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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Biography of George Bowyer 5th and 1st Baronet 1740-1800

Paternal Family Tree: Bowyer

Maternal Family Tree: Margaret Ivery

In or before 1736 [his father] William Bowyer 3rd Baronet (age 25) and [his mother] Anne Stonhouse were married.

On 3rd May 1740 George Bowyer 5th and 1st Baronet was born to [his father] William Bowyer 3rd Baronet (age 30) and [his mother] Anne Stonhouse at Denham, Buckinghamshire.

On 17th May 1750 Jacob Garrard Downing 4th Baronet (age 33) and [his future wife] Margaret Price were married. She by marriage Lady Downing of East Hatley in Cambridgeshire.

On 6th February 1764 Jacob Garrard Downing 4th Baronet (age 47) died without issue at Hill Street, Berkeley Square. Baronet Downing of East Hatley in Cambridgeshire extinct. The will of George Downing 3rd Baronet stated the estate should be left to establish a Cambridge college in his name if Jacob Garrard Downing 4th Baronet had no son. Jacob Garrard Downing 4th Baronet, however, left the estate to his widow [his future wife] Margaret Price leading to forty years of litigation.

On 12th July 1767 [his father] William Bowyer 3rd Baronet (age 57) died. His son [his brother] William (age 31) succeeded 4th Baronet Bowyer of Denham Court.

On 4th June 1768 George Bowyer 5th and 1st Baronet (age 28) and Henrietta Brett Lady Bowyer (age 15) were married.

On 11th September 1768 George Bowyer 5th and 1st Baronet (age 28) and Margaret Price were married. No issue.

On 18th September 1778 [his wife] Margaret Price died.

On 3rd March 1783 [his son] George Bowyer 6th and 2nd Baronet was born to George Bowyer 5th and 1st Baronet (age 42) and [his wife] Henrietta Brett Lady Bowyer (age 30).

In 1784 George Bowyer 5th and 1st Baronet (age 43) was elected MP Queenborough.

Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.

In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.

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On 22nd May 1785 [his mother] Anne Stonhouse died.

In 1794 George Bowyer 5th and 1st Baronet (age 53) was created 1st Baronet Bowyer of Radley.

In 1799 [his brother] William Bowyer 4th Baronet (age 63) died. His brother George (age 58) succeeded 5th Baronet Bowyer of Denham Court.

On 6th December 1800 George Bowyer 5th and 1st Baronet (age 60) died at Radley Hall, Oxfordshire. His son George (age 17) succeeded 6th Baronet Bowyer of Denham Court, 2nd Baronet Bowyer of Radley.

In 1845 [his former wife] Henrietta Brett Lady Bowyer (age 92) died.

Royal Ancestors of George Bowyer 5th and 1st Baronet 1740-1800

Kings Wessex: Great x 22 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England

Kings Gwynedd: Great x 19 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd

Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 25 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth

Kings Powys: Great x 20 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys

Kings Godwinson: Great x 22 Grand Son of King Harold II of England

Kings England: Great x 12 Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Kings Scotland: Great x 21 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland

Kings Franks: Great x 28 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor

Kings France: Great x 23 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks

Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 26 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine

Ancestors of George Bowyer 5th and 1st Baronet 1740-1800

Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Bowyer

Great x 2 Grandfather: William Bowyer 1st Baronet

Great x 4 Grandfather: Nicholas Salter

Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Salter

Great x 1 Grandfather: William Bowyer 2nd Baronet

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Weld

Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Weld Lady Bowyer

GrandFather: Cecil Bowyer 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Cecil 1st Earl Salisbury 11 x Great Grand Son of King John of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Cecil 2nd Earl Salisbury 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Brooke 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Charles Cecil 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Howard 1st Earl Suffolk 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Catherine Howard Countess Salisbury 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Catherine Knyvet Countess Suffolk 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Frances Cecil 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: James Maxwell 1st Earl Dirletoun

Great x 2 Grandmother: Diana Maxwell

Father: William Bowyer 3rd Baronet 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

George Bowyer 5th and 1st Baronet 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Stonhouse 1st Baronet

Great x 2 Grandfather: George Stonhouse 1st and 3rd Baronet

Great x 1 Grandfather: John Stonhouse 2nd Baronet

Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Lovelace 1st Baron Lovelace

Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Lovelace

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Dodworth of London

Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Dodworth Baroness Lovelace

Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Cartwright

GrandFather: John Stonhouse 3rd Baronet

Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert Briggs Merchant of St. Paul's Churchyard London

Great x 1 Grandmother: Martha Briggs

Mother: Anne Stonhouse

Great x 3 Grandfather: Samuel Dashwood

Great x 2 Grandfather: George Dashwood

Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Dashwood 1st Baronet

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Perry

Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Perry

GrandMother: Penelope Dashwood

Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Chamberlayne 1st Baronet

Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Chamberlayne 2nd Baronet

Great x 1 Grandmother: Penelope Chamberlayne Lady Dashwood

Great x 3 Grandfather: Edmund Prideaux

Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Prideaux

Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Ivery