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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Paternal Family Tree: Bruce of Annandale
Maternal Family Tree: Mathilde Unknown Countess Évreux 1120-1169
Around 1215 Robert Bruce 5th Lord Annandale was born to [his father] Robert Bruce 4th Lord Annandale [aged 20] and [his mother] Isabel "the Scot" Dunkeld Lady Annandale [aged 16]. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.
In 1219 [his father] Robert Bruce 4th Lord Annandale [aged 24] and [his mother] Isabel "the Scot" Dunkeld Lady Annandale [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Lord Annandale. She the daughter of [his grandfather] David Dunkeld 8th Earl Huntingdon [aged 67] and [his grandmother] Matilda Gernon Countess Huntingdon [aged 48].
On 12th May 1240 Robert Bruce 5th Lord Annandale [aged 25] and Isabel Clare Lady Annandale [aged 13] were married. She by marriage Lord Annandale. She the daughter of Gilbert Clare 5th Earl Gloucester 4th Earl Hertford and Isabel Marshal Countess Cornwall, Gloucester and Hertford. They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.
In July 1243 [his son] Robert Bruce Earl Carrick was born to Robert Bruce 5th Lord Annandale [aged 28] and [his wife] Isabel Clare Lady Annandale [aged 16]. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England. He married (1) his second cousin once removed Matilda aka Maud Fitzalan, daughter of John Fitzalan 7th Earl of Arundel and Isabella Mortimer Countess Arundel (2) 1271 his third cousin Marjorie Carrick 3rd Countess Carrick, daughter of Niall Carrick 2nd Earl Carrick and Margaret Stewart Countess Carrick, and had issue.
In 1245 [his father] Robert Bruce 4th Lord Annandale [aged 50] died. He was buried at Guisborough Priory [Map]. His son Robert [aged 30] succeeded 5th Lord Annandale.
In 1249 [his daughter] Isabel Bruce was born to Robert Bruce 5th Lord Annandale [aged 34] and [his wife] Isabel Clare Lady Annandale [aged 22]. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.
In 1251 [his mother] Isabel "the Scot" Dunkeld Lady Annandale [aged 52] died.
In 1255 Baldwin Redvers 6th Earl Devon and [his sister-in-law] Amice Clare Countess Devon [aged 34] were married. She by marriage Countess Devon. She the daughter of Gilbert Clare 5th Earl Gloucester 4th Earl Hertford and Isabel Marshal Countess Cornwall, Gloucester and Hertford. They were fourth cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.
On 14th July 1262 [his brother-in-law] Richard de Clare 6th Earl Gloucester 5th Earl Hertford [aged 39] died. His son Gilbert [aged 18] succeeded 7th Earl Gloucester, 6th Earl Hertford, 9th Lord Clare, 3rd Lord Glamorgan. Alice or Alix Lusignan Countess Gloucester and Hertford [aged 26] by marriage Countess Gloucester, Countess Hertford.
On 14th May 1264 the army of Simon de Montfort 6th Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Chester [aged 56] including Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford [aged 20], Henry Hastings [aged 29] and Nicholas Segrave 1st Baron Segrave [aged 26] defeated the army of King Henry III of England [aged 56] during the Battle of Lewes at Lewes [Map].
King Henry III of England, his son, the future, King Edward I of England [aged 24], Humphrey Bohun 2nd Earl Hereford 1st Earl Essex [aged 60], Richard of Cornwall 1st Earl Cornwall [aged 55], John "Red" Comyn 1st Lord Baddenoch [aged 44], Philip Marmion 5th Baron Marmion [aged 30] and John Giffard 1st Baron Giffard Brimpsfield [aged 32] were captured. John Warenne 6th Earl of Surrey [aged 33], John Balliol [aged 56], Robert Bruce 5th Lord Annandale [aged 49], Roger Leybourne [aged 49] and William de Valence 1st Earl Pembroke fought for the King. Guy Lusignan was killed. Fulk IV Fitzwarin [aged 44] drowned. Bishop Walter de Cantelupe [aged 73] was present and blessed the Montfort army before the battle.
On 10th July 1264 [his wife] Isabel Clare Lady Annandale [aged 37] died. She was buried at Guisborough Priory [Map].
In 1271 [his son] Robert Bruce Earl Carrick [aged 27] and [his daughter-in-law] Marjorie Carrick 3rd Countess Carrick [aged 18] were married at Turnberry Castle. He by marriage Earl Carrick. She the daughter of Niall Carrick 2nd Earl Carrick and Margaret Stewart Countess Carrick. They were third cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.
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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On 3rd May 1275 Robert Bruce 5th Lord Annandale [aged 60] and Christina Ireby Lady Annandale were married. She by marriage Lord Annandale.
Around 1284 [his daughter] Isabel Bruce [aged 35] died.
On 26th January 1287 [his son] Richard Bruce died.
On 31st March 1295 Robert Bruce 5th Lord Annandale [aged 80] died. He was buried at Guisborough Priory [Map]. His son Robert [aged 51] succeeded 6th Lord Annandale.
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. In the same year, in his own land of Annandale, at Lochmaben, that noble man Lord Robert de Brus the Fourth [aged 80] died, on Maundy Thursday [31st March 1295]. As previously mentioned, he had disputed with John Balliol before the king of England over the succession to the Scottish throne. And, as he had ordered while alive, he was buried in our house at Guisborough [Map], beside his father, on the second Sunday after Easter, the fifteenth day before the Kalends of May [17th April 1295], with the highest honour and great reverence, as was fitting. Throughout his life, he was glorious, gracious, wealthy, and generous, and he abounded in all things both in life and in death.
Eodem anno in terra sua Vallis Anandiæ apud Loghmaban obiit nobilis ille vir dominus Robertus de Bruys quartus, in Cœna Domini, qui, ut superius tactum est, circa successionem regni Scotiæ cum Johanne de Balliolo coram rege Anglorum disceptavit; et, ut vivens ipse jusserat, sepultus est in domo nostra Gisseburne juxta patrem suum, Dominica secunda post Pascha, XV kalendas Maii, cum summo honore, ut decuit, et reverentia magna. Hic toto tempore vitæ suæ gloriosus extitit, facetus, dives, et largus, et abundavit in omnibus in vita et in morte.
[his son] William Bruce was born to Robert Bruce 5th Lord Annandale and Isabel Clare Lady Annandale. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England. He married Elizabeth Sully.
[his son] Richard Bruce was born to Robert Bruce 5th Lord Annandale and Isabel Clare Lady Annandale. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.
[his son] Bernard Bruce was born to Robert Bruce 5th Lord Annandale and Isabel Clare Lady Annandale. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England. He married (1) Constance Morleyn (2) Alicia Clare.
Kings Wessex: Great x 5 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings England: Great x 4 Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Kings Scotland: Great x 4 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 13 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 6 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 10 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert Bruce 1st Lord Annandale 1st Lord Skelton
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Bruce 2nd Lord Annandale
Great x 3 Grandfather: Fulk Paynel
Great x 2 Grandmother: Agnes Paynel Lady Annandale Lady Skelton
GrandFather: William Bruce 3rd Lord Annandale
Great x 1 Grandmother: Euphemia Crosebi Lady Annandale
Father: Robert Bruce 4th Lord Annandale
GrandMother: Christina Unknown Lady Annandale
Robert Bruce 5th Lord Annandale 4 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: King Duncan I of Scotland 
Great x 3 Grandfather: King Malcolm III of Scotland
Great x 4 Grandmother: Bethóc Unknown Queen Consort Scotland
Great x 2 Grandfather: King David I of Scotland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward "The Exile" Wessex
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Wessex Queen Consort Scotland
Great x 4 Grandmother: Agatha
Great x 1 Grandfather: Henry Dunkeld 3rd Earl Huntingdon 1st Earl of Northumbria
Great x 4 Grandfather: Siward "Stout" Earl of Northumbria
Great x 3 Grandfather: Waltheof Northumbria 1st Earl of Northampton 1st Earl Huntingdon
Great x 4 Grandmother: Aelfflaed Northumbria
Great x 2 Grandmother: Maud Queen Consort Scotland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Lambert Flanders II Count Lens
Great x 3 Grandmother: Judith Flanders Countess Huntingdon
Great x 4 Grandmother: Adelaide Normandy Countess Troyes and Meaux Champagne Aumale Ponthieu 
GrandFather: David Dunkeld 8th Earl Huntingdon
Great x 4 Grandfather: Ralph Warenne 
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Warenne 1st Earl of Surrey
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Warenne 2nd Earl of Surrey
Great x 4 Grandfather: Gerbod The Fleming
Great x 3 Grandmother: Gundred Countess of Surrey
Great x 1 Grandmother: Ada Warenne Countess Huntingdon and Northumbria
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry I King of the Franks 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Hugh "Great" Capet
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne of Kiev Queen Consort Francia
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey
Great x 4 Grandfather: Herbert Vermandois IV Count Vermandois
Great x 3 Grandmother: Adelaide I Countess Vermandois
Great x 4 Grandmother: Adela Valois Countess Blois and Vermandois 
Mother: Isabel "the Scot" Dunkeld Lady Annandale 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Ranulf de Briquessart Gernon Viscount Bessin
Great x 3 Grandfather: Ranulf le Meschin Gernon 3rd Earl Chester
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Avranches
Great x 2 Grandfather: Ranulf Gernon 4th Earl Chester
Great x 3 Grandmother: Lucy Bolingbroke Countess Chester
Great x 1 Grandfather: Hugh de Kevelioc Gernon 5th Earl Chester Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: King Henry I "Beauclerc" England Son of King William "Conqueror" I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Normandy 1st Earl Gloucester Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Daughter Gay
Great x 2 Grandmother: Matilda Fitzrobert Countess Chester Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Fitzhamon
Great x 3 Grandmother: Mabel Fitzhamon Countess Gloucester
Great x 4 Grandmother: Sibyl Montgomery
GrandMother: Matilda Gernon Countess Huntingdon 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Simon Montfort
Great x 3 Grandfather: Amaury Montfort Count Évreux
Great x 4 Grandmother: Agnès of Normandy
Great x 2 Grandfather: Simon "Chauve" Montfort 4th Count Évreux
Great x 1 Grandmother: Bertrade Montfort Countess Chester
Great x 2 Grandmother: Mathilde Unknown Countess Évreux