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.
Earl Derwentwater is in Earldoms of England Alphabetically, Earldoms of England Chronologically, Forfeit Earldoms of England.
Summary
7th March 1688. Francis Radclyffe 1st Earl Derwentwater [aged 63] created.
April 1697. Son Edward Radclyffe 2nd Earl Derwentwater [aged 42] succeeded.
29th April 1705. Son James Radclyffe 3rd Earl Derwentwater [aged 15] succeeded.
24th February 1716. James Radclyffe 3rd Earl Derwentwater forfeit. See 1715 Battle of Preston.
On 7th March 1688 Francis Radclyffe 1st Earl Derwentwater [aged 63] was created 1stEarl Derwentwater.
In April 1697 Francis Radclyffe 1st Earl Derwentwater [aged 72] died. His son Edward [aged 42] succeeded 2nd Earl Derwentwater, 4th Baronet Radclyffe of Derwentwater in Cumberland.
On 29th April 1705 Edward Radclyffe 2nd Earl Derwentwater [aged 50] died. His son James [aged 15] succeeded 3rd Earl Derwentwater, 5th Baronet Radclyffe of Derwentwater in Cumberland.
On 10th July 1712 James Radclyffe 3rd Earl Derwentwater [aged 23] and Anna Maria Webb Countess Derwentwater [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Countess Derwentwater. He the son of Edward Radclyffe 2nd Earl Derwentwater and Mary Tudor Countess Derwentwater [aged 38]. They were fourth cousin once removed. He a grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
The 1715 Battle of Preston was the final action of the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion. It commenced on 9th November 1715 when Jacobite cavalry entered Preston, Lancashire [Map]. Royalist troops arrived in number over the next few days surrounding Preston forcing the Jacocobite surrender. 1463 were taken prisoner of which 463 were English. The Scottish prisoners included:
George Seton 5th Earl of Winton [aged 38]. The only prisoner to plead not guilty, sentenced to death, escaped from the Tower of London [Map] on 4th August 1716 around nine in the evening. Travelled to France then to Rome.
On 24th February 1716 William Gordon 6th Viscount Kenmure [aged 44] was beheaded on Tower Hill [Map].
On 9th February 1716 William Maxwell 5th Earl Nithsale was sentenced to be executed on 24th February 1716. The night before his wife [aged 36] effected his escape from the Tower of London [Map] by exchanging his clothes with those of her maid. They travelled to Paris then to Rome where the court of James "Old Pretender" Stewart [aged 27] was.
James Radclyffe 3rd Earl Derwentwater [aged 26] was imprisoned in the Tower of London [Map]. He was examined by the Privy Council on 10th January 1716 and impeached on 19th January 1716. He pleaded guilty in the expectation of clemency. He was attainted and condemned to death. Attempts were made to procure his pardon. His wife Anna Maria Webb Countess Derwentwater [aged 24], her sister Mary Webb [aged 21] [Note. Assumed to be her sister Mary], their aunt Anne Brudenell Duchess Richmond [aged 45], Barbara Villiers 1st Duchess of Cleveland appealed to King George I [aged 55] in person without success.
On 24th February 1716 James Radclyffe 3rd Earl Derwentwater was beheaded on Tower Hill [Map]. Earl Derwentwater, Baronet Radclyffe of Derwentwater in Cumberland forfeit.
William Murray 2nd Lord Nairne was tried on 9th February 1716 for treason, found guilty, attainted, and condemned to death. He survived long enough to benefit from the Indemnity Act of 1717.
General Thomas Forster of Adderstone [aged 31] was attainted. He was imprisoned at Newgate Prison, London [Map] but escaped to France.
On 14th May 1716 Henry Oxburgh was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn [Map]. He was buried at Church of St Gile's in the Fields. His head was spiked on Temple Bar.
The trials and sentences were overseen by the Lord High Steward William Cowper 1st Earl Cowper [aged 50] for which he subsequently received his Earldom.