The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Paternal Family Tree: Stonor
Around 1450 [his father] Thomas Stonor [aged 26] and [his mother] Jane Pole [aged 20] were married. She the illegitmate daughter of [his grandfather] William "Jackanapes" de la Pole 1st Duke of Suffolk [aged 53].
Around 1450 William Stonor was born to [his father] Thomas Stonor [aged 26] and [his mother] Jane Pole [aged 20].
Archaeologia Volume 20 Section 8. An Account of the First Battle of St. Albans from a contemporary Manuscript. Communicated by Joun Baytey, Esq. F.S.A. of His Majesty's Record Office in the Tower; in a Letter to Henry Ellis, Esq. F.R.S. Secretary.
Read 19th December 1822.
His Majesty's Record Office, December 12, 1822.
DEAR SIR,
I inclose a curious Account of the first Battle of St. Albans, which may prove interesting to the Society of Antiquaries: it is copied from a manuscript, in a co-eval hand, found in the Tower, among a large quantity of private letters and accompts of Sir William Stonor, Knt [William Stonor [aged 5]?] who, from his correspondence, appears at that time to have been much about the Court, and was also a Steward of the Abbot of St. Albans. The original is written in a book consisting of a few leaves of a small quarto size, and, on comparing the writing with some of the other papers, it seems to be in the hand of Sir William himself.
I remain, dear Sir, your's very faithfully,
JOHN BAYLEY.
To Henry Ex is, Esq &c. &c. &c.
Become a Member via our Buy Me a Coffee page to read more.
On 23rd April 1474 [his father] Thomas Stonor [aged 50] died at Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire [Map].
Around July 1475 William Stonor [aged 25] and Elizabeth Croke [aged 35] were married.
In 1476 [his son] John Stonor was born to William Stonor [aged 26] and [his wife] Elizabeth Croke [aged 36].
Stonor Letters 06 Mar 1478. 6th March 1478. [his wife] Elizabeth Croke [aged 38] to William Stonor [aged 28].
Ryght reverent and worschypffull and interely best belovyde husbonde, I recomaunde me unto you in the most harteyste wyse hever more desyryng to here off your goode wellfare, the wyche I pray God longe to contune unto your hartys desyr. Syr, I resayved a tokyn ffrom you by Tawbose, my lorde Lovellys [aged 22] sarvant. And Syr, I have sent my lorde Lovell a tokyn and my ladys, as ye comaunde me to do, schuche as schalle plese them. Syr, ye schalle understonde that þe beschope off Bathe [aged 58] ys browthe in to the Towre [Map] syne you departyd. Allso Syr, ye schalle understonde that þe wolle hooys departe, as to morw is, ffor as I understonde: I pray Jhesu by thayr goode spede: and Goodard. [Goddard Oxbryge.] departys allso: and I pray you that ye wylle sende me som off your sarvantys and myne to wayte upone me, ffor now I ame ryght bare off sarvantys, and þat ye know well. Syr, I sent you halffe a honder welkys by Gardenar, and I wollde have sent you som hoder desys, but truly I cowde not get none: but and I cane get hony to morow, syr Wylliam salle bryng hyt with hym. Syr, I pray you that I may be recomaundehyde unto my masterys your moder, and unto all goode ffrendys. No more unto you at thys tym, but þe blesyde Trenyte have you in hys kepyng now and hever. Amen. At London þe vj day off Marche.
Cossen, I was crasyd þat the makyng off thys letter, but I thanke God I am ryght well amendyd, blesyd by Jhesu.
By your owen wyff Elysabeth Stonore.
To my ryght reverent and worschypffull Cosyn, syr Wyllm. Stonor, knyght.
After 15th August 1479 [his former wife] Elizabeth Croke [deceased] died.
After 15th October 1479 William Stonor [aged 29] and Anne Neville [aged 13] were married. She the daughter of John Neville 1st Marquess Montagu and Isabel Ingaldsthorpe. They were fourth cousin once removed. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
On 17th April 1483 the coffin of Edward IV [deceased] was carried to Westminster Abbey [Map] by Edward Stanley 1st Baron Monteagle [aged 21], John Savage [aged 39], Thomas Wortley [aged 50], Thomas Molyneux [aged 38], probably John Welles 1st Viscount Welles [aged 33] who had married Edward's daughter Cecily), John Cheney 1st Baron Cheyne [aged 41], Walter Hungerford [aged 19], Guy Wolston [aged 50], John Sapcote [aged 35], Thomas Tyrrell [aged 30], John Risley, Thomas Dacre 2nd Baron Dacre Gilsland [aged 15], John Norreys, Louis de Bretelles and John Comyn 4th Lord Baddenoch.
Those in the procession included:
Thomas St Leger [aged 43], widow of Edward's sister Anne.
William Parr [aged 49].
William Stonor [aged 33].
Henry Ferrers [aged 40].
James Radclyffe [aged 43].
George Browne [aged 43].
Gilbert Debenham [aged 51].
John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk [aged 58] walked in front of the coffin with Edward's personal arms.
John Marlow Abbot Bermondsey followed by:
Bishop Thomas Kempe [aged 93].
Bishop John Hales [aged 83] (Bishop of Chester?).
Bishop Robert Stillington [aged 63].
Bishop William Dudley [aged 58].
Cardinal John Morton [aged 63] (as Bishop of Ely).
Bishop Edmund Tuchet [aged 40] (as Bishop of Rochester).
Bishop Peter Courtenay, and.
Bishop Lionel Woodville [aged 36].
Archbishop Thomas Rotherham [aged 59] brought up the rear.
Cardinal Thomas Bourchier [aged 65], then Archbishop of Canterbury, took no part due to infirmity.
John de la Pole Earl Lincoln 1st [aged 21]; the King's nephew,.
William Hastings 1st Baron Hastings [aged 52].
Thomas Grey 1st Marquess Dorset [aged 28].
William Herbert 2nd Earl Pembroke 1st Earl Huntingdon [aged 32] (some sources say Earl of Huntingindon?).
William Berkeley 1st Marquess Berkeley [aged 57].
Thomas Stanley 1st Earl of Derby [aged 48].
Richard Fiennes Baron Dacre Gilsland [aged 68].
John Sutton 1st Baron Dudley [aged 82].
George Neville 4th and 2nd Baron Abergavenny [aged 43].
John Tuchet 6th Baron Audley, 3rd Baron Tuchet [aged 57].
Walter Devereux Baron Ferrers of Chartley [aged 51].
Edward Grey 1st Viscount Lisle [aged 51].
Henry Lovell 9th Baron Marshal 8th Baron Morley [aged 7].
Richard Woodville 3rd Earl Rivers [aged 30].
John Brooke 7th Baron Cobham [aged 35].
Richard Hastings Baron Willoughby [aged 50].
John Bourchier 6th Baron Ferrers of Groby [aged 45].
Become a Member via our Buy Me a Coffee page to read more.
On 4th May 1483 [his brother-in-law] George Neville 1st Duke Bedford [aged 22] died. He being the son of John Neville 1st Marquess Montagu, the nephew of Warwick the Kingmaker who should, perhaps, have inherited the Earldoms of Warwick and Salisbury from his mother that had been appropriated by George Neville 1st Duke Bedford and King Richard III of England [aged 30]. The timing somewhat suspicious. The future Richard III would now enjoy the whole of the Warwick inheritance.
In 1484 [his daughter] Anne Stonor was born to William Stonor [aged 34] and [his wife] Anne Neville [aged 18]. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward III of England. She married before 1516 Adrian Fortescue and had issue.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Before 5th November 1486 [his wife] Anne Neville [aged 20] died.
On 28th February 1494 [his mother] Jane Pole [aged 64] died.
On 21st May 1494 William Stonor [aged 44] died in Stonor, Oxfordshire.
Kings Wessex: Great x 14 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 16 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 6 Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 13 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 20 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 14 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 18 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Father: Thomas Stonor
William Stonor 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Pole 
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Pole
Great x 2 Grandfather: Michael de la Pole 1st Earl Suffolk
Great x 4 Grandfather: Walter Norwich
Great x 3 Grandmother: Katherine Norwich
Great x 1 Grandfather: Michael de la Pole 2nd Earl Suffolk
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Wingfield 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Wingfield
Great x 2 Grandmother: Katherine Wingfield Countess Suffolk
GrandFather: William "Jackanapes" de la Pole 1st Duke of Suffolk 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edmund Stafford 1st Baron Stafford 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Basset 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Hugh Stafford 2nd Earl Stafford 2 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Hugh Audley 1st Earl Gloucester 
3 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Audley Countess Stafford Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Clare Countess Gloucester 
Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Katherine Stafford Countess Suffolk 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Guy Beauchamp 10th Earl Warwick 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Tosny Countess Warwick 
5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Philippa Beauchamp Countess Stafford 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March 
3 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Katherine Mortimer Countess Warwick 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Geneville Baroness Mortimer 2nd Baroness Geneville 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Mother: Jane Pole 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England