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All About History Books

The 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. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.

Biography of Dean Thomas Pierce 1622-1691

In 1622 Dean Thomas Pierce was born.

Samuel Pepys' Diary. 8th April 1663. Thence by water to White Hall, to chappell; where preached Dr Pierce (age 41), the famous man that preached the sermon so much cried up, before the King (age 32) against the Papists. His matter was the Devil tempting our Saviour, being carried into the Wilderness by the spirit. And he hath as much of natural eloquence as most men that ever I heard in my life, mixed with so much learning.

John Evelyn's Diary. 18th August 1663. To London, to see my Lord Chancellor (age 54), where I had discourse with my Lord Archbishop of Canterbury (age 65) and the Bishop of Winchester (age 65), who enjoined me to write to Dr. Pierce (age 41), President of Magdalen College, Oxford, about a letter sent him by Dr. Goffe (age 58), a Romish Oratorian, concerning an answer to Dean Cressy's late book.

On 4th May 1675 Dean Thomas Pierce (age 53) was appointed Dean of Salisbury.

John Evelyn's Diary. 26th March 1680. The Dean of Sarum (age 58) preached on Jerem. xlv. 5, an hour and a half from his common-place book, of kings and great men retiring to private situations. Scarce anything of Scripture in it.

On 28th March 1691 Dean Thomas Pierce (age 69) died at North Tidworth, Wiltshire where he had an estate.