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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Before 1st June 1856 [his father] Gustave Schmalz and [his mother] Margaret Carmichael were married. She the daughter of [his grandfather] James aka John Wilson Carmichael [aged 55] and [his grandmother] Mary Sweet [aged 52].
On 1st June 1856 Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael was born to Gustave Schmalz and Margaret Carmichael. His father was the German Consul to England. He studied at the South Kensington Art School and the Royal Academy of Arts, where he studied with Frank Dicksee [aged 2], Stanhope Forbes and Arthur Hacker.
1884. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 27]. "Too Late".
1884. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 27]. "The Temple of Eros".
1884. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 27]. "Queen of the May".
1885. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 28]. "Girl With a Red Umbrella".
1885. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 28]. "Topsy".
1888. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 31]. "Zenobia".
1888. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 31]. "Imogen". Probably modelled by future wife, Edith Ellen Pullen [aged 22].
Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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1889. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 32]. "A Fair Beuaty". Probably a portrait of his wife, or future wife, Edith Ellen Pullen [aged 23].
On or after 24th April 1889, the date of the licence, Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 32] and Edith Ellen Pullen [aged 23] were married.
Around 1890. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 33]. "A message of love"
1890. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 33]. "Flowers of the Levant".
1890. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 33]. "Celeste".
1890. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 33]. "Nydia, the Blind Girl of Pompeii".
1891. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 34]. "Return from Calvary".
1894. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 37]. Portrait of Mrs Alec Tweedie (1862-1940).
In 1900 [his wife] Edith Ellen Pullen [aged 34] died.
1900. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 43]. Portrait of Emilie Charlotte Le Breton "Lily Langtry" [aged 46].
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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1911. Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 54]. "Faithful unto Death: 'Christianae ad Leones!'"
In 1918, in view of Germany's defeat in World War I, Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 61] changed his surname from Schmalz to his mother's surname Carmichael.
On 24th November 1935 Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael [aged 79] died.
Father: Gustave Schmalz
Herbert Gustav Schmalz aka Carmichael
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Carmichael
GrandFather: James aka John Wilson Carmichael
Mother: Margaret Carmichael
GrandMother: Mary Sweet