Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
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Ordinaries is in Terms.
Joicey Arms. Argent three lozenges Sable within two bendlets invected gules between two miners' picks in bend proper. Source.
Nelson Arms. Or, a cross flory sable a bendlet gules. Source.
Bendy is a pattern of diagonal stripes (bendlet), running from top-left to bottom-right.
Crusilly. Sprinkled. Similar, if not the same as Semée.
Beresford Arms. Argent, crusilly fitchée sable, three fleurs-de-lis within a bordure engrailed of the second. Source.
Orle. A border around the edge of the shield composed of charges.
Brownlow Arms. Or an escutcheon within an orle of martlets sable. Source
Pale. Vertically. Usually a vertical stripe, sometimes an animal.
Brandon Arms. Barry of ten argent and gules, a lion rampant or ducally crowned per pale of the first and second. Source.
Plantagenet Arms. Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langued azure. Source.
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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Giffard Arms. Gules Three lions passant guardant or in pale or.
Normandy Arms. Gules, two lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langued azure. Source.
Strange Arms. Argent, two lions passant in pale gules. Source.
Semée. Seeded like the field being sown.
Brunswick Luneburg Arms. Per pale, I gules two lions passant guardant or (for Brunswick), II or a semy of hearts gules a lion rampant azure (for Lunenburg).
Clifton Arms. Sable semée of cinquefoils and a lion rampant argent. Source.
Darcy Arms. Azure semée of cross crosslets argent, three cinquefoils of the last. Source.
France Ancient Arms. Azure semy-de-lis or. Source.
Holand Arms. Azure, semée-de-lys argent, a lion rampant. Source.
Pierrepoint Arms. Argent, semée of cinquefoils gules, a lion rampant sable. Source.
Tressure. A subordinary. A line or two lines forming a border. Possibly a diminutive of the orle.
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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Duke Atholl Arms.
Earl Atholl Arms overall, an inescutcheon en surtout azure three mullets argent within a double tressure flory or ensigned of a Marquess's coronet. Source.
Bowes Lyon Arms. Quarterly 1&4 Argent a lion rampant azure, armed and langued gules within a double tressure flory counter-flory of the second (for Lyon); 2&3 ermine three bows stringed palewise in fess proper (for Bowes).
Marquess Zetland Arms.
Dundas Arms within a double tressure flory counterflory gules, all within a bordure azure. Source.
Dunkeld Arms. Or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure a double tressure flory counter-flory gules.
Murray Arms. Azure, three mullets argent, within a double tressure flory counter-flory or. Source.
Earl Roseberry Arms. Quarterly, 1&4 vert, three primroses within a double tressure flory counter-flory or (for Primrose); 2&3 argent, a lion rampant double queued sable (for Cressy). Source.
Stewart Royal Arms. Or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure within a double tressure flory counter-flory of the second.