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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Marquess Suffolk is in Marquessates of England Alphabetically, Marquessates of England Chronologically, Forfeit Marquessates of England.
Summary
1444. William "Jackanapes" de la Pole 1st Duke of Suffolk [aged 47] created.
1st May 1450. William "Jackanapes" de la Pole 1st Duke of Suffolk forfeit. See Murder of William de la Pole.
1st May 1450. Son John de la Pole 2nd Duke of Suffolk [aged 7] succeeded. See Murder of William de la Pole.
27th October 1492. Son Edmund Pole 3rd Duke of Suffolk [aged 21] succeeded.
30th April 1513. Edmund Pole 3rd Duke of Suffolk forfeit. See Execution of Edmund de la Pole.
In 1444 William "Jackanapes" de la Pole 1st Duke of Suffolk [aged 47] was created 1st Marquess Suffolk. Alice Chaucer Duchess Suffolk [aged 40] by marriage Marchioness Suffolk.
Before 1st May 1450, the day he was murdered, William "Jackanapes" de la Pole 1st Duke of Suffolk [aged 53] was impeached, and sentenced to the exiled. Duke Suffolk, Marquess Suffolk, Earl Pembroke forfeit.
On 1st May 1450 William "Jackanapes" de la Pole 1st Duke of Suffolk [aged 53] was beheaded at sea whilst travelling into exile his ship having been intercepted by the Nicholas of the Tower, or by Admiral Nicholas of the Tower. His son John [aged 7] succeeded 2nd Marquess Suffolk, 5th Earl Suffolk, 5th Baron Pole. Margaret Beaufort Countess Richmond [aged 6] by marriage Marchioness Suffolk. Earl Pembroke forfeit.
Before February 1458 John de la Pole 2nd Duke of Suffolk [aged 15] and Elizabeth York Duchess Suffolk [aged 13] were married. She by marriage Marchioness Suffolk. She the daughter of Richard Plantagenet 3rd Duke of York [aged 46] and Cecily "Rose of Raby" Neville Duchess York [aged 42]. He the son of William "Jackanapes" de la Pole 1st Duke of Suffolk and Alice Chaucer Duchess Suffolk [aged 54]. They were half third cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
Before 27th October 1492 John de la Pole 2nd Duke of Suffolk [aged 50] died. He was buried at Wingfield, Suffolk. His son Edmund [aged 21] succeeded 3rd Duke Suffolk, 3rd Marquess Suffolk, 6th Earl Suffolk, 6th Baron Pole.
On 30th April 1513 Edmund Pole 3rd Duke of Suffolk [aged 42] was beheaded at Tower Hill [Map] on the instruction of King Henry VIII after having been imprisoned for seven years. Duke Suffolk, Marquess Suffolk and Earl Suffolk, Baron Pole forfeit.
He, Edmund, was the son of Elizabeth York Duchess Suffolk, sister of Kings Edward IV and Richard III, and George, Duke of Clarence. He, arguably, had a better claim to the throne of England than King Henry VII if King Edward IV's children were illegitimate, and George's children barred from the succession as a consequence of George'a attainder although Anne St Leger's [aged 37] claim better since she descended from an older sister Anne.
He, Edmund, had been given to King Henry VII of England and Ireland as part of the treaty of Malus Intercursus aka Evil Treaty with the condition that he not be executed. King Henry VII in his will instructed his son King Henry VIII to have him executed; an act which attracted the criticism of Montaigne in Chapter 7 of his Essays.