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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Biography of Aveline Forz 6th Countess Albemarle and Lancaster -1274

Maternal Family Tree: Aoife ni Diarmait Macmurrough Countess Pembroke and Buckingham 1145-1188

Aveline Forz 6th Countess Albemarle and Lancaster was born to [her father] William Forz 4th Earl Albemarle and [her mother] Isabella Redvers 8th Countess Devon and Albemarle.

Before 1234 [her father] William Forz 4th Earl Albemarle and Christiana Galloway were married. He the son of [her grandfather] William Forz 3rd Earl Albemarle and [her grandmother] Aveline Montfichet.

On 26th March 1242 [her grandfather] William Forz 3rd Earl Albemarle died. His son [her father] William succeeded 4th Earl Albemarle 1C 1127.

In 1248 [her father] William Forz 4th Earl Albemarle and [her mother] Isabella Redvers 8th Countess Devon and Albemarle [aged 10] were married. She by marriage Countess Albemarle. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Baldwin Redvers 6th Earl Devon and [her grandmother] Amice Clare Countess Devon [aged 27]. He the son of William Forz 3rd Earl Albemarle and Aveline Montfichet.

In 1260 [her father] William Forz 4th Earl Albemarle died at Amiens. His son [her brother] Thomas succeeded 5th Earl Albemarle 1C 1127.

In 1262 [her uncle] Baldwin Redvers 7th Earl Devon [aged 25] died. His sister [her mother] Isabella [aged 24] succeeded 8th Countess Devon.

On 25th October 1265 [her future husband] Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster [aged 20] was created 1st Earl of Leicester.

In 1269 [her brother] Thomas Forz 5th Earl Albemarle died. His sister Aveline succeeded 6th Countess Albemarle.

On 8th April 1269 Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster [aged 24] and Aveline Forz 6th Countess Albemarle and Lancaster were married. She by marriage Countess Lancaster. She the daughter of William Forz 4th Earl Albemarle and Isabella Redvers 8th Countess Devon and Albemarle [aged 31]. He the son of King Henry III of England [aged 61] and Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England [aged 46]. They were half fourth cousin twice removed. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

12th November 1272 - Death of King Henry III

On 16th November 1272 [her father-in-law] King Henry III of England [aged 65] died at Westminster [Map]. His son [her brother-in-law] Edward [aged 33] succeeded I King of England. Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England [aged 31] by marriage Queen Consort England.

In 1274 Aveline Forz 6th Countess Albemarle and Lancaster died. Earl Albemarle 1C 1127 extinct.

Effigy of Aveline Countess of Lancaster. AVELiNE Countess of Lancaster was daughter of William de Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle and Holderness, inheritrix of her father, and by her mother [aged 37] Countess of Devon and the Isle of Wight. In 1267 she married Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster [aged 29], died in 1269 without issue, and was buried in Westminster Abbey [Map], near the spot where her husband was afterwards interred. The effigy placed on her tomb affords a fine specimen of female costume in the thirteenth century.

On 3rd February 1276 [her former husband] Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster [aged 31] and Blanche Capet Queen Navarre [aged 28] were married. She by marriage Countess Lancaster. She the daughter of Robert Capet Count of Artois and Matilda Reginar Countess Saint Pol [aged 52]. He the son of [her former father-in-law] King Henry III of England and [her former mother-in-law] Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England [aged 53]. They were second cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

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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Vesta Monumenta. 1780. Plates 2.29, 2.30 and 2.31. Effigy of Aveline Forz 6th Countess Albemarle and Lancaster. Engravings by James Basire, Sr. [aged 50] after his own drawings, or possibly those of his apprentice, William Blake.

Aveline Forz 6th Countess Albemarle and Lancaster -1274 appears on the following Descendants Family Trees:

Royal Ancestors of Aveline Forz 6th Countess Albemarle and Lancaster -1274

Kings Wessex: Great x 11 Grand Daughter of King Edward "Elder" of the Anglo Saxons

Kings England: Great x 5 Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Kings Scotland: Great x 6 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland

Kings Franks: Great x 14 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor

Kings France: Great x 9 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks

Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 13 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine

Ancestors of Aveline Forz 6th Countess Albemarle and Lancaster -1274

Great x 1 Grandfather: William Forz 2nd Earl Albemarle

GrandFather: William Forz 3rd Earl Albemarle

Great x 1 Grandmother: Hawise Blois 2nd Countess Albemarle and Essex

Great x 4 Grandfather: King Duncan II of Scotland

Great x 3 Grandfather: William FitzDuncan

Great x 4 Grandmother: Ethelreda of Northumbria

Great x 2 Grandmother: Cecily Skipton Countess Aumale and York

Father: William Forz 4th Earl Albemarle

Great x 2 Grandfather: Gilbert Montfichet

Great x 1 Grandfather: Richard Montfichet

GrandMother: Aveline Montfichet

Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Lucy

Great x 3 Grandfather: Adrian Lucy

Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard "The Loyal" Lucy

Great x 1 Grandmother: Aveline Lucy

Great x 4 Grandfather: Godfrey Flanders Lord Bouillon

Great x 3 Grandfather: Guillaume Flanders

Great x 4 Grandmother: Beatrice Mandeville Lady Bouillon

Great x 2 Grandmother: Rohese Boulogne

Aveline Forz 6th Countess Albemarle and Lancaster 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Redvers

Great x 3 Grandfather: Baldwin de Redvers 1st Earl Devon

Great x 4 Grandmother: Adeliza Peverell

Great x 2 Grandfather: William Redvers 5th Earl Devon

Great x 1 Grandfather: Baldwin Redvers 2 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Mable de Beaumont Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Reginald de Dunstanville Fitzroy 1st Earl Cornwall Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Maud FitzRoy de Dunstanville of Cornwall Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Mabel Fitzrichard

GrandFather: Baldwin Redvers 6th Earl Devon 3 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Mother: Isabella Redvers 8th Countess Devon and Albemarle 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard de Clare

Great x 3 Grandfather: Roger Clare 2nd Earl Hertford

Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Gernon

Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Clare 3rd Earl Hertford

Great x 3 Grandmother: Maud St Hilary Countess Hertford

Great x 1 Grandfather: Gilbert Clare 5th Earl Gloucester 4th Earl Hertford 2 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Normandy 1st Earl Gloucester Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Fitzrobert 2nd Earl Gloucester Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Mabel Fitzhamon Countess Gloucester

Great x 2 Grandmother: Amice Fitzrobert Countess Hertford Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Beaumont 2nd Earl of Leicester

Great x 3 Grandmother: Hawise Beaumont Countess Gloucester

Great x 4 Grandmother: Amice Gael Countess Leicester

GrandMother: Amice Clare Countess Devon 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Gilbert Giffard

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Fitzgilbert

Great x 2 Grandfather: William Marshal 1st Earl Pembroke

Great x 3 Grandmother: Sybil of Salisbury

Great x 4 Grandmother: Sybilla Chaworth Baroness Chitterne

Great x 1 Grandmother: Isabel Marshal Countess Cornwall, Gloucester and Hertford

Great x 2 Grandmother: Isabel Clare Countess Pembroke

Great x 4 Grandfather: Diarmait Macmurrough

Great x 3 Grandmother: Aoife ni Diarmait Macmurrough Countess Pembroke and Buckingham