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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In or before 1697 [his father] Charles Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire and [his mother] Deborah Cholmley were married.
In 1697 Andrew Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire was born to [his father] Charles Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire and [his mother] Deborah Cholmley.
On 2nd July 1715 Andrew Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire (age 18) was admitted to Clare College, Cambridge University.
On 8th July 1719 Andrew Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire (age 22) was admitted to Middle Temple.
On 2nd September 1723 Andrew Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire (age 26) and Barbara Jessop were married. They had seven sons.
On 8th November 1734 [his father-in-law] William Jessop of Broom Hall, Sheffield (age 69) died. His son [his brother-in-law] James Jessop aka Darcy 2nd Baron Darcy of Navan had predeceased him without issue. His daughter [his wife] Barbara Jessop and her husband Andrew Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire (age 37) inherited Broom Hall, Sheffield.
On 19th February 1735 Andrew Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire (age 38) was elected MP Aldborough at a by-election caused by the death of his father-in-law [his father-in-law] William Jessop of Broom Hall, Sheffield.
In 1741 Andrew Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire (age 44) was re-elected MP Aldborough unopposed.
In 1746 Andrew Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire (age 49) was promoted to Storekeeper of the Ordnance.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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In 23rd April 1746 Andrew Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire (age 49) was re-elected MP Aldborough unopposed. He was re-elected unopposed in 1754 and 1761.
In December 1762 Andrew Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire (age 65) voted against the Government on the peace preliminaries in December 1762 and as a result was dismissed from his post at the Ordnance. He wa restored in Sep 1765.
On 29th March 1784 Andrew Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire (age 87) died. Broom Hall, Sheffield was left to his eldest son, Rev. James Wilkinson.
Father: Charles Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire
Andrew Wilkinson of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire
GrandFather: Richard Cholmley of Bramham, Yorkshire
Mother: Deborah Cholmley