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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Paternal Family Tree: Douglas
In 1780 [his father] Gerard Edwardes aka Noel 2nd Baronet [aged 20] and [his mother] Diana Middleton 2nd Baroness Barham [aged 17] were married.
On 2nd October 1781 Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough was born to [his father] Gerard Edwardes aka Noel 2nd Baronet [aged 22] and [his mother] Diana Middleton 2nd Baroness Barham [aged 19].
In 1809 Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 27] and Elizabeth Welman were married.
On 17th July 1813 [his grandfather] Admiral Charles Middleton 1st Baron Barham [aged 86] died. His daughter [his mother] Diana [aged 50] succeeded 2nd Baroness Barham.
In 1817 Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 35] and Elizabeth Grey [aged 17] were married.
In 1818 [his wife] Elizabeth Grey [aged 18] died in childbirth.
On 5th September 1818 [his son] Charles George Noel 2nd Earl Gainsborough was born to Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 36] and [his former wife] Elizabeth Grey. He married 1841 Ida Harriet Augusta Hay Countess Gainsborough, daughter of William Hay 18th Earl Erroll and Elizabeth Fitz-Clarence Countess Erroll, and had issue.
In 1820 Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 38] and Arabella Hamlyn-Williams were married.
On 12th April 1823 [his mother] Diana Middleton 2nd Baroness Barham [aged 60] died. Her son Charles [aged 41] succeeded 3rd Baron Barham.
On 28th August 1823 [his son] Gerard Noel was born to Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 41] and [his wife] Arabella Hamlyn-Williams. He married 30th June 1863 Augusta Mary Lowther and had issue.
Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.
In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.
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In 1824 [his son] Henry Lewis Noel was born to Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 42] and [his wife] Arabella Hamlyn-Williams.
On 29th September 1829 [his daughter] Catherine Hamilton Noel was born to Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 47] and [his wife] Arabella Hamlyn-Williams. She married 19th June 1849 James Carnegie 9th Earl Southesk, son of James Carnegie 5th Baronet, and had issue.
On 4th October 1829 [his wife] Arabella Hamlyn-Williams died from childbirth shortly after the birth of her fourth child [his daughter] Catherine Hamilton Noel.
On 25th July 1833 Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 51] and Frances Jocelyn Countess Gainsborough [aged 18] were married. The difference in their ages was 33 years. She the daughter of Robert Jocelyn 3rd Earl Roden [aged 44] and Maria Frances Catherine Stapleton Countess Roden.
On 27th August 1834 [his son] Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel was born to Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 52] and [his wife] Frances Jocelyn Countess Gainsborough [aged 19].
On 25th February 1838 [his father] Gerard Edwardes aka Noel 2nd Baronet [aged 78] died.
On 1st July 1839 [his daughter] Victoria Noel Lady Buxton was born to Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 57] and [his wife] Frances Jocelyn Countess Gainsborough [aged 24]. She married 21st June 1862 Thomas Fowell Buxton 3rd Baronet, son of Edward North Buxton 2nd Baronet and Catherine Gurney Lady Buxton, and had issue.
In 1841 Charles George Noel 2nd Earl Gainsborough [aged 22] and Ida Harriet Augusta Hay Countess Gainsborough [aged 19] were married. She the daughter of William Hay 18th Earl Erroll [aged 39] and Elizabeth Fitz-Clarence Countess Erroll [aged 39]. He the son of Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 59] and Elizabeth Grey.
On 16th August 1841 Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 59] was created 1st Earl Gainsborough. [his wife] Frances Jocelyn Countess Gainsborough [aged 26] by marriage Countess Gainsborough.
On 20th August 1846 [his son-in-law] Andrew Agnew 8th Baronet [aged 28] and Mary Arabella Louisa Noel were married. She the daughter of Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 64] and Arabella Hamlyn-Williams.
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 19th June 1849 [his son-in-law] James Carnegie 9th Earl Southesk [aged 21] and Catherine Hamilton Noel [aged 19] were married at Exton, Rutlandshire. She the daughter of Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 67] and Arabella Hamlyn-Williams. He the son of James Carnegie 5th Baronet.
On 31st July 1851 [his brother-in-law] John Strange Jocelyn 5th Earl Roden [aged 28] and Sophia Hobhouse Countess Roden were married. He the son of [his father-in-law] Robert Jocelyn 3rd Earl Roden [aged 62] and [his mother-in-law] Maria Frances Catherine Stapleton Countess Roden.
On 9th March 1855 [his daughter] Catherine Hamilton Noel [aged 25] died.
On 21st June 1862 [his son-in-law] Thomas Fowell Buxton 3rd Baronet [aged 25] and Victoria Noel Lady Buxton [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Lady Buxton of Belfield in Dorset. She the daughter of Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 80] and Frances Jocelyn Countess Gainsborough [aged 47].
On 30th June 1863 Gerard Noel [aged 39] and Augusta Mary Lowther were married. He the son of Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 81] and Arabella Hamlyn-Williams.
On 10th June 1866 Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough [aged 84] died. His son Charles [aged 47] succeeded 2nd Earl Gainsborough, 4th Baron Barham. Ida Harriet Augusta Hay Countess Gainsborough [aged 44] by marriage Countess Gainsborough.
In December 1881 [his former wife] Elizabeth Welman died.
On 12th May 1885 [his former wife] Frances Jocelyn Countess Gainsborough [aged 70] died.
Memorial at the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Exton, Rutlandshire [Map].
Frances Jocelyn Countess Gainsborough: On 20th November 1814 she was born to Robert Jocelyn 3rd Earl Roden and Maria Frances Catherine Stapleton Countess Roden. On 25th July 1833 Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough and she were married. The difference in their ages was 33 years. She the daughter of Robert Jocelyn 3rd Earl Roden and Maria Frances Catherine Stapleton Countess Roden. On 16th August 1841 Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough was created 1st Earl Gainsborough. She by marriage Countess Gainsborough.
[his daughter] Mary Arabella Louisa Noel was born to Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough and Arabella Hamlyn-Williams. She married 20th August 1846 Andrew Agnew 8th Baronet, son of Andrew Agnew 7th Baronet, and had issue.
Kings Wessex: Great x 22 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 19 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 25 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 20 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 21 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 29 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 17 Grand Son of Philip V King France I King Navarre
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 27 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Douglas 1st Marquess Douglas 
8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Hamilton 1st Duke Hamilton 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Gordon Marchioness Douglas 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: James Hamilton Duke Hamilton, 1st Duke Brandon 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: James Hamilton 1st Duke Hamilton 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Hamilton 3rd Duchess Hamilton 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret aka Mary Feilding 
9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Anne Hamilton 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Charles Gerard 4th Baron Gerard 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Digby Gerard 5th Baron Gerard 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Digby Baroness Gerard 
14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Gerard Duchess Brandon 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Charles Gerard 1st Earl Macclesfield 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Gerard Baroness Gerard 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jeanne de Civelle Countess Macclesfield
GrandFather: Gerard Edwardes of Welham Grove 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Mary Edwards
Father: Gerard Edwardes aka Noel 2nd Baronet 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Baptist Noel 3rd Viscount Campden 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Baptist Noel 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Bertie Viscountess Campden 
10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Baptist Noel 3rd Earl Gainsborough 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Fanshawe 
9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Susannah Fanshawe 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Heath
Great x 1 Grandfather: Baptist Noel 4th Earl Gainsborough 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Manners 8th Earl of Rutland 
7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Manners 1st Duke Rutland 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Frances Montagu Countess Rutland 
10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Dorothy Manners Countess Gainsborough 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Baptist Noel 3rd Viscount Campden
Great x 3 Grandmother: Catherine Noel Duchess Rutland 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Bertie Viscountess Campden 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
GrandMother: Jane Noel 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Chapman Countess Gainsborough
Charles Noel 1st Earl Gainsborough 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Middleton of Bo'ness
GrandFather: Admiral Charles Middleton 1st Baron Barham
Great x 3 Grandfather: James Dundas Lord Arniston 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Captain Charles Dundas
Great x 1 Grandmother: Helen Dundas
Mother: Diana Middleton 2nd Baroness Barham