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 24th June 1826 [her father] Frederic Leighton (age 26) and [her mother] Augusta Susan Nash (age 21) were married.
On 23rd November 1828 Alexandra Leighton was born to [her father] Frederic Leighton (age 29) and [her mother] Augusta Susan Nash (age 23).
1853. [her brother] Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton (age 22). Portrait of Alexandra Leighton (age 24), the artist's sister.
On 7th March 1857 Major Sutherland George Gordon Orr (age 41) and Alexandra Leighton (age 28) were married at Bath, Somerset [Map]. He died fifteen months later.
On 19th June 1858 [her husband] Major Sutherland George Gordon Orr (age 42) died. The Newspapers reported On Saturday, the 19th inst., at midnight, at the residence of his brother-in-law, Greenhill, near Barnet, Herts, Major Sutherland G. G. Orr, late commanding the 3rd Regiment of Hyderabad Cavalry, aged 42. This gallant and distinguished officer succumbed, after several months of severe suffering, to the results of anxiety, fatigue, and exposure of the last Mhow and Central India Campaign.
In 1859 [her father] Frederic Leighton (age 59) and [her mother] Augusta Susan Nash (age 54) travelled to Florence with their daughters Gussie and the recently widowed1 Alexandra aka Lina (age 30).
Note 1. Her husband [her former husband] Major Sutherland George Gordon Orr (age 42) had died on 19th June 1858.
In 1865 [her mother] Augusta Susan Nash (age 60) died.
1889. [her brother] Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton (age 58). Portrait of Alexandra Leighton (age 60), the artist's sister.
1892. [her brother] Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton (age 61). Portrait of Alexandra Leighton (age 63), the artist's sister.
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel Volume 1 Chapters 1-60 1307-1342
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel offer one of the most vivid and immediate accounts of 14th-century Europe, written by a knight who lived through the events he describes, and experienced some of them first hand. Covering the early decades of the Hundred Years’ War, this remarkable chronicle follows the campaigns of Edward III of England, the politics of France and the Low Countries, and the shifting alliances that shaped medieval warfare. Unlike later historians, Jean le Bel writes with a strong sense of eyewitness authenticity, drawing on personal experience and the testimony of fellow soldiers. His narrative captures not only battles and sieges, but also the realities of military life, diplomacy, and the ideals of chivalry that governed noble society. A key source for Jean Froissart, Le Bel’s chronicle stands on its own as a compelling and insightful work, at once historical record and literary achievement. This translation builds on the 1905 edition published in French by Jules Viard, adding extensive translations from other sources Rymer's Fœdera, the Chronicles of Adam Murimuth, William Nangis, Walter of Guisborough, a Bourgeois of Valenciennes, Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke and Richard Lescot to enrich the original text and Viard's notes.
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On 24th January 1892 [her father] Frederic Leighton (age 92) died at 11 Kensington-park-gardens.
[her father] Leighton, Frederic Septimus, of 11 Kensington Park Gardens, Middlesex, M.D. died 24 January 1892, Probate London 1 March [1892], to Sir [her brother] Frederic Leighton (age 61), baronet, P.R.A., and Alexandra Orr (age 63), and [her sister] Augusta Newnburg Matthews (age 56), widows. Effects £65,929 6s. 4d.
On 25th January 1896 [her brother] Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton (age 65) died. Baron Leighton of Stretton in Shropshire and Baronet Leighton of Holland Park Road in St Mary Abbots in Kensington in Middlesex extinct. He left Ada Alice "Dorothy Dene" Pullen (age 37) £5,000, plus another £5,000 in trust for herself and her sisters; the largest bequest he made.
On 23rd August 1903 Alexandra Leighton (age 74) died at 11 Kensington Park Gardens.
GrandFather: James Bonifcae Leighton
Father: Frederic Leighton
Great x 1 Grandfather: Edward l'Anson
GrandMother: Frances l'Anson