Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.
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Paternal Family Tree: Stanhope
Maud Stanhope 4th Baroness Cromwell Baroness Willoughby of Eresby was born to [her father] Richard Stanhope and [her mother] Maud Cromwell.
Before 1401 [her father] Richard Stanhope [aged 40] and Johanna Staveley were married.
On 4th December 1409 William Willoughby 5th Baron Willoughby [aged 39] died at Edgefield, Norfolk. He was buried at St James' Church, Spilsby [Map]. His son [her future husband] Robert [aged 24] succeeded 6th Baron Willoughby de Eresby.
25th October 1415. At the Battle of Agincourt the English included: Louis Robbessart [aged 25], Richard Beauchamp 13th Earl Warwick [aged 33], William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux [aged 26], William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu [aged 41], Thomas Rokeby [aged 35], John Cornwall 1st Baron Fanhope 1st Baron Milbroke [aged 51], Edward Courtenay [aged 30], [her uncle] Ralph Cromwell 3rd Baron Cromwell [aged 12], Thomas Dutton [aged 19], Edmund Ferrers 6th Baron Ferrers of Chartley [aged 29], Roger Fiennes [aged 31], Henry Fitzhugh 3rd Baron Fitzhugh [aged 57], John Grey [aged 28], John Grey 1st Earl Tankerville [aged 31], William Harrington [aged 42] as the King's Standard Bearer, Walter Hungerford 1st Baron Hungerford [aged 37], Piers Legh [aged 26] (wounded), Alfred Longford, Thomas Montagu 1st Count Perche 4th Earl Salisbury [aged 27], Thomas Morley 6th Baron Marshal 5th Baron Morley [aged 22], John Rodney, Richard Scrope 3rd Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 22], Robert Strelley [aged 18], James Tuchet 5th Baron Audley, 2nd Baron Tuchet [aged 17], Robert Umfraville [aged 52], Thomas West 2nd Baron West [aged 35], [her future husband] Robert Willoughby 6th Baron Willoughby [aged 30]. Thomas Erpingham [aged 60] commanded the archers. Thomas Rempston [aged 26] was present. Thomas Strickland [aged 48] carried the Banner of St George.
Thomas Tunstall [aged 57] was killed.
The Welsh included: William ap Thomas "Blue Knight of Gwent" Herbert [aged 35], Walter Sais [aged 95], Roger Vaughan [aged 70] and his son Roger Vaughan [aged 5]. Owen Tudor [aged 15] is believed to have been present as a squire.
On 29th July 1418 the English forces commenced the Siege of Rouen. [her future husband] Robert Willoughby 6th Baron Willoughby [aged 33] fought. John Blount [aged 30] died. William Harrington [aged 45], the King's Standard Bearer, was wounded.
Walter Hungerford 1st Baron Hungerford [aged 40] fought.
Henry Beaufort 2nd Earl Somerset [aged 17] was killed. His brother John [aged 15] succeeded 3rd Earl Somerset.
Before 21st February 1421 [her future husband] Robert Willoughby 6th Baron Willoughby [aged 36] and Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Willoughby Eresby [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Baroness Willoughby de Eresby. She the daughter of John Montagu 3rd Earl Salisbury and Maud Francis Countess of Salisbury [aged 57]. They were half fifth cousin once removed. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
In 1425 [her father] Richard Stanhope [aged 65] and [her mother] Maud Cromwell were married.
On 9th April 1436 [her father] Richard Stanhope [aged 76] died at Wakefield [Map].
Before 8th January 1449 Robert Willoughby 6th Baron Willoughby [aged 64] and Maud Stanhope 4th Baroness Cromwell Baroness Willoughby of Eresby were married. She by marriage Baroness Willoughby de Eresby. They were sixth cousins.
On 9th January 1449 Richard Welles 7th Baron Welles, Baron Willoughby [aged 21] and [her step-daughter] Joan Willoughby 7th Baroness Willoughby of Eresby [aged 24] were married. They were fourth cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
In or before 1450 [her future husband] Gervase Clifton [aged 44] and Isabel Finch were married.
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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On 25th July 1452 [her husband] Robert Willoughby 6th Baron Willoughby [aged 67] died. He was buried at All Saints Church, Mettingham Bungay [Map]. His daughter [her step-daughter] Joan [aged 27] succeeded 7th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby. Richard Welles 7th Baron Welles, Baron Willoughby [aged 24] by marriage Baron Willoughby de Eresby.
On or before 24th August 1453 Thomas Neville [aged 23] and Maud Stanhope 4th Baroness Cromwell Baroness Willoughby of Eresby were married. Maud Stanhope 4th Baroness Cromwell Baroness Willoughby of Eresby was the niece and heiress of Ralph Cromwell 3rd Baron Cromwell [aged 50] meaning traditional Percy lands would become Neville lands. The Percy's, being the older family, especially Thomas Percy 1st Baron Egremont [aged 30], took umbrage with the ensuing two year feud known as the Neville-Percy Feud. He the son of Richard Neville Earl Salisbury [aged 53] and Alice Montagu 5th Countess of Salisbury [aged 46].
In December 1454 [her mother] Maud Cromwell died.
On 22nd May 1455 the Wars of the Roses commenced with the First Battle of St Albans. Richard Plantagenet 3rd Duke of York [aged 43] commanded with [her brother-in-law] Richard "Kingmaker" Neville Earl Warwick, 6th Earl Salisbury [aged 26], [her father-in-law] Richard Neville Earl Salisbury [aged 55], Edward Brooke 6th Baron Cobham [aged 40] and Walter Strickland [aged 44].
The Lancastrians...
Edmund Beaufort 1st or 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 49] was killed. His son Henry [aged 19] succeeded 2nd Duke Somerset, 2nd Marquess Dorset, 5th Earl Somerset, 2nd Earl Dorset. Note his father is frequently incorrectly referred to as the second Duke and Henry as the third Duke. His father's Dukedom, however, was a new creation.
Henry Percy 2nd Earl of Northumberland [aged 62] was killed. His son Henry [aged 33] succeeded 3rd Earl of Northumberland, 6th Baron Percy of Alnwick, 14th Baron Percy of Topcliffe. Eleanor Poynings Countess Northumberland [aged 33] by marriage Countess of Northumberland.
Thomas Clifford 8th Baron Clifford [aged 41] was killed. His son John [aged 20] succeeded 9th Baron de Clifford, 9th Lord Skipton. Margaret Bromflete Baroness Clifford [aged 21] by marriage Baroness de Clifford.
William Cotton [aged 45] and Richard Fortescue [aged 41] were killed.
Humphrey Stafford 1st Duke of Buckingham [aged 52] was wounded and captured.
King Henry VI of England and II of France [aged 33], John Sutton 1st Baron Dudley [aged 54] and Edmund Sutton [aged 30] were captured.
Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset was wounded. James Butler 1st Earl Wiltshire 5th Earl Ormonde [aged 34] and John Wenlock 1st Baron Wenlock [aged 55] fought.
Richard Cotton of Hampstall Ridware [aged 51] and his son William Cotton of Connington in Huntingdonshire [aged 27] were killed.
On 4th January 1456 [her uncle] Ralph Cromwell 3rd Baron Cromwell [aged 53] died at South Wingfield, Derbyshire [Map]. He was buried at the Collegiate Church, Tattershall. Baron Cromwell abeyant between his two nieces, daughters of his sister Maud Cromwell: Maud Stanhope 4th Baroness Cromwell Baroness Willoughby of Eresby and Joan Stanhope.
On 25th April 1457 [her brother-in-law] John Neville 1st Marquess Montagu [aged 26] and Isabel Ingaldsthorpe [aged 16] were married by Cardinal Thomas Bourchier [aged 39] at Canterbury Cathedral [Map]. She the heir of her father Edmund Ingaldsthorpe who had died the previous year. Eight manors were settled on them in jointure. He the son of [her father-in-law] Richard Neville Earl Salisbury [aged 57] and [her mother-in-law] Alice Montagu 5th Countess of Salisbury [aged 50]. They were second cousin once removed. He a great x 2 grandson of King Edward III of England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
In 1460 a petition noted "The Nevilles state that Isabel was found to be Ingoldisthorpe's daughter and heir. When they requested livery of the estates from the chancellor in Chancery, he refused on the grounds that the king had granted the marriage and wardship to the queen [aged 29]. The Nevilles disputed this as Isabel was 14, and not a minor at common law. John Neville made recognizances in £1,000 to the queen on the understanding that if it was found that such a grant to the queen was not available, then she would not take any money from Neville. The Nevilles are unable to have a day in their law, and the queen has still levied part of the £1,000, and they are forced to sue a special livery at great expense. They request that the recognizances by annulled, and that women of the age of 14 when their ancestors die should have no problem of obtaining livery of their lands and tenements." See National Archives UK John Nevyll (Neville), knight; Isabel Neville, wife of John Neville, knight. SC 8/28/1398 1460.
Chronicle of St Albans by Abbot John Whethamstede [-1465]. [1458] "Also, where Thomas Percy [aged 35], Knight, Lord of Egremont, and Richard Percy [aged 32], his brother, sons of our said kinswoman, Eleanor, Countess of Northumberland [aged 61], were in our Sessions of Oyer and Terminer lately held in our County of York, before Richard Byngham and Ralph Pole, our Justices, and other our Commissioners there, by names contained among the records of the said Sessions, condemned to our said kinsman the [her father-in-law] Earl of Salisbury [aged 58] in the sum of eight thousand marks; and they and our kinswoman [her mother-in-law] Alice [aged 51], his wife, in the sum of five thousand marks; to [her husband] Thomas Neville [aged 28], Knight, son of the same Earl of Salisbury, in the sum of one thousand marks; and to the same Thomas, and Matilda, his wife, in the sum of two thousand marks; and to [her brother-in-law] John Neville [aged 27], Knight, also son to the same Earl of Salisbury, in the sum of eight hundred marks; for divers great transgressions, supposed and found to have been done in the said Sessions by the said Lord Egremont and Richard, his brother, to the said Earl of Salisbury, Alice, Thomas Neville, Matilda, and John Neville, as appears by the records of the said Sessions; we desire, praise, ordain, and judge, for the aforementioned considerations, that our said kinsman Richard, Earl of Salisbury, and the said Thomas and John, his sons, shall release, and each of them shall sufficiently release, in law, all the aforementioned sums and executions thereof. And also, that they, and each of them, shall sufficiently release Ralph Verney and John Steward, late Sheriffs of our City of London, to whose custody the said Lord Egremont was committed for the aforementioned condemnations, or part of them, and, for our end, all actions that they, or any of them, may have against the said late Sheriffs, for the escape of the said Lord Egremont from our prison, and their custody."
Item, ubi Thomas Percy, Miles, Dominus de Egremonde, et Ricardus Percy, frater suus, filii dictæ consanouineæ nostræ, Alianoræ, Comitissæ Northumbriæ, fuerunt in Sessionibus nostris de Audiendo et Terminando, nuper tentis in Comitatu nostro Eboraci, coram Ricardo Byngham et Radulpbo Pole, Justiciariis nostris, et aliis nos. tris Commissionariis ibidem, per nomina contenta inter recorda Sessionum prædictarum, condemnati dicto nostro consanguineo Comiti Sarum in summa octo millium marcarum; ac ipsi et nostræ consanguineæ Aliciæ, uxori suæ, in summa quinque millium marcarum; Thomæ Nevyll, Militi, filio ejusdem Comitis Sarum, in summa mille marcarum; et eidem Thomæ, et Matildi, uxori suæ, in summa duorum millium marcarum; et Johanni Nevylle, Militi, filio etiam eidem Comiti Sarum, in summa octingentarum marcarum; propter diversas magnas transgressiones, suppositas et inventas in dictis Sessionibus esse factas per dictum Dominum Egremond, et Ricardum, fratrem ejus, dictis Comiti Sarum, Aliciæ, Thomæ Nevylle, Matildi, et Johanni Nevylle, ut per recorda dictarum Sessionum apparet; volumus, laudamus, ordinamus, et judicamus, propter considerationes prædictas, quod dictus noster consanguineus Ricardus, Comes Sarum, ac dicti Thomas et Johannes, filii sui, relaxent, et quilibet eorum relaxet, sufficienter in lege omnes summas prædictas, et executiones earundem. Ac etiam, quod ipsi, et quilibet eorum, sufficienter relaxent Radulpho Verney et Johanni Stiwarde, nuper Vicecomitibus civitatis nostræ Londoniarum, quorum custodiæ dictus Dominus Egremonde fuerat, propter condemnationes prædictas, monde fuerat, propter aut partem earundem, et, propter finem nostrum, commissus, omnimodas actiones, quas ipsi, vel aliquis ipsorum, possunt habere versus dictos nuper Vicecomites, propter escapiamentum dicti Domini Egremond extra prisonam nostram, et ipsorum custodiam.
On 10th July 1460 the Yorkist army led by the future King Edward IV of England [aged 18] and including [her brother-in-law] Richard "Kingmaker" Neville Earl Warwick, 6th Earl Salisbury [aged 31], Archbishop George Neville [aged 28], William Neville 1st Earl Kent [aged 55], Edward Brooke 6th Baron Cobham [aged 45] and John Scrope 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 22] defeated the Lancastrian army at the 1460 Battle of Northampton.
Edmund Grey 1st Earl Kent [aged 43] had started the day as part of the Lancastrian army but did nothing to prevent the Yorkist army attacking.
King Henry VI of England and II of France [aged 38] was captured.
Humphrey Stafford 1st Duke of Buckingham [aged 57] was killed. His grandson Henry [aged 5] succeeded 2nd Duke of Buckingham, 7th Earl Stafford, 8th Baron Stafford.
John Talbot 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 42] was killed. His son John [aged 11] succeeded 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, 3rd Earl Waterford, 8th Baron Furnivall, 12th Baron Strange Blackmere, 9th Baron Talbot.
Thomas Percy 1st Baron Egremont [aged 37] was killed. [Baron Egremont of Egremont Castle in Cumberland extinct. Some authoirities state, however, that he left a son, Sir John Percy, who never assumed the title.]
John Beaumont 1st Viscount Beaumont [aged 50] was killed. His son William [aged 22] succeeded 2nd Viscount Beaumont, 7th Baron Beaumont.
William Lucy [aged 56] was killed apparently by servants of a member of the Stafford family who wanted his wife Margaret Fitzlewis [aged 21].
Thomas Tresham [aged 40] fought.
William Beaumont 2nd Viscount Beaumont and William Norreys [aged 19] were knighted.
Thomas "Bastard of Exeter" Holland was executed following the battle.
The battle was fought south of the River Nene [Map] in the grounds of Delapré Abbey.
On 30th December 1460 the Lancastrian army took their revenge for the defeats of the First Battle of St Albans and the Battle of Northampton at the Battle of Wakefield near Sandal Castle [Map]. The Lancastrian army was commanded by Henry Holland 3rd Duke Exeter [aged 30], Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset [aged 24] and Henry Percy 3rd Earl of Northumberland [aged 39], and included John Courtenay 7th or 15th Earl Devon [aged 25] and William Gascoigne XIII [aged 30], both knighted, and James Butler 1st Earl Wiltshire 5th Earl Ormonde [aged 40], John "Butcher" Clifford 9th Baron Clifford [aged 25], John Neville 1st Baron Neville of Raby [aged 50], Thomas Ros 9th Baron Ros Helmsley [aged 33], Henry Roos and Thomas St Leger [aged 20].
The Yorkist army was heavily defeated.
Richard Plantagenet 3rd Duke of York [aged 49] was killed. His son Edward [aged 18] succeeded 4th Duke York, 7th Earl March, 9th Earl of Ulster, 3rd Earl Cambridge, 9th Baron Mortimer of Wigmore.
[her husband] Thomas Neville [aged 30], and Edward Bourchier were killed.
Father and son Thomas Harrington [aged 60] and John Harrington [aged 36] were killed, the former dying of his wounds the day after.
William Bonville 6th Baron Harington [aged 18] was killed. His daughter Cecily succeeded 7th Baroness Harington.
Thomas Parr [aged 53] fought in the Yorkist army.
Following the battle [her father-in-law] Richard Neville Earl Salisbury [aged 60] was beheaded by Thomas "Bastard of Exeter" Holland. William Bonville [aged 40] was executed.
Edmund York 1st Earl of Rutland [aged 17] was killed on Wakefield Bridge [Map] by John "Butcher" Clifford. Earl of Rutland extinct.
Before 20th March 1463 Gervase Clifton [aged 58] and Maud Stanhope 4th Baroness Cromwell Baroness Willoughby of Eresby were married.
On 6th May 1471 those captured at the 4th May 1471 Battle of Tewkesbury: Edmund Beaufort [aged 32], Hugh Courtenay [aged 44], [her husband] Gervase Clifton [aged 66] and Humphrey Tuchet [aged 37] were executed.
Thomas Tresham [aged 51] was executed. His estates including manor of Westhall, in Rushton St Peter, were forfeit.
On 10th March 1490 Joan Stanhope died. Her sister Maud abeyance terminated 4th Baroness Cromwell.
On 30th August 1497 Maud Stanhope 4th Baroness Cromwell Baroness Willoughby of Eresby died. She was buried at Collegiate Church, Tattershall. Baron Cromwell abeyant between the daughters of the Ralph Cromwell 1st Baron Cromwell: Elizabeth Cromwell and Avice Cromwell Baroness Bardolf and their heirs.
Kings Wessex: Great x 13 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings England: Great x 7 Grand Daughter of King John of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 12 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 14 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 17 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Father: Richard Stanhope 
Maud Stanhope 4th Baroness Cromwell Baroness Willoughby of Eresby 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Ralph Cromwell 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Ralph Cromwell 5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Somery Baroness Basset Drayton 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Ralph Cromwell 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Ralph Cromwell 1st Baron Cromwell 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
GrandFather: Ralph Cromwell 2nd Baron Cromwell 5 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Bernake
Great x 1 Grandmother: Maud Bernake 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Marmion 
Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Marmion 2 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Joan Marmion 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Furnival 1st Baron Furnivall 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Maud Furnival 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Despencer Baroness Furnivall 
4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Mother: Maud Cromwell 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England