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William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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In or before 1530 [his father] Conn O'Neill 1st Earl Tyrone (age 49) and Alice Fitzgerald Countess Tyrone were married. She the daughter of Gerald Fitzgerald 8th Earl of Kildare and Alice Fitzeustace Countess Kildare.
Around 1530 Shane O'Neill was born to [his father] Conn O'Neill 1st Earl Tyrone (age 50). His mother is unclear; either Alice Fitzgerald Countess Tyrone or Sorcha O'Neill, daughter of Hugh Oge O'Neill, chief of the O'Neills of Clandeboye.
Chronicle of Greyfriars. 1542. And this year came in the Earl of Desmond and the great [his father] O'Neill (age 62), and was created Earl of Tyrone and his son (age 12) Baron of Dungannon.
In 1542 [his father] Conn O'Neill 1st Earl Tyrone (age 62) was created 1st Earl Tyrone. Alice Fitzgerald Countess Tyrone by marriage Countess Tyrone.
In 1559 [his father] Conn O'Neill 1st Earl Tyrone (age 79) died.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 4th January 1562. The iiij day of January cam to the c[ourt the] yerle of Kyldare (age 37), and browth the grett O'Nelle (age 32) of Yrland, for he had the charge of hym [to bring] hym to the quen.
Note. P. 274. The great O'Neill of Ireland. This person, whom our Diarist in the next page takes the liberty to call "the wild Irishman," was John or Shane O'Neill, eldest son of Connac O'Neill, created earl of Tyrone by Henry VIII. in 1542. After a career the turbulence of which fully justifies Machyn's epithet, he was slain in the year 1567, by Alexander Oge MacConnell.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 14th January 1562. The xiiij day of January cam rydyng in-to [Cheap-] syd (blank) John Onelle (age 32), the wyld Yrys-man, and [went] and dynyd at the sant John('s) hed at master Daneell['s the] goldsmyth; the wyche was the sune of the [his father] erle of (Tyrone).
Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
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Henry Machyn's Diary. 14th February 1562. The xiiij day of Feybruary dyd rune at the rynge John Onelle (age 32) beyond sant James in the feld.
On 2nd June 1567 Shane O'Neill (age 37) was assassinated at Castle Cara.