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: Hurt Aka Sitwell
Maternal Family Tree: Anne Hill Countess Mornington 1742-1831
In 1886 [his father] George Reresby Sitwell 4th Baronet [aged 25] and [his mother] Ida Emily Augusta Denison Lady Sitwell [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Lady Sitwell of Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire. She the daughter of [his grandfather] William Henry Forester Denison 1st Earl Londesborough [aged 51] and [his grandmother] Edith Somerset Countess Londesborough [aged 47].
On 15th November 1897 Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell 6th Baronet was born to George Reresby Sitwell 4th Baronet [aged 37] and Ida Emily Augusta Denison Lady Sitwell [aged 29] in Scarborough, North Yorkshire [Map].
Around 1900. John Singer Sargent [aged 43]. Portrait of the Sitwell Family including, left to right, [his sister] Edith Sitwell [aged 12], George Sitwell 2nd Baronet, [his mother] Ida Emily Augusta Denison Lady Sitwell [aged 31], Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell 6th Baronet [aged 2] and [his brother] Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell 5th Baronet [aged 7].
George Sitwell 2nd Baronet: In 1797 he was born to Sitwell Sitwell 1st Baronet. On 14th July 1811 Sitwell Sitwell 1st Baronet died. His son George succeeded 2nd Baronet Sitwell of Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire. In 1853 George Sitwell 2nd Baronet died. His son Sitwell succeeded 3rd Baronet Sitwell of Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire.
On 12th October 1925 Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell 6th Baronet [aged 27] and Georgia Doble [aged 20] were married.
On 15th April 1927 [his son] Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell 7th Baronet was born to Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell 6th Baronet [aged 29] and [his wife] Georgia Doble [aged 21]. He married 31st October 1952 Penelope Forbes and had issue.
On 17th September 1935 [his son] Francis Trajan Sacheverell Sitwell was born to Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell 6th Baronet [aged 37] and [his wife] Georgia Doble [aged 30].
In 1937 [his mother] Ida Emily Augusta Denison Lady Sitwell [aged 68] died.
On 9th July 1943 [his father] George Reresby Sitwell 4th Baronet [aged 83] died. His son [his brother] Francis [aged 50] succeeded 5th Baronet Sitwell of Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire.
1946. Cecil Beaton [aged 41]. Photograph of siblings [his brother] Osbert [aged 53], Sacheverell [aged 48] and [his sister] Edith [aged 58] Sitwell.
On 31st October 1952 [his son] Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell 7th Baronet [aged 25] and [his daughter-in-law] Penelope Forbes [aged 29] 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 4th May 1969 Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell 5th Baronet [aged 76] died. His brother Sacheverell [aged 71] succeeded 6th Baronet Sitwell of Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire.
In 1980 [his wife] Georgia Doble [aged 74] died.
7th April 1982. Lord Snowdon [aged 52]. Photograph of Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell 6th Baronet [aged 84].
On 1st October 1988 Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell 6th Baronet [aged 90] died. His son Sacheverell [aged 61] succeeded 7th Baronet Sitwell of Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire.
Kings Wessex: Great x 24 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 20 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 26 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 21 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 25 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 12 Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Kings Scotland: Great x 23 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 31 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 15 Grand Son of Charles "Beloved Mad" VI King France
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 29 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Johnathan Hurt
Great x 3 Grandfather: Francis Sitwell 14 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Catherine Sitwell 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Sitwell Sitwell 1st Baronet 15 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: George Sitwell 2nd Baronet 16 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
GrandFather: Sitwell Reresby Sitwell 3rd Baronet 17 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Father: George Reresby Sitwell 4th Baronet 18 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell 6th Baronet 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Francis Burton
Great x 3 Grandfather: Francis Burton aka Conyngham 2nd Baron Conyngham 
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Conyngham
Great x 2 Grandfather: Henry Conyngham 1st Marquess Conyngham
Great x 4 Grandfather: Nathaniel Clements
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Clements
Great x 4 Grandmother: Hannah Gore
Great x 1 Grandfather: Albert Conygham aka Denison 1st Baron Londesborough
Great x 3 Grandfather: Joseph Denison 
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Denison Marchioness Conyngham
GrandFather: William Henry Forester Denison 1st Earl Londesborough 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Forester 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Cecil Forester 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Cecil Weld-Forester 1st Baron Forester 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Henrietta Maria Weld-Forester 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Manners Marquess of Granby 
11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Charles Manners 4th Duke Rutland 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandmother: Frances Seymour 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 2 Grandmother: Katherine Mary Manners Baroness Forester 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Charles Noel Somerset 4th Duke Beaufort 
11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry IV of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Mary Isabella Somerset Duchess Rutland 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry IV of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Berkeley Duchess Beaufort 
13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Mother: Ida Emily Augusta Denison Lady Sitwell 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland
Great x 4 Grandfather: Charles Noel Somerset 4th Duke Beaufort 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry IV of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Somerset 5th Duke Beaufort 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry IV of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Berkeley Duchess Beaufort 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Henry Charles Somerset 6th Duke Beaufort 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Boscawen 
10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Boscawen Duchess Beaufort 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Frances Evelyn Evelyn
Great x 1 Grandfather: Henry Somerset 7th Duke Beaufort 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Leveson-Gower 1st Earl Gower 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Granville Leveson-Gower 1st Marquess Stafford 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Evelyn Pierrepont Baroness Gower 
9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Charlotte Sophia Leveson-Gower Duchess Beaufort 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Alexander Stewart 6th Earl Galloway 
11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Susanna Stewart Marchioness Stafford 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Catherine Cochrane Countess Galloway 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
GrandMother: Edith Somerset Countess Londesborough 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Smith
Great x 3 Grandfather: Charles Smith
Great x 2 Grandfather: Charles Culling Smith
Great x 1 Grandmother: Emily Frances Smith Duchess Beaufort
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Colley aka Wesley 1st Baron Mornington
Great x 3 Grandfather: Garrett Wellesley 1st Earl Mornington
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Sale
Great x 2 Grandmother: Anne Wellesley
Great x 4 Grandfather: Arthur Hill aka Hill-Trevor 1st Viscount Dungannon
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Hill Countess Mornington