadington, the Lady Elizabeth Grey, the Lady Windsor, the Lady Katherine Peter, the Lady Elizabeth Guilford, and the Lady Mary Wintour. By that time these had done, it was high time to go to Bed, for it was within half an Hour of the Sun's, not setting, but rifing: Howbeit a farther Time was to be spent in viewing and scrambling at one of the most magnificent Banquets that I have seen. The Ambassadors of Spaine; of Venice, and of the Low Countries, were present at this and all the rest of these glorious Sights, and in Truth so they were.
After 1612 [her brother-in-law] Ralph Eure 3rd Baron Eure [aged 53] and [her sister] Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Hunsdon and Eure [aged 59] were married. She by marriage Baroness Eure.
On 7th November 1616 [her brother-in-law] Thomas Egerton 1st Viscount Brackley [aged 76] was created 1st Viscount Brackley. [her sister] Alice Spencer Countess Derby [aged 67] by marriage Viscountess Brackley.
On 25th February 1618 [her sister] Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Hunsdon and Eure [aged 65] died.
On 22nd September 1618 Anne Spencer Countess Dorset died.
[her daughter] Margaret Compton Baroness Mordaunt was born to Henry Compton 1st Baron Compton and Anne Spencer Countess Dorset. She married before 1608 Henry Mordaunt 4th Baron Mordaunt, son of Lewis Mordaunt 3rd Baron Mordaunt, and had issue.
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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[her son] Thomas Compton was born to Henry Compton 1st Baron Compton and Anne Spencer Countess Dorset. He married after 1606 his half fifth cousin once removed Mary Beaumont 1st Countess Buckingham.
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Spencer 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Spencer
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Spencer
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Spencer
Great x 4 Grandfather: Francis Empson
Great x 3 Grandfather: Peter Empson
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Empson
GrandFather: William Spencer
Great x 1 Grandmother: Isabella Graunt
Father: John Spencer
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Knightley 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Knightley
Great x 1 Grandfather: Richard Knightley
GrandMother: Susan Knightley
GrandFather: Thomas Kitson 
Mother: Katherine Kitson
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Donnington of Stoke Newington
GrandMother: Margaret Donnington Countess Bath