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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Gloucestershire River Avon is in Severn Estuary.
The Gloucestershire River Avon rises near Acton Turville, Gloucestershire [Map] after which it flows past Luckington, Wiltshire [Map], Sherston, Wiltshire [Map], Easton Grey, Wiltshire [Map], Malmesbury, Wiltshire [Map], Great Somerford, Wiltshire [Map], Christian Malford, Wiltshire [Map], Chippenham, Wiltshire [Map], Melksham, Wiltshire [Map], Bradford on Avon [Map], under the Dundas Aquaduct, Wiltshire [Map], through Bath, Somerset [Map], past Keynsham, Gloucestershire [Map], through Bristol [Map] under the Clifton Suspension Bridge [Map] to Avonmouth, Gloucestershire [Map] where it joins the Severn Estuary.
1801. The Dundas Aquaduct, Wiltshire [Map] carries the Kennet and Avon canal over the Gloucestershire River Avon. It was designed by John Rennie and chief engineer John Thomas between 1797 and 1801, and completed in 1805.
In 1864 the Clifton Suspension Bridge [Map] over the Gloucestershire River Avon opened.
The River Biss rises near Upton Scudamore, Wiltshire [Map] as the Biss Brook after which it flows past Westbury, Wiltshire [Map] to Yarnbrook, Wiltshire [Map] where it becomes the River Biss. Thereafter it continues north through Trowbridge, Wiltshire [Map] after which it joins the Gloucestershire River Avon.
The River Chew rises near Chewton Mendip, Somerset [Map] then flows north past Litton, Somerset [Map], Coley, Somerset [Map], North Widcombe, Somerset [Map] where it joins the Chew Valley Lake [Map], Chew Magna, Somerset [Map], Pensford, Somerset [Map], Compton Dando, Somerset [Map] joining the Gloucestershire River Avon at Keynsham, Gloucestershire [Map].
The River Frome, Gloucestershire rises in Dodington Park, Gloucestershire [Map] after which it flows past Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire [Map], Yate, Gloucestershire [Map], Iron Acton, Gloucestershire [Map], Frampton Cotterel, Gloucestershire [Map], Winterbourne Down, Goucestershire [Map], Frenchay, Bristol [Map] and Eastville, Bristol [Map] after which it is covered for a long stretch emerging into Bristol Floating Harbour [Map] before joining the Gloucestershire River Avon.
The River Frome, Somerset rises 3km south-west of Witham Friary, Somerset [Map] after which it flows past Tytherinton, Somerset [Map] then through Frome, Somerset [Map], past Farleigh Hungerford Castle [Map] before joining the Gloucestershire River Avon at Freshford, Somerset [Map].
