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: Burgh
Maternal Family Tree: Aoife ni Diarmait Macmurrough Countess Pembroke and Buckingham 1145-1188
Elizabeth Burgh Duchess of Clarence was appointed 4th Earl of Ulster.
On 16th November 1327 [her father] William Donn Burgh 3rd Earl of Ulster [aged 15] and [her mother] Maud Plantagenet Countess Ulster [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Countess of Ulster. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster [aged 46] and [her grandmother] Maud Chaworth. They were second cousin once removed. He a great grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great granddaughter of King Henry III of England.
On 6th July 1332 Elizabeth Burgh Duchess of Clarence was born to [her father] William Donn Burgh 3rd Earl of Ulster [aged 19] and [her mother] Maud Plantagenet Countess Ulster [aged 22] at Carrickfergus Castle, Carrickfergus, County Antrim. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry III of England.
Annals of Ulster. 6th June 1333. [her father] William Burke, Earl of Ulster [aged 20]2, was killed by the English of Ulster. The Englishmen who committed this deed were put to death, in divers ways, by the people of the King of England; some were hanged, others killed, and others torn asunder2, in revenge of his death.
Note 1. Earl of Ulster. There is a much more circumstantial account of the death of this Earl of Ulster given by Pembridge and Grace under this year. Lodge gives the following particulars of it: "He was murdered on Sunday, June 6, 1333, by Robert Fitz-Richard Mandeville (who gave him his first wound), and others his servants, near to the Fords, in going towards Carrickfergus, in the 21st year of his age, at the instigation, as was said, of Gyle de Burgh, wife of Sir Richard Mandeville, in revenge for his having imprisoned her brother Walter and others."
This young earl left an only child, Elizabeth, who was married in the year 1352 to [her future husband] Lionel, third son of King Edward III., and this prince was then created, in her right, Earl of Ulster and Lord of Connaught, and these titles were enjoyed through marriage or descent by different princes of the royal blood, until at length, in the person of Edward IV, they became the special inheritance and revenue of the crown of England. Immediately on the Earl's death the chiefs of the junior branches of the family of Burke or De Burgo, then seated in Connaught, fearing the transfer of his possessions into strange hands by the marriage of the heiress, seized upon his estates in Connaught. The two most powerful of these were Sir William or Ulick, the ancestor of the Earls of Clanrickard, and Sir Edmund Albanagh the progenitor of the Viscounts of Mayo. These having confederated together and declared themselves independent, renounced the English dress and language, and adopted Irish names, Sir William taking the name of Mac William Oughter, or the Upper, and Sir Edmund that of Mac William Eighter, or the Lower. Under these names these two powerful chieftains tyranized over the entire province of Counaught, and though Lionel Duke of Clai'ence, in right of his wife, laid claim to their usurped possessions, the government apears to have been too weak to assert, the authority of the English laws, so that the territories of the Burkes were allowed to descend in course of tanistry and gavelkind. See Hardiman's History of Galway, pp. 56, 57.
Note 2. Torn asunder, i.e. torn limb from limb. Mageoghegan renders it "hanged, drawn, and quartered."
On 6th June 1333 [her father] William Donn Burgh 3rd Earl of Ulster [aged 20] was murdered by Richard de Mandeville in revenge for the murder of Richard's wife's brother Walter Liath de Burgh the year before. Earl of Ulster and Baron Burgh extinct. There is some argument that his daughter Elizabeth Burgh Duchess of Clarence succeeded as Countess of Ulster although her husband Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence appears to have been Earl of Ulster of a new creation. See Annals of Ulster.
In or before 1345 [her step-father] Ralph Ufford [aged 42] and [her mother] Maud Plantagenet Countess Ulster [aged 34] were married. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster [aged 63] and [her grandmother] Maud Chaworth.
In 1352 Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 13] and Elizabeth Burgh Duchess of Clarence [aged 19] were married. He by marriage Earl of Ulster. She was the sole heir of her father and brought the de Burgh inheritance of the lands of Ulster to the marriage. As a consequence of their earlier betrothal he had been called Earl Ulster since 1347. She the daughter of William Donn Burgh 3rd Earl of Ulster and Maud Plantagenet Countess Ulster [aged 42]. He the son of King Edward III of England [aged 39] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 41]. They were half second cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry III of England.
On 16th August 1355 [her daughter] Philippa Plantagenet Countess March 2nd Countess Ulster was born to [her husband] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 16] and Elizabeth Burgh Duchess of Clarence [aged 23] at Eltham Palace, Kent [Map]. At the time of her birth she was Heir to the Throne of England since her uncle [her brother-in-law] Edward "Black Prince" [aged 25] was yet to be married. She a granddaughter of King Edward III of England. Coefficient of inbreeding 2.22%. She married 24th August 1369 her fourth cousin Edmund Mortimer 3rd Earl March, Earl of Ulster, son of Roger Mortimer 2nd Earl March and Philippa Montagu Countess March, and had issue.
On 19th September 1356 the army of [her brother-in-law] Edward "Black Prince" [aged 26] defeated the French and Scottish army led by King John "The Good" II of France [aged 37] at the Battle of Poitiers
King John "The Good" II of France was captured by three captains including Ivon aka John Fane.
The the English army included: Bernard Brocas [aged 26], Thomas Felton [aged 26], James Audley [aged 38], Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick [aged 43], Bartholomew "The Younger" Burghesh 2nd Baron Burghesh [aged 28], Reginald Cobham 1st Baron Cobham [aged 61], Edward Despencer 1st Baron Despencer, Baron Burghesh [aged 21], Ralph Ferrers [aged 27], William Scrope [aged 31], William Montagu 2nd Earl Salisbury [aged 28], Walter Paveley 4th Baron Burghesh [aged 37], Robert Ufford 1st Earl Suffolk [aged 58], William Ufford 2nd Earl Suffolk [aged 18], John de Vere 7th Earl of Oxford [aged 44], John Willoughby 3rd Baron Willoughby [aged 33], Thomas Arderne [aged 19], Enion Sais Brecon, John Chandos [aged 36], Richard Pembridge [aged 36], Jean Grailly [aged 25], Robert de Fouleshurst [aged 26] and John Sully [aged 73]
John Savile of Shelley and Golcar [aged 31] probably fought having received letters of protection to travel overseas.
Hugh Courtenay 2nd or 10th Earl Devon [aged 53] protected the baggage train.
The French and Scottish army included: King John "The Good" II of France, Philip "Bold" Valois II Duke Burgundy [aged 14], Jean Bourbon I Count La Marche [aged 12], Archibald "Grim" Douglas 3rd Earl Douglas [aged 26], John "Sans Terre" Artois 1st Count of Eu [aged 35]; all captured.
Guichard d'Angle 1st Earl Huntingdon and William Douglas 1st Earl Douglas [aged 33] fought.
Peter Bourbon Duke Bourbon [aged 45] was killed. His son Louis [aged 19] succeeded II Duke Bourbon.
Gauthier VI Comte de Brienne [aged 54] was killed.
Archaeologia Volume 35 1853 XXXIII. On the 20th [Aug 1358], the Countess of Ulster [aged 26] (heiress of [her father] William de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, and wife of [her husband] Lionel [aged 19], son of Edward III.) arrived to supper.
On 13th April 1360 a freak weather event known as Black Monday Hailstorm occurred as the army of [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England [aged 47] were camped outside Chartres [Map]. Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick [aged 47], William Bohun 1st Earl of Northampton [aged 50], [her uncle] Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 50], [her brother-in-law] Edward "Black Prince" [aged 29] and Walter Mauny were present. Around one thousand English were killed, with up to six thousand horses. King Edward III of England believed the event to be an Act of God and proceeded to negotiate with the French resulting in the Treaty of Brétigny.
On 28th April 1360 Guy Beauchamp died from injuries received during the Black Monday Hailstorm.
On 10th October 1361 [her brother-in-law] Edward "Black Prince" [aged 31] and Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales [aged 33] were married at Windsor Castle [Map]. She by marriage Princess of Wales. His first wife, her second (or third depending on how you count them) husband. She had four children already. They had known each other since childhood. Thirty-one and thirty-three respectively. A curious choice for the heir to the throne; foreign princesses were usual. They were married nearly fifteen years and had two children. She the daughter of Edmund of Woodstock 1st Earl Kent and Margaret Wake Countess Kent. He the son of [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England [aged 48] and [her mother-in-law] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 51]. They were half first cousin once removed. She a granddaughter of King Edward I of England.
Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.
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Before 16th January 1362 [her brother-in-law] Thomas de Vere 8th Earl of Oxford [aged 26] and [her half-sister] Maud Ufford Countess of Oxford [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. She the daughter of [her step-father] Ralph Ufford and [her mother] Maud Plantagenet Countess Ulster [aged 52]. He the son of John de Vere 7th Earl of Oxford and Maud Badlesmere Countess of Oxford [aged 53]. They were half fifth cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry III of England.
On 10th April 1362 Maud Plantagenet Duchess Lower Bavaria [aged 22] died. Her sister Blanche [aged 20] succeeded 6th Countess of Leicester. [her brother-in-law] John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 22] by marriage Earl of Leicester adding a fourth Earldom to the ones he already held: Earl Richmond, Earl Lancaster and Earl Derby.
On 13th November 1362, his fiftieth birthday, [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England [aged 50] created two sons as Dukes...
[her husband] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 23] was created 1st Duke Clarence. Elizabeth Burgh Duchess of Clarence [aged 30] by marriage Duchess Clarence.
[her brother-in-law] John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 22] was created 1st Duke Lancaster. Blanche Duchess of Lancaster [aged 20] by marriage Duchess Lancaster.
On 28th May 1363 John Harrington 2nd Baron Harington [aged 35] died at Gleaston Castle [Map]. His son Robert [aged 7] succeeded 3rd Baron Harington. Given his young age Robert Harrington 3rd Baron Harington became a ward of [her father-in-law] King Edward III of England [aged 50] who granted his wardship to his daughter [her sister-in-law] Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 30] and her husband Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 23].
On 10th December 1363 Elizabeth Burgh Duchess of Clarence [aged 31] died at Dublin [Map]. She was buried at Clare Priory, Suffolk [Map].
In June 1368 [her former husband] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 29] and Violante Visconti [aged 14] were married in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Milan [Map]. The wedding festivities were lavish and ostentatious. The banquet, held outside, included 30 courses of meat and fish presented fully gilded. Between the courses the guests were given gifts such as suits of armour, bolts of cloth, war horses, arms, and hunting dogs. Among the guests were Geoffrey Chaucer [aged 25], Petrarch, Jean Froissart and John Hawkwood [aged 48]. He the son of [her former father-in-law] King Edward III of England [aged 55] and [her former mother-in-law] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 57]. They were fourth cousin once removed.
On 7th October 1368 [her former husband] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 29] died from poisoning at Alba [Map]. Duke Clarence extinct. His daughter Philippa [aged 13] succeeded 2nd Countess of Ulster. He was buried at the St Pietro Ciel d'Oro Church, Pavia [Map].
There was strong speculation he had been poisoned by his wife's [aged 14] father [aged 48].
Kings Wessex: Great x 9 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 12 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 14 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 12 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ab Owain King Deheubarth King Powys King Gwynedd
Kings England: Great x 2 Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 8 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 16 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 10 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 13 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Burgh 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Mór Burgh 1st Baron Connaught
Great x 2 Grandfather: Walter Burgh 1st Earl of Ulster
Great x 4 Grandfather: Walter Lacy Lord Meath 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Egidia Lacy Baroness Connaught
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret de Braose 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Richard "Red Earl" Burgh 2nd Earl of Ulster
GrandFather: John Burgh
Great x 4 Grandfather: Hubert de Burgh Count Mortain 1st Earl Kent
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Burgh
Great x 4 Grandmother: Beatrice Warenne 
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Burgh
Great x 3 Grandmother: Hawise Valey
Great x 1 Grandmother: Margaret Burgh Countess Ulster
Father: William Donn Burgh 3rd Earl of Ulster Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Clare 3rd Earl Hertford 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Gilbert Clare 5th Earl Gloucester 4th Earl Hertford 2 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Amice Fitzrobert Countess Hertford Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard de Clare 6th Earl Gloucester 5th Earl Hertford 3 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Marshal 1st Earl Pembroke 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Isabel Marshal Countess Cornwall, Gloucester and Hertford
Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabel Clare Countess Pembroke
Great x 1 Grandfather: Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford 4 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Roger Lacy 6th Baron Pontefract 7th Baron Halton 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Lacy Earl Lincoln
Great x 4 Grandmother: Maud Clere Baroness Lacy Baroness Warkworth 
Great x 2 Grandmother: Maud Lacy Countess Gloucester and Hertford 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Quincy Earl Lincoln
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Quincy 3rd Countess Lincoln and Pembroke 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Hawise Gernon 2nd Countess Lincoln 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
GrandMother: Elizabeth Clare Lady Verdun Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: King John of England 
Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: King Henry III of England Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England
Great x 2 Grandfather: King Edward I of England Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Raymond IV Count Provence 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Beatrice Savoy Countess Provence
Great x 1 Grandmother: Joan of Acre Countess Gloucester and Hertford Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Alfonso IX King Leon 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Ferdinand III King Castile III King Leon Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Berengaria Ivrea I Queen Castile Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Simon Dammartin
Great x 3 Grandmother: Joan Dammartin Queen Consort Castile and Leon
Great x 4 Grandmother: Marie Montgomery Countess Ponthieu
Elizabeth Burgh Duchess of Clarence 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandfather: King John of England Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England
Great x 2 Grandfather: King Henry III of England Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Aymer Angoulême I Count Angoulême
Great x 3 Grandmother: Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Courtenay Countess Angoulême 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Alfonso Barcelona II Count Provence
Great x 3 Grandfather: Raymond IV Count Provence
Great x 4 Grandmother: Gersenda II Sabran Countess Provence
Great x 2 Grandmother: Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Savoy I Count Savoy
Great x 3 Grandmother: Beatrice Savoy Countess Provence
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Geneva Countess Savoy
GrandFather: Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: King Philip II of France 2 x Great Grand Son of King William "Conqueror" I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: King Louis VIII of France 3 x Great Grand Son of King William "Conqueror" I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabelle Flanders Queen Consort France
Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert Capet Count of Artois Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Alfonso VIII King Castile
Great x 3 Grandmother: Blanche Ivrea Queen Consort France Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Blanche Capet Queen Navarre 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Reginar VIII Duke Lower Lorraine I Duke Brabant
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Reginar II Duke Brabant Great Grand Son of King Stephen I England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Maud Metz Grand Daughter of King Stephen I England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Matilda Reginar Countess Saint Pol 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Stephen I England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Philip Swabia
Great x 3 Grandmother: Marie Swabia Duchess Brabant
Mother: Maud Plantagenet Countess Ulster 
Great Grand Daughter of King Henry III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Patrick Chaworth 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Patrick Chaworth
GrandMother: Maud Chaworth
Great x 4 Grandfather: Walter Beauchamp 
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Beauchamp
Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Mortimer 
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Beauchamp 9th Earl Warwick
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Maudit
Great x 3 Grandmother: Isabel Maudit
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Beaumont 
Great x 1 Grandmother: Isabella Beauchamp
Great x 4 Grandfather: Geoffrey Fitzpeter 1st Earl Essex
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Fitzgeoffrey
Great x 4 Grandmother: Aveline Clare Countess Essex
Great x 2 Grandmother: Maud Fitzjohn Countess Warwick
Great x 4 Grandfather: Hugh Bigod 3rd Earl Norfolk 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Isabel Bigod
Great x 4 Grandmother: Maud Marshal Countess Norfolk and Surrey