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William of Worcester's Chronicle of England

William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.

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Biography of Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu 1250-1316

Paternal Family Tree: Montagu

1298 Edward I 43rd Parliament

22nd July 1298 Battle of Falkirk

1300 Siege of Caerlaverock Castle

1301 Baron's Letter to the Pope

Around 1250 Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu was born to [his father] William Montagu (age 37) at Montacute, Somerset.

In 1270 Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 20) and Hawise St Amand (age 18) were married.

On 23rd September 1270 [his father] William Montagu (age 57) died.

Around 1275 [his son] William Montagu 2nd Baron Montagu was born to Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 25) and [his wife] Hawise St Amand (age 23) at Cassington, Oxfordshire. He married in or before 1301 Elizabeth Montfort Baroness Furnivall Baroness Montagu and had issue.

Before 30th September 1283 Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 33) was summoned to the parliament which met on 30 September 1283 at Shrewsbury for the trial of Dafydd ap Gruffudd Aberffraw Prince of Wales (age 45), brother of Llywelyn "Last" Aberffraw.

In 1287 Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 37) and Isabel Unknown Baroness Montagu were married.

On 14th June 1294 Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 44) was summoned to meet the king at Portsmouth on 1 September and accompany him to Gascony. It doesn't appear that he subsequenmtly travelled to Gascony.

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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In 1296 Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 46) broke the siege by taking a ship loaded with victuals through the line of French galleys at Bourg sur Mer.

In 1297 William Pontington Canon Exeter purchased Poltimore Manor, Devon for £200 from Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 47).

Edward I 43rd Parliament

In 1298 Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 48) attended Edward I 43rd Parliament at York [Map].

22nd July 1298 Battle of Falkirk

On 22nd July 1298 King Edward I of England (age 59) defeated the Scottish army led by William Wallace during the 22nd July 1298 Battle of Falkirk at Falkirk [Map] using archers to firstly attack the Scottish shiltrons with the heavy cavalry with infantry completing the defeat.

John de Graham (age 31) and John Stewart of Bonkyll (age 52) were killed.

The English were described in the Falkirk Roll that lists 111 men with their armorials including:

Guy Beauchamp 10th Earl Warwick (age 26).

Walter Beauchamp (age 55).

Roger Bigod 5th Earl Norfolk (age 53).

Humphrey Bohun 3rd Earl Hereford 2nd Earl Essex (age 49).

Robert Clifford 1st Baron Clifford (age 24).

Hugh "Elder" Despencer 1st Earl Winchester (age 37).

William Ferrers 1st Baron Ferrers of Groby (age 26).

Thomas Berkeley 6th and 1st Baron Berkeley (age 52).

Maurice Berkeley 7th and 2nd Baron Berkeley (age 27).

Henry Grey 1st Baron Grey of Codnor (age 43).

Reginald Grey 1st Baron Grey of Wilton (age 58).

John Grey 2nd Baron Grey of Wilton (age 30).

John Mohun 1st Baron Dunster (age 29).

Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 48).

William Ros 1st Baron Ros Helmsley (age 43).

John Segrave 2nd Baron Segrave (age 42).

Nicholas Segrave (age 42).

Robert de Vere 6th Earl of Oxford (age 41).

Alan Zouche 1st Baron Zouche Ashby (age 30).

Thomas Plantagenet 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl Lancaster, Earl of Salisbury and Lincoln (age 20).

Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster (age 17).

John Warenne 6th Earl of Surrey (age 67).

Henry Percy 9th and 1st Baron Percy (age 25).

Hugh Courtenay 1st or 9th Earl Devon (age 21).

Richard Fitzalan 1st or 8th Earl of Arundel (age 31).

Henry Beaumont Earl Buchan (age 19).

John II Duke Brittany (age 59).

Philip Darcy (age 40).

Robert Fitzroger.

Robert Fitzwalter 1st Baron Fitzwalter (age 51), or possiby a Roger Fitzwalter?.

Simon Fraser.

Aymer de Valence 2nd Earl Pembroke (age 23).

John Wake 1st Baron Wake of Liddell (age 30), and.

Henry Lacy 4th Earl Lincoln, Earl Salisbury (age 47).

William Scrope (age 53) was knighted.

John Moels 1st Baron Moels (age 29) fought.

John Lovell 1st Baron Lovel (age 44) fought.

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In 1299 Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 49) was created 1st Baron Montagu. [his wife] Isabel Unknown Baroness Montagu by marriage Baroness Montagu.

In 1299 Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 49) was appointed Governor of Corfe Castle.

In 1300 Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 50) provided two substantial ships for the Scottish Wars, a galley and a barge, manned by 100 men between them.

Siege of Caerlaverock Castle

In July 1300 Robert Clifford 1st Baron Clifford (age 26), Hugh Courtenay 1st or 9th Earl Devon (age 23), Simon Fraser, John Mohun 1st Baron Dunster (age 31) and Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 50) fought at Caerlaverock during the Siege of Caerlaverock Castle.

In or before 1301 [his son] William Montagu 2nd Baron Montagu (age 25) and [his daughter-in-law] Elizabeth Montfort Baroness Furnivall Baroness Montagu (age 25) were married.

Baron's Letter to the Pope

Before 9th March 1301 seven Earls and 96 Barons signed a letter to the Pope refuting the Pope's claim that Scotland was subject to the Pope's feudal overlordship. The letter was never sent. Those who signed include: John Warenne 6th Earl of Surrey (age 70), Thomas Plantagenet 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl Lancaster, Earl of Salisbury and Lincoln (age 23), Ralph Monthermer 1st Earl of Gloucester and Hertford (age 31), Humphrey Bohun 4th Earl Hereford 3rd Earl Essex (age 25), Roger Bigod 5th Earl Norfolk (age 56), Richard Fitzalan 1st or 8th Earl of Arundel (age 34), Guy Beauchamp 10th Earl Warwick (age 29), Aymer de Valence 2nd Earl Pembroke (age 26), William Leybourne 1st Baron Leybourne (age 59), Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster (age 20), William Latimer 1st Baron Latimer of Corby (age 58), Edmund Hastings, John Hastings 2nd Baron Hastings 14th Baron Abergavenny (age 14), Edmund Mortimer 2nd Baron Mortimer of Wigmore (age 50), Fulk Fitzwarin 2nd Baron Fitzwarin (age 16), Henry Percy 9th and 1st Baron Percy (age 27), Robert Fitzwalter 1st Baron Fitzwalter (age 54), John Beauchamp 1st Baron Beauchamp Somerset (age 26), William de Braose 2nd Baron de Braose 10th Baron Bramber (age 41), John Botetort 1st Baron Botetort (age 36), Reginald Grey 1st Baron Grey of Wilton (age 61), John Moels 1st Baron Moels (age 32), Thomas Berkeley 6th and 1st Baron Berkeley (age 55), Robert de Vere 5th Earl of Oxford, John Strange 1st Baron Strange Knockin (age 48), Thomas Multon 1st Baron Multon (age 25), Robert Clifford 1st Baron Clifford (age 26), Walter Beauchamp (age 58), Alan Zouche 1st Baron Zouche Ashby (age 33), John Segrave 2nd Baron Segrave (age 45), William Ferrers 1st Baron Ferrers of Groby (age 29), Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 51), Piers Mauley, Ralph Neville 1st Baron Neville of Raby (age 38), John Mohun 1st Baron Dunster (age 32), Roger Scales 1st Baron Scales, Thomas Furnival 1st Baron Furnivall (age 41), Hugh Bardolf 1st Baron Bardolf (age 41), Gilbert Talbot 1st Baron Talbot (age 24), William Deincourt 2nd Baron Deincourt, Edmund Stafford 1st Baron Stafford (age 28), Walter Fauconberg 1st Baron Fauconberg (age 81).

In 1310 Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 60) was appointed Admiral of the Fleet.

In 1316 Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 66) died. His son William (age 41) succeeded 2nd Baron Montagu. [his daughter-in-law] Elizabeth Montfort Baroness Furnivall Baroness Montagu (age 41) by marriage Baroness Montagu.

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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[his son] John Montagu was born to Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu and Hawise St Amand.

[his son] Simon Montagu was born to Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu and Hawise St Amand.

Royal Descendants of Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu 1250-1316
Number after indicates the number of unique routes of descent. Descendants of Kings and Queens not included.

King Edward IV of England [1]

King Richard III of England [1]

Anne Neville Queen Consort England [1]

Queen Anne Boleyn of England [1]

Queen Jane Seymour [1]

Catherine Parr Queen Consort England [1]

Jane Grey I Queen England and Ireland [1]

George Wharton [7]

Brigadier-General Charles Fitz-Clarence [23]

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom [86]

Queen Consort Camilla Shand [27]

Diana Spencer Princess Wales [259]

Catherine Middleton Princess of Wales [1]