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 1660 Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth was born to [her father] Alexander Fraser [aged 53].
On 5th June 1675 John Mordaunt 1st Viscount Mordaunt [aged 48] died. He was buried at All Saints Church, Fulham. His son [her future husband] Charles [aged 17] succeeded 2nd Viscount Mordaunt of Avalon, 2nd Baron Mordaunt of Reigate.
In 1678 Charles Mordaunt 3rd Earl Peterborough 1st Earl Monmouth [aged 20] and Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth [aged 18] were married.
Around 1681 [her son] John Mordaunt was born to [her husband] Charles Mordaunt 3rd Earl Peterborough 1st Earl Monmouth [aged 23] and Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth [aged 21]. He married 1708 his fourth cousin Frances Powlett, daughter of Charles Paulet 2nd Duke Bolton and Frances Ramsden, and had issue.
In 1681 [her father] Alexander Fraser [aged 74] died.
On 9th April 1689 a number of new peers were created at the Coronation William III and Mary II...
Charles Paulet 1st Duke Bolton [aged 59] was created 1st Duke Bolton.
[her husband] Charles Mordaunt 3rd Earl Peterborough 1st Earl Monmouth [aged 31] was created 1st Earl Monmouth. Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth [aged 29] by marriage Countess Monmouth.
Thomas Belasyse 1st Earl Fauconberg [aged 62] was created 1st Earl Fauconberg. Mary Cromwell Countess Fauconberg [aged 52] by marriage Countess Fauconberg.
William Bentinck 1st Earl of Portland [aged 39] was created 1st Earl of Portland.
1690 to 1700. Miniature portrait of Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth [aged 30].
On 19th June 1697 Henry Mordaunt 2nd Earl Peterborough [aged 75] died. His nephew [her husband] Charles [aged 39] succeeded 3rd Earl Peterborough. His daughter Mary [aged 38] succeeded 7th Baroness Mordaunt. Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth [aged 37] by marriage Countess Peterborough.
Around 1700 Godfrey Kneller [aged 53]. Portrait of Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth [aged 40]. One of the Hampton Court Beauties.
Between 14th September 1705 and 19th October 1705 a multinational Grand Alliance army led by [her husband] Lord Peterborough [aged 47] captured the city of Barcelona [Map] from its Spanish defenders, most of whom then joined the Grand Aliance army.
On 13th September 1705 Prince George of Hesse Darmstadt [aged 36] was killed.
On 17th November 1705 Mary Mordaunt Duchess Norfolk [aged 46] died. Her first cousin Charles [aged 47] succeeded 8th Baron Mordaunt. Her husband John Germain 1st Baronet [aged 55] inherited her Drayton estates and the rest of her inheritance, valued at £70,000.
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.
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Before 13th February 1707 [her son-in-law] Alexander Gordon 2nd Duke Gordon [aged 29] and Henrietta Mordaunt Duchess Gordon were married. She the daughter of Charles Mordaunt 3rd Earl Peterborough 1st Earl Monmouth [aged 49] and Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth [aged 47]. He the son of George Gordon 1st Duke Gordon [aged 64] and Elizabeth Howard Duchess Gordon.
In 1708 John Mordaunt [aged 27] and Frances Powlett were married. She the daughter of Charles Paulet 2nd Duke Bolton [aged 47] and Frances Ramsden. He the son of Charles Mordaunt 3rd Earl Peterborough 1st Earl Monmouth [aged 50] and Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth [aged 48]. They were fourth cousins.
On 13th May 1709 Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth [aged 49] died.
On 25th October 1735 [her former husband] Charles Mordaunt 3rd Earl Peterborough 1st Earl Monmouth [aged 77] died. His grandson Charles [aged 27] succeeded 4th Earl Peterborough, 2nd Earl Monmouth, 9th Baron Mordaunt, 3rd Viscount Mordaunt of Avalon, 3rd Baron Mordaunt of Reigate.
[her son] Henry Mordaunt was born to Charles Mordaunt 3rd Earl Peterborough 1st Earl Monmouth and Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth.
[her daughter] Henrietta Mordaunt Duchess Gordon was born to Charles Mordaunt 3rd Earl Peterborough 1st Earl Monmouth and Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth. She married before 13th February 1707 Alexander Gordon 2nd Duke Gordon, son of George Gordon 1st Duke Gordon and Elizabeth Howard Duchess Gordon, and had issue.