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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Bishop of Ely is in Bishop. See Ely Cathedral [Map].
On 6th October 1174 Bishop Geoffrey Ridel was consecrated Bishop of Ely at Canterbury Cathedral [Map].
On 15th September 1189 King Richard "Lionheart" I of England [aged 32] held a Council meeting at Pipewell [Map] at which he appointed a number of Bishops:
Bishop William Longchamp was elected Bishop of Ely.
Bishop Godfrey Lucy was elected Bishop of Winchester.
Bishop Richard Fitzneal [aged 59] was elected Bishop of London.
Archbishop Hubert Walter [aged 29] was elected Bishop of Salisbury.
On 31st December 1189 two of Richard I's new bishops were consecrated...
Bishop William Longchamp was consecrated Bishop of Ely.
Bishop Richard Fitzneal [aged 59] was consecrated Bishop of London.
On 6th January 1190 Bishop William Longchamp was enthroned Bishop of Ely at Ely Cathedral [Map].
In 1225 Bishop Geoffrey Burgh [aged 45] was appointed Bishop of Ely.
On 3rd February 1229 Bishop Hugh of Northwold was elected Bishop of Ely.
On 19th June 1229 Bishop Hugh of Northwold was consecrated Bishop of Ely at Canterbury Cathedral [Map].
In 1257 Bishop Hugh de Balsham was elected Bishop of Ely by the monks of Ely contrary to King Henry III of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury Boniface of Savoy [aged 50]. Boniface declared the election invalid, and attempted to install Adam Marsh in the see. Both sides appealed to Rome. The election was confirmed by Pope Alexander IV in 1257.
On 14th October 1257 Bishop Hugh de Balsham was consecrated Bishop of Ely by the Pope in Rome.
On 26th July 1283 Bishop John Kirkby was elected Bishop of Ely.
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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On 22nd September 1286 Bishop John Kirkby was consecrated Bishop of Ely.
On 24th December 1286 Bishop John Kirkby was enthroned Bishop of Ely.
Around 20th June 1316 Bishop John Hotham was elected Bishop of Ely.
On 3rd October 1316 Bishop John Hotham was consecrated Bishop of Ely.
In 1337 Bishop Simon Montagu was appointed Bishop of Ely.
In July 1345 Bishop Thomas Lisle [aged 47] was consecrated as Bishop of Ely.
On 15th July 1345 Bishop Thomas Lisle [aged 47] was elected Bishop of Ely.
On 13th August 1373 Archbishop Thomas Fitzalan aka Arundel [aged 20] was appointed Bishop of Ely.
On 3rd April 1388 Bishop John Fordham was translated to Bishop of Ely.
Around 1437 Louis of Luxembourg travelled to England where he was appointed Bishop of Ely.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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Around 1437 Louis of Luxembourg travelled to England where he was appointed Bishop of Ely.
In 1443 Cardinal Thomas Bourchier [aged 25] was appointed Bishop of Ely.
In 1454 Bishop William Grey was appointed Bishop of Ely.
On 8th August 1478 Cardinal John Morton [aged 58] was appointed Bishop of Ely.
On 6th October 1486 Bishop John Alcock [aged 56] was translated to Bishop of Ely.
On 26th May 1501 Bishop Richard Redman was appointed Bishop of Ely.
In 1506 Bishop James Stanley [aged 41] was appointed Bishop of Ely.
In 1515 Bishop Nicholas West [aged 54] was appointed Bishop of Ely.
Before 19th April 1534 Bishop Thomas Goodrich was elected Bishop of Ely.
On 19th April 1534 Bishop Thomas Goodrich was consecrated Bishop of Ely by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer [aged 44] assisted by Bishop John Longland [aged 61] and Bishop Christopher Lord.
In July 1554 Bishop Thomas Thirlby [aged 48] was translated to Bishop of Ely.
In 1559 Bishop Richard Cox [aged 66] was appointed Bishop of Ely where he remained for twenty-one years.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 5th July 1559. The v day of July was deposyd of ther byshopeprykes the archebyshope of Yorke doctur Heth [aged 58], and the bysshope of Ely docthur Thurlbe [aged 53], at my lord treysorer('s) [aged 76] plasse at Frers Augustyne.
On 22nd September 1609 Bishop Lancelot Andrewes [aged 54] was elected Bishop of Ely.
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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In 1628 Bishop John Buckeridge [aged 66] was translated to Bishop of Ely.
On 15th November 1631 Bishop Francis White [aged 67] was elected Bishop of Ely.
In 1638 Bishop Matthew Wren [aged 52] was appointed Bishop of Ely.
In 1667 Bishop Benjamin Lany [aged 75] was appointed Bishop of Ely.
In 1674 Bishop Peter Gunning [aged 60] was translated to Bishop of Ely.
John Evelyn's Diary. 26th March 1675. Dr. Brideoak [aged 62] was elected Bishop of Chichester, on the translation of Dr. Gunning [aged 61] to Ely.
John Evelyn's Diary. 20th February 1676. Dr. Gunning [aged 62], Bishop of Ely, preached before the King [aged 45] from St. John xx. 21, 22, 23, chiefly against an anonymous book, called "Naked Truth", a famous and popular treatise against the corruption in the Clergy, but not sound as to its quotations, supposed to have been the Bishop of Hereford and was answered by Dr. Turner, it endeavoring to prove an equality of order of Bishop and Presbyter.
On 16th July 1684 Bishop Francis Turner [aged 46] was translated to Bishop of Ely.
John Evelyn's Diary. 4th November 1684. Dr. Turner [aged 47], now translated from Rochester to Ely upon the death of Dr. Peter Gunning, preached before the King [aged 54] at White-hall on 3 Romans 8, a very excellent sermon, indicating the Church of England against the pernicious doctrines of the Church of Rome. He challenged the producing but of five Cleargymen who forsooke our Church and went over to that of Rome, during all the troubles & rebellion In England, which lasted neere twenty yeares; and this was to my certaine observation a greate truth.
In 1691 Bishop Simon Patrick [aged 64] was translated to Bishop of Ely.
Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.
In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.
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In 1707 Bishop John Moore [aged 61] was translated to Bishop of Ely.
In 1723 Bishop Thomas Green [aged 65] was appointed Bishop of Ely.
In 1781 Bishop James Yorke [aged 50] was appointed Bishop of Ely.
In May 1812 Bishop Bowyer Sparke [aged 53] was translated to Bishop of Ely which position he held until his death in 1836.
In 1836 Bishop Joseph Allen [aged 66] was translated to Bishop of Ely.
In 1886 Bishop Alwyne Compton [aged 61] was appointed Bishop of Ely.
In 1924 Bishop Leonard Jauncey White Thompson [aged 60] was appointed Bishop of Ely.