The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel Volume 1 Chapters 1-60 1307-1342
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel offer one of the most vivid and immediate accounts of 14th-century Europe, written by a knight who lived through the events he describes, and experienced some of them first hand. Covering the early decades of the Hundred Years’ War, this remarkable chronicle follows the campaigns of Edward III of England, the politics of France and the Low Countries, and the shifting alliances that shaped medieval warfare. Unlike later historians, Jean le Bel writes with a strong sense of eyewitness authenticity, drawing on personal experience and the testimony of fellow soldiers. His narrative captures not only battles and sieges, but also the realities of military life, diplomacy, and the ideals of chivalry that governed noble society. A key source for Jean Froissart, Le Bel’s chronicle stands on its own as a compelling and insightful work, at once historical record and literary achievement. This translation builds on the 1905 edition published in French by Jules Viard, adding extensive translations from other sources Rymer's Fœdera, the Chronicles of Adam Murimuth, William Nangis, Walter of Guisborough, a Bourgeois of Valenciennes, Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke and Richard Lescot to enrich the original text and Viard's notes.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
MP St Albans is in Member Parliament.
In 1554 Thomas Wendy [aged 53] was elected MP St Albans.
On 4th January 1610 Thomas Parry [aged 69] was elected MP St Albans.
In 1621 Thomas Richardson [aged 52] was elected MP St Albans.
In 1621 Robert Shute [aged 45] was elected MP St Albans which seat he held until he died later that year. It is likely he didn't take his seat in Parliament.
In 1624 Arthur Capell of Little Hadham [aged 38] was elected MP St Albans. He had been nominated by the 2nd earl of Salisbury [aged 32], whose eldest daughter [aged 2], a child of 12, was betrothed to his nephew, Arthur [aged 15].
In 1628 John Jennings was elected MP St Albans.
In April 1640 Samuel Sandes [aged 24] was elected MP Droitwich.
Thomas Jermyn [aged 67] was elected MP Cambridge University.
Thomas Jermyn [aged 23] was elected MP Corfe Castle, Dorset.
Henry Jermyn 1st Earl St Albans [aged 35] was elected MP Corfe Castle, Dorset.
John Jennings was elected MP St Albans.
Ambrose Browne 1st Baronet was elected MP Surrey.
John Curzon 1st Baronet [aged 41] was elected MP Derbyshire.
George Fane of Burston [aged 59] was elected MP Maidstone.
In November 1640 Humphrey Coningsbury [aged 17] was elected MP Herefordshire in the Long Parliament.
William Heveningham [aged 36] was elected MP Stockbridge during the Long Parliament.
Robert Crane 1st Baronet [aged 54] was elected MP Sudbury in the Long Parliament holding the seat until his death in 1643.
John Jennings was elected MP St Albans during the Long Parliament.
John Glynne [aged 38] was elected MP Westminster during the Long Parliament.
In 1642 Richard Jennings [aged 23] was elected MP St Albans.
In 1659 Richard Jennings [aged 40] was elected MP St Albans during the Third Protectorate Parliament.
On 25th April 1660...
Thomas Thynne [aged 50] was elected MP Hindon.
Henry Carey 4th Viscount Falkland [aged 26] was elected MP Oxfordshire.
Henry Cavendish 2nd Duke Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 29] was elected MP Derbyshire.
John Glynne [aged 58] was elected MP Caernarfonshire.
William Glynne 1st Baronet [aged 22] was elected MP Caernarfon.
Francis Godolphin [aged 54] was elected MP Heytesbury.
Richard Jennings [aged 41] was elected MP St Albans.
On 8th May 1661 King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 30] summoned his second Parliament.
John Bennet 1st Baron Ossulston [aged 44] was elected MP Wallingford.
James Thynne [aged 56] was elected MP Wiltshire.
Adam Browne 2nd Baronet [aged 35] was elected MP Surrey.
Henry Cavendish 2nd Duke Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 30] was elected MP Northumberland.
William Compton [aged 36] was elected MP Cambridge.
Thomas Coventry 1st Earl Coventry [aged 32] was elected MP Camelford.
Charles Berkeley 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge [aged 61] was elected MP Bath and Heytesbury.
Edward Hungerford [aged 28] was elected MP Chippenham.
Robert Pierrepont [aged 24] was elected MP Nottingham.
John Melbury Sampford Strangeways [aged 75] was elected MP Weymouth.
Giles Strangeways [aged 45] was elected MP Dorset.
John Strangeways [aged 24] was elected MP Bridport.
William Wyndham 1st Baronet [aged 29] was elected MP Taunton.
James Herbert [aged 38] was elected MP Queenborough.
William Alington 1st and 3rd Baron Alington [aged 21] was elected MP Cambridge.
William Bowes of Streatlam [aged 4] was elected MP Durham.
Robert Brooke [aged 24] was elected MP Aldeburgh.
Josiah Child [aged 30] was elected MP Dartmouth.
Gervase Clifton 1st Baronet [aged 73] was elected MP Nottinghamshire.
Thomas Crew 2nd Baron Crew [aged 37] was elected MP Brackley.
Richard Jennings [aged 42] was elected MP St Albans.
Robert Kemp 2nd Baronet [aged 33] was elected MP Norfolk.
Edward Phelips [aged 48] was elected MP Somerset.
Robert Robartes [aged 27] was elected MP Bossiney.
Hender Robartes [aged 25] was elected MP Bodmin.
Clement Fisher 2nd Baronet [aged 48] was elected MP Coventry.
William Portman 6th Baronet [aged 17] was elected MP Taunton.
John Robinson 1st Baronet [aged 46] was elected MP Rye.
In May 1668 Samuel Grimston 3rd Baronet [aged 25] was elected MP St Albans at a by-election which seat he held until 1678. He was re-elected in 1679 and 1680.
In 1679 John Gape [aged 55] was elected MP St Albans.
On 22nd January 1689 Samuel Grimston 3rd Baronet [aged 46] was elected MP St Albans which seat he held until May 1699.
In 1705 Henry Killigrew [aged 53] was elected MP St Albans.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
In 1711 William Grimston 1st Viscount Grimston [aged 26] was elected MP St Albans which seat he held until 1722.
In 1727 William Grimston 1st Viscount Grimston [aged 42] was elected MP St Albans which seat he held until 1734.
In 1761 George Harcourt 2nd Earl Harcourt [aged 24] was elected MP St Albans which seat he held until 1767.
In 1790 Richard Bingham 2nd Earl Lucan [aged 25] was elected MP St Albans.
In June 1800 William Stephen Poyntz [aged 30] was elected MP St Albans.