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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Paternal Family Tree: Capet
Maternal Family Tree: Clemence Roches Countess Blois
On 25 or 26th December 1251 [her future husband] King Alexander III of Scotland [aged 10] and Margaret Queen of Scotland [aged 11] were married at York Minster [Map]. She by marriage Queen Consort Scotland. The couple \remained in York until Jan 1252 after which they travelled to Edinburgh. She the daughter of King Henry III of England [aged 44] and Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England [aged 28]. He the son of King Alexander II of Scotland and Marie Coucy [aged 33]. They were half fourth cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.
On 20th March 1263 Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland was born to [her father] Robert Capet IV Count Dreux and [her mother] Beatrice Montfort Countess Dreux [aged 14].
In 1275 [her future husband] Arthur II Duke Brittany [aged 13] and Marie Limoges Duchess Brittany were married. She by marriage Duchess Brittany 1221 Dreux. He the son of [her future father-in-law] John II Duke Brittany [aged 36] and Beatrice Plantagenet [aged 32]. They were third cousins. He a grandson of King Henry III of England.
In 1282 [her father] Robert Capet IV Count Dreux died.
On 15th October 1285 King Alexander III of Scotland [aged 44] and Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Scotland. The difference in their ages was 21 years. She the daughter of Robert Capet IV Count Dreux and Beatrice Montfort Countess Dreux [aged 36]. He the son of King Alexander II of Scotland and Marie Coucy. They were half second cousin twice removed. He a great x 3 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.
On 19th March 1286 [her husband] King Alexander III of Scotland [aged 44] died from a fall from a horse at Kinghorn Ness while riding in the dark to visit the Queen [aged 22] at Kinghorn in Fife because it was her birthday the next day. His granddaughter Margaret [aged 2] succeeded I Queen Scotland.
Annals of Six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet [1258-1328]. In the season of Lent of this year, when [her husband] Alexander [aged 44], King of the Scots, wished to visit his wife, daughter of the Count of Flanders, whom he had married after Margaret, daughter of the King of England, on a certain very dark night, his horse stumbling, he fell and, being grievously injured, died1. He had by his second wife no offspring, but by his first he had twins, namely a son Alexander, and a daughter named Margaret. Alexander, without issue, preceded his father in untimely death, and the daughter Margaret, having been betrothed to the King of Norway, bore a single daughter named Margaret, who survived her mother, now dead. This child, with the King of England having been consulted, was acknowledged by the magnates of Scotland as heir of that kingdom, and when she had been summoned by messengers of the King of England, as she was making for Scotland by ship, having fallen ill at sea, she died in the Orkney Islands.
Tempore Quadragesimali hujus anni, cum Alexander Scotorum rex uxorem suam, filiam comitis Flandriæ, quam post Margaretam filiam regis Angliæ duxerat, nocte quadam admodum obscura visitare voluisset, cespitante equo lapsus, et collisus graviter, exspiravit. Hic de secunda uxore nullam, de prima vero prolem geminam, filium scilicet Alexandrum, et filiam genuit nomine Margaretam. Alexander absque prole patrem immatura morte prævenit; filia Margareta regi Norwegiæ desponsata, filiam unicam peperit nomine Margaretam, quæ matri jam mortuæ supervixit. Hanc, consulto rege Angliæ, magnates Scotiæ regni illius recognoverunt heredem; quæ accersita per nuntios regis Angliæ, cum per navigium tenderet in Scotiam, infirmata in mari, apud Orcades insulas est defuncta.
Note 1. The author places this event in the wrong year. King Alexander III of Scotland died on 19th March 1286. The date being the day before his wife Yolande of Dreux [aged 22], the purpose of his rash journey to be with her on her birthday. His son Alexander had predeceased him aged twenty without issue. His daughter Margaret, Queen of Norway, predeceased him in 1283 shortly after having given birth to a daughter, also Margaret, known as the 'Maid of Norway'. In 1290 Margaret died at Orkney on her journey from Norway to Scotland. Her death led to a succession crisis with numerous claimants to the Scottish throne.
In or before 1295 Arthur II Duke Brittany [aged 33] and Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland [aged 31] were married. She by marriage Duchess Brittany 1221 Dreux. She the daughter of Robert Capet IV Count Dreux and Beatrice Montfort Countess Dreux [aged 46]. He the son of John II Duke Brittany [aged 55] and Beatrice Plantagenet. They were third cousins. He a grandson of King Henry III of England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.
In 1295 [her daughter] Beatrice Montfort was born to [her husband] Arthur II Duke Brittany [aged 33] and Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland [aged 31]. She a great granddaughter of King Henry III of England. She married Guy 10th de Laval Baron and had issue.
In 1295 [her son] John Montfort IV Duke Brittany was born to [her husband] Arthur II Duke Brittany [aged 33] and Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland [aged 31] at Hennebont. He a great grandson of King Henry III of England. He married 1329 his third cousin once removed Joanna of Flanders Duchess Brittany, daughter of Louis Dampierre I Count Nevers and Joan Rethel Countess Nevers and Rethel, and had issue.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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In 1296 [her daughter] Joan Montfort was born to [her husband] Arthur II Duke Brittany [aged 34] and Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland [aged 32]. She a great granddaughter of King Henry III of England. She married her third cousin Robert Dampierre Count Marle, son of Robert Dampierre III Count Flanders and Yolande Burgundy II Countess Nevers and Flanders, and had issue.
In 1297 [her daughter] Alice Montfort was born to [her husband] Arthur II Duke Brittany [aged 35] and Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland [aged 33]. She a great granddaughter of King Henry III of England.
In 1297 [her step-son] John III Duke Brittany [aged 10] and Isabelle Valois Duchess Brittany [aged 5] were married. She by marriage Duchess Brittany 1221 Dreux. She the daughter of Charles Valois I Count Valois [aged 26] and Margaret Capet Countess Valois [aged 24]. They were third cousins. He a great grandson of King Henry III of England. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.
Around 1300 [her daughter] Blanche Montfort was born to [her husband] Arthur II Duke Brittany [aged 38] and Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland [aged 36]. She a great granddaughter of King Henry III of England.
In 1302 [her daughter] Marie Montfort was born to [her husband] Arthur II Duke Brittany [aged 40] and Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland [aged 38]. She a great granddaughter of King Henry III of England.
On 18th November 1305 [her father-in-law] John II Duke Brittany [aged 66] died. His son [her husband] Arthur [aged 44] succeeded 3rd Duke Brittany 1221 Dreux.
On 15th October 1306 [her brother-in-law] John Capet 4th Earl Richmond [aged 40] was restored 4th Earl Richmond.
In 1310 [her step-son] John III Duke Brittany [aged 23] and Isabella of Castile Queen Consort Aragon [aged 27] were married. She by marriage Duchess Brittany 1221 Dreux. She the daughter of Sancho IV King Castile IV King Leon and Maria Molina Queen Consort Castile Queen Consort Leon. They were fourth cousin once removed. He a great grandson of King Henry III of England. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.
In 1312 [her step-son] Peter Capet [aged 23] died.
On 9th March 1312 [her mother] Beatrice Montfort Countess Dreux [aged 63] died.
On 27th August 1312 [her husband] Arthur II Duke Brittany [aged 51] died.
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 1329 John Montfort IV Duke Brittany [aged 34] and Joanna of Flanders Duchess Brittany [aged 34] were married at Chartres [Map]. She the daughter of Louis Dampierre I Count Nevers and Joan Rethel Countess Nevers and Rethel. He the son of Arthur II Duke Brittany and Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland [aged 65]. They were third cousin once removed. He a great grandson of King Henry III of England.
On 2nd August 1330 Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland [aged 67] died.
[her father] Robert Capet IV Count Dreux and [her mother] Beatrice Montfort Countess Dreux were married. She by marriage Countess Dreux. He the son of [her grandfather] John Capet I Count Dreux and [her grandmother] Marie Dampierre Countess Dreux.
Kings Wessex: Great x 12 Grand Daughter of King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex
Kings England: Great x 5 Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Kings Franks: Great x 15 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 8 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 12 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Yolande of Bar Queen Consort Aragon [1]
Anne of Brittany Queen Consort France [1]
Mary of Guise Queen Consort Scotland [2]
Catherine Medici Queen Consort France [1]
Electress Louise Juliana of the Palatine Rhine [1]
Anna of Austria Holy Roman Empress [1]
Eleonora Gonzaga Queen Consort Bohemia [2]
Marie Françoise Élisabeth of Savoy Queen Consort of Portugal [3]
Great x 4 Grandfather: Louis VI King of the Franks 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert "Great" Capet I Count Dreux
Great x 4 Grandmother: Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France
Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert Capet II Count Dreux
Great x 3 Grandmother: Agnes Baudemont Countess Dreux
Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Capet III Count Dreux
Great x 4 Grandfather: Enguerrand Coucy
Great x 3 Grandfather: Raoul Coucy
Great x 4 Grandmother: Agnes Beaugency
Great x 2 Grandmother: Yolande Coucy Countess Dreux
Great x 4 Grandfather: Baldwin Flanders IV Count Hainaut
Great x 3 Grandmother: Agnes Flanders
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Namur Countess Hainault
GrandFather: John Capet I Count Dreux
Great x 4 Grandfather: Reginald St Valery
Great x 3 Grandfather: Bernard St Valery
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas St Valery
Great x 3 Grandmother: Eleanor Donart
Great x 1 Grandmother: Aénor de Saint-Valéry
Great x 4 Grandfather: Guy Montgomery II Count Ponthieu
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Montgomery I Count Ponthieu
Great x 4 Grandmother: Ida Countess Ponthieu
Great x 2 Grandmother: Adele Ponthieu 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Beatrice St Pol Countess Ponthieu
Father: Robert Capet IV Count Dreux
Great x 4 Grandfather: Guy Dampierre 
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Dampierre
Great x 4 Grandmother: Helvide Baudémont
Great x 2 Grandfather: Guy Dampierre
Great x 1 Grandfather: Archambaud "Great" Dampierre
Great x 3 Grandfather: Archambaud Bouron
Great x 2 Grandmother: Mathilde Bouron
GrandMother: Marie Dampierre Countess Dreux
Great x 1 Grandmother: Beatrice Montluçon
Yolande of Dreux Queen of Scotland 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Simon "Chauve" Montfort 4th Count Évreux
Great x 3 Grandfather: Simon Montfort
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mathilde Unknown Countess Évreux
Great x 2 Grandfather: Simon "Elder" Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Beaumont 3rd Earl of Leicester 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Amicia Beaumont
Great x 4 Grandmother: Petronilla Grandesmil Countess Leicester
Great x 1 Grandfather: Amaury Montfort 2 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Mathieu I Montmorency
Great x 3 Grandfather: Bouchard V Montmorency Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Aline Fitzroy 
Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Alix Montmorency Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
GrandFather: Jean Montfort 3 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Guigues VI Viennois
Great x 1 Grandmother: Beatrix Viennois
Mother: Beatrice Montfort Countess Dreux 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Hugues Chateaudun IV Viscount Châteaudun
Great x 3 Grandfather: Hugues Chateaudun V Viscount Châteaudun
Great x 4 Grandmother: Marguerite Saint Calais Viscountess Châteaudun
Great x 2 Grandfather: Geoffrey Chateaudun V Viscount Châteaudun
Great x 4 Grandfather: Gosbert Preuiily
Great x 3 Grandmother: Jeanne Preuiily Viscountess Châteaudun
Great x 1 Grandfather: Geoffrey Chateaudun VI Viscount Châteaudun
GrandMother: Jeanne Chateaudun
Great x 1 Grandmother: Clemence Roches Countess Blois