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: Oldenburg
On 29th October 1525 [his father] Christian III King of Denmark (age 22) and [his mother] Dorothea of Saxe Lauenburg Queen Consort Denmark and Norway (age 14) were married. He the son of [his grandfather] King Frederick I of Denmark (age 54) and [his grandmother] Anna of Brandenburg.
On 1st July 1534 Frederick II King Denmark was born to [his father] Christian III King of Denmark (age 30) and [his mother] Dorothea of Saxe Lauenburg Queen Consort Denmark and Norway (age 23).
On 1st January 1559 [his father] Christian III King of Denmark (age 55) died. His son Frederick (age 24) succeeded II King Denmark.
On 12th October 1561 [his brother-in-law] William "Younger" Welf Duke Brunswick-Lüneburg (age 26) and [his sister] Dorothea Oldenburg Duchess Brunswick-Lüneburg (age 15) were married. She by marriage Duchess Brunswick Lüneburg. She the daughter of [his father] Christian III King of Denmark and [his mother] Dorothea of Saxe Lauenburg Queen Consort Denmark and Norway (age 50). They were half sixth cousins.
On 19th August 1568 [his brother] John "Younger" Oldenburg Duke Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg (age 23) and [his sister-in-law] Elisabeth of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (age 18) were married. He the son of [his father] Christian III King of Denmark and [his mother] Dorothea of Saxe Lauenburg Queen Consort Denmark and Norway (age 57). They were sixth cousins.
On 7th October 1571 [his mother] Dorothea of Saxe Lauenburg Queen Consort Denmark and Norway (age 60) died.
On 20th July 1572 Frederick II King Denmark (age 38) and Sophie Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Denmark (age 14) were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Denmark. The difference in their ages was 23 years. He the son of Christian III King of Denmark and Dorothea of Saxe Lauenburg Queen Consort Denmark and Norway. They were second cousin once removed.
On 25th August 1573 [his daughter] Elizabeth Oldenburg was born to Frederick II King Denmark (age 39) and [his wife] Sophie Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Denmark (age 15). She married 19th April 1590 Henry Julius Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and had issue.
On 12th December 1574 [his daughter] Anne of Denmark Queen Consort Scotland England and Ireland was born to Frederick II King Denmark (age 40) and [his wife] Sophie Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Denmark (age 17). She married 23rd November 1589 her third cousin once removed King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland, son of Henry "Lord Darnley" Stewart and Mary Queen of Scots, and had issue.
On 12th April 1577 [his son] Christian IV King of Denmark was born to Frederick II King Denmark (age 42) and [his wife] Sophie Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Denmark (age 19).
In 1578 Frederick II King Denmark (age 43) was appointed 364th Knight of the Garter by Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland (age 44)..
On 30th December 1578 [his son] Prince Ulrik Oldenburg was born to Frederick II King Denmark (age 44) and [his wife] Sophie Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Denmark (age 21).
In 1579 [his son] John August Oldenburg died.
In 1579 [his son] John August Oldenburg was born to Frederick II King Denmark (age 44) and [his wife] Sophie Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Denmark (age 21). He died aged less than one years old.
On 5th April 1580 [his son] Augusta Oldenburg was born to Frederick II King Denmark (age 45) and [his wife] Sophie Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Denmark (age 22).
On 5th August 1581 [his son] Hedwig Oldenburg was born to Frederick II King Denmark (age 47) and [his wife] Sophie Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Denmark (age 23).
On 9th July 1583 [his son] John Oldenburg was born to Frederick II King Denmark (age 49) and [his wife] Sophie Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Denmark (age 25).
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 14th February 1588 [his brother] John "Younger" Oldenburg Duke Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg (age 42) and [his sister-in-law] Agnes Hedwig of Anhalt (age 14) were married. The difference in their ages was 27 years. He the son of [his father] Christian III King of Denmark and [his mother] Dorothea of Saxe Lauenburg Queen Consort Denmark and Norway.
On 4th April 1588 Frederick II King Denmark (age 53) died. His son Christian (age 10) succeeded IV King Denmark.
On 14th October 1631 [his former wife] Sophie Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Denmark (age 74) died.
Kings Wessex: Great x 16 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings England: Great x 11 Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 15 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 12 Grand Son of Louis VII King of the Franks
Kings France: Great x 16 Grand Son of Robert "Pious" II King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 20 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Anne of Denmark Queen Consort Scotland England and Ireland [1]
Christian IV King of Denmark [1]
King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [1]
Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [1]
Caroline Matilda Hanover Queen Consort Denmark and Norway [1]
Caroline of Brunswick Queen Consort England [1]
Frederica Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort Hanover [1]
King Christian I of Norway and VIII of Denmark [2]
Frederick William IV King Prussia [1]
Frederick VII King of Denmark [3]
Queen Louise Hesse-Kassel of Denmark [2]
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom [2]
Queen Sophia of Sweden and Norway [1]
Victoria Empress Germany Queen Consort Prussia [6]
King Edward VII of the United Kingdom [6]
Frederick Charles I King Finland [2]
Alexandrine Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Denmark [4]
Victoria Eugénie Mountbatten Queen Consort Spain [6]
Louise Mountbatten Queen Consort Sweden [6]
Ingrid Bernadotte Queen Consort Denmark [7]
Philip Mountbatten Duke Edinburgh [7]
Carl XVI King Sweden [13]
Great x 2 Grandfather: Dietrich Count of Oldenburg 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Christian I King of Denmark
Great x 2 Grandmother: Helvig of Schauenburg
GrandFather: King Frederick I of Denmark
Great x 4 Grandfather: Frederick Hohenzollern V Burgrave Nuremburg
Great x 3 Grandfather: Frederick I Elector Brandenburg
Great x 2 Grandfather: John "The Alchemist" Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
Great x 1 Grandmother: Dorothea of Brandenburg
Great x 3 Grandfather: Rudolf III Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg
Great x 2 Grandmother: Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg
Father: Christian III King of Denmark 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Frederick Hohenzollern V Burgrave Nuremburg
Great x 3 Grandfather: Frederick I Elector Brandenburg
Great x 2 Grandfather: Albert "Achilles" Elector Brandenburg
Great x 1 Grandfather: John "Cicero" Hohenzollern Elector Brandenburg
GrandMother: Anna of Brandenburg 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Frederick I Duke Saxony
Great x 2 Grandfather: William III Duke of Luxemburg 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry "The Mild" Welf 5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Sophie Griffins
Great x 1 Grandmother: Margaret of Thuringia 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Albert Habsburg IV Duke Austria
Great x 3 Grandfather: Albert Habsburg V Duke Austria 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joanna Sophia Wittelsbach Duchess Austria 
5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Anne Habsburg 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund 
8 x Great Grand Son of King William "Conqueror" I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Luxemburg Duchess Austria 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Barbara of Cilli Holy Roman Empress
Frederick II King of Denmark 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Mother: Dorothea of Saxe Lauenburg Queen Consort Denmark and Norway