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: Cole
On 1st March 1736 William Willoughby Cole 1st Earl Enniskillen was born to [his father] John Cole 1st Baron Mountflorence (age 26).
In 1760 [his father] John Cole 1st Baron Mountflorence (age 50) was created 1st Baron Mountflorence of Florence Court in County Fermanagh.
In 1761 William Willoughby Cole 1st Earl Enniskillen (age 24) was elected MP Enniskillen.
In November 1763 William Willoughby Cole 1st Earl Enniskillen (age 27) and Anne Lowry-Corry Countess Enniskillen (age 21) were married.
On 30th November 1767 [his father] John Cole 1st Baron Mountflorence (age 58) died. His son William (age 31) succeeded 2nd Baron Mountflorence of Florence Court in County Fermanagh.
On 23rd March 1768 [his son] John Cole 2nd Earl Enniskillen was born to William Willoughby Cole 1st Earl Enniskillen (age 32) and [his wife] Anne Lowry-Corry Countess Enniskillen (age 26). He married 1805 Charlotte Paget Countess Enniskillen, daughter of Henry Bayly-Paget 1st Earl Uxbridge and Jane Champagné Countess Uxbridge, and had issue.
On 3rd October 1771 [his brother-in-law] Armar Lowry-Corry 1st Earl Belmore (age 31) and Margaret Butler (age 23) were married. She by marriage Countess Belmore in the County of Fermanagh.
On 1st May 1772 [his son] Galbraith Lowry-Cole was born to William Willoughby Cole 1st Earl Enniskillen (age 36) and [his wife] Anne Lowry-Corry Countess Enniskillen (age 30). He married 15th June 1815 Frances Harris, daughter of James Harris 1st Earl Malmesbury and Harriet Maria Amyand Countess Malmesbury.
On 2nd March 1780 [his brother-in-law] Armar Lowry-Corry 1st Earl Belmore (age 39) and Harriet Hobart Viscountess Belmore (age 17) were married. She by marriage Countess Belmore in the County of Fermanagh. The difference in their ages was 22 years. She the daughter of John Hobart 2nd Earl Buckinghamshire (age 56) and Mary Anne Drury Countess Buckinghamshire.
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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Before 1784. Nathaniel Hone the Elder (age 65). Portrait of William Willoughby Cole 1st Earl Enniskillen (age 47).
On 22nd June 1784 [his daughter] Henrietta Cole Countess de Grey was born to William Willoughby Cole 1st Earl Enniskillen (age 48) and [his wife] Anne Lowry-Corry Countess Enniskillen (age 42). She married 20th July 1805 Thomas de Grey 2nd Earl de Grey, son of Thomas Robinson 2nd Baron Grantham and Mary Jemima Yorke Baroness Grantham, and had issue.
In 1789 William Willoughby Cole 1st Earl Enniskillen (age 52) was created 1st Earl Enniskillen. [his wife] Anne Lowry-Corry Countess Enniskillen (age 47) by marriage Countess Enniskillen.
On 6th December 1789 [his brother-in-law] Armar Lowry-Corry 1st Earl Belmore (age 49) was created 1st Viscount Belmore of Fermanagh. Harriet Hobart Viscountess Belmore (age 27) by marriage Viscountess Belmore of Fermanagh.
On 1st March 1794 [his brother-in-law] Armar Lowry-Corry 1st Earl Belmore (age 53) and Mary Anne Caldwell Countess Belmore (age 38) were married. She by marriage Viscountess Belmore of Fermanagh.
On 30th November 1797 [his brother-in-law] Armar Lowry-Corry 1st Earl Belmore (age 57) was created 1st Earl Belmore in the County of Fermanagh. Mary Anne Caldwell Countess Belmore (age 42) by marriage Countess Belmore in the County of Fermanagh.
On 2nd February 1802 [his brother-in-law] Armar Lowry-Corry 1st Earl Belmore (age 61) died at Bath, Somerset [Map]. His son Somerset (age 27) succeeded 2nd Earl Belmore in the County of Fermanagh, Viscount Belmore of Fermanagh and Baron Belmore of Castle Coole in the County of Fermanagh. Juliana Butler Countess Belmore (age 18) by marriage Countess Belmore in the County of Fermanagh.
In September 1802 [his wife] Anne Lowry-Corry Countess Enniskillen (age 60) died.
On 22nd May 1803 William Willoughby Cole 1st Earl Enniskillen (age 67) died. His son John (age 35) succeeded 2nd Earl Enniskillen.
GrandFather: John Cole