Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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Paternal Family Tree: Spencer
Maternal Family Tree: Margaret Donnington Countess Bath 1509-1561
Before October 1545 [her father] John Spencer [aged 21] and [her mother] Katherine Kitson [aged 21] were married. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Thomas Kitson and [her grandmother] Margaret Donnington Countess Bath [aged 36].
On 29th June 1552 Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Hunsdon and Eure was born to [her father] John Spencer [aged 28] and [her mother] Katherine Kitson [aged 28] at Althorp House, Northamptonshire [Map].
On 15th August 1560 Thomas Stanley 2nd Baron Monteagle [aged 53] died at Hornby. His son [her future brother-in-law] William [aged 32] succeeded 3rd Baron Monteagle. [her sister] Anne Spencer Countess Dorset by marriage Baroness Monteagle.
On 29th December 1574 George Carey 2nd Baron Hunsdon [aged 27] and Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Hunsdon and Eure [aged 22] were married.
On 24th April 1576 [her daughter] Elizabeth Carey was born to [her husband] George Carey 2nd Baron Hunsdon [aged 29] and Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Hunsdon and Eure [aged 23]. She was baptised on the 7th June 1576 at St Dunstan's Church, Hunsdon; her godmothers were Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland [aged 42] and Elizabeth Tailboys Countess Warwick. She married before 1601 her third cousin once removed Thomas Berkeley, son of Henry Berkeley 7th Baron Berkeley and Katherine Howard Baroness Berkeley, and had issue.
In or before 1578 [her future husband] Ralph Eure 3rd Baron Eure [aged 19] and Mary Dawnay Baroness Eure [aged 20] were married. They were half fourth cousins.
Around 1579 [her brother-in-law] Ferdinando Stanley 5th Earl of Derby [aged 20] and [her sister] Alice Spencer Countess Derby [aged 29] were married. He the son of Henry Stanley 4th Earl of Derby [aged 47] and Margaret Clifford Countess Derby [aged 39].
After 10th November 1581 [her brother-in-law] Henry Compton 1st Baron Compton [aged 37] and [her sister] Anne Spencer Countess Dorset were married. She by marriage Baroness Compton of Compton in Warwickshire. He the son of Peter Compton and Anne Talbot Countess Pembroke [aged 58].
On 8th November 1586 [her mother] Katherine Kitson [aged 62] died.
Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.
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On 8th November 1586 [her father] John Spencer [aged 62] died. He was buried at St Mary and All Saints Church, Fotheringhay [Map].
After 1591 [her former brother-in-law] William Stanley 3rd Baron Monteagle and [her sister] Anne Spencer Countess Dorset were married.
On 4th December 1592 [her brother-in-law] Robert Sackville 2nd Earl Dorset [aged 31] and [her sister] Anne Spencer Countess Dorset were married. He the son of Thomas Sackville 1st Earl Dorset [aged 56] and Cicely Baker Countess Dorset [aged 57].
On 20th August 1593 [her brother-in-law] Robert Carey 1st Earl Monmouth [aged 33] and Elizabeth Trevannion Countess Monmouth [aged 30] were married.
On 25th September 1593 Henry Stanley 4th Earl of Derby [aged 62] died at Lathom, Lancashire. His son [her brother-in-law] Ferdinando [aged 34] succeeded 5th Earl Derby, 13th Baron Strange Knockin, 9th Baron Mohun of Dunster, 6th Baron Stanley. [her sister] Alice Spencer Countess Derby [aged 44] by marriage Countess Derby.
In 1594 William Eure 2nd Baron Eure [aged 64] died. In 1594 His son [her future husband] Ralph [aged 35] succeeded 3rd Baron Eure. Mary Dawnay Baroness Eure [aged 37] by marriage Baroness Eure.
On 23rd July 1596 [her father-in-law] Henry Carey 1st Baron Hunsdon [aged 70] died at Somerset House [Map]. Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland [aged 62] was present. She, apparently, proposed he be made Earl of Wiltshire. He refused saying... "Madam, as you did not count me worthy of this honour in life, then I shall account myself not worthy of it in death". His son [her husband] George [aged 49] succeeded 2nd Baron Hunsdon. Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Hunsdon and Eure [aged 44] by marriage Baroness Hunsdon.
On 22nd October 1597 Charles Howard 1st Earl Nottingham [aged 61] was created 1st Earl Nottingham. [her sister-in-law] Katherine Carey Countess Nottingham [aged 47] by marriage Countess Nottingham.
On 20th October 1600 [her brother-in-law] Thomas Egerton 1st Viscount Brackley [aged 60] and [her sister] Alice Spencer Countess Derby [aged 51] were married.
Before 1601 [her son-in-law] Thomas Berkeley [aged 25] and [her daughter] Elizabeth Carey [aged 24] were married. They were third cousin once removed.
On 25th February 1603 [her sister-in-law] Katherine Carey Countess Nottingham [aged 53] died at Arundel House [Map]. She was buried in Chelsea Old Church on 25th April 1603.
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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On 8th September 1603 [her husband] George Carey 2nd Baron Hunsdon [aged 56] died. His brother [her brother-in-law] John [aged 53] succeeded 3rd Baron Hunsdon. Mary Hyde Baroness Hunsdon [aged 49] by marriage Baroness Hunsdon.
On 19th April 1608 Thomas Sackville 1st Earl Dorset [aged 72] died suddenly at the council table, having apparently suffered a stroke. His funeral was held at Westminster Abbey [Map]. He was buried in the Sackville Chapel St Michael's Church Withyham East Sussex. His son [her brother-in-law] Robert [aged 47] succeeded 2nd Earl Dorset, 2nd Baron Buckhurst. [her sister] Anne Spencer Countess Dorset by marriage Countess Dorset.
After 1612 Ralph Eure 3rd Baron Eure [aged 53] and Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Hunsdon and Eure [aged 59] were married. She by marriage Baroness Eure.
On 7th November 1616 [her brother-in-law] Thomas Egerton 1st Viscount Brackley [aged 76] was created 1st Viscount Brackley. [her sister] Alice Spencer Countess Derby [aged 67] by marriage Viscountess Brackley.
On 1st April 1617 [her husband] Ralph Eure 3rd Baron Eure [aged 58] died. He was buried at St Laurence's Church, Ludlow [Map]. His son [her step-son] William [aged 38] succeeded 4th Baron Eure.
On 25th February 1618 Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Hunsdon and Eure [aged 65] died.
On 2nd March 1618 Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Hunsdon and Eure [deceased] was buried at Westminster Abbey [Map].
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Spencer 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Spencer
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Spencer
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Spencer
Great x 4 Grandfather: Francis Empson
Great x 3 Grandfather: Peter Empson
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Empson
GrandFather: William Spencer
Great x 1 Grandmother: Isabella Graunt
Father: John Spencer
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Knightley 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Knightley
Great x 1 Grandfather: Richard Knightley
GrandMother: Susan Knightley
Elizabeth Spencer Baroness Hunsdon and Eure
GrandFather: Thomas Kitson 
Mother: Katherine Kitson
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Donnington of Stoke Newington
GrandMother: Margaret Donnington Countess Bath