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: Molyneux
Edmund Molyneux was born to [his father] Richard Molyneux and [his mother] Joan aka Jane Haydock.
In 1415 [his father] Richard Molyneux (age 18) and Helen Harrington (age 17) were married.
After 16th June 1422 [his father] Richard Molyneux (age 25) and [his mother] Joan aka Jane Haydock (age 35) were married.
On 17th January 1440 [his mother] Joan aka Jane Haydock (age 53) died.
On 23rd September 1459 [his father] Richard Molyneux (age 62) died at Madeley, Staffordshire.
Before February 1466 John Cheyne of Drayton Beauchamp (age 76) and [his future wife] Agnes Lexham were married.
A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 3: Parishes: Chenies. On Sir John Cheyne's (age 78) death without issue in 146833 his widow [his future wife] Agnes married Edmund Molyneux, who was sheriff of the county in 147534 and presented to the church in 147935. He died in 148436, and Agnes survived him ten years. By her will 20 November 1494 her first husband's great-great-nephew John Cheyne of Chesham Bois (q.v.) obtained Drayton Beauchamp, Grove and Cogenhoe Manors, but Chenies [Map] passed to Agnes Cheyne's niece Anne (age 35) wife of David Philip37. Anne and David Philip, who was sheriff in 149838, had some difficulty in inducing the trustees to hand over the manor39, but were in possession in 1500, when Chenies was settled on Anne and her issue40. She died seised of it in 1510, when it passed to her granddaughter Anne wife of John Broughton and daughter and heir of Guy Sapcote (age 19), son of Anne Philip by a former husband (age 39)41.
Note 33. Chan. Inq. p.m. 8 Edw. IV, no. 51.
Note 34. P.R.O. List of Sheriffs, 2.
Note 35. Lipscomb, Bucks. iii, 252.
Note 36. Brass in church.
Note 37. Add. MS. 5840, fol. 39.
Note 38. P.R.O. List of Sheriffs, 2.
Note 39. Early Chan. Proc. bdle. 218, no. 30.
Note 40. De Banco R. Hil. 15 Hen. VII, m. 297; Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), xxv, 162.
Note 41. Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), xxv, 162.
In or after 1468 Edmund Molyneux and Agnes Lexham were married.
21st January 1484. St Michael's Church, Chenies [Map]. Brass of Edmund Molyneux and [his wife] Agnes Lexham inscribed "Here lies Dame Agnes Cheyne sometime wife of Sir John Cheyne knight who died day A.D. and Edmund Molyneux Esq. Second husband of the aforesaid lady who died 21 January A.D. 1484 on whose souls may God have mercy".
Note. Agnes Lexham was married, firstly to John Cheyne of Drayton Beauchamp and, secondly, to Edmund Molyneux.
On 21st June 1485 Edmund Molyneux died at Chenies Manor House, Buckinghamshire [Map].
Around 20th November 1494 [his former wife] Agnes Lexham died. Her will was dated 20th November 1494.
[his mother] Joan aka Jane Haydock who gave birth to a son Edmund Molyneux in 1418. Possible she mayu have died in, or as a consequence of, childbirth giving to her second child [his half-sister] Ellen aka Anne Molyneux in 1417?
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Molyneux of Sefton 
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Molyneux
GrandFather: Richard Molyneux IV Lord of Sefton
Father: Richard Molyneux
Great x 4 Grandfather: Gilbert de Haydock
Great x 3 Grandfather: Gilbert de Haydock II
Great x 2 Grandfather: Gilbert de Haydock III
Great x 1 Grandfather: John de Haydock
GrandFather: Gilbert Haydock IV
Mother: Joan aka Jane Haydock