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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First Letter to the Romans

First Letter to the Romans is in Saint Paul's Letters.

First Letter to the Romans Chapter 1

First Letter to the Romans Chapter 1 Verse 18

NIV. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,.

John Evelyn's Diary. 27th February 1687. Mr. Chetwin preached at Whitehall on Rom. i. 18, a very quaint, neat discourse of Moral righteousness.

First Letter to the Romans Chapter 6

First Letter to the Romans Chapter 6 Verse 3

NIV. Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?.

John Evelyn's Diary. 30th March 1675. Dr. Allestree [aged 53] preached on Romans, vi. 3, the necessity of those who are baptized to die to sin; a very excellent discourse from an excellent preacher.

First Letter to the Romans Chapter 6 Verse 19

NIV. I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.

KJB. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

First Letter to the Romans Chapter 10

First Letter to the Romans Chapter 10 Verse 18

Sed dico: Numquid non audierunt? Et quidem in omnem terram exivit sonus eorum, et in fines orbis terrae verba eorum.

But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

Life of William Morris. Sed dico, Numquid non audierunt? Et quidem in omnem terram exivit sonus eorum et in fines orbis terra verba eorum. [See First Letter to the Romans Chapter 10 Verse 18]

Hac autem omnia in figura contingehant illis: scrip a sunt autem ad correptionem nostram, in quos fines seculorum devenerunt. [See First Letter to the Corinthians Chapter 10 Verse 11]

First Letter to the Romans Chapter 15

First Letter to the Romans Chapter 15 Verse 2

NIV. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.

John Evelyn's Diary. 24th February 1665. Dr. Fell [aged 39], Canon of Christ Church, preached before the King [aged 34], on 15 ch. Romans, v. 2, a very formal discourse, and in blank verse, according to his manner; however, he is a good man. Mr. Philips, preceptor to my son, went to be with the Earl of Pembroke's [aged 44] son, my Lord Herbert [aged 24].