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 1680 [his daughter] Anne Bellamy was born to Edward Bellamy. She married August 1734 George Lynn, son of George Lynn and Elizabeth Bellamy.
In 1723 Edward Bellamy was appointed Sheriff of London.
From 1723 to 1726 Edward Bellamy was Director of the Bank of England.
From 1729 to 1731 Edward Bellamy was Deputy Director of the Bank of England.
From 1731 to 1733 Edward Bellamy was Director of the Bank of England.
In 1734 Edward Bellamy was appointed Lord Mayor of London.
In August 1734 [his son-in-law] George Lynn (age 27) and [his daughter] Anne Bellamy (age 54) were married by which he came into possession of Frinton Manor, Essex. The difference in their ages was 27 years; she, unusually, being older than him. He the son of George Lynn (age 58) and Elizabeth Bellamy (age 54).
On 13th May 1741 Edward Bellamy unsuccessfully stood to become MP City of London receiving 1312 votes.
On 31st August 1741 [his daughter] Anne Bellamy (age 61) died.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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Before 1749 Edward Bellamy joined the Spalding Gentlemen's Society.
In 1749 Edward Bellamy died.