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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Before 7th May 1828 [her father] George Gray (age 30) and [her mother] Sophia Margaret Jameson (age 20) were married. They had fifteen children.
1856. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet (age 26). "Autumn Leaves". Left to right: [her sister] Alice Gray (age 12), Sophie Gray (age 12) and two local girls, Mathilda Proudfoot and Isabella Nicol who were said to be wards of an orphanage/industrial school in Perth, charitably recruited for these tasks by [her sister] Effie Gray Millais (age 27), apparently the original Sussex blind girl who was painted over. In the collection of Manchester Art Gallery. The painting was painted whilst Millias was living at Annat Lodge, Kinnoul [Map].
Alice Gray: After 1843 she was born to George Gray and Sophia Margaret Jameson at Perth [Map].
1857. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet (age 27). Portrait of Sophie Gray (age 13). Study for Autumn Leaves.
1857 to 1858. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet (age 27). "Only a Lock of Hair". Model Sophie Gray (age 13).
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1855-1857. 25th November 1857. Brought away Millais' head of his [her sister] wife's (age 29) sister [Sophie Gray (age 14)], paying £63 for it?
1858. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet (age 28). "Spring aka Apple Blossoms". Model far left Sophie Gray (age 14). In the collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map]. See The Life and Letters of Sir John Everett Millais pages 328-331.
In 1873 James Caird 1st Baronet (age 36) and Sophie Gray (age 29) were married.
In 1874 [her daughter] Beatrix Caird was born to [her husband] James Caird 1st Baronet (age 37) and Sophie Gray (age 30).
In 1877 [her father] George Gray (age 79) died.
1880. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet (age 50). Portrait of Sophie Gray (age 36).
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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Before 1882. Charles Edward Perugini (age 42). Portrait of Sophie Gray (age 38).
On 15th March 1882 Sophie Gray (age 38) died possibly from anorexia.
In 1916 [her former husband] James Caird 1st Baronet (age 79) died.