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SOCIAL   ENGLAND   IN   THE 
FIFTEENTH   CENTURY 


THE  RESEARCH  LIBRARY 

SOCIAL   ENGLAND 

IN    THE 

FIFTEENTH  CENTURY 

A  STUDY  OF  THE   EFFECTS 
OF   ECONOMIC   CONDITIONS 


Thesis  approved  for  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Science  (Economics) 
in  the  University  of  London 


A ABRAM 

B.A.  CAMBRIDGE  HIST.   TRIPOS 


LONDON 

GEORGE   ROUTLEDGE  AND  SONS,   LIMITED 

NEW  YORK:   E.  P.  DUTTON  &  Co. 

1909 


035 


PREFACE 

IN  the  following  pages  I  have  endeavoured  to  show 
the  effects  of  the  development  of  Industry  and 
Commerce  upon  Social  Life  in  England  in  the  fif- 
teenth century.  So  great  an  interest  is  now  felt  in 
Social  questions,  that  there  is  no  need  to  justify  my 
choice  of  a  subject.  The  fifteenth  century  is  a  par- 
ticularly attractive  period,  not  only  because  it  wit- 
nessed very  important  Economic  changes  in  this 
country,  but  also  because  it  formed  a  prelude  to  the 
Age  of  the  Renaissance  and  the  Reformation. 

I  desire  to  express  my  thanks  to  Mr.  Hubert  Hall, 
of  the  Public  Record  Office,  for  much  help  given  to 
me  in  the  course  of  my  work.  I  am  especially  in- 
debted to  him  for  advice  as  to  the  use  of  original 
sources ;  at  his  suggestion,  I  examined  the  Early 
Chancery  Proceedings  and  found  them  full  of  in- 
formation of  all  kinds.  I  have  by  no  means  ex- 
hausted them,  and  I  hope  they  may  be  of  use  to 
other  students  of  Social  and  Economic  History. 

I  also  wish  to  thank  the  London  County  Council 
for  very  kindly  giving  me  copies  of  some  of  the 
entries  in  the  Court  Rolls  of  Tooting  Bee  Manor. 

Miss  E.  M.  Delf  has  made  some  valuable  criticisms 
upon  my  work,  and  Miss  E.  Earle  has  read  my  proofs; 
to  both  of  them  I  owe  many  thinks. 

A.  ABRAM. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY  NOTE  xiii 


PART  I 

THE   ECONOMIC  CHANGES  OF  THE 
FIFTEENTH  CENTURY 

CHAPTER  I :  INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES 

The  development  of  manufactures — The  organization  of 
industry — Distribution  of  the  products  of  industry  .  I 

CHAPTER  II :  AGRARIAN  CHANGES 

Scarcity  of  agricultural  labourers — The  condition  of  agri- 
culture— The  inclosing  movement  .  .  .22 

CHAPTER  III :  COMMERCIAL  CHANGES 

Enlargement  of  the  area  of  trade — Increased  magnitude  of 
commerce  —  Condition  of  shipping  —  Treatment  of 
aliens  .  .  .  .  .  .  31 

CHAPTER  IV:  FINANCIAL  CHANGES 

Employment  of  capital  in  trade — Regulation  of  the  cur- 
rency— Changes  in  the  theory  of  prices — The  later 
mediaeval  doctrine  of  usury — The  revenue — English 
financiers  .  .  .  .  .  52 


CONTENTS 


PART  II 

THE   EFFECTS   PRODUCED   BY   ECONOMIC 

CHANGES    UPON    ENGLISH    SOCIAL    LIFE    IN 

THE  FIFTEENTH   CENTURY 

CHAPTER  I :  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  SOCIETY 

PACK 

Conflict  of  mediaeval  and  modern  ideas — Failure  of  feudal- 
ism as  the  basis  of  land  tenure  and  as  a  military 
system — Decline  of  chivalry — The  lawlessness  of  the 
age — The  use  of  arbitration — Increase  of  litigation — 
Prosperity  of  the  lawyers.  .  .  .  70 

CHAPTER  II :  THE  RISE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  CLASS 

Decreasing  importance  of  the  aristocracy — Intermarriage 
of  the  upper  and  middle  classes — Rise  of  the  mer- 
chants— Growth  of  the  yeomanry  .  .  93 

CHAPTER  III :  THE  ECONOMIC  POSITION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

The  system  of  pluralities — Secularity  of  the  clergy — 
Income  of  parish  and  chantry  priests— Deterioration 
of  the  clergy — Social  position  of  the  parish  priests — 
Functions  of  monasteries  in  the  early  Middle  Ages — 
Misdeeds  of  the  monks — Vagabond  monks — Attacks 
upon  the  monks — The  part  played  by  monasteries  in 
the  inclosing  movement  .  .  .  .  101 

CHAPTER  IV :  THE  LABOUR  PROBLEM 

Change  in  the  spirit  of  the  Gilds — Struggles  between 
masters  and  journeymen — Treatment  of  apprentices  by 
their  masters — The  Wages  Question— Uncovenanted 
Labour — The  agricultural  labourer — The  Unemployed 
— Increase  of  vagrancy — Poor  Relief  .  .  .11? 


CONTENTS  XI 

CHAPTER  V:  THE  INDUSTRIAL  POSITION  OF  WOMEN 
AND  CHILDREN 

PAGE 

Employment  of  women  in  agriculture  and  industry — 
The  rights  of  the  woman  trader — Occupations  open  to 
women — Signs  of  business  capacity  in  women — The 
employment  of  child-labour  .  .  .  .131 

CHAPTER  VI :  THE  STANDARD  OF  LIVING 

Extravagance  in  dress — Luxury  in  food — Improvements 
in  houses  and  furniture — Share  of  the  lower  classes  in 
the  rise  in  the  standard  of  living — Public  health — 
Sanitation — Medical  Science  .  .  .  .  147 


CHAPTER  VII :  EVERYDAY  LIFE  IN  THE  FIFTEENTH 
CENTURY 

Family  life — The  value  set  on  education — The  ancient 
schools — New  schools — Education  of  the  nobility — 
Education  of  women — Evidences  of  the  spread  of 
education — Amusements  .  .  .  .  i 

CHAPTER  VIII :  DEVELOPMENT  OF  NATIONAL  CHARACTER 

Intellectual  development — Artistic  development — Attitude 
towards  religion — Moral  character — Political  develop- 
ment .......  194 

APPENDIX 

A.  Extract  from  the  Rolls  of  Parliament  to  show  the 

growth  of  manufactures  in  England  .  .214 

B.  Extracts  from  Early  Chancery  Proceedings  .  .215 

1.  A  money-lending  transaction       .  .  .     215 

2.  An  example  of  the  use  and  abuse  of  trusts  .    217 

3.  An  allusion  to  English  pirates     .  .  .218 

4.  An  attempt  to  claim  a  free  man  as  a  "  neif "  .     218 


Xll  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

5.  References  to  cases  of  lawlessness  in  various 

parts  of  the  country,  to  show  the  prevalence 

of  the  evil     .  ....     219 

6.  List  of  plate,  etc.,  belonging  to  William  Ferre    .    220 

C.  Extracts  from  various  documents  and  books  placed 

together  for  purposes  of  comparison  .  .221 

1.  Prices        .  .  .  .  .  .221 

2.  List  of  occupations  to  illustrate  the  division  of 

labour  in  the  fifteenth  century  .  .  .    224 

D.  Privy  Seal  Loan          .....    226 

E.  Indenture  of  War        .....    227 

F.  Chancery  Warrant  for  Issue  ....    228 

BIBLIOGRAPHY        ......    229 

INDEX         .          .          .          .          .          .          -239 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE 

THE  fifteenth  century  was  not  marked  by  an  epoch- 
making  catastrophe,  like  the  one  which  preceded  it, 
or  glorified  by  an  outburst  of  literary  activity,  like 
that  which  followed  ;  but  it  was  none  the  less  a 
most  critical  period  in  the  history  of  the  nation. 
Momentous  events  took  place  in  the  spheres  of  in- 
dustry and  commerce,  which  shaped  its  destiny  in 
future  days.  England  had  hitherto  depended  largely 
upon  her  neighbours  in  these  matters,  but  at  this 
time  she  began  to  be  conscious  of  her  own  powers, 
and  entered  upon  the  career,  which  she  has  never 
since  quitted.  Industrial  development  caused  great 
changes  in  social  life ;  it  introduced  new  ideas, 
trained  new  faculties,  and  brought  into  prominence 
men  who  had  been  of  little  account  in  the  past,  and 
thereby  it  overthrew  old  modes  of  thought  and  old 
institutions.  A  century  is,  however,  an  arbitrary 
division  of  time,  and  the  origin  of  some  of  the 
changes  which  swept  over  England  in  the  fifteenth 
century  may  be  found  in  the  fourteenth.  Other 
changes  were  not  fully  accomplished  until  long  after 
the  fifteenth  century  had  reached  its  close,  and  they, 
in  their  turn,  exercised  a  great  influence  upon  con- 
ditions of  life  in  the  sixteenth  century. 


Xiv  INTRODUCTORY   NOTE 

Economic  environment  is  only  one  of  the  many 
forces  which  mould  social  life ;  religion,  political  in- 
stitutions, and  war  are  factors  which  must  be  taken 
into  account,  and  they  might  have  lessened  the 
effects  of  the  economic  changes  had  not  circum- 
stances diminished  their  own  strength.  Religion 
was  discredited  by  quarrels  in  the  Church,  and 
respect  for  the  priesthood  was  decreased  by  its 
worldliness.  Political  institutions,  however  admir- 
able, are  of  little  practical  use,  unless  they  are  well 
administered,  but  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
century  the  Government  was  weak  and  inefficient. 
The  authority  of  the  Crown  was  lessened  by  a  defec- 
tive title  and  by  wars  of  succession,  and  the  nobles, 
who  should  have  been  its  chief  support,  were  absorbed 
in  their  private  affairs,  and  cared  little  for  the  public 
good.  War,  it  must  be  admitted,  affected  the  char- 
acters of  those  engaged  in  it,  and  the  deterioration  of 
the  baronage  may  be  partially  attributed  to  the 
demoralizing  influence  of  the  French  War.  But  after 
the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford  the  French  War 
languished,  the  people  took  little  part  in  it,  and  they 
had  even  less  share  in  the  Wars  of  the  Roses.  More- 
over, in  so  far  as  war  reduced  the  numbers  and 
lowered  the  prestige  of  the  nobles,  it  acted  in  con- 
junction with  Economic  forces,  which  deprived  them 
of  superiority  by  raising  other  classes  to  their  level. 

Thus  economic  forces  were  not  only  able  to  hold 
their  own,  but  also  materially  to  affect  the  develop- 
ment of  other  tendencies ;  and  so  religion  and 
politics  were  tinged  by  a  commercial  spirit,  and  com- 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE  XV 

mercial  intercourse  formed  the  subject  of  much 
diplomacy.  Consequently  England  made  great 
strides  as  an  industrial  country ;  but  her  devotion  to 
trade  prevented  her  from  paying  much  attention  to 
other  affairs,  and  she  was  hardly  aware  of  the  great 
awakening  of  thought  which  was  going  on  in  the 
South  of  Europe.  A  comparison  of  the  progress  of 
this  country  with  that  of  other  nations  would  be  an 
interesting  study,  and  though  space  does  not  permit 
it  here,  perhaps  this  slight  attempt  to  describe  life  in 
England  may  furnish  some  data  for  this  purpose. 
From  several  points  of  view,  therefore,  the  Eco- 
nomic History  of  the  fifteenth  century  has  a  special 
value  for  ourselves,  for  our  own  age  must  inevitably 
witness  a  like  process  of  transition — new  ideas  are 
constantly  presented  to  us,  and  new  interests  are 
beginning  to  demand  our  attention.  Possibly,  then, 
we  can  gain  from  the  past  some  wisdom  to  guide  our 
future  policy. 


ABBREVIATIONS   USED 
IN   THE  REFERENCES   OF  THIS  WORK 

A.C. :  Ancient  Correspondence. 

A.  P. :  Ancient  Petitions. 

Cal. :  Calendar. 

Early  Chanc.  Proceed. :  Early  Chancery  Proceedings. 

Early  Eng.  Wills :   Fifty  Earliest  English   Wills,  edited  by 
Dr.  F.  J.  FURNIVALL. 

Hobhouse :    Churchwardens  Accounts  of  Croscombe,  Pilton, 
Yatlon,  etc.,  edited  by  Bp.  HOBHOUSE. 

Howard   Household   Book,  I :   Accounts  and  Memoranda  of 
Sir  John  Howard. 

Howard  Household  Book,  II :  Household  Books  of  John,  Duke 
of  Norfolk,  and  Thomas,  Earl  of  Surrey. 

Italian  Relation  :  Relation  of  the  Island  of  England. 
Rot.  Parl.  :  Rotttli  Parliamentorum. 


SOCIAL  ENGLAND 

IN  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY 

PART  I 

ECONOMIC  CHANGES 
CHAPTER   I 

INDUSTRIAL   CHANGES 

AMONGST  the  Economic  Changes  of  the  fifteenth 
century  none  was  more  striking  in  its  rapidity  or 
more  far-reaching  in  its  consequences  than  the 
development  of  manufactures.  In  the  time  of 
Edward  III  the  wealth  of  England  still  consisted 
mainly  in  raw  products,  and  her  industry  was  but 
little  advanced,1  but  in  the  fifteenth  century  manu- 
factures were  springing  up  in  every  town  2 ;  and 
the  most  important  of  these  was  the  manufacture 
of  cloth.  In  1352  the  Commons  told  the  King  that 
wool  was  '  la  Sovereine  Marchandise  and  Jewel  .  .  . 
d'Engleterre  ' 8 ;  a  hundred  years  later  they  de- 
clared that  '  the  makeyng  of  Cloth '  was  '  the 
grettest  occupacion  &  lyving  '  of  the  poor  people 
of  the  land  * ;  and  in  another  petition  they  pro- 
tested against  the  taxation  of  English  cloth,  be- 

1  Cunningham,  Alien  Immigrants  to  England,  pp.  loo-I. 

2  Ashley,  Introduction  to  Econ.  Hist.,  Part  ii,  p.  6. 

•  Kot.  Part.,  II,  p.  246.         «  Ibid.,  V,  p.  274.     No.  5. 

B 


2  INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES 

cause  it  would  in  course  of  time  cause  little  cloth  to 
be  made,  and  be  '  a  meane  of  distroiyng  '  the  navy.1 
Contemporary  writers,  extolling  the  glories  of  Eng- 
land, boast  equally  of  its  cloth  and  wool. 

'  Ffor  the  marchauntes  comme  cure  wollys  for  to  bye, 
Or  elles  the  cloth  that  is  made  theroff  sykyrly, 
Oute  of  dy verse  londes  fer  byyond  the  see.'  * 

So  speaks  the  author  of  a  little  poem  '  On  England's 
Commercial  Policy  ' ;  while  Fortescue  ranks  '  wol- 
leyn  clothe  '  as  the  fourth  of  his  '  Comodytes  of 
Englond,'  and  declares  that  there  is  enough  *  redy 
made  at  all  tymys  to  serve  the  merchaunts  of  ony 
two  kyngdomys  Crystenye  or  hethyunye.' 3  A  prac- 
tical illustration  of  the  value  set  upon  cloth  may 
be  seen  in  an  incident  revealed  by  the  Correspon- 
dence of  Bekynton  :  Henry  VI  wished  to  obtain 
the  goodwill  of  the  Pope,  and  to  induce  him  to 
grant  privileges  to  Eton,  so  he  sent  him  a  gift  of 
the  best  English  cloth  4  ;  the  Pontiff  was  evidently 
very  gratified  by  the  present,  for  his  chamberlain 
expressed  warm  thanks  in  his  name,  and  described 
how  he  had  heard  him  praising  Bekynton.6  The 
choice  of  the  gift  was  the  more  remarkable  because 
the  Pope  was  at  that  time  residing  in  Florence, 
where  the  finest  cloth  in  Europe  was  manufactured.6 
Nor  were  the  humbler  varieties  of  cloth  less  valued 
in  their  own  proper  sphere,  for  John  Paston  asked 
his  wife  to  send  him  some  worsted  for  doublets,  and 
added  that  William  Paston  had  a  '  tepet  of  fyne 
worsted,  whech  is  almost  like  silk.' 7 

Not  only  do  deeds  and  words  alike  testify  to  the 
importance  of  the  manufacture  of  cloth,  but  the 

1  Rot.    Par/.,    V,    269.  z  Wright,    Political  Songs,    II,    283. 

3  Fortescue,  Works,  I,  551.      *  Bekynton,  Letters,  I,  227.      5  Ib.,  241. 
A  similar  gift  was  sent  to  the  Bishop  of  Utrecht,  Rymer's  Fadera, 
VIII,  244.        6  Dixon,  E.,  Florentine  Wool  Trades,  in  Trans.  Roy. 
ffisf.  Sot.  N.S.,  XII  (1898),  p.  171.        7  Paston  Letters,  IV,  188. 


INDUSTRIAL    CHANGES  3 

legislation  of  the  period  enables  us  to  trace  its 
growth  and  development  and  the  efforts  _  j 
of  the  Government  to  foster  and  regulate  ment  of  the 
it.  An  Act  passed  late  in  the  fourteenth  manufacture 
century  mentions  Somerset,  Dorset,  °  c  ' 
Bristol,  Gloucester,  and  Essex  as  seats  of  the  in- 
dustry.1 From  other  sources  we  learn  that  it  had 
been  established  also  in  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Kent, 
Westmoreland,  Lancashire,  Yorkshire,  Sussex, 
Devonshire,  Worcester,  Hampshire,  Berkshire,2  and 
Coventry.8  In  the  fifteenth  century  it  spread  to 
London,4  Cambridge,6  and  Cornwall  * ;  and  there 
were  so  many  worsted  weavers  in  Norfolk  that  four 
wardens  were  needed  to  supervise  the  craft  through- 
out the  county,  as  well  as  four  within  the  city  of 
Norwich.7  Cloth  was  also  made  at  Guildford8  and 
Salisbury.9  Another  sign  of  the  growth  of  the 
industry  may  be  seen  in  the  extraordinary  number 
of  different  kinds  of  material  which  were  made.  The 
petition  concerning  the  regulation  of  the  industry 
in  Norfolk  specified  more  than  a  dozen  varieties  of 
worsteds.10  A  later  enactment  mentions  also  '  Clothe 
called  Vervise,  or  Plounkett,  Turkyns  or  Celestines,' 
'  Carsey,'  *  Vessees,'  '  Packyng  whites,'  '  Florences 
with  Crenyll  listes,'  '  brode  cloth,'11 '  Saillyng  Ware,' 
'  Bastardes,'  '  Kendales,'  and  Friseware.9  Even 
this  list  was  not  exhaustive  ;  there  were  in  addi- 
tion, '  Cloths,'12  russet,  blanket,  '  Drap  de  Cre- 
mosyn, ' 13  'Fustian,  Bustian  .  .  .  Scarlet  Cloth,'14 

1  13  Ric.  77,  No.  I,  c.  II.  2  Fuller,  Church  Hist,  of  Britain, 

II,  287.  3  Rot.  Par!.,  Ill,  437.  4  7  H.  IV,  c.  9,  and  18  H.  VI, 
c.  1 6.  6  7  Ed.  IV,  c.l.  8  Rot.  Par/.,  IV,  52.  7  23  H.  VI, 
c.  3.  8  15  Ric.  77,  c.  10;  and  see  page  12.  9  I  Ric.  Ill,  c.  8. 
10  « Worstedes  appellez  Boltes,'  either  '  streits  or  brodes.'  '  Man- 
telles  ...  si  bien  les  motles,  paules,  chekeres,  raies,  flores,  pleynes, 
monkes-clothes ' ;  chanon-Clothes  '.  .  .  and  Worsted-beddes.  (Rot. 
Par!.  HI,  637.)  "  Broad  cloths  and  broad  dozens.  (Rot.  Par/. 
IV,  451.)  J2  20  7/.  VJ  c.  10.  l3  Rot.  Par/.,  Ill,  506.  14  Tbid.t 

v,  505. 


4  INDUSTRIAL   CHANGES 

says  and  serges,1  stamyns,2  and  mustrevalers.3 
Equally  significant  are  the  statutes  passed  to  pro- 
tect English  manufacturers  against  foreign  com- 
petition, or  to  ensure  a  sufficient  supply  of  raw 
material, — such  as  the  orders  that  sheep  should  not 
be  transported  beyond  the  sea  without  licence,4 
and  that  foreign  cloth  should  be  forfeited  on  im- 
portation,6 and  the  restrictions  placed  upon  the 
purchase  of  wool  by  aliens,  because  the  cloth- 
makers  of  the  realm  could  find  wellnigh  none  to 
be  sold  by  the  growers.6  Acts  for  the  regulation  of 
the  industry,  specif ying  the  measure  of  the  cloth,7 
the  methods  of  sealing  it,8  the  duties  of  the  aul- 
nager,9  and  other  details,  are  numerous,  and  in 
some  cases  they  were  supplemented  by  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  crafts10  and  the  laws  of  the  towns.11 
Evidence  of  the  growth  of  the  manufacture  of 
cloth  may  be  seen  in  the  decrease  of  the  customs 
on  wool,  of  which  the  Commons  complained  more 
than  once.12  In  1348  the  subsidy  on  wool  was 
valued  at  £60,000,  and  in  the  twenty-eighth  year 
of  Edward  III  the  customs  and  subsidy  on  wool 
brought  in  more  than  £m,ooo13;  this  sum,  however, 
was  unusually  large,  and  the  gross  proceeds  of  the 
customs  two  years  later  amounted  to  £66,830. 14 
But  the  estimated  yearly  net  value  of  the  Custom 
Revenue  between  Michaelmas,  1428,  and  March 
3rd,  1461,  was  only  about  £31,500  net,  or  £32,000 
gross.16  This  extraordinary  decrease  of  revenue 
from  the  customs  on  the  export  of  wool  was  prob- 

1  Fuller,  op.  fit.  *  W.  Beck,  Draper?  Diet.,  325.  s  Ibid.,  71. 
*  3  H.  VI,  c.  2.  5  Rot.  Par/.,  V,  563.  *4  Ed.  IV,  c.  4. 
7  ii  H.  IV,  c.  6.  7  .ad  8  4  Edf  jyt  c  ,  .  7  £4  IV^  c>  2 .  and  g 

Ed.  IV,  c.  I.  8  1 8  H.  VI,  c.  1 6.  10  Little  Red  Book  of  Bristol, 
II,  127-8.  Coventry  Leet  Book,  Part  i,  92  and  seq.  n  Ordinances 
of  Worcester,  in  Eng.  Gilds,  378  and  382.  u  27  H.  VI,  c.  2. 
13  Stubbs.  Constit.  Hist.,  II,  578.  "  Ibid.,  579  note.  "  Ramsay, 
Lane,  and  York,  II,  267. 


INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES  5 

ably  due  to  the  fact  that  much  of  the  raw  material 
was  kept  in  England,  to  be  made  up  into  cloth  here. 
Moreover,  during  the  latter  half  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  it  is  clear  that  the  duty  on  cloth  was  be- 
coming an  important  item  of  revenue,  and  the 
returns  of  the  Customs  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV 
indicate  '  a  steady  decrease  in  the  return  from 
wool,  and  a  corresponding  increase  in  that  from 
cloth,'  which  leads  us  to  believe  '  that  the  English 
cloth  industry  was  swiftly  gaining  ground.1  Schanz 
points  out  that  the  Hansards  exported  4464  pieces 
of  cloth  in  1422,  6159  in  1461,  and  21,389  in  1500. 2 
The  Merchant  Adventurers  also  exported  cloth, 
and  their  increasing  prosperity  is  another  indica- 
tion that  the  industry  was  developing. 

The  cloth  manufacture  was  not  the  only  industry 
which  took  root  in  England  in  the  fif-  The  silk 
teenth  century.  By  1455  the  *  occupa-  manufac- 
tion  of  silkewerk  within  the  citee  of  ture* 
London  '  had  advanced  so  much  that  the  '  silke- 
wymmen  '  petitioned  against  the  importation  of 
'  wrought  silk  thro  wen,  rybens,  and  laces  falsly  and 
deceyvably  wrought,  and  corses  of  silk.'3  Nine 
years  later  the  artisans  protested  in  a  similar  manner 
against  the  competition  of  aliens,  and  begged  for 
the  prohibition  of  the  import  of  various  kinds  of 
wares  '  beyng  full  wrought  and  redy  made  to  the 
sale,'  'wollen  bonettes  .  .  .  tyres  of  silke  or  of 
gold,  sadles,'  '  aundyrnes  .  .  .  hamers  .  .  .  gloves 
.  .  .  gurdels  .  .  .  peltry  ware  .  .  .  shoen  .  .  .  knyves 
.  .  .  daggers  .  .  .  cisours  .  .  .  pynnes  .  .  .  candelsticks 
.  .  .  ladles  .  .  .  hattes,'4  and  many  other  small 
articles. 

According  to  the  Dibat  des  Herauts  coal-mining 

1  Alton  and  Holland,  The  Kings  Customs,  47.  a  Schanz,  Englische 
Handtiipolitik,  II,  p.  28.  *  Rot.  Par!.,  V,  325  ;  Ibid.,  506  ;  and  33 
H.  VI,  c.  5.  *  AW.  Part.,  V,  506.  See  Appendix  A. 


6  INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES 

was  carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent  in  England. 
.  The  English  Herald  claims  that  his 

people  have  '  charbon  de  pierre  ardans, 
de  quoy  on  fait  le  feu  et  se  chauffe  on  ou  dit  pais,  et 
en  porte  on  vendre  a  grant  habondance  en  plusieurs 
lieux,'1  and  the  French  Herald  does  not  deny  the 
fact.2  The  Newcastle  coal  trade  was  certainly 
large  enough  to  require  regulation  by  statute.3 
There  were  also  other  miners  at  work  digging  up 
the  '  richesse  dessoubz  terre,'  4  '  mynieres  d'estain, 
de  plonc,  de  metal,  d'alabastre,  de  marbre  noir  et 
blanc  .  .  .  decoutzderaseur.'4  The  Early  Chancery 
Proceedings  mention  a  free-stone  quarry  in  Devon, 
of  which  the  profits  were  said  to  be  £30  a  year5; 
and  Mrs.  Green  draws  attention  to  the  iron  works 
in  the  Forest  of  Dean.6  Some  of  these  industries 
had  been  in  existence  for  a  long  time,  and  were 
very  flourishing  ;  but  salt  could  not  be  produced 
in  sufficient  quantities  in  England  to  supply  all 
that  was  needed  for  agricultural  and  'domestic  pur- 
poses,7 and  by  the  French  Rolls  we  see  that  sixty 
persons  were  brought  from  Holland  and  Zealand, 
by  John  de  Shiedame,  to  manufacture  salt  in 
England,8  and  they  were  established  at  Winchelsea.9 
Another  industry  which  owed  its  inception  to 

aliens  was  the  manufacture  of  beer, 
ifrewinir  wmcn  was  introduced  by  Dutch  settlers 

in  the  eastern  counties.  This  beer  was 
different  from  the  old-fashioned  English  ale,  and 
those  who  made  it  were  called  '  bere-bruers  '  or 
'  brasiatores  de  scitrol.'10  The  French  Herald 

1  Dtbat  des  Htrauts,  p.  36.  No.  97.  2  Ibid.,  46.  No.  128. 
3  Kot.  far/.,  IV,  148  and  9  //.  V,  c.  10.  *  Dtbat  des  Herauts, 
p.  36.  6  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  226/38.  B  Mrs.  Green,  Town 
Life  in  the  Fifteenth  Century,  I,  54-5.  7  Thorold  Rogers,  Hist,  of 
Agricitltioe  and  Prices,  IV,  390.  s  French  Rolls,  1439-40,  m.  27. 
Feb.  8.  9  Ibid.,  1440-1,  m.  4.  Aug.  9.  10  Redstone,  in  Trans. 
KoyalHist.  Soc.,  N.S.,  XVI,  pp.  174  and  186. 


INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES  7 

declares  '  vous  gastez  plus  blez  pour  faire  vostre 
boisson,  c'est  assavoir  vos  servoises,  que  pour 
vostre  mangier ; 51  but  Dutch  beer  was  made  of  malt 
and  hops.3  When  Elizabeth  Stonor  was  coming  to 
London,  Thomas  Henham  wrote  and  asked  her 
whether  she  would  have  '  bere  or  hale  '  provided 
for  the  household.3  The  names  of  Dutch  beer- 
brewers  frequently  occur  in  the  Chancery  Proceed- 
ings,4 and  the  trade  must  have  grown  considerably 
by  the  end  of  the  century,  as  Henry  VII  granted 
letters  of  denization  to  Hillary  Warner,  '  bere- 
bruer,'  a  native  of  Germany,  with  licence  to  export 
thirty  tons  of  beer  yearly,  and  to  import  hops5;  and 
beer  was  also  exported  to  Flanders.6 

The  Dutch  were  also  instrumental  in  starting 
the  manufacture  of  bricks,7  or  in  reviving 
an  old  industry,  which  had,  at  least 
partially,  died  out.  They  made  these 
bricks  very  cheaply,  and  William  Elys  '  supplied 
two  hundred  thousand  for  the  repair  of  Dover 
Castle  (20  Edward  IV),  at  the  rate  of  two  and  a 
half  hundred  for  a  penny.'8 

Guns  were  also  manufactured  in  England,  and 
many  Flemings  and  Germans  found  em-    Mtum. 
ployment  here  as  gun-masters. 9    In  the   facture  of 
reign  of  Henry  VII  '  the  master  founder   guns< 
and  maker  of  all  cannons  and  guns  in  the  Tower  of 
London  and  elsewhere '  received  as  wages  eighteen 
pence  a  day  for  himself,  and  twelve  pence  a  day  for 
two  men  under  him.10 

A  comparison  of  the  statutes  regulating  wages 
in  the  fifteenth  century  shows  that  ship-building 

1  Dtbat  des  Wrauts,  p.  43.  No.  I2O.  2  Redstone,  loc.  cit., 
p.  176.  s  A.C.,  Vol.  XLVI.  No.  240.  *  Early  Chanc.  Proceed ., 
46/278,  59/44,  64/299.  *  Campbell,  Materials  for  the  Reign  of 
Henry  VII %  II,  512.  6  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  65/22.  'Redstone, 
loc.  cit.,  176.  °  Ibid,  177.  8  Wylic,  Hist,  of  the  Reign  of  Henry  I V t 
II,  269.  I0  Campbell,  I,  219-20. 


8  INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES 

must    have    made    progress.     The    Act   of    I4951 

deals    with    shipwrights,    master    ship- 

?h.!5"  carpenters,  other  ship-carpenters,  hewers, 

building.  vi  r        u 

clinchers,  and  caulkers,  none  of  whom 
are  even  mentioned  in  the  Act  of  1444. 2  The 
English  also  seem  to  have  acquired  greater  skill  in 
ship-building  ;  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  men- 
of-war  had  only  two  masts  and  two  sails,  by  the  end 
of  it,  they  were  three-  or  four-masters,  with  top- 
masts, topsails,  bowsprits,  and  spritsails.3  The  first 
dry  dock  known  in  England  was  constructed  at  Ports- 
mouth, in  1495-6,  and  no  foreigners  were  employed 
on  the  work.4 

Some  other  industries  existed  at  this  time — there 
were  linen-weavers  in  London,6  and  bell  foundries  in 
London,  Salisbury,  Norwich,  Gloucester  and  Brid- 
port.  Carpets  and  tapestry  were  made  at  Ramsay.6 

A  review  of  the  progress  of  Industry  as  a  whole 
during  this  period  shows  that  although  aliens  still 
influenced  its  development  to  some  extent,  their 
interference  was  more  and  more  resented  by  the 
native  workmen.  Quarrels  between  denizens  and 
foreigners  were  frequent,7  and  in  some  cases  gild 
ordinances  forbade  the  employment  of  alien  ap- 
prentices or  workmen.8 

1  II  ff.  VII,  c.  22.  a  Rot.  Par  1.,  V,  r  1 2.  3  Oppenheim,  Admin, 
of  the  Roy.  Navy,  I,  29.  4  Ibid.,  I,  39.  8  The  alien  Clothmakers  com- 
plained to  the  Chancellor  that  the  Wardens  of  the  Linenweavers  would 
not  suffer  them  to  live  within  the  city  as  heretofore,  yet  they  de- 
manded the  same  contribution  from  them  (Early  Chanc.  Proceed., 
4S/3O).  '  Town  Life,  I,  56-7.  7  The  Dutch  Cordwainers  in 

the  suburbs  of  London  brought  a  petition  before  the  Chancellor  against 
the  English  Cordwainers  (90/23),  and  Hamond  Tayloure,  a  '  foran ' 
working  in  the  franchise  of  London,  was  imprisoned  at  the  suit  of  the 
tailors  of  London  (78/113).  Disagreements  of  English  and  alien 
weavers  (Rot.  Part.,  Ill,  6coand  IV,  162).  Alien  goldsmiths  ordered 
to  submit  to  the  wardens  of  the  London  craft  (Ibid.,  VI,  185). 
See  also  6.  8  The  Glovers  of  Hull  in  f-f99>  quoted  in  Lambert, 
Two  Thousand  Years  of  Giid  Life,  p.  216;  Little  Red  Book  of 
Bristol,  II;  Weavers'  Ord.,  p.  128;  Hoofers',  163;  Cordwainers', 
178-9. 


INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES  9 

The  development  of  manufactures  naturally  led 
to  great  changes  in  the  organization  of   _.. 
Industry.    The  growing  complexity  of  the    Organiza- 
work  and  the  employment  of  a  larger   tionof 
number  of  workmen  caused  the  differen-     n  us  **' 
tiation  of  processes  and  the  division  of  labour. 

"...  gardyng,  spynnyng,  and  wevyng, 
Ffullyng,  rowyng,  dyyng,  and  scheryng  " l 

were  all  separate  employments  ;  there  were  even 
subdivisions  of  some  processes,  for  the  '  Libel ' 
speaks  of  '  toukers  '  as  well  as  dyers.2  We  know 
also  that  the  occupations  of  the  Brown-baker3  and 
pye-baker4  were  distinct,  and  that  the  same  person 
was  not  allowed  to  sell  both  brown  and  white  bread6; 
and  the  employments  of  coverlet  weavers,8  honey- 
men,7  pouchmakers,8  girdlers,9  and  foystours,10  (the 
makers  of  the  wood- work  of  saddles),  must  have 
been  highly  specialized.  The  cutlers  declared  that 
every  knife  was  prepared  by  three  crafts — the 
blade  by  the  bladsmyths,  the  handle  and  other 
fitting  work  by  the  cutlers,  and  the  sheath  by  the 
sheathers.11  The  result  of  this  splitting  up  of  the 
crafts  was  the  formation  of  a  number  of  new  gilds. 
Every  occupation  that  engaged  a  score  of  men 
came,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  to  have  an  organiza- 
tion of  its  own12;  even  unskilled  labourers,  like  the 
waterleders  and  porters  of  York  formed  misteries.13 
There  were,  indeed,  ninety-six  organized  trades  in 
York.14  Discord,  of  course,  arose  frequently  be- 
tween the  different  gilds  regarding  their  respective 

1  The  '  Libel',  in  Wright's  Polit.  Songs,  II,  284.  2  Ibid.,  285. 

I  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  45/300.  *  Ibid.,  67/214.  *  Denton, 
op.  cit.t  p.  244.       *  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  48/50.      7  Ibid.,  64/1055. 
8  Ibid.,  51/236.            9  Ibid.,  32/283.             10  Sharpe,  Wills,  II,  389. 

II  Lambert,  Gild  Life,  263.        ^  Ashley,  Economic  Hist.,  Part  ii,  74. 
13  Ibid.,  75.         M  VVylie,  Henry  1V.%  Vol.  Ill,  p.  187.     See  Appen- 
dix  C  2  for  further  illustrations  of  the  subdivision  of  industry. 


10 

spheres  of  action  and  other  matters.  The  Cobblers 
and  the  Cordwainers  of  London  quarrelled1  so 
seriously  that  neither  their  own  officials  nor  the 
civic  authorities  could  settle  their  grievances,  and 
the  Cobblers  applied  to  the  Chancellor.2  Sometimes 
trades,  which  had  long  been  associated,  desired  to 
be  parted  ;  the  '  taillours,  shermen,  &  fullers  '  of 
Coventry,  who  had  '  as  one  feliship  yerely  chosen  a 
maister  to  rule  them,'  found  they  could  no  longer 
agree,  and  asked  that  the  '  taillers  and  shermen  ' 
might  be  separated  from  the  fullers.3  On  the  other 
hand,  unions  of  gilds  are  also  found  in  the  fifteenth 
century,4  but  they  were  utilized  for  religious, 
as  well  as  for  industrial  purposes.6  There  is  an  in- 
teresting example  of  a  union  of  crafts  in  the  Coven- 
try records  —  a  complaint  against  the  ordinances 
of  the  Wiredrawers  states  :  '  hit  is  like  myche  of 
the  kynges  pepull,  and  in  speciall  poor  chapmen 
and  Clothemakers,  in  tyme  comeng  shullon  be 
gretely  hyndered  ;  and  as  hit  may  be  supposed  the 
principal!  cause  is  like  to  be  amonges  hem  that  han 
all  the  Craft  in  her  own  hondes,  That  is  to  sey, 
smythiers,  brakemen,  gurdelmen  and  Cardwir- 
drawers  ' ;  and  the  petition  goes  on  to  show  what 
evils  may  arise  through  the  misdeeds  of  the  man 
'  who  hathe  all  thes  Craftes.'  He  may  force  the 
'  Brakemon  '  and  the  '  girdulmon  '  and  the  '  card- 
wiredrawer  '  to  use  his  iron,  even  if  it  be  '  dissay- 
vabely  wrought,'  because  they  must  do  as  their 

1  Riley,  pp.  570-1  and  571-4.  *  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  59/129. 
3  Ibid.,  16/4900  and  490^.  *  The  Gild  of  the  Holy  Cross,  Strat- 
ford-upon-Avon,  apparently  joined  two  other  fraternities,  the  Gilds  of 
Our  Lady  and  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  (Eng.  Gilds,  Part  ii,  219-20). 
Union  of  Crafts  at  Walsall  (Gross,  Gild  Merchant,  I,  121-2).  8  Mrs. 
Green  describes  a  confederation  of  Gilds  at  Canterbury  grouped  to- 
gether to  maintain  the  pageants  of  the  town,  in  1490  (Town  Life,  I, 
151).  Gross  explains  that  in  '  many  towns  there  was  a  Corpus  Christi 
Gild  which  embraced  most  of  the  Crafts,'  all  of  which  took  part  in 
the  pageants  on  Corpus  Christi  Day  (The  Gild  Merchant,  I,  118,  n.). 


INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES  II 

master  bids  them.1  This  incident  is  significant 
because  it  seems  to  point  to  the  presence  of  the 
capitalist  employer,  whose  advent  is  one  of  the 
most  important  of  the  economic  changes  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  In  the  earlier  period  small 
masters,  employing  two  or  three  men,  made  and 
often  sold  finished  goods ; 2  but  this  simple  arrange- 
ment was  only  possible  as  long  as  the  market  was 
small.  The  expansion  of  trade  and  the  demand 
for  larger  supplies  of  goods  made  production  on  a 
greater  scale  inevitable,  for  which  more  money 
was  required  than  a  small  master  possessed  ;  there- 
fore a  new  class  of  men  arose,  commanding  an 
adequate  amount  of  capital,3  who  were  able,  as  we 
have  seen  at  Coventry,  to  bring  a  comparatively 
large  number  of  workers  into  dependence  upon 
themselves.4  In  the  cloth  industry  these  men  were 
called  clothiers,  or  cloth-makers  ;  they  gave  the 
'  wolles  '  to  the  '  carders,  spynners,  and  all  other 
Laborers  '  to  be  wrought,6  paid  them  for  their  labour, 
and  thus  arranged  for  every  stage  of  the  manu- 
facture.6 When  the  cloth  was  made,  the  clothiers 
in  their  turn  sold  it  to  the  drapers,  another  class  of 
traders  who  owed  their  special  functions  to  the 
development  of  Industry.  The  drapers  were  both 
makers  of  and  dealers  in  cloth  when  they  obtained 
their  first  charter  of  incorporation,  in  1364,'  but 
the  growth  of  the  manufacture  rendered  it  desirable 
to  have  a  class  of  dealers  in  cloth  distinct  from  the 
makers,8  and  the  drapers  therefore  became  ex- 
clusively dealers.  The  London  drapers  tried  to 
obtain  the  monopoly  of  the  sale  of  cloth,  and  were 
so  aggressive  that  Parliament  was  obliged  to  pass 

-  Coventry  Ltet  Book,  l8l-2.  a  Ashley,  Woollen  Industry,  72. 

3  Ibid.,    75.  4   Ibid.  e    Rot.    Par!.,    V,    502,    No.    17,    and 

4  Ed.  /F,  c.  i.        B  Ashley,  Woollen  Industry,  p.  8l.        "'  Ibid.,  63 
8  Ibid.,  58. 


12  INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES 

an  Act  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  country  drapers.1 
Developments  of  a  similar  nature  occurred  in  other 
trades,  and  so  there  was  a  regular  gradation  of 
classes  in  the  industrial  world — the  artisan,  the 
manufacturer,  the  middleman,  and  the  merchant ; 
and  this  was  a  state  of  affairs  which  differed  greatly 
from  the  simple  arrangements  of  earlier  days.  We 
find  one  or  two  anticipations  of  modern  methods 
of  industry  in  the  use  of  machinery, — fulling-mills 
are  mentioned  at  Hawkesbury,  Bisley  and  Chalford 
in  Gloucestershire,  and  Guildford.2  The  King  was 
asked  to  forbid  the  use  of  '  gygymlles  and  Toune 
Milles  '  in  1463-4, s  and  of  fulling-mills  in  1482.* 
Both  petitions  were  answered  in  the  affirmative, 
nevertheless,  Henry  VII  granted  several  leases  of 
fulling-mills  in  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster.6  It  was 
said  that  a  mill  could  full  more  in  a  day  than  eighty 
men,  so  no  doubt  the  employment  of  them  was 
very  profitable.  The  grants  of  mill-streams  at 
Stroud  and  Bisley  show  that  men  were  beginning  to 
realize  the  industrial  value  of  water  power.6  A 
curious  instance  of  an  approximation  to  modern 
modes  of  industrial  warfare  may  be  seen  in  the 
combination  of  the  dyers  of  Coventry  in  order  to 
enhance  the  price  of  dying  cloth.7  A  petition 
against  them  was  laid  before  the  King  in  1415. 8 
A  complaint  made  to  the  Chancellor  by  Thomas  de 
Feriby  and  other  dyers  of  Coventry  against  Egynton 
and  W.  Warde,  also  dyers,  may  perhaps  refer  to 
the  same  incident ;  in  any  case  it  affords  an  illus- 
tration of  the  way  in  which  dissentient  fellow- 

1  7  H.  IV,  c.  9.  a  Victoria  County  Hist,  of  Glos.,  II,  157. 

The  sum  of  ^27  is  stated  to  have  been  spent  on  repairing  fulling-mills 
near  Guildford  (Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  89,69).  3  Rot.  Par/.,  V, 

502-3.  *  Ibid.,  VI,  223.     No.  29.  6  Campbell,  of.  <-;'/.,  II, 

329-30,  332,  367,  399,  441.  6  V.C.H.  Glos.,  II,  151.  7  Dormer 
Harris,  Life  in  an  Old  English  Town,  265.  B  Rot.  far/.,  IV, 
75»  «• 


INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES  13 

workers  were  intimidated.  Egynton  and  Warde, 
it  was  stated, '  firent  faire  ore  tarde  une  congregacion 
a  Coventre  de  toutz  ceux  de  ceste  mestier,  et  la 
firent  les  ditz  suppliantz  countre  leur  gree  iurrer 
entre  autres  de  faire  &  excercer  certeins  choses  en 
desceit  de  la  poeple.'1  Mrs.  Green  traces  '  rude  be- 
ginnings of  a  factory  system,'  and  gives  as  an  in- 
stance the  malt  made  by  the  brewers  of  Kent, 
whereas  it  had  been  hitherto  bought  from  the 
people2,  and  Miss  Dormer  Harris  alludes  to  a 
movement  among  the  Journeymen  Weavers  in 
Coventry  which  was  like  a  modern  strike.3 

It  might  perhaps  be  expected  that  the  growth  of 

trade  would  cause  improvements  both  in  «..  .  .. 

r  .         ,  Distnbu- 

the    means    of   communication    between  tion  of  the 

different  parts  of  the  country  and  in  the  products  of 
methods  of  transporting  goods.  Upon  Industry- 
these  points  modern  writers  do  not  agree.  Thorold 
Rogers  insists  that  in  this  century  '  the  means  of 
communication  were  fairly  good,'  and  the  principal 
roads,  even  in  winter,  were  in  decent  repair  4 ;  and 
he  gives  as  his  reasons  for  this  opinion  the  lowness 

of  the  cost  of  carriage,6  the  existence  of    0 

*     LJ   At.     i  t    Roads, 

a  common   carrier,4  and  the  length   of 

the  journeys,  both  on  horseback  and  in  carts, 
which  were  undertaken  in  a  single  day.'  Dr.  Cun- 
ningham, on  the  other  hand,  is  convinced  of  the 
decay  of  the  roads.7  Fortunately  we  have  descrip- 
tions of  the  streets  and  highways  from  persons 
living  at  the  time.  We  read  in  the  Statute  Book 
that  the  road  from  Abingdon  towards  Dorchester, 
'  over  the  Water  of  Thames  by  the  Places  of  Bur- 
ford  and  Culhamford  .  .  .  was  lately  by  the  Increase 

1  Early  Chant.  Proceed.,  7/23.  a  Town  Life,  II,  89. 

1  Life  in  an  Old  Eng.  Town,  278.         4  Work  and  Wages,  135. 

*  Agriculture  and  Prices,  IV,  692.         8  Ibid.,  693. 

7  Cunningham,  Growth  of  English  Industry  and  Comment,  I,  450. 


14  INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES 

of  Water  so  much  surrounded,  that  no  one  could 
pass  there,  nor  make  any  suche  Carriage  there 
without  Danger  of  losing  their  Lives,  Goods, 
Chattels,  and  Merchandises.'1  Steps,  however,  were 
taken  to  repair  the  road  and  the  bridges  over  the 
river.  In  Bristol,  one  of  the  most  prosperous  towns 
in  England,  the  paving  in  the  streets  was  '  decayed, 
broken,  and  holowid  and  pitted,  by  water  fallyng 
out  of  Gutters,  by  Ridyng  and  Cariage,  to  great 
hurt  and  disease  of  the  Kyngs  Liege  People.'2  The 
wills  of  the  period  contain  many  bequests  for  the 
repair  of  '  foundrous  ways  '3  and  of  '  noyous  jeo- 
perdes  '*  ones,  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  'betwen 
Hillindon  and  Akton,'6  '  betwene  London  and 
ware,'6  '  beside  Portmannes  Crosse  fast  by  Brigge- 
north, :?  so  it  is  clear  that  the  evil  was  not  confined 
to  any  one  district.  The  safe  return  of  a  traveller 
was  a  matter  for  great  thankfulness,  and  did  not 
pass  without  comment.  '  Rychard  Cely  was  at 
norlayge  .  .  .  and  ys  com  horn  in  savete,'  writes  old 
Richard  Cely  to  his  son  George.8  From  a  rather 
unexpected  source  we  have  further  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  '  perilous  highways.'9  The  Coroner's 
Rolls  for  the  county  of  Leicester  attribute  an 
extraordinary  number  of  deaths  to  falling  out  of 
carts.  One  man  was  bending  over  to  whip  his 
horses,  and  fell  out  and  was  killed10;  in  another 
case  the  cart  turned  over,  and  part  of  it  crushed 
the  driver's  head11;  one  instance  is  recorded  in 
which  both  man  and  cart  fell  from  a  bridge  into 
the  water12;  and  more  than  once  a  wheel  came  off 

1  Statutes  of  the  Realm,  g  H.  V,  c.  II.  2  Rot.  Par!.,  VI,  391. 

J  Sharpe's  Wills,  II,  487  (1437).  *  Ibid.,  599  (1497). 

5  Furmvall,  E.  E.  Wills,  11  (1402).  6  Ibid.,  15. 
7  Ibid.,  31  (1418).           8  Cely  Papers,  Letter  28,  p.  28  (1480). 
"  Sharpe's  Wills,  II,  422,  430,  432,  433. 

10  Coroners1  Rolls,  63,  m.  2,  No.  i.  "  Ibid.,  60,  m.  4. 

11  Ibid.,  63,  m.  2. 


INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES  15 

and  caused  a  fatal  accident.1  It  seems  almost 
impossible  that  so  many  accidents  of  this  kind 
should  have  happened  if  the  roads  had  been  in  a 
safe  state  for  travelling.  The  jury  added  in  one 
account  that  the  cart  was  rickety,2  but  as  a  rule 
they  offer  no  explanation,  and  treat  the  affair  quite 
as  a  matter  of  course.  Nor  do  the  methods  of  trans- 
port employed  lead  us  to  suppose  that  the  roads 
were  very  good  :  '  the  common  carrier  '  apparently 
conveyed  the  '  fardells  '  on  horseback.3  We  hear 
of  plate  which  is  to  be  *  pakked  in  the  cariors  pakke 
of  Exeter,'4  of  cloth  sent  by  *  cariers  '  to  Oxford,6 
and  of  fish  carried  in  '  paniers  vpon  horsis  to 
London.'6  The  '  mere  tracks,'7  which  Thorold 
Rogers  repudiates,  would  have  been  quite  sufficient 
for  horses,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  roads  in  some 
districts  were  little  more  than  bridle-paths  and  unfit 
for  vehicular  traffic.  In  one  of  the  Paston  Letters 
(dated  Jan.  30,  1443),  it  is  stated  that  the  Chief 
Justice  dared  not  come  to  the  Assize  on  horseback, 
because  he  had  a  sciatica,  but  for  the  '  remanent  of 
the  assizes '  he  would  '  purvey  to  be  there  by  water' ; 

1  Ibid.,  61,  m.,  4,  cf.  ms.  6  and  7.  Other  cases  in  the  same  county 
are  61,  m.  10 ;  63,  ms.  2  and  5;  60,  m.  6.  Instances  in  other 
counties  in  Rolls  168  (Stafford),  and  145,  m.  2  (Shropshire).  Very 
few  Coroners'  Rolls  for  the  fifteenth  century  are  in  existence,  and  as  I 
have  omitted  those  published  by  the  Selden  Soc. ,  rolls  for  only  four 
counties  were  left,  Middlesex,  Stafford,  Leicester,  and  Shropshire  ;  the 
records  for  the  first  two  are  rather  scanty,  and  Shropshire  was  in  an 
exceptional  position,  on  the  borders  of  Wales  and  exposed  to  attacks 
from  that  country,  so  I  thought  it  better  to  use  Leicester  to  illustrate 
this  subject.  2  Coroners'  Rolls,  63,  m.  2,  No.  3. 

3  The  horse  in  Lydgate's  '  Horse,  Goose,  and  Sheep '  boasts 

'  Leedc,  ston,  and  timbre  cariage  eek  for  bellis, 
We  brynge  to  chyrches  (of  trouthe,  this  is  no  tale) ; 
We  lade  cloth  sakkis  and  many  a  large  male 
And  gladly  someres  ar  sent  euyr  to-forn 
With  gardeviaundis  how  myht  we  be  fur-born.' 

Political,  Relig.  and  Love  Sengs,  p.  21. 

'  Someres '  means  pack-horses,  '  gardeviaundis '  a  chest  for  food  or 
valuables. 

4  A.C.,  Vol.  XLVL,  Letter  160.       *  Early  Chant.  Proceed.,  9/124. 
8  Pecock,  Represser,  30.  7  Agriculture  and  Prices,  IV,  693. 


l6  INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES 

'  the  absence  at  that  period  of  any  carriage- 
road  between  London  and  the  Assize  town  of 
one  of  the  home  counties  is  worthy  of  remark.'1 
Similarly,  in  a  communication  to  the  Privy  Council 
it  was  announced  that  the  King  was  ill,  and 
could  not  travel,  especially  not  on  horseback, 
but  he  hoped  to  come  from  Windsor  to  Staines 
that  night,  and  thence  to  London  by  water.2  In 
1463  Sir  John  Howard's  steward  was  obliged  to 
hire  '  a  gyde  to  gyde  *  his  master's  draper  to  Long 
Stratton3  (Norfolk),  so  there  must  either  have  been 
no  road  at  all,  or  one  that  was  very  bad  and  hard 
to  find.3  Carts  were  no  doubt  used  sometimes, 
especially  for  the  transport  of  heavy  articles,  and  we 
find  several  entries  in  Household  Books  of  payment 
for  the  cartage  of  provisions,4  or  fuel,5  or  other 
goods.  A  few  grand  people  had  carriages ;  the 
'  chariet '  of  the  Duchess  of  Buckingham  is  men- 
tioned in  her  Household  Book  once  or  twice.6  And 
when  Henry  VI  wanted  to  welcome  Margaret  of 
Anjou  he  borrowed  '  many  horses,  as  wele  pal- 
frieies,  as  for  chares,  charietts,  someres,  and  other.'7 
The  majority  of  people,  even  women,  made  journeys 
on  horseback.  Margaret  Paston  never  thought  of 
travelling  in  any  other  way,  and  Elizabeth  Stonor 
asked  her  husband  to  send  her  horses  when  she 
wished  to  go  to  him8;  so  no  doubt  this  method  was 
the  one  best  suited  to  the  roads.  On  the  whole  we 
may  reasonably  conclude  that  they  were  in  a  very 
bad  state  during  the  greater  part  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  but  the  civic  authorities  made  some  at- 
tempts to  improve  them.  The  repairing  of  the 

1  Life  of  Sir  John  Fortescue,  I,  8-9.  f  Proceed.  Privy  Council t 

I,  290.         3  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  154.  *  Add.  MSS.  34, 

213,  f.  25  dorse,  f.  31  d.,  f.  77.  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  387  and  498. 
8  Add.  MSS.,  34,  213  ;  33.  c  Ibid.,  ff.  64,  65  d.,  79  d.  7  Ellis, 
Original  Letters,  Third  Series,  81-2.  For  cost  of  transit  see  Appen- 
dix C,  la.  s  A.C.  46,  Letter  115. 


INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES  17 

road  between  Abingdon  and  Dorchester  has  already 
been  mentioned  ;  it  was  carried  out,  not  by  the 
Abbot,  through  whose  franchise  it  ran,  but  by  the 
people  of  Abingdon.1  An  order  was  issued  in  Coven- 
try, in  1423,  that  every  man  must  repair  his  pave- 
ment in  front  of  his  tenement,  before  the  next 
Leet.2  About  twenty  years  later  it  was  decreed 
that  the  mayor  should  provide  paviors  to  pave  the 
streets,  and  that  their  wages  were  to  be  raised  by 
distraint.3  In  1430-1  the  Mayor  of  Northampton 
obtained  from  Parliament  the  right  to  force  per- 
sons owning  free  tenements,  '  buttant  sur  ascun 
hault  chesmyn  ou  rue  du  dit  ville,'  to  contribute 
to  the  making  and  repair  of  the  same.4  During 
the  last  thirty  years  of  our  period,  the  towns  of 
Gloucester,6  Canterbury,6  Taunton,7  Cirencester,8 
Southampton,9  Winchester,10  and  Bristol,11  all 
sought  and  gained  similar  powers.  This  desire  to 
improve  their  streets  surely  betokens  an  awakening 
sense  of  the  necessity  for  better  means  of  com- 
munication on  the  part  of  the  trading  classes,  and 
may  fairly  be  attributed  partially,  if  not  entirely, 
to  the  growth  of  Industry  ;  but  their  efforts  were 
directed  only  to  the  improvement  of  the  streets 
within  the  city-walls,  and  the  roads  outside  re- 
mained neglected. 

Probably  the  reason  why  '  foule  and  feble  '  roads 
were  so  long  tolerated  in  England  was  that  the 
great  use  of  water  carriage  enabled  people  to  do 
without  them  to  some  extent.  Coal  was  brought 
to  London  from  Newcastle  by  sea,12  and  wheat  was 

1  Statutes  of  the  Realm,  9  H.  V,  c.  II.  8  Coventry  Leet  Book,  58 
Worcester  ordered  every  man  to  keep  his  path  clean,  and  his  pave- 
ment in  repair  (Eng.  Gilds,  384). 

I  Coventry  Leet  Book,  199.          *  Rot.  Par/.,  IV,  373,  23. 

6  Ibid.,  VI,  49,  54.          6  Ibid.,  VI,  177,  21.          7  Ibid.,  179,  22. 
8  Ibid.,  VI,  180,  23.         8  Ibid.,  180,  24.          10  Ibid.,  VI,  333,  64. 

II  Ibid.,  VI,  390,  9.         ia  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  15/160, 

C 


l8  INDUSTRIAL   CHANGES 

sent  from  Walberswick  in  Suffolk  in  the  same  way1; 
and  ships,  going  via  Newcastle  to  Edinburgh,  took 
provisions  to  the  English  Army  in  Scotland. 2  Rivers 
were  the  great  highways  within  the  country,  the 
means  by  which  '  all  Manner  of  Merchandise,  and 
other  Goods  and  Chattels  '  were  conveyed  to  the 
districts  through  which  they  flowed.  The  alarm  of 
the  people  of  Tewkesbury  when  their  turbulent 
neighbours  in  the  Forest  of  Dean  attacked  the 
boats  on  the  Severn8  shows  how  greatly  they  valued 
the  right  of  free  passage  on  the  river.  Entries  in 
Compotus  Rolls  also  illustrate  the  employment  of 
rivers  for  this  purpose  :  the  Duchess  of  Bucking- 
ham paid  four  bargemen  sixteen  pence  for  con- 
veying goods  from  '  Queynhith  '  to  Westminster.4 
The  Howard  Household  Books  are  full  of  payments 
for  '  botehyre '  to  barges  which  brought  salt, 
cheese,  wine,6  and  other  necessaries ;  and  the 
churchwardens  of  Tintinhull  record  the  transit  of 
'  ij  wey  of  cole  '  by  water  from  '  Ronam  *  (Rown- 
ham-on-Avon)  to  Kingston.6  The  Government, 
which  apparently  cared  nothing  about  the  condi- 
tion of  the  roads,  took  the  utmost  pains  to  keep  the 
waterways  open.  Not  only  were  the  statutes  of 
Edward  III,7  forbidding  the  formation  of  weirs  and 
other  obstructions  to  boats,  confirmed8  and  en- 
larged,9 but  commissioners  were  appointed  to 
ensure  the  execution  of  the  Acts,10  and  they  were 
well  paid  for  their  labour11;  and  in  one  case  they 
were  empowered  to  take  a  toll  of  fourpence  from 

1  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  187/30.  Other  references  to  transit  ot 
grain  by  water,  Rot.  far/.,  V,  31,  Cal.  Patent  Roll,  1433,  m.  24. 
*  Accounts,  Extheq.  Q.  R.  Army,  42/32  (l  H.  IV}.  *  &  ff.  VI, 

c.  27.  *  Add.  MSS.  34,  213,  74  d.  n  Howard  Household  Bk. , 
I,  518,  523.  See  Appendix  C  la  for  cost  of  transit  by  water. 
6  Hobhouse,  117.  7  25  Ed.  Ill,  st.  3,  c.  4,  and  45  Ed.  Ill,  c.  2. 
8  i  H.  IV,  c.  12,  and  I  H.  V,  c.  2.  9  9  H.  VI,  c.  9,  and  12  Ed.  IV, 
c,  7,  and  2  H.  VI,  c.  19.  10  \  H.  IV,  c.  12.  "  4  H,  IV,  c.  IT. 


INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES  IQ 

every  boat  passing  down  the  river  if  money  were 
needed  for  their  work.1  So  heinous  was  disobedience 
to  these  statutes  considered  that  a  penalty  of  a 
hundred  shillings  was  inflicted  for  each  default.2 

The  growth  of  Industry  caused  a  demand  for 
better  facilities  for  the  sale  of  goods.  A  few  of  the 
old  fairs  fell  into  decay.  '  The  importance  of  St. 
Ives  mart '  declined  in  the  fourteenth  century3; 
Boston  Fair  had  entirely  ceased  by  1416 4;  and 
St.  Giles,  Winchester,  was  greatly  reduced  by 
1471, 6  because  the  centre  of  trade  had  shifted  ;  the 
manufacture  of  cloth,  to  which  it  had  owed  its 
prosperity,  had  almost  died  out  there.6  London 
profited  by  the  decline  of  her  rivals,  and  Stow 
narrates  the  grant,  in  20  H.  VI,  to  the  Master, 
Brothers  and  Sisters  of  St.  Catherine's,  of  a  new  fair 
to  be  held  upon  Tower  Hill,7  and  there  were  already 
three  great  fairs  in  the  suburbs  of  London — at 
Westminster,  Smithfield,  and  South wark.8  Stour- 
bridge  Fair  continued  to  flourish,  and  from  the 
accounts  of  the  Priories  of  Maxtoke  and  Bicester, 
in  the  time  of  Henry  VI,  it  is  seen  the  monks  visited 
it  yearly,  although  the  place  was  at  least  a  hundred 
miles  distant  from  them.9  The  fair  in  the  North 
Hundred  of  Oxford  derived  importance  from  the 
sale  of  books.10  Fairs  must  have  been  a  fruitful 
source  of  income  in  the  time  of  Henry  VI,  for  that 
monarch  endowed  Eton  with  four,11  and  the  town 
of  Lincoln  petitioned  for  the  right  to  hold  two  a 
year,  that  it  might  be  enabled  to  raise  money  to  pay 
its  fee-farm.12  In  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth 
century  great  dissatisfaction  was  caused  by  the 

1  9  If.  VI,  c.  g.  *  2  H.  VI,  c.  19.  3  C.  Gross,  The  Law 
Merchant,  Vol.  I,  xxxiv.  4  Riley,  op.  cit.,  637.  5  Cunningham, 
Growth  of  Eng.  Industry  and  Commerce,  I,  452.  6  Lambert,  Gild 
Life,  79-80.  7  Strype's  Stow,  I,  72.  *  Ashley,  Econ.  Hist., 
Part  ii,  214.  9  Walford,  Fairs,  63.  10  T.  Rogers,  Agric.  and 

Prices,  IV,  155,         »  Rot.  Par/, ,  V,  78  and  131.         iy  Ibid. ,  IV,  418- 


20  INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES 

aggressions  of  the  courts  of  Pie  powder,  and  their 
encroachment  upon  other  local  jurisdictions,1  and 
certain  rules  were  laid  down  by  statute  to  remedy 
these  abuses,2  but  they  probably  did  a  great  deal 
to  injure  fairs  in  general.3  The  statute  of  1487, 
though  it  speaks  of  the  importance  of  the  fairs  of 
Salisbury,  Bristol,  Oxenforth,  Cambrigge,  Netyng- 
ham,  Ely,  and  Coventry,  unconsciously  suggests 
that  their  vigour  was  waning ;  if  it  had  not  been 
so,  they  would  not  have  been  in  danger  of  '  utter 
destruction  '  merely  because  the  Common  Council 
of  London  had  forbidden  its  citizens  to  carry  goods 
for  sale  to  any  fairs  or  markets  outside  the  city.4 
Nevertheless,  fair  moots  continued  to  flourish,5 
and  Henry  VII  not  only  confirmed  existing  rights 
to  hold  fairs  and  markets,  but  allowed  several 
new  ones  to  be  established,6  even  in  places  where 
other  fairs  were  held.7  Taking  all  these  circum- 
stances into  consideration,  we  may  conclude 
that  the  value  and  usefulness  of  fairs  had  not 
entirely  passed  away.  It  is  clear,  however, 
that  they  no  longer  afforded  enough  opportunities 
for  the  increasing  amount  of  trade  that  was 
carried  on  at  this  time.  The  Drapers  of  London 
bought  Blackwell  Hall  and  turned  it  into  a  market 
for  country  drapers,  and  business  was  carried  on 
there  for  two  whole  days  every  week.8  '  London 
Lickpenny,'  a  little  poem  attributed  to  Lydgate, 
gives  us  a  lively  picture  of  the  tradesmen  of  London 
and  their  eagerness  to  sell  their  wares : — velvet, 
silk,  lawn,  and  Paris  thread  were  on  sale  in  th 
Cheap,9  cloth  '  throughout  all  Canwyke  street,'1 

1  17  Ed.  IV,  c.  2.  2  Gross,  Law  Merchant,  Vol.  I,  xviii. 
8  Cunningham,  op.  cit.,  I,  452.  4  3  //".  VII,  c.  9.  6  Gross, 
op.  cit.,  Vol.  I,  xvii.  6  Campbell,  op.  cit.,  I,  390,  480-1. 

7  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  455;  Vol.  II,  335-6.  8  Ashley,  Econ.  Hist., 
Part  ii,  215.  9  Minor  Poems  of  Dan  John  Lydgate,  edited  by  J.  O. 
HallivyeU  (Percy  Soc,,  1840),  p.  105,  verse  IO,  10  Ibid.,  p.  106,  verse  I \. 


INDUSTRIAL  CHANGES  21 

and  hot  pies  and  ribs  of  beef  abounded  in  East 
Cheap1;  and  the  noisy  bustling  sellers  seemed  to 
be  doing  a  brisk  trade.  No  doubt  similar  scenes 
took  place,  though  upon  a  smaller  scale,  in  many 
a  country  town,  and  they  are  typical  of  the  effects 
produced  by  industrial  changes  in  the  fifteenth 
century. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  1 06,  verse  12. 


CHAPTER    II 

AGRARIAN   CHANGES 

CHANGES  of  such  magnitude  as  those  which  took 
place  in  the  industrial  world  in  the  fifteenth  century 
could  not  fail  to  exercise  much  influence  upon  the 
other  factors  of  the  economic  system,  and  the 
development  of  manufactures  in  England  was  not 

c  -«~  r  without  serious  consequences  for  hus- 
Scarcityof  .  -  ,  .  -jj  j 

agricul-        bandry,   because  it    provided    new    and 

tural  profitable  careers  for  the  people.    Com- 

:rs'  plaints  of  the  scarcity  of  agricultural 
labourers,  which  had  begun  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  and  was  unquestionably  due  in  the  first 
place  to  the  ravages  of  the  Black  Death,  continued 
and  increased.  Thomas  Billop,  servant  of  Sir 
William  Plumpton,  at  Kinalton,  writes  and  tells 
his  master  that  he  cannot  get  his  corn  carried,  be- 
cause every  man  is  so  busy  with  his  own,  and  that 
his  malt  has  not  been  winnowed  because  he  could 
get  no  help.1  By  the  statute  of  Cambridge,  passed 
in  the  reign  of  Richard  II,2  any  person  who  had 
laboured  in  the  service  of  husbandry  up  to  the  age 
of  twelve  was  ordered  from  henceforth  to  abide  at 
the  same  labour,  and  this  Act  was  confirmed  early 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  with,  however,  an  excep- 
tion in  favour  of  those  whose  parents  possessed 
lands  of  the  yearly  value  of  forty  shillings,  or  goods 
worth  forty  pounds.3  But  even  these  severe 
measures  were  not  sufficient  to  check  the  evil,  and 

1  Plumplon  Correspondence,  p.  21  (1469).         a  12  Ric.  //,  c.  5. 
3  Rot.  ParL,  III,  501,  59. 


22 


AGRARIAN  CHANGES  23 

in  1406  a  more  stringent  Act  was  passed,  which 
shows  that  the  superior  attraction  of  industrial 
employments  was  considered  the  chief  cause  of 
the  trouble.  No  man  from  henceforth  was  to 
apprentice  his  child,  even  under  the  age  of  twelve, 
to  any  mistery  in  any  city  or  borough,  unless  he 
possessed  lands  to  the  value  of  twenty  pounds  a 
year,  but  children  were  to  follow  the  occupations 
of  their  parents,  or  such  labour  as  their  conditions 
demanded.1  This  Act  was  no  doubt  evaded  in 
some  cases,  for  in  the  year  1444,  Justices  of  the  Peace 
were  empowered  '  to  take  all  Servauntz,  witholden 
with  eny  persone  by  colour  of  Husbandrye  and  not 
dewly  occupyed  aboute  it,  ...  oute  of  ye  servyse 
of  theire  Maisters,  and  to  compelle  theym  to  serve 
in  the  occupation  of  Husbondrye.'2  In  spite  of 
legislation,  it  was  impossible  to  entirely  stop  the 
flight  of  agricultural  labourers  to  manufacturing 
towns,  and  by  the  end  of  the  century  it  was  neces- 
sary to  raise  their  wages8  in  order  to  retain  their 
services. 

Statistics  of  the  export  of  grain  throw  some  light 
upon  the  condition  of  agriculture.     Ex-    condition 
port    was   permitted   if   a   licence    were   of  agri- 
obtained  from  the  King,  but  the  Council   cu*ture- 
was  authorized  to  restrain  it  when  it  seemed  neces- 
sary.4   The  use  made  by  the  Council  of  the  discre- 
tion left  to  it  does  not  appear  to  have  had  much 
correspondence  with  the  wishes  of  the  land-owners,5 
and  was  therefore  probably  not  very  beneficial  to 
husbandry.       The   French  Rolls   and    the    Patent 
Rolls   show   that    very    few   licences    were   issued 
during  the  reign  of  Henry  V,  and  not  a  very  much 
larger  number  between  1422  and  1442.    The  years 

1  Rot.  Par!.,  Ill,  601-2  and  7  H.  IV,  c.  17.        •  Ibid.,  V,  113. 
3  II  H.  VII,  c.  22.        «  17  Ric.  II,  c.  17,  and  4  H.  VI,  c.  5. 
8  Faber,  Die  Entlehn>ig  dts  Agi-arschutus  in  England,  p.  8j. 


24  AGRARIAN  CHANGES 

in  which  the  most  grants  were  made  are  1426-7, 
1427-8,  and  1431-2. l  The  French  Rolls  record  that 
twenty-nine  licences  were  issued  in  the  year  1426-7 
to  forty-two  persons,  forty-one  licences  in  1427-8  to 
sixty-nine  persons,  and  thirty-two  in  1431-2  to 
thirty-seven  persons.  Merchants  of  London,2  King- 
ston-upon-Hull,3  Maldon,4  Southwold  5  and  Kent  • 
were  amongst  those  who  most  often  obtained  per- 
mission from  the  Council  to  export  grain.  The 
small  number  of  grants  of  licences  gives  the  im- 
pression that  agriculture  was  not  in  a  very  flourish- 
ing condition.  In  1437-8  the  people  of  Cornwall 
were  allowed  to  trade  with  Ushant,  because  corn 
was  scarce  in  England7;  and  there  was  also  great 
scarcity  in  1439."  The  French  Rolls  give  us  in- 
formation occasionally  as  to  the  districts  from 
which  grain  was  obtained.  Corn  came  from  Berk- 
shire,9 Kent,10  and  Gloucestershire,11  grain  was 
bought  in  Dorset,  Somerset,  and  Devon12;  but  these 
were  not  the  only  corn-growing  districts ;  all  the 
counties  immediately  north  of  London,  from  Suffolk 
to  Gloucestershire,  and  the  southern  districts  of 
Leicester,  Stafford,13  and  Cambridge,14  produced 
good  wheat.  It  was,  however,  found  that  restriction 
of  the  export  of  corn,  even  in  a  modified  form,  was 
not  wise.  The  farmers,  it  was  said,  could  not  sell 
their  corn  but  at  a  bare  price,  so  Parliament,  anxious 
to  foster  husbandry,  decreed  that  wheat  might  be 
exported  when  the  price  of  it  did  not  exceed  six 
shillings  and  eight  pence  a  quarter,  and  barley 
when  it  did  not  cost  more  than  three  shillings  a 

1  Cal.  French  Rolls,  sub  annos.  8  Ibid.,  1426-7,  MS.,  16-14,  8, 
7,  2.  3  Ibid,,  1427-8,  MS.,  17-14.  *  Ibid.,  1426-7,  MS.,  13,  6. 
8  Ibid.,  1427-8,  m.  16;  1431-2,  m.  8.  6  Ibid.,  1426-7,  in.  8; 
1427-8,  m.  8;  1431-2,  m.  8.  7  Ibid.,  1437-8,  m.  n.  8  Syllabus 
to  Rymer's  Fcedera,  II,  665.  '  Cal.  French  Rolls,  1440-1,  m.  8. 
10  Rot.  Parl.,  IV.,  307.  "  Cal.  French  Rolls,  1422-4,  m.  16. 
"  Ibid.,  m.  13.  "  Denton,  England  in  the  Fifteenth  Century, 
144.  14  Denton,  op.  cit.,  145. 


AGRARIAN  CHANGES  25 

quarter.1  Even  this  concession  was  apparently 
not  enough  to  make  agriculture  thrive ;  in  1463 
a  complaint  was  raised  that  '  Occupiers  of  Hus- 
bandry ...  be  daily  grievously  endamaged  by 
bringing  of  Corn  out  of  other  Lands  and  Parts  into 
this  realm  .  .  .  when  the  corn  of  the  growing  of  this 
Realm  is  at  a  low  Price.'  So  it  was  enacted  that 
wheat,  rye,  and  barley  should  not  be  imported 
when  the  prices  did  not  exceed  six  and  eight  pence, 
four  shillings,  and  three  shillings  a  quarter  re- 
spectively.2 Another  sign  of  the  desire  to  encourage 
agriculture  was  the  reduction  of  the  toll  on  a  horse- 
load  of  corn  far  below  that  charged  for  other  com- 
modities.3 In  spite  of  these  protective  measures  the 
agriculture  entered  upon  a  period  of  decline.  The 
Paston  Letters  afford  a  very  good  illustration  of  the 
decreasing  value  of  agricultural  land  in  the  case 
of  the  parsonage  of  Oxnead  :  '  William  Paston, 
Justice,  qwan  he  cam  fyrst  to  dwell  in  the  maner  of 
Oxned,  paid  to  the  parson  that  was  than  for  the 
corne  growyng  on  the  parsonage  londys  and  for  the 
tythynges,  ondely  but  in  corne  whan  it  was  inned 
in  to  the  barn,  xxiiij  li.  And  the  same  yere  the 
parson  had  all  the  awterage  and  oder  profytes  be 
syde  the  seyd  xxiiij  li.  It  is  yerly  worth,  as  the 
world  goth  now,  x  li.'4 

The  Cloth  Industry  not  only  enticed  labourers 
away  from  husbandry,  but  led  to  the  gradual  sub- 
stitution of  sheep-farming  for  tillage.6  Increasing 

1  Rot.  Par!.,  IV,  500  and  15  H.  Vf,  c.  2,  which  was  continued 
for  ten  years,  20  H.  VI,  c.  6,  and  made  perpetual,  23  H.  VI,  c.  5. 
3  3  Ed.  IV,  c.  2.  s  Campbell,  op.  cit.,  II,  332:  in  the  castle  and 
honor  of  Hertford,  in  1488  a  corn-laden  beast  was  charged  a 
farthing  ;  others  a  penny  or  a  halfpenny.  *  Paston  Letters, 

No.  934,  Vol.  V,  326.  B  The  return  to  the  Inquisition  for  Belawe 
(Norfolk),  in  1517,  states  'et  causa  est  quod  sui  infra  idem  hundredum 
occupant  misteram  siue  facturam  de  le  worsted  &  parpuipendunt 
iconomiam  ad  detriment um  dicti  hundred!.'  Mr.  Leadam  in  Trans. 
Royal  Hist.  Sec.,  N.S.  VII  (1893),  202-3. 


26  AGRARIAN   CHANGES 

supplies  of  wool  were  needed  to  satisfy  the  demands 
of  English  manufacturers,  as  well  as  those  of 
foreigners,  and  sheep-farming  grew  so  profitable 
that  land-owners  were  tempted  to  enclose  their 
The  cornfields  and  to  convert  them  into 

enclosing  sheep-runs.  It  is  not  easy  to  tell  exactly 
movement.  wnen  the  movement  began,  but  Miss 
Davenport  has  drawn  attention  to  one  or  two 
instances  in  the  closing  years  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  in  the  manor  of  Forncett.  She  also  points 
out  that  a  tenant  of  the  same  manor  paid  for  a 
licence  to  have  a  fold  for  a  hundred  sheep,  in  1401, 
and  that  in  1404  the  first  protest  against  enclosing 
appears  in  the  Court  Roll.  By  that  date  several 
tenants  had  enclosed  their  lands,  and  sixteen  of 
them  paid  fines  for  so  doing.1  The  Court  Rolls  of 
Launton  state  that  '  the  jurats  present  that  all  the 
tenants,  freeholders  and  villeins  assembled  and 
brake  an  hedge  of  land  which  marked  off  a  recent 
enclosure,  and  carried  it  away  in  contempt  of  the 
lord.'2  In  1420  Sir  Robert  Plumpton  granted  a 
licence  to  the  prioress  of  Esshold  to  enclose  two 
assarts.3  It  is  also  interesting  to  notice  that 
the  enclosing  of  woods  and  forests  was  sanc- 
tioned by  the  enactment  (22  Ed.  IV,  c.  7)  that 
owners  might  enclose  land  in  the  forest  for  seven 
years,  if  the  wood  had  been  cut  down.4  Sometimes 
the  lord  of  the  manor  enclosed  part  of  the  demesne 
himself,5  or  let  it  to  a  tenant,  who  had  the  privilege 
of  enclosing  it.  William  Scargille,  who  obtained 
a  lease  of  demesne  land  from  Henry  VII,  was 
allowed  '  to  cut  and  throw  down  hedges  growing 


1  Miss  Davenport,  Econ.  Development  of  a  Norfolk  Manor ,  pp.  80- 1. 
a  Denton,  op.  cit.t  157  note.  3  Plumpton  Corr.,  xlvii,  note. 
*  Ochenkowski,  England*  -wirthschaftliche  Entwickelung,  p.  33  and 
note.  5  John  Fisher,  serjeant-at-law,  enclosed  the  lordship  of  Clop- 
ton.  Early  Chanc.  Proceed. ,  223/25  (date,  1493-1500). 


AGRARIAN   CHANGES  2J 

in  the  said  land,  for  fuel  and  enclosures.'1  Occa- 
sionally land  was  let  on  the  express  condition  that 
it  should  be  enclosed.  The  lease  of  a  meadow  called 
Tropemede,  in  the  county  of  Hertford,  stipulated 
that  the  tenant  should  enclose  it  at  his  own  cost, 
and  at  the  end  of  his  term  leave  it  sufficiently 
enclosed.2  In  the  reign  of  Henry  VII  the  enclosing 
movement  had  reached  such  dimensions  that  it 
attracted  the  attention  of  Parliament,  and  attempts 
were  made  to  stop  it.  Two  statutes  were  passed 
with  this  object :  one  dealt  especially  with  the 
Isle  of  Wight,3  the  other  was  of  general  applica- 
tion.4 Both  deplored  the  desolation  and  depopula- 
tion caused  by  sheep  farming,  the  '  wilfull  waste  of 
houses  &  Townes  .  .  .  and  leyeng  to  pasture  londis 
whiche  custumeably  have  been  used  in  tilthe,' 
whereby  two  or  three  men  were  occupied  instead 
of  two  hundred,  and  husbandry  had  greatly  de- 
cayed.4 The  Acts  were,  however,  quite  ineffectual, 
and  in  1517  Commissioners  were  appointed  to 
inquire  what  houses  had  been  thrown  down  and 
what  land  enclosed  since  Michaelmas,  1488.  Many 
of  the  returns  made  to  the  Commissioners  have 
been  preserved  at  the  Public  Record  Office,  and 
Mr.  Leadam  has  examined  them  and  published  his 
results.  He  tells  us  that  between  the  years  1485 
and  1500,  1 5, 709 £  acres  of  land  were  enclosed 
within  the  counties  of  Northampton,  Buckingham, 
Oxford,  Warwick,  and  Berkshire,  of  which  2347^ 
acres  were  devoted  to  agriculture,  and  13,362  to 
pasture.5  Professor  Gay  thinks  that  Mr.  Leadam 
has  overestimated  the  amount  of  land  which  was 
enclosed  with  the  object  of  improved  cultivation, 
and  nothing  more,6  but  both  agree  that  depopulation 

1  Campbell,  op.  cit.,  I,  597.  z  Ibid.,  II,  313.  3  2  H.  VII,  c.  16. 
4  4  H.  VII,  c.  19.  5  The  Domesday  of  Inclosures,  I,  41.  8  E.  F.  Gay, 
'Inquisitions  of  Depopulation,'  in  Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.t  N.S. , 
Vol.  XIV  (1900),  241  and  sey. 


28  AGRARIAN   CHANGES 

was  caused.  Mr.  Leadam  has  also  calculated  that 
1205  acres  of  land  were  enclosed  for  pasture  in 
Stafford,  the  East  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  Cambridge, 
Gloucestershire,  Norfolk,  Hereford,  and  Shropshire, 
between  1486  and  1499. 1  The  total  amount  of  land 
enclosed  may  not  seem  very  great,  but  these 
calculations  only  cover  a  short  period  of  time,  and 
only  deal  with  a  small  number  of  counties.  In 
addition  to  the  official  records  we  have  other  evi- 
dence of  the  prevalence  of  sheep-farming  in  the 
comments  of  the  writers  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
who  were  very  much  struck  by  it.  The  author  of 
the  '  Libelle  of  English  Polycye,'  writing  in  1436 
or  1437,  asks  regretfully — 

'  Where  bene  oure  shippes  ?  where  bene  our  swerdes 

become  ? 
Owre  enmyes  bid  for  the  shippe  sette  a  shepe.'  * 

Sir  John  Fortescue,  in  the  Comodytes  of  England 
(written  before  1451),  maintains  that  '  the  third 
Comodyte  of  this  land  ys  that  the  grounde  therof 
ys  soo  goode  and  comodyous  to  the  shepe,  that 
beren  soo  goode  woll  and  ys  soo  plentyous  thereof 
that  all  the  merchands  of  two  londs  may  not  by 
that  one  merchandyz.'3  England  had  always 
enjoyed  a  great  reputation  as  a  wool-producing 
country,  but  apparently  her  wool  improved  both 
in  quality  and  quantity  at  this  time.  The  English 
Herald  in  the  Debat  des  Herauts  (written  probably 
between  1458  and  1461)  boasts  that  England  has 
*  par  especial  de  bestes  a  laine,  comme  de  brebiz 
qui  portent  la  plus  fine  et  la  plus  singuliere  layne 
que  on  puisse  savoir  nulle  part.'4  The  testimony 
of  the  writer  of  the  Italian  Relation,  at  a  later  date, 

1  'Inquisitions  of  1517,'  I.  S.  Leadam  in  Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.t 
N.S.,  VI  (1892),  pp.  310-11.  2  Wright,  Political  Songs,  II,  159. 
1  Works  of  Sir.  J.  Fortescue,  I,  551.  4  Dtbat  des  Htrauts,  35, 
No.  96. 


AGRARIAN   CHANGES  2Q 

corroborates  the  statement  of  the  English  Herald. 
'  Above  all,'  he  says,  speaking  of  the  English,  '  they 
have  an  enormous  number  of  sheep,  which  yield  them 
quantities  of  wool  of  the  best  quality.'1  Many  allu- 
sions in  documents  of  various  kinds  confirm  the 
impression  produced  by  the  literature  of  the  time. 
We  learn  that  Sir  John  Howard  '  ad  at  Bray  and  in 
the  Kontery  a  bowete  morre  than  xjc  schepe'2; 
and  there  is  on  record  the  case  of  a  Dorset 
gentleman  who  owned  fourteen  thousand.3  Per- 
sons of  less  wealth  had  fewer  sheep,  but  even  they 
had  a  fair  number.  A  man  named  Richard  Dalby 
complained  to  the  Chancellor  that  four  hundred 
of  his  sheep  had  been  seized  by  a  '  man  of 
grete  myght,'  against  whom  no  law  could  be  exe- 
cuted4; two  other  petitioners  stated  that  two 
hundred  of  their  sheep  had  been  carried  off6;  and 
four  hundred  and  forty,  belonging  to  the  Abbey  of 
Walton,  were  taken  on  the  plea  of  non-payment  of 
a  pension.6  Another  Chancery  petition  illustrates 
the  stocking  of  the  tenant's  land  by  the  landlord, 
and  shows  the  market-value  of  sheep, — Dame 
Katherine  Chideok  held  certain  lands  and  tenements 
of  the  prior  of  Christchurch,  Twynham,  for  the 
'  terme  of  hyr  lyfe,'  and  two  hundred  '  wedyr  shepe 
for  the  instoryng  of  the  seid  londez  and  tenementez,' 
on  the  condition  that  they  should  be  returned  im- 
mediately after  her  death,  or  a  payment  of  twenty 
pence  for  each.7  That  sheep  were  very  profitable 
to  keep  is  evident.  Sales  of  wool  and  fells  figure 
largely  among  the  receipts  of  Metyngham  College,8 
and  even  a  great  man  like  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  did 

1  Italian  Relation,  IO.  a  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  555. 
8  Alton  and  Holland,  The  Kings  Customs,  48.  4  Early  Chanc. 
Proceedings,  27/359.  6  Ibid.,  27/421.  Date  of  Bundle  27,  38 
H.  F/to  5  Ed.  IV.  Date  of  Italian  Relation  about  1500.  6  Early 
Chanc.  Proceed.,  31/440.  "  Ibid.,  27/61 ;  for  date  see  above,  8  See 
Appendix,  C  \b, 


30  AGRARIAN   CHANGES 

not  think  it  beneath  his  dignity  to  make  money  out 
of  his  shearlings  and  hides.1  The  Court  Rolls  of 
the  fifteenth  century  indicate  the  increasing  number 
of  sheep-pastures.  The  tenants  of  Hawkesbury 
Court,  in  1466,  issued  orders  stinting  the  number 
of  sheep  that  might  be  kept  on  the  common  called 
'  Les  Mores.'2 

Thus  the  fifteenth  century  witnessed  the  be- 
ginning of  '  the  greatest  of  those  agricultural 
revolutions  which  have  in  successive  ages  swept 
over  this  Country  ' — the  transition  from  arable  to 
pasture  farming.3 

1  See  Appendix,  C  16.        2  Victoria  County  Hist.  Glos.t  II,  156. 
3  I.  S.  Leadam,  Trans.  Royal.  Hist  Soc.,  N.S.,  VI,  p.  169. 


CHAPTER    III 

COMMERCIAL   CHANGES 

THE  rise  of  English  foreign  trade,  and  the  conse- 
quent interest  in  national  shipping,  distinguishes 
the  fifteenth  from  any  previous  century.1  £  . 
The  Patent  Rolls  of  the  fourteenth  mentof 
century  give  safe-conducts  for  merchants  the  area  of 
and  their  servants  in  various  parts  of  * ra 
the  realm,2  but  the  records  of  the  fifteenth  show 
that  they  went  to  all  the  civilized  maritime  coun- 
tries of  Europe,  and  even  occasionally  beyond  the 
limits  of  this  continent.  The  earliest  triumphs 
were  won  by  the  merchants,  who  traded  with 
Holland,  Zealand,  Brabant,  and  Flanders.  So  many 
of  them  had  settled  in  these  parts  beyond  the  sea 
by  1406,  that  Henry  IV  granted  them  by  charter 
the  right  to  have  an  assembly,  to  choose  governors, 
to  administer  all  kinds  of  justice,  to  make  laws, 
and  to  punish  offenders3;  privileges  which  were 
confirmed  by  Henry  V  and  Henry  VI,4  and  in- 
creased by  Henry  VII.6  The  French  Rolls  contain 
many  grants  of  licences  to  various  persons  to  trade 
with  these  parts  and  the  surrounding  countries8; 
but  we  associate  this  branch  of  commerce  especially 

1  Giuseppi,  in  Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.,  N.S.,  Vol.  IX,  76. 
2  Law,  Ibid.,  57.  3  State  Papers,  Dom.,  ch.  ii,  Vol.  XXVII,  1-5. 
4  Ibid.,  5.  8  Ibid.,  6  and  seq.  *  Cal.  French  Rolls,  1422-4,  m.  12  ; 
1426-7,  ms.  17,  8;  1428-9,  m.  6;  1429-30,  ms.  9,  8;  1430-1, 
ms.  19,  10,  5  ;  1431-2,  ms.  15,  11,  7  ;  1432-3,  m.  17  ;  1433-4,  m.  IO; 
1435-6,  m.  3  ;  1436-7,  m.  7;  1437-8,  m.  4;  1438-9,  m.  3  ;  I439-4O,  ms. 
28,  26,  16,  13  ;  1440-1,  ms.  39,  37,  32,  27,  26,  22,  21,  18,  15,  8,  7,  6, 
4,  and  other  instances  in  other  years. 

3' 


32  COMMERCIAL  CHANGES 

with  the  traders  who  were  known  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  century  as  Merchant  Adventurers.  Their 
career  is  interesting  because  it  illustrates  some  of 
the  most  important  economic  changes  of  our 
period.  Unlike  the  Staple,  which  was  the  financial 
organ  of  the  Government,  they  were  free  and  inde- 
pendent,1 and  whereas  the  older  organization  had 
the  monopoly  of  the  export  of  wool,  they  dealt 
chiefly  in  cloth.2  Under  these  circumstances  it 
was  inevitable  that  a  struggle  should  be  waged 
between  the  two  bodies  of  merchants,  and  traces  of 
it  can  be  seen  in  the  petitions  of  the  Staplers  to  the 
King,  praying  for  the  maintenance  of  their  privi- 
leges,3 and  also  in  the  prohibition  of  the  payment  of 
fines  to  them.4  As  the  Cloth  Industry  developed 
the  Staplers  declined  in  wealth  and  power,  while 
the  Merchant  Adventurers  grew  stronger.6  They 
apparently  remodelled  their  somewhat  loose  form 
of  organization,6  and  by  1497  they  had  become  so 
exacting  that  other  merchants  declared  that  they 
were  kept  away  from  the  marts  in  Burgundy  by 
the  large  fines  demanded  by  the  Adventurers,  and 
Parliament  consequently  ordered  them  to  lower 
their  entrance  fee  to  ten  marks.7  They  were  typical 
of  their  age,  not  only  in  their  successful  opposition 
to  the  Staplers,  but  also  in  their  antagonism  to- 
wards alien  merchants :  the  company  was  entirely 
composed  of  Englishmen,  and  no  member  was  even 
allowed  to  marry  a  foreigner.8  Their  settlement  at 
Antwerp  in  1407,  gave  them  a  point  of  vantage  in 
the  Netherlands,  of  which  they  made  such  good  use 
that  by  the  end  of  the  century  they  dominated  the 

1  Schanz.,  op.  cif.,  I,  332.  a  Schanz,  I,  338. 

3  Rot.  Parl.t  IV,  250,  V,  149,  273. 

4  Ibid.,  V,  276.  6  Schanz,  I,  339. 

8  Ibid.t  339-40.     Lingelbach  in   Trans.  Royal  Hist.   Soe.,   N.S., 
XVI,  pp.  33-4. 

7  12  H.  VII,  c.  6.        8  Gross,  The  Gild  Merchant,  I,  148. 


COMMERCIAL  CHANGES  33 

cloth  trade  in  that  country.  The  author  of  the 
*  Libelle  '  declares  that  he  has  heard  it  said — 

'  And  yS  the  Englysshe  be  not  on  the  martis, 
They  bene  febelle,  and  as  noughte  bene  here  partes ; 
Ffor  they  bye  more,  and  fro  purse  put  owte, 
More  marchaundy  than  alle  othere  rowte.' l 

Even  more  significant  is  the  complaint  of  the  Flemish 
drapers,  which  was  embodied  in  a  proclamation 
in  1464,  that  the  English  every  day  sold  great 
quantities  of  cloth,  more  than  they  had  ever  sold 
before,  and  at  prices  lower  than  the  Flemings  could 
afford  to  take,  with  the  result  that  their  sales  were 
falling  off,  and  their  industry  greatly  diminished.2 
English  cloth  and  wool  were  in  consequence  ex- 
cluded from  Flanders  for  a  time,  but  the  English 
retaliated  by  forbidding  the  importation  of  any 
merchandise,  except  provisions,  from  the  lands 
belonging  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,3  and  the 
Flemings  soon  gave  way.  Negotiations  were  carried 
on  by  Henry  VII,4  and  culminated  in  the  Magnus 
Intercursus,  which  guaranteed  freedom  of  com- 
merce to  both  nations.6 

A  great  increase  of  English  commerce  with  the 
countries  round  the  shores  of  the  Baltic  also  took 
place  in  the  fifteenth  century.  The  Hanse  mer- 
chants were  very  powerful  during  the  early  part 
of  the  period,  but  the  English  had  already  obtained 
a  footing  in  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark,8  and 
Prussia,7  and  a  war  between  the  Norwegians  and  the 
Hansards  enabled  them  also  to  open  communica- 
tions with  the  Teutonic  knights  in  Prussia.8  In 
1449  Henry  VI  desired  the  favour  of  the  Master 
General  of  the  Order  for  the  factor  of  William 


34  COMMERCIAL  CHANGES 

Canynges,  of  Bristol ; 1  and  various  other  Bristol 
merchants  also  employed  agents  in  Prussia.2  Trade 
with  this  country  was  of  great  value  because  timber, 
which  was  needed  in  England,  could  be  obtained 
there.  The  French  Rolls  record  that  a  licence  was 
granted  to  a  merchant  of  York  to  sail  to  Prussia, 
with  four  ships,  in  quest  of  wood  for  spears  and 
bows,  because  there  was  such  a  scarcity  of  it  in 
England.3 

Trade  with  Iceland  was  very  lucrative  because 
stockfish,  which  could  be  caught  near  the  island, 
were  in  great  demand,4  but  the  kings  of  Norway 
forbade  the  English  to  go  there  without  special 
licence  from  them.5  The  marriage  of  Philippa, 
daughter  of  Henry  IV,  to  Eric  of  Norway  brought 
the  two  monarchs  into  friendly  relations,  and  the 
English  kings  required  their  subjects  to  have  a 
licence  from  them6  as  well,  but  in  spite  of  this  double 
set  of  restrictions  merchants  went  there  frequently. 
The  Icelandic  Annals  show  that  the  English 
visited  the  country  between  the  years  1412  and 
1430.  In  one  year  five  ships  came,  in  another  six, 
and  in  1419  as  many  as  twenty-five  were  wrecked 
round  the  coast.7  In  1430  the  Annals  end,  but  the 
French  Rolls  supplement  them,  and  prove  that 
the  trade  was  continued.8  It  is  not  likely,  how- 
ever, that  these  records  give  an  adequate  idea 
of  the  business  which  was  carried  on  during  these 
years,  because  there  was  so  much  smuggling.  The 
'  Libelle '  tells  us  that  the  men  of  Scarborough  and  of 

1    Syllabus  to   Rymer's  Fcedera,   II,   679.  z    Early   Chanc. 

Proceed.,  9/223.  *  Cal.  French  Rolls,  1435-6,  m.  3.  *  Schanz, 
op.  cit.t  I,  253.  8  Ibid.,  I,  252.  8  IHd.,  I,  254.  J  Laird 
Clowes,  Royal  Navy,  I,  396-7.  8  Cal.  French  Rolls,  1438-9, 

in.  li;  1439-40,  ms.  28,  26;  1441-2,  ms.  17,  7;  1442-3,  II  ; 
1443-4,  ms.  16,  13,  and  9;  1452-3,  m.  9;  1454-5,  by  merchants  of 
Kingston-on-Hull,  m.  14 ;  1455-6,  by  merchants  of  Newcastle,  m.  34 ; 
J457-8,  m.  21  ;  1459-60,  m.  2j. 


COMMERCIAL   CHANGES  35 

Bristol  went  to  '  Yseland,'1  and  the  French  Rolls 
mention  amongst  others  John  Taverner  of  Holder- 
ness,2  and  William  Canynges  of  Bristol,3  as  well  as 
various  unnamed  merchants  of  London,  Kingston  - 
on-Hull,  and  Newcastle.  For  some  time  the  English 
Government  encouraged  smuggling,  but  the  protests 
of  the  Norwegians  became  louder  and  louder,  and 
threatened  to  lead  to  open  war  ;  so  proclamations 
were  issued  in  1429  and  other  years  strictly  for- 
bidding it.4  In  1434  it  was  announced  that  in 
consequence  of  injuries  done  by  the  English  to  the 
subjects  of  the  King  of  Denmark,  Norway,  and 
Sweden,  especially  in  Iceland  and  Finmark,  a  staple 
had  been  established  at  Norbern.  The  King  of 
England  resolved  that  no  one  should  contravene 
this  ordinance  on  pain  of  forfeiture  of  goods  and 
imprisonment,5  and  Edward  IV  treated  offenders 
very  severely.6  Henry  VII  inaugurated  a  new  era, 
and  obtained  important  concessions  for  his  sub- 
jects, —  they  were  allowed  to  trade  direct  with 
Iceland  on  payment  of  toll,  to  possess  land  in 
Bergen  and  other  Scandinavian  towns,  and  to  govern 
themselves  in  their  settlements.7 

Even  more  striking  changes  took  place  in  the 
commerce  of  Southern  Europe,  which  was  almost 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  Italians  in  the  early  fifteenth 
century.  This  branch  of  commerce  was  very  im- 
portant, because  the  products  of  the  East  came 
through  Italy.  All  kinds  of  Italian  merchants  came 
to  England  —  Venetians,8  Florentines,9  Genoese,10 


1  Wright,  Polit.  Songs,  II,  191.  *  1439-40,  m.  3.  * 
m.  14.  4  and  8  Schanz,  I,  255.  6  Proceedings  of  the  Privy  Council, 
IV,  208-10.  7  Rymer,  Fadera,  XII,  381-7.  8  Ca/.  French  Rolls, 
1419,  m.  II  ;  1415,  m.  21  ;  1420,  m.  8  ;  1421,  II  ;  1422,  I  ;  1425-6,4  ; 
1432-3,  m.  II;  1435-6,  m.  21  ;  1439-4°,  ms.  30,  18  ;  I44l~2. 
m.  18.  •  1415,  m.  9  ;  1419,  m.  8  ;  1420,  m.  5  ;  1422-4,  m.  13  ;  1428-9, 
m.  I  ;  1442-3,  m.  15  ;  1446-7,  m.  6  ;  I455~6,  m.  9  ;  1470-1,  m.  4. 
10  1414,  13;  1435-6,  m.  9;  1446-7,  m.  8  ;  I444~5»  m-  IO  •  J4$l-2> 
16  »  H55-6,  ms.  21,  16  ;  1455-6,  m.  4  ;  1456-7,  m.  22  ;  1470-1,  m.  9. 


36  COMMERCIAL  CHANGES 

men  of  Milan,1  and  of  Lucca.2  The  '  Libelle,'  reflect- 
ing public  opinion  no  doubt,  complains  bitterly 
that  they  bring  '  thynges  of  complacence '  and 
'  trifles  that  litelle  have  availede,'3  and  '  bere  hens 
oure  best  chaffare,  Clothe,  wolle,  and  tynne.'4  The 
lists  of  goods  of  various  kinds  in  the  possession  of 
alien  merchants,  supplied  by  their  English  hosts,  in 
accordance  with  the  Statute,  shows  that  they 
brought  fine  cloths  of  silk  and  gold,  as  baudekyn, 
cloths  of  Damascus,  satin,  velvet,  tarterin,  gold  of 
Venice,  wines,  pepper,  cinnamon,  spices,  sugar- 
candy,  woad,  alum,  and  paper.  The  merchants  of 
Lucca  brought  armour  from  Milan.6  English  mer- 
chants, however,  soon  began  to  trade  with  the 
Mediterranean,  and  as  early  as  the  reign  of  Henry 
IV  they  petitioned  that  they  might  be  allowed 
freely  to  ship  staple  merchandise  and  other  goods 
*  en  les  parties  de  West,  passantz  les  estroites  de 
Marrok,  outre  les  Mounteynes.'6  The  blow  which 
Venice  suffered  by  the  loss  of  trade  with  Egypt 
(1442)*  assisted  the  development  of  the  English. 
In  1449  John  Taverner  of  Hull  received  a  licence 
to  export  goods  to  Italy,  through  the  '  straits  of 
Marrok,'8  and  Henry  VII  also  granted  many 
licences  to  merchants  to  carry  wool  beyond  the 
'straits  of  Marrok.'9  Robert  Sturmys  of  Bristol 
must  have  carried  on  a  considerable  trade  in  the 
Levant,10  for  the  Genoese  were  obliged  to  pay  him 
nine  thousand  marks  for  capturing  his  ships11 
(37  Henry  VI).  The  Venetians  greatly  resented 

1  1418,  m.  4 ;  1420,  m.  3  ;  1428-9,  m.  5  ;  I435"6.  m.  H  ;  1438-9. 
m.  i;  1440-1,  m.  38;  1441-2,  5;  1446-7,  m.  19;  1448-9,  m.  8. 
1  1414,  m.  20  ;  1418,  m.  5 ;  1450-1,  m.  9.  3  Wright,  II,  172. 

4  Ibid.,  174.  e  Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.  N.S.,  IX,  p.  88.  8  Rot. 
Parl.t  III,  662,  No.  xi.  7  Green,  op  cit.,  I,  114.  8  Syllabus, 

Rymer's  Fadera,  II,  680.  9  Campbell,  Materials  for  the  Reign  of 
Henry  VII,  Vol.  II,  339,  365,  432,  446,  449,  459,  468.  10  Fabyan 
quoted  in  Ricart's  /Calendar,  42.  "  Ricart,  pp.  41-2. 


COMMERCIAL  CHANGES  37 

the  growth  of  English  commerce.  When  they 
found  that  the  English  were  interfering  extensively 
with  their  commerce  in  the  Levant,  they  imposed 
heavy  duties  upon  English  shipments  from  Candia. 
The  English  retaliated  by  laying  '  a  duty  of  eighteen 
shillings  a  butt,  on  malmsey  brought  to  England 
in  alien  shipping,'  and  at  the  same  time  fixed  the 
selling  price  of  malmsey  at  a  rate  which  the  Venetian 
ambassador,  in  a  statement  to  the  Senate,  declared 
ruinous  to  Venetian  trade.1  The  Florentines,  on 
the  contrary,  welcomed  English  merchants,  and 
a  very  advantageous  treaty  was  signed  in  1490,  by 
which  the  English  agreed  that  the  bulk  of  their 
wool  should  be  shipped  to  Pisa,  the  port  of  Florence.2 
They  already  had  a  settlement  and  a  consul  of 
their  own3  at  Pisa,  and  Florence  gave  them  per- 
mission to  form  a  company  and  elect  their  own 
officers. 

The  commercial  relations  of  England  and  Portugal 
up  to  the  yea'r  1485  have  been  described  by  Miss 
Shillington  in  a  recent  work.  She  tells  us  that  by 
the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  there  was  an 
English  factory  in  Lisbon,  and  that  so  many  English- 
men lived  in  the  city  that  they  needed  a  chapel  of 
their  own.4  They  chose  their  own  proctor,  and 
a  charter  protected  them  from  extortionate  duty 
on  the  wine  they  exported.6  Indeed,  so  many 
privileges  were  granted  to  them  that  by  the  middle 
of  the  century  the  Portuguese  complained  that  the 
English  were  treated  better  than  themselves.*  The 
Portuguese  imported  various  commodities  into  Eng- 
land, especially  wine,  wax,  salt,  and  sugar7;  but 

1  Alton  and  Holland,  op.  cif.,  54. 

2  Rymer,  Fadera,  XII,  389-93.         8  Syllabus  of  Rymer's  Fadtra, 
II,   720.          4  Shillington,    Commercial  Rtlations  of  England  and 
Portugal,  65.         5  Ibid.         •  Ibid.,  69.         7  Ibid.,  108,  the  kinds 
of  wine  mentioned  are  bastard,  wine  of  Algarve,  and  osey  :  sugar  was 
brought  in  increasing  quantities  after  1466 ;  it  came  from  Madeira. 


38  COMMERCIAL  CHANGES 

the  English  had  the  larger  share  of  the  trade 
between  the  two  countries.  In  six  months  from 
November,  1465,  the  total  value  of  Portuguese 
merchandise  brought  to  Bristol  was  £4800,  and  of 
this  the  value  of  the  goods  imported  by  the  English 
amounted  to  more  than  £4700. l  Of  1062  pieces  of 
ungrained  cloth  which  left  Bristol  for  Lisbon, 
1042^  belonged  to  English  merchants,  and  only 
19!  to  Portuguese.2 

There  must  also  have  been  a  considerable  amount 
of  commercial  intercourse  between  England  and 
Spain.3  The  trade  seems  to  have  been  mainly  in 
the  hands  of  merchants  of  Bristol,4  London,5  and 
Southampton.6  Traders  also  came  to  England 
from  various  parts  of  Spain — from  Catalonia,7 
Aragon,8  Barcelona,9  Bilbao,10  Seville,11  St.  Sebas- 
tian,12 Saragossa,13  Biscay,14  Loredo,15  Navarre,16 
Deve,17  and  Guipuzcoa.18  The  Spaniards  and  the 
Portuguese  brought  iron,  kid  and  beaver  skins, 
red  wine  of  Biscay,  and  liquorice.19  In  1410  the 
sheriff  of  Kent  was  ordered  to  publish  the  articles 
of  a  commercial  treaty  with  Castile  concerning 
captured  goods.20  In  1416  negotiations  were  com- 
menced with  the  King  of  Aragon  to  arrange  the 

1  Ibid.,  $2.  a  Ibid.,io$.  3  Licences  were  granted  to  English 
merchants  to  trade  with  Spain,  Cal.  French  Rolls,  1422-4,  m.  8 ; 
1452-3,  ms.  15,  12;  1453-4,  m.  12;  1455-6,  m.  34;  I459~6o,  ms. 
27,  22,  21,  19. 

4  Cal.  French  Rolls,  1413,  m.  13  ;  1422-4.  m.  10 ;  1426-7,  m.  5  ; 
1427-8,  m.  9;  1431-2,  m.  3;  1434-5,  m.  6.  *  1414,  m.  26; 

1422-4,  8;  1432-4,  m.  5.  6  1424-5,  m.  10 ;  1428-9,  m.  3; 
1431-2,  m.  7  ;  1437-8,  m.  4.  7  Ibid.,  1413,  m.  4  ;  1419,  m.  10; 
1422-4,  m.  19;  1424-5,  m.  9;  1426-7,  m.  II.  *  1415,  m.  9; 
1427-8,  m.  7.  9  1419,  m.  9;  1424-5,  m.  10 ;  1431-2,  m.  5; 
1433-4,  m-  IS!  H36-7.  rn.  5.  10  Ibid.,  1424-5.  m-  3;  M25-6, 

m.  9;  1429-30,  m.  6;  1440-1,  m.  12;  1442-3,  m.  15.  "  1424-5, 
m.  6;  1425-6,  m.  5  ;  1440-1,  m.  7.  12  1429-30,  m.  6;  1431-2, 
m.  13.  **  1429-30,  m.  7.  u  1437-8,  m.  3.  18  1440-1,  m.  15. 
18  1456-7,  m.  17.  "  Ibid.,  1430-1,  m.  14.  18  Hardy,  Syllabus 
of  Rymer's  Fccdera,  II,  706.  l9  Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.  N.S.  IX., 
p.  89.  '-10  Hardy,  Syllabus  of  Rymer's  Fcedera,  II,  565. 


COMMERCIAL  CHANGES  39 

terms  of  commercial  intercourse  between  the  two 
countries.1  In  1482  a  mercantile  treaty,  to  last 
ten  years,  was  signed  with  the  little  province  of 
Guipuzcoa.2 

In  spite  of  the  Hundred  Years'  War  trade  be- 
tween England  and  France  was  wonderfully  active.3 
Wine  was  at  all  times  a  costly  beverage ;  in  1420 
a  bottle  of  Bordeaux  was  sold  in  London  for  eight 
pence,  and  a  bottle  of  white  wine  for  sixpence.4 
In  times  of  truce  English  merchants  went  freely  to 
Bordeaux  and  Bayonne,6  but  when  these  towns 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French  they  changed  their 
route,  and  took  their  wool  to  Rouen.6 

Commerce  with  Brittany  continued  throughout 
the  whole  century,  and  in  1486  Henry  VII  concluded 
a  treaty  of  mercantile  intercourse  with  its  duke.7 

Trade  was  also  carried  on  between  England  and 
Ireland.  The  chief  articles  imported  were  butter, 
salmon,8  and  hides,9  but  the  '  Libelle  '  also  includes 
among  the  commodities  of  Ireland  '  hake,  herynge, 
Irish  wollen,  lynyn  cloth,'  and  skins  of  '  otere, 
squerel,  shepe,  lambe,  and  fox.' 10  The  Act  of  1465, 
which  forbade  the  import  of  foreign  cloth  into 
England,  made  an  exception  in  favour  of  Ireland.11 
Bristol  and  Southampton  seem  to  have  played  the 
most  important  parts  in  this  branch  of  commerce, 
and  sometimes  merchants  exported  goods  from 


1  Ibid.,  II,  595.  2  Ibid.,  II,  713.  3  Michel,  Histoire  du 

Commerce  et  de  la  Navigation  a  Bordeaux,  I,  345.  *  Ibid.,  I, 
339.  B  Ibid.,  I,  340-3  and  Cal.  French  Rolls,  1425-6,  m.  6; 
1430-1,  m.  9,  m.  4,  and  m.  3;  I434~5>  «*»•  2?  1435-6,  m.  25 
1436-7,  m.  8;  1437-8,  m.  5;  1440-1,  15.  6  Michel,  I,  360. 
7  Hardy,  Syllabus  to  Rymer's  Fadera,  II,  720. 

8  Fifty  pipes  of  salmon  were  brought  from  Ireland  to  Bristol,  Cal. 
Patent  Rolls,  1441,  Part  II,  M.  24d.  8  Licence  for  W.  Payn  and 
W.  Soper,  of  Southampton,  to  take  wine  and  salt  t»  Ireland,  and 
to  bring  back  fresh  salmon,  hides,  and  other  merchandise.  Ibid.t 
1426,  Part  II,  m.  22.  10  Wright,  Polit.  Songs,  II,  186. 

11  4  Ed.  IV,  c.  i. 


40  COMMERCIAL  CHANGES 

Ireland  to  the  continent.  William  Canynges  of 
Bristol  states  in  a  petition  that  he  '  fretta  en  Ire- 
lande  60  lastes  de  quirs  en  petites  vesseulx  '  to  go 
to  Calais1;  and  another  Bristol  merchant  went  to 
Ireland  for  the  herring  fishery,  and  then  took  course 
to  Lisbon.2  That  the  intercourse  between  Ireland 
and  Bristol  was  intimate  is  seen  by  the  bitter  com- 
plaints by  Bristol  artisans  concerning  the  employ- 
ment of  Irish  workmen.3 

Great  attention  was  paid  to  fishing  in  the  fifteenth 
century ;  not  only  did  Englishmen  go  to  Iceland 
for  this  purpose,  as  we  have  seen,  and  to  Ireland, 
but  also  to  the  coast  of  Aberdeen.4  The  fisheries  of 
Norfolk  and  Suffolk  were  considered  so  important 
by  Henry  VII  that  a  commission  was  issued  to  Sir 
William  Vampage  to  impress  mariners  and  soldiers 
for  ships,  to  proceed  to  sea  for  their  defence.6  In 
1487,  Sir  John  Paston  was  amongst  those  who  were 
appointed  to  oversee  the  masters  of  the  wafters, 
which  protected  these  fisheries,  and  he  was  em- 
powered to  levy  contributions  from  the  fishermen 
for  the  expenses  of  the  wafters.6  A  special  clause 
in  the  Magnus  Intercursus  stipulated  that  fisher- 
men who  for  any  cause  took  shelter  in  the  ports  of 
Flanders  should  be  allowed  to  depart  freely.7 

Not  only  was  the  area  of  English  trade  much 
enlarged,  but  the  transactions  of  English  traders 
Increased  mcrease(l  in  magnitude.  Although  the 
magnitude  staple  as  a  whole  had  begun  to  decline, 
of  com-  individual  merchants  were  sometimes 
very  successful  in  trade.  On  one  occa- 
sion 2448  Cottiswold  fells,  belonging  to  Sir  William 
Stonor,  merchant  of  the  Staple,  were  shipped  to 

1  A. P.  299/14910.  2  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  45/41. 

9  Little  Red  Book  of  Bristol,  II,  128  and  163. 

*  Macpherson,  Annals  of  Commerce,  I,  611. 

•  Campbell,  Materials  for  the  Reign  of  Henry  VII,  II,  '03. 
9  Ibid.,  II,  193.  7  Rymer,  Fadera,  XII,  583. 


COMMERCIAL  CHANGES  4! 

Calais.1  In  May,  1476,  Stonor's  agent  acknowledged 
the  receipt  of  fifty-one  sarplers2  of  wool,  and  the 
cargo  must  have  been  worth  a  large  sum  of  money, 
as  in  August,  1475,  the  Celys  sold  eighteen  sarplers 
for  £611  75.  6d.3  Richard  Cely  also  did  good 
business  ; — in  1478  he  wrote  that  he  had  shipped  or 
would  ship  *xl  sarplerys  of  cottyswolde  woll  and 
x  packys  of  fell  or  more.'4  Some  of  the  Early 
Chancery  Proceedings  incidentally  give  information 
both  as  to  the  value  of  merchandise,  and  of  the  places 
to  which  it  was  sent.  We  learn  that  a  merchant 
of  Ipswich  delivered  to  his  factor  '  4  pakkes  of 
Wollon  cloth  vnto  the  valour  of  £200,  to  carie 
them  to  Spruce  '  (Prussia)  '  and  fro  thens  to  retoune 
with  merchaundise  of  the  seide  Countrey.'6  One 
petition  describes  an  agreement  between  Thomas 
Ward,  of  York,  and  merchants  of  Bordeaux,  by 
which  he  was  to  receive  fifty-six  tuns  and  one 
hogshead  of  wine  at  £4  a  tun,  amounting  to  £225. 6 
Some  other  merchants  of  Bristol  laded  a  ship  with 
Gascon  wine,  iron,  saffron,  lampreys,  and  armour, 
to  the  value  of  £439.'  A  complaint  was  made  in 
Parliament  that  the  Danes  had  taken  goods  to  the 
value  of  £25,000  from  English  merchants,  in  one 
year  (1432). 8  To  estimate  the  magnitude  of 
these  transactions  aright,  the  difference  between 
the  value  of  money  in  the  fifteenth  century  and  the 
present  day  must  be  taken  into  consideration. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  far  English 
commerce  was  carried  on  in  English  ships ;  the 
frequent  allusions  to  them  in  contem-  . 

porary  books  and  documents  lead  us  to   ' 
believe  that  they  were  employed  more  frequently 
than   in   the  previous   century.      It   is  true   that 

1  A.  C.,  Vol.  XLVI,  Letter  100.  a  lbid.%  171.  *  Cely  Papers, 
pp.  1-3.  4  Ibid.,  p.  8.  8  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  16/427.  a  Ibid., 
16/164.  7  Ibid.,  27/262.  8  Rot.  Par/.,  IV,  402-3. 


42  COMMERCIAL  CHANGES 

Richard  IPs  Navigation  Act1  nominally  inaugu- 
rated the  Mercantile  policy  as  regards  shipping, 
but  it  is  exceedingly  unlikely  that  its  rigorous  pro- 
hibition of  the  use  of  foreign  ships  by  English  mer- 
chants was  carried  out  at  the  time.  Another  Act 
of  the  same  reign  repeats  the  command  that  English 
merchants  must  use  English  ships  ;  but  it  adds  the 
significant  clause,  '  provided  that  English  ships 
take  reasonable  freight.'2  Petitions  in  the  next 
year,3  and  in  1399,*  that  the  Act  might  be  observed, 
suggest  that  the  legislation  on  the  subject  was  in- 
effectual. The  reason  seems  to  have  been  that  it 
was  a  little  premature,  and  that  there  were  not 
enough  English  ships  to  meet  the  increasing  de- 
mands of  English  traders.  Some  information  as  to 
the  condition  of  shipping  may  be  gained  from  a 
study  of  the  navy  accounts,  because  any  vessel  could 
be  commandeered  for  the  King's  service,  and  war- 
rants were  issued,  from  time  to  time,  for  the  arrest 
of  ships. 5  Indeed,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  small 
number  of  ships  which  belonged  to  the  King,  all 
vessels  used  in  war  in  those  days  had  been  built 
for  merchantmen,  and  were  used  as  merchantmen 
in  times  of  peace  ;  hence  the  connection  between 
the  navy  and  the  commercial  prosperity  of  the 
country  was  very  intimate.6  Henry  V  built  several 
'  grete  shippes,' 7  and  their  character  shows  that 
they  were  provided  for  sea-going  purposes,  and  not 
merely  for  transport  or  the  escort  of  ships,  which 
had  been  the  object  of  previous  kings.8  Some  of 
them  were  hired  by  merchants  when  they  were  not 
needed  for  warfare,9  but  the  majority  fell  into  decay 
during  the  reign  of  Henry  VI,  and  for  a  short  time 

1  5  Kic.  II,  st.  I,  c.  3.         2  Rat.  Par!.,  Ill,  278.         3  Ibid.,  296. 
4  Ibid.,   444.  «  Rymer's  Fadera,   IX,   218,   XI,   21,  XII,   160. 

8  Laird  Clowes,  I,  348.  7  Wright,  Polit.  Songs,  II,  190 ;  8  Oppen- 
heim,  Admin,  of  the  Royal  Navy,  I,  n-12.  9  Excntq.  Account 's, 
Army,  44/24. 


COMMERCIAL  CHANGES  43 

ships  for  the  navy  were  furnished  by  contractors.1 
But  even  if  the  Government  neglected  the  up-keep 
of  the  navy,  there  are  very  clear  indications  that 
the  people  were  keenly  alive  to  its  value  and  to  that 
of  the  merchant  service. 

'The  trewe  processe  of  Englysh  polycye,'  says 
the  'Libelle,' 

'  Is  thys,  that  who  seith  southe,  northe,  est  and  west 
Cheryshe  marchandyse,  kepe  thamyralte, 
That  we  bee  maysteres  of  the  narowe  see.' 2 

In  the  Debat  des  Herauts,  the  French  Herald  admits 
'  la  grant  puissance  '3  of  '  le  gros  navire  d'Angle- 
terre,'  *  so  we  may  at  least  conclude  that  England 
possessed  more  vessels  than  France,  at  the  time 
when  this  little  dialogue  was  written.  One  or  two 
other  circumstances  also  lead  us  to  think  that  the 
number  of  English  ships  increased  in  the  course  of 
the  century.  Pilgrimages  were  exceedingly  popular, 
especially  to  St.  James  of  Galicia,  and  in  the  majority 
of  cases  the  pilgrims  were  transported  by  English- 
men in  English  ships.  Our  information  on  the 
subject  is  obtained  from  the  licences  granted  to 
the  masters  of  the  ships,  and  in  many  cases  the 
name  of  the  port  to  which  the  vessel  belonged  is 
stated.  Some  of  the  ships  were  allowed  to  carry  as 
many  as  one  hundred  and  twenty  pilgrims  ;6  and  in 
one  instance  licences  were  granted  to  sixteen  per- 
sons owning  vessels  belonging  to  fifteen  different 
ports.6  Mention  is  made  of  the  Trinity  of  Shore- 
ham,7  the  George  of  Poole,8  the  Katherine  of  Pen- 
zance,9  the  George  of  London,10  the  Trinity  of  Hull,10 
the  Mary  of  Plymouth,11  the  Trinity  of  Bideford,12 

1  Oppenheim,  op.  at.,  I,  24.  *  Wright,  Polit.  Songs,  II,  157-8. 
*  Dibat,  p.  25,  No.  65.  4  Ibid.,  p.  29,  No.  75.  •  Ca/.  Frtnch  Rolls, 
1427-8,  m.  14.  8  Ibid.,  m.  13.  7  Ibid.,  1422-4,  m.  15,  May  18. 
8  Ibid.,  1422-4,  m.  14.  9  Ibid.,  1424-5,  m.  5.  10  Ibid.,  1427-8, 
April  20.  n  Ibid.,  Feb.  3.  12  1433-4,  m.  14. 


44  COMMERCIAL  CHANGES 

the  Trinity  of  Bristol,1  and  many  others.  The  Earl 
of  Oxford  applied  to  Henry  VI  for  a  licence  to  carry 
pilgrims  to  Compostella,  in  a  ship  called  the  Jesus 
of  Orwelle,  of  which  he  was  owner.2  A  very  old 
sea  song,  probably  of  the  time  of  Henry  VI,  gives 
a  quaint  account  of  the  troubles  of  those  '  that 
saylen  to  seynt  Jamys.'3  We  also  find  allusions  to 
a  good  many  English  ships  in  the  complaints  re- 
garding piracy  and  similar  misdemeanours  sent 
to  the  Court  of  Chancery.  Accusations  are  made 
against  ships  of  *  Rye,  Wynchelsee,  and  Hastynges  '4 
— the  Little  John  of  Sandwich  was  another  offender.6 
The  Edward  of  Fowey,  of  which  Sir  Hugh  Courtenay 
was  part  owner,6  is  said  to  have  seized  a  carrack 
of  Genoa.7  The  Katherine  of  Humflete  was  taken 
by  'certein  men  of  werre  of  two  englissh  Shippes'8; 
Philip  Mede,  of  Bristol,  petitioned  against  the 
Palmer  and  the  Julian  of  Fowey9;  and  many 
similar  cases  might  be  quoted.  It  appears  that 
not  only  did  English  ships  increase  in  number,  but 
that  they  were  of  a  larger  size  and  greater  value. 
John  Taverner,  of  Holderness,  possessed  a  ship, 
La  Grace  de  Dieu,  which  was  so  large  that  when  it 
traded  with  Iceland  it  could  not  be  taken  into  port, 
but  was  laden  and  unladen  in  the  open  sea.10  This 
ship  was  exempted  from  the  payment  of  harbour 
dues  at  Calais  for  the  same  reason.11  Another 
merchant,  John  Shipward,  prayed  for  permission 
to  ship  goods  in  a  vessel  of  three  hundred  tons.12 

1  Ibid.,   m.    13.  2  Ellis'   Orig.   Letters,  2nd  series,   p.   no. 

'  Naval  Songs  and  Ballads,  edited  by  Firth,  p.  4.  *  Early  Chanc. 
Proceed.,  6/130.  e  Ibid.,  9/414.  6  Ibid.,  13/16.  7  Ibid., 

11/204.  8  Ibid.,  17/161.  Many  references  to  English  ships  could 
be  given  from  petitions  dealing  with  other  subjects.  9  Ibid.,  22/14. 
10  CaZ.  French  Rolls,  1439-40,  m.  3.  "  Ibid.,  1444-5,  m-  9-  A 
ship  of  the  same  name  and  from  the  same  port,  but  attributed  to 
other  owners,  was  discharged  from  the  King  s  service,  in  1443,  be- 
cause '  he  draweth  so  depe '  (Prot.  Privy  Council,  v,  282).  ia  Ibid., 
vi,  254-5. 


COMMERCIAL  CHANGES  45 

The  Giles  of  Hull  was  a  ship  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  tons.1  The  Margaret  Cely  cost  £28, 2  and  her 
tonnage  was  about  two  hundred  tons.3  The  mer- 
chantmen, used  for  the  transport  of  soldiers  to 
Aquitaine,  in  1451,  included  fifty  ships  of  a  hundred 
tons  and  upwards.4  Henry  VII  granted  bounties 
to  persons  who  built  large  ships,  and  amongst  the 
earliest  recipients  were  three  men  of  Bristol 
who  owned  a  ship  of  four  hundred  tons.6 
Another  sign  of  increase  of  English  shipping  may  be 
seen  in  the  formation  of  a  Fraternity  of  Mariners6 
at  Bristol,  which  was  one  of  the  towns  which  pro- 
fited most  by  the  growth  of  commerce.  To  the 
increasing  demand  for  English  ships  may  perhaps 
be  ascribed  the  development  of  the  industry  of 
shipbuilding,  which  has  already  been  discussed.7 
An  example  of  the  results  of  this  development 
may  be  seen  in  the  Kervelle,  which  was  built  for 
Sir  John  Howard.8  Edward  IV  encouraged  trade, 
and  devoted  steady  attention  to  the  recovery  and 
maintenance  of  the  dominion  of  the  sea.9  Richard 
IPs  Navigation  Act  was  repeated  during  his  reign.10 
England  was  beginning  to  struggle  for  a  share  of 
the  carrying  trade;  one  of  the  complaints  raised 
against  the  Hansards  was  that  they  brought  goods 
which  were  not  their  own  products.11  Henry  VII 
forbade  the  importation  of  wine  and  woad  from 
Gascony  in  any  but  British  ships,12  and  from  the 
discontent  which  his  legislation  aroused  amongst 
foreign  merchants  we  may  infer  that  it  was  a 
success.13 

One  of  the  results  of  the  growth  of  the  mercantile 

1  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  27/8.        a  Cely  Papers,  176.        *  Ibid., 
Introd.,  37-8.  *  Oppenheim,  op.  at.,  I,  20.  8  Ibid.,  I  37-8. 

8  Little  Ked  Book  of  Bristol,  II,  186.  7  p.  7.  8  Howard  House- 
hold Book,  I,  197.  •  Laird  Clowes,  I,  349.  10  Rot.  Par/.  V,  504. 
11  Schanz,  I,  185,  and  II,  425.  1S  i  H.  VII,  c.  8.  ls  Giuseppi, 
Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.t  N.S.,  IX,  77. 


46  COMMERCIAL  CHANGES 

classes  in  England  was  the  severe  treatment  accorded 
Treatment  *o  alien  merchants.  The  native  mer- 
of  alien  chants  had  always  been  jealous  of  foreign- 
merchants.  ers>  but  hitherto  their  ill-feeling  had  been 
held  in  check  by  the  Crown.  Edward  III,  in  par- 
ticular, favoured  alien  merchants.1  The  kings  of 
the  fifteenth  century  were,  like  Henry  VI,  too  weak 
to  enforce  their  will,  or  they  thought,  like  Henry 
VII,  that  it  was  more  to  their  interest  to  support 
their  own  subjects.  Consequently  existing  Acts 
against  aliens  were  supplemented  by  more  rigorous 
restrictions  of  their  trade.  They  were  not  allowed 
to  sell  merchandise  to  each  other,  and  they  were 
forced  to  lodge  with  '  certain  people  called  hosts,' 
who  must  be  privy  to  all  their  sales  and  contracts, 
and  who  must  send  an  account  of  all  business  done 
by  them  to  the  Exchequer.2  This  statute  was  in 
force  for  six  years,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  it 
was  renewed  after  that  time.3  A  special  tax  was, 
for  the  first  time,  imposed  upon  aliens  resident  in 
the  country  in  1439 — householders  paid  sixteen 
pence  a  year,  and  those  who  were  not  householders 
sixpence.4  In  1449  a  subsidy  of  six  shillings  and 
eight  pence  was  levied  upon  alien  merchants,  and 
twenty  pence  upon  their  clerks  or  factors ;  and  all 
who  stayed  more  than  forty  days  were  liable  for 
the  tax.6  In  1453  the  rate  on  alien  householders 
was  increased  to  forty  shillings,  and  that  on  clerks 
to  twenty  shillings.6  This  taxation  must  have  been 
mainly  due  to  a  desire  to  injure  aliens,  and  to  pre- 
vent them  staying  in  the  country,  as  there  were 
not  enough  of  them  to  make  it  a  satisfactory  source 
of  income.  The  subsidy  rolls  show  that  there  were 

1  He  permitted  '  Gascoignes  et  touz  autres  aliens  .  .  .  venir  en  dit 
roialme  (England)  ove  lour  vins,  &  franchement  vendre'  (Rot.  Par/. 
II,  287).  2  18  H.  VIt  c.  4.  3  Giuseppi  in  Trans,  Royal  Hist. 

Soc.t  N.S.,  IX,  p.  90.        *  Ibid.,  91.        *  Ibid.,  p.  92.        6  Ibid. 


COMMERCIAL  CHANGES  47 

on  an  average  forty  to  sixty  alien  merchants  in 
London,  and  about  twice  that  number  of  clerks, 
and  five  to  ten  merchants  in  Sandwich  and  South- 
ampton, and  a  corresponding  number  of  clerks.1 
The  majority  of  these  merchants  were  Italians,  as 
it  was  against  them  that  most  enmity  was  felt,  and 
a  special  Act  was  directed  against  them  in  the  reign 
of  Richard  III.2  Not  only  were  alien  merchants 
thus  subjected  to  heavy  taxation,  and  hindered 
by  stringent  regulations,  but  they  were  also  often 
annoyed  by  petty  insults,3  and  were  sometimes  the 
victims  of  outrage.  A  merchant  of  Genoa  com- 
plained to  the  Chancellor  that  his  woad  had  been 
seized  by  the  sheriffs  of  London  without  any  cause4; 
and  many  appeals  were  made  to  him  against  false 
action  of  trespass,5  and  wrongful  imprisonment.8 
Frequently  petitioners  declared  that  juries  had 
been  unfair  to  them.  Francis  Dore,  merchant  of 
Genoa,  stated  that  the  jurors  said  they  would 
credit  no  Lombard.7  The  Hansards,  we  know,  in 
1499  refused  to  submit  the  matter  in  dispute  be- 
tween them  and  the  English  to  English  judges, 
because  '  there  might  be  great  parcialitie  in  the 
said  judges  and  favour  in  the  examinacion  of  wit- 
nesses, and  also  the  parties  might  instruct  and 
corrupt  the  saide  witnesses.'8  Sometimes  assaults 
were  made  upon  aliens,9  and  occasionally  riots 
broke  out  against  them.10  It  may  perhaps  be  urged 
as  some  slight  excuse  for  this  bad  behaviour  that 
it  was  retaliation  for  similar  treatment  meted  out 


1  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Hubert  Hall  for  this  piece  of  information. 
*  i  Ric.  Ill,  c.  9.  *  'der  Londoner  Mayor  keine  Gelegenheit 

voriibergehen  die  Hansen  zu  schadigen'  (Schanz,  I,  186).  *  Early 
Chant.  Proceed.,  109/55.  *  Ibid.,  110/36  and  19/22.  8  Ibid.,  24/252. 
1  Ibid.,  32/439.  Similar  cases  in  64/995  and  66/374.  •  Schanz, 
II,  422,  quoting  MS.  of  Lord  Calthorpe,  X,  206.  9  Early  Chanc. 
Proceed.,  67/194.  10  Ibid.,  27/273,  and  Giuseppi  in  Trans.  Royal 
Hist.  Soc. ,  N.  S. ,  IX,  p.  80,  attack  on  the  steelyard  in  London. 


48  COMMERCIAL   CHANGES 

to  Englishmen  in  many  foreign  countries.  '  What 
reason  is  it,'  asks  the  '  Libelle,'  '  that  wee  schulde 
go  to  oste  ? ' 

'  In  there  cuntrees,  and  in  this  Englisshe  coste 
They  schulde  not  so,  but  have  more  liberte 
Than  wee  oure  selfe  ? l 

The  same  authority  tells  us  that  Englishmen 
were  forced  in  Brabant  to  discharge  their  '  mar- 
chaundy '  in  fourteen  days,  and  to  charge  again  in 
fourteen  days. 

'  And  yf  they  byde  lenger  alle  is  berefte, 
Anone  they  schulde  forfet  here  godes  alle."2 

In  1440  Henry  VI  was  obliged  to  request  the 
Master  General  of  the  Teutonic  Order  to  prevent 
the  continued  ill-treatment  of  the  English  at  Danzig, 
and  at  the  time  the  King  desired  from  Lubeck  and 
other  Hanse  towns  redress  for  English  merchants 
who  had  been  imprisoned  and  plundered.8  M. 
Michel  has  given  an  account  of  the  inconveniences 
which  the  English  suffered  in  Bordeaux,  after  it 
was  taken  by  the  French  :  they  were  only  allowed 
to  walk  about  in  the  town  from  seven  in  the  morning 
till  five  at  night,  and  even  then  they  were  ordered 
to  carry  a  red  cross  attached  to  their  clothes,  so 
that  everybody  might  know  them  ;  and  they  were 
forbidden  to  go  into  the  country  at  all  without  the 
permission  of  the  mayor,  who  sent  an  archer  with 
them,  at  their  expense.4 

Even  in  Portugal,  although  they  enjoyed  the 
favour  of  the  Crown,6  and  were  not  objects  of 
hostility  to  the  people,6  English  merchants  were 

1  Wright,  Polit.  Songs,  II,  178.  3  Wright,  Polit.  Songs,   II, 

179.  *  Hardy,  Syllabus  of  Rymer's  Fadera,  II,  667.  *  Michel, 
op.  cit.y  I,  380.  6  Shillington,  Commercial  Relations  of  England 
and  Portugal,  p.  69.  '  Ibid, ,  70. 


COMMERCIAL   CHANGES  49 

often  very  badly  treated.  The  Customs  officials 
forced  them  to  pay  extra  duties,1  and  they  sub- 
jected them  to  many  annoyances  in  connection 
with  the  '  dizima,'  or  tithe  on  cloth,  a  duty  which 
was  levied  in  kind.  They  carried  off  the  clothes 
and  bedding  of  the  unfortunate  merchants,  on  the 
pretext  that  cloth  might  be  concealed  in  them,2 
and  when  this  was  stopped,  they  handled  the  cloths 
so  carelessly  that  many  of  them  were  spoilt,  and 
the  owners  were  treated  very  rudely  if  they  tried 
to  look  after  their  goods  themselves.3  In  addition 
to  these  grievances  the  English  found  great  diffi- 
culty in  obtaining  payment  for  their  cloths,4  and 
vexatious  lawsuits  were  frequently  brought  against 
them.6  Worst  of  all,  they  were  not  allowed  to 
carry  arms,  and  so  were  in  continual  danger  of 
robbery  and  violence.6 

All  these  restrictions  and  aggressions— except 
those  in  France,  which  were  probably  mainly  due 
to  political  causes — are  signs  of  the  importance 
which  was  attached  to  trade  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  of  the  determination  of  each  nation  to  drive 
away  commercial  rivals.  The  existence  of  a  poem 
like  the  '  Libelle  of  Englysshe  Polycye  '  is  a  proof 
that  the  nation  was  keenly  interested  in  commerce, 
and  fully  aware  of  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from 
it.  It  is  written  in  the  vernacular,  it  is  illustrated 
by  allusions  which  the  people  could  understand, 
and  it  takes  into  consideration  their  views  and  their 
needs.  It  not  only  paints  a  graphic  and  accurate 
picture  of  the  commercial  life  of  the  time,  but  gives 
very  sound  advice  as  to  the  best  way  to  encourage 
and  maintain  trade.  The  necessity  for  the  '  kepinge 
of  the  see,'  upon  which  it  insists  so  strongly,  is  still 
one  of  the  most  fundamental  principles  of  our 

1  Shillington,  op.  cit.t  112.      a  Ibid.,  114.         *  Ibid,,  115. 
*  Ibid.,  122.  8  Ibid.,  120,        6  Ibid.,  125. 


50  COMMERCIAL  CHANGES 

national  policy.  A  later  poem  '  On  England's 
Commercial  Policy,'1  though  not  nearly  as  clever 
as  the  '  Libelle,'  is  another  example  of  the  same 
appreciation  of  the  importance  of  industry  and 
trade.  Equally  significant  is  the  careful  attention 
paid  by  diplomats  to  commercial  affairs.  Some 
mercantile  treaties  have  already  been  mentioned, 
but  they  are  only  a  very  few  out  of  a  very  large 
number.  M.  Varenbergh  has  traced  the  diplomatic 
relations  between  England  and  Flanders  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  and  the  impression  gained  from  his 
book  is  that  the  two  nations  never  left  off  nego- 
tiating during  the  whole  course  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  A  practical  proof  of  the  importance  of 
commerce  may  be  seen  in  the  prosperity  of  those 
seaports  which  had  the  largest  share  of  trade. 
Bristol  was  very  flourishing  :  it  traded  with  Ireland, 
Denmark,  the  Baltic,  Iceland,  with  France,  Spain 
and  Portugal,  and  with  the  Levant2;  and  it  was 
rich  enough  to  give  Edward  IV  three  thousand 
marks  on  one  occasion.3  Sandwich  appears  to 
have  been  very  prosperous,4  although  the  other 
members  of  the  Cinque  Ports  had  fallen  into  poverty. 
Plymouth  and  Chester  are  mentioned  as  rising 
ports,5  and  London  did  so  much  trade  that  it  was 
necessary  to  increase  its  staff  of  controllers  of  the 
Customs.6  Southampton  was  the  chief  port  on  the 
south  coast,  and  the  great  emporium  for  imported 
wines  and  miscellaneous  goods7;  its  returns  to 
the  Customs  were  considerable,  often  second  only 
to  London,8  and  its  importance  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  its  jurisdiction  extended  from  Portsmouth 


1  Wright,  Polit.  Songs,  II,  282-7.     a  Hunt,  Bristol,  94. 
3  Ibid.,  99.  *  Alton  and  Holland,  46. 

6  Ibid.  6  Ibid.  7  Hall,  Custom  Revenue,  II,  31. 

8  For  example,  in  1483-4,  Mich.  1-2  R.  Ill,  and  1484-5,  Mich. 
2-22,  Aug.  3  R.  Ill,  Ramsay,  Lane,  and  York,  II,  p.  559. 


COMMERCIAL  CHANGES  51 

to  Weymouth,  and  included  the  Isle  of  Wight.1 
These  circumstances  and  the  complaints  of  those 
towns  which  did  not  share  largely  in  the  benefits 
of  trade  alike  show  that  commerce  and  industry 
were  important  sources  of  wealth  in  the  fifteenth 
century. 

1  Hall,  II,  32. 


CHAPTER    IV 

FINANCIAL  CHANGES 

THE  changes  which  had  taken  place  in  other  phases 
of  economic  life  caused  changes  in  finance  also. 
Employ-  To  meet  the  new  needs  of  an  age  of  ex- 
mentof  pansion  it  was  necessary  to  render  the 
capital.  financial  system  more  flexible,  and  to 
employ  methods  which  had  not  been  used  by 
previous  generations.  In  the  early  Middle  Ages 
industry  and  agriculture  had  been  carried  on  with- 
out the  intervention  of  capital,  as  we  now  under- 
stand the  term.1  In  the  fifteenth  century  it  is 
clear  that  the  use  of  money  was  general.2  The  horror 
caused  by  the  attempts  of  the  cloth-makers  to 
force  their  workmen  to  take  part  of  their  wages  in 
pins,  girdles,  and  other  wares  proves  how  entirely 
the  old  order  of  things  had  passed  away ;  a  sympa- 
thetic writer  bewailed  the  woes  of  '  the  pore  Pepylle.' 
'  Lytyll  thei  take  for  theyre  labur,'  he  said,  '  yet 
halff  ys  merchaundyse  '3;  but  this  '  hewsaunce  '* 
did  not  last  long,  as  it  was  forbidden  both  by 
national  legislation5  and  by  Gild  ordinances.6  In- 
stead of  hoarding  money  or  using  it  entirely  for 
military  and  other  unproductive  purposes,7  men 

1  Cunningham,  'Economic  Changes'  in  Cam.  Mod.  Hist.,  I,  497. 
2  Cunningham,  Growth  of  English  Industry  and  Commerce,  I,  459. 
1  Wright,  Polit.  Songs  ('On  England's  Commercial  Policy'),  II,  285. 
4  Custom  or  usance.  s  Rot.  far/.,  V,  502,  and  4  Ed.  IV,  c.  I ; 
but  it  was  quite  allowable  to  give  workmen  food  instead  of  part  of 
their  wages,  n  H.  VII,  c.  22.  6  'Ordinances  of  Worcester'  in 
Eng.  Gilds,  383.  7  Cam.  Mod.  Hist.,  I,  498-9. 


FINANCIAL  CHANGES  53 

began  to  invest  it  in  commercial  and  industrial 
enterprises.  The  effects  of  the  employment  of 
capital  in  the  cloth  industry  have  already  been 
discussed,  and  enclosures,  whether  for  the  improve- 
ment of  tillage  or  for  sheep-farming,  were  usually 
the  work  of  Capitalists,  as  they  entailed  con- 
siderable initial  expense.  Capital  was  no  less 
necessary  in  commerce  when  it  was  prosecuted  on 
a  large  scale,  by  men  like  Sturmys  of  Bristol  (who 
took  a  hundred  and  sixty  pilgrims  to  Palestine  in 
his  own  ship),1  or  William  Canynges,  who  is  said 
by  William  of  Wyrcestre  to  have  possessed  no 
less  than  ten  ships  at  the  time  of  Edward  IV's  visit 
to  Bristol.2  The  payment  of  customs  and  subsidies 
alone  must  have  obliged  merchants  to  keep  a  large 
supply  of  ready  money.  On  one  occasion  they 
cost  George  Cely  £110  55.  8d.,3  and  this  was  not  an 
exceptional  occurrence.  Further  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  the  capitalist  trader  may  be  seen  in  the 
complaints  of  monopoly  by  both  aliens  and  English- 
men. '  Ther  ys  but  lytyll  Cotteswolld  woll  at 
Callez  and  y  understond  Lombardys  has  bowght 
ytt  up  yn  Ynglond,'  wrote  George  Cely  to  his 
father.4  The  most  novel  form  of  monopoly  was 
that  practised  by  a  small  body  of  English  capitalists  : 
they  secured  the  control  of  the  means  of  transport 
to  and  from  the  Continent,  and  then  trebled  the 
charges  for  traders  and  their  pack-horses,  and  made 
the  room  do  duty  for  twice  the  usual  number  of 
passengers  and  animals.6 

1  Fox  Bourne,  Eng.  Merchants,  I,  68.  2  Quoted  by  Pryce, 

Memorials  of  the  Canynges1  Family,  127  ;  even  allowing  for  exaggera- 
tion, Canynges  must  have  done  a  large  trade.  3  A.C.y  Vol.  53,  No. 
125.  Other  instances,  Ibid.,  58,  and  Cely  Papers,  pp.  36  and  44. 
4  Cely  Papers,  p.  48 ;  and  this  was  in  spite  of  the  prohibition  of  buying 
wool  before  the  sheep  were  shorn,  by  the  Act  of  4  Ed.  IV,  c.  4,  which 
was  repeated,  with  special  reference  to  aliens,  4  ff.  VHt  c.  II. 
8  H.  Hall,  Custom  Revenue,  I,  99. 


54  FINANCIAL  CHANGES 

The  demands  of  merchants  and  manufacturers 
for  capital  rendered  the  maintenance  of  an  adequate 
Regula-  supply  of  money  in  the  country  exceed- 
tionsofthe  ingly  important,  and  great  care  was  be- 
currency.  stowed  upon  the  regulation  of  the  cur- 
rency. Kings  who  wished  to  be  popular  turned 
their  attention  to  this  matter.  One  of  the  earliest 
acts  of  Henry  IV  was  to  abolish  the  ordinance  of 
his  predecessor  respecting  bullion,1  and  Henry  V's 
first  Parliament  busied  itself  about  the  same  sub- 
ject2; and  even  during  the  brief  restoration  of 
Henry  VI,  in  1470,  an  indenture  was  made  with 
Sir  Richard  Tonstall  by  which  the  weight  of  the 
coinage  was  altered.3  The  office  of  Master  of  the 
Mint  was  frequently  bestowed  upon  prominent 
public  men ;  Lord  Hastings  held  it  for  some  years, 
in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV4,  and  Giles,  Lord  Daw- 
beney,  from  1485  to  1490. 6  The  severe  treatment 
of  those  who  tampered  with  coins  is  another  sign 
of  the  value  placed  upon  money  ;  clipping,  wash- 
ing, and  filing  coins  was  made  treason  in  1415, 6  and 
justices  of  Assize  were  empowered  to  deal  with  these 
offences  ;  and  counterfeiting  foreign  coins  of  gold 
or  silver  current  in  the  realm  was  also  declared 
treason  by  Henry  VII.7  The  underlying  reason  for 
all  these  enactments  was  the  scarcity  of  the  precious 
metals,  and  various  attempts  were  made  to  remedy 
the  evil.  Edward  IV  reduced  the  weight  of  gold 
coins ;  in  1464  fifty  nobles  were  coined  from  a 
pound  of  bullion,  each  of  which  was  valued  at 
8s.  4d.,  whereas  previously  a  noble  had  been  reck- 
oned as  6s.  8d.8  In  1465,  45  coins  were  made 
from  a  pound  weight  of  standard  gold  ;  these  new 
nobles  were  called  rials,  and  were  worth  IDS.  each.9 

1  R\.\dmg,4iina!softAtCotNafe,  1,249.  2  Ibid.,  256.  3  Ibid., 
279.  *  Ibid.,  33.  •  Ibid.,  34.  6  Ibid.,  258.  7  Ibid.,  294, 
and  4  H.  VII,  c.  18.  8  Ruding,  I,  282.  9  Ibid.,  283. 


FINANCIAL   CHANGES  55 

Nor  was  the  regulation  of  the  coinage  of  silver  con- 
sidered less  worthy  of  attention,  and  Henry  IV 
introduced  considerable  changes  in  its  value. 
'  Since  the  year  1351,  300  pennies  had  been  struck 
from  the  tfe.  Tower  of  silver,  and  45  nobles,  of  6s  8d 
each,  from  the  Ifc.  Tower  of  gold.'  In  1411  it  was 
ordered  that  360  pennies  were  to  be  struck  from 
the  Ifc.  of  silver,  and  fifty  nobles  from  the  ftj.  of  gold. 
The  penny,  which  before  contained  ig\  grains  of 
silver,  would  now  contain  only  15  grains.1  The 
effects  of  the  depreciation  of  the  coinage  must 
sometimes  have  been  very  inconvenient.  One  of 
the  Early  Chancery  Proceedings  affords  an  instance 
of  what  might  easily  happen  :  John  Ferrour  bor- 
rowed £20  of  Thomas  Smyth  when  the  noble  went 
for  20  '  grotes,'  but  demanded  £25  when  he  was 
repaid  because  the  coinage  had  depreciated.2 
One  of  the  most  important  expedients  adopted 
to  prevent  the  supply  of  money  in  the  country 
running  short  was  the  prohibition  of  the  export 
of  '  any  gold  or  silver  in  money,  bullion,  plate 
or  vessel  by  merchants  and  others.'3  This  veto 
would  have  been  the  death-blow  of  foreign 
trade  had  not  the  same  Act  provided  a  way  of 
escape  for  merchants.  They  were  permitted  to 
send  Letters  of  Exchange  abroad,  on  condition 
that  they  first  obtained  '  special  leave  and  licence ' 
from  the  King,  '  as  well  for  the  Exchangers  as  for 
the  Persons  which  ought  to  make  the  Payments.' 
These  licences  were  very  explicit :  they  stated  by 
whom  and  to  whom  the  Letter  of  Exchange  was 
sent,  and  the  amount  which  was  to  be  so  exchanged.4 


1  Ramsay,  Lancaster  and  York,  I,  154.  z  Early  Chanc.  Pro- 
ceed., 32/402.  3  5  R.  77,  c.  2.  *  A  specimen  of  a  License  to 
draw  a  Letter  of  Exchange  is  printed  in  A  Formula  Book  of  English 
Official  Historical  Documents,  edited  by  H.  Hall,  p.  85  ;  in  this 
case  it  was  granted  by  Letters  Close  under  the  Great  Seal,  p.  80. 


56  FINANCIAL  CHANGES 

The  senders  were  required  to  swear  that  they  would 
not  '  send  beyond  the  Sea  any  Manner  of  Gold  nor 
Silver  under  the  Colour  of  the  same  Exchange.'1 
This  Act  was,  however,  not  found  sufficient  to  stop 
the  depletion  of  the  precious  metals,  and  in  1390, 
merchants  were  forced  to  bind  themselves  in  the 
Chancery  to  buy  merchandises  of  the  staple  or 
other  commodities  of  the  land,  to  the  value  of  the 
sum  exchanged  within  three  months.  The  time 
was  too  short,  and  only  put  a  premium  on  smuggling 
money  out  of  the  country;2  therefore,  in  1421,  the 
term  was  extended  to  nine  months.3 

Even  these  statutes,  stringent  as  they  seem,  could 
not  stop  the  export  of  money,  and  it  was  again  for- 
bidden in  1423*  and  1478 6,  and  at  the  latter  date  it 
was  made  felony.  Nevertheless  an  Act  of  Henry  VII 
declared  that  '  gold  and  sylver  of  the  coygne  of  this 
realm  hath  and  dailly  is  and  ben  caried  and  conveied 
into  Flaundres  .  .  .  and  othre  parties  beyond  the 
See.'6  It  therefore  made  the  penalty  forfeiture  of 
double  the  money  exported.  Another  statute  of 
the  same  reign  lamented  '  Thenordynat  chaungyng 
&  rechaunges  '  used  '  without  auctorite  gevon  of 
the  Kynges  gode  grace,'  and  reiterated  the  com- 
mand that  no  man  was  to  make  exchange  without 
the  King's  licence,  '  but  only  such  as  the  kyng  shall 
depute  therunto  to  kepe  make  and  answere  such 
exchaunges  and  rechaunges.'7  There  were  in 
London,  Dover,  and  Calais,  officials  called  the 
King's  Exchangers.  The  office  was  farmed,  and 
the  right  to  issue  letters  importing  licences  was 
conferred  on  the  grantee.8  This  almost  wearisome 

1  5  Rich.  77,  c.  2.  •  Leadam,  in  Trans,  of  the  Royal  Hist. 
Soc.  N.S.  xix  (1905),  p.  281,  and  9  H.  V,  c.  9.  *  Ibid.  *  2  H. 
VI,  c.  6.  B  17  Ed.  IV,  c.  I.  6  4  H.  VII,  c.  23.  "  3  H. 
VII ",  c.  6.  8  Leadam  in  Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.  N.S.  xix  (1905), 
pp.  282-3. 


FINANCIAL  CHANGES  57 

repetition  of  statutes  forbidding  the  export  of 
money  shows  how  exceedingly  important  the  matter 
was  considered,  and  also  how  difficult  it  was  to 
retain  restrictions  when  trade  was  growing  rapidly  ; 
but  the  frequent  mention  of  '  lecters  of  payment  '* 
by  the  Celys  suggests  that  the  regulation  of  the 
Exchanges  was  not  quite  as  futile  as  the  despairing 
tone  of  the  statutes  would  make  us  believe.  Parallel 
to  the  enactments  which  forbade  the  export  of  the 
precious  metals  are  the  Acts  which  enjoined  the 
import  of  bullion.  Merchant  strangers  who  bought 
wools  in  England  and  did  not  sell  them  at  the 
Staple,  were  ordered  to  bring  to  the  Mint,  for  every 
sack  an  ounce  of  bullion.2  Merchants  of  the  Staple 
were  commanded  to  insist  upon  immediate  pay- 
ment, whereof  half  was  to  be  in  lawful  money  of 
England.8  The  Act  which  regulated  the  alloy  of 
silver  used  by  goldsmiths  for  gilding,4  and  another 
enactment  which  '  ordeined  that  no  goldsmith  or 
other  person  melt  any  Money  of  Gold  or  Silver  to 
gild  any  Vessell,  or  even  Stuffe  for  Knyghtes 
apparal,'6  are  proofs  that  the  Government  jealously 
guarded  against  anything  which  might  cause  a 
drain  of  money.  Less  creditable  were  the  attempts 
to  increase  the  amount  of  money  in  the  country 
by  means  of  alchemy.  The  practice  of  the  craft 
of  the  multiplication  of  gold  or  silver  had  been 
declared  felony,6  yet  both  Henry  VI  and  Edward 
IV  patronized  alchemists.  Henry  VI  granted 
licences  to  several  persons  to  transubstantiate 
inferior  metals  by  their  art  into  gold  and  silver,7 
and  Edward  IV  sent  a  Signet  Letter  to  the  Mayor 

1  A.C.,  Vol.  53,  No.  99,  Cely  Papers,  18,  159;  references  to  the 
use  of  '  letters  of  exchawnge '  also  occur  in  the  Early  Chanc.  Proceed. , 
34/46,  and  29/161.  2  8  H.  Vt  c.  2.  '3  Ed.  IVt  c.  i.  4  Rot. 
Part.,  IV,  52.  6  Ibid.,  VI,  184;  a  previous  Act,  17  Ed.  lVtz.  I, 
had  permitted  the  gilding  of  Knights'  apparel.  8  Ruding,  I,  63. 
7  Ibid.,  Cf.  Syllabus  to  Rymer's  FaJera,  II,  683. 


58  FINANCIAL  CHANGES 

of  Coventry,  ordering  him  to  see  that  John  Frensh, 
who  intended  to  work  at  this  craft  in  his  city, 
should  be  unmolested.1 

Closer  bargaining  became  possible  when  prices 
could  be  quoted  in  a  money  form,2  and  more 
Chan  accurate  estimates  of  the  value  of  goods 

in  the  *  could  be  made,  and  consequently  the  old 
theory  of  ideas  which  had  governed  the  regulation 
of  prices  began  to  break  down.  Medieval 
prices  had  been  regulated  by  the  cost  of  production, 
and  wages  had  been  a  first  charge  upon  them,3 
because  it  was  felt  that  every  man  ought  to  obtain 
a  fair  return  for  his  labour.  It  had  been  considered 
wrong  to  take  advantage  of  a  neighbour's  weakness 
or  ignorance,  but  now  business  men  tried  to  gain  as 
large  a  return  for  their  money  or  their  stock  as 
they  possibly  could,  and  they  were  not  always 
scrupulous  about  the  means  they  employed  in  so 
doing.  The  profits  of  trade  seem  in  some  cases  to 
have  been  enormous.  William  Lancastre,  a  hosier's 
apprentice,  states  in  a  Chancery  petition,  that  he 
made  an  '  encrese  '  of  £34  on  an  outlay  of  £10  in 
'  thre  yere.'4  In  another  case  we  are  told  that  an 
'  increase  '  of  £259  was  made  on  a  sum  of  500  marks 
which  was  '  occupied  in  merchandize.'5  Neverthe- 
less the  older  views  of  commercial  morality  had 
not  entirely  lost  their  force.  Prices  '  were  not  yet 
determined  by  money  considerations  pure  and 
simple,'  and  the  economic  world  was  in  a  curious 
state  of  transition  between  the  two  conflicting 
systems  of  customary  and  competition  prices — a 
condition  of  affairs  which  must  have  caused  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  confusion.6 

1  Ibid.,  64,  and  Dormer  Harris,  Life  in  an  Old  English  Town,  288. 

2  Cunningham,    Growth  of  English  Industry  and  Commerce,  I,  459. 

3  Cunningham,^/,  fit.,    I,  461.  *  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  9/131. 
3  Ibid.,  11/205.         6  Dr.  Cunningham  says  that  the  results  of  this  state 
of  transition  seemed  to  be  complete  moral  chaos  (pp.  (it.,  I,  467). 


FINANCIAL  CHANGES  59 

As  trade  assumed  larger  and  larger  proportions 
traders  found  that  they  needed  more  and  more 
money  to  carry  it  on,  and  that  their  own  —he 
capital  was  not  sufficient  for  them.  They  medieval 
therefore  were  anxious  to  borrow,  and  doctrine 
at  the  same  time,  the  profits  of  trade  °  usury' 
tempted  men  to  lend  money.  Consequently,  one 
of  the  most  noticeable  features  of  economic  life  in 
the  fifteenth  century  is  the  increased  employment 
of  borrowed  capital.  In  the  fourteenth  century 
the  desire  to  borrow  capital  certainly  existed,  but 
it  has  been  suggested  that  lending  was  partially 
checked  by  a  fear  of  the  risks  of  foreign  trade  ;  thus 
the  Pepperers,  who  wished  to  borrow  money,  care- 
fully built  up  a  reputation  for  stability  by  forbidding 
their  wardens  to  incur  risks  beyond  the  sea  j1  and 
the  Gild  of  Corpus  Christi,  Hull,  passed  an  ordinance 
to  somewhat  the  same  effect.2  In  the  fifteenth 
century,  even  the  money  of  minors  was  sometimes 
invested  in  commercial  enterprises.  W.  Staundon 
left  £100  to  William  Brook,  if  he  attained  the  age 
of  twenty-one,  the  sum  to  be  entrusted  to  a  mer- 
chant to  trade  withal,  within  the  realm  of  England, 
and  not  beyond  the  sea,  the  said  merchant  taking 
half  the  profits.3  This  will,  which  is  dated  1409, 
shows  that  distrust  of  foreign  trade  had  not  died 
out,  and  that  the  remuneration  for  services  of  this 
kind  was  large.  Nowadays  the  merchant  would 
be  expected  to  pay  for  the  use  of  the  money.  This 
point  of  view  was,  however,  quite  opposed  to 
medieval  thought,  which  condemned  as  usury 
'  taking  for  the  lone  any  thing  more  besides  or  above 
the  money  lente,'4  and  which  made  no  distinction 
between  a  just  and  an  unjust  rate  of  interest. 
Economic  theory  on  this  subject  was  embodied  in 

1  A.   Law  in    Trans.   Royal  Hist.    S«c.,   N.S.,   IX  (1895),    7O. 
J  Eng.  Gilds,  161.         3  Sharpe,  Wills,  II,  393.         *  1 1  &  VII,  c.  8. 


60  FINANCIAL  CHANGES 

the  Canonist  Doctrine,1  but  it  was  not  held  by  the 
Church  alone  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  civil  authorities 
hated  Torrible  &  abhominable  vice  de  Usure'2  as 
much  as  clerics,  '  and  restrictions  on  Usury  were  so 
fully  indorsed  by  the  public  opinion  of  laymen  as 
to  influence  legislation  long  after  the  ecclesiastical 
courts  had  ceased  to  enforce  them.'3  Practical  men 
like  the  citizens  of  London  required  brokers  to  swear 
that  they  would  make  no  bargain  of  usury,  under 
pain  of  paying  £100  unto  the  Chamber,  as  also 
of  incurring  the  penalty  for  usury  for  brokers 
which  had  been  previously  ordained.4  But  although 
the  theories  respecting  usury  remained  unaltered, 
the  exigencies  of  trade  caused  many  deviations 
from  them  in  practice.  Florentine  merchants, 
writing  in  1437  to  Henry  VI,  regret  the  failure  of 
one  of  their  companies  of  merchants,  mainly  on 
account  of  the  loss  sustained  by  the  King's  subjects 
'  qui  eidem  societati  pecunias  crediderant  sub  spe 
futurae  munerationis  ac  restitutionis.'6  Some  cases 
occur  in  the  Chancery  Proceedings  in  which  it  is 
clear  that  interest  was  paid  for  the  loan  of  money,6 
but  generally  evasions  of  the  Usury  laws  were 
justified  upon  some  pretext  or  another.  The  debt 
was  purposely  not  paid  punctually,  and  a  greater 
amount  than  the  original  sum  was  demanded  to 
cover  the  loss  caused  by  the  default.7  Men  entered 
into  partnership,  and  the  stigma  of  usury  was 
avoided  if  the  lender  of  the  money  shared  the  risk 
incurred  by  the  transaction.8  People  also  fre- 

1  Ashley,  Econ.  Hist.,  Part  ii,  p.  379.  *  Rot.  Par/.,  Ill,  280. 
3  Cunningham,  Christian  Opinion  on  Usury,  Preface.  4  Liber 

Aldus,  Bk.  Ill,  Part  ii,  p.  315. 

8  Bekynton,  op.  cit.,  I,  249.  6  See  Appendix  B,  I.  r  Ashley, 
Econ.  Hist.,  Part  ii,  399,  and  he  also  mentions  other  evasions  of  the 
prohibition  of  usury,  by  means  of  rent-charges  (p.  405)  and  triple 
contracts  (p.  440),  but  though  they  were  practised  abroad,  they  were 
not  common  in  England.  8  Ibid.,  424-5. 


FINANCIAL  CHANGES  6l 

quently  gave  security  for  larger  sums  than  they 
borrowed.1  Henry  VII's  second  Act  against  usury 
acknowledged  '  penaltees  for  nounpament '  lawful,2 
which  seems  like  a  step  towards  recognizing  the 
legality  of  interest ;  but  it  was  left  to  a  more  daring 
age  openly  to  admit  that  payment  for  the  mere  use 
of  money  was  not  a  sin.3  The  admission  was  only 
the  logical  outcome  of  what  had  happened  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  but  the  men  of  that  time  were 
still  too  much  bound  by  the  rigid  conservatism  of 
the  past  to  be  able  to  make  it  for  themselves,  and 
probably  they  did  not  even  realize  the  difference 
between  their  theory  and  practice. 

Some  of  the  subterfuges  used  to  evade  the  Usury 
Laws  were  not  so  innocent  as  those  described  above ; 
Robert  Richeman  stated  that  he  asked  Stephen 
Brainden  to  lend  him  £5,  Stephen  desired  *  vnlaw- 
full  gayne  for  the  lone  of  the  forseid  £5,'  and  to 
'  colour '  it,  drew  up  indentures  by  which  it  appeared 
that  he  lent  Robert  a  hundred  sheep  for  five  years, 
receiving  twenty  shillings  yearly  for  the  same,  and 
also  £5  at  the  end  of  the  term.4  Oddly  enough  it 
was  not  considered  wrong  to  receive  money  for  the 
loan  of  animals,  though  it  was  iniquitous  to  receive 
it  for  the  loan  of  money.  The  Usury  Act  of  1490 
complained  of  '  bargeynes  grounded  on  usury, 
colored  by  the  meanes  of  newe  chevaunce  or  es- 
chaunge,'6  and  probably  there  were  also  many 
transactions  which  even  the  modern  conscience 
would  condemn  as  usurious.  The  Early  Chancery 
Proceedings  contain  complaints  of  demands  for 
payments  for  loans  which,  even  allowing  for  a  good 

1  For  example,  .£100  for  a  debt  of  a  hundred  marks  (A.  C.t  Vol. 
XLVI,  No.  169),  and  a  hundred  marks  for  eleven  marks  and  forty 
pence.  Early  Chanc.  Proceed. ,  44/202.  *  1 1  H.  VII,  c.  8.  *  37 
ff.  YIIIt  c.  9,  No.  3,  which  permitted  interest  to  be  paid  on  loans, 
provided  that  it  did  not  exceed  ten  per  cent.  4  JSar/y  Chanc, 
Procted.,  37/38.  •  if  ff.  VII,  c.  8. 


62  FINANCIAL  CHANGES 

deal  of  exaggeration,  were  outrageously  large. 
John  Seddeley,  it  is  stated,  lent  John  Betson  and 
Edward  Ilsley  £21,  and  they  agreed  to  give  him 
403.  for  every  fourteen  days  the  money  remained 
unpaid.1  The  unfortunate  men  who  accepted  these 
bargains  must  have  been  in  great  straits  for  want 
of  money,  and  those  who  made  them  must  have 
been  very  hardened,  for  they  laid  themselves  open 
to  the  censures  of  the  Church  as  well  as  to  punish- 
ment by  the  secular  arm.  The  English,  said  the 
author  of  the  Italian  Relation,  '  are  so  diligent  in 
mercantile  pursuits  that  they  do  not  fear  to  make 
contracts  on  usury.'2 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  make  exact  statements 
regarding  the  amount  of  the  revenue,  because  the 
Revenue,  estimates  of  historians  vary  greatly,3  but 
it  is  obvious  that  the  returns  to  taxation 
were  very  much  affected  by  economic  conditions. 
The  total  revenue  appears  to  have  fallen  consider- 
ably during  the  century,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  sub- 
joined table  of  the  net  incomes  of  successive  kings  : — 

Revenue  exclusive  of  windfalls  (20  Ed.  Ill)  110,000* 

Average  income  of  Henry  IV io6,'26o6 

Average  income  of  Henry  V 115,299* 

Yearly  average,  Mich.  1422  to  Mich.  1428  57,'i7i7 

"            »          »                 »           1454  69,6058 

»            »          »  1454  to  March  3/1461  44,oo59 

»            „        March,  1461-1469 " 59,29510 

1472-1483  ....  79,168" 

»  p-  ^1L  ^anc'    Proceed->    '93/36.  a  Italian    Rtlatiw,    23. 

Bishop  Stubbs  comments  on  the  discrepancy  between  the  calculations 
ol  bir  John  Sinclair  and  Sir  James  Ramsay,  II,  576,  note.  *  Anti- 
vuary,  VoL  I,  pp.  157-8,  Sir  James  Ramsay  thinks  this  a  typical  year. 
5  Ramsay,  Lane,  and  York,  I,  160.  •  Ibid  j  7  fa 

II,  266-7.         8  Ibid.        »  Ibid.        "  Ibid.,  11,471:       u  ibid.    II 

f,724,  Sf  fd/-War/  rIV  received  ^10,000  from  the   French  tribute 
(I475-8)  and  £3263  from  the  Clarence  estates  (1478-83). 


FINANCIAL  CHANGES  63 

Some  reasons  for  the  decrease  in  the  revenue  may 
be  gathered  from  an  examination  of  the  yield  of 
some  of  the  sources  from  which  it  was  obtained. 
The  assessment  for  lay  subsidies  (tenths  and  fif- 
teenths) was  fixed  in  1334,  and  in  that  year  they 
produced  £38,000. x  In  1432  a  deduction  of  £4000 
was  allowed  on  the  total,  and  £6000  in  1449  >  an^ 
soon  after  the  middle  of  the  century  the  tax  brought 
in  £31,000,  instead  of  the  original  amount.2  The 
deduction  was  made  '  for  the  relief  of  poor  towns, 
cities,  and  boroughs,  desolate,  wasted  or  destroyed, 
or  over  greatly  impoverished,  or  else  to  the  said 
tax  over  greatly  charged.'3  Amongst  those  to 
which  partial  or  entire  exemption  was  granted 
were  Norwich,  Lynn,  Yarmouth,4  Truro,6  Lincoln,6 
and  Shrewsbury.7  In  some  of  these  cases  the  re- 
mission was  due  to  special  circumstances ;  for 
example,  Truro  had  suffered  badly  from  pestilence, 
and  Yarmouth  was  obliged  to  spend  a  great  deal  of 
money  on  keeping  its  harbour  open.8  A  careful 
study  of  the  assessment  of  Norfolk  has  revealed 
the  fact  that  Lynn  and  Yarmouth  were  relieved 
from  the  burden  of  this  tax,  not  because  they  could 
not  afford  to  pay  it,  but  because  they  were  being 
taxed  in  other  ways.9  It  is  also  evident  that  this 
form  of  taxation  had  lost  a  great  deal  of  the  import- 
ance which  it  had  possessed  in  1334,  and  that  indirect 
taxation  was  a  more  profitable  form  of  income. 
Moreover,  an  increase  of  a  merchant's  stock  would 
not  appear  at  all  in  the  returns  when  the  assess- 
ment had  been  permanently  fixed,  and  therefore 
a  large  amount  of  wealth  might  accumulate  in  the 

1  W.  Hudson,  in  Norfolk  Archxl.,  XII,  246-7,  and  Stubbs,  II, 
579.  a  Hudson,  Ibid.,  257.  a  Ibid.  *  Ibid.t  261.  8  Rot. 
Par/.,  Ill,  638.  8  Victoria  County  Hist.,  Lincolnshire,  II,  320. 
7  Campbell,  op.  cit.,  I,  213.  8  Hudson,  loc.  cit.,  261.  This  was 
also  the  reason  assigned  for  the  reduction  of  the  fee  farm  of  Yarmouth 
io  1486  (Campbell,  I,  326-7).  9  Hudson,  262, 


64  FINANCIAL  CHANGES 

hands  of  a  limited  number  of  merchants  without 
showing  itself  on  the  lists.1  An  interesting  theory 
has  been  advanced  that,  in  some  cases  at  least, 
towns  evaded  taxation  by  entrusting  their  funds 
to  the  Gild  Merchant,  and  then  pleading  poverty 
to  the  Exchequer,  so  that  the  demands  of  the 
Crown  were  met  with  the  answer  that  the  town 
had  nothing  and  the  Gild  owed  nothing.2  Coven- 
try seems  to  have  adopted  this  ingenious  expedient, 
and  to  have  disposed  of  its  possessions  with  so 
much  astuteness,  that  the  Exchequer  could  obtain 
nothing  from  it  at  a  time  when  the  Trinity  and 
Corpus  Christi  Gilds  were  both  very  wealthy.3 
But  apparently  the  funds  of  the  gilds  and  the 
town  were  failing  during  the  last  thirty  or  forty 
years  of  the  period,  so  that  then,  at  least,  their 
plea  of  poverty  was  not  wholly  false.  While  there- 
fore it  would  be  unwise  to  attach  too  much  weight 
to  the  complaints  of  the  towns,  they  must  not  be 
rejected  altogether.  Yet  it  must  be  remembered 
that  if  some  towns  were  sinking,4  others — like 
Bridport,6  Rye,6  Chester,7  and  Plymouth8 — were 
rising,  and  in  most  cases  increasing  prosperity  was 
due  to  the  growth  of  trade.  The  revenue  derived 
from  the  Customs  was  also  shrinking,  as  we  have 
seen,  and  one  cause  of  its  diminution  has  been 
suggested9;  but  it  was  probably  due  also  to  smug- 
gling,10 and  to  negligence11  and  fraud12  on  the  part 

1  Ibid,,  261.  2  Mrs.  Green,  Town  Life,  II,  216.  *  Miss 
Dormer  Harris,  Life  in  an  Old  English  Town,  127.  *  There  seems 
no  reason  to  doubt  the  decline  of  Norwich  (see  Town  Life,  II,  397). 
The  raids  of  the  French  were  a  cause  of  the  poverty  of  some  sea- 
coast  towns  like  Melcombe  Regis  (Campbell,  op.  fit.,  II,  538-9).  The 
Staple  had  also  been  removed  from  Melcombe,  which  was  another 
reason  for  its  decline  ( Victoria  County  Hist.  Dorset,  II,  360). 
6  Town  Life,  I,  15,  16.  a  Ibid.,  17.  7  and  8  Alton  and 

Holland,  The  King's  Customs,  46.  9  That  the  wool  was  made  into 
cloth  in  England  instead  of  being  exported.  10  Rot.  Par/.,  Ill, 
510  ;  IV,  454 ;  V,  55.  »  Ibid.,  Ill,  439.  »  Ibid.,  Ill,  625-6, 
and  IV,  455. 


FINANCIAL   CHANGES  65 

of  the  collectors.  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  the 
salaries  paid  to  them  were  very  small,  and  that 
they  were  allowed  to  charge  many  fees,1  and  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  during  the  continuance 
of  the  fee  system,  no  official  statement  of  net  revenue 
could  convey  even  approximate  information  as  to 
the  actual  amount  extorted  from  the  public.2  It 
is  therefore  probable  that  the  people  paid  not  only 
in  customs,  but  for  other  dues  as  well,  far  larger 
sums  than  ever  reached  the  King's  coffers.  In 
the  reign  of  Henry  IV  it  was  declared  that '  divers  of 
the  Sheriffs,  Escheators,  Aulnagers,  Customers, 
Comptrollers,  and  other  the  King's  Officers,  .  .  . 
do  defraud  and  deceive  our  said  Lord  the  King 
yearly,  in  their  unlawful  and  untrue  (accompts) 
concealing  and  (receiving)  to  their  own  Use  the 
greater  Part  of  that  which  rightfully  ought  to 
pertain  to  the  King,  to  his  great  damage  and  loss.'3 
The  Requests  made  by  Jack  Cade  and  his  followers 
included  the  cessation  of  sundry  extortions,  such 
as  Estreats  of  the  '  Green  Wax  '4  and  unlicensed 
purveyance.6  An  order  that  no  'beefs,  berbys, 
porkes,  poraill,  frument,  mieynes,  fein,  littere  ne 
cariage  '  should  be  taken  from  Christiana  de  Rest- 
wolde,  '  contre  la  bone  gree  du  dite  Cristiane,'6 
shows  to  what  exactions  the  people  were  subjected 
if  they  had  no  special  protection.  Loans,  including 
the  so-called  Benevolences,  formed  an  important 
item  of  the  Revenue,7  and  they  must  have  been 
rather  a  drain  upon  the  lenders,  as  they  received 


1  Alton  and  Holland,  34-5.  2  Ibid.,  35.  *  6  H.  IV,  c.  3. 
4  i.e.  writs  issued  to  enforce  payment  of  Crown  dues,  which  were  sealed 
with  a  special  green  wax  (Ramsay,  Lane,  and  York,  II,  128,  note). 
3  Ramsay,  Lane,  and  York,  II,  127-8.  Statutes  against  purveyance 
show  the  extent  of  the  evil,  2  H.IV,c.  14;  iff.  VI,c.2;2oH.  VI,  c.  8. 
It  seems  to  have  been  practised,  not  only  by  the  King,  but  by  powerful 
subjects  also,  23  H.  VI,  c.  13.  "  Excheq.  Q.  R.  Wardrobe  Accounts, 
406/22.  7  See  Appendix  D. 

F 


66  FINANCIAL  CHANGES 

no  interest  on  their  money,  and  it  was  not  always 
repaid  promptly,  and  sometimes  not  repaid  at  all.1 
Probably  the  returns  to  requests  for  loans  depended 
partly  upon  the  popularity  of  the  King,  and  his 
power  of  enforcing  his  demands.  The  merchants 
of  the  Staple  advanced  large  sums  of  money  for 
the  payment  of  the  garrison  and  other  purposes  : 
£4000  in  1407,2  £4000  in  1423, 3  £2333  in  1430, 4 
£10,000  in  1441, 5  1000  marks  in  1450-1,'  various 
sums  in  1457-8*  and  1459-60  ;8  £10,700,*  £26,000, 10 
and  £23,700"  on  other  occasions.  The  citizens  of 
London  were  also  very  generous  to  the  King.  We 
find  records  of  debts  to  them  of  7000  marks  in 
1411, 12  and  10,000  marks  the  next  year.13  The 
sum  of  £2000  lent  to  Henry  V  was  repaid  in  I424,14 
and  an  assignment  was  made  to  them  from  the 
tenths  and  fifteenths,  in  1430,  on  account  of  a  loan 
of  £6666  135.  4d.,  which  the  mayor  and  commonalty 
had  advanced  to  the  Government16;  and  Edward 
IV  repaid  them  the  large  sum  of  £12,923  95.  8d.18 
in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  reign.  Nor  were  the 
other  cities  of  the  kingdom  backward  in  lending 
money  in  time  of  need,  though  they  could  not 
grant  as  much  as  London.  The  men  of  Norwich, 
Salisbury,  and  Winchester  were  amongst  those 
who  offered  loans  for  the  expedition  to  Guienne  in 
1412. 17  Canterbury  provided  100  marks,  and 
Bristol  £240  in  141 5. 18  Henry  VI  sent  thanks  to 

1  Ramsay  allows  ^1500  a  year  for  money  borrowed  by  Henry  IV  and 
not  repaid,  and  .£5000  a  year  for  that  not  repaid  by  Henry  V  (Lane,  and 
York,  II,  261).  *  Cat.  Patent  Rolls,  8  H.  IV,  Part  ii,  m.  5. 

3  Proceed.  Privy  Council,  III,  67-8.  4  Ibid.,  IV,  52.  6  Ibid., 
V,  167.  6  Cal.  French  Rolls,  1450-1,  m.  4.  7  Ibid.,  1458-9, 
ms.  II  and  10.  8  Ibid.,  1459-60,  m.  16.  8  Early  Chanc.  Pro- 
ceed., 22/178.  10  Rot.  Parl.,  V,  297,  No.  46.  "  Ibid.,  VI,  55. 
12  Proceed.  Privy  Council,  II,  16.  1S  Ibid.,  32.  u  Ibid.,  Ill,  142. 
15  Hardy,  Syllabus  of  Rymer's  FctJera,  II,  649.  "  Accounts 

Excheq.  Q.  R.  Misc.,  516/13.  17  Proceed,  Privy  Council,  II,  32. 
18  Hardy,  Syllabus  of  Rymer's  Fcedera,  II,  587. 


FINANCIAL  CHANGES  67 

the  '  commonaltee  of  Newcastel '  for  the  loan  of 
100  marks,1  in  1443. 

The  records  extant  for  the  city  of  Coventry  are 
unusually  complete  and  interesting,  and  it  appears 
that  the  citizens  granted  ten  loans  within  the  first 
half  of  the  century,  which  amounted  to  the  large 
sum  of  £1266  135.  4d.2  The  Leet  Book  enables  us 
to  see  how  the  money  was  raised  :  collectors  were 
appointed,  to  whom  streets  were  assigned,  and  the 
names  of  the  contributors  and  the  sums  they  gave 
were  carefully  written  down.  It  is  quite  surprising 
to  find  how  many  persons  contributed,  and  how 
little  some  of  them  lent.  For  example,  in  1430, 
when  £100  was  sent  to  the  King,  there  were  578 
contributors,  the  largest  sum  given  was  £i  6s.  8d., 
and  the  smallest  was  iod.3  The  municipalities 
were  not  the  only  corporations  which  advanced 
money  to  the  Government,  wealthy  religious  houses 
were  expected  to  do  their  part.  Twenty-two 
abbots,  one  abbess,  and  nine  priors  are  amongst 
those  who  were  asked  to  lend  money  in  1403. 4 
Some  of  the  counties  were  also  responsible  for  con- 
siderable sums,6  and  rich  nobles  and  churchmen 
did  not  escape  the  burden.6  Cardinal  Beaufort 
was  one  of  the  most  frequent  of  the  King's  credi- 
tors.7 Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  loans  of  the 
fifteenth  century  were  not  raised  like  those  of  the 
fourteenth,  by  a  few  wealthy  merchants,8  but  by 
all  classes  of  the  community. 

1  Proceed.  Privy  Council,  V,  284.  -  There  is  a  receipt  for  £yx>  from 
the  mayor,  bailiffs,  and  good  men  of  Coventry  (i  and  2  H.  IV),  Ac- 
counts Excheq.  Q.  JK.t  42/36.  The  Coventry  Leet  Book  notes  gifts  or 
loans  of  j£20o,  ,£100,  and  200  marks  (pp.  60-1),  .£100  (pp.  78-82),  100 
marks  (p.  84),  £100  (p.  124),  j£ioo  (p.  159),  £66  135.  4d.  (p.  207), 
.£100  (p.  216).  3  Ibid.,  125-9.  *  Proceed.  Privy  Council,  I, 
201-2.  *  Ibid. ,  I,  343-4.  Kent  1000  marks,  Norfolk  and  Suffolk 

between  them  the  same  sum,  Somerset  500,  in  1410.  6  Ibid.,  IV, 
316-29.  7  Ibid.,  Ill,  144,  IV,  162.  8  Miss  Law,  in  Tram. 
Koyal  Hist.  Sot.,  N.S.,  IX  (1895),  p.  63. 


68  FINANCIAL  CHANGES 

But  Englishmen  not  only  advanced  money  to 

the    Government,    but    also     frequently 

financiers.     ac*ed  as  bankers  to  each  other,  and  thus 

began  to  oust  aliens  from  a  branch  of 

business,  which  in  earlier  days  they  had  managed 

entirely. 

In  the  complaints  against  money-lenders  which 
have  already  been  quoted  it  was  noticeable  that 
the  offenders  were  Englishmen  ;    and  from  other 
sources  also  we  learn  that   Englishmen   acted  as 
bankers  and  financiers,  sometimes  only  in  a  private 
capacity,  sometimes  on  quite  a  large  scale.    When 
Sir  William  Stonor  was  in  want  of  money  he  bor- 
rowed from  a  relative,  William  Harleston,  who  in 
his  turn  obtained  an  advance  from  a  friend.1     In 
the  same  way,  Elizabeth  Clere  of  Ormesby  lent  her 
cousin,  William  Paston,  £40,  but  she  took  care  to 
have  good  security  for  it  in  plate.2    The  members 
of  the  Gild-Merchant  of  Lynn,  says  Mrs.   Green, 
were  the  bankers  and  capitalists  of  the  town,  and 
lent  money  out  on  usury  ;   in  one  year,  1408,  their 
loans   amounted  to  £1214. 3     The  goldsmiths  ap- 
parently   performed    the    functions    of    bankers. 
Jane    Upton    delivered    to    one    of   them,    Robert 
Bosome,  forty  marks  of  money  '  savely  to  kepe,' 
and  to  return  when  required4;   and  Sir  John  Paston 
placed  sixteen   pottingers  in   pawn   with   Stephen 
Kelke,  goldsmith  of  London,  and  received  a  loan  of 
forty    pounds    for   it.5     Other    well-to-do    traders 
frequently   carried   on   similar   transactions.     The 
Duke  of  Somerset  left  '  a  panyer  of  gold  with  diuers 
precious  stones  &  other  juellez  'e  in  pledge,  with 
John    Morley,    tailor ;     and    Richard    Rawlyn,    of 
London,  grocer,  lent  Sir  John  Paston  twenty  pounds, 

1  A.  C.t  Vol.  XLVI,  No.  169.         2  Paston  Letters,  v,  208. 

8  Mrs.  Green,  Town  Life,  II,  406.     4  Early  Cham.  Proceed.,  9/479. 

6  Paston  Letters,  v.  76.  •  Early  Cham.  Proceed.,  24/230. 


FINANCIAL  CHANGES  69 

and  held  plate  as  security.1  Some  financial  business 
still  remained  in  the  hands  of  aliens,  for  example, 
the  chief  collectors  of  Peter's  Pence  and  other 
papal  dues  were  usually  foreigners.2  There  were 
also  many  alien  brokers  in  England,  but  they  must 
have  found  it  difficult  to  maintain  their  position, 
as  severe  ordinances  were  passed  against  them,3 
and  they  were  prosecuted  in  the  law-courts  if  they 
dared  to  break  them.4 

Alien  merchants  still  occasionally  provided  the 
King  with  money,6  but  the  amounts  they  lent  were 
trifling6  compared  with  the  sums  they  had  granted 
in  earlier  days,7  and  were  often  given  very  unwil- 
lingly. The  Privy  Council,  in  one  case,  offered 
various  Italian  merchants  the  alternative  between 
advancing  money  or  going  to  prison,  and  they  chose 
prison  ;  but  afterwards  they  repented  and  lent 
the  money.8  Whereas  in  the  fourteenth  century 
it  had  been  a  novelty  for  native  merchants  to 
finance  the  King  or  to  act  as  bankers,  in  the  fifteenth 
it  was  quite  usual  for  them  to  do  so.  Englishmen 
had  proved  their  capacity,  and  taken  their  rightful 
place  in  this  as  in  all  other  branches  of  industry 
and  commerce. 

1  Paston  Letters ,  V,  8l.  a  O.  Jensen,  'The  Denarius  Sancti 
Petri,'  in  Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.,  N.S.,  XIX.,  p.  233.  8  Rot. 
Parl.t  III,  554,  Ibid.,  IV,  56,  and  Ibid.,  IV,  193.  *  Two  law- 
suits were  brought,  against  Polydore  Vergil,  early  in  the  sixteenth 
century  for  negotiating  exchanges  without  a  licence.  I.  S.  Leadarn, 
Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.,  N.S.,  XIX,  pp.  286-7.  Cf.  Chancery 
Proceedings,  94/32  and  226/25. 

5  and  e  ^200  by  the  Venetians  and  500  marks  by  the  Florentines  in 
1412,  Proceed.  Privy  Council,  II,  32  ;  400  marks  by  the  Florentines, 
500  by  the  Venetians,  and  500  by  the  Genoese  in  I43r>,  Ibid.,  IV, 
324  ;  1000  marks  by  the  Genoese  and  Florentines,  Hardy,  Syllabus 
of  Rymer's  Fccdera,  II,  550  and  552;  similar  sums,  Ibid.,  587,  589; 
£5000  by  the  Medicis  and  others,  Ibid.,  707  ;  £1000  by  the  Alber- 
tines,  Cal.  Patent  Rolls,  8  H.  IV,  Part  ii,  m.  5.  7  The  Italians 
offered  Edward  III  .£28,000  on  an  assignment  of  wool  in  1340, 
Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.,  N.S.,  IX.,  62.  8  Proceed.  Privy  Council, 
II,  165-6. 


PART    II 

SOCIAL    LIFE 

CHAPTER    I 

THE  EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 
UPON  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  SOCIETY 

THE  changes  which  revolutionized  trade  and  in- 
dustry in  the  fifteenth  century  could  not  fail  to 
,    produce  important  effects  upon  society, 

Connict  of     :  .  ,  .  \  ....    J 

medieval  because  economic  and  social  conditions 
and  modern  of  life  are  so  closely  bound  up  together 
that  anything  which  occurs  in  one  sphere 
inevitably  reacts  upon  the  other.  Consequently 
this  century  witnessed  striking  social  changes ; 
old  ties  were  broken  ;  new  ideas  became  current ; 
and  not  only  were  new  elements  introduced  into  the 
fabric  of  society,  but  those  already  in  existence 
entered  into  new  relationships  with  each  other,  so 
that  the  whole  structure  was  transformed.  Changes 
of  such  magnitude  could  only  be  accomplished 
gradually  ;  the  old  order  did  not  yield  place  to  new 
without  many  struggles,  and  therefore  this  period 
is  one  of  transition,  and  exhibits  the  variety,  the 
many  -  sidedness,  and  the  inconsistencies  which 
render  ages  of  this  kind  so  difficult  to  understand. 
Sometimes  the  new  ideas  triumphed,  and  sometimes 
the  old ;  and  even  when  the  new  had  really 
gained  the  victory,  the  old  forms  lingered  on  ; 

70 


and  thus  it  is  that  the  changes  through  which 
English  society  passed  were  not  very  visible  on 
the  surface,  though  they  were  great  and  effectual  at 
heart.1 

One  of  the  most  fundamental  economic  changes 
of  the  fifteenth  century  was,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
increasing  employment  of  capital ;  and  society  too 
began  to  set  a  high  value  upon  money.  When  men 
saw  the  numerous  uses  to  which  it  could  be  put, 
and  the  many  things  it  could  obtain  for  them,  they 
sought  it  for  its  purchasing  power2;  money  was  a 
convenient  representation  of  all  other  objects  of 
wealth,  and  therefore  men  desired  to  have  as  much 
of  it  as  possible.3  Once  the  benefits  accruing  from 
the  possession  of  money  were  realized,  it  seemed 
impossible  to  do  without  it,  and  this  is  perhaps  the 
reason  for  '  the  frenzy  of  trade  ' 4  which  seized  upon 
all  classes  of  the  community.  But  it  was  not  only 
that  England  developed  a  love  of  trading,  but  that 
the  commercial  spirit  pervaded  all  departments  of 
life  and  influenced  almost  every  sentiment.  The 
author  of  the  Italian  Relation  was  very  much  im- 
pressed by  the  Englishman's  love  of  money ;  he 
seems  to  think  that  anything  would  be  done  to  gain 
it.5  It  is  curious  to  find  great  nobles  6  and  eccle- 
siastics 7  engaged  in  commerce.  Special  facilities 
for  exporting  wool  were  granted  to  Margaret  of 
Anjou  8  and  to  other  members  of  the  Royal  family.9 
Popular  songs  like  '  London  Lickpenny,'10  with  its 
refrain  '  For  lack  of  money  I  could  not  spede,' 

1  Wright,  Hist,  of  Domestic  Manners,  415.  Jand3  Cunningham, 
Growth  of  English  Industry  and  Commerce,  I,  465.  *  Alton  and 
Holland,  op.  cit.,tf.  *  Italian  Relation,  pp.  24-6.  a  Ralph,  Earl 
of  Westmoreland,  Cal.  French  Rolls,  1422-4,  m.  12.  John,  Earl  of 
Shrewsbury,  Ibid.,  1459-60,  m.  23.  7  Lawrence,  Bishop  of  Durham, 
Ibid.,  1459-60,  m.  19.  9  Act  Par/.,  V,  150.  *  Syllabus  to  Rymer's 
Fcedera,  II,  691.  Campbell,  op.  fit.,  I,  228.  10  Lydgate's  Minor 
Poems,  103  and  seq. 


72     EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 

*  Gramercy  myn  own  purse,'1  and  '  A  song  in  praise 
of  Sir  Penny,'2  afford  illustrations  of  the  same 
spirit. 

The  increase  of  riches,  which  trade  brought  with 
it,  not  only  enabled  men  to  obtain  more  material 
comforts,  but  also  gave  them  a  new  chance  of  rising 
in  the  world.  It  had  been  practically  impossible  for 
a  peasant  to  rise  out  of  his  class,  except  through  the 
Church,3  or  through  success  on  the  battle-field,  but 
in  the  fifteenth  century  the  yeoman  could  become  a 
gentleman  '  by  getting  into  a  lord's  household,  and 
spending  large  and  plenty ' ;  the  squire  who  would  be 
a  knight  without  bearing  arms  had  only  to  go  to  court, 
with  his  purse  full  of  money.4 '.Whereas  in  earlier  days 
the  possession  of  land  was  a  man's  chief  claim  to  re- 
spect, now  wealth  also  bestowed  distinctions  upon 
its  owner ;  and  even  land  was  desired  mainly 
as  a  source  of  wealth.6  The  usher  of  Humphrey 
Duke  of  Gloucester,  in  estimating  the  ranks  of 
different  classes  in  society,  placed  a  knight  of  pro- 
perty and  blood  above  a  simple  and  poor  knight, 
and  the  wealthy  Abbot  of  Westminster  above  the 
'  poor  abbot  of  Tynterne  '6;  and  considered  the 
Mayor  of  London,  the  representative  of  the  richest 
city  in  the  kingdom,  the  equal  of  viscounts  and 
mitred  abbots.7  Wealth  therefore  became  a  means 
of  gratifying  the  desire  for  social  distinction  ;8  and 
before  the  recognition  of  these  new  qualifications 
for  honours,  the  old  ideas  of  status  and  caste  broke 
down,  and  the  futility  of  attempts  to  keep  the  old 
class  divisions  may  be  seen  in  the  failure  of  the 
sumptuary  laws,  which  prescribed  a  certain  dress 


1  Ritson,  Ancient  Songs  and  Ballads,  152.  8  Ibid.,  ii6andseq. 
8  Pollard,  Factors  in  Mod.  Hist.,  135.  4  Mrs.  Green,  Town  Life, 
Ij,  IO.  B  F.  Pollard,  op.  cit.,  139.  6  Russell's  Boke  in  Manners 
and  Meals  int  he  Olden  Times,  192.  7  Ibid.,  188.  8  Cunningham, 
op.  cit.,  I,  465. 


UPON  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  SOCIETY  73 

for  each  grade  in  society.1  But  even  before  the  old 
class-distinctions  had  been  wholly  swept  away  new 
lines  of  cleavage  appeared,  and  the  strife  of  Capital 
and  Labour  began. 

How  far  these  changes  were  due  to  the  worship 
of  money,  and  how  far  they  indicate  admiration  for 
the  power  and  ability  which  were  needed  to  win  it, 
is  impossible  to  say  ;  but,  in  any  case,  they  inspired 
new  ambitions.  When  the  barriers  between  the 
classes  had  been  destroyed,  men  were  no  longer 
satisfied  to  stand  well  in  their  own  grade,  but  they 
aspired  to  rise  to  others.2  This  aim,  and  the  con- 
fusion caused  by  the  loss  of  the  old  ideals,  engen- 
dered a  spirit  of  restlessness,  which  showed  itself  in 
all  kinds  of  people  and  in  all  kinds  of  ways.  Some- 
times it  took  the  form  of  a  longing  for  actual 
physical  movement,  and  led  those  under  its  influ- 
ence to  wander  from  county  to  county — a  tendency 
which  the  statutes  of  Labourers  and  legislation 
against  vagrancy  3  endeavoured  to  check.  Sometimes 
it  resulted  in  a  revolt  against  old-established  cus- 
toms and  the  denial  of  rights  which  had  existed 
from  time  immemorial.  Such,  for  example,  was  the 
refusal  of  the  men  of  Great  Yarmouth  to  allow  the 
barons  of  the  Cinque  Ports  '  libertees  &  franchises,' 
which  they  had  enjoyed  (during  the  fair  held  in  the 
town)  '  de  temps  dont  memorie  ne  court.'4  Even 
the  privileges  of  the  Church  were  not  safe  from 
attack.  The  parson  of  St.  Just  in  Roseland  com- 
plained that  Alan  Bugules  and  others  had  forcibly 

1  Statutes  of  apparel,  1463-4,  Kot.  Par/.,  V,  504,  repeated  1477,  but 
partially  abandoned  in  1482  ;  Rot.  Far/.,  VI,  220.  *  Cunningham, 
I,  465.  »  12  Kic.  //,  c.  3.  *  Early  Chanc.  Ptocetd.,  4/153,  6/78, 
26/566.  The  King's  tenants  in  the  Forest  of  Knaresborough  obsti- 
nately refused  to  pay  tolls  to  the  Archbishop  of  York  during  the  fairs, 
and  he  kept  '  Ripon  at  fair  tymes  by  night,  like  a  towne  of  warr,'  with 
soldiers  ;  an  '  affray '  took  place  between  them  and  the  people,  and 
each  side  blamed  the  other  (Plutnpton  Corr. ,  liv-lxii). 


74     EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 

carried  off  the  mortuaries,  the  best  garment  and 
the  second-best  beast  of  certain  parishioners,  which 
by  custom  belonged  to  the  parson.1  Similarly  the 
Bishop  of  Chichester  laid  a  petition  before  the 
Chancellor,  because  the  Mayor  of  Chichester  had 
forbidden  suitors  to  sue  at  the  Piepowder  Court,  a 
franchise  which  had  always  belonged  to  the  Bishops 
of  Chichester.2  These  are  examples  of  revolts 
against  custom  on  a  very  small  scale  ;  but  some- 
times popular  discontent  with  existing  circum- 
stances showed  itself  in  widespread  movements  like 
Jack  Cade's  rebellion,  which,  however,  was  mainly 
a  political  rising. 

One  of  the  most  practical  results  of  the  economic 

changes  of  the  later  Middle  Ages  was  the  destruc- 

tion  of  Feudalism,  and  of  the  substructure 

ofCFeuda?-n  uP°n    which    it    rested,    the     Manorial 

ism  as  the     System.   *  Feudalism,'  says  Professor  Pol- 

kufdStenure  ^ar(^  ' was  a  rura^  organization  based 
"  upon  man's  relation  to  the  land,  and 
regulated  by  the  conditions  of  agricultural  life.'3 
It  could  not,  therefore,  survive  changes  which 
altered  both  '  man's  relations  to  the  land '  and 
'  conditions  of  agricultural  life.'  The  forces  which 
brought  about  the  downfall  of  Feudalism  were 
active  long  before  the  fifteenth  century.  As  soon 
as  economic  pressure  caused  the  substitution  of 
hired  for  compulsory  labour,  and  made  the  com- 
mutation of  service  for  money  necessary,4  the  decay 
of  the  manorial  system  began.  The  economic 
changes  of  the  fifteenth  century  increased  the  power 
of  the  forces  already  at  work,  and  made  some  addi- 


1  Early  Chanc.  Proceed. ,  3/107. 

2  Ibid.,    16/20.     Some  of  the  tenants  of  the  Prior  of  St,  Martin's, 
Dover,  refused  to  attend  his  court  (Ibid.,  39/110). 

3  Pollard,  Factors  in  Modern  Hist.,  41. 

4  Trevelyan,  England  in  tht  Age  of  Wydiffe,  185. 


UPON  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  SOCIETY  75 

tions  to  them.  Feudalism  contemplated  only  two 
classes,  lords  and  villeins  ;  the  industrial  and  com- 
mercial system  of  modern  history  requires  two 
factors  which  Feudalism  did  not  provide,  a  middle 
class  and  an  urban  population.1  The  development 
of  both  these  factors  was  largely  due  to  the  econo- 
mic conditions  of  the  fifteenth  century.  To  the 
same  cause  may  be  attributed  the  decrease  of 
serfdom,  which  was  an  integral  part  of  the  Feudal 
system.  The  development  of  industry,  and  in  par- 
ticular of  the  cloth  manufacture,  provided  lucrative 
employment  for  capable  workmen,  and  many  serfs 
were  tempted  by  it  to  withdraw  from  their  lords. 
In  the  reigns  of  Richard  II  and  of  Henry  IV,  the 
Commons  complained  that  the  villeins  withdrew 
every  day  into  the  *  veiles  marchauntes,'  whence 
it  was  impossible  to  reclaim  them.2  A  petition 
presented  to  Henry  VI,  in  1447,  gives  the  impres- 
sion that  even  the  King's  serfs  were  trying  to  re- 
pudiate their  obligations  ;  it  asked  that  the  '  King's 
Boundemen  within  North  Wales  be  bounden  and 
arted3  to  do  such  labours  and  services  of  right,  as 
thei  have  used  to  do  of  olde  tyme,  notwithstandyng 
eny  Graunte  made  unto  theim,  or  eny  usage  used 
by  they  me  of  late  tyme  to  the  contrarie.'4  The 
Early  Chancery  Proceedings  give  some  examples 
of  cases  in  which  the  lords  did  not  succeed  in  main- 
taining their  claims  to  Feudal  dues.  The  prior  of 
Wenlock  appealed  to  the  Chancellor  against  Sir 
Gilbert  Talbot  and  Richard  Walwen  because  they 
refused  to  pay  a  heriot  on  behalf  of  Andrew  Walton.5 
Rent  was  assessed  in  lieu  of  customary  works,  due 
to  the  convent  of  St.  Saviour's  of  Sion,  from  the 

1  Pollard,  Factors  in  Modern  Hist.,  41. 

3  Savine  in  Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Sot.,  N.S.,  XVII  (1903),  p.  259. 

3  Compelled.  «  R«t.  Par/.,  V,  139,  No.  23. 

*  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  59/46. 


76     EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 

manor  of  Cheltenham.1  Feudal  lords  did  not, 
especially  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  century,  allow 
their  villeins  to  flee  without  making  efforts  to  re- 
cover them  ;  and  in  some  cases  they  very  unscrupu- 
lously claimed  freemen  as  their  bondmen.  The 
Rolls  of  Parliament  give  an  account  of  the  sufferings 
of  '  John  Whithorne,  gentleman,'  who  was  claimed 
by  Humphrey,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  as  '  nativum 
suum  ' ;  the  unfortunate  man  was  imprisoned  and 
his  land  seized,  and  he  had  the  greatest  difficulty 
in  obtaining  his  liberty  and  the  restitution  of 
his  property.2  The  Chancery  Proceedings  contain 
several  examples  of  claims  to  bondmen,  which  are 
said  to  be  quite  unjust.3  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
century,  when  the  landowners  began  to  enclose 
their  land  for  sheep  pastures,  they  did  not  need  so 
many  labourers,  and  were  probably  glad  if  their 
serfs  took  to  flight,  as  it  left  more  land  for  them. 
We  find  that  in  some  cases  the  lord  of  the  manor 
allowed  the  serf  to  pay  chevage  for  licence  to  remain 
away  from  his  holding,4  while  sometimes  the  villein 
purchased  his  freedom' outright.5  A  careful  exami- 
nation of  the  history  of  serfdom  in  the  manor  of 
Forncett,  (Norfolk),  has  shown  that  a  very  large 
number  of  serfs  withdrew  from  their  holdings,  and 
that  whereas  there  were  sixteen  servile  families  in 
1400,  there  were  only  eight  in  1500. 6  It  has  been 
estimated  that  by  the  beginning  of  the  Tudor  period 
only  one  per  cent  of  the  population  consisted  of 
bondmen.7  Possibly  we  may  attribute  the  decline  of 

1  Ibid.,  19/66.  An  entry  in  one  of  the  Howard  Household  Books 
in  1467  gives  an  account  of  services  due  from  the  tenants  of  '  Stansted 
Halle  in  hervest ' ;  but  adds,  '  Alle  these  duetes  unpaid  of  eche  of 
them  5  yere '  (Howard  Household  Book,  I,  p.  396).  a  Rot.  Parl. , 
V,  448,  No.  35,  and  Savine,  Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Sac.,  1903,  p.  261. 
3  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.  ,3/110,  15/159,  16/436,  28/338,  61/397,  233/10. 
See  Appendix  B,  4.  4  Davenport,  Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.,  N.S., 
XIV  (1900),  140.  5  Early  Chanc.  Proceed. ,  62/260,  20/134. 

6  Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.t  N.S.,  XIV,  p.  131.         7  Ibid.,  XVII  248. 


UPON  THE   STRUCTURE   OF  SOCIETY  77 

serfdom  to  the  fact  that  the  feudal  lord  no  longer 
cultivated  the  demesne  lands  himself ;  when  this 
happened,  the  raison  d'etre  of  serfdom  no  longer 
existed,  and  villeinage  became  an  anachronism.1 
A  very  interesting  point  to  which  Mr.  A.  Savine 
has  alluded  is  the  change  in  the  nature  of  servile 
tenure.  Bond  tenure,  he  says,  early  loses  its  servile 
character,  and  attains  the  level  of  *  customary 
copyhold.'  He  quotes  the  case  of  some  copy- 
holders named  '  Baroun,'  who  applied  to  the  Chan- 
cellor for  assistance,  because  forcible  entry  had 
been  made  into  their  copyhold.  The  land  was 
bond  tenancy,  but  the  defendant  did  not  bring  for- 
ward the  exception  of  villeinage,  and  his  inference 
is  that  in  the  fifteenth  century  the  Chancery  drew 
no  distinction  between  bond  and  customary  tenure.2 
Great  changes  took  place  during  the  fifteenth 
century  and  the  latter  half  of  the  fourteenth,  in 
free  tenure  as  well  as  in  bond.  In  the  fifteenth 
century  leases  became  more  common,  and  a  feature 
of  the  period  is  '  the  gradual  lengthening  of  the 
terms,3  and  gradual  change  from  tenure  at  terms  of 
years  to  tenure  at  a  perpetual  fixed  rent.4  As  an 
illustration  of  the  comparative  rarity  of  land  tenure 
based  on  military  or  other  service,  at  the  end  of 
our  period,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  out  of  ninety- 
six  grants  of  land  in  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  made 
by  Henry  VII  in  1486,  seventy-six  were  to  be  held 
by  the  payment  of  money  rent,  thirteen  by  personal 
service,  and  seven  by  yielding  both  rent  and  service.6 
A  curious  characteristic  of  the  century,  which 
must,  one  would  think,  have  helped  to  undermine 

1  Cheyney  in  Eng.  Hist.  Review,  XV,  36-7.  a  Savine  in  Eng.  Hist. 
Review, XVII,  300-1 ,  quoting  Early  Chanc.  Proceed. ,  16/376.  3  Lease 
of  66  years,  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  28/491,  Leases  of  99  years,  lbid.% 
12/145,  and  Coventry  Lett  Book,  Part  7,  188,  194.  *  Davenport, 
Econ.  Development  of  a  Norfolk  Manor,  p.  76.  *  These  figures  are 
extracted  from  Materials  for  the  Reign  of  Henry  VII  for  1486. 


78     EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 

the  Feudal  System,  was  the  excessive  employment 
of  the  '  use  '  or  trust.  '  All  the  land  of  the  kingdom 
was  in  the  hands  of  trustees,  feoffees,  to  whom  every 
buyer  had  his  land  conveyed,  either  solely,  or 
jointly  with  himself,  to  evade  the  rights  of  for- 
feiture, wardship,'  and  other  claims  of  feudal  lords.1 
The  Chancery  Proceedings  contain  references  to 
hundreds  of  such  trusts. 

Feudalism  was  not  only  breaking  down  as  the 
basis  of  land  tenure,  but  was  also  entirely  obsolete 
as  a  military  system.     Service  in  war 
Feudalism    was  no  l°nger  rendered  as  a  feudal  due, 
as  a  but  was  merely  a  matter  of  contract. 

Leaders  of  armies  hired  soldiers  who 
agreed  to  fight  for  them  for  a  specified 
time  at  specified  wages,  which  were  set  forth  in  an 
indenture  of  war.  This  plan  was  not  a  novelty  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  it  was  used  at  least  as  early 
as  the  reign  of  Edward  I,2  but  the  commercial 
nature  of  the  bargains  is  a  great  contrast  to  Feudal 
ideals.  Clauses  were  inserted  in  the  indentures 
by  which  it  was  stipulated  that  the  commander  of 
the  army  should  receive  '  the  third  parte  of  the 
wynnynges  of  werre  '  of  each  of  the  captains  serving 
under  him,  '  aswele  ...  as  the  thirdde  of  thirddes 
wherof  eche  of  his  Retinue  shalbe  answeryng  vnto 
him  of  their  wynnynges  of  werre.'3  Ransoms  of 
prisoners  were  among  the  most  important  of  these 
winnings,  and  there  is  in  the  Public  Record  Office 
a  little  bundle  of  bonds  given  by  various  persons 
to  Henry  V,  promising  to  pay  him  his  share  of  the 
ransoms  of  their  prisoners.4  Some  of  the  obliga- 
tions are  for  quite  small  sums,  for  example,  135.  4d.5 

1  Furnivall,  Fifty  Early  Eng.  Wills,  Forewords,  p.  xiii.  See  Ap- 
pendix B,  2.  a  Exchcq.  Accounts,  Q.  K.  Army,  68/1.  8  Ibid., 
72/1,  No.  1030.  See  Appendix  E.  4  Ibid.,  48/2.  6  Ibid.,  48/2, 
No.  2.  Some  of  the  numbers  in  this  bundle  are  repeated. 


UPON   THE   STRUCTURE   OF   SOCIETY  79 

and  los.,1  but  some  are  for  larger  amounts,  25 
marks  in  one  instance,2  and  £46  135.  4d.3  in  another. 
The  payment  of  these  thirds  was  rather  a  hardship 
when  the  soldiers  had  not  received  their  wages,  and 
in  the  first  year  of  Henry  Vl's  reign  the  King  was 
asked  to  deduct  them  from  the  arrears  still  due 
from  his  father.4  Prisoners  of  high  rank  were 
obliged  to  pay  very  large  sums  of  money  to  obtain 
their  freedom.  Louis  de  Bourbon,  Count  of  Ven- 
dome,  agreed  to  give  100,000  crowns5  as  ransom ; 
and  Charles,  Duke  of  Orelans,  signed  an  indenture 
by  which  he  undertook  to  pay  40,000  nobles  on 
his  liberation,  and  80,000  more  in  six  months'  time, 
if  by  then  he  had  not  been  able  to  negotiate  a  peace 
between  England  and  France.8  The  money  re- 
quired for  ransoms  was  frequently  obtained  by 
commerce,  and  we  have  in  the  French  Rolls  in- 
stances of  licences  granted  both  to  aliens7  and 
Englishmen8  to  trade  in  order  to  raise  their  ran- 
soms. And  so  we  have  the  curious  phenomenon  of 
war  acting  as  a  direct  stimulus  to  trade,  and  even 
in  some  cases  to  trade  between  the  belligerents.9 
The  collapse  of  the  Feudal  System  brought  about 
the  decline  of  Chivalry,  which  was  closely  connected 
with  it.  The  romantic  notions  of  Chivalry  Ti,e  deteri- 
could  not  stand  against  the  commercial  oration  of 
spirit  of  the  age,  any  more  than  knights  Chlvall7« 
in  armour  could  hold  their  own  against  the  new 
methods  of  warfare.  Chivalry,  in  consequence,  lost 
much  of  its  serious  character,  although  outwardly  it 
was  still  flourishing  ;  brilliant  tournaments  were 


1  Ibid.,  48/2,  No.  13.  2  Excheq.  Accounts,  Army,  Q.R.,  48/2, 
No.  1 6.  »  Ibid.,  No.  18.  «  I  H.  VI,  c.  5.  B  Hardy, 
Syllabus  to  Rymer's  Fcedera,  II,  597.  "  Ibid. ,  667.  7  Cal.  French 
Rolls,  1455-6,  ms.  33,  29,  26 ;  1456-7,  ms.  24,  15  ;  1458-9,  18,  12, 
9,  5.  *  Ibid.,  1455-6.  ms.  27,  25,  21,  19,  14,  3;  1496-7,  I3t 
18  and  3.  *  Ibid.,  1422-4,  m.  9. 


80     EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 

held  and  were  patronized  by  the  Court,  like  the 
great  tournament  at  Smithfield  in  I4061;  the  nine 
days  of  '  jostys  of  pese  '  which  celebrated  the  wed- 
ding of  Margaret,  sister  of  Edward  IV,  to  Charles 
the  Bold  of  Burgundy2;  Henry  VIPs  '  justes,'3  and 
many  others.  But  these  tournaments  were  held 
for  political  purposes,4  or  were  merely  occasions  for 
pomp  and  show,  and  not  for  real  training  in  arms. 
The  breakdown  of  Medieval  institutions  and 
the  failure  of  Medieval  ideals  naturally  tended  to 
The  law-  produce  confusion  and  disorder,  which 
lessness  of  were  increased  by  the  displacement  of 
the  age.  labour  caused  by  the  economic  changes 
of  the  century.  Lawlessness  is  therefore  one  of  the 
most  marked  characteristics  of  the  period,  and 
official  records  and  private  letters  are  alike  full  of 
complaints  of  outrages  of  all  kinds.6  Forcible  entry 
into  other  men's  land  and  the  ejection  of  the  right- 
ful owner  was  a  very  frequent  occurrence6;  the 
victims  often  appealed  to  the  Chancellor  for  help 
against  their  assailants,7  especially  when  they  could 
obtain  no  assistance  from  any  other  quarter,  on 
account  of  the  powerfulness  of  their  enemies.  The 
Duke  of  Suffolk  sent  three  hundred  men  against 
John  Paston's  manor  of  Hellesdon,8  and  at  last 
took  the  place  and  forced  the  tenants  to  break  down 
the  walls9;  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  attacked  Caister 
Castle  in  a  similar  fashion,10  and  Lord  Molynes  be- 
sieged Margaret  Paston  in  her  house  at  Gresham,11 

1  Hardy,  Syllabus  to  Rymer's  Fcedera,  II,  556,  cf.  Strype's  Stow,  I, 
718.  a  Paston  Letters,  IV,  298.          s  Campbell,  op.  cit.,  I,  232. 

4  Strutt,  Sports  and  Pastimes,  13.  5  The  Commons  complained  of 
1  Murdra,  Homicidia,  Raptus  Mulierum,  Robberias,  Arsuras  et  alia 
mala  quamplurima '  (Rot.  Par/.,  IV,  421).  6  5  Ric.  77,  st.  I,  c.  7  ; 
15  Ric.  77,  c.  2  ;  4  H.  IV,  c.  8 ;  8  H.  VI,  c.  9 ;  Ancient  Indictments, 
K.B.  8,  Bag  I,  Nos.  64,  23  and  28.  Rot  Par!.,  Ill,  560.  7  Early 
Chanc.  Proceed.,  31/364,  31/465,  32/258,  39/62,  95/28.  8  Paston 

Letters,  IV,  160.  *  Ibid.,  IV,  204-6.  10  Ibid.,  I,  202  ;  V,  45-6. 
»  Ibid.,  I,  43-4. 


UPON  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  SOCIETY      8l 

carried  her  out  and  rifled  it,  and  all  this  happened 
to  one  family.  The  tenants  of  landowners  suffered 
many  inconveniences  when  disputes  arose  as  to 
the  possession  of  the  property.  Both  claimants 
demanded  rent,  and  the  one  who  did  not  obtain  it 
frequently  distrained  the  tenants'  goods,  and  per- 
haps punished  them  as  well  for  paying  his  adver- 
sary.1 

Theft  was  a  common  offence,  and  often  very 
serious  injuries  were  inflicted  upon  the  unfortunate 
persons  who  were  robbed  ;  for  example,  John 
Asshewell,  of  Iseldon,  was  so  badly  wounded  by 
Thomas  Knyfe  that  his  life  was  despaired  of2;  and 
the  wife  of  Robert  Netherton  was  so  frightened  that 
she  was  never  again  in  her  '  stedfast  mynde.'3 
Sir  John  Fortescue,  when  he  was  singing  the  praises 
of  England,  declared  '  there  be  therfor  mo  Men 
hangyd  in  Englond,  in  a  Yere,  for  Robberye,  and 
Manslaughter,  than  ther  be  hangid  in  Fraunce,  for 
such  Cause  of  Crime  in  seven  Yers,'  and  he  gives  as 
the  reason  the  superior  courage  of  Englishmen,  who 
will  not  refrain  from  taking  away  other  men's  riches 
by  might.4  The  fact  that  the  Lord  Chief  Justice 
could  take  pride  in  crimes  of  violence  committed 
by  his  fellow-countrymen  is  indeed  a  curious  com- 
ment upon  the  condition  of  society.  His  opinion  is 
corroborated  by  the  author  of  the  Italian  Rela- 
tion5; and  that  it  was  no  idle  boast  is  seen  by  the 
records  of  many  criminal  proceedings.6  Many  of 
these  were,  however,  due  not  to  the  desire  to  steal, 


1  Ibid.,  I,  309-10,  and  V,  208.  *  Ancient  Indictments,  K.B.  8, 
Bag  i,  No.  50.  3  Early  Cham.  Proceed.,  66/211.  *  Foitescue, 
Vol  I,  op.  cit.,  p.  466.  5  '  There  is  no  country  in  the  world  where 
there  are  so  many  thieves  and  robbers  as  in  England,'  Italian  Relation, 
34.  8  Ancient  Indictments,  K.B.  8,  Bag  i,  Nos.  53,  65,  67,  69, 
70,  16,  26,  42  ;  Coroners'  Rolls,  148,  m.  3  ;  and  158  ;  Early  Cfiattc. 
Proceed.,  4/120,  3/92,  3/141,  12/260,  15/207,  17/61,  27/418,  28/475, 
31/322. 


82     EFFECTS  PRODUCED   BY  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 

but  to  a  malicious  wish  to  injure  or  kill  an  enemy 
The  Coroners'  Rolls  afford  many  instances  of  mur- 
derers deliberately  lying  in  wait  for  their  victims,1 
or  openly  attacking  them2;  sometimes  men  were 
assaulted  in  their  own  homes  and  killed3;  and  often 
quarrels  ended  in  murder.4  The  Early  Chancery 
Proceedings  also  show  that  assaults  of  a  very  brutal 
kind  were  quite  common  ;  one  man  declares  that 
he  has  been  assaulted  and  threatened,  so  that  he 
dares  not  go  out  of  his  house6;  on  another  occa- 
sion, fifty  armed  men  made  a  night  attack  on  the 
house  of  Robert  Bradshaw  and  John  Worsley  of 
Pollesworth  ;  they  brought  '  firebrondes  and  bo- 
tellys  of  straw  and  an  axe,'  and  by  threats  of  setting 
fire  to  the  house,  forced  Robert  and  John  to  come 
down  to  them,  and  then  took  them  away  and  im- 
prisoned them  for  eighteen  days.6  Even  churches 
were  not  held  sacred  by  some  of  these  lawless 
ruffians.7  A  striking  feature  of  the  period  is  the 
contempt  shown  for  legal  authority,  even  some- 
times for  that  of  the  Chancellor,  by  some  desperate 
persons  :  a  woman  upon  whom  a  writ  of  subpoena 
had  been  served,  '  reysyd  vpp  her  neghebors  with 
wepyns  drawen  forto  slee  and  mordre  ye  said  bryn- 
gers  of  ye  writte  '  .  .  .  *  and  compellyd  hem  forto 

1  Coroturs'  Rolls,  63,  m.  I  and  61,  m.  8  ;  cf.  Early  Chanc.  Proceed., 
4/128,  5/191,  6/216,  10/326,  28/375.  2  Coroners'  Rolls,  61,  m.  4; 
63,  ms.  3  and  5  ;  170.  *  Ibid.,  60,  m.  6.  d.  4  Ibid.,  61,  m.  5  ;  and  cf. 
63,  m.  3.  '  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  4/172.  See  Appendix  B,  5. 
6  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  12/102.  7  Robert  Styel,  late  parson  of 
Lammas  (Norfolk),  complained  to  the  Chancellor  that  Roger  Dowe  and 
others  had  made  an  assault  on  him  in  his  church,  dragged  him  out  and 
carried  him  off  to  Norwich,  where  they  kept  him  a  prisoner  until  he 
paid  a  fine  of  ten  marks,  and  bound  himself  in  an  obligation  of 
twenty  pounds  not  to  go  to  law  with  them.  Ibid.,  6/55  and  56,  cf. 
Paston  Letters,  II,  p.  12  and  seq.,  which  describe  how  Walter  Aslak 
set  up  bills  on  the  gates  of  the  priory  of  Trinity  Church,  Norwich, 
threatening  to  murder  Judge  Paston,  as  he  had  already  murdered 
others.  Cf.  also  the  case  of  a  parson  imprisoned  in  his  own  church, 
Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  6/121. 


UPON   THE   STRUCTURE   OF   SOCIETY  83 

devour  the'  same  Writte  .  .  .  bothe  Wex  and 
parchement.'1  In  some  instances,  offenders  also 
resisted  attempts  made  to  arrest  them.2  Disgrace- 
ful scenes  sometimes  took  place  at  the  sessions. 
Will  Pek,  who  had  been  assigned  to  inquire  into 
felonies  and  insurrections  committed  in  the  county 
of  Bedford,  was,  he  told  the  Council,  obliged  to 
adjourn  the  proceedings,  because  Lord  Grey  and 
Lord  Fanhope  each  came  with  an  assemblage  in 
arms,  and  he  feared  a  breach  of  the  peace.3  Out- 
bursts of  lawlessness  were  probably  more  usual  in 
some  parts  of  the  country  than  in  others — for 
example,  in  the  counties  bordering  on  Wales4  and 
on  Scotland  ;  but  no  part  of  the  kingdom  was  im- 
mune.6 Assaults  were  even  made  in  Westminster 
Hall,  '  in  contempt  of  the  King,'6  and  William  Tail- 
boys  tried  to  murder  Lord  Cromwell  there.7  The 
sea  was  no  safer  than  the  land,  for  piracy  was  more 
rife  than  ever  before  ;  it  was  profitable  because 
trade  was  increasing,8  and  ships  were  worth  rob- 
bing. The  '  Libelle  '  deplored  it,  especially  the  depre- 
cations of  Hankyne  Lyons.9  The  ports  on  the  south 


1  Ibid.,  15/197  and  cf.  3/94  and  6/35.  A  statute  passed  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  VI  states  that  '  commandments  by  writ  to  appear  before  the 
King  in  his  Chancery  or  Council  be  and  many  Times  have  been  dis- 
obeyed,' and  orders  very  drastic  punishment  for  defaults  in  the  future, 
31  H.  VI,  c.  2.  2  Ibid.,  5/106 and  165,  and  Coroners'  Rolls,  169,  m.  3. 
3  Proceed,  of  the  Privy  Council,  V,  35-8.  A  similar  case  is  reported 
in  the  Chancery  Proceedings,  12/192-3  :  another  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
Robert  Crakanthorp,  explained  to  the  Chancellor  that  he  had  not  been 
able  to  hold  the  sessions,  because  three  hundred  persons  laid  wait  to 
kill  him  in  the  forest  of  Whinfell ;  and  a  certificate  from  Ralph,  Earl 
of  Westmoreland  accompanied  his  petition.  *  A.C.,  LI,  100.  Rot. 
Parl.,  IV,  421.  Complaints  against  Wales,  Ibid.,  Ill,  663,  IV,  52,  V, 
53.  Statutes,  9  H.  IV,  c.  3;  20  H.  VI,  c.  3.  Condition  of  Shropshire, 
Rot.  Parl. ,  I V,  69.  The  Coroners'  Rolls  for  this  county  show  that  a  very 
large  number  of  murders  took  place,  the  jury  seldom  returned  a  verdict  of 
accidental  death,  Rolls  147-50.  Complaints  against  Northuml>erland, 
Rot.  Parl.,  Ill,  662.  5  See  Appendix  D,  5.  8  Early  Chanc. 
Proceed.,  10/153.  7  Rot.  Parl.,  V,  200.  8  Traill,  Social  England. 
II,  405.  "  Wright,  op.  a'/.,  II,  183. 


84     EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 

coast  seem  to  have  been  veritable  nests  of  pirates  ; 
the  men  of  Fowey,1  Dartmouth,2  Sandwich,3  Fal- 
mouth,4  and  Plymouth5  were  continually  seizing 
vessels.  The  people  of  Calais  were  noted  for  piracy  ; 
a  merchant  of  Brittany  appealed  to  the  Chancellor 
for  aid  against  them  because  they  had  captured  his 
ship,  and  the  Chancellor  endorsed  his  petition  with 
an  order  to  the  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports  to  do 
him  right. 8  The  inhabitants  of  Estergi  and  Westergi, 
in  Friesland,  also  asked  for  aid  against  Calais,  and 
requested  the  King  to  forbid  the  captain  of  the 
town  to  injure  them,  as  he  had  in  his  pay  pirates 
called  '  likedelers.'7  Numerous  appeals  for  the 
restitution  of  goods  and  ships  occur  in  diplomatic 
documents,8  and  many  negotiations  were  carried 
on  concerning  them  ;  the  orders  for  restoration  of 
property,  or  payment  of  compensation,  prove  how 
often  the  English  were  in  fault.9  The  reproach 
hurled  by  the  French  Herald  at  the  English,  '  Vous 
appliquez  vostre  dit  navire  a  faire  guerre  aux 
pouvres  marchans,  piller  et  rober  leur  marchandises, 
et  vous  faictes  pillastres  et  larrons  de  mer,'10  was 
justified  by  facts  ;  though  we  have  no  reason  to 
think  that  the  English  were  worse  than  any  other 
nation.  The  evil  was  in  part  due  to  the  difficulty 
experienced  by  merchants  in  obtaining  payment  of 
debts,  and  to  the  sanction  of  the  system  of  reprisal 
by  letters  of  marque.11  Rough-and-ready  justice 

1  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  13/16,  16/30,  16/74,  20/19.          2  Ibid., 
6/123,    8/14,    10/37.  3    Ibid.,   39/226.  4    Ibid.,    11/430-1. 

6  Ibid.,  9/321,  11/40,  67/172.  For  illustration  see  Appendix  B,  3. 
8  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  5/89.  7  Hardy,  op.  cit.,  II,  541.  8  Com- 
plaints of  Hanse  merchants,  Ibid.,  II,  545  ;  do.  by  Teutonic  order  of 
St.  Mary,  Ibid. ,  600 ;  do.  by  Flemish  merchants,  Gairdner's  Letters, 
I,  39,  and  II,  49.  Henry  VI  expressed  regret  for  piracy  by  English- 
men on  a  Portuguese  noble,  Bekynton,  Letters,  I,  190.  g  Hardy, 
op.  cit.,  II,  553,  572,  717.  10  Dttat  des  ff/frauts,  p.  26.  n  The 
men  of  Truro  and  Fowey  arrested  ships  by  reason  of  letters  of  mark 
granted  nineteen  years  before;  Early  Chanc.  Proceed,,  20/19. 


UPON   THE   STRUCTURE  OF   SOCIETY  85 

was  the  order  of  the  day,  and  men  recouped  them- 
selves for  their  losses  ;  a  ship  belonging  to  the 
Bishop  of  St.  Andrew's  was  seized  by  pirates  of  the 
West  Country,1  and  he  in  retaliation  arrested  the 
goods  in  the  John  of  Calais.2 

Acts  of  lawlessness  were  committed  not  only  by 
criminals  and  desperadoes,  but  by  persons  of  both 
sexes  and  of  all  classes  ;  and  perhaps  the  most  fre- 
quent offenders  were  found  among  the  nobility. 
To  take  one  case  out  of  many,  we  find  that  quarrels 
between  the  Earl  of  Devon  and  William,  Lord  Bon- 
ville  kept  Cornwall  and  Devonshire  in  a  state  of 
disorder  for  many  years.  The  Privy  Council  made 
great  efforts  to  bring  them  to  an  agreement  by 
peaceful  means3  in  1441,  but  quite  in  vain4;  and 
fourteen  years  later  it  was  stated  in  Parliament 
'  there  ben  grete  &  grevous  riotes  down  in  the 
Weste  Countrey,  betwene  Th'  erle  of  Devonshire, 
and  the  Lord  Bonevile,  by  the  whiche  som  Men  have 
be  murdred,  some  robbed,  &  Children  &  Wymen 
taken.'6  The  Earl  of  Devonshire,  it  was  said,  had 
robbed  the  *  churche  of  Excestre,  and  take  the 
Chanons  of  the  same  Churche  and  put  theym  to 
fynaunce.'7  One  of  John  Paston's  correspondents 
gives  a  description  of  an  outrage  committed  by  the 
son  of  the  Earl  of  Devonshire  against  a  man  named 
Radford  ;  a  house  was  burnt  at  his  gate  to  force 
him  to  open  it,  and  then  the  assailants  rushed  into 
the  place,  stole  all  that  they  could,  and  carried  off 
Radford  and  smote  him  on  the  head.6  Some  of 
the  Early  Chancery  Proceedings  throw  more  light 
upon  the  doings  of  the  Courtenay  family.  Christian 
Keynes  stated  that  J.  Keylewey,  by  the  '  supporta- 

1   Ibid.,  24/3-5.          a  IbiJ">  24/261.  *   Proceed,  of  the  Privy 

Council,  V,  165.         4  Ibid.,  173-5  and  408.  8  Rot.  Parl.,  V,  285, 

and  further  complaints,  V,  332,  No.  8.  6  Rot.  Parl.,  V,  285. 
7  Paston  Letters,  III,  49. 


86     EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 

cion  &  mayntenance  '  of  Thomas,  late  Earl  of  Devon, 
had  riotously  taken  her  goods  and  chattels  to  the 
value  of  ^loo1;  and  the  earl  was  accused  of  assist- 
ing J.  Trelauney  to  obtain  wrongful  possession  of 
land,  in  a  similar  manner.2  There  are  no  less  than 
three  accusations  against  Sir  Hugh  Courtenay  for 
seizing  goods  from  ships  at  sea,  but  as  there  were 
two  persons  of  the  same  name,  possibly  the  earlier 
petition3  was  against  the  father,  and  the  later 
against  the  son.4  One  of  them  was  also  accused  of 
carrying  off  a  servant,  horses,  and  goods  belonging 
to  Thomas  Bodulgate.5 

Philip  Courtenay,  too,  was  rather  high-handed 
in  his  dealings  ;  he  assaulted  an  officer  of  the  Ex- 
chequer for  doing  his  office.6  A  petition  by  the 
grandsons  of  John  Boville  the  Younger  against 
Edward  Courtenay,  grandson  of  the  first  Sir  Hugh, 
for  the  possession  of  some  lands,  shows  that  the 
quarrels  of  this  family  were  still  unended.7  We 
have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Courtenays  were 
more  lawless  than  others  of  their  class  at  this  time  ; 
on  the  contrary,  they  were  a  most  illustrious  family, 
and  not  only  served  the  King  in  France,8  but  sup- 
plied the  nation  with  an  admiral9  and  two  bishops10 
in  the  course  of  the  century.  This  combination  of 
great  ability  with  an  utter  disregard  for  law  and 

1  Early  Cham,  Proceed.,  28/450.  2  28/298.  J  Ibid.,  13/16, 
date  of  bundle,  13-21  H.  VI.  *  28/476  (38  H.  VI.  to  5  Ed.  IV.} 
and  30/60  (3  to  7  Ed.  IV.).  The  elder  Sir  Hugh  was  the  son  of 
Sir  Ed.  Courtenay,  son  of  Hugh  Earl  of  Devon,  who  died  in  1377 
(G.  E.  C.  peerage).  5  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  24/223. 

8  28/440.  According  to  the  G.  E.  C.  peerage  Sir  Philip  was  the  great 
grandson  of  Hugh  Earl  of  Devon.  7  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  50/313 
(date  of  bundle,  1475-80  and  1483-5).  Ed.  Courtenay  was  created 
Earl  of  Devon  in  1485.  8  Edward  Courtenay,  Knt.,  Junior  (Cal. 
French  Rolls,  1416,  m.  31),  and  Hugh  Courtenay,  son  of  Edward, 
Earl  of  Devon  (Ibid.,  1418,  m.  2).  9  Edward  Courtenay,  Admiral  of 
the  West  (Rot.  Parl.,  Ill,  152).  10  Richard  Courtenay,  Bishop  of 
Norwich,  and  Peter  Courtenay,  Bishop  of  Winchester  and  of  Exeter 
(Diet,  of  National  Biography). 


UPON  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  SOCIETY  87 

order  is  very  characteristic  of  the  age.  It  was,  of 
course,  exceedingly  difficult  to  bring  powerful  men 
like  the  Courtenays  to  justice,  and  unfortunately, 
not  content  with  their  own  quarrels,  they  often 
took  part  in  those  of  their  neighbours  and  gave 
them  the  benefit  of  their  support,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, malefactors  were  often  so  strong  that  no 
one  dared  to  resist  them.1 

One  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  lawlessness  of  the 
nobility  was  the  '  yevyng  of  Lyverees  and  Signes  ' 
and  the  '  Mayntenaunce  of  Quarels  '  by  powerful 
men.2  Great  lords  kept  a  large  number  of  retainers, 
perhaps  as  substitutes  for  the  feudal  vassals  who 
had  almost  disappeared  ;  and  judging  from  the 
ordinances  made  to  check  the  evils  of  the  system, 
some  of  these  retainers  were  persons  of  very  bad 
character.  In  1429  it  was  ordered  that  no  lord  of 
the  Council  should  '  receive,  cheryssh,  hold  in  hous- 
hold,  ne  maynteyne  Pillours,  Robbours,  Oppres- 
sours  of  the  people,  Mansleers,  Felons,  Outelawes,' 
and  other  malefactors.3  The  ordinance  gains 
significance  when  we  remember  that  the  lords  of 
the  Council  were  the  foremost  men  of  the  realm, 
and  practically  the  rulers  of  the  kingdom  at  this 
time.  It  was  not  by  any  means  the  first  or  the  last 
prohibition  of  livery  and  maintenance.4  Henry  VII 
was  the  first  king  who  succeeded  in  suppressing 
it ;  he  required  all  knights,  esquires,  yeomen,  and 

1  '  A  cowper  of  Gey  ton  slow  a  tenaunt  of  Danyell,'  but  no  one  dared 
to  indict  him,  because  Tudenham  maintained  him  and  Lord  Scales 
apparently   maintained    Tudenham    (Paston    Letters,    II,    214    and 
seq.). 

2  Rot.  Par!.,  V,  487,  No.  39.    Instances  of  outrages  said  to  be  due 
to   maintenance,    Early    Chanc.    Proceed.,    15/94,    16/100,    16/715, 
22/42,    29/521,    31/173,    38/249,    S/io6.  *  A'o/.   Par/.,   IV,   344. 
4  Enactments  regarding  Livery  and  Maintenance,  Rot.  Par/.,  Ill,  23  ; 
Ibid.,  307,  No.  31,  and  345,  No.  38  ;   Ibid.,  Ill,  428,   No.  84,  477, 
No.  no;    IV,  348,  No.  35;    V,  487  and  633.     Statutes,  i  H.  IV, 
c.  7  ;  13  H.  IV,  c.  3  ;  8  H.  VI,  c.  4 ;  and  8  Ed.  IV,  c.  2. 


88     EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 

others  to  take  an  oath  not  to  break  the  lav 
against  it,1  and  he  fined  those  who  disobeyed  very 
heavily. 

The  numerous  quarrels  which  went  on  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  the  outrages  which  so  often 
The  use  of  accompanied  them,  caused  an  enormous 
arbitration  amount  of  litigation.  Sometimes  attempts 

fifteenth       W6re  made  to  S6ttle  disPutes  bY  arbitra- 
cenhiry.        tion-     For  example,  it  was  ordained  by 
the  Privy  Council  that  Lord  and  Lady 
Westmoreland  should  each  choose  three  lords  and 
two   justices   to    '  laboure   betwix   hem   for   good 
accord.'2      Humfrey    Forster    writes    to    Thomas 
Stonor  that  '  Heynes  ...  is  bounde  in  an  obligation 
of  £200  to  abide  ye  rewle  '  of  certain  persons  in  all 
the  matters  between  him  and  Fowler3 ;   and  some- 
times persons  of  superior  rank  acted  as  mediators 
between  disputants.    Thus  a  thirteen  years'  quarrel 
between  the  Corporation  of  Coventry  and  William 
Bristowe,  concerning  the  enclosure  of  the  Lammas 
lands,  was  finally  settled  by  the  arbitration  of  the 
Prince   of  Wales.*     The  respective  claims   of   Sir 
William  Plumpton's  son  and  granddaughters  were 
submitted  to  the  judgment  of  Richard  III,  and  he 
made   an   award  in   which   both  sides   peaceably 
acquiesced.6    The  Gilds  did  their  best  to  prevent 
lawsuits  between  their  members— '  bretheren  and 
sisteren  '  were  ordered  to  put  matters  between  them 
to  the  arbitration  of  the  Master  and  others6 ;   and 
some  ordinances  only  permitted  them  to  apply  to 
the  common  law  if  the  master  and  aldermen  had 
failed  to  'accord'  them,  and  then  only  with  the 

1  Campbell,  op.  dt.t  Vol.  I,  243-4. 
3  Proceed.  Privy  Council,  IV,  289. 

5  »;C"  VoL  XLVI«  No>  47-  *  Dormer  Harris,  op.  cit.,  236. 

5  Plumpton  Corr.t  xcv. 

•  T.  Smith,  Eng.  Gilds,  21,  55,  76,  96,  271,  279,  280. 


UPON  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  SOCIETY  89 

consent  of  the  officials  of  the  Gild.1     The  weak 
points  of  arbitration  were  the  difficulties  of  finding 
impartial  arbitrators,2  and  of  persuading  the  parties 
concerned  to  carry  out  the  award  if  they  did  not 
like  the  decision.     A  dispute  between  Sir  William 
Plumpton  and  Ralph,  Earl  of  Westmoreland,  was 
referred  to  arbitrators,  but  they  did  not  end  it,  and 
a  second  award  was  needed.3    Even  Richard  Ill's 
judgment   was   set    aside   early   in    the   sixteenth 
century.4     Sometimes  disgraceful  scenes  occurred 
at  '  love-days,'  as  they  were  called.    Judge  Tirwhit 
came  to  one,  at  which  Gascoigne  was  to  arbitrate 
between  him  and  Lord  de  Roos,  with  five  hundred 
armed   followers,    whom   he   placed   in   ambush.5 
Under  these  circumstances  it  is  hardly  surprising 
that  many  people   thought  litigation   a   The 
safer  way  of  setting  discord  at  rest  than 
arbitration,    and    most    of    the    persons 
whose  letters  have   come   down   to  us,   fifteenth 
engaged   in    numbers    of   lawsuits.      Sir   cento11*. 
John  Fastolf  and  John  Paston  were  continually  at 
law,  and  the  other  members  of  the  Paston  family 
were  nearly  as  bad.    '  A  register  of  writs,'  belonging 
apparently  to  Sir  John  the  Elder,  gives  some  ideas 
of  the  legal  business  in  which  he  was  involved. 
Nine  writs  are  mentioned  in  this  one  document, 
and  all  of  them  seem  to  be  dated  in  the  eighth  year 
of  Edward  IV.6    Sir  William  Plumpton  was  so  fond 
of  litigation  that  it  was  said  that  he  was  suing 

1  Ibid.,  450-1.  Richard  Drynkemylk,  draper,  in  a  petition  to 
the  Chancellor,  states  that  the  wardens  of  his  company  have  cause* 
him  to  be  imprisoned  by  the  Mayor  of  London,  because  he  sued 
Richard  Odyam  in  Chancery  without  their  leave  (Early  Chanc. 
Proceed.,  197/56),  and  similarly  John  Paret,  of  London,  mercer,  com- 
plains that  he  has  been  imprisoned  at  the  instance  of  the  wardens  ol 
his  company  for  remsal  to  accept  arbitration  between  himself  and  his 
servant  (Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  219/42)-  '/*'*.'.  29/29°.  26/296, 
27/34-  '  Plumpton  Corr.,  li.  *  Ibid.,  cm.  »  Wyhe, 

Henry  IV,  II,  189-90.        8  Paston  Letters,  V,  97-8. 


90     EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 

every  true  man  in  the  Forest l  of  Knaresborough, 
where  he  lived.  The  Plumpton  Correspondence 
also  shows  that  Sir  Robert  Plumpton  was  frequently 
in  the  law  courts  ;  three  writs  were  out  against  him 
on  February  loth,  1489-90. 2  Reference  is  made 
to  several  other  suits  in  which  he  was  interested  in 
letters  addressed  to  him3  ;  and  both  the  Plumptons 
and  the  Pastons  figure  in  the  Chancery  Proceedings.* 
Sir  John  Howard  must  have  given  a  good  deal  of 
occupation  to  lawyers.  On  May  8th,  1467,  he  paid 
los.  to  '  mastyr  Frestone  of  the  Chaunsery  for  two 
wryttes  ' ;  on  the  I3th  of  the  same  month  he  ob- 
tained a  '  wrytte  ayens  Pryse,'  '  a  nother  wrytte 
uppon  his  patent  and  lyvelode,'  and  he  enrolled  two 
writs,  one  against  '  Sulyard  '  and  the  other  against 
himself.  His  legal  expenses  that  day  amounted  to 
26s.  6d.5 

It  was  not,  however,  only  the  aristocracy  and 
gentry  who  indulged  in  the  luxury  of  going  to  law  ; 
in  the  flourishing  town  of  Nottingham  there  were 
so  many  suits  between  the  burgesses  that  in  a  single 
year  twenty  rolls  or  more  were  filled  with  the 
records  of  them.8  Even  churches  engaged  in  litiga- 
tion. We  read  in  the  churchwardens'  accounts  of 
St.  Mary-at-Hill,  London,  of  an  action  of  debt  for 
house-rent,7  of  a  suit  against  a  tenant  for  wrong- 
doing,8 and  of  proceedings  against  the  prioress  of 
St.  Helen's  regarding  a  chantry,  which  cost  no  less 


1  Plumpton  Correspondence,  p.  23.  -  foia.,  p.  91.  *  Ibid.,  112, 
130,  132,  133.  *  Petitions  against  Sir  W.  Plumpton,  Early  Chanc. 
Proceed.,  31/33°,  31/485,  45/175,  58/32?  38/224,  66/77.  A  great 
deal  of  litigation  arose  out  of  Sir  John  Fastolf  s  will.  John  Paston 
petitioned  against  Yelverton  and  Jenny  for  the  possession  of  Caister  ; 
William  Waynflete,  bishop  of  Winchester,  petitioned  against  Yelverton 
and  William  Paston  concerning  other  land  with  which  they  had  been 
jointly  enfeoffed,  33/214.  B  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  402. 
6  Mrs.  Green,  Town  Life,  II,  325.  7  Medieval  Records  of  a 

London  City  Church,  p.  91.         s  lbid.t  ill. 


UPON   THE  STRUCTURE  OF  SOCIETY  91 

than  £iS  6s.  4£d.  in  one  year.1  These  are  not  iso- 
lated instances, — St.  Dunstan's,  Canterbury,  was 
engaged  in  two  lawsuits  in  1490,  one  of  which  was 
commenced  in  i486.2 

In  consequence  of  the  increased  amount  of  litiga- 
tion which  was  carried  on  in  the  fifteenth  century 
lawyers  were  very  prosperous,  and  the  Prosperity 
legal  profession  became  very  popular.  It  of  the 
was  necessary  to  provide  more  accommo-  Iaw7ers> 
dation  for  law-students  in  London,  and  Barnard's 
Inn  was  handed  over  to  them  as  early  as  1454. 3 
Staple  Inn  was  a  wool-house  in  early  days,  but  by 
1463  it  had  yielded  up  any  right  it  may  have 
possessed  to  be  regarded  as  a  customs-house,4  and 
had  become  an  Inn  of  Chancery.  New  Inn  prob- 
ably became  the  habitation  of  lawyers  late  in  the 
century  ;  it  was  a  hostel  for  travellers  as  late  as 
1485. 5  In  the  days  of  Sir  John  Fortescue  there  were 
four  Inns  of  Court  and  ten  Inns  of  Chancery  ; 
each  of  the  former  was  frequented  by  about  two 
hundred  students,  and  each  of  the  latter  by  a 
hundred,6  and  they  seem  to  have  been  very  flourish- 
ing. 

The  failure  of  Medieval  ideas  and  the  fall  of 
Medieval  institutions  ultimately  brought  about 
further  changes  in  the  structure  of  society, — men 
grew  tired  of  lawlessness  and  litigation,  of  political 
strife  and  private  warfare.  The  '  lack  of  govern- 
ance,' which  was  the  chief  characteristic  of  the 


1  Ibid.,  179. 

2  Archaologia  Cantiana,  Vol.  XVII,  p.  146.     Yatton  church  also 
engaged  in  a  lawsuit  and  employed  three  lawyers,  Hobhouse,  123. 

•  Douthwaite,  Gray's  Inn,  p.   257,  and  Bellot,  Inner  and  Middle 
Temple,  243. 

4  E.  Williams,  Staple  Inn,  99,  and  Cato  Worsfold,  Staple  Inn  and 
its  Story,  p.  36. 

5  Bellot,  Thelnner  and  Middle  Templt,  p.  239. 
'  Fortescue,  op.  cit.,  I,  434. 


92     EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 

Lancastrian  rule  in  England,1  aroused  a  longing  for 
a  strong,  capable  sovereign.  Henry  VII's  determina- 
tion to  keep  order,  and  his  enlightened  commercial 
policy,  made  him  acceptable  to  the  nation,  and 
the  New  Monarchy  rose  upon  the  ruins  of  Feu- 
dalism. 

1  Pollard,  Factors  in  Modern  History,  71-2. 


CHAPTER    II 

THE   RISE  OF  THE   MIDDLE   CLASS 

THE  decay  of  the  Feudal  System  inevitably  brought 
with  it  a  decrease  in  the  importance  of  the  barons, 

Decline  and  such  Power  as  remained  to  them 
of  the  was  based  not  on  land  tenure,  as  of  old, 
Baronage,  but  On  the  possession  of  money.  Their 
retainers  were  not  vassals,  but  hired  servants, 
bound  to  them  not  by  oaths  of  fealty,  but  by  the 
receipt  of  wages,1  or  by  the  hope  of  reward.  The 
Celys  called  Sir  John  Weston  '  my  lord,'  and  wore 
his  livery,  although  they  held  no  land  of  him,2  and 
Sir  John  Paston  the  Younger  was  one  of  the  '  ffeede 
men  '  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk3  ;  but  it  is  obvious 
that  only  rich  men  could  afford  to  have  dependents 
of  this  kind.  The  letters  of  the  period  are  full  of 
requests  for  patronage,4  but  great  men  required 
some  return  if  they  granted  a  favour,  and  they 
were  not  above  taking  a  gift  or  a  loan  of  money. 

Richard,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  desires  a  correspon- 
dent to  lend  him  a  hundred  pounds,  and  adds  with 
his  own  hand,  '  Sir  I  say  I  pray  that  ye  fayle  me 
not  at  this  tyme  in  my  grete  nede,  as  ye  wule  that 

'  An  indenture,  dated  1471,  between  Richard  Duke  . of  Gloucester 
and  William  Burgh  stipulates  that  William  shall  serve  the !  Duke  at  M 
times,  in  peace  and  war,  for  the  term  of  his  life,  and  that  •»•*"*» 
'yerely  foVhis  fee  ten  marcs  sterling'  (Archalogia   Vol.  47.  P-  J9S  • 
2  Ceh  Paters  viii   and  55.         *  Fasten  Letters,  IV,  200-1. 
William  Stonor  is  asked  to  be  « gud  maystur '  to  a  poor  t£*">~** 
Henry  Stonor  advises  his  brother  to  do  Lord  £^"**»?££ 
because  it  would  put  him  'in  suerte  to  have  in  tymes  to  come    * 
needed  it,  '  right  good  Lordship.'     (A.C.,  XLVI,  Nos.  215  and  ft.) 

93 


94  THE    RISE   OF   THE   MIDDLE   CLASS 

I  schewe  yow  my  goode  lordshype  in  that  matter 
that  ye  labure  to  me  for.'1 

How  entirely  a  noble's  social  position  was  inter- 
woven with  his  wealth  and  the  number  of  his 
~  retainers  may  be  seen  by  the  Liber  Niger 

travagance  of  Edward  IV,  which  draws  up  specimens 
of  thearis-  of  the  households  of  different  persons  of 
different  ranks.  A  duke  should  spend 
£4000  a  year  and  have  two  hundred  and  forty  at- 
tendants 2  ;  a  marquis  should  spend  £3000  and  have 
two  hundred  attendants3;  and  persons  lower  down 
in  the  social  scale  should  spend  proportionately 
less.  The  idea  that  a  man's  rank  should  determine 
the  amount  of  his  expenditure  was  Medieval ;  but 
the  noble  who  could  not  afford  to  spend  as  much  as 
his  position  demanded  must  have  been  in  a  miser- 
able plight ;  and  we  have  already  seen  in  the  Russell 
Book  that  property  had  some  influence  in  questions 
of  precedence  ;  moreover,  the  fashion  of  raising 
men  to  higher  ranks  because  they  were  rich  had 
begun.4  The  Liber  Niger  also  shows  that  more 
value  was  attached  to  ceremony  and  outward  show 
than  in  former  days.  Edward  IV  had  '  bannerettes 
or  bacheler  knights  '  as  his  '  kervers  or  cupberers.' 
'  In  the  noble  Edwardes '  (i.e.  Edward  Ill's) 
*  dayes  worshipfull  esquires  did  this  servyce  but 
now  thus  for  the  more  worthy.'5  Other  household 
books  give  the  same  impression  ;  members  of  the 
aristocracy  could  not  visit  each  other  without 
taking  a  string  of  servants  with  them.  The  House- 
hold Book  of  Lady  Alicia  de  Brienne  relates  that 
'  Dominus  Johannes  Howard,  "  cum  vxore,  filia 

1  Ellis'  Orig.  Letters,  2nd  Series,  p.  144,  Vol.  I.  2  Ordinances 
of  the  Royal  Household,  xiii,  and  26.  3  Ibid.,  and  p.  27. 

4  Michael  de  la  Pole,  Earl  of  Suffolk,  in  the  reign  of  Richard  II,  was 
the  first  Englishman  who  owed  his  peerage  to  wealth  derived  from 
trade  (Pollard,  Factors  in  Alodern  History,  40).  5  Ordinances  of 
the  Royal  Household,  3 3. 


THE    RISE   OF  THE    MIDDLE   CLASS  95 

ancilla,  ij  armigeris,  ij  valectis  &  iij  garconibus," 
came  to  see  the  mistress  of  the  house.'1  Great 
nobles  entertained  most  lavishly.  On  the  feast  of 
the  Epiphany,  three  hundred  and  nineteen  strangers 
dined  with  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  and  two 
hundred  and  seventy-nine  supped  with  him.2  Six 
oxen  were  consumed  in  one  meal  at  the  table  of  the 
Earl  of  Warwick,  and  visitors  were  allowed  to  carry 
off  joints.3  The  households  of  the  higher  aristocracy 
were  sometimes  nearly  as  magnificent  as  that  of  the 
King.  Lord  Howard  had  all  kinds  of  officials — an 
auditor,4  a  cator,5  a  '  Kowntroller,'6  a  steward,  two 
priests,  and  two  fools,  one  of  whom  was  called  the 
fool  of  the  kitchen,  and  who  was  perhaps  kept  to 
amuse  the  servants.7  His  treasurer  was  a  person  of 
sufficient  importance  to  have  a  minstrel  in  his  own 
pay  and  livery.8  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  osten- 
tation and  extravagance  of  the  English  nobles  were 
due  to  a  desire  to  imitate  the  Court  of  Burgundy, 
which  was  considered  the  model  of  lordly  courtesy 
and  high  breeding.  It  was  noted  for  its  pomp  and 
magnificence,  and  for  its\display  of  wealth9;  and 
England  was  brought  into  clQseconnection  with  it 
by  trade  and  by  political  alliances.  The  expense 
entailed  by  such  a  mode  of  living  was  necessarily 
very  great10;  and  therefore,  though  it  gave  the  aris- 
tocracy an  appearance  of  prosperity,  it  was  really 
suicidal  policy,  and  none  but  the  most  wealthy 
could  stand  against  it.  Thus  a  few  great  magnates, 
like  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  and  the  Earl  of 

1  Chanc.  Misc.,  Bundle  4,  No.  8,  f.  3.  The  Stafford  Household 
Book  speaks  of  one  visitor  who  had  ten  attendants  and  another  eight ; 
and  the  Lady  Anne,  sister  of  the  lord,  had  fourteen  persons  with  her 
on  one  occasion  and  fifteen  on  another  (Arfhalogia,  Vol.  XXV,  321 
and  319).  a  Ibid.,  325.  *  Paston  Letters,  Introd.  I,  328-9. 
4  Howard  Household  Book,  II,  Introd.  xxi.  6  Ibid.,  141,  190. 

6  Ibid.,  439.  7  Ibid.,  xxii.  8  Ibid.,  xxi.  fl  Wright,  Domestic 
Manners,  415-16.  10  The  household  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence  cost 
over  X^4°°o  a  year  (Ordinances  of  the  Royal  Household,  105). 


96  THE   RISE   OF   THE   MIDDLE   CLASS 

Northumberland,  were  very  powerful,  and,  indeed, 
almost  overshadowed  the  throne,1  but  the  majority 
of  feudal  nobles,  impoverished  by  lavish  expen- 
diture, and  discredited  by  the  lawlessness  of 
their  retainers,  declined  in  social  importance.  Eco- 
nomic changes  co-operated  with  political  causes, 
such  as  the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  in  bringing  about 
their  downfall. 

A  method  by  which  needy  nobles  and  gentlemen 
replenished  their  empty  purses  was  by  marrying 
Inter-  the  daughters  or  the  widows  of  rich 
marriage  merchants  and  traders.  '  Marchandes  ' 
the^upper  an(^  ' new  Jantylnien  '  were  willing  on 
and  middle  their  side  to  '  proferr  large '  for  mar- 
classes,  riages  with  their  superiors.2  Sir  William 
Plumpton,  the  grandfather  of  the  Sir  William  who 
was  the  recipient  of  the  earliest  letters  in  the 
Plumpton  Correspondence,  married  the  daughter 
of  John  Gisburn,  a  merchant  of  York,3  and  the 
widow  of  George  Cely  married  Sir  John  Halwell.4 
The  wife  of  Sir  Gilbert  Talbot  had  been  previously 
married  to  a  merchant  of  the  Staple.5  Marriages  of 
this  kind  were  very  important  because  they  brought 
about  a  fusion  of  the  upper  and  middle  classes. 

The  rise  of  the  middle  class  is  the  most  notable 
feature  in  the  history  of  social  life  in  England 
in  the  late  fourteenth  and  early  fifteenth  cen- 
The  rise  of  tury,  and  it  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the 
the  middle  economic  changes  of  the  period,  and 
class.  especially  to  the  great  industrial  revolu- 

tion, which  ended  by  making  England,  hitherto  a 
mere  producer  of  raw  material,  the  manufacturer 
of  finished  goods  in  all  the  chief  markets  of  Europe.6 

1   Denton,  England  in  the  Fifteenth  Century,  262.  2  Fasten 

Letters,  VI,  149.  3  Plumpton  Corr.t  p.  xxvii.  4  Early  Chanc. 
Proceed.,  196/76.  5  Ibid.,  110/30.  *  Vickers,  Humphrey  Dnke 
of  Gloucester,  83. 


THE  RISE  OF  TH£  MIDDLE  CLASS  97 

Money  gained  by  successful  trade  gave  importance 
to  the  middle  class  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and 
even  kings  thought  it  worth  while  to  bestow  favours 
upon  men  who  could  advance  loans  to  them.  In 
1474  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  godfather  to  the 
child  of  the  Mayor  of  Coventry  ;  and  the  Queen 
sent  twelve  bucks  from  Fakenham  Forest  as  a 
present  to  the  Mayor,  his  brethren,  and  their  wives.1 
Mr.  Vickers  has  drawn  attention  to  the  reliance 
placed  by  Humphrey  Duke  of  Gloucester  upon  the 
support  of  the  middle  classes,2  and  in  particular 
upon  the  burgesses  of  London.3  It  is  interesting 
in  this  connection  to  remember  how  impressed  the 
author  of  the  Italian  Relation  was  with  the  '  great 
riches  of  London,'  which,  he  says,  '  are  not  occa- 
sioned by  its  inhabitants  being  noblemen  or  gentle- 
men ;  being  all,  on  the  contrary,  persons  of  low 
degree^  &  artificers  who  have  congregated  there 
from  all  parts  of  the  island,  and  from  Flanders,  and 
from  every  other  place.  .  .  .  Still,'  he  adds,  *  the 
citizens  of  London  are  thought  quite  as  highly  of 
there,  as  the  Venetian  gentlemen  are  at  Venice.'4 
The  *  Libelle  '  reflects  national  feeling  in  its  praise  of 

'  the  sonne 

Of  marchaundy,  Richarde  of  Whitingdone, 
That  loode-sterre  and  chefe  chosen  floure, 
Whate  hathe  by  hym  oure  England  of  honoure  ?  * 

Merchants  and  artisans  often  rose  to  the  position 
of  gentry  by  acquiring  landed  property.  The  Court 
Rolls  of  Tooting  Bee  Manor  show  that  there  were 
many  citizens  of  London; — butchers,*  carpenters,7 
and  others  8  amongst  its  tenants.  The  Early  Chan- 
cery Proceedings  also  contain  numerous  allusions 

1  D.  Harris,  op.  cit.,  p.  191.  Cf.  Sharpe,  Wills,  II,  555. 
2  Vickers,  op.  cit.,  320.  2  Ibid.,  415.  *  Italian  delation,  43. 
•  Wright,  Polit.  Songs,  II,  178.  6  Tooting  Bee  Manor  Court  Roils, 
17  H.  VI ;  1440.  7  Ibid.,  1442.  8  27  H.  VI. 

H 


9«  THE   RISE   OF  THE   MIDDLE   CLASS 

to  land  held  by  tradesmen.1  John  Bristowe  gained  a 
livelihood  as  a  draper,  and,  growing  in  wealth  and 
influence,  he  became  Mayor,  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
and  Master  of  the  Trinity  Guild ;  he  purchased  an 
estate  at  Whitley,  and  his  son  spoke  of  his  manor 
and  wrote  himself  '  gentilman.'2  One  of  the  corre- 
spondents of  George  Cely  gives  us  an  idea  of  the 
amount  of  money  made  by  merchants  of  the  Staple. 
*  They  nede,'  he  says,  '  goo  noo  farther  than  the 
bokes  yn  the  tesery  wher  they  may  fynde  that  yowre 
sallyz  made  wtyn  lesse  than  thys  zere  amountes 
above  ijM1  li  ster '  (£2000). 3  Mr.  Maiden  holds 
that  this  would  produce  an  income  of  £200  a  year, 
which  would  equal  the  household  expenses  of  a 
knight,  and  double  those  of  a  squire,  according  to 
the  reckoning  in  the  Black  Book  of  Edward  IV.4 
The  Wills  of  the  period  also  show  that  considerable 
sums  of  money  were  made  by  trade.  A  mercer  of 
London,  John  Neve,  left  more  than  £840  in  cash, 
as  well  as  a  messuage,  goods,  and  chattels.6  Another 
mercer  bequeathed  two  thousand  marks  to  charity, 
two  thousand  also  to  his  children,  a  manor  to  each 
of  his  sons,  and  various  lands,  rents,  and  tenements 
to  other  persons.6  Socially,  the  middle  classes  seem 
to  have  been  ranked  with  squires,  and  in  consequence 
'  Marchaundes  and  Franklonz,  worshipfulle  and 
honorable,  ]?ey  may  be  set  semely  at  a  squyers 
table,'7  says  Russell,  and  he  puts  doctors  and 
Serjeants-of-Law  and  '  riche  artyficeris '  in  the 
same  category.8  But  when  members  of  the  middle 
classes  were  knighted,  they  ranked  amongst  those 
whom  Russell  counted  as  fourth  in  the  order  of 
precedence.9 

1  Early  Chanc.  Proceed. ,  by  a  draper,  27/99  ;  by  a  grocer,  27/101 ; 
by  a  goldsmith,  26/427  ;  by  a  mercer,  39/25.  2  Dormer  Harris, 
op.  cit.,  206-7.  3  Cely  Papers,  153.  4  Ibid.,  Introd.,  xliv. 

1    Early  Chanc.    Proceed.,    67/333.       8'  Sharpe,     Wills,    II,    398-9. 
T  Manners  and  Meals,  189.         8  Ibid.,  187.         9  Ibid.,  186. 


THE   RISE  OF  THE   MIDDLE  CLASS  99 

During  the  fifteenth  century  the  English  yeo- 
manry took  root,1  and  its  development  was  assisted 
by  the  changes  which  occurred  in  land  Growth 
tenure.  The  Early  Chancery  Proceedings  Of  the 
often  refer  to  persons  who  seem  to  be  English 
small  farmers.  John  Paddon,  yeoman,  yeo 
we  are  told,  was  possessed  of  *  a  mese  and  x  acres 
of  arable  land  '2;  and  another  yeoman,  John  Forger, 
was  seised  of  '  a  mes  xxij  acres  of  land  and  iij  acres 
of  mede  with  the  appurtenaunces.'3  Mr.  Denton, 
who  takes  a  most  gloomy  view  of  the  condition  of 
England  in  the  fifteenth  century,  says  that  tenant- 
farmers  were  rising  into  a  distinct  and  important 
class.  He  thinks  that  landlords  were  willing  to  let 
their  lands  on  easy  terms,  because  the  old  free 
tenants,  who  had  held  land  by  military  tenure,  were 
almost  extinct,4  and  the  attractions  of  trade  made 
it  difficult  to  fill  their  places.  Professor  Thorold 
Rogers  holds  that  during  the  fourteenth  century, 
occupying  freeholders  possessing  eighty  acres  of 
land  were  rare  ;  but  in  the  fifteenth  they  became 
sufficiently  numerous  to  form  the  basis  of  a  new 
political  system.5  The  children  of  yeomen,  especi- 
ally if  their  parents  managed  to  educate  them,  some- 
times rose  to  quite  important  positions.  Henry 
Chichele,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  is  said  to  have 
been  the  son  of  a  yeoman6;  and  the  father  of  Hugh 
Latimer  was  a  Leicestershire  farmer  yeoman.7 
The  Church  had  always  provided  clever  youths  with 
an  opportunity  of  rising  in  the  world,  and  in  the 
fifteenth  century  a  brilliant  career  was  also  open  to 
men  of  talent  in  the  legal  profession.8  The  passion 
for  litigation  which  distinguished  the  age  created 

1  T.  Rogers,  Work  and  Wages,  384.        *  Early  Chanc.  Proceed., 
27/93.  JMd-t  28/388.         *  Denton,  op.  (it,  234-5.         B   Work 

and  Wages,  282.          •   Diet,  of  National  Biography.         7   Diet,  of 
National  Biography,        8  Mrs.  Green,  Town  Life,  II,  263. 


100  THE  RISE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  CLASS 

a  demand  for  a  large  number  of  lawyers,  and  legal 
advice  was  so  frequently  needed  by  towns  that 
often  the  town  clerk  was  a  lawyer.1  An  exception- 
ally clever  man  might  become  a  judge,  and,  in  any 
case,  an  able  lawyer  could  command  the  market, 
like  Thomas  Caxton,  the  brother  of  the  printer, 
who  went  from  town  to  town,  wherever  he  could 
best  sell  his  services.2  The  history  of  the  Paston 
family  shows  what  could  be  done  by  those  who  were 
capable  and  energetic.  Clement  Paston  lived  on 
his  land,  and  had  five  or  six  score  acres  at  the  most ; 
he  borrowed  money  and  sent  his  son  William  to 
school,  and  afterwards,  with  the  help  of  his  wife's 
brother,  who  was  an  attorney,  to  court.  William 
was  a  '  right  cunning  '  man  in  the  law,  and  he  was 
made  a  Serjeant  and  finally  a  justice.3  He  bought 
much  land,  and  one  of  his  sons,  William,  was  con- 
sidered worthy  to  marry  Anne  Beaufort,  daughter 
of  Edmund  Duke  of  Somerset,4  and  cousin  of 
Margaret  Countess  of  Richmond,  mother  of  Henry 
VII.  Judge  Paston 's  other  son,  John,  also  did  very 
well,  and  two  of  his  sons  were  knighted.  Thus, 
while  the  aristocracy  was  degenerating  through  its 
lawlessness  and  extravagance,  the  middle  class  was 
becoming  a  more  and  more  important  factor  in 
society  ;  and  with  the  victory  of  Henry  VII  it 
came  into  a  position  to  make  its  interests  domi- 
nant.5 

1  Mrs.  Green,  Town  Life,  II,  260-1.  a  Ibid.,  261.  »  Paston 
Letters,  Vol.  I,  Introd.,  pp.  28-9,  quoting  Yelverton's  account  of  the 
ancestry  of  Sir  J.  Paston.  4  Ibid.,  Vol.  V,  75.  5  Hasbach,  Hist, 
of  the  English  Agric.  Labourer,  p.  33. 


CHAPTER    III 

THE   ECONOMIC   POSITION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

THE  secular  clergy  and  the  religious  orders  were 
considerably  affected  both  by  the  economic  changes 
of  the  fifteenth  century  and  by  the  new  Thc 
ideas  engendered  by  them.  They  did  system  of 
not  escape  the  love  of  money,  the  com-  pkrallties- 
mercial  spirit,  and  the  restlessness  which  character- 
ized the  laity ;  and  their  position  in  society  was 
altered  by  the  changes  in  the  social  structure.  The 
love  of  money  showed  itself  in  various  ways.  In- 
fluential men  often  managed  to  obtain  two  or  more 
posts  at  the  same  time.  A  list  of  wealthy  clergy 
drawn  up  in  1404  gives  some. good  illustrations  of 
the  lengths  to  which  this  practice  was  carried. 
John  Thorp  was  *  pensionarius  in  diuersis  locis  & 
Rector  duarum  ecclesiarum  parochialium  in  diocesi 
Norwicensis ' ;  and  this  example  is  by  no  means 
exceptional.  It  was  quite  common  for  ecclesiastics 
to  hold  three  or  four  appointments,  a  few  possessed 
five,  and  one  cleric,  named  '  Nicholas  Bubbewyth,' 
was  actually  credited  with  six.1  Several  com- 
plaints of  the  system  of  pluralities  and  of  the 
non-residence  of  the  clergy,  which  necessarily  ac- 
companied it,  occur  in  the  Rolls  of  Parliament 
during  the  fifteenth  century  and  the  last  part  of 
the  fourteenth.2  Gascoigne  comments  very  bitterly 

1  Excheq.  K.  R.  Ecc/es.,  ^.  2  Rot.  Parl.t  III,  163,  468,  594, 
645,  and  IV,  290,  305.  One  of  the  Early  Chancery  Proceedings 
deals  with  the  payment  of  a  sum  of  £10,  which  had  been  spent  on 
obtaining  a  Plurality  Bull  in  Rome,  and  sending  it  to  England 
(11/328). 

IOJ 


102       THE   ECONOMIC   POSITION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

upon  the  non-residency  of  the  Bishops,  and  declares 
that  when  the  mob  murdered  '  Asku,  Bishop  of 
Sarum,'  they  upbraided  him  with  this  fault.1 
Churches  were  farmed  and  let  out  on  lease  as  if 
they  were  landed  property  and  nothing  more  ;  five 
laymen  jointly  held  to  farm  the  church  of  St.  John 
in  the  '  Marresse  '2;  and  the  lease  of  the  benefice 
of  St.  Dunstan's-in-the-East,  London,  was  granted 
to  Thomas  Elderton,  fishmonger,  and  afterwards  to 
William  Nottyng,  clerk,  by  the  factors  of  Master 
Adrian  Castylyens,  the  parson  of  the  church.3  An 
even  more  curious  arrangement  is  recorded  in 
which  it  is  asserted  that  Martyn  Jolyff,  priest, 
keeper  of  the  guild  of  Jesus  with  St.  Paul's,  London, 
'  leet  to  ferme  '  '  all  the  gederingis  '  .  .  .  '  of  Almes 
of  the  people  of  and  in  fifteen  Shires,  for  a  certein 
Sume  of  money.'  The  ecclesiastical  authorities  said 
that  the  agreement  was  not  lawful,  and  to  the 
damage  of  the  people  ;  but  the  person  to  whom  it 
had  been  granted  appealed  to  the  Chancellor  against 
their  decision.4 

As  a  result  of  the  desire  to  increase  their  incomes, 
and  possibly  also  from  motives  of  ambition  in  some 
Secularity  cases,  we  find  clergy  of  all  classes  en- 
of  the  gaged  in  secular  pursuits.  Many  of  the 
clergy.  higher  clergy  were  politicians,  and  too 
much  occupied  with  affairs  of  State  to  devote  them- 
selves to  their  spiritual  duties.  Bourchier  is  said 
to  have  only  officiated  once  in  his  cathedral  during 
the  ten  years  that  he  was  bishop  of  Ely,  and  that 
was  at  his  installation.5  To  take  one  See  as  an 
example,  amongst  the  bishops  of  Exeter  in  this 


1  Lewis,  Life  of  Pecock,  pp.  19-21.  2  Early  Chanc.  Proceed. , 
100/72,  and  other  cases  17/239  and  41/262,  and  Plumpton  Corr., 
xxxvii.  3  Early  Chanc.  Proceed,,  216/70,  similar  cases,  1 1/8, 

11/90,  11/219.  4  Ibid ,  66/25,  Lease  of  a  Chantry,  Early  Chanc. 

Proceed.,  10/284.         5  Capes,  English  Church,  202. 


THE   ECONOMIC   POSITION   OF  THE  CHURCH       103 

century  at  least  five  were  eminent  public  men. 
Edmund  Stafford  and  George  Neville  were  chan- 
cellors, and  Booth  was  a  statesman  who  cared  little 
for  his  diocese1;  Peter  Courtenay  took  a  consider- 
able share  in  politics,  he  served  both  Edward  IV 
and  Henry  VII,  and  was  made  Keeper  of  the  Privy 
Seal  and  Commissioner  of  the  Royal  Mines  by  the 
latter  King.2  Fox,  who  followed  him  at  Exeter, 
was  one  of  Henry's  chief  advisers  ;  his  episcopal 
work  was  performed  by  a  suffragan,  he  '  himself 
for  the  most  part,  as  it  seems,  being  detained  by 
his  public  employments  about  the  Court.'3  Priests 
in  lower  positions  often  acted  as  secretaries  and 
men  of  business  to  their  patrons4;  Sir  John  Howes 
made  himself  very  useful  to  Sir  John  Fastolf  in 
this  way,  and  he  took  part  in  lawsuits,  and  quarrelled 
as  vigorously  as  his  master.  Country  parsons 
sometimes  made  money  by  selling  their  grain,5  or 
their  malt,6  and  we  hear  that  Sir  Thomas  Maund, 
parson  of  South  Tidworth,  traded  in  wool,  and  did 
not  fulfil  his  bargain.7  The  parson  of  Dunster 
acted  as  collector  of  the  King's  taxes  in  Somerset,8 
and  clergy  of  all  kinds  were  feoffees  to  uses.9 

Dr.  Jessop  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  incomes  of 
the   parish  priests  had  greatly  decreased  by  the 
fifteenth  century  through  the  encroach-  incomes  Of 
ments  of  the  monasteries,  the  rivalry  of  the  parish 
the   friars,   and   other   causes.10    If   this  Pnests- 
statement  be  true  it  would  be  some  excuse  for  their 
participation    in    secular    employments,    and    no 

1  Freeman,  Exeter,  pp.  193-4.  3  Diet,  National  Biography,  XII, 
339-4O.  *  Ibid.,  XX,  quoting  Fulman.  *  We  read  that  Sir  Ralph 
Kempe,  priest,  '  was  besy  abowte  ye  seruice '  of  Thomas  Charlys,  Esq. 
Early  Cham.  Proceed.,  9/265.  s  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  52/172. 

Howard  Household  Book,  II,  1 1 8,  and  208-9.  8  Early  Chanc. 
Proceed.,  60/2.  7  Ibid.,  27/137.  8  Ibid.,  11/361.  *  Ibid.,  17/94, 
18/31,  19/125,  20/17,  21/17,  22/44,  24/48,  25/9,  26/20,  and  many 
more  ;  hundreds  could  be  quoted.  10  Jessop,  Parish  Life,  101-4. 


104       THE   ECONOMIC   POSITION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

doubt  some  parishes  suffered  greatly  from  the 
appropriation  of  tithes  and  other  sources  of  revenue 
to  abbeys  and  priories.  A  document  in  the  Public 
Record  Office  gives  a  list  of  the  churches  in  Kent 
appropriated  to  monasteries,  and  shows  how  valu- 
able they  were.  The  Abbey  of  Faversham  possessed 
two  churches,  which  yielded  £60  and  £30  6s.  8d. 
respectively ;  six  churches  were  appropriated  to 
the  Abbey  of  '  Langedon,'  and  six  to  the  Priory 
of  Dover ;  and  the  Priory  of  St.  Gregory,  Canter- 
bury, possessed  even  more.1  Another  document 
in  the  Record  Office,  an  inquisition  regarding  the 
churches  in  Bristol,  gives  the  value  of  eighteen 
churches  in  that  city  or  its  suburbs  ;  the  amounts 
vary  a  great  deal :  two  were  estimated  at  £4,  and 
seven  were  under  £10,  but  two  were  worth  £20  each, 
and  one  £25.  The  average  value  of  the  livings  was 
£11  ys.2  The  income  of  the  Rector  of  Preston,  in 
Kent,  was  £g  155.  in  1536,  and  Abbot  Gasquet 
considers  that  it  was  ample  for  those  days,3  so  the 
clergy  in  Bristol  were  well  off ;  but  possibly  this 
state  of  affairs  was  due  to  the  commercial  pros- 
perity of  the  city. 

Chaplains,    like    other    wage-earners,    demanded 

higher  pay  for  their  services,  and  refused  to  take 

less  than  twelve  marks  ;    consequently, 

chajiafns.     m  answer  to  the  petition  of  the  Commons, 

it  was  ordered  that  parochial  chaplains 

should  have  eight  marks,  and  others  seven.4     It 

was,   however,   very   difficult   to   enforce   statutes 

limiting  wages.    In  1449  the  ex-prioress  of  Rowney, 

in    Hertfordshire,    complained    that    she    and    her 

1  Excheq.  K.  R.  Eccles.,  1/17.  a  Lay  Subsidies,  *tf ;  one  of  the 
figures  in  this  document  is  faint,  so  the  calculation  may  not  be  quite 
accurate.  s  Gasquet,  Parish  Life  in  Medieval  England,  16. 

4  Rot.  Parl.t  IV,  51,  and  2  H.    V,  Stat.  II,  c.  2.     In  1362  it  was 
ordered  that  the  wages  of  chaplains  should  not  exceed  five  marks, 


THE   ECONOMIC   POSITION   OF  THE  CHURCH       105 

sisters  could  have  '  noo  preste  '  except  a  young  one, 
because  they  asked  '  so  moche  and  grete  salary.'1 

Whether  we  think  the  secular  occupations  of  the 
priesthood  justified  by  poverty  or  not,  there  seems 
little  doubt  that  they  had  a  bad  effect  Deteriora- 
upon  the  moral  tone  of  the  clergy  as  a  of  the 
whole.  A  large  number  of  serious  accusa-  cler£y- 
tions  were  brought  against  them  during  this  century, 
and  although  it  is  very  unlikely  that  all  the  charges 
were  true,  a  certain  proportion  must  have  been, 
and  the  fact  that  they  were  made  shows  that  the 
clergy  were  considered  capable  of  committing 
crimes.  Some  of  them  were  charged  with  wrongfully 
retaining  goods  or  money  belonging  to  other  per- 
sons.2 There  are  many  petitions  against  them  on 
the  ground  of  assault  :  William  Selby,  parson  of 
Denham,  is  said  to  have  attacked  the  servant  of 
John  Colrede  with  his  fist,  an  Irish  knife,  and  a 
staff3;  William  Aufyn  of  East  Barkwith,  Lincoln- 
shire, declared  that  the  parson  forcibly  carried  him 
off  from  his  house.4  Sometimes  the  clergy  objected 
to  the  discipline  imposed  by  their  superiors  :  the 
Archdeacon  of  Norfolk  complained  that  when  he 
made  a  visitation  at  Cromer  the  vicar  and  many 
armed  parishioners  assaulted  him  and  his  servants 
in  the  church  and  cemetery,  and  they  hardly  escaped 
with  their  lives.6  Margaret  Paston  in  one  of  her 
letters  tells  her  husband  that '  the  parson  of  Snoryng 
came  to  Thomas  Denys  and  fetched  hym  owt  of  hys 
hows  .  .  .  and  hathe  a  leed  hym  festhe  with  hem  '6; 
and  another  priest,  named  Phylyp,  '  com  to  Hayls- 
don  with  a  grete  nomber  of  pepell,  that  ys  to  say 
viij"  men  and  mor  in  harnysse,  and  ther  toke 
from  the  persons  plowe  ij  hors,  pris  iiij  marc  and 

1  Proceed,  of  Privy  Council,  VI,  67.  8  Early  Cham.  Proceed., 
6/262,  10/97,  17/282,  19/155.  *  Ibid.t  28/342.  *  Jbid.t  16/65. 
6  16/52.  tt  Paston  Litters,  III,  282, 


106      THE  ECONOMIC   POSITION  OF  THE   CHURCH 

ij  hors  of  Thomas  Stermyns  plowe,  pris,  xls.1 
Fabyan  says  that  '  the  persone  of  Wortham  in  Nor- 
folke  .  .  .  haunted  Newmarket  heth,  and  there 
robbyd  and  spoyled  many  of  ye  Kynges  subgettes.'2 
Roger  Skete  accused  the  vicar  of  Reigate  of  carrying 
off  his  wife  and  certain  goods3;  while  another 
petitioner  declared  that  William  Roddok,  priest, 
enticed  away  his  daughter4;  and  some  dozens  of 
charges  of  a  similar  nature  were  brought  against 
chaplains  in  the  city  of  London  in  the  time  of 
Henry  IV.5  There  are  also  charges  of  rioting8 
and  of  forgery7  in  the  Early  Chancery  Proceedings, 
and  numbers  of  cases  in  which  feoffees  were  said 
to  have  betrayed  their  trusts.8 

The  first  indications  of  a  decline  in  the  social 
position  of  the  country  clergy  may  be  noticed  at  the 
Social  end  of  the  fourteenth  century,9  and  ap- 
position of  parently  their  numbers  were  largely  re- 
the  clergy.  crujted  from  the  middle  classes  and  even 
from  serfs,  at  that  time  and  throughout  the  fifteenth 
century.10  It  is  possible  that  the  upper  classes 
were  not  so  much  tempted  to  become  priests 
as  in  former  days,  because  the  economic  changes 
of  the  period  had  thrown  open  new  careers  ;  and 
the  influx  of  men  of  the  middle  classes  into  the 
Church  was  very  characteristic  of  the  condition  of 
society. 

The  results  of  the  lower  moral  tone  of  the  clergy, 

1  Ibid.,  IV,  137-9.  2  Fabyan,  583.  3  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  16/51. 
4  Ibid.,  28/448.  B  Riley,  Memorials  of  London,  566-7,  n. 

6   Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,   17/257.  7   Ibid.,   12/179,  and  9/285. 

a  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  16/378,  17/283,  19/361,  19/211,  26/20, 
27/90,  29/482,  33/102,  35/41,  39/ipi.  These  are  a  few  examples,  but 
there  are  many  more ;  it  is  only  fair  to  remember  that  no  records  exist 
of  the  cases  in  which  feoffees  did  their  duty,  because  they  did  not  call 
for  comment.  9  Jessop,  Parish  Life,  105.  10  Gasquet,  Parish 
Life  in  Medieval  England,  72.  Walter  le  Hart,  Bishop  of  Norwich 
(1446-72),  was  the  son  of  a  miller,  Gasquet,  Old  English  Bible, 
p.  295. 


THE  ECONOMIC   POSITION   OF  THE  CHURCH       107 

and  perhaps,  too,  of  their  lower  social  position, 
may  be  seen  in  the  lower  estimation  in  which  some 
of  them  were  held  by  the  laity.  It  is  not  only  that 
satirists  scorned  '  poopeholy  prestis  fulle  of  pre- 
somcioun,'  who  '  Avaimcid  by  symony  in  cetees 
and  townys,'1  but  the  people  often  treated  them 
with  disrespect,  and  sometimes  even  with  no  little 
roughness.  The  parson  of  Snoryng  was  '  sete  '  in 
the  stocks,2  a  treatment  which  he  seems  to  have 
thoroughly  deserved  ;  but  he  was  by  no  means  the 
only  parson  who  was  subjected  to  this  indignity.3 
Many  instances  of  assaults  upon  the  clergy  are 
reported,4  and  some  refusals  to  pay  tithes.6  The 
comments  of  the  juries  dealing  with  suits  in  which 
the  clergy  were  involved  also  sometimes  suggest 
that  they  were  actuated  by  bad  feeling  towards 
them.  Sir  Richard  Amyson  had  interfered  in  a 
quarrel  between  two  persons  concerning  a  right 
of  way,  and  the  jury  promised  damages  against 
Amyson  '  in  such  a  somm  to  teche  all  such  prestes 
to  be  ware  how  to  medell  w*  any  man  of  the  seid 
Citee.'6  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Churchwardens' 
Accounts  do  not  betray  any  evidence  of  discord 
between  parsons  and  their  parishioners,  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  affection  felt  by  the  people  for 
their  churches  was  often  extended  to  the  priests 
who  ministered  in  them.  Both  Abbot  Gasquet  and 
Canon  Jessop  have  a  very  high  opinion  of  the 
parish  priest  and  of  the  community  of  purpose 
between  him  and  his  people.7 

The  economic  changes  of  the  fifteenth  century 
produced  quite  as  important  effects  upon  the  re- 

1  Wright,  Polit.  Songs,  II,  251.  2  Fasten  Letters,  III,  290. 
8  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  31/409  and  61/435.  *  Ibid.,  24/35,  3'/528» 
44/213,  39/175,  64/169,  and  216/77.  r  Ibid.,  4/73.  1 1/395,  23/201, 
and  28/409.  8  Ibid.,  60/155.  7  Gasquet,  Parish  Life,  i  and  8  ; 
Jessop,  Parish  Life,  107. 


108       THE   ECONOMIC    POSITION   OF   THE   CHURCH 

ligious  orders  as  upon  the  secular  clergy.  The  monas- 
Functions  teries  had  undoubtedly  performed  many 
of  the  useful  functions  in  the  early  Middle  Ages  ; 
hf  tht816"63  in  the  days  when  the  people  were  igno- 
Middle  rant  and  barbarous  they  were  civilizing 
Ages.  agencies.  The  monks  in  the  scripto- 

riums had  kept  a  record  of  passing  events,  and 
had  taught  their  younger  brethren  such  knowledge 
as  they  themselves  possessed.  They  had  enter- 
tained travellers,1  and  had  endeavoured  to  cure 
the  sick.2  They  had  also  done  something  to  relieve 
poverty  by  gifts  to  the  poor.3  But  the  expansion 
which  had  taken  place  in  economic  life  produced 
new  needs  with  which  they  were  not  adequate  to 
cope,  and  at  the  same  time  it  developed  the  facul- 
ties of  the  laity  so  that  they  were  able  and  willing 
to  undertake  much  that  had  hitherto  been  done 
by  the  monasteries.  Moreover,  at  the  very  moment 
when  greater  demands  were  being  made  upon  them, 
the  monks  were  growing  more  selfish  and  less 
active.  By  the  fifteenth  century  the  literary  monk 
had  almost  disappeared,  and  the  scriptorium  was 
deserted.4  The  hospitality  of  many  of  the  great 
monasteries  was  dying  out,  and  inns,  kept  by  private 
individuals,  provided  accommodation  for  pilgrims, 
and  for  the  travellers,  whose  numbers  had  increased 
with  the  growth  of  intermunicipal  trade.  At 
Abingdon  persons  of  high  rank  were  entertained  at 
the  abbot's  table,  but  the  hospice  for  the  meaner 
guests  was  superseded  by  a  '  new  hostelry,'  leased 
out  by  the  convent  at  a  yearly  rent  as  a  public  inn.6 
At  St.  Albans,  by  the  end  of  the  century,  the  nobles 
were  lodged  at  the  '  George.'6  Even  when  monas- 

1  Thorold  Rogers  calls  the  monasteries  the  '  inns  of  the  Middle 
Ages,'  Agric.  and  Prices,  IV,  114.  2  lbid.t  and  Hobhouse,  249. 
3  Ibid.  4  Thorold  Rogers,  Work  and  Wages t  164.  *  Capes, 
English  Church,  287.  f  Ibid. 


THE  ECONOMIC  POSITION  OF  THE  CHURCH     109 

teries  entertained  guests  within  their  own  buildings 
they  appear  to  have  received  some  payment.  The 
Duke  of  Norfolk  paid  for  some  articles  of  food  at 
Bury  St.  Edmund's,1  Thetford,2  and  '  Reygate,'3 
though  some  things  were  given  to  him.  The  fre- 
quent allusions  made  to  inns  and  taverns  in  the 
Howard  Household  Books  and  other  documents 
show  that  they  must  have  been  numerous  in  London 
and  other  towns.4  Other  duties,  besides  that  of 
hospitality,  were  passing  away  from  the  monks  : 
rich  men  and  Gilds  founded  almshouses  and  hospitals 
for  the  sick,  and  municipal  authorities  began  to 
organize  poor-relief.5 

The  monks  of  the  fifteenth  century  had  ceased 
to  maintain  the  high  standard  of  morals  which  had 
made  them  an  example  to  the  world  Misdeeds 
around  them.  Many  of  the  larger  monas-  of  the 
teries  were  very  rich  in  lands  and  '  stateli  monks- 
mansiouns,'6  and  costly  plate  and  jewels.7  They 
were,  according  to  the  Italian  Relation,  '  more  like 
baronial  palaces  than  religious  houses,'8  and  wealthy 
abbots  kept  large  bands  of  retainers  like  lay  lords. 
Statutes  against  livery  and  maintenance  seem  to 
have  been  aimed  as  much  against  spiritual  as 
against  temporal  lords,9  and  some  of  them  were 
quite  as  lawless  as  any  layman.  The  Abbot  of 
Begham  forcibly  carried  off  goods  from  the  abbey 
of  Dereford  to  the  value  of  £400. 10  He,  or  another 
abbot  of  the  same  house,  brought  a  false  accusation 

1  Howard  Household  Book,  II,  Introd.,  xvi,  p.  449.  -  Ibid,, 
434.  3  Ibid.,  456-7,  460-2.  *  Howard  Household  Book,  I, 
151,  265,  485,  487,  500,  504,  530;  II,  33,  Early  Chanc.  Proceed,, 
32/180,  45/n,  11/222,  17/336.  *  To  be  dealt  with  in  a  later  chap- 
ter. 8  Pecock,  Represser,  II,  543.  7  Ibid.,  344  and  Fortescue 
(Commodities  of  England),  I,  552.  Seventeen  abbots,  six  priors,  and 
the  Masters  of  the  Orders  of  St.  Gilbert  of  Sempringham  and  of  Burton 
St.  Lazarus  are  among  the  wealthy  clergy  in  the  list  of  1404,  Excheq., 
K.R.,  Eccles,  fa.  8  Italian  Relation,  29.  B  Rot.  Part.,  V, 
487.  10  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  6/350. 


110       THE  ECONOMIC   POSITION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

against  Bishop  Redman,  and  was  consequently 
deposed  from  the  post  of  Commissary-General  to 
the  Anglo-Premonstratensian  Order,  which  he  had 
held.1  Judgment  was  given  against  the  abbot  of 
St.  Augustine's,  Canterbury,  by  the  Privy  Council 
for  the  capture  of  a  ship  belonging  to  Abbeville, 
Bruges,  and  Bologne.2  The  abbots  of  St.  Osyth's 
and  of  Beaulieu  are  both  said  to  have  received  goods 
taken  wrongfully  from  ships.3  Sir  John  Neville 
was  charged  in  1443  to  bring  before  the  Privy 
Council  '  ]?e  mysdoers  )?at  late  have  riotted  at 
Fountayns,'  also  to  keep  the  peace  upon  pain  of 
£1000  '  anenst  ]?'  abbot  and  convent  of  Fountayns.'4 
Whether  the  convent  was  in  this  instance  more 
sinned  against  or  sinning  is  hard  to  say,  but  some 
years  later  the  General  Chapter  of  the  Cistercian 
Order  laid  a  petition  before  the  Chancellor  against 
the  abbot  of  Fountains  for  resisting  by  force  the 
reformers  of  the  Cistercian  monasteries  in  the 
county  of  York.6  This  same  abbot  was  accused 
by  Margaret,  late  the  wife  of  Richard  Bank  of 
Whixley,  of  wrongfully  seizing  her  land,  whereby 
she  and  her  seven  children  were  reduced  to  destitu- 
tion.6 The  reform  of  the  religious  orders  in  those 
days  seems  to  have  been  a  work  of  much  difficulty 
and  some  danger,  and  it  was  not  always  success- 
fully carried  out.  In  1441  the  abbots  appointed 
for  this  purpose  by  the  primate  of  the  Cistercians 
besought  the  King's  '  socour,'  because  they  feared 
that  '  rebelles  to  religious  correccioun  '  would  '  pro- 
cure resistence  and  seke  mayntenaunce.'7  When 

1  Gasquet,  Collectanea  Anglo- Premonstratemia,  237  (April  12, 1459); 
the  date  of  the  Chanc.  Proceed. ,  6/350,  is  not  sufficiently  definite  to 
make  it  certain  that  the  two  abbots  were  the  same.  *  Proceed,  of 

the  Privy  Council,  III,  209.  3  Early  Chant.  Proceed.,  10/127  and 
12/246.  *  Proceed.  Privy  Council,  V,  241.  5  Early  Chanc.  Pro- 
ceed.,  29/159,  date  of  bundle,  38  H.  VI— $  Ed.  IV.  6  Early  Chanc. 
Proceed.,  28/330.  7  Proceed.  Privy  Council,  V,  152. 


THE  ECONOMIC  POSITION   OF  THE  CHURCH       III 

Redman  made  a  visitation  in  1466  he  applied  to 
the  King  for  letters  of  protection,  because  he  was 
afraid  of  loss  and  danger  to  body  and  goods  from 
some  envious  of  him,  and  their  accomplices  and 
abettors.1  The  Collectanea  Anglo-Premonstratensia 
shows  that  visitations  were  frequent,  and  that 
severe  sentences  were  pronounced  against  offen- 
ders ;  but  sometimes  the  punishment  seems  to 
have  been  lightened  afterwards  to  a  considerable 
extent. 

The  particular  evil  which  the  reformers  wished  to 
cure  in  1441  was  the  apostacy  of  the  monks  and 
their  flight  from  the  monasteries.  Their  '  speciall 
labour  and  intente,'  they  said,  would  be  to  '  reduce 
to  religious  observaunce,  apostataas  disordinate 
and  vagabond  persones.'2  The  extent  to  which 
this  evil  had  gone  is  revealed  to  us  by  a  series  of 
documents  kept  in  the  Public  Record  Office  amongst 
the  Chancery  Warrants  for  Issue.  They  are  letters 
from  the  heads  of  various  religious  houses  asking 
the  King  to  grant  them  letters  patent  ordering 
the  secular  authorities  to  arrest  and  hand  over  to 
them  monks  who  had  fled  from  their  monasteries 
and  were  wandering  about  the  country  in  secular 
dress.  In  one  case  a  writ  from  the  King  ordering 
the  sheriffs  of  London  to  arrest  Johannes  de  Raylegh 
and  hand  him  over  to  his  prior  is  still  appended  to 
the  petition.3  There  is  also  an  order  addressed  to 
the  Sheriffs  of  London,  commanding  them  to  bring 
Raylegh  before  the  Chancellor.  There  are  more 
than  three  hundred  and  fifty  letters,  and  Orders  of 
all  kinds  are  represented — Benedictines,4  Cluniacs 
and  Carthusians,6  Cistercians,*  Augustinians,7  Pre- 

1  Gasquet,  Collectanea  Anglo-Premonstratensia,  Part  i,  185. 
9  Proceed.  Privy  Council,  V,  152.  *  Chanc.  Warrants  for  Issue, 
Set.  I,  file  1760,  No.  17.  «  Ibid.,  file  1759.  •  Ibid.,  file  1760. 
8  Ibid. ,  file  1 76 1 .  7  Ibid. ,  file  1 762. 


monstratensians,1  monks  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Gilbert  of  Sempringham,2  Friars  Preachers  Minor,3 
Carmelites,4  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  and  Burton 
St.  Lazarus.6  Some  of  the  letters  complain  of  the 
flight  of  one  brother  only,6  but  many  ask  for  the 
arrest  of  two  or  more  offenders.7  The  evil  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  confined  to  any  particular 
locality,  but  the  petitions  are  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  —  Glastonbury,8  Norhampton,9  Lewis,10 
Herefordshire , n  the  dioceses  of  Worcester , J  2  Lincoln , 1 3 
London,14  Winchester15  and  Lichfield,16  Essex,17 
Yorkshire,18  Bodmin,19  Norfolk,20  Somersetshire,21 
the  diocese  of  Canterbury,22  the  diocese  of  Salis- 
bury,23 and  other  places  as  well.  It  is  interesting  to 
notice  that  these  areas  coincide  to  a  certain  extent, 
but  not  entirely,  with  districts  which  Mr.  Trevelyan 
describes  as  centres  of  Lollardy ;  he  mentions 
Gloucester,24  Salisbury  and  Reading,  the  dioceses 
of  Hereford  and  Worcester,25  Leicester,  Northamp- 
ton, Nottingham,  London,  Sussex,  Berkshire,  Wilt- 
shire,89 Worcester  and  Coventry,27  as  especially 
important  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  he  adds 
that,  in  the  fifteenth,  it  grew  very  strong  in  the  west 
of  England,  particularly  in  Somerset,28  and  in 
Lincolnshire,  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Essex,  Buckingham, 
Middlesex  and  Somerset.29  There  is  no  suggestion, 
either  in  these  petitions  or  in  the  Collectanea  Anglo- 
Premonstratensia,  which  also  mentions  vagabond 
monks,30  that  apostasy  was  due  in  these  instances 

1  Ibid. ,  file  1 763.  2  Ibid. ,  file  1 764.  3  Ibid. ,  1 765.  « Ibid. ,  1 766. 
8  7Wrf.,file  1768.  6  Ibid.,  file  1759,  No.  8.  7  Ibid.,  No.  53,  file  1760, 
Nos.  13  and  21,  file  1761,  No.  36,  file  1762,  35,  42  and  29.  8  Ibid., 
file  1759,  1 6.  8  File  1760,  No.  12.  10  Ibid.,  n.  »  Ibid.,  21. 
12  Ibid.,  No.  24.  1J  Ibid.,  No.  27.  "  Ibid.,  17.  15  File  1761,  2. 

19  Ibid.,  66.        "  Ibid.,  50.        18  Ibid,  file  1762,  14.        »  Ibid.,  i. 

20  Ibid.,  64.        21  Ibid.,  68.        22  File  1763,  No.  14.        ^  File  1769, 
No.  5.     2*  Trevelyan,  England  in  the  Age  of  Wy  cliff e,  322.     M  Ibid., 
326.        M  Ibid.,  331.         ™  Ibid.,  map,  p.  352.         M  Ibid.,  340-341 
'*  Ibid.t  map,  p.  352.     *°  Gasquet,  Coll.  Anglo- Prtmonstratensia, 


-34i. 
158. 


THE  ECONOMIC  POSITION  OF  THE  CHURCH      113 

to  the  teaching  of  the  Lollards ;  it  therefore  seems 
wiser  to  attribute  it,  not  to  the  spread  of  any 
specific  doctrines,  but  to  the  spirit  of  unrest  and  of 
lawlessness  which  permeated  society,  and  which 
could  not  even  be  kept  out  of  the  cloister.  The 
Chancery  Warrants  for  Issue  show  that  some  cases 
of  apostasy  occurred  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and 
earlier  still.  The  appeal  to  the  secular  arm  for  aid 
is  a  confession  of  weakness  on  the  part  of  the  re* 
ligious  bodies,  but  judging  from  the  repetition  of 
some  of  the  letters,  the  help  of  the  Government  was 
not  very  effective.  The  abbey  of  the  '  Beate  Marie 
de  Boclond,  Exoniensis,'  petitioned  no  less  than 
seven  times,  and  for  seven  years,  for  the  arrest  of 
a  monk  named  Thomas  Olyver.1  He  forcibly  pre- 
vented William  Breton,  who  had  been  appointed 
abbot,  from  gaining  possession  of  the  abbey,  and 
imprisoned  him  in  it.  He  himself  pretended  to  be 
the  rightful  abbot,  and  obtained  letters  patent  on 
his  own  behalf,  by  fraud.  Finally,  the  sheriff  of 
Devon  was  ordered  to  commit  him  to  gaol.2  The 
flight  of  so  many  monks  from  their  cells  gives  the 
impression  that  the  monastic  life  was  losing  its 
attraction,  and  that  the  monasteries  were  not 
only  failing  in  their  duty  towards  the  outside 
world,  but  were  ceasing  to  satisfy  any  real 
spiritual  need. 

From  other  sources  also  we  learn  of  laxity  of  dis- 
cipline. The  Early  Chancery  Proceedings  contain 
many  accounts  of  quarrels  between  monks,3  and 
although  we  cannot  decide  on  the  rights  of  the 

1  Chanc.  Warrants  for  Issue,  Ser.  I,  file  i76i,Nos.  8-14.  a  Cat. 
Pat.  Rails,  9  Ed.  IV,  Pt.  I,  m.  3d.  ;  49  //.  V/t  m.  1 3d.  ;  13  Ed.  IV, 
Pt.  I,  m.  I3<1.  ;  13  Ed.  lVt  Pt.  II,  m.  I2d.  *  A  monk  prevented  by 
force  from  entering  the  priory  which  has  been  presented  to  him,  Early 
Chanc.  Proceed.,  16/92.  Other  examples,  12/196,  45/389,  47/58, 
206/63.  Assault  by  the  Prior  of  St.  Peter's,  Dunstable,  upon  the 
Prior  of  the  Friars  Preachers  of  the  same  place,  17/279. 

I 


114      THE  ECONOMIC   POSITION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

cases,  we  know  that  they  must  be  discreditable  to 
one  party,  if  not  to  both.  Pecock,  in  his  efforts  to 
defend  the  '  grete,  large,  wijde,  hije,  and  stateli 
mansiouns  ?1  within  the  gates  of  the  monasteries, 
betrays  the  worldliness  of  the  motives  of  the 
builders  ;  it  is  beneficial  for  the  monks  to  have 
these  lordly  mansions,  he  says,  because  the  lords 
and  ladies  who  lodge  within  them  will  be  the  better 
*  freendis  menteyners  and  defenders  '  to  the  monas- 
teries.2 

It  is  evident  that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  ill- 
feeling  against  both  monks  and  friars  in  the  fifteenth 
Attacks  century.  It  showed  itself  not  only  in  the 
upon  the  attacks  of  the  Lollards,  and  in  serious 
poems  like  '  Jacke  Upland,'3  which  ac- 
cused the  friars  of  all  sorts  of  vices,  but  also  in 
lighter  literature.  A  little  poem  called  '  The  Friar 
and  the  Boy  '4  describes  with  frank  enjoyment  the 
troubles  of  the  friar  when  the  boy  made  him  dance 
in  a  hedge  by  playing  on  a  magic  pipe.  More  prac- 
tical signs  of  disapproval  may  be  traced  in  the 
decrease  of  bequests  to  religious  bodies.  Sharpe's 
calendar  of  wills  in  the  Court  of  Hustings,  in  Lon- 
don, proves  that  far  fewer  legacies  were  left  even 
to  the  Mendicants,  -who  had  been  the  most  popular 
of  the  religious  orders  ;  more  bequests  were  made 
to  them  in  the  last  half  of  the  fourteenth  century 
than  in  the  whole  of  the  fifteenth  ;  although  there 
were  still  many  endowments  for  obits. 

The  foundation  of  religious  houses  was  an  unusual 
form  of  benefaction  in  this  period,  in  spite  of  the 
example  set  by  Henry  V.6  Moreover,  we  have  an 
anticipation  of  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries  in 
the  suppression  of  alien  priories ;  some  of  their 


1  Pecock,  Represser,  II,  54^.  2  Ibid.,  549.  *  Wright,  Polit. 
Songs,  II,  16,  and  seq.  J  Early  English  Miscellanies  t  edited  by 
Halliwell,  53  and  seq.  5  Capes,  op.  cit.t  169. 


THE   ECONOMIC   POSITION   OF  THE  CHURCH       115 

lands  were  sold  to  Chichele  and  used  by  him  for  the 
benefit  of  his  colleges  at  Oxford  and  Higham  Fer- 
rers.1 Waynflete  aided  his  foundation  by  the  sup- 
pression of  Selborne  Priory.8  Petitions  from  monas- 
teries to  the  Chancellor  prove  that  acts  of  violence 
against  them  were  not  rare.3 

The  clergy,  it  has  been  said,  possessed  a  third  of 
the  land  of  the  country,4  and  the  monasteries  owned 
more  than  half  of  it5;  they,  like  other  p^ 
landowners,  were  affected  by  the  inclosing  played  by 
movement ;  indeed,  their  activity  in  the  SriS°wi5l 
wool  trade  gave  them  a  special  interest  respect  to 
in  sheep-rajsing.6  Mr.  Leadam  has  com-  "^closures, 
pared  the  methods  of  lay  and  ecclesiastical 
inclosers,  and  his  conclusions  are  very  interest- 
ing. He  says  that  they  showed  almost  equal 
energy,  but  that,  generally  speaking,  the  disturb- 
ance of  the  population  was  more  than  ten  per  cent 
less  on  the  part  of  ecclesiastical  than  of  lay  lords.7 
With  lay  lords  eviction  was  comparatively  common, 
and  mere  displacement  from  employment  rare.  In 
the  case  of  ecclesiastical  lords  they  are  nearly 
balanced.8  But  in  Bedfordshire,  Leicester,  and 
Warwick  the  prospects  of  eviction  were  practically 
the  same,  whether  the  tenant  held  of  a  layman  or 
of  an  ecclesiastic.9  In  Berkshire,  Northampton, 
and  Oxfordshire  the  ecclesiastical  landlord  was  more 
ruthless  than  the  lay  in  his  treatment  of  the  tillers 
of  the  soil.10  The  Abbot  of  Peterborough  inclosed 
998^  acres  of  land  in  Northampton,  and  evicted  a 
hundred  persons,  who,  according  to  the  jury, 
'miseri  facti  sunt.'11  Proceedings  such  as  this  must 

1  T.  Rogers,  Agric.  and  Prices,  IV,  8-9.  a  Ibid.,  12.  3  Early 
Chanc.  Proceed.,  25/222  and  32/320,  11/106.  *  Dowell,  Hist,  of 
Taxatian  and  Taxes,  I,  97.  '  Hasbach,  Hist,  of  the  English  Agric. 
Labourer,  36,  quoting  Gneist,  Englische  Verfassungsgeschichte,  p.  488. 
8  Leadam,  Domesday  of  Inchsures,  323.  7  Ibid.,  42.  8  Ibid.,  43. 
»  Ibid.,  48.  10  Ibid.  "  Ibid.,  263. 


n6    THE  ECONOMIC  POSITION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

have  tended  to  render  the  monasteries  unpopular, 
and  at  the  same  time  pasture-farming  increased 
their  wealth ;  and  this  combination  of  circum- 
stances was  not  without  elements  of  danger  for  the 
future.  Suggestions  had  already  been  made  that 
their  wealth  might  be  turned  to  better  use,1  and 
the  richer  they  became,  the  more  temptation  there 
was  to  act  upon  such  suggestions. 

1  '  The  landed  estates  of  the  bishops,  abbots,  and  priors  of  England, 
it  was  said,  would  suffice  to  endow  15  earls,  1500  knights,  6200 
esquires,  and  a  100  hospitals.'  Oman,  Hist,  of  England,  221. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   LABOUR   PROBLEM 

THE  increasing  demand  for  labour  caused  by  the 
growth  of  industry  and  commerce  in  the  fifteenth 
century  should,  it  may  be  thought,  have  made  this 
period  one  of  great  prosperity  for  the  working- 
classes.  Some  writers,  indeed,  have  told  us  that  it 
was  the  golden  age  of  the  labourer.1  Unfortunately 
the  frequent  complaints  of  lack  of  work2  made  by 
artisans  do  not  bear  out  this  statement.  The  reason 
given  by  them  is  the  employment  of  aliens,8  and 
this  was  probably  one  very  important  factor  in  the 
situation,  but  it  was  by  no  means  the  only  cause  of 
the  trouble.  Curiously  enough,  while  the  workmen 
complained  that  they  could  not  *  have  ther  labour 
for  ther  levyng,'  the  masters  declared  that  they 
suffered  because  their  servants  departed  from  their 
service  without  leave  or  licence  ;4  and  the  laws  were 
modified  because  they  could  not  get  workmen 
enough.5  The  breakdown  of  the  Manorial  System 
had  set  many  labourers  free  from  the  land ;  they 
flocked  into  the  towns  to  take  up  trades,  and  formed 
a  distinct  wage-earning  class  with  interests  and 
objects  apart  from  those  of  their  employers.6 

This  class  of  workers  probably  existed  long  before 
the  fifteenth  century,7  but  it  grew  in  numbers  at 

1  T.  Rogers,  Work  and  Wages,  326,  and  Hyndman,  Hist.  Basis  of 
Socialism,  i.  "Cunningham,  op.  cit.,  I,  442;  Rot.  Par/.,  V, 
325,  506-7.  3  Ibid.,  V,  567  ;  Bickley,  Little  Red  Book  of  Bristol,  II, 
128,  159,  177.  *  Ibid.,  108.  5  Mrs.  Green,  op.  cit.,  II,  86. 
8  Hunt,  Bristol,  79.  7  Mrs.  Green,  II,  101. 

"7 


Il8  THE   LABOUR  PROBLEM 

this  time  ;  and  one  great  reason  for  its  growth 
Ch  e  was  the  change  in  the  spirit  and  organi- 
in  the  zation  of  the  Gilds.  These  associations, 

s£inX?£  in  their  earlier  days,  had  sought  to  benefit 
the  Gilds.  „  . ,  .  ,  J 

all  their  members — masters,  journeymen, 

and  apprentices — alike  ;  but  when  money  became 
such  a  source  of  influence  and  such  an  object  of 
desire,  the  richer  members  gained  the  predominance, 
and  they  tried  to  obtain  for  themselves  a  larger 
share  of  the  privileges  and  profits  than  their  poorer 
brethren  enjoyed.1  The  change  which  had  taken 
place  showed  itself  in  the  differentiation  of  classes 
within  the  gilds.  There  were  three  distinct  grades 
amongst  the  Tailors  of  Exeter :  those  who  had 
goods  to  the  value  of  £20,  who  were  of  the  Master's 
*  ffeleschippe  and  clo]?ynge,'  and  who  paid  a  silver 
spoon  as  entrance  fee,  xijd.  and  an  offering  at  mid- 
summer, and  the  price  of  the  clothing;  '  euery  yowte 
Brodere  that  ys  nott  preuelage  of  the  forsayde 
ffraternyte  '  who  paid  sixpence  a  year  ;  and  '  euery 
seruant  that  ys  of  the  forsayd  crafte,  that  takyt 
wagys  to  the  waylor  of  xxs.'  who  paid  twenty  pence 
to  be  a  '  ffre  sawere.'2  In  several  companies  there 
was,  Professor  Ashley  tells  us,  a  select  body  (such 
as  the  '  Livery,'  and  the  Court  of  Assistants  in  the 
great  companies  in  London3),  which  took  the  direc- 
tion of  affairs  out  of  the  hands  of  the  general 
assembly.  The  Drapers  numbered  two  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  full  members  in  1493  ;  of  these,  one 
hundred  and  fourteen  constituted  '  the  craft  in  the 
clothing,'  and  one  hundred  and  fifteen  the  '  brother- 
hood out  of  the  clothing.'4  In  early  days  liveries 

1  Brentano  says  that  '  as  trade  advanced  ...  it  afforded  greater 
opportunities  for  the  employment  of  capital  .  .  .  the  Craft-Gild 
changed  from  a  society  for  the  protection  of  labour  into  an  opportunity 
for  the  investment  of  capital '  (Eng.  Gilds,  cxxxvii).  This  is,  perhaps 
an  overstatement  of  the  case,  but  it  contains  an  element  of  truth. 
8  English  Gilds,  313-14.  3  Ashley,  Eton.  Hist.,  II,  125.  *  Ibid.,  131. 


THE   LABOUR   PROBLEM 

had  been  worn  as  a  means  of  binding  the  members 
of  the  Gilds  more  closely  together,  and  each  member 
had  provided  his  own  ;  but  with  the  increasing 
extravagance  of  clothing  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  the  growing  wealth  of  the  more  influential 
craftsmen,  expensive  liveries  came  to  be  ordained, 
which  were  beyond  the  means  of  the  poorer  free- 
men,1 and  so  they  became  the  outward  symbols  of 
the  plutocratic  government  of  the  Gilds.  The  ruling 
class  in  the  Gilds  was  not  content  with  social  pre- 
eminence, but  it  also  tried  to  keep  for  itself  the 
greater  share  of  the  profits  of  trade,  by  checking 
the  admission  of  new  members,2  by  limiting  the 
number  of  workmen  and  apprentices  existing  masters 
might  employ,8  and  by  preventing  jour- 
neymen  from  becoming  masters.  Jour-  between68 
neymen  were,  as  far  as  possible,  deprived  masters 
of  the  power  of  influencing  the  policy  of  the  "y^"" 
Gilds,  lest  they  should  alter  the  ordinances 
in  their  own  interests  ;  the  Weavers  of  Hull  decreed 
that  '  no  journeyman  shall  at  the  eleccon  day  gyff 
any  voyce  to  the  chesyng  of  any  Alderman  or  other 
officer.'4  The  journeymen  were  not  inclined  to 
submit  to  curtailment  of  their  powers,  and  many 
quarrels  arose  between  them  and  the  masters.6 
Gilds  of  '  yeomen,'  or  journeymen,  seem  to  have 
been  fairly  common  at  this  time,6  and  union  in- 
creased the  strength  of  the  men.  The  journeymen 
Weavers  of  Coventry  were  so  persistent  that  they 
three  times  formed  a  Gild,  which  was  each  time 
suppressed.7  They  had  a  most  serious  disagreement 
with  the  masters  in  1424,  and  they  not  only  refused 


1  Ibid.,  130.  *  T.  Smith,  op.  cit.,  317,  and  D.  Harris,  op,  cit., 
272-3.  *  Ibid.  ,271,  and  T.  Smith,  315.  *  Lambert,  Gild  Life,  205. 
6  Little  Red  Book  of  Bristol,  II,  151.  6  D.  Harris,  op.  cit.,  276, 

and  Prof.  Ashley  gives  instances  of  journeymen  Gilds  in  London,  Eton. 
Hist.,  Part  ii,  123-4.  7  D.  Harris,  op.  cit.,  276-7. 


120  THE   LABOUR   PROBLEM 

to  work  themselves,  but  hindered  others  also.  The 
Corporation  took  the  matter  in  hand,  and  settled  it 
by  arbitration1,  and  the  judgment  appears  to  have 
effected  a  compromise  between  the  two  parties. 
The  history  of  the  Journeymen  Tailors  in  London  is 
somewhat  similar  ;  in  1415  it  was  intimated  to  the 
Mayor  that  '  some  serving-men  and  journeymen  of 
the  tailors  .  .  .'  called  '  yomen  taillours,'  dwell- 
ing with  one  another  in  companies  by  themselves, 
did  hold  and  inhabit  divers  dwelling-houses  in  the 
City  against  the  will  of  their  superiors  and  the 
masters  of  the  trade.  They  oftentimes  assembled  in 
great  numbers,  and  had  held  assemblies  and  con- 
venticles in  various  places  ;  they  had  wounded, 
beaten,  and  maltreated  one  of  the  masters  of  the 
trade  and  many  others.  The  Mayor  summoned  the 
journeymen  before  him  and  forbade  them  to  do 
any  of  these  things,  or  to  wear  a  livery  of  their  own, 
and  ordered  them  to  submit  to  the  governance  and 
rule  of  the  Masters  and  Wardens  of  the  trade,  the 
same  as  other  serving-men.2  It  seems,  therefore, 
that  in  London,  and  probably  elsewhere,  the  power 
of  the  Masters,  supported  by  that  of  the  Corpora- 
tion, was  too  strong  for  the  Journeymen,  even  when 
an  appeal  was  not  made  to  the  Crown,  as  at  Coven- 
try.3 An  act  was  passed  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VI 
to  check  the  aggressions  of  the  Gilds  ;  it  states  that 
'  the  Masters,  Wardens,  and  People  of  (the)  Guilds, 
.  .  .  make  themselves  many  unlawful  and  un- 
reasonable Ordinances,  as  well  of  (many)  such 
Things,  whereof  the  Cognisance  Punishment  and 
Correction  all  only  pertaineth  to  the  King,  Lords 


1  Ibid.,  278,  and  Coventry  Lett  Book,  92-4.        *  Riley,  Memorials 
of  London,  pp.  609-12.  3  Assemblies  of  Masons,  whereby  the 

Statute  of  Labourers  was  violated,  were  strictly  forbidden,  and  those 
who  attended  them  declared  felons  (3  H.  VI t  c.  i).  Hardy,  op,  eff.t 
II,  578,  and  D.  Harris,  of.  cit.,  276. 


THE   LABOUR   PROBLEM  121 

of  Franchises,  and  other  Persons,  whereby  our  Sove- 
reign Lord  the  King  and  other  be  disherited  of  their 
Profits  and  Franchises,  as  of  Things,  which  (often- 
times in  Confederacy  is  made)  for  their  singular 
Profit,  and  common  Damage  to  the  People.'  The 
Gilds  were  consequently  ordered  to  register  their 
charters  before  the  Justices  of  the  Peace,  or  before 
the  Chief  Governors  of  Cities,  and  they  were  for- 
bidden to  make  new  ordinances  unless  they  were 
first  approved  by  these  persons.1  The  statute  is  a 
striking  comment  upon  the  selfish  policy  of  those 
who  ruled  the  Gilds,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the 
journeymen  gained  much  from  it,  because  the 
'  Chief  Governors  of  Cities,'  whose  authority  was 
made  paramount,  were  often  traders  and  merchants 
themselves,2  and  they  favoured  the  masters  rather 
than  the  men.  So  the  unions  of  journeymen  were, 
for  the  most  part,  crushed  by  the  Gilds  and  the 
towns,3  and  they  went  to  swell  the  number  of  hired 
wage-earners.  It  is  little  wonder  that,  smarting 
under  a  sense  of  grievance,  they  were  embittered 
against  their  masters. 

Masters  often  forced  apprentices  on  entering  their 
service  to  take  an  oath  not  to  set  up  in  business  for 
themselves  when  their  period  of  appren-    Treatment 
ticeship  was  over. 4    Among  the  Chancery  °f  appren- 
Proceedings  is  a  petition  from  John  Kelet,   t^  J 
servant  to  Richard  Harpham  of  London,    masters, 
girdler,  who  has  brought  an  action  against  him  to 
prevent  him  opening  a  shop  of  his  own.6    There  are 
also  several  petitions  made  by  apprentices  against 

1  15  H.  VI \  c.  6.  2  For  a  hundred  years  Coventry  was  celebrated 
for  clothmaking,  and  the  sellers  of  cloth  were  the  richest  men  in  the  city, 
and  more  frequently  in  office  than  those  of  any  other  occupation  (D. 
Harris,  op.  cit.,  241,  cf.  259  and  270).  Mrs.  Green  expresses  the 
opinion  that  power  in  the  towns  was  in  the  hands  of  merchants  and 
thriving  traders  (Town  Life,  II,  251-2).  3  Ibid.,  II,  129. 

4  D.  Harris,  op.  (it.,  272  n.         5  Early  Cham.  Proceed.,  67/169. 


122  THE   LABOUR   PROBLEM 

their  masters,  complaining  of  bad  food  and  clothing,1 
insufficient  teaching,2  and  ill-treatment  of  various 
kinds.3  The  term  of  service  was  sometimes  very 
long,  as  much  as  eight  or  nine  years  in  some  cases,4 
though  seven  years  was  probably  a  more  usual 
period.6  Occasionally  masters  applied  to  the  Chan- 
cellor for  aid'  in  recovering  fugitive  apprentices,6 
and  it  is  evident  that  there  was  a  good  deal  of  ill- 
feeling  between  masters  and  servants,  and  that 
there  were  faults  on  both  sides.  One  petition  de- 
clares that  William  Ingland  sold  John  Calker  '  oon 
Richard  Dugdale  .  .  .  for  terme  of  ten  years  to  do 
hym  seruice  in  his  craft  '7;  this  appears  to  be  a 
very  extraordinary  arrangement,  but  it  is  not  the 
only  instance  of  the  sale  of  workmen  of  which  we 
have  knowledge.  It  is  said  that  the  Weavers  of 
Bristol  received  and  '  put  in  occupacion  of  the  seid 
Crafte,  Straungiers,  Allions,'  and  others  '  people  of 
divers  Countrees  not  born  vndir  the  Kynges  obei- 
saunce  but  rebellious,'  brought  by  '  divers  mar- 
chauntz  '  to  whom  they  had  been  sold.8  Such 
degradation  of  the  workmen  is,  however,  extremely 
rare. 

The  chief  point  in  dispute  between  employers  and 
employees  was  the  amount  of  wages  to  be  paid. 
Tljg  This  question  had  nominally  been  settled 

wages  by  Parliament,9  but  legislation  on  it  does 
question.  no^.  seem  to  have  been  effectual  in  the 
fifteenth  century.  10  Scarcity  of  labourers  was  caused 


1  Ibid.  ,  10/68  and  1  1  1367.       *  Ibid.  ,  106/8  and  1  86/105. 
17/50,  28/171,  64/110,  66/236.        4  Eight  years,  Ibid.,  28/171,  38/40  ; 
nine  years,    15/165,  and  94/22   and    108/42.  8    'Ordinances  of 

Worcester,'  in  T.  Smith,  Eng.   Gilds,  p.  390.  *  Early  Chanc. 

Proceed.,  6/7  and  19/349.  7  Ibid.,  10/124.  8  This  complaint 
was  directed  principally  against  the  employment  of  Irish  workmen, 
Little  Red  Book  of  Bristol,  II,  123  and  128.  9  Rot.  Parl.,  II,  234 
and  seq.,  V,  112,  and  II  H.  VII,  c.  22.  10  Hasbach,  The  Eng. 
Agric.  Labourer,  24.  Miss  Putnam  thinks  it  was  effective  from 
to  1359.  (  The  Enforcement  of  the  Statutes  of  Labourers,  149.) 


THE   LABOUR   PROBLEM  123 

in  the  first  place  by  the  ravages  of  the  Black  Death  ; 
and  from  that  time  onwards  workmen  were  dis- 
satisfied with  the  wages  fixed  by  statute.  Attempts 
were  made  to  meet  the  difficulty  by  directing  the 
Justices  of  the  Peace  to  assess  wages  in  accordance 
with  the  prices  of  victuals1;  but  this  arrangement 
does  not  appear  to  have  worked  well.  Dr.  Hasbach 
suggests  that  it  would  not  necessarily  mean  that  the 
position  of  the  labourer  was  improved,  because  the 
Justices  of  the  Peace  belonged  to  the  landlord  class, 
and  the  legislature  united  them  into  a  kind  of  em- 
ployers' association,  which  could  set  the  price  of 
labour.2  Petitions  were  frequently  laid  before  the 
King  in  Parliament,  stating  that  the  men  would  not 
work  for  the  legal  wages  and  that  masters  were 
forced  to  give  them  more3;  and  it  was  also  said 
that  the  labourers  fled  from  one  county  to  another 
to  escape  the  operation  of  the  Acts. 4  Penalties  were 
imposed  upon  both  the  givers  and  the  receivers  of 
excess  wages,6  and  labourers  were  forbidden  to 
leave  the  Hundreds  in  which  they  lived  without 
Letters  '  Patent '  containing  the  cause  of  their 
going.6  The  punishment  for  disobeying  this  pro- 
hibition, and  for  refusing  to  serve  according  to  the 
Statute  of  Labourers,  was,  in  1444,  made  imprison- 
ment without  the  option  of  bail.7  Whether  the 
objections  of  the  labourers  to  the  rate  of  wages  were 
reasonable  or  not  is  difficult  to  decide.  Thorold 
Rogers  says  emphatically  that  they  were  well  paid8; 
but  his  average  of  sixpence  a  day  for  artisans  and 
fourpence  a  day  for  labourers  is  perhaps  a  little 
high,  and  was  not  the  recognized  rate  until  the  end 


1  Rot.  Par/.,  Ill,  269,  330  and  352.         a  Hasbach,  op.  ct't.,  25. 

1  Rot.  Part.,  IV,  330-1.  *  2  If.  Vt  c.  4. 

B  Rot.  Par!.,  IV,  258,  330-1,  352. 

8  12  Ric.  II,  c.  3,  and  2  H.  V,  c.  4. 

7  Rot.  Parl.,  V,  1 10  and  seq.  8  Work  and  Wages,  326. 


124  THE   LABOUR   PROBLEM 

of  the  century.1  He  does  not  take  sufficient  notice 
of  the  reduction  of  wages  by  frequent  recurrence  of 
holidays  and  half -holidays2;  and  he  seems  to  under- 
estimate the  hours  of  work  when  he  speaks  of  eight 
hours  a  day.  From  the  middle  of  March  to  the 
middle  of  September  the  men  worked  from  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  till  eight  o'clock  at  night, 
with  intervals  which  never  exceeded  two  hours  ; 
and  during  the  other  months  of  the  year  they 
worked  from  the  springing  of  day  till  night.3  The 
fact  that  wages  were  raised  twice  during  the  cen- 
tury,4 and  that  finally  the  statutes  regulating  them 
were  repealed,  seems  to  show  that  these  acts  were 
not  altogether  wise.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sump- 
tuary laws  prove  that  workmen  could  afford  better 
food  and  clothing  in  the  fifteenth  century  than  they 
had  in  the  fourteenth. 

There  was,  at  least  in  Norwich,  and  probably 
elsewhere,  an  increasing  number  of  labourers  who 
Uncove-  worked  at  a  subsistence  wage  of  a  penny 
nanted  a  day.6  Their  condition  must  have  been 
labour.  wretched  in  the  extreme,  and  their  exist- 
ence must  have  complicated  the  labour  question  ; 
but  they  were  useful  to  the  employers  on  account  of 
their  helplessness,  and  it  was  the  policy  of  the  mas- 
ters to  foster  this  class  of  uncovenanted  labour  while 
they  limited  the  number  of  privileged  serving-men.6 

Agricultural  labourers,  like  other  workmen,  ob- 
tained a  rise  of  wages  in  the  course  of  the  century, 
Agricul-  but  they  were  subjected  to  some  dis- 
tural  advantages  which  did  not  affect  artisans. 

labourers.  They  were  forbidden  to  change  their 
occupation  if  they  had  followed  it  up  to  the  age  of 

1  ilff.  VII,  c.  22  ;  but  in  1444  freemasons  and  master  carpenters  were 
paid  4d.  and  food,  or  5$d.  without  food,  from  Easter  to  Michaelmas,  and 
other  labourers  in  proportion  (Rot.  far/.,  V,  112).  2  4  H.  IV,  c.  14 
forbade  payment  for  holy-days.  3  1 1  H.  VII,  c.  22.  4  In  1 444  and  1495  ; 
repealed  by  1 2  H.  VI I, c.  3.  3  Mrs.  Green, op.  cif. ,  II,  1 01 .  6  Ibid. ,  102. 


THE  LABOUR  PROBLEM  125 

twelve  years,1  and  they  were  more  in  the  power  of 
their  masters  than  those  who  could  find  other 
means  of  livelihood.  The  enclosing  movement, 
which  decreased  the  demand  for  their  labour,  must 
have  pressed  hardly  upon  them.  Perhaps  they 
themselves  were  partly  to  blame  for  these  mis- 
fortunes, as  the  movement  was  encouraged  by  the 
difficulty  of  finding  labourers  who  would  work  at 
the  old  wages.  The  conditions  of  their  lives  must 
also  have  been  considerably  altered  by  the  sub- 
stitution of  leasing  for  manorial  administration,2 
whether  the  new  landlords  were  peasant  freeholders,3 
as  Dr.  Hasbach  thinks,  or  rich  merchants  as  Prof. 
Pollard  suggests.4  Both  classes  of  men  would  regard 
their  lands  as  a  source  of  income  ;  the  former  be- 
cause they  needed  to  make  money,  the  latter 
because  it  was  the  habit  of  their  lives.6  Neither  of 
them  would  have  the  same  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  their  dependents  as  the  feudal  lord  who  had 
needed  men  more  than  money.8 

The  breakdown  of  the  Manorial  System,  though 
it  improved  the  status  of  the  labourer,  and  was 
beneficial  to  him  in  the  long  run,  did  not 
always  bring  him  immediate  material 
advantages.  The  serf  tied  to  the  soil 
was  at  least  sure  of  a  dwelling,  and  of  some  kind  of 
food  to  eat ;  but  emancipated  villeins  sometimes 
found  that  they  had  gained  freedom  to  starve,  and 
wandered  about  the  country,  vainly  seeking  work. 
Some  of  those  who  had  run  away  from  their  lords, 
and  '  waived  their  lands,  to  try  their  fortunes  in  ' 
the  'lottery  of  trade,'7  discovered  that  they  were 
totally  unfit  for  the  new  life  when  it  was  too  late  to 
return  to  the  old.  Moreover,  as  we  have  seen,  even 
skilled  artisans  sometimes  had  a  hard  struggle 

1  12  Ric.  //,  c.   5.          a  Hasbach,  oj>.  tit.,  39.          3  Ibid.,  38. 
4  B  6  Pollard,  op.  cit.,  p.  138.  7  Eden,  State  of  tht  Poor,  I,  57. 


126  THE  LABOUR  PROBLEM 

to  earn  a  living1  when  competition  had  become 
keen,  and  every  one  seemed  in  a  hurry  to  grow  rich. 
The  eviction  of  tenants  by  owners  who  wished  to 
enclose  their  land  increased  the  proletariat2;  and 
although  much  of  the  labour  set  free  from  the  land 
was  finally  absorbed  in  commercial  and  industrial 
pursuits,  the  transference  was  neither  easy  nor 
rapid,  and  the  workers  suffered  much  misery  in  the 
transition.  The  long  war  with  France  and  heavy 
taxation  were  additional  causes  of  poverty  :  *  The 
Kyng  goth  so  nere  us  in  this  cuntre,  both  to  pooer 
and  ryche,  that  I  wote  not  how  we  shall  lyff,  but 
yff  the  world  amend,'  wrote  Margaret  Paston  to  her 
son.3  Soldiers,  engaged  by  lords  to  assist  them  in 
fighting  the  country's  battles  and  their  own,  were 
often  turned  out  of  door  when  they  were  maimed, 
sick,  or  aged,4  and  they  were  not  only  unemployed, 
but  unemployable. 

Thus  the  era  which  witnessed  the  growth  of  in- 
dustry, the  expansion  of  commerce,  and  the  de- 
velopment of  a  prosperous  middle  class,  witnessed 
also  the  growth  of  the  pauper  class  and 
an  mcrease  in  vagrancy.  The  relief  of 
the  impotent  poor  and  the  punishment 
of  sturdy  beggars  became  such  serious  questions 
that  Parliament  was  frequently  forced  to  turn  its 
attention  to  them,  and  the  number  of  ordinances 
and  statutes  passed  concerning  them  gives  the 
measure  of  their  importance.5  A  careful  distinction 


1  Mrs.  Green  attributes  much  of  the  poverty  of  this  period  to  the 
policy  of  the  Gilds.  'The  triumphant  gild  system,'  she  says,  'de- 
veloped throughout  the  country  a  formless  and  incoherent  multitude  of 
hired  labourers,  who  could  not  rise  to  positions  of  independence,  and 
had  no  means  of  association  in  self-defence,  the  weaker  members  of 
this  class  sank  into  utter  penury'  (Town  Life,  II,  108).  2  Hasbach, 
op.  cit.,  38.  J  Paston  Letters,  V,  233.  *  Gairdner,  Letters  of 
Ric.  Ill  and  H.  VII,  Vol.  II,  Ix.  5  Rot.  Par!.,  II,  332,  340;  III, 
65,  158;  V,  113;  VI,  198,278. 


THE   LABOUR  PROBLEM  127 

was  drawn  between  those  who  were  unable  to  work 
and  those  who  were  merely  idle  ;  the  latter  were 
punished  like  run-away  labourers,1  the  former  were, 
under  certain  circumstances,  licenced  to  beg.  The 
Chancery  Proceedings  afford  one  or  two  examples 
of  persons  petitioning  the  Chancellor  to  grant  them 
letters  patent  to  gather  alms.2  John  of  Burton 
tapicer,  who  had  fallen  on  evil  days  through  *  in- 
fortune,'  asked  for  '  letters  of  Pardon  '  to  give  to 
any  one  who  bestowed  alms  upon  him.8 

The  increase  of  pauperism  led  to  the  employment 
of  new  agencies  for  its  alleviation,  and  laymen  to 
a  great  extent  took  the  place  of  ecclesiastics. 
The  relief  of  the  poor  was  one  of  poor  r  j-cf 
the  recognized  functions  of  the  parish 
priests,4  but  we  learn,  from  complaints  made  in 
Parliament,  that  it  was  neglected  through  the  non- 
residence  of  the  clergy.6  The  parish  priests  lost 
revenues,  part  of  which  should  have  been  devoted 
to  charity,  when  their  tithes  were  appropriated  to 
monasteries  ;  and  although  pious  individuals  some- 
times left  money  for  '  almesse  dedys  to  be  do  amonge 
the  pore  parysshyns,'6  these,  after  all,  only  supplied 
a  precarious  source  of  income.  Nor  did  the  monas- 
teries take  a  very  large  share  in  assisting  the  poor ; 
a  statute  passed  in  the  reign  of  Richard  II,  and 
repeated  in  the  time  of  Henry  IV,  reserved  for 
them  a  share  of  the  tithes  which  the  monasteries 
received,  instead  of  the  rectors,7  but  it  does  not 
follow  that  the  abbots  obeyed  the  statutes.  On 

1  12  Ric.  //,  c.  7  and  Rot.  Par  1.,  V,  no.  a  Early  Chanc.  Pro- 
teed.,  16/389,  19/500,  19/499,  28/420.  3  Ibid.,  32/57.  4  Gasquet, 
Parish  Life,  9.  8  Rot.  Par/.,  Ill,  293,  and  IV,  290.  •  Early 
Chanc.  Proceed.,  16/325  ;  Sharpe,  Wills,  II,  412,  465,  543.  Bequests 
were  often  made  to  the  poor  in  connection  with  chantries  and  obits 
( Medieval  Records  »f  a  London  City  Ch  urch ,  1 1  - 1 2, 1 90).  7  1 5  Ric.  II, 
c.  6,  and  4  H.  IV,  c.  12,  quoted  by  Miss  Leonard,  Early  Hist,  of 
English  Poor  Relief,  7. 


128  THE  LABOUR   PROBLEM 

the  contrary,  they  were  admonished  by  Parliament 
for  not  doing  their  duty,1  and  this  may  have  been 
one  reason  why  they  had  so  much  trouble  in  collect- 
ing their  tithes.2  Prof.  Ashley  thinks  that  the  aid 
given  by  the  monasteries,  for  at  least  two  centuries 
before  their  dissolution,  did  but  little  for  the  relief 
of  honest  poverty.3  There  is  no  doubt  that  their 
method  of  indiscriminate  almsgiving  at  the  door 
was  not  wise,  and  it  may,  indeed,  have  tended 
to  foster  the  very  evil  that  Parliament  was  trying 
to  cure,  as  the  vagrant  would  be  helped  on  his  way 
by  it ;  at  the  best  it  was  fluctuating  and  arbitrary. 4 
While  the  Church  was  thus  failing  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  time,  the  laity  was  willing  and  able  to 
do  its  part.  Civic  governors  and  gilds  began  to 
manage  charitable  endowments.5  At  Sandwich 
the  burgesses  controlled  two  hospitals  and  con- 
tributed to  their  support 6 ;  at  Rye  payments  were 
made  to  the  poor  from  municipal  funds7;  and  the 
steward's  book  at  Southampton  states  that  the 
town  gave  weekly  to  the  poor  the  sum  of  £4  2s.  id., 
which  would  relieve  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
people.8  The  Coventry  Leet  Book  records  a  grant 
of  a  bed  in  gaol,  '  Jeue  on  almes,'  for  the  use  of  those 
who  could  not  afford  to  pay  for  one,9  and  also  men- 
tions £3  spent  in  paying  poor  men's  fines  in  the 
Court  of  King's  Bench.10  A  regular  sum  appears  in 
the  accounts  of  the  Corpus  Christi  Gild  as  paid  to 
mendicants  every  year ;  and  in  1492,  255.  4d.  was 
given  to  beggars  ;  and  the  Master  also  asked  allow- 
ance for  £17  6s.  due  to  diminution  of  the  gild  rental, 
and  for  '  allowances  for  the  mendyaunts  of  the  said 

1  Cunningham,  op.  fit.,  I,  377.  *  Complaints  of  detention  of 
tithes  by  religious  houses  (Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  4/99,  75/101,  9/304). 
3  Ashley,  Econ.  Hist.,  II,  312.  4  Hobhouse,  249.  •  Miss 

Leonard,   op.   cit.,    J.  8    Ibid.,   7-8,   quoting   Boys,    Sandwich. 

7  Ibid.,  8,  quoting  Hist.  Mans.  Com.        8  Ibid,,  9,  quoting  Da  vies, 
Southampton.         9  Coventry  Leet  Book,  \,  130.         10  Ibid.,  I,  121. 


THE   LABOUR   PROBLEM 

glide.'1  Stephen  Brown,  grocer,  in  1439,  when  corn 
was  very  scarce  in  England,  sent  to  Prussia  and 
bought  a  large  quantity,  which  he  sold  very  cheaply 
in  London.2  Simon  Eyre,  upholsterer  and  draper, 
built  a  common  granary  in  London8  (1419).  London 
made  arrangements  for  a  constant  supply  of  corn, 
in  order  that  there  might  not  be  famines  in  times 
of  dearth  ;  but  the  public  store  was  not  a  permanent 
institution  until  the  sixteenth  century.4  A  favourite 
form  of  charity  in  the  fifteenth  century  was  the 
foundation  of  almshouses.5  This  was  often  the 
work  of  the  gilds  ;  for  example,  the  Gild  of  Holy 
Trinity,  Hull,  started  one  for  poor  and  infirm  sea- 
men.6 Sometimes  almshouses  owed  their  existence 
to  the  munificence  of  private  persons  ;  Elias  Dawy, 
mercer,  left  his  servant  the  next  vacancy  in  his 
almshouse7;  and  Thomas  Beaumond,  salter,  left 
six  mansions,  in  which  six  members  of  his  art  were 
to  be  maintained,  each  receiving  sevenpence  a 
week.8  Lady  Stonor  possessed  an  almshouse  with 
a  priest  and  poor  men  belonging  to  it.9  Members  of 
gilds  also  often  left  money  to  poor  brothers  and 
sisters  of  their  fraternities,10  and  in  these  instances 
probably  the  bequests  were  administered  by  the 
officials  of  the  gilds.  Household  Books  show  that 
rich  men  gave  a  good  deal  to  the  poor,  both  in 
money11  and  food ;  they  had  almoners,  whose 
business  it  was  to  collect  '  broken  mete  '  '  to  dele 
to  pore  men  at  J?e  3ate.'12  The  Ordinances  for  the 
household  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence  provide  that 

1  Dormer  Harris,  op.  cit.t  313.        8  Strype's  Stow,  I,  310.        3  Ibid., 
I,  415.      *  Leonard,  op.  fit.,  23-4.      'Ashley,  Econ.  Hist.,  II,  326. 

8  Lambert,  Gild  Life,  127. 

7  Sharpe's   Wills,  II,  548.  8  Ibid.,  II,  534.      Edward  Rich, 

Mercer  of  London,  also  founded  almshouses  (Strype's  Stow,  I,  311). 

9  A.C.,  Vol.  46,  No.  241.        10  Sharpe,  II,  526,  52$.        "  'A  woman 
for  almys,'  8d.  (Howard  Household  Book,  II,  167) ;  '  To  porefolke  at 
the   gate,'   8d.  (Ibid.,  223);    'To  fryeres  to  disposse  in  almes,"  IO/- 
(Ibid.,  447).         w  Russell  Bokt  in  Manners  and  Meals,  p.  324. 

K 


THE   LABOUR  PROBLEM 

'the  Duke's  Awmener  have,  for  every  daye  xiid, 
...  to  distrybute  and  dispose  in  almes,  to  poure 

people  by  his  discression And  the  seid  Almonere, 

at  every  dynner  &  souper,  wayte  uppon  the  seid 
Duke's  table,  and  there  take  uppe  every  dishe  when 
the  seid  Duke  hathe  sette  it  from  hym,  and  thereof 
to  make  sufficyently  the  almes-disshe,  to  be  gyven 
to  the  moste  needy  man  or  woman  by  his  dis- 
cression.'1 This  kind  of  charity  is  picturesque,  and 
gives  evidence  of  good-nature  and  kindheartedness  ; 
but  it  is  of  the  same  type  as  the  doles  bestowed  by 
monasteries,  and  likely  to  increase  rather  than  to 
cure  pauperism.  Moreover,  rich  men  were,  even 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  not  very  numerous,  and 
the  part  played  by  them  in  relieving  poverty  cannot 
compare  either  in  method  or  in  degree  with  that 
played  by  towns  and  the  gilds.  There  seems  no 
question  that  the  most  valuable  work  in  this  respect 
was  done  by  the  municipal  authorities  and  the 
traders. 

i  Ordinances  of  the  Royal  Household,  p.  89.  The  amount  expended 
by  the  Duke  of  Clarence  upon  '  almesse '  during  a  year  appears  to  have 
been  £18  5s.  od.,  and  his  total  expenses  were  j£45°5  *5s-  loid-  ('««•» 
104,  105;.  The  Stafford  Household  Book  mentions  that  two  loaves  were 
given  in  alms  on  Christmas  Day  ;  Archalogia,  XXV,  p.  31 9- 


CHAPTER   V 

THE  INDUSTRIAL  POSITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN 

THE  majority  of  English  women,  says  Miss  Dixon 
in  her  interesting  article  on  '  Crafts  women,  in  the 
Livre  des  Metiers'  were,  prior  to  the  intro-  Employ- 
duction  of  machinery,  unpaid  domestic  mentof 
workers  rather  than  wage-earners.  This  J^JJJJt"? 
proposition  she  brings  forward  as  a  ^S™ 
possible  explanation  of  the  unlimited  industry, 
freedom  of  competition  left  to  women  by  the  Act 
of  1363,  which  restricted  the  occupations  of  men 
by  ordering  them  to  keep  to  one  trade.1  This  state- 
ment, however  true  it  may  be  of  women  in  the  early 
Middle  Ages,  does  not  hold  good  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  probably  because  the  growth  of  industry 
increased  the  demand  for  labour  and  led  to  the 
employment  of  women.  Moreover,  then  as  now, 
women  worked  for  a  smaller  wage  than  men,  and  - 
it  was  cheaper  to  employ  them.  The  Act  quoted 
by  Miss  Dixon  mentions  several  kinds  of  women 
artificers  —  '  Braceresces,  Pesteresces,  Tisteresces, 
Fileresces,  and  Oevresces  si  bien  de  Leine  come  de 
Liegne  Toile  &  de  Soie,  Broudesters,  Kardesters, 
Pyneresces  de  Leine,  &  toutes  autres  que  usent  & 
oeverent  Overaignes  manueles.'2  The  two  import- 
ant statutes  which  regulated  the  conditions  of 
labour  apply  equally  to  men  and  women.  *  He  or 
she,'  says  the  first  of  the  two,  *  which  use  to  labour 

1  Etonomic  Journal,  Vol.  V,  225.          8  Rot.  far/.,  II,  278. 


132  THE   INDUSTRIAL   POSITION   OF 

at  the  plough  n;  while  the  other  decrees  '  no  Man 
or  Woman  .  .  .  shall  put  their  Son  or  Daughter  to 
serve  as  Apprentice,  to  no  Craft  nor  other  Labour 
within  any  City  or  Borough  of  the  Realm,  except 
he  have  Land  or  Rent  to  the  value  of  twenty  shil- 
lings by  the  year.'2  The  ordinances  of  London  also 
allude  to  the  training  of  women  for  industrial  occupa- 
tions. In  1413,  when  the  Corporation  wanted  to 
raise  money  for  the  new  work  at  the  Guildhall,  it 
ordered  that  every  apprentice,  male  and  female, 
should  pay  certain  fees  at  the  beginning  and  end 
of  the  period  of  apprenticeship.3 

There  were  in  addition,  in  London,  rules  regarding 
the  apprenticeship  of  '  femmenis  '  by  '  lez  femmes 
couverts  qe  usent  certeyns  craftis  deinz  la  citee  par 
eux  mesmes  saunz  loure  barouns.'4  Not  in  London 
only,  but  in  several  towns,  ordinances  were  passed 
The  respecting  the  position  of  the  woman  as 

position  of    a  trader.    In  certain  boroughs  she  could, 

the  woman  even  though  married,  plead  and  be  im- 
trader.  ,  ,  ,  ,°  -  j  • 

pleaded  alone,6  and  in  many  cases  her 

husband  was  freed  from  responsibility  concerning 
her  trade  debts.8  The  Chancery  Proceedings  afford 
some  examples  of  suits  brought  against  women  on 
the  ground  that  they  were  sole  merchants.7  In 
most  of  these  instances  the  women  declared  that 
the  debts  were  incurred  by  their  husbands  ;  and 
in  one  petition  the  husband  is  said  to  have  ab- 
sconded.8 In  Lincoln,  it  was  the  rule  that  if  a 
plea  of  trespass  were  brought  against  husband  and 

1  12  Ric.  II,  c.  5.  2  7  H.  IV,  c.  17.     The  Petition  of  the 

Artificers  also  mentions  women  as  well  as  men.  Rot.  Par!.,  V,  506. 
See  Appendix  A.  s  Riley,  Memorials  of  London,  590.  *  Bateson, 
Borough  Customs,  I,  229.  6  Ibid.,  II,  cxii,  Worcester,  Winchelsea, 
Lincoln,  I,  227,  Hastings,  I,  228.  In  London,  actions  could  he  taken 
1  devers  une  femme  sole  et  devers  enfauntz  dedincz  age,  s'ils  soient 
marchauntz'  (Liber  Aldus,  1419.  Borough  Customs,  I,  227). 
•  Worcester,  Ibid.,  I,  227,  and  Fordwich,  I,  228.  7  Early  Chanc. 
Proceed.,  64/607,  64/883,  110/125,  201/32.  8  Ibid.,  66/229. 


WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  133 

wife,  and  the  husband  absconded,  the  wife  was 
treated  as  sole.1  Some  of  the  earlier  borough  cus- 
toms, on  the  other  hand,  made  the  husband  answer- 
able for  the  wife,2  and  although  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  variety  in  the  ordinances  of  different  towns, 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  tendency  to  give  the 
wife  more  independence  in  her  business  dealings 
in  the  later  period  than  she  had  hitherto  possessed, 
perhaps  because  she  more  often  engaged  in  trade. 
The  Fordwich  Customs  speak  of  the  possibility 
of  a  woman  being  a  professional  trader  in  fish, 
fruit,  cloth,  or  the  like,  and  a  fair  number  of  trades 
appear  to  have  been  open  to  her.  Miss  Toulmin 
Smith  says  that  nearly  all  gilds  were  formed  equally 
of  men  and  women,  and  that  women  had  many  of 
the  same  claims  and  duties  as  men.3  Brentano 
agrees  that  women  might  become  members  of  gilds, 
but  thinks  they  were  admitted  because  they  were 
the  wives  or  daughters  of  gild-brothers,  and  that 
they  were  seldom  free  of  the  gild  in  their  own  right,4 
and  tha£  though  they  shared  in  the  advantages 
and  burdens  of  the  association,  they  took  no  part  in 
its  administration  or  councils.5  We  find  frequent 
allusions  to  sisters  as  well  as  brothers  of  fraternities, 
and  sometimes  with  reference  to  gilds  where  their 
presence  is  rather  surprising.  For  example,  there 
were  women  amongst  the  Tailors  and  Armourers  of 
Linen  Armour  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,6  and  amongst 
the  Tailors  of  Salisbury,7  and  amongst  the  yeomen 
tailors  of  London.8  Women  might  join  the  Mer- 
chant Gild  at  Totnes,9  and  both  men  and  women 

1  Borough  Customs,  I,  226.  a  Salford,  about  1270  (Ibid.,  1,223); 
but  there  were  exceptions.  Ipswich,  a  husband  was  responsible  for 
debts  incurred  by  his  wife  both  before  and  after  marriage,  but  not 
when  she  became  a  pledge  for  a  debt  (Ibid.,  I,  224).  *  T.  Smith, 

English  Gilds,  Introd.,  xxx.  4  Ibid.,  civ.  6  Ibid.  e  Sharpe, 
op.  cit.,  II,  526.  7  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  108/14.  8  Riley, 
of.  cit.t  653.  9  Mrs.  Green,  op.  cit.t  II,  33  n. 


134  THE   INDUSTRIAL   POSITION   OF 

belonged  to  the  Gild  Merchant  of  Lynn.1  Women 
are  mentioned  in  the  ordinances  of  the  Dyers  of 
Bristol,2  and  in  the  charter  of  the  Drapers  o 
London.3  Bishop  Hobhouse  gives  cases  of  gilds 
of  *  Maidens '  and  '  Wives,'  amongst  the  con- 
tributors to  the  funds  of  Croscombe  Church.4 

These  references  to  women  as  members  of  crafts, 
and  the  regulations  with  regard  to  their  rights  and 
_.  responsibilities  as  traders,  prove  that  they 

pations  were  too  important  to  be  ignored,  and 
open  to  that  they  had  a  recognized  position  in 
the  industrial  world.  Entries  in  House- 
hold Books  of  payments  to  them,  and  descriptions 
of  work  done  by  them  give  us  further  information 
upon  the  subject.  They  were  sometimes  cloth- 
makers,5  and  often  cloth- workers.6  Metyngham 
College  paid  a  woman  named  Bonde  '  pro  pano  tex- 
tando,'7  and  '  pro  lana  facienda  in  filo  '8;  and  we 
have,  in  one  of  the  Howard  Household  Books,  a 
memorandum  that  '  Alys  Haweryng  hat  spowne 
and  cardyd  and  twystyd  tweyntey  pownde  of  zerne 
for  the  aras  man,  for  everey  pownde  howeyng  2d.'9 
Wright  tells  us  that  '  a  pair  of  card  '  is  stated  in  the 
'  Promptorium  parvulorum '  to  be  especially  a 

*  wommanys  instrument.'10    The  Howard  Household 
Books  also  contain  entries  of  payments  of  £22  to 

*  Kateryne   Hache   of   Stoke,   for   clothe,'   and   of 
455.   5d.  to   '  Rechard  Snappes  wyfe  for  I  brode 
clothe  of  plonkett,'11  and  to  other  women  for  cloth 
of  various  kinds.12    In  the  Paston  Letters  we  have  an 
allusion    to   '  Hay  is  wyf,'  who  sold   '  frise  '   '  best 

1  Ibid.,  II,  404-5.  a  Bickley,  Little  Red  Book  of  Bristol,  II,  83. 
3  Hazlitt,  Livery  Companies  of  London,  200.  *  Hobhouse,  p.  I. 

I  'every  Man  and  Woman   being  Clothmakers '   (4  Ed.  IV,  c.   i). 
8  'women  Kembers,  Carders,  and  Spynners'  (Rot.  Parl.,  V,   150). 
7  Add.  MSS.,  33,  985,  9,  dorso.       8  Ibid.,  II  d.       »  Howard  House- 
hold Book,  I,  551.         10  Wright,  Hist,  of  Domestic  Manners,  p.  426. 

II  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  330.         12  Ibid.,  II,  164,  293,  327. 


WOMEN  AND   CHILDREN  135 

chepe  51;  and  in  the  ordinances  regulating  the  sale 
of  cloth  in  Coventry, '  women  sellyng  dosens  in  hir 
armes  '  are  mentioned.2  In  the  Patent  Rolls  refer- 
ence is  made  to  the  men  and  women  weavers  of 
linen  of  the  city  of  London3;  and  in  the  Chancery 
Proceedings  it  is  stated  that  Isabel  Hale,  widow, 
sold  linen  cloth4;  and  that  Catherine  Thorneton  of 
London,  '  wedowe,'  was  a  draper.6 

The  silk  trade  was  mainly  in  the  hands  of  women,* 
and  '  silkewymmen  '  and  '  throwestres  '  of  London 
petitioned  the  Crown,  in  1455,  that  the  importation 
of  wrought  silk  goods  might  be  stopped.  Their 
words  give  some  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  industry, 
though  they  may  have  exaggerated  a  little  :  '  And 
where  upon  the  same  Craftes,'  they  say,  '  before 
this  tyme,  many  a  wurshipfull  woman  within  the 
seid  citee  have  lyved  full  honourably,  and  therwith 
many  good  housholdes  kept,  and  many  gentil- 
wymmen  and  other  in  grete  noumbre  like  as  there 
nowe  be  moo  than  a  thousand,  have  be  drawen 
under  theym  in  lernyng  the  same  craftes  and  occu- 
pation.'7 The  silk- women  numbered  even  kings 
among  their  customers  :  Anne  Claver  made  tassels 
and  lace  for  Edward  IV's  books,8  and  Cecyly  Walcot 
supplied  fringe  of  gold  and  silk  for  a  canopy  for 
Henry  VII.9  Wright  reproduces,  in  his  History  of 
Domestic  Manners,  a  picture  of  a  lady  mercer,  taken 
from  a  poem  called  '  The  Pilgrim,'  which  has  been 
ascribed  to  Lydgate.10 

1  Paston  Letters,  II,  102.  a  Coventry  Lett  Book,  Part  i,  104. 
3  Col.  Patent  Rolls,  1440,  Partiii,  m.  19  d.  *  Early  Chanc.  Proteed., 
30/47.  e  Ibid.,  67/351-4.  9  Miss  Dixon  thinks  that  women  were 
much  more  unequivocally  employed  on  a  regular  industrial  basis  in 
this  craft  than  in  any  other  (Econ.  Journal,  V,  225).  7  Rot.  Par/., 
V,  325.  8  Nicholas,  Wardrobe  Accounts  of  Edward  IV,  p.  125. 

9  Campbell,  of.  fit.,  II,  12.     A  merchant  of  Genoa  brought  an  action 
for    debt    against    this    woman    (Early    Chanc.    Proceed.,    110/125). 
Other  silkwomen  are  mentioned  (Campbell,   II,   13,   15,  491,  493). 

10  Wright,  Domestic  Manner -s,  412. 


136  THE   INDUSTRIAL   POSITION   OF 

Women  sometimes  dealt  in  general  merchandise, 
like  Julian  Mermean,  who  sent  '  diuerses  wares '  to 
Sir  John  Lane  at  Wells,1  and  Anneys  Marchaunt, 
who  sold  malt  and  merchandise  ware.2  Sometimes 
they  sent  their  goods  to  be  sold  at  fairs,3  and  one 
woman  declared  that  she  was  '  seased  in  and  of  18 
bothes  in  Sterebriggez  Fair.'4  Three  women  are 
described  as  chapmen  in  the  pleas  of  the  market  of 
St.  Ives,  held  on  March  5th,  1429. 6 

They  did  not  confine  themselves  to  trade  in 
England,  but  sometimes  took  part  in  foreign  com- 
merce. A  licence  was  granted  to  Alice  Mengeham 
to  export  corn  to  Rouen,6  and  another  to  merchants 
of  Bayonne  acting  on  behalf  of  Petronilla,  widow  of 
Bertram  seigneur  de  Montferrat,  who  had  been  im- 
prisoned for  loyalty  to  the  English.7  For  the 
same  reason  Isabella  Chernok  was  allowed  to  trade 
from  France  to  England  to  compensate  her  for  the 
losses  sustained  by  her  husband  and  herself  during 
the  war.8  Margaret  Cokkes,  widow,  of  Calais,  was 
permitted  by  Henry  VII  to  ship,  from  London  and 
Southampton,  forty-one  sacks  of  wool  and  five 
hundred  skins  with  the  wool  on  them,9  so  her  busi- 
ness must  have  been  on  a  fairly  large  scale.  Mar- 
gery, late  the  wife  of  John  Russell,  of  Coventry, 
and  her  son  petitioned  the  Chancellor,  the  Bishop 
of  Winchester,  to  grant  them  a  letter  of  marque 
and  reprisal  against  the  merchants  of  certain  places 
in  the  Kingdom  of  Castille  and  Leon,  until  they 
were  compensated  for  the  sum  of  twelve  hundred 
marks,  of  which  she  had  been  robbed  by  men  of 
'  S.  Andier  en  Espaigne  ' ;  Henry,  '  nadgaire  Roy 


1  Early    Chanc.    Proceed,,    15/85.          2  Ibid.,    45/306.         *  Ibid., 
ico/73-         *  Ibid.,  65/166.          6  C.  Gross,  Law  Merchant,  Vol.  I, 
121.        9  Cal,  French  Rolls,   1421,  m.   13.         7  Ibid.,  1455-6,  ms 
6  and  I.         8  Ibid.,   1456-7,  m.  24.         9  Materials  for  a  History  of 
the  Reign  of  Henry  VII,  I,  223. 


WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  137 

Dengleterre,'  had  already  granted  her  one,  she 
said.1  She  apparently  obtained  the  letter,  and 
used  it  effectively,  for  Peter  Gunsales  petitioned 
the  Chancellor  for  the  restitution  of  a  Spanish 
balinger  and  wines  taken  by  virtue  of  a  letter  of 
marque,  granted  to  '  Margery  de  Coventre,'  by  the 
'  Roy  Dengleterre  &  le  Roy  Despaigne,'  against  the 
men  of  Santander.2 

Women  also  engaged  in  humbler  occupations  ; 
many  of  them  kept  inns  and  taverns.3  We  hear  of 
'  the  gode  wif  of  the  Taberd  in  Grasechurche  strete,4 
the  good  wife  of  the  '  Belle  in  Bryge  Stret,'6  and 
of  many  others.  The  Howard  Household  Books  con- 
tain many  payments  to  women  for  beer  and  ale8; 
and  we  know  that  they  often  made  the  beer  as  well 
as  selling  it.  Maud  Cranesby  of  London  is  described 
as  a  brewer,  in  a  petition  lodged  in  the  Court  of 
Chancery  against  her7;  and  Margery  Clerk  of 
Ramsey  was  said  to  be  in  the  occupation  of  brew- 
ing.8 This  business  was,  indeed,  '  almost  wholly  in 
the  hands  of  females,'9  not  only  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  but  also  in  earlier  days.  Women  also 
earned  money  by  selling  poultry10  and  game11  and 
even  cattle.12  Metyngham  College  paid  '  Alicia 
Gyrlyng  '  thirty  shillings  for  '  2  vactas,  2  jumentas, 
&  2  boviculos.'13  Sir  John  Howard  had  quite  ex- 
tensive dealings  with  a  woman  named  '  Mawt 
Clerke,'  apparently  one  of  his  tenants.  He  gave 
her,  on  one  occasion,  335.  4d.  for  a  ram  and  nine- 
teen ewes,  53.  for  five  lambs,  265.  for  '  alle  her 

1  A. p.,  306/15259. 

3  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  6/120;  another  case  of  a  letter  of  marque 
granted  to  a  woman,  6/247.  8  Ibid.,  11/222,  61/379,  67/146. 
4  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  530.  6  Ibid.,  578.  9  Ibid.,  504, 
511,  and  II,  163,  357.  7  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  66/251.  8  Ibid., 
234/43>  cf.  Howard  Household  Book,  II,  163.  9  Liber  A/bus, 

Introd.,  Ix.         10  Add.  MSS.,  34,  213,  f-  22  ;  Ibid.,  33,  986,  f.  135, 
d.  ;    Howard  Household  Book,  I,  313.  "  Riley,  op.  cit.,  643. 

13  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  282.       13  Add.  MSS.,  33,  986,  f.  65  d. 


138  THE   INDUSTRIAL  POSITION   OF 

come  as  it  growethe  on  the  grownde,'  55.  for  seven 
'  yonge  shotes,'  2s.  for  a  sow,  45.  for  geese,  and  I2d. 
for  a  cider  press.1  Dame  Katherine  Chiderok 
seems  to  have  been  a  sheep.-farmer,  as  her  landlord 
stocked  her  land  with  sheep.2  Sir  John  Howard 
numbered  several  women  among  his  tenants  ;  there 
were  at  least  three  in  the  '  manere  of  Estwynche  '8; 
and  the  Metyngham  College  accounts  from  Michael- 
mas to  Easter,  4  Edward  IV,  show  that  nearly  all 
the  money  received  from  '  Boylound  in  Howe,' 
during  that  term,  was  paid  by  Margareta  Kent.4 
Women  must  have  been  frequently  employed  in 
husbandry,  as  their  wages  were  determined  by 
statute.5  In  an  entry  recording  payment  for  hay- 
making, among  the  Duke  of  Norfolk's  accounts, 
more  women  than  men  are  mentioned.6  Yelming, 
or  laying  the  straw  for  the  thatcher,  was  woman's 
work.7  Women  were,  as  might  be  expected, 
laundresses,8  sempstresses,9  and  domestic  servants10; 
even  the  daughters  of  men  of  good  position,  like 
the  Pastons,  were  put '  to  hard  service  in  the  houses 
of  other  people.'11  Margaret  Paston  wrote  of  her 
daughter  Elizabeth,  '  she  must  use  hyr  selfe  to  werke 
redyly,  as  other  jentylwomen  done,  and  sumwhat 
to  helpe  hyr  selfe  ther  with.'12  These  seem  to  have 
been  the  usual  occupations  of  women,  but  they 
occasionally  took  part  in  others.  We  hear  of  '  the 
herynge  wyffe,'13  and  there  is  a  case  in  the  Chancery 
Proceedings  of  a  man  being  bound  apprentice  to  a 

1  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  296.  a  Early  Chanc.  Proceed., 

27/61.  3  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  542-3.  4  Add.  MSS., 
33.  987,  f-  59- 

5  Rot.  Par!.,  V,  112,  and  II  H.  VII,  c.  22.  6  Howard  House- 
hold Book,  II,  119.  '•  Wylie,  op.  eit.,  II,  467.  8  Early  Chanc. 
Proceed.,  76/65,  and  Hobhouse,  183.  9  Nicolas,  op.  cit.,  121. 
10  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  28/179,  66/264,  28/519.  "  Italian 

Relation,  24.  12  Paston  Letters,  III,  123.  1S  Howard  House- 
hold Book,  II,  121,  and  payments  for  fish  to  women,  Ibid.,  I,  334 
and  528. 


WOMEN   AND   CHILDREN  139 

woman, '  in  the  crafte  and  occupacoun  off  fflerchers  '* 
(arrow-makers).  There  was  a  rather  odd  case  of  a 
woman  barber  at  Coventry 2 ;  and  more  curious 
still,  the  butlership  of  Glastonbury  Abbey  was  once 
vested  in  a  girl.3 

In  every  trade  woman's  wage  was  much  below 
man's  ;  even  in  work  for  which  she  was  especially 
suited,  such  as  embroidery,  a  woman 
earned  4£d.,  5±d.,  and  6Jd.  a  day,  when 
a  man  earned  g£d.  and  iojd.4  Mr. 
Lapsley  has  published  '  The  Account  Roll  of  a 
fifteenth  century  Iron  Master  '  (Langley,  Bishop  of 
Durham).  He  says  that  two  women  were  employed 
for  various  miscellaneous  tasks,  breaking  up  iron- 
stone, blowing  the  bellows,  or  helping  their  hus- 
bands, and  their  wages  were  '  determined  by  nothing 
short  of  caprice.'5  In  1444  a  common  servant  in 
husbandry,  if  a  man,  received  155.  and  4od.  for 
clothing  a  year,  but  if  a  woman,  only  los.  and  45. 
for  clothing.6  This  amount  was,  however,  a  good 
deal  more  than  had  been  granted  to  women  work- 
ing in  the  field  or  dairy,  by  the  Statute  of  Cam- 
bridge.7 Mr.  Wylie  is  of  the  opinion  that  women 
were  rapidly  gaining  on  men.8  It  is  noticeable, 
however,  that  the  wages  of  women-servants  in  hus- 
bandry were  not,  like  men's,  raised  at  the  end  of 
the  fifteenth  century.9  In  1449  the  Coventry  Leet 
was  obliged  to  pass  an  ordinance  that  no  person 
should  deliver  wool  to  spinners  under  the  specified 
weight,10  and  two  years  later  the  ordinance  was  re- 
peated with  the  addition  :  '  ]?at  no  man  delyuer 
no  werk  but  be  weyghtes  ensealed  and  that  \>e 

1  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  107/27.         a  Coventry  Ltet  Book,  I,  238. 
3    Capes,    op.    cit.,    291.  *    Wylie,    Henry   IV,   Vol.    II,   467. 

*    Eng.   Hist.   Review,  Vol.   XIV,  511.  •    Rot.   Part.,   V,   112. 

7  Wylie,  op.  tit.,  II,  465.  8  Ibid.,  11,467.  •  u  //.  F//,  c.  22. 
10  Coventry  Leet  Book,  I,  243. 


140  THE   INDUSTRIAL   POSITION   OF 

officers  take  no  more  for  sealyng  of  a  wyght  and 
dimidium  wyght  but  ob.  (i.e.  £d.)  and  no  more.' 
*  The  sweating  of  women  workers  in  industrial  life,' 
says  Miss  Dormer  Harris,  commenting  on  this  pas- 
sage, '  is  ancient.'1  Mrs.  Green  holds  that  the  em- 
ployment of  women  and  cheap  workers  was  one  of 
the  causes  of  the  labour  disputes  of  this  period.2 
Evidence  of  disapproval  of  woman's  work  can  be 
seen  in  the  ordinances  of  two  Gilds  of  Weavers. 
At  Bristol,  in  1461,  weavers  were  forbidden  to 
'  putt  or  hire  '  .  .  .  '  wyfe,  doughter  or  maide  ' 
...  to  the  occupation  of  weaving,  because  by  it 
'  many  and  divers  of  the  Kynges  liege  people 
likkely  men  to  do  the  Kyng  seruis  in  his  warris  and 
in  the  defence  of  this  his  lond,  .  .  .  gothe  vagaraunt 
&  vnoccupied.'3  The  Weavers  of  Hull  were  as 
much  opposed  to  the  employment  of  women,  and 
ordered  that  '  ther  shall  no  woman  worke  in  any 
warke  concernyng  this  occupacon  within  the  town 
of  Hull,  uppon  payn  of  xls.'4 

Women  not  only  traded  independently,   as  we 
have  seen,  but  some  of  them  gave  valuable  assist- 
ance to  their  husbands  in  the  manage- 
ment  of  their  affairs.     No  reader  of  the- 
by  women     Paston  Letters  could  fail  to  be  struck  by 

the  ability  of  Margaret  Paston.  She  car- 
husbands.  .  .  J  .  ° 

ned  on  all  kinds  of  business  for  her 
husband  ;  she  collected  his  rents5;  she  kept  ac- 
counts for  him6;  and  when  the  Duke  of  Suffolk 
claimed  Dray  ton,  she  attempted  to  hold  a  court 
there.  Her  men  were  seized  by  the  Duke's,  but 
she  spoke  with  the  judges  in  the  presence  of  the 
bailiff  of  Cossey  and  the  whole  of  the  Duke's  council, 
with  the  result  that  her  men  were  released  and  his 

1  Ibid.,  255.  2  Mrs.  Green,  Town  Life,  II,  88.  3  Little  Red 
Book  of  Bristol,  II,  127.  4  Lambert,  Gild  Life,  206.  *  Paston 
Letters,  I,  218.  «  Ibid.,  IV,  66. 


WOMEN   AND   CHILDREN  14! 

were  censured.1  It  is  no  wonder  that  John  Paston 
writes  admiringly  :  '  And  in  god  feyth  ye  aquyt 
yow  ryght  wel  and  discretly  and  hertyly  to  yowr 
wurchep  and  myn,  and  to  the  shame  of  your  adver- 
sarijs.'2  She  seems,  indeed,  to  have  been  more  than 
a  match  for  his  enemies,  in  many  cases.  '  Ther  was 
grete  labours  made  by  the  bayly  of  Coshay  and 
other,'  she  writes  to  him,  '  for  to  have  endytyd  your 
men  both  at  Dyrham  and  at  Walsyngham,  but  I 
purvayd  a  mene  that  her  purpose  was  lettyd  at 
thos  ij  tymes.'3  Merchants  of  the  Staple,  and 
others  whose  trade  required  their  presence  abroad, 
often  depended  a  great  deal  upon  the  co-operation 
of  their  wives.  Thomas  Kesteven  informs  George 
Cely  that  he  has  written  to  his  wife  to  take  actions 
for  the  recovery  of  sums  of  money  owing  to  him4; 
and  we  find  other  women  also  taking  actions  of 
debt  in  the  absence  of  their  husbands.6  Elizabeth 
Stonor  shows  an  intelligent  interest  in  her  husband's 
commercial  dealings,6  and  has  a  good  deal  of  corre- 
spondence with  him,  and  with  a  man  named  Thomas 
Betson  on  business  matters.7  She  tells  William 
Stonor  that  she  has  housed  his  wool,8  and  once 
she  writes  to  him  :  '  send  me  a  answere  of  the 
mater  that  I  wrote  to  yow  for  the  lumbarde,'9 
which  gives  the  impression  that  she  was  carrying 
on  some  financial  business  for  him.  An  example  of 
the  assistance  which  a  wife  might  render  to  her 
husband  is  given  in  one  of  the  Chancery  Petitions. 
William  Warner  of  Boston,  trading  in  Selond,  states 
that  he  sent  home  to  his  wife  '  Islond  stockffish '  and 
other  goods,  that  '  she  shulde  putte  the  marchaundise 
to  sale  as  she  dydde  other  marchaundise.'10 

1  Ibid.,  I,  226-7.         "  Mid.,  IV,  164  (1465.)        »  Ibid.,  IV,  179. 
4  A.C.,  Vol.  LIII,  Letter  6.  °  Early  Chant.  Proceed.,  94/12 

8  A.C.,  Vol.  XLVI,  Letter  116.  7  Ibid.,  Letter  234.          8  Ibid., 

Letter  120.  •  A.C.,  Vol.  XLVI,  Letter  213.  lu  Early  Chant. 
Proceed.,  12/118. 


142  THE   INDUSTRIAL  POSITION   OF 

Evidence  of  the  confidence  felt  in  the  administra- 
tive capacity  of  women  may  be  seen  in  the  large 
Sig-nsof  number  of  cases  in  which  they  were 
business  appointed  executrices.1  and  not  by 
capacity  their  husbands  alone,  but  by  all  kinds 
of  people.2  Women  were  also  made 
feoffees  to  uses8;  they  themselves  were  often  pos- 
sessed of  property,4  bestowed  upon  them  by  their 
fathers  or  their  husbands  on  their  marriage,  and 
the  care  of  it  gave  them  some  training  in  the  man- 
agement of  land.  Occasionally  we  hear  of  women 
being  free  of  the  City  of  London6;  and  Henry  IV 
granted  Isabel  de  S.  Simphorin,  lady  of  Landiras, 
the  privileges  of  a  burgess  of  Bourdeaux.6  Women 
were  considered  capable  of  taking  part  in  parish 
affairs  ;  not  only  had  they  a  voice  in  the  choice  of 
churchwardens  at  the  annual  election,7  but  they 
sometimes  served  in  this  office  themselves.8  This 
was  no  light  matter  in  those  days  when  the  func- 
tions of  wardens  were  so  varied.  They  had  to  man- 
age farming,  trading,  the  sale  of  gifts  in  kind, 
housing  corn,  selling  beef  when  a  bull  was  killed, 
furnishing  the  church-house,  overseeing  its  brewery, 
bakehouse,  and  entertainments,  and  making  pre- 
sentments at  the  Archdeacon's  court  of  delinquen- 

1  Ibid.,  8/25,  9/56,  11/343,  12/57,  14/39.  15/9°.  i6/".  17/190, 
18/92,  19/247,  20/133,  21/19,  22/64,  24/52,  25/171,  26/113,  27/164, 
28/55,  29/185,  30/45,  31/527,  33/48,  35/8,  36/1,  and  many  more; 
Furnivall,  Early  Eng.  Wills,  '  lone  my  wyff  .  .  .  myn  Execu- 
torice  Cheff,  pp.  17,  24,  28,  29,  88,  90,  etc.  a  Ibid.,  51,  66; 

Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  15/107,  15/286,  16/1,  18/193,  19/396,  26/26, 
26/113,  27/385,  28/390.  »  29/183,  16/374,  18/162,  20/15,  22/121, 
22/139,  24/119,  24/123,  26/281,  27/80,  28/219,  29/71,  30/15,  31/360, 
35/3*1  40/232,  41/127,  etc.  4  Petitions  of  women  regarding  their 
property  are  numerous;  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  40/116,  41/6,  41/117, 
42/32,  44/90,  45/298,  47/148,  53/19,  58/101,  60/80,  100/51,  107/86, 
109/27,  183/15,  185/28,  192/2,  194/54,  195/36,  and  many  more. 
8  Sharpe,  Wills  t  II,  381,  520,  590,  602,  and  604.  6  Hardy,  II, 
op.  cit.,  563.  7  Gasquet,  Parish  Life  in  Medieval  England,  104 
and  102,  and  Hobhouse,  xi.  8  Gasquet,  op.  a't.,  106,  at  St.  Petrock's, 
Exeter;  Hobhouse,  120,  at  Yatton. 


WOMEN   AND   CHILDREN  143 

cies  of  the  rector  or  the  parishioners.1  Nor  were 
women  entirely  excluded  from  public  duties,  al- 
though they  might  not  sit  in  Parliament.2  The 
Duchess  of  Suffolk  was  Constable  of  the  Castle  of 
Wallingford,  where  the  Duke  of  Exeter  was  con- 
fined3; and  Dame  Agnes  Foster  had  Lord  '  Gravyle  ' 
and  '  Sir  Cardot  Malorte,'  prisoners,  in  her  '  warde 
and  rule.'  *  The  Countess  of  Hereford  was  asso- 
ciated with  the  Bishops  of  London  and  Ely  and  the 
Sire  de  Burnell  for  the  collection  of  a  loan  in  Essex, 
Hertford,  Cambridge,  and  Huntingdon,6  and  simi- 
larly Lady  Abergavenny  was  among  those  who  were 
appointed  to  treat  with  lenders  concerning  a  loan 
to  the  King  in  1430.'  The  Duchess  of  Burgundy 
carried  on  negotiations  between  that  country  and 
England  concerning  commercial  intercourse  and 
other  matters. 

It  would  be  very  interesting  to  know  how  the 
economic  changes  of  the  fifteenth  century  affected 
the  employment  of  child-labour  ;   unfor-   The  em 
funately  we  have  not  very  much  infor-   pioyment 
mation  upon  this  subject,  but  one  point    ofchild- 
at  least  seems  clear — children  began  to 
work  at  a  very  early  age.    The  statute  concerning 
servants  in  husbandry  speaks  of  those  '  which  use 
to  labour  at  the  plough  .  .  .  till  they  be  of  the 
Age  of  Twelve,'7  so  it  was  evidently  customary  to 
employ  young  children  in  agriculture.     The  Chan- 
cery Proceedings  contain  an  instance  of  a  child  who, 
it  was  said,  was  put  to  the  plough  at  the  age  of 
eight.8    The  order  that  they  should  '  abide  at  the 
same  Labour,'  if  they  had  followed  it  up  to  this 

1  Hobhouse,  xiv.  *  '  Margaret   .    .    .    Countess  of  Northfolk, 

to  whom  no  place  in  Parlement  myght  apperteyne,  by  cause  she  was  a 
woman';  Rot.  Par/.,  IV,  270.  *  In  1455,  Proceed.  Privy  Council, 
VI,  245-6.  *  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  31/446.  '  Proceed.  Privy 
Council,  I,  343.  6  Coventry  Leet  Book,  I,  123.  7  12  Ric.  II, 
c.  5.  8  Early  Cham.  Proceed.,  28/471 


144  THE   INDUSTRIAL   POSITION   OF 

age,  encouraged  parents  to  apprentice  their  children 
to  trades  before  they  reached  it,  and  another  Act 
was  passed  to  check  this  evil1;  not,  however,  be- 
cause it  was  bad  for  the  children,  but  because 
husbandry  suffered.  Nevertheless,  children  con- 
tinued to  start  their  careers  very  early  in  life.  In 
one  of  the  Chancery  Proceedings  it  is  said  that  John 
Hyll,  draper,  of  London,  enrolled  one  of  his  appren- 
tices at  the  age  of  eleven,  although  the  ordinance  of 
the  City  said  the  person  enrolled  must  be  between 
thirteen  and  fourteen  at  the  least.2  From  this  it 
appears  that  the  municipal  authorities  tried  to  stop 
the  apprenticing  of  very  young  children.  Yet  in 
London  it  was  recognized  that  '  enfauntz  dedincz 
age  '  could  be  '  marchauntz  '  or  '  tiegnent  comunes 
shopes  de  mesteer  et  des  merchaundises';  and  ordi- 
nances were  made  concerning  them.3  The  weavers 
of  Bristol  speak  of  the  employment  of  children,4 
so  it  was  not  confined  to  London.  Children  earned 
money  also  by  helping  their  parents.  Sir  John 
Howard  paid  a  gunner  '  for  him  and  his  child  6 
days  .  .  .  2s.  4d.'5  In  one  of  the  Coroners'  Rolls 
for  Leicester  we  read  that  while  Margaret  Roost, 
aged  eleven,  was  driving  her  mother's  cart,  she 
jumped  off  to  put  the  harness  of  one  of  the  horses 
right,  fell  on  her  head,  and  broke  her  neck.6 

Children  were  included  in  the  households  of  great 
nobles  ;  there  were  four  '  chylder  '  of  the  '  stabyl- 
lys  '*  and  four  '  chelderne  of  the  Kechyn  '8  in  the 
Duke  of  Norfolk's  establishment.  There  were  also 
'  chylderne  of  owir  Lady  chappell,'9  but  they  were 
in  a  much  higher  position.  Boys,  who  were  paid 
fourpence  a  day,  were  amongst  the  twelve  persons 

1  7  H.  IV,  c.  17.  2  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  19/466.  '  Miss 
Bateson,  op.  (it.,  I,  227.  *  Little  Red  Book  of  Bristol,  II,  123-4. 

6  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  309.         6  Coroners'  Rolls,  No.  6l,  m.  10. 

7  Howard  Household  Book,  II,  426.         8  Ibid.,  439.         8  Ibid.,  438. 


WOMEN   AND   CHILDREN  145 

in  attendance  on  Eleanor  Cobham,  when  she  was 
in  the  charge  of  Lord  de  Sudeley.1  Pages  were 
numerous  in  the  Royal  Household,  and  were  al- 
lowed to  do  more  responsible  work  than  in  earlier 
times.  '  In  noble  Edwards2  household,  pages  were 
none  officers,  nor  yet  long  sene,  beryng  no  charge 
nor  sworn  in  the  countyng-house  ;  but  now  they 
be  permytted  for  an  ayde  of  every  office,  chosen 
oftyn  tymes  by  the  maysters  of  offices,  as  for 
labours,  so  by  theyre  vertuous  disposition  may 
grow,  and  by  succession  to  be  preferred  to  hygher 
servyse.'3  There  was  a  regular  gradation  of  offices 
in  the  Household,  and  they  might  rise  to  be  grooms, 
and  then  yeomen,  and  then  sergeants,  and  finally 
clerks  in  various  departments.  So  even  in  the 
Royal  Household  we  have  an  illustration  of  the 
increased  employment  of  children. 

The  idea  of  setting  young  children  to  arduous 
work  is  repugnant  to  the  modern  conscience  ;  but 
before  passing  judgment  upon  the  men  of  the  fif- 
teenth century  we  ought  to  remember  that  probably 
the  average  duration  of  life  was  shorter  in  those 
days,  because  so  little  was  known  of  the  laws  of 
health.  Consequently  they  reached  maturity  then 
sooner  than  we  do  now  ;  a  child  in  the  language  of 
the  Statute  Book  seems  to  have  been  a  person  under 
fourteen.4  The  four  Orders  of  Friars  were  for- 
bidden to  receive  any  *  infant '  under  this  age5; 
and  women  heiresses  were  allowed  to  have  '  livery 
of  their  lands  and  tenements '  when  they  were 
fourteen  years  old.6  Nevertheless,  even  when  every 
excuse  has  been  made,  the  fact  remains  that  chil- 

1  English  Chronicle,   190.  a  e.g.   Edward  III.  *  Liber 

Niger  of  Edward  IV,  in  Ordinances  of  the  Koyal  Household, 
p.  39.  4  Wages  are  ordained  for  'a  child  under  fourteen,"  Rot. 
Par!.,  V,  112.  '  6  4  H.  IV,  c.  17.  8  39  H.  VI,  c.  2.  As  an 
illustration  of  the  rapid  development  of  men  in  the  fifteenth  century 
the  precocity  of  the  sons  of  Henry  IV  might  be  noticed.  Henry  was 


146  INDUSTRIAL  POSITION  OF  WOMEN 

dren  often  began  to  work  before  they  were  fit  for  it. 
Contemporary  writers  do  not  assign  any  reason 
for  this  characteristic  of  the  period,  except  in  the 
case  of  evasions  of  the  law  of  1388  ;  but  we  should 
probably  not  go  far  wrong  if  we  attributed  it,  like 
the  employment  of  women,  to  the  increased  demand 
for  labour  caused  by  the  growth  of  industry,  and 
possibly  also  to  the  difficulties  caused  by  the  in- 
sistence of  workmen  upon  higher  wages  and  the 
desire  of  the  masters  for  cheap  labour. 

Viceroy  of  Wales,  Thomas  Viceroy  of  Ireland,  and  John  shared  the 
command  on  the  Scottish  Marches  with  the  Earl  of  Westmoreland,  in 
1406,  when  their  respective  ages  were  nineteen,  eighteen,  and  seven- 
teen (Ramsay,  Lancaster  and  York,  I,  105-6).  The  Prince  of  Wales 
commanded  half  his  father's  army  at  the  battle  of  Shrewsbury  when 
he  was  only  fifteen  (Ibiit.,  I,  60). 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE   STANDARD   OF  LIVING 

THE   economic   changes   of    the   fifteenth    century 
not   only   considerably   modified   the   structure   of 

society,    but    also    produced    important  0.     , 

re     j.  it.  A    •  i  j-i-  t  Standard 

effects  upon  the  material  conditions  of  of  living  in 

existence.  The  expansion  of  commerce  the  fifteenth 
and  industry  revealed  to  men  new  ob-  ° 
jects  of  desire,  and  at  the  same  time  provided 
the  means  of  obtaining  them.  Consequently  there 
are  signs  of  increasing  luxury  in  food,  increasing 
clothing,  and  housing.  The  development  luxury 
of  sea  fishing  certainly  added  greatly  to  ^food. 
the  quantity,  and  possibly  also  to  the  variety  of 
fish  available  for  food,  and  this  must  have 
been  no  slight  advantage  in  the  days  when  it 
was  a  religious  duty  to  abstain  from  meat  during 
certain  seasons  of  the  year.  Household  Books 
show  how  frequently  fish  was  eaten,  and  the 
numbers  of  different  kinds  used.  One  entry 
in  the  accounts  of  Anne,  Duchess  of  Bucking- 
ham, includes  cod,  *  thombakkis,'  plaice,  soles, 
haddocks,  '  gurnard,'  and  crabbs1;  and  there  were 
many  others  —  '  mackerell,'2  *  bret,'8  '  sturgion,'4 
'  conger,'  '  rochett,'5  '  crevissh,'6  '  molett,'7  '  breym 
marin  '8  (sea-bream),  oysters,9  prawns,10  tench,11 

1  Add.  MSS.  34,213,  p.  ii.      2  Ibid.,  16  d.  a  Ibid.,  18. 

4  Ibid.,  19  d.  •  Ibid.,  20  d.  6  Ibid.,  21. 

'  Ibid.,  23.  8  Ibid.,  30  d.  9  IKd.,  33. 

w  Ibid.,  35  d.  "  Ibid.,  48. 

'47 


148  THE   STANDARD   OF  LIVING 

halibut,1  lampreys,2  whiting,  flounders,  eels, 
dog-fish,3  sprats,4  minnows,  porpoise,5  doree,6 
shrimps  and  whelks.7  The  fisheries  for  '  oystres, 
musklys,  cockles  ...  &  autre  pessen  esshelez,'  off 
the  Ore,  were  so  valuable  that  the  Mayor  of  London 
laid  a  petition  before  the  Chancellor,  when  the 
Abbot  of  Faversham  imposed  a  duty  upon  them.8 
We  know  that  a  great  quantity  of  stockfish  was 
brought  from  Iceland.  They  were  apparently  not 
dear,  although  they  came  from  such  a  distance, 
on  one  occasion  three  hundred  only  cost  £3,  while 
a  freight  of  *  600  grene  heed  ffishes  '  cost  £23';  but 
the  comparison  is  not  wholly  satisfactory,  because 
we  do  not  know  the  weight  of  the  fish  in  either 
case.  For  the  same  reason  no  accurate  estimate  of 
the  price  of  fish  can  be  given  from  Household 
Books.  Salmon  is  mentioned  in  most  Household 
Books  ;  sometimes  it  was  salted  and  sometimes 
fresh.10  '  Salmon  recens '  was  one  of  the  items  of  a 
dinner  given  by  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  on 
January  6th.11  Herrings  formed  a  staple  article  of 
food  in  Lent,12  a  convoy  taking  them  to  the  be- 
sieged town  of  Orleans,  in  February,  1429,  was 
attacked  by  the  French,  and  they  gave  their  name 
to  the  battle  which  followed.13  Considerable  skill 
was  expended  in  curing  herrings  in  _  the  fifteenth 
century  :  some  were  salted  and  smoked,  and  these 
were  called  red  herrings  ;  but  others  were  pickled 
without  being  smoked,  and  they  were  known  as 
white  herrings.14  And  salt  fish  of  all  kinds  was 

1  Ibid.,  iiod.  *  Ibid.,  119  d.  3  Stafford  Household  Book ,  in 
Archtzlogia,  XXV,  327.  *  Ordinances  of  the  Royal  Household,  102. 
•  Manners  and  Meals,  166-7.  6  Ibid.,  167.  7  Ibid.,  1 68. 

8  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  6/241.  B  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  19/480. 
10  Ordinances  of 'the  Royal  Household,^.  102;  Stafford  Household  Book, 
Archalogia,  XXV,  341 ;  Add.  MSS.  34,  213,  8  d.  "  Archalogia, 

XXV,  326.  ia  Ordinances  of  the  Royal  Household,  102.  "Ramsay, 
Lancaster  and  York,  I,  385.  M  T.  Rogers,  Work  and  Wages,  240, 


THE   STANDARD   OF   LIVING  149 

largely  used,  as  Household  Books  show.  Besides 
these,  the  preservation  of  fresh-water  fish,  as  of  old 
in  '  stews  '  was  continued,  and  before  long,  trout 
were  added,  as  a  delicacy,  to  the  pike,  bream,  and 
roach  of  early  inventories. 

The  spices  which  Italian  merchants  brought  to 
England  were  much  appreciated.  A  payment  of 
fy  us.  6d.  for  various  kinds  of  condiments  occurs 
in  the  Household  Book  of  the  Duchess  of  Bucking- 
ham,1 and  George  Duke  of  Clarence  spent  £72  6s.  8d. 
on  them  in  a  year.2  Pepper  cost  I2d.  a  pound, 
cinnamon  I4d.,  cloves  2s.  6d.,  and  mace  2s.  8d.,3 
and  these  seem  large  sums  when  we  remember  that 
a  lamb  could  be  bought  for  is.  id.,4  and  a  shoulder 
and  breast  of  mutton  for  5d.6  Sugar  cost  about  lod. 
a  pound6;  it  was,  Mr.  Beazley  tells  us,  imported 
from  Madeira.7  The  effects  of  foreign  trade  may 
also  be  traced  in  purchases  of  salt,8  of  Gascon,9 
and  Spanish  wine,10  of  malmsey,11  and  claret.12 
The  municipal  authorities  of  Coventry  fixed  the 
price  of  Gascon  wine  in  that  town  at  8d.  a  gallon, 
malmsey  at  6d.,  and  that  of  Rochelle  at  i6d.  ;  and 
they  ordered  that  '  no  Osey  ne  algarbe  ...  be  sold 
until  the  mayor  and  his  peers  have  seen  it  and  set 
a  price  on  it.'13  The  result  of  the  development  of 
the  coal  trade  can  be  seen  in  the  use  of  coal  and 
charcoal  as  well  as  wood  for  fuel.14  In  1405  a  pro- 
clamation was  issued  in  London  regulating  the 
prices  of  charcoal  and  faggots.15  Coal  is  sometimes 

i  and  »  Add.  MSS.  34,  213  ;  86.  a  Ordinances  of  the  Royal  House- 
hold, 103.  4  Add.  MSS.  34,  213,  p.  9.  *  Howard  Household 
Book,  I,  435.  6  Add.  MSS.  34,  213,  86.  7  C.  R.  Beazley, 
Prince  Henry  the  Navigator •,  166.  8  Add.  MSS.  34,  213,  p.  21. 

9  Howard   Household   Book,    I,    153,    and    Archalogia,    XXV,    329. 

10  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  153.      "  A.C.,  Vol.  XLVI,  Letter  172. 
12  Ibid.,    Letter  218.  1S   Coventry  Leet   Book,  Part  i,    p.   24. 
14  Arcluelo°ia,  XXV,  321,  'wocwle  and  coole,'  Ordinances  of  the  Royal 
Household,  104.    'Carbon  siluestre,'  Add.  MSS.  34,  213,  48  d,  54,  60, 
74  d,  and  '  focal,'  31  d.         15  Riley,  Memorials,  560. 


150  THE   STANDARD  OF  LIVING 

mentioned  in  bequests  to  the  poor.1  Evidence  of 
the  care  bestowed  upon  the  preparation  of  food 
may  be  seen  in  the  receipts  for  cookery  which  have 
come  down  to  us,  such  as  those  bound  up  with  the 
Ordinances  of  the  Royal  Household,2  and  those 
printed  in  Manners  and  Meals  in  the  Olden  Times.3 
The  menus  also  to  be  found  in  the  latter  book  afford 
practical  illustrations  of  the  elaborate  dinners  of 
'  flesche  '  or  fish  4  enjoyed  by  the  rich. 

The  repeated  complaints  of  the  Commons  in 
Parliament  that  '  as  well  men  as  women,  have  used, 
and  daily  usen,  excessive  &  inordynat 
ganceln  arayes,'5  and  the  failure  of  statutes  and 
dress  in  the  ordinances6  to  stop  it,  point  to  increased 
extravagance  in  dress.  It  is  interesting 
to  notice  that  all  classes  in  the  com- 
munity were  included  in  the  condemnation  of 
the  Commons,  so  apparently  all  shared  in  the 
rise  of  the  standard  of  comfort,  in  this  respect 
at  least.  Even  labourers,  who  in  1363  might  use 
no  '  Draps  sinoun  Blanket  &  Russet,  L'aune  de 
douse  deniers,' 7  were  allowed,  in  1463-4,  to  wear 
cloth  of  which  the  price  did  not  exceed  two  shillings 
a  yard.8  The  comments  of  the  writers  of  the  period 
create  the  same  impression  as  legislation.  Lydgate 
wrote,  A  litelle  short  ditey  agayne  homes,  which 
was  a  protest  against  women's  head-dresses  with 
trimming  like  a  pair  of  cow's  horns.  Occleve,  in 
the  De  Regimine  Principum,  says  that  tailors  will 
have  to  go  into  the  fields  to  shape  and  spread  and 
fold,  as  their  boards  will  be  too  narrow  for  the  cloth 
that  shall  be  worked  into  a  gown  ;  the  skinner,  too, 
will  have  to  go  into  the  fields,  his  house  being  too 

1  Early  Eng.  Wills,  101  ;  Sharpe,  op.  cit.,  II,  478,  and  II,  417. 
2  Printed  for  the  Soc.  of  Antiquaries.  3  Early  Eng.  Text  Soc.t 
Orig.  Series,  No.  32.  4  Ibid.,  164-8.  5  and  8  Rot.  Par  I.,  V,  504. 
6  Ibid.,  Ill,  506 ;  37  Ed.  Ill,  cs.  8-14 ;  38  Ed.  Ill,  c.  2 ;  3  Ed.  IV, 
c.  5;  22  Ed.  IV,  c.  r.  7  Rot.  Par/.,  Ill,  281-2. 


THE   STANDARD   OF   LIVING  151 

small  for  his  trade.1  A  writer  On  the  Corruption 
of  Public  Manners,  makes  a  bitter  attack  upon 
'  prowd  galonttes  hertlesse,'  with  '  hyght  cappis 
witlesse,'  and  '  schort  gownys  thriftlesse,'  and 
'  longe  peked  schone.'2  An  incident  which  hap- 
pened in  Canterbury  Cathedral  shows  the  capacious- 
ness of  the  sleeves  which  were  then  worn  :  a  fugitive, 
who  had  escaped  from  prison,  took  refuge  within 
the  rails  of  Archbishop  Chichele's  monument,  but 
the  mob  thrust  their  arms  between  the  bars,  and 
beat  him  with  sticks,  which  they  had  hitherto  con- 
cealed in  their  sleeves.3  The  prices  found  in  records 
give  us  some  idea  of  the  amount  of  money  which 
must  have  been  spent  on  clothes  and  jewels : 
martin  fur  for  a  gown  was  valued  at  £17*;  '  Harry, 
Duke  of  Warwick,  bought  cloth  of  gold  and  other 
stuff  for  £455  195.  iod.6;  two  ouches  of  gold,  with 
a  ruby  and  certain  diamonds  in  each,  were  said  to 
be  the  equivalent  of  £200,  and  a  bishop's  mitre 
worth  £ioo.8  A  petition  was  made  for  the  posses- 
sion of  a  girdle  harnessed  with  silver  and  overgilt, 
and  it  was  valued  at  £4.*  The  Privy  Council 
ordered  that  £24  should  be  given  to  James  I  of 
Scotland  to  purchase  cloth  of  gold  for  his  mar- 
riage.8 '  Riche  crymsin  clothe  of  golde '  some- 
times cost  as  much  as  £8  a  yard,  and  *  purpull 
velvet '  forty  shillings.9  The  Mayor  of  Bristol  was 
allowed  £8  for  twelve  yards  of  scarlet  and  ten  marks 
for  his  fur  ;  and  out  of  a  total  of  £93  95.  4d.  paid 
yearly  to  the  city  officers,  the  sum  of  £37  6s.  8d. 
was  expended  on  clothing.10 

1  Morley,  English  Writers,  VI,  126.          2  Wright,  Polit.  Songs, 
II,  251.  3  Hist.  MSS,   Commission,  Report  IX,  Appendix  on 

Register  S.  of  Christ  Church,  Canterbury.  4  Early  Chanc.  Proceed. , 
97/44.  B  Ibid.,  22/117.  6  Ibid.,  29/467.  7  Ibid.,  186/22. 
•  Proceed.  Privy  Council,  III,  133.  9  Materials  for  the  Reign  of 
Henry  VII,  Vol.  II,  6.  10  Ricart,  The  Maire  of  Bristowe  is 

Kalendar,  pp.  8 1-2.     See  also  Appendix  C  ic. 


152  THE    STANDARD   OF   LIVING 

The  number  of  garments  possessed  by  men  and 
women  of  good  position  must  have  been  very  large. 
Sir  John  Fastolf  had  clothes  made  of  cloth  of  gold, 
satin,  fugre  (figured  satin),  velvet,  leather,  cloth, 
fustian,  and  damask.1  The  wills  of  all  kinds  of 
people  are  full  of  legacies  of  articles  of  dress  : 
Richard  Dixton,  Esq.,  left  gowns  of  '  blake  furred 
with  ficheux,'  '  grene  damaske  lyned,'  '  Russet 
furred  with  blak,'  '  rede  damaske,'  '  Russet  medley,' 
'  a  scarlet  gowne  furred  with  foynes,'  '  a  gowne  of 
scarlet  with  slyt  slyues  y-furred,'  and  many  others,2 
including  a  'gowne  of  Goldsmythes  werk.'3  Even 
armour,  which  we  should  expect  to  be  made  for  use 
and  not  show,  became  elaborate  and  ornamental. 
John  Payn,  Fastolf's  servant,  was  robbed  by  Cade's 
followers  of  '  one  peyr  of  Bregandyrns4  kevert  with 
blew  fellewet  and  gilt  naile,  with  legharneyse,  the 
vallew  of  the  gown  and  the  bregardyns  viii  li.'5 
Large  prices  seem  to  have  been  given  sometimes 
for  armour,  Sir  John  Paston  gave  £20  for  '  an 
harneys  '  for  himself.6  At  a  tournament  held  at 
Westminster,  before  Henry  VII,  we  are  told  of  the 
combatants  :  '  Allsoo  their  hors  harneys  was  of 
blake  velvet,  bordred  and  losenged  of  goldsmythis 
werke,  and  on  every  corner  of  the  said  losenges  a 
rounde  silver  bell,  and  in  the  myddys  rosses,  oon 
red,  a  nothre  whit,  and  oon  every  roos  a  waffir  gilt.'7 
Armour  and  the  richer  materials,  such  as  satin  and 
velvet,  were,  as  we  know,  imported,8  but  woollen 
stuffs  were  the  products  of  English  looms. 

A  rise  in  the  standard  of  living  can  also  be  seen 
in  the  construction  and  furnishing  of  the  houses  of 

1  Paston  Letters,  III,  174  and  seq.  ~  Furnivall,  Early  Eng.  Wills , 
Iio-il.  3  Ibid.,  109.  4  A  coat  of  leather  or  quilted  linen, 

with  small  iron  plates  sewed  on  to  it ;    the  back  and  breast  were 
sometimes  made  separately  and  called  a  pair.  6   Paston  Letters, 

II,    155.  8   Pastoti  Letters,  V,   7-8.  7   Gairdner,   Letters  of 

Richard  III  and  Henry  VII,  Vol.  I,  396.         8  See  p.  36,  supra. 


THE   STANDARD   OF   LIVING  153 

this  period.  They  were  larger  and  better  arranged 
than  they  had  been  in  earlier  times.  In  improve. 
the  fourteenth  century  they  were  usually  ments  in 
not  more  than  two  stories  high,1  even  houses- 
in  towns ;  but  in  the  fifteenth,  prosperous  merchants 
often  had  vast  cellars  for  merchandise  below  their 
houses,  a  warehouse  and  two  or  more  shops  on  the 
ground-floor,  and  above  them  a  parlour  and  bed- 
rooms, the  whole  being  three  stories  high  ;  and 
there  were,  in  addition,  attics  in  the  sharply- 
pitched  gables,  and  a  lofty  hall  behind  the  other 
buildings.2  Mr.  Pryce's  description  of  a  house 
and  furniture  shows  us  how  Bristol  merchants 
lived,3  and  we  had,  until  quite  recently,  in  London, 
an  even  better  illustration  of  a  '  mansion  '  of  the 
reign  of  Edward  IV  in  Crosby  Hall.  Stow  describes 
the  Goldsmiths'  Row,  in  the  Cheap,  London,  as 
'  the  most  beautiful  Frame  and  Front  of  Fair 
Houses  &  Shops,  that  were  within  all  the  Walls 
of  London  or  elsewhere  in  England.'  It  was  built 
by  Thomas  Wood,  goldsmith,  in  1491,  and  contained 
'  ten  fair  Dwelling-houses  and  fourteen  shops,  all 
in  one  Frame,  uniformly  built  four  stories  high, 
beautified  towards  the  street  with  the  Goldsmiths 
Arms,  the  Likeness  of  Wood-men,  in  Memory  of  his 
Name,  riding  on  monstrous  Beasts.  All  which  is  cast 
in  Lead  &  richly  painted  over  &  gilt.'4  There  seems 
to  have  been  a  tendency  to  increase  the  number  of 
rooms  contained  by  houses.  In  Sir  John  Fastolf's 
castle,  at  Caister,  there  were  no  less  than  twenty-six 
chambers  besides  the  public  room,  chapel,  and 
offices.5  He  was,  it  is  true,  an  exceptionally  wealthy 
man,  but  the  same  feature  appears,  though  in  a 

1  Turner  and  Parker,  Domestic  Architecture,  II,  187.  2  Hunt, 
Bristol,  1 08.  3  Pryce,  Memorials  of  the  Canynge?  l-amily,  116-21. 
4  Strype's  Stow,  I,  686.  8  Paston  Letters,  I,  119  (Introd.),  quoting 
Dawson  Turner,  Hist.  Sketch  of  Caister  Castle,  4. 


154  THE   STANDARD   OF   LIVING 

less  marked  degree,  in  houses  of  smaller  size.  The 
house  of  Richard  Merlawe,  '  iremonger,'  consisted 
of  a  hall,  parlour,  chamber,  butlery,  pantry,  and 
kitchen1;  and  the  care  taken  by  testators  to  specify 
which  chambers  they  wished  to  bequeath  to  their 
friends  shows  that  they  possessed  several.  Richard 
Gosselyn,  '  iremonger,'  left  a  large  painted  chamber, 
with  panelled  ceiling,  and  a  small  chamber2;  and 
William  Hobby s,  '  medicus  et  sirurgicus '  to  the 
Duke  of  York,  gave  his  sister  Katherine  the  best 
chamber  with  all  its  hangings,  or  the  hangings  of 
the  parlour.3  Permanent  offices,  such  as  the  kitchen, 
pantry,  and  butlery,  and  outbuildings  of  stone, 
were  not  general  before  the  fifteenth  century,4  but 
they  were  very  important  adjuncts  to  houses  in 
our  period,  perhaps  because  so  much  attention  was 
devoted  to  eating  and  drinking.  Additional  sitting- 
rooms  were  needed,  because  the  master  and  mis- 
tress of  the  house  desired  more  privacy,  and  no  longer 
dined  in  the  hall  with  their  dependents,  but  were 
served  apart  in  the  great  chamber  or  parlour.6  By 
the  Stafford  Household  Book  we  see  that  '  messes  ' 
were  served  separately  in  '  the  chamber  of  the  Lord 
and  Lady,'  the  great  chamber  and  the  hall.6  The 
ladies  of  the  family  also  seem  to  have  had  their  own 
reception-room.  More  bedrooms  were  required, 
because  the  hall  was  no  longer  used  as  a  general 
sleeping  chamber,  and  this  change  certainly  indicates 
a  considerable  advance  in  the  social  condition  of 
the  nation.7  As  a  consequence  of  the  decreasing  use 

1  Sharpe,  Wills,  II,  428.  a  Ibid.,  II,  464.  •  Ibid.,  591. 
*  Turner  and  Parker,  op.  cit.,  II,  12. 

e  Archalogia,  XXV,  321  and  315.  Turner  and  Parker,  op.  cit.,  III, 
76.  •  Archalogia,  XXV,  323.  7  Turner  and  Parker,  III,  18. 
Sir  John  Howard,  when  he  wants  some  measurements  for  hangings, 
mentions  the  'aP  (hall),  '  parlor,'  'chawember  hover  the  parlor,  the 
chaumber  wer  that  I  lay  in,'  and  the  '  chawember  over  the  pantery 
and  the  botery '  (Howard  Household  Book,  I,  557). 


THE   STANDARD   OF   LIVING  155 

made  of  the  hall,  it  declined  in  size  at  this  time, 
and  it  is  perhaps  not  altogether  fanciful  to  trace  in 
its  waning  importance  the  decline  of  the  system 
under  which  it  had  played  so  prominent  a  part. 

Another  outward  and  visible  sign  of  the  fall  of 
Feudalism  is  the  fact  that  the  type  of  the  castle 
was  gently  dying  out,  and  the  type  of  the  domestic 
house  breaking  forth  into  existence.1  A  comparison 
of  the  numbers  of  licences  to  crenellate  granted  in 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  is  most 
striking  :  whereas  over  one  hundred  and  seventy 
were  issued  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III,  and  more 
than  fifty  in  that  of  Richard  II,  only  twenty  were 
granted  between  the  years  1399  and  1483.2  Manor 
houses  were  sometimes  fortified  to  a  certain  extent, 
in  order  that  they  might  be  able  to  resist  sudden 
attacks  of  marauders,  but  they  were  not  intended 
for  serious  warfare.3 

In  regard  to  the  material  used  for  building,  it  is 
probable  that  men  took  whatever  was  ready  at 
hand,  and  did  not  spend  money  in  bringing  any- 
thing from  a  distance,  except  in  very  special  cases  ; 
so  stone  was  used  in  Somerset,  Wiltshire,  and 
Gloucestershire,  and  brick  in  the  eastern  counties, 
where  no  stone  was  found.5  The  improvements  in 
brick-making  introduced  by  the  Flemings  were 
therefore  especially  valued  in  this  part  of 
country.  Timber  was  still  frequently  employed 
for  building  purposes,6  and  '  estrich  '  boards  (that 
is,  Estland  boards)  were  bought  from  Norway  and 
Sweden,7  though  'goode  trewe  hert  of  oke  was 


'Turner  and  Parker,  III,  5. 


7  Addy,  Evolution  of  the  House,  10911. 


156  THE   STANDARD   OF   LIVING 

also  greatly  valued.1  There  was,  however,  a  grow- 
ing dislike  to  timber  chimneys  and  thatched  roofs, 
perhaps  from  fear  of  fire,  and  both  were  forbidden 
in  Worcester2  and  other  towns. 

The  glazing  of  windows,  not  only  of  ecclesiastical3 
and  municipal  buildings,4  but  also  of  dwelling 
houses,  grew  more  common.  Thomas  Maykyn,  who 
was  building  a  chamber  for  William  Marchall, 
Clerk  of  the  Chancery,  informed  him  that  '  There 
are  goodly  windows,  in  the  fronte  a  wyndowe  of  iiij 
dayes,  and  in  euery  syde  a  goodely  wyndowe  of  ij 
dayes.'6  By  the  custom  of  London,  windows  could 
be  removed  by  the  person  to  whom  they  belonged, 
so  a  petition  was  laid  before  the  Chancellor  by  a 
tenant  who  was  not  allowed  to  take  them  with  him 
when  he  left  the  house.6  A  will  enrolled  in  the 
Court  of  the  Hustings,  by  John  Herst,  skinner, 
directs  that  the  glass  windows  should  not  be  re- 
moved from  a  tenement,  but  should  be  left  in  it, 
when  it  was  let.7  Another  will  gives  us  an  idea 
of  what  were  then  considered  the  necessaries  of  a 
tenement ;  they  included  cisterns,  glasses,  stan- 
dards, presses,  '  warbordes,'  '  dressours,'  shelves, 
'  crestes,'  and  benches.8  The  price  of  glass  was 
about  fivepence  a  foot.  Sir  John  Howard  paid  '  to 
the  glacyer  of  Yipswyche  for  9  fote  of  glasse  to  the 
new  closet,  35.  gd.'9 

Among  the  most  important  pieces  of  furniture  in 
a  house  were  the  beds,  and  their  costliness  and 
magnificence  are  signs  of  the  growing  luxury  of 

1  A.C.,  Vol.  XLVI,  Letter  263.  See  also  the  description  of  Wayn- 
flete's  School ;  it  was  to  have  '  a  flore  with  a  Rofe  of  Tymber  of  good 
herte  of  ooke '  (Chandler,  Life  of  William  of  Waynftete,  p.  369). 
a  T.  Smith,  Eng.  Gilds,  p.  386.  3  Fasten  Letters,  III,  135,  glazing 
the  chapel  at  Mauteby,  io/- ;  repairing  and  glazing  the  vestry  of 
St.  Michael's,  Queenhithe,  Sharpe,  II,  561.  4  Glazing  the  Guildhall, 
London,  Strype's  Stow,  I,  559.  5  A.C.,  Vol.  XLVI,  Letter  263. 

8  Early   Chanc.    Proceed.,   64/234.  7  Sharpe's   Wills,    II,    546. 

8  Ibid.,  587.         8  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  511. 


THE   STANDARD   OF   LIVING  157 

the    age.     A   bed   of    arras   of    hawking   left     to 

Thomas,  Duke  of    Exeter,  by  Henry  V, 

i      j  r  oj  i       TM-       j        Furniture, 

was  valued  at  £139  us.  ed.1  The  de- 
scription of  a  bed  belonging  to  Edward  IV  shows 
that  comfort  was  considered  as  well  as  ornamenta- 
tion. He  had  '  a  grete  large  federbedd  and  the 
bolster  therunto  stuffed  with  downe  ;  &  tapettes2 
of  verdours  with  crownes  and  roses  paled  blue  & 
crymysyn  ;  a  sperver3  of  ray  velvet  of  the  colours 
grene,  rede  and  white,  conteignyng  testour,  celour4 
and  valance  of  the  same  suyt,  lined  with  busk5  and 
frenged  with  frenge  of  divers  colours,  with  ij  syde 
curtyns  and  a  fote  curtyn  of  sarcinet  chaungeable.'6 
Making  the  royal  bed  was  quite  a  solemn  function.7 
Beds,  like  gowns,  were  often  left  by  will  to  friends 
and  relatives.  Nicholas  Sturgeon,  priest,  be- 
queathed a  '  bed  of  grene  sylke,  wi}>  the  testour  and 
Canape  ther-to,  palid  tartyn  white  and  rede,'  to  a 
cousin,  and  '  a  blew  bed  with  the  lyoun  Curteynes, 
Couverled,  blankettis,  a  peyre  of  shetis  and  a 
gowne  '  to  a  servant.8  The  hangings  of  chambers, 
such  as  tapestry  for  the  walls  and  coverings  for  the 
benches,  were  also  very  elaborate.  The  indenture 
of  the  goods  of  Henry  V  mentions  '  i  autre  pece 
d' Arras  d'or,  que  comence  en  1'estorie,  Ycy  comence 
pur  une  message,  contenant  xxxv  verge"es  de  lon- 
gure,  &  v  vergees  demi  de  large,  en  tout  c  t"  xii 
verges  demi,  pris  le  verge"  xs  .  .  .  cxv  li.  xs.'9 
Carpets  seem  to  have  been  just  coming  into  use.10 


1  Proceed.  Privy  Council,  III,  58-9.  2  Costers,  the  sides  of  a  bed 
( Wardrobe  Accounts  of  Edward  IV,  Glossary).  3  The  canopy  of 
a  bed  (Ibid.).  *  Ceiling  of  the  bed  (Ibid.).  5  A  sort  of  linen  cloth 
(Ibid.).  8  Ibid.,  p.  143.  7  Ordinances  of  the  Royal  Household, 
122.  There  is  a  similar  description  of  bedmaking  in  Manners  and 
Meals,  313-14.  8  Furnivall,  Early  Eng.  Wills,  133 ;  cf.  pp.  19 

and  36.  •  Rot.  Par!.,  IV,  p.  232.  10  Ordinances  of  the  Royal 
Household,  121,  125,  126,  128,  and  Turner  and  Parker,  op.  cit.,  Ill, 
IIO. 


158  THE   STANDARD   OF  LIVING 

The  rest  of  the  household  furniture  was,  as  a  rule, 
simple,  though  considerable  sums  of  money  were 
spent  on  plate.  Lord  Howard  paid  £12  for  a 
silver  hot- water  dish.1  Rich  men  showed  their 
wealth  by  a  display  of  plate,  which  was  often  set 
out  on  a  buffet,2  and  this  was  carried  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  became  necessary  to  forbid  gold- 
smiths to  melt  money  of  gold  or  silver  '  to  make 
any  vessel  or  other  thing  thereof,'  or  to  gild  any- 
thing with  the  same.3  The  author  of  the  Italian 
Relation  was  immensely  impressed  with  the  '  won- 
derful quantity  of  wrought  silver  '  he  saw  in  London, 
not  only  in  private  houses,  but  also  in  goldsmiths' 
shops  and  inns.4  '  The  riches  of  England,'  he  says, 
'  are  greater  than  those  of  any  other  country  in 
Europe.'5 

Taking  all  these  circumstances  into  consideration, 
it  is  clear  that  there  was  a  rise  in  the  standard  of 
The  share  living  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  that 
of  the  lower  it  was  mainly  due  to  economic  changes, 
thefrteVof  Demg  directly  caused  by  the  increased 
the  standard  production  and  importation  of  articles  of 
of  living,  luxury,  and  indirectly  by  the  growth  of 
wealth  through  successful  trading.  It  is  not, 
however,  equally  clear,  except  in  the  case  of 
clothing,  that  all  classes  in  the  community  bene- 
fited by  it.  Unfortunately  the  Household  Books 
which  we  possess  deal  only  with  the  expenditure 
of  the  rich,  and  few  contemporary  authorities 
tell  us  how  the  poor  lived.  The  writer  of  the 
Italian  Relation  comments  upon  the  '  immense 
profusion  of  every  comestible  animal  '6  in  England, 

1  Howard  Household  Book,  II,  138.  2  The  plate  cupboard  of  a 
rich  merchant  must  have  been  a  fair  ornament  to  his  hall ;  Thomas 
Baker,  grocer,  left  350  oz.  of  silver  to  his  children,  in  bowls,  cups, 
salt-sellers,  and  spoons  (Hunt,  Bristol,  108 ;  see  also  Appendix  B, 
6).  *  Rot.  Par/.,  VI,  184.  *  Italian  Relation,  42  and  29. 
6  Ibid.,  28.  6  Ibid.,  10, 


THE   STANDARD   OF  LIVING  159 

but  there  may  have  been  many  persons  too  poor  to 
buy  them.  Fortescue  declares  the  '  comune  peple 
of  thys  londe,  the  beste  fedde  and  also  the  best 
cledde  of  any  natyon  crystyn  or  hethen1 ;  but  the 
years  he  spent  in  France,  where  the  condition  of  the 
people  was  very  bad,  had  perhaps  lowered  his  ideas 
of  comfort.  The  Russell  Boke  gives  a  menu  for 
'  A  Fest  for  a  franklen,'  by  which  it  appears  that 
he  fared  very  well — 

'  beef  or  moton  stewed  seruysable, 
boyled  Chykon  or  capon  agreable 

Rested  goose  &  pygge  fulle  profitable.' 

were  some  of  the  items  of  his  first  course,  and  they 
were  to  be  followed  by  '  veel,  lambe,  kyd,  or  cony  ' 
and  many  other  dishes.2  The  standard  of  living  of 
the  classes  below  the  franklin  is  a  much  more  diffi- 
cult question.  The  Chancery  Proceedings  give  us, 
incidentally,  some  information  as  to  the  resources 
of  artisans  and  others.  We  read  that  John  Stok, 
carpenter,  of  London,  took  a  lease  of  ground,  with 
old  buildings  on  it,  for  thirty  years,  at  a  rent  of 
fifty  shillings,  and  spent  a  hundred  marks  in  build- 
ing on  it.8  Thomas  Wrottyng,  mason,  in  the 
county  of  Essex,  left  £40  to  his  two  grandsons.4 
Twenty  acres  of  land  in  Sevenoaks  were  purchased 
by  Richard  Stretend,  smith,  of  John  Matan,  car- 
penter.5 A  saucemaker  of  York  left  his  two  sons 
£58  155.  4|d.  and  £40  respectively.9  William  Mil- 
bourn,  painter,  sold  lands  for  £80. 7  William  Crosby 
of  York,  dyer,  bought  lands  and  tenements  to  the 
yearly  value  of  ten  marks.8  Cases  of  this  kind  (and 


1     Works  of  Sir  J.   Fortescue,  Vol.   I,   552.  a    Manntr. 

Ifea/s,  170.         8  Early  Chanc.  Proceed. ,  15/273.         *  Ibid.,  i( 

Ibid.,  17/169.         •  Ibid.,  27/372.        7  Ibid.,  31/236. 
1/203. 


l6o  THE   STANDARD   OF  LIVING 

there  are  many  more)  show,  at  least,  that  it  was 
possible  for  artisans  to  save  money. 

Some  idea  of  the  resources  of  workmen  (and 
others)  may  be  gathered  from  the  rents  they  were 
able  to  pay.  The  Churchwardens'  Accounts  of  St. 
Mary-at-Hill,  London,  enable  us  to  gain  information 
about  some  of  their  tenants.  An  '  yremonger  '  paid 
£6  135.  4d.  a  year  ;  a  '  Poyntemaker,'  £i  6s.  8d.  ; 
a  capper  the  same  ;  an  organ  maker,  £i  6s.  ;  a 
'  Patynmaker,'  135.  4d.  ;  and  a  '  taillor,'  £4  133.  4d.1 
The  rent  of  a  chamber  described  as  a  '  kechen  ' 
was  6s.  8d.2  A  grocer's  shop,  in  Cheapside,  with 
*  a  place  above  it,'  let  for  £4  6s.  8d.  a  year  in  I482.3 
These  seem  very  large  sums,  and  it  is  surprising 
that  the  tenants  could  afford  to  pay  them  ;  but 
possibly  they  were  master  craftsmen,4  and  even  if 
they  were  journeymen,  they  would  be  earning  more 
money  than  the  average  artisan,  because  the  rate 
of  wages  was  higher  in  London  than  elsewhere.6 
Nevertheless,  when  due  allowance  has  been  made 
for  this  circumstance,  the  impression  remains  that 
London  artisans  were  able  to  live  comfortably. 
Probably  the  conditions  of  life  varied  very  much  in 
different  parts  of  the  country.  We  read  in  the 
Accounts  of  St.  Dunstan's,  Canterbury,  that  in  1492 
three  acres  of  land  were  let  for  i^d.  a  year,  and  that 
'  Mr  Fenex  paid  sixpence  for  a  tenement ' ;  and,  in 
spite  of  the  lowness  of  the  rents  in  this  district, 
many  of  the  tenants  were  in  arrears  with  them.* 
The  prosperity  of  the  London  workmen  may  be 
fairly  attributed  to  the  high  place  which  the  city 
held  in  the  commercial  and  industrial  world. 


1  Medieval  Records  of  a  London  City  Church,  12$.  2  Ibid.,  112. 
3  Howard  Household  Book,  II,  xxv,  note.  4  This  remark  applies 
equally  well  to  the  instances  quoted  from  the  Chancery  Proceedings 
on  the  last  page.  5  T.  Rogers,  Work  and  Wages,  327.  8  Archte- 
ipgia  Cantiana,  Vol.  XVI,  p.  304. 


THE   STANDARD   OF   LIVING  l6l 

An  indenture  for  building  a  house,  preserved  in 
the  Record  Office,  enables  us  to  see  what  the  houses 
of  Londoners  of  the  middle  class  were  like.  It  was 
to  be  situated  at  Charing  Cross,  and  to  '  conteyn  in 
length  from  the  olde  halle  there  x  fote  of  Assise, 
with  a  Chambre  aboue  the  same  Getteyd  xij  fete 
and  a  halfe  of  assise  in  hight,  and  [he]  shuld  make 
vppon  the  seid  grounde  A  gate  hous  crosse  the  seid 
Chambre,  the  which  gate  house  shuld  conteyn  in 
Wydnesse  ix  fete  of  Assise,  and  xviij  fete  of  Assise 
in  length,  and  xij  fete  of  Assise  in  heght,  with  a 
Garet  in  the  same  and  Gates.'  Another  house  was 
to  be  built  also,  and  they  were  both  to  be  '  of  newe, 
able  and  sufficient  Tymbur  of  Oke  '  .  .  .  '  fully 
garnysshed  with  dores,  steyres,  Wyndowes,  benches, 
Speres  and  all  other  thyngis  belongyng  to  the 
crafte  of  Carpyntry,'  .  .  .  '  togedir  with  a  bey 
Wyndowe  in  the  loft  of  the  forseid  gatehouse.'  The 
rent  of  the  two  houses  for  two  years  was  to  have 
been  twenty  marks.1 

The  house  of  the  agricultural  labourer  could 
not  possibly  have  been  nearly  as  grand  as  these. 
We  are  told  that  it  was  merely  a  covered  shed 
without  floor,  ceiling,  or  chimney,2  that  his  food  was 
very  poor,  and  that  meat  was  only  occasionally 
within  his  reach.3  Thorold  Rogers,  on  the  other 
hand,  says  that  the  labourer  could  live  comfort- 
ably upon  his  income  ;  he  estimates  that  the  cost  of 
living  for  a  family  of  four  persons  would  be  £3  43.  gd., 
and  that  out  of  this,  £i  35.  6d.  would  be  spent  on 
wheat ;  75.  yd.  on  beer  ;  i6s.  8d.  on  meat ;  and  175. 
on  clothing.4  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  Thorold 
Rogers  has  reckoned  that  the  man  would  work  on 
three  hundred  days  of  the  year,  but  that  in  reality 
there  were  only  two  hundred  and  sixty  working- 

1  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.^  63/213.         2  Denton,  op.  fit.,  p.  197. 
3  Ibid.,  206.  *  Agrie.  and  Prices,  IV,  759. 

M 


l62  THE   STANDARD   OF  LIVING 

days,  because  holy  days  were  so  numerous.1  It  is 
certainly  open  to  doubt  whether  Thorold  Rogers 
has  rightly  interpreted  his  figures.2 

A  rise  of  prices,  such  as  might  be  occasioned  by  a 
bad  harvest,  must  have  pressed  very  heavily  upon 
a  man  with  a  small  income.  An  entry  in  the 
English  Chronicle,  under  the  date  1434-5,  states 
that  '  the  nexte  yeer  aftir  began  the  grete  derthe  of 
corn  in  this  land,  the  whiche  endurid  ij  yeer,  so 
that  a  busshelle  of  whete  was  sold  for  xld.,  &  the 
poer  peple  in  dyuers  partie3  of  the  Northcuntre  eet 
breed  maad  of  farn  rotes.'3  Similar  tales  are  told 
of  the  famine  of  1438-9, 4  but  these  two  calamities 
seem  to  have  been  the  only  times  of  very  great 
scarcity,  although  there  are  a  few  complaints  of 
poverty  caused  by  the  '  Chierte  des  Blees,'5  and 
there  were  probably  local  famines,6  as,  for  example, 
one  which  occurred  in  Cornwall  in  1437-8,  when  the 
people  were  allowed  to  trade  with  Ushant.7  But 
even  when  corn  was  at  its  normal  price,  the  labourer 
must  have  found  it  difficult  to  save  enough  money 
to  provide  for  his  family  when  he  was  out  of  work, 
if  he  had  nothing  but  his  wages  to  depend  upon. 
It  is,  however,  possible  that  labourers  sometimes 
had  some  land  of  their  own,  and  that  would  enable 
them  to  keep  poultry  or  pigs,  or  perhaps  raise  a 
little  corn.  There  are  in  the  Chancery  Proceedings 
quite  a  fair  number  of  references  to  land  in  the 
possession  of  husbandmen ;  the  amounts  vary 
greatly.  John  Smith,  of  Wells  by  the  sea,  was 

1  Social  England,  11,530.    A  few  prices  are  given  in  Appendix  C  I  dt 
to  show  how  much  the  labourer  could  buy  with  his  wages. 

2  Cunningham,  Growth  of  Industry  and  Commerce,  I,  372. 
8  English  Chronicle,  Camden  Soc.  O.S.,  64,  p.  55. 

4  Chronicle  of  Croyland  quoted  by  Creighton,  Hist,  of  Epidemics,  223. 
e  Rot.   Par/.,  Ill,  645  (1410);   Ibid.,  V,   31    (1438-9);   English 
Chrotticle  for  1400-1,  p.  23.  8  Work  and  Wages,  62. 

7  Cal.  French  Rolls,  1437-8,  m.  II. 


THE   STANDARD   OF  LIVING  163 

'  seised  of  a  messuage  and  ten  acres  of  land  J1;  while 
John  Pentecost,  husbandman,  of  Buxted,  Sussex, 
had  '  ij  meses  Ix  acres  of  londe,  xx  acres  of  pasture 
and  xx  acres  of  mede.'2  Men  who  had  as  much 
land  as  this  could  live  upon  it,  but  those  who  had 
only  a  few  acres  would  be  obliged  to  work  for  hire 
as  well.  The  rent  of  land  was  low,  in  some  parts 
of  the  country  at  least,  for  William  Heneworth,  of 
Mickleham,  only  paid  three  shillings  a  year  for 
'  iij  mesys,  i  acres  of  land,  x  acres  of  mede,  &  iij 
acres  of  wode  '  in  Hellingly  and  Hailsham.3 

One  or  two  other  petitions  presented  to  the 
Chancellor  throw  a  little  light  on  the  position  of 
the  husbandman.  John  Ledale,  of  Cherhill,  Wilt- 
shire, complained  that  he  had  been  robbed  of  forty- 
one  marks  of  money  and  goods  (woollen  cloth, 
napery,  and  bedding)  to  the  value  of  £io.4  William 
Hunte  tells  a  pathetic  tale.  He  says  he  '  hath  ben 
all  his  lyf  a  laborer  with  dyverse  husbondez  gader- 
yng  in  ye  mene  tyme  by  his  sore  labor  to  haue  levid 
with  in  his  age.'  He  sealed  a  document  empowering, 
as  he  thought,  Thomas  Hamond  to  collect  his  debts, 
but  it  was  really  a  '  dede  of  gyft  of  all  his  goodes,' 
and  by  virtue  of  it  Thomas  took  away  his  sheep, 
'  catall '  and  goods  to  the  value  of  £io.6  The  value 
of  the  goods  stolen  may,  of  course,  be  exaggerated 
by  the  petitioners  ;  the  fact  that  they  could  save 
even  a  little  money  is  not  without  significance.  In 
another  case  a  husbandman  in  the  county  of  Kent 
left  his  daughter  365.  8d.  and  six  quarters  of  barley- 
malt.6  These  petitions  give  us  a  more  favourable 
impression  of  the  lot  of  the  husbandman  than  the 
Statute  Book  would  have  led  us  to  expect ;  but  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  Chancery  Proceedings 

1  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.^  26/495.  a  Ibid.,  30/53. 

8  Ibid.,  27/173.  *  Mid.,  27/387. 

8  Ibid.,  28/280.  •  Ibid.,  27/337. 


164  THE   STANDARD   OF   LIVING 

would  not  be  likely  to  include  those  who  owned  no 
property,  so  that  we  only  have  one  view  of  the 
matter  presented  to  us  here.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
satisfactory  to  find  that  so  many  were  in  possession 
of  land,1  but  the  Inclosing  movement,  in  so  far  as 
it  tended  to  displace  the  labourer,  or  the  peasant 
proprietor,  from  his  holding,  must  have  materially 
altered  his  position  for  the  worse. 

A  study  of  the  material  conditions  of  life  in  the 
fifteenth  century  would  be  incomplete  without  some 

mention  of  the  state  of  public  health. 

The  rise  in  the  standard  of  living  was 
health  in  accompanied  by  an  improvement  in 

nea^n  m  one  resPect )  leprosy,  although  it 

is  mentioned  occasionally,  2had  almost  died 
out.3  On  the  other  hand,  the  testimony  of  chroni- 
clers,4 the  Rolls  of  Parliament,5  and  private  letters6 
concur  in  showing  that  outbreaks  of  pestilence  were 
Pestilence  ^recluen^-  Dr.  Creighton,  who  made  a 
in  the  special  study  of  the  subject,  records  more 

fifteenth       than  twenty  instances  of  its  appearance,7 

and  he  has  made  some  very  interesting 
comments  upon  what  he  calls  the  change  in  the 
habits  of  the  plague  between  the  time  of  the  Black 
Death  and  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.  In  the  earlier 
part  of  this  period,  he  says,  plagues  were  general 
throughout  England,  but  were  on  a  small  scale  ; 

1  Some  other  instances  of  husbandmen  holding  land,  19/235,  26/129, 
26/161,  27/263,  36/3,  9/26,  35/71,  53/8,  53/15,  54/193,  90/6o,  186/50. 
2  One  of  the  duties  of  the  King's  '  Doctoure  of  Physyque '  was  '  to 
espie  if  any  of  the  Courte  be  infected  with  leperiz  or  pestylence' 
(Liber  Niger  in  Ordinances  of  the  Royal  Household,  p.  43).  Some  few 
bequests  were  made  to  lepers  (Sharpe,  Wills,  II,  351,  509,  518,  578, 
and  589).  *  Creighton,  Hist,  of  Epidemics,  I,  224.  *  Annalist 
of  St.  Albans  quoted  by  Creighton,  op.  cit.,  I,  220  and  225,  and 
Walsingham,  Ibid.,  221.  •  Rot.  Par/.,  Ill,  619  (1407) ;  III,  638 

(1410) ;  IV,  143  (1421) ;  III,  503  (1402) ;  V,  238  (1453)-  8  P*stm 
Letters,  No.  260  (1454);  IV,  180  (1465);  V,  119  (1471);  V,  137 
(1472);  VI,  148  (1493).  7  Creighton,  I,  282-3  and  seq. 


THE  STANDARD  OF  LIVING  165 

for  example,  the  epidemic  of  1407  was  '  universal 
and  in  the  homes  of  the  peasantry  '  as  well  as  those 
of  other  classes1;  but  later  in  the  century  pestilence 
was  '  a  disease  of  towns,'2  and  it  was  usual  to  flee 
from  the  towns  to  the  country  in  order  to  avoid  it.3 
According  to  Sir  John  Paston,  no  '  Borow  town  in 
Ingelonde  '  escaped  '  the  most  unyversall  dethe  '  of 
1471.*    Parliament  was  adjourned  several  times  on 
account  of  pestilence  in  London,5  and  sometimes 
even  the  Justices  postponed  their  business.6     '  The 
sekenese,'  writes  Richard  Cely  to  his  son  in  May, 
1479,  'ys  sore  yn  London  werefor  meche  pepyll 
of  the  sete  ys  yn  to  the  contre  for  fere  of  the  seke- 
nese.'7   Towards  the  end  of  the  century  a  new 
disease,   called   the   Sweating   Sickness,   made   its 
appearance  in  England.     Dr.  Creighton  is  of  the 
opinion  that  the  foreign  soldiers  who  helped  Henry 
VII  to  win  the  throne  in  1485  brought  it  from 
Normandy.8    It  chiefly  attacked  the  upper  classes, 
whereas  the  plague  had  fallen  most  heavily  on  the 
poorer  people,  the  worst  fed,  the  worst  housed,  and 
those  most  hardly  pressed  by  poverty.9    It  is  not 
possible  to  estimate  accurately  the  ravages  of  the 
plague  ;  it  seems  to  have  grown  more  severe  during 
the  latter  part  of  Edward  IV's  reign  ;   but  the  ap- 
parent increase  of  mortality  may  be  due  to  the 
greater  number  of  the  records  which  exist  for  that 
period.10    It  often  carried  off  two  or  three  members 
of  a  household  at  the  same  time.    Thomas  Pole,  of 
Staunton,  we  read,  died  of  pestilence,  and  '  he  and 


i  and  •  Creighton,   I,  233.     (The  Rote  of 

the  pestilence  of  1439  as  universal  V  ,31).  *  ^ghton,  I,  226. 
*  Paston  Letters,  V,  1  10.  •  Rolls  ofParl  IV  420  (1433  5  V^  67 
(1444)  ;  V,  143  1449)  5  V,  618  (1467-8)  ;  VI,  99  (1474).  '  -P^S 
bet/,  ^MaterMs  for  Hist,  of  the  R.ig*of  I**?™*  "f  '£ 
(1487);  Proved,  of  the  Privy  Council,  iV,  282  (143,4)-  \Cely 
Papers,  p.  16.  8  Creighton,  op.  fit.,  269-270.  g  «*,  268-9. 
10  lbid.t  233. 


1 66  fHE  STANDARD  OF  LIVING 

ij  of  his  children  were  buryed  in  oon  pytte.'1  An 
entry  in  the  Accounts  of  St.  Mary-at-Hill,  London, 
acknowledges  payment  for  the  burial  of  John 
Clark's  three  children  and  himself  in  1487-8. 2 
Other  similar  entries  occur,  but  no  comment  is 
made  upon  any  of  them,  and  they  are  treated  quite 
as  a  matter  of  course. 

One  great  reason  for  the  frequent  recurrence  of 
the  plague  was  the  insanitary  condition  of  the 
Sanitary  towns,  and  especially  the  pollution  of  the 
condition  water  supply.  The  law  of  the  land  and 
of  towns,  ordinances  of  cities  alike  forbade  any 
one  to  throw  '  fimos,  exitus,  intestina  bestiarum, 
nee  alia  sordida,  in  fossatis,  ripariis,  aquis,  aut 
aliis  locis  infra  civitates,  burgos,  seu  villas  '3;  but 
the  almost  wearisome  repetition  of  the  ordinances 
by  municipal  authorities  show  how  ineffectual  they 
were.4  Complaints  of  their  neglect  are  also  fre- 
quent.5 The  Fleet  Ditch,  which  was  only  cleansed 
occasionally,  must  have  been  a  special  source  of 
danger  to  London.6  The  author  of  the  Italian 
Relation  makes  the  remarkable  statement  that 
there  was  a  penalty  for  destroying  ravens,  because 
they,  it  was  said,  kept  the  streets  free  from  filth  ; 
and  for  the  same  reason  kites  were  so  tame  that 
they  would  eat  bread  out  of  the  hands  of  children.7 
It  is  no  wonder  that  the  air  of  cities  was  noisome 
and  infected.8  Nor  were  the  personal  habits  of  the 

1  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  22/191  (31-2  H,  VI)  in  the  county 
of  Shropshire.  -  Medieval  Records  of  a  London  City  Church,  128. 
3  Rot.  Par/.,  Ill,  Appendix,  p.  669,  No.  4.  4  Ordinances  con- 
cerning the  cleansing  of  streets  or  ditches  or  the  river  (Coventry  Leet 
Book,  Part  i,  pp.  21,  23,  30,  31,  91,  100,  107,  118,  119,  130,  190, 
208,  227,  231,  254).  6  Riley's  Memorials  of  London,  p.  616  ; 
Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  4/176 ;  and  4  H.  VII,  c  3. 

6  Strype's  Stow,  I,  25.  7  Italian  Relation,  II.  8  Creighton, 
op.  fit.,  282-3;  D.  Harris,  Life  in  an  Old  English  Town,  290-2; 
Strype's  Stow,  I,  308 ;  and  the  Rolls  of  Parl.  concerning  London, 
already  quoted. 


THE  STANDARD   OF  LIVING  167 

English   at   this   time   very  conducive   to  health, 
iudfiing  from  the  exceedingly  elementary  advice  on 
the  subiect  of  cleanliness  given  to  the  children  of 
the  nobility  in  the  '  Babees  Book.'1    Moreover,  even 
when  food  was  plentiful  it  was  not  always  whole- 
some    Household  Books  show  how  small  the  con- 
sumption of  fruit  and  vegetables  was  in  comparison 
with  that   of  meat.*     Russell  tells  his  readers  to 
'  beware  of  saladis,  grene  metis,  &  of  frutes  rawe 
In  addition  to  this,  they  were  obliged  to  live  mainly 
on  salted  meat  for  part  of  the  year,  because  in  the 
absence  of  root  crops,  they  had  not  enough  food  for 
their  cattle  to  keep  them  alive  during  .the  ^winter  ; 
and  consequently  a  great  slaughter  of  cattle  took 
place  at  Martinmas.*    Much  of  their  fish  was  also 


uc    danger  to  life  and  limb  must  also  have  been 
occasioned   by  lack  of  knowledge  on  the  part  of 
many   who    called   themselves   surgeons  Medicai 
and  doctors.     A  complaint  laid  before  scieocem 
the  Mayor  of  London  declares  that  some  J^™^ 
barbers  of  the  said  city,  who  are  inex- 
perienced   in    the    art   of   surgery    do   oftentunes 
take  under    their   care    many  sick  and   maimed 
persons  ...  and  by  reason  of  their  inexperience 
Lch  persons  are  oftentimes  maimed.    Two  masters 
were  appointed  to  oversee  the  barbers,  and  a  pen- 
alty of  six  shillings  and  eightpence  was  imposed  for 
refusal  to  be  amenable  to  their  supervision.6 
physicians  also  complained  that  •  many  unconnyng 

Manner,  a,*  Meals,    134-8  and  Ixii-iv  ;  cf.   Thorold   Rogers, 


»  Riley,  of.  cit.t  608-9. 


l68  THE   STANDARD   OF   LIVING 

an  unapproved  in  the  forsayd  Science  practiseth, 
and  specialy  in  Fysyk,  ...  to  grete  harm  and 
slaughtre  of  many  men.'  They  therefore  prayed 
that  no  man  or  woman  should  be  allowed  to  prac- 
tise, '  bot  he  have  long  tyme  y  used  the  Scoles  of 
Fisyk  withynne  som  Universitee,  &  be  graduated 
in  -the  same  u  ;  but  this  evil  was  not  restrained  by 
law  until  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.3  Results  of  the 
doctors'  want  of  ability  may  perhaps  be  traced  in 
numbers  of  deaths  attributed  to  injuries  apparently 
not  bad  enough  to  cause  death.  Men  who  broke 
or  wounded  their  legs  languished  and  died,3  and  we 
hear  of  persons  dying  through  the  bites  of  swine.4 
In  one  instance  the  coroner's  jury  swore  that  death 
was  caused  by  the  cutting  of  a  '  wenne  '  from  the 
patient's  neck  by  the  doctor.5  Medical  knowledge 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  very  highly  esteemed 
or  rewarded.  William  Bradewardyn  agreed  to 
serve  Henry  V,  during  the  war  with  France,  with 
nine  '  hommes  de  son  mestier ' ;  he  was  to  be  paid 
twelve  pence  a  day,  but  they  were  only  to  have 
sixpence,6  that  is  to  say,  no  more  than  a  private 
soldier  or  a  carpenter.  Doctors  were  often  pro- 
mised a  certain  sum  of  money  on  the  condition  of 
effecting  a  cure  ;  but  they  sometimes  had  a  good 
deal  of  trouble  in  obtaining  it,7  and  if  they  did  not 
succeed  in  their  treatment  of  the  case,  enraged 
relatives  of  the  patients  might  bring  actions  of 

1  Rot.  Parl.,  IV,  158.  2  3  H.   VIII,  c.  n. 

1  Coroners  Rolls,  60/5,  6 1,  ms.  4,  6,  and  7. 

4  Ibid.,  61,  m.  6;  145,  m.  8.  8  Ibid.,  61,  m.  8. 

8  Accounts  Excheq.  Q.  R.  Army,  48/3 ;  a  similar  sum  was  paid 
to  four  surgeons  who  were  to  reside  in  the  King's  household,  as 
assistants  to  William  Stalworth  (Syllabus  to  Rymer's  Fcedera,  II, 
648) ;  but  one  of  Henry's  VII's  physicians,  Benedict  Frutze,  received 
.£40  a  year  (Campbell,  op.  fit.,  I,  67),  and  that  was  apparently  the 
usual  salary  of  the  King's  chief  doctors.  See  also  Proceed,  of  the 
Privy  Council,  III,  282-3. 

7  Early  CAanc.  Proceed.,  12/248  and  42/108. 


THE   STANDARD   OF   LIVING  169 

trespass  against  them.1  References  to  the  deniza- 
tion  of  the  King's  physicians,  and  the  employment 
of  alien  doctors  occur  in  Rymer's  Foedera  and  else- 
where,2 so  possibly  the  English  were  more  backward 
than  other  nations  in  medical  science. 

1  Ibid.,  187/80,  and  Plumpton  Corr.  p.  78. 
•  Syllabus  to9  Rymer's  Federa,  II,   566,   57p,  662    67 1  ;    P 
Rolls,  6  H.  IV,  Part  ii,  m.  20 ;  Cal.  French  Rolls,  1426-7,  m.  9. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE   EFFECTS   PRODUCED   BY   ECONOMIC  CHANGES 
UPON  EVERYDAY  LIFE  IN  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY 

THE  commercial  spirit  and  the  love  of  money,  which 
seized  upon  all  classes  of  society,  were  not  with- 
out   effects    upon    family    life.     We   cannot   help 
.  being  struck  by  the  extremely  business- 

am  y  l  e'  like  view  which  was  taken  of  marriage  ; 
it  was  an  arrangement  made  in  order  to  obtain 
material  advantages  for  the  contracting  parties, 
but  with  comparatively  little  regard  to  mutual 
affection  or  compatibility  of  temper.  Discussions 
in  letters  regarding  the  suitability  of  possible  brides 
always  contain  an  account  of  their  property  and 
prospects  ;  sometimes  a  description  of  their  dis- 
positions and  personal  appearance  is  added,1  but 
the  amount  of  the  dowry  was  evidently  the  chief 
point.  Geffrey  Ikelyngton,  we  read  in  the  Chancery 
Proceedings,  promised  his  cousin  Isabell  ten  marks 
of  money  on  her  marriage,  whereupon  William 
Bewell  married  her.2  Women  were  apparently  as 
mercenary  as  men ;  one  who  thought  of  marrying 
George  Cely  made  careful  inquiries  as  to  his  income3; 
and  Thomas  Mull  confided  to  William  Stonor  that 
a  lady  whom  he  had  approached  on  the  subject  re- 
pulsed him  by  saying  :  '  Sir,  I  may  haue  ccc  marcs 
in  ioyntur  and  I  to  take  J?e  lesse  wher  I  may  haue 

1  A.C.,  Vol.  XLVI,  Letter  62 ;  Cely  Papers,  pp.  59  and  102-3. 

2  Early  Chatic.  Proceed.,  10/268.  3  Cely  Papers,  153. 

170 


J?e  more  my  ffrendes  wolde  J?enke  me  not  wyse.'1 
But  human  nature  could  not  be  entirely  eradicated, 
and  Thomas  Mull  in  this  case  was  very  hurt  and 
quite  sentimental  about  the  matter.2  Margery 
Brews,  too,  was  determined  to  marry  John  Paston 
the  Youngest,  even  with  half  the  '  livelode  '  he 
possessed,  and  gave  her  mother  no  peace  till  the 
affair  was  settled.3  Men  and  women  seem  to  have 
had  (under  these  conditions)  a  little  more  chance  of 
consulting  their  own  inclinations  than  under  the 
Feudal  regime,  which  placed  the  wardship  and 
marriage  of  heirs  at  the  disposal  of  the  superior 
lord,  who  made  them  a  matter  of  sale  and  bargain4; 
so  that  '  only  men  of  humble  birth  were  at  liberty 
to  choose  their  own  wives.'6  There  were  still,  how- 
ever, many  cases  in  which  the  decision  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  lord  or  his  deputy6;  but  economic 
changes,  so  far  as  they  tended  to  break  down  the 
Feudal  System,  tended  also  to  make  the  growth  of 
more  rational  ideas  of  marriage  possible.  There 
are  many  examples  of  marriage  contracts7  amongst 
the  Chancery  Proceedings.  The  terms  were  often  set 
forth  in  an  indenture,8  and  to  make  the  bargain 
safer,  those  concerned  sometimes  bound  themselves 
by  an  obligation  to  carry  out  the  agreement.9 
Nevertheless  there  are  several  complaints  of  breaches 
of  promise  of  marriage,10  and  many  of  the  non- 
fulfilment  of  settlements.11  The  care  taken  by 

I  A.C.,  Vol.  XLVI,  Letter  105. 

*  There  is  not  the  apparent  want  of  feeling  in  The  Stottor  Papers 
which  Dr.  Gairdner  noticed  in  the  Paston  Letters. 

3  Paston  Letters,  Introd.,  I,  300  an'. I  302,  and  V,  267. 

4  Paston  Letters,  Introd.,  I,  325.         6  Gairdner,  Letters  of  Richard 
III  and  Henry  VII,  Preface,  II,  xxvii  ;  Feudal  lords  were  entitled  to 
the  marriage  of  minors  who  held  lands  from  them  by  military  service. 
Pollock  and  Maitland,  Hist,  of  Eng.  Law,  I,  319.        8  Early  Cham. 
Proceed.,  15/335,  18/183,  27/«93-    7  ^«*.  I5/34O,  16/314,  19/38.  29/74- 

8  Ibid. ,  40/144,  and  Plumpton  Corr. ,  Ixx-lxxii. 

9  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  18/102.  10  Ibid.,  9/396,  27/406,  20/4. 

II  Ibid.,  16/334,  9/448,  16/343,  16/386,  28/52. 


172      EFFECTS  PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY  LIFE 

parents  to  provide  dowries  for  their  daughters1 
shows  how  difficult  it  was  for  women  to  marry  if 
they  had  no  property,  and  it  was  considered  essen- 
tial for  them  to  marry.  A  little  poem,  published  by 
Dr.  Furnivall  in  Manners  and  Meals,  called  '  How 
the  Good  Wijf  taujte  hir  Doujtir,'  impresses  upon 
the  mother  the  necessity  of  finding  husbands  for 
her  daughters  as  soon  as  possible.2  The  petitions 
brought  before  both  the  King  and  the  Chancellor 
against  men  who  had  forcibly  carried  off  heiresses, 
in  order  to  obtain  possession  of  their  property,  show 
the  wisdom  of  this  advice  and  that  women  needed 
protectors  in  those  lawless  times.3  It  was  con- 
sidered a  meritorious  act  to  leave  money  to  enable 
poor  girls  to  marry.  John  atte  Bergh  ordered  a 
'  mees  and  xiij  acres  of  lande  '  to  be  sold  and  the 
proceeds  to  be  distributed  *  to  pouer  maydens  and 
wedows  in  mariage  and  in  diuerse  other  werkes  of 
charite  '  for  the  *  wele  of  his  soule.'4 

Wright  tells  us  that  there  was  a  separation  of  the 
sexes  after  marriage,  and  that  husbands  and  wives 
sought  amusement  apart  from  each  other.  He 
bases  his  opinion  on  the  pictures  of  domestic  life 
given  in  the  mysteries  and  morality  plays,  which 
portray  women  as  excessively  overbearing  and 
quarrelsome.5  The  glimpses  we  have  of  the  married 
life  of  real  men  and  women  in  the  letters  of  the 
Pastons,  the  Celys,  and  the  Stonors  do  not  confirm 
this  impression.  Margaret  Paston  shows  great 
affection  for  her  husband — in  her  anxiety  about  his 
health,  her  desire  to  have  him  with  her6  and  to  hear 

1  Sir  W.  Drury  left  200  marks  to  be  used  to  promote  the  marriages 
of  his  two  daughters  (Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  27/153);  Judge  Paston 
left  £2QQ  to  his  daughter,  ad  Maritagium  suum  (Paston  Letters, 
VI,  198).  2  Manners  and  Meals,  p.  46.  3  Rot.  Par/.,  IV,  498, 
V,  15,  269  and  seq.  ;  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  5/41,  5/45 ;  the  offence 
was  made  felony  (3  H.  VII,  c.  3).  4  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  18/62. 
5  Wright,  Domestic  Manners,  420.  6  Paston  Letters,  II,  55-6. 


EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY  LIFE  173 

from  him,1  and  her  constant  readiness  to  serve  him. 
She  was  most  distressed  when  he  was  annoyed  with 
her  on  one  occasion  :  '  Be  my  trowth,'  she  says, 

*  it  is  not  my  will  nother  to  do  ne  sey  that  shuld 
cawse  yow  for  to  be  displeasid ;    and  if  I  have  do, 
I  am  sory  thereof,  and  will  amend  itt.     Wherefor 
I  beseche  yow  to  forgeve  me.  .  .  .  'a    She  always 
treats  him  with  great  respect  and  addresses  him  as 

*  ryth  reverent  and  worsepful  husbon,'3  or  by  some 
other  equally  polite  title.     He  on  his  side,  though 
not  as  a  rule  demonstrative,  seems  to  have  been 
fond   of   her.4     The   relations   between   Elizabeth 
Stonor   and   her   husband   were   apparently   very 
harmonious  ;    she  took  the  greatest  interest  in  his 
affairs,6  would  not  act  without  his  concurrence  con- 
cerning her  daughter, 6  and  when  he  is  in  an  infected 
atmosphere  and  in  danger  of  catching  the  '  poxes,' 
she  was  willing  to  put  herself  '  in  jubardy  '  to  come 
to  him.7    He,  on  reading  her  letter,  longed  to  have 
her  with  him.8      Amongst   the   unpublished   Cely 
Papers  there  is  a  letter  from  George  Cely's  wife  to 
him  ;   it  is  very  short,  but  is  couched  in  the  same 
tone  of  affection  as  those  of  Margaret  Paston.9    In 
none  of  the  three  sets  of  letters  is  there  any  mention 
of  quarrels  between  husbands  and  wives.    The  wills 
of  the  period  also  show  how  much  confidence  was 
placed  by  husbands  in  their  wives.    John  Rogerysson 
writes  in  a  codicil,  '  dere  and  trusty  wyf  ...  I  pray 
Sow,  as  my  trust  es  hely  in  tow,  ouer  alle  oj?ere 
creatures,  J?at  this  last  will  be  fulfyllet.'10    Walter 
Newent  left  all  his  goods  to  his  wife,  with  the  con- 
dition, 'she  for  to  do  me  like  as  she  wolde  I  dede 
for  her  in  }>e  same  cas.'11    The  '  Boke  of  Curtasye  ' 

1  Ibid.,  II,  282.  *  Ibid.,  II,  228.  8  Ibid. ,  49  and  55.  4  Ibid., 
IV,  188;  III,  223-4.  •  A.C.,  Vol.  XLVI,  Letter  116.  «  Ibid., 
Letter  119.  '  Ibid.,  Letter  115.  8  Ibid.t  120.  9  Ibid.,  Vol.  LIII, 
Letter  133 ;  cf.  Letter  146.  M  Early  Eng.  Wills,  p.  41.  "  Ibid. ,  83. 


174      EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY  LIFE 

expresses  the  ideas  of  the  age  when  it  urges  the 
wife  '  To  worschyp  hyr  husbonde  bothe  day  and 
ny3t 

'  To  his  byddyng  be  obediente.' l 

Another  poem,  called  '  How  the  Wise  man  taujht 
His  Son,'  tells  the  husband  his  duty  to  his  wife,  and 
exhorts  him  not  to  burden  her  too  much  or  to  dis- 
please her.2  ^Husbands  sometimes  claimed  a  good 
deal  of  control  over  their  wives.^A  very  odd  case 
is  recorded,  —  Thomas  Botiller  states  that  Isabel 
Frensshe  bought  ale  of  his  wife  and  resorted  to  his 
house  for  it,  and  when  he  asked  her  husband  to  pay 
for  it,  Simon  Frensshe  brought  an  action  of  trespass 
against  him  because  '  he  receyued  bothe  his  wife  aj*d 
his  godes  in  his  house  withoute  his  licence.'31/ In 
London  a  wife  was  not  allowed  to  make  a  will,  even 
though  her  husband  consented^  but  the  custom  was 
different  in  other  towns.  In  Lincoln  her  devise 
held  good  without  his  consent,  and  coverture 
did  not  prevent  her  making  a  will.4  She  also  had 
some  privileges,  of  which  not  the  least  was  her 
right  to  a  third,6  or  in  some  cases  half6  of  her 
husband's  property,  as  dower,  after  his  death. 

The  relations  of  parents  and  children  were  by  no 
means  as  satisfactory  as  those  of  husbands  and 
wives.  Children  were  brought  up  very  strictly  ;  if 
they  rebel,  says  the  '  Good  Wife  '  to  her  daughter, 
'  But  take  a  smert  rodde  &  bete  hem  on  a  rowe.'7 
Parents,  too,  often  looked  upon  their  children  as  a 
source  of  income.  Wyndham  sold  the  marriage  of 
his  son  to  obtain  money  to  bring  about  a  marriage 
for  himself.8  John  Paston  was  very  angry  with 

1  Manners  and  Meals,  307.         2  Ibid.,  50-1.         3  Early  Chant. 
Proceed.,    27/398.         *  Miss    Bateson,   Borough   Customs,    II,    civ. 
Ibid.,  121  n.  '  Miss  Bateson,  op.  cit.,  125-6.         7  Manners 

and  Mtals,  p.  46.          *  Paston  Letters,  II,  288. 


EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY   LIFE      175 

his  eldest  son  because  he  was  no  use  to  him.  '  Every 
pore  man,'  he  grumbles,  'that  hath  browt  up  his 
chylder  to  the  age  of  xij  yer  waytyth  than  to  be 
holp  and  profited  be  hes  chylder,  and  every  gentil- 
man  that  hath  discrecion  waytith  that  his  ken  and 
servantis  that  levith  be  hym  and  at  his  coste  shuld 
help  hym  forthward.'1  Mothers,  judging  by  the 
Pastons,  were  anxious  to  rid  themselves  of  their 
daughters,  who  were  sent  away  from  home,  and 
acted  as  servants  or  ladies-in-waiting  to  the  persons 
in  whose  houses  they  lived.  Sometimes  their 
parents  paid  for  them,  but  sometimes  they  were 
expected  to  help  themselves.2  Margaret  Paston, 
writing  to  her  son,  asks  him  to  find  a  place  for  his 
sister,  and  adds,  '  I  wull  help  to  her  fyndyng,  for 
we  be  eyther  of  us  werye  of  other.'3  She  was  very 
displeased  at  the  idea  of  having  her  daughter  Anne 
home,  and  said,  '  with  me  shall  she  but  lese  her 
tyme,  and  with  ought  she  will  be  the  better  occu- 
pied she  shall  oftyn  tymes  meve  me,  and  put  me  in 
gret  inquietenesse.'4  When  Elizabeth  Paston,  the 
daughter  of  Agnes  and  Judge  Paston,  objected  to 
marrying  the  husband  chosen  for  her  by  her  mother, 
she  was  '  betyn  onys  in  the  weke  or  twyes,  .  .  . 
and  hir  hed  broken  in  to  or  thre  places.'6 

The  number  of  accidents  which  happened  to 
children  make  us  doubt  if  very  great  care  was 
bestowed  upon  them.  An  infant  was  burnt  in  its 
cradle  in  the  absence  of  the  mother,6  we  learn  from 
the  Coroners'  Rolls  ;  another  child,  aged  two,  fell 
into  a  pit  full  of  water,  and  was  drowned7;  and 
another  was  accidentally  shot  by  a  man  who  was 
practising  archery.8  Three  children  were  found 

1  Ibid.,   IV,    157.  a  Ibid.,   Ill,    123.  »  Ibid.,   V,    16. 

•Ibid.,  V,  93.     8  Ibid.,  II,  no.     8  Coroners'  Rolls,  60,  m.  4  d.,  and 
similar  cases,  m.  5  and  6l,  ms.  IO  and  II. 

7  Coroner?  Rolls,  6l,  m.  9.  •  Jbi&,  6 1,  6. 


176      EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY   LIFE 

drowned  in  the  diocese  of  Canterbury,  and  the 
coroners  imposed  fines  on  their  careless  parents  ; 
but  the  Church  disputed  the  sentence,  and  said  it 
was  a  moral  offence.1  The  perils  to  which  wards 
were  exposed  at  the  hands  of  unscrupulous  guar- 
dians have  already  been  mentioned,  and  the  Chan- 
cery Proceedings  afford  illustrations  of  the  ill- 
treatment  of  both  boys  and  girls.2  Children  of 
citizens  were  probably  much  better  off  in  this  re- 
spect than  those  of  a  higher  class,  for  their  guardians 
were  obliged  to  give  '  suffycyentt  suerte  afore  the 
meyer  and  Aldermen  of  the  cite,'3  to  treat  them  well 
during  their  minority,  and  in  many  towns  a  record 
was  kept  in  a  book  of  orphans.  Children  paid  a 
great  deal  of  deference  to  their  parents,  and  ad- 
dressed them  very  humbly.  '  My  ryght  reuerent 
and  wurshypfull  fadyr  I  recomaund  me  vn  to 
your  good  fadyrhod  jn  the  most  vmbylle  wyse  that 
I  kan  or  may,  mekely  besechyng  your  good  fadyrhod 
of  your  dayly  blessyng,'  writes  William  Stonor.4 
In  spite  of  this  reverential  tone,  in  many  cases 
there  seems  to  have  been  little  real  affection  between 
parents  and  children,  and  the  Chancery  Proceedings 
contain  a  number  of  petitions  in  which  the  parents 
complain  not  only  of  the  seizure  of  their  property,5 
but  also  of  personal  injuries  at  the  hands  of  their 
children.6  The  motive  of  the  children  in  most  of 
these  cases  seems  to  have  been  to  secure  for  them- 
selves goods  and  chattels,  or  land. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  in  the  social 
life  of  the  fifteenth  century  is  the  growing  desire 
for  education  evinced  by  the  lower  and  middle 


1  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.t  Ninth  Report,  Appendix,  p.  117.  2  Early 
Chanc.  Proceed.  ,T  fro,  19/152,  20/154,  28/271.  *  Medieval  Records 
of  a  London  City  Church,  p.  18  ;  Little  Red  Book  of  Bristol,  I,  181-5 
(1422-47).  *  A.  C.,  Vol.  XLVI,  Letter  74.  s  Early  Chaw.  Proceed., 
n/539,  16/262,  33/7.  6  Ibid.,  6/185,  6/294,  10/313,  28/333. 


EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY  LIFE      177 

classes,  a  feature  which  may  reasonably  be  ascribed 
to  the  stimulating  effects  of  industrial  The  value 
expansion,  because  it  is  found  in  the  most  set  upon 
marked  degree  amongst  the  classes,  and  education, 
in  the  places  most  influenced  by  the  economic 
changes  of  the  period.  In  the  closing  years  of  the 
fourteenth  century  the  Commons  prayed  the  King 
that  no  neif  or  villein  of  a  bishop  or  other  religious 
person  might  put  his  children  to  school.1  But  in 
the  reign  of  Henry  IV  it  was  enacted  that  any  man 
or  woman  might  send  his  or  her  son  or  daughter  to 
any  school  in  the  kingdom. 2  Occasionally  it  appears 
that  masters  undertook  to  provide  their  apprentices 
with  a  certain  amount  of  education.  Thomas 
Bodyn  was  apprenticed  to  Robert  Churche,  haber- 
dasher, of  London,  for  twelve  years,  on  the  agree- 
ment that  Churche  should  find  him  to  school  for 
two  years — for  the  first  year  and  a  half  he  was  to 
'  lerne  gramere,'  '  and  the  residue  of  the  seid  two 
yere  ...  to  lerne  to  wryte.'3  In  a  petition  brought 
against  William  Trypp  of  Taunton,  weaver,  on 
behalf  of  two  of  his  apprentices,  it  was  stated  that 
during  their  term  of  service  with  him  they  were  to 
learn,  amongst  other  things,  the  language  of  Brit- 
tany.4 The  wish  for  knowledge  of  this  kind  was 
directly  due  to  the  growth  of  foreign  trade,  and 
skill  in  languages  seems  to  have  been  valued  highly. 
When  John  Paston  was  recommending  a  clerk  of 
the  kitchen  to  Lord  Hastings,  he  said,  *  He  is  well 
spokyn  in  Inglyshe,  metly  well  in  Frenshe,  and 
verry  perfite  in  Flemyshe.  He  can  wryght  and 
reed.'6  The  estimation  in  which  education  was 
held  by  men  who  wished  to  improve  their  position 

1  Rot.  Part.,  Ill,  294.  2  Ibid.,  Ill,  602,  and  7  H.  IV,  c.  17. 
3  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  19/491.  *  Ibid.,  108/42.  Another  case 
in  which  the  master  agreed  '  to  find '  an  apprentice  '  to  scole '  occurs  in 
the  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  47/52.  8  Paston  Letters,  V,  253. 

N 


178      EFFECTS  PRODUCED  UPON  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

is  shown  by  the  trouble  they  took  to  secure  it  for 
themselves  and  their  sons.  Judge  Paston  left  care- 
ful instructions  in  his  will  to  ensure  that  his  sons 
Edmund,  William,  and  Clement  should  be  properly 
educated.1  John  Paston  thought  it  of  sufficient 
importance  to  send  two  of  his  sons  to  school  in 
London,2  and  another  to  Eton.3  John  Paston 
himself  seems  to  have  gone  to  Cambridge,  after  he 
was  married,  for  his  wife  writes  to  him  '  abidyng  at 
Petyrhous  in  Cambrigg4;  and  two  other  members 
of  the  Paston  family  also  went  to  college.6  Further 
proof  of  the  value  set  upon  education  is  seen  in  the 
number  of  bequests  made  for  the  maintenance  of 
scholars  and  schools.  Bartholomew  Seman,  '  gold- 
betere,'  left  a  tenement  and  rents  to  the  master  and 
scholars  of  the  House  of  St.  Michael,6  Cambridge, 
on  condition  that  they  should  receive  two  poor 
scholars7  into  their  house.  Nicholas  Sturgeon, 
priest,  left  twenty-four  shillings  to  find  his  cousin 
William  to  scole  for  four  years8;  and  there  are 
many  similar  bequests.9  Henry  Frowyk,  mercer, 
left  money  to  the  master  of  the  Hospital  of  St. 
Thomas  the  Martyr  de  Aeon,  so  that  he  might 
maintain  and  educate  two  boys  as  choristers.10 
An  item  in  the  Accounts  of  St.  Mary-at-Hill  men- 
tions money  '  spent  vppon  Bower  at  his  scole,'  and 
it  is  amongst  the  '  costes  of  ij  children,'  who  were 
choir  boys11;  so  possibly  some  churches  paid  par- 
tially, or  wholly,  for  the  education  of  the  children 
who  sang  for  them.  Rich  men  sometimes  sent  poor 
children  to  school  or  college  ;  Sir  John  Howard 
seems  to  have  provided  for  more  than  one  child  in 

1    Paston  Letters,  App.,  VoL  VI,    192-3.  2  Ibid.,   II,  330. 

3  Ibid.,  VI,  8  and  11.  4  Ibid.,  II,  49.  5  Ibid.,  V,  320,  and 
VI,  157.  6  The  House  of  St.  Michael  developed  into  Trinity  College 
in  later  days  (Sharpe,  Wills,  II,  459).  7  Ibid.,  II,  459-60. 

8    Early  Eng.    Wills,    133.  9    Sharpe,   II,   525,   534,   599,  600. 

10  Ibid.,  II,  542.        "  Medieval  Records  of  a  London  City  Church,  148. 


EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY   LIFE      179 

this  way,1  and  among  Sir  William  Stonor's  correspon- 
dence is  a  letter  signed  by  '  your  scoler  Edmunde.'2 
A  considerable  number  of  schools  were  in  exist- 
ence before  the  fifteenth  century  ;  '  every  large 
monastery,  hospital,  cathedral,  and  col-  Ancient 
lege  had  long  had  its  room  where  choris-  schools. 
ters  and  novices  were  taught  by  the  resident  rector 
or  master.'3  The  monastic  schools,  however,  taught 
mainly  those  boys  whom  the  monks  hoped  would 
join  their  communities,4  and  they  did  not  do  much 
to  assist  popular  education.5  Moreover,  by  this 
time  the  monks  had  ceased  to  take  much  interest 
in  learning,6  and  the  visitations  of  the  monasteries 
show  that  they  were  neglecting  their  duty  in  this 
respect.7  The  cathedral  schools  were  also  very 
ancient ;  Mr.  Leach  mentions  several  that  were 
of  pre-Norman  origin8;  these  schools  formed  an 
integral  part  of  the  foundation  of  collegiate  churches 
of  secular  canons.  There  were  generally  two  schools 
— a  grammar  school  under  the  schoolmaster,  and 
the  song  school  under  the  music  or  song  master.9 
The  song  schoolmaster  taught  singing,  reading, 
and  we  may  suppose  writing.  Grammar,  Dr. 
Furnivall  says,  quoting  Wright,  usually  means 
Latin.10  Sometimes  the  two  schools  were  joined.11 
In  addition  to  these  schools,  Chantry  priests  some- 
times devoted  part  of  their  time  to  teaching  the 
children  of  the  neighbourhood.  John  Stafford  left 
his  Chantry  priest  335.  4d.  a  year  for  instructing 
boys  in  singing  and  grammar,  and  ordered  him  to 
teach  poor  children  gratuitously.12 

1  Howard  Household  Book,  II,  214  and  468.  2  A.C.,  Vol.  XLVI, 
Letter  150.  *  Wylie,  Henry  IV,  Vol.  II,  485.  *  Manners  and 
Meals,  xliv,  cf.  Capes,  English  Church,  330.  5  Hobhouse,  249. 
B  Gasquet,  Collect.  Anglo- Premonstratensia,  xxxv.  7  Capes,  330. 
8  Leach,  Early  Yorkshire  Schools,  vii.  "  Ibid.,  History  of  Warwick 
School,  71.  10  Manners  and  Meals,  xi,  note.  "  History  of 

Warwick  School,  ^2.        "  Sharpe,  Wills,  II,  507. 


l8o      EFFECTS   PRODUCED  UPON  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

The  opportunities  for  education  provided  by  these 
means  were  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  growing 
Foundation  desire  for  knowledge  shown  by  the 
of  new  people  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth 
schools.  century  and  in  the  fifteenth,  and  new 
schools  were  opened  in  various  parts  of  the  country  ; 
and  whereas  in  earlier  days  education  had  been 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  clergy,  now  laymen 
began  to  do  their  part,  both  in  founding  schools 
and  in  teaching  the  children.  Some  of  the  gilds 
maintained  free  schools  ;  for  example,  the  Gild  of 
St.  Nicholas,  Worcester,1  the  Gild  of  the  Palmers 
in  Ludlow,2  and  the  Gild  of  the  Kalenders  in  Bristol.3 
At  Barnard's  Castle,  the  Gild  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
paid  a  priest  to  keep  a  free  grammar  school  and  a 
song  school  for  all  the  children  of  the  town.4  The 
municipal  authorities  did  their  best  to  encourage 
education.  An  entry  in  the  Coventry  Leet  Book  says 
that  John  Barton  may  come  to  the  town,  if  he  knows 
well  how  to  teach  children,  and  will  keep  a  grammar 
school.5  A  few  years  later  another  '  skolemayster 
of  Grammar  '  is  mentioned.6  The  presence  of  these 
teachers  in  Coventry  seems  to  have  caused  friction 
with  the  Prior,  who  also  kept  a  school,  and  in  1439 
the  Corporation  deputed  the  Mayor  and  six  of  his 
council  to  go  and  commune  with  him  upon  the 
matter,  '  wyllyng  hym  to  occupye  a  skole  of  Gramer, 
yffe  he  like  to  teche  hys  Brederon  and  Childerun 
off  the  aumbry,  and  that  he  wol-not  gruche  ne  meve 
the  contrari,  but  that  euery  mon  off  this  Cite  be 
at  hys  ffre  chosse  to  sette  hys  chylde  to  skole  to 
what  techer  off  Gramer  that  he  likyth,  as  reson 
askyth.'7  In  Ipswich  a  grammar  school  was  founded 

1  English  Gilds,  edited  by  T.  Smith,  203-5. 

2  Ibid.,  198.  3  Ibid.,  288. 

4  Gasquet,  Medieval  Parish,  142.         5  Coventry  Leet  Book t  I,  101. 
6  Ibid.,  1 1 8.  ?  Ibid^  I90. 


EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY  LIFE      l8l 

by  the  burgesses,1  and  in  Plymouth  by  the  Cor- 
poration.2 Several  schools  were  also  endowed  by 
rich  traders,  and  others.  Sir  Edmund  Shaa,  gold- 
smith, of  London,  established  a  school  at  Stock- 
port.3  The  master  was  to  receive  a  salary  of  £10 
a  year,  and  to  teach  all  who  came  to  him  freely.4 
Grantham  Grammar  School  was  re-founded  by 
Henry  Curteys,  alderman  and  merchant  of  Gran- 
tham.8 A  school  at  Ewelme  was  endowed  by  the 
Duke  of  Suffolk  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VI,  and  this 
was,  like  Shaa's,  a  free  school.6  Davy  Holbeche, 
a  lawyer,  steward  of  the  town  and  lordship  of 
Oswestry,  founded  a  school  in  that  place  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  IV.7  Lands  and  tenements  were 
left  by  a  grocer  to  provide  a  teacher  for  the  poor 
children  of  Sevenoaks,  with  the  express  stipulation 
that  he  should  not  be  in  holy  orders.8  Not  one  of 
the  three  schoolmasters  in  St.  Peter's  School,  York, 
were  priests  at  this  time.  Mr.  Leach  thinks  that  it 
was  probably  the  rule  for  the  masters  to  be  laymen 
in  the  largest  grammar  schools9;  he  cites  as  an  in- 
stance a  man  named  Harding, — a  master  in  Beverley 
School  from  1436  to  1456,  who  constantly  served 
on  the  Corporation  of  the  town.10  At  Bridge- 
north,  in  1503,  an  ordinance  was  passed  that  no 
priest  should  keep  a  school.11 

It  must  not,  however,  be  thought  that  the  clergy 
did  nothing  to  aid  education  ;  schools  at  Acaster,12 
Rotherham,13  and  Wainfleet,14  and  colleges  at  Wye, 
near  Ashford,  Kent,16  and  Higham  Ferrars,16 

1  Redstone  in  Trans.  Royal  Hist.  Soc.,  N.S.  XVI,  p.  1 66. 

2  Carlisle,  Endowed  Grammar  Schools,  I,  335.         *  Mrs.  Green, 
op.  cit.t  II,  16.         4  Carlisle,  op  cit.  I,   125.         *  Leach  in  Victoria 
County  Hist.,  Limolnshire,  II,  479.    8  Carlisle,  II,  301.     7  Ibid.,  365. 
8   Sharpe,    Wills,  II,  484.         •  and  10  Leach,  Early   Yorks.  Schools, 
I,  xxviii.       "  Mrs.  Green,  II,  18.       12  »nd  13  Leach,  Early  Yorkshire 
Schools,  Vol.   II,   xxi.      14  Ibid,   in   V.C.H.,  Lincolnshire,   II,  484. 
15  Carlisle,  I,  633.         »•  Ibid.,  II,  209. 


l82      EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY   LIFE 

all  owed  their  origin  to  eminent  ecclesiastics.  Nor 
did  the  Church  tamely  submit  to  the  curtailment 
of  its  powers.  In  1393-4  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, the  Bishop  of  London,  the  Dean  of  the  free 
chapel  of  'St.  Martin  le  Grant,'  and  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Church  of  St.  Paul's  complained  to  the  King 
that  whereas  they  had  always  had  in  the  past  the 

*  prescript,  1'ordenance,  disposicion,  et  examinacion  ' 
of  the  masters  of  grammar  in  the  city  of  London, 

*  nientmains  ore  tard  ascuns  estrangers  lour  fey- 
nantz  mestres  de  gramer,  nient  apris'  suffisaument 
en  mesme  la  facultee,  sanz  assent,  scien,  ou  volunte 
des    avant    ditz    Ercevesque,    Evesque,    Dean,    et 
Chanceller  .  .  .  tiegnent  escoles  generales  de  Gramer 
en  votre  dite  citee.'    They  went  on  to  say  that  the 
three  masters  of  the  schools  of  St.  Paul's,  of  St. 
Martin,  and  of  the  Arches  had  proceeded  against 
the  strange  masters,   in   the  Courts   Christian,   in 
defence  of  their  own  rights  of  teaching  ;    but  the 
strange  masters  had  applied  to  the  secular  courts 
against  the  suit  of  the  three  masters  ;    they  there- 
fore begged  the  King  to  grant  them  letters  of  Privy 
Seal  ordering  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  London 
not  to  interfere  in  the  matter,  which  belonged  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Church.1     A  petition  pre- 
sented to  the  King  by  the  Prince  of  Wales  (7  and  8 
H.    IV)    drew    attention    to    the    propagation    of 
teaching  against  the  temporal  possessions  of  the 
clergy,    in    '  lieux   secretes    appellez    escoles,'    and 
prayed  that  no  man   or  woman  might   '  exercize 
ascuns   escoles   d'ascun   secte   ou   doctrine   desore 
en  avaunt  encountre  les  suis  ditz  Foye  Catholike, 
&  Sacramentz  de  seinte  Esglise.'2    It  was  perhaps 
in    consequence    of    the    severe    treatment    of    all 
teachers  suspected  of  Lollardy  that  there  was  a 
dearth  of  schools  in  London  in  1447, 3  and  of  school- 

1  Rot.  Parl.t  HI,  324.         *  Ibid.,  Ill,  584.         s  Ibid.,  V,  137. 


EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON  EVERYDAY  LIFE      183 

masters  in  the  eastern  counties1;  but  there  may 
have  been  other  causes  at  work,  too,  such  as  the 
suppression  of  the  alien  Priories  near  London,2  an 
increase  in  the  number  of  persons  who  came  to  the 
city  to  be  educated,3  and  the  lack  of  encouragement 
given  to  the  study  of  grammar  in  the  Universities.1 
In  London  the  evil  was  remedied  by  the  foundation 
of  four  schools  by  the  four  parsons  who  had  peti- 
tioned the  King  on  the  subject,4  and  of  five  others, 
by  the  care  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and 
the  Bishop  of  London.6  The  persons  who  benefited 
most  by  the  creation  of  new  schools  in  the  fifteenth 
century  were  undoubtedly  the  children  of  citizens 
and  tradesmen.6  We  have  already  noticed  that 
several  of  the  grammar  schools  were  free,  and  Dr. 
Furnivall  mentions  others  of  the  same  kind  in  his 
list  of  endowed  schools  in  Manners  and  Meals."* 
As  he  very  truly  says,  the  progress  of  education 
was  from  below  upwards.8 

The  children  of  the  nobility  occasionally  received 
tuition  in  monasteries,  or  in  the  abbot's  house.' 
Warton  tells  us  that  Lydgate  opened  a  Education 
school  in  his  monastery  for  them.10  Pay-  of  the 
ment  to  the  schoolmaster  of  the  sons  of  nobility- 
Sir  John  Howard  is  recorded  in  one  of  his  House- 
hold Books,11  so  possibly  they  had  a  private  tutor. 
More  often,  however,  boys  of  this  class  were  trained 
in  the  houses  of  great  nobles.  The  Liber  Niger 
gives  us  some  idea  of  what  they  learnt.  It  was  the 
duty  of  the  master  of  the  henchmen  '  to  shew  the 
schooles  of  urbanitie  and  nourture  of  Englond,  to 
lerne  them  to  ryde  clenely  and  surely ;  to  drawe 

1  Petition  of  W.  Byngham,  parson  of  St.  John  Zachary,  London, 
quoted  in  Willis,  Architectural  History  of  Cambridge,  Introd.,  Ivi. 
*  Strype,  Stoiv,  I,  128.  3  Rot.  Part.,  V,  137.  4  »nd  •  Strype's 
Stow,  I,  182.  •  Manners  attd  Meals,  lii.  7  Ibid.,  liii. 

8  Ibid.,  Ixii.  9  Ibid.,  xviii.  10  Warton,  Hist,  of  Eng.  Poetry, 
II,  270  (ed.  1840).  "  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  269. 


184      EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY  LIFE 

them  also  to  justes  ;  to  lerne  them  were  they  re 
harneys  ;  to  have  all  curtesy  in  wordes,  deeds,  and 
degrees,  dilygently  to  kepe  them  in  rules  of  goynges 
and  sittinges,  after  they  be  of  honour.  Moreover, 
to  teche  them  sondry  languages,  and  othyr  lerninges 
vertuous,  to  harping,  to  pype,  sing,  daunce ; ?1 
and  there  was  also  a  '  Maistyr  of  Gramer,'  who 
taught  them  '  quern  necessarium  est  in  poetica 
atque  in  regulis  positionis  gramatice.'2  It  is 
evident  that  courtly  manners  and  knightly  accom- 
plishments were  considered  the  most  important 
part  of  their  education,  and  it  was  perhaps  in  con- 
sequence of  the  care  bestowed  upon  this  part  of 
their  training  that  the  author  of  the  Italian  Relation 
was  so  impressed  with  the  courtesy  of  Englishmen.3 
We  have  very  little  information  respecting  the 
education  of  girls  ;  in  the  Act  which  gave  every 
Education  man  the  right  to  send  his  children  to 
of  women,  school,  girls  are  mentioned  as  well  as 
boys,4  but  we  do  not  know  how  far  they  profited 
by  the  permission.  Women  were  included  in  the 
prohibition  issued  against  the  maintenance  of 
schools  by  Lollards,6  and  Leach  draws  attention  to 
an  entry  in  the  records  of  the  Corpus  Christi  Gild, 
Boston,6  for  the  year  1404,  which  speaks  of  '  Matilda 
Mareflete,  schoolmistress  in  Boston,  (magistra  sco- 
larum),'7  and  if  women  could  be  teachers  they  must 
themselves  have  had  some  education.  This  in- 
stance is,  however,  apparently  the  only  case  which 
has  up  to  now  been  discovered  of  a  woman  teacher 
in  an  elementary  school;  Mr.  Leach  is  of  the  opinion 
that  it  could  not  have  been  the  Boston  grammar 
school,  because  the  Chancellor,  in  whose  hands  the 

1    Liber  Niger,   45  2   Ibid.,   51.  *   Italian  Relation,   22. 

4  Rot.  Par!.,  Ill,  602.  5  Ibid.,  584.  6  In  the  Gild  Certificates 
in  the  Public  Record  Office.  7  Victoria  County  Hist. ,  Lincolnshire, 
II,  45»- 


EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON    EVERYDAY   LIFE      185 

appointment  lay,  would  not  have  licensed  a  woman.1 
Nuns  often  taught  the  daughters  of  the  gentry  ; 
the  little  nunnery  of  Swyn,  in  Yorkshire,  Thorold 
Rogers  tells  us,  received  several  girls  as  boarders.2 
Amongst  the  Chancery  Proceedings  is  a  petition 
which  states  that  Laurens  Knyght,  gentleman, 
arranged  that  his  two  daughters,  aged  seven  and 
ten  respectively,  should  live  with  the  Prioress  of 
Corn  worthy,  Devon,  and  that  she  should  teach  them, 
and  should  receive  weekly  for  their  meat  and  drink 
twenty  pence.3  There  were  different  standards  of 
education  for  men  and  women.  Women  were 
not  expected  to  understand  Latin,  but  letters  to 
nuns  were  written  in  French,  and  the  nuns  of  Sem- 
pringham  were  forbidden  to  talk  Latin,  while  it 
was  enjoined  upon  boys  at  school  and  young  men 
at  Oxford  and  Cambridge.4  The  general  education 
of  women  was  not  entirely  neglected.  Bryan  Rou- 
cliffe,  writing  to  Sir  William  Plumpton  about  his 
little  granddaughter,  says,  '  Your  daughter  and 
myn  .  .  .  speaketh  prattely  and  french  and  hath 
near  hand  learned  her  sawter.'5  As  she  was  only 
four  years  old  she  was  certainly  not  backward  for 
her  age.  U  But  the  wills  of  the  period  do  not  give  • 
the  impression  that  parents  thought  it  necessary 
to  make  special  provision  for  the  education  of  their 
daughters ;  probably  knowledge  of  household 
management  and  of  domestic  work  was  considered 
more  suited  to  them  than  any  other  kind  of  learn- 
ing.. 

The  development  of  higher  education  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  was  not 
assisted  by  the  economic  changes  of  the  period  ; 

1   Victoria  County  Hist.,  Lincolnshire,  II,  451. 

8   Work  and  Wages,  166.  *  Early  Chant.  Proceed.,  44/227. 

4  Leach,  Victoria  County  Hist.,  Lincolnshire,  II,  47ln. 

5  riumpton  Corr.,  8. 


1 86      EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON    EVERYDAY   LIFE 

on  the  contrary,  it  may  even  have  suffered  through 
them.  There  are  numerous  complaints 
education  °^  t^ie  decay  °f  *ne  Universities ;  Henry 
VI,  in  a  letter  to  the  Provincial 
Synod  of  Canterbury,  laments  '  siquidem  in  ipsis 
diminutus  jam  est  studentium  numerus  ;  nemirum 
cum  sit  merces  seu  fructus  studii  nullus  aut  modi- 
cus ?1 ;  and  the  year  this  letter  was  written  (1438) 
the  number  of  students  was  a  thousand.2  The 
Universities  continually  bewailed  their  poverty, 
which  may  have  been  partly  due  to  the  deprecia- 
tion in  the  value  of  their  lands  through  the  diminu- 
tion of  the  profits  of  agriculture,3  but  which  was 
certainly  largely  the  result  of  the  low  estimation  in 
which  scholarship  was  held  at  this  time.  University 
education  was  not  popular,  and  very  few  were  ready 
to  provide  adequate  means  for  it4;  and  those  who 
did  endow  new  colleges  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
were  not  merchants  and  traders,  but  members  of 
the  Royal  Family  and  ecclesiastics.6  Humphrey 
Duke  of  Gloucester,  was  one  of  Oxford's  most 
generous  patrons  ;  his  magnificent  gift  of  books 
supplied  one  of  the  University's  greatest  needs,6 
and  did  much  to  restore  it  to  its  old  position.7  His 
interest  in  the  New  Learning  was  not,  however, 
shared  by  his  countrymen,8  and  England  lagged 
behind  other  nations  in  its  adoption  of  the  new 
doctrines.9  He  did,  however,  inspire  some  of  his 
immediate  successors  to  carry  on  his  work10;  and  a 

1  Bekynton,  Letters,  No.  xxxix.  2  Wylie,  Henry  IV,  Vol.  Ill, 
414 ;  and  Humphrey  Duke  of  Gloucester,  by  K.  H.  Vickers,  402. 
*  Traill,  Social  England,  II,  235.  4  Vickers,  Humphrey  Duke  of  Glou- 
cester, 402.  5  Henry  VI ;  Margaret  of  Anjou  ;  Margaret,  the  mother 
of  Henry  VII ;  R.  Flemmyng,  Bishop  of  Lincoln ;  Chichele,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  ;  Waynflete,  Bishop  of  Winchester  ;  and  Alcock, 
Bishop  of  Ely,  were  among  the  benefactors  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
(Willis,  Architectural  Hist,  of  Cambridge,  Vol.  I,  Introd.,  Crono- 
logical  Summary,  Ixxxiv,  etc).  6  Vickers,  402.  7  Ibid.,  406 

and  seq.         8  Ibid.,  344.         9  Ibid.,  419.         10  Ibid.,  423  and  421. 


EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY  LIFE       187 

few  scholars  devoted  themselves  to  the  study  of 
Greek  learning,  in  spite  of  the  general  apathy. 
Sellyng,  a  monk  of  Christ  Church,  Canterbury, 
visited  Italy,  and  on  his  return  to  England  estab- 
lished a  school  of  Greek  at  Canterbury.1  Grocyn, 
a  fellow  of  New  College,  lectured  publicly  on  the 
Greek  language  at  Oxford,  some  time  between  1496 
and  I5oo.2  His  lectures  'mark  the  opening  of  a 
new  period  in  our  history,'3  and  bore  splendid  fruit 
in  the  sixteenth  century  ;  but  it  cannot  be  said  that 
any  general  enthusiasm  for  higher  education  was 
manifested  in  England  during  the  fifteenth  century, 
or  that  much  advantage  was  taken  of  the  oppor- 
tunities for  studying  classics  provided  by  foreign 
Universities.  We  read  in  the  Chancery  Proceedings 
that  Thomas,  son  of  John  Herford,  was  sent  to 
school  at  Pisa4;  but  it  seems  to  have  been  unusual 
to  send  children  abroad  for  education. 

But  although  the  English  were  not  at  this  time 
'  addicted  to  ...  the  study  of  letters,'6  they  were, 

we  believe,  keenly  alive  to  the  advantages    -,  . . 

.j.j,-7,,  j     <•    i  Evidences 

to  be  derived  from  the  spread  of  elemen-   Of  the 

tary  education,  and  we  have  in  the  records  spread  of 
of  the  period  evidence  of  the  results  of  the  uca  on' 
growing  desire  for  knowledge.  The  Paston  Letters 
show  that  not  only  men  and  women  of  good  posi- 
tion, but  their  dependents  and  servants  also, 
persons  like  Richard  Calle,  who  sold  '  kandyll  and 
mustard  in  Framlyngham,'6  and  Sir  John  Fastolf's 
servant  Payne,  were  able  to  read  and  write.  The 
Cely  and  Stonor  Papers  give  a  similar  impression. 
The  Celys  and  Sir  William  Stonor7  were  merchants 
of  the  Staple,  and  their  business  entailed  a  consider- 

1  Gasquet,  Old  English  Bible,  309-10.  2  Ibid.,  310  and  seq. 
3  Green,  Short  Hist.  «f  the  English  People,  398.  *  Early  Cham. 
Proceed.,  226/47,  date  1493-1500.  8  Italian  Relation,  p.  22. 

6  Paston  Letters,  V,  21.         7  A.C.,  Vol.  XLVI,  No.  175- 


1 88      EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY   LIFE 

able  amount  of  correspondence,  because  much  of  it 
was  carried  on  in  Calais  ;  so  much  indeed  that,  in 
the  case  of  the  Celys,  the  junior  member  of  the 
firm  lived  there.  Numerous  communications  passed 
between  him  and  the  other  partners  at  home,  and 
thus  foreign  trade  was  a  direct  incentive  to  the 
diffusion  of  education.  The  handwriting  is  some- 
times bad  and  illegible,1  and  the  spelling  very  vari- 
able ;  for  example,  a  simple  word  may  be  spelt  in 
three  or  four  different  ways  in  the  same  letter2;  but 
none  of  the  writers  seem  to  have  any  difficulty  in 
making  their  meaning  clear,  and  they  appear  to 
express  themselves  easily.  The  Household  Book  of 
Anne  Duchess  of  Buckingham*  is  written  in  a  small, 
legible  hand,  and  though  a  few  pages  are  untidy, 
on  the  whole  it  is  well  kept.  It  is  in  Latin,  but 
English  words  are  used  occasionally,  and  we  have 
expressions  such  as  '  pro  haling  &  draghing  iiij  dol. 
vini  '4  and  *  kynderkyn  de  bere  duble  &  ale.'6 
There  are  also  some  very  quaint  examples  of  the 
mixture  of  languages  in  some  of  the  churchwardens' 
accounts  ;  for  example,  *  Item,  pro  le  pascal  tapyr  ' 
and  '  Item,  uno  peynter  pro  peyntyng  de  la  Rode- 
lofte.'8  The  scribes'  knowledge  of  Latin  was  prob- 
ably rather  superficial.  The  accounts  of  bailiffs 
afford  proof,  as  Thorold  Rogers  has  pointed  out, 
that  they  were  not  wholly  illiterate,  and  he  also 
refers  to  the  bills  written  by  artisans  for  New 
College,  Oxford.  They  were  not,  he  says,  the  work 
of  adept  penmen,  but  show  that  artisans  knew  how 
to  write  out  an  account.7  The  Account  Book  of 
Robert  Brigandyn,  clerk  of  the  King's  ships  (10-13 

1  For  example,  that  of  Richard  Cely  the  Elder,  Vol.  LIII,  No.  7,  and 
No.  97  in  Vol.  XLVI.  a  Chandler  said  he  noted  seventeen  modes  of 
writing  Waynflete's  name  (Life  of  William  Waynflete,  p.  13). 
3  Add.  MSS.,  34,  213.  «  Ibid.,  f.  21.  5  Ibid.,  f.  22  d. 

•  Hobhouse,   Tindnhull  Accounts,  1 88.  7  Thorold  Rogers,  Work 

and  Wages,  165. 


EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY   LIFE      189 

H.  VII)  is  a  beautiful  specimen  of  penmanship.1 
Yet  the  Churchwardens'  Accounts  do  not  seem  to 
have  been  written  by  themselves,  but  by  profes- 
sional scribes,  as  payment  for  making  them  up  is 
often  mentioned.2 

Amongst  the  Chancery  Proceedings  there  is  a 
petition  from  the  warden  of  Stansfeld  Church 
against  Richard  Brasyer  of  Norwich,  which  states 
that  Richard  purposely  omitted  a  clause  in  the 
indenture  made  between  them,  and  that  he  being 
'  not  lettered  nor  vnderstondyng,'  was  deceived,  and 
thought  it  was  there  when  it  was  missing.3  Several 
other  petitioners  bring  forward  the  same  plea  that 
they  have  been  cheated  because  they  were  '  noth- 
ynge  letteryd  '  .  .  .  '  nor  vnderstode  not  what  was 
wretyn.'  In  some  instances  the  occupations  of  the 
petitioners  are  stated,  and  they  included  a  fuller  and 
a  weaver,4  a  dyer,6  a  glover,6  a  Dutch  beer-brewer,7 
and  a  knight.8  When  inquiries  were  made  touching 
Sir  John  Fastolf's  will,  in  May  and  June,  1466, 
twenty  witnesses  were  examined,  and  of  these  eleven 
were  described  as  '  illiterate,'  and  they  consisted  of 
five  husbandmen,  one  gentleman,  one  smith,  one 
cook,  one  roper,  one  tailor,  and  one  mariner.  The 
term  '  literatus  '  was  applied  to  seven  persons  ;  that 
is  to  say,  two  husbandmen,  two  merchants,  a  tailor, 
a  mariner,  and  one  other  whose  occupation  was  not 
specified.9  The  two  remaining  witnesses  were 
Stephen  Scrope,  who  could  write,  as  we  know,  and 
a  man  who  had  been  a  schoolmaster.  It  is  obvious 
from  these  examples  that  a  knowledge  of  reading 

1  Aug.  Office,  Misc.  Bks.,  316.  z  Medieval  Records  of  a  London 
City  Church,  1 68  and  204.  Hobhouse,  Tintinhull  Accounts,  176  and 
177,  and  186.  Yatton  Accounts,  84.  3  Early  Chanc.  Proceed., 
24/138.  *  Ibid.,  31/146.  8  Ibid.,  44/265.  6  Ibid.,  50/413. 
7  Ibid.,  59/44.  8  Ibid.%  15/143.  Other  cases  in  which  the  occupa- 
tion is  not  given,  25/158,  59/50,  15/229,  16/277.  •  Paston  Letters, 
IV,  237-44. 


EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY   LIFE 

and  writing  was  not  universal,  but  that  it  was  fairly 
widespread. 

The  economic  changes  of  the  period  affected  even 
the  sports  and  amusements  of  the  people.  There 
Amuse-  are  continual  complaints  that  servants 
ments.  and  labourers  will  not  exercise  themselves 
in  the  use  of  bows  and  arrows,  as  commanded  by 
statute,  but  play  '  coites,  dices,  gettre  de  peer, 
kayles  &  autres  tielx  jeues  importunes.'1  These 
games  were  stigmatized  as  unlawful,  and,  with  the 
addition  of  a  few  others,  were  forbidden  under  pain 
of  imprisonment.2  As  an  excuse  it  was  urged  the 
high  price  of  bows  caused  '  yomen  to  play  unlawful 
games,'3  and  it  was  therefore  enacted  that  aliens 
should  bring  four  bowstaves  into  the  country  with 
every  ton  of  merchandise  they  imported.4  A  few 
years  later  they  were  ordered  to  bring  ten  with 
every  butt  of  wine5;  but  these  measures  were  de- 
signed as  much  to  injure  the  Venetians,  England's 
most  formidable  trade  rival,  as  to  revive  archery, 
and  they  did  not  succeed  in  the  latter  aim.  Guns 
were  beginning  to  take  the  place  of  bows  and 
arrows  as  weapons,  and  archery  was  no  longer  the 
favourite  national  sport. 

Great  delight  was  still  taken  in  hunting  and 
hawking,  and  in  some  parts  of  the  country  consider- 
able enclosures  were  made  for  the  chase.6  The  right 
to  take  part  in  these  sports  had  been  made  by 
Parliament  dependent  upon  the  possession  of  lands 
and  tenements  to  the  value  of  405.  a  year7  in  the 
case  of  a  layman,  and  an  income  of  £10  in  the  case 
of  a  priest.  In  the  fifteenth  century  many  merchants 

1  Rot.  Par/.,  Ill,  643,  and  n  H.  IV,  c.  4.  2  17  Ed.  IV,  c.  3, 
and  Rot.  Purl.,  VI,  188.  *  Ibid.,  VI,  156.  4  12  Ed.  IV,  c.  2. 
6  I  Ric.  Ill,  c.  II.  6  I.  S.  Leadam,  Domesday  of  Itulosures,  II,  389. 
E.  S.  Gay,  in  T.  R.  Hist.  Soc.t  N.S.,  VII,  219.  Campbell, 
op.  <-#.,  II,  34  and  379.  7  13  Ric.  II,  St.  I,  c.  13,  and  Rot. 

Parl.t  II,  282. 


EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY   LIFE      IQI 

and  traders  attained  the  requisite  qualifications  and 
took  advantage  of  them.  The  Celys  were  especially 
fond  of  hawking,  and  there  are  many  allusions  to  it 
in  their  letters1;  and  Richard  the  Younger  on  one 
occasion  took  his  '  fawkener  '  with  him  when  he 
went  up  to  buy  wool  in  the  Cotswolds.2  He  and 
his  father  nearly  involved  themselves  in  serious 
trouble  over  the  '  scleyng  of  an  hartte,'3  and  old 
Richard  decided  to  keep  no  more  greyhounds  in 
consequence.4 

Card-playing  became  very  popular  about  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  in  1463  the 
importation  of  playing-cards  was  forbidden  on  the 
petition  of  the  London  card-makers.5  The  com- 
mercial spirit  of  the  age  entered  even  into  games,  and 
men  of  all  classes  played  dice  and  cards  for  money, 
and  this  practice  not  unfrequently  degenerated  into 
gambling.  A  servant  of  the  Earl  of  Warwick  was 
playing  cards,  and  '  a  straunge  man  fill  in  to  play  ' 
and  lost  '  a  bowte  the  somme  of  xls.'6  Robert  Cely, 
the  black  sheep  of  the  family,  received  thirty  shil- 
lings '  to  pay  hys  ostes  '  at  Calais,  but  he  *  playd 
hyt  at  dys  every  quartere.'7  Women  as  well  as 
men  indulged  in  card-playing.  Sir  John  Howard, 
we  read,  '  lent  my  lady  Scalez  to  pley  at  cardez 
8s.  4d.'8  Even  the  pilgrims  going  to  the  Holy  Land 
played  cards  and  dice  on  board  ship.9  As  a  con- 
sequence of  the  evils  which  ensued  from  these 
games,  it  was  ordered  that  '  noo  Lorde,  nor  other 
person  of  lower  estate,  suffre  any  Dicyng  or  pleiyng 
at  Gardes  within  his  hous,  .  .  .  oute  of  the  xii 
dayes  of  Christmasse.'10  The  Duke  of  Clarence 

1  Cely  Papers,  79  and  81,  and  A.C.,  Vol.  LIII,  No.  155. 

2  Cely  Papers,  80.         *  Ibid.,  73  and  78.         *  Ibid.,  79. 

5  Strutt,  Sports  attd  Pastimes,  p.  426.         8  Early  Chanc.  Proceed. , 
31/507.   7  Cely  Papers,  p.  12.  8  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  481. 
9  Wylie,  of.  cit.,  Ill,  175. 
10  Rot.  Part.,  V,  488,  and  II  H.  VII,  St.  II,  c.  3. 


IQ2      EFFECTS  PRODUCED  UPON   EVERYDAY  LIFE 

threatened  to  dismiss  any  of  his  court  who  played 
'  any  manner  of  game  at  the  dice,  cardes,  or  any 
other  hassard  for  money  '*;  so  it  is  clear  that  cards 
and  dice  were  not  the  only  gambling  games.  Mr. 
Martin  has  drawn  attention  to  an  instance  of  horse- 
racing  in  the  Chancery  Proceedings,  upon  the  result 
of  which  a  kind  of  wager  was  laid.2  Bets  were  made 
on  all  kinds  of  matters,  from  the  possible  size  of 
a  hailstone3  to  the  chances  of  succession  to  a 
bishopric.4 

Mrs.  Green  thinks  that  the  gaiety  of  the  towns 
was  sobered  by  the  pressure  of  business  and  by  the 
increase  of  the  class  of  depressed  workers,  and  that 
the  old  games  and  pageants  lost  their  lustre  and 
faded  out  of  existence  before  the  coming  in  of  new 
forms  of  poverty  and  bondage,  save  where  a  mockery 
of  life  was  given  to  them  by  the  compulsion  of  the 
town  authorities.6  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the 
Corpus  Christi  Play  was  in  danger  of  disappearing 
in  Canterbury  at  the  end  of  the  century ;  because 
the  crafts  which  had  maintained  it  were  so  reduced 
in  number,  and  so  poor.  Consequently  the  Burg- 
mote  ordered  that  every  craft  which  could  not  afford 
to  do  its  part  by  itself  should  be  incorporated  with 
some  other  craft.8  There  was  also  a  good  deal  of 
discord  in  Coventry  concerning  the  performance  of 
pageants.  The  Smiths  asked  to  be  relieved  from 
the  burden  of  contributing  to  the  '  Cotelers  pach- 
and,'7  and  the  '  cardemakers,  sadelers,  masons  and 
peyntors,'  which  had  been  as  '  oone  fellauship  in 
beryng  Costys  ...  to  ther  pagent,'  wished  '  to 
departe  and  to  breke  J>er  felauship.'8  These  troubles 

1  Ordinances  of  the  Royal  Household,  p.  91.  a  Early  Ckanc. 

Proceed.,  67/49,  quoted  in  Archalogia,  Vol.  IX,  Second  Series,  p.  II. 
3  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  66/282.  *  Ibid.,  202/13.  B  Mrs.  Green, 
of.  cit.,  I,  152.  8  Ibid.,  151,  and  Accounts  of  St.  Dunstan's,  Canter- 
bury, in  Archalogia  Cantiana,  Vol.  XVII,  147.  7  Coventry  Leet 
Book,  115-16.  8  Ibid.,  205. 


EFFECTS   PRODUCED   UPON   EVERYDAY   LIFE      193 

happened  in  the  first  half  of  the  century,  when  the 
affairs  of  the  city  were  in  a  flourishing  condition 
and  when  it  could  afford  to  keep  four  minstrels  of 
its  own,1  and  to  give  the  King's  minstrels  twenty 
shillings  at  the  time  ;  so  it  is  obvious  that  poverty 
was  not  the  cause  of  the  evils,  but  that  they  were 
probably  mainly  due  to  bad  feeling  between  the 
crafts.  'Throughout  the  fourteenth,  fifteenth  and 
sixteenth  centuries,  we  have  continuous  evidence  of 
the  popularity  and  frequent  production  of  Miracle 
Plays  in  nearly  every  part  of  England.'2  The  list 
of  the  performances  of  pageants  given  by  Miss 
Toulmin  Smith  in  her  Yorks  Plays  also  shows  that 
they  were  very  much  appreciated.3  Household 
Books  mention  payments  to  minstrels  and  players 
from  different  towns,  as  well  as  to  those  in  the 
employment  of  great  nobles  ;  for  example,  Lord 
Howard  gave  '  to  the  Plaiers  of  Esterforde  '  35.  4d.4; 
and  Metyngham  College  paid  I2d.  to  three  '  lusoribus 
&  trepidatoribus  de  Becclys.'6  Churchwardens'  ac- 
counts allude  to  all  kinds  of  amusements  :  Christmas 
plays,*  the  mock  courts  of  the  Play  Kings7  and 
King's  revels,8  hocking,9  Robin  Hood  exhibitions10 
at  the  village  butts,  and  Church-ales.11  All  these 
amusements  were  used  as  means  of  obtaining  money 
to  provide  for  the  expenses  of  the  parish  church, 
but  their  frequency  proves  that  the  people  still  cared 
for  games  and  pageants  and  that  the  spirit  of  gaiety 
had  not  died  out  in  England. 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  59  and  121.  a  A.  W.  Pollard,  Eng.  Mircule  Plays, 
xxii-iii.  *  York  Plays,  edited  by  Miss  L.  T.  Smith,  pp.  Ixiv-vii,  and 
xxxii-iii.  *  Howard  Household  Book,  II,  p.  148;  other  references 
to  similar  payments,  104,  146,  336,  519.  8  Add.  MSS.  33,  987, 
f.  82  d.  6  Hobhouse,  184.  7  Ibid. ,  xiv,  and  183.  8  Ibid. ,  3,  5,  7. 
9  Ibid.,  xx.  10  Ibid.,  contributions  from  this  source,  p.  4,  10,  II,  12, 
14,  etc.  "  Ibid.,  89, 177,  181,  etc.,  and  Accounts  of  Bishop  Stortford, 
Herts,  quoted  by  Toulmin  Smith  in  The  Parish,  pp.  502-3,  and 
Accounts  of  St.  Mary's,  Elham,  in  Anhalogia  Canttaita,  Vol.  X,  p.  66. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE  EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  THE  ECONOMIC  CHANGES 
OF  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY  UPON  THE  DE- 
VELOPMENT OF  NATIONAL  CHARACTER 

ECONOMIC  changes  exercised  a  considerable  influ- 
ence upon  the  development  of  national  character 
Intellectual  an(^  intellectual  life  in  England.  As  we 
develop-  have  already  seen,  a  greater  value  was  set 
ment.  upon  education  and  more  opportunities 

were  provided  for  it,  than  in  earlier  days,  but  the 
middle  and  lower  classes  profited  by  them  rather 
than  the  upper.  The  intellectual  development  of 
the  age  was,  therefore,  to  a  great  extent  the  in- 
tellectual development  of  these  classes,  and  their 
characteristics  are  impressed  upon  it.  They  wished 
to  be  successful  in  commerce  and  to  make  money, 
and  they  did  not  care  for  books  which  would  not 
help  them  to  attain  these  objects.  This  is  perhaps 
one  reason  why  the  literature  of  the  period  did  not 
reach  a  high  standard,  and  why  the  Revival  of 
Learning  aroused  so  little  enthusiasm  in  England  that 
only  a  few  exceptional  men  took  an  interest  in  it. 
The  spread  of  education  increased  the  number 
of  those  who  could  read,  and  thereby  created 
a  larger  demand  for  books.  The  value  set  upon 
them  was  often  very  great.1  Books  were  some- 
times pledged  as  security  for  debts,2  and  were 
very  often  left  as  legacies  by  will.3  The  Bishops 

1  For  examples  see  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  47/18,  48/511,  51/253, 
111/84.         a  Ibid.,   217/11,  and  231/63.  *  Ibid.,   55/127,   and 

Early  Eng.   Wills,  pp.  49-51. 

194 


EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER  IQ5 

of  Lincoln  and  Salisbury  prized  some  books, 
left  to  them  by  the  late  Abbot  of  Westminster, 
so  highly  that  they  laid  petitions  concerning 
them  before  the  Privy  Council.1  A  good  deal  of 
money  was  spent  on  the  embellishment  of  books. 
Edward  IV  paid  '  for  bynding,  gilding  and  dressing 
of  a  booke  called  Titus  Livius  2os.'2  For  the 
'  coveryng  &  garnysshing  of  six  books  '  the  King 
bought  six  yards  of  '  cremysy  figured  velvet,' 
'  a  corse  of  silk,  a  naille  of  blue  silk  weying  '  nearly 
two  ounces,  laces,  tassels,  '  botons  of  blue  silk 
and  gold,'  '  claspes  of  coper  and  gilt,'  and  other 
articles.8 

In  early  days  the  copying  of  manuscripts  was 
mainly  the  work  of  the  monks,  but  by  the  fifteenth 
century  they  had  ceased  to  supply  the  market,  and 
professional  scribes  were  employed,4  like  William 
Ebesham,  who  transcribed  various  books  for  Sir 
John  Paston.  He  was  paid  '  ijd  a  leaff  '5;  but 
sometimes  writers  charged  by  the  letter,  from  a 
penny  to  fourpence  a  hundred,  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  work.6  It  is  not  surprising  that 
books  were  scarce  when  every  word  had  to  be 
copied  by  hand,  and  we  find  that  even  colleges  had 
so  few  that  in  the  statutes  of  St.  Mary's  College, 
Oxford,7  it  was  laid  down  as  a  rule  that  no  scholar 
should  occupy  a  book  hi  the  library  above  an  hour, 
or  two  at  the  most,  so  that  others  should  be  hin- 
dered from  the  use  of  the  same.8  Henry  V  showed 
considerable  interest  in  literature,  but  even  he  was 
forced  sometimes  to  borrow  books.9  The  number 

1  Proceed  oj  the  Privy  Council,  V,  140-1.  a  N.  H.  Nicolas, 
Wardrobe  Accounts  of  Edward  IV,  p.  125. 

8  Nicolas,  op.  cit.,  p.  152.  4  •"*  6  Camb  Hist,  of  English  Litera- 
ture, II,  307.  *  Paston  Letters,  V,  3.  r  St.  Mary's  College  was 
founded  as  a  seminary  to  Oseney  Abbey  in  1446  (Warton,  Hist,  of 
Eng.  Poetry,  edition  of  1840,  p.  Ixxxix).  8  Ibid.  •  Syllabus  to 
Rymer's  Fadera,  II,  640. 


ig6  EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER 

which  could  be  produced  by  scribes  was  wholly  in- 
adequate when  reading  was  no  longer  confined  to 
scholars,  but  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  wished 
for  books,  and  it  was,  Caxton  tells  us,  on  account 
of  the  labour  of  writing  and  the  numbers  of  books 
wanted  that  printing  was  introduced  into  England.1 
Before  the  end  of  the  century  printing-presses  were 
set  up  in  London,2  Westminster,8  Oxford,4  and 
St.  Albans5;  but  they  could  not  print  enough  books 
to  satisfy  the  needs  of  the  public,  and,  in  an  age  of 
rigid  protection,  books  were  imported  duty  free.6 

The  special  characteristic  of  the  English  press 
was  that  it  produced  books  in  the  vernacular.7 
'  Caxton  left  the  glory  of  restoring  the  classical 
writers  of  antiquity  ...  to  the  learned  printers  of 
Italy,'8  and  gave  the  people  the  classics  of  their 
own  land,9  in  their  own  tongue.  It  is  worthy  of 
note  that  Pecock,  the  most  enlightened  man  of  his 
age,  wrote  his  greatest  work,  the  Represser,  in 
English,  and  that  he  compiled  a  smaller  and  simpler 
edition  of  The  Donet,  called  The  Poor  Men's  Mirror, 
in  the  hope  that  even  the  poor  would  purchase  so 
cheap  a  book.10  Fortescue  generally  wrote  in  Latin, 
but  his  last  treatise  on  his  favourite  subject,  the 
Monarchia,  or  the  Difference  between  an  Absolute 
and  a  Limited  Monarchy,  was  in  English  ;  and  as 
he  wrote  this  book  to  please  Edward  IV,  it  has  been 
suggested  that  the  use  of  the  vulgar  tongue  was 
due  to  that  King's  perception  of  the  importance  of 
influencing  the  opinions  of  the  common  people.11 
Moreover,  whereas  most  of  the  political  songs  of  the 

1  Quoted  in  William  Caxton,  by  Gordon  Duff,  p.  21.  a  Hid.,  47. 
3  G.  Duff,  Printers,  Stationers  and  Bookbinders  of  London  and  West- 
minster, 45.  <  and  s  G.  Duff,  Enrly  Printed  Books,  chap.  ix. 
8  I  Ric.  III.,  c.  9.  7  G.  Duff,  William  Caxton,  13,  and  Camb. 
Hist,  of  Eng.  Literature,  II,  311.  8  G.  Duff,  William  Caxton,  p.  14, 
quoting  Disraeli.  9  Ibid.  10  Camb.  Hist,  of  Eng.  Literature,  II, 
294.  "  Ibid.,  II,  297. 


EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER    197 

fourteenth  century  were  in  Latin,  the  majority  were 
in  English  in  the  fifteenth.1  By  the  end  of  the 
century,  too,  the  Chroniclers  had  begun  to  write  in 
English2;  and  this  use  of  the  national  language  was 
the  result  of  the  intellectual  development  of  the 
nation.  Reading  was  no  longer  confined  to  the 
learned,  who  understood  Latin,  and  both  authors 
and  printers  found  it  worth  while  to  produce  books 
for  the  people.  The  result  of  the  spread  of  education 
may  also  be  seen  in  the  multiplication  of  school- 
books.3 

The  desire  of  the  middle  classes  to  fit  themselves 
to  occupy  the  position  in  society  which  their  wealth 
had  gained  for  them  shows  itself  in  the  great  de- 
mand for  books  on  manners  and  etiquette.  Caxton 
brought  out  a  Book  of  Good  Manners  at  the  request 
of  a  mercer,  who  had  been  helped  by  reading  it,4  and 
it  became  so  popular  that  it  was  reprinted  four 
times  before  the  close  of  the  century.6  Wynkyn  de 
Worde,  who  studied  public  taste  carefully,  issued 
many  books  of  this  kind.6  The  Boke  of  Curtasye, 
published  by  the  Early  English  Text  Society  in 
Manners  and  Meals,  enables  us  to  see  the  nature  of 
the  instruction  that  was  required.  We  gather  that 
the  readers  had  very  little  idea  of  how  they  ought 
to  behave,  but  that  they  were  exceedingly  anxious 
to  learn,  and  that  they  felt  that  every  one,  *  gentyl- 
mon,  3omon,  or  knaue,'  needed  'nurture  for  to  haue.'7 

Legal  works  were  produced  in  considerable  num- 
bers, especially  by  Lettou  and  Machlinia8;  and 

1  This  may  be  seen  by  comparing  the  two  volumes  of  Wright's 
Political  Songs,  the  first  dealing  with  the  fourteenth  century  and  the 
second  with  the  fifteenth.  '  For  example,  Capgrave  and  the  author 
of  the  English  Chronicle.  3  Especially  by  the  St.  Alban's  Press 
(G.  Duff,  Early  Printed  Books,  p.  158).  4  Morley,  Eng.  Writers, 
VI,  p.  331.  «  Camb.  Hist,  of  Eng.  Literature,  II,  315.  •  G.  Duff, 
Early  Printed  Books,  p.  142.  7  Afanners  and  Meali,  299. 

8  G.  Duff,  Printers,  Stationers  and  Bookbinders  of  London  and 
Westminster,  p.  36  (cf.  T.  Roger,  Agriculture  and  Prices,  IV,  20). 


198  EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NAflONAL  CHARACTER 

this  is  not  surprising  when  we  remember  the  extra- 
ordinary amount  of  litigation  which  went  on,  and 
how  necessary  it  was  for  every  man  who  possessed 
property  to  have  some  knowledge  of  law,  if 
he  wished  to  keep  it  safely.  The  discontent 
caused  by  the  inequalities  in  wealth,  which  were 
beginning  to  be  so  marked,  found  vent  in  the 
Robin  Hood  ballads,  a  series  of  poems  which  cannot 
be  accurately  dated,  but  which  certainly  reflect  the 
spirit  of  the  fifteenth  century  in  many  ways,  and 
which  were  very  much  appreciated  at  this  time. 
Moralities  and  Miracle  Plays  were  also  very  popular, 
and  they  performed  the  important  function  of  help- 
ing to  render  the  growth  of  the  drama  possible.  The 
humour  of  the  fifteenth  century,  though  rough  and 
coarse,  was  vigorous,  and  was  therefore  not  without 
effect  upon  the  comedy  of  the  next  generation. 
Thus  it  will  be  acknowledged  that  economic  changes 
had  some  share  in  determining  the  lines  upon  which 
the  intellectual  development  of  the  nation  should 
progress,  and  in  deciding  what  kind  of  literature 
should  be  produced.  It  was  perhaps  for  this  reason 
that  the  literature  of  the  period  was  not  of  a 
very  exalted  type,  but  was  homely  and  common- 
place. 

The  artistic  development  of  the  nation  also  owed 
some  of  its  most  characteristic  features  to  the  ten- 
Artistic  dencies  of  the  age.  The  attention  devoted 
develop-  in  this  century  and  the  latter  part  of  the 
ment.  fourteenth  to  the  building  and  rebuild- 

ing of  churches,1  market  crosses,2  and  municipal 
buildings  was  the  result  of  the  growing  wealth  of 
the  middle  classes.  In  some  cases  churches,  which 
had  remained  unfinished  since  the  visitation  of  the 

1  E.  S.  Prior,  A  Hist,  of  Gothic  Art  in  England,  p.  427,  and  F. 
Bond,  Gothit  Architecture  in  England^  133. 

2  Turner  and  Parker,  Part  ii,  Vol.  Ill,  279,  327. 


EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER     199 

Black  Death,  were  completed,  and  we  see  in  them 
Decorated  and  Perpendicular  architecture  side  by 
side, — a  striking  memorial  in  stone  of  the  history  of 
the  period.  Judging  from  the  lists  given  by  Rick- 
man1  and  Mr.  Francis  Bond,2  the  counties  of  York, 
Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Gloucester,  Somerset,  and  Kent 
were  most  active  in  building.  Lincoln,  Warwick, 
Dorset,  Northampton,  Nottingham,  Cambridge,  and 
Worcester  rank  next  to  them.  Thus  it  will  be  seen 
that  those  districts  which  accomplished  most  in 
this  respect  were,  for  the  most  part,  those  con- 
nected in  some  way  with  the  woollen  industry, 
either  producing  wool  like  Gloucestershire,  or 
making  cloth  like  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  and  York- 
shire. One  or  two  details  of  the  architectural  his- 
tory of  the  counties  are  of  interest.  The  largest 
amount  of  building  took  place  in  Yorkshire,  but 
that,  perhaps,  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  largeness 
of  its  area.  It  went  on  all  through  the  century  and 
was  of  all  kinds  :  additions  to  York3  and  Beverley* 
Minsters,  to  Bridlington  Priory,6  and  the  erection 
and  enlargement  of  parish  churches 6  and  of 
a  Guildhall7  at  York.  In  Suffolk  attention  was 
mainly  devoted  to  building  parish  churches8;  in 
Worcester  to  enlarging  monasteries.9  Amongst 
towns  Bristol10  deserves  special  commendation  ;  but 
Londoners  were  not  behindhand,  and  their  achieve- 
ments included  lengthening  the  nave  of  West- 
minster Abbey11  and  the  rebuilding  of  the  Guild- 

1  Rickman,  Styles  of  Architecture  in  England,  pp.  295-313. 
a  F.  Bond,  Gothic  Architecture  in  England,  pp.  638-56. 

*  Rickman,  op.  cit.t  308.  *  Bond,  op.  fit,,  638.  8  Ibid., 
639.  •  Ibid.  Hedon  and  Howden  churches,  Rickman,  295. 
7  Turner  and  Parker,  op.  cit.,  III,  304  and  334.  *  Churches  at 
Blythburgh,  Long  Melford,  Southwold,  Walberswick.  Bond,  639,  648, 
653-4.  Ipswich  and  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  Rickman,  297  and  299. 
9  Malvern  and  Little  Malvern  Priories,  Bond,  649  and  648,  south  aisle 
of  Abbey  Church  at  Pershore,  Rickman,  301.  10  Bond,  639. 

11  Ibid.,  655. 


200  EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER 

hall,  which  '  of  an  olde  and  lytell  cotage  '  they  made 
*  into  a  fayre  and  goodly  house.'1 

Occasionally  these  churches  were  built  by  rich 
individuals,  as  for  example  the  nave  of  Northleach 
Church,  in  Gloucestershire,  which  was  the  work  of 
John  Fortey,  a  wool  merchant2;  but  as  a  rule 
they  owed  their  existence  to  the  united  efforts  of 
all  the  parishioners.  The  '  Receipts  and  Expenses 
in  the  Building  of  Bodmin  Church  '  illustrate  the 
means  taken  to  raise  the  money,  and  prove  how 
willing  every  one  was  to  do  his  part ;  the  total 
amount  collected  was  £268  175.  9id.,3  no  small 
sum  for  a  little  place  like  Bodmin,  and  there  were 
also  gifts  of  labour,  windows,  and  trees.  The 
gilds  gave  in  money  £86  us.  5d.,  and  £24  135.,  and 
the  latter  sum  was  the  outcome  of  a  collection  of 
pennies  and  half-pennies  from  the  members,  and 
they  also  gave  wax  worth  £4  135.  4d.4;  £50  8s. 
were  provided  by  voluntary  gifts,  in  which  four 
hundred  and  sixty  persons  joined,  and  amongst 
them  were  fourteen  '  servi '  and  two  '  famulae.' 
Only  eight  people  gave  more  than  a  pound ;  the 
largest  contribution  was  £6  135.  4d.,  and  the  smallest 
id.,6  and  so  it  is  evident  that  even  the  very  poor 
did  something  to  help  on  the  work.  Churches  built 
thus  with  the  people's  money  and  labour  seem  to 
reflect  the  spirit  of  their  builders.  The  great  sub- 
stantial churches  of  Norfolk,  with  their  solid  square 
towers,  are  typical  of  the  sturdy  matter-of-fact 
craftsmen  who  gave  them  being,  as  well  as  of  their 
former  populous  and  wealthy  parishes  ;  and  the 
grander  examples  of  architecture — such  as  King's 
College,  Cambridge,  and  St.  George's  Chapel, 

1  Chronicles  of  Fabyan,  576.  2  Rickman,  op.  cit.,  306.  Cley 
Church,  Norfolk,  is  one  of  a  group  of  churches  built  by  a  wealthy 
wool  -  exporting  community.  *  Camden  Miscellany,  Vol.  VII, 

pp.  iii-iv.         • Camden  Misc.,  Vol.  VII,  p.  vi.         8  Ibid.,  42-9. 


EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER    201 

Windsor — embody  the  love  of  magnificence  and  of 
elaborate  decoration,  which  was  characteristic  of  the 
age.  They  have  a  florid  beauty  of  their  own,  but  in 
their  repetition  of  the  same  form  of  ornament  and 
their  continual  use  of  straight  lines,  they  betray  the 
same  lack  of  imagination  and  of  artistic  feeling 
which  is  noticeable  in  much  of  the  literary  work  of 
this  period. 

Churchwardens'  accounts  and  other  documents 
show  that  a  great  deal  of  money  was  spent  on 
accessories,  especially  rood-lofts,  or  painted  screens, 
altars  and  vestments.  At  Yatton,  £3  los.  4d.  was 
paid  for  *  ymages  to  the  rodeloffte  yn  number 
Ixix  51;  and  the  cost  of  painting,  carving,  and  set- 
ting up  the  rood-screen  in  St.  Mary-at-Hill  was 
£7  2s.  id.2  The  monastery  of  'Our  Lady  of  Syon  * 
engaged  a  carver  to  make  an  'alter  table'  and 
said  it  was  to  be  '  of  ten  Storys  of  our  lady,'  and 
to  be  *  right  a  grete  and  costely  wark,'  and  he  was 
to  receive  for  it  £60  and  meat,  drink,  fuel,  and 
other  things  necessary  for  all  that  worked  with  him.8 
One  of  the  churchwardens  of  Yatton  parish  church 
records  that  he  paid  '  for  a  sewte  of  vestments  and 
a  cope  £26.'*  The  crosses  used  in  processions  must 
have  been  rather  a  heavy  item  of  expenditure.  We 
read  in  the  Chancery  Proceedings  that  the  late  parson 
of  Ashprington  Church  left  £20  for  one,  and  the 
parishioners  added  another  £io.6  It  was  the  fashion 
to  have  elaborate  tombs,  and  the  Countess  of 
Warwick  left  careful  directions  concerning  her  own  : 
it  was  to  be  adorned  with  an  image  of  herself,  with 
Mary  Magdalen  at  the  head,  and  St.  John  the 
Evangelist  and  St.  Anthony,  one  on  each  side  of 
her.6  People  in  those  days  seem  to  have  been  very 

1  Hobhouse,  98.  a  Medieval  Records  of  a  London  City  Church, 
22$,  228.  *  Early  Chanc  Proceed.,  189/5.  *  Hobhouse,  113. 
8  Early  Ckanc.  Proceed.,  233/16.  •  Early  Eng.  Wills,  1 1 7. 


202  EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER 

fond  of  painting  and  gilding,  and  there  are  many 
entries  of  payments  for  work  of  this  kind.1  It  is 
possible  that  we  should  have  thought  their  taste 
rather  gaudy,  but  it  is  difficult  to  speak  with  any 
certainty  upon  this  point  because  so  much  that 
they  did  has  perished.  There  is  an  interesting 
example  of  mural  painting  in  the  church  of  St. 
Thomas,  Salisbury  :  it  is  a  fresco,  attributed  to 
the  fifteenth  century,  and  it  represents  the  Last 
Judgment.  The  composition  is  crowded,  and  the 
drawing  not  very  good,  but  the  colours  are  pleasing  ; 
they  may,  however,  have  been  a  little  crude  before 
time  had  mellowed  them.  Windows  were  a  great 
feature  in  fifteenth-century  churches,  and  we  know 
that  many  of  them  were  very  beautiful2;  and  some 
of  the  carving  of  screens  and  pews  is  also  very  fine.3 
Apart  from  these  achievements  there  is  not  much 
evidence  of  the  existence  of  artistic  talent ;  the 
illustrations  of  books  printed  in  England  are  not  of 
great  merit,  and  are  quaint  rather  than  beautiful. 
On  the  whole  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  artistic 
development  of  the  nation  made  much  progress 
at  this  time. 

The  work  done  by  the  people  in  building  and 
adorning  theii  churches  also  possesses  great  interest 
Attitude  from  another  point  of  view,  because  it 
towards  reveals  their  attitude  towards  religion  ; 
religion.  an(j  whatever  verdict  may  be  passed 
upon  their  aesthetic  qualities,  their  zeal  for  maintain- 
ing their  places  of  worship  cannot  be  questioned. 
Churches  were  largely  kept  up  by  voluntary  con- 
tributions, and  the  gifts  and  bequests  made  for 
this  purpose  were  extraordinarily  numerous.  The 

'  Maistress  Agnes  Breten  did  do  gilte  and  paynte  the  Tabernacle 
of  our  lady  .  .  .which  cost  xxvij  li.'  Medieval  Records  of  a  London 
City  Ckunh,  p.  142.  a  For  example,  the  great  east  window  in  York 
Minster.  *  Especially  in  the  churches  of  Norfolk. 


203 

wills  of  the  period  contain  many  legacies  for  making 
steeples,1  repairing  chapels,2  and  many  similar 
objects.  Those  who  had  no  money  gave  goods  and 
chattels — gowns,3  rings,4  girdles,6  cows,6  lambs,7 
and  all  kinds  of  things — which  were  sold  for  the 
benefit  of  the  church.  Others  gave  their  labour, 
like  some  washer-women  of  Tintinhull,  who  took 
nothing  for  washing  the  linen  of  the  church.8  It 
is  pleasant  to  find  that  the  keenness  of  the  struggle 
for  existence  had  not  killed  generosity,  but  it  must 
be  acknowledged  that  religious  enthusiasm  was 
not  the  only  motive  which  inspired  it.  Combined 
with  this  feeling  there  was  in  most  men  a  very 
strong  desire  to  do  honour  to  their  native  places, 
and  to  make  their  own  church  more  magnificent 
than  any  other  ;  a  sentiment  which  is  illustrated 
by  the  bequest  of  a  man  named  Joy,  who  left  money 
to  provide  a  chrismatory  in  Southwold  Church, 
wishing  it  to  be  so  splendid  *  that  noon  shuld  be 
like  unto  yt  in  Suffolk.'9  There  was  also  another 
motive  mingled  with  men's  love  for  their  churches, 
and  that  was  anxiety  to  secure  the  welfare  of  their 
souls  in  the  next  world,  and  therefore  most  of  them 
made  bequests  upon  the  condition  that  prayers 
should  be  offered  for  them  after  death,10  and  in  many 
cases  left  money  to  pay  for  dirges,11  or  to  found 
chantries  in  which  priests  should  sing  masses  for 
their  souls.12  Consequently  the  number  of  obits 
and  chantries  increased  greatly  during  this  period, 
and  there  was  af  commercial  tinge  in  the  view  that 
prayers  could  be  bought  for  money  ;  at  least,  the 
contract  with  the  clergy  was  drawn  up  in  a  business- 
like way. 

1  Early  Eng.  Wills,  23,  58,  76.  a  Ibid.,  18,  69,  I2O.  »  Hob- 
house,  5.  *  Ibid.,  8,  13.  §  Ibid.,  20.  •  Ibid.,  12.  7  Ibid.,  23. 
8  Ibid.,  183.  »  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  98/17.  10  Ibid.,  24/147, 
38/274,  22/147.  "  Early  Eng.  Wills,  16-17.  "  Ibid.,  25. 


204  EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER 

Another  result  of  the  mercenary  spirit  of  the 
age  and  its  lowered  ideals  may  be  seen  in  the  lengths 
to  which  the  sale  of  indulgences  was  carried.  The 
practice  was  common  in  the  days  of  Chaucer,  but 
in  the  fifteenth  century  it  reached  unprecedented 
dimensions,  and  one  of  the  earliest  uses  of  printing 
was  devoted  to  this  purpose.  A  poem  called  '  The 
Stacy ons  of  Rome,'1  written  about  the  year  1440, 
enumerates  the  different  places  in  that  city  at 
which  indulgences  might  be  obtained,  and  the 
quantities  were  in  some  cases  enormous ;  fourteen 
thousand  years  of  pardons  and  Lents  could  be  pro- 
cured at  the  High  Altar  at  St.  Peter's,  on  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul's  day.  The  writer  of  the  poem  was 
very  eager  to  draw  attention  to  the  superiority  of 
the  shrines  of  Rome,  so  that  his  readers  might  go 
there,  rather  than  to  St.  James  of  Galicia  or  else- 
where. The  visits  of  pilgrims  must  have  been  quite 
a  source  of  revenue  to  towns  which  possessed 
popular  shrines.  Indulgences  were  granted,  not 
by  the  Pope  alone,  but  also  by  others  to  whom  the 
necessary  authority  was  delegated,  such  as  the 
papal  collector-general  in  1439, 2  the  Hospital  of  the 
Holy  Trinity  and  of  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr,  Rome,3 
and  the  prior  of  the  Charterhouse.4  They  were 
granted,  as  a  rule,  on  condition  that  the  recipient 
expressed  penitence  for  the  sins  remitted,  and  gave 
a  contribution  to  the  funds  of  the  charity,  for  the 
benefit  of  which  they  were  issued6;  but  the  monetary 
side  of  the  transaction  seems  to  have  been  more 
prominent  than  the  religious.  It  must  not  be 
thought,  however,  that  all  power  of  appreciating 
the  beauty  of  Christianity  had  died  out ;  some  of 
the  poems  published  by  Dr.  Furnivall  in  his  valuable 

1  Political^  Religious  and  Love  Poems,  ed.  by  Furnivall,  145. 

2  Chanc.  Misc.,  Bundle  15,  File  6,  No.  6.         8  Ibid.t  No.  7. 
*  Jbid.,  No    10.  8  Exchcq.  Q.R,  Ecclts.,  6/51. 


EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER    2<>5 

collection  of  Political,  Religious  and  Love  Poems,1 
show  that  this  was  not  the  case.  One  or  two  of 
them,  and  in  particular  '  Quia  Amore  Langueo,' 
are  absolutely  pure  in  sentiment,  and  appeal  only 
to  exalted  motives. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  lower  type 
of  religious  thought  was  the  more  general,  and  this, 
combined  with  the  deterioration  of  the  clergy, 
tended  to  make  the  Church  unpopular,  and  was 
perhaps  one  of  the  causes  of  the  vigour  of  Lollardy 
during  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  century.  This 
movement,  which  had  been  started  by  scholars  and 
theologians,2  was  carried  on  mainly  by  poor  and 
unlearned  men,  especially  after  the  death  of  Lord 
Cobham.  As  we  have  seen,  their  doctrines  spread 
in  the  fifteenth  century  to  Lincoln,  Norfolk,  Suffolk, 
Essex,  Buckingham,  Middlesex,  and  Somerset.8 
Most  of  these  counties  were,  as  we  know,  centres  of 
industrial  life,  and  amongst  those  who  had  the 
courage  to  die  for  their  faith  were  several  trades- 
men and  artisans — like  Badby,  the  tailor,  of  Eves- 
ham,4  and  Richard  Hounden,  a  wool-packer.6  Un- 
fortunately for  themselves  the  Lollards  tried  to 
uphold  their  doctrines  by  appealing  to  force,  in 
1414'  and  1431';  and  they  were  consequently 
treated  with  great  severity  by  the  Government  as 
enemies  of  order  as  well  as  heretics,  with  the  result 
that,  although  they  were  not  crushed  out  of  exist- 
ence, they  became  unobtrusive.8  The  underground 
character  of  Lollardy  from  this  time  makes  it 
difficult  to  estimate  the  effects  of  its  influence  upon 
the  nation,  but  from  the  continuance  of  the  prac- 
tices against  which  Wycliffe  had  preached  we  must 

1  Early  Eng.  Text.  Soc.,  O.S.,  15,  re-edited  1903.  •  Trevelyan, 
op.  cit.,  339.  *  Ibid.,  map.  *  Ibid.,  335.  •  Gairdner, 
Lollardy  and  the  Reformat  ion  in  England,  I,  159.  •  Ramsay,  Lanes, 
and  York,  I,  179.  7  Ibid.,  I,  436-7.  8  Gairdner,  op.  tit.,  I,  162. 


206  EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER 

conclude  that  the  bulk  of  the  people  were  not  affected 
by  his  teaching.  Pilgrimages  were  more  popular 
than  ever,  as  the  number  of  licences  issued  for 
conveying  pilgrims  proves1;  and  if  men  could  not 
go  themselves,  they  often  left  money  to  pay  others 
to  go  for  them  after  their  death.2  Chantries  and 
chantry  priests  were  also  multiplied.  The  large 
numbers  of  books  of  devotion  and  of  religious  works 
issued  by  Caxton  and  other  printers  show  the 
interest  taken  in  these  subjects.  The  author  of 
the  Italian  Relation  noticed  how  frequently  English 
people  went  to  church.  '  They  all  attend  Mass 
every  day,'  he  writes,  *  and  say  many  Paternosters 
in  public.'8  The  Duke  of  Clarence  ordered  that 
every  holyday,  matins,  mass,  and  evensong  should 
be  celebrated  for  his  household,  '  and  that  every 
gentylman,  yeoman  and  groome,  not  having  reson- 
able  impediment,  be  at  the  seid  dyvine  service.'4 
The  care  taken  by  the  coroner's  jury  to  state  in 
cases  of  sudden  death,  whether  the  deceased  had 
received  the  rites  of  the  Church  or  not  indicates 
the  value  that  was  set  upon  them.6  Taking  all  these 
facts  into  consideration,  it  seems  clear  that  there 
was  no  general  revolt  of  the  laity  against  the  doc- 
trines or  authority  of  the  Church. 

The  economic  changes  of  the  period  produced 
more  striking  effects  upon  the  moral  development 
Moral  of  the  nation  than  upon  any  other  side 
character,  of  its  character,  and  some  of  these  effects 
have  already  been  suggested6;  but  the  special 
illustrations  given  in  the  following  pages  are  devoted 
to  the  moral  rather  than  to  the  material  aspect  of 

1  Col.  French  Rolls,  1422-4,  ms.  15  and  14  ;  1433-4,  ms.  14,  13, 
II,  IO,  9  ;  1444-5,  ms.  IO,  9,  8,  7,  5,  4  ;  and  many  others.  2  Early 
Eng.  Wills,  53,  65.  *  Italian  Relation,  23.  4  Ordinances  of  the 
Royal  Household,  89.  6  Coroner?  Rolls,  63,  m.  3  ;  61,  ms.  I,  4,  7. 
6  For  example,  evasions  of  the  Usury  laws  and  fraud  by  customers. 


EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER  207 

the  question.  There  cannot  be  any  doubt  that  the 
standard  of  commercial  morality  was  very  low,  or 
that  eagerness  for  monetary  gain  blunted  men's 
sense  of  honesty  and  fair  play.  Accusations  of 
cheating  and  deception  were  brought  against 
artisans  of  all  kinds — '  fesours  de  Draps  de  layn,'1 
worsted  weavers,2  fishmongers,8  tanners,4  and  many 
others.  Merchants,  both  English  and  alien,  fre- 
quently smuggled,6  and  even  respectable  mer- 
chants of  the  Staple,  like  the  Celys,  were  occasion- 
ally guilty  of  discreditable  tricks.  The  Lieutenant 
of  the  Staple  had  ordered  that  the  quality  of  the 
wool  to  be  sold  should  be  tested  by  certain  selected 
sarplers  ;  but  William  Cely,  after  his  sarpler  had 
been  cast  out,  secretly  substituted  another  better 
sarpler  for  it,  and  so  obtained  a  more  satisfactory 
award.6  In  the  course  of  the  negotiations  concern- 
ing commercial  intercourse  carried  on  between  Eng- 
land and  Flanders,  hi  1478,  the  Flemings  declared 
that  the  English  were  in  the  habit  of  buying  by  a  big 
pound  and  selling  by  a  small  one ;  and  that  they 
mixed  their  washed  and  unwashed  wool.7  The  deal- 
ings of  lawyers  would  not  always  bear  the  light  of 
day  :  Godfrey  Grene,  who  was  acting  on  behalf  of  Sir 
William  Plumpton,  wrote  to  his  patron  describing 
the  trouble  he  had  taken  to  obtain  sureties  for 
him — '  I  fand  one,'  he  says,  '  that  hath  bene  of  old 
a  supersedias  mounger,  &  was  agreed  with  him 
that  he  shold  gett  me  a  man  to  aske  it,  and  he  and 
the  man  shold  have  had  vs  for  their  labour.'  The 
man  played  him  false,  but  he  adds,  '  I  may  nott 
arreast  him  nor  strive  with  him  for  the  mony,  nor 

1  Rot.  Par/.,  Ill,  541,  and  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  30/33.  •  Rot. 
Part.,  V,  619.  »  22  Ed.  IV,  c.  2.  *  2  H.  VI,  c.  7,  and  Littlt 
Red  Both  of  Bristol,  II,  111-12.  e  Rot.  Parl.,  Ill,  510;  IV,  454! 
V,  55.  fl  Cely  Papers,  160  and  162.  7  Rymer's  Fadera,  XII, 
p.  66,  quoted  in  Cely  Papers,  xxiii,  xxiv. 


2O8  EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER 

for  the  decept,  because  the  matter  is  not  worship- 
full.'1  In  the  Chancery  Proceedings  we  have  an 
action,  on  behalf  of  the  King,  brought  against 
persons  for  obtaining  a  writ  of  supersedias  and  a 
writ  of  exigent  by  '  vntrewe,  sotell  and  disseyuable 
meens.'2  Charges  of  forgery  were  very  common, 
and  were  made  against  all  kinds  of  persons,3  but 
this  was  a  sin  which  apparently  had  never  weighed 
very  heavily  on  the  medieval  conscience. 

One  of  the  great  causes  of  dishonest  practices 
was  the  use  that  was  made  of  bribery.  No  one, 
not  even  the  King  himself,  was  above  taking  a 
bribe.  Sir  William  Plumpton  was  anxious  that 
his  son's  claims  to  the  family  estates  should  not  be 
questioned,  so  it  was  arranged  that  William  Gas- 
coigne  should  name  to  the  escheator  the  men  whom 
he  wished  to  be  empanelled,  and  that  he  should 
pay  him  four  pounds  for  his  office  and  twenty 
shillings  for  his  reward.4  'Entreat  the  sheriff  as 
well  as  ye  can  by  reasonable  rewards,  rather  than 
fail,'  wrote  Sir  John  Fastolf  to  Howys.5  The  city  of 
Exeter  kept  the  Chancellor  in  fish  while  its  lawsuit 
was  going  on,6  and  the  wardens  of  the  parish  of 
St.  Mary-at-Hill  gave  a  dinner  to  the  chief  judge 
when  they  were  at  law  -with  the  prioress  of  St. 
Helen's,  and  sent  gifts  of  food  and  money  to  per- 
sons likely  to  be  of  service  to  them  in  the  matter.7 
The  Venetians  systematically  bribed  the  English 
collectors  of  customs,  and  the  Senate  issued  in- 
junctions as  to  the  amount  they  should  spend  on 
it.8  The  corruption  of  juries  seems  to  have  been 
a  matter  of  frequent  occurrence ;  the  Justices  in 


1   Plumpton  Corr.t  p.   31.         a  Early  Chanc.   Proceed.,  25/218. 
1  Ibid.,  9/357-61,  14/23,  H'24,  «5/i8,  32/47,  19/212.  *  Plumpton 

Corr.,  Ixxxvii.  5  Paston  Letters,  II,  235.  6  Freeman,  Exeter, 
159.  7  Medieval  Records  of  a  London  City  Church^  179,  190-1,  203. 
8  Atton  and  Holland,  op.  cit.,  40-1. 


EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER  2OQ 

the  Star  Chamber  were  asked  whether  a  certain 
offender  should  be  fined,  or  whether  the  matter 
should  be  referred  to  a  jury,  and  they  all  said  that 
he  should  be  fined,  because  it  was  likely  that  the 
jurors  would  be  corrupted  by  him.1  An  Act  passed 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  VI  speaks  of  '  the  great 
Damage  and  Disherison  that  cometh  by  the  usual 
Perjury  of  Jurors  impanelled  upon  Inquests,  .  .  . 
which  Perjury  doth  abound  and  increase  daily 
more  than  it  was  wont,  for  the  great  Gifts  that 
such  Jurors  take  of  the  Parties  in  Pleas  sued  in  the 
said  Courts,'  and  it  ordered  that  in  such  cases  the 
plaintiffs  should  recover  damages  and  costs.2  The 
penalty  was  not,  however,  sufficiently  heavy,  and 
a  more  severe  Act  was  passed  against  perjury  in 
the  time  of  Henry  VII,  which  dealt  especially 
with  London.* 

In  these  respects  the  commercial  expansion  of 
England  had  a  bad  effect  upon  the  development 
of  national  character,  but  in  other  ways  it  was 
beneficial.  Trade  gave  Englishmen  training  in 
practical  affairs,  and  taught  them  to  manage  for 
themselves  much  business  which  had  hitherto  been 
done  for  them,  and  so  it  taught  them  to  be  capable 
and  self-reliant.  Foreign  commerce  brought  them 
into  contact  with  other  nations,  which  suggested 
new  ideas  to  them  and  widened  their  mental  horizon; 
and  this  was  an  experience  which  they  greatly 
needed,  for  they  were  naturally  very  intolerant  of 
aliens.  Moreover,  trade  was  in  those  days  carried 
on  in  the  face  of  many  difficulties,  and  the  travelling 
it  involved  was  attended  with  many  hardships  and 
not  a  little  danger.  The  roads  were  full  of  pitfalls, 
and  not  by  any  means  always  free  from  robbers  ; 
the  sea  was  even  more  perilous,  for  it  was  swarming 

1  Protect,  of  the  Privy  Council,  HI,  313.  II  ff.  Vlt  c,  4. 

»  II  ff.  VII,  c.  21. 


'2IO  EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER 

with  pirates.  Merchants  could  not  follow  their 
calling  unless  they  had  a  great  deal  of  courage  and 
perseverance,  and  unless  they  were  willing  to  run 
risks  ;  and  thus  their  daily  occupations  engendered 
in  them  a  spirit  of  enterprise  and  a  love  of  adventure. 
The  greed  for  gain,  which  was  the  ruling  passion  of 
the  age,  gave  direction  to  their  energies,  and  there- 
fore, during  the  last  quarter  of  the  century  the 
English  began  to  copy  the  Portuguese,  and  to  send 
out  exploring  expeditions  to  distant  lands  beyond 
the  sea,  and  it  is  significant  that  they  started  from 
Bristol,  the  city  which  played  so  large  a  part  in 
the  commercial  life  of  the  time.  The  first  expedi- 
tion apparently  sailed  in  1480,  to  seek  for  the  fabu- 
lous islands  of  Brazil,  and  the  Seven  Cities  ;  but 
it  was  unsuccessful,  and  some  other  attempts  were 
also  failures.1  In  1497  a  party  of  explorers  started 
under  the  leadership  of  John  Cabot,  crossed  the 
Atlantic,  and  discovered  land,  which  was  possibly 
Cape  Race,  but  the  exact  spot  is  not  known2;  and 
in  1498  another  expedition  also  reached  land  on 
the  other  side  of  the  ocean.3  The  disappointment 
felt  in  England  when  Cabot  returned  without  any 
gold  or  gems,  silks  or  spices,4  proves  effectually 
that  desire  for  wealth  was  the  chief  motive  which 
inspired  the  English  adventurers,  and  when  they 
found  that  none  was  to  be  had,  their  interest  died 
down.  These  expeditions  therefore  had  little  imme- 
diate result,  but  they  were  full  of  promise  for  the 
future,  and  they  are  memorable  as  the  first  efforts 
of  England  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  world 
outside  Europe,  and  as  the  first  signs  of  the  spirit 
which  enabled  her  in  after  years  to  build  up  an 
empire  beyond  the  seas. 
The  development  of  their  faculties  and  the  spread 

1  Raymond  Beazley,  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  41-2.         a  lbid.t 
73.         s  Ibid. ,  109.         4  Ibid.)  no. 


EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER  211 

of  education  ought  to  have  fitted  the  middle  and 
lower  classes  to  take  an  active  part  in  p0iitiau 
political  life,  yet  they  seem  to  have  cared  develop- 
little  for  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  The  ment 
towns,  as  we  have  already  noticed,  only  joined  in 
the  Wars  of  the  Roses  when  they  were  obliged,  and 
did  not  care  in  the  least  which  of  the  rival  Houses 
won  ;  their  chief  aim  was  to  curry  favour  with 
the  victor.  In  the  poem  '  How  the  Wise  Man 
tau3ht  His  Son,'  the  father  warns  his  son  to  '  desire 
noon  office  for  to  beere,'  for  fear  that  he  should  dis- 
please his  neighbours  and  bring  trouble  upon  him- 
self.1 A  curious  complaint  was  made  in  1416  '  that 
many  citizens  of  the  City  of  London  .  .  .  blessed 
with  affluence  and  sufficiency  of  property  and 
means,'  induced  a  crowd  of  people  to  come  to  the 
Guildhall  to  shout  and  make  an  uproar  to  the  effect 
that  such  a  one  must  be  mayor  or  sheriff,  in  order 
that  they  themselves  might  escape  office  ;  and  in 
consequence,  it  was  ordered  that  a  fine  of  £100 
should  be  imposed  upon  any  person  who  formed 
a  party  or  held  meetings  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding 
office.2  The  year  before  the  ordinance  was  passed 
a  man  had  been  imprisoned  for  refusing  to  be  an 
alderman,  but  afterwards  he  had  consented  to 
undertake  the  duty.3  Occurrences  of  this  kind  were, 
however,  very  unusual ;  men  were  as  a  rule  quite 
willing  to  take  public  posts  in  their  own  towns, 
partly,  perhaps,  because  it  gave  them  an  advantage 
over  trade  rivals.  It  was  unquestionably  because 
they  were  so  wrapped  up  in  town  politics  that  they 
cared  so  little  for  the  good  of  the  nation  ;  yet  an 
even  stronger  reason  for  their  negligence  may  be 
seen  in  their  selfish  absorption  in  their  own  private 
business. 

1  Manners  and  Meals,  p.  49.  a  Riley,  Memorials  of  London, 

637.  »  Ibid.t  6oi-2. 


2M     EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER 

There  are,  nevertheless,  undoubted  signs  that  the 
power  of  the  middle  class  was  growing  steadily. 
The  House  of  Commons  gained  some  valuable 
privileges  from  the  Lancastrian  kings,  including 
the  right  to  initiate  money  bills,1  and  freedom  of 
debate.8  When  Warwick  and  Clarence  rebelled 
against  Edward  IV,  in  1470,  they  considered  the 
opinion  of  the  people  of  so  much  importance  that 
they  addressed  manifestoes  to  them,  before  they 
landed  in  England.3  Philip  de  Commines  says  that 
Edward  IV  owed  his  restoration  to  the  aid  of  the 
rich  burgesses  of  London,4  and  however  this  may 
be,  it  is  certain  that  he  depended  largely  upon  the 
support  of  the  traders  and  merchants,  and  favoured 
them  greatly,  and  that  Richard  III  and  Henry  VII 
did  the  same.  Thus  the  fifteenth  century  witnessed 
the  beginning  of  the  rise  of  the  middle  class,  which 
was  one  of  the  most  momentous  events  in  the 
political  history  of  the  country. 

The  effects  produced  by  economic  changes  upon 

the  development  of  national  character  were  of   a 

mixed  nature,  partly  good  and  partly  bad. 

Conclusion.  pQr  a  ^me  ^gy  cause(j  morai  confusion, 

but  ultimately,  by  arousing  new  ambitions  and 
opening  out  larger  possibilities,  they  rendered 
the  growth  of  the  nation  inevitable.  Some  very 
unpleasant  traits  of  character  were  prominent — 
lawlessness,  selfishness,  and  greed  of  gain — but 
they  must  not  be  wholly  attributed  to  the  inherent 
depravity  of  the  people,  but  must  be  considered 
mainly  as  the  outcome  of  the  phase  through  which 
they  were  passing.  Old  institutions  were  crumbling 
away,  and  new  ones  were  not  firmly  established  ; 
they  were  subjected  to  the  influence  of  new  ideas, 

1  Ramsay,    Lanes,    and    York,     I,     no.  a  Ibid.,    I,    29. 

1  Ibid.,  II,  356.  *  Cronique  and  Hystoire  .  .  .  par  .  .  .  Phelippe 

dt  Commines,  xliv.  d. 


EFFECTS  PRODUCED  ON  NATIONAL  CHARACTER    213 

and  assailed  by  new  temptations.  It  is  hardly 
surprising  that  for  the  moment  they  were  over- 
whelmed, and  lost  their  mental  balance,  and  that 
they  misused  or  left  unused  powers,  which  they  had 
not  hitherto  possessed.  Their  worst  feature  was 
their  inability  to  see  that  there  was  anything  higher 
than  material  aims,  or  anything  more  to  be  desired 
than  their  own  personal  advantage,  and  it  was 
owing  to  this  state  of  mind  that  they  so  seldom  rose 
above  the  level  of  commonplace  achievements. 
Their  sins  were  not  those  of  a  dying  nation,  but 
rather  those  of  one  emerging  from  immaturity, 
and  in  spite  of  their  failures,  there  were  signs  of 
latent  strength  and  abundant  evidence  of  forces 
at  work,  which  were  making  for  the  progress  of  the 
race. 


APPENDIX 

A.    Petition  of  Artificers  for  the  Prohibition  of  the  im- 
portation of  Wrought  Goods  (1463-4)  [abbreviated]. 

Pyteuously  shewen  and  compleynen  Artificers,  Hand- 
crafty  men  and  women  .  .  .  howe  they  all  ...  been 
gretely  empoverysshed  ...  by  the  grete  multitude  of 
dyvers  chaffares  and  wares,  .  .  .  beyng  full  wrought 
and  redy  made  to  the  sale,  .  .  .  brought  into  this 
reame  of  Englond  and  Lordship  of  Wales,  from  beyonde 
the  see,  aswell  by  Merchauntez  Straungers  as  Deynsyns 
and  other  persones,  wherof  the  moost  part  in  sub- 
staunce  is  disceyvable,  and  nought  worth  in  regarde  to 
eny  mannes  occupation  or  profite ;  and  also  by  the 
meanes  of  the  grete  nombre  and  multitude  of  Aliens 
and  Straungers  of  dyvers  nations,  beyng  Artificers, 
housholders  and  dwellers  in  dyvers  citees,  tounes, 
boroughs  and  villages,  within  the  seid  reame  &  lordship 
usyng  such  handcraftes,  and  havying  &  settyng  a  werke 
grete  nombre  of  people  in  their  houses  of  their  owne 
nations,  &  noon  other,  dailly  occupiyng  the  seid  hand- 
craftes, by  the  which  the  seid  Artificers  Straungers  be 
contynuelly  occupied  and  gretely  enriched,  and  all  the 
other  artificers  beyng  the  kynges  lieges,  gretely  em- 
poverysshed, and  not  a  werke.  And  over  that,  grete 
part  of  the  tresour  &  richesse  of  the  seid  Reame  and 
Lordship  ...  is  daily  conveyed  &  caried  oute  of  the 
seid  Reame  &  Lordship  to  the  grete  hurt  of  the  Kyng 
and  the  empoverysshing  of  his  seid  Reame  and  Lord- 
ship, by  cause  wherof  his  liege  subgettez  beyng  Artifi- 
cers, may  not  lyve  by  their  Craftes  and  occupations,  as 
they  might  doo  in  dayes  passed,  but  many  of  theym 
aswell  housholders  as  journey  men  servauntes  and 


r  *** 

nd 


APPENDIX  215 

apprenticez  in  grete  nombre,  at  this  day  be  unoccupied, 
and  lyve  in  grete  ydelnes,  poverte  &  ruyne,  which  often 
tymes  causeth  hem  to  fall  to  riotte,  vyces  &  mysgovern- 
auncez.  .  .  b  Wherfore  please  youre  wise  discretions 
...  to  pray  the  Kyng  to  ordeyn  that  noo  marchaunt, 
the  Kynges  born  subget,  deynsyn  or  straunger  bryng, 
sende  nor  conveye  .  .  .  into  this  reame  of  Englond  & 
Lordship  of  Wales,  eny  of  theese  wares  or  thinges 
underwriten  .  .  .  wollen  bonettes,  eny  wollen  cloth, 
laces,  corses,  ribans,  frenges  of  silke  and  of  threde, 
threden  laces,  throwen  silke,  silke  in  eny  wise  enbrauded, 
golden  laces,  tyres  of  silke  or  of  gold,  sadles,  styropes, 
or  eny  harneys  longyng  to  sadelers,  spores,  moleyns  for 
bridels,  aundyrnes,  gredyrnes,  eny  manere  lokkes, 
hamers,  pynsons,  fyretonges,  drepyngpannes,  dyses, 
tenys  balles,  poyntes,  laces,  purees,  gloves,  gurdels, 
harneys  for  gurdles  of  iron,  of  laton,  of  stele,  of  tyn  or  of 
alkamyn,  eny  thyng  wrought  of  eny  taued  lether,  eny 
manere  peltry  ware,  tawed  botes,  shoen,  galoches  or 
corkes,  knyves,  daggers,  wodeknyves,  boytkyns,  sheres 
for  taillours,  cisours,  rasours,  shethes,  cardes  for  pleiyng, 
pynnes,  patyns,  paknedles,  eny  manere  peynted  ware, 
forcers,  caskettes,  rynges  of  coper  gilt  or  of  Laton,  or 
chauffyngdisshes,  candelstickes  hangyng  or  stondyng, 
hangyng  lavours,  chauffyng  -  balles,  sakeryngbelles, 
rynges  for  curtyns,  ladles  scomours,  counterfett  basons, 
ewers,  hattes,  brusshes,  cardes  for  wolle  or  white  wyre 
.  .  .  uppon  peyne  to  forfeit  theym  .  .  .  unto  the  ende 
of  the  terme  of  x  yeres.— Rot.  ParL,  Vol.  v.,  p.  506. 

B.  Extracts  from  the  '  Early  Chancery  Proceedings' 

i.  A  money-lending  transaction,  to  illustrate  later 
Medieval  opinion  regarding  Usury.  (Date  of  Bundle, 
1475-1480  and  1483-1485.) 

To  the  right  reuerend  ffader  in  God,  the  Bisshop 
of  Lincoln  and  Chaunceler  of  Englond. 

Right  humble  besechith  vn  to  your  lordshyp  your 
,0ratour  William  Elryngton  of  Durham,  mercer,  that 


2l6  APPENDIX 

where  as  he  nowe  iiij  yeres  past  and  more  had  for  a 
stoke  of  on  Richard  Elryngton  the  som  of  xxx  li., 
wherefore  your  said  Oratour  was  by  hys  obligacion 
bondyn  vnto  the  said  Richard  in  xl  li.  and  odde  syluer  ; 
which  som  of  xxx  li.  your  said  Oratour  shuld  haue  to  be 
imployd  in  marchaundise,  duryng  the  space  of  vij 
yeres,  yeldyng  yerely  vnto  the  said  Richard,  for  the 
lone  thereof  iiij  li.  of  lawful!  money  of  Englond,  and  at 
the  vij  yeres  yend  to  yeld  hole  vnto  the  said  Richard 
the  said  som  of  xxx  li. ;  wherevppon  your  said  Sup- 
pliant occupyed  the  said  som  by  the  space  of  ij  yere,  and 
payd  yerely  vnto  the  sayd  Richard  iiij  li.  ;  and  after 
that  your  said  Oratour  rememberyng  in  his  conscience 
that  that  bargayn  was  not  godly  nor  profytable,  in- 
tended and  profred  the  said  Richard  hys  said  som  of 
xxx  li.  a  gayn,  which  to  do  he  refused,  but  wold  that 
your  said  Oratour  shuld  performe  his  bargayn.  Neuer- 
thelese,  the  said  Richard  was  afterward  caused,  and  in 
maner  compelled,  by  spyrituall  men  to  take  agayn  the 
said  xxx  li.,  whervppon  (to)  fore  sufficient  record  the 
said  Richard  ffaithfully  promised  that  the  said  obliga- 
cion of  xl  li.  and  couenauntz  shuld  be  canceld  and 
deliuered  vnto  your  said  Oratour,  as  reson  is.  Nowe 
hit  ys  so  that  the  said  Richard  owith  and  ys  indetted 
by  his  obligacion  in  a  gret  som  of  money  to  one  John 
Saumpill,  which  ys  nowe  maire  of  Newe  Castell,  where 
fore  nowe  late  the  said  Richard,  by  the  meane  of  the 
said  mayer,  caused  an  accion  of  dett  apon  the  said 
obligacion  of  xl  li.  to  be  affermed,  (to)  fore  the  maire  and 
Shyreff  of  the  said  Towne  of  Newe  Castell,  and  there  by 
the  space  almost  of  xij  moneth  hath  sued  your  said 
Oratour,  to  hys  gret  cost  and  this  aynst  all  trowgith 
and  conscience,  by  the  mighty  favour  of  the  said  maire, 
by  cause  he  wold  the  rather  attayne  vnto  hys  dwete, 
purposith  nowe  by  sotill  meanis,  to  cast  and  condempe 
wrongfully  your  said  Oratour,  in  the  said  som  of  xl  li. 
to  his  gret  hurt  and  vndoyng,  withowte  your  speciall 
lordship  be  vnto  him  shewid  in  this  be  halfe,  wherefore 
please  hit  your  said  lordship  to  considre  the  premise, 
therevppon  to  graunt  a  certiorari,  direct  vn  to  the 
maire  and  Shireff  of  the  said  Toune,  to  bryngvpp  (to) 


APPENDIX  217 

fore  yow  the  cause,  that  hit  may  be  there  examined  and 
rewled  as  conscience  requirith  for  the  loue  of  God  and 
in  way  of  charyte. — (Bundle  64,  No.  291.) 

2.  An  example  of  the  use  and  abuse  of  trusts.    (Date 
of  Bundle,  1467-1472  ;  and  perhaps  also  i433-*443-) 

To  the  right  reuerent  fader  in  God  the 

Bisshop  of  Bathe  &  Welles,  Chaunceller  of  Englond. 

Mekely  bisechith  your  gracious  lordship  your  pour 
Oratour  Raaf  Weld  that  where,  as  he  late  beyng  seased 
of  a  mees  and  Ixxx  acres  of  land  with  th'  appertenauncez 
in  Pluckle,  in  the  Counte  of  Kent,  in  his  demesne,  as  of 
fee,  and  so  seased,  therof  infeffid  John  Bocher  to  haue 
to  hym  and  his  heirz,  in  fee,  to  thuse  and  behof  of  the 
said  Raaf  and  his  heirz,  and  to  th'  entent  to  refeffe  the 
said  Raaf  and  his  heirz,  whenne  he  were  by  theme 
therto  requyred.  By  force  of  the  whiche  the  said  John 
was  seased  of  the  said  mees  and  lande,  in  his  demesne, 
as  of  fee,  to  th'  entent  abouesaid.  And  howe  be  it  that 
your  said  bisecher  oft  tymes  sithen  the  delyuere  of  J>e 
said  astate,  in  maner  and  forme  afforerehersed  made, 
hath  requyred  the  said  John  to  make  astate  to  hym  of 
>e  said  mees  and  lande  with  >'appertenauncez,  the 
which  to  do  the  said  John  at  all  tymes  hath  refused, 
and  yet  doth,  agayn  all  right  and  conscience.  Please  it 
your  gracious  lordship  to  considere  the  premysses,  and 
to  graunt  a  writte  sub  pena  to  be  direct  to  the  said 
John  Bocher  to  appere  affore  your  lordship,  in  the 
Chauncerye  of  our  souerain  lord  >e  Kyng,  there  to 
answere  to  the  premysses,  and  to  be  examyned  and 
ruled  vppon  and  in  the  premysses,  as  right  and  con- 
science shall  requyre,  for  the  loue  of  God  and  in  wey  of 
charite. 

Plegii  de  pro  (sequendo) 

Johannes  Butte  de  London,  Gurdeler. 
Willelmus  Salter  de  eadem,  Pynner. 

Early  Chancery  Proceedings,  Bundle  38,  No.  4. 


2l8  APPENDIX 

3.  Capture  of  a  Pinnace  by  English  pirates.    (Date  of 
Bundle,  21-28  Henry  VI ;    and  perhaps    also    33-35 
Henry  VI.) 

To  the  most  Wurshipfull  &  reuerend 

ffadyr  in  God,  the  Archebisshop  of  Cauntirbery, 

Chaunceler  of  Inglond. 

Mekely  besecheth  your  pour  bedeman  John  War- 
burton  that  where  as  he  late  in  a  Spynas,  that  he  bought 
in  Britayn,  chargid  with  Wyne,  oyle  and  oj>er  goodis  and 
merchandisez,  sailed  toward  Inglond,  come  vpon  the  see 
certain  Rouers  of  Inglond  and  toke  the  same  Spynas  & 
merchandises,  and  brought  hem  to  Portesmouth  &  hem 
ther  sold  &  dispoyled  as  them  list,  yn  vndoyng  of  your 
said  besecher,  with  owte  your  gracious  remedie ;  and 
aftyrward  gracious  lord  it  lyked  to  your  goode  grace  to 
make  your  lettres  to  be  wrete  to  the  lord  Lisle,  for  par- 
cell  of  the  same  merchandisez,  be  request  of  whiche  your 
lettres,  the  said  lord  Lisle  deluiered  a  none  all  that  come 
to  his  handez  J?erof,  that  is  to  say,  the  same  Spynas  & 
j  ton  of  Gastard.  Please  it  to  your  good  &  gracious 
lordship  to  considere  this  matier,  and  to  ordeyne  so 
aftyr  your  high  discrecon  that  your  said  besecher  may 
haue  the  remenaunt  of  the  said  marchaundisez,  for  the 
loue  of  God  &  in  werk  of  Charite. 

Early  Chancery  Proceedings,  Bundle  15,  No.  139. 

4.  An  attempt  to  claim  a  free  man  as  a  '  neif.'   (Date 
of  Bundle,  10  Richard  II  to  14  Henry  IV.) 

A  tresreuerent  piere  en  Dieu  &  son  treshonoure  & 
tresgracious  Sieur,  leuesque  Dexcestre,  Chaunceller 
Dengleterre.  Supplie  vn  poure  home  William  fitz  John 
Culne,  que  come  it  soit  de  frank  estate  &  condicion,  & 
il  &  toutz  ses  auncestres  de  toute  temps  dount  memoire 
ne  court  sount  &  ount  estes  de  mesme  la  condicion, 
saunz  ceo  que  ascun  cleyme  ou  chalange  ad  este  fait  de 
dit  William  ou  de  ascun  de  ses  ditz  auncestres ;  vient  ore 
vn  John  Shortgroue,  ffermer,  de  certeins  terres  &  tene- 
ments dun  George  Belamy,  &  cleyme  le  dit  William 


APPENDIX  219 

come  neif  appertenaunt  as  terres  &  tenements,  &  ad 
pris  &  areste  le  dit  William  a  Vpton,  en  le  Countee  de 
Hereford,  &  luy  ad  amesne  de  dit  countee  tantque  en 
Gales,  &  luy  illeoqes  detient  en  forte  &  dure  prison,  en 
perpetuel  destnicion  de  dit  William  sil  neit  votre  tres- 
gracious  aide.  .  .  . 

Early  Chancery  Proceedings,  Bundle  3,  No.  no. 

5.  References  to  cases  of  lawlessness  in  different  parts 
of  the  country,  to  show  the  prevalence  of  the  evil. 

Cases  in  Cornwall 6/260,  27/138,  27/415, 

43/49- 

„       Devonshire 6/164,  12/251,  27/168, 

28/289. 
„        Somerset 6/265. 

Warwick 29/343. 

Worcester 3/72. 

Norfolk 6/55,  31/322. 

Suffolk 5/165. 

Kent   6/159,  6/267. 

Surrey 4/5. 

Cambridge    4/135,  6/146. 

Nottingham 3/138. 

Northampton  . . .  3/1260. 

Yorkshire  3/141,  6/188,  13/85, 

45/219. 

Bedford 32/270. 

Essex 4/172. 

Hertford 20/157,  25/82. 

Buckingham 27/267,  31/474- 

Leicester 27/429. 

Dorset 6/268,  31/475- 

Derby   39/62. 

Hereford "/I7*- 

Berkshire   6/220,  6/224. 

Westmoreland  . .  6/196 

Sussex 45/378. 

The  above  are  a  few  out  of  many  cases  of  breaches  of 
the  peace  recorded  in  the  Early  Chancery  Proceedings. 


22O  APPENDIX 

6.  Some  items  from  an  inventory  of  the  goods  oi 
William  Ferre,  mercer,  to  show  the  quantity  of  plate 
possessed  by  men  of  the  middle  class.  (Date  of  Bundle, 
1480-1483.) 

In  primis,  a  Gobelet  couerd,  of  siluer  and  gilt  with  iij 

ssawcours,  weying  xxi  vncez  iij  quarters. 
Item,  ij  salt-sellers  gilt,  couered,  weying  xvij  vncez. 
Item,  a  maser,  gilt,  weying  ix  vncez. 
Item,  dozen  spones  knoppes  gilt,  weying  xij  vncez. 
Item,  ij  peces  of  siluer,  couered,  chaced,  parcels  gilt, 

weying  xxxvj  uncez. 
Item,  a  standing  nott  gilt,  with  a  coueryng,  weying 

xxij  vncez. 

Item,  iij  gilt  girdellis,  weying  xvij  vncez  and  iij  quarters. 
Item,  harneys  for  a  girdell  parcell  gilt,  weying  iij  vncez 

and  iij  quarters. 
Item,  ij  standing  Goblettis,  couered,  and  a  fork  of  siluer 

parcell  gilt,  weying  xv  vncez  iij  quarters. 
Item,  a  maser  couered  gilt,  weying  xxxviij  vncez  and 

iij  quarters. 

Item,  ij  peces  of  siluer,  weying  x  vncez. 
Item,  xij  spones,  weying  xiv  vncez. 
Item,  a  maser,  the  bonde  gilt,  weying  v  vncez. 
Item,   ij   saltsellers,   chaced,   parcell   gilt,  weying  xiv 

vncez. 
Item,  a  Cradell  of  siluer  and  gilt,  with  a  Childe  theryn, 

massee. 
Item,  ij  tokkyng  girdillis,  the  bocles  and  pendauntis 

of  siluer  and  gilt. 
Item,  a  Agnes  Dei  with  a  vernacle  of  siluer  &  gilt  with 

moder  of  perle. 
Item,  A  knopp  of  siluer  &  gilt  with  a  blew  stone  for  a 

maser. 

Early  Chancery  Proceedings,  Bundle  61,  No.  500. 


APPENDIX  221 

C.    Information  from  various  sources,  placed  together  for 
purposes  of  comparison. 

i.    A  few  specimens  of  prices,  to  show  the  value  of 
money  and  the  cost  of  living. 

(a)  Cost  of  transit  and  travelling — 

Hire  of  a  horse  for  15  days 6s.  Sd.1 

Carriage  of  a  cart-load  of  hay  from 

Stafford  to  Writell 6d.2 

Carriage  of  fish  (value  33.  8d.)  from 

Winchelsea  to  Writell I4d.3 

Carts  laden  with  provisions  going 
from  Maxstock  to  Kymbolton, 
a  day 2s.4 

Cart  carrying  fuel,  by  the  day 8d.6 

Carriage  of  a  butt  of  wine  from  Lon- 
don to  Kymbolton  ....  8s.' 

Paid  to  four  bargemen  from  '  Queyn- 

hith  '  to  Westminster i6d.7 

Carriage  of  I  quarter,  3  bushells  of 
salt,  from  '  Quenhith  '  to  '  Bred- 
strete '  (London)  ijd.8 

Carriage  of  a  wey  of  salt  from  Lowes- 
toft  to  Metyngham  College I2d.9 

Carriage  of  6  packs  of  cloth  from 

Stoke  to  Ipswich 3S.10 

Carriage  of  2  loads  of  timber  from 

Dorking  to  Kingston i8d.u 

Boat-hire  from  Harwich  to  '  Man- 
tyre '  6d» 

1  Early  Chant.  Proceed.,   12/128.  *  Add.  MSS.,  34,  213,  f.  6. 

8  Ibid.,  f.  13.         «  Ibid.,  f.  31  d.  •  Ibid.,  f.  33.        •  Ibid.,  f.  44. 

7  Ibid.,  f.  74  d.        8  Ibid.,  f.  109  d.  •  Add.  MSS.,  33,  986,  f.  69. 

"  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  340.  »  Ibid.,  525.         "  Howard 
Household  Book,  II,  201. 


222  APPENDIX 

(b)  Prices  of  wool  and  fells — 

'  15  Ibs  lanae  '    2s.  6d.1 

'  pro  2  duodecim  pellibus  &  dimidia 

de  Sherlynggis  35.  gd. 

pro  2  duodecim  pellibus  &  9  cum  lana  6s.  iod.2 

'  una  petra  lanae  ' 32. 3 

20  wull  felles 133.  4d.4 

Sherlenges  ...  a  dozen    2s.5 

Wool,  per  stone  (in  1465) 4od.6 

(c)  Prices  of  clothing  and  jewellery — 

'  A  kertell  of  Reede  ' ios.7 

'  A  ffurre  of  Coony  regge  ' 6s.  8d.8 

'  30  dosein  hattes  prys  ' £32  ios.9 

'  7  pakkys  of  Irish  yarn  ' £38.10 

'  Shoes  for  the  '  henxmen  and  fotemen 

of  Henry  VII,  per  pair 6d.u 

Clothes  for  the  Queen,  Sir  John  Howard,  &c. — 

Scarlet,  per  yard  , 8s. 

Satin,  per  yard I2S. 

Crimson  Velvet,  per  yard 353. 

Damask  russet,  per  yard    95. 

Cloth  of  gold,  per  yard £8  6s.  8d.12 

Kendal  cloth,  per  yard 4^d.13 

'  fyne  crymysyne  engreyned,'  per  yard  I5s.14 

Holland  cloth,  per  ell 8£d.15 

Green  sarcenet,  per  yard 5s.16 

'  For  makyng  a  gowne  of  tauny  saten  '  45. 17 

1  Add.  MSS.,  33,  985,  f.  133.  2  Add.  MSS.,  33,  98?,  f.  57  d. 
3  Ibid.,  33,  988,  f.  25.  4  Howard  Household  Book,  II,  237. 
5  Ibid.  8  Paston  Letters,  IV,  172.  7  Early  Chanc.  Proceed., 

16/599  (date,  23  H.  VI).        8  Ibid.         9  Ibid.,  30/55.         10  Ibid., 
10/44.          "  9  Campbell,  op.  cit.,  II,  18.  12  Ibid.,  I,  237  (date, 

I  H.  VII).          13  Howard  Household  Book,  II,  219.  "  Ibid.,  I, 

162  (date,  1465).         15  Paston  Letters,  IV,  289  (1467).          18  A.C., 
Vol.  XLVI    Letter  239  (1479).         17  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  88/42. 


APPENDIX  223 

'  2  plyte  of  fyne  lawne  ' 2is.  3d.1 

Ermines  .  .  .  the  '  timber  ' i8s.a 

'  4  boge  skynnys  '    8s.3 

'  53  White  lambe  skynnes  ' 135.  4d.4 

2  '  girdeles  of  corses  harnessed  with 

Sillier ' £2  135.  4d.B 

Marten's  fur  for  a  gown Z1?-6 

'  a  floure  of  golde  with  a  lyon  .  .  . 

dyamondes  and  2  rubies £6  135.  4d.7 

'  a  tablet  of  golde  .  .  .  with  baleyce 

and  peirlis/  weighing  8£  ounces    £i6.8 
A  chain  of  Gold,  weighing  19^  ozs. . .  £32  us.  8d.' 

(d)  Prices  of  wheat,  and  other  kinds  of  food — 

Wheat,  at  Yatton,  in  1445,  the  bushell  yd.  or  8d.10 

,,      in  Norfolk,  in  1474,  a  comb. .  2s.  4d.u 

36  quarters  of  wheat  (17  H.  VI) £20.12 

10  combs  of  wheat  (4  H.  VII) £i  6s.  8d.13 

Sheep,  each is.  iod.14 

5  Oxen,  each 135.  4d.16 

3  little  pigs I5d.i6 

1  capon 8d.17 

2  lambs 2S.  2d.18   • 

40  sheep £4-19 

A  shoulder  and  brest  of  mutton 5d.20 

6  geese is.21 

3  barrels  of  herrings £i  6s.  8d.22 

2  '  coddis  ' is. 

20  '  plais  ' 8d. 

2  soles 5d. 

2  haddocks 4d." 

1  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  p.  384  (1466-7).  *  Campbell 
of>.  cit.,  I,  228  (I  //.  VII).  *  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  105/40. 
*  Ibid.  6  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  16/599.  •  Ibid.,  97/44- 

7  Campbell,  op.  tit.,  II,  p.  321.  8  Ibid.  g  Howard  Household 
Book,  I,  154-5.  10  Hobhouse,  p.  81.  "  Paston  Letters,  I,  283. 
12  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  12/205.  1S  Ibid.,  86/IO.  "  A.C., 
Vol.  XLVI,  No.  60.  1B  Add.  MSS.,  34,  213  (date,  5  Ed.  IV), 
f.  77  d.  W7&tt/.,f.47.  **  Ibid.  18  Ibid.,  f.  9.  w  Ibid.,  f.  59. 
20  Howard  Household  Book,  I,  p.  435.  21  Ibid.,  II,  p.  75. 
23  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  17/161.  M  Add.  MSS.,  34,  213.  &  «• 


224  APPENDIX 

3  dols  of  Red  wine 

a  hogshead  of  White  wine £i  43. 2 

3  butts  of  malmesey ZZ4-3 

Ale,  the  barrel 35.  4d.4 

i£  barrel  of  Beer 3s.6 

12  Ibs.  of  Jordan  almonds 35. 

12  Dates  .  .  6s. 


6 
i 

30 

30 

4 

4 


'  reysouns  of  Corauns  ' is.  3d. 

Pouder  of  gynger is.  4d.6 

Pepper  at  I2d 305. 

Cinnamon  at  2od 505. 

Cloves  at  23.  6d los. 

Mace  at  2s.  8d. .  .  IDS.  8d.7 


Suger  '  per  Ib iod.8 

(e)  Payments  for  the  board  of  various  persons — 

Board  of  prisoners  : 

7  Frenchmen 35.  4d.  a  week  each. 

Sir  Th.  Dalalaund,  kt.  ...  los.  „ 

2  Scotch  gentilmen 6s.  8d.       ,,        ,, 

a  preest 6s.  8d.      ,, 

The  erle  of  Surrey 405.          ,, 

3  men  of  the  erle  for  4  weeks  3os.(2s.6d.  a  week)." 

Thomas  Welleys,  husbandman,  agreed  to  pay  6d. 
a  week  for  the  board  of  his  kinswoman,  Margaret 
Kyvet.10 

2.  List  of  occupations,  to  illustrate  the  division  of 
labour  in  the  fifteenth  century. 

Baxster     Early  Chanc.  Proceed. ,28/223. 

Bed-maker         ...        „        „  „        64/284. 

Blexster      „        „  „        15/47 

1  Ibid.,  f.  21.  2  Ibid. ,  f.  22  d.  '  Early  Chanc.  Proceed. ,  64/281. 
4  Ibid.,  20/155.  5  Add.  MSS.,  33,  986,  f.  69  d.  *  Howard 
Household  Book,  I,  328.  7  Add.  MSS.,  34,  213,  f.  86.  8  Ordi- 
nan,:es  of  the  Royal  Household,  p.  103.  9  Campbell,  op.  fit.,  I, 
208.  18  Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  67/38. 


APPENDIX 


225 


Brasier      Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  66/232. 

Brigandine- maker  ,         32/279. 

Broiderer ,         60/209. 

Brown- baker ,         45/300. 

Bucklemaker ,         38/63. 

Capper ,       109/35. 

Chandler     ,         61/374. 

'  talughchaundeller  '  Sharpe,  Wills,  II,  p.  576. 

'  wexchaundeler '  ,,          „      „    353. 

'  Chapemaker   Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  66/441. 

'  Chauntour ' „        „            „      101/16. 

Clothpakker    Sharpe,  Wills,  II,  p.  414. 

Cofferer     Early  Chanc.  Proceed.,  32/348. 


Co  verlet-  weaver.  ..        „ 
Currier  ,, 

>                     »>              *-'"/  •*-.}• 
48/50. 
»           109/57. 
67/194. 
6I/43I. 
29/358. 

H/I94 
„              48/476. 
211/23. 

47/100. 

97/i6. 
64/1055. 

„        64/286. 
215/30. 
11/366. 
31/480. 
64/200. 
67/352. 
67/146. 
„        82/67. 
33/327. 
55/244- 

11/231. 
,,        78/70. 
32/303. 
Wills,  II,  366. 

Fellmonger     ,, 

Filacer  of  the  Common  Pleas 
Galleyman    

Girdler  . 

Goldbeater  ,, 

Goldfiner  ,, 

Gold-wire-drawer           „ 
Hattermerchant  .  .         ,,     .,- 
Honeyman  ,, 

Latoner  ,, 

Lister  ,, 

Lorimer  ,, 

'  Milpekker  '    ,, 

Netmaker    ,, 

Pasteler  ,, 

Pewterer   , 

Pouchmaker  ,, 

Pulter  . 

Purser    ,, 

Sherman    „ 

Spectacle-maker  .  .         „ 
Spurrier  ,, 

Stockfishmonger  .  .     Sharpe, 
Q 

226  APPENDIX 

Stoneslipper    Early  Chanc.  Proceed.  66/27. 

Sugarfiner   ,,        „            ,,        64/82. 

Tapiser ,,         ,,             ,,         76/125. 


Tonker 
Vestment  Maker  . 

Waker    

Waterbearer   

Wheeler  . 


Wiremonger    

Woadmonger 

Woolman 

Woolpacker 

'  Wyndrawer ' 


61/261. 
63/178. 
64/552. 

213/79- 
64/1006. 
82/87. 
64/9. 

59/147- 
51/106. 
32/441. 


D.  Privy  Seal  Letter  ('  Benevolence ')  referring  to  the 
King's  necessities,  to  be  further  explained  by  the 
Commissioners  appointed  for  this  purpose,  and  re- 
questing the  loan  of  a  considerable  sum  (20  July, 
4  Henry  VI). 

De  par  le  Roy, 

Chers  et  bienamez.  Come  pour  la  defense  de 
nostre  Royaume  encountre  noz  rebeaux  et  ennemys  et 
la  brief  expedition  de  nos  guerres,  nous  conviendra 
necessairement  avoir  chevance  et  provision  d'une  grande 
somme  de  deniers,  sicome  plus  au  plain  de  par  nous  et 
nostre  Conseil  vous  exposeront  [names  of  Commis- 
sioners follow]  lesqueux  nous  avons  assignez,  de  1'avis 
de  nostre  dit  Conseil,  par  noz  lettres  de  Commission 
desouz  nostre  Grand  Seal,  pour  communiquer  et  tanter 
ovec  vous  de  et  sur  la  chevance  d'aucune  somme  notable 
par  vous  a  apprester  a  nous  en  ceste  nostre  grande 
necessitee,  et  pour  vous  permettre  pour  et  en  nostre 
noun  sufficeante  seuretee  de  repaiement  de  tielle  somme 
come  vous  nous  vuillez  en  ce  cas  apprester.  Si  vous 
prions,  tres  cherement,  q'en  avancement  de  ceste  be- 
soigne,  quel  a  1'aide  de  nostre  Createur  tournera  au  bien 
et  transquilitee  de  nous,  de  vous,  et  de  toute  Chris- 
tianitee,  prendre  vous  vuillez  le  plus  pres  que  vous 
pouvez  en  nous  aidant  a  ceste  foix  par  voie  d'apprest 


APPENDIX  227 

d'une  notable  somme,  tielle  come  par  les  sousditz  com- 
missioners de  vous  sera  desiree,  adjoustant  nientmains 
a  eux  ferme  foy  et  creance  en  leur  relation  a  vous  affaire 
de  par  nous  et  nostre  dit  conseil  en  celle  partie.  Donne 
sous  nostre  Prive  Seal,  a  Westm[ester]  le  xxe  jour  de 
Juylli. 

Original  letter  in  Exchequer,  Treasury  of  Receipt, 
Privy  Seals  and  Letters  Patent  for  Loans,  Bundle  i ; 
cf.  Patent  Roll,  4  Henry  VI,  part  ii,  m.  9  ;  Cal.,  p.  355. 
Published  in  A  Formula  Book  of  English  Official  His- 
torical Documents,  edited  by  Hubert  Hall,  p.  98. 

E.  Extract  from   an   Indenture  of  War  made  between 
Edward  IV  and  Robert  Donne  (14  Edward  IV). 

Robert  '  is  reteigned  and  behest  towardis  the  same 
our  souueraigne  lord  to  do  hym  seruice  of  werre  .  .  . 
for  an  hool  yere  .  .  .  with  x  Archers  .  .  .  takyng  wagis 
for  hymself  of  xijd  by  the  day,  and  vjd  by  the  daye  by 
moyen  of  Reward,  and  for  eueriche  of  the  saide  Archers 
vjd  by  the  day  ' 

'  Also  our  saide  Souueraigne  lord  the  Kyng  shall  haue 
the  third  parte  of  wynnyngis  of  werre,  aswele  of  the 
saide  Robert,  as  the  thirdde  of  thirddes  whereof  eche 
of  his  Retenue  shalbe  answeryng  vnto  him  of  their 
wynnygis  of  werre  duryng  the  tyme  abouesaide,  be  it 
prisoners,  prayes  or  other  goodes  or  catallis  whatsoeuer 
it  be ;  of  which  thirddis  and  thirddis  of  thirddis  the 
said  Robert  shall  answere  vnto  our  saide  souueraigne 
lord  in  his  Eschequier  in  England,  by  his  othe,  or  by 
the  othe  of  his  deputie  or  deputies  accompting  for  hym 
in  this  partie,  and  as  touching  the  prisoners  and  prayes 
that  duryng  the  said  terme  shalbe  taken  by  the  said 
Robert  or  any  of  his  saide  Retenue,  the  said  Robert,  or 
he  or  they  that  so  shall  take  such  prisoners  or  prayes, 
shall  within  viij  dayes  after  the  takyng  therof,  or 
assone  as  resonably,  shall  mowe  certifie  vnto  the  Con- 
stable &  Marchall  or  oon  of  theym,  aswele  the  names 
of  the  saide  prisoners  as  their  estate,  degre  &  condicion 
and  also  the  nature,  quantite  and  value  of  their  saide 


228  APPENDIX 

getingis,  by  estimacion,  vpon  peyne  of  forfeiture  of 
the  prisoners  &  wynnyngis  abouesaid.  Also  the  saide 
Robert  shall  haue  alle  maner  prisoners  that  shall  happe 
to  be  take  by  him,  or  any  of  his  saide  Retinue,  duryng 
the  tyme  abouesaide,  Except  the  Kyng  his  aduersarie, 
and  alle  Kyngis  &  Kingis  sonnes  his  aduersaries  of 
Ffraunce,  and  also  alle  lieutenauntis  &  Chiueteins 
havyng  the  saide  aduersaries  power,  which  shalbe  & 
abide  prisoners  vnto  the  Kyng,  our  saide  soueraigne 
lord,  for  the  which  he  shall  make  resonable  aggrement 
with  the  takers  of  theym.' — Accounts  Exchequer  Q.  R. 
Army,  72/1  (last  case  in  file). 

F.  Petition  from  the  Prior  of  the  Cathedral  Church  of 
St.  Mary's,  Coventry,  that  a  vagabond  monk  might 
be  attached  by  the  secular  arm  (November  6th,  1455). 

'  Excellentissimo  principi  ac  domino  Henrico  Dei 
gratia  Regi  Anglie  et  Francie  &  domino  Hibernie, 
vester  humilis  Capellanus  Johannes  Shoteswell,  prior 
ecclesie  Cathedralis  beate  Marie  de  Couentre,  salutem 
in  eo  per  quern  Reges  regnant  &  regna  cuncta  persistunt. 
Celcitudini  vestre  regie  notum  facio,  per  presentes, 
quod  quidam  f rater  Johannes  Lynby,  monachus  ecclesie 
predicte,  sub  ordine  Sancti  Benedict!  ibidem  professus, 
salutis  sue  immemor,  spreta  obediencia  ordinis  illius  ac 
in  mei  predicti  prioris  capellani  vestri  predicti  eius 
prioris  ac  superioris,  &  libertatis  ecclesie  preiudicium, 
ac  se,  de  patria  in  patriam  vagatur  ac  discurrit,  in 
anime  sue  periculum  ac  ordinis  predicti  scandalum 
manefestum.  Quapropter  excellencie  vestre  supplico 
quatinus  brachium  regalis  potencie  solita  gratia  ap- 
ponatis,  vt  per  vestrum  subsidium  libertas  ecclesiastica 
sub  vestre  defensionis  clipeo  tuta  maneat  &  illesa,  & 
vos  exinde  a  Deo  retribucionem  condignam  consequi 
valeatis,  Qui  vos  ecclesie  sue  &  populo  per  tempora 
conseruet  diuturna.  Data  apud  Couentre  sexto  mensis 
Novembris,  anno  Domini  millesimo  quadringentesimo 
quinquagesimo  quinto.' — Chancery  Warrants  for  Issue, 
Ser.  i,  File  1759,  No.  12. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

I.   ORIGINAL  AUTHORITIES  (a)  Unpublished — 

Ancient  Correspondence,  Vol.  46  (Stonor  Papers)  :  Let- 
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160,  169, 196,  213,  233,  239,  240,  241,  263.  Vol.  51  : 
Letter,  100.  Vol.  53  (Cely  Papers,  not  included  in 
the  collection  published  by  the  Camden  Soc.)  : 
Letters,  6,  58,  99,  125,  133,  146,  155. 

Ancient  Indictments,  K.B.  8,  No.  i  (Baga  de  Secretis) : 
17  Ed.  IV. 

Ancient  Petitions,  299/14910,  306/15259. 

Assize  Roll,  No.  862. 

Augmentation  Office,  Miscellaneous  Books,  Vol.  316. 

Chancery  Miscellanea,  4/8  (Household  Book  of  the  Lady 
Alicia  de  Brienne),  15/6. 

Chancery  Warrants  for  Issue,  Series  I,  Files  1759-69. 

Coroners'  Rolls,  Nos.  60,  61,  63, 145, 147-50, 158, 168-70. 

Domestic  State  Papers  (Charier  to  the  Merchant  Adven- 
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Early  Chancery  Proceedings,  e.g.  Bundles  3-19,  20-2, 
24-42,  44-7,  50-6,  58-62,  64-7,  76,  78,  80,  82, 
88-9,  90-1,  94,  95,  97,  100,  101,  105-11,  183,  185-9, 

190,    192-7,    200-2,    210,    211,    213,    2l6,    217,    219, 

223,  226,  230,  231,  233,  234. 

Exchequer  Accounts,  Q.R.  Army,  42/32,  42/36, 44/24, 48/2, 
48/3,  68/1,  72/1. 

—  Q.R.  Ecclesiastical,  8/24,  6/51,  1/17. 

—  Q.R.  Miscellaneous,  516/13. 
-Q.R.  Wardrobe,  406/22. 

Lay  Subsidies,  *£?-* 

1  All  the  above  documents  are  in  the  Public  Record  Office. 


230  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Additional  MSS.,  33,  985-33,  988  (Accounts  of  Metyng- 
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—  MSS.,  34,  213  (Household  Book  of  Anne  Duchess  of 

Buckingham}* 

ORIGINAL  AUTHORITIES  (b)  PUBLISHED — 

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3rd  edition,  revised  by  W.  Carew  HAZLITT  (1877). 
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3rd  Ser.,  1900). 
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(Archcelogia  Cantiana,  Vol.  X,  1876). 

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A.  GASQUET  (Camden  Soc.,  3rd  Ser.,  1904),  Vol.  I. 
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English  Text  Soc.,  1907),  Part  i. 

1  In  the  British  Museum.  a  Ibid. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  23! 

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English  Chronicle  (1377-1461),  edited  by  Rev.  J.  Syl- 
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by  J.  O.  HALLIWELL  (Warton  Club  Miscellany). 
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H.  ELLIS  (1811). 
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(Early  English  Text  Soc.,  No.  67). 
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GAIRDNER,  J.,  Letters  and  Papers  illustrative  of  the  reigns 

of  Richard  III  and  Henry  VII  (Rolls  Series,  24). 
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1844). 

LEADAM,  I.  S.,  The  Domesday  of  Inclosures  (1897). 
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BICKLEY  (1900). 
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(Percy  Soc.,  No.  2). 
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Record  Soc.,  1908). 
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FURNIVALL  (Early  English  Text  Soc.,  O.S.  32). 
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232  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

PERCY,  Bp.,  Folio  Manuscript  Ballads  and  Romances, 

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(Camden  Soc.,  No.  4,  1839). 
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FURNIVALL  (Early  English  Text  Soc.,  No.  15). 
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No.  14). 
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by  Sir  N.  H.  NICOLAS  (Record  Commission). 
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(Camden  Soc.,  O.S.  No.  37). 
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INDEX 


Agriculture,  23,  52,  131,  143,  186. 
See  Husbandry 

Alchemy,  57-8 

Ale,  6,  137,  1 88.     See  Beer 

Aliens,  4,  6,  8,  32,  36,  46-8,  53, 
68-9,  79,  117,  122,  190,  207, 
209,  214.  Ste  Florentines, 
Genoese,  Hansards,  Italians, 
Portuguese,  Spaniards,  Vene- 
tians 

Alien  subsidy,  46 

Alms,  102,  127 

Almsgiving,  128 

Almshouses,  109,  129 

Almoners,  129 

Amusements,  190-3.  See  Archery, 
Games 

Apostacy,  III,  113 

Apprentices,     8,     58,     118-19, 
I2I-2,  132,  144,  177,  215 

Arbitration,  88-9,  120 

Archery,  175,  190 

Architecture,  200 

Aristocracy,  90,  94,  95,  IOO,  See 
Baronage,  Nobility,  Nobles 

Armour,  36,  152 

Artificers,  97-8,  131,  132  n.,  214 

Artisans,  5,  12,  97,  117,  123-5, 
159,  1 60,  1 88,  205,  207 

Assaults,  82-3,  105 

Baltic,  33,  50 

Bankers,  68-9 

Baronage,  xiv,  93 

Bayonne,  39 

Beds,  156-7 

Beer,  6-7,  137,  188.    See  Brewers 

Beggars,  126,  128 

Benevolences,    65,    226.      See 

Loans 
Bets,  192 
Black  Death,  22,  123,  164,  199 


Bondmen,  75-6.     See  Neif,  Seifs, 

Villeins 

Books,  19,  135,  194-7,  202 
Bordeaux,  39,  41,  48 
Bows,  34,  190 
Brewers,  13,  137 
Bribery,  208 
Brick,  155 
Brick-making,  7 
Bristol,  14,    34-6,   38-41,  44-5. 

5°.  53>  66>  I04,  122,  134,  144, 

IS*.  'S3,  199 
Brittany,  39,  218 
Brokers,  69 

Building,  155,  161,  198,  199,  202 
Burgundy,  32-3,  95,  143 

Canonist  doctrine,  60 

Capital,  n,  52-3,  59,  71,  73 

Cards,  192,  215 

Card-playing,  191 

Carpets,  157 

Caste,  72 

Ceremony,  94 

Chantries,  203,  206 

Chantry  priests,  179,  206 

Chaplains,  104,  106 

Charity,  98,  127,  129 

Children,  23,  143-6,  166-7,  '74~ 

80,  184 

Child-labour,  143-6 
Chimneys,  156,  161 
Chivalry,  79 
Church,  xiv,  60,  72-3,  99,   128, 

176,  182,  205-6 
Church-ales,  193 
Churches,  82,  90,  102,  104,  107, 

178,  198-203 

Churchwardens,  142,  188-9 
Cinque  Ports,  50,  84 
Class  divisions,  72-3 
Cleanliness,  167 


239 


240 


INDEX 


Clergy,  101-8,  115,  127,  180-1. 

See  Parsons,  Priests 
Cloth,  1-5,  15,  19,  20,  32-3,  36, 

49,  75,  133.  134-5,  15°,  199 

—  industry,  25,  32,  53 
Clothing,    119,     124,    139,    147, 

151,  158,  161,  222.     See  Dress 
Cloth-makers,  n,  134 
Coal,  5,  6,  17-18,  149 
Colleges,  115,  1 86 
Commerce,  xiii,  35,  51,  53,  69, 

79,  117,  126,  136,  147,  209 
Commercial  expansion,  209 

—  intercourse,  xv,  38,  143,  207 

—  morality,  58,  207 

—  spirit,  xiv,  71,  79,  101,  170, 

191 

—  treaty,  37-8.    See  Magnus  In- 

tercursus,  Mercantile  treaties 
Cookery,  150 
Corn,  129,  136,  138,  162 

—  laws,  24-5 

Court  of  Pie  Powder,  20,  74 
Coventry,    10,    12,    13,   17,    20, 

58,  64,  67,  88,  97,  112,  119-20, 

121  n.,   135-6,    139,   149,  180, 

192 
Crafts,  4,  9,  10,  192-3,  214.    See 

Gilds 

Currency,  54-5 
Customs,  4,  49,  50,  64-5 

Depopulation,  27 
Dice,  191-2,  215 
Doctors,  167-8 
Doweries,  172 

Drapers,  II,  12,  20,  98,  118,  134 
Dress,  72,   150,  152.     See  Cloth- 
ing 
Dutch,  6-7 

Education,  176-88,  194,  197,211 
English,   196-7.     See  Vernacular 

—  financiers,  68 
Exploring  expeditions,  210 

Factory  system,  13 
Fairs,  19-20,  73,  136 
Famine,  162 
Family  life,  170-6 
Feoffees,  78,  103,  106,  142 
Feudalism,  74-6,  78-9,  92 


Feudal  system,  78-9,  171 

Fish,  15,  147-5°,  167,  208 

Fishing,  40,  147 

Flanders,  50,  207 

Florence,  2 

Florentines,  35,  37,  60,  69  n. 

Food,  124-5,  147,  150,  161,  167, 

208 

Forgery,  106,  208 
France,  39,  79,  8l,  136,  159 
Franklin,  159 
Fraud,  64 

Friars,  103,  114,  145 
Furniture,  156,  158 

Gambling,  191-2 

Games,  190-3 

Genoa,  44,  47 

Genoese,  35-6,  69  n. 

Gilds,  9,  10,  52,  59,  64,  88-9, 
109,  118-121,  126  n.,  128-9, 
133,  180,  200.  See  Crafts 

Gild-merchant,  64,  68 

Glass,  156 

Goldsmiths,  68 

Gowns,  152,  157 

Greek  learning,  187.  See  New 
Learning 

Guns,  7,  190 

Hansards,  33,  45,  47 
Hanse  merchants,  33 
—  towns,  48 
Hawking,  190-1 
Health,  145,  164,  167 
Horse-racing,  192 
Hospitality,  108-9 
Hospitals,  109 

Households,  94-5,  144-5,  2O*> 
Houses,  27,  152-^6,  161 
Housing,  147 
Humour,  198 
Hundred  Years'  War,  39 
Hunting,  190 
Husbandmen,  162-3,  189 
Husbandry,   22-5,    27,    138-9, 
143-4,     See  Agriculture 

Iceland,  34-5,  44,  5°,  148 
Inclosing,  26-8,  115,  125,  164 
Inclosures,  26-7,  53,  190 
Indentures  of  war,  78,  227 


INDEX 


241 


Indulgences,  204 
Industrial  life,  205 

revolution,  96 

warfare,  12 

Industries,  6,  8 

Industry,  xiii,  I,  8,  9,  19,  50-2, 

69,    70,    75.    "7.    126,    131, 

146-7 

—  organization  of,  9-13 
Inns,  108-9,  137,  158 
Inns  of  Chancery,  91 
Inns  of  Court,  91 
Interest,  59-61,  66 
Ireland,  39,  40,  50 
Irish  workmen,  122  n. 
Iron  works,  6 
Italians,  35,  47,  69,  149 
Italy,  35-6 

Journeymen,    13,    118-21,    160, 

214 

Juries,  47,  208-9 
Justice,  84 
Justices,  83  n.,  165 

Labour,  73,  117, 124, 125-6,  131, 
140,  146 

—  division  of,  9,  224 
Labourers,   II,  22,  25,  76,  117, 

122-3,  126-7,  '5°,  '62-4,  190 

—  agricultural,  22-3,  124,  161 
Land  tenure,  77,  93,  99 
Latin,  196-7 

Lawlessness,  29,   80-3,   85,    87, 

91,  96,  113,  212,  219 
Lawsuits,  49,  88-9,  91,  103 
Lawyers,  90-1,  207 
Legal  works,  197 
Leprosy,  164 
Letters  of  exchange,  55~7 

—  of  marque,  84,  136-7 
Linen,  8,  135 
Literature,  195,  198 
Litigation,  88-91,  99,  198 
Liveries,  118-19 
Livery,  93,  1 1 8,  120 

—  and  maintenance,  87,  109.   See 
'  Mayntensunce ' 

Loans,  61,   65-8,   93,   97,    143, 

226 

Lollards,  113-14,  184,  205 
I. ol lardy,   112,  1 82,  205 


London,  11,  14,  19,  20,  35,  38, 
47,  5°,  72,  97-8,  106,  109,  112, 
120,  129,  132,  134,  144,  149, 
153,  160,  165,  166,  174,  177-8, 
181-3,  209,  211-12 

Luxury,  158 

Machinery,  12 

Magnus  intercursus,  33,  40 

Manners,  197 

Manorial  system,  74,  117,  125 

Manufactures,  I 

Markets,  20,  136 

Marriage,  142,  170-2,  174 

'  Mayntenaunce,'  86,  1 10 

Medical  science,  167-9 

Mediterranean,  36 

Mercantile  treaties,  39,  50 

Merchant  adventurers,  5,  32 

Merchants,  2,   12,  31,  34  -5,  39 

48-9,  53.  54-5i  57,  64,67,  84, 
96-7,  121,  125,  132,  136,  153, 

1 86,  189,  200,  207,  210,  212 

Middle  class,  75,  96-8,  loo,  106, 
126,  I6l,  197-8,  211-12,  220 

Mining,  6 

Minstrels,  95,  193 

Miracle  Plays,  193,  198.  See 
Morality  Plays.  Mysteries 

Monasteries,  103-4,  108-11, 
113-15,  127-8,  130,  179,  183, 

199,  20 1 

Money,  II,  53-8,  61-2,  67,71-4, 
77,  79,93,97-8,101,  118,125, 
151,  158,  170,  172,  19',  '93, 

200,  208.     See  Wealth 
Money-lenders,  68 
Monopoly,  53 
Morality  plays,  172,  198 
Mortuaries,  74 
Municipal  buildings,  156,  198 
Mysteries,  172 

Navigation  Acts,  42,  45 

Navy,  2,  42-3 

Neif,  177,  218 

New  learning,  1 86 

—  monarchy,  92 

Nobility,  85,  87,  167,  183.     See 

Aristocracy 

Nobles,  xiv,  67, 94-6,  144,183,193 
Nuns,  185 


242 


INDEX 


Occupations,  9,  214,  224-6 

Pageants,  192-3 

Parsons,  25,  102-3,  IO5i  IO7>  ^3 

Pauperism,  127,  130 

Pepper,  36,  149 

Pepperers,  59 

Perjury,  209 

Pestilence,  63,  164-6 

Peter's  Pence,  69 

Physicians,  169 

Pilgrimages,  43-4,  206 

Pilgrims,  53,  108,  191,  204,  206 

Piracy,  44,  83 

Pirates,  84-5,  210,  218 

Plate,  158,  220 

Players,  193 

Poor,  108,  150,  158-9 

—  relief,  109,  126-7 
Portugal,  37,  48,  50 
Portuguese,  38,  210 
Poverty,  108 
Prices,  58,  162,  221-4 
Priests,  103,  106-7,  157>  l$l 
Printing,  196 

Prisoners,  78-9,  227-8 
Privy  Council,  69,  85,  88 
Prussia,  33-4,  41,  129 
Purveyance,  65 

Ransoms,  78-9 
Religion,  xiv,  202 
Religious  houses,  67.     See  Mon- 
asteries 

—  orders,  101 

—  thought,  205 

—  works,  206 

Rent,  75,  77,  81,  140,  160-1,  163 

Restlessness,  73,  101 

Retainers,  87,  93,  96,  109 

Revenue,  4-5,  62-5 

Rivers,  18-19,  166 

Roads,  13-18,  209 

Robbers,  209 

Robin  Hood  ballads,  198 

Rood-lofts,  201 

Salt,  6,  18,  37,  149 

Sanitary  condition  of  towns,  166 

Schools,  100,  179-83,  187 

Serfdom,  75-7 

Serfs,  75-6,  106,  125 


Servants,  23,  94-5,  105,  117,  129, 

138,  190-1 
'  Servi,'  200 

Sheep-farming,  25-8,  53 
Sheep-pastures,  30 
Shipbuilding,  7-8,  45 
Shipping,  41-5 
Ships,  28,  41-5,  83-6 
Silk,  2,  36,  215 

—  manufacture,  5 

—  trade,  135 

Smuggling,  34-5,  56,  64,  207 
Spain,  38-9,  136 
Spaniards,  38 

Spices,  36,  149 

Sports,  190 

Staple,  32,  40,  57,  66,  96,  98, 

141,  187,  207 
Staple  Inn,  91 

Subsidies,  53,  63.     See  Taxation 
Sugar,  37,  149 
Sumptuary  laws,  72,  124 
Surgery,  167 
Sweating  sickness,  165 

Tapestry,  157 

Taxation,  46-7,  62-4 

Theft,  8 1 

Tin,  36 

Tombs,  201 

Tournaments,  79-80,  152 

Towns,  17,  21,  23,  27,  39,  63-4, 

loo,  109,   117,  121,  153,   165, 

193,  204,  211 
Trade,  31-40,  49,  50,  55,  57-9, 64, 

70-2,  79,  95,  97-9,  H9,   125, 

133.  136,  141,  H9,  177,   188, 

209 

Transport,  15 
Transit,  221 

Travelling,  15,  16,  209,  221 
Trusts,  78,  217 

Universities,  183,  186-7 
Usury,  59-62,  68,  215 

Vagabond  monks,  1 1 2,  228 
Vagrancy,  73,  126 
Velvet,  20,  36,  151-2 
Venetians,  35,  37,  69  n.,  97,  190, 

208 
Venice,  36,  97 


INDEX 


243 


Vernacular,  49,  196 
Villeins,  75-6,  177 

Wages,  7,  23,  52,  58,  78-9,  93, 
104,  122-4,  138-9,  146,  i 60, 
162 

Wage-earners,  121,  131 

Wage-earning  class,  117 

Wales,  83,  214 

War,  xiv,  78-9,  126 

Warfare,  79,  91,  155 

Wars  of  the  Roses,  xiv,  96,  211 

Water  power,  12 

—  transit,  17-19 


Wealth,  I,  71-2,  94-5,  116,  119, 

158,  197-8 

Windows,  156,  161,  202 
Wine,  36-7,  39,  41,  45,  149,  224 
Women,  5,  16, 131-43, 146, 171-2, 

177,  182,  184-5,  191.  2'4 
Wool,  2,  4,  5,  26,  28-9,  33,  36, 

39.  4i    S3.  57,  69  n.,  136,  141, 

191,  11,9,  207,  222 
Woollen  cloth,  41,  215 

Yeomen,  72,  87,  99 


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Abram,  Annie 

254  Social  iiigland  in  the 

fifteenth  century