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Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.

In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.

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Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer 1324-1359

Paternal Family Tree: Montagu

Maternal Family Tree: Sibylla Tregoz Baroness Grandison

Around 1320 [her father] William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury [aged 19] and [her mother] Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury [aged 16] were married. She by marriage Baroness Montagu.

In or before 1324 Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer was born to William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury [aged 22] and Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury [aged 19].

Around 1328 Giles Badlesmere 2nd Baron Badlesmere [aged 13] and Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer [aged 4] were married. She the daughter of William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury [aged 27] and Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury [aged 24].

In 1328 [her husband] Giles Badlesmere 2nd Baron Badlesmere [aged 13] attainder reversed 2nd Baron Badlesmere. Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer [aged 4] by marriage Baroness Badlesmere.

In 1336 John de Vere 7th Earl of Oxford [aged 23] and [her sister-in-law] Maud Badlesmere Countess of Oxford [aged 27] were married. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. They were third cousin twice removed. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

On 7th June 1338 [her husband] Giles Badlesmere 2nd Baron Badlesmere [aged 23] died. Baron Badlesmere abeyant between his sisters [her sister-in-law] Margery [aged 29], Maud [aged 29], Elizabeth Badlesmere Countess Northampton [aged 25] and Margaret Badlesmere Baroness Tibetot [aged 23]. His sister Maud inherited Lyonshall Castle, Herefordshire [Map].

Around March 1340 Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent [aged 26] and [her future sister-in-law] Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales [aged 11] were married in secret. It isn't clear whether the marriage was canonical given the secrecy; there were no witnesses. She twelve years old. A subsequent investigation by papal commissioners confirmed it as valid. She the daughter of Edmund of Woodstock 1st Earl Kent and Margaret Wake Countess Kent [aged 42]. They were fourth cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She a granddaughter of King Edward I of England.

Around November 1340 [her brother] William Montagu 2nd Earl Salisbury [aged 12] and [her sister-in-law] Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales [aged 12] were married. She was already married albeit secretly to Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent [aged 26]. The subsequent investigation found her marriage to Thomas Holland 1st Earl Kent to be valid. She the daughter of Edmund of Woodstock 1st Earl Kent and Margaret Wake Countess Kent [aged 43]. He the son of [her father] William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury [aged 39] and [her mother] Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury [aged 36].

Before 27th April 1341 Hugh Despencer 1st Baron Despencer [aged 33] and Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Baroness Despencer. She the daughter of William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury [aged 40] and Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury [aged 37].

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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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14th December 1344 Richard Fitzalan 3rd or 10th Earl of Arundel 8th Earl of Surrey [aged 38] and [her sister-in-law] Isabel Despencer Countess Arundel [aged 32] marriage annulled by Pope Clement VI on the grounds that he had never freely consented to marry Isabel. He, at this time, is believed to be having an affair with her first cousin Eleanor [aged 26] who he married four months later.

Before 1348 [her future husband] Guy de Bryan [aged 29] and Joan Carew [aged 27] were married.

In 1349 [her husband] Hugh Despencer 1st Baron Despencer [aged 41] died. Baron Despencer extinct.

Around 1349 Hanley Castle, Worcestershire was assigned to Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer [aged 25], widow of [her husband] Hugh Despencer 1st Baron Despencer [aged 41].

On 11th June 1349 [her father] William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury [aged 48] died. His son [her brother] William [aged 20] succeeded 2nd Earl Salisbury, 4th Baron Montagu. [her sister-in-law] Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales [aged 20] by marriage Countess Salisbury.

On 23rd November 1349 [her mother] Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury [aged 45] died at Bisham Abbey [Map].

Before 1350 [her brother] John Montagu 1st Baron Montagu, Baron Monthermer [aged 19] and [her sister-in-law] Margaret Monthermer Baroness Montagu 3rd Baroness Monthermer were married. She by marriage Baroness Montagu. He by marriage Baron Monthermer. He the son of [her father] William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury and [her mother] Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury.

Before 10th July 1350 Guy de Bryan [aged 31] and Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer [aged 26] were married. She the daughter of William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury and Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury.

Before 1352 [her brother-in-law] Roger Mortimer 2nd Earl March [aged 23] and [her sister] Philippa Montagu Countess March [aged 19] were married. She by marriage Countess March. She the daughter of [her father] William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury and [her mother] Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury. He the son of Edmund Mortimer and [her former sister-in-law] Elizabeth Badlesmere Countess Northampton [aged 38].

On 31st May 1359 Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer [aged 35] died. Monument in Tewkesbury Abbey [Map].

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Chronicles of the Reigns of Edward I and II Volume 2

The Chronicles of the Reigns of Edward I and Edward II, Volume 2, comprising A Sorrowful Commendation on King Edward, the Life of Edward II by a Monk of Bridlington, Life of Edward II by a Monk of Malmesbury and Life of Edward by Thomas de la More, presents a rich collection of medieval English chronicles illuminating the political, military, ecclesiastical and social upheavals of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. The volume offers contemporary and near-contemporary accounts of the reigns of Edward I and Edward II, a period marked by war with Scotland, conflict between Crown and nobility, disputes over royal government, ecclesiastical tensions, rebellion, deposition and civil violence. Particular attention is given to the struggle surrounding Piers Gaveston, Thomas of Lancaster and the Despensers, as well as the turbulent final years of Edward II and the political circumstances that shaped the early reign of Edward III. These chronicles are especially valuable for their vivid narrative detail. They preserve speeches, political arguments, descriptions of battles and executions, accounts of parliaments and royal councils, reports of diplomatic missions, ecclesiastical controversies, prodigies and natural events, and contemporary judgements on the conduct of kings, magnates and churchmen. Written from differing institutional and regional perspectives, the texts reveal not only what happened but how medieval observers interpreted events, often through ideas of divine judgement, legitimate kingship, loyalty, treason and moral retribution. An important primary-source collection for readers interested in Edward I, Edward II, medieval politics, the Scottish wars, the baronial opposition, the fall of Edward II, church history and fourteenth-century England, Volume 2 provides an indispensable window into one of the most turbulent periods of the English Middle Ages.

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On 17th August 1390 [her former husband] Guy de Bryan [aged 71] died. Monument at Tewkesbury Abbey [Map]. Alabaster with, unusually, a portrait rather than a generic face. Early Plate Bascinet Period. He was buried at St James' Church, Slapton.

[her son] William Bryan was born to Guy de Bryan and Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer.

[her son] William Bryan was born to Guy de Bryan and Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer.

[her son] Guy Bryan was born to Guy de Bryan and Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer.

[her daughter] Phillipe Bryan was born to Guy de Bryan and Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer. She married 1. before January 1362 Edward Bohun 2. in or after 1377 John Chandos 3rd Baron Chandos, son of Thomas Chandos 2nd Baron Chandos.

Royal Ancestors of Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer 1324-1359

Kings France: Great x 11 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks

Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 15 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine

Ancestors of Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer 1324-1359

Great x 2 Grandfather: William Montagu

Great x 1 Grandfather: Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu

Grandfather: William Montagu 2nd Baron Montagu

Great x 1 Grandmother: Hawise St Amand

Father: William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury 10 x Great Grandson of Hugh I King of the Franks

Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Montfort 5 x Great Grandson of Hugh I King of the Franks

Great x 3 Grandfather: Thurstan Montfort 6 x Great Grandson of Hugh I King of the Franks

Great x 2 Grandfather: Peter Montfort 7 x Great Grandson of Hugh I King of the Franks

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Cantilupe Baron

Great x 3 Grandmother: Mabel Cantilupe

Great x 1 Grandfather: Peter Montfort 8 x Great Grandson of Hugh I King of the Franks

Great x 4 Grandfather: Adam Audley

Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Audley

Great x 4 Grandmother: Emma Fitzorm

Great x 2 Grandmother: Alice Audley

Great x 4 Grandfather: Ralph Mainwaring

Great x 3 Grandmother: Bertrade Mainwaring

Grandmother: Elizabeth Montfort Baroness Furnivall Baroness Montagu 9 x Great Granddaughter of Hugh I King of the Franks

Elizabeth Montagu Baroness Badlesmere and Despencer 11 x Great Granddaughter of Hugh I King of the Franks

Great x 1 Grandfather: Pierre Grandison

Grandfather: William Grandison 1st Baron Grandison

Mother: Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury

Grandmother: Sibylla Tregoz Baroness Grandison