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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Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire is in Gloucestershire.
On 24th December 1143 Miles Gloucester 1st Earl Hereford was accidentally shot and killed whilst hunting in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. He was buried in the Chapter House, Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucestershire. His son Roger [aged 18] succeeded 2nd Earl Hereford, Baron Abergavenny Feudal Creation. Cecilia Fitzjohn Countess Hereford [aged 23] by marriage Countess Hereford.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 21st January 1663. After dinner on board the Elias, and found the timber brought by her from the forest of Deane to be exceeding good. The Captain gave each of us two barrels of pickled oysters put up for the Queen Mother [aged 24] .
In 1227 King Henry III [aged 19] gave Abbot's Woods [Map] to Flaxby Abbey [Map].
Flaxley Abbey is also in Abbeys in England.
In 1151 Roger Fitzmiles 2nd Earl Hereford [aged 26] founded the Cistercia Flaxby Abbey [Map] on the spot where his father Miles Gloucester 1st Earl Hereford had been accidentally kiled whilst hunting. The Monks came from Bordesley Abbey, Worcestershire [Map].
In 1151 Roger Fitzmiles 2nd Earl Hereford [aged 26] founded Flaxley Abbey [Map] believed to be at the location where his father Miles Gloucester 1st Earl Hereford died.
In 1227 King Henry III [aged 19] gave Abbot's Woods [Map] to Flaxby Abbey [Map].
In 1353 King Edward III of England [aged 40] granted the income from the rents and profits of the lands of the Forest of Dean to Flaxby Abbey [Map].
On 4th September 1536 Flaxby Abbey [Map] was dissolved as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
On 21st March 1537 Flaxby Abbey [Map] was granted to William Kingston [aged 61].
In 1945 Victoria Mary Teck Queen Consort England [aged 77] visited Flaxby Abbey [Map].
