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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Maternal Family Tree: Elizabeth Dinley 1495-1550
Before 1613 [her father] Paul Bayning 1st Viscount Bayning [aged 24] and [her mother] Anne Glemham Viscountess Bayning were married.
On 23rd April 1619 Anne Bayning Viscountess Bayning was born to [her father] Paul Bayning 1st Viscount Bayning [aged 31] and [her mother] Anne Glemham Viscountess Bayning.
On 27th February 1628 [her father] Paul Bayning 1st Viscount Bayning [aged 40] was created 1st Baron Bayning of Horkesley in Essex. [her mother] Anne Glemham Viscountess Bayning by marriage Baroness Bayning of Horkesley in Essex.
On 8th March 1628 [her father] Paul Bayning 1st Viscount Bayning [aged 40] was created 1st Viscount Bayning. [her mother] Anne Glemham Viscountess Bayning by marriage Viscountess Bayning.
On 29th July 1629 [her father] Paul Bayning 1st Viscount Bayning [aged 41] died at Mark Lane [Map]. His son [her brother] Paul [aged 13] succeeded 2nd Viscount Bayning, 2nd Baron Bayning of Horkesley in Essex.
On 29th December 1630 Oliver St John 1st Viscount Grandison [aged 71] died. His great nephew [her future brother-in-law] William [aged 16] succeeded 2nd Viscount Grandison. [her sister] Mary Bayning Countess Anglesey [aged 7] by marriage Viscountess Grandison.
On 26th November 1635 Henry Murray of Berkhampstead and Anne Bayning Viscountess Bayning [aged 16] were married.
On 11th June 1638 [her brother] Paul Bayning 2nd Viscount Bayning [aged 22] died without male issue. Viscount Bayning, Baron Bayning of Horkesley in Essex extinct.
Before 27th November 1640 [her brother-in-law] William Villiers 2nd Viscount Grandison [aged 26] and [her sister] Mary Bayning Countess Anglesey [aged 17] were married. She the heiress of a fortune of £180,000.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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In 1641 [her daughter] Anne Murray was born to [her husband] Henry Murray of Berkhampstead and Anne Bayning Viscountess Bayning [aged 21]. She married after 27th March 1661 Robert Pierrepont and had issue.
After 20th September 1643 [her brother-in-law] Charles Villiers 2nd Earl Anglesey and [her sister] Mary Bayning Countess Anglesey [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Countess Anglesey. He a cousin of her first husband. He the son of Christopher Villiers 1st Earl Anglesey and Elizabeth Sheldon Countess Anglesey [aged 35].
Around 1650 [her daughter] Elizabeth Murray was born to [her husband] Henry Murray of Berkhampstead and Anne Bayning Viscountess Bayning [aged 30]. She married (1) 1st May 1673 Randolph Egerton of Betley (2) before 11th December 1717 Charles Egerton of Newborough, son of John Egerton 2nd Earl Bridgewater and Elizabeth Cavendish Countess Bridgewater, and had issue.
After 27th March 1661 [her son-in-law] Robert Pierrepont [aged 24] and [her daughter] Anne Murray [aged 20] were married.
In 1672 [her sister] Mary Bayning Countess Anglesey [aged 49] died.
On 10th July 1672 [her son-in-law] John Bowyer 2nd Baronet [aged 19] and [her daughter] Jane Murray were married.
Before September 1672 [her husband] Henry Murray of Berkhampstead died.
Around 1st May 1673 [her son-in-law] Randolph Egerton of Betley [aged 54] and [her daughter] Elizabeth Murray [aged 23] were married. The difference in their ages was 31 years.
In 1674 Anne Bayning Viscountess Bayning [aged 54] was created 1st Viscountess Bayning for life.
Before 1678 John Baber [aged 52] and Anne Bayning Viscountess Bayning [aged 58] were married.
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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In October 1678 Anne Bayning Viscountess Bayning [aged 59] died. Viscount Bayning extinct.
On 15th February 1681 [her former husband] John Baber [aged 55] and Bridget Drury were married.
In 1704 [her former husband] John Baber [aged 78] died.
In 1797 Charles Townshend 1st Baron Bayning [aged 67] was created 1st Baron Bayning of Foxley in Berkshire. He was a decendant on his mother's side of Anne Bayning Viscountess Bayning by her daughter Elizabeth Murray and her daughter Anne Egerton mother of Henrietta Paulett who was his mother. Annabella Smith-Powlett [aged 42] by marriage Baroness Bayning of Foxley in Berkshire.
[her daughter] Jane Murray was born to Henry Murray of Berkhampstead and Anne Bayning Viscountess Bayning. She married 10th July 1672 John Bowyer 2nd Baronet, son of John Bowyer 1st Baronet, and had issue.
Kings Wessex: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 15 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 21 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 16 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings England: Great x 11 Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 18 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 25 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 23 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Father: Paul Bayning 1st Viscount Bayning 
Anne Bayning Viscountess Bayning 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
GrandFather: Henry Glemham
Mother: Anne Glemham Viscountess Bayning 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Sackville of Buckhurst 
7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Sackville 8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabel Digges
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Sackville 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Boleyn 
8 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Boleyn 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Butler 
5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Sackville 1st Earl Dorset 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Brydges
Great x 2 Grandmother: Winifred Brydges Marchioness Winchester
Great x 3 Grandmother: Agnes Ayloffe
GrandMother: Anne Sackville 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Baker
Great x 1 Grandmother: Cicely Baker Countess Dorset
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Dinley
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Dinley
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Dinley