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: Stewart
Around 1296 Walter Stewart 6th High Steward was born to [his father] James Stewart 5th High Steward.
On 16th July 1309 [his father] James Stewart 5th High Steward died. His son Walter [aged 13] succeeded 6th High Steward of Scotland.
The Bruce 1306. [24th June 1314] Lines 4.39-58:
| The Queyn, and als dame Marjory, | The Queen [aged 30]1, and also Lady Marjory [aged 18], |
| Hyr dochtyr that syne worthily | Her daughter who later worthily |
| Wes coupillyt in-to Goddis band | Was joined into God's bond |
| With Walter, Stewart off Scotland; | With Walter [aged 18], Stewart of Scotland; |
| That wald on na wys langar ly | Who would not in any way longer stay |
| In the castell off Kyldromy, | In the castle of Kildrummy, |
| To byd a sege, ar ridin raith | To await a siege, but riding quickly |
| With knychtis and with squyeris bath, | With knights and with squires both, |
| Throw Ros, rycht to the gyrth off Tayne. | Through Ross, right to the girth of Tayne2. |
| Bot that travaill thai maid in vayne; | But their efforts were in vain; |
| For thai off Ros, that wald nocht ber | For the men of Ross3, who would not bear |
| For thaim na blayme, na yheit danger, | Any blame or even danger for them, |
| Owt off the gyrth thame all has tayne; | Out of the girth, they all have been taken; |
| And syne has send thaim evirilkane | And then they have sent them all |
| Rycht in-till Ingland, to the King, | Right into England, to the King, |
| That gert draw all the men, and hing; | Who ordered all the men to be drawn and hanged; |
| And put the ladyis in presoune, | And put the ladies in prison4, |
| Sum in-till castell, sum in dongeoun. | Some in a castle, some in a dungeon. |
| It wes gret pite for till heir | It was a great pity to hear |
| Folk till be troublyt on this maneir. | People being troubled in this manner. |
Note 1. dame Marjory. Bruce's daughter by his first wife, Isabel, daughter of Donald Earl of Mar. She afterwards married Walter, the High Steward (see Bk. XIII. 689).
Note 2. the gyrth of Tayne. The enclosure or "sanctuary" attached to the chapel of St. Duthac, at Tain, Ross-shire, a favourite place of pilgrimage with the Scottish kings, especially James IV. There was, however, no privilege of sanctuary for treason. William Earl of Ross was in the English interest, and on May 20, 1308, is the recipient of thanks from Edward II. "for faithful service to his father and himself" (Bain, iii., No. 43). Hemingburgh says "the new Queen" was taken in Kildrummy (ii. 249); Gray that Cristina Bruce was captured there, and the Queen and Nigel Bruce in Dunaverty (Scala., p. 131); Trivet agrees with the second statement, but obviously confuses (p. 410); according to Fordun the Queen was taken at Tain, and many ladies at "Kyndrumy" (Gesta Ann., cxx.).
Note 3. thai of Ros. Fordun says the Queen was seized at St. Duthac's by the Earl of Ross (Gesta Ann., cxx.).
Note 4. put the ladyis in presoune. On November 7, 1306, there are "further orders for the custody of the Countesses of Carrick (the Queen) and Buchan, Marie, and Christine, the sisters, and Margerie the daughter, of Robert de Bruce ... three of the ladies to be in 'kages.'" (Bain, ii., No. 1851). The Countess of Buchan, who had crowned Bruce, was to be placed in a cage of wooden bars and lattice in one of the turrets of Berwick Castle (Palgrave, p. 358; Scala., p. 131); Marie Bruce in a "kage" in Roxburgh (Palgrave, 359); Marjory in a "kage" in the Tower of London (359); Cristina [aged 41] in ward in England (Palgrave, 359). The Queen was to be in custody at "Brustewik" (Palgrave p. 357); was removed thence by an order of June 22, 1308 (Bain, iii., No. 48). Marjory was in ward at Wattone in March, 1307 (Bain, ii., 1910). By 1311-1312 Maria de Brus is a prisoner in Newcastle (Bain, iii., 227, 340).
In 1315 Walter Stewart 6th High Steward [aged 19] and Marjorie Bruce [aged 19] were married. She the daughter of King Robert the Bruce I of Scotland [aged 40] and Isabella Mar. They were second cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King John of England.
After 1316 Walter Stewart 6th High Steward [aged 20] and Isabel Graham of Abercorn [aged 18] were married.
On 2nd March 1316 [his son] King Robert II of Scotland was born to Walter Stewart 6th High Steward [aged 20] and [his wife] Marjorie Bruce [aged 20] at Paisley Abbey. His mother Marjorie Bruce died in childbirth. He a great x 3 grandson of King John of England. He married (1) 1336 Elizabeth Mure Queen Consort Scotland and had issue (2) 1356 Euphemia Ross Queen Consort Scotland, daughter of Hugh 4th Earl Ross and Margaret Graham Countess Ross, and had issue.
Around 1320 [his daughter] Egidia Stewart was born to Walter Stewart 6th High Steward [aged 24] and [his wife] Isabel Graham of Abercorn [aged 22]. She married before 1406 James Douglas of Dalkeith.
Around 1324 [his son] John Stewart of Ralstoun was born to Walter Stewart 6th High Steward [aged 28] and [his wife] Isabel Graham of Abercorn [aged 26].
In 1325 [his wife] Isabel Graham of Abercorn [aged 27] died.
After 1325 [his son] Andrew Stewart was born to Walter Stewart 6th High Steward [aged 29] and [his former wife] Isabel Graham of Abercorn [deceased].
On 9th April 1327 Walter Stewart 6th High Steward [aged 31] died.
On 22nd February 1371 [his former brother-in-law] King David II of Scotland [aged 46] died without issue at Edinburgh Castle [Map]. He was buried at Holyrood Abbey [Map]. His nephew Robert [aged 54] succeeded II King Scotland. He, David, was the last of the male line of the House of Bruce. Robert, the first of the House of Stewart, being the son of his sister Marjorie Bruce who had married Walter Stewart 6th High Steward.
[his father] James Stewart 5th High Steward and Egidia Burgh were married. She the daughter of Walter Burgh 1st Earl of Ulster.
Kings Wessex: Great x 7 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 6 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 15 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 8 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 12 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 3 Grandfather: Walter Fitzalan 1st High Steward 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Alan Fitzwalter 2nd High Steward 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Walter Stewart 3rd High Steward
GrandFather: Alexander Stewart 4th High Steward
Great x 2 Grandfather: Gille Críst Angus 4th Earl Angus
Great x 1 Grandmother: Bethóc Angus
Great x 4 Grandfather: King David I of Scotland 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Dunkeld 3rd Earl Huntingdon 1st Earl of Northumbria
Great x 4 Grandmother: Maud Queen Consort Scotland
Great x 2 Grandmother: Marjorie Dunkeld Countess Angus
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Warenne 2nd Earl of Surrey 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Ada Warenne Countess Huntingdon and Northumbria
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey 
Father: James Stewart 5th High Steward