Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
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Paternal Family Tree: Montagu
Maternal Family Tree: Anne Pakenham 1485-1544
In 1557 [his father] Edward Montagu [aged 27] and [his mother] Elizabeth Harrington [aged 12] were married.
In 1563 Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu was born to Edward Montagu [aged 33] and Elizabeth Harrington [aged 18].
Around 1574 Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 11] was educated at Christ Church College, Oxford University.
On 21st September 1585 Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 22] and Elizabeth Jeffrey [aged 17] were married at Weekley, Northamptonshire.
In 1595 Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 32] was appointed High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire.
On 1st June 1601 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester [aged 38] and [his sister-in-law] Catherine Spencer [aged 15] were married. The difference in their ages was 23 years.
On 26th January 1602 [his father] Edward Montagu [aged 72] died at Brigstock, Boughton.
On 23rd July 1603 King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland [aged 37] created a number Knights at the Royal Gardens Whitehall Palace:
Henry Savile 1st Baronet [aged 24], William Morgan [aged 43], George Carew, Baptist Hicks 1st Viscount Campden [aged 46], Richard Musgrave 1st Baronet [aged 18], James Calthorpe [aged 44], Thomas Gresham [aged 56], George Fane of Burston [aged 22], Francis Fane 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 23], Robert Chichester [aged 25], William Pope 1st Earl Downe [aged 29], Gervase Clifton 1st Baronet [aged 15], Thomas Berkeley [aged 28], Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 40], William Herbert 1st Baron Powis [aged 30], Anthony Irby [aged 26], Drue Drury of Eccles and Rollesby in Norfolk and Arnold Lygon [aged 45].
24th July 1603 Richard Browne [aged 64].
In 1604 Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 41] was elected MP Northamptonshire.
In 1605 [his son-in-law] Robert Bertie 1st Earl Lindsey [aged 22] and [his daughter] Elizabeth Montagu Countess Lindsey were married. She by marriage Baroness Willoughby de Eresby.
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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On 29th March 1608 [his brother] Bishop James Montagu [aged 40] was elected Bishop of Bath and Wells.
On 6th December 1611 [his wife] Elizabeth Jeffrey [aged 43] died.
On 24th February 1612 Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 49] and Frances Cotton [aged 34] were married at Weekley, Northamptonshire.
On 9th November 1613 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester [aged 50] and [his sister-in-law] Anne Wincot [aged 60] were married.
Around 1614 [his daughter] Frances Montagu Countess Rutland was born to Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 51] and [his wife] Frances Cotton [aged 36] at Boughton House. She married before 2nd June 1629 John Manners 8th Earl of Rutland and had issue.
On 11th July 1616 [his son] Edward Montagu 2nd Baron Montagu was born to Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 53] and [his wife] Frances Cotton [aged 38] at Weekley, Leicestershire. He married after 1633 Anne Winwood and had issue.
In 1618 [his son] Christopher Montagu was born to Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 55] and [his wife] Frances Cotton [aged 40] at Boughton House.
In 1618 [his son] William Montagu was born to Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 55] and [his wife] Frances Cotton [aged 40] at Oakley Parsonage, Leicestershire. He married (1) 18th June 1646 Elizabeth Freman (2) 7th December 1651 Mary Aubrey, daughter of John Aubrey 1st Baronet and Mary South.
On 19th May 1618 [his mother] Elizabeth Harrington [aged 73] died.
On 20th July 1618 [his brother] Bishop James Montagu [aged 50] died. He was buried at Bath Abbey [Map].
In 1620 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester [aged 57] was created 1st Viscount Mandeville, 1st Baron Montagu of Kimbolton.
On 26th April 1620 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester [aged 57] and [his sister-in-law] Margaret Crouch Countess Manchester [aged 15] were married. She by marriage Viscountess Mandeville. The difference in their ages was 42 years.
In May 1620 [his wife] Frances Cotton [aged 42] died.
On 29th June 1621 Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 58] was created 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton in Northamptonshire.
Thomas Palmer 1st Baronet [aged 81] was created 1st Baronet Palmer of Wingham in Kent. Margaret Poley Lady Palmer [aged 79] by marriage Lady Palmer of Wingham in Kent.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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On 16th February 1625 Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 62] and Anne Crouch Baroness Montagu [aged 52] were married. She by marriage Baroness Montagu of Boughton in Northamptonshire.
In 1626 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester [aged 63] was created 1st Earl Manchester. [his sister-in-law] Margaret Crouch Countess Manchester [aged 21] by marriage Countess Manchester.
Before 2nd June 1629 [his son-in-law] John Manners 8th Earl of Rutland [aged 24] and [his daughter] Frances Montagu Countess Rutland [aged 15] were married.
After 1633 and before 24th December 1638 [his son] Edward Montagu 2nd Baron Montagu [aged 16] and [his daughter-in-law] Anne Winwood [aged 18] were married.
In 1641 [his son] Christopher Montagu [aged 23] died.
On 7th November 1642 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester [aged 79] died. His son [his nephew] Edward [aged 40] succeeded 2nd Earl Manchester, 2nd Viscount Mandeville, 2nd Baron Montagu of Kimbolton.
On 15th June 1644 Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 81] died at the Savoy Hospital. His son Edward [aged 27] succeeded 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton in Northamptonshire.
On 11th July 1648 [his former wife] Anne Crouch Baroness Montagu [aged 75] died.
[his son] Edward Montagu was born to Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu and Elizabeth Jeffrey.
[his daughter] Elizabeth Montagu Countess Lindsey was born to Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu and Elizabeth Jeffrey. She married 1605 Robert Bertie 1st Earl Lindsey, son of Peregrine Bertie 13th Baron Willoughby and Mary Vere Baroness Willoughby of Eresby, and had issue.
Kings Wessex: Great x 17 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 21 Grand Son of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 23 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 21 Grand Son of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Kings England: Great x 9 Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 16 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 23 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 18 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 21 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Montagu 
3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Montagu 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Christina Basset 
10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Ladde Montagu 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Holcot
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Montagu 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
GrandFather: Edward Montagu 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Dudley 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Dudley
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Dudley
Great x 1 Grandmother: Agnes Dudley
Father: Edward Montagu 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Edmund Roper 
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Roper
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Roper of Well Hall
GrandMother: Helen Roper
Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Harrington 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Harrington
Great x 4 Grandmother: Catherine Culpepper 
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Harrington
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Alexander Harrington
GrandFather: James Harrington
Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert Moton of Peckleton in Leicestershire
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Moton
Mother: Elizabeth Harrington
Great x 3 Grandfather: William IV Sidney 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Nicholas Sidney
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Sidney
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Brandon 
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Brandon
Great x 4 Grandmother: Ada Calthorpe 
Great x 2 Grandmother: Anne Brandon
GrandMother: Lucy Sidney
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Pakenham
Great x 2 Grandfather: Hugh Pakenham
Great x 1 Grandmother: Anne Pakenham