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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On 28th September 1626 Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale was born to William Murray 1st Earl Dysart [aged 26].
On 6th September 1640 Lionel Tollemache 2nd Baronet [aged 49] died at Tilbury, Essex [Map]. He was buried at Church of St Mary, Helmingham [Map]. His son [her future husband] Lionel [aged 16] succeeded 3rd Baronet Talmash of Helmingham in Suffolk. Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 13] by marriage Lady Talmash of Helmingham in Suffolk.
Around 1641 Peter Lely [aged 22]. Portrait of Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 14].
In 1643 [her father] William Murray 1st Earl Dysart [aged 43] was created 1st Earl Dysart.
On 18th January 1645 John Maitland 1st Earl Lauderdale died. His son [her future husband] John [aged 28] succeeded 2nd Earl Lauderdale, 2nd Viscount Maitland, 2nd Viscount Lauderdale.
Around 1647 John Weesop. Portrait of Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 20].
Around 1648 Lionel Tollemache 3rd Baronet [aged 23] and Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 21] were married. She the daughter of William Murray 1st Earl Dysart [aged 48].
Around 1648 Peter Lely [aged 29]. Portrait of Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 21].
Around 1649 [her son] William Tollemache was born to [her husband] Lionel Tollemache 3rd Baronet [aged 24] and Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 22].
Around 1649 [her son] Thomas Tollemache was born to [her husband] Lionel Tollemache 3rd Baronet [aged 24] and Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 22].
Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.
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On 30th January 1649 [her son] Lionel Tollemache 3rd Earl Dysart was born to [her husband] Lionel Tollemache 3rd Baronet [aged 24] and Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 22]. He married 30th September 1680 Grace Wilbraham Countess Dysart, daughter of Thomas Wilbraham 3rd Baronet and Elizabeth Mytton Lady Wilbrahim, and had issue.
In December 1655 [her father] William Murray 1st Earl Dysart [aged 55] died. His daughter Elizabeth [aged 29] succeeded 2nd Countess Dysart.
On 10th July 1659 [her daughter] Elizabeth Tollemache Duchess Argyll was born to [her husband] Lionel Tollemache 3rd Baronet [aged 35] and Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 32]. She married 12th March 1678 her sixth cousin Archibald Campbell 1st Duke Argyll, son of Archibald Campbell 9th Earl Argyll and Mary Stewart Countess Argyll, and had issue.
After 10th July 1659 [her daughter] Catherine Tollemache was born to [her husband] Lionel Tollemache 3rd Baronet [aged 35] and Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 32].
Around 1665 Peter Lely [aged 46]. Portrait of Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 38].
Before 25th March 1669 [her husband] Lionel Tollemache 3rd Baronet [aged 44] died. His son Lionel [aged 20] succeeded 4th Baronet Talmash of Helmingham in Suffolk.
In December 1671 [her future husband] John Maitland 1st Duke Lauderdale [aged 55] and Anne Home [aged 59] were married. She the daughter of Alexander Home 1st Earl of Home and Mary Dudley Countess Home. He the son of John Maitland 1st Earl Lauderdale.
In 1672 John Maitland 1st Duke Lauderdale [aged 55] and Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 45] were married. She the daughter of William Murray 1st Earl Dysart. He the son of John Maitland 1st Earl Lauderdale.
On 2nd May 1672 [her husband] John Maitland 1st Duke Lauderdale [aged 55] was created 1st Duke Lauderdale, 1st Earl March Unknown Creation. Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 45] by marriage Duchess Lauderdale.
On 25th June 1674 [her husband] John Maitland 1st Duke Lauderdale [aged 58] was created 1st Earl Guildford, 1st Baron Petersham. Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 47] by marriage Countess Guildford.
Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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Around 1675 Peter Lely [aged 56]. Portrait of [her husband] John Maitland 1st Duke Lauderdale [aged 58] and Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 48].
John Evelyn's Diary. 10th September 1677. To divert me, my Lord [aged 59] would needs carry me to see Ipswich, Suffolk [Map], when we dined with one Mr. Mann by the way, who was Recorder of the town. There were in our company my Lord Huntingtower [aged 28], son to the Duchess of Lauderdale [aged 50], Sir Edward Bacon, a learned gentleman of the family of the great Chancellor Verulam, and Sir John Felton, with some other knights and gentlemen. After dinner came the bailiff and magistrates in their formalities with their maces to compliment my Lord, and invite him to the town-house, where they presented us a collation of dried sweetmeats and wine, the bells ringing, etc. Then, we went to see the town, and first, the Lord Viscount Hereford's [aged 3] house, which stands in a park near the town, like that at Brussels, in Flanders; the house not great, yet pretty, especially the hall. The stews for fish succeeded one another, and feed one the other, all paved at bottom. There is a good picture of the blessed virgin in one of the parlors, seeming to be of Holbein, or some good master. Then we saw the Haven, seven miles from Harwich, Essex [Map]. The tide runs out every day, but the bedding being soft mud, it is safe for shipping and a station. The trade of Ipswich, Suffolk [Map] is for the most part Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland [Map] coals, with which they supply London; but it was formerly a clothing town. There is not any beggar asks alms in the whole place, a thing very extraordinary, so ordered by the prudence of the magistrates. It has in it fourteen or fifteen beautiful churches: in a word, it is for building, cleanness, and good order, one of the best towns in England. Cardinal Wolsey was a butcher's son of Ipswich, but there is little of that magnificent Prelate's foundation here, besides a school and I think a library, which I did not see. His intentions were to build some great thing. We returned late to Euston, Suffolk, having traveled about fifty miles this day.
On 12th March 1678 [her son-in-law] Archibald Campbell 1st Duke Argyll [aged 19] and Elizabeth Tollemache Duchess Argyll [aged 18] were married. She the daughter of Lionel Tollemache 3rd Baronet and Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 51]. He the son of Archibald Campbell 9th Earl Argyll [aged 49] and Mary Stewart Countess Argyll. They were sixth cousins.
On 30th September 1680 Lionel Tollemache 3rd Earl Dysart [aged 31] and Grace Wilbraham Countess Dysart [aged 19] were married. She by marriage Countess Dysart. He the son of Lionel Tollemache 3rd Baronet and Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 54].
On 24th August 1682 [her husband] John Maitland 1st Duke Lauderdale [aged 66] died. Duke Lauderdale, Earl Guildford, Baron Petersham extinct. His brother [her brother-in-law] Charles succeeded 3rd Earl Lauderdale, 3rd Viscount Maitland, 3rd Viscount Lauderdale.
On 25th May 1691 [her son] William Tollemache [aged 42] died.
Around June 1694 [her son] Thomas Tollemache [aged 45] died.
On 5th June 1698 Elizabeth Murray Duchess Lauderdale [aged 71] died at Ham House, Richmond, Surrey. She was buried at Church of St Peter Petersham, Surrey. Her son Lionel [aged 49] succeeded 3rd Earl Dysart.
GrandFather: William Murray 
Father: William Murray 1st Earl Dysart