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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Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby is in Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire [Map], Churches in Northamptonshire.
Floor tiles at Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map]: Here lies the bodies of Jane the first wife of Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton, Charles Compton 1st Marquess Northampton, Mary his wife also of Spencer Second Marquis of Northampton and Margaret his wife and also his grandchildren.
Jane Lawton Countess Northampton: In 1758 Spencer Compton 8th Earl of Northampton and she were married. On 18th October 1763 Charles Compton 7th Earl of Northampton died. His brother Spencer succeeded 8th Earl of Northampton. She by marriage Countess of Northampton. On 26th November 1767 she died.
Churchyard at Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map] with various graves of the Compton family.
Monument to an unknown knight. Early Medieval Period. Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map].
Circa 1410. Brass at Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map] to Walter Ermyn Rector He is represented vested in a cope, upon the borders of which are engraved small figures of St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Andrew, St. Nicholas, and St. Lawrence on one side, and on the other St. Anne, St. Katharine, St. Margaret, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. Elena.
On 2nd April 1830 Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton [aged 38] died in Rome. She was buried in Naples. Monument at Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map] sculpted by Pietro Tenerani [aged 40] in 1836.
On 17th January 1851 Spencer Compton 2nd Marquess Northampton [aged 61] died. He was buried at Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map]. His son Charles [aged 35] succeeded 3rd Marquess Northampton, 11th Earl of Northampton, 3rd Earl Compton of Compton in Warwickshire, 3rd Baron Wilmington of Wilmington in Sussex.
After 17th January 1851. Monument to Spencer Compton 2nd Marquess Northampton [deceased] at Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map]. Angel of the Resurrection sculpted by Pietro Tenerani [aged 61] in 1866. The quote from First Letter to the Corinthians Chapter 15 Verse 52. The inscription on the side Marmoris hoc sculpti eloquens silentium spe futuri patri charissimo dicavit filius.
On 22nd May 1858 Margaret Compton [aged 28] died from childbirth. Monument at Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map] erected by her husband Edward Frederick Leveson-Gower [aged 39]. Sculpted by Baron Pietro Carlo Marochetti [aged 53].
Margaret Compton: On 14th March 1830 she was born to Spencer Compton 2nd Marquess Northampton and Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton in Rome, Italy [Map]. On 1st June 1851 Edward Frederick Leveson-Gower and she were married at St Margaret's Church, Westminster [Map]. She the daughter of Spencer Compton 2nd Marquess Northampton and Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane Marchioness Northampton. He the son of Granville Leveson-Gower 1st Earl Granville and Harriet Cavendish Countess Granville. They were half fifth cousin once removed.
After 1945. Memorial to those who died in WWII at Church of St Mary Magdalen, Castle Ashby [Map].