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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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John Baker Holroyd 1st Earl Sheffield 1735-1821

On 21st December 1735 John Baker Holroyd 1st Earl Sheffield was born.

The London Gazette 12146. St. James's, 23rd December 1780. The King has been pleased to order Letters Patent to be passed under the Great Seal of the Kingdom of Ireland, containing His Majesty's Grants of the Dignity of a Baron of the said Kingdom unto the following Gentlemen, and their Heirs Male, of the Names, Stiles and Titles as undermentioned viz.

James Dennis, Esq; Chief Baron of His Majesty's Court of Exchequer in Ireland, Baron Tracton, of Tracton Abbey, in the County of Cork.

Sir Robert Tilson Deane, Bart. Baron Muskery, in the County of Cork.

Armar Lowry Corry [aged 40], Esq; Baron Belmore, of Castlecoole, in the County of Fermanagh.

Thomas Knox, Esq; Baron Welles, of Dungannon, in the County of Tyrone.

John Baker Holroyd [aged 45], Esq; Baron Sheffield, of Dunamore, in the County of Meath.

In 1783 John Baker Holroyd 1st Earl Sheffield [aged 47] was elected Fellow of the Royal Society.

In 1783 John Baker Holroyd 1st Earl Sheffield [aged 47] was created 1st Baron Sheffield of Roscommon in Roscommon.

On 30th September 1785 [his future brother-in-law] George Augustus North 3rd Earl Guildford [aged 28] and Maria Frances Hobart Countess Guilford [aged 23] were married. She the daughter of George Hobart 3rd Earl Buckinghamshire [aged 54] and Albinia Bertie Countess Buckinghamshire [aged 46]. He the son of Frederick North 2nd Earl Guildford [aged 53] and Anne Speke Countess Guilford [aged 45]. They were fifth cousin once removed.

Before 1793 John Baker Holroyd 1st Earl Sheffield [aged 57] and Abigail Way Countess Sheffield were married. She by marriage Countess Sheffield of Dunamore in Meath.

In 1793 [his wife] Abigail Way Countess Sheffield died.

In 1796 [his son-in-law] John Stanley 1st Baron Stanley Alderley [aged 29] and Maria Josepha Holroyd Baroness Stanley Alderley were married. She the daughter of John Baker Holroyd 1st Earl Sheffield [aged 60] and Abigail Way Countess Sheffield.

On 28th February 1796 [his future brother-in-law] George Augustus North 3rd Earl Guildford [aged 38] and Susan Coutts Countess Guildford [aged 25] were married. She by marriage Countess Guildford. He the son of Frederick North 2nd Earl Guildford and Anne Speke Countess Guilford [aged 56].

On 20th January 1798 John Baker Holroyd 1st Earl Sheffield [aged 62] and Anne North Countess Sheffield [aged 37] were married. She by marriage Countess Sheffield of Dunamore in Meath. The difference in their ages was 24 years. She the daughter of Frederick North 2nd Earl Guildford and Anne Speke Countess Guilford.

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Annals of Kings Richard II and Henry IV 1393-1406

The Annals of Kings Richard II and Henry IV offers a vivid contemporary account of one of the most turbulent periods in late medieval England. Covering the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV, the chronicle records royal ceremonies, political conflict, rebellion, war, taxation, religious controversy, executions, popular unrest and remarkable portents. Its pages include a detailed description of Richard II’s coronation, the fall and deposition of the king, Henry IV’s seizure of the throne, the Percy rebellion, the execution of Archbishop Richard Scrope, the campaigns of Owain Glyndŵr, and England’s relations with Scotland, France, Portugal and Scandinavia. Alongside affairs of state, the annalist preserves reports of miracles, eclipses, prophecies, supernatural events and the experiences of ordinary townspeople, clergy, soldiers and travellers. Written from a monastic perspective, the work combines political observation with moral judgement, presenting victories and disasters as evidence of divine favour or punishment. At once a historical record and a reflection of medieval belief, the Annals provides an invaluable window into the challenges, ceremonies and conflicts of England at the turn of the fifteenth century.

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In 1802 John Baker Holroyd 1st Earl Sheffield [aged 66] was created 1st Baron Sheffield of Sheffield in Yorkshire.

On 16th March 1802 [his son] George Augustus Frederick Charles Holroyd 2nd Earl Sheffield was born to John Baker Holroyd 1st Earl Sheffield [aged 66] and [his wife] Anne North Countess Sheffield [aged 42]. He married before 18th January 1832 Harriet Lascelles Countess Sheffield, daughter of Henry Lascelles 2nd Earl Harewood and Henrietta Sebright Countess Harewood, and had issue.

In 1816 John Baker Holroyd 1st Earl Sheffield [aged 80] was created 1st Earl Sheffield of Dunamore in Meath and 1st Viscount Pevensey.

On 18th January 1832 [his former wife] Anne North Countess Sheffield [aged 71] died.

[his daughter] Maria Josepha Holroyd Baroness Stanley Alderley was born to John Baker Holroyd 1st Earl Sheffield and Abigail Way Countess Sheffield. She married 1. 1796 John Stanley 1st Baron Stanley Alderley, son of John Thomas Stanley 6th Baronet, and had issue 2. 1st June 1827 Arthur Charles Legge, son of George Legge 3rd Earl Dartmouth and Frances Finch Countess Dartmouth.

[his daughter] Daughter Holroyd was born to John Baker Holroyd 1st Earl Sheffield and Abigail Way Countess Sheffield.