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: Gould
In 1758 [his father] Charles Gould aka Morgan 1st Baronet [aged 31] and [his mother] Jane Morgan [aged 27] were married.
On 4th February 1760 Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet was born to [his father] Charles Gould aka Morgan 1st Baronet [aged 33] and [his mother] Jane Morgan [aged 29].
On 21st November 1777 Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 17] was commissioned ensign and lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards.
On 22nd March 1781 Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 21] was promoted to Lieutenant and Captain.
Between 28th September 1781 and 19th October 1781 the 1781 Battle of Yorktown was fought was a decisive victory by a combined force of the American Continental Army troops led by General George Washington [aged 49] and Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, and French Army troops led by Comte de Rochambeau over British Army troops commanded by British peer and Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis [aged 42].
Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis and Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 21] were captured.
In 1787 Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 26] was elected MP Brecon which seat he held until 1796.
On 14th May 1790 Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 30] was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel.
In 1791 Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 30] and Mary Margaret or Magdalen Stoney were married.
On 10th April 1792 [his son] Charles Morgan 1st Baron Tredegar was born to Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 32] and [his wife] Mary Margaret or Magdalen Stoney. He was educated at Harrow School, Westminster School [Map] and Christ Church College, Oxford University. He married 1827 Rosamund Mundy and had issue.
On 4th May 1792 Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 32] retired from the Army.
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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On 27th June 1792 [his uncle] John Morgan [aged 50] died. His sister [his mother] Jane Morgan [aged 61] and her husband [his father] Charles Gould aka Morgan 1st Baronet [aged 66] and inherited Tredegar House, Monmouthshire on condition he changed his name from Gould to Morgan which he did by royal licence on 20th November 1792. His children including Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 32] also changed their surname.
In 1796 Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 35] was elected MP Monmouthshire which seat he held until 1831.
In 1797 [his mother] Jane Morgan [aged 66] died.
On 7th December 1806 [his father] Charles Gould aka Morgan 1st Baronet [aged 80] died at Tredegar House, Monmouthshire. His son Charles [aged 46] succeeded 2nd Baronet Morgan of Tredegar.
1810 to 1811. William Owen [aged 41]. Portrait of Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 49].
In 1827 [his son] Charles Morgan 1st Baron Tredegar [aged 34] and [his daughter-in-law] Rosamund Mundy [aged 17] were married.
On 5th December 1846 Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet [aged 86] died. His son Charles [aged 54] succeeded 3rd Baronet Morgan of Tredegar.
Kings Wessex: Great x 22 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 19 Grand Son of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn King Gwynedd King Powys
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 23 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 18 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings England: Great x 15 Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 21 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 29 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 23 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 27 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Charles Gould aka Morgan 2nd Baronet 15 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Morgan
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Morgan of Machen
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Morgan 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Hopton of Witham 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Rachel Hopton 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Morgan of Tredegar 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Blanche Morgan
GrandFather: Thomas Morgan of Rhiwpera 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Martha Vaughan 
Mother: Jane Morgan 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England