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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Paternal Family Tree: Yorke
In or before 1716 William Lygon and [his mother] Margaret Cocks Countess Hardwicke were married.
On 16th May 1719 [his father] Philip Yorke 1st Earl of Hardwicke (age 28) and [his mother] Margaret Cocks Countess Hardwicke were married.
On 9th March 1730 Bishop James Yorke was born to [his father] Philip Yorke 1st Earl of Hardwicke (age 39) and [his mother] Margaret Cocks Countess Hardwicke.
In 1736 [his brother] Philip Yorke 2nd Earl of Hardwicke (age 15) was appointed Teller of the Exchequer.
In 1740 [his brother] Philip Yorke 2nd Earl of Hardwicke (age 19) and [his sister-in-law] Jemima Campbell 2nd Marchioness Grey (age 16) were married. She being the heiress of Henry Grey 1st Duke Kent (age 69). She the daughter of John Campbell 3rd Earl Breadalbaine and Holland (age 43) and Amabel Grey. He the son of [his father] Philip Yorke 1st Earl of Hardwicke (age 49) and [his mother] Margaret Cocks Countess Hardwicke.
In 1746 [his brother] John Yorke (age 17) was appointed Clerk of the Chancery worth £1200 a year by his father [his father] Philip Yorke 1st Earl of Hardwicke (age 55).
Around 1747 [his brother] Joseph Yorke 1st Baron Dover (age 22) was appointed Aide-de-Camp to William Augustus Hanover 1st Duke Cumberland (age 25).
On 1st November 1749 [his brother] Joseph Yorke 1st Baron Dover (age 25) was appointed Aide-de-Camp to King George II of Great Britain and Ireland (age 66).
In 1754 [his father] Philip Yorke 1st Earl of Hardwicke (age 63) was created 1st Earl Hardwicke, 1st Viscount Royston. [his mother] Margaret Cocks Countess Hardwicke by marriage Countess Hardwicke.
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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On 18th March 1755 [his brother] Joseph Yorke 1st Baron Dover (age 30) was appointed Colonel of the 9th Regiment of Foot Guards.
In 1757 [his brother] Philip Yorke 2nd Earl of Hardwicke (age 36) was appointed Lord Lieutenant Cambridgeshire.
In 1761 [his mother] Margaret Cocks Countess Hardwicke died.
Before 5th May 1762 Bishop James Yorke (age 32) and Mary Maddox were married. Some sources describe the date as 29 Jun 1762 which is inconsistent with the date of birth of their first child Charles Yorke, 5th May 1762, as described on his gravestone at St Andrew's Church, Wimpole [Map]. She the daughter of Bishop Isaac Maddox. He the son of Philip Yorke 1st Earl of Hardwicke (age 71) and Margaret Cocks Countess Hardwicke.
On 5th May 1762 [his son] Charles Yorke was born to Bishop James Yorke (age 32) and [his wife] Mary Maddox.
On 6th March 1764 [his father] Philip Yorke 1st Earl of Hardwicke (age 73) died. His son [his brother] Philip (age 43) succeeded 2nd Earl Hardwicke, 2nd Viscount Royston. [his sister-in-law] Jemima Campbell 2nd Marchioness Grey (age 40) by marriage Countess Hardwicke.
In 1765 [his son] Joseph Yorke was born to Bishop James Yorke (age 34) and [his wife] Mary Maddox. He married before 11th January 1807 his second cousin Catherine Cocks and had issue.
On 11th October 1767 [his daughter] Mary York was born to Bishop James Yorke (age 37) and [his wife] Mary Maddox.
In 1770 [his son] Philip Yorke was born to Bishop James Yorke (age 39) and [his wife] Mary Maddox. He married 4th December 1797 his second cousin Anna Maria Cocks, daughter of Charles Cocks 1st Baron Somers and Anne Pole, and had issue.
In 1774 Bishop James Yorke (age 43) was appointed Bishop of St David's.
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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In 1777 [his brother] Joseph Yorke 1st Baron Dover (age 52) was appointed General.
In 1779 Bishop James Yorke (age 48) was appointed Bishop of Gloucester.
In 1781 Bishop James Yorke (age 50) was appointed Bishop of Ely.
In 1783 [his brother] Joseph Yorke 1st Baron Dover (age 58) and [his sister-in-law] Christiana Charlotte Margaret Henrik (age 62) were married. He the son of [his father] Philip Yorke 1st Earl of Hardwicke and [his mother] Margaret Cocks Countess Hardwicke.
On 16th May 1790 [his brother] Philip Yorke 2nd Earl of Hardwicke (age 69) died. His nephew Philip (age 32) succeeded 3rd Earl Hardwicke, 3rd Viscount Royston. He was buried at St Andrew's Church, Wimpole [Map]. Monument at the De Grey Mausoleum, St John the Baptist Church, Flitton [Map] sculpted by Thomas Banks (age 54)..
On 2nd November 1791 [his son] Charles Yorke (age 29) died. On 5th July 1795 [his daughter] Mary York (age 24) died. Both buried at St Andrew's Church, Wimpole [Map].
Charles Yorke: Before 5th May 1762 Bishop James Yorke and Mary Maddox were married. Some sources describe the date as 29 Jun 1762 which is inconsistent with the date of birth of their first child Charles Yorke, 5th May 1762, as described on his gravestone at St Andrew's Church, Wimpole [Map]. She the daughter of Bishop Isaac Maddox. He the son of Philip Yorke 1st Earl of Hardwicke and Margaret Cocks Countess Hardwicke. On 5th May 1762 he was born to Bishop James Yorke and Mary Maddox.
Mary York: On 11th October 1767 she was born to Bishop James Yorke and Mary Maddox.
On 2nd December 1792 [his brother] Joseph Yorke 1st Baron Dover (age 68) died without issue. Baron Dover extinct. He was buried at St Andrew's Church, Wimpole [Map].
Inscription panel surmounted by a sarcophagus with flanking trophies and small medallions of arms in the apron; signed 'J. Bacon Sculptor (age 52): London 1798'
On 4th December 1797 [his son] Philip Yorke (age 27) and [his daughter-in-law] Anna Maria Cocks (age 24) were married. He the son of Bishop James Yorke (age 67) and [his wife] Mary Maddox. They were second cousins.
Before 11th January 1807 [his son] Joseph Yorke (age 42) and [his daughter-in-law] Catherine Cocks were married. He the son of Bishop James Yorke (age 76) and [his wife] Mary Maddox. They were second cousins.
On 26th August 1808 Bishop James Yorke (age 78) died.
Great x 1 Grandfather: Simon Yorke of Dover 
GrandFather: Philip Yorke
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Cocks of Castleditch Herefordshire
GrandFather: Charles Cocks
Mother: Margaret Cocks Countess Hardwicke
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Somers
GrandMother: Mary Somers