The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
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On 20th March 1836 Edward Poynter 1st Baronet was born.
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1859. 30th April 1859. Found Simeon Solomon [aged 18] and Poynter [aged 23] in Burges' room and appropriated (by leave) a caricature by Simeon of Morris and his wife.
1864. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 27]. "The Peacock Fan" aka "Portrait of a Lady".
Before 5th February 1865. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 28]. "The Peacock Fan". Model Ellen Smith. See entry in George Price Boyce's diary.
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1865. 5th February 1865. Called on Poynter [aged 28] to see his competition drawings for the Old Water Colour Society. One of them, that with Ellen Smith with fan in her hand [See Painting], very good. Called on Jopling.
In 1866 Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 29] and Agnes Macdonald Lady Poynter [aged 23] were married.
After 1866. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 29]. Portrait of his wife Agnes Macdonald Lady Poynter [aged 23].
After 1866. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 29]. Portrait of his sister-in-law Louisa Macdonald [aged 21].
Louisa Macdonald: In 1845 she was born to Reverend George Browne Macdonald and Hannah Jones at Birmingham, Warwickshire. In 1925 she died.
1867. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 30]. "Israel in Egypt".
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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On 26th September 1867 [his son] Ambrose Macdonald Poynter 2nd Baronet was born to Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 31] and [his wife] Agnes Macdonald Lady Poynter [aged 24].
1868. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 31]. "Catapulta".
1869. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 32]. "Andromeda".
1870. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 33]. Portrait of [his sister-in-law] Georgiana Macdonald Lady Burne-Jones [aged 29].
1881. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 44]. Portrait of Edward Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie 1st Earl Wharncliffe [aged 53].
In 1882 [his son] Hugh Edward Poynter 3rd Baronet was born to Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 45] and [his wife] Agnes Macdonald Lady Poynter [aged 39]. Some sources refer to his being the grandson of the first Baronet Edward Poynter 1st Baronet; the fifteen year age betwen Hugh Edward and his older brother Ambrose Macdonald Poynter 2nd Baronet [aged 14] may be the cause of this?
1882. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 45]. Portrait of Emilie Charlotte Le Breton "Lily Langtry" [aged 28].
1882. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 45]. Self-Portrait.
1887. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 50]. "Corner of the Marketplace".
1890. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 53]. "Pea Blossoms".
1894. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 57]. "Barine".
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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The London Gazette 27457. Whitehall, July 24, 1902. The King has been pleased to direct the preparation of Warrants under His Majesty's Royal Sign Manual, authorizing Letters Patent to be passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, conferring the dignity of a Baronet of the said United Kingdom upon each of the following Gentlemen and the heirs male of their respective bodies lawfully begotten, viz.:—
The Right Honourable Andrew Marshall Porter [aged 65], of Merrion-square, in the city and county of Dublin, Master of the Rolls of Ireland;
The Right Honourable Sir Joseph Cockfield Dimsdale [aged 53], of Goldsmiths, Langdon Hills, in the county of Essex, and of Lancaster-street, in the borough of Paddington, in the county of London, Knight, Lord Mayor of the city of London;
Sir Edward Ridley Colborne Bradford, of South Audley-street, in the city-of Westminster, in the county of London, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Knight Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India. Chief Commissioner of the Police in the Metropolis, Colonel Indian Staff Corps;
Sir Andrew Noble, of Ardmore and Ardardan Noble, in the parish of Cardross, in the county of Dumbarton, Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath;
Sir Francis Henry Evans, of Tubbendens, in the parish of Farnborough, in the county of Kent, Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George;
Sir Francis Henry LaKing, of Kensington, in the parish of Saint Mary Abbots, in the Royal Borough of Kensington, in the county of London, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Doctor in Medicine, Member of the Royal College of Physicians of London, Physician in Ordinary to His Majesty;
Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, of Osidge, in the parish of Southgate, in the county of Middlesex, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order;
Sir Frederick Treves, of Dorchester, in the county of Dorset, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England; Honorary Serjeant-Surgeon to His Majesty;
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, of Highfnam Court, in the parish of Churcham, in the county of Gloucester, Knight, Doctor of Music;
Sir George Henry Lewis, of Portland-place, in the borough of Marylebone, in. the county of London, Knight;
Sir Edward John Poynter [aged 66], of Albert Gate, in the city of Westminster, in the county of London, Knight, President of the Royal Academy of Arts; [Note. [his wife] Agnes Macdonald Lady Poynter [aged 59] by marriage Lady Poynter of Albert Gate in Westminster in London]
Sir Thomas Jackson, of Stansted House, in the parish of Stansted, in the county of Essex, Knight;
Alexander Henderson, of Buscat Park, in the county of Berks, Esquire;
Robert Trotter Hermon Hodge, of Wyfold Court, in the Parish of Chickendon, in the county of Oxford, Esquire;
Philip Albert Muntz, of Dunsmore, near Rugby, in the parish of Clifton-on-Dunsmore, in the county of Warwick, Esquire;
Charles Benjamin Bright McLaren, of Bodnant, in the parish of Eglwysbach, in the county of Denbigh, Gwylgre, in the parish of Llauasa, in the county of Flint, and Hilders, in the parish of Shottermill, in the county of Surrey, Esquire, one of Ilis Majesty's Counsel learned in the Law; and
William Edward Murray Tomlinson, of Richmond-terrace,.Whitehall, in the city of Westminster, in the county of London, and of Preston, Heysham, and Bolton-le-Sands, in the County Palatine.of Lancaster, Esquire.
1903. Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 66]. "The Cave of the Storm Nymphs".
New York Times 13 Nov 1904. 13th November 1904. VAL PRINSEP [deceased], R. A., DEAD. Well-Known English Artist Was Born in India in 1838.
LONDON, Nov. 12.—Valantine Cameron Prinsep, R. A., better known as Val Prinsep, Professor of Painting to the Royal Academy, died yesterday from the effects of an operation.
It was thought in 1896 that Val Prinsep would be elected President of the Royal Academy, but Sir Edward Poynter was [aged 68] the successful candidate.
Mr. Prinsep was born in India in 1838. but was educated in England, returning to the land of his birth in 1876 to paint what is perhaps his best-known work, the "Declaration of the Queen as Empress" at the famous Delhi Durbar. A pupil of Watts and Gleyre, Prinsep exhibited his first picture at the Academy in 1862, when he was twenty-four years old. He achieved rapid success and became an A. R. A. in and an R. A. in 1894. He was an author and playwright as well as a painter.
Mr. Prinsep married a daughter [Florence Leyland [aged 45]] of the late F. R. Leyland, the patron of Whistler and Rossetti. When Mr. Leyland died there was a good deal of criticism of the Prinseps because the "Peacock Room" in his London house was not preserved where the public could see it. This work of Whistler, who was a fellow-pupil of Prinsep under Gleyre, has recently been bought by an American.
In 1906 [his wife] Agnes Macdonald Lady Poynter [aged 63] died.
1909. Philip Burne-Jones 2nd Baronet [aged 47]. Portrait of Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 72].
1911. Arthur Stockdale Cope [aged 53]. Portrait of Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 74].
On 26th July 1919 Edward Poynter 1st Baronet [aged 83] died. His son Ambrose [aged 51] succeeded 2nd Baronet Poynter of Albert Gate in Westminster in London.