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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Church of St Barlok, Norbury is in Norbury, Derbyshire [Map], Churches in Derbyshire.
In 1453 Alice Booth [aged 39] died at Church of St Barlok, Norbury [Map]. She was buried at Church of St Barlok, Norbury [Map].
On 19th November 1473 Nicholas Fitzherbert [aged 73] died at Norbury, Derbyshire [Map]. He was buried at Church of St Barlok, Norbury [Map]. Fluted Period. Fine set of weepers. Probably Harpur and Moorecock of Burton on Trent. Note the Clenched Fist Crest unusually left-handed; probably a mistake by the sculptor since left-hand suggests illegitimacy. Suns and Roses Collar.
On 2nd March 1484 Ralph Fitzherbert [aged 56] died at Norbury, Derbyshire [Map]. He was buried at Church of St Barlok, Norbury [Map].
On 20th October 1490 Elizabeth Marshall [aged 53] died. She was buried at Church of St Barlok, Norbury [Map].
Monument to Ralph and Elizabeth. Finely made in Chellaston alabaster of the Fluted Period. Possibly Harpur and Moorecock of Burton on Trent. Fitzherbert Clenched Fist Crest. His effigy notable for being the only remaining with the Yorkist Boar Pendant (boar of Richard III) on his Suns and Roses Collar.
Ralph Fitzherbert: Around 1428 he was born to Nicholas Fitzherbert and Alice Booth at Norbury, Derbyshire [Map]. In or before 1450 Ralph Fitzherbert and Elizabeth Marshall were married. They had seven sons and five daughters.
Elizabeth Marshall: Around 1437 she was born to John Marshall.
On 16th June 1763 George Evans [aged 22] and Mary Leach [aged 26] were married at the Church of St Barlok, Norbury [Map].
On 24th January 1830 George Evans [aged 89] died. He was buried at the Church of St Barlok, Norbury [Map].
George Evans: On 11th August 1740 he was born.
On or before 21st July 1900, the date he was baptised at the Church of St Barlok, Norbury [Map], Henry Samuel Littleton Clowes was born to Arthur Clowes [aged 33] and Lucy Littleton [aged 23].
On 3rd September 1901 Legh Algernon Clowes was born to Arthur Clowes [aged 34] and Lucy Littleton [aged 25]. He was baptised at the Church of St Barlok, Norbury [Map] on 23rd September 1901.
On 4th March 1903 Margaret Violet Louisa Clowes was born to Arthur Clowes [aged 35] and Lucy Littleton [aged 26]. He was baptised at the Church of St Barlok, Norbury [Map] on 23rd September 1901. She married 1925 her half third cousin Lionel George Archer Cust.