The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel Volume 1 Chapters 1-60 1307-1342
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel offer one of the most vivid and immediate accounts of 14th-century Europe, written by a knight who lived through the events he describes, and experienced some of them first hand. Covering the early decades of the Hundred Years’ War, this remarkable chronicle follows the campaigns of Edward III of England, the politics of France and the Low Countries, and the shifting alliances that shaped medieval warfare. Unlike later historians, Jean le Bel writes with a strong sense of eyewitness authenticity, drawing on personal experience and the testimony of fellow soldiers. His narrative captures not only battles and sieges, but also the realities of military life, diplomacy, and the ideals of chivalry that governed noble society. A key source for Jean Froissart, Le Bel’s chronicle stands on its own as a compelling and insightful work, at once historical record and literary achievement. This translation builds on the 1905 edition published in French by Jules Viard, adding extensive translations from other sources Rymer's Fœdera, the Chronicles of Adam Murimuth, William Nangis, Walter of Guisborough, a Bourgeois of Valenciennes, Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke and Richard Lescot to enrich the original text and Viard's notes.
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Maternal Family Tree: Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon 1748-1812
In 1748 Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon was born to [her father] William Maxwell.
On 5th August 1752 Cosmo George Gordon 3rd Duke Gordon [aged 32] died. His son [her future husband] Alexander [aged 9] succeeded 4th Duke Gordon, 7th Marquess Huntly, 12th Earl Huntley.
On 18th October 1767 Alexander Gordon 4th Duke Gordon [aged 24] and Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 19] were married. She by marriage Duchess Gordon. He the son of Cosmo George Gordon 3rd Duke Gordon and Catherine Gordon Duchess Gordon [aged 49].
On 20th September 1768 [her daughter] Charlotte Gordon Duchess Richmond was born to [her husband] Alexander Gordon 4th Duke Gordon [aged 25] and Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 20]. She married 9th September 1789 her sixth cousin Charles Lennox 4th Duke Richmond and had issue.
On 25th November 1771 Thomas Fane 8th Earl of Westmoreland [aged 70] died. His son John [aged 43] succeeded 9th Earl of Westmoreland. [her sister-in-law] Susan Gordon Countess of Westmoreland [aged 19] by marriage Countess of Westmoreland.
Henry Fane of Fulbeck [aged 32] inherited Fulbeck Hall.
In 1772 [her daughter] Madelaine Gordon was born to [her husband] Alexander Gordon 4th Duke Gordon [aged 28] and Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 24].
1772 Angelica Kauffmann [aged 30]. Portrait of Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 24].
On 27th December 1776 [her daughter] Louisa Gordon Marchioness Cornwallis was born to [her husband] Alexander Gordon 4th Duke Gordon [aged 33] and Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 28]. She married 17th April 1795 Charles Cornwallis 2nd Marquess Cornwallis, son of Charles Cornwallis 1st Marquess Cornwallis and Jemima Tullekin Jones Countess Cornwallis, and had issue.
Around 1778 George Romney [aged 43]. Portrait of Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 30] and her son George Gordon 5th Duke Gordon [aged 7].
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 1780 Daniel Gardner [aged 30]. Portrait of Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 32] wearing a green riding habit.
On 18th July 1781 [her daughter] Georgiana Gordon Duchess Bedford was born to [her husband] Alexander Gordon 4th Duke Gordon [aged 38] and Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 33]. She married 23rd June 1803 her sixth cousin John Russell 6th Duke Bedford and had issue.
In 1785 [her son] Alexander Gordon was born to [her husband] Alexander Gordon 4th Duke Gordon [aged 41] and Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 37].
On 9th September 1789 [her son-in-law] Charles Lennox 4th Duke Richmond [aged 25] and Charlotte Gordon Duchess Richmond [aged 20] were married at Gordon Castle, Fochabers. She the daughter of Alexander Gordon 4th Duke Gordon [aged 46] and Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 41]. They were sixth cousins. He a great x 2 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 7th October 1793 [her son-in-law] William Montagu 5th Duke Manchester [aged 21] and Susan Gordon Duchess Manchester were married at Edinburgh. She by marriage Duchess Manchester. She the daughter of Alexander Gordon 4th Duke Gordon [aged 50] and Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 45]. He the son of George Montagu 4th Duke Manchester and Elizabeth Dashwood Duchess Manchester [aged 53].
On 17th April 1795 [her son-in-law] Charles Cornwallis 2nd Marquess Cornwallis [aged 20] and Louisa Gordon Marchioness Cornwallis [aged 18] were married. She the daughter of Alexander Gordon 4th Duke Gordon [aged 51] and Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 47]. He the son of Charles Cornwallis 1st Marquess Cornwallis [aged 56] and Jemima Tullekin Jones Countess Cornwallis.
On 23rd June 1803 [her son-in-law] John Russell 6th Duke Bedford [aged 36] and Georgiana Gordon Duchess Bedford [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Duchess Bedford. She the daughter of Alexander Gordon 4th Duke Gordon [aged 60] and Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 55]. They were sixth cousins. He a great x 2 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 8th January 1808 [her son] Alexander Gordon [aged 23] died.
On 14th April 1812 Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon [aged 64] died.
On 17th June 1827 [her former husband] Alexander Gordon 4th Duke Gordon [aged 83] died. His son George [aged 57] succeeded 5th Duke Gordon, 8th Marquess Huntly, 13th Earl Huntley, 13th Baron Mordaunt. Elizabeth Brodie Duchess Gordon [aged 32] by marriage Duchess Gordon.
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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Diary of the Times of George IV Volume 1 Section 1. London is very full, and the Duchess of Gordon has had some good assemblies. The Princess of Wales lives quietly; never has above four or five people at dinner, and has quite given up going to the play, though she owns, she considers this is a very great privation. I have been teased into promising to put together some showy spectacle for Covent-Garden; and the Princess insists on its not being produced before Easter Monday, as she says that till then she has no hopes of being allowed to visit the theatre.
[her daughter] Susan Gordon Duchess Manchester was born to Alexander Gordon 4th Duke Gordon and Jane Maxwell Duchess Gordon. She married 7th October 1793 William Montagu 5th Duke Manchester, son of George Montagu 4th Duke Manchester and Elizabeth Dashwood Duchess Manchester, and had issue.