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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Paternal Family Tree: Montagu
Around 1485 Edward Montagu was born to [his father] Thomas Montagu (age 33) and [his mother] Agnes Dudley (age 31).
Around 1501 [his mother] Agnes Dudley (age 47) died.
On 22nd May 1506 Edward Montagu (age 21) admitted at Middle Temple.
On 5th September 1517 [his father] Thomas Montagu (age 65) died.
Around 1522 [his daughter] Elizabeth Montagu was born to Edward Montagu (age 37) and [his future wife] Helen Roper (age 22). She married (1) George Tyrrell of Thornton in Buckinghamshire and had issue (2) in or before 1571 William Markham.
Before 1524 Edward Montagu (age 38) and Agnes Kirkham were married.
Before 1525 Edward Montagu (age 39) and Cicely Lane (age 28) were married.
In or before 1525 [his daughter] Amy Montagu was born to Edward Montagu (age 39) and [his wife] Cicely Lane (age 28). She married before 30th March 1593 George Lynne of Southwick Hall and had issue.
In 1525 [his wife] Cicely Lane (age 29) died.
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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Before 1530 Edward Montagu (age 44) and Helen Roper (age 29) were married.
Around 1530 [his son] Edward Montagu was born to Edward Montagu (age 45) and [his wife] Helen Roper (age 30) at Brigstock, Boughton. He married 1557 Elizabeth Harrington and had issue.
On 18th October 1537 Edward Montagu (age 52) was knighted.
In 1539 Edward Montagu (age 54) was appointed Chief Justice of the King's Bench.
In 1545 Edward Montagu (age 60) was appointed Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
On 30th December 1546 Henry VIII (age 55) made his last revision to his will signed using the Dry Stamp that was used increasingly commonly. The will confirmed the succession as King Edward VI of England and Ireland (age 9), Queen Mary I of England and Ireland (age 30) and Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland (age 13).
The will appointed sixteen executors: Anthony Browne (age 46), Archbishop Thomas Cranmer (age 57), Anthony Denny (age 45), John Dudley 1st Duke Northumberland (age 42), William Herbert 1st Earl Pembroke (age 45), Edward Montagu (age 61), Edward North 1st Baron North (age 50), William Paget 1st Baron Paget Beaudasert (age 40), William Paulet 1st Marquess Winchester (age 63), John Russell 1st Earl Bedford (age 61), Edward Seymour 1st Duke of Somerset (age 46), Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall (age 72) and Thomas Wriothesley 1st Earl of Southampton (age 41).
Henry Machyn's Diary. 26th July 1553. The xxvj day of July cam unto the Towre my lord marqwes of Northamton (age 41), by and my lord Robart Dudley (age 21), and the bysshop of London (age 53), and ser Recherd Corbett; and after cam in to the Towre my lord cheyffe justes Chamley (age 58), the lord Montyguw (age 68), at v of the cloke at nyght.
Note. The lord Montague. The person intended by this designation was sir Edward Montague, who was lord chief justice of the common pleas, as sir Roger Cholmley was of the king's bench. The new queen appointed sir Richard Morgan and sir Thomas Bromley in their places.
Chronicle of Queen Jane and Two Years of Queen Mary 1553. September 1553. Note, that the (blank) daye of September, the lord Ferris (age 65)1, the lord chefe justice Chumbley (age 58)2, and the lorde Montegue (age 68)3, wer dysmyssed of ther imprysonement in the Tower.
Note 1. Walter Devereux, who had been created viscount Hereford in 1550, though both in this Diary and in that of Machyn he is still called lord Ferrars, and by Stowe lord Ferrers of Chartley. In the register of the Privy Council he is properly styled viscount Hereford. He had married lady Mary Grey, aunt to the duke of Suffolk (age 36).
Note 2. Sir Roger Cholmley: see notes to Machyn's Diary, p. 368.
Note 3. Sir Edward Montagu: see notes to Machyn's Diary, p. 356.
In 1557 [his son] Edward Montagu (age 27) and [his daughter-in-law] Elizabeth Harrington (age 12) were married.
Before 10th February 1557 Edward Montagu (age 72) bought the manor of Boughton, Northamptonshire.
On 10th February 1557 Edward Montagu (age 72) died.
Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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Henry Machyn's Diary. 5th March 1557. [The v day of March was buried in Northamptonshire sir Edward Montagu (deceased), late lord chief justice of England; with] cott armur, and targett, and sword, helmett, and man[tylls of] velvett, and iiij dosen of stayffes, ij whyt branchys .... dosen of skochyons, and iiij dosen of penselles, and with .... harold of armes and a hersse of wax.
Note. P. 128. Funeral of sir Edward Montagu. The progenitor of the dukes of Montagu and Manchester, and earls of Halifax. He was buried at Weekley in Northamptonshire, where is his effigy, and the epitaph will be found in Bridges's History of that county, vol. ii. p. 347; also in Collins's Peerage, 1779, vol. ii. p 83, together with his will and biographical notices; but his monument is there incorrectly placed at Hemington.
On 3rd May 1563 [his former wife] Helen Roper (age 63) died.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 22nd September 1665. Among other discourse concerning long life, Sir J. Minnes (age 66) saying that his great-grandfather was alive in Edward the Vth's time; my [his great grandson] Lord Sandwich (age 40) did tell us how few there have been of his family since King Harry the VIIIth; that is to say, the then Chiefe Justice, and his son the [his son] Lord Montagu, who was father to [his grandson] Sir Sidney1, who was his father. And yet, what is more wonderfull, he did assure us from the mouth of my Lord Montagu himself, that in King James's time ([when he] had a mind to get the King (age 35) to cut off the entayle of some land which was given in Harry the VIIIth's time to the family, with the remainder in the Crowne); he did answer the King in showing how unlikely it was that ever it could revert to the Crown, but that it would be a present convenience to him; and did show that at that time there were 4,000 persons derived from the very body of the Chiefe Justice. It seems the number of daughters in the family having been very great, and they too had most of them many children, and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. This he tells as a most known and certain truth.
Note 1. These are the words in the MS., and not "his son and the Lord Montagu", as in some former editions. Pepys seems to have written Lord Montagu by mistake for Sir Edward Montagu.
[his father] Thomas Montagu and [his mother] Agnes Dudley were married.
Kings Wessex: Great x 15 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings England: Great x 7 Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 14 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 11 Grand Son of Louis VII King of the Franks
Kings France: Great x 15 Grand Son of Robert "Pious" II King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 19 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Montagu 1st Baron Montagu, Baron Monthermer 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Simon Montagu 2 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Monthermer Baroness Montagu 3rd Baroness Monthermer 
Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Montagu 3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Broughton 
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Montagu 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Bassett 
8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Basset 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Christina Basset 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
GrandFather: William Ladde Montagu 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Alice Holcot
Father: Thomas Montagu 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Edward Montagu 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Dudley 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Richard Dudley
GrandFather: William Dudley
Mother: Agnes Dudley