Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Paternal Family Tree: Botreaux
Before 20th February 1389 [his father] William Botreaux 2nd Baron Botreaux [aged 22] and [his mother] Elizabeth St Lo Baroness Botreaux [aged 25] were married. She by marriage Baroness Botreaux.
On 20th February 1389 William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux was born to [his father] William Botreaux 2nd Baron Botreaux [aged 22] and [his mother] Elizabeth St Lo Baroness Botreaux [aged 25] at Walton, Kilmersdon.
On 14th September 1389 [his mother] Elizabeth St Lo Baroness Botreaux [aged 25] died.
Before 7th September 1391 [his grandfather] William Botreaux 1st Baron Botreaux [aged 54] died. His son [his father] William [aged 24] succeeded 2nd Baron Botreaux.
On 25th May 1395 [his father] William Botreaux 2nd Baron Botreaux [aged 28] died. His son William [aged 6] succeeded 3rd Baron Botreaux.
Around 1408 [his daughter] Anne Botreaux was born to William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux [aged 18] and [his future wife] Elizabeth Beaumont Baroness Botreaux. She married 1426 John Stafford.
Around 1408 [his son-in-law] Robert Hungerford 2nd Baron Hungerford [aged 8] and [his daughter] Margaret Botreaux 4th Baroness Botreaux Baroness Hungerford were married. They were third cousin once removed. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Henry III of England.
Before 1411 William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux [aged 21] and Elizabeth Beaumont Baroness Botreaux were married. She by marriage Baroness Botreaux.
25th October 1415At the Battle of Agincourt the English included: Louis Robbessart [aged 25], Richard Beauchamp 13th Earl Warwick [aged 33], William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux [aged 26], William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu [aged 41], Thomas Rokeby [aged 35], John Cornwall 1st Baron Fanhope 1st Baron Milbroke [aged 51], Edward Courtenay [aged 30], Ralph Cromwell 3rd Baron Cromwell [aged 12], Thomas Dutton [aged 19], Edmund Ferrers 6th Baron Ferrers of Chartley [aged 29], Roger Fiennes [aged 31], Henry Fitzhugh 3rd Baron Fitzhugh [aged 57], John Grey [aged 28], John Grey 1st Earl Tankerville [aged 31], William Harrington [aged 42] as the King's Standard Bearer, Walter Hungerford 1st Baron Hungerford [aged 37], Piers Legh [aged 26] (wounded), Alfred Longford, Thomas Montagu 1st Count Perche 4th Earl Salisbury [aged 27], Thomas Morley 6th Baron Marshal 5th Baron Morley [aged 22], John Rodney, Richard Scrope 3rd Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 22], Robert Strelley [aged 18], James Tuchet 5th Baron Audley, 2nd Baron Tuchet [aged 17], Robert Umfraville [aged 52], Thomas West 2nd Baron West [aged 35], Robert Willoughby 6th Baron Willoughby [aged 30]. Thomas Erpingham [aged 60] commanded the archers. Thomas Rempston [aged 26] was present. Thomas Strickland [aged 48] carried the Banner of St George.
Thomas Tunstall [aged 57] was killed.
The Welsh included: William ap Thomas "Blue Knight of Gwent" Herbert [aged 35], Walter Sais [aged 95], Roger Vaughan [aged 70] and his son Roger Vaughan [aged 5]. Owen Tudor [aged 15] is believed to have been present as a squire.
In 1420 [his son] Reginald Botreaux died. He was buried at Church of St Andrew, Aller, Somerset.
In 1426 [his son-in-law] John Stafford [aged 25] and [his daughter] Anne Botreaux [aged 18] were married.
In 1427 [his daughter] Anne Botreaux [aged 19] died.
In or before 1433 [his son] William Botreaux was born to William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux [aged 43] and [his wife] Elizabeth Beaumont Baroness Botreaux. He died aged one point zero zero zero zero one nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine three in 1434.
In 1434 [his son] William Botreaux [aged 1] died.
Before 1458 William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux [aged 68] and Margaret Ros Baroness Botreaux Baroness Burgh [aged 27] were married. She by marriage Baroness Botreaux. The difference in their ages was 40 years. She the daughter of Thomas Ros 8th Baron Ros Helmsley and Eleanor Beauchamp Duchess Somerset [aged 49].
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Around April 1458 James Butler 1st Earl Wiltshire 5th Earl Ormonde [aged 37] and [his sister-in-law] Eleanor Beaufort Countess Ormonde [aged 26] were married. She by marriage Countess Ormonde. She the daughter of Edmund Beaufort 1st or 2nd Duke of Somerset and [his mother-in-law] Eleanor Beauchamp Duchess Somerset [aged 49]. He the son of James "White Earl" Butler 4th Earl Ormonde and Joan Beauchamp Countess Ormonde. They were second cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
On 30th December 1460 the Lancastrian army took their revenge for the defeats of the First Battle of St Albans and the Battle of Northampton at the Battle of Wakefield near Sandal Castle [Map]. The Lancastrian army was commanded by Henry Holland 3rd Duke Exeter [aged 30], [his brother-in-law] Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset [aged 24] and Henry Percy 3rd Earl of Northumberland [aged 39], and included John Courtenay 7th or 15th Earl Devon [aged 25] and William Gascoigne XIII [aged 30], both knighted, and James Butler 1st Earl Wiltshire 5th Earl Ormonde [aged 40], John "Butcher" Clifford 9th Baron Clifford [aged 25], John Neville 1st Baron Neville of Raby [aged 50], Thomas Ros 9th Baron Ros Helmsley [aged 33], Henry Roos and Thomas St Leger [aged 20].
The Yorkist army was heavily defeated.
Richard Plantagenet 3rd Duke of York [aged 49] was killed. His son Edward [aged 18] succeeded 4th Duke York, 7th Earl March, 9th Earl of Ulster, 3rd Earl Cambridge, 9th Baron Mortimer of Wigmore.
Thomas Neville [aged 30], and Edward Bourchier were killed.
Father and son Thomas Harrington [aged 60] and John Harrington [aged 36] were killed, the former dying of his wounds the day after.
William Bonville 6th Baron Harington [aged 18] was killed. His daughter Cecily succeeded 7th Baroness Harington.
Thomas Parr [aged 53] fought in the Yorkist army.
Following the battle Richard Neville Earl Salisbury [aged 60] was beheaded by Thomas "Bastard of Exeter" Holland. William Bonville [aged 40] was executed.
Edmund York 1st Earl of Rutland [aged 17] was killed on Wakefield Bridge [Map] by John "Butcher" Clifford. Earl of Rutland extinct.
On 16th May 1462 William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux [aged 73] died. He was buried at Church of St Michael North Cadbury, Somerset. His daughter Margaret succeeded 4th Baroness Botreaux.
Before 1463 Thomas Burgh 1st Baron Burgh of Gainsborough [aged 31] and [his former wife] Margaret Ros Baroness Botreaux Baroness Burgh [aged 32] were married. She the daughter of Thomas Ros 8th Baron Ros Helmsley and [his former mother-in-law] Eleanor Beauchamp Duchess Somerset [aged 54]. They were fourth cousins. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Henry III of England.
In 1488 [his former wife] Margaret Ros Baroness Botreaux Baroness Burgh [aged 58] died.
[his son] Reginald Botreaux was born to William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux and Elizabeth Beaumont Baroness Botreaux.
[his daughter] Margaret Botreaux 4th Baroness Botreaux Baroness Hungerford was born to William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux and Elizabeth Beaumont Baroness Botreaux. She married 1408 her third cousin once removed Robert Hungerford 2nd Baron Hungerford, son of Walter Hungerford 1st Baron Hungerford and Eleanor or Catherine Peverell, and had issue.
Kings Wessex: Great x 14 Grand Son of King Edward "Elder" of the Anglo Saxons
Kings Franks: Great x 17 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Botreaux
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Botreaux
Great x 2 Grandfather: Reginald Botreaux
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Botreaux
GrandFather: William Botreaux 1st Baron Botreaux
Great x 4 Grandfather: Roger Moels
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Moels 1st Baron Moels
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Moels 4th Baron Moels
Great x 1 Grandmother: Isabel Moels
Great x 4 Grandfather: Hugh Lovel
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Lovel 1st Baron Lovel
Great x 2 Grandmother: Joan Lovel Baroness Maynard
Father: William Botreaux 2nd Baron Botreaux
Great x 4 Grandfather: Ralph de Albini
Great x 3 Grandfather: Ralph de Albini
Great x 2 Grandfather: Elias Daubeney 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Ralph Daubeney
GrandMother: Elizabeth Daubeney Baroness Botreaux
William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux
GrandFather: John St Lo 
Mother: Elizabeth St Lo Baroness Botreaux