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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William Powell Frith is in Painters.
On 9th January 1819 William Powell Frith was born in Aldfield, North Yorkshire [Map].
1838. William Powell Frith (age 18). Self-portrait.
1843. William Powell Frith (age 23). Portrait of John Ruskin (age 23).
In or before 1848 William Powell Frith (age 28) and Isabelle were married. They had twelve children.
1854. William Powell Frith (age 34). "Ramsgate Sands".
1855. William Powell Frith (age 35). "At the Opera".
1859. William Powell Frith (age 39). "Charles Dickens (age 46) in His Study".
10th March 1863. William Powell Frith (age 44). Marriage of the future King Edward VII and Alexandra. The artist has depicted the moment when the Prince (age 21) is about to place the ring on the Princess' (age 18) finger. The two little boys dressed in tartan are Prince Leopold (age 9) and Prince Arthur (age 12), Queen Victoria's youngest sons. At the top right of the painting the Queen (age 43) herself looks down on the ceremony.
1872. William Powell Frith (age 52). "The Fair Toxophilites".
1875. William Powell Frith (age 55). "Polly Peachum".
In 1880 William Powell Frith (age 60) and Mary Alford were married after year after the death of his first wife. She and he already had seven children
Before 1900. William Powell Frith (age 80) and Thomas Creswick. "Haddon Hall, Derbyshire [Map] Steps".
1901. William Powell Frith (age 81). Self-portrait.
1901. William Powell Frith (age 81). "The Signal".
On 2nd November 1909 William Powell Frith (age 90) died.