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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Earl Lancaster is in Earldoms of England Alphabetically, Earldoms of England Chronologically, Forfeit Earldoms of England, Succeeded Countesses of England, Merged with the Crown Earldoms of England.
Summary
1267. Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster [aged 21] created.
5th June 1296. Son Thomas Plantagenet 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl Lancaster, Earl of Salisbury and Lincoln [aged 18] succeeded.
22nd March 1322. Thomas Plantagenet 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl Lancaster, Earl of Salisbury and Lincoln forfeit. See Battle of Boroughbridge.
27th January 1327. Brother Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster [aged 46] restored.
22nd September 1345. Son Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 35] succeeded.
23rd March 1361. Daughter Blanche Duchess of Lancaster [aged 18] succeeded. See Death of Henry of Grosmont.
12th September 1368. Son King Henry IV of England [aged 1] succeeded.
30th September 1399. Edmund Mortimer 5th Earl March 7th Earl of Ulster [aged 7] merged with the crown. See Abdication of Richard II.
In 1267 Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster [aged 21] was created 1st Earl Lancaster.
On 8th April 1269 Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster [aged 24] and Aveline Forz 6th Countess Albemarle and Lancaster were married. She by marriage Countess Lancaster. She the daughter of William Forz 4th Earl Albemarle and Isabella Redvers 8th Countess Devon and Albemarle [aged 31]. He the son of King Henry III of England [aged 61] and Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England [aged 46]. They were half fourth cousin twice removed. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.
On 3rd February 1276 Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster [aged 31] and Blanche Capet Queen Navarre [aged 28] were married. She by marriage Countess Lancaster. She the daughter of Robert Capet Count of Artois and Matilda Reginar Countess Saint Pol [aged 52]. He the son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England [aged 53]. They were second cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.
On 5th June 1296 Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster [aged 51] died at Bayonne [Map]. He was buried at Westminster Abbey [Map]. His son Thomas [aged 18] succeeded 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl Lancaster. Alice Lacy Countess Leicester, and Lancaster 5th Countess of Salisbury 5th Countess Lincoln [aged 14] by marriage Countess of Leicester, Countess Lancaster.
On 22nd March 1322 Thomas Plantagenet 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl Lancaster, Earl of Salisbury and Lincoln [aged 44] was beheaded at Pontefract Castle [Map] following his capture six days before at the Battle of Boroughbridge. He was buried at Pontefract Priory [Map]. Earl of Leicester, Earl Lancaster forfeit.
After 27th January 1327 Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster [aged 46] was restored 3rd Earl Lancaster.
On 22nd September 1345 Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster [aged 64] died at Leicester Castle [Map]. His son Henry [aged 35] succeeded 4th Earl of Leicester, 4th Earl Lancaster.
On 23rd March 1361 Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 51] died at Leicester Castle [Map]. He was buried at Church of the Annunciation of our Lady of the Newark [Map]. Duke Lancaster, Earl Lincoln extinct.
Blanche Duchess of Lancaster [aged 18] succeeded 5th Countess Lancaster and 2nd Countess Derby. John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 21] by marriage Earl Lancaster, Earl Derby.
Maud Plantagenet Duchess Lower Bavaria [aged 20] succeeded 5th Countess of Leicester.
On 12th September 1368 Blanche Duchess of Lancaster [aged 26] died at Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire [Map]. Her last words were said to be "Souveyne vous de moi" ("Don't forget me") the 'S' of which was possibly subsequently represented on the Lancastrian Esses Collar. She was buried at St Paul's Cathedral [Map]. Her son Henry of Grosmont [aged 1] succeeded 3rd Earl Derby, 6th Earl Lancaster.
On 30th September 1399 King Henry IV of England [aged 32] became King of England usurping the throne of his cousin Richard II [aged 32] and Richard's heir, the seven year old Edmund Mortimer 5th Earl of March [aged 7] who was descended from Edward III's second son Lionel of Antwerp Duke of Clarence. This second usurption was to have far reaching consequences since it subsequently became the descent by which the House of York claimed precedence over the House of Lancaster being one of the causes of the Wars of the Roses. Duke Lancaster, Duke of Hereford, Earl Derby, Earl Lancaster and Earl of Leicester merged with the Crown.
Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 35] was appointed Earl Marshal.
