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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MP Sudbury is in Member Parliament.
In 1571 John Gurdon (age 35) was elected MP Sudbury.
In 1614 Robert Crane 1st Baronet (age 28) was elected MP Sudbury and held the seat until 1620.
In 1624 Robert Crane 1st Baronet (age 38) was elected MP Sudbury.
In 1625 Robert Crane 1st Baronet (age 39) was elected MP Sudbury.
In 1628 Robert Crane 1st Baronet (age 42) was elected MP Sudbury.
In November 1640 Humphrey Coningsbury (age 17) was elected MP Herefordshire in the Long Parliament.
William Heveningham (age 36) was elected MP Stockbridge during the Long Parliament.
Robert Crane 1st Baronet (age 54) was elected MP Sudbury in the Long Parliament holding the seat until his death in 1643.
John Jennings was elected MP St Albans during the Long Parliament.
John Glynne (age 38) was elected MP Westminster during the Long Parliament.
In 1640 Simonds D'Ewes 1st Baronet (age 37) was elected MP Sudbury during the Long Parliament.
In April 1640 Robert Crane 1st Baronet (age 54) was elected MP Sudbury in the Short Parliament.
In 1754 Thomas Walpole (age 26) was elected MP Sudbury which seat he held until 1761.
In 1761 John Henniker 1st Baron Henniker (age 36) was elected MP Sudbury.
In 1768 Patrick Blake 1st Baronet (age 26) was elected MP Sudbury which seat he held until 1774.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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On 22nd March 1775 Patrick Blake 1st Baronet (age 33) was elected MP Sudbury on petition which seat he held he stood down in 1784.