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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 25th December 1768 [his father] Edward Lake Pickering (age 23) and [his mother] Mary Umfreville (age 25) were married at St Andrew's Church, Holborn [Map].
On 25th December 1778 Edward Rowland Pickering was born to [his father] Edward Lake Pickering (age 33) and [his mother] Mary Umfreville (age 35).
In 1788 [his father] Edward Lake Pickering (age 43) died.
William de Morgan and his Wife Chapter 5. Glancing on, therefore, swiftly down the generations, we come to [his father] Edward Lake Pickering (age 43), of the Exchequer, the greatgrandfather of Evelyn De Morgan, who died in 1788. His wife [his mother] Mary Umfreville (age 45), lived till 1836, when she expired in her 93rd year, a wonderful old lady who boasted, approved by Burke, that she was the last of the direct branch of the Umfrevilles, exhibiting a pedigree which begins with the Saxon Kings of England, and in which William the Conqueror figmcs as a less important unit over a century and a half later. This couple had two sons, who survived them, of whom the second was Edward Rowland Pickering (age 9), of Lincoln's Inn. He married [his future wife] Mary Vere (age 5), one of the most beautiful women of her day; and to them were born eight sons and three daughters.
On 15th October 1805 Edward Rowland Pickering (age 26) and Mary Vere (age 22) were married. They had eleven children, three daughters and eight sons.
On 8th February 1810 [his son] Percival Andrée Pickering was born to Edward Rowland Pickering (age 31) and [his wife] Mary Vere (age 27). He married 29th March 1853 Anna Spencer-Stanhope and had issue.
In 1836 [his mother] Mary Umfreville (age 93) died.
On 29th March 1853 [his son] Percival Andrée Pickering (age 43) and [his daughter-in-law] Anna Spencer-Stanhope (age 28) were married at All Saints Church, Cawthorne [Map].
On 29th November 1859 Edward Rowland Pickering (age 80) died.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
In 1863 [his former wife] Mary Vere (age 80) died.
William de Morgan and his Wife Chapter 5. The portraits of Edward Rowland which are extant exhibit him as a man of middle age, shrewd and kindly of countenance, and stately of pose; though of necessity they fail to convey the quaint courtliness and old-world dignity with which he impressed all who came in contact with his attractive personality.
'I delight in him,' [wrote Lady Elizabeth Spencer-Stanhope enthusiastically, after meeting him for the first time at the date of her daughter's engagement to his son].... 'He is exactly like the description of an old novel of Miss Burney's... an unmistakable high-born and high-bred gentleman, in a brown scratch-wig, all on end on his head, with an indescribable mixture of kind-heartedness, slirewdness and humour in his countenance, standing on his own foundation, and feeling that his son and his family are at least on a par with any nobleman in the land.... He is of the same class of original as Lord Stanhope and Lord Suffolk — a sort of quaint, clever creature.... His pert little daughter-elect cannot think of him without laughing, and he seemed inclined to laugh at himself!'
William de Morgan and his Wife Chapter 5. And later she writes yet more enthusiastically:—
'I cannot tell you how delightful Mr. Pickering père is, quite like what one reads about in books, but never meets in real life... how you would delight in him, with his great good-breeding and extreme quaintness. He is very clever and unusual in his integrity; I long for you to meet him, with his charming old-world manners and that brown scratch-wig standing straight upright from his head!'
Kings Wessex: Great x 23 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 20 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 26 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 21 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings England: Great x 15 Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 22 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 19 Grand Son of Louis VII King of the Franks
Kings France: Great x 23 Grand Son of Robert "Pious" II King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 27 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Pickering 9 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandfather: Gilbert Pickering 1st Baronet 10 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Susannah Dryden
Great x 2 Grandfather: Gilbert Pickering 11 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Sidney Montagu 
9 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Montagu 10 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Paulina Pepys
Great x 1 Grandfather: Edward Pickering 12 x Great Grand Son of
GrandFather: Edward Pickering 13 x Great Grand Son of
Father: Edward Lake Pickering 14 x Great Grand Son of
Edward Rowland Pickering 15 x Great Grand Son of
Mother: Mary Umfreville