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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Charles Allston Collins is in Painters.
On 25th January 1828 Charles Allston Collins was born to William Collins [aged 40]. His middle name 'Allston' the surname of his father's friend the American painter Washington Allston.
Before 1847. Charles Allston Collins [aged 18]. Portrait of William Collins [aged 58], the artist's father.
William Collins: In 1788 he was born. In 1847 he died.
In 1847 [his father] William Collins [aged 59] died.
1850. Charles Allston Collins [aged 21]. "Berengaria's Alarm for the Safety of Her Husband, Richard Coeur de Lion, Awakened by the Sight of His Girdle Offered for Sale at Rome".
Around 1851 in an undated letter, Charles Allston Collins [aged 22] wrote to Holman Hunt: "I have been very much occupied lately having taken the trouble of persuading a young lady [Sarah Eliza Hackett [aged 19]] to sit, who struck both Millais and myself as having possessed a very beautiful head – she was a friend of a friend of mine so after some trouble I managed to secure her, but I have been obliged to hurry very much as her time was limited. I had to pursue her to her own house and take sittings there, getting up very early for this purpose."
1851. Charles Allston Collins [aged 22]. "A Good Harvest of 1854".
1851. Charles Allston Collins [aged 22]. "May, in the Regent's Park".
1851 to 1852. Charles Allston Collins [aged 22]. "The Devout Childhood of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary". Detroit Institute of Arts, United States of America.
Before 13th May 1851. Charles Allston Collins [aged 23]. Study for Convent Thoughts.
Before 13th May 1851. Letter from Charles Allston Collins [aged 23] to William Holman Hunt [aged 24] regarding the picture "Convent Thoughts".
In or after June 1851. Charles Allston Collins [aged 23]. "Convent Thoughts". The passion flower symbolising the Passion of Christ. The missal in her left hand shows the Annunciation and Crucifixion. The model Sarah Eliza Hackett [aged 19]. The artist had borrowed the same costume fot the nun that William Holman Hunt [aged 24] has used for Claudio and Isabella. The flowers were all painted from nature in the garden of Thomas Combe's home in the quadrangle of the Clarendon Press in Oxford.
1853. Charles Allston Collins [aged 24]. Portrait of (probably) Catherine "Kate" Perugini nee Dickens [aged 13], the artist's wife.
Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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The Diary of George Price Boyce 1853. 6th January 1853. To Rossetti's [aged 24], Blackfriars Bridge. Met there W. Holman Hunt [aged 25], J. E. Millais [aged 23], J. P. Seddon [aged 25], Clayton [aged 25], Munro [aged 27], whose charming group of Francesca and her lover was in Rossetti's studio, Stephens, Blanchard, C. Lucy, a Scotchman and a foreigner. Millais somewhat egotistical and little real, his attention being easily distracted. He jerked out some good remarks. Spoke highly of Ruskin [aged 33] as a friend of Art; said that Mrs. R [aged 24]. was sitting for one of his pictures. Hunt struck me as a thoroughly genuine, humorous, good-hearted, straightforward English-like fellow. Said he was bound for Syria before long. Millais spoke highly of Charles Collins [aged 24] as a good religious man?
In 1860 Charles Allston Collins [aged 31] and Catherine "Kate" Perugini nee Dickens [aged 20] were married.
Around 1865. Charles Allston Collins [aged 36]. Portrait of Wilkie Collins, the artist's brother.
On 9th April 1873 Charles Allston Collins [aged 45] died of cancer. He was buried at Brompton Cemetery, Kensington.
On 4th June 1874 Charles Edward Perugini [aged 34] and [his former wife] Catherine "Kate" Perugini nee Dickens [aged 34] were married at St. Paul's Church in Wilton Place, Knightsbridge. The guests included Georgina Hogarth, Mamie Dickens, Francis Jeffrey Dickens, Henry Fielding Dickens and Sir John Everett Millais [aged 44]. They had married earlier, 1st September 1839, at a registry office, with witnesses, and strangers, Henry Thomas Mitcham and Ernest Edward Earle.
On 9th May 1929 [his former wife] Catherine "Kate" Perugini nee Dickens [aged 89] died.