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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Maureen Swanson Countess of Dudley is in Actors.
On 25th November 1932 Maureen Swanson Countess of Dudley was born in Glasgow.
On 24th August 1961 William Ward, Viscount Ednam (age 41) and Maureen Swanson Countess of Dudley (age 28) were married. They had seven children. He the son of William Humble Eric Ward 3rd Earl of Dudley (age 67) and Rosemary Millicent Sutherland-Leveson-Gower.
On 26th December 1969 [her father-in-law] William Humble Eric Ward 3rd Earl of Dudley (age 75) died. He was buried at the Earl of Dudley's Memory Garden, St Michael's Church, Himley [Map]. His son [her husband] William (age 49) succeeded 4th Earl of Dudley of Dudley Castle in Staffordshire, 14th Baron Ward of Birmingham. Maureen Swanson Countess of Dudley (age 37) by marriage Countess of Dudley of Dudley Castle in Staffordshire.
On 16th November 2011 Maureen Swanson Countess of Dudley (age 78) died. She was buried at the Earl of Dudley's Memory Garden, St Michael's Church, Himley [Map].
On 16th November 2013 [her former husband] William Ward 4th Earl of Dudley (age 93) died. He was buried at the Earl of Dudley's Memory Garden, St Michael's Church, Himley [Map]. His son William (age 66) succeeded 5th Earl of Dudley of Dudley Castle in Staffordshire, 15th Baron Ward of Birmingham.