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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Earl March is in Earl.
Before 1338 Patrick Dunbar 9th Earl March [aged 52] and Agnes "Black Agnes" Randolph Countess March [aged 25] were married. She by marriage Countess Dunbar aka March 1C. The difference in their ages was 27 years. She the daughter of Thomas Randolph 1st Earl of Moray and Isabella Stewart Countess Moray. They were fifth cousins.
In 1369 Patrick Dunbar 9th Earl March [aged 84] died. His son George [aged 31] succeeded 10th Earl Dunbar aka March 1C.
In 1420 George Dunbar 10th Earl March [aged 82] died. His son George [aged 50] succeeded 11th Earl Dunbar aka March 1C.
Patrick Dunbar 9th Earl March succeeded 9th Earl Dunbar aka March 1C.
Alexander Livingston 5th Lord Livingston succeeded 5th Lord Livingston. Agnes Douglas Countess March by marriage Countess Dunbar aka March 1C.
On 5th March 1580 Robert Stewart 1st Earl Lennox 1st Earl March [aged 58] resigned Earl Lennox. On the same day he was created 1st Earl March. Elizabeth Stewart Countess Arran Countess Lennox and March [aged 31] by marriage Countess March.
On the same day Esme Stewart 1st Duke Lennox [aged 38] was created 1st Earl Lennox by King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland [aged 13] for being his favourite. Catherine Balsac Duchess Lennox by marriage Countess Lennox.
In 1697 William Douglas 1st Earl March [aged 26] was created 1st Earl March. Jean Hay Countess March by marriage Countess March.
On 7th March 1731 William Douglas 2nd Earl March [aged 34] died. His son William [aged 6] succeeded 3rd Earl March.
In 1745 William Douglas 1st Earl March [aged 74] died. His son William succeeded 2nd Earl March. Anne Hamilton 2nd Countess Ruglen [aged 48] by marriage Countess March.
On 23rd December 1810 William Douglas 4th Duke Queensberry [aged 86] died. His second cousin twice removed Francis [aged 38] succeeded 4th Earl March. He, Francis, assumed the additional surname Douglas. Earl Ruglen extinct.
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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On 2nd May 1672 John Maitland 1st Duke Lauderdale [aged 55] was created 1st Duke Lauderdale, 1st Earl March Unknown Creation. Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 45] by marriage Duchess Lauderdale.
