Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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Created Countesses of England is in Earldoms of England.
In 1512 Margaret York aka Pole Countess of Salisbury [aged 38] was created 1st Countess Salisbury. Arguably a restoration of her brother's title, or her father's Earldom.
Around 13th August 1618 Mary Beaumont 1st Countess Buckingham [aged 48] was created 1st Countess Buckingham. It appears this title was for life only since her sons did not inherit it?
In 1628 Elizabeth Heneage 1st Countess Winchelsea [aged 71] was created 1st Countess Winchilsea.
In 1641 Elizabeth Darcy 1st Countess Rivers [aged 60] was created 1st Countess Rivers for life by King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland [aged 40] since she had been passed over when her father's Earldom Countess Rivers passed from her father to her eldest son John Savage 2nd Earl Rivers [aged 37].
In 1660 Katherine Wotton Countess Chesterfield [aged 51] was created 1st Countess Chesterfield.
In July 1660 King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 30] rewarded those who supported his Restoration...
2nd. Maurice Berkeley 3rd Viscount Fitzhardinge [aged 32] was created 1st Baronet Berkeley of Bruton in Somerset. Anne Lee Viscountess Fitzhardinge [aged 37] by marriage Lady Berkeley of Bruton in Somerset.
4th. Thomas Myddelton 1st Baronet [aged 35] was created 1st Baronet Myddelton of Chirk Castle.
6th. Varney Noel 1st Baronet was created 1st Baronet Noel.
7th. George Monck 1st Duke Albemarle [aged 51] was created 1st Duke Albemarle, 1st Earl Torrington in Devon. Anne Clarges Duchess Albermarle [aged 41] by marriage Duchess Albemarle.
12th. Robert Hales 1st Baronet [aged 50] was created 1st Baronet Hales of Beakesbourne in Kent.
12th. Edward Montagu 1st Earl Sandwich [aged 34] was created 1st Earl Sandwich. Jemima Crew Countess Sandwich [aged 35] by marriage Countess Sandwich.
14th. Elizabeth Feilding Countess Guildford was created 1st Countess Guildford by King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. The peerage for life.
18th. Samuel Morland 1st Baronet [aged 35] was created 1st Baronet Morland of Sulhamstead Banister. Susanne de Milleville Lady Morland by marriage Lady Morland of Sulhamstead Banister.
23rd. Henry Vernon 1st Baronet [aged 55] was created 1st Baronet Vernon of Hodnet in Shropshire.
23rd. John Aubrey 1st Baronet [aged 54] was created 1st Baronet Aubrey of Llantrithyd in Glamorganshire.
In 1670 Barbara Villiers 1st Duchess of Cleveland [aged 29] was created 1st Duchess Cleveland, 1st Countess of Southampton and 1st Baroness Nonsuch by King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 39] for having given birth to five of his illegitimate children.
On 19th August 1673 Louise Kéroualle 1st Duchess Portsmouth [aged 23] was created 1st Duchess Portsmouth, 1st Countess Fareham, 1st Baroness Petersfield by King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 43] for life for being his mistress and for having given birth to his son Charles Lennox 1st Duke Richmond [aged 1].
In 1686 Catherine Sedley Countess Dorchester and Portmore [aged 28] was created 1st Countess Dorchester for life by King James II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 52] for services as his mistress. Her father Charles Sedley 5th Baronet [aged 46] quipped "As the king has made my daughter a countess, the least I can do, in common gratitude, is to assist in making his Majesty's daughter [aged 23] a queen".
In 5th October 1688 Mary Stafford Countess Stafford [aged 68] was created 1st Countess Stafford for life. Her former husband William Howard 1st Viscount Stafford had been executed in 1680.
In 1715 Jane Granville Baroness Gower [aged 60] was created 1st Countess Granville.
On 19th March 1719 Melusine Schulenburg 1st Duchess Munster 1st Duchess Kendal [aged 51] was created 1st Duchess Kendal, 1st Countess Feversham, 1st Baroness Glastonbury.
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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On 18th October 1749 Hester Temple 1st Countess Temple [aged 59] was created 1st Countess Temple. Richard Granville by marriage Earl Temple.
On 26th October 1803 Henrietta Laura Johnstone aka Pulteney 1st Countess Bath [aged 36] was created 1st Countess Bath.
In 1816 Amabel Yorke Countess Grey [aged 64] was created 1st Countess de Grey with a special remainder to her sister Mary Jemima Yorke Baroness Grantham [aged 59] and her sister's male heirs.