Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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Paternal Family Tree: Clifton
On 26th March 1516 Gervase Clifton was born to [his father] Robert Clifton (age 31).
On 3rd September 1517 or 9th September 1517 [his father] Robert Clifton (age 32) died.
On 17th January 1530 Gervase Clifton (age 13) and Mary Neville (age 15) were married.
Around 1535 [his daughter] Elizabeth Clifton was born to Gervase Clifton (age 18) and [his wife] Mary Neville (age 20). She married 1554 Peter Freschville and had issue.
On 20th November 1544 George Pierrepont (age 34) and [his future wife] Winifred Thwaites (age 19) were married.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 1st September 1550. The ffurst day of September was bered the good [lady] the contes of Hamtun (deceased), sum tyme the wyff of sir Wyllam [Fitz] Wylliam, lord of the Preve-selle, and ded and bered att Farnham with mony mornars and harolds, and a-bowt the corse iiij banars of armes, and then the cheyff mornars sir Garves Clyfftun (age 34) knyght and sir Antony Browne (age 21), with odur, and a gret dener.
Note. Funeral of the countess of Hampton. Mabel daughter of Henry lord Clifford, and sister to Henry first earl of Cumberland. Her husband William Fitz William, earl of Southampton, K.G. died without issue in 1543, and was buried at Midhurst in Sussex. Strype, Mem. vol. ii. p. 283, has appended this lady's funeral to the particulars he had taken from our Diary of the funeral of the first earl of Southampton of the Wriothesleys (as mentioned in p. 1). "And Sept. 1," he says, "his Lady and Widow was buried at Farnham: Who had sometime been the wife of sir William FitzWilliams, Lord Privy Seal to King Henry VIII." — evidently unaware that sir William Fitz William had also been earl of Southampton, and that it was from the lady's union with him that she acquired the title of countess, and not from sir Thomas Wriothesley, to whom she was not related.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 14th February 1551. The xiiij day of Feybruarii was dysposyd of ys bysshoppr [icke] of Wynchestur, the old bysshope M. Stevyn Gardener (age 68), and cared in to the Towre-the v yer K. E. vjth.... and the compyny of the Clarkes ... cheyffe mornar was sir Garves Clyfftun (age 34) and M.... dyd pryche ther, and after they whent to dener unto the [earl of] Ruttland plasse in Wyttyngton Colege parryche.
Note. Funeral of sir Richard Manners (deceased). The paragraph of the diary partly defaced belongs to the funeral of an uncle of the earl of Rutland, whom we find thus noticed in another place: "Sir Rychard Manners knight dyed the ixth of February a°. r. E. vj. vto. and was beryed at Kateren Cryst churche the 14. of the same mounth; and the right honorable Henry erl of Rutland (age 24) was his hole executer and over-syer of his last wyll, to whom he gave all his goodes and landes." (MS. Harl. 897, f. 14.) Sir Richard Manners was twice married, as may be seen in the peerages.
Around 1554 [his son-in-law] Peter Freschville (age 20) and [his daughter] Elizabeth Clifton (age 19) were married.
In 1564 [his wife] Mary Neville (age 49) died.
After 1564 Gervase Clifton (age 47) and Winifred Thwaites (age 39) were married.
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 January 1566 [his son] George Clifton was born to Gervase Clifton (age 49) and [his wife] Winifred Thwaites (age 41). He married 1581 Winifred Thorold and had issue.
Before 1570 [his daughter] Elizabeth Clifton (age 34) died.
Around 1573 [his step-son] Henry Pierrepont (age 27) was appointed Justice of the Peace Nottinghamshire.
In 1581 [his son] George Clifton (age 14) and [his daughter-in-law] Winifred Thorold (age 13) were married.
Before 1584 [his step-son] Henry Pierrepont (age 37) and Frances Cavendish (age 35) were married. She the daughter of William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford (age 56). They were sixth cousins.
In or before 1584 Francis Beaumont of Grace Dieu (age 43) and [his step-daughter] Anne Pierrepont (age 33) were married.
On 1st August 1587 [his son] George Clifton (age 21) died.
On 20th January 1588 Gervase Clifton (age 71) died.
Before 10th December 1591 [his former wife] Winifred Thwaites (age 66) died.
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Clifton 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Gervase Clifton
Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert Clifton
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Francis of Foremark
Great x 3 Grandmother: Isabel Francis
Great x 1 Grandfather: Gervase Clifton
GrandFather: Gervase Clifton
Father: Robert Clifton