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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Earl Berkeley is in Earldoms of England Alphabetically, Earldoms of England Chronologically, Extinct Earldoms of England.
Summary
11th September 1679. George Berkeley 1st Earl Berkeley [aged 51] created.
10th October 1698. Son Charles Berkeley 2nd Earl Berkeley [aged 49] succeeded.
24th September 1710. Son James Berkeley 3rd Earl Berkeley [aged 31] succeeded.
17th August 1736. Son Augustus Berkeley 4th Earl Berkeley [aged 21] succeeded.
9th January 1755. Son Frederick Augustus Berkeley 5th Earl Berkeley [aged 10] succeeded.
1810. Son Thomas Moreton FitzHardinge Berkeley 6th Earl of Berkeley [aged 13] de jure.
27th August 1881. First Cousin Once Removed George Lennox Fitzhardinge Berkeley 7th Earl of Berkeley [aged 54] de jure.
27th August 1888. Son Randal Mowbray Thomas Berkeley 8th Earl of Berkeley [aged 23] de jure.
15th January 1942. Randal Mowbray Thomas Berkeley 8th Earl of Berkeley extinct.
On 11th September 1679 George Berkeley 1st Earl Berkeley [aged 51] was created 1st Earl Berkeley, 1st Viscount Dursley. Elizabeth Massingberd Couness Berkeley by marriage Countess Berkeley.
On 10th October 1698 George Berkeley 1st Earl Berkeley [aged 70] died. He was buried at St Dunstan Church, Cranford. His son Charles [aged 49] succeeded 2nd Earl Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Dursley, 10th Baron Berkeley. Elizabeth Noel Countess Berkeley [aged 44] by marriage Countess Berkeley.
On 24th September 1710 Charles Berkeley 2nd Earl Berkeley [aged 61] died. His son James [aged 31] succeeded 3rd Earl Berkeley, 3rd Viscount Dursley, 11th Baron Berkeley.
On 13th February 1711 James Berkeley 3rd Earl Berkeley [aged 31] and Louisa Lennox Countess Berkeley [aged 16] were married. She by marriage Countess Berkeley. She the daughter of Charles Lennox 1st Duke Richmond [aged 38] and Anne Brudenell Duchess Richmond [aged 40]. He the son of Charles Berkeley 2nd Earl Berkeley and Elizabeth Noel Countess Berkeley [aged 57]. They were sixth cousins. She a granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 17th August 1736 James Berkeley 3rd Earl Berkeley [aged 57] died. His son Augustus [aged 21] succeeded 4th Earl Berkeley, 4th Viscount Dursley, 12th Baron Berkeley.
On 7th May 1744 Augustus Berkeley 4th Earl Berkeley [aged 29] and Elizabeth Drax Countess Berkeley and Nugent [aged 24] were married. She by marriage Countess Berkeley. He the son of James Berkeley 3rd Earl Berkeley and Louisa Lennox Countess Berkeley.
On 9th January 1755 Augustus Berkeley 4th Earl Berkeley [aged 39] died. His son Frederick [aged 10] succeeded 5th Earl Berkeley, 5th Viscount Dursley, 13th Baron Berkeley.
In 1810 Frederick Augustus Berkeley 5th Earl Berkeley [aged 65] died. His eldest son Colonel William Berkeley 1st Earl Fitzhardinge [aged 23] claimed the Earl Berkeley unsuccessfully.
Thomas Moreton FitzHardinge Berkeley 6th Earl of Berkeley [aged 13] de jure 6th Earl Berkeley, 6th Viscount Dursley, 14th Baron Berkeley. He never claimed or established his right to either title.
On 27th August 1881 Thomas Moreton FitzHardinge Berkeley 6th Earl of Berkeley [aged 84] died. His first cousin once removed George [aged 54] de jure 7th Earl Berkeley, 7th Viscount Dursley. He never claimed or established his right to either title. His niece Louisa [aged 41] succeeded 15th Baroness Berkeley.
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 27th August 1888 George Lennox Fitzhardinge Berkeley 7th Earl of Berkeley [aged 61] died. His son Randal [aged 23] de jure 8th Earl Berkeley, 8th Viscount Dursley.
On 15th January 1942 Randal Mowbray Thomas Berkeley 8th Earl of Berkeley [aged 76] died without issue. Earl Berkeley and Viscount Dursley extinct. Berkeley Castle [Map] was inherited by his 13th cousin Robert George Wilmot Berkeley [aged 43].