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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Biography of Armand de Gramont 12th Duc de Gramont 1879-1962

On 10th December 1878 Antoine Alfred Agénor de Gramont 11th Duc de Gramont [aged 27] and Marguerite de Rothschild Duchess Gramont [aged 23] were married. Her father Mayer Carl Freiherr von Rothschild [aged 58] disapproved; he disowned her. He the son of Agénor 10th Duc de Gramont [aged 59].

On 29th September 1879 Armand de Gramont 12th Duc de Gramont was born to Antoine Alfred Agénor de Gramont 11th Duc de Gramont [aged 28] and Marguerite de Rothschild Duchess Gramont [aged 24].

On 17th January 1880 [his grandfather] Agénor 10th Duc de Gramont [aged 60] died. His son [his father] Antoine [aged 28] succeeded 11th Duke Gramont. [his mother] Marguerite de Rothschild Duchess Gramont [aged 24] by marriage Duchess Gramont.

In 1904 Armand de Gramont 12th Duc de Gramont [aged 24] and Élaine Greffulhe Duchess Gramont [aged 21] were married. He the son of Antoine Alfred Agénor de Gramont 11th Duc de Gramont [aged 52] and Marguerite de Rothschild Duchess Gramont [aged 48].

1904. Philip de László [aged 34]. Portrait of Armand de Gramont 12th Duc de Gramont [aged 24].

On 25th July 1905 [his mother] Marguerite de Rothschild Duchess Gramont [aged 49] died.

On 3rd August 1907 [his father] Antoine Alfred Agénor de Gramont 11th Duc de Gramont [aged 55] and [his step-mother] Princess Maria Ruspoli [aged 19] were married. She by marriage Duchess Gramont. The difference in their ages was 36 years. He the son of [his grandfather] Agénor 10th Duc de Gramont.

1922. Philip de László [aged 52]. Portrait of Armand de Gramont 12th Duc de Gramont [aged 42].

On 30th January 1925 [his father] Antoine Alfred Agénor de Gramont 11th Duc de Gramont [aged 73] died. His son Armand [aged 45] succeeded 12th Duke Gramont. [his wife] Élaine Greffulhe Duchess Gramont [aged 42] by marriage Duchess Gramont.

On 11th February 1958 [his wife] Élaine Greffulhe Duchess Gramont [aged 75] died.

The History of William Marshal, Earl of Chepstow and Pembroke, Regent of England. Book 1 of 2, Lines 1-10152.

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 2nd August 1962 Armand de Gramont 12th Duc de Gramont [aged 82] died.