Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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Paternal Family Tree: Blount
In or before 1415 [his father] Thomas Blount [aged 24] and [his mother] Margaret Gresley [aged 21] were married.
Around 1416 Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy was born to [his father] Thomas Blount [aged 26] and [his mother] Margaret Gresley [aged 23].
Before 18th October 1424 Humphrey Stafford 6th Earl Stafford [aged 22] and [his future wife] Anne Neville Duchess Buckingham [aged 16] were married. She by marriage Countess Stafford. She the daughter of Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 60] and Joan Beaufort Countess of Westmoreland [aged 45]. He the son of Edmund Stafford 5th Earl Stafford and Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford [aged 41]. They were second cousins. He a great grandson of King Edward III of England. She a great granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
Before 1442 Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy [aged 25] and Helena Byron Baroness Mountjoy [aged 25] were married.
In 1442 [his son] William Blount was born to Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy [aged 26] and [his wife] Helena Byron Baroness Mountjoy [aged 26]. He married in or before 1464 Margaret Echingham and had issue.
In September 1444 Humphrey Stafford 6th Earl Stafford [aged 42] was created 1st Duke of Buckingham by King Henry VI of England and II of France [aged 22] in reward for many years of loyal and continuous service to the Crown. [his future wife] Anne Neville Duchess Buckingham [aged 36] by marriage Duchess of Buckingham.
Around 1450 [his son] John Blount 3rd Baron Mountjoy was born to Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy [aged 34] and [his wife] Helena Byron Baroness Mountjoy [aged 34] at Rock, Worcestershire. He married 1477 Lora Berkeley Countess Ormonde and had issue.
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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In 1456 [his mother] Margaret Gresley [aged 63] died.
In 1456 [his father] Thomas Blount [aged 66] died at Elvaston, Derbyshire [Map].
On 29th March 1461 the Battle of Towton was a decisive victory for King Edward IV of England [aged 18] bringing to an end the first war of the Wars of the Roses. Said to be the bloodiest battle on English soil 28000 were killed mainly during the rout that followed the battle.
The Yorkist army was commanded by King Edward IV of England with John Mowbray 3rd Duke of Norfolk [aged 45], William Neville 1st Earl Kent [aged 56], William Hastings 1st Baron Hastings [aged 30] (knighted), Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy [aged 45], Henry Bourchier 2nd Count of Eu 1st Earl Essex [aged 57], John Scrope 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 23] and John Wenlock 1st Baron Wenlock [aged 61].
The Lancastrian army suffered significant casualties including Richard Percy [aged 35], Ralph Bigod Lord Morley [aged 50], John Bigod [aged 28], Robert Cromwell [aged 71], Ralph Eure [aged 49], John Neville 1st Baron Neville of Raby [aged 51], John Beaumont [aged 33], Thomas Dethick [aged 61], Everard Simon Digby, William Plumpton [aged 25] and William Welles [aged 51] who were killed.
Henry Percy 3rd Earl of Northumberland [aged 39] was killed. Earl of Northumberland, Baron Percy of Alnwick, Baron Percy of Topcliffe forfeit.
Ralph Dacre 1st Baron Dacre Gilsland [aged 49] was killed. He was buried at the nearby Saxton church where his chest tomb is extant. Baron Dacre Gilsland extinct.
Lionel Welles 6th Baron Welles [aged 55] was killed. His son Richard [aged 33] succeeded 7th Baron Welles.
The Lancastrian army was commanded by Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset [aged 25], Henry Holland 3rd Duke Exeter [aged 30], Henry Percy 3rd Earl of Northumberland and Andrew Trollope.
Henry Holland 3rd Duke Exeter was attainted after the battle; Duke Exeter, Earl Huntingdon forfeit.
Those who fought for the Lancaster included William Tailboys 7th Baron Kyme [aged 46], William Plumpton, John Sutton 1st Baron Dudley [aged 60], William Norreys [aged 20], Thomas Grey 1st Baron Grey of Richemont [aged 43], Robert Hungerford 3rd Baron Hungerford 1st Baron Moleyns [aged 30], John Talbot 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 12], Richard Welles 7th Baron Welles, Baron Willoughby, Richard Woodville 1st Earl Rivers [aged 56], James Butler 1st Earl Wiltshire 5th Earl Ormonde [aged 40], John Butler 6th Earl Ormonde [aged 39], William Beaumont 2nd Viscount Beaumont [aged 22], Henry Roos and Thomas Tresham [aged 41]. Cardinal John Morton [aged 41] were captured.
John Heron of Ford Castle Northumberland [aged 45], Robert Dethick [aged 86], Andrew Trollope and his son David Trollope were killed.
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Warkworth's Chronicle [1461-1474]. [27th June 1461] As for alle thynges that folowe, referre them to my copey, in whyche is wretyn a remanente lyke to this forseyd werke: that is to wytt, that, at the coronacyone1 of the forseyde Edwarde, he create and made dukes his two brythir, the eldere George [aged 11] Duke of Clarence, and his yongere brothir Richard [aged 8] Duke of Gloucetre; and the Lord Montagu [aged 30]2, the Earl of Warwick [aged 32]'s brothere, the Earl of Northumberlonde; and one William Stafford squiere, Lord Stafforde of Southwyke; and Sere Herbard [aged 38], Lorde Herbard, and after Lorde Earl of Penbroke3; and so the seide Lorde Stafforde [aged 22] was made Earl of Devynschire4; the Lorde Gray Ryffyne [aged 44], Earl of Kent6; the Lorde Bourchyer [aged 57], Earl of Essex; the [his future step-son] Lorde Jhon of Bokyngham [aged 33], the Earl of Wyltschyre5; Sere Thomas [Walter] Blount [aged 45]7, knyghte, Lord Mont[joy]; Sere Jhon Hawarde, Lorde Hawarde [aged 36]8; William Hastynges [aged 30] he made Lorde Hastynges and grete Chamberlayne; and the Lorde Ryvers; Denham squyere, Lorde Dynham; and worthy as is afore schewed; and othere of gentylmen and yomenne he made knyghtes and squyres, as they hade desserved.
Note. The Warkworth Chronicle, in Bernard's Catalogue of the Peterhouse manuscripts, taken from James's Eclogæ, is numbered - 230. It may be as well to observe that John Bagford mentions a contemporary Chronicle in English MS. of the events of the commencement of Edward's reign, in MS. Tann. Bodl. 453.
Note 1. At the coronacyone. King Edward was crowned in Westminster Abbey, on the 29th of June 1461. Warkworth's first passage is both imperfect and incorrect, and would form a very bad specimen of the value of the subsequent portions of his narrative; yet we find it transferred to the Chronicle of Stowe. It must, however, be regarded rather as a memorandum of the various creations to the peerage made during Edward's reign, than as a part of the chronicle. Not even the third peerage mentioned, the Earldom of Northumberland, was conferred at the Coronation, but by patent dated 27 May 1464: and the only two Earldoms bestowed in Edward's first year (and probably at the Coronation) were, the Earldom of Essex, conferred on Henry Viscount Bourchier, Earl of Eu in Normandy, who had married the King's aunt, the Princess Isabel of York; and the Earldom of Kent, conferred on William Neville, Lord Fauconberg, one of King Edward's generals at Towton. The former creation is mentioned by Warkworth lower down in his list; the latter is omitted altogether. - J.G.N.
Note 2. The Lord Montagu. And then Kyng Edward, concidering the greate feate doon by the said Lord Montagu, made hym Earl of Northumberlond; and in July next folowyng th'Earl of Warwyk, with th'ayde of the said Earl of Northumberland, gate agayn the castell of Bamborugh, wheryn was taken Sir Raaf Gray [aged 29], which said Ser Raaf was after behedid and quartred at York. Also, in this yere, the first day of May, the Kyng wedded Dame Elizabeth Gray [aged 24], late wif unto the lord Gray of Groby, and doughter to the Lord Ryvers." - The London Chronicle, MS. Cotton. Vitell. A. xvi. fol. 126, ro. The MS. of the London Chronicle, from which Sir Harris Nicolas printed his edition, does not contain this passage. It is almost unnecessary to remark the chronological incorrectness of the above, but it serves to show how carelessly these slight Chronicles were compiled. Cf. MS. Add. Mus. Brit. 6113, fol. 192, rº. and MS. Cotton. Otho, B. XIV. fol. 221, ro.
Note 3. Lord Earl of Pembroke. William Lord Herbert of Chepstow, the first of the long line of Herbert Earls of Pembroke, was so created the 27th May 1468. His decapitation by the Duke of Clarence at Northampton in 1469, is noticed by Warkworth in p. 7.-J.G.N.
Note 4. Earl of Devynschire. Humphery Stafford, created Baron Stafford of Southwick by patent 24th April 1464, was advanced to the Earldom of Devon 7th May 1469; but beheaded by the commons at Bridgwater before the close of the same year, as related by Warkworth, ubi supra. - J.G.N.
Note 5. Earl of Wyltschyre. John Stafford, created Earl of Wiltshire, 5th Jan. 1470; he died in 1473.—J.G.N.
Note 6."The Lorde Gray Ryffyne, Earl of Kent". The Earl of Kent, of the family of Neville, died without male issue, a few months after his elevation to that dignity; and it was conferred on the 30th May 1465, on Edmund Lord Grey de Ruthyn, on occasion of the Queen's coronation. He was cousin-german to Sir John Grey, of Groby, the Queen's first husband. On the same occasion the Queen's son Sir Thomas Grey [aged 6] was created Marquess of Dorset; her father Richard Wydevile [aged 56] lord Ryvers was advanced to the dignity of Earl Ryvers; and her brother Anthony [aged 21] married to the heiress of Scales, in whose right he was summoned to Parliament as a Baron. - J.G.N.
Note 7.Sere Thomas Blount. This should be Walter, created Lord Montjoy 20th June 1465; he died in 1474.-J.G.N.
Note 8. Sere Jhon Hawarde, Lord Hawarde. John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk. This peerage dates its origin, by writ of summons to Parliament, during the short restoration of Henry VI. in 1470, a circumstance more remarkable as "evidence exists that he did not attach himself to the interest of that Prince, being constitued by Edward, in the same year, commander of his fleet." See Sir Harris Nicolas's memoir of this distinguished person (afterwards the first Duke of Norfolk) in Cartwright's History of the Rape of Bramber, p. 189.-J.G.N.
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In or before 1464 [his son] William Blount [aged 21] and [his daughter-in-law] Margaret Echingham [aged 15] were married.
On 20th June 1465 Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy [aged 49] was created 1st Baron Mountjoy. [his wife] Helena Byron Baroness Mountjoy [aged 49] by marriage Baroness Mountjoy.
On 25th November 1467 Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy [aged 51] and Anne Neville Duchess Buckingham [aged 59] were married. She by marriage Baroness Mountjoy. She the daughter of Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland and Joan Beaufort Countess of Westmoreland.
Before 1468 John Talbot 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 19] and [his step-daughter] Catherine Stafford Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford [aged 30] were married. She by marriage Countess of Shrewsbury Countess Waterford. She the daughter of Humphrey Stafford 1st Duke of Buckingham and [his wife] Anne Neville Duchess Buckingham [aged 59]. He the son of John Talbot 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury and Elizabeth Butler Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford [aged 43]. They were second cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
In 1468 [his wife] Helena Byron Baroness Mountjoy [aged 52] died.
A Brief Latin Chronicle. In this year, Lord Anthony Scales [aged 28] and Lord Walter Blount [aged 52], then called Lord Mountjoy, around the feast of the Translation of Saint Edward the Confessor [13th October 1468], boarded ships with many thousands of armed men. But being disrupted by great storms, they accomplished nothing and returned to England in disgrace.
Hoc anno dominus Antonius Scales, dominus Walterus Blownt, tunc dictus dominus de Mowtjoye, circiter festum Translacionis Sancti Edwardi Confessoris, cum multis milibus armatorum, naves ingressi et tempestatibus magnis turbati, nichil proficientes, in Angliam cum dedecore redierunt.
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 5th January 1470 [his step-son] John Stafford 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 42] was created 1st Earl Wiltshire. See Warkworth Note 5.
Before 7th April 1470 [his step-son] John Stafford 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 42] and Constance Green Countess Wiltshire [aged 43] were married. She by marriage Countess Wiltshire. He the son of Humphrey Stafford 1st Duke of Buckingham and [his wife] Anne Neville Duchess Buckingham [aged 62].
On 14th April 1471 Edward IV [aged 28] commanded at the Battle of Barnet supported by his brothers George [aged 21] and Richard [aged 18], John Babington [aged 48], Wiliam Hastings [aged 40] (commanded), Ralph Hastings, William Norreys [aged 30], William Parr [aged 37], John Savage [aged 49], William Bourchier Viscount Bourchier [aged 41], Thomas St Leger [aged 31], John Tuchet 6th Baron Audley, 3rd Baron Tuchet [aged 45], Thomas Burgh 1st Baron Burgh of Gainsborough [aged 40], John Scott [aged 48] and Thomas Strickland.
The Yorkists William Blount [aged 29], Humphrey Bourchier [aged 36], Henry Stafford [aged 46] and Thomas Parr were killed.
Humphrey Bourchier 1st Baron Cromwell [aged 40], was killed. Baron Cromwell extinct.
The Lancastrians...
Warwick the Kingmaker [aged 42] was killed. Earl Salisbury, Baron Montagu, Baron Montagu and Baron Monthermer forfeit on the assumption he was attainted either before or after his death; the date of his attainder is unknown. If not attainted the titles may have been abeyant between his two daughters Isabel Neville Duchess Clarence [aged 19] and Anne Neville Queen Consort England [aged 14].
John Neville 1st Marquess Montagu [aged 40] was killed. Marquess Montagu, Baron Montagu forfeit; unclear as to when he was attainted. He was buried at Bisham Abbey [Map].
William Tyrrell was killed.
William Fiennes 2nd Baron Saye and Sele [aged 43] was killed. His son Henry [aged 25] succeeded 3rd Baron Saye and Sele. Anne Harcourt Baroness Saye and Sele by marriage Baroness Saye and Sele.
Henry Holland 3rd Duke Exeter [aged 40] commanded the left flank, was badly wounded and left for dead, Henry Stafford and John Paston [aged 27] were wounded, John de Vere 13th Earl of Oxford [aged 28] commanded, and John Paston [aged 29] and William Beaumont 2nd Viscount Beaumont [aged 33] fought.
Robert Harleston [aged 36] was killed.
Thomas Hen Salusbury [aged 62] was killed.
Thomas Tresham [aged 51] escaped but was subsequently captured and executed on the 6th of May 1471.
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In 1472 King Edward IV of England [aged 29] appointed new Garter Knights given the large number of vacant positions as a result of the recent Warwick rebellion:
203rd John Mowbray 4th Duke of Norfolk [aged 27].
204th [his step-son] John Stafford 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 44].
205th Walter Devereux Baron Ferrers of Chartley [aged 40].
206th Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy [aged 56].
207th John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk [aged 47].
208th John de la Pole 2nd Duke of Suffolk [aged 29].
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In 1472 [his sister-in-law] Eleanor Neville Countess Northumberland [aged 75] died.
In April 1472 [his step-daughter] Anne Stafford Baroness Cobham Sternborough [aged 26] died. She was buried at Lingfield, Kent.
On 8th May 1473 [his step-son] John Stafford 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 45] died. His son Edward [aged 3] succeeded 2nd Earl Wiltshire.
On 1st August 1474 Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy [aged 58] died. His grandson Edward [aged 10] succeeded 2nd Baron Mountjoy.
On 20th September 1480 [his former wife] Anne Neville Duchess Buckingham [aged 72] died.
[his son] James Blount was born to Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy and Helena Byron Baroness Mountjoy.
[his son] Edward Blount was born to Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy and Helena Byron Baroness Mountjoy.
[his daughter] Anne Blount was born to Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy and Helena Byron Baroness Mountjoy.
Kings Wessex: Great x 17 Grand Son of King Edward "Elder" of the Anglo Saxons
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 14 Grand Son of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 16 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 14 Grand Son of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Kings England: Great x 10 Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Kings Scotland: Great x 12 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 19 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 12 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 16 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Blount 
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Blount
Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabel Odingsells
Great x 2 Grandfather: Walter Blount
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Beauchamp 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Isabel Beauchamp
Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabel Maudit
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Blount
Great x 2 Grandmother: Joanna Sodington
GrandFather: Walter Blount 8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Beauchamp 1st Baron Beauchamp 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Beauchamp 1st Baron Beauchamp Somerset 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Cicely Vivonne Forz Baroness Beauchamp 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Beauchamp 2nd Baron Beauchamp Somerset 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Joan Cheduit Baroness Beauchamp Somerset
Great x 1 Grandmother: Eleanor Beauchamp 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John St John 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John St John 1st Baron St John of Basing
Great x 4 Grandmother: Agnes Fitzpiers
Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret St John Baroness Beauchamp Somerset 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Hugh Courtenay 3rd Baron Okehampton 
4 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Isabel Courtenay Baroness St John of Basing 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Despencer Baroness Okehampton 
4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Father: Thomas Blount 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Diego Gómez Toledo
GrandMother: Sancha Toledo
Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
GrandFather: Thomas Gresley 
Mother: Margaret Gresley