Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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Paternal Family Tree: Astor
In 1829 Jane Waldo died. Her cousin, also Jane, inherited Hever Castle, Kent [Map]. Jane died in 1841. The castle as inherited by Edmund Wakefield Meade who was connected to the Waldo family by marriage, and had adopted the Waldo surname. Meade Waldo, great grandson of Edmund, sold the castle on the 27th of July 1903 to William Waldorf Astor 1st Viscount Astor.
On 31st March 1848 William Waldorf Astor 1st Viscount Astor was born.
On 6th June 1878 William Waldorf Astor 1st Viscount Astor [aged 30] and Mary Dahlgren Paul [aged 20] were married.
On 19th May 1879 [his son] Waldorf Astor 2nd Viscount Astor was born to William Waldorf Astor 1st Viscount Astor [aged 31] and [his wife] Mary Dahlgren Paul [aged 21]. He married 3rd May 1906 Nancy Witcher Langhorne Viscountess Astor and had issue.
On 20th May 1886 [his son] John Jacob Astor 1st Baron Astor was born to William Waldorf Astor 1st Viscount Astor [aged 38] and [his wife] Mary Dahlgren Paul [aged 28]. He married 28th August 1916 Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound Baroness Astor, daughter of Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound 4th Earl Minto and Mary Caroline Grey Countess Minto, and had issue.
On 22nd December 1894 [his wife] Mary Dahlgren Paul [aged 36] died.
1898. Hubert von Herkomer 1849 1914 [aged 48]. Portrait of William Waldorf Astor 1st Viscount Astor [aged 49].
In On 3rd May 1906 [his son] Waldorf Astor 2nd Viscount Astor [aged 26] and [his daughter-in-law] Nancy Witcher Langhorne Viscountess Astor [aged 26] were married. The groom's father gave the couple the family estate of Cliveden, Buckinghamshire [Map]. They had met on an Atlantic voyage returning to Britain
The London Gazette 29454. Whitehall, January 28, 1916.
The King has been pleased, by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to confer the dignity of a Baron of the said United Kingdom upon the undermentioned gentlemen, and the heirs male of their respective bodies lawfully begotten: —
Admiral Sir Charles William de la Poer Beresford [aged 69], G.C.B., G.C.V.O. (commonly called Lord Charles William de la Poer Beresford), and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, style and title of Beresford of Metemmeh, and of Curraghmore in the County of Waterford.
Sir Alexander Henderson, of Buscot Park, in the County of Berks, Baronet, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, style and title of Baron Faringdon, of Buscot Park in the County of Berks.
Sir Thomas George Shaughnessy, K.C.V.O., and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, style and title of Baron Shaughnessy, of the City of Montreal in the Dominion of Canada, and of Ashford in the County of Limerick.
William Waldorf Astor [aged 67], of Hever Castle, in the County of Kent, Esquire, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, style and title of Baron Astor, of Hever Castle in the County of Kent.
On 28th August 1916 [his son] John Jacob Astor 1st Baron Astor [aged 30] and [his daughter-in-law] Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound Baroness Astor [aged 27] were married. She the daughter of Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound 4th Earl Minto and Mary Caroline Grey Countess Minto [aged 58].
In 1917 William Waldorf Astor 1st Viscount Astor [aged 68] was created 1st Viscount Astor.
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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On 18th October 1919 William Waldorf Astor 1st Viscount Astor [aged 71] died. His son Waldorf [aged 40] succeeded 2nd Viscount Astor, 2nd Baron Astor.