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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In 1674 Thomas Thynne 1st Viscount Weymouth (age 34) was elected MP Oxford University.
In 1678 John Edisbury (age 32) was elected MP Oxford University.
In 1698 Christopher Musgrave 4th Baronet (age 66) was elected MP Oxford University.
In 1698 William Glynne 2nd Baronet (age 34) was elected MP Oxford University.
In March 1701 William Bromley (age 37) was elected MP Oxford University at a by-election. He continued to hold one of the university's two seats for the rest of his life.
On 2nd February 1737 William Bromley (age 38) was elected MP Oxford University, a seat his father had represented for thirty years. He died suddenly five weeks later.
On 16th December 1762 Walter Wagstaffe Bagot 5th Baronet (age 60) was elected MP Oxford University.
On 3rd February 1768 William Dolben 3rd Baronet (age 41) was elected MP Oxford University which seat he held for just over a month until 11th March 1768.
In 1780 William Dolben 3rd Baronet (age 53) was elected MP Oxford University which seat he held until 1806.
In 1854 William Heathcote 5th Baronet (age 52) was elected MP Oxford University which seat he held until 1868.
In 1868 John Gilbert Talbot (age 32) was elected MP Kent West which seat he held until 1878 when he resigned to contend a by-election to be MP Oxford University which he won.
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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In 1878 John Gilbert Talbot (age 42) was elected MP Oxford University which he held until he stepped down in 1910.