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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: Wolseley
In 1825 [his father] Major Garnet Wolseley (age 37) and [his mother] Frances Anne Smith (age 24) were married.
On 4th June 1833 Garnet Wolseley 1st Viscount Wolseley was born to [his father] Major Garnet Wolseley (age 45) and [his mother] Frances Anne Smith (age 32).
In 1840 [his father] Major Garnet Wolseley (age 52) died.
On 4th June 1867 Garnet Wolseley 1st Viscount Wolseley (age 34) and Louisa Erskine Holmes Viscountess Wolseley (age 24) were married.
On 15th September 1872 [his daughter] Frances Garnet Wolseley 2nd Viscountess Wolseley was born to Garnet Wolseley 1st Viscount Wolseley (age 39) and [his wife] Louisa Erskine Holmes Viscountess Wolseley (age 29).
1880. Paul-Albert Besnard (age 30). Portrait of Garnet Wolseley 1st Viscount Wolseley (age 46).
The London Gazette 25170. Whitehall, November 20, 1882. THE Queen has been pleased to direct Letters Patent to be passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, granting the dignity of a Baron of the said United Kingdom unto General Sir Garnet Joseph Wolseley (age 49), G.C.B., G.C.M.G., Adjutant General of Her Majesty's Forces, and late General Commanding-in-Chief the Expeditionary Force in Egypt, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, style, and title of Baron Wolseley of Cairo, and of Wolseley, in the county of Stafford. [[his wife] Louisa Erskine Holmes Viscountess Wolseley (age 39) by marriage Baroness Wolseley of Cairo and Wolseley in Staffordshire.]
On 11th October 1883 [his mother] Frances Anne Smith (age 82) died.
The London Gazette 25514. Whitehall, September 25, 1885. THE Queen has been pleased to direct Letters Patent to be passed under the Great Seal, granting the dignity of a Viscount of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland unto Garnet Joseph (age 52), Baron Wolseley, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., General and General Officer Commanding in Chief the Forces in Egypt, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, style, and title of Viscount Wolseley, of Wolseley, in the county of Stafford, and in default of such issue male the dignity of a Viscountess to [his daughter] Frances Garnet Wolseley (age 13), Spinster, only daughter of the said Garnet Joseph, Baron Wolseley, and after her decease, the dignity of a Viscount to the heirs male of her body lawfully begotten. [See Viscountcies of England Created with a Special Remainder, [his wife] Louisa Erskine Holmes Viscountess Wolseley (age 42) by marriage Viscountess Wolseley of Wolseley in Staffordshire.]
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.
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On 25th March 1913 Garnet Wolseley 1st Viscount Wolseley (age 79) died. His daughter [his daughter] Frances (age 40) succeeded 2nd Viscountess Wolseley of Wolseley in Staffordshire. Baron Wolseley of Cairo and Wolseley in Staffordshire extinct.
On 20th April 1920 [his former wife] Louisa Erskine Holmes Viscountess Wolseley (age 77) died.
Daily Mail (Hull, Humberside, England), Friday, April 16, 1920, Page 3:
"The late Dowager Viscountess Wolseley was buried privately in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral yesterday, her expressed wish for a simple burial being fully observed. Admission to the crypt was by ticket, and only about 30 relatives and intimate friends saw the ashes, which had been brought to the cathedral overnight from Golder's Green Crematorium, interred besides Lord Wolseley's tomb."
Kings Wessex: Great x 23 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 21 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 27 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 22 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 24 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 14 Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 22 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 20 Grand Son of Louis VII King of the Franks
Kings France: Great x 23 Grand Son of Robert "Pious" II King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 28 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 1 Grandfather: Richard Wolsley 1st Baronet
GrandFather: Reverend William Wolseley 12 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Daniel Molyneux 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Samuel Molyneux of Castle Dillon
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Molyneux 1st Baronet
Great x 1 Grandmother: Alicia Molyneux Lady Wolseley 11 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Howard 
8 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandfather: Ralph Howard 9 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 2 Grandmother: Catherine Howard 10 x Great Grand Daughter of
Father: Major Garnet Wolseley 13 x Great Grand Son of
Garnet Wolseley 1st Viscount Wolseley 14 x Great Grand Son of
Mother: Frances Anne Smith