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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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Marquess Pembroke is in Marquessates of England Alphabetically, Marquessates of England Chronologically, Created Marchionesses of England, Extinct Marquessates of England.
Summary
1st September 1532. Queen Anne Boleyn of England (age 31) created. See Anne Boleyn's Investiture as Marchioness of Pembroke.
19th May 1536. Henry Fitzroy 1st Duke Richmond and Somerset (age 16) extinct. See Execution of Anne Boleyn.
On 1st September 1532 Anne Boleyn (age 31) was created 1st Marchioness Pembroke with Henry VIII (age 41) performing the investiture at Windsor Castle [Map]. The Letter of Creation [Harley 303.1; see image] using the Latin 'marchionisse Penbrochie' i.e. "Marchioness of Pembroke". It isn't clear whether the Letter of Creation is a single page - we note the absence of any description of whether the title is to descend to her heir's, male, legitimate, otherwise. We also note the first letter contains Anne's emblem of a 'falcon on a stump' although Anne's falcon was white - age may have affected the colour of the Letter.
Thomas Boleyn 1st Earl Wiltshire and Ormonde (age 55), Charles Brandon 1st Duke of Suffolk (age 48), Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk (age 59), Eleanor Paston Countess Rutland (age 37), Jean Dinteville, Archbishop Edward Lee (age 50), Bishop John Stokesley (age 57) were present.
Bishop Stephen Gardiner (age 49) read the Patent of Creation.
Mary Howard Duchess Richmond and Somerset (age 13) carried Anne's train replacing her mother Elizabeth Stafford Duchess Norfolk (age 35) who had been banished from Court. Anne and Mary were cousins.
Charles Wriothesley (age 24) attended.
Jean Dinteville: he was appointed Ambassador to England. Around 1532 Jean Dinteville posed for Holbein's painting The Ambassadors.
Archbishop Edward Lee: Around 1482 he was born to Richard Lee of Lee Magna. In 1531 he was appointed Archbishop of York. On 13th September 1544 he died.
Charles Wriothesley: On 8th May 1508 he was born to Thomas Wriothesley. After 24th November 1534 he was appointed Windsor Herald of Arms in Ordinary. On 25th January 1562 Charles Wriothesley died.
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On 19th May 1536 Queen Anne Boleyn of England (age 35) was beheaded at Tower Green, Tower of London [Map]. Unusually a sword was used. Her execution was witnessed by Charles Brandon 1st Duke of Suffolk (age 52), Catherine Carey (age 12) and Henry Fitzroy 1st Duke Richmond and Somerset (age 16). Marquess Pembroke extinct.
She was buried at St Peter ad Vincula Church, Tower of London [Map]. There is myth that her corpse was subsequently removed for burial at the Boleyn family church Church of St Peter and St Paul, Salle [Map] as described in Agnes Strickland's 1852 Lives of the Queens of England Volume 4. Page 212.