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: Prinsep
In 1837 [her father] Charles Robert Prinsep [aged 47] and [her mother] Louisa Anne White [aged 18] were married in Calcutta, India. They had three sons and three daughters, The difference in their ages was 29 years.
On 16th September 1853 May Prinsep Baroness Tennyson was born to [her father] Charles Robert Prinsep [aged 64] and [her mother] Louisa Anne White [aged 34].
On 29th January 1855 [her mother] Louisa Anne White [aged 36] died at Calcutta, India from childbirth.
On 8th June 1864 [her father] Charles Robert Prinsep [aged 75] died.
Around 1865. Julia Margaret Cameron nee Pattle [aged 49]. Photograph of May Prinsep Baroness Tennyson [aged 11].
1867. George Frederick Watts [aged 49]. Portrait of May Prinsep Baroness Tennyson [aged 13].
On 25th June 1884 [her future husband] Hallam Tennyson 2nd Baron Tennyson [aged 31] and Audrey Georgiana Florence Boyle Baroness Tennyson were married.
1885. Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton [aged 54]. Portrait of May Prinsep Baroness Tennyson [aged 31].
On 6th October 1892 Alfred Tennyson 1st Baron Tennyson [aged 83] died. His son [her future husband] Hallam [aged 40] succeeded 2nd Baron Tennyson of Aldworth in Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight. Audrey Georgiana Florence Boyle Baroness Tennyson by marriage Baroness Tennyson of Aldworth in Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight.
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 27th July 1918 Hallam Tennyson 2nd Baron Tennyson [aged 65] and May Prinsep Baroness Tennyson [aged 64] were married. She by marriage Baroness Tennyson of Aldworth in Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight.
On 2nd December 1928 [her husband] Hallam Tennyson 2nd Baron Tennyson [aged 76] died. His son [her step-son] Lionel [aged 39] succeeded 3rd Baron Tennyson of Aldworth in Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight. Clarissa Madeline Tennant Baroness Tennyson [aged 32] by marriage Baroness Tennyson of Aldworth in Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight.
On 19th July 1931 May Prinsep Baroness Tennyson [aged 77] died.
Great x 1 Grandfather: Reverend John Prinsep
GrandFather: John Prinsep
Father: Charles Robert Prinsep
Great x 1 Grandfather: James Auriol
GrandMother: Sophie Elizabeth Auriol
Mother: Louisa Anne White