Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses

Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.

Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.

Biography of Bishop William van Mildert 1765-1836

On 6th November 1765 Bishop William van Mildert was born to [his father] Cornelius van Mildert and [his mother] Martha Hill.

In 1790 Bishop William van Mildert (age 24) was Curate of Witham, Essex [Map].

In 1795 Bishop William van Mildert (age 29) and Jane Douglas (age 35) were married.

Before 1814 Bishop William van Mildert (age 48) became Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, where he gave the Bampton Lectures for 1814.

Before 1814 Bishop William van Mildert (age 48) became Rector of St Mary-le-Bow Church, Cheapside [Map].

In 1819 Bishop William van Mildert (age 53) was appointed Bishop of Llandaff which office he held until 1826.

In 1820 Bishop William van Mildert (age 54) was appointed Dean of St Paul's Cathedral which office he held until 1826.

In 1826 Bishop William van Mildert (age 60) was translated to Bishop of Durham.

In 1832 Bishop William van Mildert (age 66) gave Durham Castle [Map] and a large number of buildings on Palace Green, between the Castle and the Cathedral, as part of the foundation of Durham University. At the same time he arranged for the residence of the Bishop of Durham to be moved to Bishop Auckland, County Durham [Map].

After 1836. Durham Cathedral [Map]. Monument to Bishop William van Mildert (age 70) sculpted by John Gibson (age 45).

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.

Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.

On 21st February 1836 Bishop William van Mildert (age 70) died.

In 1837 [his former wife] Jane Douglas (age 77) died.

Ancestors of Bishop William van Mildert 1765-1836

Father: Cornelius van Mildert

Bishop William van Mildert

GrandFather: William Hill of Vauxhall in Surrey

Mother: Martha Hill