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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Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton is in Ecton, Northamptonshire, Churches in Northamptonshire.
Interior of the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map].
Windows at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map].
Exterior of the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map].
Monument to unknown person at Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map].
Various monuments to the Isted family at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map].
On 18th November 1641 John Palmer [aged 29] was appointed Rector of the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map] which position he held for life.
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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In 1707 Dean Samuel Freeman died at Ecton, Northamptonshire whilst visiting. He was buried at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map].
On 14th March 1711 Eleanor Franklin [aged 77] died. Gravestone of Eleanor Franklin at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map]. The graves of Eleanor and her husband Thomas were shown to Benjamin Franklin [aged 5] when he visited the graveyard in 1758 looking for his grandfather Thomas Franklin which he didn't find.
1732. Monument to John Palmer at Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map] sculpted by John Michael Rysbrack [aged 37].
After 31st March 1761. Monument to John Palmer [deceased] at Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map] sculpted by H Cox. Bust by John Michael Rysbrack [aged 66].
John Palmer: Around 1695 he was born to Thomas Palmer. On 31st March 1761 he died.
After 28th January 1763. Monument to Ann Isted [deceased] at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map] possibly sculpted Henry Cheere 1st Baronet [aged 60].
Ann Isted: On 26th February 1683 she was born to Ambrose Isted and Sarah Feltham. On 28th January 1763 she died unmarried.
After 26th September 1811. Monument to Elizabeth Percy [aged 46] at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map].
Elizabeth Percy: Reverend Pierce Meade and she were married. On 11th July 1765 she was born to Bishop Thomas Percy and Anne Gutteridge. On 26th September 1825 she died at Ecton, Northamptonshire.
After 18th April 1817. Monument to Catherine Maria Whalley nee Packe at Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map] sculpted by John Charles Felix Rossi [aged 55].
After 6th February 1841. Monument to Thomas Palmer Whalley at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map].
After 6th January 1902. Memorial to Admiral Edward Southwell Sotheby [deceased] at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map].
Admiral Edward Southwell Sotheby: On 14th May 1813 he was born to Admiral Thomas Sotheby and Mary Anne Bourke. On 23rd June 1864 he and Lucy Elizabeth Adeane were married. On 6th January 1902 he died at 26 Green Street Mayfair. He was buried at Highgate Cemetery.
1910. Monument to Benjamin Franklin at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ecton [Map] sculpted by L Frits Roselieb in 1910.
Benjamin Franklin: On 17th January 1706 he was born to Josiah Franklin at Milk Street, Boston. On 17th April 1790 Benjamin Franklin died.
