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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German Lords Spiritual is in Germany.
In 953 Bruno Saxon Ottonian Archbishop Cologne [aged 27] was appointed Archbishop Cologne.
In 1332 Walram Jülich Archbishop Cologne [aged 29] was appointed Archbishop Cologne.
On 13th June 1363 Adolph de la Marck [aged 29] was appointed Archbishop Cologne.
In 1612 Archbishop Ferdinand Wittelsbach [aged 34] was appointed Archbishop Cologne.
Joseph Clemens Wittelsbach Archbishop Cologne was appointed Archbishop Cologne.
On 16th November 1357 Adolph de la Marck [aged 23] was appointed Bishop Münster.
In 1595 Cardinal Philipp Wilhelm Wittelsbach [aged 18] was appointed Bishop Regensburg.
Elisabeth Guelders Abbess Cologne was appointed Abbot Cologne.
Mathilde Saxon Ottonian Abbess Essen was appointed Abbot Essen.
Sophie Saxon Ottonian Abbess Gandersheim was appointed Abbot Gandersheim.
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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Matilda Saxon Ottonian Abbess Quedlinburg was appointed Abbot Quedlinburg.
Adelheid Saxon Ottonian Abbess Quedlinburg was appointed Abbot Quedlinburg.
In 1123 Prince Bishop Albero Reginar [aged 53] was appointed Prince Bishop of Liège.
George Piret Habsburg Prince Bishop was appointed Prince Bishop of Liège.