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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On 23rd March 1854 Alfred Milner 1st Viscount Milner was born.
On 18th June 1894 Edward Herbert Gascoyne-Cecil (age 26) and [his future wife] Violet Milner (age 22) were married. He the son of Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess Salisbury (age 64) and Georgina Alderson Marchioness of Salisbury (age 67).
The London Gazette 27318. Whitehall, May 27, 1901. THE King has been pleased to direct Letters Patent to be passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, granting the dignity of a Baron of the said United Kingdom unto Sir Alfred Milner (age 47), G.C.B., G.C.M.G., His Majesty's High Commissioner for South Africa and Administrator of the Transvaal and Orange River Colony, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, style and title of Baron Milner, of St. James's in the county of London, and of Cape Town in the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope.
The London Gazette 27455. 15th July 1902. Whitehall, July 15, 1902.
The King has been pleased to direct Letters Patent to be passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, granting the dignity of a Viscount of the said United Kingdom unto the Right Honourable Alfred, Lord Milner (age 48), GCB, GCMG, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, style, and title of Saint James's, in the county, of London, and of Cape Town, in the Cape Colony.
In 1921 Alfred Milner 1st Viscount Milner (age 66) was appointed 862nd Knight of the Garter.
On 26th February 1921 Alfred Milner 1st Viscount Milner (age 66) and Violet Milner (age 49) were married.
On 13th May 1925 Alfred Milner 1st Viscount Milner (age 71) died. Viscount Milner of Saint James's in London, and of Cape Town, in the Cape Colony, Baron Milner of St James' in London and Cape Town in the Cape of Good Hope extinct.
On 10th October 1958 [his former wife] Violet Georgina Maxse Viscountess Milner (age 86) died.