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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Alport, Derbyshire is in Youlgreave, Derbyshire [Map].
The River Lathkill rises near Monyash, Derbyshire [Map] flowing through Lathkill Dale, Derbyshire [Map], where there are a number of seasonal springs, to Conksbury Bridge, Derbyshire [Map] then Alport, Derbyshire [Map] where it is joined by the River Bradford. After Alport, Derbyshire [Map] the River Lathkill flows east to a point around 600m south of Haddon Hall, Derbyshire [Map] where it joins the Derbyshire River Wye.
The River Bradford rises at Middleton-by-Youlgreave, Derbyshire [Map] from where it flows to Alport, Derbyshire [Map] where it joins the River Lathkill.
Lathkill Dale, Derbyshire [Map], in which the River Lathkill flows, extends from Monyash, Derbyshire [Map] to Alport, Derbyshire [Map] where the River Lathkill is joined by the River Bradford.
