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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Earl of Ava in County Down and Burma

Earl of Ava in County Down and Burma is in Earldoms of England Alphabetically, Earldoms of England Chronologically, Extinct Earldoms of England.

On 17th November 1888 Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (age 62) was created 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, 1st Earl of Ava in County Down and Burma

21st July 1930 Meopham Air Disaster

On 25th March 1945 Basil Sheridan Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood 4th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (age 35) was killed in action. Lord Dufferin was serving with the Indian Field Broadcasting Unit on when he was filmed demanding the surrender of Japanese troops who were sheltered in a tunnel; the film captured Lord Dufferin's death when a Japanese mortar shell landed on the unit. His son Sheriden (age 6) succeeded 5th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, 5th Earl of Ava in County Down and Burma, 5th Earl of Dufferin in County Down, 5th Viscount Dufferin of Claneboye in County Down, 5th Baron Claneboye of Claneboye in County Down, 9th Baron Dufferin and Claneboye of Ballyleidy and Killyleagh in County Down, 9th Baronet Blackwood of Killyleagh in County Down. Maureen Constance Guinness Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava (age 38) by marriage Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava.