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 9th September 1898, or 1895, Margaret Sheila MacKellar Chisholm was born at Woollahra, Sydney, youngest child and only daughter of grazier Harry Chisholm and his wife Margaret Mackellar. Her family moved to Sydney in 1912, she attended Kambala School for Girls.
In 1914 Margaret Sheila MacKellar Chisholm [aged 15] and her mother sailed to England on SS Mongolia. Their stay extended as a consequence of the outbreak of the First World War.
On 21st August 1915 John Peniston Milbanke 10th Baronet [aged 42] was killed in action leading his men on Hill 70 at the farthest point reached by British troops at Suvla Bay. His body was not recovered. His son [her future husband] John [aged 13] succeeded 11th Baronet Milbanke of Halnaby in Yorkshire.
Before 27th December 1915 Margaret Sheila MacKellar Chisholm [aged 17] and her mother travelled to Cairo, Egypt. Sheila volunteered to help with the nursing; while visiting John in hospital she met [her future husband] Lord Loughborough [aged 23], heir to the Earl of Rosslyn.
On 27th December 1915 Francis Edward Scudamore St Clair-Erskine [aged 23] and Margaret Sheila MacKellar Chisholm [aged 17] were married at Cairo, Egypt.
In 1918 Margaret Sheila MacKellar Chisholm [aged 19] met the King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom [aged 23] during an air raid when both had taken shelter in the porch of a house in Belgravia at the same time. They started a relationship which lasted until the 1930s.
In 1926 Francis Edward Scudamore St Clair-Erskine [aged 33] and Margaret Sheila MacKellar Chisholm [aged 27] were divorced.
On 11th November 1928 John Charles Peniston Milbanke 11th Baronet [aged 26] and Margaret Sheila MacKellar Chisholm [aged 30] were married at the Savoy Chapel Royal [Map]. Their wedding 1928 caused chaos in central London with people climbing on to parked cars to get a glimpse of the couple.
On 4th August 1929 [her former husband] Francis Edward Scudamore St Clair-Erskine [aged 36] died.
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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1934. Yevonde Cumbers aka Madame Yevonde [aged 40]. Photograph on the cover of Tatler of Lady Milbanke [aged 35] i.e. Sheila Chisholm.
1935. Yevonde Cumbers aka Madame Yevonde [aged 41]. Photograph of Margaret Sheila MacKellar Chisholm [aged 36] as "Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons". © The Yevonde Portrait Archive.
Around 1938. Simon Elwes [aged 35]. Portrait of Margaret Sheila MacKellar Chisholm [aged 39].
On 1st June 1947 [her husband] John Charles Peniston Milbanke 11th Baronet [aged 45] died. His brother [her brother-in-law] Ralph [aged 40] succeeded 12th Baronet Milbanke of Halnaby in Yorkshire.
On 13th October 1969 Margaret Sheila MacKellar Chisholm [aged 71] died.