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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St Andrew's Church, Brympton d'Evercy, Brympton d'Evercy, Somerset, South-West England, British Isles [Map]

St Andrew's Church, Brympton d'Evercy is in Brympton d'Evercy, Somerset, Churches in Somerset.

Before 1400. Various Early Medieval effigies including one with Crossed Legs. St Andrew's Church, Brympton d'Evercy [Map].

On 10th November 1626 John Sydenham V [aged 58] died. Monument at St Andrew's Church, Brympton d'Evercy [Map].

A Corinthian column at each corner supports the fine canopy, and the whole is adorned withmany coats of arms, which,commencing on the north side, illustrate, as it were, the pedigree of the family. On either side the canopy is surmounted by the arms ofSir John Sydenham, on the north impaling those of his first wife, and on the south the arms of his second;each coat is flanked by a small shield supported by a ram. Bound the edge of the canopy are thirteen shields, on which are impaled the arms brought inby various atches. On each side of the tomb itself are three large shields:those on the north side bearing the arms of Sydenham, impaling those of Audley Arm, Bruges, and Godolphin Arms, with their various quarterings;on the south are the arms of John Sydenham [aged 37], who erected the monument, his sister impaled with those of her husband Edward Paston, and another coat in which the sinister side is not filled in. Probably it was meant to await the marriage of Sir Ralph Sydenham [aged 36], a younger brother of the founder. At the west end base is the large quartered coat of Sir John Sydenham, impaling the arms of Buckland with its nine quarterings. At the head of the tomb, surmounted by the helmet, crest, and lambrequin, is the-Sydenham coat of twelve quarterings, beneath which is the following inscription:

My foundir Sydenham, match'd with Hobye's Heyr [aged 27].

Badde me inform thee (gentle Passenger).

That what hee hath donne in mcc is onlie meant.

To memorize his father and s discent.

Without vayne glorye but he doth intreat.

That if thou comst his legende to repeate.

Thou speak him truly as he was and than - Report itso, hee dyed an honest mane.

10 November 1626.

The main armorial as follows: 1 Sydenham Arms 2 Kitsford Arms 3 Dalingrige Arms 4 Hussey Arms 5 Stourton Arms 6 Langland Arms 7 Beaufre Arms 8 Furneux Arms 9 Godolphin Arms 10 Balune Arms 11 Killigrew Arms 12 Trenouth Arms. Source.

Cadaver Underneath.

John Sydenham V: In 1568 he was born to John Sydenham IV "The Elder" and Grace Godolphin.

John Sydenham: In 1589 he was born to John Sydenham V. In or before 1627 John Sydenham and Alice Hoby were married. In 1627 John Sydenham died.

Ralph Sydenham: In or after 1590 he was born to John Sydenham V. In 1671 Ralph Sydenham died.

After 20th August 1790. Monmument to Richard Young died and his parents Robert and Mary Young. St Andrew's Church, Brympton d'Evercy [Map].

After 26th March 1857. St Andrew's Church, Brympton d'Evercy [Map]. Memorial to Jane Huck Saunders Countess of Westmoreland [deceased].

Jane Huck Saunders Countess of Westmoreland: In 1783 she was born to Richard Huck Saunders. In 1800 John Fane 10th Earl of Westmoreland and she were married. The difference in their ages was 23 years. He the son of John Fane 9th Earl of Westmoreland and Augusta Bertie. On 26th March 1857 she died at Brympton d'Evercy, Somerset.