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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Effigy of Sir Humphrey Littlebury

Effigy of Sir Humphrey Littlebury is in Monumental Effigies of Great Britain.

THIS effigy is in Holbeach church, Lincolnshire. The border of the surcoat is formed into leaves. The cuisses are semee with cinquefoil studs. Relative to the application of nails to body-armour, the following passage from Philip de Comines seems to be in point: "The Dukes of Berry and Bretagne were at their ease upon their hobbies, armed only with gilt nails sown upon sattin, that they might weigh the lessa." Details. 1. Roundel of plate at the elbow. 2. One of the compartments of the ornamented girdle. 3. Side-view of the handle of the sword, with that portion of the scabbard which remains. 4. Cinquefoil stud on the cuisses.

Note a. Memoirs of Philip de Comines, book i.