William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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Paternal Family Tree: Courtenay
In January 1774 [his father] Bishop Reginald Courtenay [aged 32] and [his mother] Elizabeth Howard were married. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Thomas Howard 2nd Earl of Effingham and [his grandmother] Elizabeth Beckford Countess Effingham [aged 49].
On 19th June 1777 William Courtenay 10th Earl Devon was born to [his father] Bishop Reginald Courtenay [aged 35] and [his mother] Elizabeth Howard.
Around 1789 William Courtenay 10th Earl Devon [aged 11] educated at Westminster School [Map].
On 11th May 1794 [his father] Bishop Reginald Courtenay [aged 52] was consecrated as Bishop of Bristol.
Around 1795 William Courtenay 10th Earl Devon [aged 17] educated at Christ Church College, Oxford University.
In 1799 William Courtenay 10th Earl Devon [aged 21] called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn.
In 1803 [his father] Bishop Reginald Courtenay [aged 61] died. He was buried at Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair.
Before 14th April 1807 William Courtenay 10th Earl Devon [aged 29] and Henrietta Leslie Pepys Countess Devon [aged 29] were married. She the daughter of Lucas Pepys 1st Baronet [aged 64] and Jane Elizabeth Leslie 12th Countess of Rothes [aged 56]. He the son of Bishop Reginald Courtenay and Elizabeth Howard.
On 14th April 1807 [his son] William Courtenay 11th Earl Devon was born to William Courtenay 10th Earl Devon [aged 29] and [his wife] Henrietta Leslie Pepys Countess Devon [aged 29]. He married 1830 his sixth cousin Elizabeth Fortescue Countess Devon, daughter of Hugh Fortescue 1st Earl Fortescue and Hester Granville Countess Fortescue, and had issue.
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 2nd June 1810 [his mother-in-law] Jane Elizabeth Leslie 12th Countess of Rothes [aged 60] died. Her son [his brother-in-law] George [aged 42] succeeded 13th Earl Rothes.
In 1811 [his son] Henry Hugh Courtenay 13th Earl Devon was born to William Courtenay 10th Earl Devon [aged 33] and [his wife] Henrietta Leslie Pepys Countess Devon [aged 33].
In 1812 William Courtenay 10th Earl Devon [aged 34] was elected MP Exeter.
On 31st October 1815 [his mother] Elizabeth Howard died.
In 1817 [his brother-in-law] George William Evelyn Leslie 13th Earl of Rothes [aged 49] died. His daughter Henrietta [aged 27] succeeded 14th Countess Rothes.
In 1830 William Courtenay 11th Earl Devon [aged 22] and Elizabeth Fortescue Countess Devon [aged 28] were married. She the daughter of Hugh Fortescue 1st Earl Fortescue [aged 76] and Hester Granville Countess Fortescue [aged 64]. He the son of William Courtenay 10th Earl Devon [aged 52] and Henrietta Leslie Pepys Countess Devon [aged 52]. They were sixth cousins.
On 26th May 1835 William "Kitty" Courtenay 9th Earl Devon [aged 66] died at Paris [Map]. His second cousin William [aged 57] succeeded 10th Earl Devon. Viscount Courtenay extinct. [his wife] Henrietta Leslie Pepys Countess Devon [aged 57] by marriage Countess Devon.
In 1838 William Courtenay 10th Earl Devon [aged 60] was appointed High Steward Oxford University.
On 16th December 1839 [his wife] Henrietta Leslie Pepys Countess Devon [aged 62] died.
On 19th March 1859 William Courtenay 10th Earl Devon [aged 81] died. His son William [aged 51] succeeded 11th Earl Devon. Elizabeth Fortescue Countess Devon [aged 57] by marriage Countess Devon.
Kings Wessex: Great x 21 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 18 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 24 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 19 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 23 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 13 Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 20 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 28 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 22 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 25 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Francis Courtenay 4th Earl Devon 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Courtenay 5th Earl Devon 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Pole
Great x 2 Grandfather: Francis Courtenay 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Waller 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Waller Countess Devon 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Reynell
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Courtenay 6th Earl Devon 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Andreas Boevey
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Boevey
Great x 2 Grandmother: Mary Boevey
GrandFather: Henry Reginald Courtenay 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Bertie 1st Earl Lindsey
8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Montagu Bertie 2nd Earl Lindsey
9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Montagu Countess Lindsey
10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: James Bertie 1st Earl of Abingdon
10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Wray 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Bridget Wray Countess Lindsey 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Norreys 3rd Baroness Norreys Rycote 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Anne Bertie Countess Devon
11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Francis Henry Lee 2nd Baronet
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Lee 3rd Baronet 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne St John Countess Rochester
9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Eleanor Lee Countess Abingdon 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Father: Bishop Reginald Courtenay 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: George Bathurst
Great x 1 Grandfather: Benjamin Bathurst
Great x 4 Grandfather: Clement Villiers
Great x 3 Grandfather: Edward Villiers
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Villiers
GrandMother: Catherine Bathurst 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Apsley
Great x 3 Grandfather: Allen Apsley
Great x 2 Grandfather: Captain Allen Apsley 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John St John
7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Lucy St John
8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Lucy Hungerford
11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Frances Apsley 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Frances Petre
William Courtenay 10th Earl Devon 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Francis Howard
8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Charles Howard
9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Monson
Great x 2 Grandfather: Francis Howard 5th Baron Howard
10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: George Courthope
Great x 3 Grandmother: Frances Courthope
Great x 1 Grandfather: Francis Howard 1st Earl of Effingham
10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Pelham 1st Baronet 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Pelham 2nd Baronet 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Walsingham Baroness Pelham Laughton 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Philadelphia Pelham Baroness Howard 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Vane "The Elder"
8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Vane Lady Pelham
9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Frances Darcy
12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
GrandFather: Thomas Howard 2nd Earl of Effingham
11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Mother: Elizabeth Howard
12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Peter Beckford
Great x 1 Grandfather: Peter Beckford
GrandMother: Elizabeth Beckford Countess Effingham