Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet
Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.
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On 16th May 1829 Emma Matilda Hill was born to [her father] Thomas Hill in Gloucestershire.
In April 1841 [her future husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 19] and Elizabeth Bromley [aged 22] were married. They were half first cousins.
1849-1854. [her future husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 27]. "Lear and Cordelia". Model for Cordelia Emma Matilda Hill [aged 19].
Diary of Ford Madox Brown. 10th February 1849. Up late through foolery the night before. Began the veil of Cordelia, only laid in a part of it when a girl as loves me came in & disturbed me1 (3 hours).
Note 1. Very probably Emma Hill [aged 19] whom he was later to marry. Though not mentioned by name she may have made her appearance as a model at the end of 1848. There exists a study of her head for Cordelia dated "Xmas/48" (Birmingham).
Diary of Ford Madox Brown. 8th July 1849. Cleaned Brushes — waited in vain for E1 to come back from the country. Began work after diner, scetched in some of the females preparatory for next day (5 hours).
Note 1. Presumably "Emma [aged 20]".
Diary of Ford Madox Brown. 10th July 1849. Miss wild, did nothing in consequence of forgetting the time & walking too long in the park. After diner Emma [aged 20] came back, went to the play.
Diary of Ford Madox Brown. 11th July 1849. Emma [aged 20] came by 12, painted in the veil & afterwards the face from Emma the (ladye with ye red Head Dress1) (7 hours work).
Note 1. A reference to his painting Lear and Cordela.
On 11th November 1850 [her illegitimate daughter] Catherine Emily Brown was born illegitimately to [her future husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 29] and Emma Matilda Hill [aged 21].
1851. [her future husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 29]. "Pretty Baa Lambs". Models: the artist's future wife Emma Matilda Hill [aged 21] and their daughter [her illegitimate daughter] Catherine Emily Brown.
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.
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1851. Unfinished. [her future husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 29]. "Take Your Son, Sir". Model Emma Matilda Hill [aged 21].
On 5th April 1853 Ford Madox Brown [aged 31] and Emma Matilda Hill [aged 23] were married at St Dunstan's in the West, Fleet Street [Map]. The witnesses were Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 24] and Thomas Seddon [aged 31]. Rector Edward Auriol [aged 48] performed the ceremony.
Edward Auriol: On 27th February 1805 he was born to James Peter Auriol. On 28th September 1829 Edward Auriol and Georgina Morris were married. On 7th January 1842 he was appointed Rector of St Dunstan's in the West, Fleet Street [Map]. On 10th July 1880 Edward Auriol died.
1st May 1853. Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 24]. Drawing of Emma Matilda Hill [aged 23].
1854 to 1855. [her husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 32]. "Waiting: an English Fireside". Models: the artists wife Emma Matilda Hill [aged 24] and daughter [her illegitimate daughter] Catherine Emily Brown [aged 3].
In 1855 [her son] Oliver Madox Brown was born to [her husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 33] and Emma Matilda Hill [aged 25].
1855. [her husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 33]. "The Last of England". Modelled by himself and his wife Emma Matilda Hill [aged 25]. Inspired by the departure to Australia of his friend Thomas Woolner [aged 29].
Diary of Ford Madox Brown. 27th January 1856. For want of a book I have omitted entries since the 6th inst. During this blank I worked two whole weeks (sundays included) at the reduction of King Lear, besides one even, also one eve at the present drawing of do. — also one good day at the "Hay Field" (100 hours). On Monday last White called but did not like the latter, said the hay was pink & he had never seen such. He seemed doubtful about the "Lear", said he would call again in a few days if I would make Kent's head & one of the officers & cordelia's hands less red. He did not seem to have his wonted élan but ended by taking the pencil K Lear for £6.6/ minus 25 per cent discount which I now always allow him on the price. I succeeded in taking him to see Tom Seddons [aged 34] pictures which he seemed to like very much but did not buy. After this he had not time to go to Woolners as he promised me, moreover he did not pay for the Chaucer picture, £45 of which still owing. He was to have paid on receiving it from Paris. Tuesday I did what he wished to the King Lear & after called on the Rossettis having a mind to try if Maria would undertake Lucy's Education inlieu of sending her to school. The room was too full to talk however & Bill with a man named Clayton4 jawed to nasiously about Ruskin & Art that I felt quite disgusted & said nothing.
Note 4. Owing to Emma Brown's [aged 26] intemperance Brown wished Lucy to live away from home (Private Information). John Clayton (1827-1913) helped to found Clayton and Bell, glass painters, and was himself a painter on glass.
1857. [her husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 35]. "Stages of Cruelty". Models: the artists wife Emma Matilda Hill [aged 27] and daughter [her illegitimate daughter] Catherine Emily Brown [aged 6].
On 11th February 1862 at twenty past seven in the morning Elizabeth Siddal [aged 32] overdosed on laudanum at 14 Chatham Place. Possibly suicide - there may have been a note that said "look after Harry (her invalid brother)" which [her husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 40] persuaded Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 33] to burn. Shortly after her death Sarah Cox aka Fanny Cornforth [aged 27] moved into the family home to become housekeeper to Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
2nd April 1871. Census. 37 Fitzroy Square.
[her husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 49]. Head. 49.
Emma Matilda Hill [aged 41]. Wife. 36.
[her step-daughter] Emma Lucy Madox Brown [aged 27]. Daughter. 26.
[her illegitimate daughter] Catherine Emily Brown [aged 20]. Daughter. 20.
[her son] Oliver Madox Brown [aged 16]. Son. 16.
Charloote Kirkby. Servant. 29.
Mary Ann Edwards. Servant. 19.
Oliver Madox Brown: In 1855 he was born to Ford Madox Brown and Emma Matilda Hill. In 1874 he died.
1872. [her husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 50]. "The Convalescent". Model Emma Matilda Hill [aged 42]. When he made this pastel, the artist wrote, "Now that she is lying in bed thinned with the fever she looks very pictorial and young as ever again."
On 3rd September 1872 [her son-in-law] Francis Heuffer [aged 27] and [her illegitimate daughter] Catherine Emily Brown [aged 21] were married. She the illegitmate daughter of [her husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 51] and Emma Matilda Hill [aged 43].
In 1874 [her son] Oliver Madox Brown [aged 19] died.
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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On 31st March 1874 William Michael Rossetti [aged 44] and [her step-daughter] Emma Lucy Madox Brown [aged 30] were married. She the daughter of [her husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 52] and Elizabeth Bromley.
On 9th April 1882 Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 53] died. He was buried at All Saints Church, Birchington on Sea [Map]. There is a Celtic Cross marking his grave commissioned by his mother Frances Mary Lavinia Polidori [aged 81], designed by [her husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 60] and erected in the presence of his brother William Michael Rossetti [aged 52] and sister Christina Georgina Rossetti [aged 51] as written on the base of the cross.
On 11th October 1890 Emma Matilda Hill [aged 61] died.
On 6th October 1893 [her former husband] Ford Madox Brown [aged 72] died. He was buried at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery.