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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St Mary's Church, Ewelme is in Ewelme, Oxfordshire, Churches in Oxfordshire.
Interior of St Mary's Church, Ewelme [Map].
On 18th November 1434 Thomas Chaucer [aged 67] died. He was buried at St Mary's Church, Ewelme [Map].
After 18th November 1434. St Mary's Church, Ewelme [Map]. Monument to Thomas Chaucer [deceased] and Maud Burghesh [aged 55].
The Arms in two rows left to right ...
Top Row:
2 
York Arms. Possibly Cecily "Rose of Raby" Neville Duchess York impaled 
Neville Arms
3 
Thomas Beaufort 1st Duke Exeter 1377 1426 Arms
4 
Thomas of Brotherton 1st Earl Norfolk 1300 1338 Arms impaled Neville Arms
5 Thomas Beaufort 1st Duke Exeter 1377 1426 Arms (again?)
6 
Stafford Arms impaled Neville Arms
7 
Montacute and Monthermer Arms impaled 
Chaucer Modern Arms.
Bottom Row:
1 
Beauchamp Arms quartered with 
Beaumont Arms; Earl Warwick reflecting the Beauchamp family having inherited the Earldom of Warwick through marriage to Isabel Maudit who was the sister of William Maudit 8th Earl Warwick who died without issue. Isabel Maudit and William Maudit 8th Earl Warwick were the children of William Maudit and Alice Beaumont. Alice Beaumont inherited the Earldom of Warwick when her half-niece Margaret Beaumont 7th Countess Warwick died.
2 
Courtenay Arms impaled 
Beaufort Arms
3 Montacute and Monthermer Arms impaled 
Mohun Arms
4 Montacute and Monthermer Arms quartered Neville Arms
5 
De La Pole Arms quartered Chaucer Modern Arms
6 
Despencer Arms impaled Chaucer Modern Arms
7 Mohun Arms impaled Chaucer Modern Arms. John Mohun 2nd Baron Mohun of Dunster and Joan Burghesh Baroness Dunster.
On 27th April 1437 Maud Burghesh [aged 58] died at Ewelme, Oxfordshire. She was buried at St Mary's Church, Ewelme [Map].
On 20th May 1475 Alice Chaucer Duchess Suffolk [aged 71] died. She was buried at St Mary's Church, Ewelme [Map].
After 20th May 1475. St Mary's Church, Ewelme [Map]. Monument to Alice Chaucer Duchess Suffolk [deceased]. Wrist Garter. The effigy was, apparently, viewed to determine how a lady should wear the garter at the re-commencement of Lady of the Garter appointments in 1901 after a gap of several hundred years. A particularly fine Cadaver Underneath the chest on which Alice's effigy lies. Full-length in a shroud. Chest with Angels with Rounded Wings holding Shields.
Detail of the South Side of the Monument to Alice Chaucer Duchess Suffolk.
1 
Roet Arms impaled Chaucer Modern Arms. Alice's paternal grandparents.
2 De La Pole Arms impaled Stafford Arms. Her third husbands parents Michael de la Pole 2nd Earl Suffolk and Katherine Stafford Countess Suffolk.
3 Montacute and Monthermer Arms impaled Francis? Possibly Alice's second husband's parents John Montagu 3rd Earl Salisbury and Maud Francis Countess of Salisbury.
4 De La Pole Arms quartered Chaucer Modern Arms.
5 Roet Arms quartered Chaucer Modern Arms.
8 De La Pole Arms impaled 
England Henry IV Arms signifying Alice's son John's marriage to Elizabeth of York sister of King Edward IV of England.
Detail of the North Side of the monument to Alice Chaucer Duchess Suffolk. Arms from left to right ...
1 De La Pole Arms quartered Chaucer Modern Arms impaled Unknown.
2 De La Pole Arms impaled Chaucer Modern Arms. Her third husband William "Jackanapes" de la Pole 1st Duke of Suffolk.
3 De La Pole Arms quarted Chaucer Modern Arms. Alice's son John de la Pole 2nd Duke of Suffolk by her second husband William "Jackanapes" de la Pole 1st Duke of Suffolk.
5 Montacute and Monthermer Arms quartering impaled Chaucer. Alice's second husband Thomas Montagu 1st Count Perche 4th Earl Salisbury.
6 Roet Arms. Alice's paternal grandmother Philippa Roet.
7 England Henry IV Arms impaling Roet Arms probably signifying John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster and Katherine Swynford aka Roet Duchess Lancaster, Katherine being the sister of Alice's paternal grandmother Philippa Roet who married Geoffrey Chaucer.
8 Roet Arms impaling Chaucer Modern Arms. Her paternal grandparents Geoffrey Chaucer and Philippa Roet.
