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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Before 10th February 1818 [his father] John La Forey Butler [aged 32] and [his mother] Henrietta Patrick were married.
On 10th February 1818 William John Butler was born to [his father] John La Forey Butler [aged 32] and [his mother] Henrietta Patrick.
In 1832 William John Butler [aged 13] became a queen's scholar at Westminster School [Map].
In 1836 William John Butler [aged 17] entered Trinity College, Cambridge University [Map]. He won the Trinity essay in 1839, but, though a fair classical scholar, was unable to give sufficient time to the tripos, and took a pass degree in 1840. He was awarded M.A. in 1844.
In 1841 William John Butler [aged 22] was ordained by Bishop Charles Richard Sumner and presented to the Curacy of Dogmersfield, under Charles Dyson.
On 29th July 1843 William John Butler [aged 25] and Emma Barnett were married.
In 1848 [his father] John La Forey Butler [aged 62] died. She was buried beside her husband at Lincoln Cathedral [Map].
In 1885 William John Butler [aged 66] was appointed Dean of Lincoln.
On 14th January 1894 William John Butler [aged 75] died. He was buried at Lincoln Cathedral [Map] on 18th January 1894. On 25th April 1896 a monument by Farmer & Brindley of red Verona marble with an alabaster effigy carved by Léon-Joseph Chavalliaud [aged 35] was unveiled.
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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On 21st January 1894 [his former wife] Emma Barnett died one week after the death of her husband William John Butler [deceased].
Father: John La Forey Butler 
GrandFather: Captain Robert Patrick
Mother: Henrietta Patrick