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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
St Mary Magdalene's Church, Leintwardine is in Leintwardine, Herefordshire [Map], Churches in Herefordshire.
Between 1174 and 1179 Hugh Mortimer granted St Mary Magdalene's Church, Leintwardine [Map] to his new foundation of Wigmore Abbey [Map]. The St Mary Magdalene's Church, Leintwardine [Map] is built partly in the vallum, or ditch, that enclosed the Roman town of Bravonium. The foundations are Saxon and Norman but the main part of the church is 13th and 14th century. The earliest detail in the church is the blocked 12th-century W. doorway, which is probably not in situ. Towards the end of the thirteenth century a south aisle was added to the nave and in the first half of the fourteenth century a north aisle and two chapels were added together with a new chancel and an impressive south tower of five storeys over a powerful porch.
After 1326 Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March (age 38) commissioned the building of the Mortimer chapel, now known as the Lady Chapel, at St Mary Magdalene's Church, Leintwardine [Map].
Around September 1353 King Edward III of England (age 40) visited St Mary Magdalene's Church, Leintwardine [Map] and laid a cloth of gold at the feet of the statue of the Virgin Mary.
Memorials inside St Mary Magdalene's Church, Leintwardine [Map].
1835. Memorial to Banastre Tarleton 1st Baronet sculpted by Peter Rouw (age 63) at St Mary Magdalene's Church, Leintwardine [Map].
2010. A number of new misericords added to St Mary Magdalene's Church, Leintwardine [Map] after 2010.
