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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In 1640 Bishop Samuel Parker was born in Northampton [Map].
In June 1666 Bishop Samuel Parker [aged 26] was elected Fellow of the Royal Society.
In 1670 Bishop Samuel Parker [aged 30] was appointed Archdeacon of Canterbury.
In 1686 Bishop Samuel Parker [aged 46] was appointed Bishop of Oxford by King James II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 52].
In 1687 Bishop Samuel Parker [aged 47] was appointed Magdalen College, Oxford University by the Ecclesiastical Commission when the fellows refused to elect any of the king's nominees. This act became one of the most celebrated episodes leading up to King James's [aged 53] abdication.
On 21st March 1688 Bishop Samuel Parker [aged 48] died at Magdalen College, Oxford University.
John Evelyn's Diary. 23rd March 1688. Dr. Parker, Bishop of Oxford [deceased], who so lately published his extravagant treatise about transubstantiation, and for abrogating the test and penal laws, died. He was esteemed a violent, passionate, haughty man, but yet being pressed to declare for the Church of Rome, he utterly refused it. A remarkable end!