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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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Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary

Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is in Pursuivant.

Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is the oldest of the Pursuivants in Ordinary being established in the reign of Henry IV. The Red Cross refers to the Cross of St George.

Around 1505 William Wriothesley [aged 16] was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary.

In 1524 Thomas Wriothesley [aged 36] was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary with the annual salary of £10.

In 1544 William Flower [aged 46] was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary.

On 15th November 1546 Lawrence Dalton [aged 36] was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary.

In 1553 Henry Cotgrove was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary.

On 14th November 1553 Nicholas Tubman was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary.

In 1567 William Dethick [aged 25] was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary.

On 29th May 1621 Augustine Vincent [aged 37] was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary.

In 1639 William Dugdale [aged 33] was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary.

The London Gazette 23152. Whitehall, August 16, 1866.

The Queen [aged 47] has been pleased to direct letters patent to be passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, granting unto John von Sonnentag Haviland, gentleman, the office of Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms, vacant by the promotion of James Robinson Planche", Esq., to the office of Somerset Herald.

In 1983 Henry Edgar Paston-Bedingfeld 10th Baronet [aged 39] was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary.