Jean Le Bel

Jean Le Bel (born c. 1290, Flanders [now in Belgium]—died Feb. 15, 1370, Liège, Lower Lorraine) was the forerunner of the great medieval Flemish chroniclers and one of the first to abandon Latin for French.

A soldier and the constant companion of Jean, Count de Beaumont, with whom he went to England and Scotland in 1327, Le Bel wrote his Vrayes Chroniques (“True Chronicles”), recounting the events of the reign of Edward III, at his request. Later he retired to Liège, where he had held a canonry at the cathedral since the age of about 23. His work was known only in fragments until 1861, and a complete edition was not published until 1863. Jean’s value as a chronicler was to present events that he had witnessed with intelligence, accuracy, life, and colour. He was the first to use the technique of interviews as a basis for establishing historical fact. His methods were developed by Jean Froissart, who acknowledged his debt to Jean and often borrowed from his text.