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: Stafford
1483 Coronation of King Richard III
1483 Edward of Middleham created Prince of Wales
Before 7th April 1470 [his father] John Stafford 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 42] and [his mother] Constance Green Countess Wiltshire [aged 43] were married. She by marriage Countess Wiltshire. He the son of [his grandfather] Humphrey Stafford 1st Duke of Buckingham and [his grandmother] Anne Neville Duchess Buckingham [aged 62].
On 7th April 1470 Edward Stafford 2nd Earl Wiltshire was born to [his father] John Stafford 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 42] and [his mother] Constance Green Countess Wiltshire [aged 43]. He a great x 3 grandson of King Edward III of England.
On 8th May 1473 [his father] John Stafford 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 45] died. His son Edward [aged 3] succeeded 2nd Earl Wiltshire.
On 2nd March 1475 [his mother] Constance Green Countess Wiltshire [aged 48] died.
On 18th April 1475 Edward Stafford 2nd Earl Wiltshire [aged 5] was appointed Knight of the Bath.
On 6th July 1483 King Richard III of England [aged 30] and his wife Anne Neville [aged 27] at Westminster Abbey [Map]. Duke Gloucester, Earl Richmond forfeit merged with the Crown. Cardinal Thomas Bourchier [aged 65] officiated. Anne Neville Queen Consort England by marriage Queen Consort England.
John Howard 1st Duke of Norfolk [aged 58] was appointed Lord High Steward. William Brandon [aged 58], Thomas Fitzalan 10th or 17th Earl of Arundel [aged 33], Thomas St Leger [aged 43], Richard Hastings Baron Willoughby [aged 50], Elizabeth Woodville Queen Consort England [aged 46], Elizabeth York Duchess Suffolk [aged 39], Giles Daubeney 1st Baron Daubeney [aged 32] and Humphrey Dacre 1st Baron Dacre Gilsland [aged 59] attended.
Robert Dymoke [aged 22] attended as the Kings' Champion.
Edmund Grey 1st Earl Kent [aged 66] carried The Pointed Sword of Justice. Thomas Howard 2nd Duke of Norfolk [aged 40] carried the Crown. Francis Lovell 1st Viscount Lovell [aged 27] carried the Third Sword of State. John de la Pole 2nd Duke of Suffolk [aged 40] carried the Sceptre. John de la Pole Earl Lincoln 1st [aged 21] carried the Cross and Ball. Henry Stafford 2nd Duke of Buckingham [aged 28] carried the king's train. Edward Stafford 2nd Earl Wiltshire [aged 13] bore the Queen's Crown.
Thomas Stanley 1st Earl of Derby [aged 48] carried the Lord High Constable's Mace. Margaret Beaufort Countess Richmond [aged 40] held Queen Anne's train. Henry Percy 4th Earl of Northumberland [aged 34] carried The Blunt Sword of Mercy. Christopher Willoughby 10th Baron Willoughby [aged 30] was appointed Knight of the Bath.
Humphrey Dacre 1st Baron Dacre Gilsland attended.
Cecily "Rose of Raby" Neville Duchess York [aged 68] refused to attend the Coronation of King Richard III. History doesn't record her reason.
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On 8th September 1483 Edward York Prince of Wales [aged 9] was created Prince of Wales and 1st Earl Chester at York Minster [Map]. His parents Richard III [aged 30] and Anne Neville [aged 27] attended as did Edward Stafford 2nd Earl Wiltshire [aged 13].
Edward "Last Plantagenet" York 17th Earl Warwick [aged 8] and John York [aged 12] were knighted.
Note. Hall's Chronicle places the date at 05 Jul 1483.
On 30th June 1484 Edward Stafford 2nd Earl Wiltshire [aged 14] was licensed to enter his lands.
On 25th November 1487 Elizabeth of York [aged 21] was crowned Queen Consort England at Westminster Abbey [Map].
Giles Daubeney 1st Baron Daubeney [aged 36], Edward Stafford 2nd Earl Wiltshire [aged 17], Christopher Willoughby 10th Baron Willoughby [aged 34], Giles Daubeney 1st Baron Daubeney, Richard Woodville 3rd Earl Rivers [aged 34], William Herbert 2nd Earl Pembroke 1st Earl Huntingdon [aged 36] and Thomas Fitzalan 10th or 17th Earl of Arundel [aged 37], who carried the Rod and Dove, attended as did Cecily York Viscountess Welles [aged 18].
After 13th July 1494 Edward Stafford 2nd Earl Wiltshire [aged 24] and Margaret Grey Countess Wiltshire were married. She by marriage Countess Wiltshire. He the son of John Stafford 1st Earl Wiltshire and Constance Green Countess Wiltshire. They were fourth cousin once removed. He a great x 3 grandson of King Edward III of England.
On 17th June 1497 the Cornish rebel army was destroyed at the Battle of Blackheath aka Deptford Bridge.
Richard Guildford [aged 47] was created Knight Banneret.
Edward Stafford 2nd Earl Wiltshire [aged 27], Henry Willoughby [aged 46], Edward Belknapp of Blackfriars in London and Thomas Fiennes 8th Baron Dacre Gilsland [aged 25] fought at Deptford, Kent [Map].
Giles Brugge 6th Baron Chandos [aged 35], John Hussey 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford [aged 32], Robert Sheffield [aged 36], Edward Stanhope 1462-1487, John Peche [aged 47] and Robert Constable [aged 19] were knighted by King Henry VII of England and Ireland [aged 40].
Thomas West 8th Baron De La Warr 5th Baron West [aged 40] commanded.
James Tuchet 7th Baron Audley, 4th Baron Tuchet [aged 34] was captured by Gruffydd ap Rhys ap Thomas Deheubarth [aged 19].
On 11th September 1498 Edward Stafford 2nd Earl Wiltshire [aged 28] entertained King Henry VII of England and Ireland [aged 41] at Drayton House, Northamptonshire [Map].
On 24th March 1499 Edward Stafford 2nd Earl Wiltshire [aged 28] died at Drayton House, Northamptonshire [Map]. He was buried at St Peter's Church, Lowick [Map]. Earl Wiltshire extinct.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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Around 1502 [his former wife] Margaret Grey Countess Wiltshire died.
King Edward III of England 1312-1377
John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster 1340-1399
Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland 1364-1425
Joan Beaufort Countess of Westmoreland 1379-1440
John Neville 3rd Baron Neville of Raby 1337-1388
Maud Percy Baroness Neville Raby
Kings Wessex: Great x 13 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 10 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 16 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 11 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 13 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 3 Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 12 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 19 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 14 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 17 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edmund Stafford 1st Baron Stafford 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Basset 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Hugh Stafford 2nd Earl Stafford 2 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Hugh Audley 1st Earl Gloucester 
3 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Audley Countess Stafford Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Clare Countess Gloucester 
Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Edmund Stafford 5th Earl Stafford 3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Guy Beauchamp 10th Earl Warwick 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Tosny Countess Warwick 
5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Philippa Beauchamp Countess Stafford 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March 
3 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Katherine Mortimer Countess Warwick 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Geneville Baroness Mortimer 2nd Baroness Geneville 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
GrandFather: Humphrey Stafford 1st Duke of Buckingham Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: King Edward II of England 
Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: King Edward III of England Son of King Edward II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabella of France Queen Consort England 
4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William of Avesnes I Count Hainaut III Count Avesnes III Count Holland II Count Zeeland 4 x Great Grand Son of King Stephen I England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Stephen I England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Valois Countess Zeeland Holland Avesnes and Hainaut 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Bohun 1st Earl of Northampton 
Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Humphrey Bohun 7th Earl Hereford 6th Earl Essex 2nd Earl of Northampton Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Badlesmere Countess Northampton 
4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Eleanor Bohun Duchess Gloucester 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Fitzalan 3rd or 10th Earl of Arundel 8th Earl of Surrey 
5 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Joan Fitzalan Countess Essex, Hereford and Northampton 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Plantagenet Countess Arundel and Surrey 
Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Father: John Stafford 1st Earl Wiltshire 2 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Ralph Neville 1st Baron Neville of Raby 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Ralph Neville 2nd Baron Neville of Raby 8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Euphemia Clavering Baroness Neville Raby 
7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Neville 3rd Baron Neville of Raby 4 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Hugh Audley 1st Baron Audley of Stratton Audley 2 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Audley Baroness Greystoke and Neville 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Iseult Mortimer 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland 5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Percy 9th and 1st Baron Percy
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Percy 10th and 2nd Baron Percy 5 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Fitzalan Baroness Percy 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Maud Percy Baroness Neville Raby 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Clifford 1st Baron Clifford 
6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Idonia Clifford Baroness Percy 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Maud Clare Baroness Clifford Baroness Welles 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
GrandMother: Anne Neville Duchess Buckingham Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: King Edward II of England Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: King Edward III of England Son of King Edward II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabella of France Queen Consort England 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William of Avesnes I Count Hainaut III Count Avesnes III Count Holland II Count Zeeland 4 x Great Grand Son of King Stephen I England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Stephen I England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Valois Countess Zeeland Holland Avesnes and Hainaut 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Joan Beaufort Countess of Westmoreland 
Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Giles "Payne" Roet 
Great x 2 Grandmother: Katherine Swynford aka Roet Duchess Lancaster
Edward Stafford 2nd Earl Wiltshire 3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
GrandFather: Henry Green
Mother: Constance Green Countess Wiltshire