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All About History Books

The 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. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.

Meaux, France, Europe [Map]

Meaux is in France.

On 8th May 1411 William Beauchamp 1st Baron Abergavenny (age 68) died at Meaux [Map]. He was buried at Tewkesbury Abbey [Map]. His son Richard (age 15) succeeded 2nd Baron Abergavenny.

Siege of Meaux

In October 1421 King Henry V of England (age 35) commenced the Siege of Meaux. John Cornwall 1st Baron Fanhope 1st Baron Milbroke (age 57) fought. His son John Cornwall (age 18) was killed; his head being blown off by a cannon ball witnessed by his father. Meaux [Map] was eventually captured on 11th May 1422.