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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Kendal, Westmoreland, North-West England, British Isles [Map]

Kendal is in Westmoreland.

See: Burneshead Kendal, Kendal Castle, Westmoreland.

In 1094 Ivo Taillebois [aged 58] died at Kendal [Map].

Around 1190 William Lancaster was born to Gilbert fitzRoger Lancaster [aged 28] at Kendal [Map]. He married Agnes Bruce.

Around 1352 William Parr was born at Kendal [Map].

On 9th August 1617 Henry Mildmay [aged 24] was knighted at Kendal [Map].

Burneshead Kendal, Westmoreland, North-West England, British Isles

In 1456 Jane Bellingham was born to Thomas Bellingham at Burneshead Kendal. She married in or before 1478 Ralph Shirley and had issue.

Kendal Castle, Westmoreland, North-West England, British Isles

Around 1162 Gilbert fitzRoger Lancaster was born at Kendal Castle, Westmoreland.

On 4th October 1405 William Parr [aged 53] died at Kendal Castle, Westmoreland.

In 1473 Robert Ros 4th Baron Ros Kendal [aged 73] died. Baron Ros Kendal abeyant. His aunt Elizabeth Ros and her husband William Parr inherited Kendal Castle, Westmoreland which then descended through the Parr family until it was forfetied to the Crown by the conviction for high treason, and attainder, of William Parr 1st Marquess Northampton in 1553.

Memoires of Jacques du Clercq

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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Gilbert fitzRoger Lancaster died at Kendal Castle, Westmoreland.

Hawise Lancaster was born to Gilbert fitzRoger Lancaster at Kendal Castle, Westmoreland. She married Peter Bruce and had issue.