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: Buller
On 22nd December 1820 Harriet Jacqueline Buller Lady Salusbury-Trelawny was born to Anthony Buller [aged 40] at Calcutta, India. She was baptised on 22nd December 1820 at Calcutta, India.
On 25th January 1842 [her future husband] John Salusbury Salusbury-Trelawny 9th Baronet [aged 25] and Harriet Jane Tremayne Lady Salusbury-Trelawny [aged 21] were married.
On 15th November 1856 William Lewis Trelawny aka Salusbury-Trelawny 8th Baronet [aged 75] died. His son [her future husband] John [aged 40] succeeded 9th Baronet Salusbury-Trelawny of Trelawny in Cornwall.
In 1859 Edward George Walpole Keppel [aged 59] and Harriet Jacqueline Buller Lady Salusbury-Trelawny [aged 38] were married at St George's Church, Hanover Square. The difference in their ages was 21 years.
On 12th November 1859 [her husband] Edward George Walpole Keppel [aged 60] died.
On 27th June 1866 [her father] Anthony Buller [aged 85] died.
On 17th December 1872 John Salusbury Salusbury-Trelawny 9th Baronet [aged 56] and Harriet Jacqueline Buller Lady Salusbury-Trelawny [aged 51] were married. They were fourth cousins.
Around 1875 [her daughter] Rebecca Harriet Salusbury-Trelawny was born to [her step-son] William Lewis Salusbury-Trelawny 10th Baronet [aged 30] and Harriet Jacqueline Buller Lady Salusbury-Trelawny [aged 54].
On 18th February 1883 [her daughter] Doloroes Olga Salusbury-Trelawny Baroness Rendlesham was born to [her step-son] William Lewis Salusbury-Trelawny 10th Baronet [aged 38] and Harriet Jacqueline Buller Lady Salusbury-Trelawny [aged 62]. She married 27th October 1931 Frederick Archibald Charles 6th Baron Rendlesham, son of Frederick Thellusson 5th Baron Rendlesham and Egidia Montgomerie Baroness Rendlesham.
On 4th August 1885 [her husband] John Salusbury Salusbury-Trelawny 9th Baronet [aged 69] died. His son [her step-son] William [aged 40] succeeded 10th Baronet Salusbury-Trelawny of Trelawny in Cornwall. Harriet Jacqueline Buller Lady Salusbury-Trelawny [aged 64] by marriage Lady Salusbury-Trelawny of Trelawny in Cornwall.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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11th May 1900. James Lafayette [aged 47]. Photograph of Harriet Jacqueline Buller Lady Salusbury-Trelawny [aged 79] and her daughetrs [her daughter] Rebecca Harriet Salusbury-Trelawny [aged 25] and Doloroes Olga Salusbury-Trelawny Baroness Rendlesham [aged 17].
Rebecca Harriet Salusbury-Trelawny: Around 1875 she was born to William Lewis Salusbury-Trelawny 10th Baronet and Harriet Jacqueline Buller Lady Salusbury-Trelawny. On 27th November 1947 Rebecca Harriet Salusbury-Trelawny died.
Doloroes Olga Salusbury-Trelawny Baroness Rendlesham: On 18th February 1883 she was born to William Lewis Salusbury-Trelawny 10th Baronet and Harriet Jacqueline Buller Lady Salusbury-Trelawny. On 27th October 1931 Frederick Archibald Charles 6th Baron Rendlesham and she were married. She by marriage Baroness Rendlesham of Rendlesham in Suffolk. On 5th August 1959 Doloroes Olga Salusbury-Trelawny Baroness Rendlesham died.
On 13th November 1904 Harriet Jacqueline Buller Lady Salusbury-Trelawny [aged 83] died.
Kings Wessex: Great x 24 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 21 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 27 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 25 Grand Daughter of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 15 Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 23 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 30 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 24 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 28 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Buller 
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Francis Buller
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Pollexfen of Nutwell in Woodbury in Devon
Great x 3 Grandmother: Mary Pollexfen
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Duncombe 
Great x 1 Grandfather: James Buller 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Jonathan Trelawny 2nd Baronet 
13 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Bishop Jonathan Trelawny 3rd Baronet 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Seymour 
10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Rebecca Trelawny 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
GrandFather: John Buller 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: George Bathurst
Great x 3 Grandfather: Benjamin Bathurst
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Villiers 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Allen Bathurst 1st Earl Bathurst 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Captain Allen Apsley 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Frances Apsley 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Frances Petre
Great x 1 Grandmother: Jane Bathurst 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Captain Allen Apsley 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Peter Apsley 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Frances Petre
Great x 2 Grandmother: Catherine Apsley Countess Bathurst Sussex 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Father: Anthony Buller 14 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Harriet Jacqueline Buller Lady Salusbury-Trelawny 15 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England