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: Eliot
On 25th September 1756 [his father] Edward Craggs Eliot 1st Baron Eliot [aged 29] and [his mother] Catherine Elliston Baroness Eliott [aged 21] were married.
On 30th September 1761 John Eliot 1st Earl St Germans was born to [his father] Edward Craggs Eliot 1st Baron Eliot [aged 34] and [his mother] Catherine Elliston Baroness Eliott [aged 26] at Port Eliot, Cornwall.
On 13th January 1784 [his father] Edward Craggs Eliot 1st Baron Eliot [aged 56] was created 1st Baron Eliot of St Germans in Cornwall. [his mother] Catherine Elliston Baroness Eliott [aged 49] by marriage Baroness Eliot of St Germans in Cornwall.
On 9th September 1790 John Eliot 1st Earl St Germans [aged 28] and Caroline Yorke Countess St Germans [aged 25] were married at St James' Church, Piccadilly.
On 30th January 1797 [his brother] William Eliot 2nd Earl St Germans [aged 29] and [his sister-in-law] Georgiana Augusta Leveson-Gower [aged 27] were married at Trentham, Staffordshire. She the daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower 1st Marquess Stafford [aged 75] and Susanna Stewart Marchioness Stafford.
In 1804 [his mother] Catherine Elliston Baroness Eliott [aged 69] died.
On 17th February 1804 [his father] Edward Craggs Eliot 1st Baron Eliot [aged 76] died. His son John [aged 42] succeeded 2nd Baron Eliot of St Germans in Cornwall.
On 13th February 1809 [his brother] William Eliot 2nd Earl St Germans [aged 41] and [his sister-in-law] Letitia à Court were married at Heytesbury, Wiltshire [Map]. She died eleven months later.
Before 23rd January 1810 John Hoppner [aged 51]. Portrait of John Eliot 1st Earl St Germans [aged 48].
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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On 7th March 1812 [his brother] William Eliot 2nd Earl St Germans [aged 44] and [his sister-in-law] Charlotte Robinson [aged 22] were married at Earl of Powis' House Mayfair. She died sixteen months later. The difference in their ages was 22 years.
On 30th August 1814 [his brother] William Eliot 2nd Earl St Germans [aged 47] and [his sister-in-law] Susan Mordaunt Countess St Germans [aged 34] were married at Walton, Warwickshire.
The London Gazette 17066. Whitehall, September 30, 1815.
His Royal, Highness the Prince Regent has been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to grant the Dignities of Earl and Marquess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the Right Honourable George James Earl of Cholmondeley [aged 66], and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the names, stiles, and titles of Earl of Rocksavage, in the county palatine of Chester, and Marquess Cholmondeley. [Note. Georgina Charlotte Bertie Marchioness Cholmondeley [aged 54] by marriage Marchioness Cholmondeley.]
His Royal Highness the Prince Regent has also been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to grant the dignities of Viscount and Earl of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to the Right Honourable James Walter [aged 40], Viscount Grimston, of that part of the United Kingdom called Ireland, and Baron Verulam of Gorhambury, in the county of Hertford, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the names, stiles, and titles of Viscount Grimston and Earl Verulam.
His Royal Highness has also been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to grant the dignities of Baron and Earl of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to the Right Honourable Charles Viscount Whitworth [aged 63], Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, His Majesty's Lieutenant-General and General Governor of Ireland, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the names, stiles, and titles of Baron Adbaston, in the county of Stafford, and Earl Whitworth.
His Royal Highness has also been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to grant the dignities of Viscount and Earl of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to the Right Honourable John Lord Brownlow [aged 36], and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the names, stiles, and titles of Viscount Alford, of Alford in the county of Lincoln, and Earl Brownlow.
His Royal Highness has also been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to grant the dignity of Earl of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to the Right Honourable John Craggs Lord Eliot [aged 54], and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, stile, and title of Earl of Saint Germains, in the county of Cornwall.
His Royal Highness the Prince Regent has also been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to grant the dignities of Viscount and Earl of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to the Right Honourable John Lord Boringdon [aged 43], and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, stiles, and titles of Viscount Boringdon, of North Malton, in the County of Devon, and Earl Morley, of Morley in the said county.
His Royal Highness bas also been pleased, in the name and on behalf of His Majesty, to grant the dignities of Viscount and Earl of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to the Right Honourable Orlando Baron Bradford [aged 53], and the heirs mile of his body lawfully begotten, by the names, stiles, and titles of Viscount Newport, in the county of Salop, and Earl of Bradford, in the said, county. [Note. Lucy Elizabeth Byng Countess Bradford [aged 48] by marriage Countess Bradford.]
His Royal Highness has also been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to grant the dignities of Viscount and Earl of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to the Right Honourable William Baron Beauchamp [aged 68], of Powyke, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the names, stiles, and titles of Viscount Elmley, in the county of Worcester, and Earl of Beauchamp. [Catherine Denn Countess Beauchamp by marriage Countess Beauchamp.]
His Royal Highness has also been pleased, in the name and on behalf of His Majesty to grant the dignity of a Viscount of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to the Right Honourable Alan Hyde Lord Gardner [aged 45], Vice-Admiral of the White Squadron of his Majesty's fleet, by the name, stile, and title of Viscount Gardner. [Note. He died before the patent had passed the Great Seal so the patent was null and void.]
On 26th July 1818 [his wife] Caroline Yorke Countess St Germans [aged 52] died.
On 19th August 1819 John Eliot 1st Earl St Germans [aged 57] and Harriet CarewCountess St Germans were married. She by marriage Countess St Germans.
On 17th November 1823 John Eliot 1st Earl St Germans [aged 62] died without issue. He was buried at St Germans Priory [Map]. His brother William [aged 56] succeeded 2nd Earl St Germans, 3rd Baron Eliot of St Germans in Cornwall. Susan Mordaunt Countess St Germans [aged 43] by marriage Countess St Germans.
Monument sculpted by Richard Westmacott [aged 48].
Susan Mordaunt Countess St Germans: On 15th December 1779 she was born to John Mordaunt 7th Baronet and Elizabeth Prowse Lady Mordaunt. On 30th August 1814 William Eliot 2nd Earl St Germans and she were married at Walton, Warwickshire.
On 4th March 1877 [his former wife] Harriet CarewCountess St Germans died.
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Eliot
Great x 2 Grandfather: Nicholas Eliot
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Eliot
GrandFather: Richard Eliot
Father: Edward Craggs Eliot 1st Baron Eliot
Great x 2 Grandfather: James Craggs
Great x 1 Grandfather: James Craggs
GrandMother: Harriet Craggs
John Eliot 1st Earl St Germans
GrandFather: Edward Elliston
Mother: Catherine Elliston Baroness Eliott