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.
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Paternal Family Tree: Stanley
Maternal Family Tree: Emmeline Riddlesford 1223-1276
Before 1423 [his father] Thomas Stanley 1st Baron Stanley (age 17) and [his mother] Jane Goushill Baroness Stanley (age 21) were married. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Robert Goushill and [his grandmother] Elizabeth Fitzalan Duchess Norfolk (age 56). They were fifth cousin once removed. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
Before 1434 Roger Corbet (age 33) and [his future wife] Elizabeth Hopton Countess of Worcester (age 6) were married. The difference in their ages was 27 years.
Around 1435 William Stanley was born to [his father] Thomas Stanley 1st Baron Stanley (age 30) and [his mother] Jane Goushill Baroness Stanley (age 34) at Lytham, Lancashire. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England.
In 1451 [his brother] Thomas Stanley 1st Earl of Derby (age 16) and [his sister-in-law] Eleanor Neville Baroness Stanley (age 4) were married in the Chapel at Middleham Castle [Map]. She the daughter of Richard Neville Earl Salisbury (age 51) and Alice Montagu 5th Countess of Salisbury (age 44). They were third cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
After 1452 John "Butcher of England" Tiptoft 1st Earl of Worcester (age 24) and [his future wife] Elizabeth Hopton Countess of Worcester (age 25) were married. She by marriage Countess Worcester.
In 1455 [his father] Thomas Stanley 1st Baron Stanley (age 50) was appointed Lord Chamberlain.
Before 1456 John Lovell 8th Baron Lovel 5th Baron Holand (age 22) and [his future wife] Joan Beaumont Baroness Lovel (age 20) were married. She by marriage Baroness Lovel of Titchmarsh. She the daughter of John Beaumont 1st Viscount Beaumont (age 46) and [his future mother-in-law] Katherine Neville Duchess Norfolk (age 55). They were second cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
In 1456 [his father] Thomas Stanley 1st Baron Stanley (age 51) was created 1st Baron Stanley. [his mother] Jane Goushill Baroness Stanley (age 55) by marriage Baroness Stanley.
On 20th February 1459 [his father] Thomas Stanley 1st Baron Stanley (age 54) died at Knowsley, Lancashire. He was buried at Burscough Priory [Map]. His son [his brother] Thomas (age 24) succeeded King Mann, 2nd Baron Stanley. [his sister-in-law] Eleanor Neville Baroness Stanley (age 12) by marriage Baroness Stanley.
On 23rd September 1459 a Lancastrian army of James Tuchet 5th Baron Audley, 2nd Baron Tuchet (age 61) and John Sutton 1st Baron Dudley (age 58) fought with a Yorkist army commanded by Richard Neville Earl Salisbury (age 59) at Blore Heath, Staffordshire [Map] whilst he, Salisbury, was travelling to Ludlow [Map] to join up with the main Yorkist army. Forewarned by scouts Salisbury arranged his troops into battle order the night before, arranging his wagons defensively, and digging trenches.
The Yorkist army included John Conyers (age 48), Thomas Harrington (age 59), James Harrington (age 29), John Neville 1st Marquess Montagu (age 28), William Stanley (age 24), Roger Kynaston of Myddle and Hordley (age 26), John Savile, Walter Strickland (age 48) and John Wenlock 1st Baron Wenlock (age 59).
The Lancastrian army included brothers John Dutton, Thomas Dutton (age 38) and Peter Dutton who were killed.
James Tuchet 5th Baron Audley, 2nd Baron Tuchet was killed, probably by Roger Kynaston of Myddle and Hordley. His son John (age 33) succeeded 6th Baron Audley of Heighley in Staffordshire, 3rd Baron Tuchet. Anne Echingham Baroness Audley Heighley (age 39) by marriage Baroness Audley of Heighley in Staffordshire, Baroness Audley of Heighley in Staffordshire.
John Sutton 1st Baron Dudley and Edmund Sutton (age 34) were captured. Lionel Welles 6th Baron Welles (age 53) fought.
William Troutbeck (age 23), Richard Molyneux of Sefton and John Egerton (age 55) were killed.
After the battle Margaret of Anjou Queen Consort England (age 29) took refuge at Eccleshall Castle, Staffordshire [Map]. Thomas Harrington, John Neville 1st Marquess Montagu and Thomas Neville (age 29) were captured at Acton Bridge, Tarporley [Map] and imprisoned at Chester Castle [Map] having been detached from the main Yorkist force.
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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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On 12th January 1460 [his brother-in-law] John Boteler (age 30) and [his sister] Margaret Stanley Baroness Grey Codnor (age 25) were married at Bewsey, Warrington, Lancashire. They were fourth cousin once removed. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
After 28th February 1463 William Stanley (age 28) and Joan Beaumont Baroness Lovel (age 28) were married. She the daughter of John Beaumont 1st Viscount Beaumont and Katherine Neville Duchess Norfolk (age 63). They were half third cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
Before 1466 [his step-son] Francis Lovell 1st Viscount Lovell (age 9) and Anne Fitzhugh Viscountess Lovell were married. She by marriage Baroness Lovel of Titchmarsh. They were second cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Edward III of England. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
In 1466 [his mother] Jane Goushill Baroness Stanley (age 65) died. She was buried at Burscough Priory [Map]
On 5th August 1466 [his wife] Joan Beaumont Baroness Lovel (age 31) died at Titchmarsh, Northamptonshire.
Around 1467 [his son] William Stanley was born to William Stanley (age 32) and Elizabeth Hopton Countess of Worcester (age 40). The date based on the marriage of his father William Stanley and mother Elizabeth Hopton Countess of Worcester which must have taken place after 5th August 1666 when his first wife Joan Beaumont Baroness Lovel died? He married before 1498 his fifth cousin once removed Joan Massey.
In or after 1467 [his daughter] Jane Marie Stanley was born to William Stanley (age 32) and Elizabeth Hopton Countess of Worcester (age 40). The date based on the marriage of her father William Stanley and mother Elizabeth Hopton Countess of Worcester which must have taken place after 5th August 1666 when his first wife Joan Beaumont Baroness Lovel died? She married 1487 John Warburton.
In September 1467 William Stanley (age 32) and Elizabeth Hopton Countess of Worcester (age 40) were married.
Around 12th June 1472 [his brother] Thomas Stanley 1st Earl of Derby (age 37) and [his sister-in-law] Margaret Beaufort Countess Richmond (age 29) were married. She by marriage Queen Mann, Baroness Stanley. She the daughter of John Beaufort 1st Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp Duchess Somerset (age 62). They were third cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
Before 1481 [his brother-in-law] Henry Grey 4th or 7th Baron Grey of Codnor (age 45) and [his sister] Margaret Stanley Baroness Grey Codnor (age 45) were married. She by marriage Baroness Grey of Codnor. They were fourth cousin once removed. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
In 1481 [his sister] Margaret Stanley Baroness Grey Codnor (age 46) died.
Before 6th July 1483 [his brother] Thomas Stanley 1st Earl of Derby (age 48) was appointed Constable of England.
On 22nd August 1485 King Richard III of England (age 32) was killed during the Battle of Bosworth. His second cousin once removed Henry Tudor (age 28) succeeded VII King of England.
Humphrey Cotes (age 35) died. It isn't clear on which side he was fighting.
Those supporting Henry Tudor included:
John Blount 3rd Baron Mountjoy (age 35).
John Cheney 1st Baron Cheyne (age 43).
Richard Guildford (age 35).
Walter Hungerford (age 21).
[his brother] Thomas Stanley 1st Earl of Derby (age 50).
Edward Woodville Lord Scales (age 29).
Edward Courtenay 1st Earl Devon (age 26).
Rhys ap Thomas Deheubarth (age 36).
Jasper Tudor 1st Duke Bedford (age 53).
[his former brother-in-law] William Beaumont 2nd Viscount Beaumont (age 47).
Giles Daubeney 1st Baron Daubeney (age 34).
William Stanley (age 50).
Roger Kynaston of Myddle and Hordley (age 52).
Henry Marney 1st Baron Marney (age 38).
William Brandon (age 29) was killed.
James Harrington (age 55) was killed.
John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk (age 60) was killed and attainted. He was buried firstly at Thetford Priory, Norfolk [Map] and therafter at Church of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham [Map]. Duke Norfolk, Baron Mowbray, Baron Segrave, Baron Howard forfeit.
John Sacheverell (age 85) was killed.
Philibert Chandee 1st Earl Bath
William Norreys (age 44), Gilbert Talbot (age 33), John de Vere 13th Earl of Oxford (age 42) and John Savage (age 41) commanded,.
Robert Poyntz (age 35) was knighted.
Those who fought for Richard III included:
John Bourchier 6th Baron Ferrers of Groby (age 47).
John Conyers (age 74).
Thomas Dacre 2nd Baron Dacre Gilsland (age 17).
William Berkeley 1st Marquess Berkeley (age 59).
Richard Fitzhugh 6th Baron Fitzhugh (age 28).
John Scrope 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton (age 48).
Thomas Scrope 6th Baron Scrope of Masham (age 26).
Henry Grey 4th or 7th Baron Grey of Codnor (age 50).
Edmund Grey 1st Earl Kent (age 68).
Ralph Neville 3rd Earl of Westmoreland (age 29).
John de la Pole Earl Lincoln 1st (age 23).
Humphrey Stafford (age 59).
George Talbot 4th Earl of Shrewsbury (age 17).
Thomas Howard 2nd Duke of Norfolk (age 42) was wounded, captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London [Map] for three years. He was attainted; Earl Surrey forfeit.
Francis Lovell 1st Viscount Lovell (age 29) fought and escaped.
John Zouche 7th Baron Zouche Harringworth (age 26) was captured.
John Babington (age 62), William Alington (age 65), Robert Mortimer (age 43), Robert Brackenbury, Richard Ratclyffe (age 55) and Richard Bagot (age 73) were killed
Walter Devereux Baron Ferrers of Chartley (age 53) was killed.
William Catesby (age 35) was executed at Leicester, Leicestershire [Map] after the battle.
George Stanley 9th Baron Strange Knockin 5th Baron Mohun Dunster (age 25) held as a hostage by Richard III before the Battle of Bosworth.
Henry Percy 4th Earl of Northumberland (age 36) betrayed King Richard III of England by not committing his forces at the Battle of Bosworth.
John Iwardby (age 35) was killed.
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After 22nd August 1485 William Stanley (age 50) was appointed Lord Chamberlain.
Around 1487 William Stanley (age 52) was appointed 232nd Knight of the Garter by King Henry VII of England and Ireland (age 29).
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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Around 1487 [his son-in-law] John Warburton (age 28) and Jane Marie Stanley (age 19) were married. She the daughter of William Stanley (age 52) and niece of Thomas Stanley 1st Earl of Derby (age 52) She the daughter of William Stanley and Elizabeth Hopton Countess of Worcester (age 60).
On 16th February 1495 William Stanley (age 60) and Simon Montfort were beheaded at Tower Hill [Map] for their part in the Perkin Warbeck Plot.
Gilbert Debenham (age 63) was attainted and condemned to death for treason for having supported Stanley. He remained in prison until 1499 when his sister Elizabeth Brewes, in return for paying a large fine, obtained a pardon for her brother and a promise that the attainder would be reversed.
Wriothesley's Chronicle [1508-1562]. 1495. This yeare was beheaded Sir William Stanley (age 60), Lord Chamberlayne, Sir Symon Monforde and his sonne, and manye other that landed in the Downes,b to the number of viiixx, that came from Perkin Werbeck (age 21),c callinge himselfe King Edwardes sonne.d
Note c. Other authorities say Warbeck's followers, to the number of 169, were on this occasion made captives and gibbeted; but our author has copied Arnold, who has "viii skore."
Note d. Warbeck pretended to be Richard Duke of York, son of Edward lV.
On 22nd June 1498 [his former wife] Elizabeth Hopton Countess of Worcester (age 71) died at Hopton Castle, Shropshire [Map].
Kings Wessex: Great x 12 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 10 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 15 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 11 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings England: Great x 4 Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 11 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 18 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 13 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 16 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Stanley 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Stanley
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Stanley
Great x 3 Grandmother: Mabel Hawkset
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Stanley
Great x 2 Grandmother: Alice Massey
GrandFather: John Stanley 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Lathom 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Lathom 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Ferrers 1st Baron Ferrers of Chartley 
5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Eleanor Ferrers 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Hawise Muscegros Baroness Ferrers Chartley
Great x 1 Grandmother: Isabel Lathom 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Father: Thomas Stanley 1st Baron Stanley 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Harrington 1st Baron Harington 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Harrington
Great x 4 Grandmother: Juliana Barlingham
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Harrington 2nd Baron Harington
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas de Multon 1st Baron Multon 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Multon
Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Burgh Baroness Multon Egremont 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Harrington 3rd Baron Harington
Great x 3 Grandfather: Walter de Bermingham
Great x 2 Grandmother: Joan Bermingham
GrandMother: Elizabeth Harrington
Great x 2 Grandfather: Neil Loring
Great x 1 Grandmother: Isabel Loring Baroness Harington
William Stanley 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
GrandFather: Robert Goushill
Mother: Jane Goushill Baroness Stanley 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Fitzalan 1st or 8th Earl of Arundel 
3 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Edmund Fitzalan 2nd or 9th Earl of Arundel 4 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Saluzzo Countess Arundel 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Fitzalan 3rd or 10th Earl of Arundel 8th Earl of Surrey 5 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Warenne 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Warenne Countess Arundel
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Vere 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Richard Fitzalan 9th Earl of Surrey 4th or 11th Earl of Arundel 2 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Blanche Capet Queen Navarre 
2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Eleanor Plantagenet Countess Arundel and Surrey 
Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Patrick Chaworth 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Maud Chaworth
Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabella Beauchamp 
GrandMother: Elizabeth Fitzalan Duchess Norfolk 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Humphrey Bohun 3rd Earl Hereford 2nd Earl Essex 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Humphrey Bohun 4th Earl Hereford 3rd Earl Essex
Great x 4 Grandmother: Maud Fiennes Countess Essex and Hereford 
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Bohun 1st Earl of Northampton Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: King Edward I of England Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Princess Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Countess Essex, Hereford and Holland Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Bohun Countess Arundel and Surrey Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Gunselin Badlesmere 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Bartholomew Badlesmere 1st Baron Badlesmere
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Fitzbernard
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Badlesmere Countess Northampton 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas de Clare 
4 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Clare Baroness Badlesmere 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Juliana Fitzgerald 
2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England