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: Browne
Before 1626 [his father] Ambrose Browne 1st Baronet and [his mother] Elizabeth Adam Lady Browne were married. She by marriage Lady Browne of Betchworth Castle in Surrey.
Around 1626 Adam Browne 2nd Baronet was born to [his father] Ambrose Browne 1st Baronet and [his mother] Elizabeth Adam Lady Browne.
On 7th July 1627 [his father] Ambrose Browne 1st Baronet was created 1st Baronet Browne of Betchworth Castle in Surrey.
Around 1640 Adam Browne 2nd Baronet (age 14) educated at Christ's College, Cambridge University [Map].
In 1657 [his mother] Elizabeth Adam Lady Browne died.
Before 11th January 1659 Adam Browne 2nd Baronet (age 33) and Philippa Cooper Lady Browne were married. She by marriage Lady Browne of Betchworth Castle in Surrey.
On 11th January 1659 [his son] Ambrose Browne was born to Adam Browne 2nd Baronet (age 33) and [his wife] Philippa Cooper Lady Browne.
In 1661 [his father] Ambrose Browne 1st Baronet died. His son Adam (age 35) succeeded 2nd Baronet Browne of Betchworth Castle in Surrey.
On 8th May 1661 King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland (age 30) summoned his second Parliament.
John Bennet 1st Baron Ossulston (age 44) was elected MP Wallingford.
James Thynne (age 56) was elected MP Wiltshire.
Adam Browne 2nd Baronet (age 35) was elected MP Surrey.
Henry Cavendish 2nd Duke Newcastle upon Tyne (age 30) was elected MP Northumberland.
William Compton (age 36) was elected MP Cambridge.
Thomas Coventry 1st Earl Coventry (age 32) was elected MP Camelford.
Charles Berkeley 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge (age 61) was elected MP Bath and Heytesbury.
Edward Hungerford (age 28) was elected MP Chippenham.
Robert Pierrepont (age 24) was elected MP Nottingham.
John Melbury Sampford Strangeways (age 75) was elected MP Weymouth.
Giles Strangeways (age 45) was elected MP Dorset.
John Strangeways (age 24) was elected MP Bridport.
William Wyndham 1st Baronet (age 29) was elected MP Taunton.
James Herbert (age 38) was elected MP Queenborough.
William Alington 1st and 3rd Baron Alington (age 21) was elected MP Cambridge.
William Bowes of Streatlam (age 4) was elected MP Durham.
Robert Brooke (age 24) was elected MP Aldeburgh.
Josiah Child (age 30) was elected MP Dartmouth.
Gervase Clifton 1st Baronet (age 73) was elected MP Nottinghamshire.
Thomas Crew 2nd Baron Crew (age 37) was elected MP Brackley.
Richard Jennings (age 42) was elected MP St Albans.
Robert Kemp 2nd Baronet (age 33) was elected MP Norfolk.
Edward Phelips (age 48) was elected MP Somerset.
Robert Robartes (age 27) was elected MP Bossiney.
Hender Robartes (age 25) was elected MP Bodmin.
Clement Fisher 2nd Baronet (age 48) was elected MP Coventry.
William Portman 6th Baronet (age 17) was elected MP Taunton.
John Robinson 1st Baronet (age 46) was elected MP Rye.
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In 1672 [his brother-in-law] Anthony Ashley-Cooper 1st Earl Shaftesbury (age 50) was created 1st Earl Shaftesbury. Margaret Spencer Countess Shaftesbury (age 47) by marriage Countess Shaftesbury.
On 21st January 1683 [his brother-in-law] Anthony Ashley-Cooper 1st Earl Shaftesbury (age 61) died. His son Anthony (age 31) succeeded 2nd Earl Shaftesbury, 2nd Baron Ashley of Wimborne St Giles, 3rd Baronet Cooper of Rockbourne in Southampton. Dorothy Manners Countess Shaftesbury (age 27) by marriage Countess Shaftesbury.
In 1685 Adam Browne 2nd Baronet (age 59) was elected MP Surrey.
In July 1688 [his son] Ambrose Browne (age 29) died. On 24th July 1688 Ambrose Browne was buried at Dorking, Surrey [Map].
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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In 1690 Adam Browne 2nd Baronet (age 64) died. Baronet Browne of Betchworth Castle in Surrey extinct since his son [his son] Ambrose Browne had predeceased him.
In 1701 [his former wife] Philippa Cooper Lady Browne died.
Kings Wessex: Great x 19 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 16 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 22 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 17 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings England: Great x 12 Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 18 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 15 Grand Son of Louis VII King of the Franks
Kings France: Great x 19 Grand Son of Robert "Pious" II King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 23 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: George Browne 
6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Matthew Browne 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Paston 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Henry Browne 8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Guildford
Great x 3 Grandmother: Frideswide Guildford
Great x 4 Grandmother: Ann Pympe
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Browne 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
GrandFather: Matthew Browne 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Father: Ambrose Browne 1st Baronet 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Vincent 
GrandMother: Jane Vincent
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Lyfield
Great x 1 Grandmother: Jane Lyfield
Adam Browne 2nd Baronet 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry III of England
GrandFather: William Adam of Saffron Walden
Mother: Elizabeth Adam Lady Browne