Paternal Family Tree: Stafford
On 26th August 1308 [his father] (age 36) died. His son Ralph (age 6) succeeded 2nd Baron Stafford.
Around 1326 Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 24) and (age 22) were married. She by marriage Baroness Stafford. She the daughter of and Juliana Leybourne Countess Huntingdon (age 23). They were fifth cousins.
In 1331 [his daughter] was born to Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 29) and [his wife] (age 27) at Sandon Stone, Staffordshire. She married before 1343 her second cousin once removed and had issue.
On 12th August 1332 Battle of Dupplin Moor was fought between the supporters of the infant King David II of Scotland (age 8), son of King Robert the Bruce I of Scotland, and the supporters of King Edward I of Scotland (age 49), supported by the English. The Bruce army included and Domhnall Mar II Earl of Mar (age 39). The Balliol army included David III Strathbogie 11th Earl Atholl (age 23), Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 30), Thomas Ughtred 1st Baron Ughtred (age 40) and Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny (age 22). The battle is notable for being the first to use dismounted men-at-arms supported by archers; a formation that would bring repeated success to the English both in Scotland and France.
Thomas Randolph 2nd Earl Moray was killed. His brother John (age 26) succeeded 3rd Earl Moray.
Domhnall Mar II Earl of Mar was killed.
Around 1336 [his son] was born to Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 34) and [his future wife] (age 18) at Staffordshire. He a great x 2 grandson of King Edward I of England. He married before 1st March 1350 his second cousin once removed , daughter of Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick and , and had issue.
Before 6th July 1336 Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 34) abducted [his wife] (age 18). She being the heir of the very wealthy [his father-in-law] Hugh Audley 1st Earl Gloucester (age 45); considerably more wealthy than Ralph. King Edward III of England (age 23) was sympathetic despite the complaint of her father since Ralph had been one of King Edward III's key supporters during the plot to arrest Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March. Margaret's father was subsequently created Earl as a quid pro quo.
Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
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Before 6th July 1336 Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 34) and (age 18) were married. She by marriage Baroness Stafford. She the daughter of Hugh Audley 1st Earl Gloucester (age 45) and Margaret Clare Countess Gloucester. They were fifth cousins. She a great granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
On 6th July 1336 [his wife] (age 32) died at Stafford, Staffordshire [Map].
In January 1337 King Edward III of England (age 24) created a number of new Earldom's probably in preparation for his forthcoming war against France...
William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury (age 36) was created 1st Earl Salisbury. Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury (age 33) by marriage Countess Salisbury.
William Bohun 1st Earl of Northampton (age 27) was created 1st Earl of Northampton. Elizabeth Badlesmere Countess Northampton (age 24) by marriage Countess of Northampton.
[his father-in-law] Hugh Audley 1st Earl Gloucester (age 46) was created 1st Earl Gloucester probably as compensation for his daughter [his wife] (age 19) having been abducted by Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 35).
Robert Ufford 1st Earl Suffolk (age 38) was created 1st Earl Suffolk. Margaret Norwich Countess Suffolk (age 51) by marriage Countess Suffolk.
On 17th March 1337 [his mother] (age 57) died at Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire [Map].
Around 1340 [his daughter] was born to Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 38) and [his wife] (age 22) at Staffordshire. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward I of England. She married (1) before 30th August 1349 her fourth cousin , son of and (2) before 1358 her fourth cousin once removed , son of Robert Ferrers 3rd Baron Ferrers of Chartley and Margaret Unknown Baroness Ferrers Chartley, and had issue (3) 1368 her third cousin , son of Reginald Cobham 1st Baron Cobham and .
On 24th June 1340 King Edward III of England (age 27) attacked the French fleet at anchor during the Battle of Sluys capturing more than 200 ships, killing around 18000 French. The English force included John Beauchamp 1st Baron Beauchamp Warwick (age 24), William Bohun 1st Earl of Northampton (age 30), Henry Scrope 1st Baron Scrope of Masham (age 27), William Latimer 4th Baron Latimer of Corby (age 10), John Lisle 2nd Baron Lisle (age 22), Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 38), Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster (age 30), Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny (age 30), Hugh Despencer 1st Baron Despencer (age 32) and Richard Pembridge (age 20).
Thomas Monthermer 2nd Baron Monthermer (age 38) died from wounds. His daughter Margaret succeeded 3rd Baroness Monthermer.
In 1341 [his daughter] was born to Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 39) and [his wife] (age 23) at Staffordshire. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward I of England. She married (1) her sixth cousin , son of and (2) 12th April 1363 her third cousin , son of William Ros 2nd Baron Ros Helmsley and Margery Badlesmere Baroness Ros of Helmsley, and had issue.
Before 1343 [his son-in-law] (age 40) and (age 11) were married. The difference in their ages was 29 years. She the daughter of Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 41) and . They were second cousin once removed.
In 1344 [his daughter] Joan Stafford Baroness Cherleton and Talbot was born to Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 42) and [his wife] (age 26) at Staffordshire. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward I of England. She married (1) her fourth cousin , son of and (2) her second cousin once removed , son of and , and had issue.
In 1344 and Maud Plantagenet Duchess Lower Bavaria (age 3) were married. She the daughter of Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster (age 34) and Isabel Beaumont Duchess Lancaster (age 24). He the son of Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 42) and (age 26). They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 2 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry III of England.
On 23rd April 1344 King Edward III of England (age 31) created the Order of the Garter. The date nominal as there are different accounts; some sources say 1348.
2 Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster.
3 Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick.
4 Jean Grailly.
5 Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford.
6 William Montagu 2nd Earl Salisbury.
7 Roger Mortimer 2nd Earl March.
9 Bartholomew "The Younger" Burghesh 2nd Baron Burghesh.
10 John Beauchamp 1st Baron Beauchamp Warwick.
11 John Mohun 2nd Baron Mohun of Dunster.
12 Hugh Courtenay.
13 Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent.
15 Richard Fitzsimon.
16 Miles Stapleton.
17 Thomas Wale.
19 Neil Loring.
20 John Chandos.
21 James Audley.
23 Henry Eam.
24 Sanchet Abrichecourt.
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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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Around 1348 [his daughter] was born to Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 46) and [his wife] (age 30) at Staffordshire. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward I of England. She married 25th December 1357 her half third cousin once removed , son of and .
Before 30th August 1349 [his son-in-law] (age 17) and (age 9) were married. She by marriage Baroness Strange Blackmere. She the daughter of Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 47) and . They were fourth cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King John of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. In the same year, the Earl of Lancaster,1 the Barons of Stafford (age 48) and Greystoke (age 28), along with the heirs of the Lords Percy (age 28) and Neville (age 12), as well as Lord Furnival and Bartholomew de Burghersh (age 62), together with many others, crossed over to Gascony around the Feast of All Saints [1st November 1349], to oppose the ravaging campaigns of John of Valois, son of the tyrant of the French, who was heavily harassing that duchy.
Eodem anno comes Lancastrie et barones Staffordie et de Greistoke, item heredes dominorum de Percy et de Neville atque dominus de Fornival et Bartholomeus de Burghasshe, cum multis aliis, circa festum Omnium Sanctorum transfretaverant in Vasconiam, posituri resistenciam debacacioni Iohannis de Valesio, filii tiranni Francorum, qui ducatum illum nimis infestavit.
Note 1. The earl of Lancaster was appointed lieutenant of Poitou on the 18th October 1349. Rymer's Fœdera 3.190. Knighton. William, lord Greystock, succeeded in 1323 and died in 1358. The heirs of Percy and Nevill were Henry, afterwards 3rd lord Percy, 1352-1368, who had fought at Crécy, and was brother-in-law of Lancaster; and John Nevill, who had been present with his father at Nevile's Cross, married Percy's sister, and became 3rd lord Nevill, 1367-1388. Thomas, lord Furnival, had also fought at Crécy, and died about 1364. Both Bartholomew, lord Burghersh, and his son (age 21), of the same name, served in this campaign.
Before 1st March 1350 (age 14) and (age 16) were married. She the daughter of Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick (age 37) and (age 36). He the son of Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 48) and . They were second cousin once removed. He a great x 2 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King John of England.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. In this year,1 on the feast day of Saint George [23rd April 1350], the king held a great banquet at Windsor Castle [Map], where he established a chantry of twelve priests, and founded a hospital, in which impoverished knights, whose means were insufficient, could, in the service of the Lord, receive suitable support from the perpetual alms of the founders of that college. Besides the king, other nobles contributed to the foundation of this hospital, namely: the king's eldest son, the Earl of Northampton (age 40), the Earl of Warwick (age 37), the Earl of Suffolk (age 51), the Earl of Salisbury (age 21), and other barons. Also included were simple knights, such as: Roger de Mortimer (age 21), now Earl of March, Lord Walter de Mauny (age 40), Lord William FitzWarin (age 34), John de Lisle (age 14), John de Mohun (age 30), John de Beauchamp (age 31), Walter de Pavely (age 31), Thomas Wale (age 47) and Hugh de Wrottesley (age 16). Men whose proven virtue ranked them among the wealthiest earls. Together with the king, all these men were clothed in robes of powdered russet, with garters of Indian colour, also wearing garters on their right legs, and mantles of blue, adorned with the shield of Saint George. In such attire, bareheaded, they devoutly attended a solemn Mass, sung by the bishops of Canterbury, Winchester, and Exeter. They then sat together at a common table, in honour of the holy martyr, to whom they dedicated this noble brotherhood, calling their company "The Knights of Saint George of the Garter."
Isto anno, in die sancti Georgii, rex celebravit grande convivium apud Wyndesore in castro, ubi instituit cantariam xij. sacerdotum, et fundavit zenodochium, in quo milites depauperati, quibus sua non sufficerent, possent in Domini servitute de perpetuis elemosinis fundatorum illius collegii sustentacionem competentem habere. Preter regem fuerunt alii compromittentes in fundacionem istius zenodochii, scilicet regis primogenitus, comes Norhamptonie, comes Warewici, comes Suthfolchie, comes Salisbiriensis, et alii barones; simplices quoque milites, scilicet Rogerus de Mortuo mari, nunc comes Marchie, dominus Walterus de Magne, dominus Willelmus filius Garini, Iohannes de Insula, Iohannes de Mohun, Iohannes de Bealchampe, Walterus de Pavely, Thomas Wale, et Hughe de Wrotesley, quos probitas experta ditissimis comitibus associavit. Una cum rege fuerunt omnes isti vestiti togis de russeto pulverizato cum garteriis Indie coloris, habentes eciam tales garterias in tibiis dextris, et mantella de blueto cum scutulis armorum sancti Georgii. Tali apparatu nudi capita audierunt devote missam celebrem per antistites Cantuariensem, Wintoniensem, et Exoniensem decantatam, et conformiter sederunt in mensa communi ob honourem sancti martiris, cui tam nobilem fraternitatem specialiter intitularunt, appellantes istorum comitivam sancti Georgii de la gartiere.
Note 1. Stow Annales 390: "This yeere, on Saint Georges day [23rd April 1350], the king held a great and solemne feast at his castle of Windsor, where he had augmented the chappel which Henry the first and other his progenitors, kings of England, had before erected, of eight chanons. He added to those eight chanons a deane and fifteene chanons more, and 24 poore and impotent knights, with other ministers and servants, as appeareth in his charter dated the two and twentieth of his reigne. Besides the king, there were other also that were contributors to the foundation of this colledge, as followeth: i. The sovereigne king Edward the third, 2. Edward, his eldest sonne, prince of Wales, 3. Henry, duke of Lancaster, 4. the earle of Warwicke, 5. Captaine de Bouch (age 19), 6. Ralph, earle of Stafford (age 48), 7. William Montacute, earle of Salisburie, 8. Roger, lorde Mortimer, earle of March, 9. sir John de Lisle (age 31), 10. sir .
It will be seen that Stow here alters the names to tally with the list of the original knights or First Founders of the order of the Garter. Baker seems to be anticipating. William Bohun, 1st earl of Northampton, and Robert Ufford, 1st earl of Suffolk, and sir William Fitz-Warine became knights of the order at an early date; but Roger Mortimer, here styled 'now Earl of March,' did not have that title before 1352, and sir Walter Manny did not receive the garter till the end of 1359.
The date of the foundation of the order of the Garter has never been exactly determined. Froissart 203.
The Brute chronicle (Egerton MS. 650) has this description, although under a wrong year: "And in the XIX yere of his regne, anone aftre, in Jannuere, before Lenten, the same kyng Edward lete make fulle noble iustice and grete festes in the place of hys byrth, at Wyndsore, that ther were never none suche seyne before that tyme, ne I trowe sythene. At whech iustice, festis and ryalte weryn II kinges, II quenys, and the prince of Wales and the duke of Cornewale, ten erles, nine countesse, many barons, knyghttes, and worthy burgesse, the whech myght not lyghtly be nombrede; and also of dyverse londes as byyonde the see were many strangers. And at that tyme, whene the iustes had done, the kyng Edward made a grete souper, in the wheche he begone fyrst hys round table, and ordayned stedfastly the day of the forsayd table to be holde ther at Wyndessore in the Whytesonwyke evermore yerely."
Relying on the date given in the statutes of the order and on this passage in Baker, writers on the subject have adopted 1349 or 1350 as the year of foundation. But an entry in the household-book of the Black Prince affords a reason for dating the event a year earlier, payment having been made on the 18th November 1348, for twenty-four garters which were given by the prince "militibus de societate garterias" i.e. "garters [were given] to the knights of the society"; Beltz, Memorials of the Order of the Garter, pp. XXXII, 385. Proof however is not conclusive, as the ministers' accounts in the household-book were rendered between 1352 and 1365, and there is therefore room for error; moreover, the garters in question may have been prepared in anticipation. The date of 1349, which is given in the preamble to the earliest copies of the statutes, although it is true that those copies are not contemporary, is not to be lightly set aside. It is, indeed, most probable that the order was never solemnly instituted at an early period, but that it was gradually taking shape during the years following the foundation of the Round Table. Edward's patent, bearing date of 22nd August 1348, whereby he instituted a chapel at Windsor, with a fraternity of eight secular canons and a warden, fifteen other canons, and four-and-twenty poor knights, appears to be the first formal document which can be quoted as a foundation-deed of the order. After this there is no direct reference to it until 1350, when robes were issued for the King against the coming Feast of St. George, together with a Garter containing the King's motto, "Hony soyt qui mal y pense!" Nicolas, History of Orders of Knighthood, 1.24.
Annales of England by John Stow. This yeere, on Saint Georges day [23rd April 1350], the king held a great and solemne feast at his castle of Windsor, where he had augmented the chappel which Henry the first and other his progenitors, kings of England, had before erected, of eight chanons. He added to those eight chanons a deane and fifteene chanons more, and 24 poore and impotent knights, with other ministers and servants, as appeareth in his charter dated the two and twentieth of his reigne. Besides the king, there were other also that were contributors to the foundation of this colledge, as followeth: i. The sovereigne king Edward the third, 2. Edward, his eldest sonne, prince of Wales, 3. Henry, duke of Lancaster, 4. the earle of Warwicke (age 37), 5. Captaine de Bouch (age 19), 6. Ralph, earle of Stafford (age 48), 7. William Montacute (age 21), earle of Salisburie, 8. Roger, lorde Mortimer (age 21), earle of March, 9. sir John de Lisle (age 31), 10. sir Bartholomew Burwash (age 22), 11. sir John Beauchampe (age 34), 12. sir John Mahune (age 30), 13. sir Hugh Courtney, 14. sir Thomas Holland (age 36), 15. sir John Grey (age 49), 16. sir Richard Fitz Simon, 17. sir Miles Stapleton (age 30), 18. sir Thomas Walle (age 47), 19. sir Hugh Wrothesley (age 16), 20. sir Nele Loring (age 30), 21. sir John Chandos (age 30), 22. sir James de Audley (age 32), 23. sir Othes Holland (age 34), 24. sir Henry Eme, 25. sir Sechet Dabridgecourt (age 20), 26. sir Wiliam Panell (age 31). All these, together with the king, were clothed in gownes of russet, poudered with garters blew, wearing the like garters also on their right legges, and mantels of blew with scutcheons of S. George. In this sort of apparell they, being bare-headed, heard masse, which was celebrated by Simon Islip, archbishop of Canterbury, and the bishops of Winchester and Excester, and afterwards they went to the feast, setting themselves orderly at the table, for the honor of the feast, which they named to be of S. George the martyr and the choosing of the knights of the Garter.
In 1351 Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster (age 41) was created 1st Duke Lancaster by King Edward III of England (age 38). Isabel Beaumont Duchess Lancaster (age 31) by marriage Duchess Lancaster.
Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence (age 12) was created 1st Earl of Ulster.
John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster (age 10) was created 1st Earl Richmond.
Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 49) was created 1st Earl Stafford.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. In the year of Christ 1351, and the 25th year of the king's reign, after the octave of the Purification of the Glorious Virgin [2nd February 1351], at the parliament held in London at Westminster, Lord Henry (age 41), son of Henry, Earl of Lancaster, himself Earl of Lincoln, Leicester, Derby, Grismond, and Ferrers, was made Duke of Lancaster, receiving liberties and privileges from the royal bounty such as no other earl had ever held. Also Lord Lionel of Antwerp (age 12), the king's son, was made Earl of Ulster in Ireland, Lord John of Gaunt (age 10), his brother, was made Earl of Richmond and Lord Ralph of Stafford (age 49), formerly a baron, was created Earl of the same name.
Anno Christi MCCCLJ et regis XXV post octabas Purificacionis Virginis gloriose, in parliamento Londoniis apud Westmonasterium celebrato, dominus Henricus filius Henrici comitis Lancastrie, ipse comes Lincolnie, Leicestrie, Derbie et Grossimontis atque de Ferrariis, factus est dux Lancastrie, datis sibi libertatibus atque privilegiis munificencia regali qualia nullus comitum habebat. Item, dominus Leunecius de Andewerpe, regis filius, fit comes de Holvestria in Hybernia, et dominus Tohannes de Gandavo, germanus eius, fit comes Richemundie, et dominus Radulfus de Staffordia, pridem baro, comes eiusdem tituli creabatur.
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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Issue of the Exchequer. 22nd May [1353]. To Ralph, Earl of Stafford (age 51), by a tally raised this day from the fifteenths granted to the clergy in the twenty-fifth year, containing £1000, granted to the said Earl of the King's gift for lately capturing Burseald (age 43), a French knight, in the war in Gascony. By writ of privy seal amongst the mandates of this term, £1000.
On 25th December 1357 [his son-in-law] (age 18) and (age 9) were married. She by marriage Baroness Sutton of Dudley. She the daughter of Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 56) and . They were half third cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
Before 1358 [his son-in-law] (age 26) and (age 17) were married. She by marriage Baroness Ferrers of Chartley. She the daughter of Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 56) and . They were fourth cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
On 12th April 1363 [his son-in-law] (age 28) and (age 22) were married. She the daughter of Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 61) and . They were third cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
In 1368 [his son-in-law] (age 19) and (age 28) were married at Lingfield, Surrey. She by marriage Baroness Cobham. She the daughter of Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 66) and . They were third cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King John of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
On 31st August 1372 Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford (age 70) died. His son Hugh (age 36) succeeded 2nd Earl Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford. (age 38) by marriage Countess Stafford.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. Likewise, the Earl of Stafford1 entered Gascony, where he encountered a large French army, which had come out from the fortress of Dax. He defeated, captured, and put them to flight, around the time of the Nativity of the Glorious Virgin [8th September 1352] Among those captured was the famous knight, a wise commander and a man of great arrogance, called Brusegaudus, along with seven knights of the Company of the Star. Not long afterward, by natural death, there died in the same place John d'Odingsells2 and Thomas Wale, knights of great valour.
Item, comes Staffordie Vasconiam intravit, ubi obvius Gallicorum magno exercitui, qui a municione Dagent fuerant egressi, hostes fudit, cepit et fugavit, circa Nativitatem Virginis gloriose. Ibi fuerunt capti famosus ille miles, ductor providus atque vir magne presumpcionis, vocatus Brusegaudus, et VIJ milites comitive de Stella. Nec multum postea communi morte obierunt ibidem Iohannes Dodianseles et Thomas Wale, milites magne probitatis.
Note 1. Stafford was appointed lieutenant of Aquitaine on the 6th March 1352. Rymer's Fœdera 3.239. Nothing is known of the battle here mentioned as fought early in September with French forces from Agen. 'Brusegaudus' is Jean le Meingre, called Boucicaut, whom Froissart includes among the prisoners taken at the battle of Saintes in the previous year. Froissart 4.106 and Froissart 332.
The earl of Stafford received on the 22nd May 1353, the sum of £1000 for his capture. Issues of the Exchequer, 159.
Note 2. Sir John de Odingsells, of Odingsells or Pirton Doddingsells, Hertforshire, had been outlawed in the previous year. He died seised of a moiety of the manor of Pirton, and of lands in Staffordshire, Suffolk, Warwickshire, and Oxfordshire. Clutterbuck, Hist. Herts, 3.122; Calendar Inquisitions Post Mortem, 2.182. Sir Thomas Wale, one of the Founders of the Garter, died 26th October 1352. Beltz, Memorials of the Order of the Garter, 63.
Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.
In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.
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[his son] was born to Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford and . He a great x 2 grandson of King Edward I of England. He married 1344 his third cousin once removed Maud Plantagenet Duchess Lower Bavaria, daughter of Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster and Isabel Beaumont Duchess Lancaster.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. In the nineteenth year of the king's reign, Henry, Earl of Derby,1 later created Duke of Lancaster, and the Earls of Devon and Pembroke, as well as Lord Ralph Stafford; not yet Earl of Stafford but still a baron, and Lord Walter de Mauny, were sent to Gascony. There, having conquered walled towns and castles, they won many glorious battles with great bravery. The town of Aiguillon,2 which they captured by assault, was placed under the guardianship of Ralph of Stafford. Afterward, they moved against other towns, such as Bergerac, which due to its strength was called "the chamber of the French," and also Saint-Jean, La Réole, and many other large, strong, and well-fortified places, which they captured through great effort and perilous assaults. In these campaigns, the Duke of Lancaster fought in underground tunnels, which were being dug to undermine the towers and walls, and suffered fierce attacks from the valiant defenders, fighting hand-to-hand against the besieged. And, something unheard of before, he knighted both Gascon and English soldiers in those very tunnels. Indeed, by conquering towns, cities, castles, and fortresses numbering two hundred and fifty, he marched across a large part of Gascony and advanced as far as Toulouse. There, he invited the ladies of Toulouse and noble maidens, through letters, to dine with him, his fellow nobles, and Lord Bernard de Libreto,3 a loyal Gascon. But, with God's protection, he did no harm to the city or its inhabitants, except for instilling in them unbearable terror, as those who had been besieged later told me. The terror was such that even mendicant friars took up arms, and the Prior of the Carmelite order of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Toulouse, bearing a silver banner with a golden image of the Virgin, led the citizens of his quarter from the walls. He raised his banner in defence,4 and by this display, he stirred pious devotion in the duke and many in the army, though some mocked him as well.
Anno Domini MCCCXLV, regis XIX, Henricus comes Derbie, postea dux Lancastrie creatus, et comes Devonie et comes Pembrochie et dominus Radulfus, nondum comes Staffordie set baro, et dominus Walterus de Magne Vasconiam destinantur; ubi, conquisitis villis muratis et castris, multa gloriosa certamina fortiter vicerunt. Villam Daguiloun per insultum adquisitam deputabant custodie Radulphi Staffordie. Postea diverterunt se ad alias villas, ut Brigerak, vocatam pre sua fortitudine 'cameram Francorum,' et ad villam sancti Iohannis et de la Ruele et alias multas grandes et fortes et bene munitas, quas magnis laboribus et insultibus periculosis adquisierunt. Ibi dux Lancastrie, militans in fossatis subterraneis que pro diruendis turribus et muris effodiebantur, graves a virilibus defensoribus insultus paciebatur, et manualiter contra obsessos dimicavit, et, quod antea fuit inauditum, in eiisdem fossatis milites tam Vascones quam Anglicos effecit. Quippe villas, civitates, castra et fortalicia ducentas l. conquirendo, magnam partem Vasconie et usque Tolosam transequitavit, ubi dominas Tolosanas et virgines nobiles per suas literas ad convivandum secum et suis comitibus et domino Bernardo de Libreto, Aquitannico fideli, invitavit. Set, civitatem Deo conservante, nihil eius incolis malefecit, nisi quod terrorem intollerabilem, ut obsessi mihi retulerunt, eiis intulit; ita quod, religiosis mendicis ad arma compulsis, prior Carmelitarum beate Marie Tolose, sub vexillo argenteo ymaginem auream beate Virginis habente, de quarterio sui incolatus civibus prefectus, ostendens suum vexillum ad muros, per armorum errancias descriptum ducem ad devocionem piam et quam plures de exercitu, atque nonnullos ad derisionem, provocavit.
Note 1. Henry of Grosmont succeeded as earl of Lancaster, 22nd September 1345, and was created duke on the 6th March 1352. Hugh Courtenay succeeded as earl of Devon in 1341; died in 1377. Laurence de Hastings was created earl of Pembroke, 12th October 1339; died in 1348. Ralph de Stafford succeeded as baron Stafford in 1308, and was created earl on the 5th March 1351; died in 1372.
Baker is very confused as to the capture of the different places. Bergerac was first taken on the 24th August 1345, Aiguillon, early in December, La Réole, in January 1346. The Saint-Jean-d'Angely was not taken till September 1346. Derby did not go near Toulouse, although it is not impossible that some incursion was made thither. Baker says that he had his information from persons who were besieged there; but he was quite capable of confusing events, and he is most probably referring to the expedition of 1349.
Note 2. Aiguillon, is located at the confluence of Rivers Lot and Garonne. Bergerac is on the River Dordogne. La Réole and Saint-Jean-d'Angely are both on the Garonne downstream of Aiguillon.
Note 3. Bernard, sire d'Albret; died 1358.
Note 4. This seems to mean: by the procession of his banner, on which the picture of the Virgin stood for his armorial device.
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Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Clinton of Coleshill 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Clinton
GrandMother: Eleanor Clinton
Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford 
7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
GrandFather: 
5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Roger Somery 2nd Baron Dudley
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Gras Baroness Dudley
Great x 1 Grandmother: 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Mother: 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
