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: Vere
In 1565 Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere was born to [his father] Geoffrey Vere and [his mother] Elizabeth Hardkyn.
Brief Lives: Charles Danvers 1568 1601. [711]Sir Charles Danvers (age 33) was beheaded on Tower-hill [Map] with Robert, earle of Essex (age 35), February the 6th, 1600[712]. I find in the register of the Tower chapell [Map] only the sepulture of Robert, earl of Essex, that yeare; wherfore I am induced to beleeve that his body was carryed to Dantesey[CX] in Wilts to lye with his ancestors. Vide Stowe's Chronicle, where is a full account of his and the earle's deportment at their death on the scaffold.
With all their faylings, Wilts cannot shew two such[713] brothers.
His familiar acquaintance were...[714], earl of Oxon (age 50); [his brother] Sir Francis (age 40) and Sir Horace Vere (age 36); Sir Walter Ralegh (age 47), etc.-the heroes of those times.
Quaere my lady viscountesse Purbec and also the lord Norris for an account of the behaviour and advice of Sir Charles Danvers in the businesse of the earl of Essex, which advice had the earle followed he had saved his life.
[715]Of Sir Charles Danvers, from my lady viscountesse Purbec:-Sir Charles Danvers advised the earle of Essex, either to treat with the queen-hostages..., whom Sir Ferdinando Gorges (age 36) did let goe; or to make his way through the gate at Essex house, and then to hast away to Highgate, and so to Northumberland (the earl of Northumberland maried his mother's (age 51) sister), and from thence to the king of Scots, and there they might make their peace; if not, the queen was old and could not live long. But the earle followed not his advice, and so they both lost their heads on Tower-hill.
Note 711. MS. Aubr. 8, fol. 25v.
Note 712. i.e. 1600/1.
Note 713. Dupl. with 'shew the like two brothers,' scil. as Sir Charles Danvers and his brother Henry, earl of Danby.
Note 714. Edward Vere, seventeenth earl of Oxford.
[CX] In MS. Aubr. 3, fol. 46, Aubrey writes, in reference to burials at Dantesey, 'quaere, if Sir Charles Danvers that was beheaded?-He was buryed in the Tower chapell.' Aubrey's description of the burial-place of the Danvers family (MS. Aubr. 3, fol. 46), with the inscriptions, is printed in J. E. Jackson's Aubrey's Wiltshire Collections, pp. 223-225; the pedigree of Danvers is there given at p. 216.
In October 1607 Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere (age 42) and Mary Tracy Baroness Spencer Tilbury (age 26) were married.
Around 1608 [his daughter] Mary Vere Countess of Westmoreland was born to Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere (age 43) and [his wife] Mary Tracy Baroness Spencer Tilbury (age 27). She married (1) before 1628 Roger Townshend 1st Baronet and had issue (2) 21st June 1638 Mildmay Fane 2nd Earl of Westmoreland, son of Francis Fane 1st Earl of Westmoreland and Mary Mildmay Countess of Westmoreland, and had issue.
In 1613 [his daughter] Catherine Vere Baroness Poulett was born to Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere (age 48) and [his wife] Mary Tracy Baroness Spencer Tilbury (age 32). She married (1) 1648 Oliver St John, son of John St John 1st Baronet and Anne Leighton, and had issue (2) 1648 John Paulett 2nd Baron Paulett, son of John Paulett 1st Baron Paulett and Elizabeth Ken Baroness Poulett, and had issue.
Letters of the Court of James I 1618. 28th August 1618. Hague. Sir Dudley Carleton (age 45) to John Chamberlain (age 65).
It was Tuesday night, by reason of a strong contrary wind, before we arrived at this place; and betwixt this and Rotterdam (where I was met by Sir Horace Vere (age 53) and much good company) we were overtaken with the most terrible tempest of thunder, lightning, and rain, that any man of us had ever met with, so as it was a common speech amongst us that it must needs prognosticate somewhat; which fell out the day following, our great man, Monsieur Barnevelt, with two of his chief instruments, Hogerbots and Grotius, the one pensioner at Leyden, the other of Rotterdam, being then arrested prisoners in the Prince of Orange's lodgings by order of the States-General, where they remained two days, until the lodgings in the court, where the Amirante of Arragon lay last, were prepared for them. I account it in some regard ill luck to come à la vieille of such a feast; at which though there are many make good cheer, (and I may well say the most in this country) yet there being some mal diners, they lay no small blame upon me, and so speed it by public voice, as if I had given fire to this mine by certain intercepted letters, which I should have brought with me out of England. Their apprehension proceeded chiefly of certain difficulties and traverses they sought to cast in the way of the national Synod, after they had offered themselves at the Prince of Orange's return from Utrecht to concur with the States-General and his excellency; which they perceiving, and that this business would prove Penelope's web, unless these men were laid holden, not only took the resolution for them, but for one Leyden-burgh, the secretary of Utrecht, who had the same authority in that province, as Barnevelt, in Holland, and was there held on the day after they were taken. Vander Mile, who married Barnevelt's daughter, was with me at the instant that his father was taken, and went from me to the council, not knowing any thing of the matter until the news was publicly sent to the council, by the States-General; which may seem very strange, that he, his father, and the rest of that party, who had the chief managing of the affairs, should have so small knowledge or apprehension of what hung over their heads; this course having been almost a year in speech, and it was known to forty in this town the night before it was put in execution.
In 1619 [his daughter] Susana de Vere was born to Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere (age 54) and [his wife] Mary Tracy Baroness Spencer Tilbury (age 38). She died aged four in 1623.
Autobiography Simon D'Ewes. 14th December 1622. The first part of the holidays, and some part of the same month foregoing, (my father, with the rest of his family, taking his journey into Surrey, to my brother Elliot's, on Saturday, the 14th day of the same month,) I was out of commons, into which I came not again, till the beginning of the next month; intending, before I enter into the discourse thereof, to set down a short abstract of the further prevailing of the bloody Emperor, the second Ferdinand, and of the Popish armies in Germany, this summer past until the end of December. Here Count Mansfield (age 42) and Christian Duke of Brunswick (age 23) were severally profligated and quite overthrown by Tilly and Corduba: whilst, in the mean season, the city itself of Heidelburg and the castle came into the power of the enemy; the city being first taken by assault on the 6th (16th) day of September, which brought with it innumerable rapes, murders, and cruelties; and the castle, by composition, the 10th (20th) of the same month following. Here was a world of wealth gotten by the bloody soldier, besides that inestimable library of ancient manuscripts aod other rarities, which was most of it carried away to Rome; the loss of it to the Protestant party being irreparable. From Heidelborg, Tilly removed with his army to that inexpugnable [invicible] fort of Manheim, being part also of the Prince Palatine's dominions; and, after some six weeks' siege, took it by composition. Sir Horace Vere (age 57), Knt., a great and ancient soldier and very nobly extracted, giving it up by reason he and the garrison were by that time reduced to great extremity, without all hope of relief from England or Germany.
In 1623 [his daughter] Susana de Vere (age 4) died.
Around July 1625 Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere (age 60) was created 1st Baron Vere of Tilbury. [his wife] Mary Tracy Baroness Spencer Tilbury (age 44) by marriage Baroness Vere of Tilbury.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 4th September 1626 [his son-in-law] John Holles 2nd Earl de Clare (age 31) and [his daughter] Elizabeth Vere Countess Clare were married. She by marriage Countess Clare. He the son of John Holles 1st Earl de Clare (age 62) and Anne Stanhope Countess de Clare (age 50). They were second cousin once removed.
Before 1628 [his son-in-law] Roger Townshend 1st Baronet (age 31) and [his daughter] Mary Vere Countess of Westmoreland (age 19) were married. She by marriage Lady Townshend.
In 1629 Michiel Janszoon van Mierevelt (age 62). Portrait of Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere (age 64).
On 2nd May 1635 Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere (age 70) died. Baron Vere of Tilbury extinct.
On 8th May 1635 Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere (deceased) was buried at Westminster Abbey [Map].
In 1671 [his former wife] Mary Tracy Baroness Spencer Tilbury (age 90) died.
[his daughter] Dorothy Vere was born to Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere and Mary Tracy Baroness Spencer Tilbury. She married John Wolstenholme.
[his daughter] Anne Vere Lady Fairfax was born to Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere and Mary Tracy Baroness Spencer Tilbury. She married her second cousin twice removed Thomas Fairfax 3rd Lord Fairfax and had issue.
[his father] Geoffrey Vere and [his mother] Elizabeth Hardkyn were married. He the son of [his grandfather] John de Vere 15th Earl of Oxford and [his grandmother] Elizabeth Trussell Countess of Oxford.
[his daughter] Elizabeth Vere Countess Clare was born to Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere and Mary Tracy Baroness Spencer Tilbury. She married 4th September 1626 her second cousin once removed John Holles 2nd Earl de Clare, son of John Holles 1st Earl de Clare and Anne Stanhope Countess de Clare, and had issue.
Kings Wessex: Great x 15 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 14 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 18 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 15 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings England: Great x 7 Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 14 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 21 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 16 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 19 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Aubrey de Vere 10th Earl of Oxford 
5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard de Vere 11th Earl of Oxford 5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Fitzwalter Countess of Oxford 
4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert de Vere 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Sergeaux Countess Oxford
Great x 1 Grandfather: John de Vere 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Courtenay Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Hugh Courtenay 2 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Joan Courtenay 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
GrandFather: John de Vere 15th Earl of Oxford 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Alice Colbroke
Father: Geoffrey Vere 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Trussell
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Trussell
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margery Ludlow
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Trussell
Great x 1 Grandfather: Edward Trussell
GrandMother: Elizabeth Trussell Countess of Oxford 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Donne
Great x 1 Grandmother: Margaret Donne 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Ralph Hastings 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Leonard Hastings
Great x 4 Grandmother: Maud Sutton 
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Hastings 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Camoys 1st Baron Camoys 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Camoys 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Louches Baroness Camoys
Horace de Vere 1st Baron Vere 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Mother: Elizabeth Hardkyn