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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MP Yorkshire

MP Yorkshire is in Member Parliament.

Good Parliament

In 1376 John Savile of Shelley and Golcar (age 51) was elected MP Yorkshire in the Good Parliament. During the Good Parliament, he was sufficiently trusted to conduct Thomas Caterton from Queenborough Castle [Map] for interrogation before Parliament. Caterton had been appealed for treason by Sir John Annesley, and the court party, including Gaunt (age 35), was anxious to protect him from attack. In the event, they were able to hold off the opposition, despite some damning revelations about their conduct of the war-effort. The duke himself was singled out for particular criticism, and during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 he fled into Scotland, leaving his Savoy Palace [Map] to be destroyed by the London mob. Gaunt was, understandably, reluctant to cross the border again without the protection of a sizeable bodyguard. In late June 1376, therefore, his leading retainers in the north were instructed to provide an escort for his journey to Knaresborough [Map]. Not only did John Savile of Shelley and Golcar mobilize a personal retinue of ten men-at-arms and 40 archers; he also helped to suppress the rebellion in the north by serving on two commissions for the punishment of insurgents.

In October 1382 John Savile of Shelley and Golcar (age 57) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In April 1384 John Savile of Shelley and Golcar (age 59) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In November 1384 John Savile of Shelley and Golcar (age 59) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In January 1390 John Savile of Shelley and Golcar (age 65) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In 1439 Thomas Savile (age 58) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In October 1553 William Vavasour (age 39) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In 1597 William Fairfax (age 66) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In 1679 Charles Boyle 3rd Baron Clifford (age 39) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In 1710 Arthur Kaye 3rd Baronet (age 40) was elected MP Yorkshire.

Memoires of Jacques du Clercq

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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In 1713 Arthur Kaye 3rd Baronet (age 43) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In 1715 Arthur Kaye 3rd Baronet (age 45) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In 1722 Arthur Kaye 3rd Baronet (age 52) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In 1734 Miles Stapylton 4th Baronet (age 26) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In 1761 Edwin Lascelles 1st Baron Harewood (age 48) was elected MP Yorkshire.

In 1830 George Howard 7th Earl Carlisle (age 27) was elected MP Yorkshire which seat he held until 1832.