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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1330 Execution of Edmund of Woodstock
1344 Creation of the Order of the Garter
1361 Marriage of Edward "The Black Prince" and Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent"
1376 Creation of Garter Knights
1376 Death of the Black Prince
1382 Marriage of Richard II and Anne of Bohemia and her Coronation
Around 1312 John Comyn 4th Lord Baddenoch and [her mother] Margaret Wake Countess Kent were married.
In 1325 [her father] Edmund of Woodstock 1st Earl Kent and [her mother] Margaret Wake Countess Kent were married. She by marriage Countess Kent. He the son of [her grandfather] King Edward I of England and [her grandmother] Margaret of France Queen Consort England.
On 29th September 1328 Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales was born to [her father] Edmund of Woodstock 1st Earl Kent and [her mother] Margaret Wake Countess Kent at Woodstock Palace, Oxfordshire.
On 19th March 1330 the King's uncle [her father] Edmund of Woodstock 1st Earl Kent was beheaded at Winchester Castle. Earl Kent forfeit. Edmund had been convicted of plotting against the court believing his brother King Edward II was still alive. It later emerged the plot had been created by Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March to entrap Edmund. King Edward III of England was unable to show leniency risking complicity in the plot. He was buried at Westminster Abbey.
See 
Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke, 
Walter of Guisborough, Knighton 2555, Murimuth and Parliament Rolls.
In 1331 [her brother] Edmund Plantagenet 2nd Earl Kent was restored 2nd Earl Kent.
Before 5th October 1331 [her brother] Edmund Plantagenet 2nd Earl Kent died. John Plantagenet 3rd Earl Kent succeeded 3rd Earl Kent.
On 17th March 1337 [her future husband] Edward "Black Prince" was created 1st Duke of Cornwall.
Around March 1340 Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales were married in secret. It isn't clear whether the marriage was canonical given the secrecy; there were no witnesses. She twelve years old. A subsequent investigation by papal commissioners confirmed it as valid. She the daughter of Edmund of Woodstock 1st Earl Kent and Margaret Wake Countess Kent.
Around November 1340 William Montagu 2nd Earl Salisbury and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales were married. She was already married albeit secretly to Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent. The subsequent investigation found her marriage to Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent to be valid. She the daughter of Edmund of Woodstock 1st Earl Kent and Margaret Wake Countess Kent. He the son of William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury and Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury.
On 12th May 1343 [her future husband] Edward "Black Prince" was created Prince of Wales.
On 23rd April 1344. The date somewhat unclear; it may have been before. [her future father-in-law] King Edward III of England formed the Order of the Garter. The first reliable record occurs in autumn of 1348 when the King's wardrobe account shows Garter habits being issued. The Order may have been formed before then with some traditions such as the mantle, and the garter and motto, possibly being introduced later. The Garter refers to an event at Wark Castle, Northumberland at which King Edward III of England picked up the Countess of Salisbury's fallen garter and saying to the crowd "Honi soit qui mal y pense" ie Shame on him who thinks badly of it, or possibly, he brings shame on himself who thinks badly of it. The Countess of Salisbury could refer to his future daughter-in-law Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales or her former mother-in-law Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury. The event has also been described as taking place at Calais.
On 26th August 1346 the army of [her future father-in-law] King Edward III of England defeated the French army at the Battle of Crécy. The English army was commanded by King Edward III of England, his son [her future husband] Edward "Black Prince", Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick, William Bohun 1st Earl of Northampton and John Beauchamp 1st Baron Beauchamp Warwick.
The English army was included: Bishop Thomas of Hatfield, Hugh Despencer 1st Baron Despencer, Bernard Brocas, Thomas Felton, James Audley, Robert Bourchier 1st Baron Bourchier, Bartholomew "The Elder" Burghesh 1st Baron Burghesh, Bartholomew "The Younger" Burghesh 2nd Baron Burghesh, Reginald Cobham 1st Baron Cobham, John Darcy 1st Baron Darcy of Knayth, Robert Ferrers 3rd Baron Ferrers of Chartley, Richard Scrope 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton, William Scrope, Stephen Scrope, William Latimer 4th Baron Latimer of Corby, John Lisle 2nd Baron Lisle, Gerard Lisle 1st Baron Lisle, Nicholas Longford, Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu, Walter Paveley 4th Baron Burghesh, Michael Poynings 1st Baron Poynings, Robert Ufford 1st Earl Suffolk, John de Vere 7th Earl of Oxford, Thomas West, John Willoughby 2nd Baron Willoughby, John Wingfield, Henry Percy 11th and 3rd Baron Percy, Hugh Courtenay 2nd or 10th Earl Devon (possibly), Walter "Elder" Devereux, John Devereux, Enion Sais Brecon, John Chandos, Richard Pembridge and John Sully.
The French army suffered significant casualties. King Philip "Fortunate" VI of France was wounded. William de Coucy and his son Enguerrand 6th Lord de Coucy and were killed.
Charles II Count Alençon was killed. Charles Valois Archbishop of Lyons succeeded Count Alençon.
Louis Chatillon II Count Blois I Count Chatillon was killed. Louis Chatillon III Count Blois Count Soissons succeeded III Count Blois.
Louis Dampierre II Count Nevers I Count Flanders was killed. Louis of Male III Count Nevers II Count Flanders succeeded III Count Nevers, II Count Flanders.
King John I of Bohemia was killed. Charles IV King Bohemia Holy Roman Emperor Luxemburg succeeded IV King Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperor Luxemburg. Blanche Valois Holy Roman Empress Luxemburg by marriage Holy Roman Empress Luxemburg.
Rudolph "Valiant" Metz I Duke Lorraine was killed. John Metz I Duke Lorraine succeeded I Duke Lorraine.
Jean IV de Harcourt was killed.
On 3rd April 1348 [her brother] John Plantagenet 3rd Earl Kent and [her sister-in-law] Isabella aka Elizabeth Julich Countess Kent were married. She by marriage Countess Kent. She the daughter of William Jülich V Duke Jülich and Joanna Hainaut Duchess Guelders. He the son of [her father] Edmund of Woodstock 1st Earl Kent and [her mother] Margaret Wake Countess Kent.
On 31st May 1349 [her uncle] Thomas Wake 2nd Baron Wake of Liddell died. He was buried at Haltemprice Priory. [her mother] Margaret Wake Countess Kent succeeded 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell.
On 11th June 1349 [her father-in-law] William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury died. [her husband] William Montagu 2nd Earl Salisbury succeeded 2nd Earl Salisbury, 4th Baron Montagu. Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales by marriage Countess Salisbury.
On 29th September 1349 [her mother] Margaret Wake Countess Kent died of plague. John Plantagenet 3rd Earl Kent succeeded 4th Baron Wake of Liddell and inherited her dower lands and the estates she had inherited from her brother Thomas Wake 2nd Baron Wake of Liddell.
In 1350 [her son] Thomas Holland 2nd Earl Kent was born to [her husband] Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales. He married before 13th October 1370 Alice Fitzalan Countess Kent, daughter of Richard Fitzalan 3rd or 10th Earl of Arundel 8th Earl of Surrey and Eleanor Plantagenet Countess Arundel and Surrey, and had issue.
In 1350 [her daughter] Joan Holland Duchess Brittany was born to [her husband] Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales. She married May 1366 John Montfort V Duke Brittany.
Before 1352 Roger Mortimer 2nd Earl March and [her sister-in-law] Philippa Montagu Countess March were married. She by marriage Countess March. She the daughter of [her father-in-law] William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury and [her mother-in-law] Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury. He the son of Edmund Mortimer and Elizabeth Badlesmere Countess Northampton.
In 1352 [her husband] Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent was created 1st Earl Kent, 1st Baron Holand.
In 1352 [her son] John Holland 1st Duke Exeter was born to [her husband] Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales. He married 24th June 1386 Elizabeth Lancaster Duchess Exeter, daughter of John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster and Blanche Duchess of Lancaster, and had issue.
On 26th December 1352 [her brother] John Plantagenet 3rd Earl Kent died. He was buried at Greyfriars Church, Winchester. Earl Kent extinct. Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales succeeded 5th Baroness Wake of Liddell. Some source suggest she also succeeded as 4th Countess of Kent but this is inconsistent with 1. her husband being created Earl of Kent as a new creation, and 2. her son not succeeding to the original Earldom?
On 19th September 1356 the army of [her future husband] Edward "Black Prince" defeated the French and Scottish army led by King John "The Good" II of France at the Battle of Poitiers
King John "The Good" II of France was captured by three captains including Ivon aka John Fane.
The the English army included: Bernard Brocas, Thomas Felton, James Audley, Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick, Bartholomew "The Younger" Burghesh 2nd Baron Burghesh, Reginald Cobham 1st Baron Cobham, Edward Despencer 1st Baron Despencer, Baron Burghesh, Ralph Ferrers, William Scrope, William Montagu 2nd Earl Salisbury, Walter Paveley 4th Baron Burghesh, Robert Ufford 1st Earl Suffolk, William Ufford 2nd Earl Suffolk, John de Vere 7th Earl of Oxford, John Willoughby 3rd Baron Willoughby, Thomas Arderne, Enion Sais Brecon, John Chandos, Richard Pembridge, Jean Grailly, Robert de Fouleshurst and John Sully
John Savile of Shelley and Golcar probably fought having received letters of protection to travel overseas.
Hugh Courtenay 2nd or 10th Earl Devon protected the baggage train.
The French and Scottish army included: King John "The Good" II of France, Philip "Bold" Valois II Duke Burgundy, Jean Bourbon I Count La Marche, Archibald "Grim" Douglas 3rd Earl Douglas, John "Sans Terre" Artois 1st Count of Eu; all captured.
Guichard d'Angle 1st Earl Huntingdon and William Douglas 1st Earl Douglas fought.
Peter Bourbon Duke Bourbon was killed. Louis Bourbon II Duke Bourbon succeeded II Duke Bourbon.
Gauthier VI Comte de Brienne was killed.
In 1359 [her daughter] Maud Holland was born to [her husband] Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales. She married (1) 5th September 1363 Hugh Courtenay (2) 1380 Waleran Luxemburg, son of Guy of Luxemburg I Count Saint Pol and Ligny and Mathilde Chatillon Countess Saint Pol, and had issue.
On 13th April 1360 a freak weather event known as Black Monday Hailstorm occurred as the army of [her future father-in-law] King Edward III of England were camped outside Chartres. Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick, William Bohun 1st Earl of Northampton, Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster, [her future husband] Edward "Black Prince" and Walter Mauny were present. Around one thousand English were killed, with up to six thousand horses. King Edward III of England believed the event to be an Act of God and proceeded to negotiate with the French resulting in the Treaty of Brétigny.
On 28th April 1360 Guy Beauchamp died from injuries received during the Black Monday Hailstorm.
On 26th December 1360 [her husband] Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent died. He was buried at Blackfriars Friary, Stamford. [her son] Thomas Holland 2nd Earl Kent succeeded 2nd Earl Kent.
On 10th October 1361 Edward "Black Prince" and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales were married at Windsor Castle. She by marriage Princess of Wales. His first wife, her second (or third depending on how you count them) husband. She had four children already. They had known each other since childhood. Thirty-one and thirty-three respectively. A curious choice for the heir to the throne; foreign princesses were usual. They were married nearly fifteen years and had two children. She the daughter of Edmund of Woodstock 1st Earl Kent and Margaret Wake Countess Kent. He the son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England.
On 10th April 1362 Maud Plantagenet Duchess Lower Bavaria died. Blanche Duchess of Lancaster succeeded 6th Countess of Leicester. [her brother-in-law] John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster by marriage Earl of Leicester adding a fourth Earldom to the ones he already held: Earl Richmond, Earl Lancaster and Earl Derby.
On 28th May 1363 John Harrington 2nd Baron Harington died at Gleaston Castle. Robert Harrington 3rd Baron Harington succeeded 3rd Baron Harington. Given his young age Robert Harrington 3rd Baron Harington became a ward of [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England who granted his wardship to his daughter [her sister-in-law] Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons and her husband Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons.
On 5th September 1363 [her son-in-law] Hugh Courtenay and Maud Holland were married. She the daughter of Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales.
On 27th January 1364 [her son] Edward Plantagenet was born to [her husband] Edward "Black Prince" and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales at Château d'Angoulême, Angoulême. He died aged six in 1370.
On 27th July 1365 Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons and [her sister-in-law] Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons were married at Windsor Castle. She the daughter of [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England and [her mother-in-law] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England.
In 1366 Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons was created 1st Earl Bedford. [her sister-in-law] Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons by marriage Countess Bedford.
In May 1366 [her son-in-law] John Montfort V Duke Brittany and Joan Holland Duchess Brittany were married. She by marriage Duchess Brittany 1221 Dreux. She the daughter of Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales.
On 6th January 1367 [her son] King Richard II of England was born to [her husband] Edward "Black Prince" and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales at Bordeaux. He became the Heir to the Throne of England. See Froissart, 560. He married (1) 20th January 1382 Anne of Bohemia Queen Consort England, daughter of Charles IV King Bohemia Holy Roman Emperor Luxemburg and Elizabeth Pomerania Holy Roman Empress Luxemburg (2) 4th November 1396 Isabella Valois Queen Consort England, daughter of Charles "Beloved Mad" VI King France and Isabeau Wittelsbach Queen Consort France.
On 3rd April 1367 the forces of Peter "Cruel" I King Castile commanded by [her husband] Edward "Black Prince" defeated the army of Henry "Fratricide" II King Castile at the Battle of Nájera at Nájera. The English forces included [her brother-in-law] John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster, William Scrope, Peter Courtenay, John Devereux 1st Baron Devereux, John Savile of Shelley and Golcar, Bernard Brocas and Thomas Banastre.
The forces of Henry "Fratricide" II King Castile included Bertrand Geusclin. The battle achieved little since Bertrand Geusclin escaped.
John Ferrers 4th Baron Ferrers of Chartley was killed. Robert Ferrers 5th Baron Ferrers of Chartley succeeded 5th Baron Ferrers of Chartley. Margaret Despencer Baroness Ferrers of Chartley by marriage Baroness Ferrers of Chartley.
Edward "Black Prince" thereafter returned home, taking Peter's daughters Constance and Isabella as hostages to ensure Peter would pay the money owed to Edward. Constance married John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster, Isabella married [her grandson-in-law] Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York.
In June 1368 [her brother-in-law] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence and Violante Visconti were married in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Milan. The wedding festivities were lavish and ostentatious. The banquet, held outside, included 30 courses of meat and fish presented fully gilded. Between the courses the guests were given gifts such as suits of armour, bolts of cloth, war horses, arms, and hunting dogs. Among the guests were Geoffrey Chaucer, Petrarch, Jean Froissart and John Hawkwood. He the son of [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England and [her mother-in-law] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England.
On 7th October 1368 [her brother-in-law] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence died from poisoning at Alba. Duke Clarence extinct. Philippa Plantagenet Countess March 2nd Countess Ulster succeeded 2nd Countess of Ulster. He was buried at the St Pietro Ciel d'Oro Church, Pavia.
There was strong speculation he had been poisoned by his wife's father.
On 15th August 1369 [her mother-in-law] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England died at Windsor Castle. Her husband [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England and youngest son [her brother-in-law] Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester were present. She was given a state funeral six months later on 9th January 1370 at which she was interred at on the northeast side of the Chapel of St Edward the Confessor, Westminster Abbey. Her alabaster effigy was executed by sculptor Jean de Liège.
On 20th September 1370 [her son] Edward Plantagenet died of plague at Bordeaux.
Before 13th October 1370 Thomas Holland 2nd Earl Kent and Alice Fitzalan Countess Kent were married. She by marriage Countess Kent. She the daughter of Richard Fitzalan 3rd or 10th Earl of Arundel 8th Earl of Surrey and Eleanor Plantagenet Countess Arundel and Surrey. He the son of Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales.
On 21st September 1371 [her brother-in-law] John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster and Constance of Castile Duchess of Lancaster were married at Roquefort, Landes. She by marriage Duchess Lancaster. His younger brother [her grandson-in-law] Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York married Constance's sister in July 1372. An example of Marriage of Two Sets of Siblings. She the illegitmate daughter of Peter "Cruel" I King Castile and Maria Padilla. He the son of [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England and [her mother-in-law] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England.
On 11th July 1372 [her grandson-in-law] Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York and Isabella of Castile Duchess York were married at Wallingford, Oxfordshire. She by marriage Countess Cambridge. She being the younger sister of Constance who had married Edmund's older brother [her brother-in-law] John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster a year before. An example of Marriage of Two Sets of Siblings. She the illegitmate daughter of Peter "Cruel" I King Castile and Maria Padilla. He the son of [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England and [her mother-in-law] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England.
On 16th January 1373 Humphrey Bohun 7th Earl Hereford 6th Earl Essex 2nd Earl of Northampton died. He was buried at Waldon Priory and Abbey. Earl Hereford, Earl Essex, Earl of Northampton extinct. His estates were divided between his two daughters Eleanor Bohun Duchess Gloucester, wife of [her brother-in-law] Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester and Mary Bohun, wife of Henry of Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV, although the title and estates should have been inherited Gilbert Bohun who was a grandson of Humphrey Bohun 2nd Earl Hereford 1st Earl Essex.
In 1374 [her brother-in-law] Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester and Eleanor Bohun Duchess Gloucester were married. She the daughter of Humphrey Bohun 7th Earl Hereford 6th Earl Essex 2nd Earl of Northampton and Joan Fitzalan Countess Essex, Hereford and Northampton. He the son of [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England and [her mother-in-law] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England.
On 23rd April 1376 [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England created a number of new Garter Knights..
54th [her son-in-law] John Montfort V Duke Brittany.
55th Thomas Banastre.
56th William Ufford 2nd Earl Suffolk.
57th Hugh Stafford 2nd Earl Stafford.
58th Thomas Holland 2nd Earl Kent. He the son of Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales whose second husband was Edward III's son Edward "Black Prince".
59th Thomas Percy 1st Earl of Worcester was appointed 59th. He the son of Mary Plantagenet Baroness Percy daughter of Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster who was the first cousin of Edward III's father King Edward II of England.
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On 8th June 1376 [her husband] Edward "Black Prince" died of dysentery at Westminster Palace. He was buried in Canterbury Cathedral. [her son] Richard succeeded as heir to his grandfather [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England who died a year later.
In 1380 [her son-in-law] Waleran Luxemburg and Maud Holland were married. She the daughter of Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales. He the son of Guy of Luxemburg I Count Saint Pol and Ligny and Mathilde Chatillon Countess Saint Pol.
After 24th June 1380 John Hastings 3rd Earl Pembroke and [her future daughter-in-law] Elizabeth Lancaster Duchess Exeter marriage annulled since she had become pregnant by [her son] John Holland 1st Duke Exeter whom she subsequently married. It isn't clear whether John Holland was punished; he was half-brother to King Richard II of England through their mother Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales.
In 1381 [her sister-in-law] Philippa Montagu Countess March died.
On 11th June 1381 [her son] King Richard II of England held council with his mother Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales, Thomas Beauchamp 12th Earl Warwick, [her husband] William Montagu 2nd Earl Salisbury, Richard Fitzalan 9th Earl of Surrey 4th or 11th Earl of Arundel, Archbishop Simon Sudbury and Robert Hales at the Tower of London.
On 14th June 1381 the mob gained access to the Tower of London capturing Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales, the future King Henry IV of England, [her granddaughter] Joan Holland Duchess York and Archbishop Simon Sudbury.
Archbishop Simon Sudbury was beheaded at Tower Hill. He was buried at Canterbury Cathedral.
Lord Treasurer Robert Hales, who had only been appointed on the 1st February 1381, was beheaded at Tower Hill.
On 20th January 1382 King Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia Queen Consort England were married at Westminster Abbey by Bishop Robert Braybrooke. She by marriage Queen Consort England. She the daughter of Charles IV King Bohemia Holy Roman Emperor Luxemburg and Elizabeth Pomerania Holy Roman Empress Luxemburg. He the son of Edward "Black Prince" and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales.
It was the first royal wedding that including a Royal Procession from the Tower of London to Westminster Abbey.
Arranged by Michael de la Pole 1st Earl Suffolk the marriage not popular since it brought no dowry and little prospect of increased trade since Bohemia not a primary English trade partner.
In 1384 [her daughter] Joan Holland Duchess Brittany died.
On 7th August 1385 Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales died at Wallingford Castle. She was buried at Blackfriars Friary, Stamford beside her first husband Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent. Thomas Holland 2nd Earl Kent succeeded 6th Baron Wake of Liddell.
After 7th August 1385 [her former husband] William Montagu 2nd Earl Salisbury and Elizabeth Mohun Countess of Salisbury were married. She by marriage Countess Salisbury. He the son of [her former father-in-law] William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury and [her former mother-in-law] Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury.
Chronicle of Adam of Usk [~1352-1430]. 1386. The king, bearing it ill that by this appointment the due freedom of his majesty should be bridled by his own lieges, and urged by his servants who were angered that their evil gains were thereby prevented, ceased not to thwart those who were thus set in authority, till the end came in the destruction of the king himself, his abettors, and many of these same rulers, And from thence alas! what griefs and weary deeds followed, and specially concerning the death of those nobles, the duke of Gloucester and the earl of Arundel, it will appear more fully hereafter. To proceed: those who thus urged on the king, in order to the sudden suppression of the twelve rulers, planned that a general council should be holden in the Tower of London, wherein they thought suddenly and at one blow, by means of an ambush of armed men, to destroy the twelve when summoned to, the council. But the Almighty disposed the twelve, being forewarned of that wicked design, to come in such strength that the king and his abettors, disordered by their warlike preparation, feared that the kingdom would rise in their favour. Wherefore a peace was made, though a hollow one. Hearing this, our lady the princess, the mother of the king, with heavy grief in her heart, and not sparing to toil on even by night, hastened from Wallingford to London, to allay the discord. And on her knees she prayed the king, her son, as he looked for her blessing, in no wise to bend to the wishes of flatterers, and specially of those who were now urging him on; otherwise he would bring down her curse upon him. But the king with reverence raised her up and promised that he would willingly be guided by the counsel of the twelve. To whom his mother replied: "At thy coronation, my son, I rejoiced that it had fallen to my lot to be the mother of an anointed king; but now I grieve, for I foresee the fall which threatens thee, the work of accursed flatterers." Then the king passed with his mother to Westminster Hall, and there, seated on his throne of state, by her mediation, made his peace with the twelve guardians; yet did he it falsely and with deceit.1
Note 1. Adam has here mixed up several events in confusion. He tells us further on that we must not read this earlier part of his chronicle as consecutive history; and the hint is wanted nowhere more than in this his account of Richard's attempt to cast off the thraldom in which the Wonderful Parliament had placed him. The stories of plots laid by Richard for the destruction of his enemies are so many, and told in so many different ways in the chronieles, that some confusion in the mind of the writer may be pardoned. Knighton (ij. 216) first reports the rumour that the king, who had retired to Eltham on the meeting of the parliament, in 1386, designed to assassinate a deputation of forty of the members whom he had summoned to appear before him. Walsingham (ij. 150) records a plot to invite the duke of Gloucester and the parliamentary opponents of the earl of Suffolk to a banquet in the city, and there slay them. The Monk of Evesham (75) repeats this story, adding, 'Michael statuit (ne dicam, hoc esse regis commentum)." The commons themselves, in their petition against the duke of Ireland's party, refer to some such design, saying that the traitors "'firent que nostre seigneur le Roi commanda a Meire de Loundre de faire sudeinement lever un graunt poare de gentz de Loundre, d'occire et mettre au mort touz les ditz seigneurs et communs horpris ceux qui furrunt de lour coveine" (Rot. Parl. iij. 231, art. 15). Again, in 1387, after the council of Nottingham, when the revolted lords were invited by Richard to a conference at Westminster, they advanced with extreme caution on the report of an ambush in the Mews (Wals. ij. 165; Mon. Evesh. 91; Knighton, ij. 248). Unfortunately for the story of the intervention of the princess of Wales, that lady had already died in 1385. However, the fact remains that, not long before her death, she did undertake a fatiguing journey to reconcile Richard with his uncle, the duke of Lancaster; though the words which are placed in her mouth by our chronicler are not recorded elsewhere (Wals. ij. 126; Mon. Evesh. 60).
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On 3rd June 1397 [her former husband] William Montagu 2nd Earl Salisbury died. John Montagu 3rd Earl Salisbury succeeded 3rd Earl Salisbury, 5th Baron Montagu. Maud Francis Countess of Salisbury by marriage Countess Salisbury.
Archaeologia Volume 22 Section XVI. The pryncesc desyrous to make peace betwyxt the cytezyns and the duke, sent unto London these knyghtes, the Lord Albred de Ver,d the L. Symon Burle,e the L. Lewes Clyfford,f requestyng them, that for love of her, & at her request, they wold make peace with the duke, and end such tumultes for the generall evill or myschefe which comonly followeth such sedytions. The cytezyns, with all reverence, made answeare, that they wold do for her honor what soever she had commanded, but yet they willest or enjoyned the knyghts that came, to tell the duke in words, that he suffer the Lord Byshop of Wynchester to stande to his answeare, and be judged by his peeres, because at that tyme he was an ecclesyastycall person of such aucthoryty, they wold not suffer so greate losse without answeare and processe of lawe, & suffer the Lord Peter de la Mar to answeare for hym self, & prove hym selfe not gyltye, or otherwyse, as he had deserved, after the custome of the lawes of the realme to recyve manyfest judgment; the thyrd they wold account a traytor wheresoever he should be founde. The afore sayed knyghtes, no otherwyse then they had heard of the sayed citizens, reported unto the duke with full mouth those thyngs which had ben enjoyned them, whereby they made the duke very wofull, for whereas they had spoken of a traytor, this sayed he they speak of me, and ytt is not credible that they speak this of him.
Note c. The Princess was Joan, the widow of the Black Prince, who in her youth had been celebrated for her beauty as the "Fair Maid of Kent." She had been twice married or affianced before she became the wife of Edward, whom she survived nine years. Her death in 1385 is related by Walsingham (p. 343) to have been caused by her grief at the refusal of her son Richard the Second to pardon his half brother John Holand, who nevertheless after his mother's death was restored to favour, and created Duke of Exeter. Dr. Lingard says that the Princess obtained her son's full pardon. But according to Knyghton (col. 2676), it was by the intervention of the Duke of Lancaster and other lords, that the king's pardon was procured, as well as the indulgence of the Earl of Stafford, whose eldest son Sir John Holand had killed in their servants' quarrel. An ancient portrait of the Princess is copied in Strutt's Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiquities, No. XXXV. In her will, printed in Nichols's Collection, she declares her firm adherence to the Catholic faith, though five of the most distinguished supporters of Wicliffe are in the list of her executors.
Note d. Sir Aubrey de Vere was uncle to Robert Earl of Oxford, afterwards Duke of Ireland, the favourite of Richard the Second.
Note e. Of Sir Simon Burley, and the proceedings against him in the following reign, when he was beheaded on Tower Hill, a particular account is given by Froissart, his personal friend. Some inaccuracies in Froissart are pointed out by Tyrrel (Hist. Eng. vol. iii. p. 902), and a singular mistake in the MS. Ambassades, "Relation de la Mort," &c. where John Carnailly is substituted for Sir Simon Burley, has been noticed in the Archaeologia, vol. xx. p. 425, note.
Note f. Sir Lewis Clifford, an ancestor of Lord Clifford of Chudleigh, became a leader among the Lollards, but afterwards recanted to Archbishop Arundel. Walsingham, p. 409. His very remarkable will, in which he enjoins his executors to bury him, "false and traytor to his Lord God," with extraordinary indignities, is preserved in Dugdale's Baronage, i. p. 341. It may not be unworthy of remark, that his descendants have adhered to their ancient faith.
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Froissart Book 10: 1380-1382. Then those gluttons entered the princess's chamber and tore apart her entire bed, which so terrified her that she fainted. She was taken up in the arms of her valets and chambermaids, carried down through a postern gate to the riverside, placed in a small boat, and from there covered and brought by river to the Riolle, and then taken to a house called the Queen's Wardrobe. There she remained all that day and night, like a half-dead woman, until she was comforted by the king, her son, as I will tell you later.
Encores entrèrent cil glouton en la cambre le princesse et despecièrent tout son lit, dont elle fu si eshidée que elle s'en pasma, et fu de ses varlès et camberières prise entre leurs bras et aportée bas en une posterne sour le rivage et misse en un batiel, et de là acouverte et amenée par la rivière en la Riole, et puis menée en un hostel que on dist la Garde Robe la Roïne; et là se tint tout le jour et toute la nuit, enssi que une femme demi morte, tant que elle fu reconfortée dou roi, son fil, sicom je vous dirai ensieuant.