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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Biography of Lucia Visconti Countess Kent 1380-1424

Paternal Family Tree: Visconti

Maternal Family Tree: Tomasina Morosini

1407 Marriage of Edmund Holland Earl of Kent and Lucia Visconti

1408 Battle of Île de Bréhat

1421 Coronation of Catherine of Valois

On 27th September 1350 [her father] Bernabò Visconti [aged 27] and [her mother] Beatrice Regina della Scala [aged 19] were married.

Around 1380 Lucia Visconti Countess Kent was born to [her father] Bernabò Visconti [aged 57] and [her mother] Beatrice Regina della Scala [aged 49] in Milan.

On 2nd October 1380 [her brother-in-law] Gian Galeazzo Visconti 1st Duke Milan [aged 28] and [her sister] Caterina Visconti Duke Milan [aged 19] were married in the Church of San Giovanni in Conca. They were first cousins.

On 27th October 1380 [her brother-in-law] Eberhard III Count of Württemberg [aged 16] and [her sister] Antonia Visconti Countess of Württemberg [aged 26] were married. Her dowry, agreed upon at Milan on 1 July 1380, was 70,000 guilders, which included expensive garments, musical instruments, and books. They had three children together, including Eberhard IV, who succeeded his father as count.

On 2nd September 1381 [her brother-in-law] Frederick Wittelsbach Duke Bavaria [aged 42] and [her sister] Maddalena Visconti Duchess Bavaria [aged 15] were married. She by marriage Duchess Bavaria. The difference in their ages was 27 years. He the son of Stephen Wittelsbach II Duke Bavaria and Elisabeth Barcelona Duchess Bavaria.

On 28th September 1381 [her sister] Taddea Visconti Duchess Bavaria [aged 30] died.

On 18th June 1384 [her mother] Beatrice Regina della Scala [aged 53] died.

On 19th December 1385 [her father] Bernabò Visconti [aged 62] died.

On 15th March 1392 Eberhard II Count of Württemberg [aged 77] died. His grandson [her brother-in-law] Eberhard [aged 28] succeeded III Count of Württemberg. [her sister] Antonia Visconti Countess of Württemberg [aged 38] by marriage Countess of Württemberg.

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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On 26th January 1395 [her brother-in-law] Ernest Wittelsbach I Duke Bavaria [aged 22] and [her sister] Elisabetta Visconti Duchess Bavaria [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Duchess Bavaria. He the son of John Wittelsbach II Duke Bavaria [aged 54] and Catherine Gorizia Duchess Bavaria.

On 11th May 1395 [her brother-in-law] Gian Galeazzo Visconti 1st Duke Milan [aged 43] was created 1st Duke Milan by Wenceslaus IV of Behemia King Romans [aged 34] for 100,000 florins. [her sister] Caterina Visconti Duke Milan [aged 34] by marriage Duchess Milan.

On 17th July 1404 [her sister] Maddalena Visconti Duchess Bavaria [aged 38] died.

On 17th October 1404 [her sister] Caterina Visconti Duke Milan [aged 43] died.

On 26th March 1405 [her sister] Antonia Visconti Countess of Württemberg [aged 51] died.

Marriage of Edmund Holland Earl of Kent and Lucia Visconti

On 24th January 1407 Edmund Holland 4th Earl Kent [aged 23] and Lucia Visconti Countess Kent [aged 27] were married at Southwark Cathedral [Map]. She by marriage Countess Kent. He was killed eighteen month's later at the Battle of Île de Bréhat. He the son of Thomas Holland 2nd Earl Kent and Alice Fitzalan Countess Kent [aged 57].

Pakington's Chronicle [-1390]. [24th January 1407] In the VIII Yere of King Henry Dame Luce [Lucia Visconti Countess Kent [aged 27]], the Dukes of Milaine Syster, cam to London, and there was weddid to [her husband] Edmunde Holand [aged 23] Erle of Kent in the Priory of S. Mary Overeys [Map], and the Fest was kept in the Bishop of Winchester's Place.

Chronicle of Gregory. 24th January 1407. Ande that year the [her husband] Erle of Kent [aged 23] weddyd the Erlys daughter [aged 27] of Mylayne, at Synt Mary Overeys in Sowtheworke [Map], the xiiij day of Juylle..

Note. Other sources say 24 Jan 1407?

Battle of Île de Bréhat

On 15th September 1408 [her husband] Edmund Holland 4th Earl Kent [aged 24] was killed at Île de Bréhat. He was buried in Bourne Abbey, Lincolnshire [Map]. Earl Kent extinct. Baron Holand, Baron Wake of Liddell abeyant. See Walsingham.

On 1st March 1414 [her sister] Viridis Visconti Duchess Austria [aged 62] died.

Coronation of Catherine of Valois

Chronicle of Robert Fabyan [-1512]. [24th February 1421] ... and forthe I wyll precede to shewe unto you some parte of the great honour that was vsed & excercysed upon the daye of the sayd quenes coronacion, whiche was after solempnyzed in seynt Peters churche of Westmynster, upon the daye of seynt Mathy the Apostle, or the xxiiii [24th] day of February. After which solempnyzacon in yt churche endyd, she was conveyed into the great halle of Westmynster, & there sette to dyner; upon whose right hande satte, at the ende of the same table, the archebysshop of Caunterbury [aged 58], and Henry [aged 46], surnamed the rych cardynall of Winchester; and upon the lefte hande of ye quene sat the kynge of Scottes [aged 26] in his astate, ye whiche was servyd with coveryd messe lyke unto the forenamed bysshops, but after theym. And upon the same hande & syde, nere to the borde ende, sat the duchesse of Yorke [aged 54]1, and the coutesse of Huntyngdon [aged 58]. The erle of the Marche [aged 29] holdynga ceptre in his hande, knelyd upon the right syde. The erle marshal in lyke maner knelyd upon the left hande of ye quene. The conntesse of Kent [aged 41]2 sat under the table at the ryght foot, and the coutesse marshall at the left foot. The duke of Glouceter, sir Humfrey [aged 30], was that daye overloker, and stode before the quene bare hedyd. Sir Richarde Neuyll was that daye carver to the quene. The erlys brother of Suffolk cupberer, sir lohn Stewarde sewar. The lord Clyfford paterer, instede of ye erle of Warwik. The lord Wyllughby boteler, in stede of ye erle of Arudell. The lorde Gray Ruthyn [aged 59], or Ryffyn, naperer. The lord of Awdeley amner, in stede of the erle of Cambrydge. The erle of Worceter [aged 25] was that day erle marshal, in absence of the erle marshall, the whiche rode aboute the halle upon a great courser, wt a multytude of typped stauys aboute hym, to kepe the rome in the halle.

Note 1. her husband Edward 2nd Duke of York 1st Duke Albemarle had been killed six years before at the Battle of Agincourt so correctly Dowager Duchess of York.

Note 2. her husband Edmund Holland 4th Earl Kent had been killed thirteen years before at the Battle of Île de Bréhat so correctly Dowager Countess of Kent.

On 14th April 1424 Lucia Visconti Countess Kent [aged 44] died.

Ancestors of Lucia Visconti Countess Kent 1380-1424

Great x 2 Grandfather: Pope Gregory X

Great x 1 Grandfather: Matteo I Visconti

GrandFather: Stephano Visconti

Great x 2 Grandfather: Squarcino Borri

Great x 1 Grandmother: Bonacossa Borri

Father: Bernabò Visconti

GrandMother: Valentina Doria

Lucia Visconti Countess Kent

GrandFather: Mastino II della Scala

Mother: Beatrice Regina della Scala

Great x 1 Grandfather: Jacopo I da Carrara

GrandMother: Taddea da Carrara

Great x 2 Grandfather: Pietro Gradenigo

Great x 1 Grandmother: Anna Gradenigo

Great x 2 Grandmother: Tomasina Morosini