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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Biography of Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland 1715-1786

Paternal Family Tree: Smithson

On 19th December 1715 Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland was born to [his father] Langdale Smithson (age 35).

On 22nd March 1729 [his grandfather] Hugh Smithson 3rd Baronet (age 72) died. His grandson Hugh (age 13) succeeded 4th Baronet Smithson of Stanwick in Yorkshire. Monument in Church of St John the Baptist, Stanwick, North Yorkshire [Map].

Hugh Smithson 3rd Baronet: In 1657 he was born to Jerome Smithson 2nd Baronet. In 1684 Jerome Smithson 2nd Baronet died. His son Hugh succeeded 3rd Baronet Smithson of Stanwick in Yorkshire.

On 6th July 1740 Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland (age 24) and Elizabeth Seymour Duchess Northumberland (age 23) were married. She the daughter of Algernon Seymour 7th Duke of Somerset (age 55) and Frances Thynne Duchess Somerset (age 41).

On 14th August 1742 [his son] Hugh Percy 2nd Duke Northumberland was born to Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland (age 26) and [his wife] Elizabeth Seymour Duchess Northumberland (age 25). He married (1) 2nd July 1764 his fourth cousin once removed Anne Stuart, daughter of John Stuart 3rd Earl Bute and Mary Wortley-Montagu Countess Bute (2) 23rd May 1779 Frances Julia Burrell Duchess Northumberland and had issue.

On 21st January 1750 [his son] Algernon Percy 1st Earl Beverley was born to Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland (age 34) and [his wife] Elizabeth Seymour Duchess Northumberland (age 33). He married 8th June 1775 Isabella Susan Burrell Countess Beverley and had issue.

On 7th February 1750 [his father-in-law] Algernon Seymour 7th Duke of Somerset (age 65) died. He was buried at Northumberland Vault, Crypt, Westminster Abbey. Earl Hertford, Baron Beauchamp of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset and Baron Seymour of Trowbridge extinct. His half fifth cousin once removed Edward (age 55) succeeded 8th Duke Somerset. Mary Webb Duchess Somerset (age 53) by marriage Duchess Somerset. His daughter [his wife] Elizabeth (age 33) succeeded 2nd Baroness Percy. His nephew Charles (age 39) succeeded 2nd Earl Egremont.

1756 Creation of Garter Knights

In 1756 King George II of Great Britain and Ireland (age 72) created new Garter Knights as follows:

572nd William Cavendish 4th Duke Devonshire (age 35),

573rd Henry Howard 4th Earl Carlisle (age 61),

574th Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland (age 40),

575th Francis Seymour-Conway 1st Marquess Hertford (age 37).

In 1761 [his father] Langdale Smithson (age 81) died.

In 1762 Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland (age 46) was appointed Privy Council.

On 2nd July 1764 Hugh Percy 2nd Duke Northumberland (age 21) and Anne Stuart (age 19) were married. She the daughter of John Stuart 3rd Earl Bute (age 51) and Mary Wortley-Montagu Countess Bute (age 46). He the son of Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland (age 48) and Elizabeth Seymour Duchess Northumberland (age 47). They were fourth cousin once removed.

Memoires of Jacques du Clercq

This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.

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In 1766 Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland (age 50) was created 1st Duke Northumberland. [his wife] Elizabeth Seymour Duchess Northumberland (age 49) by marriage Duchess Northumberland.

On 8th June 1775 Algernon Percy 1st Earl Beverley (age 25) and Isabella Susan Burrell Countess Beverley (age 24) were married at Syon House [Map]. He the son of Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland (age 59) and Elizabeth Seymour Duchess Northumberland (age 58).

Before 5th December 1776 [his daughter] Elizabeth Anne Frances Percy was born to Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland (age 60) and [his wife] Elizabeth Seymour Duchess Northumberland (age 60).

On 5th December 1776 [his wife] Elizabeth Seymour Duchess Northumberland (age 60) died. Her son Hugh (age 34) succeeded 3rd Baron Percy

Before 23rd May 1779 [his son] Hugh Percy 2nd Duke Northumberland (age 36) and [his daughter-in-law] Anne Stuart (age 34) were divorced.

On 23rd May 1779 Hugh Percy 2nd Duke Northumberland (age 36) and Frances Julia Burrell Duchess Northumberland (age 26) were married. He the son of Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland (age 63) and Elizabeth Seymour Duchess Northumberland.

On 28th June 1784 Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland (age 68) was created 1st Baron Lovain.

On 6th June 1786 Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland (age 70) died. His son Hugh (age 43) succeeded 2nd Duke Northumberland, 2nd Baron Lovain, 5th Baronet Smithson of Stanwick in Yorkshire. Frances Julia Burrell Duchess Northumberland (age 33) by marriage Duchess Northumberland.

Before 2nd August 1788 Thomas Gainsborough (age 61). Portrait of Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland.

Ancestors of Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland 1715-1786

Great x 3 Grandfather: Antony Smithson

Great x 2 Grandfather: Hugh Smithson 1st Baronet

Great x 1 Grandfather: Jerome Smithson 2nd Baronet

GrandFather: Hugh Smithson 3rd Baronet

Father: Langdale Smithson

Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland