William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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Paternal Family Tree: Manny
In or before 1310 [his father] Jean "le Borgne" de Masny and [his mother] Jeanne de Jenlain were married.
Around 1310 Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny was born to [his father] Jean "le Borgne" de Masny and [his mother] Jeanne de Jenlain.
In 1324 [his father] Jean "le Borgne" de Masny was killed at La Réole.
Froissart Book 1: 1307-1340. [39] At the end of those days, Sir John of Hainault took his leave and departed, with all his company of Hainault, well supplied with fine jewels and rich gifts, which had been given to them on one side and the other, in many places. And there remained the young queen Philippa, with only a small company from her own country, except for one young gentleman, who was called Walter de Manny [aged 18], who stayed there to serve her and attend upon her person. This same Walter thereafter won such great favour with the king and with all the lords of the land, that he became a member of the king’s privy council, to the pleasure of all the nobles of the realm. And afterwards he performed such great feats of arms, in so many places, that one could not know their number, as you shall hear later in the history, if there be anyone to tell it to you. Now we shall be silent about him for the present, and about the English, and we shall turn back to the Scots.
[39] Au chief de ces jours, messires Jehans de Haynau prist congiet et s'en parti, o toute se compagnie de Haynau, bien furnis de biaus jeuiaus et riches, que on leur avoit donnés d'un costé et d'autre, en pluiseurs lieus. Et demora li jone royne Phelippe, à petite compagnie de son pays, fors mis un damoisiel, que on clamoit Watelet de Mauni, qui y demora pour servir et taillier devant li. Li quelz acquist puissedi si grant grasce au roy et à tous les signeurs dou pays, qu'il fu del secré conseil le roy, au gret de tous les nobles dou pays. Et fist de puis si grandes proèces de son corps, en tant de lieus, que on n'en pooit savoir le nombre, si com vous orés avant en l'ystore, se il est qui le vous die. Or nous tairons nous de lui à parler, tant qu'à present, et des Englès, et retournerons as Escos.
On 12th August 1332 Battle of Dupplin Moor was fought between the supporters of the infant King David II of Scotland [aged 8], son of King Robert the Bruce I of Scotland, and the supporters of King Edward I of Scotland [aged 49], supported by the English. The Bruce army included Robert Bruce Lord of Liddesdale and Domhnall Mar II Earl of Mar [aged 39]. The Balliol army included David III Strathbogie 11th Earl Atholl [aged 23], Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford [aged 30], Thomas Ughtred 1st Baron Ughtred [aged 40] and Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny [aged 22]. The battle is notable for being the first to use dismounted men-at-arms supported by archers; a formation that would bring repeated success to the English both in Scotland and France.
Robert Bruce Lord of Liddesdale was killed leading a charge.
Nicholas Hay [aged 47] was killed.
Thomas Randolph 2nd Earl Moray was killed. His brother John [aged 26] succeeded 3rd Earl Moray.
Domhnall Mar II Earl of Mar was killed.
In 1335 John Segrave 4th Baron Segrave [aged 19] and [his future wife] Margaret Plantagenet 1st Duchess of Norfolk were married. She by marriage Baroness Segrave. She the daughter of Thomas of Brotherton 1st Earl Norfolk [aged 34] and Alice Hales Countess Norfolk. They were fourth cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King John of England. She a granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. In the same year [1337], the king wrote explanatory letters detailing the origins of the hostilities that had arisen between himself and the tyrant of France. He entrusted these to his loyal knight Walter de Mauny [aged 27],1 a Burgundian, to be delivered to the Counts of Hainault, Guelders, and Jülich. All of these pledged,2 through their sealed letters, friendship and fidelity to the king against all unjust adversaries. During the course of his embassy, the aforementioned Walter de Mauny, seeking to avenge the blood of two Englishmen3 who, while in search of fresh water by ship, had been murdered by the inhabitants of a certain island near Flanders, ordered all he found on that island to be put to the sword. This was carried out effectively, under his own direction. There also he captured the brother of the Count of Flanders, whom he brought to the King of England. The king received him graciously, honoured him with fine gifts, horses, and jewels, and then sent him back to Flanders at liberty.
Eodem quoque anno scripsit literas expositorias inicia inimiciciarum inter ipsum et tirannum Francie exortarum continentes, quas Waltero le Magne, militi suo fideli, Burgundinensi, tradidit deferendas comitibus Hannonie, Gelrie, et Iuliacensi; qui omnes amiciciam et contra omnes iniustos suos adversarios fidelitatem regi per eorum literas patentes compromiserunt. Prefatus Walterus le Magne, pro tempore sue legacionis vindicaturus sanguinem duorum Anglicorum, quos quesituros navibus aquas recentes indigene cuiusdam insule iyxta Flandriam necuere, omnes quos invenit in eadem insula iussit in ore gladii trucidari; quod effectualiter fuit impletum, ipso prestante. Ibidem eciam cepit germanum comitis Flandrie, quem rex Anglie sibi adductum, pulcris muneribus, equis, et iocalibus honouratum, Flandriam remisit cum libertate.
Note 1. Sir Walter Mauny, or Manny, was the son of a knight of Hainault, and was born at Valenciennes, thus being a fellow townsman of Froissart. He came to England in the train of queen Philippa. He was knighted in 1331, and rapidly rose to distinction, serving in the various campaigns of Edward's reign. He was summoned to parliament, as baron, in 1347; became Knight Garter in 1359; and died in January 1372. He married Margaret, daughter of Thomas of Brotherton, earl of Norfolk.
Note 2. The formal agreement with the counts of Hainault and Guelders and the marquis of Juliers, to levy troops, is dated 24th May 1337. Rymer's Fœdera 2.970. The principal ambassador, with whom however many others were associated, was Henry Burghersh or Burwash, bishop of Lincoln.
Note 3. Baker here simply follows Murimuth. The attack on Cadzand, an island at the mouth of the western Scheldt, which was held by Guy, bastard brother of Louis of Flanders, was the object of an organized expedition under the earl of Derby. The garrison was routed on the 10th November 1337.
On 4th August 1338 Thomas of Brotherton 1st Earl Norfolk [aged 38] died at Framlingham Castle, Suffolk [Map]. His daughter [his future wife] Margaret succeeded 2nd Countess Norfolk. She also succeeded to the title Earl Marshal, the only woman to have held this office, and inherited Framlingham Castle, Suffolk [Map].
On 24th June 1340 King Edward III of England [aged 27] attacked the French fleet at anchor during the Battle of Sluys capturing more than 200 ships, killing around 18000 French. The English force included John Beauchamp 1st Baron Beauchamp Warwick [aged 24], William Bohun 1st Earl of Northampton [aged 30], Henry Scrope 1st Baron Scrope of Masham [aged 27], William Latimer 4th Baron Latimer of Corby [aged 10], John Lisle 2nd Baron Lisle [aged 22], Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford [aged 38], Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 30], Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny [aged 30], Hugh Despencer 1st Baron Despencer [aged 32] and Richard Pembridge [aged 20].
Thomas Monthermer 2nd Baron Monthermer [aged 38] died from wounds. His daughter Margaret succeeded 3rd Baroness Monthermer.
Around 25th August 1345 Henry of Grosmont, Earl of Derby [aged 35], commanded the English forces at Bergerac, Dordogne during the Battle of Bergerac. The English army including Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny [aged 35] won a decisive victory over the French with Henri Montigny captured.
On 21st October 1345 Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 35] commanded an English army including Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny [aged 35] at Auberoche, Perigueux during the Battle of Auberoche. The battle was a significant victory for the English with the French forces being heavily defeated. The ransoms alone made a fortune for many of the soldiers in Derby's army, as well as Derby himself, who was said to have made at least £50,000 from the day's captives, and sealed his reputation as 'one of the best warriors in the world'.
On 12th November 1347 Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny [aged 37] was created 1st Baron Manny.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. In this year, after the feast of Saint Martin, there assembled at Calais1 the Bishop of Norwich [aged 50], the Earl of Lancaster, the Earl of Suffolk [aged 50], and Lord Walter Mauny [aged 38] on the part of the English; and on the part of the French, the Bishop of Lyon, the Duke of Bourbon, the Duke of Dauphiné, the Count of Guînes, the Lord of Tancarville, and Lord Geoffrey de Charny [aged 42], for the purpose of renewing the truces. But the Earl of Lancaster refused to give his assent until two fortifications at Calais, which were harmful and built contrary to the terms of the previous truces, had been demolished. Once that had been done, the truces were renewed, set to last until the first day of December of the following year.
Isto anno, post festum sancti Martini, convenerunt apud Calesiam episcopus Norwycensis, comes Lancastrie, comes Suthfolchie, et dominus Walterus Magne, ex parte Anglorum; item, episcopus Lugdunensis, dux de Burbone et dux Dactenes et comes de Gynes et dominus de Tankerville et dominus Galfridus de Charny, ex parte Francorum, pro treugis renovandis; quibus noluit comes Lancastrie assentire, quousque duo fortalicia Calesie nociva et contra formam pristinarum treugarum edificata fuerant diruta. Quo facto, renovate sunt treuge, usque ad primum diem Decembris anni proximo futuri durature.
Note 1. The commission to the English envoys is dated 25th September 1348. The French envoys were Hugues, bishop of Laon, Jean de Nesle, sire d'Offemont, Geoffroi de Charny, and the master of the crossbowmen. The prolongation of the truce to the 1st September (not December) of the following year was agreed to on the 13th November. Rymer's Fœdera 3.173, 177. Baker appears to have confused the negotiations of this and the next year.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. In this year,1 on the feast day of Saint George [23rd April 1350], the king held a great banquet at Windsor Castle [Map], where he established a chantry of twelve priests, and founded a hospital, in which impoverished knights, whose means were insufficient, could, in the service of the Lord, receive suitable support from the perpetual alms of the founders of that college. Besides the king, other nobles contributed to the foundation of this hospital, namely: the king's eldest son, the Earl of Northampton [aged 40], the Earl of Warwick [aged 37], the Earl of Suffolk [aged 51], the Earl of Salisbury [aged 21], and other barons. Also included were simple knights, such as: Roger de Mortimer [aged 21], now Earl of March, Lord Walter de Mauny [aged 40], Lord William FitzWarin [aged 34], John de Lisle [aged 14], John de Mohun [aged 30], John de Beauchamp [aged 31], Walter de Pavely [aged 31], Thomas Wale [aged 47] and Hugh de Wrottesley [aged 16]. Men whose proven virtue ranked them among the wealthiest earls. Together with the king, all these men were clothed in robes of powdered russet, with garters of Indian colour, also wearing garters on their right legs, and mantles of blue, adorned with the shield of Saint George. In such attire, bareheaded, they devoutly attended a solemn Mass, sung by the bishops of Canterbury, Winchester, and Exeter. They then sat together at a common table, in honour of the holy martyr, to whom they dedicated this noble brotherhood, calling their company "The Knights of Saint George of the Garter."
Isto anno, in die sancti Georgii, rex celebravit grande convivium apud Wyndesore in castro, ubi instituit cantariam xij. sacerdotum, et fundavit zenodochium, in quo milites depauperati, quibus sua non sufficerent, possent in Domini servitute de perpetuis elemosinis fundatorum illius collegii sustentacionem competentem habere. Preter regem fuerunt alii compromittentes in fundacionem istius zenodochii, scilicet regis primogenitus, comes Norhamptonie, comes Warewici, comes Suthfolchie, comes Salisbiriensis, et alii barones; simplices quoque milites, scilicet Rogerus de Mortuo mari, nunc comes Marchie, dominus Walterus de Magne, dominus Willelmus filius Garini, Iohannes de Insula, Iohannes de Mohun, Iohannes de Bealchampe, Walterus de Pavely, Thomas Wale, et Hughe de Wrotesley, quos probitas experta ditissimis comitibus associavit. Una cum rege fuerunt omnes isti vestiti togis de russeto pulverizato cum garteriis Indie coloris, habentes eciam tales garterias in tibiis dextris, et mantella de blueto cum scutulis armorum sancti Georgii. Tali apparatu nudi capita audierunt devote missam celebrem per antistites Cantuariensem, Wintoniensem, et Exoniensem decantatam, et conformiter sederunt in mensa communi ob honourem sancti martiris, cui tam nobilem fraternitatem specialiter intitularunt, appellantes istorum comitivam sancti Georgii de la gartiere.
Note 1. Stow Annales 390: "This yeere, on Saint Georges day [23rd April 1350], the king held a great and solemne feast at his castle of Windsor, where he had augmented the chappel which Henry the first and other his progenitors, kings of England, had before erected, of eight chanons. He added to those eight chanons a deane and fifteene chanons more, and 24 poore and impotent knights, with other ministers and servants, as appeareth in his charter dated the two and twentieth of his reigne. Besides the king, there were other also that were contributors to the foundation of this colledge, as followeth: i. The sovereigne king Edward the third, 2. Edward, his eldest sonne, prince of Wales, 3. Henry, duke of Lancaster, 4. the earle of Warwicke, 5. Captaine de Bouch [aged 19], 6. Ralph, earle of Stafford [aged 48], 7. William Montacute, earle of Salisburie, 8. Roger, lorde Mortimer, earle of March, 9. sir John de Lisle [aged 31], 10. sir .
It will be seen that Stow here alters the names to tally with the list of the original knights or First Founders of the order of the Garter. Baker seems to be anticipating. William Bohun, 1st earl of Northampton, and Robert Ufford, 1st earl of Suffolk, and sir William Fitz-Warine became knights of the order at an early date; but Roger Mortimer, here styled 'now Earl of March,' did not have that title before 1352, and sir Walter Manny did not receive the garter till the end of 1359.
The date of the foundation of the order of the Garter has never been exactly determined. Froissart 203.
The Brute chronicle (Egerton MS. 650) has this description, although under a wrong year: "And in the XIX yere of his regne, anone aftre, in Jannuere, before Lenten, the same kyng Edward lete make fulle noble iustice and grete festes in the place of hys byrth, at Wyndsore, that ther were never none suche seyne before that tyme, ne I trowe sythene. At whech iustice, festis and ryalte weryn II kinges, II quenys, and the prince of Wales and the duke of Cornewale, ten erles, nine countesse, many barons, knyghttes, and worthy burgesse, the whech myght not lyghtly be nombrede; and also of dyverse londes as byyonde the see were many strangers. And at that tyme, whene the iustes had done, the kyng Edward made a grete souper, in the wheche he begone fyrst hys round table, and ordayned stedfastly the day of the forsayd table to be holde ther at Wyndessore in the Whytesonwyke evermore yerely."
Relying on the date given in the statutes of the order and on this passage in Baker, writers on the subject have adopted 1349 or 1350 as the year of foundation. But an entry in the household-book of the Black Prince affords a reason for dating the event a year earlier, payment having been made on the 18th November 1348, for twenty-four garters which were given by the prince "militibus de societate garterias" i.e. "garters [were given] to the knights of the society"; Beltz, Memorials of the Order of the Garter, pp. XXXII, 385. Proof however is not conclusive, as the ministers' accounts in the household-book were rendered between 1352 and 1365, and there is therefore room for error; moreover, the garters in question may have been prepared in anticipation. The date of 1349, which is given in the preamble to the earliest copies of the statutes, although it is true that those copies are not contemporary, is not to be lightly set aside. It is, indeed, most probable that the order was never solemnly instituted at an early period, but that it was gradually taking shape during the years following the foundation of the Round Table. Edward's patent, bearing date of 22nd August 1348, whereby he instituted a chapel at Windsor, with a fraternity of eight secular canons and a warden, fifteen other canons, and four-and-twenty poor knights, appears to be the first formal document which can be quoted as a foundation-deed of the order. After this there is no direct reference to it until 1350, when robes were issued for the King against the coming Feast of St. George, together with a Garter containing the King's motto, "Hony soyt qui mal y pense!" Nicolas, History of Orders of Knighthood, 1.24.
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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In 1354 Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny [aged 44] and Margaret Plantagenet 1st Duchess of Norfolk were married. She by marriage Baroness Manny. She the daughter of Thomas of Brotherton 1st Earl Norfolk and Alice Hales Countess Norfolk.
In 1357 [his son] Thomas Manny was born to Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny [aged 47] and [his wife] Margaret Plantagenet 1st Duchess of Norfolk in London. He a great grandson of King Edward I of England. He died aged five in 1362.
In 1360 King Edward III of England [aged 47] created new Garter Knights:
31st Thomas Ughtred 1st Baron Ughtred [aged 68].
32nd Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny [aged 50].
33rd Frank Hale.
34th Thomas Ufford [aged 27].
In January 1362 [his son] Thomas Manny [aged 5] drowned in a well at Deptford, Kent [Map].
Before 1368 [his step-daughter] Elizabeth Segrave 5th Baroness Segrave Baroness Mowbray [aged 29] died. Her son John [aged 2] succeeded 6th Baron Segrave. The date somewhat uncertain but consistent with John Mowbray 1st Earl Nottingham succeeding.
In July 1368 [his son-in-law] John Hastings 2nd Earl Pembroke [aged 20] and Anne Manny Countess Pembroke were married. She by marriage Countess Pembroke. She the daughter of Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny [aged 58] and Margaret Plantagenet 1st Duchess of Norfolk. He the son of Laurence Hastings 1st Earl Pembroke and Agnes Mortimer Countess of Pembroke. They were half fourth cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King John of England. She a great granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
On 12th January 1372 Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny [aged 62] died. His daughter Anne succeeded 2nd Baroness Manny. John Hastings 2nd Earl Pembroke [aged 24] by marriage Baron Manny.
On 24th March 1399 [his former wife] Margaret Plantagenet 1st Duchess of Norfolk died. Duke Norfolk extinct since it was created for life only. She was buried in the choir of Christ Church, Greyfriars [Map]. Her grandson Thomas [aged 31] succeeded 3rd Earl Norfolk. Elizabeth Fitzalan Duchess Norfolk [aged 33] by marriage Countess Norfolk.
[his daughter] Anne Manny Countess Pembroke was born to Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny and Margaret Plantagenet 1st Duchess of Norfolk. She a great granddaughter of King Edward I of England. She married July 1368 her half fourth cousin John Hastings 2nd Earl Pembroke, son of Laurence Hastings 1st Earl Pembroke and Agnes Mortimer Countess of Pembroke, and had issue.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. In the nineteenth year of the king's reign, Henry, Earl of Derby,1 later created Duke of Lancaster, and the Earls of Devon and Pembroke, as well as Lord Ralph Stafford; not yet Earl of Stafford but still a baron, and Lord Walter de Mauny, were sent to Gascony. There, having conquered walled towns and castles, they won many glorious battles with great bravery. The town of Aiguillon,2 which they captured by assault, was placed under the guardianship of Ralph of Stafford. Afterward, they moved against other towns, such as Bergerac, which due to its strength was called "the chamber of the French," and also Saint-Jean, La Réole, and many other large, strong, and well-fortified places, which they captured through great effort and perilous assaults. In these campaigns, the Duke of Lancaster fought in underground tunnels, which were being dug to undermine the towers and walls, and suffered fierce attacks from the valiant defenders, fighting hand-to-hand against the besieged. And, something unheard of before, he knighted both Gascon and English soldiers in those very tunnels. Indeed, by conquering towns, cities, castles, and fortresses numbering two hundred and fifty, he marched across a large part of Gascony and advanced as far as Toulouse. There, he invited the ladies of Toulouse and noble maidens, through letters, to dine with him, his fellow nobles, and Lord Bernard de Libreto,3 a loyal Gascon. But, with God's protection, he did no harm to the city or its inhabitants, except for instilling in them unbearable terror, as those who had been besieged later told me. The terror was such that even mendicant friars took up arms, and the Prior of the Carmelite order of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Toulouse, bearing a silver banner with a golden image of the Virgin, led the citizens of his quarter from the walls. He raised his banner in defence,4 and by this display, he stirred pious devotion in the duke and many in the army, though some mocked him as well.
Anno Domini MCCCXLV, regis XIX, Henricus comes Derbie, postea dux Lancastrie creatus, et comes Devonie et comes Pembrochie et dominus Radulfus, nondum comes Staffordie set baro, et dominus Walterus de Magne Vasconiam destinantur; ubi, conquisitis villis muratis et castris, multa gloriosa certamina fortiter vicerunt. Villam Daguiloun per insultum adquisitam deputabant custodie Radulphi Staffordie. Postea diverterunt se ad alias villas, ut Brigerak, vocatam pre sua fortitudine 'cameram Francorum,' et ad villam sancti Iohannis et de la Ruele et alias multas grandes et fortes et bene munitas, quas magnis laboribus et insultibus periculosis adquisierunt. Ibi dux Lancastrie, militans in fossatis subterraneis que pro diruendis turribus et muris effodiebantur, graves a virilibus defensoribus insultus paciebatur, et manualiter contra obsessos dimicavit, et, quod antea fuit inauditum, in eiisdem fossatis milites tam Vascones quam Anglicos effecit. Quippe villas, civitates, castra et fortalicia ducentas l. conquirendo, magnam partem Vasconie et usque Tolosam transequitavit, ubi dominas Tolosanas et virgines nobiles per suas literas ad convivandum secum et suis comitibus et domino Bernardo de Libreto, Aquitannico fideli, invitavit. Set, civitatem Deo conservante, nihil eius incolis malefecit, nisi quod terrorem intollerabilem, ut obsessi mihi retulerunt, eiis intulit; ita quod, religiosis mendicis ad arma compulsis, prior Carmelitarum beate Marie Tolose, sub vexillo argenteo ymaginem auream beate Virginis habente, de quarterio sui incolatus civibus prefectus, ostendens suum vexillum ad muros, per armorum errancias descriptum ducem ad devocionem piam et quam plures de exercitu, atque nonnullos ad derisionem, provocavit.
Note 1. Henry of Grosmont succeeded as earl of Lancaster, 22nd September 1345, and was created duke on the 6th March 1352. Hugh Courtenay succeeded as earl of Devon in 1341; died in 1377. Laurence de Hastings was created earl of Pembroke, 12th October 1339; died in 1348. Ralph de Stafford succeeded as baron Stafford in 1308, and was created earl on the 5th March 1351; died in 1372.
Baker is very confused as to the capture of the different places. Bergerac was first taken on the 24th August 1345, Aiguillon, early in December, La Réole, in January 1346. The Saint-Jean-d'Angely was not taken till September 1346. Derby did not go near Toulouse, although it is not impossible that some incursion was made thither. Baker says that he had his information from persons who were besieged there; but he was quite capable of confusing events, and he is most probably referring to the expedition of 1349.
Note 2. Aiguillon, is located at the confluence of Rivers Lot and Garonne. Bergerac is on the River Dordogne. La Réole and Saint-Jean-d'Angely are both on the Garonne downstream of Aiguillon.
Note 3. Bernard, sire d'Albret; died 1358.
Note 4. This seems to mean: by the procession of his banner, on which the picture of the Virgin stood for his armorial device.
Bourgeois de Valenciennes. When the King of England had returned with his host into Calais, they took counsel together and resolved that they would leave the town and encamp in the open fields, awaiting their enemies. When the King of France learned this, he assembled his council and asked how he might act in the most honourable manner for himself and his realm. He was advised: "Sire, you have here with you all your strength. Send a challenge of battle to the King of England; we believe he will grant it." The king agreed to this advice and chose Sir Arnoul d’Audrehem, Marshal of France, to carry out the message. At the king’s command and pleasure, Sir Arnoul departed from Saint-Omer and came before Calais, where the King of England and his forces were. The marshal approached the King of England, bowed and saluted him very honourably, and, on behalf of the King of France, his sovereign lord, demanded battle, saying that he had been sent for that purpose. The King of England gave no reply to the marshal’s words. Then the Duke of Lancaster stepped forward and said: "Marshal, we shall fight at the will and provision of our friends, and not at the will of our enemies." That was the entire response that the marshal brought back to the King of France, who was far from pleased. He saw that he had two hundred and fifty thousand men at his pay and expense, not counting the countless common levies of the good towns; yet he did not dare to depart from Saint-Omer nor dismiss them, for he did not know nor could perceive what the King of England intended to do. Soon afterward, the King of England received news that the Scots were recovering in Scotland what he had conquered there. Therefore he departed, leaving at Calais the Earl of Norwich1 with five hundred men-at-arms and twelve hundred archers.
Quant le roy d'Engleterre fut revenus, luy et son est, dedens Callais, ils eurent en conseil qu'ils wideroient hors de la ville et qu'ils se logeroient aux champs, eu attendant leurs ennemis. Et quant le roy de France le sceult, il assambla son conseil et demanda comment au plus honnourable pour luy et pour son conseil il en poroit user. Sy fut conseilliés, et luy dist-on: "Sire, vous avés-cy avoecques vous toute vostre puissance. Mandez la bataille au roy d'Engleterre; bien créons qu'il le vous ottroiera." Ad ce conseil s'acorda le roy, et eslisit-on monseigneur Ernoul d'Audrehem, mareschal de France, pour faire et furnir ce message. Et monseigneur Ernoul, au commandement et au plaisir du roy, se party de Saint-Omer et vint devant Calais, où le roy d'Engleterre et les siens estoient. Dont vint le mareschal devant le roy d'Engleterre, et l'enclina et salua moult honnourablement, et, de par le roy de France, son souverain seigneur, demanda la bataille, et dit que pour ce estoit-il là envoyés. A la parolle du mareschal ne respondy riens le roy d'Engleterre. Dont s'avancha de parler monseigneur le duc de Lencastre; sy dist: "Marescechai, nous nous combaterons à la volonté et provision de nos amis et non à la volenté de nos ennemis." Ce fut toutte la response qu'il reporta au roy de France, qui pas ne s'en tint bien liés, car il veoit qu'il avoit bien IIc et L mil hommes, tous à ses gages et à ses frais, sans les communes des bonnes villes, qui estoient sans nombre; et sy ne se osoit partir de Saint-Omer, ne eulx donner congiet, car il ne savoit, ne ne pooit perchevoir que le roy d'Engleterre suposoit à faire. Et assez tost après, le roy d'Engleterre eult nouvelles que les Escochois regaignoient en Escoce ce qu'il y avoit conquis, et qu'il s'en ralast. Sy se party et laissa à Calais le conte de Norvych à tout Vc hommes à cheval et XIIc archiers.
Note 1. The Earl of Norfolk was Walter Manny, 1310-1371, who in 1354 had married, without the King's license, Margaret, daughter of Thomas of Brotherton, Earl of Norfolk, uncle of King Edward III, whose first husband John Segrave, 1st Baron Segrave, had died in 1353.
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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Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. But eventually, it violently invaded Gloucester, then Oxford, then London, and finally all of England, so that scarcely one in ten of either sex survived. As graveyards became insufficient, open fields were chosen for the burial of the dead. The Bishop of London1 purchased a plot called 'Nomanneslond' in London, and Lord Walter de Mauny acquired a place called 'the new churchyard,' where he founded a religious house for the burial of the dead. Court proceedings in both the King's Bench and Common Bench necessarily ceased. Few nobles died, among them Lord John de Montgomery,2 captain of Calais, and the Lord of Clisteles, both of whom died in Calais and were buried with the friars of the Blessed Mary of Carmel in London. The number of common people who perished was beyond counting, and likewise the multitude of religious and other clerics, known only to God, passed away.
Set tandem Gloverniam, immo Oxoniam atque Londonias, et finaliter totam Angliam tarn violenter invasit, quod vix decimus utriusque sexus superfuerat. Cimiteriis non sufficientibus, campi eligebantur mortuorum sepulture. Episcopus Londoniensis emit illam croftam 'Nomanneslond' vocatam Londoniis, et dominus Walterus de Magne illam que vocatur 'þe newe chierche hawe,' ubi fundavit domum religiosorum ad sepeliendum morientes. Placita in bancis u regio et communi necessario cessavere. Pauci proceres moriebantur, de quibus erant dominus Johannes de Montgomurri, capitaneus Calesie, et dominus de Clisteles, in Calesia mortui et apud fratres beate Marie de Carmelo Londoniis sepulti. Wlgus innumerum, et religiosorum atque aliorum clericorum multitudo soli Deo nota, migravere.
Note 1. Stow, Survey of London, ed. 1754-5, 2.60: "Ralph Stratford, bishop of London, in the year 1348, bought a piece of ground called No Man's Land, which he inclosed with a wall of brick and dedicated for burial of the dead; built thereupon a proper chapel, which is now enlarged and made a dwelling-house. And this burying-place is become a fair garden, retaining the old name of Pardon Church-yard." Sir Walter Manny purchased an adjoining piece of land of more than thirteen acres, the site of the Charterhouse which he founded in 1371. Stow says that he had seen a stone cross which stood in Manny's cemetery, bearing an inscription which recorded the burial of 50,000 victims of the plague.
Note 2. He died in 1348, for John Beauchamp was appointed captain of Calais on the 1st January 1349. Owing to the transposition of words in the Bodleian MS. (or, at least, in the MS. which he used) Stow (Annales, 386) has made 'Lord Clisteles ' captain of Calais. Who this Clisteles was, does not appear. He was, however, probably of the family of the lords of Ghistelles in Flanders. Wulfart de Ghistelles was in Edward's service, and was the officer who captured Poix in the Crécy campaign. The name is not found in the list of persons buried in the church of the White Friars, in Stow's Survey (1.742). There is however an Elianor Gristles, or Gistles, who may have been one of his family. Bourgeois de Valenciennes, 225: When King Edward of England had stayed at Poissy for about six days and saw and understood that he was enclosed by the waters of the Somme and that the king (of France) was not coming toward him to fight or otherwise, he held a council and resolved to depart from Poissy. Then the Earl of Warwick and Lord Godfrey of Harcourt and their division set out first, riding ahead, and King Edward of England and his host followed, with the rearguard behind them, marching in ordered formations. They burned and pillaged the town of Poissy upon leaving, but the abbey was spared. The host then marched through the Beauvais region, where they did great damage, burning the suburbs of Beauvais and much of the surrounding area. They came upon the abbey and the town of Beaupré, which they burned, along with Marseilles and all the towns as far as Poix. They burned that town as well, but the castle would not surrender. Then Lord Wulfart of Ghistelles assaulted the castle of Poix with a great number of archers, and those within the castle defended themselves vigorously. There was a fierce assault, with many wounded and killed. In the end, the castle was taken by force, then destroyed and burned, and all those inside were killed. The English then departed, having taken the spoils and prisoners from the town; the gain was theirs.
