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: Harrington
John Harrington 1st Baron Harington and Juliana Barlingham were married.
John Harrington 1st Baron Harington and Margaret aka Joan Dacre Baroness Harington were married.
In or before 1281 [his father] Robert Harrington [aged 29] and [his mother] Agnes Cansfield were married.
In 1281 John Harrington 1st Baron Harington was born to [his father] Robert Harrington [aged 30] and [his mother] Agnes Cansfield at Farleton, Melling.
In 1297 [his father] Robert Harrington [aged 46] died.
In 1297 [his mother] Agnes Cansfield died.
Around 1300 [his son] John Harrington of Farleton was born to John Harrington 1st Baron Harington [aged 19] and Juliana Barlingham. He married Katherine Banastre and had issue.
In 1305 [his son] Robert Harrington was born to John Harrington 1st Baron Harington [aged 24] and Juliana Barlingham. He married 1327 Elizabeth Multon, daughter of Thomas de Multon 1st Baron Multon and Eleanor Burgh Baroness Multon Egremont, and had issue.
On 22nd May 1306 the Feast of the Swans was a collective knighting of two hundred and sixty seven men at Westminster Abbey [Map].
At the feast, following the knightings, two swans were brought in. King Edward I of England [aged 66] swore before God and the swans to avenge the death of John Comyn 3rd Lord Baddenoch - see Murder of John "Red" Comyn.
King Edward I of England first knighted his son King Edward II of England [aged 22].
King Edward II of England then knighted the remaining two-hundred and sixty-six including...
Hugh "Younger" Despencer 1st Baron Despencer [aged 20]
Edmund Fitzalan 2nd or 9th Earl of Arundel [aged 21]
John le Blund, Mayor of London
William Brabazon
Roger Mortimer 1st Baron Mortimer of Chirk [aged 50]
Piers Gaveston 1st Earl Cornwall [aged 22] - this may have been the first time Piers Gaveston 1st Earl Cornwall and King Edward II of England met?
John Harrington 1st Baron Harington [aged 25]
John Maltravers 1st Baron Maltravers [aged 16]
Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March [aged 19]
William Montagu 2nd Baron Montagu [aged 31]
John Mowbray 2nd Baron Mowbray [aged 19]
Thomas Multon 1st Baron Multon [aged 30]
John Warenne 7th Earl of Surrey [aged 19]
On 22nd May 1306 John Harrington 1st Baron Harington [aged 25] was knighted.
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 1326 John Harrington 1st Baron Harington [aged 45] was created 1st Baron Harington by writ of summons to Parliament. Margaret aka Joan Dacre Baroness Harington [aged 43] by marriage Baroness Harington.
In 1327 [his son] Robert Harrington [aged 22] and [his daughter-in-law] Elizabeth Multon [aged 21] were married.
In or before 1329 [his daughter] Joan Harrington was born to John Harrington 1st Baron Harington [aged 47] and Margaret aka Joan Dacre Baroness Harington [aged 45] at Harrington, Cumberland. She married John Pole and had issue.
In 1334 [his son] Robert Harrington [aged 29] died.
On 2nd June 1347 John Harrington 1st Baron Harington [aged 66] died at Aldingham Furness, Lancashire. His grandson John [aged 19] succeeded 2nd Baron Harington.
He was buried at Cartmel Priory, Lancashire [Map]. His wife Margaret aka Joan Dacre Baroness Harington [aged 64] was buried with him.
John Harrington 2nd Baron Harington: In 1328 he was born to Robert Harrington and Elizabeth Multon. In 1350 John Harrington 2nd Baron Harington and Joan Bermingham were married. The marriage somewhat speculative? On 28th May 1363 John Harrington 2nd Baron Harington died at Gleaston Castle [Map]. His son Robert succeeded 3rd Baron Harington. Given his young age Robert Harrington 3rd Baron Harington became a ward of King Edward III of England who granted his wardship to his daughter Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons and her husband Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons.
Margaret aka Joan Dacre Baroness Harington: John Harrington 1st Baron Harington and she were married. Around 1283 she was born to William Dacre and Joan Gernet at Aldingham Furness, Lancashire. In 1326 John Harrington 1st Baron Harington was created 1st Baron Harington by writ of summons to Parliament. She by marriage Baroness Harington. On 2nd July 1347 Margaret aka Joan Dacre Baroness Harington died at Aldingham Furness, Lancashire.
Father: Robert Harrington 
John Harrington 1st Baron Harington
GrandFather: Richard Cansfield
Mother: Agnes Cansfield