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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Biography of Anton Raphael Mengs 1728-1779

Anton Raphael Mengs is in Painters.

On 22nd March 1728 Anton Raphael Mengs was born.

1744. Anton Raphael Mengs (age 15). Self-Portrait.

1752. Anton Raphael Mengs (age 23). Portrait of Richard Wilson 1714-1787.

Around 1756. Anton Raphael Mengs (age 27). Portrait of William Burton Conyngham (age 23).

William Burton Conyngham: In 1733 he was born to Francis Burton and Mary Conyngham. On 31st May 1796 William Burton Conyngham died.

1757. Anton Raphael Mengs (age 28). Portrait of William Fermor (age 20).

William Fermor: In 1737 he was born to Henry Fermor of Tusmore. In 1806 he died.

1757. Anton Raphael Mengs (age 28). Portrait of Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry (age 17).

1760. Anton Raphael Mengs (age 31). Portrait of George Grey 5th Earl Stamford 1st Earl Warrington (age 22).

Around 1765. Anton Raphael Mengs (age 36). Portrait of Infanta Maria Josefa of Spain (age 20).

Infanta Maria Josefa of Spain: On 6th July 1744 she was born to Charles III King Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony Queen Consort Spain. On 8th December 1801 Infanta Maria Josefa of Spain died unmarried.

1765. Anton Raphael Mengs (age 36). Portrait of Charles III King Spain (age 48).

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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1765. Anton Raphael Mengs (age 36). Portrait of Charles IV King Spain (age 16).

1765. Anton Raphael Mengs (age 36). Portrait of George Nassau Clavering-Cowper 3rd Earl Cowper (age 26).

1766 to 1779. Anton Raphael Mengs (age 37). Portrait of Charles-Marie Bonaparte (age 19).

Charles-Marie Bonaparte: On 27th March 1746 he was born. In 1764 he and Maria-Letizia Ramolino were married. On 24th February 1785 he died.

1774. Anton Raphael Mengs (age 45). Self-Portrait.

On 29th June 1779 Anton Raphael Mengs (age 51) died.

1780. Anton Raphael Mengs. Portrait of Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain (age 34).