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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Army is in Military.
Patent Rolls. 8th May 1461. York [Map]. Grant for life to William Herbert [aged 38], knight, of the offices of office of chief justice and chamberlain of South Wales, steward of the commontes in the counties of Caermarthen and Cardigan, and chief forester in those counties (Carmarthenshire,Cardiganshire).
Patent Rolls. 8th May 1461. York [Map]. Grant for life to William Herbert [aged 38], knight, of the offices of office of chief justice and chamberlain of South Wales, steward of the commontes in the counties of Caermarthen and Cardigan, and chief forester in those counties (Carmarthenshire,Cardiganshire).
On 21st November 1777 Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 17] was commissioned ensign and lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards.
In 1838 George Phipps 2nd Marquess Normanby [aged 18] was appointed Lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards.
In 1839 Poulett George Henry Somerset [aged 16] commissioned as Coldstream Guards.
In 1867 Ronald Campbell [aged 18] was commissioned in the Coldstream Guards in 1867, promoted Captain in 1871, becoming Adjutant 1st Battalion 1871-78.
In 1909 Captain Percy Lyulph Wyndham [aged 21] enlisted in the Coldstream Guards. He was commissioned as Lieutenant in May 1910.
In 1854 Henry Byng 4th Earl Strafford [aged 22] was appointed Coldstream Guards: Adjutant.
In 1854 Henry Byng 4th Earl Strafford [aged 22] promoted by purchase as Coldstream Guards: Captain.
In 1847 Henry Byng 4th Earl Strafford [aged 15] joined the Coldstream Guards: Lieutenant.
In 1865 Henry Byng 4th Earl Strafford [aged 33] was appointed Coldstream Guards: Supernumary Major.
In 1511 Richard Wingfield [aged 42] was appointed Deputy of Calais.
Henrici Quinti, Angliæ Regis, Gesta, is a first-hand account of the Agincourt Campaign, and subsequent events to his death in 1422. The author of the first part was a Chaplain in King Henry's retinue who was present from King Henry's departure at Southampton in 1415, at the siege of Harfleur, the battle of Agincourt, and the celebrations on King Henry's return to London. The second part, by another writer, relates the events that took place including the negotiations at Troye, Henry's marriage and his death in 1422.
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In 1540 Henry Fitzalan 12th or 19th Earl of Arundel [aged 27] was appointed Deputy of Calais.
Henry Machyn's Diary. After 20th April 1599. The (blank) day of Aprell was browth from the Towre [Map] unto Westmynster Hall [Map] to be reynyd, my lord Wentworth, last depute of Calles, for the lossyng of Calles; and ther wher serten of ys a-cussars; but he quytt hym-seylff, thanke be God, and clen delevered, and whent in-to Wytyngtun colege, and ther he lys.
Frederick Cavendish was appointed Field Marshall.
In 1832 John William Montagu 7th Earl Sandwich [aged 20] was commissioned Ensign in the Grenadier Guards.
Adeline Horsey Recollections. After mamma's death I kept house for papa at 8 Upper Grosvenor Street. My brothers were rarely at home. William [aged 17] was educated at Eton [Map], and when he was sixteen years old the Duke of Wellington [aged 73] gave him a commission in the Grenadier Guards. Later he went through the Crimean War, and he retired from the Army in 1883, on account of ill-health, with the rank of Lieutenant-General.
Algernon [aged 16] entered the Navy in 1840 as a midshipman, and the same year took part in the operations on the coast of Syria. After the battle of Acre he received the Turkish medal and clasps: his promotion was rapid, and as Admiral, his flagship, the Shah, engaged the Huascar, which he forced to surrender to the Peruvian authorities.
Now that I was so much alone I occasionally found time hang heavy on my hands, and I welcomed any excitement as a break in the monotony, for of course our period of mourning prevented us entertaining or accepting invitations. One day my maid told me about a fortune-teller who had a wonderful gift for predicting the future. I was very much interested, and made up my mind to consult the oracle. My maid attempted to dissuade me, saying that the woman lived in Bridge Street, Westminster, which was not at all a nice neighbourhood. I have always had my own way and, disguised in a borrowed cloak, bonnet and thick veil, and accompanied by my protesting servant, I started off to Bridge Street late one November afternoon.
It was dusk when we reached Westminster and found Bridge Street, badly lighted and evil-smelling. We knocked at the door, stated whom we wished to see, and we were ushered through a dark passage into a dirty room reeking of tobacco.
The fortune-teller was a wrinkled old woman who was smoking a short clay pipe with evident enjoyment. When I told her what I had come for, she produced a greasy pack of cards, and after I had "crossed her pahn" she commenced to tell my future.
"Ah!" said she at last, and she looked curiously, "my pretty young lady, fate holds a great deal in store for you. You will not marry for several years, but when you do it will be to a widower - a man in a high position. You will suffer much unkindness before you experience real happiness, you will obtain much and lose much, you will marry again after your husband's death, and you will live to a great age".
I was quite impressed by my "fortune", but I was a little disappointed, for like most girls I had my day-dreams of a young husband, and the prospect of a widower was thus rather depressing.
Strangely enough, the prediction came true, for Lord Cardigan [aged 45] was a widower, and nearly all the men who proposed to me were widowers! I was asked in marriage by Lord Sherborne [aged 38], a widower with ten children; by the Duke of Leeds [aged 40], who was a widower with eleven children, and by Christopher Maunsell Talbot [aged 39], once Father of the House of Commons, also a widower with four children. Prince Soltykoff, the Duke of St. Albans [aged 41], Harry Howard, and Disraeli [aged 38] were other widowers who proposed to me, so I suppose I must have had some unaccountable fascination for bereaved husbands.
On 1st April 1762 Captain George Marlay [aged 14] was appointed Cornet of the 9th Regiment of Dragoons.
On 6th October 1799 Lieutenant Colonel Philip Bainbrigge [aged 44] was killed in action at the Battle of Egmont on Zee at which battle he was commanding the 20th Regiment of Foot. He was buried in the churchyard near the field of battle. Monument in St Oswald's Church, Ashbourne [Map]. Signed Hayward Lichfield - possibly Peter Hayward.
Lieutenant Colonel Philip Bainbrigge: Around 1755 he was born.
On 27th May 1676 Captain George Marlay was appointed Lieutenant of the 62nd Regiment.
On 16th August 1770 Captain George Marlay [aged 22] was appointed Adjutant of the 62nd Regiment.
On 16th August 1770 Captain George Marlay [aged 22] was appointed Captain of the 62nd Regiment.
On 17th November 1780 Captain George Marlay [aged 32] was appointed Major (brevet) of the 62nd Regiment.
On 20th September 1854 Charles Pierrepont Darcy Lane-Fox [aged 24] was wounded, Poulett George Henry Somerset [aged 32] fought.
Major-General John Douglas [aged 37] commanded the 79th Regiment of Foot.
William Frederick Waldegrave [aged 38] died from wounds received.
Henry Hugh Manvers Percy [aged 37] was shot through the arm.
General George Augustus Frederick Paget [aged 36], Godfrey Morgan 1st Viscount Tredegar [aged 23] and Hedworth Jolliffe 2nd Baron Hylton [aged 25] fought.
Arthur Williams-Wynn [aged 35], Captain of the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers, was killed.
On 25th October 1854 Poulett George Henry Somerset [aged 32] and William Archer Amherst 3rd Earl Amherst [aged 18] fought.
Major-General John Douglas [aged 37] commanded the 79th Regiment of Foot.
General George Augustus Frederick Paget [aged 36] and Henry Hugh Manvers Percy [aged 37] fought.
Before 19th July 1915 Lieutenant Theodore William Warlow [aged 20] was appointed Lieutenant of the 6th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.
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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Henry Reginald Courtenay was appointed Major-General of the Royal Artillery.
Before 16th July 1861 Henry Eliot Yorke [aged 23] was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Bombay Artillery.