Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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Paternal Family Tree: Bruce of Elgin
Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire was born to [her father] Edward Bruce 1st Lord Kinloss.
On 10th April 1608 William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 18] and Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire were married. He the son of William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire [aged 55] and Anne Keighley [aged 45].
Around 1611 [her daughter] Anne Cavendish Countess Warwick was born to [her husband] William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 21] and Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire. She married 9th April 1632 Robert Rich 3rd Earl Warwick, son of Robert Rich 2nd Earl Warwick and Frances Hatton Countess Warwick, and had issue.
On 14th January 1611 [her father] Edward Bruce 1st Lord Kinloss [aged 63] died.
On 10th October 1617 [her son] William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire was born to [her husband] William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 27] and Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire. He married 4th March 1639 Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire, daughter of William Cecil 2nd Earl Salisbury and Catherine Howard Countess Salisbury, and had issue.
On 30th May 1620 [her son] Charles Cavendish was born to [her husband] William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 30] and Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire.
On 4th July 1622 [her brother] Thomas Bruce 1st Earl Elgin [aged 23] and [her sister-in-law] Anne Chichester [aged 17] were married at Holy Trinity Church, Minories [Map].
In 1625 Robert Heath [aged 49] brought a case against the miners of the High Peak. Through the offices of Heath the tithe right was eventually transferred, in a possibly corrupt way, to Christian Cavendish, Countess of Devonshire.
On 3rd March 1626 [her father-in-law] William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire [aged 73] died. His son [her husband] William [aged 36] succeeded 2nd Earl Devonshire, 2nd Baron Cavendish Hardwick. Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire by marriage Countess Devonshire. On 12th October 1616 Henry Cavendish died. Both were buried at St Peter's Church, Edensor [Map].
The monument was behind the altar in the original church but moved to a separate chapel in the new church.
Monument formed two bodies under a low four-poster with black Ionic columns and black covering slab. The monument has been attributed to Maximilian Colt [aged 51].
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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On 20th June 1628 [her husband] William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 38] died at Devonshire House. He was buried at Derby Cathedral [Map]. His son William [aged 10] succeeded 3rd Earl Devonshire, 3rd Baron Cavendish Hardwick.
On 12th November 1629 [her brother] Thomas Bruce 1st Earl Elgin [aged 30] and [her sister-in-law] Diana Cecil Countess of Oxford and Elgin [aged 33] were married. She the daughter of William Cecil 2nd Earl Exeter [aged 63] and Elizabeth Drury Countess Exeter [aged 51].
On 9th April 1632 [her son-in-law] Robert Rich 3rd Earl Warwick [aged 20] and Anne Cavendish Countess Warwick [aged 21] were married at Battersea, Surrey. She by marriage Countess Warwick. She the daughter of William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire and Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire. He the son of Robert Rich 2nd Earl Warwick [aged 44] and Frances Hatton Countess Warwick.
On 21st June 1633 [her brother] Thomas Bruce 1st Earl Elgin [aged 34] was created 1st Earl Elgin. [her sister-in-law] Diana Cecil Countess of Oxford and Elgin [aged 37] by marriage Countess Elgin.
In 1635 Anthony Van Dyck [aged 35]. Portrait of Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire.
In 1638 [her daughter] Anne Cavendish Countess Warwick [aged 27] died.
On 4th March 1639 William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire [aged 21] and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Countess Devonshire. She the daughter of William Cecil 2nd Earl Salisbury [aged 47] and Catherine Howard Countess Salisbury [aged 49]. He the son of William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire and Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire.
On 28th July 1643 the Parliamentary arms commanded by Oliver Cromwell [aged 44] and the Royalist army commanded by [her son] Charles Cavendish [aged 23] fought at the Battle of Gainsborough at North Scarle.
Charles Cavendish was killed by James Berry. He was buried at Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire [Map].
On 4th August 1643 the Royalist Newdigate Poyntz [aged 34] died probably from wounds received at the battle.
On 26th February 1654 [her sister-in-law] Diana Cecil Countess of Oxford and Elgin [aged 58] died. She was buried at the Ailesbury Mausoleum, St Mary's Church, Maulden [Map] which her husband [her brother] Thomas Bruce 1st Earl Elgin [aged 55] commissioned.
John Evelyn's Diary. 4th August 1662. Came to see me the old Countess of Devonshire, with that excellent and worthy person, my Lord her son [aged 44], from Roehampton, Surrey.
On 21st December 1663 [her brother] Thomas Bruce 1st Earl Elgin [aged 64] died. His son [her nephew] Robert [aged 37] succeeded 2nd Earl Elgin, 2nd Baron Bruce of Whorlton in Yorkshire. Diana Grey Countess Elgin and Ailesbury [aged 33] by marriage Countess Elgin.
In 1675 Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire died. She was buried at Derby Cathedral [Map].
GrandFather: Edward Bruce
Father: Edward Bruce 1st Lord Kinloss