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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Death of Prince Arthur is in 1500-1509 Death of Prince Arthur and Henry VII.
On 2nd April 1502 Prince Arthur Tudor [aged 15] died at Ludlow Castle [Map]. Earl Chester extinct. The cause of death unknown other than being reported as "a malign vapour which proceeded from the air". Catherine of Aragon [aged 16] had recovered.
On 23rd April 1502 Prince Arthur's [deceased] funeral was held at St Laurence's Church, Ludlow [Map] presided over by Bishop William Smyth [aged 42]. George Grey 2nd Earl Kent [aged 48], George Talbot 4th Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 34], Richard Grey 3rd Earl Kent [aged 21], John Grey 2nd Baron Grey of Powis [aged 17] and Richard Pole [aged 40] attended. Thomas Howard 2nd Duke of Norfolk [aged 59] was Chief Mourner. Edward Howard [aged 26] and Robert Radclyffe 1st Earl of Sussex [aged 19] carried The Canopy.
Richard Pole: In 1462 he was born to Geoffrey Pole and Edith St John at Isleworth. Around 1491 Richard Pole and Margaret York aka Pole Countess of Salisbury were married. She the daughter of George York 1st Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville Duchess Clarence. On 15th January 1504 Richard Pole died.
Before 25th April 1502 Prince Arthur's [deceased] body was transported from Ludlow, Shropshire [Map] to Worcester Cathedral [Map] via the River Servern in a special wagon upholstered in black and drawn by six horses, also caparisoned in black.
Wriothesley's Chronicle [1508-1562]. 2nd April 1502. And in Easter weeke followinge the saide Prince Arthure [aged 15] deceased at Ludlowe [Map], in Wales, and was buried at Worcester [Map].b
Note b. Prince Arthur died on the Saturday following Easter Sunday in 1503, being April 2nd, and was buried in Worcester cathedral on the 27th April.
On 25th April 1502 Prince Arthur Tudor [deceased] was buried in the Chantry Chapel of Prince Arthur in Worcester Cathedral [Map].
Bishop William Smyth [aged 42], Bishop of Lincoln and Lord President of the Council of Wales and the Marches, presided.
George Grey 2nd Earl Kent [aged 48] and George Talbot 4th Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 34] received Arthur's Coat of Arms, Richard Grey 3rd Earl Kent [aged 21] received Arthur's shield, John Grey 2nd Baron Grey of Powis [aged 17] received Arthur's sword, pommel forwards. Gruffydd ap Rhys ap Thomas Deheubarth [aged 24] carried Prince Arthur's banner.
Gerald Fitzgerald 9th Earl of Kildare [aged 15] rode Arthur's courser as the Man at Arms, in Arthur's full armour, carrying Arthur's poleaxe, pointed down, through the Nave to the Altar where he was stripped of Arthur's clothes.
The Chapel is to the right of the High Altar in the Chancel. It is decorated with heraldic carvings symbolising the houses of York, Lancaster, Beaufort and Catherine of Aragon's Pomegranate. His Purbeck marble tomb chest is decorated with the arms of England. He is buried beneath the cathedral's floor several feet away from the tomb that visitors can see.
