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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King Castile is in Kingdom of Castile.
On 24th December 1065 Ferdinand "Great" I King Leon [aged 50] died. His son Sancho [aged 28] succeeded II King Castile.
On 7th October 1072 Sancho "Strong" II King Leon II King Castile [aged 35] died. His brother Alfonso [aged 31] succeeded VI King Castile. Agnes Poitiers Queen Consort Leon Queen Consort Castile [aged 14] by marriage Queen Consort Castile.
On 1st July 1109 Alfonso "Brave" VI King Leon VI King Castile [aged 68] died. His daughter Urracca [aged 30] succeeded Queen Leon, Queen Castile and Queen Galicia.
In 1126 Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon [aged 20] succeeded VII King Castile, VII King Leon.
On 21st August 1157 Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon [aged 52] died. His son Sancho [aged 23] succeeded III King Castile. His son Ferdinand [aged 20] succeeded II King Leon.
On 31st August 1158 Sancho III King Castile [aged 24] died. His son Alfonso [aged 2] succeeded VIII King Castile.
On 5th October 1214 Alfonso VIII King Castile [aged 58] died. He was buried at Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas [Map]. His son Henry [aged 10] succeeded I King Castile.
On 6th June 1217 Henry I King Castile [aged 13] was killed by a tile falling of a roof. He was buried at Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas [Map]. His sister Berengaria [aged 38] succeeded I Queen Castile.
On 31st August 1217 Berengaria Ivrea I Queen Castile [aged 38] abdicated I King Castile. Her son Ferdinand [aged 18] succeeded III King Castile.
On 30th May 1252 Ferdinand III King Castile III King Leon [aged 53] died. His son Alfonso [aged 30] succeeded X King Castile, X King Leon. Violante Barcelona Queen Consort Castile Queen Consort Leon by marriage Queen Consort Castile, Queen Consort Leon.
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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On 2nd April 1284 Alfonso X King Castile X King Leon [aged 62] died. His son Sancho [aged 25] succeeded IV King Castile, IV King Leon. Maria Molina Queen Consort Castile Queen Consort Leon by marriage Queen Consort Castile, Queen Consort Leon.
On 25th April 1295 Sancho IV King Castile IV King Leon [aged 36] died. His son Ferdinand [aged 9] succeeded IV King Castile, IV King Leon.
On 7th September 1312 Ferdinand IV King Castile IV King Leon [aged 26] died. His son Alfonso [aged 1] succeeded XI King Castile.
On 26th March 1350 Alfonso "Avenger" XI King Castile [aged 38] died of plague. His son Peter [aged 15] succeeded I King Castile.
On 23rd March 1369 Peter "Cruel" I King Castile [aged 34] was murdered by his half-brother Henry "Fratricide" II King Castile [aged 35] outside the wall of the castle of Montiel, La Mancha. His half brother Henry succeeded II King Castile.
On 29th May 1379 Henry "Fratricide" II King Castile [aged 45] died. His son John [aged 20] succeeded I King Castile.
On 9th October 1390 John I King Castile [aged 32] died. His son Henry [aged 11] succeeded III King Castile.
On 25th December 1406 Henry III King Castile [aged 27] died. His son John [aged 1] succeeded II King Castile.
On 20th July 1454 John II King Castile [aged 49] died. His son Henry [aged 29] succeeded IV King Castile. Blanche Trastámara II Queen Navarre [aged 30] by marriage Queen Consort Castile.
On 11th December 1474 Henry IV King Castile [aged 49] died. His half sister Isabella [aged 23] succeeded Queen Castile.
On 26th November 1504 Isabella Queen Castile [aged 53] died. Her daughter Joanna [aged 25] succeeded Queen Castile. Philip "Handsome Fair" King Castile [aged 26] by marriage King Castile.
