Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.
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Paternal Family Tree: Isham
On 29th August 1578 Elizabeth Isham was born to Thomas Isham of Langport in Northamptonshire [aged 22].
On 25th May 1601 Anthony Denton of Tunbridge in Kent and Elizabeth Isham [aged 22] were married.
Before 18th December 1602 [her future husband] Paul d'Ewes [aged 35] and Cecilia Simonds [aged 23] were married.
On 3rd December 1605 [her father] Thomas Isham of Langport in Northamptonshire [aged 50] died.
In 1610 [her daughter] Elizabeth Denton was born to [her husband] Anthony Denton of Tunbridge in Kent and Elizabeth Isham [aged 31]. She married 28th August 1628 her half second cousin once removed Thomas Isham.
Autobiography Simon D'Ewes. March 1623. Though the talk of this princely intended match filled the thoughts and discourses of most men;1 yet did the expectation of another marriage which nearly concerned me, take up a great part of my time in the latter end of the forgoing February, and the beginning of the ensuing March. For my most dear and blessed mother having deceased above four years and eight months now past, and my father [aged 56], since his being a widower, falling into treaty with several persons about his second marriage, some of them being in the prime of their youth, I was almost continually agitated and troubled lest he should at last pitch upon some young person altogether unfit for his age; by which means I should not only reap much discomfort in my present life, but it was possible also he might thereby be drawn to gire away the greatest part of his estate to the issue of a second wife, of which I saw daily experience of like cases, to the utter ruin of many ancient and nobly extracted families. Having therefore no thought or hope to get any estate settled on myself by my own matching, by reason of my late miscarriage in my first treaty, which gave me abundant experience of his inconstancy, my next votes and wishes were to see him well and happily mariied to some good and ancient widow, every way fit for him; and accordingly he fell in treaty this February with Dame Elizabeth Denton [aged 44], the widow and relict of Sir Anthony Denton, Knt., late of Tunbridge, in the county of Kent. She was the eldest daughter of Thomas Isham, Esq., of Langport in Northamptonshire, deceased, and sister of Sir John Isham [aged 40], Knt., living. Her age was about forty-five, and her estate, both in ready money and jointure, so considerable and fair, as my father had just grounds even in that respect, she requiring but a reasonable jointure, to desire the match. But she was, besides, very discreet, frugal, and religious, which added to her estate and extraction, being both without exception, occasioned a gentleman, my father's very good friend, to make the motion to him, knowing it to be very seasonable for the good of himself and his children, there being little likelihood that she should add to his number he already enjoyed, because shte never had any issue by her former husband, although she continued his wife divers years.
Note 1. The anxiety of the public in regard to this matter appears to have exhibited itself very strongly. In the Harl. MSS. occurs the following note: - "Far the Spanish business things seem still far off. On Saturday, at ten in the forenoon, as our fleet passed by Dover towards Portsmouth, there to levictual, arrived there a gentleman of the Prince's Privy Chamber from Spain, who said, either in truth or in jest to content the people, that the Prince would be here before the fleet could be in Spain; and wagers are laid here of hin return hither thia month." This was written in the following July.
Autobiography Simon D'Ewes. 3rd March 1623. I received immediately much happiness by this intermarriage; my greatest private fear I had of my father's unequal match with some young woman being cleared, and the Lady Denton expressing daily to me much respect and affection, so as I now began to consider God's mercy to me in dissolving abortively that former treaty I had with Mr. Waldegrave's daughter and co-heir, in Essex, in the year 1621; of which she being the elder, of the two, I should too soon have found the inconvenience; yet, as some diminution to my present content, being thinly clothed on the nuptial day, and the weather cold and sharp, I got an extreme cold, which hung upon me divers days after, so that I had much ado on Saturday morning, March the 8th, to go and visit my [her future husband] father [aged 56] and his new-married wife [aged 44], being then to depart together out of town to her jointure-house in Kent, situated in the town of Tunbridge [Map].
On 5th March 1623 Paul d'Ewes [aged 56] and Elizabeth Isham [aged 44] were married at St Faith's under St Paul's [Map].
Autobiography Simon D'Ewes. 14th March 1623. On Friday, March the 14th, our Middle Temple reader, Mr. Brampton, ended his reading, and myself, as my health permitted, settled reasonably well to my study. On Tuesday, the 26th day of March, my [her husband] father [aged 56] returned with the Lady Denton [aged 44] from Tunbridge [Map] in Kent, to pass by London into Surrey, to my brother Elliot's, and having lain in London one night, took their journey thither the following day. On the 27th, 28th, and 29th days of the same month, I was for the most part present at an anatomy lecture, read by Doctor Harvey [aged 44]1, at the Physicians' College, near Paternoster Row, by which I gained much profitable knowledge, as I did also by the converse of very able students who were my ordinary companions in the Middle Temple.
Note 1. The eminent discoverer of the circulation of the human blood.
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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On 24th October 1626 [her step-son] Simonds D'Ewes 1st Baronet [aged 23] and Anne Clopton [aged 14] were married.
On 28th August 1628 [her son-in-law] Thomas Isham [aged 27] and [her daughter] Elizabeth Denton [aged 18] were married. They were half second cousin once removed.
In 1631 [her husband] Paul d'Ewes [aged 64] died.
On 25th July 1664 Elizabeth Isham [aged 85] died.
Great x 1 Grandfather: Euseby Isham
GrandFather: John Isham