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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Paternal Family Tree: Montagu
Before 1524 [his uncle] Edward Montagu (age 38) and Agnes Kirkham were married.
Before 1525 [his uncle] Edward Montagu (age 39) and Cicely Lane (age 28) were married.
Before 1530 [his uncle] Edward Montagu (age 44) and [his mother] Helen Roper (age 29) were married.
Around 1530 Edward Montagu was born to [his uncle] Edward Montagu (age 45) and [his mother] Helen Roper (age 30) at Brigstock, Boughton.
In 1539 Edward Montagu (age 9) was appointed Justice of the King's Bench.
In 1539 Edward Montagu (age 9) was appointed Justice of the Common Pleas.
In 1539 [his uncle] Edward Montagu (age 54) was appointed Chief Justice of the King's Bench.
In 1545 [his uncle] Edward Montagu (age 60) was appointed Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
In 1557 Edward Montagu (age 27) and Elizabeth Harrington (age 12) were married.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 10th February 1557 [his uncle] Edward Montagu (age 72) died.
Around 1563 [his son] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester was born to Edward Montagu (age 33) and [his wife] Elizabeth Harrington (age 18) at Boughton, Northamptonshire. He married (1) 1st June 1601 Catherine Spencer and had issue (2) 9th November 1613 Anne Wincot (3) 26th April 1620 Margaret Crouch Countess Manchester and had issue.
In 1563 [his son] Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu was born to Edward Montagu (age 33) and [his wife] Elizabeth Harrington (age 18). He married (1) 21st September 1585 Elizabeth Jeffrey and had issue (2) 24th February 1612 Frances Cotton and had issue (3) 16th February 1625 Anne Crouch Baroness Montagu.
On 3rd May 1563 [his mother] Helen Roper (age 63) died.
Around 1564 [his son] Charles Montagu was born to Edward Montagu (age 34) and [his wife] Elizabeth Harrington (age 19). He married (1) 1601 Letice Clifford (2) 1612 Mary Whitmore and had issue.
Around 1568 [his son] Bishop James Montagu was born to Edward Montagu (age 38) and [his wife] Elizabeth Harrington (age 23).
On 6th April 1580 [his son-in-law] William Wray 1st Baronet (age 25) and [his daughter] Lucy Montagu were married.
In 1581 [his son] Sidney Montagu was born to Edward Montagu (age 51) and [his wife] Elizabeth Harrington (age 36). He married (1) 1619 Paulina Pepys and had issue (2) 17th January 1644 Anne Isham.
On 21st September 1585 [his son] Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 22) and [his daughter-in-law] Elizabeth Jeffrey (age 17) were married at Weekley, Northamptonshire.
On 1st March 1599 [his daughter] Lucy Montagu died. She was buried at Lincoln Cathedral [Map].
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 11th August 1600 [his son-in-law] Henry Capell (age 21) and [his daughter] Theodosia Montagu were married.
In 1601 [his son] Charles Montagu (age 37) and [his daughter-in-law] Letice Clifford (age 31) were married.
On 1st June 1601 [his son] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester (age 38) and [his daughter-in-law] Catherine Spencer (age 15) were married. The difference in their ages was 23 years.
On 26th January 1602 Edward Montagu (age 72) died at Brigstock, Boughton.
On 19th May 1618 [his former wife] Elizabeth Harrington (age 73) 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 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 [his uncle] Chiefe Justice, and his son the Lord Montagu, who was father to [his son] 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 daughter] Elizabeth Montagu was born to Edward Montagu and Elizabeth Harrington.
[his daughter] Susanna Montagu was born to Edward Montagu and Elizabeth Harrington.
[his daughter] Lucy Montagu was born to Edward Montagu and Elizabeth Harrington. She married 6th April 1580 William Wray 1st Baronet, son of Christopher Wray and Anne Girlington, and had issue.
[his son] Thomas Montagu was born to Edward Montagu and Elizabeth Harrington.
[his son] Walter Montagu was born to Edward Montagu and Elizabeth Harrington.
Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.
In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
[his son] Henry Montagu was born to Edward Montagu and Elizabeth Harrington.
[his daughter] Theodosia Montagu was born to Edward Montagu and Elizabeth Harrington. She married 11th August 1600 Henry Capell and had issue.
Kings Wessex: Great x 16 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings England: Great x 8 Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 15 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 12 Grand Son of Louis VII King of the Franks
Kings France: Great x 16 Grand Son of Robert "Pious" II King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 20 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Simon Montagu 
2 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Montagu 3 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Broughton 
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Montagu 4 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Basset 
9 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandmother: Christina Basset 10 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Ladde Montagu 5 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 2 Grandmother: Alice Holcot
GrandFather: Thomas Montagu 6 x Great Grand Son of
Father: Edward Montagu 7 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Dudley 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Dudley
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Dudley
GrandMother: Agnes Dudley
Edward Montagu 8 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 2 Grandfather: Edmund Roper 
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Roper
GrandFather: John Roper of Well Hall
Mother: Helen Roper