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: Wilmot
Around 1605 [his father] Charles Wilmot 1st Viscount Wilmot [aged 33] and [his mother] Sarah Anderson [aged 7] were married. The difference in their ages was 26 years.
On 26th October 1612 Henry Wilmot 1st Earl Rochester was born to [his father] Charles Wilmot 1st Viscount Wilmot [aged 40] and [his mother] Sarah Anderson [aged 14].
In 1615 [his mother] Sarah Anderson [aged 17] died.
On 4th January 1621 [his father] Charles Wilmot 1st Viscount Wilmot [aged 49] was created 1st Viscount Wilmot of Athlone by King Charles I [aged 20] as a reward for his activities in Ireland.
Before 1627 [his father] Charles Wilmot 1st Viscount Wilmot [aged 54] and [his step-mother] Mary Colley Viscountess Moore and Wilmot were married. She by marriage Viscountess Wilmot of Athlone.
In October 1632 Francis Henry Lee 2nd Baronet [aged 16] and [his future wife] Anne St John Countess Rochester [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Lady Lee of Quarrendon in Buckinghamshire.
On 13th July 1643 a Royalist cavalry force under Lord Wilmot [aged 30] won a crushing victory over the Parliamentarian Army of the West under Sir William Waller [aged 46] at Roundway Down Devizes, Wiltshire.
Maurice Palatinate Simmern [aged 22] fought.
In 1644 [his father] Charles Wilmot 1st Viscount Wilmot [aged 72] died.
In 1644 Henry Wilmot 1st Earl Rochester [aged 31] was created 1st Viscount Wilmot. [his wife] Anne St John Countess Rochester [aged 29] by marriage Viscountess Wilmot.
In 1644 Henry Wilmot 1st Earl Rochester [aged 31] and Anne St John Countess Rochester [aged 29] were married.
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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In 1647 Henry Wilmot 1st Earl Rochester [aged 34] lived at 2 Little Piazza Covent Garden.
On 1st April 1647 [his son] John Wilmot 2nd Earl Rochester was born to Henry Wilmot 1st Earl Rochester [aged 34] and [his wife] Anne St John Countess Rochester [aged 32]. He married 29th January 1667 Elizabeth Malet Countess Rochester and had issue.
After January 1649 Henry Wilmot 1st Earl Rochester [aged 36] was appointed Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 18].
John Evelyn's Diary. 18th August 1649. I went to St. Germains, to kiss his Majesty's [aged 19] hand; in the coach, which was my Lord Wilmot's [aged 36], went Mrs. Barlow [aged 19], the King's mistress and mother to the Duke of Monmouth, a brown, beautiful, bold, but insipid creature.
John Evelyn's Diary. 25th December 1651. The King [aged 21] and Duke [aged 18] received the Sacrament first by themselves, the Lords Byron [aged 52] and Wilmot [aged 39] holding the long towel all along the altar.
In 1652 Henry Wilmot 1st Earl Rochester [aged 39] was created 1st Earl Rochester. [his wife] Anne St John Countess Rochester [aged 37] by marriage Countess Rochester.
On 2nd April 1656 the Treaty of Brussels agreeing mutual support between England (Royal) and Spain was signed by Henry Wilmot 1st Earl Rochester [aged 43] and James Butler 1st Duke Ormonde [aged 45] on behalf of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 25], and Alonso Cárdenas on behalf of Philip IV King Spain [aged 50].
On 19th February 1658 Henry Wilmot 1st Earl Rochester [aged 45] died at Sluys [Map]. He was buried in Bruges [Map]. After the Restoration his remains were reburied in All Saints Church, Spelsbury [Map]. His son John [aged 10] succeeded 2nd Earl Rochester, 2nd Viscount Wilmot.
On 18th March 1696 [his former wife] Anne St John Countess Rochester [aged 81] died.
GrandFather: Edward Wilmot of Culham
Henry Wilmot 1st Earl Rochester
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Anderson
GrandFather: Henry Anderson
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Hopton
Great x 2 Grandfather: Edward Hopton
Great x 1 Grandmother: Katherine Hopton
Mother: Sarah Anderson
Great x 1 Grandfather: Francis Bowyer
GrandMother: Elizabeth Bowyer