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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Robert Walker is in Painters.
In 1599 Robert Walker was born.
Around 1637. Robert Walker (age 38). Self-Portrait.
Around 1644. Robert Walker (age 45). Portrait of John Acland 1st Baronet (age 53).
After 1st July 1644. Robert Walker (age 45). Portrait of John Evelyn (age 23). See Diary Entry 1st July 1664.
Around 1645. Robert Walker (age 46). Self-Portrait.
John Evelyn's Diary. 1st July 1648. I sate for my picture, in which there is a Death's head, to Mr. Walker (age 49), that excellent painter.
Note 1. See Portrait by Robert Walker.
Around 1649. Robert Walker (age 50). Oliver Cromwell (age 49).
Around 1650. Robert Walker (age 51). Portrait of Henry Ireton (age 39).
Around 1650. Robert Walker (age 51). Portrait of Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset (age 27).
John Evelyn's Diary. 6th August 1650. To Mr. Walker's (age 51), a good painter, who showed me an excellent copy of Titian.
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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Around 1652. Robert Walker (age 53). Portrait of General John Lambert (age 32).
In 1653. Robert Walker (age 54). Portrait of Elizabeth Bourchier (age 55).
Elizabeth Bourchier: In 1598 she was born to John Bourchier. On 22nd August 1620 Oliver Cromwell and she were married. In 1665 she died.
In 1654. Robert Walker (age 55). Portrait of William Wentworth 2nd Earl Strafford (age 27).
Around 1654. Robert Walker (age 55). Portrait of Major General Charles Fleetwood (age 36).
Before 1658. Robert Walker (age 58). Portrait of Conyers Darcy 2nd Earl Holderness (age 35).
In 1658 Robert Walker (age 59) died.