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.
Effigy of A De L'Isle is in Monumental Effigies of Great Britain.
THERE were two families in England of this denomination; one deriving their appellative from the Isle of Wight [Map], the other from the Isle of Ely [Map]. Of the last was the subject of this effigy. The De Lisles possessed the manor of Rampton, in Cambridgeshire, from the reign of Henry the Third to that of the third Edward. They had from Edward the First a grant for a weekly market, and an annual fair in their manor of Rampton. A moated site, and some considerable ruins, near the church of that place, point out their residence. The effigy delineated is in the church. The mails on the hauberk of this figure appear to be effaced, and the mouth is sadly distorted by the carving of some idler. On the surcoat and shield is the coat of De Lisle, Or, a pale and two chevrons Sable, cotised Gules. The feet rest on a lion. Details. Plate 1. 1. Ornaments of the pillow. 2. Scroll-work on the chevron. 3. Pattern on the belt. 4. The figure as originally painted. Plate II. 1. Hood of the hauberk. 2. Rings of the mail. 3. Patterns on the waist-belt and appendages. 4. Heel of the spur, and straps.
