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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Paternal Family Tree: Prideaux
In 1554 Edmund Prideaux 1st Baronet was born to Roger Prideaux.
In 1582 [his father] Roger Prideaux died.
Before 1590 Edmund Prideaux 1st Baronet [aged 35] and Catherine Edgecombe [aged 27] were married.
Before 1590 Edmund Prideaux 1st Baronet [aged 35] and Bridget Chichester were married.
In 1596 [his son] Peter Prideaux 2nd Baronet was born to Edmund Prideaux 1st Baronet [aged 42] and [his wife] Catherine Edgecombe [aged 34]. He married in or before 1626 Susan Poulet Lady Prideaux.
In 1605 [his wife] Catherine Edgecombe [aged 43] died.
In 1606 Edmund Prideaux 1st Baronet [aged 52] and Mary Reynell Lady Prideaux [aged 21] were married. The difference in their ages was 30 years.
On 17th July 1622 Edmund Prideaux 1st Baronet [aged 68] was created 1st Baronet Prideaux of Netherton in Devon. [his wife] Mary Reynell Lady Prideaux [aged 37] by marriage Lady Prideaux of Netherton in Devon.
In or before 1626 [his son] Peter Prideaux 2nd Baronet [aged 29] and [his daughter-in-law] Susan Poulet Lady Prideaux [aged 25] were married.
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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On 28th March 1628 Edmund Prideaux 1st Baronet [aged 74] died. His son Peter [aged 32] succeeded 2nd Baronet Prideaux of Netherton in Devon. Susan Poulet Lady Prideaux [aged 28] by marriage Lady Prideaux of Netherton in Devon.
In 1631 [his former wife] Mary Reynell Lady Prideaux [aged 46] died.
[his son] Edmund Prideaux 1st Baronet was born to Edmund Prideaux 1st Baronet and Catherine Edgecombe.