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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Biography of Arthur Stockdale Cope 1857-1940

Arthur Stockdale Cope is in Painters.

On 2nd November 1857 Arthur Stockdale Cope was born to [his father] Charles West Cope (age 46).

1884. Arthur Stockdale Cope (age 26). Portrait of the artist's father [his father] Charles West Cope (age 72).

Charles West Cope: On 28th July 1811 he was born. On 21st August 1890 he died.

1886. Arthur Stockdale Cope (age 28). Portrait of Alfred Waterhouse (age 55).

On 21st August 1890 [his father] Charles West Cope (age 79) died.

1899. Arthur Stockdale Cope (age 41). Portrait of Bishop Edward Bickersteth (age 73).

1904. Arthur Stockdale Cope (age 46). Portrait of Thomas Baring 1st Earl Northbrook (age 77).

1905. Arthur Stockdale Cope (age 47). Portrait of Frederick William John Hervey 3rd Marquess of Bristol (age 70).

1906. Arthur Stockdale Cope (age 48). Portrait of Michael Edward Hicks-Beach 1st Earl St Aldwyn (age 68).

1906. Arthur Stockdale Cope (age 48). Portrait of Frederick Hervey 4th Marquess of Bristol (age 42).

Frederick Hervey 4th Marquess of Bristol: On 8th November 1863 he was born to Augustus Henry Charles Hervey in Dresden. In 1896 Frederick Hervey 4th Marquess of Bristol and Alice Wythes Marchioness of Bristol were married. On 7th August 1907 Frederick William John Hervey 3rd Marquess of Bristol died. His nephew Frederick succeeded 4th Marquess of Bristol, 4th Earl Jermyn of Horningworth in Suffolk, 8th Earl Bristol, 9th Baron Hervey of Ickworth in Suffolk. Alice Wythes Marchioness of Bristol by marriage Marchioness of Bristol. On 24th October 1951 Frederick Hervey 4th Marquess of Bristol died. His brother Herbert succeeded 5th Marquess of Bristol, 5th Earl Jermyn of Horningworth in Suffolk, 9th Earl Bristol, 10th Baron Hervey of Ickworth in Suffolk.

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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1908. Arthur Stockdale Cope (age 50). Portrait of Henry Holland 1st Viscount Knutsford (age 82).

Henry Holland 1st Viscount Knutsford: On 3rd August 1825 he was born to Henry Holland 1st Baronet. On 27th October 1873 Henry Holland 1st Baronet died. His son Henry succeeded 2nd Baronet Holland of Sandlebridge. On 23rd February 1888 Henry Holland 1st Viscount Knutsford was created 1st Baron Knutsford of Knutsford in Cheshire. On 3rd August 1895 Henry Holland 1st Viscount Knutsford was created 1st Viscount Knutsford of Knutsford in Cheshire. On 29th January 1914 he died. His son Sydney succeeded 2nd Viscount Knutsford of Knutsford in Cheshire, 2nd Baron Knutsford of Knutsford in Cheshire, 3rd Baronet Holland of Sandlebridge. Mary Ashburnham Viscountess Knutsford by marriage Viscountess Knutsford of Knutsford in Cheshire.

1908. Arthur Stockdale Cope (age 50). Portrait of Henry Chaplin 1st Viscount Chaplin (age 67).

1911. Arthur Stockdale Cope (age 53). Portrait of Edward Poynter 1st Baronet (age 74).

1925. Arthur Stockdale Cope (age 67). Portrait of Oliver Russell 2nd Baron Ampthill (age 55).

On 5th July 1940 Arthur Stockdale Cope (age 82) died.