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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On 22nd March 1728 Anton Raphael Mengs was born.
1744. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 15]. Self-Portrait.
1752. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 23]. Portrait of Richard Wilson 1714-1787.
Around 1756. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 27]. Portrait of William Burton Conyngham [aged 23].
William Burton Conyngham: In 1733 he was born to Francis Burton and Mary Conyngham. On 31st May 1796 William Burton Conyngham died.
1757. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 28]. Portrait of William Fermor [aged 20].
William Fermor: In 1737 he was born to Henry Fermor of Tusmore. In 1806 he died.
1757. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 28]. Portrait of Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry [aged 17].
1760. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 31]. Portrait of George Grey 5th Earl Stamford 1st Earl Warrington [aged 22].
1764. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 35]. Portrait of Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain [aged 18].
Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain: On 24th November 1745 she was born to Charles III King Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony Queen Consort Spain. On 5th August 1765 Leopold II Holy Roman Emperor and she were married. She the daughter of Charles III King Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony Queen Consort Spain. He the son of Francis I Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa Habsburg Spain Holy Roman Empress. They were second cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland. On 15th May 1792 Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain died.
Around 1765. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 36]. Portrait of Infanta Maria Josefa of Spain [aged 20].
Infanta Maria Josefa of Spain: On 6th July 1744 she was born to Charles III King Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony Queen Consort Spain. On 8th December 1801 Infanta Maria Josefa of Spain died unmarried.
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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1765. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 36]. Portrait of Charles III King Spain [aged 48].
1765. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 36]. Portrait of Charles IV King Spain [aged 16].
1765. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 36]. Portrait of George Nassau Clavering-Cowper 3rd Earl Cowper [aged 26].
1766 to 1779. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 37]. Portrait of Charles-Marie Bonaparte [aged 19].
Charles-Marie Bonaparte: On 27th March 1746 he was born. In 1764 he and Maria-Letizia Ramolino were married. On 24th February 1785 he died.
1772-1773. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 43]. Portrait of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies [aged 20].
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies: On 12th January 1751 he was born to Charles III King Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony Queen Consort Spain. In 1768 Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Caroline of Austria Queen Consort of Naples and Sicily were married. She the daughter of Francis I Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa Habsburg Spain Holy Roman Empress. He the son of Charles III King Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony Queen Consort Spain. They were second cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland. On 4th January 1825 Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies died.
1774. Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 45]. Self-Portrait.
On 29th June 1779 Anton Raphael Mengs [aged 51] died.
1780. Anton Raphael Mengs. Portrait of Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain [aged 34].