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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Cambridge Street, Edinburgh
Canongate, Edinburgh
Castlehill, Edinburgh
Edinburgh Castle
Gilmour Place, Edinburgh
Holyrood
Lawnmarket, Edinburgh
Leith
Princes Street, Edinburgh
South Bridge, Edinburgh
Edinburgh is in Scotland.
On 30th October 1881 William Brodie [aged 66] died at his home 9 Cambridge Street, Edinburgh [Map]. He was buried at Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh.
Tudor Tracts Chapter 3. In the meantime, word was brought by a Herald of ours — whom the Lord Lieutenant had sent to summon the Castle — that the Earl Bothwell and the Lord Hume with the number of 2,000 horsemen were entered the town, and were determined to the defence thereof. Upon which knowledge, the Lord Lieutenant sent with diligence to the Vanward, that they should march towards the town. And Sir Christopher Morice, Lieutenant of the Ordnance, was commanded to approach the gate called the Cany gate [Canongate] [Map], with certain battery pieces: which gate lay so, that the ordnance must be brought up a broad street of the suburbs, directly against the said Cany gate; which was the occasion of the loss of certain of our gunners. And before that any battery could be made by the said ordnance, divers of the captains of the Vanward — the better to comfort their soldiers — assailed the said gate with such courage, that they repulsed the Scottish gunners from the loupes [embrasures'] of the same, and there slew and hurt sundry of their gunners, and by force drew one piece of artillery out of one of the said loupes.
On 1st March 1752 Allan Ramsay [aged 38] and Margaret Lindsay [aged 26] at Canongate Kirk without the approval of her parents having eloped together. Her father never forgave her for marrying an artist.
On 10th October 1767 Francis Eliott 5th Baronet [aged 36] and Euphan Dixon [aged 22] were married at Canongate Kirk.
On 29th November 1810, a month after her divorce, George William Campbell 6th Duke Argyll [aged 42] and Caroline Elizabeth Villiers Duchess Argyll [aged 35] were married at Canongate Kirk. She by marriage Duchess Argyll. She the daughter of George Bussy Villiers 4th Earl Jersey and Frances Twysden [aged 57]. He the son of John Campbell 5th Duke Argyll and Elizabeth Gunning Duchess Hamilton and Argyll.
On 8th December 1817 Thomas Lyon Bowes 11th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 44] and Marianna Cheape Countess Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 44] were married at the Charlotte Square Chapel, Edinburgh. He the son of John Lyon 9th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne and Mary Bowes Countess Strathmore.
On 5th February 1600 John Gordon 13th Earl Sutherland [aged 24] and Agnes Elphinstone were married. The marriage was celebrated ovre two days at his lodgings Royal Mint aka Cunyiehous. King James VI of Scotland [aged 33] and Queen Anne of Denmark [aged 25] were house guests. As wedding gifts, James VI gave Agnes and Jean Elphinstone suites of gold and pearl accessories comprising, a necklace, a belt, and back and fore "garnishings" for their hair, which cost £1,333-6s-8d Scots. He the son of Alexander Gordon 12th Earl Sutherland. They were fourth cousin once removed.
Before 1479 John Stewart 1st Earl of Mar [aged 22] was imprisoned at Craigmillar Castle.
Before 1868. George Cattermole [aged 67]. "Craigmillar Castle".
On 30th October 1881 William Brodie [aged 66] died at his home 9 Cambridge Street, Edinburgh [Map]. He was buried at Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh.
On 8th August 1886 Helen Chisholm [aged 69] died. She was buried at Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh.
On 13th January 1859 Henry Grey died at his home 5 East Claremont Street, Edinburgh. He was buried at St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh.
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 1st August 1815 John William Polidori [aged 19] received his degree as a doctor of medicine from Edinburgh University.
In 1825 James Young Simpson 1st Baronet [aged 13] attended Edinburgh University. He began his medical studies in 1827 and achieved his MD in 1832.
On 18th March 1813 William Calder Marshall was born to William Marshall and Annie Calder, probably at Gilmour Place, Edinburgh [Map]. His father was a Goldsmith who had a shop at 1 South Bridge, Edinburgh [Map]. He attended the Edinburgh Royal High School and Edinburgh University before enrolling at the Edinburgh Trustees Academy in 1830. He married (1) 14th February 1842 Marianne Lawrie (2) 10th June 1845 Margaret Calder and had issue.
On or before 14th August 1675 Anne Cleland died. She was buried at Greyfriars, Edinburgh.
On 30th April 1520 a skirmish took place on the High Street Edinburgh in which around five hundred supporters of James Hamilton 1st Earl Arran [aged 45] fought with a similar number of supporters of Archibald Douglas 6th Earl Angus [aged 31], chiefs of Clan Hamilton and Douglas respectively, over who had control over King James V of Scotland [aged 8].
Around eighty of the Hamilton's were killed with the Douglases victorious as a consequence of around eight hundred more supporters arriving under the leadership of Angus' brother William Douglas Prior of Coldingham [aged 27].
John Montgomerie Master of Eglinton [aged 37] was killed.
On 10th February 1567 Henry "Lord Darnley" Stewart [aged 21] was murdered at Kirk O Field. Around two in the morning two barrels of gunpowder exploded beneath his room. His body and that of his valet William Taylor were found outside, surrounded by a cloak, a dagger, a chair, and a coat. Darnley was dressed only in his nightshirt. There were no visible marks on the body. He was buried at Holyrood Abbey, Holyrood.
Chronicle of Edward Hall [1496-1548]. April 1522. The King for safeguard of his Merchants, sent twenty-eight goodly ships to the sea, well manned and trimmed for the wars, and seven other ships he sent toward Scotland, which entered the Firth, and proffered to enter into the Scottish ships that lay in the haven, but the Scots ran their ships on land, and the Englishmen followed with boats and landed, and set the ships on fire, and at Leith took certain prisoners, which they brought into England, and still the King's great navy kept the narrow seas, for then was neither peace between England and France, nor open war as you have heard.
On 5th December 1560 Francis II King France King Consort Scotland [aged 16] died, possibly from an ear abscess, in the Hotel Groslot, Orléans. On 23rd December 1560 he was buried at the Basilica of St Denis [Map]. His brother Charles [aged 10] succeeded IX King France: Capet Valois Angoulême; his mother Catherine Medici Queen Consort France [aged 41] acted as Regent. His wife Mary Queen of Scots [aged 17] returned to Scotland arriving at Leith 19th August 1561 after having been in France for thirteen years.
Tudor Tracts Chapter 3. The next day, being the 4th day of May [1544], the said army landed two miles by west of the town of Leith, at a place called Grantham Crag [Map]: every man being so prompt thereunto, that the whole army was landed in four hours. And, perceiving our landing to be so quiet, which we looked not for; having our guides ready, we put ourselves in good order of war marching forwards towards the town of Leith in three battles — whereof my Lord Admiral led the Vanguard, the Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 44] the Arrieregard; and the Earl of Hertford [aged 44] being Lord Lieutenant, the Battle — having with us certain small pieces of artillery, which were drawn by force of men: which enterprise we thought necessary to be attempted first of all other, for the commodious lodging of our navy there, and the landing of our artillery and victail.
On 25th May 1713 John Stuart 3rd Earl Bute was born to James Stuart 2nd Earl Bute [aged 17] and Anne Campbell Countess Bute [aged 27] at Parliament Close. He married 20th August 1736 his fifth cousin Mary Wortley-Montagu Countess Bute and had issue.
Around 1535 Thomas Hamilton of Priestfield was born to Thomas Hamilton of Priestfield in Priestfield House.
On 6th May 1870 James Young Simpson 1st Baronet [aged 58] died at 52 Queen Street Edinburgh. His son Walter [aged 26] succeeded 2nd Baronet Simpson of Strathavon and the City of Edinburgh.
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel Volume 1 Chapters 1-60 1307-1342
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel offer one of the most vivid and immediate accounts of 14th-century Europe, written by a knight who lived through the events he describes, and experienced some of them first hand. Covering the early decades of the Hundred Years’ War, this remarkable chronicle follows the campaigns of Edward III of England, the politics of France and the Low Countries, and the shifting alliances that shaped medieval warfare. Unlike later historians, Jean le Bel writes with a strong sense of eyewitness authenticity, drawing on personal experience and the testimony of fellow soldiers. His narrative captures not only battles and sieges, but also the realities of military life, diplomacy, and the ideals of chivalry that governed noble society. A key source for Jean Froissart, Le Bel’s chronicle stands on its own as a compelling and insightful work, at once historical record and literary achievement. This translation builds on the 1905 edition published in French by Jules Viard, adding extensive translations from other sources Rymer's Fœdera, the Chronicles of Adam Murimuth, William Nangis, Walter of Guisborough, a Bourgeois of Valenciennes, Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke and Richard Lescot to enrich the original text and Viard's notes.
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On 24th November 1698 Charles Douglas 3rd Duke Queensberry was born to James Douglas 2nd Duke Queensberry [aged 35] and Mary Boyle Duchess Queensbury [aged 34] in Queensberry House. He married 10th March 1720 his second cousin Catherine Hyde Duchess Queensbury, daughter of Henry Hyde 2nd Earl Rochester 4th Earl Clarendon and Jane Leveson-Gower Countess Rochester and Clarendon.
On 18th March 1813 William Calder Marshall was born to William Marshall and Annie Calder, probably at Gilmour Place, Edinburgh [Map]. His father was a Goldsmith who had a shop at 1 South Bridge, Edinburgh [Map]. He attended the Edinburgh Royal High School and Edinburgh University before enrolling at the Edinburgh Trustees Academy in 1830. He married (1) 14th February 1842 Marianne Lawrie (2) 10th June 1845 Margaret Calder and had issue.
On 13th March 1792 Alexander Gordon [aged 53] died. He was buried in the churchyard of St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh. The eroded family stone lies in the north-west corner close to the elaborate Gothic Bailey vault.
On 28th February 1811 William Marshall and Annie Calder were married at St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh.
On 14th February 1842 William Calder Marshall [aged 28] and Marianne Lawrie were married at St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh. She died a month later.
On 10th June 1845 William Calder Marshall [aged 32] and Margaret Calder [aged 28] were married at St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh. The same church in which he had married his first wife three years previously.
On 13th January 1859 Henry Grey died at his home 5 East Claremont Street, Edinburgh. He was buried at St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh.
On 6th August 1851 Henry Edwyn Chandos Scudamore Stanhope 9th Earl of Chesterfield [aged 30] and Dorothea Hay Countess Chesterfield [aged 23] were married at St John's Church Edinburgh.
Before 1854. George Cattermole [aged 53]. "Foot of the West Bow, Edinburgh".
Before 1924 . Louise Ingram Rayner [aged 91]. 'Foot of the West Bow, Edinburgh'.
