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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Samuel Pegge is in Antiquaries.
Before 5th November 1704 [his father] Christopher Pegge and [his mother] Getrude Stephenson were married.
On 5th November 1704 Samuel Pegge was born to [his father] Christopher Pegge and [his mother] Getrude Stephenson.
In 1722 Samuel Pegge [aged 17] became a pensioner and scholar of St John's College, Cambridge University [Map], graduating BA in 1725, MA in 1729.
In 1723 [his father] Christopher Pegge died.
On 21st March 1726 Samuel Pegge [aged 21] was elected to a lay fellowship on the Beresford foundation of his college but was removed in favour of Michael Burton (afterwards vice-master of St. John's), who claimed founder's kin.
In 1730 Samuel Pegge [aged 25] was elected to the Spalding Gentlemen's Society.
On 13th April 1732 Samuel Pegge [aged 27] and Anne Clarke were married.
In July 1746 [his wife] Anne Clarke died.
Archaeologia Volume 4 Section VIII. Observations on Kit's Cotty House [Map], in Kent. In a Letter to the Honourable Daines Barrington [aged 47], from the Reverend Mr Pegge [aged 69]. Read at the Society of Antiquaries, Jan. 13, 1774.
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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Archaeologia Volume 7 Section XIII. A Disquisition on the Lows or Barrows in the Peak of Derbyshire, particularly that capital British Monument called Arbelows [Map]. By the Rev. Mr. Pegge [aged 80].
Archaeologia Volume 8 Section III. 2nd November 1785. Observations by the Rev. Mr. Pegge [aged 80] on the Stanton-Moor Urns, and Druidical Temple [Map]. In a Letter to Major Rooke [aged 62]. Read November 2,. 1785;
Archaeologia Volume 9 Section XVII. Discoveries in opening a Tumulus [Garratts Piece Barrow [Map]] in Derbyshire. In a Letter from the Rev. Mr. Pegge [aged 83] to the Rev. John Brand, Secretary. Read May 8, 1788.
Archaeologia Volume 10 Section IV. Some Observations on the Paintings in the Window of Brereton Church [Map]. By the Rev. Samuel Pegge [aged 85], in a Letter to Owen Salusbury Brereton [aged 74], Esq. Vice President. Read Nov. 26, 1789.
Archaeologia Volume 12 Section I. Antiquities discovered in Derbyshire. In a Letter from Hayman Rooke [aged 70], Esq. F. S. A. to the Rev. Dr. Pegge [aged 89], F. S. A. Read November 21, 1793.
On 14th February 1796 Samuel Pegge [aged 91] died.
Father: Christopher Pegge
GrandFather: Francis Stephenson of Unstone, Chesterfield
Mother: Getrude Stephenson