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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Biography of Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio 1476-1534

Paternal Family Tree: Obertenghi aka Welf

On 21st July 1476 Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio was born to [his father] Ercole Este I Duke Ferrara [aged 44].

In January 1491 Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio [aged 14] and Anne Sforza [aged 14] were married. She the daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza 5th Duke Milan and Bona of Savoy [aged 41]. He the son of Ercole Este I Duke Ferrara [aged 59].

On 12th January 1491 a double wedding ceremony was held between the Este and Visconti families of Milan. Leonardo da Vinci orchestrated the celebrations.

Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio [aged 14] and Anne Sforza [aged 14] were married fourteen years after their bethrothal. She the daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza 5th Duke Milan and Bona of Savoy [aged 41]. He the son of Ercole Este I Duke Ferrara [aged 59].

Ludovico Sforza Duke Milan [aged 38] and Beatrice Este [aged 15] were married. The difference in their ages was 22 years. She the daughter of Ercole Este I Duke Ferrara. He the son of Francesco Sforza I Duke Milan and Bianca Maria Visconti.

In 1494 Maximilian Habsburg I Holy Roman Emperor [aged 34] and [his sister-in-law] Bianca Maria Sforza Holy Roman Empress [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Holy Roman Empress. She the daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza 5th Duke Milan and [his mother-in-law] Bona of Savoy [aged 44]. He the son of Frederick "Peaceful or Fat" Habsburg III Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor Aviz Holy Roman Empress. They were third cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Edward III of England.

On 21st October 1494 [his brother-in-law] Gian Galeazzo Sforza 6th Duke Milan [aged 25] died. His uncle Ludovico [aged 42] succeeded Duke Milan.

On 30th November 1497 [his wife] Anne Sforza [aged 21] died in childbirth. Some sources reported that her child, a son, died immediately after being baptised; others, say that he survived and was named Alessandro, dying in 1514 aged 17. She was buried in the monastery of San Vito.

In 1501 Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio [aged 24] and Lucrezia Borgia [aged 20] were married. He the son of Ercole Este I Duke Ferrara [aged 69].

On 15th June 1505 [his father] Ercole Este I Duke Ferrara [aged 73] died. His son Alfonso [aged 28] succeeded I Duke Ferrara.

On 5th April 1508 [his son] Ercole Este II Duke Ferrara was born to Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio [aged 31] and [his wife] Lucrezia Borgia [aged 27]. He married April 1528 Renée of France Duchess of Ferrara, daughter of Louis XII King France and Anne of Brittany Queen Consort France, and had issue.

On 24th June 1519 [his wife] Lucrezia Borgia [aged 39] died.

On 10th March 1527 [his illegitimate son] Alfonso Este Lord Montecchio was born illegitimately to Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio [aged 50].

In April 1528 Ercole Este II Duke Ferrara [aged 19] and Renée of France Duchess of Ferrara [aged 17] were married. She the daughter of Louis XII King France and Anne of Brittany Queen Consort France [aged 51]. He the son of Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio [aged 51] and Lucrezia Borgia.

1534. Dosso Dossi [aged 45]. Portrait of Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio [aged 57] as a Knight of the Order of Saint Michael.

On 31st October 1534 Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio [aged 58] died. His son Ercole [aged 26] succeeded II Duke Ferrara. Renée of France Duchess of Ferrara [aged 24] by marriage Duchess Ferrara.

Royal Ancestors of Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio 1476-1534

Kings Franks: Great x 19 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor

Royal Descendants of Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio 1476-1534
Number after indicates the number of unique routes of descent. Descendants of Kings and Queens not included.

Marie Françoise Élisabeth of Savoy Queen Consort of Portugal [1]

Mary of Modena Queen Consort England Scotland and Ireland [1]

Victor Amadeus King Sardinia [1]

Ancestors of Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio 1476-1534

Alfonso Este I Duke Ferrara, Modena and Reggio