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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Biography of Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw 1100-1172

Paternal Family Tree: Aberffraw

Maternal Family Tree: Angharad Queen Consort Gwynedd 1065-1162

1136 Battle of Kidwelly

1136 Battle of Crug Mawr aka Cardigan

Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw and Alice Clare Baroness Percy Topcliffe were married. She the daughter of Richard de Clare and Alice Gernon. He the son of King Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd and Angharad Queen Consort Gwynedd.

Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw and Tangwystl ferch Cadwallon were married. He the son of King Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd and Angharad Queen Consort Gwynedd. They were uncle and niece.

In or before 1100 [his father] King Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd (age 44) and [his mother] Angharad Queen Consort Gwynedd (age 34) were married. He the son of [his grandfather] Cynan ab Iago King Gwynedd and [his grandmother] Ragnaillt Unknown Queen Consort Gwynedd. They were second cousin once removed.

Around 1100 Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw and Gwerfel ferch Gwrgan Unknown were married. He the son of King Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd (age 45) and Angharad Queen Consort Gwynedd (age 35).

Around 1100 Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw was born to [his father] King Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd (age 45) and [his mother] Angharad Queen Consort Gwynedd (age 35).

Around 1113 [his brother-in-law] Gruffudd ap Rhys King Deheubarth (age 32) and [his sister] Gwenllian Aberffraw Queen Consort Deheubarth (age 13) were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Deheubarth. She the daughter of [his father] King Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd (age 58) and [his mother] Angharad Queen Consort Gwynedd (age 48). He the son of Rhys ap Tewdwr King Deheubarth and Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon Mathrafal Queen Consort Deheubarth (age 53). They were half second cousin once removed.

Before 1130 [his brother] Owain "Great" King Gwynedd (age 29) and [his sister-in-law] Gwladus Unknown Queen Consort Gwynedd (age 14) were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Gwynedd. He the son of [his father] King Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd (age 74) and [his mother] Angharad Queen Consort Gwynedd (age 64).

1136 Battle of Kidwelly

In 1136 a battle, or skirmish, was fought at Maes Gwenllian [Map] between the Welsh forces of [his sister] Gwenllian (age 36), wife of [his brother-in-law] Gruffydd (age 55), with her two sons, and the Norman force of Maurice de Londres. Gwenllian and her two sons [his nephew] Morgan Dinefwr and [his nephew] Maelgwn Dinefwr were killed.

1136 Battle of Crug Mawr aka Cardigan

                    On 10th October 1136 [the date is uncertain] the Battle of Crug Mawr aka Cardigan between Welsh and Normans for control of Ceredigion, West Wales. The Welsh, led by [his brother] Owain "Great" King Gwynedd (age 36), Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw (age 36) and [his former brother-in-law] Gruffudd ap Rhys King Deheubarth (age 55) defeated Normans led by Robert Fitzmartin,; a significant setback to Norman expansion in Wales.
                
                    [his nephew] Einion Aberffraw was killed.
                
                    The exact location of the battle is unknown. Possibly near Crug Mawr [Map]. However, Annales Cambriae has "A battle was fought before the castle" followed by "others drowned in the river Teifi" suggesting the castle referred to may have been Cilgerran Castle [Map] which is on the River Teifi.

In 1137 [his father] King Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd (age 82) died. His son [his brother] Owain (age 37) succeeded King Gwynedd.

Around 1140 [his son] Rhicert Aberffraw was born to Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw (age 40) and Alice Clare Baroness Percy Topcliffe.

Around 1145 [his brother] Owain "Great" King Gwynedd (age 45) and [his sister-in-law] Cristin ferch Goronwy Unknown Queen Consort Gwynedd (age 40) were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Gwynedd. He the son of [his father] King Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd and [his mother] Angharad Queen Consort Gwynedd (age 80). They were first cousins.

In 1162 [his mother] Angharad Queen Consort Gwynedd (age 97) died.

Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke

Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.

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On 28th November 1170 [his brother] Owain "Great" King Gwynedd (age 70) died. His son [his nephew] Hywel succeeded King Gwynedd.

In 1172 Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw (age 72) died.

In 1172 [his son] Cadfan Aberffraw was born to Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw (age 72) and [his wife] Gwerfel ferch Gwrgan Unknown. He married his first cousin once removed Gwenllian Unknown, daughter of Owain Cyfeiliog Mathrafal and Gwenllian Aberffraw.

[his son] Cadwallon Aberffraw was born to Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw and Tangwystl ferch Cadwallon. Coefficient of inbreeding 12.60%.

[his son] Maredudd Aberffraw was born to Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw and Tangwystl ferch Cadwallon. Coefficient of inbreeding 12.60%.

[his son] Ralph Aberffraw was born to Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw and Alice Clare Baroness Percy Topcliffe.

[his son] Cunedda Aberffraw was born to Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw and Alice Clare Baroness Percy Topcliffe.

[his son] Cadwgan Aberffraw was born to Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd Aberffraw and Tangwystl ferch Cadwallon. Coefficient of inbreeding 12.60%.