Text this colour links to Pages. Text this colour links to Family Trees. Text this colour are links that disabled for Guests.
Place the mouse over images to see a larger image. Click on paintings to see the painter's Biography Page.
Mouse over links for a preview. Move the mouse off the painting or link to close the popup.
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.
Paternal Family Tree: Essex
Swæfred King of Essex was born to [his father] Sæbbi King of Essex.
In 664 Swithhelm King of Essex died. Sighere King of Essex succeeded King Essex. [his father] Sæbbi King of Essex (age 38) succeeded King Essex. They ruled jointly.
In 664 [his father] Sæbbi King of Essex (age 38) was appointed King Essex. He ruled jointly with his cousin Sighere King of Essex until 688 when Sighere King of Essex died after which he ruled solely.
Bede. 695. A stone coffin having been provided for burying [his father] his body (age 69), when they came to lay it in the same, they found his body a span longer than the coffin. Hereupon they hewed away the stone, and made the coffin about two fingers longer; but neither would it then contain the body. Under this difficulty of entombing him, they had thoughts either to get another coffin, or else to shorten the body, by bending it at the knees, if they could. But a wonderful event, caused by Providence, prevented the execution of either of those designs; for on a sudden, in the presence of the bishop, and [his brother] Sighard, the son of the king who had turned monk, and who reigned after him jointly with his brother Suefred, and of a considerable number of men, that same coffin was found to answer the length of the body, insomuch that a pillow might also be put in at the head; and at the feet the coffin was four fingers longer than the body. He was buried in the church of the blessed Apostle of the Gentiles [Map], by whose instructions he had learned to hope for heavenly things.
In 695 [his father] Sæbbi King of Essex (age 69) died. His son [his brother] Sigeheard succeeded King Essex. His son Swæfred succeeded King Essex. They ruled jointly.
In 709 [his brother] Sigeheard King of Essex died. His second cousin once removed Offa succeeded King Essex.
In 709 Swæfred King of Essex died. His second cousin once removed Offa succeeded King Essex.
Great x 2 Grandfather: Sledd King of Essex
Great x 1 Grandfather: King Sæberht of Essex
Great x 2 Grandmother: Ricula of Kent
GrandFather: Sexred King of Essex
Father: Sæbbi King of Essex