This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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Elizabeth Meverell Countess Ardglass was born to [her father] Robert Meverell and [her mother] Elizabeth Fleming.
On 27th April 1607 Edward Cromwell 3rd Baron Cromwell Oakham [aged 47] died. His son [her future husband] Thomas [aged 12] succeeded 4th Baron Cromwell Oakham. Elizabeth Meverell Countess Ardglass by marriage Baroness Cromwell Oakham.
Before 12th September 1624 Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl Ardglass [aged 30] and Elizabeth Meverell Countess Ardglass were married.
On 12th September 1624 [her son] Wingfield Cromwell 2nd Earl Ardglass was born to [her husband] Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl Ardglass [aged 30] and Elizabeth Meverell Countess Ardglass. He married before 1653 Mary Russell Countess Ardglass, daughter of William Russell 1st Baronet and Frances Reade Lady Russell.
On 22nd November 1624 [her husband] Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl Ardglass [aged 30] was created 1st Viscount Lecale in Ulster. Elizabeth Meverell Countess Ardglass by marriage Viscountess Lecale in Ulster.
On 2nd October 1625 [her son] Vere Essex Cromwell 4th Earl Ardglass was born to [her husband] Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl Ardglass [aged 31] and Elizabeth Meverell Countess Ardglass.
On 5th February 1628 [her father] Robert Meverell died.
Before 5th August 1628 [her father] Robert Meverell and [her mother] Elizabeth Fleming were married.
On 5th August 1628 [her mother] Elizabeth Fleming died.
Around 1631 [her daughter] Mary Cromwell was born to [her husband] Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl Ardglass [aged 36] and Elizabeth Meverell Countess Ardglass. She married before 6th April 1676 William Fitzherbert.
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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On 15th April 1645 [her husband] Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl Ardglass [aged 50] was created 1st Earl Ardglass. Elizabeth Meverell Countess Ardglass by marriage Countess Ardglass.
Before 1653 Wingfield Cromwell 2nd Earl Ardglass [aged 28] and Mary Russell Countess Ardglass [aged 18] were married. He the son of Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl Ardglass [aged 58] and Elizabeth Meverell Countess Ardglass.
In 1653 Elizabeth Meverell Countess Ardglass died.
In 1653 [her husband] Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl Ardglass [aged 58] died. His son Wingfield [aged 28] succeeded 2nd Earl Ardglass, 5th Baron Cromwell Oakham. Mary Russell Countess Ardglass [aged 19] by marriage Countess Ardglass.
After 1653. Church of the Holy Cross, Ilam [Map]. Monument to Elizabeth Meverell Countess Ardglass. Elizabethan Period.
Father: Robert Meverell
Elizabeth Meverell Countess Ardglass
GrandFather: Thomas Fleming
Mother: Elizabeth Fleming