William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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Paternal Family Tree: Brudenell
Maternal Family Tree: Margaret Blount 1474-1509
Before 5th March 1607 [his father] Thomas Brudenell 1st Earl Cardigan (age 24) and [his mother] Mary Tresham Countess Cardigan were married.
On 5th March 1607 Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan was born to [his father] Thomas Brudenell 1st Earl Cardigan (age 24) and [his mother] Mary Tresham Countess Cardigan.
After 5th March 1607 Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan and Mary Constable Countess Cardigan were married. He the son of Thomas Brudenell 1st Earl Cardigan (age 24) and Mary Tresham Countess Cardigan. They were half third cousins.
On 26th February 1628 [his father] Thomas Brudenell 1st Earl Cardigan (age 45) was created 1st Baron Brudenell of Stonton in Leicestershire. [his mother] Mary Tresham Countess Cardigan by marriage Baroness Brudenell of Stonton in Leicestershire.
Before 1642 Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan (age 34) and Anna Savage Countess Cardigan were married. She by marriage Countess Cardigan. She the daughter of Thomas Savage 1st Viscount Savage and Elizabeth Darcy 1st Countess Rivers (age 60). He the son of Thomas Brudenell 1st Earl Cardigan (age 58) and Mary Tresham Countess Cardigan.
On 25th March 1642 [his daughter] Anna Maria Brudenell Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford was born to Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan (age 35) and [his wife] Anna Savage Countess Cardigan. She married (1) before 24th July 1660 her third cousin once removed Francis Talbot 11th Earl of Shrewsbury, son of John Talbot 10th Earl of Shrewsbury and Mary Fortescue Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford, and had issue (2) before 24th June 1677 her fifth cousin once removed George Rodney Brydges and had issue.
Around 1643 [his daughter] Dorothy Brudenell Viscountess Dunbar was born to Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan (age 35) and [his wife] Anna Savage Countess Cardigan. She married 1st August 1697 her first cousin Robert Constable 3rd Viscount Dunbar, son of John Constable 2nd Viscount Dunbar and Mary Brudenell Viscountess Dunbar.
Before 6th March 1647 [his brother-in-law] John Savage 2nd Earl Rivers (age 44) and Mary Ogle Countess Rivers were married. She by marriage Countess Rivers. He the son of Thomas Savage 1st Viscount Savage and [his mother-in-law] Elizabeth Darcy 1st Countess Rivers (age 66).
Around 1648 [his daughter] Catherine Brudenell Countess Middleton was born to Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan (age 40) and [his wife] Anna Savage Countess Cardigan. She married December 1682 Charles Middleton 2nd Earl Middleton, son of John Middleton 1st Earl Middleton and Grizel Durham Countess Middleton.
Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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In 1654 [his son] Francis Brudenell was born to Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan (age 46) and [his wife] Anna Savage Countess Cardigan. He married 4th June 1668 his fourth cousin once removed Frances Savile, daughter of Thomas Savile 1st Earl of Sussex and Anne Villiers Countess Sussex, and had issue.
On 10th October 1654 [his brother-in-law] John Savage 2nd Earl Rivers (age 51) died at Frodsham Castle [Map]. His son Thomas (age 26) succeeded 3rd Earl Rivers, 3rd Viscount Colchester, 3rd Viscount Savage, 3rd Baron Darcy of Chiche, 4th Baronet Savage of Rocksavage in Cheshire. Elizabeth Scrope Countess Rivers (age 27) by marriage Countess Rivers.
Before 24th July 1660 [his son-in-law] Francis Talbot 11th Earl of Shrewsbury (age 37) and Anna Maria Brudenell Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford (age 18) were married. She by marriage Countess of Shrewsbury Countess Waterford. She the daughter of Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan (age 53) and Anna Savage Countess Cardigan. He the son of John Talbot 10th Earl of Shrewsbury and Mary Fortescue Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford. They were third cousin once removed.
On 16th September 1663 [his father] Thomas Brudenell 1st Earl Cardigan (age 80) died. His son Robert (age 56) succeeded 2nd Earl Cardigan, 2nd Baron Brudenell of Stonton in Leicestershire. [his wife] Mary Constable Countess Cardigan by marriage Countess Cardigan.
On 13th October 1664 [his mother] Mary Tresham Countess Cardigan died.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 17th January 1668. Up, and by coach to White Hall to attend the Council there, and here I met first by Mr. Castle (age 39) the shipwright, whom I met there, and then from the whole house the discourse of the duell yesterday between the Duke of Buckingham (age 39), Holmes, and one Jenkins, on one side, and my [his son-in-law] Lord of Shrewsbury (age 45), Sir John Talbot (age 37), and one Bernard Howard (age 27), on the other side: and all about my Lady Shrewsbury (age 25)1, who is a whore, and is at this time, and hath for a great while been, a whore to the Duke of Buckingham. And so her husband challenged him, and they met yesterday in a close near Barne-Elmes, and there fought: and my Lord Shrewsbury is run through the body, from the right breast through the shoulder: and Sir John Talbot all along up one of his armes; and Jenkins killed upon the place, and the rest all, in a little measure, wounded. This will make the world think that the King (age 37) hath good councillors about him, when the Duke of Buckingham, the greatest man about him, is a fellow of no more sobriety than to fight about a whore. And this may prove a very bad accident to the Duke of Buckingham, but that my Baroness Castlemayne (age 27) do rule all at this time as much as ever she did, and she will, it is believed, keep all matters well with the Duke of Buckingham: though this is a time that the King will be very backward, I suppose, to appear in such a business. And it is pretty to hear how the King had some notice of this challenge a week or two ago, and did give it to my Lord Generall (age 59) to confine the Duke, or take security that he should not do any such thing as fight: and the Generall trusted to the King that he, sending for him, would do it, and the King trusted to the Generall; and so, between both, as everything else of the greatest moment do, do fall between two stools. The whole House full of nothing but the talk of this business; and it is said that my Lord Shrewsbury's case is to be feared, that he may die too; and that may make it much the worse for the Duke of Buckingham: and I shall not be much sorry for it, that we may have some sober man come in his room to assist in the Government. Here I waited till the Council rose, and talked the while, with Creed, who tells me of Mr. Harry Howard's' (age 39) giving the Royal Society a piece of ground next to his house, to build a College on, which is a most generous act. And he tells me he is a very fine person, and understands and speaks well; and no rigid Papist neither, but one that would not have a Protestant servant leave his religion, which he was going to do, thinking to recommend himself to his master by it; saying that he had rather have an honest Protestant than a knavish Catholique. I was not called into the Council; and, therefore, home, first informing myself that my Lord Hinchingbrooke (age 20) hath been married this week to my Lord Burlington's (age 55) daughter (age 23); so that that great business is over; and I mighty glad of it, though I am not satisfied that I have not a Favour sent me, as I see Attorney Montagu (age 50) and the Vice-Chamberlain have (age 58). But I am mighty glad that the thing is done.
Note 1. Anna Maria, daughter of Robert Brudenel, second Earl of Cardigan (age 60). Walpole says she held the Duke of Buckingham's horse, in the habit of a page, while he was fighting the duel with her husband. She married, secondly, George Rodney Bridges, son of Sir Thomas Bridges of Keynsham, Somerset (age 51), Groom of the Bedchamber to Charles IL, and died April 20th, 1702. A portrait of the Countess of Shrewsbury, as Minerva, by Lely.
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Adeline Horsey Recollections. The second Earl became a Roman Catholic, and spent most of his long life of 102 years at Deene [Map]. His daughter, Lady Anne Brudenell, was one of the most lovely of the beauties associated with the Court of Charles II. She married the Earl of Shrewsbury, and the story is well known of how she, dressed as a page, held the Duke of Buckingham's horse whilst he fought with and slew her husband.
On 4th June 1668 Francis Brudenell (age 14) and Frances Savile (age 10) were married. She the daughter of Thomas Savile 1st Earl of Sussex and Anne Villiers Countess Sussex. He the son of Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan (age 61) and Anna Savage Countess Cardigan. They were fourth cousin once removed.
Before 28th March 1677 [his son-in-law] William Hay 4th Earl Kinnoull (age 55) and Mary Brudenell Countess Kinnoul were married. She by marriage Countess Kinnoull. She the daughter of Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan (age 70) and Mary Constable Countess Cardigan. He the son of George Hay 2nd Earl Kinnoull and Anne Douglas Countess Kinnoul.
Before 24th June 1677 [his son-in-law] George Rodney Brydges and Anna Maria Brudenell Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford (age 35) were married. She the daughter of Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan (age 70) and Anna Savage Countess Cardigan. They were fifth cousin once removed.
Around December 1682 [his son-in-law] Charles Middleton 2nd Earl Middleton (age 32) and Catherine Brudenell Countess Middleton (age 34) were married. She by marriage Countess Middleton. She the daughter of Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan (age 75) and Anna Savage Countess Cardigan. He the son of John Middleton 1st Earl Middleton and Grizel Durham Countess Middleton.
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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In June 1696 [his wife] Anna Savage Countess Cardigan died.
Around 1st August 1697 [his son-in-law] Robert Constable 3rd Viscount Dunbar (age 46) and Dorothy Brudenell Viscountess Dunbar (age 54) were married. She by marriage Viscountess Dunbar. She the daughter of Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan (age 90) and Anna Savage Countess Cardigan. They were first cousins.
In 1698 [his son] Francis Brudenell (age 44) died.
On 20th April 1702 [his daughter] Anna Maria Brudenell Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford (age 60) died.
On 16th July 1703 Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan (age 96) died. His grandson George (age 17) succeeded 3rd Earl Cardigan, 3rd Baron Brudenell of Stonton in Leicestershire.
[his daughter] Mary Brudenell Countess Kinnoul was born to Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan and Mary Constable Countess Cardigan. She married before 28th March 1677 William Hay 4th Earl Kinnoull, son of George Hay 2nd Earl Kinnoull and Anne Douglas Countess Kinnoul.
Kings Wessex: Great x 18 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 15 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 21 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 16 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 18 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 8 Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 17 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 24 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 18 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 22 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert Brudenell 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Brudenell
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Entwhistle
Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Entwhistle
GrandFather: Robert Brudenell of Doddington in Huntingdonshire
Robert Brudenell 2nd Earl Cardigan 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Tresham
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Tresham 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Zouche 
9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Tresham 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: James Harrington of Wolfege 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Isabel Harrington
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Tresham 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Parr 
8 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Parr 1st Baron Parr of Horton 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Fitzhugh Baroness Vaux Harrowden 
3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Mary Parr 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Salisbury 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Mary Salisbury
GrandFather: Thomas Tresham 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Catesby 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Humphrey Catesby
Great x 2 Grandfather: Anthony Catesby of Whiston
Great x 1 Grandmother: Eleanor Catesby
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Pigot
Great x 2 Grandmother: Isabel Pigot
Mother: Mary Tresham Countess Cardigan 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Throckmorton 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Throckmorton
Great x 2 Grandfather: George Throckmorton of Coughton
Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Throckmorton 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Vaux of Harrowden 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Nicholas Vaux 1st Baron Vaux Harrowden
Great x 2 Grandmother: Katherine Vaux 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Fitzhugh 5th Baron Fitzhugh 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Fitzhugh Baroness Vaux Harrowden 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Neville Baroness Fitzhugh 
2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
GrandMother: Muriel Throckmorton 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Hussey 
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Hussey
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Nesfield
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Hussey 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford 9 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Berkeley 
7 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Berkeley 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Petronella Brooksby
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Hussey Baroness Hungerford 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Blount 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Simon Blount 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Seymour 
11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Blount 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England