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: Spencer
On 1st June 1954 [his father] John Spencer 8th Earl Spencer [aged 30] and [his mother] Frances Ruth Roche Countess Spencer [aged 18] were married at Westminster Abbey [Map]. He the son of [his grandfather] Albert Edward John Spencer 7th Earl Spencer [aged 62] and [his grandmother] Cynthia Elinor Beatrix Hamilton Countess Spencer [aged 57].
On 20th May 1964 Charles Spencer 9th Earl Spencer was born to John Spencer 8th Earl Spencer [aged 40] and Frances Ruth Roche Countess Spencer [aged 28].
In 1976 [his father] John Spencer 8th Earl Spencer [aged 51] and [his step-mother] Raine McCorquodale Countess Dartmouth and Spencer [aged 46] were married. She by marriage Countess Spencer. He the son of [his grandfather] Albert Edward John Spencer 7th Earl Spencer and [his grandmother] Cynthia Elinor Beatrix Hamilton Countess Spencer.
On 16th September 1989 Charles Spencer 9th Earl Spencer [aged 25] and Catherine Lockwood Countess Spencer [aged 24] were married at St Mary the Virgin Church, Great Brington, Northamptonshire. He the son of John Spencer 8th Earl Spencer [aged 65] and Frances Ruth Roche Countess Spencer [aged 53].
On 29th March 1992 [his father] John Spencer 8th Earl Spencer [aged 68] died. His son Charles [aged 27] succeeded 9th Earl Spencer, 9th Viscount Althorp, 9th Viscount Spencer, 9th Baron Spencer Althorp. [his wife] Catherine Lockwood Countess Spencer [aged 26] by marriage Countess Spencer.
On 3rd December 1997 Charles Spencer 9th Earl Spencer [aged 33] and Catherine Lockwood Countess Spencer [aged 32] were divorced.
On 15th December 2001 Charles Spencer 9th Earl Spencer [aged 37] and Caroline Hutton Countess Spencer [aged 35] were married. She by marriage Countess Spencer. He the son of John Spencer 8th Earl Spencer and Frances Ruth Roche Countess Spencer [aged 65].
In or after 2007 Charles Spencer 9th Earl Spencer [aged 42] and Caroline Hutton Countess Spencer [aged 40] were divorced.
On 25th June 2011 Charles Spencer 9th Earl Spencer [aged 47] and Karen Villeneuve Countess Spencer [aged 39] were married. She by marriage Countess Spencer. He the son of John Spencer 8th Earl Spencer and Frances Ruth Roche Countess Spencer.
On 15th May 2026 Charles Spencer 9th Earl Spencer [aged 61] and Catrine Jarman Countess Spencer [aged 44] were married in Arizona. She by marriage Countess Spencer. He the son of John Spencer 8th Earl Spencer and Frances Ruth Roche Countess Spencer.
Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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In December 2025 Charles Spencer 9th Earl Spencer [aged 62] and Karen Villeneuve Countess Spencer [aged 54] were divorced.
Kings Wessex: Great x 26 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 23 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 29 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 24 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 26 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 8 Grand Son of King James II of England Scotland and Ireland
Kings Scotland: Great x 8 Grand Son of King James II of England Scotland and Ireland
Kings France: Great x 10 Grand Son of Henry IV King France
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 30 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Kings Spain: Great x 15 Grand Son of John II King Aragon
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Spencer 1st Earl Spencer 
9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 3 Grandfather: George John Spencer 2nd Earl Spencer 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Georgiana Poyntz Countess Spencer 
11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Frederick Spencer 4th Earl Spencer 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Charles Bingham 1st Earl Lucan 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Lavinia Bingham Countess Spencer
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Smith Countess Lucan
Great x 1 Grandfather: Charles Robert Spencer 6th Earl Spencer 5 x Great Grand Son of King James II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Hugh Seymour-Conway 
2 x Great Grand Son of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 3 Grandfather: Horace Beauchamp Seymour-Conway 3 x Great Grand Son of King James II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Horatia Waldegrave 
2 x Great Grand Daughter of King James II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 2 Grandmother: Adelaide Horatia Seymour-Conway Countess Spencer 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King James II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Lawrence Palk 2nd Baronet
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Malet Palk 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Dorothy Elizabeth Vaughan 
13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
GrandFather: Albert Edward John Spencer 7th Earl Spencer 6 x Great Grand Son of King James II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Francis Baring 1st Baronet
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Baring
Great x 4 Grandmother: Harriet Herring Lady Baring
Great x 2 Grandfather: Edward Baring 1st Baron Revelstoke
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Bingham
Great x 3 Grandmother: Maria Matilda Bingham
Great x 1 Grandmother: Margaret Baring Countess Spencer 16 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Crocker Bulteel
Great x 2 Grandmother: Louisa Emily Charlotte Bulteel Baroness Revelstoke 15 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Charles Grey 2nd Earl Grey 
13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Grey 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby Countess Grey 
13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry IV of England
Father: John Spencer 8th Earl Spencer 7 x Great Grand Son of King James II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: James Hamilton 9 x Great Grand Son of King James IV of Scotland
Great x 3 Grandfather: James Hamilton 1st Duke of Abercorn 10 x Great Grand Son of King James IV of Scotland
Great x 4 Grandmother: Harriet Douglas Countess Aberdeen 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King James I of Scotland
Great x 2 Grandfather: James Hamilton 2nd Duke of Abercorn 4 x Great Grand Son of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Russell 6th Duke Bedford 
2 x Great Grand Son of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 3 Grandmother: Louisa Jane Russell Duchess Abercorn 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandmother: Georgiana Gordon Duchess Bedford 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King James IV of Scotland
Great x 1 Grandfather: James Albert Edward Hamilton 3rd Duke of Abercorn 5 x Great Grand Son of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Penn Curzon 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry IV of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard William Penn Curzon Howe 1st Earl Howe 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry IV of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Sophia Howe 2nd Baroness Howe 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Mary Anna Curzon Howe Duchess Abercorn 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry IV of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Gore
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Gore Countess Howe 16 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Georgiana Montagu 
15 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
GrandMother: Cynthia Elinor Beatrix Hamilton Countess Spencer 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Bingham 2nd Earl Lucan
Great x 3 Grandfather: George Charles Bingham 3rd Earl Lucan 14 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Belasyse Duchess Norfolk 
13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Charles George Bingham 4th Earl Lucan 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Brudenell 6th Earl Cardigan 
8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Brudenell Countess Lucan 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandmother: Penelope Cooke Countess Cardigan 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Rosalind Cecilia Caroline Bingham Duchess Abercorn 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Charles Lennox 4th Duke Richmond 
2 x Great Grand Son of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 3 Grandfather: Charles Gordon-Lennox 5th Duke Richmond 3 x Great Grand Son of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandmother: Charlotte Gordon Duchess Richmond 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King James IV of Scotland
Great x 2 Grandmother: Cecilia Catherine Gordon-Lennox Countess Lucan 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry William Paget 1st Marquess Anglesey 
13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Caroline Paget Duchess Richmond 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandmother: Caroline Elizabeth Villiers Duchess Argyll 
9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Charles Spencer 9th Earl Spencer 8 x Great Grand Son of King James II of England Scotland and Ireland
Great x 3 Grandfather: Edward Roche
Great x 2 Grandfather: Edmund Roche 1st Baron Fermoy
Great x 1 Grandfather: James Roche 3rd Baron Fermoy 14 x Great Grand Son of King Henry IV of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Boothby 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry IV of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: James Brownell Boothby 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry IV of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Caroline Boothby 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry IV of England
GrandFather: Maurice Roche 4th Baron Fermoy 15 x Great Grand Son of King Henry IV of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Franklin H Work
Great x 1 Grandmother: Frances Ellen Work Lady Fermoy
Mother: Frances Ruth Roche Countess Spencer 16 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry IV of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Colonel William Smith Gill
GrandMother: Ruth Sylvia Gill Baroness Fermoy