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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Paternal Family Tree: Shirley
Maternal Family Tree: Anne Ferrers 1678
On 27th September 1688 [her father] Robert Shirley [aged 15] and [her mother] Anne Ferrers [aged 10] were married. He the son of [her grandfather] Robert Shirley 1st Earl Ferrers [aged 37] and [her grandmother] Elizabeth Washington Baroness Ferrers Chartley.
On 19th August 1694 Elizabeth Shirley Countess Northampton was born to [her father] Robert Shirley [aged 20] and [her mother] Anne Ferrers [aged 16].
On 25th February 1699 [her father] Robert Shirley [aged 25] died of smallpox.
In 1716 James Compton 5th Earl of Northampton [aged 28] and Elizabeth Shirley Countess Northampton [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Baroness Compton of Compton in Warwickshire. He by marriage Baron Ferrers of Chartley. He the son of George Compton 4th Earl of Northampton [aged 51] and Jane Fox Countess Northampton [aged 47].
On 25th December 1717 [her grandfather] Robert Shirley 1st Earl Ferrers [aged 67] died. His son [her uncle] Washington [aged 40] succeeded 2nd Earl Ferrers, 8th Baronet Shirley of Staunton Harold in Leicestershire. Mary Levinge Countess Ferrers by marriage Countess Ferrers. His granddaughter Elizabeth [aged 23] succeeded 15th Baroness Ferrers of Chartley.
On 15th April 1727 [her father-in-law] George Compton 4th Earl of Northampton [aged 62] died. His son [her husband] James [aged 39] succeeded 5th Earl of Northampton. Elizabeth Shirley Countess Northampton [aged 32] by marriage Countess of Northampton.
Before 23rd December 1739 John Vanderbank [aged 45]. Portrait of Elizabeth Shirley Countess Northampton [aged 45].
On 13th March 1741 Elizabeth Shirley Countess Northampton [aged 46] died. Baron Ferrers of Chartley abeyant.
On 3rd October 1754 [her former husband] James Compton 5th Earl of Northampton [aged 67] died. His brother [her former brother-in-law] George [aged 62] succeeded 6th Earl of Northampton. His daughter Charlotte succeeded 7th Baroness Compton of Compton in Warwickshire.
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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[her daughter] Charlotte Compton 16th Baroness Ferrers Chartley 7th Baroness Compton was born to James Compton 5th Earl of Northampton and Elizabeth Shirley Countess Northampton. She married 19th December 1751 her sixth cousin George Townshend 1st Marquess Townshend, son of Charles Townshend 3rd Viscount Townsend and Audrey aka Etheldreda Harrison, and had issue.
Kings Wessex: Great x 21 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 18 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 24 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 12 Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 27 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 25 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Shirley 
11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: George Shirley 1st Baronet 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Henry Shirley 2nd Baronet 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Berkeley 7th Baron Berkeley 
6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Frances Berkeley 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Katherine Howard Baroness Berkeley 
7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Shirley 4th Baronet 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Walter Devereux 1st Earl Essex 
6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Devereux 2nd Earl Essex 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Dorothy Devereux Lady Shirley 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Francis Walsingham 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Frances Walsingham Countess Essex 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Ursula St Barbe
GrandFather: Robert Shirley 1st Earl Ferrers 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Humphrey Okeover
Great x 1 Grandmother: Catherine Okeover Lady Shirley
Father: Robert Shirley 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Lawrence Washington
Great x 3 Grandfather: Lawrence Washington
Great x 2 Grandfather: Lawrence Washington
Great x 1 Grandfather: Laurence Washington
GrandMother: Elizabeth Washington Baroness Ferrers Chartley
Elizabeth Shirley Countess Northampton 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Humphrey Ferrers 
11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Ferrers of Tamworth Castle 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Bradbourne 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Humphrey Ferrers 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Ferrers 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Pakington of Hampton Lovett 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John "Lusty" Pakington
Great x 2 Grandmother: Anne Pakington Countess Chesterfield
Great x 4 Grandfather: Ambrose Smith of Withcote in Leicestershire
Great x 3 Grandmother: Dorothy Smith
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Coe
GrandFather: Humphrey Ferrers 14 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Mother: Anne Ferrers 15 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England