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: Williams Wynn
On 26th July 1855 [his father] Colonel Herbert Watkin Williams-Wynn (age 33) and [his mother] Anna Lloyd (age 21) were married.
On 3rd June 1862 Watkin Williams-Wynn 9th Baronet was born to [his father] Colonel Herbert Watkin Williams-Wynn (age 40) and [his mother] Anna Lloyd (age 28).
On 22nd June 1862 [his father] Colonel Herbert Watkin Williams-Wynn (age 40) died.
In 1886 Watkin Williams-Wynn 9th Baronet (age 23) joined the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry.
On 13th August 1887 Watkin Williams-Wynn 9th Baronet (age 25) was promoted Captain of the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry.
In 1904 Watkin Williams-Wynn 9th Baronet (age 41) and Elizabeth Ida Lowther (age 28) were married.
On 30th November 1904 [his son] Owen Watkin Williams-Wynn 10th Baronet was born to Watkin Williams-Wynn 9th Baronet (age 42) and [his wife] Elizabeth Ida Lowther (age 29).
On 23rd January 1926 [his mother] Anna Lloyd (age 92) died.
From 1928 until his death in 1951 Watkin Williams-Wynn 9th Baronet (age 65) was Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire.
On 9th May 1949 Watkin Williams-Wynn 8th Baronet (age 58) died. His uncle Watkin (age 86) succeeded 9th Baronet Williams of Gray's Inn.
On 23rd November 1951 Watkin Williams-Wynn 9th Baronet (age 89) died. His son Owen (age 46) succeeded 10th Baronet Williams of Gray's Inn.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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On 28th November 1970 [his former wife] Elizabeth Ida Lowther (age 95) died.
Kings Wessex: Great x 24 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 21 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 27 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 22 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 24 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 6 Grand Son of King James II of England Scotland and Ireland
Kings Scotland: Great x 23 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 21 Grand Son of Louis VII King of the Franks
Kings France: Great x 8 Grand Son of Henry IV King France
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 28 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Williams 1st Baronet
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Williams-Wynn 2nd Baronet
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Kyffin
Great x 2 Grandfather: Watkin Williams-Wynn 3rd Baronet
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Thelwall of Plas-y-Ward
Great x 3 Grandmother: Jane Thelwall
Great x 4 Grandmother: Sydney Wynn
Great x 1 Grandfather: Watkin Williams-Wynn 4th Baronet 18 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandfather: George Shackerley of Hulme
Great x 2 Grandmother: Frances Shackerley Lady Williams-Wynn 17 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Walter Bagot 3rd Baronet 
15 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Bagot 16 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Salusbury 
GrandFather: Watkin Williams-Wynn 5th Baronet 9 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Granville 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Granville
Great x 2 Grandfather: George Granville
Great x 1 Grandmother: Charlotte Granville Lady Williams-Wynn 8 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Wyndham 2nd Baronet 
12 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Wyndham 3rd Baronet 13 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Katherine Leveson-Gower Lady Wyndham 12 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Wyndham 7 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Charles Seymour 6th Duke of Somerset 
5 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandmother: Catherine Seymour 6 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Percy Duchess Somerset 9 x Great Grand Daughter of
Father: Colonel Herbert Watkin Williams-Wynn 5 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Clive
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Clive
Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert Clive "Clive of India"
Great x 4 Grandfather: Nathaniel Gaskell of Manchester
Great x 3 Grandmother: Rebecca Gaskell
Great x 1 Grandfather: Edward Clive 1st Earl Powis
Great x 3 Grandfather: Edmund Maskelyne of Purton in Wiltshire
Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Maskelyne
GrandMother: Henrietta Antonia Clive Lady Williams-Wynn 4 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Herbert of Bromfield and Dolgeiog 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Francis Herbert of Oakley Park Montgomeryshire 6 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Florence Herbert 5 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 2 Grandfather: Henry Herbert 1st Earl Powis 7 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Oldbury
Great x 3 Grandmother: Dorothy Oldbury
Great x 1 Grandmother: Henrietta Antonia Herbert 3rd Countess Powis 3 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Herbert 2nd Marquess Powis 9 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandfather: Edward Herbert 10 x Great Grand Son of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Preston Marchioness Powis 
13 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 2 Grandmother: Barbara Herbert Countess Powis 2 x Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandfather: James Waldegrave 1st Earl Waldegrave 
Grand Son of
Great x 3 Grandmother: Henrietta Waldegrave Great Grand Daughter of
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Webb 10 x Great Grand Daughter of
Watkin Williams-Wynn 9th Baronet 6 x Great Grand Son of
GrandFather: Edward Lloyd of Cefn
Mother: Anna Lloyd