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.
On 13th December 1791 Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton was born to [her father] Major-General William Douglas-Maclean-Clephane [aged 32].
On 4th November 1803 [her father] Major-General William Douglas-Maclean-Clephane [aged 44] died at Grenada, Caribbean.
On 24th June 1815 Spencer Compton 2nd Marquess Northampton [aged 25] and Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton [aged 23] were married. He the son of Charles Compton 1st Marquess Northampton [aged 55].
In 1816 [her son] Charles Compton 3rd Marquess Northampton was born to [her husband] Spencer Compton 2nd Marquess Northampton [aged 25] and Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton [aged 24]. He married 5th July 1859 Theodosia Harriett Elizabeth Vyner.
On 21st June 1817 [her daughter] Marianne Margaret Compton was born to [her husband] Spencer Compton 2nd Marquess Northampton [aged 27] and Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton [aged 25]. She married 1841 John Hume Egerton, son of John Cust 1st Earl Brownlow and Amelia Sophia Hume, and had issue.
In 1818 [her son] William Compton 4th Marquess Northampton was born to [her husband] Spencer Compton 2nd Marquess Northampton [aged 27] and Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton [aged 26]. He married 21st August 1844 Eliza Harriet Elliot Marchioness Northampton and had issue.
Before 1823 . Henry Raeburn [aged 66]. Portrait of Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton [aged 31].
In 1825 [her son] Bishop Alwyne Compton was born to [her husband] Spencer Compton 2nd Marquess Northampton [aged 34] and Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton [aged 33].
On 24th May 1828 [her father-in-law] Charles Compton 1st Marquess Northampton [aged 68] died. His son [her husband] Spencer [aged 38] succeeded 2nd Marquess Northampton, 10th Earl of Northampton, 2nd Earl Compton of Compton in Warwickshire, 2nd Baron Wilmington of Wilmington in Sussex. Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton [aged 36] by marriage Marchioness Northampton.
On 14th March 1830 [her daughter] Margaret Compton was born to [her husband] Spencer Compton 2nd Marquess Northampton [aged 40] and Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton [aged 38] in Rome, Italy [Map]. She married 1st June 1851 her half fifth cousin once removed Edward Frederick Leveson-Gower, son of Granville Leveson-Gower 1st Earl Granville and Harriet Cavendish Countess Granville, and had issue.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 2nd April 1830 Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton [aged 38] died in Rome. She was buried in Naples. Monument at Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map] sculpted by Pietro Tenerani [aged 40] in 1836.
On 17th January 1851 [her former husband] Spencer Compton 2nd Marquess Northampton [aged 61] died. He was buried at Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map]. His son Charles [aged 35] succeeded 3rd Marquess Northampton, 11th Earl of Northampton, 3rd Earl Compton of Compton in Warwickshire, 3rd Baron Wilmington of Wilmington in Sussex.
Floor tiles at Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map]: Here lies the bodies of Jane the first wife of Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton, Charles Compton 1st Marquess Northampton, Mary his wife also of Spencer Second Marquis of Northampton and Margaret his wife and also his grandchildren.
Jane Lawton Countess Northampton: In 1758 Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton and she were married. On 18th October 1763 Charles Compton 7th Earl of Northampton died. His brother Spencer succeeded 8th Earl of Northampton. She by marriage Countess of Northampton. On 26th November 1767 she died.
GrandFather: George Clephane of Carslogie
Father: Major-General William Douglas-Maclean-Clephane