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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Biography of Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma 1900-1979

Paternal Family Tree: Hesse

Maternal Family Tree: Gersenda II Sabran Countess Provence 1180-1242

1884 Double Heese Darmstadt Marriage

1979 Death of Louis Mountbatten

Double Heese Darmstadt Marriage

On 30th April 1884 father and daughter, [his grandfather] Prince Louis Hesse Darmstadt IV Grand Duke [aged 46] and [his mother] Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven [aged 21], were both married on the same, or near, days, he taking advantage pf his relatives being in Darmstadt for his daughter's wedding. He, apparently, didn't approve of his daughter's choice of his first cousin Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven [aged 29] since they, Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven and Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven would live in Britain.

Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven and Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven were married. She the daughter of Prince Louis Hesse Darmstadt IV Grand Duke and Princess Alice Saxe Coburg Gotha. They were first cousin once removed. She a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

In the evening Prince Louis Hesse Darmstadt IV Grand Duke and Alexandrina Hutten Czapska [aged 29] were married. She being his former mistress. Apparently, they separated within a week and the marriage was annulled within three months.

On 25th June 1900 Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma was born to [his father] Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven [aged 46] and [his mother] Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven [aged 37]. He a great grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.61%.

In 1916 [his brother] George Mountbatten 2nd Marquess Milford Haven [aged 23] and [his sister-in-law] Nadejda Mikhailovna Torby Marchioness Milford Haven [aged 19] were married. He the son of [his father] Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven [aged 61] and [his mother] Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven [aged 52].

On 7th November 1917 [his father] Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven [aged 63] was created 1st Marquess Milford Haven. [his mother] Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven [aged 54] by marriage Marchioness Milford Haven.

On 11th September 1921 [his father] Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven [aged 67] died. His son [his brother] George [aged 28] succeeded 2nd Marquess Milford Haven. [his sister-in-law] Nadejda Mikhailovna Torby Marchioness Milford Haven [aged 25] by marriage Marchioness Milford Haven.

On 21st September 1921 Ernset Cassel [aged 69] died. His granddaughter [his future wife] Edwina Ashley Countess Mountbatten Burma [aged 19] inherited a life interest in a Trust Fund created from a 25/64 share of her grandfather's residuary estate estimated at £1,600,000, and Brook House in London.

On 18th July 1922 Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma [aged 22] and Edwina Ashley [aged 20] were married at St Margaret's Church, Westminster [Map]. He the son of Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven and Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven [aged 59].

The wedding, which attracted hugh crowds, was attending by Queen Mary [aged 55], Queen Alexandra [aged 77] and the Prince of Wales.

Left to right: Mary Ashley [aged 15], Princess Margarita Glücksburg [aged 17], Joan Esther Sybilla Pakenham [aged 18], Sophie Glücksburg [aged 8] (seated), Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Edwina Ashley, Prince of Wales [aged 28], Mary Sibell Ashley-Cooper [aged 19] (seated), Princess Theodora [aged 16] and Princess Cecile [aged 11] (seated).

On 3rd November 1923 [his brother-in-law] Gustaf Adolph VI King Sweden [aged 40] and [his sister] Louise Mountbatten Queen Consort Sweden [aged 34] were married. She the daughter of [his father] Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven and [his mother] Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven [aged 60]. He the son of Gustav V King Sweden [aged 65]. They were fifth cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King George II of Great Britain and Ireland. She a great granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

On 14th February 1924 [his daughter] Patricia Mountbatten 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma was born to Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma [aged 23] and [his wife] Edwina Ashley Countess Mountbatten Burma [aged 22]. She a great x 2 granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. She married 26th October 1946 John Knatchbull 7th Baron Brabourne, son of Michael Knatchbull 5th Baron Brabourne and Doreen Browne Baroness Brabourne, and had issue.

1925. Philip de László [aged 55]. Portrait of Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma [aged 24].

On 19th April 1929 [his daughter] Pamela Mountbatten was born to Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma [aged 28] and [his wife] Edwina Ashley Countess Mountbatten Burma [aged 27]. She a great x 2 granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

On 8th April 1938 [his brother] George Mountbatten 2nd Marquess Milford Haven [aged 45] died. His son [his nephew] David [aged 18] succeeded 3rd Marquess Milford Haven.

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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On 3rd July 1939 [his father-in-law] Wilfred William Ashley 1st Baron Mount Temple [aged 71] died. Baron Mount Temple of Lee in the County of Southampton extinct. His daughter [his wife] Edwina Ashley Countess Mountbatten Burma [aged 37] inherited the country seat of Broadlands, Hampshire.

On 26th October 1946 [his son-in-law] John Knatchbull 7th Baron Brabourne [aged 21] and Patricia Mountbatten 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma [aged 22] were married. She the daughter of Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma [aged 46] and Edwina Ashley Countess Mountbatten Burma [aged 44].

On 28th October 1947 Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma [aged 47] was created 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma with a special remainder to his daughters and their heirs male. [his wife] Edwina Ashley Countess Mountbatten Burma [aged 45] by marriage Countess Mountbatten of Burma.

On 24th September 1950 [his mother] Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven [aged 87] died.

On 29th October 1950 Gustav V King Sweden [aged 92] died. His son [his brother-in-law] Gustaf [aged 67] succeeded VI King Sweden. [his sister] Louise Mountbatten Queen Consort Sweden [aged 61] by marriage Queen Consort Sweden.

On 21st February 1960 [his wife] Edwina Ashley Countess Mountbatten Burma [aged 58] died in Jesselton, North Borneo [now Kota Kinabalu, Sabah]. She was buried at sea off the coast of Portsmouth from HMS Wakeful on 25 February 1960. Archbishop of Canterbury Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher [aged 72] officiated. Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had the Indian Navy frigate INS Trishul, already stationed in the city for repair for weeks, to escort the Wakeful and cast a wreath.

On 2nd March 1965 [his sister] Louise Mountbatten Queen Consort Sweden [aged 75] died.

Death of Louis Mountbatten

On 27th August 1979 Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma [aged 79] was killed by an IRA bomb aboard his fishing boat in Mullaghmore, County Sligo. His daughter Patricia [aged 55] succeeded 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma. John Knatchbull 7th Baron Brabourne [aged 54] by marriage Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

Nicholas Timothy Knatchbull [aged 14] was killed.

Pauk Maxwell, a local boy, was killed.

On 28th August 1979 Doreen Browne Baroness Brabourne [aged 83] died from wounds in hospital the day after the bombing.

Royal Ancestors of Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma 1900-1979

Kings Wessex: Great x 25 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England

Kings Gwynedd: Great x 23 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd

Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 29 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth

Kings Powys: Great x 24 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys

Kings Godwinson: Great x 24 Grand Son of King Harold II of England

Kings England: Great Grand Son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Kings Scotland: Great x 24 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland

Kings Franks: Great x 31 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor

Kings France: Great x 16 Grand Son of Charles "Beloved Mad" VI King France

Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 29 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine

Ancestors of Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma 1900-1979

Great x 4 Grandfather: Landgrave Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Landgrave Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Louis I Grand Duke of Hesse 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Count Palatine Christian III of Zweibrücken

Great x 3 Grandmother: Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken

Great x 1 Grandfather: Louis Hesse Darmstadt II Grand Duke 14 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

GrandFather: Alexander Hesse Darmstadt 15 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Grand Duke Charles Frederick of Baden

Great x 2 Grandfather: Prince Charles Louis of Baden 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Landgrave Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Princess Wilhelmine Baden 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Landgrave Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Landgrave Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Count Palatine Christian III of Zweibrücken

Great x 3 Grandmother: Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken

Father: Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven 16 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

GrandMother: Julia Hauke

Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma Great Grand Son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Great x 4 Grandfather: Landgrave Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Louis I Grand Duke of Hesse 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken

Great x 2 Grandfather: Louis Hesse Darmstadt II Grand Duke 14 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 1 Grandfather: Karl Wilhelm Hesse Darmstadt 15 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Grand Duke Charles Frederick of Baden

Great x 3 Grandfather: Prince Charles Louis of Baden 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Princess Wilhelmine Baden 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Landgrave Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken

GrandFather: Prince Louis Hesse Darmstadt IV Grand Duke 16 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Prussia

Mother: Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven Grand Daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Great x 4 Grandfather: Ernest Frederick Saxe Coburg Saalfeld Duke Saxe Coburg Saalfeld 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Francis Saxe Coburg Gotha I Duke Saxe Coburg Gotha 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Sophia Antonia Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Duchess Saxe Coburg Saalfeld 15 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Ernest Saxe Coburg Gotha I Duke Saxe Coburg Gotha 14 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Heinrich XXIV Count Reuss of Ebersdorf

Great x 3 Grandmother: Augusta Reuss Duchess Saxe Coburg Gotha 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Karoline Ernestine of Erbach Schonberg 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 1 Grandfather: Prince Albert Saxe Coburg Gotha 15 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Duke Ernest of Saxe Coburg Altenburg 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Duke Augustus of Saxe Coburg Altenburg 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Charlotte Saxe Meiningen Duchess Saxe Gotha Altenburg

Great x 2 Grandmother: Duchess Louise Dorothea of Saxe Coburg Altenburg 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Grand Duke Frederick Francis I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Louise Charlotte Mecklenburg-Schwerin 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

GrandMother: Princess Alice Saxe Coburg Gotha Daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Great x 4 Grandfather: Frederick Louis Hanover Prince of Wales Son of King George II of Great Britain and Ireland

Great x 3 Grandfather: King George III of Great Britain and Ireland Grand Son of King George II of Great Britain and Ireland

Great x 4 Grandmother: Augusta Saxe Coburg Altenburg 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Edward Augustus Hanover 1st Duke Kent and Strathearn Son of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland

Great x 4 Grandfather: Charles Louis Frederick Duke of Mecklenburg 14 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom Grand Daughter of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland

Great x 4 Grandfather: Ernest Frederick Saxe Coburg Saalfeld Duke Saxe Coburg Saalfeld 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Francis Saxe Coburg Gotha I Duke Saxe Coburg Gotha 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Sophia Antonia Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Duchess Saxe Coburg Saalfeld 15 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Marie Luise Victoria Saxe Coburg Gotha Duchess Kent and Strathearn 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Heinrich XXIV Count Reuss of Ebersdorf

Great x 3 Grandmother: Augusta Reuss Duchess Saxe Coburg Gotha 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Karoline Ernestine of Erbach Schonberg 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England