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: Colyear
In 1733 Caroline Colyear Baroness Scarsdale was born to [her father] Charles Colyear 2nd Earl Portmore (age 32).
In 1751 Nathaniel Curzon 1st Baron Scarsdale (age 25) and Caroline Colyear Baroness Scarsdale (age 18) were married. She the daughter of Charles Colyear 2nd Earl Portmore (age 50).
On 27th September 1752 [her son] Nathaniel Curzon 2nd Baron Scarsdale was born to [her husband] Nathaniel Curzon 1st Baron Scarsdale (age 26) and Caroline Colyear Baroness Scarsdale (age 19). He married (1) 11th August 1777 Sophia Susanna Noel, daughter of Edward Noel 1st Viscount Wentworth, and had issue (2) 18th November 1798 Félicité Anne Josephe de Wattines Lady Scarsdale and had issue.
1754. Arthur Devis (age 41). Portrait of [her husband] Nathaniel Curzon 1st Baron Scarsdale (age 28) and Caroline Colyear Baroness Scarsdale (age 21).
On 16th November 1758 [her father-in-law] Nathaniel Curzon 4th Baronet (age 82) died. His son [her husband] Nathaniel (age 32) succeeded 5th Baronet Curzon of Kedleston in Derbyshire, 5th Baronet Curzon of Nova Scotia. Esther Hanmer Baroness Curzon (age 20) by marriage Lady Curzon of Kedleston in Derbyshire.
1761. Nathaniel Hone the Elder (age 42). Portrait of [her husband] Nathaniel Curzon 1st Baron Scarsdale (age 35) and his wife Caroline Colyear Baroness Scarsdale (age 28).
On 9th April 1761 [her husband] Nathaniel Curzon 1st Baron Scarsdale (age 35) was created 1st Baron Scarsdale. Caroline Colyear Baroness Scarsdale (age 28) by marriage Baroness Scarsdale.
On 5th November 1770 [her brother] William Charles Colyear 3rd Earl Portmore (age 25) and [her sister-in-law] Mary Leslie Countess Portmore (age 17) were married. She the daughter of John Leslie 10th Earl Rothes and Hannah Cole Countess Rothes. He the son of [her father] Charles Colyear 2nd Earl Portmore (age 70).
On 11th August 1777 [her son] Nathaniel Curzon 2nd Baron Scarsdale (age 24) and [her daughter-in-law] Sophia Susanna Noel were married.
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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On 5th July 1785 [her father] Charles Colyear 2nd Earl Portmore (age 84) died. His son [her brother] William (age 40) succeeded 3rd Earl Portmore. [her sister-in-law] Mary Leslie Countess Portmore (age 31) by marriage Countess Portmore.
On 18th November 1798 [her son] Nathaniel Curzon 2nd Baron Scarsdale (age 46) and [her daughter-in-law] Félicité Anne Josephe de Wattines Lady Scarsdale (age 33) were married.
On 5th December 1804 [her husband] Nathaniel Curzon 1st Baron Scarsdale (age 78) died. His son [her son] Nathaniel (age 52) succeeded 2nd Baron Scarsdale, 6th Baronet Curzon of Kedleston in Derbyshire, 6th Baronet Curzon of Nova Scotia. [her daughter-in-law] Félicité Anne Josephe de Wattines Lady Scarsdale (age 39) by marriage Baroness Scarsdale.
In 1812 Caroline Colyear Baroness Scarsdale (age 79) died.
Kings Wessex: Great x 21 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 17 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 23 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 18 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 12 Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 18 Grand Daughter of Louis VII King of the Franks
Kings France: Great x 21 Grand Daughter of Robert "Pious" II King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 25 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 1 Grandfather: Alexander Colyear
GrandFather: David Colyear 1st Earl Portmore
Father: Charles Colyear 2nd Earl Portmore 11 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Sedley 11 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Sedley 1st Baronet 
10 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Culpepper 
9 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Sedley 2nd Baronet 11 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 1 Grandfather: Charles Sedley 5th Baronet 12 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Savile 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Savile
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Ramsden
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Savile
GrandMother: Catherine Sedley Countess Dorchester and Portmore 10 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Savage 1st Baronet 
6 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Savage 1st Viscount Savage 7 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Savage 2nd Earl Rivers 8 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Darcy 1st Earl Rivers 
8 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Darcy 1st Countess Rivers 9 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Kitson Countess Rivers 
11 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 1 Grandmother: Catherine Savage 9 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Parker 13th Baron Marshal 12th Baron Morley 
7 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Parker 4th Baron Monteagle 14th Baron Marshal 13th Baron Morley 7 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Stanley Baroness Marshal Morley 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 2 Grandmother: Catherine Parker 8 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Tresham 7 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Tresham 7 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Muriel Throckmorton 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of
Caroline Colyear Baroness Scarsdale 12 x Great Grand Daughter of