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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Maternal Family Tree: Margaret Donnington Countess Bath 1509-1561
Frances Kitson was born to [her father] Thomas Kitson and [her mother] Margaret Donnington Countess Bath.
Before 1511 [her father] Thomas Kitson [aged 25] and [her mother] Margaret Donnington Countess Bath [aged 1] were married. The difference in their ages was 24 years.
On 11th September 1540 [her father] Thomas Kitson [aged 55] died.
In 1541 Richard Long [aged 47] and [her mother] Margaret Donnington Countess Bath [aged 32] were married.
On 4th December 1548 a double wedding of a father and son, and a mother and daughter, was celebrated at Hengrave Hall, Bury St Edmunds.
John Bourchier 2nd Earl Bath [aged 49] and Margaret Donnington Countess Bath [aged 39] were married. She by marriage Countess Bath. He the son of John Bourchier 1st Earl Bath and Cecily Daubeney Baroness Fitzwarin.
John Bourchier [aged 19] and Frances Kitson were married. She the daughter of Thomas Kitson and Margaret Donnington Countess Bath. He the son of John Bourchier 2nd Earl Bath and Eleanor Manners Countess Bath.
On 28th February 1556 [her husband] John Bourchier [aged 27] died. He was buried at the Church of St John Lateran, Hengrave.
Around September 1557 William Barnaby and Frances Kitson were married. He was land agent to her former father-ine-law the John Bourchier 2nd Earl Bath [aged 58]; the marriage as a consequence gave great offence to her friends. She the daughter of Thomas Kitson and Margaret Donnington Countess Bath [aged 48].
On 29th September 1557 [her son] William Bourchier 3rd Earl Bath was born to [her former husband] John Bourchier and Frances Kitson. He married (1) 15th December 1578 Mary Cornwallis Countess Bath (2) 7th August 1583 his half sixth cousin Elizabeth Russell Countess Bath, daughter of Francis Russell 2nd Earl Bedford and Margaret St John Countess Bedford, and had issue.
On 12th December 1561 [her mother] Margaret Donnington Countess Bath [aged 52] died at Stoke Newington [Map]. She was buried on 11th January 1562 at the Church of St John Lateran, Hengrave; see Henry Machyn's Diary.
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 15th December 1578 [her son] William Bourchier 3rd Earl Bath [aged 21] and [her daughter-in-law] Mary Cornwallis Countess Bath were married. The marriage, apparently, taking place secretly at night. She by marriage Countess Bath.
On 28th April 1581 the marriage of [her son] William Bourchier 3rd Earl Bath [aged 23] and [her daughter-in-law] Mary Cornwallis Countess Bath was annulled. A letter of Sir Thomas Cornwallis, dat. Brome, 10 June 1601, states "By deposition of 10 witnesses, it was most manifestly proved in the Arches, that the marriage was lawfully, clearly, and honestly compassed," that the Earl's mother "did by great means attempt to corrupt the then Judge of that Court... but not prevailing that way, all course of law was then broken, for they appealed to the Delegates, slne gravamlne... who thereupon proceeded in so violent a course as the like hath not been heard of.... Her adversaries effected the end of their desire; and yet the Commissioners' Sentence was with this corrective, viz. leaving the Earl to his own conscience." (Hist. MSS. Com., Hatfield MSS., Part xi, p. 223). This Mary was a legatee, 25 June 1601, in the will of Sir [her brother] Thomas Kitson [aged 40], her sister's [aged 40] husband, who mentions her said marriage, and that it afterwards proved most unfortunate and to her great hindrance. W. Lewyn, also, speaks of this Earl as having "made an untimely marriage by night with the da. of Sir Thomas Cornwallys, which was undone and the Earl since married to another, the da. (as I think) of the late Earl of Bedford [aged 54]." (Letter to Lord Cobham, 29 May 1596). V.G.
On 7th August 1583 [her son] William Bourchier 3rd Earl Bath [aged 25] and [her daughter-in-law] Elizabeth Russell Countess Bath were married at St Mary Major Church, Exeter. She by marriage Countess Bath, Countess Eu. She the daughter of Francis Russell 2nd Earl Bedford [aged 56] and Margaret St John Countess Bedford. They were half sixth cousins.
On 3rd April 1586 Frances Kitson died. She was buried at St Peter's Church, Tawstock [Map].
On 4th April 1586 Frances Kitson was buried at St Peter's Church, Tawstock [Map].
Scire ne vis lector quænam suit ista sepulta hic, Ex patre aurato milite quata suit Uxor erat domii Fitzwaren et auia tandem Bathoniæ comitis inclita mater erat. Quæ suit (o lector) quo coniuge quoq parente. Quen sobolem peperit sunt tibi dicta satis. Qualis erat tibi linor et indignatio dicant. Quæ mala si vellent dicere nulla queunt. Prosuit hæc multis nulli nocuisse notatur. Hanc terris demptan dives inopsq dolent. Non ego te longo cupio sermone morari. Plena decore suit plenaq honore suit. Terrea Franciscæ tibi mors, en debita pars est. Fama manet mundo mens animusq deo. Here lieth buried Francis lady Fitzwaren ye daughter of Sr [her father] Thomas Kitson Knight & wief to [her former husband] John lord Fitzwaren the sone & heire apparant of [her former father-in-law] John Erle of Bath By whom she had Issue Thomas, John, Margaret & Willm [aged 28] now Erle of Bath she patintly departed the mortality of this lyf in ye trew faith on Ester day Ao 1586. Elizabeth Regine XXVIII
Wilte thou o reader know what wighte she was thats buried here even of a famous worthie Knighte the childe and dawghter deare she wife unto fitzwarren Lorde at lengthe and grandam was and Mother to the Earle of Bathe erre she from life did passe O reader what she was whose wife whose childe & whom she bore my former words doe unto she sufficientlie declare. Let spite & malice speake the truthe what was this worthy wife Whoe if they would some will say yet cannot for their life She many noted was to helpe and to doe hurte to none Whom taken from the earth her death bothe riche & poor doe mone To hold thee here wth speaches longe is not ye thinge I crave of honor vertue and renowne none could more plenty have O Death this Frauncis earthlie parte is to they lotte befell In worlde her fame remayne her mind & soule wth God do dwell
Father: Thomas Kitson 
GrandFather: John Donnington of Stoke Newington