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 King Haakon V 1270-1319

Paternal Family Tree: Sverre

On 11th September 1261 [his father] King Magnus VI of Norway [aged 23] and [his mother] Queen Ingeborg of Norway [aged 17] were married. She the daughter of [his grandfather] King Eric IV of Denmark and [his grandmother] Jutta of Saxony [aged 38]. He the son of King Haakon IV of Norway [aged 57].

On 10th April 1270 King Haakon V was born to [his father] King Magnus VI of Norway [aged 31] and [his mother] Queen Ingeborg of Norway [aged 26].

On 9th May 1280 [his father] King Magnus VI of Norway [aged 42] died. His son [his brother] Eric [aged 12] succeeded King Norway.

On 31st August 1281 [his brother] Eric II King Norway [aged 13] and [his sister-in-law] Margaret Dunkeld Queen Consort Norway [aged 20] were married at Bergen. She the daughter of King Alexander III of Scotland [aged 39] and Margaret Queen of Scotland. He the son of [his father] King Magnus VI of Norway and [his mother] Queen Ingeborg of Norway [aged 37]. They were half fourth cousin once removed. She a granddaughter of King Henry III of England.

On 24th March 1287 or 26th March 1287 [his mother] Queen Ingeborg of Norway [aged 43] died.

In 1293 [his brother] Eric II King Norway [aged 25] and [his sister-in-law] Isabel Bruce Queen Norway [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Queen Norway. She the daughter of Robert Bruce Earl Carrick [aged 49] and Marjorie Carrick 3rd Countess Carrick. He the son of [his father] King Magnus VI of Norway and [his mother] Queen Ingeborg of Norway.

In 1295 King Haakon V [aged 24] and Isabel Joigny were married. He the son of King Magnus VI of Norway and Queen Ingeborg of Norway.

In 1297 [his wife] Isabel Joigny died.

In 1299 King Haakon V [aged 28] and Euphemia of Rügen Queen Norway [aged 19] were married. He the son of King Magnus VI of Norway and Queen Ingeborg of Norway.

On 15th July 1299 Eric II King Norway [aged 31] died. His brother Haakon [aged 29] succeeded V King Norway. Euphemia of Rügen Queen Norway [aged 19] by marriage Queen Norway.

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 1301 [his son] Ingeborg of Norway was born to King Haakon V [aged 30]. He died aged less than one years old.

On 17th June 1301 [his son] Ingeborg of Norway died.

In May 1312 [his wife] Euphemia of Rügen Queen Norway [aged 32] died.

On 8th May 1319 King Haakon V [aged 49] died.