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: Cooke
Maternal Family Tree: Anne Fitzwilliam 1504-1588
Before 1523 [her father] Anthony Cooke [aged 18] and [her mother] Anne Fitzwilliam [aged 18] were married.
In 1526 Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley was born to [her father] Anthony Cooke [aged 22] and [her mother] Anne Fitzwilliam [aged 22].
In 1541 [her future husband] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 20] and Mary Cheke were married.
On 21st December 1546 William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 26] and Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley [aged 20] were married.
On 4th June 1550 Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester [aged 17] and Amy Robsart [aged 17] were married at Sheen Palace [Map]. King Edward VI of England and Ireland [aged 12] and [her husband] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 29] attended. He the son of John Dudley 1st Duke Northumberland [aged 46] and Jane Guildford Duchess Northumberland [aged 41].
Around 1556 [her daughter] Frances Cecil was born to [her husband] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 35] and Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley [aged 30].
On 5th December 1556 [her daughter] Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford was born to [her husband] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 36] and Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley [aged 30]. She married Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford, son of John de Vere 16th Earl of Oxford and Margery Golding Countess of Oxford, and had issue.
In 1559 [her son] William Cecil was born to [her husband] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 38] and Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley [aged 33]. He died aged less than one years old.
In 1559 [her son] William Cecil died.
In 1561 [her son] William Cecil died.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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In 1561 [her son] William Cecil was born to [her husband] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 40] and Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley [aged 35]. He died aged less than one years old.
Henry Machyn's Diary. July 1562. The .. day of July was christened the dowther of Wylliam Harve [aged 52] aleas Clarenceux king of armes, in the parryche of sant Brydes, the godfather Cordall master of the rolles knyght, and the godmothers my [her sister] lade Bacon [aged 35] my lord keper('s) [aged 51] wyff, and my lade Sysselle [aged 36] [Note. Sister of Anne Cooke] wife of ser [her husband] Wylliam Sysselle [aged 41]; and after unto master Clarenshux('s), and ther was a grett bankett as I have sene, and wassail, of epocras, Frenche wyne, Gaskyn wyne, and Reynys [wine,] with grett plente, and all ther servandes had a banekett in the hall with dyvers dyssys [dishes].
On 1st June 1563 [her son] Robert Cecil 1st Earl Salisbury was born to [her husband] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 42] and Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley [aged 37]. He married 1589 Elizabeth Brooke, daughter of William Brooke 10th Baron Cobham and Frances Newton Baroness Cobham, and had issue.
On 17th September 1563 Henry Manners 2nd Earl of Rutland [aged 36] died. He was buried at St Mary the Virgin Church, Bottesford, Leicestershire [Map]. His son Edward [aged 14] succeeded 3rd Earl of Rutland, 14th Baron Ros Helmsley. Edward Manners 3rd Earl of Rutland became a ward of Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland [aged 30] and was specially under the charge of [her husband] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 43].
On 1st July 1564 [her daughter] Elizabeth Cecil was born to [her husband] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 43] and Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley [aged 38]. She married 26th February 1582 William Wentworth, son of Thomas Wentworth 2nd Baron Wentworth and Anne Wentworth Baroness Wentworth.
In or before 1566 [her step-son] Thomas Cecil 1st Earl Exeter [aged 23] and Dorothy Neville Countess Exeter [aged 17] were married.
On 25th February 1571 [her husband] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 50] was created 1st Baron Burghley. Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley [aged 45] by marriage Baroness Burghley.
On 16th December 1571 a triple wedding was celebrated at Whitehall Palace [Map].. with Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland [aged 38] present...
Edward Sutton 4th Baron Dudley [aged 46] and Mary Howard Baroness Dudley [aged 23] were married. She by marriage Baroness Dudley. The difference in their ages was 23 years. They were fourth cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward III of England.
[her son-in-law] Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford [aged 21] and Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford [aged 15] were married. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. He the son of John de Vere 16th Earl of Oxford and Margery Golding Countess of Oxford.
Edward Somerset 4th Earl of Worcester [aged 21] and Elizabeth Hastings Countess of Worcester [aged 25] were married. She by marriage Countess Worcester. She the daughter of Francis Hastings 2nd Earl Huntingdon and Catherine Pole Countess Huntingdon [aged 60]. He the son of William Somerset 3rd Earl of Worcester [aged 45] and Christina North Countess of Worcester. They were third cousin once removed.
On 11th June 1576 [her father] Anthony Cooke [aged 72] died.
On 4th October 1581 Henry Wriothesley 2nd Earl of Southampton [aged 36] died. His son Henry [aged 7] succeeded 3rd Earl of Southampton. His wardship was sold by the Queen to her kinsman, Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham [aged 45], for £1000. Howard then transferred his wardship to [her husband] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 61].
On 26th February 1582 [her son-in-law] William Wentworth [aged 27] and [her daughter] Elizabeth Cecil [aged 17] were married.
The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
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On 5th June 1588 [her daughter] Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford [aged 31] died. She was buried at the Chapel of St Nicholas, Westminster Abbey [Map]. She shares a monument with her mother Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley [aged 62]. The monument rises to twenty-four feet, and is constructed of various coloured marbles, after a design of the Corinthian order. The Latin inscriptions, which are very long, were written by [her husband] Lord Burleigh [aged 67] himself, and set forth the varied accomplishments and the virtues of the two ladies who are represented in effigy in the lower part of the monument. The figure of Lord Burleigh, in his robes, and in a kneeling attitude, appears in the upper part of the monument.
On 5th June 1588 [her mother] Anne Fitzwilliam [aged 84] died.
In 1589 [her son] Robert Cecil 1st Earl Salisbury [aged 25] and [her daughter-in-law] Elizabeth Brooke [aged 25] were married.
On 4th April 1589 or 5th April 1589 Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley [aged 63] died. She was buried at the Chapel of St Nicholas, Westminster Abbey [Map].
On 4th August 1598 [her former husband] William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley [aged 77] died. His son [her former step-son] Thomas [aged 56] succeeded 2nd Baron Burghley. He was buried at St Martin's Church, Stamford [Map] with a large free-standing Elizabethan Period monument under the north chapel arch, in coloured marbles with a figure on tomb chest under an arched canopy supported on paired columns. Attributed to Cornelius Cure. The emblem of the Knights of the Garter on William's left shoulder. Leg Garter. In his right-hand he is holding the Lord Treasurer Staff of Office; originally white.
The inscription on the monument is on contained within three panels: two on the south (Chancel) side, and one on the north (Chapel) side.
Sacred to God most good and great, and to memory. The most honourable and far renowned Lord William Cecil, Baron of Burghley, Lord High Treasurer of England, President of the Court of Wards, knight of the most noble order of the Garter, Privy Counsellor to the most serene Elizabeth, Queen of England, &c., and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, under this tomb awaits the second coming of Christ: Who for the excellent endowments of the mind, was first made Privy Counsellor to Edward the sixth, King of England; afterwards to Queen Elizabeth: under whom being intrusted with the greatest and most weighty affairs of this kingdom, and above all others approved, in promoting the true religion, and providing for the safety and honour of the commonwealth; by his prudence, honesty, integrity, and great services to the nation, he obtained the highest honours: and when he had long enough to nature, long enough for glory, but not long enough to his country, quietly fell asleep in Christ. He had two wives: Mary, sister of Sir John Cheeke, knight, of whom ie begat one son, Thomas, now Baron of Burghley; and Mildred, daughter of Sir [her father] Anthony Cooke, knight, who bore to him Sir Robert Cecil [aged 35], knight, Privy Counsellor to Queen Elizabeth and President of the Court of Wards; Anne, married to Edward, Earl of Oxford [aged 48]; and Elizabeth [aged 34] to William Wentworth, eldest son of Baron Wentworth.
Mary Cheke: she was born to Peter Cheke. In 1541 William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley and she were married. In February 1543 Mary Cheke died.
Elizabeth Cecil: On 1st July 1564 she was born to William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley and Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley. On 26th February 1582 William Wentworth and she were married.
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Kings Wessex: Great x 16 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 18 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 18 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Kings England: Great x 10 Grand Daughter of King John of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 15 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 17 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Cooke of Lavenham in Suffolk
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Cooke
Great x 1 Grandfather: Philip Cooke
GrandFather: John Cooke of Gidea Hall
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Belnap
Father: Anthony Cooke
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Saunders of Banbury in Oxfordshire
GrandMother: Alice Saunders
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Spencer of Hodnell in Warwickshire 
Great x 1 Grandmother: Jane Spencer
Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Fitzwilliam 
8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Fitzwilliam 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Fitzwilliam 6 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Ralph Cromwell 1st Baron Cromwell 
7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Maud Cromwell 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Maud Bernake 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Fitzwilliam 7 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
GrandFather: William Fitzwilliam 8 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Mother: Anne Fitzwilliam 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England