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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Paternal Family Tree: Boteler
Maternal Family Tree: Audrey Saunders 1551 1588
Before 1600 [her father] John Boteler 1st Baron Boteler [aged 33] and [her mother] Elizabeth Villiers Baroness Boteler Brantfield [aged 26] were married.
Around 1600 Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland was born to John Boteler 1st Baron Boteler [aged 34] and Elizabeth Villiers Baroness Boteler Brantfield [aged 27].
Before 1608 [her brother-in-law] Francis Anderson [aged 26] and [her sister] Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester were married.
On 31st July 1617 [her brother-in-law] Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester [aged 19] and [her sister] Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester were married.
After 1618 [her brother-in-law] James Ley 1st Earl of Marlborough [aged 66] and [her sister] Jane Boteler Countess Marlborough were married.
On 5th February 1626 [her brother-in-law] James Ley 1st Earl of Marlborough [aged 74] was created 1st Earl Marlborough by King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland [aged 25]. [her sister] Jane Boteler Countess Marlborough by marriage Countess Marlborough.
On 7th February 1626 Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport [aged 29] and Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland [aged 26] were married. He the illegitmate son of Charles Blount 1st Earl Devonshire and Penelope Devereux Countess Devonshire.
In July 1627 [her husband] Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport [aged 30] was created 1st Earl Newport in the Isle of Wight. Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland [aged 27] by marriage Countess Newport in the Isle of Wight.
On 8th November 1627 [her husband] Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport [aged 30] was captured at the Battle of the Pont du Feneau in Pont du Feneau, Île de Ré. He was released soon after.
On 8th November 1627 Ralph Bingley [aged 57] was killed in action at the Battle of the Pont du Feneau.
In 1628 [her brother-in-law] Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester [aged 29] was created 1st Baron Dunsmore of Dunsmore in Warwickshire with special remainder to his stepson [her nephew] John Anderson 1st Baronet who was the son of his second wife [her sister] Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester and Francis Anderson. John Anderson 1st Baronet predeceased Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester so the remainder had no effect.
On 30th July 1628 [her father] John Boteler 1st Baron Boteler [aged 62] was created 1st Baron Boteler of Brantfield. [her mother] Elizabeth Villiers Baroness Boteler Brantfield [aged 55] by marriage Baroness Boteler of Brantfield.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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Around 1630 [her daughter] Isabella Blount was born to [her husband] Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport [aged 33] and Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland [aged 30]. She married before February 1655 her first cousin twice removed Nicholas Knollys 3rd Earl Banbury, son of William Knollys 1st Earl Banbury and Elizabeth Howard Countess Banbury.
Before 23rd April 1631 [her son] Charles Blount died.
Before 16th September 1632 [her daughter] Henrietta Maria Blount was born to [her husband] Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport [aged 35] and Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland [aged 32]. She died aged one point nine four eight five five in 1634.
Before 10th January 1634 [her son] Charles Blount was born to [her husband] Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport [aged 37] and Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland [aged 34].
Before 1st April 1634 [her daughter] Henrietta Maria Blount [aged 1] died.
In 1637 [her daughter] Anne Blount was born to [her husband] Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport [aged 40] and Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland [aged 37].
On 27th May 1637 [her father] John Boteler 1st Baron Boteler [aged 71] died at St Martin in the Fields Church [Map]. He was buried at Higham Gobion, Bedfordshire. His son [her brother] William succeeded 2nd Baron Boteler of Brantfield, 2nd Baronet Boteler of Hatfield Woodhall in Hertfordshire.
Around 1638. Follower of Anthony Van Dyck [aged 38]. Portrait of Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland [aged 38].
In 1644 [her brother-in-law] Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester [aged 45] was created 1st Earl Chichester with special remainder to Thomas Wriothesley 4th Earl of Southampton 2nd Earl Chichester [aged 36] who was the husband of his daughter [her niece] Elizabeth Leigh Countess Southampton [aged 23]. [her sister] Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester by marriage Countess Chichester.
After 1646 [her brother-in-law] Robert Rich 2nd Earl Warwick [aged 58] and Eleanor Wortley Countess Sussex Warwick Manchester were married. She by marriage Countess Warwick. She the daughter of Richard Wortley and Elizabeth Boughton Countess Devonshire. He the son of Robert Rich 1st Earl Warwick and Penelope Devereux Countess Devonshire. They were fifth cousin once removed.
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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In 1647 [her brother] William Boteler 2nd Baron Boteler died. Baron Boteler of Brantfield, Baronet Boteler of Hatfield Woodhall in Hertfordshire extinct.
The Battle of St Neots on 10th July 1648 was a skirmish during the Second English Civil War at St Neots in Cambridgeshire. A Royalist force led by [her brother-in-law] Henry Rich 1st Earl Holland [aged 57], who was captured, and Colonel John Dalbier, who was killed, was defeated by a hundred veteran troops from the New Model Army, commanded by Colonel Adrian Scrope [aged 47].
Kenelm Digby [aged 23] drowned whilst attempting to cross the River Great Ouse.
On 16th September 1652 [her sister] Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester died.
Before February 1655 [her son-in-law] Nicholas Knollys 3rd Earl Banbury [aged 24] and Isabella Blount [aged 25] were married. She the daughter of Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport [aged 58] and Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland [aged 55]. He the son of William Knollys 1st Earl Banbury and Elizabeth Howard Countess Banbury [aged 72]. They were first cousin twice removed.
Before February 1655 [her daughter] Isabella Blount [aged 25] died.
On 19th April 1658 [her brother-in-law] Robert Rich 2nd Earl Warwick [aged 70] died. His son Robert [aged 46] succeeded 3rd Earl Warwick, 5th Baron Rich of Leez.
In 1666 [her husband] Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport [aged 69] died at Oxford, Oxfordshire [Map]. His son Mountjoy succeeded 2nd Earl Newport in the Isle of Wight.
After 1666 Thomas Weston 4th Earl of Portland [aged 56] and Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland [aged 66] were married. She by marriage Countess of Portland. He the son of Richard Weston 1st Earl of Portland and Frances Waldegrave Countess Portland. They were half fifth cousins.
On 26th May 1669 Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland [aged 69] died.
In May 1688 [her former husband] Thomas Weston 4th Earl of Portland [aged 78] died. Earl of Portland, Baron Weston of Nayland in Suffolk extinct.
[her son] Mountjoy Blount 2nd Earl Newport was born to Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport and Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland.
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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[her son] Charles Blount was born to Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport and Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland.
[her son] Thomas Blount 3rd Earl Newport was born to Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport and Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland.
[her son] Henry Blount 4th Earl Newport was born to Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport and Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland.
Kings Wessex: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 16 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 17 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings England: Great x 12 Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 14 Grand Daughter of King William I of Scotland
Kings France: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 24 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Kings Spain: Great x 16 Grand Daughter of Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Boteler
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Boteler
Great x 2 Grandfather: Philip Boteler
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Tyrrell 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Dorothy Tyrrell
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Darcy 
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Boteler 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Roger Drury of Hawstead in Suffolk
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Drury
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Drury 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Calthorpe 
8 x Great Grand Son of King William I of Scotland
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Calthorpe 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Stapleton 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
GrandFather: Henry Boteler 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Griselda Roche
Father: John Boteler 1st Baron Boteler 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Waller
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Waller
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Waller
Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Waller
GrandMother: Catherine Waller
Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Villiers 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Villiers
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Villiers
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Villiers of Brooksby Leicestershire
GrandFather: George Villiers of Brokesby
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Clarke
Great x 1 Grandmother: Collette Clarke
Mother: Elizabeth Villiers Baroness Boteler Brantfield
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Saunders of Harrington Northamptonshire
GrandMother: Audrey Saunders