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: Compton
Maternal Family Tree: Jane Sneyd 1546-1616
On 16th August 1738 Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton was born to [his father] Charles Compton [aged 46] and [his mother] Mary Lucy [aged 28].
After 16th August 1752 [his brother-in-law] John Perceval 2nd Earl Egmont [aged 41] and [his sister] Catherine Compton Countess Egmont [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Countess Egmont. The difference in their ages was 20 years. He the son of John Perceval 1st Earl Egmont and Catherine Parker Countess Egmont.
On 20th November 1755 [his father] Charles Compton [aged 63] died.
In 1758 Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton [aged 19] and Jane Lawton Countess Northampton were married.
On 6th December 1758 [his uncle] George Compton 6th Earl of Northampton [aged 66] died. His nephew [his brother] Charles [aged 21] succeeded 7th Earl of Northampton. [his future sister-in-law] Anne Somerset Countess Northampton [aged 17] by marriage Countess of Northampton.
On 13th September 1759 [his brother] Charles Compton 7th Earl of Northampton [aged 22] and [his sister-in-law] Anne Somerset Countess Northampton [aged 18] were married. She the daughter of Charles Noel Somerset 4th Duke Beaufort and Elizabeth Berkeley Duchess Beaufort [aged 46]. They were third cousin once removed.
On 24th March 1760 [his son] Charles Compton 1st Marquess Northampton was born to Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton [aged 21] and [his wife] Jane Lawton Countess Northampton. He married 18th August 1787 Maria Smith Marchioness Northampton.
In 1761 Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton [aged 22] was elected MP Northampton.
On 18th October 1763 Charles Compton 7th Earl of Northampton [aged 26] died. His brother Spencer [aged 25] succeeded 8th Earl of Northampton. Jane Lawton Countess Northampton by marriage Countess of Northampton.
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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On 26th November 1767 [his wife] Jane Lawton Countess Northampton died.
On 23rd May 1770 [his sister] Catherine Compton Countess Egmont [aged 38] was created 1st Baroness Arden of Lohort Castle in County Cork.
On 11th June 1784 [his sister] Catherine Compton Countess Egmont [aged 53] died at Langley, Buckinghamshire. Her son [his nephew] Charles [aged 27] succeeded 2nd Baron Arden of Lohort Castle in County Cork.
On 18th August 1787 Charles Compton 1st Marquess Northampton [aged 27] and Maria Smith Marchioness Northampton [aged 21] were married. He the son of Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton [aged 49] and Jane Lawton Countess Northampton.
On 7th April 1796 Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton [aged 57] died. His son Charles [aged 36] succeeded 9th Earl of Northampton. Maria Smith Marchioness Northampton [aged 30] by marriage Countess of Northampton.
[his father] Charles Compton and [his mother] Mary Lucy were married. He the son of [his grandfather] George Compton 4th Earl of Northampton and [his grandmother] Jane Fox Countess Northampton.
Floor tiles at Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map]: Here lies the bodies of Jane the first wife of Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton, Charles Compton 1st Marquess Northampton, Mary his wife also of Spencer Second Marquis of Northampton and Margaret his wife and also his grandchildren.
Jane Lawton Countess Northampton: In 1758 Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton and she were married. On 18th October 1763 Charles Compton 7th Earl of Northampton died. His brother Spencer succeeded 8th Earl of Northampton. She by marriage Countess of Northampton. On 26th November 1767 she died.
Kings Wessex: Great x 21 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 18 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 24 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 19 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 21 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 11 Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 20 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 27 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 21 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 25 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Compton 1st Baron Compton 
5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Compton 1st Earl of Northampton 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Frances Hastings Baroness Compton 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Spencer Compton 2nd Earl of Northampton 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Spencer 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Spencer Countess Northampton
Great x 1 Grandfather: James Compton 3rd Earl of Northampton 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Anthony Beaumont 
6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Francis Beaumont 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Armstrong
Great x 2 Grandmother: Mary Beaumont Countess of Northampton 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
GrandFather: George Compton 4th Earl of Northampton 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Andrew Noel 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Edward Noel 2nd Viscount Campden
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mabel Harrington 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Baptist Noel 3rd Viscount Campden
Great x 4 Grandfather: Baptist Hicks 1st Viscount Campden
Great x 3 Grandmother: Juliana Hicks Viscountess Campden
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth May Viscountess Campden
Great x 1 Grandmother: Mary Noel Countess Northampton
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Wotton 1st Baron Wotton 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Wotton 2nd Baron Wotton
Great x 2 Grandmother: Hester Wotton Viscountess Campden
Father: Charles Compton 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Fox of Farley Wiltshire 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Stephen Fox
Great x 2 Grandmother: Christian Palfreyman
GrandMother: Jane Fox Countess Northampton
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Whittle of the City of London
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Whittle
Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Lucy 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Lucy of Charlecote
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joyce Acton
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Lucy 1st Baronet
Great x 1 Grandfather: Kingsmill Lucy 2nd Baronet
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Chapman
Great x 2 Grandmother: Jane Chapman Lady Lucy
GrandFather: Berkeley Lucy 3rd Baronet 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Berkeley 
7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: George Berkeley 8th Baron Berkeley 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Carey 
7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: George Berkeley 1st Earl Berkeley 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Michael Stanhope 
5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Stanhope Baroness Berkeley 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Read
Great x 1 Grandmother: Theophila Berkeley 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Massingberd
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Massingberd Couness Berkeley
Mother: Mary Lucy 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Charles Cotton
Great x 1 Grandfather: Charles Cotton
GrandMother: Catherine Cotton 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Hutchinson
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Hutchinson 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Sacheverell 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Jane Sacheverell 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Ireton
Great x 1 Grandmother: Isabella Hutchinson 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Stanhope 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Stanhope 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Port
Great x 2 Grandmother: Catherine Stanhope 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Trentham
Great x 3 Grandmother: Catherine Trentham
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Sneyd