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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Around 1644 John Greenhill was born.
Around 1660 John Greenhill [aged 16]. Portrait of Catherine Ferrers [aged 25].
Catherine Ferrers: On 4th May 1634 she was born to Knighton Ferrers in Bayford, Hertfordshire some two-weeks after he had died. Her grandfather died soon after leaving Catherine, less than one years old, as one of the greatest landholders in Herfordshire. In 1648 Thomas Fanshawe 2nd Viscount Fanshawe and she were married. Around 13th June 1660 she died from gunshot wounds sustained during a robbery when she, apparently, attempted to rob an unknown person in her capacity as highwaywoman. She was buried at St Mary's Church, Ware. The History of the Fanshawe Family. By H C Fanshawe.: "She died at the age of 26 in June, 1660, immediately after Lady Fanshawe had been with her at her lodging in the Strand on the occasion of the celebration of the return of King Charles II. to his capital on the 29 of May. Sir William Dugdale records that he attended her funeral at Ware on the 12 June (the Ware Register gives the date as 13), and this must have been one of the first functions discharged by him as Norroy King at Arms. Possibly her death occurred at the birth of a child for the Register of Ayott St. Lawrence (no great distance from Ware), gives the burial, on 22 November in the same year, of "Mrs. Marie Fanshawe daughter of Sir Thomas Fanshaw."
Around 1660 John Greenhill [aged 16]. Portrait of o when Duke of York.
Around 1665 John Greenhill [aged 21]. Portrait of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 34] in his Garter Robes.
Around 1665 John Greenhill [aged 21]. Self-Portrait.
Around 1672 John Greenhill [aged 28]. Portrait of Anthony Ashley-Cooper 1st Earl Shaftesbury [aged 50].
Around 1675 John Greenhill [aged 31]. Portrait of Thomas Whitmore [aged 33].
Thomas Whitmore: Around 1642 he was born to Thomas Whitmore 1st Baronet. Before May 1665 Thomas Whitmore and Frances Brooke Lady Whitmore were married. Around 1682 Thomas Whitmore died.
Around 1675 John Greenhill [aged 31] (attributed). Portrait of Bishop Nathaniel Crew 3rd Baron Crew [aged 41].
Around 1675 John Greenhill [aged 31]. Portrait of Bishop John Earle wearing the robes of the Chancellor of the Order of the Garter.
Around 1676 John Greenhill [aged 32]. Portrait of Thomas Herbert 8th Earl Pembroke 5th Earl Montgomery [aged 20].
On 19th May 1676 John Greenhill [aged 32] died. He had been returning home somewhat less than sober from an evening in the Vine Tavern when he fell into a ditch in Long Acre. He was carried to his lodgings in Lincoln's Inn Fields but didn't recover. He was buried in St Giles in the Fields.