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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Earl of Home is in Earl.
On 4th March 1605 Alexander Home 1st Earl of Home [aged 39] was created 1st Earl of Home. Mary Dudley Countess Home [aged 19] by marriage Countess of Home.
On 5th April 1619 Alexander Home 1st Earl of Home [aged 53] died at Channel Row. His son James [aged 12] succeeded 2nd Earl of Home.
In May 1622 James Home 2nd Earl of Home [aged 15] and Catherine Carey Countess Home [aged 13] were married at Whitehall Palace [Map] with King James I of Scotland present. She by marriage Countess of Home. He the son of Alexander Home 1st Earl of Home and Mary Dudley Countess Home [aged 36].
In 1626 James Home 2nd Earl of Home [aged 19] and Grace Fane Countess Home were married. She by marriage Countess of Home. She the daughter of Francis Fane 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 45] and Mary Mildmay Countess of Westmoreland [aged 44]. He the son of Alexander Home 1st Earl of Home and Mary Dudley Countess Home [aged 40]. They were sixth cousins.
On 13th February 1633 James Home 2nd Earl of Home [aged 26] died. His half fifth cousin once removed James [aged 17] succeeded 3rd Earl of Home. Jean Douglas Countess Home by marriage Countess of Home.
In December 1666 James Home 3rd Earl of Home [aged 51] died. His son Alexander succeeded 4th Earl of Home.
On 19th April 1671 Alexander Home 4th Earl of Home and Anne Sackville Countess Home [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Countess of Home. She the daughter of Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset [aged 48] and Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 49]. He the son of James Home 3rd Earl of Home and Jean Douglas Countess Home.
Around 1674 Alexander Home 4th Earl of Home died. His brother James succeeded 5th Earl of Home.
Around 1687 James Home 5th Earl of Home died. His brother Charles succeeded 6th Earl of Home.
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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On 22nd August 1706 Charles Home 6th Earl of Home died. His son Alexander succeeded 7th Earl of Home. Anne Kerr Countess Home by marriage Countess of Home.
In 1720 Alexander Home 7th Earl of Home died. His son William [aged 39] succeeded 8th Earl of Home.
On 28th April 1781 William Home 8th Earl of Home died at Gibraltar. His brother Alexander succeeded 9th Earl of Home. Abigail Browne Ramey Countess Home by marriage Countess of Home.
On 8th October 1786 Alexander Home 9th Earl of Home died. His son Alexander [aged 16] succeeded 10th Earl of Home.
On 6th November 1798 Alexander Ramey Home 10th Earl of Home [aged 28] and Elizabeth Scott Countess Home were married. She by marriage Countess of Home. She the daughter of Henry Scott 3rd Duke Buccleuch [aged 52] and Elizabeth Montagu Duchess Buccleuch [aged 55]. He the son of Alexander Home 9th Earl of Home and Abigail Browne Ramey Countess Home. They were fourth cousin once removed. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 21st October 1841 Alexander Ramey Home 10th Earl of Home [aged 71] died. His son Cospatrick [aged 41] succeeded 11th Earl of Home. Lucy Elizabeth Montagu Scott Countess Home [aged 36] by marriage Countess of Home.
On 4th July 1881 Cospatrick Alexander Douglas-Home 11th Earl of Home [aged 81] died. His son Charles [aged 47] succeeded 12th Earl of Home. Maria Gray Countess of Home [aged 32] by marriage Countess of Home.
On 30th April 1918 Charles Douglas-Home 12th Earl of Home [aged 84] died. His son Charles [aged 44] succeeded 13th Earl of Home. Lilian Lambton Countess of Home [aged 36] by marriage Countess of Home.