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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Knap of Howar is in Papa Westray, Orkney Neolithic Farmsteads.
Unstan Ware is finely decorated early Neolithic Pottery from the 4th Millenium BC and the 3rd Millenium BC; elegant shallow bowls with a groove-pattern around the rim, or undecorated round bottomed bowls. The name is from the Unstan Chambered Cairn [Map] where the pottery was first found in 1884. Unstan Ware is found in tombs: Midhowe Chambered Cairn [Map], Tomb of the Eagles [Map], Taversoe Tuick [Map] as well as farmsteads: Knap of Howar [Map].
Carbon Date. 3706BC. Early Neolithic Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bones, id as mixed, (collagen) from primary midden filling south wall-core of House 1, Period I at Knap of Howar [Map], Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland. Coll A Ritchie. Comment (subm): sample re-run as SRR-452, neither seems reliable.
ID: 3068, C14 ID: SRR-347 Date BP: 5706 +/- 85, Start Date BP: 5621, End BP: 5791
OS Letter: HY, OS East: 483, OS North: 518
Archaeologist Name: A Ritchie
Reference Name: Proc Scot Antiq Scot, 113, 1983, 40-121; Renfrew C, 'The Prehistory of Orkney', 1985, 264
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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3700BC to 2800BC. Knap of Howar [Map] is a Neolithic farmstead.
Carbon Date. 2830BC. Late Neolithic Carbon Dates
Report: Organic buried soil at base of test-pit 16 at Holland, near Knap of Howar [Map], Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland. Coll A Ritchie.
ID: 2926, C14 ID: Birm-817 Date BP: 4830 +/- 100, Start Date BP: 4730, End BP: 4930
OS Letter: HY, OS East: 477, OS North: 112
Reference Name: Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 113, 1983, 40-121 esp 118
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
Carbon Date. 2770BC. Late Neolithic Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bone, id as mixed (collagen), from primary midden, trench V, Period I at Knap of Howar [Map], Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland. Coll A Ritchie. Comment (subm): predates houses 1 & 2.
ID: 3076, C14 ID: Birm-816 Date BP: 4770 +/- 180, Start Date BP: 4590, End BP: 4950
OS Letter: HY, OS East: 483, OS North: 518
Archaeologist Name: A Ritchie
Reference Name: Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 113, 1983, 40-121 esp 118; C Renfrew, 'The prehistory of Orkney', 1985, 264
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Carbon Date. 2765BC. Late Neolithic Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bone (collagen) from secondary midden, trench II, Period II at Knap of Howar [Map], Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland. Coll A Ritchie.
ID: 3074, C14 ID: SRR-348 Date BP: 4765 +/- 70, Start Date BP: 4695, End BP: 4835
OS Letter: HY, OS East: 483, OS North: 518
Archaeologist Name: A Ritchie
Reference Name: Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 113, 1983, 40-121 esp 118; C Renfrew, 'The prehistory of Orkney', 1985, 264
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Carbon Date. 2690BC. Late Neolithic Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bone (collagen) from secondary floor deposit, house 2, Period II at Knap of Howar [Map], Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland. Coll A Ritchie.
ID: 3071, C14 ID: Birm-814 Date BP: 4690 +/- 130, Start Date BP: 4560, End BP: 4820
OS Letter: HY, OS East: 483, OS North: 518
Archaeologist Name: A Ritchie
Reference Name: Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 113, 1983, 40-121 esp 118; C Renfrew, 'The prehistory of Orkney', 1985, 264
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Carbon Date. 2532BC. Late Neolithic Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bone (collagen), from secondary floor deposit in passage, house 1a, Pd II at Knap of Howar [Map], Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland. Coll A Ritchie.
ID: 3070, C14 ID: SRR-346 Date BP: 4532 +/- 70, Start Date BP: 4462, End BP: 4602
OS Letter: HY, OS East: 483, OS North: 518
Archaeologist Name: A Ritchie
Reference Name: Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 113, 1983, 40-121 esp 118; C Renfrew, 'The prehistory of Orkney', 1985, 264
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Carbon Date. 2451BC. Early Bronze Age Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bone (collagen) from secondary midden, trench III, period II at Knap of Howar [Map], Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland. Coll A Ritchie.
ID: 3073, C14 ID: SRR-344 Date BP: 4451 +/- 70, Start Date BP: 4381, End BP: 4521
OS Letter: HY, OS East: 483, OS North: 518
Archaeologist Name: A Ritchie
Reference Name: Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 113, 1983, 40-121 esp 118; C Renfrew, 'The prehistory of Orkney', 1985, 264
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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Carbon Date. 2422BC. Early Bronze Age Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bone, id as mixed (collagen), from primary midden, trench II, Period I at Knap of Howar [Map], Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland. Coll A Ritchie.
ID: 3075, C14 ID: SRR-349 Date BP: 4422 +/- 70, Start Date BP: 4352, End BP: 4492
OS Letter: HY, OS East: 483, OS North: 518
Archaeologist Name: A Ritchie
Reference Name: Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 113, 1983, 40-121 esp 118; C Renfrew, 'The prehistory of Orkney', 1985, 264
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Carbon Date. 2348BC. Early Bronze Age Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bone (collagen), from floor deposit of House 1, Period II at Knap of Howar [Map], Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland. Coll A Ritchie.
ID: 3069, C14 ID: SRR-345 Date BP: 4348 +/- 75, Start Date BP: 4273, End BP: 4423
OS Letter: HY, OS East: 483, OS North: 518
Archaeologist Name: A Ritchie
Reference Name: Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 113, 1983, 40-121 esp 118; C Renfrew, 'The prehistory of Orkney', 1985, 264
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Carbon Date. 2270BC. Early Bronze Age Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bone, id as mixed (collagen), from primary midden in wall core, house 2, Period I at Knap of Howar [Map], Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland. Coll A Ritchie.
ID: 3077, C14 ID: Birm-813 Date BP: 4270 +/- 100, Start Date BP: 4170, End BP: 4370
OS Letter: HY, OS East: 483, OS North: 518
Archaeologist Name: A Ritchie
Reference Name: Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 113, 1983, 40-121 esp 118; C Renfrew, 'The prehistory of Orkney', 1985, 264
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Carbon Date. 2250BC. Early Bronze Age Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bone (collagen) from primary midden, trench IV, Period I at Knap of Howar [Map], Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland. Coll A Ritchie.
ID: 3072, C14 ID: Birm-815 Date BP: 4250 +/- 130, Start Date BP: 4120, End BP: 4380
OS Letter: HY, OS East: 483, OS North: 518
Archaeologist Name: A Ritchie
Reference Name: Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 113, 1983, 40-121 esp 118; C Renfrew, 'The prehistory of Orkney', 1985, 264
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Carbon Date. 2081BC. Early Bronze Age Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bone, id as mixed (collagen), from primary midden in south wall-core, house 1, Period I at Knap of Howar [Map], Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland. Coll A Ritchie. Comment (subm): SRR-452 & SRR-347 taken from the same sample,? unreliable.
ID: 3078, C14 ID: SRR-452 Date BP: 4081 +/- 65, Start Date BP: 4016, End BP: 4146
OS Letter: HY, OS East: 483, OS North: 518
Archaeologist Name: A Ritchie
Reference Name: Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 113, 1983, 40-121 esp 118; C Renfrew, 'The prehistory of Orkney', 1985, 264
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
Become a Member via our Buy Me a Coffee page to read more.