Jean Froissart was born
at Valenciennes in France in 1337. At the age of twenty he was commissioned
to write a book on warfare. Froissart came to England in 1360 where
he entered the service of Philippa of Hainault, the wife of King Edward
III.
After eight years in England,
Froissart travelled to France and Italy and eventually settled in
the Netherlands. It was while he was in retirement in the Netherlands
that he wrote his most famous work. Written in four volumes, Froissart's
Chronicles deals with the history of Europe between 1326
and 1400. Most of the information in the book was based on
interviews with people who had witnessed or had taken part in important
events.
In 1395 Froissart returned
to England for the first time since 1369. The purpose of his visit
was to present a copy of his work to Richard
II. Jean Froissart
died in 1410.
The
Normans: Classroom Activities
(1)
Jean
Froissart, Chronicles (c. 1395)
It is the custom in England, as in other countries, for the
nobility to have great power over the common people, who are their
serfs. This means that they are bound by law and custom to plough
the fields of their masters, harvest the corn, gather it into barns,
and thresh and winnow the grain; they must also mow and carry home
the hay, cut and collect wood, and perform all manner of tasks of
this kind.
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