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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Church of the Holy Trinity, Bosbury is in Bosbury, Herefordshire, Churches in Herefordshire.
Church of the Holy Trinity, Bosbury [Map].
Around 1573. Church of the Holy Trinity, Bosbury [Map]. Monument to John Harford died 1559. Large recessed wall Elizabethan Period monument commemorating John Harford died 1559, signed by John Guldo of Hereford: 'JOHN GULDO of Hereford made this tombe w. his owne hande Ano. Dn. 1573. Pedimented surround with Corinthian columns on tall bases, semi-circular head to arched recess with Ionic capitals to pilasters, recumbent effigy in civil costume on sarcophagus supported by two lions, the whole enriched with rosettes in spandrels and large leaves and rounded in tympanum, shell motif and three panels with vases and two shields and an achievement of arms at back of recess.
Around 1578. Church of the Holy Trinity, Bosbury [Map]. Monument to Richard Harford died 1578.
Large recessed wall Elizabethan Period monument commemorating Richard Harford died 1578, his wife Martha and Anthony Harford, attributed improbably to John Guldo of Hereford, caryatid-type figures possibly Adam and Eve flank central semi-circular headed arched recess with segmental pediment. Two recumbent effigies, male and female in civil costume on sarcophagus supported by two grotesque animals, the whole enriched with foliage and flock motifs and rather more primitive in style than John Harford memorial on opposite wall.
