Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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In 1858 [his father] William Jenner 1st Baronet (age 42) and [his mother] Adela Adey were married.
On 24th October 1869 Captain Leopold Jenner was born to [his father] William Jenner 1st Baronet (age 54) and [his mother] Adela Adey. He was educated at Marlborough College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
In 1888 Captain Leopold Jenner (age 18) joined the King's Royal Rifle Corps.
In 1896 Captain Leopold Jenner (age 26) was promoted to Captain.
On 11th December 1898 [his father] William Jenner 1st Baronet (age 83) died. His son [his brother] Walter (age 38) succeeded 2nd Baronet Jenner of Harley Street.
In 1899 Captain Leopold Jenner (age 29) and Nora Helen Gertrude Stewart (age 31) were married.
After 1914 Captain Leopold Jenner (age 44) lived at Avebury Manor, Wiltshire [Map].
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 20th October 1953 Captain Leopold Jenner (age 83) died.