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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Descendants Family Tree: Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton 1549-1635
On 9th February 1527 [her future husband] William Parr 1st Marquess Northampton [aged 15] and Anne Bourchier 7th Baroness Bourchier [aged 10] were married. They lived apart for the first twelve years of their marriage. She the daughter of Henry Bourchier 2nd Earl Essex 3rd Count of Eu and Mary Saye Countess Essex and Eu [aged 53]. They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward III of England. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
On 17th April 1543 [her future husband] William Parr 1st Marquess Northampton [aged 31] and Anne Bourchier 7th Baroness Bourchier [aged 26] were divorced by an Act of Parliament and their children declared illegitimate.
In 1548 [her future husband] William Parr 1st Marquess Northampton [aged 36] and Elisabeth Brooke Marchioness Northampton [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Marchioness Northampton. They were fourth cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward III of England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
In 1549 Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton was born.
In May 1571 William Parr 1st Marquess Northampton [aged 59] and Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Marchioness Northampton. The difference in their ages was 37 years.
On 28th October 1571 [her husband] William Parr 1st Marquess Northampton [aged 59] died at Warwick Priory, Warwickshire [Map]. He was buried in the Chancel of St Mary's Church, Warwick [Map]. His funeral was paid for by Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland [aged 38]. Marquess Northampton and Earl Essex, Baron Parr of Kendal extinct.
In 1573 [her future husband] Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle [aged 37] acquired the manor of Longford, Wiltshire [Map] which had been owned by the Servington aka Cervington family. In 1576 after his marriage to Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 24] they commissioned the building of a house on the triangular Swedish style on the banks of the Wiltshire River Avon with money from a shipwreck of the Spanish Armada.
In 1576 Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle [aged 40] and Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 27] were married secretly.
In 1578 [her daughter] Elizabeth Gorges was born to [her husband] Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle [aged 42] and Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 29]. She married (1) before 31st December 1596 Hugh Smyth and had issue (2) 21st September 1629 her first cousin once removed Ferdinando Gorges.
Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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Around 1582 [her son] Edward Gorges 1st Baron Gorges of Dundalk was born to [her husband] Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle [aged 46] and Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 33].
In 1583 [her son] Theobald Gorges was born to [her husband] Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle [aged 47] and Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 34]. He married (1) before 1646 Ann Poole (2) February 1646 Anne Gage.
In 1584 [her daughter] Brigetta Gorges was born to [her husband] Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle [aged 48] and Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 35]. She married after 27th June 1602 Robert Phelips and had issue.
Before 31st December 1596 [her son-in-law] Hugh Smyth [aged 22] and Elizabeth Gorges [aged 18] were married. She the daughter of Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle [aged 60] and Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 47].
After 27th June 1602 [her son-in-law] Robert Phelips [aged 16] and Brigetta Gorges [aged 18] were married. She the daughter of Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle [aged 66] and Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 53].
On 28th April 1603 Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland [deceased] was buried at Westminster Abbey [Map].
Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 54] was Chief Mourner in the procession since Arabella Stewart [aged 28] refused to take part. She was supported by Thomas Cecil 1st Earl Exeter [aged 60] and Charles Howard 1st Earl Nottingham [aged 67].
George Bourchier [aged 68] carried the Standard of the Dragon.
Philip Herbert 4th Earl Pembroke 1st Earl Montgomery [aged 18] carried the Standard of the Greyhound.
Thomas Somerset carried the Standard of the Lyon.
William Segar [aged 49] carried the Sword of State as Norrey King of Arms.
Admiral Richard Leveson [aged 33] was one of the six knights who carried the canopy.
George Bourchier: George Bourchier and Martha Howard were married. The difference in their ages was 20 years. He the son of John Bourchier 2nd Earl Bath and Eleanor Manners Countess Bath. They were fifth cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward III of England. In 1535 he was born to John Bourchier 2nd Earl Bath and Eleanor Manners Countess Bath. In 1605 George Bourchier died.
Thomas Somerset: he was born to Henry Somerset 1st Marquess Worcester and Anne Russell Countess Worcester. On 30th December 1648 Thomas Somerset died at Dunkirk.
On 30th March 1610 [her husband] Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle [aged 74] died. On 14th May 1635 Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 61] was buried in Salisbury Cathedral [Map].
Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle: In 1536 he was born to Edward Gorges and Mary Poyntz in Wraxall, Somerset [Map]. In 1573 Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle acquired the manor of Longford, Wiltshire [Map] which had been owned by the Servington aka Cervington family. In 1576 after his marriage to Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton they commissioned the building of a house on the triangular Swedish style on the banks of the Wiltshire River Avon with money from a shipwreck of the Spanish Armada. In 1576 Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle and Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton were married secretly. In 1586 Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle was knighted at Beddington, Surrey.
On 21st September 1629 [her son-in-law] Ferdinando Gorges [aged 64] and Elizabeth Gorges [aged 51] were married at Wraxall, Somerset [Map]. She the daughter of Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle and Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 80]. They were first cousin once removed.
Around 1634 [her daughter] Brigetta Gorges [aged 50] died.
On 10th April 1635 Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton [aged 86] died at Redlynch, Somerset.
[her daughter] Catharine Gorges was born to Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle and Helena Snakenbourg Marchioness Northampton. She married before 1664 Robert Dillington 1st Baronet.