The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
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On 26th September 1865 Mary Caurroy Tribe Duchess Bedford was born to [her father] Walter Tribe [aged 33].
On 31st January 1888 Herbrand Arthur Russell 11th Duke Bedford [aged 29] and Mary Caurroy Tribe Duchess Bedford [aged 22] were married at Barrackpore. He the son of Francis Russell 9th Duke Bedford [aged 68] and Elizabeth Sackville-West Duchess Bedford [aged 69].
On 21st December 1888 [her son] Hastings William Russell 12th Duke Bedford was born to [her husband] Herbrand Arthur Russell 11th Duke Bedford [aged 30] and Mary Caurroy Tribe Duchess Bedford [aged 23]. He married November 1914 Louisa Crommelin Roberta Jowitt Whitwell Duchess Bedford and had issue.
On 14th January 1891 [her father-in-law] Francis Russell 9th Duke Bedford [aged 71] shot himself as a result of insanity at 81 Eaton Square, Belgravia. His son [her brother-in-law] George [aged 38] succeeded 10th Duke Bedford, 10th Marquess Tavistock, 14th Earl Bedford, 14th Baron Russell of Cheneys, 12th Baron Russell of Thornhaugh, 10th Baron Howland of Streatham. Adeline Marie Somers Duchess Bedford [aged 38] by marriage Duchess Bedford.
Monument in the Bedford Chapel, St Michael's Church, Chenies erected by [her mother-in-law] Elizabeth Sackville-West Duchess Bedford [aged 72] in 1892.
On 23rd March 1893 [her brother-in-law] George William Sackville Russell 10th Duke Bedford [aged 40] died. George William Sackville Russell 10th Duke Bedford was buried at Bedford Chapel, St Michael's Church, Chenies. His brother [her husband] Herbrand [aged 35] succeeded 11th Duke Bedford, 11th Marquess Tavistock, 15th Earl Bedford, 15th Baron Russell of Cheneys, 13th Baron Russell of Thornhaugh, 11th Baron Howland of Streatham. Mary Caurroy Tribe Duchess Bedford [aged 27] by marriage Duchess Bedford.
10th May 1898. James Lafayette [aged 45]. Photograph of Mary Caurroy Tribe Duchess Bedford [aged 32]. After leaving Woburn Abbey in a DH.60GIII Moth Major (G-ACUR), she crashed into the North Sea off Great Yarmouth. The airplane's struts were later washed up at Yarmouth, Gorleston, Lowestoft and Southwold. Her body was never recovered. On 14th May, a body of a woman in a flying suit was found in the English Channel, by a train ferry, five miles out from Dover, but Flight Lieut. Preston said there was no chance of the body being the Duchess - there were quite a few daring female aviators lost over the sea in those early years.
Before 19th May 1909, the date his obituary appeared in The Times, [her father] Walter Tribe [aged 76] died.
In November 1914 Hastings William Russell 12th Duke Bedford [aged 25] and Louisa Crommelin Roberta Jowitt Whitwell Duchess Bedford were married. He the son of Herbrand Arthur Russell 11th Duke Bedford [aged 56] and Mary Caurroy Tribe Duchess Bedford [aged 49].
On 2nd August 1929 Mary Caurroy Tribe Duchess Bedford [aged 63] departed on a record-breaking flight of 10,000 miles from Lympne Airport to Karachi (then in India) and return to Croydon Airport in eight days. She was accompanied in her single-engined Fokker F.VII (G-EBTS, Princess Xenia, which she renamed "The Spider" for its tenacity) by her personal pilot Captain C. D. Barnard and mechanic Robert (Bob) Little.
Henrici Quinti, Angliæ Regis, Gesta, is a first-hand account of the Agincourt Campaign, and subsequent events to his death in 1422. The author of the first part was a Chaplain in King Henry's retinue who was present from King Henry's departure at Southampton in 1415, at the siege of Harfleur, the battle of Agincourt, and the celebrations on King Henry's return to London. The second part, by another writer, relates the events that took place including the negotiations at Troye, Henry's marriage and his death in 1422.
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On 8th April 1930 Mary Caurroy Tribe Duchess Bedford [aged 64] made her first solo flight, in her DH.60G Moth.
On 10th April 1930 Mary Caurroy Tribe Duchess Bedford [aged 64] embarked on a record-breaking flight from Lympne Airport to Cape Town, in "The Spider", flying 9,000 miles in 91 hours and twenty minutes over 10 days, again with Barnard and Little.
On 22nd March 1937 Mary Caurroy Tribe Duchess Bedford [aged 71] died in a plane crash.
On 27th August 1940 [her former husband] Herbrand Arthur Russell 11th Duke Bedford [aged 82] died. His son Hastings [aged 51] succeeded 12th Duke Bedford, 12th Marquess Tavistock, 16th Earl Bedford, 16th Baron Russell of Cheneys, 14th Baron Russell of Thornhaugh, 12th Baron Howland of Streatham. Louisa Crommelin Roberta Jowitt Whitwell Duchess Bedford by marriage Duchess Bedford.