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: Bourchier
In 1374 William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu was born to [his uncle] William Bourchier and [his mother] Eleanor Louvaine (age 28).
In 1375 [his uncle] William Bourchier died.
Around 1390 Thomas Stafford 3rd Earl Stafford (age 22) and [his future wife] Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford (age 7) were married. She by marriage Countess Stafford. She would, eight years later marry his younger brother Edmund Stafford 5th Earl Stafford (age 11); an example of a Married to Two Siblings. She the daughter of Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester (age 34) and Eleanor Bohun Duchess Gloucester (age 24). He the son of Hugh Stafford 2nd Earl Stafford and Philippa Beauchamp Countess Stafford (age 56). They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 3 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
On 5th October 1397 [his mother] Eleanor Louvaine (age 52) died.
On 28th June 1398 Edmund Stafford 5th Earl Stafford (age 20) and [his future wife] Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford (age 15) were married. She by marriage Countess Stafford. She had, around eight years previously, married his brother Thomas Stafford 3rd Earl Stafford who had died in 1392; an example of Married to Two Siblings. She the daughter of Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester and Eleanor Bohun Duchess Gloucester (age 32). He the son of Hugh Stafford 2nd Earl Stafford and Philippa Beauchamp Countess Stafford (age 64). They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 3 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
In 1404 [his son] Henry Bourchier 2nd Count of Eu 1st Earl Essex was born to William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu (age 30) and [his future wife] Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford (age 21). He a great grandson of King Edward III of England. He married before 25th April 1426 his second cousin Isabel York Countess Eu and Essex, daughter of Richard of Conisbrough 1st Earl Cambridge and Anne Mortimer, and had issue.
In 1405 William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu (age 31) and Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford (age 22) were married. She the daughter of Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester and Eleanor Bohun Duchess Gloucester.
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 25th October 1415 [his son] William Bourchier Baron Fitzwarin was born to William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu (age 41) and [his wife] Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford (age 32). He a great grandson of King Edward III of England. He married (1) before 25th October 1445 Thomasine Hankford 9th Baroness Fitzwarin, daughter of Richard Hankford and Elizabeth Fitzwarin 8th Baroness Fitzwarin, and had issue (2) in or before 1474 Catherine Affeton.
25th October 1415At the Battle of Agincourt the English included: Louis Robbessart (age 25), Richard Beauchamp 13th Earl Warwick (age 33), William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux (age 26), William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu (age 41), Thomas Rokeby (age 22), John Cornwall 1st Baron Fanhope 1st Baron Milbroke (age 51), Edward Courtenay (age 30), Ralph Cromwell 3rd Baron Cromwell (age 12), Thomas Dutton (age 19), Edmund Ferrers 6th Baron Ferrers of Chartley (age 29), Roger Fiennes (age 31), Henry Fitzhugh 3rd Baron Fitzhugh (age 57), John Grey (age 28), John Grey 1st Earl Tankerville (age 31), William Harrington (age 42) as the King's Standard Bearer, Walter Hungerford 1st Baron Hungerford (age 37), Piers Legh (age 26) (wounded), Alfred Longford, Thomas Montagu 1st Count Perche 4th Earl Salisbury (age 27), Thomas Morley 6th Baron Marshal 5th Baron Morley (age 22), John Rodney, Richard Scrope 3rd Baron Scrope of Bolton (age 22), Robert Strelley (age 18), James Tuchet 5th Baron Audley, 2nd Baron Tuchet (age 17), Robert Umfraville (age 52), Thomas West 2nd Baron West (age 35), Robert Willoughby 6th Baron Willoughby (age 30). Thomas Erpingham (age 60) commanded the archers. Thomas Rempston (age 26) was present. Thomas Strickland (age 48) carried the Banner of St George.
Thomas Tunstall (age 57) was killed.
The Welsh included: William ap Thomas "Blue Knight of Gwent" Herbert (age 35), Walter Sais (age 95), Roger Vaughan (age 70) and his son Roger Vaughan (age 5). Owen Tudor (age 15) is believed to have been present as a squire.
Around 1416 [his son] John Bourchier 1st Baron Berners was born to William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu (age 42) and [his wife] Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford (age 33). He a great grandson of King Edward III of England. He married after 10th October 1441 Margery Berners Baroness Berners and had issue.
Around 1417 [his daughter] Eleanor Bourchier Duchess Norfolk was born to William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu (age 43) and [his wife] Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford (age 34). She a great granddaughter of King Edward III of England. She married before 18th October 1444 her second cousin once removed John Mowbray 3rd Duke of Norfolk, son of John Mowbray 2nd Duke of Norfolk and Katherine Neville Duchess Norfolk, and had issue.
Around 1418 [his son] Cardinal Thomas Bourchier was born to William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu (age 44) and [his wife] Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford (age 35). He a great grandson of King Edward III of England.
In 1419 William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu (age 45) was created 1st Count Eu. [his wife] Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford (age 36) by marriage Countess Eu.
In 1419 William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu (age 45) was appointed Captain Dieppe.
On 28th May 1420 William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu (age 46) died at Troyes, France [Map]. He was buried at Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucestershire [Map]. His son Henry (age 16) succeeded 2nd Count Eu.
In 1438 [his former wife] Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford (age 55) died. She was buried at Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucestershire [Map].
Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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[his uncle] William Bourchier and [his mother] Eleanor Louvaine were married.
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Bourchier 
GrandFather: Robert Bourchier 1st Baron Bourchier
Great x 2 Grandfather: Walter of Colchester
Great x 1 Grandmother: Helen of Colchester
Father: William Bourchier
GrandMother: Margaret Prayers Baroness Bourchier
William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu
GrandFather: John Louvain
Mother: Eleanor Louvaine