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.
Edward Onslow Ford is in Sculptors.
On 27th July 1852 Edward Onslow Ford was born to [his father] Edward Ford and [his mother] Martha Lydia Gardner.
1883. William Ewart Gladstone [aged 73] by Edward Onslow Ford [aged 30]. In the collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map].
1883. Marble bust of William Ewart Gladstone [aged 73] by Edward Onslow Ford [aged 30]. In the collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map].
1890. "Dancing". Edward Onslow Ford [aged 37]. In the collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map]. Originally displayed at Lord Lever's London home The Hill, Hampstead. In 1922 it was moved to the Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map] and displayed outside the south entrance.
1890. "Linus". Edward Onslow Ford [aged 37]. In the collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map]. Originally displayed at Lord Lever's London home The Hill, Hampstead. In 1922 it was moved to the Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map] and displayed outside the south entrance.
The Royal Academy Conversazione, 1891, by George Henry Grenville Manton [aged 36].
John Seymour Lucas, Dame Alice Ellen Terry [aged 43], Sir William Quiller Orchardson, Rachel, Countess of Dudley [aged 23], Marcus Stone, Henry Stacy Marks, Sir Henry Irving, Unidentified man, Unidentified man, Sir John Everett Millais [aged 61], William Charles Thomas Dobson.
Unidentified woman, James Sant, William Powell Frith, Sir Hubert von Herkomer [aged 41], Unidentified woman, Briton Riviere, Unidentified man, John Pettie, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema [aged 54], Frederic Leighton [aged 60], Baron Leighton.
Philip Hermogenes Calderon, Walter William Ouless, Thomas Faed, Robert Walker Macbeth, Edward Onslow Ford [aged 38], William Frederick Yeames, Unidentified woman, Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones [aged 57], Unidentified man.
Mary Anderson, John Calcott Horsley, possibly Joanna Margaret Hadley, Unidentified man, Henry Tanworth Wells, possibly Alice Joanna Street, Marion Harry Spielmann, Unidentified woman.
1895. Bust of James Lever [aged 85], father of William Lever 1st Viscount Leverhulme [aged 43] by Edward Onslow Ford [aged 42]. In the collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map].
James Lever: In 1810 he was born. Before 19th September 1851 he and Eliza Hesketh were married. On 25th May 1897 he died.
1895. "Echo" by Edward Onslow Ford [aged 42]. In the collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map].
1900. Marble bust of William Lever 1st Viscount Leverhulme [aged 48] by Edward Onslow Ford [aged 47]. In the collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map].
1901. "Snowdrift". Marble, green onyx for base, with lapis lazuli below with silver mounts, and black marble below. The last work of Edward Onslow Ford [aged 48]. Completed following his death. In the collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map].
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 23rd December 1901 Edward Onslow Ford [aged 49] died.