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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Marquess Dorset is in Marquessates of England Alphabetically.
There have been three creations of Marquess Dorset:
1st. 29th September 1397. John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset. Forfeit. 1399.
2nd. 1442. Edmund Beaufort 1st or 2nd Duke of Somerset. Forfeit. 15th May 1464. 15 May 1464 Battle of Hexham.
3rd. 1475. Thomas Grey 1st Marquess Dorset. Forfeit. 23rd February 1554. Wyatt's Rebellion.
Marquess Dorset is also in Marquessates of England Chronologically, Forfeit Marquessates of England.
Summary
29th September 1397. John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset [aged 24] created. See Richard II Rewards his Supporters.
1399. John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset forfeit.
On 29th September 1397 King Richard II [aged 30] rewarded his relations with Dukedoms, possibly for their part in downfall of Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester [deceased], Thomas Beauchamp 12th Earl Warwick [aged 59] and Richard Fitzalan 9th Earl of Surrey 4th or 11th Earl of Arundel [deceased]...
His older half-brother John Holland 1st Duke Exeter [aged 45] was created 1st Duke Exeter. Elizabeth Lancaster Duchess Exeter [aged 34] by marriage Duchess Exeter.
His nephew Thomas Holland 1st Duke Surrey [aged 23] was created 1st Duke Surrey.
His first cousin once-removed Margaret was created 1st Duchess Norfolk - for life only. On the same day her grandson Thomas [aged 29] was also created Duke of Norfolk - see below.
His second cousin once removed Thomas Mowbray 1st Duke of Norfolk was created 1st Duke Norfolk. Elizabeth Fitzalan Duchess Norfolk [aged 31] by marriage Duchess Norfolk.
His first cousin Edward 2nd Duke of York 1st Duke Albemarle [aged 24] was created 1st Duke Albemarle. Beatrice Burgundy Countess Rutland and Cork [aged 24] by marriage Duchess Albemarle.
His illegitimate first cousin John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset [aged 24] was created 1st Marquess Somerset, 1st Marquess Dorset. Margaret Holland Duchess Clarence [aged 12] by marriage Marchioness Somerset, Marchioness Dorset.
Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 33] was created 1st Earl of Westmoreland. Joan Beaufort Countess of Westmoreland [aged 18] by marriage Countess of Westmoreland.
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In 1399 John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset [aged 26] was degraded in his titles: Marquess Somerset, Marquess Dorset forfeit. by King Henry V of England [aged 12] as a consequence of his having been a counter-appellant i.e. a supporter of King Richard II who opposed the Lords Appellants.
Marquess Dorset is also in Marquessates of England Chronologically, Forfeit Marquessates of England.
Summary
1442. Edmund Beaufort 1st or 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 36] created.
22nd May 1455. Son Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset [aged 19] succeeded. See First Battle of St Albans.
4th November 1461. Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset forfeit.
15th May 1464. Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset forfeit. See 15 May 1464 Battle of Hexham.
In 1442 Edmund Beaufort 1st or 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 36] was created 1st Marquess Dorset. Eleanor Beauchamp Duchess Somerset [aged 33] by marriage Marchioness Dorset.
On 22nd May 1455 the Wars of the Roses commenced with the First Battle of St Albans. Richard Plantagenet 3rd Duke of York [aged 43] commanded with Richard "Kingmaker" Neville Earl Warwick, 6th Earl Salisbury [aged 26], Richard Neville Earl Salisbury [aged 55], Edward Brooke 6th Baron Cobham [aged 40] and Walter Strickland [aged 44].
The Lancastrians...
Edmund Beaufort 1st or 2nd Duke of Somerset [aged 49] was killed. His son Henry [aged 19] succeeded 2nd Duke Somerset, 2nd Marquess Dorset, 5th Earl Somerset, 2nd Earl Dorset. Note his father is frequently incorrectly referred to as the second Duke and Henry as the third Duke. His father's Dukedom, however, was a new creation.
Henry Percy 2nd Earl of Northumberland [aged 62] was killed. His son Henry [aged 33] succeeded 3rd Earl of Northumberland, 6th Baron Percy of Alnwick, 14th Baron Percy of Topcliffe. Eleanor Poynings Countess Northumberland [aged 33] by marriage Countess of Northumberland.
Thomas Clifford 8th Baron Clifford [aged 41] was killed. His son John [aged 20] succeeded 9th Baron de Clifford, 9th Lord Skipton. Margaret Bromflete Baroness Clifford [aged 21] by marriage Baroness de Clifford.
William Cotton [aged 45] and Richard Fortescue [aged 41] were killed.
Humphrey Stafford 1st Duke of Buckingham [aged 52] was wounded and captured.
King Henry VI of England and II of France [aged 33], John Sutton 1st Baron Dudley [aged 54] and Edmund Sutton [aged 30] were captured.
Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset was wounded. James Butler 1st Earl Wiltshire 5th Earl Ormonde [aged 34] and John Wenlock 1st Baron Wenlock [aged 55] fought.
Richard Cotton of Hampstall Ridware [aged 51] and his son William Cotton of Connington in Huntingdonshire [aged 27] were killed.
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On 4th November 1461 Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset [aged 25] was attainted. Duke Somerset, Marquess Dorset, Earl Somerset, Earl Dorset forfeit.
On 15th May 1464 a Yorkist army commanded by John Neville 1st Marquess Montagu [aged 33] defeated a Lancastrian army commanded by Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset [aged 28] at Hexham, Northumberland [Map] during the Battle of Hexham.
Those fighting for York included John Stafford 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 36], John Scrope 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 26] and Richard Welles 7th Baron Welles, Baron Willoughby [aged 36].
Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset was beheaded following the battle. The general pardon which he has previously received was annulled. Duke Somerset, Marquess Dorset, Earl Somerset and Earl Dorset forfeit for the second time. His son Edmund Beaufort [aged 25] was styled by supporters of the House of Lancaster as Duke of Somerset but had not right to do so.
Philip Wentworth [aged 40] was executed at Middleham [Map].
Marquess Dorset is also in Marquessates of England Chronologically, Forfeit Marquessates of England.
Summary
1475. Thomas Grey 1st Marquess Dorset [aged 20] created.
20th September 1501. Son Thomas Grey 2nd Marquess Dorset [aged 24] succeeded.
10th October 1530. Son Henry Grey 1st Duke of Suffolk [aged 13] succeeded.
23rd February 1554. Henry Grey 1st Duke of Suffolk forfeit. See Wyatt's Rebellion.
In 1475 Thomas Grey 1st Marquess Dorset [aged 20] was created 1st Marquess Dorset. Cecily Bonville Marchioness Dorset [aged 14] by marriage Marchioness Dorset.
On 20th September 1501 Thomas Grey 1st Marquess Dorset [aged 46] died. His son Thomas [aged 24] succeeded 2nd Marquess Dorset, 2nd Earl Huntingdon, 8th Baron Ferrers of Groby. Eleanor St John Marchioness Dorset by marriage Marchioness Dorset.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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In 1509 Thomas Grey 2nd Marquess Dorset [aged 31] and Margaret Wotton Marchioness Dorset [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Marchioness Dorset. He the son of Thomas Grey 1st Marquess Dorset and Cecily Bonville Marchioness Dorset [aged 48].
On 10th October 1530 Thomas Grey 2nd Marquess Dorset [aged 53] died. His son Henry [aged 13] succeeded 3rd Marquess Dorset, 3rd Earl Huntingdon, 9th Baron Ferrers of Groby, 9th Baron Harington, 4th Baron Bonville.
In 1533 Henry Grey 1st Duke of Suffolk [aged 16] and Frances Brandon Duchess of Suffolk [aged 15] were married. She by marriage Marchioness Dorset. She the daughter of Charles Brandon 1st Duke of Suffolk [aged 49] and Mary Tudor Queen Consort France [aged 36]. He the son of Thomas Grey 2nd Marquess Dorset and Margaret Wotton Marchioness Dorset [aged 46]. They were half second cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward III of England. She a granddaughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland.
On 23rd February 1554 Henry Grey 1st Duke of Suffolk [aged 37] was beheaded at Tower Hill [Map]. Duke Suffolk, Marquess Dorset, Earl Huntingdon, Baron Ferrers of Groby, Baron Harington, Baron Bonville forfeit.
Dean Hugh Weston [aged 49] acted as Confessor.