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: Smith
On 24th June 1825 William Henry Smith was born.
In 1858 William Henry Smith (age 32) and Emily Danvers 1st Viscountess Hambleden were married.
In 1859 [his daughter] Emily Anna Smith Lady Acland was born to William Henry Smith (age 33) and [his wife] Emily Danvers 1st Viscountess Hambleden. She married 7th July 1887 Admiral William Alison Dyke Acland 2nd Baronet, son of Henry Wentworth Acland 1st Baronet and Sarah Cotton, and had issue.
In 1868 William Henry Smith (age 42) was elected MP Westminster.
On 12th August 1868 [his son] Frederick Smith 2nd Viscount Hambleden was born to William Henry Smith (age 43) and [his wife] Emily Danvers 1st Viscountess Hambleden. He married 26th July 1894 Esther Georgiana Caroline Gore Viscountess Hambleden, daughter of Arthur Saunders Gore 5th Earl Arran and Edith Jocelyn, and had issue.
In 1874 William Henry Smith (age 48) was appointed Financial Secretary to the Treasury when Disraeli returned as Prime Minister.
In 1877 William Henry Smith (age 51) was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. He had never been to sea.
In February 1878 William Henry Smith (age 52) was elected Fellow of the Royal Society.
In 1887 [his son-in-law] John Ryder 5th Earl of Harrowby (age 22) and [his daughter] Mabel Danvers Smith Countess Harrowby were married. She by marriage Countess of Harrowby. He the son of Henry Ryder 4th Earl of Harrowby (age 50).
On 7th July 1887 [his son-in-law] Admiral William Alison Dyke Acland 2nd Baronet (age 39) and [his daughter] Emily Anna Smith Lady Acland (age 28) were married.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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On 6th October 1891 William Henry Smith (age 66) died at Walmer Castle [Map].
In August 1913 [his former wife] Emily Danvers 1st Viscountess Hambleden died. Her son [his son] Frederick (age 44) succeeded 2nd Viscount Hambleden of Hambleden in Buckinghamshire. [his daughter-in-law] Esther Georgiana Caroline Gore Viscountess Hambleden (age 43) by marriage Viscountess Hambleden of Hambleden in Buckinghamshire.
[his daughter] Mabel Danvers Smith Countess Harrowby was born to William Henry Smith and Emily Danvers 1st Viscountess Hambleden. She married 1887 John Ryder 5th Earl of Harrowby, son of Henry Ryder 4th Earl of Harrowby.