‘Nothing but Mayors and Sheriefs, and the deare yeere, and the great frost.’
A study of written historical culture in late medieval towns in the Low Countries and England

Abstract

This thesis explores urban historical texts from late medieval towns in England and the Counties of Holland and Flanders. The wealth of primary examples discussed in this thesis from England and the Low Countries disproves the conviction long held in the scholarly literature that medieval town chronicles only existed in Italy and Germany.

Taking a broader view through the framework of historical culture, rather than a strict definition of (urban) chronicle, many previously ignored urban historical texts are explored. The separate chapters discuss the format, authorship, contents and function of these written examples of urban historical culture. The comparative approach identifies a remarkable level of similarities in variety of format, types of author, use of national narratives and record-keeping traditions between England, Holland and Flanders. Local differences are found in the scope of these elements, but show few fundamental differences. Moreover, when compared to the manuscripts recognised as traditional German and Italian medieval town chronicles, the similarities are also noteworthy.

A main thread through the study of all aspects of these written sources is the close link there is between historical and administrative writing in towns. The main group of authors we find are town clerks or secretaries, and town registers and magistrate lists are two major categories of format that we find. The use of these texts was similarly a combination of pragmatic recording and history writing, memorialising past events as well as documents for a legal memory as much as to promote the city’s status.