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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Paternal Family Tree: Danvers
Maternal Family Tree: Aoife ni Diarmait Macmurrough Countess Pembroke and Buckingham 1145-1188
In or before 1568 [his father] John Danvers [aged 27] and [his mother] Elizabeth Neville [aged 17] were married. They were half fourth cousin once removed.
Around 1568 Charles Danvers was born to John Danvers [aged 28] and Elizabeth Neville [aged 18].
On 22nd April 1577 [his grandfather] John Neville 4th Baron Latimer of Snape [aged 57] died. He was buried at St Michaels Church, Well. Baron Latimer of Snape abeyant between daughters [his aunt] Katherine Neville Countess Northumberland [aged 32], Dorothy Neville Countess Exeter [aged 29], Lucy Neville [aged 28] and Elizabeth Neville [aged 27].
On 23rd July 1577 Thomas Wenman [aged 29] died. He left significant debts to the Crown requiring some of his lands to be sold. Eaton, Berkshire was sold to [his father] John Danvers [aged 37] for £7700. Richard Wenman 1st Viscount Wenman [aged 4] was made a ward of his mother Jane West [aged 19] and Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester [aged 45]. Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester sold his interest to James Cressy who subsequently married Jane West.
On 19th December 1594 [his father] John Danvers [aged 54] died said to have been of a broken heart following the disgrace of his sons Charles Danvers [aged 26] and [his brother] Henry Danvers 1st Earl Danby [aged 21].
In 1598 [his step-father] Edmund Carey [aged 40] and [his mother] Elizabeth Neville [aged 48] were married. The marriage was, perhaps, a means of procuring a pardon for her two sons who had previously shot and killed a neighbour, and fled abroad. A payment was made to the bereaved family and the sons were allowed to return. They were fourth cousins.
Brief Lives: Charles Danvers 1568 1601. [711]Sir Charles Danvers [aged 33] was beheaded on Tower-hill [Map] with Robert, earle of Essex [aged 35], February the 6th, 1600[712]. I find in the register of the Tower chapell [Map] only the sepulture of Robert, earl of Essex, that yeare; wherfore I am induced to beleeve that his body was carryed to Dantesey[CX] in Wilts to lye with his ancestors. Vide Stowe's Chronicle, where is a full account of his and the earle's deportment at their death on the scaffold.
With all their faylings, Wilts cannot shew two such[713] brothers.
His familiar acquaintance were...[714], earl of Oxon [aged 50]; Sir Francis [aged 40] and Sir Horace Vere [aged 36]; Sir Walter Ralegh [aged 47], etc.-the heroes of those times.
Quaere my lady viscountesse Purbec and also the lord Norris for an account of the behaviour and advice of Sir Charles Danvers in the businesse of the earl of Essex, which advice had the earle followed he had saved his life.
[715]Of Sir Charles Danvers, from my lady viscountesse Purbec:-Sir Charles Danvers advised the earle of Essex, either to treat with the queen-hostages..., whom Sir Ferdinando Gorges [aged 36] did let goe; or to make his way through the gate at Essex house, and then to hast away to Highgate, and so to Northumberland (the earl of Northumberland maried his [his mother] mother's [aged 51] [his aunt] sister), and from thence to the king of Scots, and there they might make their peace; if not, the queen was old and could not live long. But the earle followed not his advice, and so they both lost their heads on Tower-hill.
Note 711. MS. Aubr. 8, fol. 25v.
Note 712. i.e. 1600/1.
Note 713. Dupl. with 'shew the like two brothers,' scil. as Sir Charles Danvers and his brother Henry, earl of Danby.
Note 714. Edward Vere, seventeenth earl of Oxford.
[CX] In MS. Aubr. 3, fol. 46, Aubrey writes, in reference to burials at Dantesey, 'quaere, if Sir Charles Danvers that was beheaded?-He was buryed in the Tower chapell.' Aubrey's description of the burial-place of the Danvers family (MS. Aubr. 3, fol. 46), with the inscriptions, is printed in J. E. Jackson's Aubrey's Wiltshire Collections, pp. 223-225; the pedigree of Danvers is there given at p. 216.
On 8th February 1601 Thomas Egerton 1st Viscount Brackley [aged 61] and three others were held hostage by Robert Devereux 2nd Earl Essex [aged 35] at Essex House. Thomas Egerton 1st Viscount Brackley attempted to rouse London but his support never materialised. When he returned to Essex House he found the hostages gone. Essex House was besieged by the Queen's men under Charles Howard 1st Earl Nottingham [aged 65]. Robert Devereux 2nd Earl Essex and Henry Wriothesley 3rd Earl of Southampton [aged 27] surrendered. Charles Danvers [aged 33] and Christopher Blount [aged 36] took part. Roger Manners 5th Earl of Rutland [aged 24] was implicated and was imprisoned for several months. He was fined £30000; a staggering amount three times more than any other conspirator.
Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts. The 5th of March [1601], Sir Christopher Blunt [aged 36], Sir Charles Davers [aged 33], Sir John Davys [aged 39], Sir Gelly Merick, and Henry Cuff [aged 38] were all arraigned at Westminster and condemned, they confessing the plot as is afore set down, with many other circumstances to it, absolutely submitting themselves to her Majesty's mercy, which is like to appear in some of them.
On 18th March 1601 Charles Danvers [aged 33] and Christopher Blount [aged 36] were beheaded for their part in the Essex Rebellion.
Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet
Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.
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Annales of England by John Stow. The 18 of March [1601], sir Charles Dawvers [aged 33], and sir Christopher Blunt [aged 36] knights, were upon a new Scaffold set up for that purpose, on the Tower hill, beheaded.
Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts. The 19th of February [1601] the Earl [of Essex] was arraigned (together with Southampton) in Westminster Hall before 25 peers, the Lord Treasurer [aged 66] [Buckhurst] sitting as Lord Steward. At the bar the Earl laboured to extenuate his ftiult, by denying that ever he meant any harm to her Majesty's person, and by pretending that he took arms principally to save himself from my Lord Cobham [aged 37] and Sir Walter Ralegh [aged 48], who (he gave out) should have murdered him in his house on Saturday night. He pretended also an intention he had to have removed me with some others from the Queen, as one who would sell the kingdom of England to the Infant of Spain, with such other hyperbolical inventions. But before he went out of the Hall, when he saw himself condemned, and found that Sir John Davys [aged 40], Sir Ferdinando Gorges [aged 37], Sir Charles Davers, and Sir Christopher Blunt had confessed all the conferences that were held at Drury House, by his directions, for the surprising of the Queen and the Tower, which argued a premeditated treason (which he laboured to have had it prove only a sudden putting himself into strength, and flying into the city for fear of being committed over night when the Lords sent for him, which upon my faith to you, to whom I will not lie, was only to have reproved him for his unlawful assemblies, and to have wislied him to leave the city and retire into the country), he then break out to divers gentlemen in these words, that his confederates wlio now had accused him had been principal inciters of him, and not he of them, even ever since August last, to work his access to the Queen with force.
Kings Wessex: Great x 16 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 14 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 19 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 15 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 17 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 7 Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 12 Grand Son of King William I of Scotland
Kings France: Great x 9 Grand Son of King Philip IV of France
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 20 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Danvers 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Danvers
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Danvers
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Danvers
GrandFather: Sylvester Danvers
Father: John Danvers 19 x Great Grand Son of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Mordaunt 
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Mordaunt
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Peake
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Peake
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Mordaunt 1st Baron Mordaunt 17 x Great Grand Son of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Latimer 14 x Great Grand Son of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Great x 3 Grandfather: Nicholas Latimer 15 x Great Grand Son of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Great x 2 Grandmother: Edith Latimer 16 x Great Grand Daughter of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Hody
Great x 3 Grandmother: Joan Hody
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Jewel
GrandMother: Elizabeth Mordaunt 18 x Great Grand Daughter of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Great x 2 Grandfather: Henry Vere 
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Vere Baroness Mordaunt
Charles Danvers 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: George Neville 1st Baron Latimer of Snape 
Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Neville 2 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Beauchamp Baroness Latimer 
4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Neville 2nd Baron Latimer of Snape 3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Bourchier 1st Baron Berners 
Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Joan Bourchier 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margery Berners Baroness Berners
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Neville 3rd Baron Latimer 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Humphrey Stafford 
9 x Great Grand Son of King David I of Scotland
Great x 3 Grandfather: Humphrey Stafford 10 x Great Grand Son of King David I of Scotland
Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Aylesbury 
Great x 2 Grandmother: Anne Stafford Baroness Latimer 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King David I of Scotland
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Fray
Great x 3 Grandmother: Catherine Fray
Great x 4 Grandmother: Agnes Danvers Baroness Wenlock
GrandFather: John Neville 4th Baron Latimer of Snape 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard de Vere 11th Earl of Oxford 5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John de Vere 12th Earl of Oxford 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Sergeaux Countess Oxford
Great x 2 Grandfather: George de Vere 6 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Howard 
4 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Howard Countess of Oxford 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Walton
Great x 1 Grandmother: Dorothy de Vere 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Humphrey Stafford 8 x Great Grand Son of King David I of Scotland
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Stafford 9 x Great Grand Son of King David I of Scotland
Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Stafford 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Chideock 6th Baron Fitzpayn 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Catherine Chideocke 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Catherine Lumley 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Mother: Elizabeth Neville 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edmund Beaufort 1st or 2nd Duke of Somerset 
Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset 2 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Beauchamp Duchess Somerset 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Charles Somerset 1st Earl of Worcester 3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Hill of Shilston
Great x 3 Grandmother: Joan Hill 15 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Elder" of the Anglo Saxons
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Champernoun 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Elder" of the Anglo Saxons
Great x 1 Grandfather: Henry Somerset 2nd Earl of Worcester 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Herbert 1st Earl Pembroke 
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Herbert 2nd Earl Pembroke 1st Earl Huntingdon 9 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Devereux 
8 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Herbert 3rd Baroness Herbert Raglan 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Woodville 1st Earl Rivers 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Mary Woodville Countess Pembroke and Huntingdon 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jacquetta of Luxemburg Duchess Bedford 
5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
GrandMother: Lucy Somerset Baroness Latimer Snape 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Browne 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Anthony Browne 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Fitzalan 
4 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Eleanor Fitzalan 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Moyns
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Browne Countess of Worcester 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Neville Earl Salisbury Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Neville 1st Marquess Montagu 2 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Montagu 5th Countess of Salisbury 
3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Lucy Neville 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edmund Ingaldsthorpe
Great x 3 Grandmother: Isabel Ingaldsthorpe 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Tiptoft 
4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England