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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Massachusetts is in New England.
Around 9th March 1628 Edmund Quincy (age 68) died in Massachusetts.
On 4th September 1633 Edmund "The Puritan" Quincy (age 31) emigrated on a ship named Griffin at Massachusetts.
John Evelyn's Diary. 3rd August 1671. A full appearance at the Council. The matter in debate was, whether we should send a deputy to New England, requiring them of the Massachusetts to restore such to their limits and respective possessions, as had petitioned the Council; this to be the open commission only; but, in truth, with secret instructions to inform us of the condition of those Colonies, and whether they were of such power, as to be able to resist his Majesty (age 41) and declare for themselves as independent of the Crown, which we were told, and which of late years made them refractory. Colonel Middleton (age 63), being called in, assured us they might be curbed by a few of his Majesty's first-rate frigates, to spoil their trade with the islands; but, though my Lord President (age 46) was not satisfied, the rest were, and we did resolve to advise his Majesty to send Commissioners with a formal commission for adjusting boundaries, etc., with some other instructions.
On 20th February 1920 Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy was born to Joseph Patrick Kennedy (age 31) and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald (age 29) at Brookline Massachusetts. She married 6th May 1944 William Cavendish, son of Edward William Spencer Cavendish 10th Duke Devonshire and Mary Alice Gascoyne-Cecil Duchess Devonshire.
In 27th July 1660 Edward Whalley (age 53) and his son-in-law, Major-General William Goffe (age 55), another regicide, landed at Boston, Massachusetts. They lived, thereafter, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
On 2nd March 1888 Mildred Carter Countess Gosford was born to John Ridgeley Carter (age 24) and Alice Morgan (age 23) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
On 20th October 1849 Frederick Strickland (age 29) died in a mountain climbing accident. He had climbed Mount Washington, New Hampshire [Map]. During his descent he fell into a stream and died from hypothermia. His body was recovered and buried at the Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge. His monument has the inscription: "Sacred to the memory of Frederick Strickland, an English traveller, who lost his life October 20, 1849, while walking upon the White Mountains. He was the second son of George Strickland (age 66), Bart., a member of the Parliament of England."
Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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In 1690 Paul Dudley (age 14) graduated at Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In 1699 Jeremiah Dummer (age 18) graduated at Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
On 25th December 1632 Ann Clinton (age 36) died in Charlestown Massachusetts.
Around 1643 Huldah Hussey was born to Christopher Hussey (age 44) and Theodate Bachiler at Lynn, Essex County.
In August 1630 Arabella Clinton (age 35) died in Salem Massachusetts.
On 10th July 1686 Frances Howard Lady Downing (age 53) died at Salem Massachusetts.
In 1820 Fitzwilliam Sargent was born to Winthrop Sargent (age 27) at Gloucester. He married before 1854 Mary Newbold Singer and had issue.
Around 1675 Edward Whalley (age 68) died at Hadley, Hampshire.
On 10th July 1834 James Abbott McNeill Whistler was born to George Washington Whistler (age 34) and Anna McNeill (age 29) at Lowell.
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.
On 14th April 1754 Robert Temple (age 60) died at Somerville, Middlesex County.
Before 1660 Christopher Hussey (age 60) founded Nantucket Massachusetts.
In 1636 Stephen Bachiler (age 74) moved to Newbury Massachusetts.
On 14th September 1645 Jeremiah Dummer was born to Richard Dummer (age 56) and Frances Burr at Newbury Massachusetts. He married Anna Atwater and had issue.
On 14th December 1679 Richard Dummer (age 90) died at Newbury Massachusetts.
On 16th December 1620 the Maylower landed at Plymouth Rock Massachusetts and went on to found Plymouth Colony. The first documented reference to the landing at Plyouth Rock was in 1741.
On 15th August 1711 Reverend Nathaniel Walter was born at Roxbury, Suffolk.
On 29th March 1736 Sarah Walter Lady Haselrigge was born to Reverend Nathaniel Walter (age 24) at Roxbury, Suffolk. She married before 16th February 1756 Robert Haselrigge 8th Baronet, son of Arthur Haselrigge 7th Baronet and Hannah Sturges, and had issue.