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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In 1436 Margaret Chedworth Duchess Norfolk was born to [her father] John Chedworth.
Before 1437 [her future husband] John Norreys [aged 36] and Alice Merbrook were married.
Before 29th September 1442 [her future husband] John Howard [aged 17] and Katherine Moleyns [aged 18] were married. They were third cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Henry III of England.
Around 1445 Nicholas Wyfold and Margaret Chedworth Duchess Norfolk [aged 9] were married.
Around 1446 [her daughter] Elizabeth Wyfold was born to [her husband] Nicholas Wyfold and Margaret Chedworth Duchess Norfolk [aged 10]. She married (1) 1475 John Norreys (2) 1487 Henry Marney 1st Baron Marney and had issue.
After 1450 [her future husband] John Norreys [aged 50] and Eleanor Clitherow were married.
Around 1456 [her husband] Nicholas Wyfold died.
Before 1st September 1466 John Norreys [aged 66] and Margaret Chedworth Duchess Norfolk [aged 30] were married. The difference in their ages was 36 years.
On 1st September 1466 [her husband] John Norreys [aged 66] died. He was buried in the Norreys Chapel St Michael's Church, Bray.
Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.
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Before 22nd January 1467 John Howard [aged 42] and Margaret Chedworth Duchess Norfolk [aged 31] were married.
Around 1468 [her daughter] Katherine Howard Baroness Berners was born to [her husband] John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk [aged 43] and Margaret Chedworth Duchess Norfolk [aged 32]. She married before 13th May 1490 her fourth cousin once removed John Bourchier 2nd Baron Berners, son of Humphrey Bourchier and Elizabeth Tilney Countess of Surrey, and had issue.
On 4th May 1471 King Edward IV of England [aged 29] was victorious at the 4th May 1471 Battle of Tewkesbury. His brother Richard [aged 18], Richard Beauchamp 2nd Baron Beauchamp Powick [aged 36], [her husband] John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk [aged 46], George Neville 4th and 2nd Baron Abergavenny [aged 31], John Savage [aged 49], John Savage [aged 27], Thomas St Leger [aged 31], John Tuchet 6th Baron Audley, 3rd Baron Tuchet [aged 45], Thomas Burgh 1st Baron Burgh of Gainsborough [aged 40] fought. William Brandon [aged 46], George Browne [aged 31], Ralph Hastings, Richard Hastings Baron Willoughby [aged 38], James Tyrrell [aged 16], Roger Kynaston of Myddle and Hordley [aged 38] were knighted. William Hastings 1st Baron Hastings [aged 40] commanded.
Margaret of Anjou [aged 41] was captured. Her son Edward of Westminster Prince of Wales [aged 17] was killed. He was the last of the Lancastrian line excluding the illegitmate Charles Somerset 1st Earl of Worcester [aged 11] whose line continues to the present.
John Courtenay 7th or 15th Earl Devon [aged 36] was killed and attainted. Earl Devon forfeit. Some sources refer to these titles as being abeyant?
John Wenlock 1st Baron Wenlock [aged 71] was killed. Baron Wenlock extinct.
John Delves [aged 49], John Beaufort [aged 30], William Vaux of Harrowden [aged 35] and Robert Whittingham [aged 42] were killed.
Edmund Beaufort [aged 32], Humphrey Tuchet [aged 37] and Hugh Courtenay [aged 44] were captured.
Henry Roos fought and escaped to Tewkesbury Abbey [Map] where he sought sanctuary. He was subsequently pardoned.
William Carey [aged 34] was killed.
On 30th September 1472 [her step-son] Thomas Howard 2nd Duke of Norfolk [aged 29] and Elizabeth Tilney Countess of Surrey [aged 28] were married. He the son of [her husband] John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk [aged 47] and Katherine Moleyns.
Before 1474 Edmund Gorges [aged 19] and [her step-daughter] Anne Howard [aged 27] were married. She the daughter of [her husband] John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk [aged 48] and Katherine Moleyns.
In 1474 [her step-daughter] Anne Howard [aged 28] died in Wraxall, Somerset [Map].
Around 1475 [her son-in-law] John Norreys [aged 35] and Elizabeth Wyfold [aged 29] were married. She the daughter of Nicholas Wyfold and Margaret Chedworth Duchess Norfolk [aged 39].
In or before 1478 Robert Mortimer [aged 35] and [her step-daughter] Isabella Howard [aged 28] were married. She the daughter of [her husband] John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk [aged 52] and Katherine Moleyns.
In 1481 [her step-daughter] Jane Howard [aged 31] died.
On 5th July 1483 [her husband] John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk [aged 58] was created 1st Duke Norfolk by King Richard III of England [aged 30]. Margaret Chedworth Duchess Norfolk [aged 47] by marriage Duchess Norfolk.
His son [her step-son] Thomas Howard 2nd Duke of Norfolk [aged 40] was created 1st Earl Surrey. Elizabeth Tilney Countess of Surrey [aged 39] by marriage Countess Surrey.
William Berkeley [aged 57] was created 1st Earl Nottingham.
John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk and William Berkeley 1st Marquess Berkeley were heirs to the vast Mowbray estates that had been inherited by Anne Mowbray 8th Countess Norfolk who had been married to Richard of Shrewsbury 1st Duke of York [aged 9]. Richard of Shrewsbury's father King Edward IV of England had legislated that in the event of Anne's death his son Richard would continue to benefit from the inheritance; she died in 1481.
Francis Lovell 1st Viscount Lovell [aged 27] was created 1st Viscount Lovell. Anne Fitzhugh Viscountess Lovell by marriage Viscountess Lovell. [Note. Some sources place his created on 01 Jan 1483 although the source for that is unknown.]
In 1484 [her step-daughter] Margaret Howard [aged 39] died.
On 22nd August 1485 King Richard III of England [aged 32] was killed during the Battle of Bosworth. His second cousin once removed Henry Tudor [aged 28] succeeded VII King of England.
Humphrey Cotes [aged 35] died. It isn't clear on which side he was fighting.
Those supporting Henry Tudor included:
John Blount 3rd Baron Mountjoy [aged 35].
John Cheney 1st Baron Cheyne [aged 43].
Richard Guildford [aged 35].
Walter Hungerford [aged 21].
Thomas Stanley 1st Earl of Derby [aged 50].
Edward Woodville Lord Scales [aged 29].
Edward Courtenay 1st Earl Devon [aged 26].
Rhys ap Thomas Deheubarth [aged 36].
Jasper Tudor 1st Duke Bedford [aged 53].
William Beaumont 2nd Viscount Beaumont [aged 47].
Giles Daubeney 1st Baron Daubeney [aged 34].
William Stanley [aged 50].
Roger Kynaston of Myddle and Hordley [aged 52].
[her future son-in-law] Henry Marney 1st Baron Marney [aged 38].
William Brandon [aged 29] was killed.
James Harrington [aged 55] was killed.
[her husband] John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk [aged 60] was killed and attainted. He was buried firstly at Thetford Priory, Norfolk [Map] and therafter at Church of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham [Map]. Duke Norfolk, Baron Mowbray, Baron Segrave, Baron Howard forfeit.
John Sacheverell [aged 85] was killed.
Philibert Chandee 1st Earl Bath
[her former step-son] William Norreys [aged 44], Gilbert Talbot [aged 33], John de Vere 13th Earl of Oxford [aged 42] and John Savage [aged 41] commanded,.
Robert Poyntz [aged 35] was knighted.
Those who fought for Richard III included:
John Bourchier 6th Baron Ferrers of Groby [aged 47].
John Conyers [aged 74].
Thomas Dacre 2nd Baron Dacre Gilsland [aged 17].
William Berkeley 1st Marquess Berkeley [aged 59].
Richard Fitzhugh 6th Baron Fitzhugh [aged 28].
John Scrope 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 48].
Thomas Scrope 6th Baron Scrope of Masham [aged 26].
Henry Grey 4th or 7th Baron Grey of Codnor [aged 50].
Edmund Grey 1st Earl Kent [aged 68].
Ralph Neville 3rd Earl of Westmoreland [aged 29].
John de la Pole Earl Lincoln 1st [aged 23].
Humphrey Stafford [aged 59].
George Talbot 4th Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 17].
Thomas Howard 2nd Duke of Norfolk [aged 42] was wounded, captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London [Map] for three years. He was attainted; Earl Surrey forfeit.
Francis Lovell 1st Viscount Lovell [aged 29] fought and escaped.
John Zouche 7th Baron Zouche Harringworth [aged 26] was captured.
John Babington [aged 62], William Alington [aged 65], Robert Mortimer [aged 43], Robert Brackenbury, Richard Ratclyffe [aged 55] and Richard Bagot [aged 73] were killed
Walter Devereux Baron Ferrers of Chartley [aged 53] was killed.
William Catesby [aged 35] was executed at Leicester, Leicestershire [Map] after the battle.
George Stanley 9th Baron Strange Knockin 5th Baron Mohun Dunster [aged 25] held as a hostage by Richard III before the Battle of Bosworth.
Henry Percy 4th Earl of Northumberland [aged 36] betrayed King Richard III of England by not committing his forces at the Battle of Bosworth.
John Iwardby [aged 35] was killed.
Around 1487 [her son-in-law] Henry Marney 1st Baron Marney [aged 40] and Elizabeth Wyfold [aged 41] were married. She the daughter of Nicholas Wyfold and Margaret Chedworth Duchess Norfolk [aged 51].
Before 13th May 1490 [her son-in-law] John Bourchier 2nd Baron Berners [aged 23] and Katherine Howard Baroness Berners [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Baroness Berners. She the daughter of John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk and Margaret Chedworth Duchess Norfolk [aged 54]. He the son of Humphrey Bourchier and Elizabeth Tilney Countess of Surrey [aged 46]. They were fourth cousin once removed. He a great x 3 grandson of King Edward III of England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
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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In 1494 Margaret Chedworth Duchess Norfolk [aged 58] died.