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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Granddaughter is in Grandson and Granddaughter.
On 19th March 1286 King Alexander III of Scotland [aged 44] died from a fall from a horse at Kinghorn Ness while riding in the dark to visit the Queen [aged 22] at Kinghorn in Fife because it was her birthday the next day. His granddaughter Margaret [aged 2] succeeded I Queen Scotland.
On 21st October 1314 Geoffrey Geneville 1st Baron Geneville [aged 88] died at Trim, County Meath. He was buried at Black Friary, Trim, County Meath. His granddaughter Joan [aged 28] succeeded 2nd Baroness Geneville. She and her husband Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March [aged 27] inherited the vast legacy of the de Lacy dynasty, including Ludlow Castle [Map].
On 4th April 1386 John Botetort 2nd Baron Botetort [aged 68] died. His granddaughter Joyce [aged 18] succeeded 3rd Baroness Botetort.
On 10th January 1408 John Cobham 3rd Baron Cobham [aged 87] died at Cooling Castle [Map]. His granddaughter Joan succeeded 4th Baroness Cobham.
On 18th May 1445 William Ferrers 5th Baron Ferrers of Groby [aged 73] died at Woodham Ferrers, Essex. His granddaughter Elizabeth [aged 26] succeeded 6th Baroness Ferrers of Groby. Edward Grey Baron Ferrers of Groby [aged 30] by marriage Baron Ferrers of Groby.
On 2nd October 1446 Robert Poynings 4th Baron Poynings [aged 63] died at Orléans. His granddaughter Eleanor [aged 24] succeeded 5th Baroness Poynings
On 5th January 1458 Thomas Dacre 6th Baron Dacre Gilsland [aged 70] died. His granddaughter Joan [aged 25] succeeded 7th Baroness Dacre Gilsland, 7th Baroness Multon of Gilsland.
On 1st June 1487 Ralph Greystoke 5th Baron Greystoke [aged 73] died. His granddaughter Elizabeth [aged 15] succeeded 6th Baroness Greystoke.
On 10th November 1521 Robert Willoughby 2nd Baron Willoughby 10th Baron Latimer [aged 49] died at Bere Ferrers, Devon. He was buried at St Andrew's Church, Bere Ferrers [Map]. His granddaughter Elizabeth [aged 9] succeeded 11th Baroness Latimer of Corby, 3rd Baroness Willoughby Broke. It isn't clear whether she claimed the titles since the law of succession by females when a peerage was created by writ was not established until 1696.
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.
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Around 1551 John Stewart 3rd Earl Buchan [aged 53] died. His granddaughter Christina [aged 3] succeeded 4th Countess Buchan.
On 27th August 1566 Thomas Griffin 11th Baron Latimer Braybrooke died. His granddaughter Mary [aged 21] de jure 12th Baroness Latimer of Braybrook.
Before 24th December 1641 Henry Neville 2nd Baron Abergavenny [aged 62] died. He was buried at Birling, Kent [Map]. His granddaughter Margaret succeeded 3rd Baroness Abergavenny.
On 23rd June 1643 Edward Dudley 5th Baron Dudley [aged 75] died. His granddaughter Frances [aged 31] succeeded 6th Baroness Dudley. Humble Ward 1st Baron Ward of Birmingham Baron Dudley [aged 29] by marriage Baron Dudley. Humble Ward 1st Baron Ward of Birmingham Baron Dudley by marriage Baron Dudley.
On 25th March 1667 Thomas Wentworth 1st Earl Cleveland [aged 76] died. Earl Cleveland extinct. His granddaughter Henrietta [aged 6] de jure 10th Baroness Despencer.
On 7th May 1697 Anne Wentworth 7th Baroness Wentworth Baroness Lovelace [aged 73] died. Her granddaughter Martha [aged 30] succeeded 8th Baroness Wentworth, Her granddaughter Martha de jure 12th Baroness Despencer.
On 25th December 1717 Robert Shirley 1st Earl Ferrers [aged 67] died. His son Washington [aged 40] succeeded 2nd Earl Ferrers, 8th Baronet Shirley of Staunton Harold in Leicestershire. Mary Levinge Countess Ferrers by marriage Countess Ferrers. His granddaughter Elizabeth [aged 23] succeeded 15th Baroness Ferrers of Chartley.
On 5th June 1740 Henry Grey 1st Duke Kent [aged 69] died without surviving male issue. Duke Kent, Marquess Kent, Earl Kent and Viscount Gooderich extinct. His granddaughter Jemima [aged 16] succeeded 2nd Marchioness Grey.
Monument at the De Grey Mausoleum, St John the Baptist Church, Flitton [Map] sculpted by Edward Shepherd.
On 3rd October 1831 Thomas Stapleton 12th Baron Despencer [aged 64] died. His granddaughter Mary [aged 9] succeeded 13th Baroness Despencer. His son Francis [aged 24] succeeded 7th Baronet Stapleton of Leeward Islands.
On 9th October 1956 Una Mary Dawson 25th Baroness de Ros of Helmsley [aged 77] died. Her granddaughter Georgiana [aged 23] succeeded 26th Baroness Ros Helmsley.