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).
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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In 1877 [her father] George Gray (age 79) died.
1880. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet (age 50). Portrait of Sophie Gray (age 36).
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.