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.

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Count Holland

Count Holland is in Count.

On 6th May 988 Dirk Gerulfing II Count Holland [aged 63] died. His son Arnulf [aged 38] succeeded Count Holland. Luitgarde Luxemburg Countess Holland by marriage Countess Holland.

On 19th September 993 Arnulf Gerulfing Count Holland [aged 43] died. His son Dirk succeeded III Count Holland.

Before 1025 Dirk Gerulfing III Count Holland and Othelindis d Bernard Margrave Nordmark Count Holland were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. He the son of Arnulf Gerulfing Count Holland and Luitgarde Luxemburg Countess Holland.

On 27th May 1039 Dirk Gerulfing III Count Holland died. His son Dirk [aged 14] succeeded IV Count Holland.

On 13th January 1049 Dirk Gerulfing IV Count Holland [aged 24] was murdered. His brother Floris [aged 24] succeeded I Count Holland.

Around 1050 Floris Gerulfing I Count Holland [aged 24] and Gertrude Billung Countess Holland [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. She the daughter of Bernard II Duke of Saxony [aged 55] and Eilika Schweinfurt Duchess Saxony. He the son of Dirk Gerulfing III Count Holland and Othelindis d Bernard Margrave Nordmark Count Holland.

On 28th June 1061 Floris Gerulfing I Count Holland [aged 36] was killed when he was ambushed retreating from Zaltbommel and killed in battle at Hamerth. His son Dirk [aged 9] succeeded V Count Holland.

On 17th June 1091 Dirk Gerulfing V Count Holland [aged 39] died. His son Floris [aged 6] succeeded II Count Holland.

Around 1108 Floris II Gerulfing II Count Holland [aged 23] and Gertrude Metz Countess Holland were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. She the daughter of Theodoric "Valiant" Metz II Duke Lorraine [aged 53] and Hedwige Formbach Duchess Lorraine. He the son of Dirk Gerulfing V Count Holland and Othilde Countess Holland. They were fourth cousin once removed.

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.

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On 2nd March 1121 Floris II Gerulfing II Count Holland [aged 36] died. His son Dirk [aged 7] succeeded VI Count Holland.

In or before 1139 Dirk Gerulfing VI Count Holland [aged 24] and Sophie Salm Countess Holland [aged 18] were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. He the son of Floris II Gerulfing II Count Holland and Gertrude Metz Countess Holland.

On 5th August 1157 Dirk Gerulfing VI Count Holland [aged 43] died. His son Floris [aged 16] succeeded III Count Holland.

On 28th September 1162 Floris Gerulfing III Count Holland [aged 21] and Ada Dunkeld Countess Holland [aged 23] were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. She the daughter of Henry Dunkeld 3rd Earl Huntingdon 1st Earl of Northumbria and Ada Warenne Countess Huntingdon and Northumbria [aged 42]. He the son of Dirk Gerulfing VI Count Holland and Sophie Salm Countess Holland [aged 42]. They were fifth cousin once removed.

In 1186 Dirk Gerulfing VII Count Holland and Adelaide Cleves Countess Holland were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. She the daughter of Arnaud Cleves I Count Cleves and Ida Reginar Countess Cleves. He the son of Floris Gerulfing III Count Holland [aged 45] and Ada Dunkeld Countess Holland [aged 47]. They were fourth cousin twice removed.

On 1st August 1190 Dirk Gerulfing VII Count Holland succeeded VII Count Holland.

In 1197 William Gerulfing I Count Holland [aged 30] and Adelaide Guelders Countess Holland were married at Stavoren. She by marriage Countess Holland. She the daughter of Otto I Count Guelders [aged 47] and Richardis Wittelsbach Countess Guelders [aged 24]. He the son of Floris Gerulfing III Count Holland and Ada Dunkeld Countess Holland [aged 58].

In 1203 Louis II Count Loon and Ada Gerulfing I Countess Holland [aged 15] were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. She the daughter of Dirk Gerulfing VII Count Holland and Adelaide Cleves Countess Holland.

On 4th November 1203 William Gerulfing I Count Holland [aged 36] succeeded I Count Holland.

On 4th November 1203 Dirk Gerulfing VII Count Holland died. His daughter Ada [aged 15] succeeded I Countess Holland.

Memoires of Jacques du Clercq

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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On 6th December 1214 Floris Gerulfing IV Count Holland [aged 4] and Mathilde Reginar Countess Holland and Palatine [aged 14] were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. She the daughter of Henry Reginar VIII Duke Lower Lorraine I Duke Brabant [aged 49] and Maud Metz. He the son of William Gerulfing I Count Holland [aged 47] and Adelaide Guelders Countess Holland. They were half third cousin once removed. She a great granddaughter of King Stephen I England.

In 1220 William Gerulfing I Count Holland [aged 53] and Marie Reginar Countess Holland [aged 30] were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. The difference in their ages was 23 years. She the daughter of Henry Reginar VIII Duke Lower Lorraine I Duke Brabant [aged 55] and Maud Metz. He the son of Floris Gerulfing III Count Holland and Ada Dunkeld Countess Holland. They were half third cousins. She a great granddaughter of King Stephen I England.

On 4th February 1222 William Gerulfing I Count Holland [aged 55] died. His son Floris [aged 11] succeeded IV Count Holland.

On 5th December 1244 Joan I Countess Flanders [aged 45] died. Her sister Margaret [aged 42] succeeded II Countess Flanders. Her great nephew John succeeded II Count Hainault, II Count Holland.

In 1252 William Gerulfing II Count Holland [aged 24] and Elizabeth Brunswick-Lüneburg Countess Holland [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. She the daughter of Otto "Child" Brunswick-Lüneburg Duke Brunswick-Lüneburg [aged 48]. He the son of Floris Gerulfing IV Count Holland and Mathilde Reginar Countess Holland and Palatine [aged 52].

On 28th January 1256 William Gerulfing II Count Holland [aged 28] died. His son Floris [aged 1] succeeded V Count Holland.

Around 1270 Floris Gerulfing V Count Holland [aged 15] and Beatrix Dampierre [aged 10] were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. She the daughter of Guy Dampierre Count Flanders [aged 44] and Mathilde Bethune. He the son of William Gerulfing II Count Holland and Elizabeth Brunswick-Lüneburg Countess Holland. They were fourth cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Stephen I England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

On 27th June 1296 Floris Gerulfing V Count Holland [aged 42] was killed. His son John [aged 12] succeeded I Count Holland.

Floris has transferred his allegiance to France inviting the enmity of King Edward I of England [aged 57] who relied on him to support the valuable English wool trade. Edward conspired with Guy of Flanders to kidnap Floris. Floris was captured during a hunting party and taken to Muiderslot castle. Concerned about their safety the kidnappers attempted to take Floris to a safer location during which jounrney they were attacked by an angry mob of local peasants. Floris was killed.

Marriage of Princess Elizabeth and John of Holland

On 8th January 1297 John Gerulfing I Count Holland [aged 13] and Princess Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Countess Essex, Hereford and Holland [aged 14] were married at Ipswich, Suffolk [Map]. She by marriage Countess Holland. The wedding was attended by her sister Margaret Plantagenet Duchess Brabant [aged 21], her father King Edward I [aged 57], her brother Edward [aged 12] and her future second husband Humphrey Bohun 4th Earl Hereford 3rd Earl Essex [aged 21]. She the daughter of King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England. He the son of Floris Gerulfing V Count Holland and Beatrix Dampierre. They were half third cousin twice removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Stephen I England.

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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In 1345 William Wittelsbach I Duke Lower Bavaria [aged 14] succeeded V Count Holland.

On 13th December 1404 Albert Wittelsbach I Duke Lower Bavaria [aged 68] died at The Hague. His son William [aged 39] succeeded IV Count Holland, VI Count Hainault, V Count Zeeland. Margaret Valois Countess Holland [aged 30] by marriage Countess Holland.

William Gerulfing II Count Holland succeeded II Count Holland.

Arnulf Gerulfing Count Holland was appointed Count Holland.

Dirk Gerulfing II Count Holland succeeded II Count Holland. Hildegarde Flanders Countess Holland by marriage Countess Holland.

Dirk Gerulfing V Count Holland and Othilde Countess Holland were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. He the son of Floris Gerulfing I Count Holland and Gertrude Billung Countess Holland.