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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Woodbridge, Suffolk, East England, British Isles [Map]

Woodbridge, Suffolk is in Suffolk.

624 King Raedwald's Burial at Sutton Hoo

1939 Opening of Sutton Hoo Mound 1

On 28th June 1292 Richard de de Braose [aged 60] died at Woodbridge, Suffolk [Map].

On 19th April 1798 Elizabeth Spencer Lady Dashwood [aged 82] died at Grosvenor Square, Belgravia. She was buried at Woodbridge, Suffolk [Map].

Great Bealings, Woodbridge, Suffolk, East England, British Isles [Map]

Before 9th July 1212 Gilbert Peche [aged 67] died at Great Bealings, Woodbridge [Map].

St Mary's Church, Great Bealings, Woodbridge, Suffolk, East England, British Isles [Map]

See Churches in Suffolk.

On 13th December 1835 Elizabeth Lynn died. She was buried at St Mary's Church, Great Bealings [Map] on 19th December 1835.

In 1844 Edward James Moor [aged 44] was appointed Rector of St Mary's Church, Great Bealings [Map].

On 26th February 1848 Edward Moor [aged 77] died at the home of his son-in-law William Page Wood 1st Baron Hatherley [aged 46] in London. He was buried at St Mary's Church, Great Bealings [Map] on 4th March 1848.

On 10th July 1881 William Page Wood 1st Baron Hatherley [aged 79] died. He was buried at St Mary's Church, Great Bealings [Map] where his wife's brother Edward James Moor was Rector. Baron Hatherley of Down Hatherley in Gloucestershire extinct.

Sutton Hoo, Woodbridge, Suffolk, East England, British Isles

Around 624 Raedwald King East Anglia [aged 54] died. He was probably buried at Sutton Hoo, Woodbridge. His son Eorpwald succeeded King East Anglia.

On 8th May 1939 Basil Brown, the landowner Mrs Edith Pretty, began excavating Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo, Woodbridge with two new helpers, John Jacobs, one of the gardeners, and William Spooner, the gamekeeper. The Mound would eventually reveal an intact ship burial.

Westerfield, Woodbridge, Suffolk, East England, British Isles

On 7th November 1361 Ida Fitzwalter Baroness Neville Essex [aged 69] died at Westerfield, Woodbridge.