The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel Volume 1 Chapters 1-60 1307-1342
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel offer one of the most vivid and immediate accounts of 14th-century Europe, written by a knight who lived through the events he describes, and experienced some of them first hand. Covering the early decades of the Hundred Years’ War, this remarkable chronicle follows the campaigns of Edward III of England, the politics of France and the Low Countries, and the shifting alliances that shaped medieval warfare. Unlike later historians, Jean le Bel writes with a strong sense of eyewitness authenticity, drawing on personal experience and the testimony of fellow soldiers. His narrative captures not only battles and sieges, but also the realities of military life, diplomacy, and the ideals of chivalry that governed noble society. A key source for Jean Froissart, Le Bel’s chronicle stands on its own as a compelling and insightful work, at once historical record and literary achievement. This translation builds on the 1905 edition published in French by Jules Viard, adding extensive translations from other sources Rymer's Fœdera, the Chronicles of Adam Murimuth, William Nangis, Walter of Guisborough, a Bourgeois of Valenciennes, Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke and Richard Lescot to enrich the original text and Viard's notes.
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Paternal Family Tree: Tyrrell
Around 1408 William Tyrrell was born to John Tyrrell [aged 26] and Alice Eleanor Coggeshall [aged 26] at Heron Hall, Essex.
Before 1411 [his father] John Tyrrell [aged 28] and [his mother] Alice Eleanor Coggeshall [aged 28] were married.
On 29th March 1422 [his mother] Alice Eleanor Coggeshall [aged 40] died.
On 2nd April 1437 [his father] John Tyrrell [aged 55] died at Heron Hall, Essex.
In 1452 William Tyrrell [aged 44] and Margaret Darcy [aged 27] were married. They were third cousin once removed.
Around 1455 [his son] James Tyrrell was born to William Tyrrell [aged 47] and [his wife] Margaret Darcy [aged 30]. He married 1469 Anne Arundell and had issue.
On 23rd February 1462 William Tyrrell [aged 54], John Montgomery and Thomas Tuddenham [aged 60] were beheaded at Tower Hill [Map].
Chronicle of Robert Fabyan [-1512]. 12th February 1462. And upon the xii. day of February was the erle of Oxenforde [aged 53], wt the lorde Aubry [aged 21] his elder sone, syr Thomas Todenhame [aged 60], Wyllya Tyrell [aged 54], & other, brought unto the Towre of London:
Chronicle of Robert Fabyan [-1512]. 23rd February 1462. And upon the xxiii. daye of the same moneth, syr Thomas Todenham [aged 60], Wyllyam Tyrell [aged 54], & lohn Mongomory were also there behedid.
Chronicle of Gregory. 26th February 1462. And this same year the Erle of Oxforde [aged 53], the Lord Abbry, the lord of Oxforde [deceased] is sone, Syr Thomas Todenham [deceased] knyght, John Mongomery, and William Terelle [deceased] squyer, were takyn in Esex, and brought unto Lundon to the Towre [Map]. Ande thenne they were ledde to Westemyster to the Kings palys, and there they were attaynte of hyghe and mighthy treson that they ymagenyd agayne þe King. And then they were drawe to the Towre from Westemyster. And at the Towre hylle was made a schaffolde for them, and there her heddys were smetyn on, and her bodys beryd, as it plesyd them to be qwethe her bodys.
In 1463 [his son] Jasper Tyrrell was born to William Tyrrell and [his former wife] Margaret Darcy [aged 38]. He married before February 1539 Anne Goring and had issue.
In 1525 [his former wife] Margaret Darcy died.
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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[his son] Thomas Tyrrell was born to William Tyrrell and Margaret Darcy.
[his son] Edward Tyrrell was born to William Tyrrell and Margaret Darcy.
[his daughter] Eleanor Tyrrell was born to William Tyrrell and Margaret Darcy. She married in or before 1484 Edmund Knyvet and had issue.
[his daughter] Dorothy Tyrrell was born to William Tyrrell and Margaret Darcy. She married in or before 1492 John Boteler and had issue.
[his daughter] Mary Tyrrell was born to William Tyrrell and Margaret Darcy.
[his son] Thomas Tyrrell was born to William Tyrrell and Margaret Darcy.
[his son] John Tyrrell was born to William Tyrrell and Margaret Darcy.
Great x 2 Grandfather: James Tyrrell 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Tyrrell
GrandFather: Walter Tyrrell
Father: John Tyrrell
Great x 1 Grandfather: John or Edmund Flambard
GrandMother: Eleanor Flambard
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Coggeshall
Great x 1 Grandfather: Henry Coggeshall
GrandFather: William Coggeshall
Mother: Alice Eleanor Coggeshall