The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
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Paternal Family Tree: Latimer
Around 1243 William Latimer 1st Baron Latimer of Corby was born to [his father] William Latimer of Corby [aged 23] at Danby Manor Melton.
On 22nd November 1268 [his father] William Latimer of Corby [aged 48] died.
Before 1269 William Latimer 1st Baron Latimer of Corby [aged 25] and Alicia Ledet Baroness Latimer Corby [aged 17] were married. His brother John Latimer had married, or was to marry her younger sister Christian Ledet [aged 16]. The sisters were the heiresses of their father Walter Ledet and the brothers inherited one of the castles of Braybrook and Corby.
In 1269 [his daughter] Joanna Latimer was born to William Latimer 1st Baron Latimer of Corby [aged 26] and [his wife] Alicia Ledet Baroness Latimer Corby [aged 18] at Altyre, Moray. She married Alexander Comyn, son of Alexander Comyn 2nd Earl Buchan and Elizabeth Quincy Countess Buchan, and had issue.
Before 1270 [his uncle] John Latimer and [his sister-in-law] Christian Ledet [aged 17] were married. His brother William Latimer 1st Baron Latimer of Corby [aged 26] had married, or was to marry her elder sister [his wife] Alicia Ledet Baroness Latimer Corby [aged 18]. The sisters were the heiresses of their father Walter Ledet and the brothers inherited one of Braybrook and Corby.
In 1275 [his son] John Latimer was born to William Latimer 1st Baron Latimer of Corby [aged 32] and [his wife] Alicia Ledet Baroness Latimer Corby [aged 24] at Duntish, Dorset.
Around 1276 [his son] William Latimer 2nd Baron Latimer of Corby was born to William Latimer 1st Baron Latimer of Corby [aged 33] and [his wife] Alicia Ledet Baroness Latimer Corby [aged 25].
Around 1290 William Latimer 1st Baron Latimer of Corby [aged 47] was created 1st Baron Latimer of Corby. [his wife] Alicia Ledet Baroness Latimer Corby [aged 39] by marriage Baroness Latimer of Corby.
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 [aged 70], Thomas Plantagenet 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl Lancaster, Earl of Salisbury and Lincoln [aged 23], Ralph Monthermer 1st Earl of Gloucester and Hertford [aged 31], Humphrey Bohun 4th Earl Hereford 3rd Earl Essex [aged 25], Roger Bigod 5th Earl Norfolk [aged 56], Richard Fitzalan 1st or 8th Earl of Arundel [aged 34], Guy Beauchamp 10th Earl Warwick [aged 29], Aymer de Valence 2nd Earl Pembroke [aged 26], William Leybourne 1st Baron Leybourne [aged 59], Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster [aged 20], William Latimer 1st Baron Latimer of Corby [aged 58], Edmund Hastings, John Hastings 2nd Baron Hastings 14th Baron Abergavenny [aged 14], Edmund Mortimer 2nd Baron Mortimer of Wigmore [aged 50], Fulk Fitzwarin 2nd Baron Fitzwarin [aged 16], Henry Percy 9th and 1st Baron Percy [aged 27], Robert Fitzwalter 1st Baron Fitzwalter [aged 54], John Beauchamp 1st Baron Beauchamp Somerset [aged 26], William de Braose 2nd Baron de Braose 10th Baron Bramber [aged 41], John Botetort 1st Baron Botetort [aged 36], Reginald Grey 1st Baron Grey of Wilton [aged 61], John Moels 1st Baron Moels [aged 32], Thomas Berkeley 6th and 1st Baron Berkeley [aged 55], Robert de Vere 5th Earl of Oxford, John Strange 1st Baron Strange Knockin [aged 48], Thomas Multon 1st Baron Multon [aged 25], Robert Clifford 1st Baron Clifford [aged 26], Walter Beauchamp [aged 58], Alan Zouche 1st Baron Zouche Ashby [aged 33], John Segrave 2nd Baron Segrave [aged 45], William Ferrers 1st Baron Ferrers of Groby [aged 29], Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 51], Piers Mauley, Ralph Neville 1st Baron Neville of Raby [aged 38], John Mohun 1st Baron Dunster [aged 32], Roger Scales 1st Baron Scales, Thomas Furnival 1st Baron Furnivall [aged 41], Hugh Bardolf 1st Baron Bardolf [aged 41], Gilbert Talbot 1st Baron Talbot [aged 24], William Deincourt 2nd Baron Deincourt, Edmund Stafford 1st Baron Stafford [aged 28], Walter Fauconberg 1st Baron Fauconberg [aged 81].
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. In the same year died Sir Robert de Brus [aged 60] the fifth, soon after Easter [4th March 1304], while he was on the road towards Annandale, and he was buried in the monastery of Holm [Map].1 In the same year died John, Earl of Warenne [aged 73], an old man, and was buried at Lewes after Christmas. In the same year died that valiant knight Sir William Latimer [aged 61], on the vigil of Saint Nicholas [5th December 1304], who had exercised his knighthood in many lands, and he was buried at Empingham.2
Eodem anno obiit dominus Robertus de Brus quintus, cito post Pascha, cum esset in via versus Vallem Anandiæ, sepultusque est in monasterio de Holme. Eodem anno obiit comes de Warenna Johannes, homo senex, sepultusque est apud Lews post Natale Domini. Eodem anno obiit strenuus ille miles dominus Willelmus Latimer in vigilia Sancti Nicholai, qui suam militiam in multis terris exercuerat, sepultusque est apud Hempingham.
Note 1. Holme Cultram Abbey, Cumberland [Map].
Note 2. Empingham, Rutlandshire.
On 5th December 1304 William Latimer 1st Baron Latimer of Corby [aged 61] died at Corby, Northamptonshire. His son William [aged 28] succeeded 2nd Baron Latimer of Corby.
On 8th March 1316 [his former wife] Alicia Ledet Baroness Latimer Corby [aged 65] died at Sutton, Bedfordshire.
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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[his daughter] Christian Latimer was born to William Latimer 1st Baron Latimer of Corby and Alicia Ledet Baroness Latimer Corby. She married Robert Boys and had issue.
GrandFather: William Latimer
Father: William Latimer of Corby