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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 Margaret's Church, Paston is in Paston, Norfolk, Churches in Norfolk.
In 1167 Bartholomew de Glanville (age 22) died. His left "the Church of Paston [Map] and its appurtenances, with the lands and the woods there" to the monks at Bromholm Priory [Map].
Around 1180 the original St Margaret's Church, Paston [Map] was constructed.
Around 1350 the current St Margaret's Church, Paston [Map] was constructed.
In 1540 Erasmus Paston (age 34) died. Brasses to Erasmus and his wife Mary Wyndham of Felbrigg (missing) at St Margaret's Church, Paston [Map]. The inscription reads .. Here Erasmus Paston and Mary his wife enclosed in clay, Which is the resting place of ffleach until the latter day; Of sonnes three and daughters nine the Lord then parent made, Ere cruel death worke his cruel spite of fykell liff did fade.
Erasmus Paston: In 1506 he was born to William Paston and Bridget Heydon. In or before 1528 Erasmus Paston and Mary Wyndham of Felbrigg were married.
Mary Wyndham of Felbrigg: she was born to Vice-Admiral Thomas Wyndham and Eleanor Scrope.
In 1601, 1843 and 1869 St Margaret's Church, Paston [Map] was restored.
On 3rd November 1601 John Heveningham (age 24) and Bridget Paston (age 19) were married at St Margaret's Church, Paston [Map].
On 10th March 1629 Katherine Knyvet (age 50) died. Monument in St Margaret's Church, Paston [Map] sculpted by Nicholas Stone (age 42). His diary ... made a tomb for my lady Paston ... veryy extraordinary entertained, and pay'd for it £340. The inscription is by John Donne (age 57): To the Reviving Memory of the virtuous and right worth Lady, Dame Katherine Paston, daughter unto the Right Worp'll Sir Thomas Knevitt, Knt., and wife to Sir Edmund Paston, Knight with whom she lived in wedlock 26 years and issue two sonnes yet surviving, vizt. William and Thomas, She departed this life the 10th day of March, 1628, and lyeth here intombed expecting a Joyful Resurrection.
On the pedestal ...
Can a man be silent and not Praise find.
For her that lived the praise of womankind.
Whose outward frame was sent this world to gess.
What shapes our soules shall weare in happiness.
Whose verture did all ill so overswaye.
That her whole life was a communion daye.
On another panel ...
Not that she needeth monument of stone.
For her wel-gotten fame to rest upon.
But this was reared to testifie.
Katherine Knyvet: On or before 22nd June 1578 she was born to Thomas Knyvet 4th Baron Berners and Muriel Parry. On 22nd June 1578 she was baptised at Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk. On 28th April 1603 Edmund Paston and she were married. They were fourth cousin once removed. In 1611 Edmund Paston and Katherine Knyvet moved into Paston Hall on the death of his grandfather Christopher Paston.
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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 1632 Edmund Paston (age 47) died. Monument in St Margaret's Church, Paston [Map].
Edmund Paston: In 1585 he was born to Christopher Paston.
On 15th September 1916 Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Paston Mack (age 53) was killed in action at the Battle of the Somme. Memorial at St Margaret's Church, Paston [Map].
Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Paston Mack: On 22nd January 1863 he was born to John Mack of Paston Hall.
Memorials to the Mack family at St Margaret's Church, Paston [Map].
On 18th May 1933 Hugh Paston Mack died.
On 23rd December 1917 Lieutenant Commander Ralph Michael Mack (age 34) was killed in action when his destoyer Tornado was mined.
On 29th April 1943 Rear-Admiral Philip John Mack (age 50) died in a plane crash.
Hugh Paston Mack: On 22nd March 1828 he was born to John Mack of Paston Hall.
Lieutenant Commander Ralph Michael Mack: On 11th October 1883 he was born to Hugh Paston Mack.
Rear-Admiral Philip John Mack: On 6th October 1892 he was born to Major Philip Paston Mack. On 15th September 1905 Rear-Admiral Philip John Mack joined the Royal Navy as a naval cadet at the Osborne and Britannia Royal Naval Colleges. On 9th August 1910 Rear-Admiral Philip John Mack was posted to the battlecruiser Indomitable as a midshipman, transferring to the cruiser Amethyst on 15th July 1913 having been promoted to sub-lieutenant on 15th June 1913.
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