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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Chief Baron of the Exchequer is in Exchequer.
In 1400 John Cockayne (age 40) was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
In 1483 Humphrey Starkey of Wouldham in Kent (age 44) was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer serving for less than a year.
On 29th October 1486 William Hody (age 45) was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
In 1522 John Fitzjames (age 57) was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
On 24th January 1526 Richard Broke was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
In 1545 Roger Cholmeley (age 50) was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer which position he held until 1552.
On 22nd July 1577 Robert Bell (age 38) was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer. Edmund Bell (age 15) inherited the manor of South Acre, Norfolk.
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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In January 1593 William Peryam of Little Fulford (age 59) was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
In 1625 John Walter (age 59) was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
On 7th November 1650 Matthew Hale (age 41) was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
In 1676 William Montagu (age 58) was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer which office he held until 1686.
Edmund Denny was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
John Cobham was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer.