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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Gerard Johnson The Elder is in Sculptors.
Around 1550 Gerard Johnson The Elder was born. Gerard Johnson the Anglicised form of Gheerart Janssen
In 1568 Gerard Johnson The Elder [aged 18] became an English citizen.
After 14th April 1587. Elizabethan Period monument to Edward Manners 3rd Earl of Rutland [deceased] and Isabel Holcroft Countess Rutland [aged 37] sculpted by Gerard Johnson The Elder [aged 37] in the Chancel of St Mary the Virgin Church, Bottesford, Leicestershire [Map].
Isabel Holcroft Countess Rutland: In 1550 she was born to Thomas Holcroft. On 6th June 1573 Edward Manners 3rd Earl of Rutland and she were married. She by marriage Countess of Rutland, Baroness Ros Helmsley. He the son of Henry Manners 2nd Earl of Rutland and Margaret Neville Countess Rutland. Around 16th January 1606 she died.
Detail of the sculpture of their only child Elizabeth Manners 15th Baroness Ros of Helmsley [aged 12].
His feet resting on a Bulls Head with a chained coronet around its neck - a change from the Unicorn seen on earlier Manners effigies.
Detail of her Ermine lined mantle and hands clasped in prayer.
Her arms quarterd 1&4 Holcroft 2 Unknown? A squirrel, possibly fox, eating what may be a nut. 3 A black bird and an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes.
After 1595. Elizabethan Period monument to John Manners 4th Earl of Rutland and Elizabeth Charlton Countess Rutland [aged 42] in the Chancel of St Mary the Virgin Church, Bottesford, Leicestershire [Map] sculpted by Gerard Johnson The Elder [aged 45].
Armorial above the monument showing top row: 
Manners Augmented Arms, 
Ros Arms, 
Roet Arms, Trusbutt [or Belvoir],
2nd Row: 
Beauchamp Arms, 
Beaumont Arms, 
Berkeley Arms, 
Lisle Arms
3rd Row: Unknown, 
Thomas Holland 2nd Earl Kent 1350 1397 Arms, 
Tiptoft Arms, 
Powys Arms aka Charlton
4th Row: 
Badlesmere Arms, 
Vaux Arms, Todeni [Albini ancient] Arms, 
Daubeney Arms.
Before 30th July 1611 Gerard Johnson The Elder [aged 61] died. He was buried at Southwark Cathedral [Map] on 30th July 1611.
[his son] Nicholas Johnson was born to Gerard Johnson The Elder.
