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 Barrymore is in Earl Ireland.
On 28th February 1628 David Barry 1st Earl Barrymore [aged 23] was created 1st Earl Barrymore.
In 1631 David Barry 1st Earl Barrymore [aged 26] and Alice Boyle Countess Barrymore [aged 24] were married. She by marriage Countess Barrymore. She the daughter of Richard Boyle 1st Earl Cork [aged 64] and Catherine Fenton Countess Cork.
On 29th September 1642 David Barry 1st Earl Barrymore [aged 37] died in Castlelyons, County Cork. He was buried in Youghal, Cork. His son Richard [aged 11] succeeded 2nd Earl Barrymore.
In 1694 Richard Barry 2nd Earl Barrymore [aged 63] died. His son Laurence [aged 30] succeeded 3rd Earl Barrymore.
On 17th April 1699 Laurence Barry 3rd Earl Barrymore [aged 35] died. His brother James [aged 32] succeeded 4th Earl Barrymore.
Before 1703 James Barry 4th Earl Barrymore [aged 35] and Elizabeth Boyle Countess Barrymore [aged 40] were married. She by marriage Countess Barrymore. He the son of Richard Barry 2nd Earl Barrymore. They were second cousins. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland.
In June 1706 James Barry 4th Earl Barrymore [aged 39] and Elizabeth "Bessy" Savage Countess Barrymore were married. She by marriage Countess Barrymore. She the daughter of Richard Savage 4th Earl Rivers [aged 52]. He the son of Richard Barry 2nd Earl Barrymore.
On 12th July 1716 James Barry 4th Earl Barrymore [aged 49] and Anne Chichester Countess Barrymore were married at St Anne's Church, Soho [Map]. She by marriage Countess Barrymore. She the daughter of Arthur Chichester 3rd Earl Donegal and Catherine Forbes [aged 26]. He the son of Richard Barry 2nd Earl Barrymore.
On 5th January 1748 James Barry 4th Earl Barrymore [aged 81] died. His son James [aged 30] succeeded 5th Earl Barrymore. Margaret Davys Countess Barrymore by marriage Countess Barrymore.
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 19th December 1751 James Barry 5th Earl Barrymore [aged 34] died. His son Richard [aged 6] succeeded 6th Earl Barrymore.
In 1773 Richard Barry 6th Earl Barrymore [aged 28] died. His son Richard [aged 3] succeeded 7th Earl Barrymore.
On 6th March 1793 Richard Barry 7th Earl Barrymore [aged 23] died. His brother Henry [aged 22] succeeded 8th Earl Barrymore.
On 18th December 1823 Henry Barry 8th Earl Barrymore [aged 53] died. Earl Barrymore extinct.