Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans

Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.

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Biography of William Armine 1st Baronet 1593-1651

Paternal Family Tree: Armine

Maternal Family Tree: Elizabeth Bettershorne 1353-1427

William Armine 1st Baronet is in See Osgodby.

Before 11th December 1593 [his father] William Armyn of Osgodby South Kesteven Lincolnshire [aged 32] and [his mother] Martha Eure were married.

On 11th December 1593 William Armine 1st Baronet was born to [his father] William Armyn of Osgodby South Kesteven Lincolnshire [aged 32] and [his mother] Martha Eure.

On 28th November 1619 William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 25] was created 1st Baronet Armine of Osgodby South Kesteven Lincolnshire.

On 14th December 1619 William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 26] and Elizabeth Hicks Lady Armine [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Lady Armine of Osgodby South Kesteven Lincolnshire.

In 1622 [his father] William Armyn of Osgodby South Kesteven Lincolnshire [aged 61] died.

On 14th July 1622 [his son] William Armine 2nd Baronet was born to William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 28] and [his wife] Elizabeth Hicks Lady Armine [aged 24]. He married 26th August 1649 Anne Crane, daughter of Robert Crane 1st Baronet and Susan Alinton, and had issue.

In 1625 William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 31] was elected MP Grantham.

In 1625 [his son] Michael Armine 3rd Baronet was born to William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 31] and [his wife] Elizabeth Hicks Lady Armine [aged 27].

In 1626 William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 32] acted as assistant to the managers of the parliamentary impeachment of the George Villiers 1st Duke of Buckingham [aged 33].

Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke

Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.

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In 1626 William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 32] was elected MP Lincolnshire.

In 27th September 1626 [his wife] Elizabeth Hicks Lady Armine [aged 28] died.

In 1627 William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 33] refused to collect an arbitrary "loan" which the King [aged 26] had attempted to impose on Lincolnshire, and was imprisoned as a result.

In 1628 William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 34] was elected MP Lincolnshire.

On 28th August 1628 William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 34] and Mary Talbot [aged 34] were married. They were sixth cousins.

In 1630 William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 36] was appointed High Sheriff of Lincolnshire.

In 1639 William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 45] was appointed Sheriff of Huntingdonshire.

In or before 1646 [his son-in-law] Thomas Barnardiston 1st Baronet [aged 27] and [his daughter] Anne Armine were married.

In 1649 [his sister-in-law] Gertrude Talbot Baroness Pierrepont Holme Pierrepoint [aged 68] died. She was buried at the Church of St Edmund, Holme Pierrepoint [Map].

On 26th August 1649 [his son] William Armine 2nd Baronet [aged 27] and [his daughter-in-law] Anne Crane [aged 18] 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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On 10th April 1651 William Armine 1st Baronet [aged 57] died. His son William [aged 28] succeeded 2nd Baronet Armine of Osgodby South Kesteven Lincolnshire.

In 1676 [his former wife] Mary Talbot [aged 82] died.

[his daughter] Elizabeth Armine was born to William Armine 1st Baronet and Elizabeth Hicks Lady Armine. She married in or before 1679 Thomas Style 2nd Baronet, son of Thomas Style 1st Baronet, and had issue.

Thomas Holcroft and Mary Talbot were married.

[his daughter] Anne Armine was born to William Armine 1st Baronet and Elizabeth Hicks Lady Armine. She married in or before 1646 Thomas Barnardiston 1st Baronet and had issue.

Royal Ancestors of William Armine 1st Baronet 1593-1651

Kings Wessex: Great x 17 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England

Kings Gwynedd: Great x 14 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd

Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 20 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth

Kings Powys: Great x 15 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys

Kings Godwinson: Great x 18 Grand Son of King Harold II of England

Kings England: Great x 8 Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Kings Scotland: Great x 16 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland

Kings Franks: Great x 24 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor

Kings France: Great x 18 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks

Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 22 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine

Ancestors of William Armine 1st Baronet 1593-1651

William Armine 1st Baronet 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Eure 3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Ralph Eure 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Constable 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: William Eure 1st Baron Eure 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Hugh Hastings 10th Baron Hastings 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Muriel Hastings 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Gascoigne Baroness Hastings 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 1 Grandfather: Ralph Eure 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Willoughby 5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Christopher Willoughby 10th Baron Willoughby 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Cecily Welles 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Willoughby Baroness Eure 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Jenney

Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Jenney Baroness Willoughby of Eresby

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Cawse

GrandFather: William Eure 2nd Baron Eure 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Mother: Martha Eure 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Philip Dymoke

Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Dymoke

Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert Dymoke 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Lionel Welles 6th Baron Welles 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Welles 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan or Cecily Waterton

Great x 1 Grandfather: Edward Dymoke 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

GrandMother: Margaret Dymoke 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Tailboys 7th Baron Kyme 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Tailboys 8th Baron Kyme 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Bonville Baroness Kyme 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: George Tailboys 9th Baron Kyme 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Heron of Ford Castle Northumberland

Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Heron Baroness Kyme

Great x 1 Grandmother: Ann Tailboys 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Gascoigne XIII 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Gascoigne 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Neville 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Gascoigne Baroness Kyme 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Percy 3rd Earl of Northumberland 2 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Percy 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Poynings Countess Northumberland 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England