Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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Italian Duke is in Italian Lords Temporal.
Before 1430 Francesco Balzo II Duke Andria [aged 19] and Sancia Clermont Duchess Andria were married. She by marriage Duchess Andria.
Before 1482 Francesco Balzo II Duke Andria [aged 71] succeeded Duke Andria.
Francesco Baux 1st Duke Andria was appointed 1st Duke Andria.
Roger Hauteville IV Duke Apulia was appointed IV Duke Apulia.
John Capet Duke Durazzo was appointed Duke Durazzo.
Charles Durazzo Duke Durazzo was appointed Duke Durazzo.
On 15th June 1505 Ercole Este I Duke Ferrara [aged 73] died. His son Alfonso [aged 28] succeeded I Duke Ferrara.
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.
On 3rd October 1559 Ercole Este II Duke Ferrara [aged 51] died. His son Alfonso [aged 25] succeeded II Duke Ferrara.
Ercole Este I Duke Ferrara was created I Duke Ferrara.
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.
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Alfonso Este II Duke Ferrara and Barbara Habsburg Spain Duchess Ferrara were married. She by marriage Duchess Ferrara. She the daughter of Ferdinand I Holy Roman Emperor and Anne Jagiellon. He the son of Ercole Este II Duke Ferrara and Renée of France Duchess of Ferrara. They were third cousins. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
On 11th May 1395 Gian Galeazzo Visconti 1st Duke Milan [aged 43] was created 1st Duke Milan by Wenceslaus IV of Behemia King Romans [aged 34] for 100,000 florins. Caterina Visconti Duke Milan [aged 34] by marriage Duchess Milan.
On 25th March 1450 Francesco Sforza I Duke Milan [aged 48] succeeded I Duke Milan.
On 8th March 1466 Francesco Sforza I Duke Milan [aged 64] died. His son Galeazzo [aged 22] succeeded 5th Duke Milan.
On 26th December 1476 Galeazzo Maria Sforza 5th Duke Milan [aged 32] was murdered at the Basilica di Santo Stefano Maggiore, Milan [Map]. Supported by about thirty friends, the three men waited in the church for the duke to arrive for mass. When Galeazzo Sforza arrived, Lampugnani knelt before him; after some words were exchanged, Lampugnani rose suddenly and stabbed Sforza in the groin and breast. Olgiati and Visconti soon joined in, as did a servant of Lampugnani's. Sforza was dead within a matter of seconds. All the assassins quickly escaped in the ensuing mayhem save for Lampugnani, who became entangled in some of the church's cloth and was killed by a guard. His body soon fell into the hands of a mob, which dragged the corpse through the streets, slashing and beating at it; finally, they hung the body upside-down outside Lampugnani's house. The beheaded corpse was cut down the next day and, in an act of symbolism, the "sinning" right hand was removed, burnt and put on display. His son Gian [aged 7] succeeded 6th Duke Milan.
In February 1489 Gian Galeazzo Sforza 6th Duke Milan [aged 19] and Isabella Trastámara Duchess Milan [aged 18] were married. She by marriage Duchess Milan. She the daughter of Alfonso II King Naples [aged 40] and Ippolita Maria Sforza. He the son of Galeazzo Maria Sforza 5th Duke Milan and Bona of Savoy [aged 39]. They were first cousins.
On 21st October 1494 Gian Galeazzo Sforza 6th Duke Milan [aged 25] died. His uncle Ludovico [aged 42] succeeded Duke Milan.
Alfonso Hauteville Duke Naples was appointed Duke Naples.
In 1462 Jacques Armagnac Duke Nemours [aged 29] succeeded Duke Nemours. Louise Valois Anjou Duchess Nemours [aged 17] by marriage Duchess Nemours.
In 1515 Giuliano Medici Duke Nemours [aged 35] was created 1st Duke Nemours by King Francis I of France [aged 20]. Giuliano had married into the Savoy family that had previously held the title.
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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On 25th November 1533 Philip of Savoy Duke Nemours [aged 43] died. His son Jacques [aged 2] succeeded Duke Nemours.
On 15th June 1585 Jacques of Savoy 2nd Duke of Nemours [aged 53] died. His son Henri [aged 12] succeeded Duke Nemours.
On 10th July 1632 Henri I Duke of Nemours [aged 59] died. His son Louis [aged 17] succeeded Duke Nemours.
On 16th September 1641 Louis I Duke Nemours [aged 26] died unmarried. His brother Charles [aged 17] succeeded Duke Nemours.
On 11th July 1643 Charles Amadeus Duke of Nemours [aged 19] and Élisabeth Bourbon Vendôme [aged 28] were married. She by marriage Duchess Nemours. She the daughter of César Bourbon Vendôme 1st Duke Vendôme [aged 49] and Françoise Lorraine Duchess Vendôme [aged 50]. He the son of Henri I Duke of Nemours. They were second cousin once removed.
Louis Gonzaga Duke Nevers was appointed Duke Nevers.
Charles Gonzaga Duke Nevers Duke Rethel succeeded Duke Nevers, Duke Rethel.
Charles Gonzaga Duke Nevers Duke Rethel succeeded Duke Nevers, Duke Rethel.
In 834 Lambert Guideschi Duke Spoleto was created Duke Spoleto.
Lambert Guideschi Duke Spoleto and Itta Unknown Duchess Spoleto were married. She by marriage Duchess Spoleto.
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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Lambert Guideschi Duke Spoleto and Adelaide Carolingian Duchess Spoleto were married. She by marriage Duchess Spoleto.