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 10th April 1838 Maria Margaret La Primaudaye was born to Reverend Charles John La Primaudaye [aged 31].
In 1845 [her future husband] John Hungerford Pollen [aged 24] was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1845, with a parish in Leeds from 1847, writing of his experiences. Pollen converted to Roman Catholicism in 1851. He travelle d to Rome where he met Reverend Charles John La Primaudaye [aged 38] who had also recently converted to Catholicism; he being the father of his future wife Maria Margaret La Primaudaye [aged 6].
In 1855 John Hungerford Pollen [aged 34] and Maria Margaret La Primaudaye [aged 16] were married at the Church of Woodchester Monastery, Stroud, Gloucestershire. They had ten children.
On 20th January 1858 [her father] Reverend Charles John La Primaudaye [aged 51] died at Calcutta, India.
On 13th September 1866 [her son] Arthur Pollen was born to [her husband] John Hungerford Pollen [aged 45] and Maria Margaret La Primaudaye [aged 28]. He married 7th September 1898 Maud Beatrice Lawrence and had issue.
On 7th September 1898 [her son] Arthur Pollen [aged 31] and [her daughter-in-law] Maud Beatrice Lawrence were married.
On 2nd December 1902 [her husband] John Hungerford Pollen [aged 82] died.
In 1908 Maria Margaret La Primaudaye [aged 69] published a history of lace-making, including an illustrated catalogue of 120 pieces in her own collection, entitled 'Seven Centuries of Old Lace'.
On 18th January 1919 Maria Margaret La Primaudaye [aged 80] died.
Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
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30th August 1957. Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Sketch of Maria Margaret La Primaudaye.
During the 1870s and 1880s, the John Hungerford Pollen and Maria Margaret La Primaudaye rented Newbuildings Place in Shipley, Sussex from Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, a childhood friend of the La Primaudaye family.
GrandFather: Stephen La Primaudaye
Father: Reverend Charles John La Primaudaye