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: Mecklenburg
Before 1680 [her future husband] Frederick I King Prussia [aged 22] and Elisabeth Henriëtte Hesse-Kassel [aged 18] were married. She the daughter of Wilhelm "The Just" VI Hesse-Kassel and Hedwig Sophia Hohenzollern [aged 56]. He the son of Frederick William "Great Elector" Hohenzollern Elector Brandenburg [aged 59] and Luise Henriette Orange Nassau. They were first cousins.
Before 1685 [her future husband] Frederick I King Prussia [aged 27] and Sophia Charlotte Hanover Queen Consort Prussia [aged 16] were married. She the daughter of Ernest Augustus Hanover Elector Brunswick-Lüneburg [aged 55] and Electress Sophia Palatinate Simmern [aged 54]. He the son of Frederick William "Great Elector" Hohenzollern Elector Brandenburg [aged 64] and Luise Henriette Orange Nassau. They were second cousins. She a great granddaughter of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland.
On 6th May 1685 Sophia Louise Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Prussia was born to Frederick I Duke of Mecklenburg Grabow [aged 47].
On 28th April 1688 [her father] Frederick I Duke of Mecklenburg Grabow [aged 50] died.
On 21st June 1692 [her brother] Frederick William I Duke Mecklenburg-Schwerin [aged 17] succeeded I Duke Mecklenburg Schwerin.
On 18th January 1701 [her future husband] Frederick I King Prussia [aged 43] was created I King Prussia. Sophia Charlotte Hanover Queen Consort Prussia [aged 32] by marriage Queen Consort Prussia.
On 2nd January 1704 [her brother] Frederick William I Duke Mecklenburg-Schwerin [aged 28] and [her sister-in-law] Sophie Charlotte Hesse-Kassel Duchess Mecklenburg-Schwerin [aged 25] were married. She by marriage Duchess Mecklenburg Schwerin. She the daughter of Charles I Landgrave Hesse-Kassel [aged 49] and Maria Amalia of Courland Landgravine Hesse-Kassel [aged 50]. They were fourth cousins.
In 1708 Frederick I King Prussia [aged 50] and Sophia Louise Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Prussia [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Prussia. The difference in their ages was 27 years. He the son of Frederick William "Great Elector" Hohenzollern Elector Brandenburg and Luise Henriette Orange Nassau. They were fourth cousins.
On 25th February 1713 [her husband] Frederick I King Prussia [aged 55] died. His son [her step-son] Frederick [aged 24] succeeded I King Prussia. Sophia Dorothea Hanover Queen Consort Prussia [aged 25] by marriage Queen Consort Prussia.
On 31st July 1713 [her brother] Frederick William I Duke Mecklenburg-Schwerin [aged 38] died.
On 29th July 1735 Sophia Louise Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Prussia [aged 50] died.
Kings Wessex: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Godwinson: Great x 18 Grand Daughter of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 14 Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 18 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 25 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 23 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Magnus II Duke of Mecklenburg
Great x 3 Grandfather: Albrecht VII Duke Mecklenburg
Great x 2 Grandfather: Duke John Albert I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Joachim "Nestor" Hohenzollern Elector Brandenburg 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anna Hohenzollern Duchess Mecklenburg 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Duke John VII of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Frederick Hohenzollern I Margrave Brandenburg-Ansbach
Great x 3 Grandfather: Albert "The Elder" Hohenzollern I Duke Prussia 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Sophia Jagiellon Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Anna Sophia Hohenzollern 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: King Frederick I of Denmark 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Dorothea Oldenburg 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anna of Brandenburg 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
GrandFather: Duke Adolphus Frederick I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Christian I King of Denmark
Great x 3 Grandfather: King Frederick I of Denmark
Great x 4 Grandmother: Dorothea of Brandenburg
Great x 2 Grandfather: Duke Adolph Oldenburg of Holstein-Gotorp
Great x 4 Grandfather: Bogislaw X Duke of Pomerania
Great x 3 Grandmother: Sophie of Pomerania Queen Consort of Denmark and Sweden
Great x 1 Grandmother: Sophia Oldenburg 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William II Landgrave of Hesse 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Landgrave Philip I of Hesse 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Christine Hesse 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: George Duke of Saxony 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Christine of Saxony 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Barbara Jagiellon 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Father: Frederick I Duke of Mecklenburg Grabow 13 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry I Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Ernest I Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Henry Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry V Duke of Mecklenburg
Great x 3 Grandmother: Sophie of Mecklenburg
Great x 1 Grandfather: Julius Ernst Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
GrandMother: Maria Katharina 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Sophia Louise Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Prussia 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England