Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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Lord Keeper of the Great Seal is in Miscellaneous.
On 6th July 1310 Archbishop Walter Reynolds was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal and Lord Chancellor.
In 1344 Bishop Thomas of Hatfield [aged 34] was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal which office he held until July 1345.
In 1381 Hugh Segrave [aged 85] was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.
In 1443 Bishop Thomas Beckington [aged 53] was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.
Around 1456 Archbishop Lawrence Booth [aged 36] was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal which position he held until 1460.
In 1470 Bishop John Hales [aged 70] was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal by King Henry VI of England and II of France [aged 48] during his re-adeption but lost it again when King Edward IV of England [aged 27] was restored in 1471.
On 26th January 1533 Thomas Audley 1st Baron Audley Walden [aged 45] was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. and Lord Chancellor as well.
In 1558 Nicholas Bacon [aged 47] was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal following Elizabeth I's accession. He was supported in the appointment by his brother-in-law William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 37].
Around 1590 Unknown Painter. Portrait of Mary Egerton Baroness Leigh as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.
Mary Egerton Baroness Leigh: Around 1595 she was born to Thomas Egerton and Isabella Venables. On 11th November 1610 Thomas Leigh 1st Baron Leigh and she were married. On 1st July 1643 Thomas Leigh 1st Baron Leigh was created 1st Baron Leigh of Stoneleigh in Warwickshire. She by marriage Baroness Leigh of Stoneleigh in Warwickshire. In 1669 Mary Egerton Baroness Leigh died.
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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In 1592 John Puckering [aged 48] was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.
In 1621 Archbishop John Williams [aged 38] was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal by King James I [aged 54].
Around 1626 Cornelius Janssens aka Johnson [aged 32]. Portrait of Thomas Coventry 1st Baron Coventry [aged 48] as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. Charlecote Park.
In 1641 Edward Littleton 1st Baron Lyttelton [aged 52] was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.
On 13th April 1641 Thomas Wentworth 1st Earl Strafford [aged 48] was attainted by 204 votes to 59 ostensibly for his authoritarian rule as Lord Deputy of Ireland. Despite his promise not to King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland [aged 40] signed the death warrant on the 10th May 1641 in the light of increasing pressure from Parliament and the commons.
Wenceslaus Hollar [aged 33]. Engraving of the Trial of Thomas Wentworth 1st Earl Strafford with the following marked:
A. King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland.
C. Henrietta Maria Bourbon Queen Consort England [aged 31].
D. King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 10].
E. Thomas Howard 14th or 21st Earl of Arundel 4th Earl of Surrey 1st Earl Norfolk [aged 55], Lord High Steward.
F. Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester [aged 78], Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.
G. John Paulet 5th Marquess Winchester [aged 43].
H. Robert Bertie 1st Earl Lindsey [aged 58], Lord Chamberlain.
I. Philip Herbert 4th Earl Pembroke 1st Earl Montgomery [aged 56], Lord Chamberlain of the Household.
V. Thomas Wentworth 1st Earl Strafford.
Z. Alethea Talbot Countess Arundel, Surrey and Norfolk [aged 56].
John Evelyn's Diary. 26th May 1671. The Earl of Bristol's [aged 58] house in Queen's Street was taken for the Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, and furnished with rich hangings of the King's [aged 40]. It consisted of seven rooms on a floor, with a long gallery, gardens, etc. This day we met the Duke of Buckingham [aged 43], Earl of Lauderdale [aged 55], Lord Culpeper, Sir George Carteret [aged 61], Vice-Chamberlain, and myself, had the oaths given us by the Earl of Sandwich [aged 45], our President. It was to advise and counsel his Majesty, to the best of our abilities, for the well-governing of his Foreign Plantations, etc., the form very little differing from that given to the Privy Council. We then took our places at the Board in the Council-Chamber, a very large room furnished with atlases, maps, charts, globes, etc. Then came the Lord Keeper, Sir Orlando Bridgeman [aged 65], Earl of Arlington [aged 53], Secretary of State, Lord Ashley, Mr. Treasurer [aged 40], Sir John Trevor [aged 34], the other Secretary, Sir John Duncomb [aged 49], Lord Allington [aged 31], Mr. Grey, son to the Lord Grey, Mr. Henry Broncher, Sir Humphrey Winch [aged 49], Sir John Finch, Mr. Waller [aged 65], and Colonel Titus [aged 48], of the bedchamber, with Mr. Slingsby, Secretary to the Council, and two Clerks of the Council, who had all been sworn some days before. Being all set, our Patent was read, and then the additional Patent, in which was recited this new establishment; then, was delivered to each a copy of the Patent, and of instructions: after which, we proceeded to business.
On 15th March 1672. The Royal Declaration of Indulgence was Charles II's [aged 41] attempt to extend religious liberty to Protestant nonconformists and Roman Catholics. It was highly controversial. Sir Orlando Bridgeman [aged 66] resigned as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal because he refused to apply the Great Seal to it.
John Evelyn's Diary. 10th May 1700. The great trial between Sir Walter Clarges [aged 46] and Mr. Sherwin concerning the legitimacy of the late Duke of Albemarle, on which depended an estate of £1,500 a year; the verdict was given for Sir Walter, 19th. Serjeant Wright [aged 46] at last accepted the Great Seal.
John Evelyn's Diary. 1st October 1705. Mr. Cowper [aged 40] made Lord Keeper. Observing how uncertain great officers are of continuing long in their places, he would not accept it, unless £2,000 a year were given him in reversion when he was put out, in consideration of his loss of practice. His predecessors, how little time soever they had the Seal, usually got £100,000 and made themselves Barons. A new Secretary of State. Lord Abington [aged 32], Lieutenant of the Tower, displaced, and General Churchill [aged 49], brother to the Duke of Marlborough [aged 55], put in. An indication of great unsteadiness somewhere, but thus the crafty Whig party (as called) begin to change the face of the Court, in opposition to the High Churchmen, which was another distinction of a party from the Low Churchmen. The Parliament chose one Mr. Smith, Speaker. There had never been so great an assembly of members on the first day of sitting, being more than 450. The votes both of the old, as well as the new, fell to those called Low Churchmen, contrary to all expectation.
1763. William Hoare [aged 56]. Portrait of Philip Yorke 1st Earl of Hardwicke [aged 72] wearing the Robes of Lord Keeper of the Great Seal and holding the Great Seal.
On 17th January 1770 Charles Yorke [aged 47] was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.
Bulstrode Whitelocke was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.
