Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall

The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.

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Biography of Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon 1414-1458

Paternal Family Tree: Courtenay

Maternal Family Tree: Alice Sanford Countess of Oxford

1424 Marriage of James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort

1424 Coronation of James I of Scotland

1426 Henry VI Knighting ceremony

1431 Siege of Louviers

1431 French Coronation of Henry VI

1437 Assassination of King James I of Scotland

1455 Battle of Clyst Heath

Before 1414 [his father] Hugh Courtenay 4th or 12th Earl Devon [aged 24] and [his mother] Anne Talbot Countess Devon [aged 20] were married. He the son of [his grandfather] Edward Courtenay 3rd or 12th Earl Devon [aged 56] and [his grandmother] Maud Camoys Countess Devon. They were third cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.

In 1414 Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon was born to [his father] Hugh Courtenay 4th or 12th Earl Devon [aged 25] and [his mother] Anne Talbot Countess Devon [aged 21]. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England.

On 5th December 1419 [his grandfather] Edward Courtenay 3rd or 12th Earl Devon [aged 62] died. His son [his father] Hugh [aged 30] succeeded 4th Earl Devon, 7th Baron Okehampton, 5th Baron Courtenay. [his mother] Anne Talbot Countess Devon [aged 26] by marriage Countess Devon.

Around 1420 Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon [aged 6] and Margaret Beaufort Countess Devon [aged 11] were married. She the daughter of John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset and Margaret Holland Duchess Clarence [aged 35]. He the son of Hugh Courtenay 4th or 12th Earl Devon [aged 31] and Anne Talbot Countess Devon [aged 27]. They were third cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great granddaughter of King Edward III of England.

On 16th June 1422 [his father] Hugh Courtenay 4th or 12th Earl Devon [aged 33] died. His son Thomas [aged 8] succeeded 5th Earl Devon, 8th Baron Okehampton, 6th Baron Courtenay. [his wife] Margaret Beaufort Countess Devon [aged 13] by marriage Countess Devon.

Marriage of James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort

On 12th February 1424 King James I of Scotland [aged 29] and [his sister-in-law] Joan Beaufort Queen Consort Scotland [aged 20] were married at Southwark Cathedral [Map]. She by marriage Queen Consort Scotland. She the daughter of John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset and [his mother-in-law] Margaret Holland Duchess Clarence [aged 39]. He the son of King Robert III of Scotland and Annabella Drummond Queen Consort Scotland. They were half fourth cousin twice removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King John of England. She a great granddaughter of King Edward III of England.

Coronation of James I of Scotland

On 21st May 1424 King James I of Scotland [aged 29] was crowned I King Scotland at Scone Abbey [Map]. [his sister-in-law] Joan Beaufort Queen Consort Scotland [aged 20] was crowned Queen Consort Scotland.

Alexander Lindsay 2nd Earl Crawford and William Crichton 1st Lord Crichton were knighted.

1426 Henry VI Knighting ceremony

On 19th May 1426, Whitsunday, King Henry VI of England and II of France [aged 4] was knighted by his uncles John Lancaster 1st Duke Bedford [aged 36] and Humphrey Lancaster 1st Duke Gloucester [aged 35] at Leicester, Leicestershire [Map]. Henry then went on to knight Ralph Longford [aged 25], Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon [aged 12] and Robert Wingfield [aged 23].

Siege of Louviers

On 3rd October 1431 [his brother-in-law] Thomas Beaufort Count Perche [aged 26] was killed at Louviers, Eure, Haute Normandie during the Siege of Louviers.

French Coronation of Henry VI

On 16th December 1431 Henry VI [aged 10] was crowned II King France: Lancaster at Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral [Map] by Cardinal Henry Beaufort [aged 56]. A somewhat futile exercise; the last gasps of the Hundred Years War. The ceremony had been arranged by John Lancaster 1st Duke Bedford [aged 42]. His wife Anne Valois Duchess of Bedford [aged 27] attended.

Walter Hungerford 1st Baron Hungerford [aged 53] was appointed Carver.

Thomas Harrington [aged 31], Richard Archer [aged 44], [his father] Hugh Courtenay 4th or 12th Earl Devon and his son Thomas [aged 17] attended.

In or before 1432 [his brother-in-law] Edmund Beaufort 1st or 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 25] and Eleanor Beauchamp Duchess Somerset [aged 23] were married. She the daughter of Richard Beauchamp 13th Earl Warwick [aged 49] and Elizabeth Berkeley Countess Warwick. He the son of John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset and [his mother-in-law] Margaret Holland Duchess Clarence [aged 46]. They were third cousin once removed. He a great grandson of King Edward III of England. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.

In 1432 [his son] Thomas Courtenay 6th or 14th Earl Devon was born to Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon [aged 18] and [his wife] Margaret Beaufort Countess Devon [aged 23]. He a great x 2 grandson of King Edward III of England. He married after 9th September 1456 his fifth cousin Mary Capet Countess Devon, daughter of Charles Valois Anjou Count Maine.

In 1435 [his son] John Courtenay 7th or 15th Earl Devon was born to Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon [aged 21] and [his wife] Margaret Beaufort Countess Devon [aged 26] at Okehampton, Devon. He a great x 2 grandson of King Edward III of England. He married before 2nd February 1461 his second cousin once removed Laura Bourchier Countess Devon, daughter of Henry Bourchier 2nd Count of Eu 1st Earl Essex and Isabel York Countess Eu and Essex.

Assassination of King James I of Scotland

On 21st February 1437 King James I of Scotland [aged 42] was assassinated at Blackfriars. He was buried at Carthusian Charterhouse, Perth. His son James [aged 6] succeeded II King Scotland. His wife, [his sister-in-law] Joan Beaufort Queen Consort Scotland [aged 33], managed to escape.

In 1439 [his brother-in-law] John Beaufort 1st Duke of Somerset [aged 36] and Margaret Beauchamp Duchess Somerset [aged 29] were married. She by marriage Countess Somerset. He the son of John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset and [his mother-in-law] Margaret Holland Duchess Clarence [aged 54]. They were fifth cousin once removed. He a great grandson of King Edward III of England.

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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Before 21st September 1439 James "Black Knight of Lorn" Stewart [aged 44] and [his sister-in-law] Joan Beaufort Queen Consort Scotland [aged 35] were married. She the daughter of John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset and [his mother-in-law] Margaret Holland Duchess Clarence [aged 54].

On 16th January 1441 [his mother] Anne Talbot Countess Devon [aged 48] died.

In 1442 [his brother-in-law] Edmund Beaufort 1st or 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 36] was created 1st Marquess Dorset. Eleanor Beauchamp Duchess Somerset [aged 33] by marriage Marchioness Dorset.

On 28th August 1443 [his brother-in-law] John Beaufort 1st Duke of Somerset [aged 40] was created 1st Duke Somerset, 1st Earl Kendal by King Henry VI of England and II of France [aged 21]. Margaret Beauchamp Duchess Somerset [aged 33] by marriage Duchess Somerset.

On 30th May 1444 [his brother-in-law] John Beaufort 1st Duke of Somerset [aged 41] committed suicide. Suicide not certain but likely. Duke Somerset, Earl Kendal extinct. His brother Edmund [aged 38] succeeded 4th Earl Somerset. Eleanor Beauchamp Duchess Somerset [aged 35] by marriage Countess Somerset.

His only child Margaret Beaufort Countess Richmond aged one was his heir. King Henry VI of England and II of France [aged 22] granted her wardship to William "Jackanapes" de la Pole 1st Duke of Suffolk [aged 47] who married her to his son John de la Pole 2nd Duke of Suffolk [aged 1].

On 15th July 1445 [his sister-in-law] Joan Beaufort Queen Consort Scotland [aged 41] died at Dunbar Castle, Dunbar. She was buried at Perth Charterhouse.

On 31st March 1448 [his brother-in-law] Edmund Beaufort 1st or 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 42] was created 1st Duke Somerset. He is sometimes referred to as the 2nd Duke Somerset since his brother John Beaufort 1st Duke of Somerset was the 1st Duke Somerset of the first creation. Edmund didn't inherit the Dukedom from his brother; it was a new creation. His did inherit the Earldom.

In 1449 [his wife] Margaret Beaufort Countess Devon [aged 40] died.

Around 1453 Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon [aged 39] was imprisoned at Tower of London [Map].

Battle of Clyst Heath

On 15th December 1455 the Courtenay family, Earls of Devon since 1355, and Bonville family resolved their differences at the Battle of Clyst Heath near Exeter [Map]. Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon [aged 41] defeated William Bonville 1st Baron Bonville [aged 63]. Battle something of an over-statement; the number of dead reported by one chronicler as being twelve. Following the battle the victorious Courtenay's attacked Bonville's Shute Manor.

After 9th September 1456 Thomas Courtenay 6th or 14th Earl Devon [aged 24] and Mary Capet Countess Devon [aged 10] were married at Coventry, Warwickshire [Map]. She by marriage Countess Devon. She the illegitmate daughter of Charles Valois Anjou Count Maine [aged 42]. He the son of Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon [aged 42] and Margaret Beaufort Countess Devon. They were fifth cousins. He a great x 2 grandson of King Edward III of England.

In 1458 Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon [aged 44] died at Yattendon Castle [Map]. He was buried at Courtenay Chantry Chapel Exeter Cathedral. His son Thomas [aged 26] succeeded 6th Earl Devon, 9th Baron Okehampton, 7th Baron Courtenay.

Memoires of Jacques du Clercq

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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[his daughter] Joan Courtenay was born to Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon and Margaret Beaufort Countess Devon. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward III of England. She married (1) 1471 her third cousin twice removed Roger Clifford, son of Thomas Clifford 8th Baron Clifford and Joan Dacre Baroness Clifford, and had issue (2) before 8th October 1489 William Knyvet.

[his son] Henry Courtenay was born to Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon and Margaret Beaufort Countess Devon. He a great x 2 grandson of King Edward III of England.

Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon 1414-1458 appears on the following Descendants Family Trees:

Royal Ancestors of Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon 1414-1458

Kings Wessex: Great x 12 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England

Kings Gwynedd: Great x 8 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd

Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 14 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth

Kings Powys: Great x 9 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys

Kings England: Great x 4 Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Kings Scotland: Great x 11 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland

Kings Franks: Great x 18 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor

Kings France: Great x 12 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks

Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 16 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine

Ancestors of Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon 1414-1458

Great x 4 Grandfather: Hugh Courtenay 3rd Baron Okehampton 4 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Hugh Courtenay 1st or 9th Earl Devon 5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Despencer Baroness Okehampton 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Hugh Courtenay 2nd or 10th Earl Devon 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John St John

Great x 3 Grandmother: Agnes St John Countess Devon

Great x 4 Grandmother: Agnes Fitzpiers

Great x 1 Grandfather: Edward Courtenay Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Bohun Countess Devon Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: King Edward I of England Son of King Henry III of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Princess Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Countess Essex, Hereford and Holland Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

GrandFather: Edward Courtenay 3rd or 12th Earl Devon 2 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Father: Hugh Courtenay 4th or 12th Earl Devon 3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

GrandMother: Maud Camoys Countess Devon

Thomas Courtenay 5th or 13th Earl Devon 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Talbot 5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Gilbert Talbot 1st Baron Talbot 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Sarah Beauchamp Baroness Talbot

Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Talbot 2nd Baron Talbot 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Boteler

Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Boteler Baroness Talbot

Great x 4 Grandmother: Angharad Mathrafal

Great x 1 Grandfather: Gilbert Talbot 3rd Baron Talbot 8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Comyn 3rd Lord Baddenoch 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary or Eleanor Balliol Lady Baddenoch 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Comyn Baroness Talbot 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William de Valence 1st Earl Pembroke

Great x 3 Grandmother: Joan Valence Lady Baddenoch

Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Munchensi Countess Pembroke

GrandFather: Richard Talbot 7th Baron Strange Blackmere 4th Baron Talbot 2 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Theobald Butler

Great x 3 Grandfather: Edmund Butler 1st Earl Carrick

Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Fitzjohn

Great x 2 Grandfather: James Butler 1st Earl Ormonde

Great x 1 Grandmother: Petronella Butler Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Eleanor Bohun Countess Ormonde Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: King Edward I of England Son of King Henry III of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Princess Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Countess Essex, Hereford and Holland Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Mother: Anne Talbot Countess Devon 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Strange

Great x 3 Grandfather: Fulk Strange 1st Baron Strange Blackmere

Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Blancminster

Great x 2 Grandfather: John Strange 2nd Baron Strange Blackmere 3 x Great Grand Son of King John of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Eleanor Giffard Baroness Strange Blackmere 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Maud Clifford Great Grand Daughter of King John of England

Great x 1 Grandfather: John Strange 4th Baron Strange Blackmere 4 x Great Grand Son of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Boteler

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Boteler 1st Baron Wem and Oversley

Great x 4 Grandmother: Angharad Mathrafal

Great x 2 Grandmother: Ankaret Boteler Baroness Strange Blackmere 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Roger Herdeburgh

Great x 3 Grandmother: Ela Herdeburgh Baroness Wem and Oversley 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Ida Odingsells Baroness Clinton 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

GrandMother: Ankaret Strange 7th Baroness Strange Blackmere, Baroness Talbot 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Fitzalan 7th Earl of Arundel 5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Fitzalan 1st or 8th Earl of Arundel 3 x Great Grand Son of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabella Mortimer Countess Arundel 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Edmund Fitzalan 2nd or 9th Earl of Arundel 4 x Great Grand Son of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas I Marquess Saluzzo 5 x Great Grand Son of King William "Conqueror" I of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Saluzzo Countess Arundel 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Mary Fitzalan Baroness Strange Blackmere 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Warenne 6th Earl of Surrey

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Warenne

Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Lusignan Countess of Surrey

Great x 2 Grandmother: Alice Warenne Countess Arundel

Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert de Vere 5th Earl of Oxford

Great x 3 Grandmother: Joan Vere

Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Sanford Countess of Oxford