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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Maternal Family Tree: Aoife ni Diarmait Macmurrough Countess Pembroke and Buckingham 1145 1188
Around 1145 Aoife ni Diarmait Macmurrough Countess Pembroke and Buckingham was born to Diarmait Macmurrough [aged 35].
On 6th January 1148 Gilbert de Clare 1st Earl Pembroke [aged 48] died. His son [her future husband] Richard [aged 18] succeeded 2nd Earl Pembroke. Aoife ni Diarmait Macmurrough Countess Pembroke and Buckingham [aged 3] by marriage Countess Pembroke.
Around 1st May 1171 [her father] Diarmait Macmurrough [aged 61] died.
On 26th August 1171 Richard "Strongbow" Clare 2nd Earl Pembroke [aged 41] and Aoife ni Diarmait Macmurrough Countess Pembroke and Buckingham [aged 26] were married in Reginald's Tower, Waterford, County Waterford. He the son of Gilbert de Clare 1st Earl Pembroke and Isabel Beaumont Countess Pembroke.
In 1172 [her daughter] Isabel Clare Countess Pembroke was born to [her husband] Richard "Strongbow" Clare 2nd Earl Pembroke [aged 42] and Aoife ni Diarmait Macmurrough Countess Pembroke and Buckingham [aged 27]. She married August 1189 William Marshal 1st Earl Pembroke and had issue.
Before 20th April 1176 [her son] Gilbert Clare 3rd Earl Pembroke was born to [her husband] Richard "Strongbow" Clare 2nd Earl Pembroke [aged 46] and Aoife ni Diarmait Macmurrough Countess Pembroke and Buckingham [aged 31]. He died aged eight point nine five three zero five in 1185.
On 20th April 1176 [her husband] Richard "Strongbow" Clare 2nd Earl Pembroke [aged 46] died at Dublin [Map]. He was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin [Map]. His son Gilbert succeeded 3rd Earl Pembroke although being a minor he was never invested with the title.
In 1185 [her son] Gilbert Clare 3rd Earl Pembroke [aged 8] died. Earl Pembroke extinct. It is possible his sister [her daughter] Isabel Clare Countess Pembroke [aged 13] inherited the title. Her husband [her future son-in-law] William Marshal 1st Earl Pembroke [aged 39] was created 1st Earl of Pembroke in 1199 which suggests she didn't inherit the title.
In 1188 Aoife ni Diarmait Macmurrough Countess Pembroke and Buckingham [aged 43] died. She was buried at Tintern Abbey [Map].
King Robert the Bruce I of Scotland [1]
Elizabeth Burgh Queen Consort Scotland [1]
King Robert II of Scotland [1]
Philippa of Lancaster Queen Consort Portugal [1]
Philippa Lancaster Queen Consort Denmark [5]
Joan Beaufort Queen Consort Scotland [3]
King Edward IV of England [14]
King Richard III of England [14]
Anne Neville Queen Consort England [23]
King Henry VII of England and Ireland [3]
Queen Anne Boleyn of England [23]
Queen Jane Seymour [28]
Catherine Parr Queen Consort England [30]
Queen Catherine Howard of England [20]
Maximilian Habsburg Spain II Holy Roman Emperor [5]
Jane Grey I Queen England and Ireland [41]
King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland [2]
Maximilian "The Great" Wittelsbach I Duke Bavaria I Elector Bavaria [5]
Maria Anna Wittelsbach Holy Roman Empress [5]
Ferdinand of Spain II Holy Roman Emperor [10]
George Wharton [253]
Margaret of Austria Queen Consort Spain [10]
Anna of Austria Holy Roman Empress [10]
Elisabeth Bourbon Queen Consort Spain [5]
Henrietta Maria Bourbon Queen Consort England [5]
John George Wettin Elector Saxony [5]
Frederick William "Great Elector" Hohenzollern Elector Brandenburg [5]
Eleonora Gonzaga Queen Consort Bohemia [10]
Maria Leopoldine Habsburg Spain Queen Consort Bohemia [10]
Hedwig Eleonora Queen Consort Sweden [5]
Charlotte Amalie Hesse-Kassel Queen Consort Denmark and Norway [5]
Victor Amadeus King Sardinia [5]
Louise of Mecklenburg Güstrow Queen Consort Denmark and Norway [5]
Maria Anna Neuburg Queen Consort Spain [10]
Joseph I Holy Roman Emperor [10]
Charles Habsburg Spain VI Holy Roman Emperor [10]
Adolph Frederick King Sweden [5]
President George Washington [15]
King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [10]
Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [5]
Caroline Matilda Hanover Queen Consort Denmark and Norway [10]
Marie Sophie Hesse-Kassel Queen Consort Denmark and Norway [15]
Caroline of Brunswick Queen Consort England [10]
Frederick William III King Prussia [5]
Frederica Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort Hanover [10]
Queen Fredrika Dorotea Vilhelmina [10]
King Christian I of Norway and VIII of Denmark [15]
Frederick William IV King Prussia [10]
Frederick VII King of Denmark [25]
Queen Louise Hesse-Kassel of Denmark [30]
King Christian IX of Denmark [15]
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom [20]
Queen Sophia of Sweden and Norway [25]
Victoria Empress Germany Queen Consort Prussia [55]
King Edward VII of the United Kingdom [55]
Maria Christina of Austria Queen Consort Spain [15]
Brigadier-General Charles Fitz-Clarence [1019]
Victoria Mary Teck Queen Consort England [30]
Frederick Charles I King Finland [30]
Constantine I King Greece [15]
Alexandrine Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Denmark [40]
Victoria Eugénie Mountbatten Queen Consort Spain [70]
Louise Mountbatten Queen Consort Sweden [85]
Ingrid Bernadotte Queen Consort Denmark [65]
Philip Mountbatten Duke Edinburgh [100]
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom [4148]
Carl XVI King Sweden [135]
Queen Consort Camilla Shand [1395]
Diana Spencer Princess Wales [12156]