The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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Paternal Family Tree: Whitmore
Before May 1665 [her father] Thomas Whitmore [aged 23] and [her mother] Frances Brooke Lady Whitmore [aged 25] were married.
On 7th November 1666 Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton was born to [her father] Thomas Whitmore [aged 24] and [her mother] Frances Brooke Lady Whitmore [aged 26].
Around 1682 [her father] Thomas Whitmore [aged 40] died.
On 5th February 1684 Thomas Myddelton 2nd Baronet [aged 33] died. His brother [her future husband] Richard [aged 28] succeeded 3rd Baronet Myddelton of Chirk Castle.
Around 1686 Godfrey Kneller [aged 39]. Portrait of Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton [aged 19]. One of the Hampton Court Beauties.
Before 19th April 1686 [her husband] William Whitmore of Balmes House in Hackney died.
Before 19th April 1686 William Whitmore of Balmes House in Hackney and Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton [aged 19] were married.
On 19th April 1686 Richard Myddelton 3rd Baronet [aged 31] and Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton [aged 19] were married. She by marriage Lady Myddelton of Chirk Castle.
In 1690 [her mother] Frances Brooke Lady Whitmore [aged 50] died.
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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Around 1691 Godfrey Kneller [aged 44]. Portrait of Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton [aged 24].
Around 1694 [her son] William Myddelton 4th Baronet was born to [her husband] Richard Myddelton 3rd Baronet [aged 38] and Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton [aged 27].
After 1695 Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton [deceased] died.
On 29th April 1716 [her former husband] Richard Myddelton 3rd Baronet [aged 61] died and was buried at St Mary's Church, Chirk [Map]. His funeral cost £365. His son William [aged 22] succeeded 4th Baronet Myddelton of Chirk Castle.
After 1718. St Mary's Church, Chirk [Map]. Monument to [her former husband] Richard Myddelton 3rd Baronet and his wife Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton, their daughter Frances Myddelton who died young and their son William Myddelton 4th Baronet [aged 24] who died two years after his father. Sculpted by Robert Wynne of Ruthin, commissioned by Mary Myddelton.
White marble, a gadrooned and panelled base, with a long inscription, set forward carrying the life-sized recumbent figure of William Myddelton 4th Baronet, behind, his standing parents, fashionably dressed and flanking a corniced die with an urn crest, and displaying on its front a swaddled child. The figures are flanked by Corinthian Columns supporting an entablature, the cornice arched at the centre with roses on its soffit. Flaming urns stand above the columns, and the family crest, garlanded with a helmet and red hand crest above the arch.
Frances Myddelton: she was born to Richard Myddelton 3rd Baronet and Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton. She died young.
William Myddelton 4th Baronet: Around 1694 he was born to Richard Myddelton 3rd Baronet and Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton. On 29th April 1716 Richard Myddelton 3rd Baronet died and was buried at St Mary's Church, Chirk [Map]. His funeral cost £365. His son William succeeded 4th Baronet Myddelton of Chirk Castle. On 5th January 1718 William Myddelton 4th Baronet died unmarried. Baronet Myddelton of Chirk Castle extinct.
Mary Myddelton: she was born to Richard Myddelton 3rd Baronet and Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton.
[her daughter] Frances Myddelton was born to Richard Myddelton 3rd Baronet and Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton. She died young.
[her daughter] Mary Myddelton was born to Richard Myddelton 3rd Baronet and Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton.
Kings Wessex: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 16 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 17 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 9 Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 18 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 25 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 23 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Whitmore of Balmes Manor in Hackney
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Whitmore of Apley Hall in Shropshire
Great x 2 Grandmother: Anne Bond
GrandFather: Thomas Whitmore 1st Baronet
Father: Thomas Whitmore
Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Brooke 8th Baron Cobham 
3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: George Brooke 9th Baron Cobham 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Dorothy Heydon Baroness Cobham 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Brooke 10th Baron Cobham 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edmund Braye 1st Baron Braye 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Braye Baroness Cobham 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Halwell Baroness Bray 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 1 Grandfather: George Brooke 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Newton 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Newton of Hawtrey 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Gorges 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Frances Newton Baroness Cobham 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Anthony Poyntz 
8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Poyntz 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Huddersfield 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
GrandFather: William Brooke 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Burgh 7th Baron Cobham 5th Baron Strabolgi 1st Baron Burgh 
4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Burgh 8th Baron Cobham 6th Baron Strabolgi 2nd Baron Burgh 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Agnes Tyrwhitt Baroness Cobham, Strabolgi and Burgh 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Burgh 9th Baron Cobham 7th Baron Strabolgi 3rd Baron Burgh 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Clinton 1st Earl Lincoln 
8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Katherine Clinton Baroness Cobham, Strabolgi and Burgh 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount Baroness Clinton and Tailboys 
14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Burgh 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Vaughan of Porthaml in Breconshire 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Vaughan of Sutton-on-Derwent in Yorkshire
Great x 2 Grandmother: Frances Vaughan 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Christopher Pickering 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Pickering 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Lewknor 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Mother: Frances Brooke Lady Whitmore 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Lennard
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Lennard
Great x 2 Grandfather: Samson Lennard Baron Dacre Gilsland
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Hamon
Great x 1 Grandfather: Henry Lennard 12th Baron Dacre Gilsland 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Fiennes 
4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Fiennes 9th Baron Dacre Gilsland 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Dudley 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Fiennes 11th Baroness Dacre of Gilsland 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: George Neville 5th and 3rd Baron Abergavenny 
3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Mary Neville Baroness Dacre of Gilsland 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Stafford Baroness Bergavenny 
5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
GrandMother: Pembroke Lennard 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Chrysogona Baker Baroness Dacre Gilsland