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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Biography of Marie Coucy 1218-1285

In 1201 [her father] Enguerrand Coucy III Lord Coucy [aged 19] and Beatrix Vignory Lady Coucy were married. She by marriage Lord Coucy.

In 1204 [her father] Enguerrand Coucy III Lord Coucy [aged 22] and Matilda Welf Countess Perche [aged 32] were married. She by marriage Lord Coucy. She the daughter of Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria and Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony. They were half fifth cousins. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

Around 1218 Marie Coucy was born to [her father] Enguerrand Coucy III Lord Coucy [aged 36] and [her mother] Marie Montmirail Lady Coucy.

On 21st June 1221 [her future husband] King Alexander II of Scotland [aged 22] and Joan Plantagenet Queen of Scotland [aged 10] were married at York Minster [Map]. She by marriage Queen Consort Scotland. She the daughter of King John of England and Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England [aged 33]. He the son of King William I of Scotland and Ermengarde Beaumont Sarthe Queen Consort Scotland [aged 51]. They were half third cousins. He a great x 2 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

In 1239 King Alexander II of Scotland [aged 40] and Marie Coucy [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Scotland. He the son of King William I of Scotland and Ermengarde Beaumont Sarthe Queen Consort Scotland. They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 2 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

On 4th September 1241 [her son] King Alexander III of Scotland was born to [her husband] King Alexander II of Scotland [aged 43] and Marie Coucy [aged 23] at Roxburgh Castle, Roxburgh. He a great x 3 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England. He married (1) 25th December 1251 his half fourth cousin Margaret Queen of Scotland, daughter of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England, and had issue (2) 15th October 1285 his half second cousin twice removed Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland, daughter of Robert Capet IV Count Dreux and Beatrice Montfort Countess Dreux.

In 1242 [her father] Enguerrand Coucy III Lord Coucy [aged 60] died from a fall from a horse onto his sword.

On 17th November 1244 [her sister-in-law] Marjorie Dunkeld Countess Pembroke [aged 44] died.

On 6th July 1249 [her husband] King Alexander II of Scotland [aged 50] died at Kerrera. He was buried at Melrose Abbey, Melrose. His son Alexander [aged 7] succeeded King Scotland.

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 25 or 26th December 1251 King Alexander III of Scotland [aged 10] and Margaret Queen of Scotland [aged 11] were married at York Minster [Map]. She by marriage Queen Consort Scotland. The couple \remained in York until Jan 1252 after which they travelled to Edinburgh. She the daughter of King Henry III of England [aged 44] and Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England [aged 28]. He the son of King Alexander II of Scotland and Marie Coucy [aged 33]. They were half fourth cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.