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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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On 19th April 1550 William Thomas was appointed Clerk to the Privy Council.
Henry Machyn's Diary. Before 8th May 1554. The day of May was raynyd at Yeld-hall [Map] master Wylliam Thomas, clarke to the consell, and cast to suffer deth, to be dran and quartered.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 18th May 1554. The xviij day of May was drane a-pone a sled a proper man namyd Wylliam Thomas from the Towre [Map] unto Tyborne [Map]; the .. he was clarke to the consell; and he was hangyd, and after ys hed stryken of, and then quartered; and the morow after ys hed was sett on London bryge, and iij quarters set over Crepullgate.
Chronicle of Queen Jane and Two Years of Queen Mary 1554. 18th May 1554. The xviij. daie of May was master William Thomas drawne to Tyborne, and ther hanged and quarteryd, who saide he dyed for his country with the three (?) points declared.
On 18th May 1554 William Thomas was hanged, beheaded, and quartered.
Chronicle of Greyfriars. 18th May 1554. Item the xviij. day of May was draune from the tower of London Thomas a Vane1 unto Tyborne, and there put to execucion.
Note 1. This is a mistake: the sufferer on that day was William Thomas, late clerk of the council: see Machyn, p. 63, and the Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 76.