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: Cavendish
Around 21st March 1580 [his father] William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire [aged 27] and [his mother] Anne Keighley [aged 17] were married. He the son of [his grandfather] William Cavendish and [his grandmother] Bess of Hardwick Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford [aged 53].
Around 1590 William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire was born to [his father] William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire [aged 37] and [his mother] Anne Keighley [aged 27].
After 1603 [his father] William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire [aged 50] and [his step-mother] Elizabeth Boughton Countess Devonshire [aged 35] were married. He the son of [his grandfather] William Cavendish and [his grandmother] Bess of Hardwick Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford [aged 76].
In 1605 [his father] William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire [aged 52] was created 1st Baron Cavendish Hardwick. [his step-mother] Elizabeth Boughton Countess Devonshire [aged 37] by marriage Baroness Cavendish Hardwick.
On 13th February 1608 [his grandmother] Bess of Hardwick [aged 81] died. She was buried in All Saints Church, Derby [Map]. Her monument, which she had constructed before her death, was designed by Robert Smythson [aged 38]. She left nothing in her will for her 'bad son' [his uncle] Henry Cavendish [aged 57]. He did, however, inherit Chatsworth House, Derbyshire [Map] which he subsequently sold in 1609 to his brother William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire [aged 55] for £10,000.
The date of her funeral somewhat complicated. Rawsons 1910 book "Bess of Hardwick and her Circle" quotes Simpson's National Records of Derby for 1608: "The old Countess of Shrewsbury died about Candlemas this year, whose funeral was about Holy Thursday. A great frost this year. The witches of Bakewell hanged." Holy Thursday, the Feast of the Ascension, is thirty-nine days after Easter. Easter in 1608 was on the 6th of April, putting Holy Thursday on the 15th of May.
Ethel Carleton Williams "Bess of Hardwick", 1959, has a note: "9. The date of Bess of Hardwick's funeral is uncertain. The date on the coffin plate is said to be February 1608 (Cox and Hope, Chronicles of the Collegiate Church of All Saints, Derby), but on 31 March 1608 Gilbert Talbot wrote to Robert Cecil, excusing himself for not attending St George's Feast on the ground that his mother-in-law's funeral was to be on St George's Day (23 April). Later, on 3rd of April, the Earl of Arundel wrote to Gilbert (his father-in-law), 'the funeral at Derby is appointed to be either on the fourth or fifth of May, which Garter yet knoweth not, but rather thinketh on the fourth because the other is a holy day'".
Neither of which provide a definite answer. The former being around the 15th of May, the latter 'rather thinketh' the 4th of May. Are there any other contemporary sources available?
On 10th April 1608 William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 18] and Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire were married. He the son of William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire [aged 55] and Anne Keighley [aged 45].
In 1609 William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 19] was knighted.
Around 1611 [his daughter] Anne Cavendish Countess Warwick was born to William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 21] and [his wife] Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire. She married 9th April 1632 Robert Rich 3rd Earl Warwick, son of Robert Rich 2nd Earl Warwick and Frances Hatton Countess Warwick, and had issue.
In 1614 William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 24] was elected MP Derbyshire.
On 10th October 1617 [his son] William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire was born to William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 27] and [his wife] Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire. He married 4th March 1639 Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire, daughter of William Cecil 2nd Earl Salisbury and Catherine Howard Countess Salisbury, and had issue.
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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On 2nd August 1618 [his father] William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire [aged 65] was created 1st Earl Devonshire, at the Bishop's Palace, Salisbury Cathedral. [his step-mother] Elizabeth Boughton Countess Devonshire [aged 50] by marriage Countess Devonshire.
In 1619 William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 29] was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire.
On 30th May 1620 [his son] Charles Cavendish was born to William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 30] and [his wife] Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire.
In 1621 William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 31] was elected MP Derbyshire.
On 4th July 1622 [his brother-in-law] Thomas Bruce 1st Earl Elgin [aged 23] and Anne Chichester [aged 17] were married at Holy Trinity Church, Minories [Map].
In 1624 William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 34] was elected MP Derbyshire.
In 1625 William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 35] was elected MP Derbyshire.
In 1625 [his mother] Anne Keighley [aged 62] died.
In 1626 William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 36] was elected MP Derbyshire.
On 3rd March 1626 [his father] William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire [aged 73] died. His son William [aged 36] succeeded 2nd Earl Devonshire, 2nd Baron Cavendish Hardwick. [his wife] Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire by marriage Countess Devonshire. On 12th October 1616 [his uncle] Henry Cavendish died. Both were buried at St Peter's Church, Edensor [Map].
The monument was behind the altar in the original church but moved to a separate chapel in the new church.
Monument formed two bodies under a low four-poster with black Ionic columns and black covering slab. The monument has been attributed to Maximilian Colt [aged 51].
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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Before 20th June 1628 Daniel Mijtens [aged 38]. Portrait (attributed) of William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 38].
On 20th June 1628 William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire [aged 38] died at Devonshire House. He was buried at Derby Cathedral [Map]. His son William [aged 10] succeeded 3rd Earl Devonshire, 3rd Baron Cavendish Hardwick.
In 1675 [his former wife] Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire died. She was buried at Derby Cathedral [Map].
Kings Wessex: Great x 17 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 12 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 18 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 13 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings England: Great x 9 Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 16 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 23 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 17 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 21 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Cavendish 
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Cavendish
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Clopton
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Cavendish
Great x 3 Grandmother: Joan Staventon
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Cavendish 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Scudamore
Great x 2 Grandmother: Catherine Scudamore 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Owain ap Gruffudd "Glyndŵr" Mathrafal Prince Powys 3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alys Mathrafal 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Hamner
GrandFather: William Cavendish 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Carrington Smith
Great x 1 Grandmother: Alice Smith
Father: William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Harwick
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Hardwick 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Pinchbeck
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Pinchbeck 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Green 
4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Greene 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary aka Marina Bellers
GrandMother: Bess of Hardwick Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Leeke of Gotham
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Leeke of Lakeford
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Leeke of Hasland 7 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Chaworth 
5 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Catherine Chaworth 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Leeke 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Vaux 
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Vaux of Harrowden
Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Vaux
William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
GrandFather: Henry Keighley
Mother: Anne Keighley