This attempt to chart the curricula vitae of these infamous characters is, of necessity, partial and subject to re-appraisal. Many crucial documents, not surprisingly, will have been lost. On the other hand, it is remarkable what can be discovered, and how much more can be surmised, from rolls and charters, surviving letters and ecclesiastical records. One of the difficulties, however, is the ever-present possibility of confusing or conflating the deeds of two men with the same or similar names.
The portraits presented here are contemporary, by unknown artists probably trained in the workshops of Robert Campin and Jacques Daret. Identification with the characters of our drama are, to say the least, provisional.
Macdonald, Colin ('Lord')
1400
Born
Islay, Scotland
1417
1419
Scholar and trainee priest
Saint Andrews, Scotland
1419
1421
Guest of Bishop Fernando de Palacios
Lugo, Spain
1421
1424
Librarian, Duke of Northumberland
Northumberland, England
1424
1425
?
?Southern England
1425
1429
Bookseller and translator
Saint-Omer, Flanders
1429
1431
Travels
Sicily and Aragon
1431
Marries Anna of Peterborough
1431
1432
Piracy with de Machon
Neuvicq/Jarnac, France
1432
Attacks Duke of Bedford
La Bréchoire, France
1433
1436
León, Spain
1436
1439
Swanage, Dorset
Machon, Philippe-Raymond de ('Captain') 1401 Born Sausmarez, Guernsey 1412 1416 Prisoner of pirates Saint-Malo, Brittany 1420 1424 Captain, Duke Jean of Brittany Rennes, Brittany 1424 Marries Diana of Leicester Saint-Cast, Brittany 1424 1428 Dorset, England 1429 1430 Captain, Konstantinos Palaeologos Glarentza, Greece 1431 1432 Piracy on the Charente Montignac, France 1432 Attacks Duke of Bedford 1432 Perigord, France 1434 1438 Dorset, England Maclean, Ewan ('Don Juanito') 1408 Born Paisley, Scotland 1420 Swordsmith Dunfermline, Scotland 1432 Attacks Duke of Bedford Dunfermline, Scotland Nagel, Paulus Justinius van ('Doctor') 1402 Born Bruges, Flanders 1432 Attacks Duke of Bedford
Norfolk, England
Bookseller and translator
Unknown
1439
1452
?Pirate
Narbonne, France
1445
Wins battle of Olmedo with Alvaro de Luna
Castile, Spain
1445
1453
With Alvaro de Luna until his execution
Castile, Spain
1453
1455
Bookseller
Mainz, Germany
Carpenter and miner
La Bréchoire, France
1434
Innkeeper
Carpenter
1438
1456
?Pirate
Narbonne, France
1424
1424
1425
?with Colin Macdonald
?Southern England
La Bréchoire, France
1432
1438
Unknown
1438
1456
Pirate
Narbonne, France
1418
1421
Durham College
Oxford, England
1421
1431
Lawyer
Saint-Omer, Flanders
La Bréchoire, France
 'Noble', David the |
|||
1390 |
Born |
York, England |
|
| 1400 | 1431 | In and out of prison | York/Halifax, England |
1432 |
Attacks Duke of Bedford |
La Bréchoire, France | |
| 1432 | 1438 | Guard, Vlad Tepes I | Tirgoviste, Wallachia |
| 1438 | 1456 | Pirate | Narbonne, France |
 |
