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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David Martin is in Painters.
On 1st April 1737 David Martin was born at Anstruther Easter.
Around 1760. David Martin [aged 22]. Self-Portrait.
Around 1760. David Martin [aged 22]. Portrait of Thomas Hay 9th Earl Kinnoul [aged 49].
Thomas Hay 9th Earl Kinnoul: On 4th July 1710 he was born to George Henry Hay 8th Earl Kinnoull and Abigail Harley Countess Kinnoul. On 28th July 1758 George Henry Hay 8th Earl Kinnoull died in Ashford, Surrey. His son Thomas succeeded 9th Earl Kinnoull, 2nd Baron Hay of Pedwardine in Herefordshire. On 27th December 1787 Thomas Hay 9th Earl Kinnoul died. His nephew Robert succeeded 10th Earl Kinnoull, 3rd Baron Hay of Pedwardine in Herefordshire.
In 1761 Allan Ramsay [aged 47] was appointed Principal In Ordinary to King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 22]. Due to the workload demanded of him he used numerous assistants including David Martin [aged 23].
1770. David Martin [aged 32]. Portrait of Henry Dundas 1st Viscount Melville [aged 27].
Henry Dundas 1st Viscount Melville: On 28th April 1742 he was born. In 1765 he and Elizabeth Rannie were married. In 1778 Henry Dundas 1st Viscount Melville and Elizabeth Rannie were divorced after she committed criminal conversation [adultery] with a Captain Everard Faukener and abandoned Dundas and their four children. Within days she confessed in a letter to Dundas, saying she was "undeserving of being your wife or the mother to your unhappy children." She went on to marry Faukener and never saw her children again. On 28th May 1811 he died.
1770. David Martin [aged 32]. Portrait of Elizabeth Rannie [aged 20].
Elizabeth Rannie: Around 1750 she was born. In June 1847 she died.
1775. David Martin [aged 37]. Portrait of William Murray 1st Earl Mansfield [aged 69].
1776. David Martin [aged 38]. Portrait of Henry Bathurst 2nd Earl Bathurst [aged 61].
1778. David Martin [aged 40]. Portrait of cousins Elizabeth Murray [aged 17] and Dido Elizabeth Belle [aged 17].
Elizabeth Murray: On 18th May 1760 she was born to David Murray 2nd Earl Mansfield and Henrietta Frederica von Bünau at Warsaw. On 10th December 1785 George Finch-Hatton and she were married. She the daughter of David Murray 2nd Earl Mansfield and Henrietta Frederica von Bünau. On 1st June 1825 she died.
Dido Elizabeth Belle: In 1761 she was born illegitimately to Rear-Admiral John Lindsay. In July 1804 she died.
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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1778. David Martin [aged 40]. Portrait of Alexander Leslie-Melville 7th Earl of Leven 6th Earl of Melville [aged 28].
Alexander Leslie-Melville 7th Earl of Leven 6th Earl of Melville: On 7th November 1749 he was born to David Leslie 6th Earl of Leven. On 12th August 1784 he and Jane Thornton were married. On 22nd February 1820 he died.
Before 1787. David Martin [aged 49]. Portrait of Thomas Hay 9th Earl Kinnoul [aged 76].
On 30th December 1797 David Martin [aged 60] died.