The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Paternal Family Tree: Cavendish
Maternal Family Tree: Elizabeth Stumpe
On 4th March 1639 [his father] William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire [aged 21] and [his mother] Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Countess Devonshire. She the daughter of [his grandfather] William Cecil 2nd Earl Salisbury [aged 47] and [his grandmother] Catherine Howard Countess Salisbury [aged 49]. He the son of William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire and Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire.
On 25th January 1640 William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire was born to [his father] William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire [aged 22] and [his mother] Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire [aged 21].
Around 1655. Unknown Painter. Portrait of William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 14].
Around 1660 John Michael Wright [aged 42]. Portrait of William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 19].
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 11th May 1660. Up very early in the morning, and so about a great deal of business in order to our going hence to-day. Burr going on shore last night made me very angry. So that I sent for Mr. Pitts to come to me from the Vice-Admiral's [aged 45], intending not to have employed Burr any more. But Burr by and by coming and desiring humbly that I would forgive him and Pitts not coming I did set him to work. This morning we began to pull down all the State's arms in the fleet, having first sent to Dover for painters and others to come to set up the King's [aged 29]. The rest of the morning writing of letters to London which I afterwards sent by Dunne. I had this morning my first opportunity of discoursing with Dr. Clarke1, whom I found to be a very pretty man and very knowing. He is now going in this ship to the King. There dined here my Lord Crafford [aged 48] and my Lord Cavendish [aged 20], and other Scotchmen whom I afterwards ordered to be received on board the Plymouth, and to go along with us. After dinner we set sail from the Downs, I leaving my boy to go to Deal, Kent [Map] for my linen. In the afternoon overtook us three or four gentlemen; two of the Berties, and one Mr. Dormerhoy, a Scotch gentleman, whom I afterwards found to be a very fine man, who, telling my Lord that they heard the Commissioners were come out of London to-day, my Lord dropt anchor over against Dover Castle [Map] (which give us about thirty guns in passing), and upon a high debate with the Vice and Rear Admiral whether it were safe to go and not stay for the Commissioners, he did resolve to send Sir R. Stayner [aged 35] to Dover, to enquire of my Lord Winchelsea, whether or no they are come out of London, and then to resolve to-morrow morning of going or not; which was done. It blew very hard all this night that I was afeard of my boy. About 11 at night came the boats from Deal, with great store of provisions, by the same token John Goods told me that above 20 of the fowls are smothered, but my boy was put on board the Northwich. To bed.
Note 1. Timothy Clarke, M. D., one of the original Fellows of the Royal Society. He was appointed one of the physicians in ordinary to Charles II on the death of Dr. Quartermaine in 1667.
In 1662 [his brother-in-law] Charles Rich and [his sister] Anne Cavendish Countess Exeter [aged 13] were married. She the daughter of [his father] William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire [aged 44] and [his mother] Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire [aged 43]. He the son of Henry Rich 1st Earl Holland and Isabel Cope Countess Holland. They were fifth cousin once removed.
On 26th October 1662 William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 22] and Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire [aged 16] were married. She the daughter of James Butler 1st Duke Ormonde [aged 52] and Elizabeth Preston Duchess Ormonde [aged 47]. He the son of William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire [aged 45] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire [aged 43]. They were fifth cousins.
In September 1664 [his brother-in-law] Richard Butler 1st Earl Arran [aged 25] and Mary Stewart Countess Arran [aged 13] were married. She by marriage Countess Arran. She the daughter of James Stewart 4th Duke Lennox 1st Duke Richmond and Mary Villiers Duchess Lennox Duchess Richmond [aged 42]. He the son of [his father-in-law] James Butler 1st Duke Ormonde [aged 53] and [his mother-in-law] Elizabeth Preston Duchess Ormonde [aged 49]. They were half fifth cousin once removed.
In July 1665 [his sister-in-law] Elizabeth Butler Countess Chesterfield [aged 25] died.
In 1670 [his daughter] Elizabeth Cavendish Lady Wentworth was born to William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 29] and [his wife] Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire [aged 24]. She married before 1710 John Wentworth 1st Baronet and had issue.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 2nd May 1670 [his brother-in-law] John Cecil 5th Earl Exeter [aged 22] and [his sister] Anne Cavendish Countess Exeter [aged 21] were married. She the daughter of [his father] William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire [aged 52] and [his mother] Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire [aged 51]. He the son of John Cecil 4th Earl Exeter [aged 42] and Frances Manners Countess Exeter. They were half third cousin once removed.
In June 1671 William St Lawrence 12th Baron Howth [aged 43] died. His son Thomas [aged 12] succeeded 13th Baron Howth. He was placed nuder the guardianship of his father's friend [his brother-in-law] Thomas Butler 6th Earl Ossory [aged 36].
Around 1672 [his son] William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire was born to William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 31] and [his wife] Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire [aged 26]. He married 21st June 1688 his third cousin Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire and had issue.
In 1673 [his son] Henry Cavendish was born to William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 32] and [his wife] Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire [aged 27] at Nice, France. He married 3rd August 1696 his third cousin once removed Rhoda Cartright and had issue.
Before 19th February 1674 [his brother-in-law] Richard Butler 1st Earl Arran [aged 34] and Dorothy Ferrers Countess Arran [aged 19] were married. She by marriage Countess Arran. He the son of [his father-in-law] James Butler 1st Duke Ormonde [aged 63] and [his mother-in-law] Elizabeth Preston Duchess Ormonde [aged 58].
In January 1675 [his brother-in-law] John Butler 1st Earl Gowran [aged 32] and Anne Chichester Countess Gowran and Longford were married. She the daughter of Arthur Chichester 1st Earl Donegal [aged 68] and Letitia Hicks Countess Donegal [aged 48]. He the son of [his father-in-law] James Butler 1st Duke Ormonde [aged 64] and [his mother-in-law] Elizabeth Preston Duchess Ormonde [aged 59].
On 13th April 1676 [his brother-in-law] John Butler 1st Earl Gowran [aged 33] was created 1st Earl Gowran, 1st Viscount Clonmore, 1st Baron Aghrim. Anne Chichester Countess Gowran and Longford by marriage Countess Gowran.
In 1677 [his brother-in-law] John Butler 1st Earl Gowran [aged 34] died at Paris [Map].
In February 1678 John Cecil 4th Earl Exeter [aged 50] died. His son [his brother-in-law] John [aged 30] succeeded 5th Earl Exeter, 6th Baron Burghley. [his sister] Anne Cavendish Countess Exeter [aged 29] by marriage Countess Exeter.
On 30th July 1680 [his brother-in-law] Thomas Butler 6th Earl Ossory [aged 46] died. He was buried in the Duke of Ormonde Vault, King Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey the next day.
On 23rd November 1684 [his father] William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire [aged 67] died at his house in Roehampton, Surrey. He was buried in the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey [Map]. His son William [aged 44] succeeded 4th Earl Devonshire, 4th Baron Cavendish Hardwick. [his wife] Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire [aged 38] by marriage Countess Devonshire.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 25th January 1685 [his brother-in-law] Richard Butler 1st Earl Arran [aged 45] died.
John Evelyn's Diary. 9th July 1685. Just as I was coming into the lodgings at Whitehall [Map], a little before dinner, my Lord of Devonshire [aged 45] standing very neere his Ma's [aged 51] bed-chamber doore in the lobby, came Col. Culpeper [aged 50], and in a rude manner looking my Lord in the face, asked whether this was a time and place for excluders to appeare; my Lord at first tooke little notice of what he said, knowing him to be a hot-headed fellow, but he reiterating it, my Lord ask'd Culpeper whether he meant him; he said, yes, he meant his Lordship. My Lord told him he was no excluder (as indeed he was not); the other affirming it againe, my Lord told him he lied, on which Culpeper struck him a box on the eare, which my Lord return'd and fell'd him. They were soone parted, Culpeper was seiz'd, and his Ma*, who was all the while in his bed-chamber, order'd him to be carried to the Green Cloth Officer, who sent him to the Marshalsea [Map] as he deserv'd. My Lord Devon had nothing said to him. I supp'd this night at Lambeth at my old friend's Mr. Elias Ashmole's [aged 68], with my Lady Clarendon, ye Bishop of St. Asaph [aged 57], and Dr. Tenison [aged 48], when we were treated at a greate feast.
In 1687 William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 46] commissioned the re-building of Chatsworth House, Derbyshire [Map]. He initially planned to reconstruct only the south wing with the State Apartments, and so he decided to retain the Elizabethan courtyard plan, though this layout was becoming increasingly unfashionable. He enjoyed building and reconstructed the East Front, which included the Painted Hall and Long Gallery, followed by the West Front from 1699 to 1702. The North Front was completed in 1707 just before he died.
On 21st June 1688 William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire [aged 16] and Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire [aged 14] were married. He the son of William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 48] and Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire [aged 42]. They were third cousins.
In 1689 William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 48] was appointed 498th Knight of the Garter by King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland [aged 38] and Mary Stewart II Queen England Scotland and Ireland [aged 26].
In 1689 [his mother] Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire [aged 70] died.
John Evelyn's Diary. 21st February 1689. Innumerable were the crowds, who solicited for, and expected offices; most of the old ones were turned out. Two or three white staves were disposed of some days before, as Lord Steward, to the Earl of Devonshire [aged 49]; Treasurer of the household, to Lord Newport; Lord Chamberlain to the King, to my Lord of Dorset [aged 46]; but there were as yet none in offices of the civil government save the Marquis of Halifax [aged 55] as Privy Seal. A council of thirty was chosen, Lord Derby [aged 34] president, but neither Chancellor nor Judges were yet declared, the new Great Seal not yet finished.
John Evelyn's Diary. 18th July 1693. I dined with Lord Mulgrave [aged 45], with the Earl of Devonshire [aged 53], Mr. Hampden [aged 40] (a scholar and fine gentleman), Dr. Davenant, Sir Henry Vane, and others, and saw and admired the Venus of Correggio, which Lord Mulgrave had newly bought of Mr. Daun for £250; one of the best paintings I ever saw.
In 1694 William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 53] was created 1st Duke Devonshire by King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland [aged 43] in recognition of William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire 1640-1707's support of the Glorious Revolution he having been one of the signatories of the Invitation to William of Orange from the Immortal Seven. [his wife] Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire [aged 48] by marriage Duchess Devonshire.
On 3rd August 1696 Henry Cavendish [aged 23] and Rhoda Cartright were married. He the son of William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 56] and Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire [aged 50]. They were third cousin once removed.
In 1697 John Closterman [aged 37]. Portrait of William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 56].
John Evelyn's Diary. 30th March 1699. The Duke of Devon [aged 59] lost £1,900 at a horse race at Newmarket, Suffolk.
On 10th May 1700 [his son] Henry Cavendish [aged 27] died.
In 1704 [his sister] Anne Cavendish Countess Exeter [aged 55] died.
In or before 1706 [his son] James Cavendish was born to William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 65] and [his wife] Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire [aged 59]. He married before 14th December 1751 Anne Yale.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 18th August 1707 William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire [aged 67] died. His son William [aged 35] succeeded 2nd Duke Devonshire, 5th Earl Devonshire, 5th Baron Cavendish Hardwick. Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire [aged 33] by marriage Duchess Devonshire.
Before 1708 Godfrey Kneller [aged 61]. Portrait of William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire.
In 1710 [his former wife] Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire [aged 64] died. She was buried in the Duke of Ormonde Vault, King Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey with her parents.
Kings Wessex: Great x 19 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 14 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 20 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 15 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 19 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 9 Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 18 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 25 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 19 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 23 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Cavendish 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Cavendish 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Catherine Scudamore 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Cavendish 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Carrington Smith
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Smith
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Harwick
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Hardwick 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Pinchbeck 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Bess of Hardwick Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Leeke of Hasland 7 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Leeke 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Vaux 
GrandFather: William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Henry Keighley
Great x 1 Grandmother: Anne Keighley
Father: William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Edward Bruce
Great x 1 Grandfather: Edward Bruce 1st Lord Kinloss
GrandMother: Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire
William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: David Cecil 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Cecil
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Dicons
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Heckington
Great x 3 Grandmother: Jane Heckington
Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Cecil 1st Earl Salisbury 11 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Cooke of Gidea Hall
Great x 3 Grandfather: Anthony Cooke
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Saunders
Great x 2 Grandmother: Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Fitzwilliam 
8 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Fitzwilliam 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
GrandFather: William Cecil 2nd Earl Salisbury 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Brooke 8th Baron Cobham 
3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: George Brooke 9th Baron Cobham 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Dorothy Heydon Baroness Cobham 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Brooke 10th Baron Cobham 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edmund Braye 1st Baron Braye 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Braye Baroness Cobham 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Halwell Baroness Bray 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Brooke 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Newton 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Newton of Hawtrey 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Gorges 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Frances Newton Baroness Cobham 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Anthony Poyntz 
8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Poyntz 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Huddersfield 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Mother: Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk 
6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Howard Earl of Surrey 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Stafford Duchess Norfolk 
5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Howard 4th Duke of Norfolk 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John de Vere 15th Earl of Oxford 
5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Frances Vere Countess of Surrey 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Trussell Countess of Oxford 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Howard 1st Earl Suffolk 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Geoffrey Audley 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Audley 1st Baron Audley Walden
Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Audley Duchess Norfolk 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Grey 2nd Marquess Dorset 
4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Grey Baroness Audley 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Wotton Marchioness Dorset 
GrandMother: Catherine Howard Countess Salisbury 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Knyvet 
9 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Knyvet of Charlton Wiltshire 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Muriel Howard Viscountess Lisle 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Henry Knyvet 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Christopher Pickering 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Pickering 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Lewknor 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Catherine Knyvet Countess Suffolk 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Stumpe