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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Paternal Family Tree: Blount
Maternal Family Tree: Catherine Peshall 1484-1540
Before 1498 [her father] John Blount [aged 13] and [her mother] Catherine Peshall [aged 13] were married.
In 1498, possibly later, Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys was born to John Blount [aged 14] and Catherine Peshall [aged 14] at Kinlet, Cleobury Mortimer [Map].
Around 1513 Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 15] came to court as a Maid of Honour to Catherine of Aragon Queen Consort England [aged 27].
Around 1515 Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 17] became the mistress of King Henry VIII of England and Ireland [aged 23]. Their relationship continued until around 1520, possibly longer, when she was replaced by Mary Boleyn [aged 16].
In June 1517 Thomas Clinton 8th Baron Clinton [aged 27] died of sweating sickness. His son [her future husband] Edward [aged 5] succeeded 9th Baron Clinton.
On 15th June 1519 [her illegitimate son] Henry Fitzroy 1st Duke Richmond and Somerset was born illegitimately to Henry VIII [aged 27] and Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 21] at Augustinian Priory of St Lawrence, Ingatestone [Map].
On 18th June 1522 Gilbert Tailboys 1st Baron Tailboys [aged 24] and Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 24] were married. She the former mistress of King Henry VIII of England and Ireland [aged 30] had given birth to Henry's illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy 1st Duke Richmond and Somerset [aged 3] in June 1519.
After 18th June 1522 [her daughter] Elizabeth Tailboys Countess Warwick was born to [her husband] Gilbert Tailboys 1st Baron Tailboys [aged 24] and Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 24]. She married (1) before 1553 Thomas Wymbish (2) 1553 her half fourth cousin once removed Ambrose Dudley 3rd Earl Warwick, son of John Dudley 1st Duke Northumberland and Jane Guildford Duchess Northumberland.
Around 1523 [her son] George Tailboys 2nd Baron Tailboys 10th Baron Kyme was born to [her husband] Gilbert Tailboys 1st Baron Tailboys [aged 25] and Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 25]. He married after 15th May 1539 Margaret Skipwith Baroness Tailboys.
Around 1528 [her son] Robert Tailboys 3rd Baron Tailboys 11th Baron Kyme was born to [her husband] Gilbert Tailboys 1st Baron Tailboys [aged 30] and Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 30].
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel Volume 1 Chapters 1-60 1307-1342
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel offer one of the most vivid and immediate accounts of 14th-century Europe, written by a knight who lived through the events he describes, and experienced some of them first hand. Covering the early decades of the Hundred Years’ War, this remarkable chronicle follows the campaigns of Edward III of England, the politics of France and the Low Countries, and the shifting alliances that shaped medieval warfare. Unlike later historians, Jean le Bel writes with a strong sense of eyewitness authenticity, drawing on personal experience and the testimony of fellow soldiers. His narrative captures not only battles and sieges, but also the realities of military life, diplomacy, and the ideals of chivalry that governed noble society. A key source for Jean Froissart, Le Bel’s chronicle stands on its own as a compelling and insightful work, at once historical record and literary achievement. This translation builds on the 1905 edition published in French by Jules Viard, adding extensive translations from other sources Rymer's Fœdera, the Chronicles of Adam Murimuth, William Nangis, Walter of Guisborough, a Bourgeois of Valenciennes, Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke and Richard Lescot to enrich the original text and Viard's notes.
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Letters and Papers Foreign and Domestic Henry VIII 1528. 11th June 1528. R. O. Wood's Lett., vol. II. 39. 4357. [her mother-in-law] Lady Elizabeth Tailbois [aged 57] to Wolsey [aged 55].
Has received his letters, dated Durham Place, 15 May, desiring her to deliver to Sir Gilbert Tailbois [aged 30], her son, lands to the yearly value of £100, the residue of those worth £200, appointed by Act of Parliament to him and his wife [aged 30] after her husband's decease, an annuity of £40, and the money received from the lands from Mayday last. Will give him the lands, but begs to be excused from giving the money for the following reasons:-1. Since her husband's [aged 61] visitation, when he was committed to Wolsey by the King, his rents have been employed for household expences and the marriages of his children, and not in wasteful expences. 2. There is now 150 marks owing of the marriage money of one of their children, for which her nearest friends are bound. 3. Her other son [aged 26], brother to Sir Gilbert, has no assignment for his living, and must be provided for. 4. William Bongham, an old servant of her husband's, who was accustomed to provide wheat and grain for the household, has gone away with money enough to provide for the whole year, and she is obliged to make fresh provision with the rents of the lordships for which her son Sir Gilbert asks, and of other lands also. 6. There are 10 score wild beasts in the lordship of Kyme, from which they used to provide beef for the household, but from which they can now get no profit. Has had little comfort since her husband's last visitation, "and for the pleasure of God I have yielded me thereunto," and now my husband is aged it would be hard to live in penury, and be unable to discharge our friends of the sums in which they are bound for us. If my son obtain his demands, we shall be obliged to break up house and "sparpull" our children and servants. He has now in his hands lands worth £342 17s. 11¾d.,-more than she and her husband have. Will do all she can for him when her children are provided for and her debts paid. Goltaght, 11 June. Signed.
After 3rd November 1529 [her husband] Gilbert Tailboys 1st Baron Tailboys [aged 31] was created 1st Baron Tailboys of Kyme. Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 31] by marriage Baroness Tailboys of Kyme.
On 30th April 1530 [her husband] Gilbert Tailboys 1st Baron Tailboys [aged 32] died. He was buried at Church of St Mary and All Saints, South Kyme. His son George [aged 7] succeeded 2nd Baron Tailboys of Kyme.
On 14th February 1531 [her father] John Blount [aged 47] died at Kinlet, Cleobury Mortimer [Map]. He was buried at Church of St John The Baptist, Kinlet [Map].
Monument to John Blount and [her mother] Catherine Peshall [aged 47]. Fluted Period. Lancastrian Esses Collar with Big Esses. Long bobbed hair, no facial hair. Bare hands; gauntlets at the right side of the legs. She wearing a short Gabled Headress. Chest tomb somewhat of the wrong period ie Renaissance suggesting this may be a replacement effigy, or re-used. Probably Richard Parker of Burton on Trent.
John Blount: Around 1484 he was born to Thomas Blount and Anne Croft at Kinlet, Cleobury Mortimer [Map]. Before 1498 John Blount and Catherine Peshall were married.
Catherine Peshall: In 1484 she was born to Hugh Peshall. In 1540 she died.
On 28th November 1533 [her illegitimate son] Henry Fitzroy 1st Duke Richmond and Somerset [aged 14] and [her daughter-in-law] Mary Howard Duchess Richmond and Somerset [aged 14] were married. She by marriage Duchess of Richmond and Somerset. Another coup for the Howard Family especially in view of Henry Fitzroy being considered by some as a possible heir in view of Anne Boleyn having given birth to a girl. She the daughter of Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk [aged 60] and Elizabeth Stafford Duchess Norfolk [aged 36]. He the illegitmate son of King Henry VIII of England and Ireland [aged 42] and Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 35]. They were third cousins.
Before 1536 Edward Clinton 1st Earl Lincoln [aged 23] and Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 37] were married. She by marriage Baroness Clinton. The date based on the birth of their first child Bridget Clinton.
Around 1536 [her daughter] Bridget Clinton was born to [her husband] Edward Clinton 1st Earl Lincoln [aged 24] and Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 38]. She married 1556 her fourth cousin once removed Robert Dymoke and had issue.
On 22nd July 1536 or 23rd July 1536 Henry Fitzroy 1st Duke Richmond and Somerset [aged 17] died at St James's Palace [Map]. He the illegitimate son of King Henry VIII of England and Ireland [aged 45]. He was buried at Church of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham [Map]. Duke of Richmond and Somerset, Earl Nottingham extinct.
Around 1538 [her daughter] Katherine Clinton Baroness Cobham, Strabolgi and Burgh was born to [her husband] Edward Clinton 1st Earl Lincoln [aged 26] and Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 40]. She married before 10th September 1584 her fifth cousin once removed William Burgh 8th Baron Cobham 6th Baron Strabolgi 2nd Baron Burgh, son of Thomas Burgh 7th Baron Cobham 5th Baron Strabolgi 1st Baron Burgh and Agnes Tyrwhitt Baroness Cobham, Strabolgi and Burgh, and had issue.
Before 1539 [her daughter] Margaret Clinton Baroness Willoughby was born to [her husband] Edward Clinton 1st Earl Lincoln [aged 26] and Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 40]. She married before 1611 her fourth cousin twice removed Charles Willoughby 2nd Baron Willoughby of Parham, son of William Willoughby 1st Baron Willoughby of Parham and Elizabeth Heneage Baroness Willoughby of Parham, and had issue.
After 15th May 1539 George Tailboys 2nd Baron Tailboys 10th Baron Kyme [aged 16] and Margaret Skipwith Baroness Tailboys were married. She by marriage Baroness Tailboys of Kyme. He the son of Gilbert Tailboys 1st Baron Tailboys and Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 41].
In 1540 [her mother] Catherine Peshall [aged 56] died.
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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Around July 1540 Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys [aged 42] died. The date not entirely certain.
In or after 1541 [her former husband] Edward Clinton 1st Earl Lincoln [aged 29] and Ursula Stourton Baroness Clinton were married. She by marriage Baroness Clinton.
On 1st October 1552 [her former husband] Edward Clinton 1st Earl Lincoln [aged 40] and Elizabeth "The Fair Geraldine" Fitzgerald Countess Lincoln [aged 25] were married. She the daughter of Gerald Fitzgerald 9th Earl of Kildare and Elizabeth Grey Countess Kildare. They were half fourth cousins. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
On 16th January 1585 [her former husband] Edward Clinton 1st Earl Lincoln [aged 73] died at London. His son Henry [aged 44] succeeded 2nd Earl Lincoln, 10th Baron Clinton. Catherine Hastings Countess Lincoln [aged 42] by marriage Countess Lincoln.
Kings Wessex: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 17 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 17 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Kings England: Great x 14 Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Kings Franks: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 15 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Blount 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Blount of Sodington
Great x 4 Grandmother: Isolde Mountjoy
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Blount
Great x 3 Grandmother: Juliana Foulhurst
Great x 1 Grandfather: Humphrey Blount
Great x 3 Grandfather: Kynard de la Bere
Great x 2 Grandmother: Alice Bere
GrandFather: Thomas Blount 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Winnington
Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert Winnington 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William "The Elder" IV Mainwaring 8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Emma Mainwaring 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Winnington 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Father: John Blount 13 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Richard Croft
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Croft
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Croft
Great x 1 Grandfather: Richard "The Elder" Croft
GrandMother: Anne Croft
Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
GrandFather: Hugh Peshall
Mother: Catherine Peshall