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Annals of Kings Richard II and Henry IV 1393-1406

The Annals of Kings Richard II and Henry IV offers a vivid contemporary account of one of the most turbulent periods in late medieval England. Covering the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV, the chronicle records royal ceremonies, political conflict, rebellion, war, taxation, religious controversy, executions, popular unrest and remarkable portents. Its pages include a detailed description of Richard II’s coronation, the fall and deposition of the king, Henry IV’s seizure of the throne, the Percy rebellion, the execution of Archbishop Richard Scrope, the campaigns of Owain Glyndŵr, and England’s relations with Scotland, France, Portugal and Scandinavia. Alongside affairs of state, the annalist preserves reports of miracles, eclipses, prophecies, supernatural events and the experiences of ordinary townspeople, clergy, soldiers and travellers. Written from a monastic perspective, the work combines political observation with moral judgement, presenting victories and disasters as evidence of divine favour or punishment. At once a historical record and a reflection of medieval belief, the Annals provides an invaluable window into the challenges, ceremonies and conflicts of England at the turn of the fifteenth century.

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Master of the Rolls

Master of the Rolls is in Master.

In May 1286 Bishop John Langton was appointed Master of the Rolls.

On 20th January 1334 Michael de Wath was appointed Master of the Rolls.

In 1462 Bishop John Alcock [aged 32] was appointed Master of the Rolls.

In March 1472 Cardinal John Morton [aged 52] was appointed Master of the Rolls.

On 4th January 1479 Bishop Robert Morton [aged 44] was appointed Master of the Rolls.

On 13th November 1485 Bishop Robert Morton [aged 50] was appointed Master of the Rolls.

From 5th May 1492 to 13th February 1494 Bishop John Blythe [aged 32] was appointed Master of the Rolls.

Letters and Papers Foreign and Domestic Henry VIII 1509. 11th June 1509. 44. John Yonge [aged 44], Ll.D. Confirmation of grant, 22 Jan., 23 Henry VII., of the office of keeper or master of rolls, books and records of Chancery, with the house of the Converts to dwell in, a tun of Gascon wine annually, &c. Del. Westm., 11 June, 1 Henry VIII. S.B. (countersigned: Will'mus Cantuar., T. Surrey, Oxynford, C. Somerset., Thomas Rowthale.) Pat. 1 Henry VIII, p. 2, m. 5. [165.]

On 12th May 1516 Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall [aged 42] was appointed Master of the Rolls.

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The History of William Marshal, Earl of Chepstow and Pembroke, Regent of England. Book 1 of 2, Lines 1-10152.

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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On 16th January 1542 Robert Southwell [aged 36] was appointed Master of the Rolls which position he held until 1550.

Wriothesley's Chronicle [1508-1562]. 16th January 1542. This yeare, the 16th daye of Januarye, 1541 [1542], beganne the Parliament at Westminster, and that daye was masse of the Holy Ghost, the Kinge rydinge from his pallace at Westminster in his Parliament robes, with all his lordes spirituall and temporall in theyr robes, and so rode to the church of St. Petersc; and that daye the Kinge made knightes in the Parliament Chamber, Mr. Robert Southwell, Mr of the Rolles, and Mr. Pollard [aged 37], the King's Rememberancer.

Note c. Westminster Abbey.

In 1553 Nicholas Hare [aged 69] was appointed Master of the Rolls.

In 1603 Edward Bruce 1st Lord Kinloss [aged 55] was appointed Master of the Rolls.

In 1611 Edward Phelips [aged 54] was appointed Master of the Rolls which office he held until his death in 1614.