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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Winterslow Barrow 223320, Alderbury Hundred, Wiltshire, South-West England, British Isles [Map]

Winterslow Barrow 223320 is in Winterslow, Wiltshire [Map].

Winterslow Barrow 223320 [Map]. A Bronze Age bell barrow, part of the Winterslow Hut Barrow Group, situated to the northwest of 'The Pheasant'. The barrow was designated as Idmiston 23 by Grinsell (1957) and survives as an earthwork 30 metres in diameter and 3.5 metres high. The mound is not situated within the centre of the ditched area, as the berm varies from 9 metres to 12 metres in width. The ditch is visible both as an earthwork and a cropmark, is 4 metres wide and up to 0.2 metres in depth. Excavations by the Rev. A.B Hutchins in 1814 located an intrusive Saxon inhumation accompanied by a shield, spear, buckle and a bucket. The grave goods give a 5th or 6th century date for the burial.

1814. Thomas Guest (age 33). Grave Group from a Surface Interment at Winterslow Barrow 223320 [Map]. The bucket, shield boss and grip, spearhead and bronze brooch date to the Saxon period. They are from a surface interment (burial) in the Winterslow 'colossal barrow', which is possibly pictured behind the grave goods.

1814. Thomas Guest (age 33). Grave Group from a Bell Barrow at Winterslow Barrow 223320 [Map]. The beaker, copper dagger and two flint arrowheads were excavated from a bell barrow by the Revd A. B. Hutchings, and they are now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

1814. Thomas Guest (age 33). Two Biconical Urns from a Barrow at Winterslow Barrow 223320 [Map].

1814. Thomas Guest (age 33). These Bronze Age Urns excavated by Reverend A. B. Hutchings at Winterslow Barrow 223320 [Map] are now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. This is one of four paintings by Guest in the Museum's collection.