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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
After 6th November 1753 [her father] John Fleming 1st Baronet [aged 23] and [her step-mother] Jane Coleman Baroness Harewood [aged 22] were married.
On 23rd May 1755 Jane Fleming Countess Harrington was born to [her father] John Fleming 1st Baronet [aged 25].
On 5th November 1763 [her father] John Fleming 1st Baronet [aged 33] died. Baronet Fleming of Brompton Park in Middlesex extinct.
In 1768 Joshua Reynolds [aged 44]. Portrait of Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 12]. In the collection of The Huntingdon, San Marino.
In 1775 Joshua Reynolds [aged 51]. Portrait of Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 19].
On 23rd May 1778 Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 25] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 23] were married at St Marylebone Church. He the son of William Stanhope 2nd Earl of Harrington [aged 58] and Caroline Fitzroy Countess Harrington [aged 56].
On 1st April 1779 [her father-in-law] William Stanhope 2nd Earl of Harrington [aged 59] died. His son [her husband] Charles [aged 26] succeeded 3rd Earl Harrington, 3rd Viscount Petersham, 3rd Baron Harrington. Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 23] by marriage Countess Harrington.
On 8th April 1780 [her son] Charles Stanhope 4th Earl of Harrington was born to [her husband] Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 27] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 24]. He a great x 3 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. He married 1831 Maria Foote Countess Harrington and had issue.
On 26th November 1781 [her son] Lincoln Edwin Robert Stanhope was born to [her husband] Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 28] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 26]. He a great x 3 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel Volume 1 Chapters 1-60 1307-1342
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel offer one of the most vivid and immediate accounts of 14th-century Europe, written by a knight who lived through the events he describes, and experienced some of them first hand. Covering the early decades of the Hundred Years’ War, this remarkable chronicle follows the campaigns of Edward III of England, the politics of France and the Low Countries, and the shifting alliances that shaped medieval warfare. Unlike later historians, Jean le Bel writes with a strong sense of eyewitness authenticity, drawing on personal experience and the testimony of fellow soldiers. His narrative captures not only battles and sieges, but also the realities of military life, diplomacy, and the ideals of chivalry that governed noble society. A key source for Jean Froissart, Le Bel’s chronicle stands on its own as a compelling and insightful work, at once historical record and literary achievement. This translation builds on the 1905 edition published in French by Jules Viard, adding extensive translations from other sources Rymer's Fœdera, the Chronicles of Adam Murimuth, William Nangis, Walter of Guisborough, a Bourgeois of Valenciennes, Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke and Richard Lescot to enrich the original text and Viard's notes.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 2nd May 1782 Thomas Pelham-Clinton 3rd Duke Newcastle-under-Lyne [aged 29] and [her sister-in-law] Anna Maria Stanhope Countess Lincoln were married. She the daughter of [her father-in-law] William Stanhope 2nd Earl of Harrington and [her mother-in-law] Caroline Fitzroy Countess Harrington [aged 60]. He the son of Henry Fiennes Pelham-Clinton 2nd Duke Newcastle-under-Lyne [aged 62] and Catherine Pelham Countess of Lincoln. They were sixth cousins. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 3rd September 1783 [her daughter] Anna Maria Stanhope Duchess Bedford was born to [her husband] Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 30] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 28]. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. She married before 1st July 1809 her half fourth cousin Francis Russell 7th Duke Bedford, son of John Russell 6th Duke Bedford and Georgiana Elizabeth Byng, and had issue.
On 2nd September 1784 [her son] Leicester FitzGerald Charles Stanhope 5th Earl of Harrington was born to [her husband] Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 31] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 29]. He a great x 3 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. He married 23rd April 1831 Elizabeth Green Countess Harrington and had issue.
On 29th December 1785 [her son] William Sefton George Stanhope was born to [her husband] Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 32] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 30]. He a great x 3 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. He died aged less than one years old.
In February 1786 [her son] William Sefton George Stanhope died unmarried.
On 24th April 1787 [her son] FitzRoy Henry Richard Stanhope was born to [her husband] Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 34] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 31]. He a great x 3 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. He married 8th November 1808 Caroline Wyndham and had issue.
On 29th September 1788 [her son] Francis Charles Stanhope was born to [her husband] Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 35] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 33]. He a great x 3 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 2nd August 1790 [her son] Henry William Stanhope was born to [her husband] Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 37] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 35]. He a great x 3 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 20th November 1791 [her daughter] Caroline Anne Stanhope was born to [her husband] Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 38] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 36]. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. She married 21st June 1841 Edward Ayshford Sanford.
On 15th February 1793 [her daughter] Charlotte Augusta Stanhope Duchess Leinster was born to [her husband] Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 39] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 37]. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. She married 16th June 1816 her half fourth cousin Augustus Fitzgerald 3rd Duke Leinster, son of William Robert Fitzgerald 2nd Duke Leinster and Emilia St George Duchess Leinster, and had issue.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 22nd February 1794 Henry Fiennes Pelham-Clinton 2nd Duke Newcastle-under-Lyne [aged 73] died. His son Thomas [aged 41] succeeded 3rd Duke Newcastle under Lyme, 10th Earl Lincoln. [her sister-in-law] Anna Maria Stanhope Countess Lincoln by marriage Countess Lincoln.
On 8th November 1808 FitzRoy Henry Richard Stanhope [aged 21] and Caroline Wyndham [aged 18] were married. He the son of Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 55] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 53].
Before 1st July 1809 [her son-in-law] Francis Russell 7th Duke Bedford [aged 21] and Anna Maria Stanhope Duchess Bedford [aged 25] were married. She the daughter of Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 56] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 54]. He the son of John Russell 6th Duke Bedford [aged 42] and Georgiana Elizabeth Byng. They were half fourth cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 8th May 1813 Augustus Henry Edward Stanhope and Jane Baldwin were married. He the son of Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 60] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 57].
On 16th June 1816 [her son-in-law] Augustus Fitzgerald 3rd Duke Leinster [aged 24] and Charlotte Augusta Stanhope Duchess Leinster [aged 23] were married. She by marriage Duchess Leinster. She the daughter of Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 63] and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 61]. He the son of William Robert Fitzgerald 2nd Duke Leinster and Emilia St George Duchess Leinster. They were half fourth cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 29th January 1819 [her sister-in-law] Isabella Stanhope Countess Sefton [aged 71] died.
On 3rd February 1824 Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [aged 68] died at St James's Palace [Map].
On 12th February 1824 Jane Fleming Countess Harrington [deceased] was buried at Westminster Abbey [Map].
On 5th September 1829 [her former husband] Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington [aged 76] died. His son Charles [aged 49] succeeded 4th Earl Harrington, 4th Viscount Petersham, 4th Baron Harrington.
[her son] Augustus Henry Edward Stanhope was born to Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl of Harrington and Jane Fleming Countess Harrington. He a great x 3 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. He married 8th May 1813 Jane Baldwin.