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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
AT LOS ANGELES

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WSA
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LIBRARY '

^^ ANGELES. CALif,

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THE GROWTH

ENGLISH INDUSTET

AND

COMMEECE

DURING THE EARLY AND MIDDLE AGES.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

C. F. CLAY, Manager

LONDON : FETTER LANE, E.G. 4

NEW YORK : THE MACMILLAN CO.

BOMBAY ^

CALCUTTA I MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd.

MADRAS j

TORONTO : THE MACMILLAN CO. OF

CANADA, Ltd.
TOKYO : MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA

THE GEOWTH

ENGLISH INDUSTEY

AND

OOMMEKCE

DURING THE EARLY AND MIDDLE AGES.

W. CUNNINGHAM, D.D.

FIFTH EDITION

CAMBRIDGE :
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS

1922

604(;G

First Edition.

Gr.

6vo.

1882

Second Edition.

Vol.

1890.

Vol.

II.

1892.

Third Edition.

Vol.

1896.

»>

Vol.

II.

1903.

Fourth Edition.

Vol.

1905

Vol.

II.

1907

Fifth Edition.

Vol.

1910

Reprinted 1913, 1922.

PRINTED IN GREAT BniTAIM

vAC

PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION.

~pN recent years the study of English Economic History has
-*- been prosecuted with great vigour in France, Germany,
Russia and America, as well as in this country, and there
has been no little difficulty in making an attempt to bring
the present edition completely up to date. It has, however,
been a satisfaction to me to recognise how much the know-
ledge of this branch of history has increased in clearness
and in precision since this book was planned some thirty
years ago. Many minor alterations have been introduced in
the present edition ; and owing to suggestions made by
Dr L. C. A. Knowles of the London School of Economics,
the sections on the effects of the Black Death (§ 119), and on
the changes in rural England under the Tudor kings (§§ 150,
151, 152), have been entirely rewritten.

W. C.

Trinity College, Cambridge,
13 August, 1910.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

I. Past and Present.

1 . A basis of comparison. An accurate survey of England is given in
Domesday Book. ........... 1

2. Industrial contrasts. The comparison of Domesday with modern
England brings out contrasts in the relative importance of different in-
dustries and different districts. 1

3. Contrasts in conditions of life. It also shows contrasts in the
character of town and country life. 2

4. Contrasts in social structure. Domesday puts before us great differ-
ences in the social structure in regard to Capital, to Labour, and to Land.
Additional difficulties in study are presented by the changes in the conno-
tation of terms 4

II. The Scope of Economic Histobt.

5. The grouping of facts. The Body Economic, though its phenomena
may be studied separately, is yet identical with the State in actual Ufe. As
the interconnection of economic and political events is so close, and the
sphere of study so large, the careful grouping of facts is necessary. Economic
History is the study of facts of every kind from a special point of view, 5

6. Political structure. Political History describes the framework of
our industry and commerce at each period 8

7. Current morality. The manner in which industry and trade are
carried on is controlled by custom and public opinion. ... 9

8. Human resources. Skilful energy must be applied in work, and
goods must be husbanded with forethought 10

9. Physical conditions. Human resources are limited or directed by
physical conditions. 12

1 0. Economic progress. Both in town and country. Industrial organ-
isms of new types have superseded others, again and again. The effectiveness
of the later forms must not blind us to the fact that each type was relatively
satisfactory. •. 13

1 1 . Natiire of the change. There has been continuity of change and
increasing complexity in Society, accompanied by increasing power in

Vlll CONTENTS.

comprehending the conditions of progress. It is necessary to take account
of changes both in practice and in terminology. . . . . 15

1 2. Events ajid ideas. The course of affairs becomes intelligible when
we apprehend the underlying ideas 17

III. Method and Divisions.

13. The methods of Economic History and of Political Economy. In
Economic History the methods of study differ from those of Economic
Science, since we can neither cross-examine the facts in trying to interpret
particular phenomena, nor reconstruct a satisfactory picture of society as a
whole. We must begin with the general influences and actual forces in each
epoch, in order to avoid serious anachronism. The main chronological
divisions of Economic History are marked out by political changes, but
each period has its own dominant economic forces. Economic History is
dependent, in its scope and divisions, while Political Economy is hypothetical
and independent of political changes. The main problem in the Economic
History of England is to trace the gradual introduction of money economy
and competition in different departments of life, and so far as possible the
changes in aims and ideas. ........ 18

14. Relative importance of different kinds of evidence. We have
literary evidence in the shape of (a) documents and (b) histories ; additional
information may be drawn from monuments and relics, and from sur-
vivals. 23

15. Contemporary analogies. The argument from analogy may give
ns useful illustrations, though we cannot formulate accurate sociological
laws. 25

16. Importance of English Economic History. English economic de-
velopment may be usefully taken as typical, owing to the completeness of
the records and to the comparative isolation of the country. . 26

I. EARLY HISTORY.

I. Political and Soclal Environment.

17. Extent of the political changes. Great changes in political
structure took place between b.c. 55 and a.d. 1086. . . . 28

1 8. Factors in moral progress. The customary habits of the primitive
tribes were modified by Christian influence, and by the remains of Eoman
civilisation. 29

II. The English in Frisla..

19. The evidence of Caesar. The primitive English, who occupied
Frisia, were a nomadic people addicted, according to Caesar, to war and to
the chase. Eights over areas of land, suitable for pasturage and for game,
were assigned to families. The agriculture was similar in character to that
of migratory tribes 30

20. Extensive tillage. Nomadic tribes who have access to indefinite
areas of soil can practise extensive culture habitually. ... 33

CONTENTS. IX

21. The evidence of Tacitus. The subterranean stores mentioned
by Tacitus show that there were opportunities for accumulation ; these
are important economically, and have considerable bearing on further
progress 3^

22. Modes of settlement. The Eomans were impressed by the casual
character of English settlements, and the primitive methods adopted for
assigning land. ........... 36

23. The rights of the cultivator. The *higid' of the Germans
consisted of a house and yard (to/t), a share in the 'extensive' tillage of
the fields in the waste, rights to meadow, and rights to common pasturage
on the waste, which in winter included the meadow and stubble. The
arable fields were laid out each year, so that each holding consisted of many
scattered strips, intermingled with the strips of other men. . . 38

24. Intensive tillage. No date can be assigned for the introduction of
intensive culture, which led to the disuse of annual reaUotment, so that
the definite rights of the cultivator to property became 'real' instead of
•ideal.' 42

25. Tribal and village organisation. The tribes were organised for
economic, judicial, and military purposes, and were united by the common
bond of blood, or by companionship in war. The tribesmen were also
grouped in village communities. This is a widely diffused institution, and
is chieiiy concerned with the regulation of tillage 44

26. Industrial arts. Eelics, such as swords, testify to the skill of the
English craftsmen ; they had a system of coinage, and were acquainted with
the Eunic characters. Warriors were accustomed to make the weapons they
used. 45

27. The art of war. Warfare and agriculture were not incompatible,
and piracy formed an employment for the surplus population. The English
pirates ravaged Britain ; they organised predatory bands, which carried on
commerce, and formed temporary settlements. These raids cannot always
be distinguished from regular migrations. 50

III. The Conquest of Britain.

28. Disintegration of Roman civilisation in Britain. The Eomans, in
planting Britain and other colonies, took account of the original population,
as well as of settlers, in forming estates. They provided for the acclimatisa-
tion of animals and plants, and the development of natural resources. The
disintegration of Eoman society in Britain was hastened by the Picts and
Scots ; and on the desertion of Britain by the Eomans, it was devastated by
famine and faction. .......... 54

29. The displacement of the Britons. Eesistance to the English was
unsuccessful ; but the conquered would not submit, and the long-continued
struggle resulted in the gradual withdrawal of the old population. The
towns were ruined, or at least destroyed as centres of commerce and civili-
sation 57

30. The English occupation. The advance of the English was gradual ;
and they had immediate recourse to tillage, pursuing the method of assigning
land to groups of famihes ; a holding of arable acres was dealt out to each.

X CONTENTS.

Village organisation sprang up among the free cultivators, and thegns
obtained temporary grants, which were specially valuable where local in-
dustries had survived 60

IV. Early Changes in England.

31. Growth of royal power. Through the long period, between the
English and the Danish conquests, there was a gradual coalescence of
kingdoms, resulting in the growth of the power of the king and of his
thegns 65

32. Influence of the Church. The Eoman mission had comparatively
little direct economic influence, but it accelerated constitutional changes.
Christian priests had a position analogous to that of thegns, and obtained
grants of Bocland in perpetuity ; these were sometimes procured on false
pretences, and tended to diminish the resources at the king's command. 66

33. Self-sufiacing villages. To be self-sufficing was the aim in the
estate management of Charles the Great, as well as in primitive village
husbandry. This is illustrated by the practice of Columban Monasteries.
Trade hardly existed, except for one or two requisites, such as salt. 70

34. Agriculture and industry. The various methods of intensive
tillage are known as the one-field, three-field and two-field systems ; and
each had its respective advantages. The three-field system was probably
used in the time of Charles the Great in Germany. In England the laws
for partible land only prove the existence of open fields. Each landholder
had stock on his holding and rights of pasturage. Industry in a self-sufficing
village was remunerated in kind. ... .... 73

35. Beginnings of internal trade. Internal trade arose through the
differences of local resources. It was carried on in markets, and the
existence of opportunities for trade led to the stowing of goods in warehouses,
with a view to future dealings 78

36. Foreign influences. Industrial skill hardly advanced, but some
new arts, such as glass-making and plumbers' work, and artistic weaving
were introduced. Seamanship had declined; and shipbuilding had to be
revived to resist the Danes ; their enterprise was great, and their methods
of taking observations on long voyages were very rough. . . 81

37. Foreign trade. Voyages of discovery were made at this time by
Ohthere and Wulfstan ; English trade was carried on with southern lands,
and we hear in particular of the slave trade. ..... 83

V. Danes.

38. Danish enterprise. We can estimate what a vigorous impulse was
introduced among the enfeebled English by the Danes when we consider
the Norse trade with the East; as well as their explorations and settlements
in the North and West, in Iceland, Greenland, and America. . . 87

39. Danish settlement in England. Danish influence was wide in
extent and amalgamation was not difficult. Their settlements consisted of
large villages of freemen. 91

CONTENTS. ^ XI

40. The Daner? and towns. That the Danes were responsible for the
restoration of municipal life is clear in the case of Lincoln and other Danish
burghs ; and they also opened up new lines of English commerce. . 92

41. Formation of towns. Internal trade stimulated the growth of
towns, which sometimes originated about shrines and villages, or possibly
by the coalescence of villages. Forts, or the remains of a Eoman city,
frequently formed a nucleus. Several of these social conditions were
sometimes combined, and physical conditions, such as the facilities afforded
by tidal water, also had their influence 94

VI. Economic Ideas and Structure.

A. Property.

42. Origin of property. Economic phenomena must precede the
habitual employment of definite economic terms. Property may have been
first recognised in the use and appropriation of land; but proprietors did
not necessarily enjoy economic freedom. Gradually tribal society became
re-organised on a proprietary basis. , 97

43. Obligations connected with property. Personal obligations were
made more definite, by being brought into connection with the tenure of
land. Commendation facilitated the growth of social organisation, in
which the military service, and fiscal and judicial responsibilities of the
members were defined. ......... 101

44. Public burdens. The chief proprietary obligations were (a) the
Trinoda Necessitas, (b) payment of tithe, and (c) of Danegeld. , 104

45. The unfree classes. The unfree population also had definite
obligations ; these are difficult to describe in modern terms, but they were
susceptible of commutation for money. There were various classes of unfree
tenants ; but the Gebur appears to have been the typical cultivator. 105

46. Possibility of survival of Roman customs. There is a resemblance
between Koman and feudal society, while the latter is very unlike the
condition of the English in Frisia. This has given rise to the question
whether Eoman civilisation may not have substantially survived in Britain ?
The reasons for answering in the negative are based on the histories of
the destruction, or migration, of Roman Britons, together with the very slight
traces of the survival of language or religion ; the nature of Roman remains
confirms this view 107

47. Possibility of the reconstruction of a similar society. Similarity
does not prove continuity, especially when we can account for the conscious
re-introduction of Roman practice. It is not impossible that feudal society
was a native growth. The change from a free proprietary of citizen soldiers
to a system of large estates has a Roman analogy ; these Manorial estates
might have sprung from villages, either of servile cultivators or of free
soldiers. For the depression of free cultivators, relatively to an oflScial, there
are Indian analogies ; the precise course of the changes in any district is a
matter of local history. Survivals also go to confirm the view that there
was in many cases some loss of primitive status. . . . 109

C. H. h

XU CONTENTS.

B. Exchange.

48. Media of exchange. Facilities of exchange steadily improved,
from the time of barter. There is at first hardly any distinction between
sellers and buyers ; the value in use of the articles to each bargainer seta
the limits of possible exchange. The gains of caravan traders were enorm-
ous ; but money, as a medium of exchange, improved the position of the
buyer. Money serves as a unit for comparison, a medium of exchange, and
a standard for payment ; slaves and cattle have been very generally used as
media. We have some instances of the use of ideal units for the comparison
of values, and rents seem often to have been paid in kind ; the precious
metals were also employed as currency, and coins eventually superseded
primitive forms of money ^ . . 114

49. Metric systems, and units of length and area. Natural units of
measurement are common to many peoples, but modes of computation vary.
Units of length are derived from the nail, finger, and hand ; the ell, yard,
and fathom are also taken from the human body ; while the foot and pace
give other measures. The practice of ploughing seems to afford the origin
of units of area and from them are obtained the chain, furlong, and league,
and measures of capacity were sometimes applied to areas of land for
sowing 118

50. Units of value. Any acceptable commodity serves as money, but
the precious metals are most convenient ; they were weighed out in quantities
which represented the value of cattle or slaves. Thus the ox corresponded
to the solidus, mancus, or ounce, and the slave to the pound; small units
of weight were obtained in this way 121

51 . Definition of units and computation. The attempt to co-ordinate
measures derived from different natural units has given rise to the anomalies
of our metric system ; different modes of computation characterised different
racial elements. 1 24

52. Units of assessment. In Domesday the chief units of assessment
are the ' hide ' or ' carucate ' and the ' hundred,' while the manor is the
<5hannel of payment 125

53. Progress of trade. There is evidence of increased facilities for
foreign trade in the introduction of fixed customs and of gild regulations as
to dishonesty. There are also signs of a trade policy, but commerce was
largely carried on by aliens. 128

54. Division of employments. The division of employments bears
witness to the increase of trade 131

11. FEUDALISM.
I. The Norman Conquest and its Effects,

55. Feudalism in England. Though the Feudal system was from the
economic standpoint a great improvement on earlier conditions, it had many
defects which rendered it unfavourable to farther progress. The king's
position rendered his influence very great; but there was little scope for
individual enterprise in agriculture, industry, or trade. The eflSciency of the

CONTENTS. xiii

system varied under William Rufus, Henry I. and Henry H. ; he raised the
Crown to a position of great power, and levied Scutage. With Feudalism
there was no mean between royal tyranny and baronial anarchy. 134

56. Norman influence. The Norman influence brought about changes
among the landholders and in the terms of tenure; and the process of
commendation continued. Social and Trade relations with the Continent
became more important, when the Normans established personal and
dynastic connections. The economic gain, which resulted from the develop-
ment of English resources, found expression in the Norman era of church-
building. 140

57. Moral sentiments. In England the repression of private warfare
was effected by the enforcement of the king's peace, which made the pro-
claiming of the truce of God unnecessary. The reUgious spirit was called
upon to co-operate in opposing the claims of the kings to irresponsible power,
but eventually ecclesiastical interference was discredited as a kind of papal
aggression. The spirit of adventure obtained an outlet in the Crusades,
and the effect of these on commerce was most important. . . 144

II. Royal Revenues.

58. Norman revenue. In Norman times the chief source of revenue
was the Eoyal Domain farmed by the Sheriffs ; but Jurisdiction formed
another, together with rights of Pre-emption and Prise. In addition there
were feudal incidents and aids, as well as profits from the Jews. The
Danegeld was the first form of direct taxation on land ; and Henry II.
imposed taxes on moveables. There were continual changes in the basis
of rating 148

59. Currency and exchange. The currency and mint were under
royal control ; and also the business of exchange. ... 1 53

60. The Exchequer. The Dialogus de Scaccario gives a description
of the Exchequer organisation, and the accounts of each year are preserved
in the Great Roll of tlie Pipe 1 56

III. Royal Inquisitions.

61. The object of Domesday Book. William I. put on record an
estimate of his resources, particularly the Gafol and Geld. Information
as to the method of enquiry is preserved in the Inquisitio Cantabrigi-
ensis. ............ 162

62. Articles of enquiry. The articles of enquiry elicited information
as to the condition of each estate, but the terms of assessment varied. The
survey includes facts as to the possibilities of cultivation. The Manor
was used as a fiscal unit, and there were free tenants as well as villani,
cottarii and servi ; though the omissions are such as to render comparison
with later periods difficult. Domesday Book also takes account of the waste,
and such resources as mills, salt, iron, and market rights ; finally, the total
value of each estate, and its variation in value during the period of the
Conquest, were given. . 163

63. Forms of payment. The case of Milton gives illustrations of the
points already mentioned. In some entries the form of payment is specified,
and whether it was by weight or by tale. 1 70

Xiv CONTENTS.

64. The towns. Domesday gives some information about towns, of
which a number were partially destroyed. It is interesting to note their
distribution and constitutions 172

65. Tlie Hundred Kolls. The Hundred Bolls were compiled under
Edward I. with the view of detecting malversations. The articles of enquiry
are elaborate^and gave occasion in many cases to Quo warranto proceedings.
These Rolls are extraordinarily detailed, and they throw light on the extent
of the foreign trade in wool, as well as on the conditions of life in town and
country. There was dual control in several towns, and in London a separate
report came from each ward. We also obtain much information as to the
internal trade at fairs, and their undue extension, .... 1 74

IV. Foreign Intercourse.

66. Impetus given to trade. The political relations with the Continent
under the Normans had the greatest influence on trade. A commercial
revival all over Europe was one consequence of the intercourse of the West
with Constantinople. Trade was concentrated where there were legal
facilities, and commerce had an intermunicipal character. . . 182

67. Alien artisans. Soon after the Conquest a great immigration
of merchants began, as well as of artisans, such as weavers, and builders
for the churches and castles reared by the Normans. The position of alien
artisans in towns was exceptional ; they were under considerable disabilities,
and seem to have introduced the practice of organisation in craft gilds.
They must certainly have given a great impetus to the cloth manu-
facture 186

68. Alien merchants. The principal alien noerchants were the Germans,
whose house in London was the Steelyard ; these also had provincial centres
for their trade ; lead, tin, wool, and cattle were the chief articles of export
to Germany. Spices and other Eastern commodities were probably imported
through this channel 1 94

69. French and Italian trade. Other important branches of commerce
were the import of wine from Gascony and the export of wool to Italy.
The Genoese and Venetians had factories in the Levant and succeeded in
establishing trading relations through Egypt. .... 197

70. The Jews. The Jews were royal chattels, and formed isolated
groups in different towns. Theu' affairs were regulated by the Exchequer
of the Jews, and they were subject to unscrupulous and ruthless persecution
for practising usury and base callings. Missionary efforts were made among
them and their business was regulated. The Crusading enthusiasm was
very detrimental to them 199

71. Foreign ecclesiastics. Economic influences were exercised by the
foreign ecclesiastics and lawyers who came over in Norman and Angevin
times. There were appeals to Eome in cases which came under ecclesiastical
jurisdiction; and Itahan merchants engaged in money-lending, while collect-
ing papal revenues. Many reformed Monasteries were founded and the
Orders of Friars appeared. The new foreign connections gave rise to
fiscal difiiculties, but they exercised a stimulating influence on industry and
commerce, particularly the wool trade. Ecclesiastical powers and wealth
were the occasion of frequent disturbances in the towns. . . 206

CONTENTS. XV

v. Royal Charters.

72. Town charters. The growth of municipal institutions continued,
and charters of privilege were granted both by kings and other authorities
from time to time; but the history of progress varies in each town. 211

73. Manorial disabilities. The manorial disabilities, from which towns-
men suffered, were attendance at the Court Leet, and subjection to manorial
jurisdiction and custom, as well as to the exaction of predial services. 21 3

74. Royal claims on towns. Royal taxation was collected from the
towns by the Sheriffs; and there was collective responsibility, among those
who were at scot and lot, for fiscal obligations. The towns preferred to pay
an annual rent instead of tolls and were very exclusive as against foreigners,
whether native or alien 21 5

75. Town organisation. The Gilds merchant saw to the regulation of
trade ; the members possessed exclusive rights and privileges which gave
them advantages for the recovery of debts 219

76. Affiliation of biirghs. The customs of one burgh were frequently
derived in their entirety from some other model. Many towns followed the
custom of London 223

77. The constitutions of towns. The Gild merchant was an important
element in the constitution of many towns; and there are instances of
its survival in name. The burghal constitution is sometimes seen to have
been quite distinct originally, even though the two elements gradually
coalesced, and the names of town ofhcials suggest manorial or magisterial
rather than commercial origin. The business which came before the town
authorities was varied. There was a danger, against whicli it was necessary
to guard, of frequent fires in the towns, and assessment was an important
duty 225

VI. Royal, Municipal, and Manorial Economy.

78. The Dialogua de Scaccario. The manors and other units had
common relations to the Crown through the proceedings in the Exchequer.
The Dialogus de Scaccario shows the author's high sense of official duty in
finance, as he discusses how to check malversation and describes the system
of accounts 229

79. Manorial documents. The documents kept in the Manors were
(a) the Extenta or Survey and Inventories, [b) the Ministers' Accounts, which
are good examples of mediaeval book-keeping, and (c) Court Rolls. 232

SO. Manorial ofBcers. The officials of a manor are described in
the Senescalcia,

81. Treatises on estate management. Walter of Henley wrote on
estate management, and the information he gives can be supplemented from
an anonymous tract on Husbandry ; while Grossteste also devised rules for
the management of a household 238

82. Household economy. The great households were obliged to go on
tour, as this was the simplest way of procuring provisions. Careful estimates
were made of supplies, and of such outgoings as alms. Natural economy did
not completely serve the requirements of the thirteenth century, as money
was needed for certain purchases and payments. , . . .' 240

XVI CONTENTS.

83. Municipal economy. The thirteenth century was a period of
planting new towns and extending urban areas. The aim of much municipal
regulation was to promote commercial prosperity, and attempts were made
to secure fair dealing. Documents which remain furnish schemes of
assessment, and give evidence as to the competition of 'foreigners' and
facilities for alien merchants. Attempts were made to secure reasonable
rates for corn and wages. -.,,.... 245

84. Christian duty in matters of trade. There is a contrast between
the objects of modern and mediaeval economic doctrine : S. Thomas Aquinas
assumes a just price based on common estimation, and regulation was
desirable to enforce this just price, while allowance was made for necessary
variations. The legitimacy of certain forms of bargain, and motives of
conduct were the chief matters of consideration. .... 251

85. Opinion on usury. The condemnation of usury gave rise to many
evasions; S. Thomas Aquinas discusses the use and nature of money; but
there was some relaxation of the strict doctrine on the subject. Still, public
opinion supi^orted the ecclesiastical rule, and this does not seem to have had
a cramping effect on society. 255

III. REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

I. Political and Social Conditions under the Edwards.

86. National Economic Organisation. The constitutional changes under
Edward I. had much indirect influence on national industry and commerce.
Particular bodies had hitherto secured special privileges for themselves;
henceforth they helped to determine the contributions taken from the whole
land and framed regulations to be everywhere enforced. From this time, the
local institutions were gradually superseded by the more effective work of
Parliament. The system created by Edward I. combined centralisation with
individual independence, and regulated trade without restricting it. 261

87. Beginning of national commercial policy. The foreign policy of
Edward III. was connected with the development of English national
resources. His claim to the French crown offered the best prospect of
bringing Gascony and Flanders into organic connection with England. He
claimed the sovereignty of the sea in the interest of shipping ; and the course
of the Crecy campaign was affected by the consideration of trade with
Flanders. The Gascony trade was also important. . . . 265

88. Empirical legislation. The traditional commercial morality con-
tinued unchanged under the Edwards. Statute law often re-enforced burgh
customs, and legislation was empirical in character. . . . 269

II. Consolidation.

89. Royal authority. Kepresentation did not detract from the royal
authority, which Edward I. used to put down usurpations and rectify en-
croachment on royal rights 270

90. Ecclesiastical immunities. The papal pretensions as to the Church
and its revenue called for new measures. The most important of these was

CONTENTS. XVU

the Statute of Mortmain; the Edwards also dealt with military and other
orders, — the Templars, Cluniacs, and Cistercians 272

91. Royal prerogatives. The king enjoyed undefined rights of prise
and purveyance. Definite tolls at the ports were customary, such as the
'ancient custom' on wool and leather, the 'recta prisa' of wine and butlerage
from aliens. Exactions in excess of these were thought oppressive. Parlia-
ment occasionally granted 'subsidies.' Edward I. re-organised the collection
of customs, improved the ports and created free towns. . . 275

92. The conditions of trade. Improved conditions for trade were
secured by, (a) police ordinances, and regulations with regard to wrecks ;
(b) measures for the recovery of debts and prohibition of unfair distraint ;
and (c) measures to remedy the debasement of the currency, as well as the
establishment of exchanges. The craft of the goldsmiths had parliamentary
recognition. These measures were an improvement ; as local regulation was
superseded by general, and trade became more free. . . . 279

93. The Jews. Consolidation brought into greater prominence the
position of the Jews, whose expulsion was demanded and carried out, though
there is some doubt as to how far it was complete. . . . 285

94. Alien merchants and bankers. The Italian merchants were also
attacked; and the ruin of the Bardi helped to cause their withdrawal.
Flemings and Gascons were encouraged to trade by the Crown, but not to
interfere in retail or internal trade. Police responsibility was organised
through ofiBcial hosts. The statutes which were passed in favour of aliens
were not allowed to interfere with the privileges granted to the Londoners
by charter 288

95. Culmination of mediaeval progress. The zenith of mediaeval
prosperity was at the end of the thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth
century. Good government was general, and the arts and building
flourished 293

96. Sources and pressure of taxation. Pains were taken to guard
against arbitrary assessment, when tenths and fifteenths were levied. The
pressure of taxation was more fairly distributed, and an increasing revenue
was raised from the Customs. 295

97. The standard of comfort. There were few of the comforts and
conveniences of life ; but it is impossible to form a comparison with the
present day. In the fourteenth century mediaeval progress was suddenly
checked by the Black Death. 297

III. Beginnings op Commercial Policy.

98. The means of material prosperity. Edward III. endeavoured
(a) to foster foreign commerce. He wished to ensure cheapness to the con-
sumer and protection for merchants from the perils of the sea. Eeprisals
were customary, and attempts were made to put down the nuisance of piracy
by claiming the sovereignty of the sea, and organising fleets and safe
conduct. (6) He attempted to plant new industries, and induced a Flemish
immigration of weavers and dyers, who found various inducements to come,
and enjoyed the king's protection. Clockmakers were also introduced.

XVUl CONTENTS.

(c) Thrift was promoted by sumptuary laws as to food and dress. The ends
in view have an interesting aifinity witli those pursued in modern times.

298

99. Regulation of trade. The Staple was organised by Edward III.,
and this institution afforded many economic advantages. The export of
wool was superintended by keepers of the Tronage, and eiJorts were dii-ected

/i towards maintaining a high price for wool exported. The people of Bruges

tried to obtain a monopoly and prohibited export by Italian merchants. The
Staple was organised within the realm by Edward III., but after some ex-
perience it was generally fixed at Calais. . . . . . . 311

100. The wine trade. The aims of the regulation in regard to
imports were plenty and cheapness. Wine, though partly home-grown, waa
chiefly imported, and attempts were made to regulate the price. . 317

101. Fair dealing. Forestalling was prohibited, but the rules at
Yarmouth, with regard to herrings, show the difficulty of interfering with
middlemen in the interests of the producer or consumer. The attempts to
enforce a uniform assize of cloth were not successful, and the necessity for
the authoritative weighing of goods gave rise to some of the privileges of the
Grocers' Company. The inconvenience of changing regulations was very
great ; the interference of the Crown, and the taking of grants in kind, tended
to disorganise commerce. 320

102. The Currency. The coins had been diminished in size, but efforts
were made to keep up the standard. Exchange was a royal prerogative and
pains were taken to ensure a supply of bullion for coinage. . . 326

103. The Black Death and regulation of wages. The assessment of
wages generally was necessitated by the Black Death which caused a great
scarcity of labour. Proclamations and statutes attempted to caiTy out the
policy of regulating wages and prices, but this was a failure. . , 329

IV. Craft Gilds.

104. Formation of craft gilds. Craft gilds were probably of foreign
origin, but conditions were favourable to them in England. The
formation of the lorimers' gild took place in 1261, and the cordwainera
also had one. Pains were taken to keep them under the supervision of
municipal authorities; when this was neglected, trouble arose between the
burghs and the craft gilds 336

105. Objects of the craft gilda. The gilds were meant to control the
conditions of industry and to ensure reasonable rates. One object of their
regulations was the maintenance of good quality in the wares; and they
were responsible for their members. It is difficult to ascertain the relation
of craft gilds to the gUds merchant. There is no sign of rivalry in England,
as some of the gilds merchant appear to have been specialised into gilds of
particular crafts, and craftsmen were sometimes members of gilds merchant.
The Londoner, who had served an apprenticeship, was allowed to change his
trade, and the status of craftsmen was high. Scotch analogies present some
interesting points of contrast. ....... 342

106. Members of the gilda. There were three classes of gild members,
(a) apprentices, whose relations with their masters were carefully regulated,
(6) journeymen and servants, (c) masters. 349

CONTENTS. XIX

V. Economic Doctrine.

1 07. The Commonweal. The time was ripe for reflection on economic
phenomena and monetary problems. Nicholas Oresme wrote a treatise on
the subject, and business practice gives evidence of City opinion. . 353

108. Nicholas Oresme. Oresme's treatise was known in England in
the early part of the fifteenth century. He asserts that money belongs to
the commonwealth, and contrasts the government of princes and of tyrants.
The practical bearing of his treatise was noticeable, and he explicitly adopted
the conception of national rather than municipal wealth. . . 355

1 09. Views on the currency. Oresme treats of the exchange of riches,
natural and artificial ; and discusses the subject of the material for money.
He considers the alteration of money in denomination, by reducing weight
and by debasing, and follows out the evil effects of debasement. . 357

110. City opinion on monetary transactions. City opinion in the four-
teenth ceuturj' condemned a loan for three months at interest. The conditions
of mediaeval business restricted banking operations. The currency was
entirely metallic, and the exchange of coins was a prerogative of the Crown.
There was little demand for loans of capital ; and special emergencies might
often occur in connection with demands for taxation as well as in trade.
Merchants had some opportunities for obtaining gratuitous loans and could
form partnerships. The total mass of money was so small that there was
serious danger of the stocks being monopolised. .... 360

111. Grounds for mediaeval opinion. It was thought justifiable to
demand security for loans, but that there should be no gain if there was no
damage and no risk. The modern justification of interest did not apply in the
fourteenth century. Interest on secured loans was charged at monopoly
rates ; but partnership in risks and profits gave facilities for commerce.
Hence it was not obvious that money-lending could be of any benefit to the
community. ........... 365

IV. LANCASTER AND YORK.

I. Disintegration and the Beginnings of Modern Society.

112. Decay and progress. Till the reign of Edward III. there were
many signs of national progress, both material and social, but the French
War and the Black Death had disastrous effects. Hasty generalisations
about the fifteenth century have obtained general currency ; but the evidence
is very conflicting, and it is necessary to discriminate. Distress was general,
but relieved in many places by the progress of cloth manufacture and by the
success of nati /e Englishmen in ousting aliens. .... 369

113. Decay of authority. The violent economic changes of the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries contributed to the decay of the royal
authority on land and sea. Parliament was not an effective substitute.
The decay of local institutions became apparent in the reign of Kichard II.,
when manorial powers, municipal authority, gilds, and ecclesiastical influ-
ence alike declined. 373

XX CONTENTS.

114. Anticipations of the mercantile eystem. In the reign of
Bichard 11. a new departure was made. We find at this time the reversal
of the old policy, and the first signs of the mercantile system in the legisla-
tion with regard to shipping, tillage, and bullion. .... 377

115. Social changes. Classes of society became divided, as in modern
times, into labourers and capitalists ; this was an abiding result in the
structure of society. 378

II. The Mercantile Class and the Labourers.

116. Importance of the merchant class. Under Edward III. the mer-
chant class was growing in importance. The Grocers as well as other Livery
Companies, such as the Vintners and Drapers, obtained privileges. Wealthy
artisans came to the front ; and the power of the merchants was very great
in London and other towns. Many municipal towns were royal creditors,
and we have evidence of municipal opulence from assessments for taxation.

381

117. Changes in the standard of comfort. The habits of a merchant
prince in the fifteenth century involved considerable magnificence combined
with lack of comfort ; the homes of the poor must have been miserable.
No accurate comparison with modern conditions is possible, as the change
in ordinary requirements has been so great ; and we can only fall back on a
physical test as to the support and prolongation of human life. Famines
and pestilence caused great ravages; the means at the labourers' disposal
depended on the rates of wages, and were reduced by irregularity of employ-
ment. Holidays were frequent, but the hours of labour were long. It seems
probable that there has been an improvement in the condition of the
skilled artisan in modern times ; and it is certain that in the fifteenth
century there was considerable misery and discontent. . . . 386

118. Management of trade. The influence of merchants had its effect
on the mercantile policy of the realm, (i) Kestrictions were imposed on
aliens in internal and retail trade, (ii) The encouragement of English
shipping was demanded, (iii) Money and bullion were wanted in the
country. The theory of the balance of trade was appealed to by
Eicbard III.'s advisers, who recognised the importance of accumulating
treasure 392

119. The Peasants' Revolt. The landlords were greatly impoverished,
and were forced to take to sheep farming, or to let their land on lease. With
the introduction of the cash nexus, the distinction between prosperous and
poor peasants became more marked, and the rights of the manorial lords
were seriously called in question. The revolt was mainly due to agrarian
discontent, but it was occasioned by the Poll Tax, and was for the most
part directed against monasteries. The peasants found sympathisers among
the wage-earners in towns, but the revolt ended in complete failure. 396

1 20. The effects of sheep farming. The difficulty of arable farming
led to the increase of sheep fai-ming. Rural disorganisation was followed by
a Game Law. Tillage was encouraged by Corn Laws, which allowed
freedom of exporting and prohibited the importing of corn. Poor relief
received attention, as clergy and monasteries could no longer cope with the
problem, and the foundation of hospitals became common. Signs of a new
constructive policy are found as early as the time of Richard II. . 405

CONTENTS. xxi

III. Commercial Relationships.

121. English shipping. English shipping was in a state of decay, and
the coasts were exposed to attack. Self-protection by merchants was a
recognised expedient, but this did not remedy the insecurity of the coasts.
Shipbuilding was encouraged, but the Navigation Laws were not regularly
enforced. 409

1 22. Growth of English commerce. The growth of English commerce
is shown by commercial treaties and the formation of merchant companies,
particularly the Merchant Adventurers. Consuls were first appointed for
Mediterranean trades ; the English also entered into rivalry with the
Hansards, and commenced to trade with Iceland. . . . 414

1 23. The Hanse League. The position of the men of the Hanse caused
considerable difficulty, and there were many negotiations about injuries to
shipping, with claims against and by the English. The Hansards had also
grievances against the English customers. Arrangements were made for
putting down reprisals, and the position of the Hansards was strengthened
by Edward IV 419

1 24. Italian trade. The business carried on by the Italians was now
mercantile and not merely financial ; it was conducted by organised fleets of
galleys by the sea route. Traders from Florence, Genoa, and Venice frequented
EngUsh ports. Objection was taken to those branches of the trade which
consisted in the import of articles of unproductive consumption and of
articles that might be manufactured at home. Complaint was also made
of the influence exercised by Italian buyers on the cloth manufacture. 422

125. National industrial policy. The protection of native artisans
was carried out under Edward IV., and Parliamentary recognition was
given to many craft gilds. ........ 429

1 26. The supply of bullion. Strict regulations were maintained with
regard to the export of money and bullion, Bullion was very scarce in
Europe, and the political importance of securing treasure was fully
recognised. .... - 431

IV. Industry and Internal Trade.

127. The cloth manufacture. The manufacture of cloth had become
a large branch of trade, and the aulnager was an important official. The
manufacture flourished in many localities and there wars great varieties
of qualities ; it had become the subject of national regulation. A class
of capitalist employers arose, v/ho were known as clothiers. There are
signs of conflict between capital and labour ; and care was taken to ensure
a supply of raw materials. The social conditions of the fifteenth century
were unsatisfactory ; while the country generally suffered from the decay of
tillage and of many towns, the rapid development of the cloth manufacture
in other localities affords a strong contrast. .... 434

128. Craft gilds in the fifteenth century. The national regulation of
the goldsmiths' and other trades was carried out by the agency of their
gilds; but these bodies were falling into discredit in many places, and there
were difficulties between craft gilds and municipal officers, and between

XX 11 CONTENTS.

merchants and craftsmen. The condition of journeymen was unsatisfactory ;
some of them attempted to form brotherhoods of their own, as was done by
the cordwainers ; and the saddlers and tailors also formed Yeoman gilds.
At Coventry, and at Bristol, special arrangements and organisation were
allowed to the journeymen tailors. In other trades the introduction of
machinery also gave rise to ditliculties. Gilds tended to become monopolies,
and took a stand against the competition of aliens ; they appear to have
combined for this among other objects 441

129. Agricultural policy. During the fifteenth century, encouragement
was given to tillage, by freedom to export corn, and by the prohibition of
importation. Sheep farming increased at the expense of tillage, owing to
the decrease of laboiu: ; and the assessment of wages was resorted to. The
attraction of the cloth manufacture interfered with the supply of labourers
in husbandry 447

1 30. Decay of internal trade. The roads fell out of repair ; this was
one of the causes which brought about the decay of fairs, such as those
of Boston and Winchester, and many of the provincial towns were im-
poverished. The towns had little recuperative power, and it was necessary
to grant considerable remissions in the collection of fifteenths and tenths.
The causes of this decay seem to have included incursions of the sea, war,
and pestilence, as well as the pressure of taxation 450

V. Mediaeval and Modern Economic Ideas contrasted.

131. The determination of prices. There is such a paucity of litera-
ture in the fifteenth century that it is not easy to follow the changes with
precision. Natural economy had been very {generally superseded, and the
intervention of money led to the change from customary to competition
prices. A reconstruction of society was taking place on the basis of
competition, and with fluctuating, not regulated prices. In the Middle Ages
the cost of production was a primary factor in the assessing of prices ; while
in modern times the process is reversed, and price limits the reward of
labour. New conceptions were coming into voguein regard to the reckoning
of rent and the power of capital. ....... 457

132. Relations of persons and exchange of things. The social
structure was becoming altered, and this affected individual ambition, and
led to increased desire for wealth. 464

133. Personal responsibility. In modern conditions it is difficult to
apply moral principles to commercial transactions. Formerly the gilds
brought home the responsibility for wrong-doing to their members. 465

1 34. National power. The aim of national power had become opera-
tive as a limiting principle. The municipal spirit was giving way before
patriotism in the fifteenth century. This is reflected in the Debate of
the Heraids and by Fortescue. The Libelle of English Polycye is also
full of a spirit of national ambition. Power was being aimed at rather
than plenty, and this object helped to consolidate the mercantile system.
The reign of Henry VII. is the turning point when the new scheme of policy
was consciously adopted. ........ 467

CONTENTS. XXllJ

V. THE TUDORS.

I. Preliminary Survey.

135. The Age of Discovery. The discoveries of America, and of new
routes for trade with the East, eventually resulted in a great extension of
English commerce, as they were the removal of a physical limit to expansion.
The spirit of the age favoured the increase of geographical knowledge, and
the tradition of previous voyages to the West survived. The old routes
of trade were closed, but Portuguese enterprise pushed along the coast
of Africa and succeeded in reaching India ; there was much rivalry between
them and the Venetians. ........ 473

136. Growth of the mercantile system. The material prosperity of
the country as a whole was sought for, as a means of gratifying the national
ambition. Kelative progress was needed to secure relative superiority.
The pursuit of private gain was kept in check in the interests of public
good. The mercantile policy regarded power as dependent on (a) treasure,
(b) shipping, and (c) population. The long period, when these principles
were adopted, must be divided according to political relationships. -"" 478

II. Accelerated Rate of Change.

1 37. New direction of English ambition. In the sixteenth century the
control of the balance of power became an object of English policy ; while
the new discoveries gave rise to hopes which superseded the old schemes
of continental conquest. ........ 483

138. The accumulation of treasure. Treasure was accumulated by
Henry VII. through high-handed exactions. Henry VIII. resorted to the
confiscation of Church property, and the debasement of the coinage, to
obtain resources 486

139. Social resiilts. Through these exactions and confiscations the
necessary evils of this period of transition were aggravated. . . 488

III. Shipping.

1 40. The navigation policy. The Navigation Acts were maintained by
Henry VII. ; under Henry VIII. they were first relaxed and subsequently
re-enforced 490

141. Commercial policy. The safety of merchant shipping engaged
the attention of Henry VIH. during the French war ; important commercial
treaties had been made by Henry VII. He secured the light to engage in trade
with Iceland for his subjects ; there was a considerable Mediterranean trade
with Pisa, and in the Levant. Under Edward VI. many advantages were
expected from a proposed mart at Southampton. The Hansards in England
were now put on the same footing as other aliens. .... 491

142. Protection of the coast. Under Henry VIII. Trinity House was
incorporated ; the harbours were improved and steps taken for the defence
of the coasts. Henry also established a naval arsenal. . . . 497

143. Policy for the development of shipping. Increased attention
was directed to the supply of naval stores, and encouragement was given

xxiv CONTENTS.

to the training of seamen in the fishing trades by the enforcement of a

political Lent. 497

144. England and the discoveries. The Tudors took no part in the
great discoveries, and Columbus could get no help from England. John
Cabot and the Bristol merchants organised some expeditions, and Cabot
obtained a royal hcense. Sebastian Cabot carried on his father's work, and
there were other expeditions, such as those of Thorne and Hawkins. An
attempt to find a North-East passage, under Chancellor, led to the foundation
of the Bussian Company. 500

IV. The Gilds.

145. The condition of industry. Under the early Tudors the con-
dition of industry was unsatisfactory. The towns still suffered from excessive
taxation and were in a state of decay. There were, however, under
Henry VIII. some signs of improvement 506

146. Difaculties in the towns. The older towns suffered from the
migration of industry and abuses in the craft gilds ; their weakness was
shown in inability to control the apprentices who broke into a riot known
as Evil May Day. There were also injurious regulations which tended to
the oppression of journeymen. 508

1 47. Legislative action. Under the Tudors the gilds were supported
in the struggle with aliens, and were used as executive agents. Eegulations
were passed for the brasiers, coopers, leather trades, and dyers. The clothing
trades in the West Kiding were important, and pains were taken to introduce
suitable regulations into the Norfolk trade. There was considerable
difficulty with regard to the supply and purchase of wool. . 512

148. Migrationof industry from corporate towns. The continued decay
of corporate towns is illustrated by the case of Worcester, which was suffering
from the competition of village artisans ; the retail trade of the old towns
had also been injured. New towns sprang up at Manchester, Birmingham,
and Sheffield, and London trade was expanding 51 7

149. Capital in industry. In so far as the gilds had not been
nationalised, they were of little use, and under Edward VI. a discriminating
attack was made on their property and powers. Capitalistic production
in factories was coming into vogue, and rules were made as to the numbers
of journeymen and apprentices, to check the abuses which accompanied it.
Capital was also used for planting new trades. .... 521

V. The Land Qdestion.

1 50. Enclosing. Improved estate management with enclosure, for
sheep, for exclusive use in husbandry, or for deer. Depopulation by land-
lords, and by prosperous tenants, who united holdings and farmed in
severalty so as to save labour. 526

1 51 . Sheep fanning and absenteeism. Owing to national dangers
statutes were passed to repress sheep farming, and absenteeism, but improved
husbandry was not checked. .,....,, 530

CONTENTS XXV

152. The superseding of manorial economy. Farming for the market
superseded the old system of catering for household needs, and serfdom
passed away, but many traces of collective husbandry survived. 535

153. Conditions of labourer. Labourers' wages and hours of labour
were regulated ; as there was a continued rise of prices, the men endeavoured
to secure better terms by combination 534

1 54. The unemployed. In dealing with the unemployed, the Tudors
distinguished between stalwart tramps and the impotent poor, who received
licenses to beg. Legislation encouraged the raising of funds to relieve the
impotent, and ill-considered charity was discouraged, -^he dissolution of
the monasteries was followed by an increase of the evils of pauperism, and
the poor were graded and cared for in the London hospitals. The gilds
had formerly acted as Friendly Societies, and had prevented men falling
into poverty. Under Edward VI. loiterers were severely dealt with, and
charity was organised in the parishes 536

VI. The Revenue.

165. The state of the currency. The Tudors felt themselves forced,
by the changes in the ratio of the two precious metals, to issue depreciated
silver coins. The consequent rise in prices was explained by contemporaries
as due to combination. The extravagant use made of the precious metals
in the fifteenth century and the hoarding of bullion by Henry VII. had
tended to keep prices low. Social conditions in the Middle Ages had on the
whole tended to render prices stable. There is some doubt about the modes
of payment which were in vogue, and altogether there is great difficulty in
interpreting prices 541

156. Fiscal charges. Tenths and fifteenths were supplemented by
general subsidies ; these soon became a fixed levy. Changes were made in the
collection of customs and new impositions were levied by the Crown. 547

VII. Changes in ©pinion.

157. Economic experience. The principles of the mercantile system
were not strictly adhered to under Edward VI. ; progress was made in the
formation of capital. 550

1 58. Improvements and discoveries. Practical treatises were written
on husbandry, surveying, mensuration, and arboriculture, and there was
much interest in travel and discovery 552

1 59. Moralists and preachers. Starkey's Dialogue deals with economic
conditions. Preachers and moralists uttered fine sentiments, but did not
formulate principles of duty which were applicable in new circumstances.
The questions arose how far it was a duty for capitalists to give employment,
and how far it was allowable to take gain without running risks. Abuses of
the power of capital have given rise to sentimental protests, rather than to
any reasoned ethical doctrine. 555

1 60. National prosperity as a representative principle. Edward VI.
desired to retain the old social order, and laid stress on differences of degree
and the 'proportion of the country,' but mere repression was impracticable.

XXVI CONTENTS.

The Discourse of the Common Weal anticipates many modern views on
taxation, self-interest, and the currency, and lays stress on the balance of
trade. There are practical proposals for recoinage, for encouraging skilled
'foreigners,' and for remedying depopulation. The Elizabethan economic
system followed these lines rather than the principles of Edward VI. 659

APPENDIX.

PAGE

A. The Assize op Bread 567

B. Manorial Records 570

I. Services and Extents 570

1. Gerefa 571

2. Extent of Borley 576

3. Commutation of Services 584

4. Stock and Land Lease 586

n. Compotus Roll. Anstie 591

m. Extracts from the Court Bolls of Granborough . . . 610

C. Municipal Life 615

I. Charter of Coventry 615

n. London Custom 616

in. De Stachia, Reading 618

IV. Instructions for Italian merchants trading in London 618

V. The Staple at Bruges 622

VI. London Companies in the time of Henry VIII. • . 624

D. The Wool Trade in the XIIIth and XIVth Centuries 628

Monastic Centres 629

E. The Immigration of Alien Craftsmen into England

in Norman and Angevin Times 641

F. Protection op Native Industry 656

List op Authorities 657

Index 675

Open Fields at Clothall, from a photograph by Miss E. M. Leonard

Frontispiece

Map of a Normal Virgate in the open fields of Hitchin, reproduced by

the kind permission of Dr Seebohm . . • .to folloic 44

ExcHEQUEE Tally 157

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

I. Past and Present.

1, Eight hundred years have now passed since William Domesday
of Normandy carried out a great survey of the kingdom he

had secured, and embodied the result of his enquiry as to its
economic condition in Domesday Book. This work stands
out as a great monument which plainly records the general
character of English life in bygone days, though there is
much difficulty in interpreting the details of the information
it contains. A very little consideration of its plan and con-
tents serves to bring to light extraordinary contrasts between
the past and the present, and to show the nature of the
difficulties which we must face when we attempt to trace
and to describe, the course which English industrial progress
has from that time pursued. One need hardly add that
there are additional difficulties in regard to the still earlier
ages from which but little accurate information survives.

2. There has been, to begin with the most obvious Contrasts
difference, an extraordinary change, since the time of the ]^ejatl,ve im-
Conqueror, in the relative wealth and importance of different ^'°''^'*"*'*
parts of the country. The most casual traveller through
England to-day could hardly fail to remark that a very large

part of the national industry is concentrated in the northern
counties ; Lancashire and Yorkshire are occupied by great
masses of busy population. The wealth of our coal and iron
beds, and the skill we have shown in using these materials,
have been important factors in enabling us to secure our
present industrial supremacy. These northern counties,
C. H. 1

2 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

where waterpower, as well as coal and iron, is to be found,
have attracted to themselves the textile industries, for which
they afford both mechanism and power on the easiest terms.
London is the great emporium of commerce, but the north
of England is the workshop of the world. The records of
Norman times portray a very different state of affairs.
ofdifercht Neither coal nor iron formed an important item in English
' industry or trade, and the weaving trade was but little
developed ^ Tin and lead were the chief mineral wealth,
and raw wool and hides were the staple articles of trade for
many succeeding generations; we had hardly any manu-
factures to send to foreign markets but we exported raw
materials for others to work up.
anddifc- The Staple articles of trade in the Norman period were

\rUt$!'" quite different from those in which we now excel, and the
great centres of modern production had not succeeded at
that time in attracting any considerable share of the national
wealth. York had been an important city in Roman Britain,
in some ways more important than London itself, — and
Northumbria had been for a time the dominant kingdom
in the newly settled England ; but the power of the North
had begun to wane before the ravages of the Danes, and the
rising power of Wessex. The Norman king himself, how-
ever, dealt the blow which destroyed it utterly; King William
harried the North so thoroughly that page after page of the
Survey describes how one manor or another, which had been
fairly stocked with meat and men in the time of King
Edward, was valueless and waste. The lands between the
nibble and the Mersey had not suffered similarly, but they
were scarcely more populous, and long centuries elapsed
before they began to take a leading part in the industrial
life of England.
Contrasts 3. If vve coufinc our attention to any one district and

^character Contrast its condition at that time and the present day,
cftovm another series of differences is likely to attract our notice ;
the striking contrast which we now find between town and
country life was then unknown. Our manufacturing towns,

1 Cloth was obviously an imported article, see below p. 130, n. 4. on London
trade; also on Irish mercliants, p. 180, n. '2.

PAST AND PRESENT. 3

with their masses of population, could hardly have been
supplied with the necessaries of life in any age when there
were few facilities for internal communication ; but even
the sleepiest country town, with shops containing goods from
all parts of the world, suffices to illustrate the extraordinary
change that has taken place. At the time of the great
Survey there were hardly any towns, as we understand the
term; even in a place like CambridgeS which had a fairly a. d. lose
advanced municipal life, the burgesses were engaged in rural
pursuits and were bound to supply teams to the Sheriff; and
the men of Leicester were responsible for predial services
and made payments in lieu of them at a much later date^ ; a.d. ii90
the people of the towns were still engaged in agriculture.
Again, there were in these towns few if any shops stored
with quantities of wares ready for sale. We may specify
two of the commonest classes ; there were no grocers' shops,
for commerce was too fitful to supply foreign wares by regular
trade, and no butchers' shops, for these are of comparatively
recent introduction even in towns like Aberdeen and Lanai'k*;
while the craftsmen would have a comparatively small stock
of finished goods and would for the most part execute work
to order. Markets there doubtless were in most of the
towns, and a few annual fairs near others ; but just because
booths, erected on these occasions, sufficed for the greater
part of the internal commerce of the country, there was no
need for regular shops* as we know them to-day.

The primitive character of the towns harmonised with a andcountry
condition of rural life that differed much from that which we '*^*'
have in the present day; just because the villagers had not
learned to depend on shops in the towns for the supply of
many commodities, they made more effort to supply them-
selves. There seems to have been in each village a larger
proportion of craftsmen than we should find among the rural
population now ; each household, or at any rate each little
group, had the requisite skill for supplying the main articles

1 Domesday, 1. 189 a. 2 See below, p. 215.

3 Sampson, History of Advertising, p. 59.

^ Shops are frequently mentioned in the Hundred Rolls : it appears that the
wooden front was made to fold down so as to form a sort of counter. Parker,
Domestic Architecture, 154.

1—2

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

Contrasts
in the
social
striicture

tn regard
to Cajpital,

of clothing and domestic use, so that the villages were not so
purely agricultural as they are to-day, while the townsmen
had not entirely severed themselves from rural pursuits ;
differentiation between town and country was incomplete,
indeed it would be more true to say that it had hardly begun.

4, The contrasts in regard to the structure of the
various industrial groups and the relationships of the persons
who composed them, are even more striking than those we
have noticed in connection with the external aspects of
society. In every kind of industrial group, urban or niral,
we may now distinguish three classes, — the landlord who
owns the soil where the work proceeds, the employers who
supply the capital and the labourers who carry through the
actual manual toil. Even in those cases where three classes
cannot be distinguished, it is convenient, for the purpose of
explaining the process of production and even for under-
standing the accounts and financial position of any under-
taking, to analyse out the factors of Labour, Capital and
Land. But though, when we have these distinctions clearly
in mind, we may find them in eleventh century society in
England, we find them under very difierent forms ; and it is
not an exaggeration to say that Capital, as now understood,
had no place in the industry of that period. Capital means
a store of wealth which can be employed in one direction or
another as the prospects of remuneration are more or less
favourable ; it is part of its very nature that it is fluid ; it is
continually being expended in tools, materials or wages and
replaced by sales, and thus it affords constant opportunities
for increased or diminished investment. But though the
craftsman of the eleventh century had the few simple tools
that were necessary for doing his work, there must have been
many cases where he had no stock of materials of his own,
but relied on his customer to give the materials or supply
money in advance for buying them. While industry was
thus conducted, there was no fund which could be used for
planting new industries, or calling labour into new directions;
stock-in-trade there undoubtedly was, but no Capital as we
now use the term.

There were also great differences between Labour, as we

PAST AND PRESENT. 5

understand it now, and the workers of the time of the
Survey. Just as we assume in our ordinary discussions the
fluidity of Capital ^ so we are accustomed to take " the
fluidity of Labour " for granted and to assume that a man to Labour
who cannot get remunerative work in one place will go and
seek it in another, so that high wages in one district attract
labourers to that locality. But at the time of the Survey,
labour was by no means fluid ; partly because a very large
proportion of the population were serfs who could not move to
other estates or to towns, and partly because others had such
rights in the land, or at a later date such status in particular
towns, that they were unwilling to try their fortunes else-
where. The labourer, as a man who depended on some
employer for the opportunity and means of doing his work,
seems to have been almost unknown in the eleventh century.

There were also great differences in regard to land and and to
the income which was derived from it. The contrast, which
Sir John Phear draws''^ between a Bengali and an English
proprietor in the present time, holds good between the
English proprietor of eight hundred years ago and his
successor now. The rent of the proprietor now is directly
connected with the physical character of his estate, its pro-
ductiveness and its situation. The income of the lord of a
Domesday Manor depended on the tolls he received, and the
payments of his dependents ; and thus was based on the way
in which his estates were stocked with meat and men, rather
than on the physical condition of the land. His income was
a very different thing from modern rent.

We may thus see that English Society at the time of the The

CI Ti2c j_ /• J.1 J. xi 1 connotation

Survey was so dinerent irom our own, that the language (jy-^e^.^s.
in which we habitually discuss the industrial condition of
the present day is inapplicable, if we wish to analyse the
circumstances of these earlier times. Labour, Capital, and
Rent have all altered their connotation so much, that we
run considerable risk of confusing ourselves if we are
satisfied with adopting modern language to describe the
*period of the Domesday Survey. This is perhaps the

1 Bagehot, Economic Studies, 41.

2 The Aryan Village, 136.

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

greatest difficulty with which we have to contend; not only
have the industry and commerce grown immensely, but the
very terms in which we habitually describe them and express
our ideas regarding them, have changed their signification
as that growth has taken place.

II. The Scope of Economic History.

The Body 5. While the greatness of the changes which we are

conomic. g^-jjQy^ |^(^ trace makes the task of examining them difficult,
the wide extent of the field which we must survey renders it
still harder. In analysing and tabulating the events of any
brief period, statisticians can separate economic from other
phenomena ; but in tracing the growth of the different parts
of English Society we cannot draw a hard and fast line of
separation. The student of morbid anatomy may dissect out
the various organs, or describe the alimentary system in itself
and with little reference to the nerves, but in the living
subject there is no such severance ; the alimentary and
nervous systems are interconnected, and the process of
mastication and digestion would not long continue if the
nerves were completely paralysed ; if we are discussing the
operations of healthy life, or the disorders which actually
occur, we cannot neglect the interconnection of the two
systems, or treat one fully without an implied recognition
of the importance of the other. So too with the constitution
and the industrial system of a State. We may separate them
in thought or verbally, but they never are and never can be
separated in actual life ; for purposes of study it may often
be convenient to look at them apart, but if we are to under-
stand their working at any one time, still more if we are to
understand the changes which have taken place in the course
of centuries, we must bear in mind that economic and
political circumstances constantly re-act on one another.
The forces which are applied to the maintenance and enrich-
ment of the inhabitants of England, have been controlled in'
very different ways and to very different degrees at various
periods of our history ; but at each epoch we have had to do.

SCOPE OF ECONOMIC HISTORY. 7

not with dead matter, but with a living organism ; we cannot
comprehend the growth of our industrial system, without an
implied recogTiition of the constitutional changes that were
taking place side by side.

Indeed a very few moments' consideration will show us The inter-
that there is no fact in our nation's history but has some of events.
traceable bearing on the industry of the time, and none that
we should be justified in ignoring as if it were wholly un-
connected with our subject. Wars and Revolutions, Court
Intrigues as well as Religious Movements, have all had an
industrial side ; they have dissipated wealth, or they have
altered the conditions under which wealth was obtained, or
the terms on which it was divided, or perhaps they have
done all three. Numberless cases might be alleged where
trifling incidents have been links in the chain of causes that
have produced most marked industrial effects.

There is more need to insist on this interconnection
between industrial and commercial history on the one
hand, and the constitutional, dynastic, or any other side of
our national story on the other, because the fact seems to be
imperfectly recognised in some of our best historical works.
The manner of treatment sometimes adopted conveys the
impression that facts about industry and commerce can be
easily distinguished from the rest, and dealt with in separate
chapters ; but this can never be a thorough way of working.
We might indeed gather the facts of industry, but not the
facts that have a bearing on industry and explain the
changes in industry ; and if we wish to understand the real
progress we must pay some attention "to both.

It might have seemed that by insisting that the sphere of The sphere
our study is so extensive, we are making the task a hopeless
one. If such a mass of facts is to be taken into account, how
are we to use them, or to hope to obtain conclusions from
them ? We shall have to group them in some way, and if
our conclusions are to be worth having, we must take great
care to marshal the facts wisely. This we cannot do by
making an arbitrary selection to start with, but only by and the
carefully taking a special point of view, and noting wha.t '/actn.
facts come into prominence when seen from this "outlook.

8 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

We get very different views of London from the Monument
and from S. Paul's ; the same buildings lie around us in both
cases, but they are differently placed, and what is prominent
in one case is half hidden in the other. So we may look at
the facts of a nation's history from a constitutional stand-
point, and note the bearings of the various events on the
growth of the political institutions ; many reported occur-
rences will be of slight, a few will be of striking importance.
If we took a dynastic standpoint, and viewed the course of
the same history as bearing on dynastic fortunes, we should
find that our attention was called to other facts as the most
important; so too from our economic standpoint we still
deal with the same recorded facts, but they have a different
interest; much that seemed valueless before comes to have
a vast importance for us now, while great political struggles
may perhaps be disregarded without serious loss. Economic
History is not so much the study of a special class of facts,
as the study of all the facts of a nation's history from a
special point of view. We wish to draw from the records of
the past all that bears upon the maintaining and prolonging
of human life in any form, whether corporate life in the
family or town or nation, or individual existence as a private
citizen.
Political 6. Nor should we be justified in contending that the

describes Special point of view from which we look at these changes is
the one which gives us the most important and adequate
survey of the national story. Political, moral and industria;
changes are closely interconnected and re-act on one another,
but we shall understand the industrial changes most truly if
we regard them as subordinate to the others. It is of course
true that, if its industrial system is not adequate, a nation
cannot continue to be a great moral power as a civilised
state, or to hand down monuments of its literary and artistic
vigour. Political greatness and high civilisation imply the
existence of industrial prosperity, and of sound industrial
conditions, if they are to be at all stable. But after all, the
life is more than meat; each nation takes its place in the
history of the world, not merely by its wealth, but by the
use that it makes of it; industrial prosperity does not in

SCOPE OF ECONOMIC HISTORY. 9

itself produce national greatness; political views not only-
control the application of national wealth, but affect its
increase. Industrial progress has often been stimulated by
new political aims and conditions. Changes in the con- the frame-
stitution of society, and in the police and foreign relations industry^
of the country, have given an altered framework to which '^^fr^^i
our industrv and commerce have time after time been forced ^"^^ ,

'' _ _ penod.

to adapt themselves. The marriage of Edward III. with
Philippa, the severities of Alva, and the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes, had conspicuous results in England; the
aims of the Angevins set our towns free to carry on a
prosperous trade ; the ambitions of later days led to the
formation of our colonies and the successful struggle for
mercantile supremacy. Economic affairs have indeed modi-
fied the course of political events ; time after time industrial
movements reacted on political life and contributed to great
constitutional changes, — when the men of London joined in
the demand for Magna Carta, when financial stress rendered
Charles I. more dependent on parliament than his predecessors
had been, or when the industrial revolution and factory system
produced a state of affairs in which the First Reform Bill
was inevitable. Economic conditions are a factor in such
changes ; they set before us the special causes of discontent
with an existing regime, but they never directly determine
the nature of the changes tliat are eventually carried
through. Our national polity is not the direct outcome of
our economic conditions ; whereas time after time, our
industrial life has been directly and permanently affected
by political affairs, and politics are more important than
economics in English History. Industrial changes have
been necessarily correlated with changes in the social and
political systems ; and the framework of society at each
period did much to determine the character of the industrial
habits and institutions.

7. While the form of industrial institutions has thus Current
been chiefly determined by political conditions, there have
been other influences which have done much to control and
modify their actual working. It may be that the traders'
conscience has not been very sensitive in any age, and we

10 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

hear enough of commercial immorality in our own day, but
at no time has it been possible for dealers or others publicly
to defy common sense opinion as to right and wrong alto-
gether. Current conviction has controlled with more or less
success the manner in which industry and trade have been
carried on ; it has found very different organs of expression
and been supported by various sanctions. In some cases it
made itself felt in the customs of traders who believed that
honesty was the best policy; in others it was enforced by
ecclesiastical discipline or royal authority, or by public
opinion expressed in an Act of Parliament; but from the
time when usury was discredited to the days when the pro-
tection of Factory Acts was given to women and children, it
has constantly modified industrial and trading habits. New
industrial abuses may have called forth new moral indig-
nation, and some industrial successes have done much to
qualify moral judgments ; but on the whole we may see that
the current conviction in regard to the morality of certain
transactions has greatly affected the conduct of industry and
trade in each succeeding generation.
Human 8. We shall have to bear in mind at each epoch then,

resources. ^^^^ ^-^^ economic changes which we trace are changes which
occurred in a definite political society and which were influ-
enced by the current views of right and wrong; these are
presupposed in every civilisation ; and they give the basis
of all economic institutions and the atmosphere in which
they worked. But this social structure and this civilised life
must be sustained ; there are physical needs which must be
attended to if the population is to be maintained in health
and strength and the government in vigour and power, and
these aims can only be accomplished by the application of
Energy and skilful energy and patient foresight. These are the resources
with which individual human beings are able to procure
the satisfaction of their wants; and on the larger scale,
industry comes into being or grows, when men, feeling
any need, strive to supply it by bringing these resources
into play; these are the factors which are invariably present.
The manner of their working, and the forms which they take,
will vary very much in different times and places; the skill

SCOPE OF ECONOMIC HISTORY. 11

that is required in a nomadic family differs very much applied
from that of a civil engineer; the forethought of a husband-
man can scarcely be compared with that of a railway con-
tractor; yet similar qualities, ability to use natural objects
for a given end and willingness to wait for a distant and
more or less certain return, are operative in these various
cases. The history of industry and commerce is only the
story of the various ways in which these human resources
have been applied so as to satisfy constantly developing
human wants. Every change that has taken place in the
manual dexterity of labourers, every mechanical improvement
or ingenious discovery by which toil is so saved that one boy
can do what fifty men could not have managed before, has
given each individual greater ability for the satisfaction of
wants. This is a matter of course ; but apart from the actual and

„.,..,, 1 , I Tij hushandtd.

mcrease of individual powers, much has been accomplished,
as civilisation advances, by the better husbanding of power :
every change which gives a better status to the labourer,
and indirectly a greater encouragement to engage or continue
in labour, has had a similar effect. We can also trace the
other factor, patient forethought — willingness to undergo
present privation for the hope of future gain. Wealthy
peoples and poor differ less in the strength of this feeling^
than in the opportunities for giving it free play. If the
" effective desire of accumulation " produces small results
in tropical climates and under tyrannous governments, this
may be, not so much because the individual desires are
weak, as because the obstacles to be overcome are great.
With every increase of security in a country, it becomes
more certain that a man will be protected in the enjoyment
of the fruits of his labours, and therefore he has more en-
couragement to work and wait for a future gain ; by stable
institutions patient forethought may be economised, and a
little of it be made to go a long way. From the sixteenth
century onwards, the greater transferability of this factor in
production becomes noticeable ; when it was once embodied in
the form of Capital the national forethought could be directed
into those channels where it was most remunerative. Still

1 A. Mitchell, Past in the Present, 23, 168—176.

12 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

more striking effects both in the husbanding and directing
of this agent in production are due to the employment of
Credit, though this requires a very stable social system as
the first condition of its existence. In one way or another,
in simpler or more complex forms, these forces have been con-
stantly at work ; and the facts which are specially prominent
from our point of view are those which show the mode of
their operation or the results of their action,
Limitivf] 9. The succcss which attends any particular employment

of these human resources must largely depend however on
physical circumstances; no amount of human forethought
and energy will give a country beds of coal and iron or
furnish them with a Gulf Stream. But it is important to
observe that natural advantages do not make a people rich ;
they can at the best only make an industrious people richer.
Natural plenty does not make men wealthy any more than
want makes them industrious^; in so far as natural plenty
removes the stimulus of want it may almost be an obstacle to
progress. The physical conditions of climate and soil deter-
mine the direction of industry which shall be most profitable
to a given people at a given time ; but curiously enough the
economic value of the physical characteristics of a country
varies greatly at different times. The introduction of ocean
steamers has given great importance to certain points as
coaling stations, and diminished the value of ports on sailing
routes ; and so too, many towns have been almost de-
stroyed as centres of trade by the introduction of railways.
Britain has been in turn a great corn-growing, wool-growing
and coal -producing island ; and the changes from one

1 This is the secret of the diiEculty of State encouragement of industry ; it is
hardly possible to guess how improved couditions will aflfect the people them-
selves, but they appear generally to remove an incentive to industry. Sometimes
however want does not act as a stimulus to exertion ; in some cases long-
continued poverty seems to deaden the activities, as it is said to have done with
the natives of Harris and other Scotch Isles ; elsewhere the habits of the people
render them unfitted for the continuous labour of tillage, while they undergo
immense privation and long days of unrewarded drudgery in unsuccessful hunting
or fishing ; or social conditions, such as the class pride of the former conquerors
of Bengal (W. W. Hunter, Annals, p. 137), may prevent them from engaging in
remunerative pursuits. In such cases as these there is very great want, but little
industiy; and we may therefore say that even if want is an essential, it is not
the sole condition of industi-y.

SCOPE OF ECONOMIC HISTORY. 13

employment to another have been due, not so much to
climatic or physical changes, as to the relations of trade in
which its inhabitants have stood to other peoples. Perhaps
we may say that physical conditions at any given time
impose a limit which prevents a nation's industry from
developing on certain sides ; but that this limit is to be
thought of not as absolute, but as relative to the character
and intelligence of the men of that time. Again and again
the skill which devotes itself to agricultural improvement or
the energy which carries on successful trade has enabled the
inhabitants of a barren land to maintain a large population,
and to pass the limits which nature had seemed to impose,
and had imposed for a time, to their further increase. These
physical limits must not be neglected, but their influence
is not unfrequently overstated ; for each step in industrial
progress was after all a new illustration of the truth that
it is only as he overcomes nature that man can be really said
to advance in the arts of life.

10. To follow out the working in our country of these a succes-
two great factors — energy and foresight, — in the different *'"" "-^
political and moral conditions of each age, and as limited by
the physical obstacles which then opposed themselves, — is to
trace the growth of English industry and commerce. But
though there has been growth on the whole there have
been long periods when there was but little industrial pro-
gress, and some epochs which were marked by disintegration
and decay. During any period when there has been little
change in the political framework or in the moral and
physical conditions which affect the play of human skill and
foresight, industrial or commercial practice comes, by the
force of habit, or custom, or regulation, to assume a definite
form. We can easily distinguish several types of industrial industrial
organisation which have dominated in turn, which seemed to °Jfdijh^ent
meet the economic needs of different ages, but each of which ''/^•=^''
has* given place, with more or less of social disturbance, to
a more vigorous successor. In early times little independent
and self-sufficing groups were united in villages, or in large
households, where the continued subsistence of the group
was the aim of economic administration. Again we find a

14 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

different type in the more complicated life of the mediaRval
towns with their organised industry and bitter commercial
rivalries; the ambition of one of their citizens was not so
much directed to the accumulation of much wealth or to
rising out of his class, as to attaining an honoured place in
his own gild and among men of his own status. Still later
there followed a successful attempt to organise the whole
industry and commerce of the country in the manner which
would contribute most surely to the maintenance of national
power, and the mercantile system dominated over private
interests. Each of these different types of economic organ-
isms flourished in England ; and through changes in the
political framework, or through new discoveries and the
consequent removal of physical limits, or through changes of
moral opinion, or through the combined action of all these
their rise causes, each in turn fell into decay and was displaced. The
history of English industry is not a sketch of continuous
change in any one direction — say of increasing individual
freedom, — but of the growth and subsequent decay of a series
of different economic organisms, as they were in turn affected
by political, moral or phj^sical conditions. It will be our
task to try and understand the growth and working of each
in turn, and to seek for indications of the precise causes
that brought about its decay.
The effec- The story then is not of improvement only, but of growth

the later and decay; the question may be asked whether the later
forms. type of industrial organisms is in all respects an improve-
ment on those that went before ? Probably in every change
in the past there was an admixture of good and evil — as there
is in every change now ; but from an economic standpoint
we cannot hesitate to say that the gain has enormously out-
weighed the loss. Each newer type of industrial organism
superseded its predecessor because it was more vigorous
and better adapted to the new conditions of national life;
we have powers at our disposal now for providing the neces-
saries and comforts of life such as William the Conqueror
never dreamed of when he determined to secure the wealthy
realm of England for his own. The stability of our political
life and our command over the forces of nature enable us to

SCOPE OF ECONOMIC HISTORY. 15

organise and utilise labour as bygone generations could never
have done. There can be no doubt as to the effectiveness
of the economic instruments now in our hands ; hope for the
future will urge us to seek to use these instruments better, so
that the benefits they confer may be more widely shared, and
not to attempt to revert to some less effective type of industrial
organism.

At the same time it must be confessed that some writers J^ach type
are inclined to do scant justice to the economic systems oi relatively
the past ; they seem to think that because raediseval methods \fj!^^'^'^'
have been superseded, they were always bad, and that
because they would be unsuited to our time, they were
therefore unsuitable in the days they were actually in vogue.
Against such unhistorical judgments, which overlook the
relative value of bygone institutions — their value in rela-
tion to the circumstances of the time, — it is unnecessary
to do more here than utter these few words of protest ; the
excuse for the modern contempt for things mediaeval lies in
the fact that in so far as the institutions of a past age survive
as mere anachronisms they are likely to be either futile or
baneful, and that practical men who see these defects are apt
to extend their condemnation to the whole social conditions
from which Manorial rights, and City Companies, and Usury
Laws have remained. To the historical student on the other
hand these very survivals may supply valuable evidence
which will help him to solve the problem before him and to
understand the working of various bygone institutions, when
they were at their best.

11. Great as the changes have been as one economic Continuity
organism was superseded by another, they have always been ^ '^'^^^
gradual ; we shall have to do with growth and decay, not with
sudden creations and wholesale destruction. Rural life is
now very different from that of eight centuries ago ; but year
after year the seed has been sown and the harvest reaped,
and the people have been fed ; industrial processes and
trading have been going on all the time, even though there
have been constant modifications in their forms from age to
age. But we may feel, as we look back on them, that these
changes have on the whole worked in the same direction;

16 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

and there has been a growing complexity in our arrangements and

increasing ...,.,,., . „,

complexity greater differentiation lu the industrial organisms. The sever-
m ociety, ^^^^ ^^ employments is being carried farther and farther,
and functions which were formerly combined in the persons
of craftsmen, are now divided between the capitalists and
labouring classes. The increase of the means of communica-
tion has enabled particular localities to specialise far more
than they could formerly do, and this again has led to the
organisation of particular industries on an enormous scale.
In every direction there has been increasing differentiation
increasing and increasing complexity. This increasing differentiation
in covi- in society has led to a better understanding of the nature of
^hecon-'"^ the factors which serve for the production and distribution of
ditions of ^galth ; there has not only been progress in the effectiveness
of industrial instruments but consequent progress in the
clearness of economic ideas. While industrial factors were
only working on a small scale, and so long as they were
closely intercombined in each branch of trade, it was
impossible to analyse them clearly ; but with growing com-
plexity of organisation it has become more possible to
distinguish the several parts and to name them. The
minute description of the different kinds of capital, which we
find in modern text-books of Economic Science ^, is possible
since capital is deliberately applied in many different direc-
tions, and with hopes of gain which are looked for in different
forms. But till the fifteenth century, though there were
many merchants with large capitals, industrial capital hardly
existed either in town or country except as the stock in trade
of working men. As a fund which could be transferred from
one employment to another, or as an industrial factor which
was composed of materials, tools and ready money for wages,
it could not be recognised till an employing class arose which
had the command of capital and used it in industrial pursuits.
Similarly, while the tenant gave his labour and seed on the
lord's domain in return for the use of a properly stocked
holding, or even when he leased the stock along with the
land from the owner, it was not possible to distinguish
capital as a factor in agricultural success. Till the operation

1 Marshall's Economics of Industry, 19.

SCOPE OF ECONOMIC HISTORY. 17

of social changes had brought about the modem relation of Changes in
the landowning and tenant classes in England it was not ''antinur.
possible to form the definite conception of rent which has '^^^^°!^y-
emerged in modern times. Hence it is that as the industry
and commerce of the country have developed, reflection upon
them has resulted in a clearer understanding of the ways in
which they work : we have a more accurate terminology, and
a better apprehension of the conditions which are necessary
for prosperity and for progress. Increased accuracy in
economic ideas has followed the development of industry
and commerce ; the current use of a new term and the
disuse, or perhaps the misuse, of an old one, are most
noteworthy tests which show some important development in
actual life, or mark the process of decay. During the six-
teenth century in particular the change in the use of certain
terms was very remarkable ; and if we attend to it, we are
enabled to realise the extraordinary transformation which
was then taking place. A social change may be said to have
been completed when it found expression in a new term, or
fixed a new connotation on an old one.

12. When we thus aspire to trace out the first hegm- Events and
nings of any economic change, or to get a clear conception of *^^'**'
its final result, we must endeavour to treat economic history
as something more than a chronicle of new enterprises and
discoveries, or even than a summary of statistics of population
and prices ; it must include not only the events but the ideas
of the time. Among the facts with which we are concerned
none are of greater importance than those which show that
certain ideas were prevalent during some period, or were
beginning to spread at a particular date. It is only as we
understand the way in which men viewed the dealing and
enterprise of their own time, and can thus enter into their
schemes of advancement or their aims at progress, that the
whole story may come to possess a living interest for us.
We may thus see in it all the play of active human powers,
and not seem to be merely undertaking the dissection of
disinterred remains or the collection and description of
curious relics, as if these were ends in themselves. The
political framework and the moral and social ideas have
C. H. 2

18 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

always been an environment which affected contemporary
industrial growth, and the record of events in each age is
only completed when we have come to understand how the
changes in economic conditions reflected themselves in
economic ideas and terminology.

III. Method and Divisions.

Themethod 13. From what has been noted above it follows that we
differs from cannot, in tracing the growth of industry and commerce in
those of their earlier stasfes, adopt the principles of division which we

economic . r i

science, habitually use in the present day. Before the distinction
between town and country emerges we cannot properly treat
either of agriculture, industry or commerce apart from one
another ; still less can we distinguish between labour, capital
and land till the structure of society has assumed a com-
paratively modern type. Both principles of division come to
be useful in connection with the later stages of economic
development, but they are not applicable throughout. The
mere statement of these preliminary difficulties shows that
the method that we pursue in studying the phenomena of
the past must be very different from that which is employed
by economic science in the present day. Economic science
is primarily analytic, severing one class of facts from others,
and investicfatinofthe different factors which have resulted in,
since we Say, a rise of plumbers' wages. But in the earlier condition
cross* of society we cannot group our facts thus, and we have far
examine ^qq little information to enable us to "cross-examine the

the facts

facts^" and see what were the important antecedent con-
ditions from which a particular change came forth. It has
been hard enough to tell whether the receut depression of
prices has been mainly due to the increasing scarcity of
gold, to the enormous facilities of produccion we possess, or
to some dislocation, through the imposition of new tariffs, in
the commerce of the world. And if it be hard to do this in
so as to the present day, it must be still harder to detect the precise
partuyidar influeuccs which brought about the rise of prices in the time

phenomena

1 Marshall, Present Position, 46.

METHOD AND DIVISIONS. 19

of Edward VL, or to say how far contemporaiie3 were right
in unanimously ascribing it to another factor — the power of
dealers to combine and maintain a monopoly in their own
interest against the public^ While there is so much diffi-
culty in analysing the cause of a well-marked phenomenon
in the past, it is still harder to group particular occurrences
aright so as to reconstruct a picture of society. Quotations or recon-
of the prices of each particular article in common use are not l^ti^! *
really instructive unless we can form some idea of the quality f°'S'^°'^y ,

•' ^ ^ ^ . . picture of

of the article supplied at that price^; but even if this difficulty society as
could be met, we cannot construct a satisfactory scheme of
the income and expenditure of the fifteenth century labourer
unless we know definitely whether he was constantly em-
ployed, or whether there were many weeks in the year when
he had neither work nor wages ^ So long as there is much
uncertainty about the interpretation of the particular pheno-
mena, we cannot hope to gather from these particulars well-
grounded views of the general condition of society. The
combination and interaction of causes* is the great difficulty
with which any student of social phenomena has to contend ;
but the student of social phenomena in the past must also
beware of the danger of accounting f)r recorded changes
by ascribing them to factors which are powerful at the
present time, but which have only recently come into
operation at all. Economic students who attempt to investi-
gate some remote epoch by the same analytic method which
they habitually apply to the economic phenomena of the
present may be led to assign an undue importance to one
particular condition, — which may have attracted their atten-
tion through the unsuspected influence of some prejudice or
because it is markedly operative in modern times. Hence
the same facts in economic history have been ascribed by
different writers to the influence of opposite causes, and the
study has been to some extent discredited from the apparent
■difficulty of reaching solid conclusions. We can only avoid
these dangers by endeavouring to pursue an opposite method ;
we may begin with the political and social environment,

1 See below, p. 536 « Denton, Fifteenth Century, 219.

> Denton, Fifteenth Century, 171. * Mill, Logic, i. 507.

2—2

20 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

We must with the influences which are plainly observable in literature
Vie^enerai ^^^ public life ; and working from a knowledge of the
xnftuences environment and of the forces actually in operation at any

and actual J r J

forces in given time, we shall find how far the reported facts about
' buying and selling, meat and clothing, working and recrea-
tion become intelligible. On this method we may hope
that, even if our explanation is not complete and needs to be
corrected by being supplemented, it will be sound so far as it
goes. We shall be better able to guard against the danger
of generalising hastily from a few particulars. Most of the
information on economic subjects, which has survived from
early times, is purely local in character ; it is not easy to see
its true import, and we have no sufficient data for arguing
from the particular cases to the state of the country generally.
But in so far as we can get side lights on economic topics
from evidence about political conditions or admitted legal
rights, we have a useful guide in interpreting the isolated
scraps of information^ We must seek in.&ach age for the
light by which to understand how material sources were then
applied to maintain and prolong human life,
so as to The chief problems which have to be faced are far less due

'seriousana- ^^ Want of information than to the difficulty of interpreting
chromsm. ^j^g facts which He to hand ; there is a danger of reading
modern doctrines into ancient records, and it is most im-
portant that we should endeavour to make sure that our
explanations are congenial to the spirit of a bygone age ; in
so far as this can be secured we may at least escape absurd
anachronism ; while on the other hand, by noting cases where
the facts are still unexplained, we may find a direction in
which farther investigation of minute detail and the accumu-
lation of new evidence are likely to prove profitable.
Chrono- On all these grounds it becomes clear that the main

^mia» divisions must be historical into different periods of time ;

' The line taken in the following pages on various points which are still in
dispute among Historians is due to this difference of method. The general
conditions, of language and religion, point to a general subversion of Komau
influence, and the particular case of the organisation of niral life is interpreted
in accordance with this view (p. lU)- So with the alleged power of a wealthy
merchant class to oppress artisans in twelfth century towns (p. 337) and with the
alleged pros]ierity of the labourer in the fifteenth century (p. 390).

METHOD AND DIVISIONS. 21

and since the growth of industry and commerce is so directly
dependent on the framework of society at any one time, it may
be most convenient to take periods which are marked out by into periods
political and social rather than by economic changes. T^h.\^ 'political''
will give the most convenient arrangement for setting the ''*""£'««'
various events in a fresh light, and thus for obtaining so far
as possible a true picture of the economic conditions of each
period, and a clear understanding of the reasons for the
changes that ensued. Anything that enables us to realise
the actual working of institutions in the past and that helps
us to have a vivid conception of them, will be of value;
but our chief aim must be to exhibit the conditions under
which new industrial or commercial developments were
called forth, and which rendered each step in the progress
inevitable. The broad political divisions in our history are
sufficiently marked: the accessions of William I., Edward 1.,
E,ichard II., Henry VII., Elizabeth, James I., William III.,
mark very distinct crises. In approaching each new period
we shall find it desirable to note first of all the economic
importance of the phase of political life on which the nation
had entered, and then to put in the forefront the effective the

. . economic

force which was guiding economic changes and to trace its /orces
influence. Thus royal power after the conquest, legislative
action under the Edwards, citizen aims in the fifteenth
century, seem to have been the motor forces that came most
strikingly into play ; it is by watching these powerful factors
at work that we get the most convenient clue to the tangled
web of the phenomena of early industrial life.

There may seem perhaps to be something derogatory Political
to the claims of Political Economy as an independent science, asllypo^
in thus treating the history of economic phenomena in the t^eticai

" '' _ _ ^ _ and inae-

past as wholly dependent on politics and political changes, pendent of

Pol/ttxcs '

But it would be more true to say that the point serves '

to bring out one of the differences between the historical
study and the modern science. The science, as Mill ex-
pounded it, is hypothetical and claims to trace the action of
economic forces in a well-defined sphere of life, and to show
what always tends to happen in so far as they have free play ;
special political conditions might come in, according to his

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

hut Econo-
mic His-
tory is
dependent,
in its scojpe

and di'

visions.

Gradual

introduc-
tion of
money
economy
and of com
jietition.

view, to modify the application of these principles, but not to
affect the terms in which they are stated. But with Economic
History it is different ; the very sphere which we are about
to study is conditioned by the political circumstances which
have extended or diminished the area over which the English
Government and the English race have held sway at different
times. Economic forces in modern days may be treated
abstractly and regarded as exhibiting the mechanical play of
the self-intereso of individuals ; while the government seems
to have no part, but to preserve such security and order that
this may operate freely. But History must trace out the
conscious efforts, which were made from time to time, to
develope the resources and expand the commerce of the realm ;
such deliberate endeavours were made through political
institutions for political objects, and affected our progress
for good or for evil.

So too, even the broad distinctions drawn by economists
do not serve to give us satisfactory divisions in historical
study. We cannot draw a hard and ftist line between
natural and money economy, or between the age of custom
and that of competition, for the practice of competition
has gradually succeeded the customary regime here and there;
as the use of money has come in, there has been a substitu-
tion of a cash nexus for all sorts of customary arrangements.
Such foreign trade as existed from the earliest times was
always conducted on a moneyed basis; but industry and
agriculture have been occasionally affected, and then gradually
permeated and transformed, by the use of coinage. We can
see that, at one time, even the taxation of the country was
chiefly paid in service and in kind ; that rents were rendered
in food ; and that labour got a large portion of its reward in
■ board and lodging and clothes. The valuing of such obliga-
tions in terms of money and discharging them in customary
payments of coin were improvements which were slowly intro-
duced, first in one department of life and then another. The
detennination to let such payments be readjusted by com-
petition from time to time, and to give up trying to fix them
at fair rates, has been another gradual movement. We
cannot date the change itself; but we can choose certain

METHOD AND DIVISIONS. 23

important points in our history, and enquire what parts of
our social fabric had been re-adapted at that particular time.

It is not easy to give definite dates to changes in our
economic institutions, but it is harder still to apply a precise
chronological treatment to the moral and intellectual side of Current
economic life — as the modifications must have been so ideas L
gradual that we can scarcely hope to estimate their extent at p"^^
any given date ; it is in consequence very difficult to trace the
connection between the introduction of new ideas and the
course of events. All that can be attempted is to endeavour
to set forth, before the beginning of each political period, the
aims and ideas which were so generally diffused as to influence
action during that period, and to sum up at the end the
additional knowledge that had been gained from actual ex-
perience in the intervening time. The preambles of statutes
and other documents, and the economic literature of each
century, give us a series of " dated examples " however, and
from them we can generally learn what men thought and
what they wished, so that we can better apprehend the
meaning of what they did.

14. In attempting to carry out this double purpose we The
must rely on evidence of different kinds ; though the relation imporiance
must often be defective through the insufficiency of the infor- °/-3^^Jf^^
mation that has come to hand. This is especially true of the evidence.
earlier periods ; while the great difficulty in regard to later
times is to make a judicious selection out of the mass of facts
that are easily accessible. We must distinguish, however,
between different kinds of evidence according as they are of
greater or less weight, so as to be able to judge how far
any opinion is well founded. Much of our information is
drawn from literary evidence ; but the documents, which
originally had a practical purpose, have a different interest
from chronicles that recount events.

L Literary Evidence, a. Documents. There may be Literary
considerable difficulty in determining whether any document *"* ^^'^^'
is what it purports to be, but when the critical question is set
at rest the evidence it furnishes is indubitable. Statements
which are directly borne out by the authority of charters,
leases, accounts, &c., may be regarded as unimpeachable. The

24 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

chief difficulty in using such documents is due to the fact
that their direct application is often very limited, and we may
make grave mistakes in arguing from them. How far are
the conditions of tenure in this lease typical ? How far were
the prices in this locality exceptional, or do they represent
the general range of prices throughout the country? It is
thus that descriptions and reasonings we frame may be quite
untrustworthy even when they appear to rest on the firmest
possible foundation.
Historic. b. Histories. These must differ immensely in value,
either as sources for description or explanation, according as
the author was more or less honest, and more or less well
informed. Historians always have had to rely on the in-
formation furnished by others ; and it is obvious that for
many purposes contemporary chroniclers are less likely to be
led into error than those who are writing about the distant
past, but even the most careful contemporary may be mis-
informed as to events that occurred in other localities, or as
to the reasons which induced a particular course of conduct.
While contemporaries are in a far better position than later
writers for describing occurrences, they have not such an
immense advantage when they try to explain the circum-
stances which brought about a change, or to estimate its
ultimate importance. A high value attaches to the histori-
cal statements in the preambles of the statutes or in royal
proclamations ; it would scarcely have been worth while to
put them forward unless they at least seemed plausible to
contemporaries; the authors of such public papers were
likely to be well informed, and if they were consciously dis-
honest, the proof is probably easier than in the case of private
persons. Histories give us more or less probable information
that covers a wide range in place and time, while docu-
ments often supply reliable details. We must take the
two together, and while we try to verify history by appeal-
ing to documents, we shall often need to turn to history for
guidance in interpreting them aright.
Momi- II. Monuments and Relics. Considerable knowledge of

relici. ^he state of the arts at any time may sometimes be derived
from the monuments and relics that remain. Buildings may
show how far the men of a particular age were acquainted

METHOD AND DIVISIONS. 25

with the use of particular materials — stone or wood — or par-
ticular principles — the use of the arch ; frescoes, tapestries
or illuminations may be of the greatest possible use ; and
coins, jewelry or other articles may help us to picture
the manner of life of our forefathers at any particular
period and their skill in the working of metals. Here also
we must contend with the critical difficulties as to the
character and date of monuments or relics, and we may
mistake imported for native workmanship ; but we have
at all events an important source of subsidiary information
which may help us to picture different periods of the past
more clearly.

III. Survivals. The maintenance of a custom or institu- Survivaig.
tion which has come to be a sinecure or an anachronism may
also be of great value as evidence ; such things testify to the
existence of a time when society was so constructed that they
discharged some real function. There were many municipal
officials in the unreformed burghs of the last century, —
haywards, molecatchers, pinders and others, — whose existence
as municipal officials would be hard to explain if it were not
that the town had grown up from a little agricultural village^
and that the functionaries who discharged important rural
duties, or who were the organs by which the local magnate
exercised his control, remain to bear witness of the place as
it was in those forgotten times. Even if they discharge no
other useful function they testify, by their very existence,
to forgotten facts in regard to the origin of the town.

15. We are not, however, absolutely limited to informa- The
tion drawn from our own land for the history of institutions /^om
in England : we may be able to fill up a certain number of '^"* '^^^'
gaps by means of the comparative method. There are some
parts of the world where institutions now exist which
are very similar to those which were at work in England
during the middle ages ; or the early condition of England
was similar to that of other parts of Europe, and light drawn
fi'om distant sources may help us to understand what was

1 At the same time it must be borne in mind that some arrangements which
seem to ua very curious may be of comparatively recent origin. Compare Prof.
Maitland in The Survival of Archaic Commtmities. Law Quarterly, EC. 36, 211.

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

may give
MS useful
illustra-
tions

even if we
cannot
formulate
sociologi-
cal laws.

English
economic
develop-
ment may
be taken as
typical.

going on in our own land. But this method of reasoning
must always be used with care ; the gilds in Baroda^ in the
present day are similar to the mediaeval gilds in England, but
they are not identical ; we must in all cases prove that the
similarity is so close as to justify us in arguing from one to
the other, if we are not content to use the modern instance as
a more or less apposite illustration rather than an explanation.
The causes, which are bringing about the decay of common
village life and regulated industry in India, may be similar
to those which were at work in former days in England ; but
the mere presence of an active official body saturated with
modern and western ideas is an accelerating, it may be an
initiating, force which was wanting among ourselves. The
debt which each country owes to other civilisations, its
climate and position, and countless other circumstances which
are special to it alone, so far affect industrial development
and decay in each land that we can rarely get any statement
which holds good of all peoples, or lay down with any exact-
ness the " natural progress of opulence." But even if the
comparative method fails to give us valuable generalisations
or sociological laws, it may serve as a useful adjunct, by
enabling us to realise the nature of a social structure, to
the existence of which histories and survivals only testify
by the merest hints. By contrasting institutions or customs,
differing in time and place but with a strong superficial
resemblance, we may learn to understand the true character
of each ; and I have not scrupled to refer, especially in
footnotes, to information regarding other countries, which
serves to throw light on the economic condition of our
own land.

16. In this aspect we may see that the study of English
economic history leads us to a standpoint from which we can
examine the industrial development of any other country with
greater facility and accuracy, since the progress of other lands
may be traced most clearly when we have followed out the
history of that people who have attained the greatest measure
of success. England takes her place among contemporaries

1 Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency, Vol. vii. (1883) pp. 160 — 162. Compare also
F. S. P. Lely on Trade Ouilds of Ahmedahad in Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency,
IV. (1879) pp. 106—116.

METHOD AND DIVISIONS. 27

as the wealthiest of existing nations, and her contribution to
human civilisation has not consisted so much in the develop-
ment of Literature and Art, as was done by Greece, or in
creating Law and administering it like Rome, but rather
in the triumphs of her enterprise and the success of her
industry.

There are other reasons why the growth of English owing to

11 -11 • 1 '^* coni-

industry may be taken as typical ; the comparative complete- pUteness of
ness of her records from the times when scattered tribes had °^/com- *
not yet come to be a nation till the present day renders it less ^"^^j-*"*
impossible to trace the course of English than of some other
industrial developments. Again, the insular position of
England has given a marked character to her civilisation,
while the comparative immunity from foreign invasion has
rendered it more possible to specify the effects of intercourse
with other lands, and of the settlement of foreigners here,
than might otherwise be the case. On all these grounds we
may feel that the story of English industry may be regarded
as typical, and as giving us a useful clue with which to
follow out the history of economic progress in other lands
and other times.

The study of progress in medieval times may also have a
re-assuring effect in regard to controversies in the present
day. In looking back we can see that an order has emerged
from the chaos, and that large political aims, both for good
government within and influence abroad, have gradually
asserted themselves. But at each step, the broad issues
were obscured by passing occurrences, and narrow and selfish
interests. Powerful as these disintegrating factors have been,
at every stage, they have not after all been the controlling
force ; they have only served as the instruments and occasions
by which wisdom has asserted itself and the public good has
been secured.

I. EAULY HISTOEY.

I. Political and Social Environment.

B.C. 55— 17. The German tribes, from which the English nation

afterwards sprang, are described by Caesar as only just emerg-

Great

ing from a nomadic condition, since they had not secured
changes in settled homes. They were an agglomeration of little groups,
structure each of which probably consisted of a joint-family with the
^ ^'°' closest ties of kindred among the members. The men who
composed them were occasionally brought into connection
with the members of other families for judicial purposes,
and the w^hole body might be united in the presence of a
common danger.

There was very little complexity in such a social con-
dition. The patriarchal families carried on pasture or arable
farming on very primitive lines. In addition to these peace-
ful avocations, the organising of predatory expeditions ap-
pears to have been a regular practice. Enterprising leaders
attached to themselves a devoted personal following, who
had a part in the riches and the spoils of any venture. But
the ties of blood, and of personal loyalty, sufficed to hold
society together, and to determine the obligations of each
individual towards his neighbours and his claims upon them.
If we contrast the position of their English descendants
a thousand years later, as it is pictured for us in the
1086 A.D. Domesday Survey, we cannot but be struck by the extra-
ordinary revolution which had taken place in the condition of
the people. The English were no longer a mere congeries
of septs, but a nation with complicated political institutions;
they had been so long settled in the island they had con-

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT. 29

quered that they had become a clearly defined people, ruled B.C. 55—
from a single centre. As early as the seventh century the
kings of Northumbria had established such influence over
the other English kingdoms, that they could organise a
national fiscal system, in wliich the obligations of each tribe
were estimated according to the hundreds \ As the kingly
power was more successfully asserted, an official class, who
were at once dependent on and representatives of royalty,
came more and more to the front, and right could be en-
forced without regard to the claims of kindreds

18. While there was this striking change in the political The
structure, there may well have been great differences in the moraiitpoj
tone of social feeling; but of this we cannot easily judge, as we ''^-^^-^^-^.g
have no real means of estimating the nature of the customary ^^^^^
morality of the primitive English tribes. The unqualified
praise which Tacitus bestowed upon them has been echoed
by later writers * ; and the careful investigation of the relics
that remain, in their places of burial and elsewhere, goes to
show that they were not mere savages, while in their primitive
condition and still uninfluenced by Roman civilisation*. On
the other hand, some of those who have devoted themselves
to the study of their laws are less favourably impressed'.
But whatever their virtues or vices may have been, the
acknowledged right of each freeman to appeal to the judg-
ment of the sword, and their habit of pursuing warfare as
a regular business, prevented them from settling down at
once into well-ordered society, and survived as disturbing
elements for many generations.

These practices however fell more and more into disuse ;
but other influences came into operation soon after the
English took up their abode in Britain, and became more 449 \.t>.

1 W. J. Corbett, The Tribal Eidages in Trans. B. Hist. Soc. xiv. 207.

2 Compare Judicia Civitatis Londonice, viii. and Seebohm, Tribal Custom in
Anglo-Saxon Law, 415.

8 Montesquieu, who was somewhat influenced by the "noble savage" theory
which was current in his days, ascribed the excellence of the modern English
constitution to their primitive wisdom. Esprit des Lois, xi. 6.

* "He was in fact a thorough gentleman, and the proof of it lies in his
perceiving that woman was to be revered as well as loved." Hodgetts, Older
England, 104.

' "They possessed no several estate, and were steeped in the squalor of
unintelligent poverty." Coote, Jiomans of Britain, 447.

30 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— powerful in the succeeding centuries. The Christian Church

A.D. 1066. ^ , , , . , , ° . 1 . ^ i. • 1. J.V,

worked along with royalty m endeavouring to restrict the
^hnstian'^ irresponsible power of great men with numerous kindred ^
influence, rpj^^ enforcement of law and the security of property were
favoured by the exertions of the clergy, and society became
more orderly. Nor was the labourer forgotten ; the traffic
in slaves was greatly discountenanced, the lot of the serf was
improved, and the worker came to enjoy a weekly holiday
on Sundays. While the influence of the Church was thus
effective internally, it also served to re-establish a closer
connection between England and the Continent, and to
encourage the development of foreign trade. The efforts of
these Christian missionaries are well worthy of our attention,
as they were not merely religious teachers, but the agents
through whom the English came into real contact with the
and by the heritage of civilised lite which had survived the destruction
BZin °^ of the Roman Empire. Before they landed in Britain the
ciyilisa- EnsfHsh had been almost uninfluenced by Rome =^; and the
balance of evidence seems to show that they had little
opportunity of deriving many elements of culture from such
remains of Imperial civilisation as they found when they
entered on possession*. We are consequently forced to
believe that in so far as elements of Roman Law or the
practice of Roman arts appear in England before the
Norman Conquest, it is probably because they had been
re-introduced through ecclesiastical influence.

II. The English in Frisia.

B.C. 55. 19- The earliest evidence which we possess in regard to

those Germans among whom the English tribes were in-
cluded ^ dates from a time when they had not completely

1 A parallel movement is noticeable in the restrictions of private war:
Semichon, Paix et Treve de Dieu, cc. i. ii.

2 Coote, Romans of Britain, 447, but see below, p. 49, note 1, also p. 50.
8 See below, pp. 59, 107.

* In this sketch it has not seemed necessary to attempt to distinguish the
English from other German tribes. LLuguistic affinities show that they came of
the Low German stock (Grimm, Oeschichte d«r deutschen Sprache, p. 658). The
Saxons have been identified with the Ingaevones of Tacitus. {Germ. c. '2.) Zeuss
(Deutschen u. Nachbarstdmme, pp. 150, 380) gives the earlier notice of these names,

THE ENGLISH IN FRISIA. 31

emerged from a nomadic state * : apart from this direct B.C. 55—
evidence we might have inferred on general grounds that they
must have pursued a pastoral life at some period. If the j,j^mitive
Teutonic peoples really migrated from the Asiatic steppes, ^J^^ ""*
their original economy must have been of this character;
while the wandering of a tribe — not the incursion of a horde
of conquerors — is scarcely intelligible unless we suppose them
accompanied and supported by their flocks and herds ^ One
most important occasion for the wandering of such tribes
must have been a lack of fodder, and they would take the
direction which presented the least obstacles to their con-
tinued livelihood from their herds. Level plains and river
courses would offer favourite lines of progress ; while the
rapid multiplication, which seems to have continued in the
regions from which they came, would always urge an onward
movement. But at length they would find themselves
opposed by obstacles which prevented any farther advance • ;
there were no means of transport by which a nomadic people
could convey their herds across the German Ocean, while
the Roman armies prevented the farther progress of the
barbarian tribes, as tribes. In some such way as this the and

T-iTi />T 11 1 -rij- occupying

English were forced to settle down on the strip of land in Friaia.
Frisia, where they were sooner or later compelled to eke out
their subsistence from their herds by means of tillage.
From thence they subsequently emerged to conquer Britain.

The descriptions which we read of nomadic peoples in Nomadic
the present day*, enable us to form a fairly clear idea of the
economy of similar tribes long ago. In the management of
the herd, in successful breeding and training, there is op-

and in pp. 490 — 501 an account of the tribes at the time of the invasion of Britain
and subsequently ; they are mentioned by name by Ptolemieus as dwelling at the
mouth of the Elbe, in close association with the Angli and Suevi, who were
probably identical. Portions of the tribes continued in the old settlements, and
as Old Saxons preserved their ancient customs (a.d. 730) till at least the time
of Bede. {Eist. Ecc. v. 10.)

1 De Bella GalUco, iv. 1, Neque multum frumento, sed maximam partem lacte
atque pecore vivunt, multumque sunt in venationibus.

2 L. Morgan (Ancient Society, p. 21) points out that tribes have sometimes
been supported in long migrations by fishing in the rivers the course of which
they foDowed.

» The conditions which lead to such a settlement are well discussed by A. E. F.
Schaffle, Ban und Leben des sociulen Korpers, m. p. 127.
* Roscher, Nat. d. Ackerbaues, p. 30.

32 EARLY HISTORY.

BO. 65— portunity for the constant exercise of forethought and skilL
The land over which the cattle range is not appropriated.
Each family however possesses its own herd ; and there may
also be an understanding, for mutual convenience, between
two septs or families, as to the runs which their cattle are to
Evidence occupy respectively*. When we bear in mind these facts as
0/ (Bsar. ^^ ^^^ general character of such tribes, we shall be in a better
position for interpreting the hints which Caesar gives us in
regard to some matters of detail.
War and They Were, as he tells us, mostly occupied with hunting

thee ase. ^^^ warfare^ and they derived subsistence from their herds
and the spoils of the chase ; but they hardly devoted them-
selves to agriculture at all. Under these circumstances it
is quite clear that the assignment of land^ which Caesar
describes, must either have been forest for game or pasturage
Use and for Cattle ; in any case it was waste land they wished to use,
ofwa^r^ as they could have little interest in securing possession of fields
that were suitable fur tillage. What they wished to have
was the right to use a well-stocked waste, and the lands
tlms assigned were common to the members of a particular
family or sept for the time being, and were not held in
severalty.
The We cannot be surprised at reading of a people in this

a^tcu ure jj^pgpfgQtjiy settled condition that they had no permanent
peopies'^^ houses; their dwellings were only roughly put together to
serve as a temporary shelter*. But it does not necessarily

1 Genesis xiii. 11, 12.

2 Vita onmis in venationibns atque in studiis rei militaris consistit....Agricul-
turae non student, majorque pars victus eorum in lacte, caseo, carne consistit.
C*sar, £. G. vi. 21, 22.

8 Neque quisquam agi-i modum certum aut fines habet proprios : sed magistratus
ac principes in annos singulos gentibns cognationibusque bomiuum, qui una
coierunt, quantum et quo loco visum est agri attribuunt, atque anno post alio
transire cogunt. B. Q. vi. 22.

Tbe following passage is also of interest, tbough it may refer to a temporary
emergency.

Hi centum pages habere dicuntur, ex quibus quotaunis singula milia ar-
matorum beUandi causa ex finibus educunt. Eeliqui, qui domi manserunt, to
atque illos alunt. Hi riirsus in vicem anno post in armis sunt, illi domi remanent.
Sic neque agi'icultura nee ratio atque nsus beUi intermittitur. Caesar, B. G. iv. 1.
Compare also Alfred's organisation for defence against the Danes. Enylixh
Chronicle, 894.

* B. G. VI. 22. Hanssen {Agrarhistorische Abhand. i. 93), who discusses the

THE ENGLISH IN FRISIA. 33

follow that they were so wholly ignorant of tillage that they B.C. 55—
did not practise it at all. Primitive agriculture is per-
fectly consistent with a very migratory life. Some migratory
tribes in the present day diversify the monotony of their
life by occasionally growing a crop\ and since, according to
Caesar, the German tribes settled in the same district it was
at all events possible for them to practise agriculture in this
primitive form, as an adjunct to their other supplies '^.

20. There are indeed positive advantages in the method Extensive

1-1 • • 1 • 111 1 • 1 culture.

of tillage which consists in clearing the land to take a single
crop, and then letting it go wild again, while the same
process is repeated elsewhere. By such extensive culture, full
advantage is taken of the natural fertility of the soil ; the
system often maintains itself side by side with methods of
culture that imply far more care and skill : it obtains in
Russia now^. Extensive tillage, in some form or other.

evidence furnished by Csesar with considerable care, comes to the conclusion that
they had a regular agricultm-al system, and that the various septs interchanged
dwellings as well as lands at the time of the annual redistribution. But the
statements already quoted as to their means of subsistence make against the
opinion that they were so elaborately organised.

1 Maize is grown by North American tribes who are still mainly given to
hunting and migrating. The Phoenicians, when cu-cumnavigating Africa, wintered
on land and grew crops of wheat. Herodotus, iv. 42.

2 Some pastoral tribes in North Africa prefer to have their herds ranging near
their households and lay out arable fields at a distance of some miles. Kovalevsky,
Die oek. EntwicJcelung Europas, 53.

* Wallace. Russia, i.'AOl. In former days in Aberdeenshire the out-town land,
which lay at a greater distance from the homestead, was managed on this system,
while the in-town fields were maum-ed and cropped regularly year after year.
Northern Rural Life, 20. Similarly the two methods of cultivation are used for
different parts of their land by some peasants in India. " The system of tillage
is in many respects peculiar. Having first found his level space the husbandman
proceeds to build thereon his hut of wicker and thatch. The next step is to clear
the soU of stones and brushwood. From the ashes of the earthen grate at which
his coarse meal is cooked, from the droppings of his own and his neighbour's
cattle, is gathered together a small stock of manure ; and this he spreads over the
cleared space around his fragile homestead. On the oasis thus created ia the
midst of wilderness is sown year after year the imwatered spring crop. For the
autumn harvest the goenr or homestead lands are never tilled. To find a soil for
his hharif, the peasant must go farther afield or rather farther ajungle. Sallying
forth in March or April, he cuts do^vn the scrubby undergi-owth or saplings on
some spot outside the goenr. These he arranges regularly over the land ; and
a month or two later, when summer has sufficiently di-ied their sap, he sets the
whole ablaze. The alkali of the ashes forms an excellent maniu-e, and on the first

C. H. 3

34 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— appears to have been practised in all parts of the world,
and it would be quite congruent with the social habits which
Caesar describes. In so far as the English had agriculture,
or when they began to engage in agriculture, it was probably
on this method, as it would fit in most easily with their
other modes of obtaining subsistence.
Evidence 21. The well-known passage ' in the Germania of Tacitus

98 Id"'"*' describes a state of society which is at first sight not very
dissimilar, though from the slight stre'=!S laid on other modes
of livelihood we may perhaps infer that the tribes were
mainly dependent on agriculture at the time when he wrote.
" They change the ploughed fields annually, and there is
land over." The sentence seems to imply the existence of an
extensive system, as the phrase " et superest ager " is hardly
intelligible unless we interpret it as an indication that the
whole extent of the waste was so large that they were able
to change the part which they cultivated every year. But
there is one point to which Tacitus calls attention in regard
to which Caesar is silent ; the range of their wandering was
so far restricted that they were in the habit of storing
supplies of food. Their villages were curiously irregular to
Koman eyes^ and they may perhaps have occasionally moved

fall of rain the soil is ready for the sowing of the autnmn crop. It is obvious
of course that this process canuot be repeated yearly. To allow the soil to recoup
itself, and the brushwood to grow again, a cycle of fallow years is needed, and
as a rule the kharff is reaped but every third autumn." Conybeare, Note on the
Pargana Dtidhi of the Mirzapur District, 14. Compare also Virgil, Oeorgics, i. 84.
Illustrations may be found from the habits of diiferent African tribes : the Kafirs
remove their entire kraal when the soil is exhausted and break up new gi-ound.
Compendium of Kafir Laws, p. 150.

Mr Frazer has called my attention to other instances: "Migrations are fre-
quent as the result of a discovery of good soU; sometimes a whole village will
migrate to a new place." Felkin on the Madi Tribe, Proceedings of Royal
Soc. of Edinburgh (1884), xii. 313. See also Wiuterbottom, Sierra Leone, 52.
Burmah affords a close parallel to Cassar's description, as the Karens change
their fields annually ; they move every two or three years and build new houses to
be near their cultivation; "Each village has its own lands; and if they are laige
in comparison with the inhabitants, they are able to cultivate new fields for six or
seven years ; but if their lands are small, they are compelled to come back to their
former cultivation in three or four years; but after so short a period the jungle
on it is too small to produce any good amount of ashes, and the crops are poor."
Mason in Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal (18G8), xxxvn. 126.

1 Oerm. '26. See below, p. 37, note 4.

» Germ. 16. See below, p. 36, note 4.

THE ENGLISH IN FRISIA. 85

their camps as the convenience of pasture ground or the b c. 55—
necessities of extensive culture dictated, but they were
accustomed to construct subterranean caverns^ both for the Subten-a-

. • /> ii nean stores.

sake of protecting their stores from the severity 01 the
winter, and of concealing them, if necessary, from their
enemies. This gives us a somewhat different picture from
that of Caesar, in whose time the tribes appear to have been
indifferent to adequate shelter from the changes of the
seasons.

It is hardly possible to exaggerate the importance of the Economic

, . . T 1 • ,1 • , , . 1 j_ •! • importance

step that is implied in this statement ; so long as a tribe is oj o^i^wrtu-
migratory they cannot accumulate any store of wealth, such ^almmuL-
as they must have if they are to set themselves energetically '*""'
to make the most of the resources of the particular place
where they dwell. So soon as they have any opportunities
of storing, they may begin to look forward to a more distant
future, not merely to next harvest ; and they may begin to
expend their toil on improvements which will be of value for
many years to come. The wandering shepherd is able by
migration to shirk the difficulties of overcoming nature^;
while wealth in the form of herds is not susceptible of in-

1 There is, as Mr Frazer has pointed out to me, an interesting parallel in the
habits of the Kafirs. Mr Kay writes, "It is worthy of remark that although
these subterranean storehouses are frequently exposed, and the kraal in which
they are made sometimes deserted for weeks and months together, an instance
rarely or never occurs of one being broken open, or of its contents being un-
lawfully taken away. This would be accounted a very heinous offence." Travels
and Researches in Caffraria, 145.

2 It is worth while to compare the obstacles to the progress of the lower races.
Tribes which live by hunting depend for their existence on being within reach of
game : they must follow the herds and have scarcely any means of storing supplies
of meat : they have no forethought except for the next few days. As they make
no effort to keep up the supply of game, any encroachment on their grounds is a
Berious danger, and their only hope of having enough lies in exterminating the
intruders; hence the ruthlessness of North American Indian wars. They cannot
spare the lives of enemies, as they have no means of procuring additional supplies
of food. The position of pastoral peoples is very different : by skilful management
of their flocks and herds they may have an increased supply of the means of life,
and they are able to utiMse the services of others in attending to them. Hence
among pastoral peoples we find that there is room for the preservation of slaves :
the struggle for existence begins to take the form of seeking to develope the
resources of nature, instead of that of trying to maintain oneself by keeping
down the number of possible competitors. Compare Koscher, Nat. d. Ackerbaues,
p. 21.

3—2

36 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— definite increase ; scarcity of fodder limits it *, and the

A.D. 449. . .

chances of disease and drought render this sort of wealth
liable to total destruction from changes in the seasons ; there
are many natural barriers to the increase of pastoral riches.
But the man with a settled store has entered on a mode of
and their Hfe in which there are infinite possibilities of progress ; he

hearing on . iiii ii

further may obtam and lay up, not one sort of wealth only, but wealth
progress. ^^ different kinds, and thus possibilities of trade will arise ^
Then again his store of wealth enables him to look far ahead
and engage in work which will ultimately prove most useful,
even though it yields no immediate return; while he may
set himself to acquire skill in various directions. The step
from located stores to fixed houses is comparatively easy ;
and when once a tribe has settled in permanent habitations,
the prospect of steady progress without assignable limit,
in numbers, in national wealth and in culture, really lies
open before them.
Character 22. We havc uo prccisc evidence then as to the time
settlemmts when the English entirely relinquished their migratory
habits and built permanent houses ; but whenever this
occurred, the habitations provided were very different from
those which the Romans would have reared in occupying
a new territory*; they would have begun by laying out
a city from which, as the centre of the new district, the great
as to size roads led into the surrounding country. But the Germans
founded no cities and settled in isolated groups as they were
attracted by physical conveniences*, without adopting any
regular method of grouping. A comparison of the modes of

1 Morgan, Ancient Society, pp. 26, 534. 2 gee below, p. 79.

8 On the laying out of a Roman Colony compare Coote, Romans in Britain, 52.
•' In proofs of centuriation England and Wales are richer than any other Roman
country in Europe," ibid. 83.

* Germania, c. 16: Nullas Germanorum populis urbes habitari, satis notum
est: ne pati quidem inter se junctas sedes. Colunt discreti et diversi, ut fons, ut
campus, ut nemus placuit. Vicos locant, non in nostrum morem, connexis et
cohserentibus aedificiis; suam quisque domum spatio circumdat, sive adversus
casus ignis remedium, sive inscitia iKdificandi.

Bethmann-Hollweg [Civil-Prozess, iv. p. 80) argues that the last two sentences
describe two distinct forms of settled habitation, similar to those which are known
as the 'joint-undivided-family,' ajid the 'village community,' and exist side by
side in Bengal. The joint undivided family consists of a group of perhaps three
generations, who are united by partaking together in common meals, common

THE ENGLISH IN FRISIA. 37

settlement adopted by different tribes shows that they were B.C. 55—

A. D 449,

greatly determined in their choice by physical considerations.
Little oases on heaths and moors, which could hardly support situation:
a village, might be the residence of a household ; so might
restricted habitable spots on mountains, or in forest glades \ ^^f'^ ^)°^^
There seems to be reason to believe, however, that different culture.
races have definite preferences as to the manner of settle-
ment which they adopt, when circumstances allow them to
use this discretion ^ The Celts appear to have preferred
isolated dwellings or mere hamlets, but the Germans esta-
blished themselves in villages^ This was the practice of the
tribes which Tacitus describes*, and they made arrange-

worship, and who hold common property ; -while in the village community each
head of a family has definite property, as distinguished from the property of other
families in the community.

Mr Seebohm [Village Community, p. 338) also holds that the two sentences
refer to distinct kinds of social groups : the landowners Uving in scattered homes,
with serfs occupying villages (vicos) on their estates.

It seems to be more natural however to regard the second sentence as merely
explaining the character of the scattered groups which have been already con-
trasted with Eoman towns. On the German distaste for urban life see Gfriirer,
Papst Gregorius VII., vn. 98.

1 Particular situations might be attractive for the greater security they afforded ;
we may compare the early settlements of Irish monks. Where no isolated retreat
can be obtained, deliberate devastation may be resorted to in self-defence.

PubUce maximam putant esse laudem, quam latissime a suis fiuibus vacare
agros: hac re significari, magnimi numerum civitatium suam vim sustinere non
posse. Itaque una ex parte a Suevis circiter mUia passuum sexcenta agri vacare
dicuntur. B. G. iv. 3. Simul hoc se fore tutiores arbitrantur, repentinse incursionis
timore sublato. £. G. vi. 23.

The same system was in vogue in India under native rule. " One of the first
things. ..was to make a good road to connect the capital (of Sawunt Waru) with
the seaport Vingorla...One day in confidential mood the Eajah remarked, ' See
how this Sahib is spoiling my country by his new road, and what he calls
improvements.' I ought perhaps to add, as some excuse for the Eajah, that the
traditionary policy of the state was to maintain inaccessibility. Forests, difi&cult
passes, vile roads, thick jungles, were the bulwarks not only of the capital, but of
most of the towns and villages." Jacob, Western India, p. 120.

2 Meitzen, Siedelung und Agrarwesen, i. 178. Maitland, Domesday Book and
Beyond, 16.

8 Meitzen, op. cit. i. 46, 168.

* Agri, pro numero cultorum, ab universis in vices occupantur: quos mox inter
se secundum dignationem partiuntur: facilitatem partiendi camporum spatia
pra?stant : arva per annos mutant, et superest ager. Germ. 26.

This passage has given rise to an immense number of different explanations :
the interpretation adopted is on the whole that of Waitz [Verfassungsgeschichte,
I. p. 132) and Hearn [Aryan Household, p. 219), though they support it by the use
of other readings, which scarcely seem admissible according to the manuscript
authority.

b ll 'i () o

EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55—
A.D. 449.

TTie rights
of each
cultivator.

Toft.

Higid.

Extensive
tillage of
the fields
in the
waste,

ments by authority for regular tillage. " The lands are held
by all interchangeably, in proportion to the number of the
cultivators ; and these they afterwards divide among them-
selves according to their dignity; the extent of the territory
renders the partition easy. They change the ploughed fields
annually, and there is land over." From this we gather that
an amount of unoccupied land was assigned to each group —
not fields, but the waste from which fields could be formed and
where all other necessaries could be found. The quantity of
unoccupied land thus assigned was, in each case, determined
with reference to the number of cultivators, who were to live
together on the land and share the advantages it offered for
tillage, for fodder and for pasturage.

23. If we read the scanty evidence in the light of sub-
sequent practice, it appears that the cultivators in such a
patriarchal group enjoyed individual shares of the common
resources. They seem to have had separate houses with
yards attached (toft) and valuable privileges as well. Each
one could probably claim some strips in the fields (arva)
which were under cultivation, as well as a portion of the
meadow land from which they cut their hay ; 8.nd he would
use the common land (ager) to pasture his cattle, and to cut
his fuel. An individual share in these common resources
constituted the higid of the Germans \

(a) There is no reason to suppose that the mode of
tillage was different from that which was in use in the time
of Caesar; Tacitus remarks that the tribes possessed little
agricultural skill, and explicitly states that the cultivation
was extensive I Such a condition of course implies that
there were no permanent fields, but that a new portion of the
ager was each year broken up and ploughed by the collective
industry of the village. When Tacitus says that they divided
the lands among themselves, he can hardly mean that the
whole area was broken up into separate holdings, but that each
villager received some land to till as his share of the fields

1 A discussion of the precise extent of these rights as admitted in Germany
at a later time will be found in G. L. von Maurer, Markverfassung, 63.

2 Arva per annos mutant, et superest ager. Nee enim cum ubertate et ampli-
tndine soli labore contendunt, ut pomaria conserant, et prata separeut, et hortos
rigent. Germ. 26.

THE ENGLISH IN FRISIA. 39

which were newly cleared for crops each year, and that he B.C. 55 —
received it as his for a year only\ The man had a right toa ' '
portion of the ground which was annually prepared for tillage,
but he did not retain any one piece of land except in so far
as he always occupied the same house and yard from year to
year.

(b) His share of the hay crop was secured to him in a rights to
similar fashion ; this, when they became thoroughly settled,
was grown year after year on the same part of the village
land, as the spot that was best watered or grew the best grass
was selected to serve as permanent meadow ; it was usually
divided into strips, and each villager would have his strip
assigned him only for a single season, and when it was
ready to cut. This practice obtained in historical times in
places where the annual re-assignment of portions of land
for tillage did not occur, and it serves at all events to illus-
trate primitive practiced

1 At Sierra Leone extensive tillage is carried on collectively and "the produce
is divided to eveiy family according to its numbers." Winterbottom, Sierra
Leone, 52. This would be the only certaiu method of securing equality in the
shares : assignment by lot is a means of avoiding unfairness in assigning lauds :
in some villages in India where certain plots are more favourably situated than
others as regards the water supply, the plots are annually re-assigned by lot, so
that each may have his chance of getting one of the better bits. The Germans
however did not attempt to partition equal shares, but made the division 'ac-
cording to dignity.' This principle of assignment is found in many English
burghs where the custom has obtained of allotting the arable or meadow lands
according to the seniority of the burgesses. Nottingham, Berwick, and Laughame
are cases in point. Gonime in Archaeologia, xlvi. 411. See below, p. 45, n. 2,
for these two principles of assignment among Norsemen. On modes of division
for revenue piirposes, see E. Thomas, Revenue of Mughal Empire, 9.

2 On the manngement of meadow compare Vinogradoff, Villainage in Eng-
land, 259. The stock illustration is given by Dr Giles in his History of
Bampton, p. 79, " The common meadow is laid out by boundary stones into 13 (?)
large divisions, technically called layings out. These always remain the same, ai^d
each laying out in like manner is divided into four pieces called ' Sets,' First Set,
Second, Third and Fourth Sets. Now, as the customs of Aston and Coat are based
on the principles of justice and equity between all the commoners, and the Common
Meadow is not equally fertile for grass in every part, it becomes desirable to adopt
some mode of giving aU an equal chance of obtaining the best cuts for their cattle.
To effect this, recourse is had to the ballot ; and the following mode is practised.
From time immemorial there have been sixteen marks established in the village,
each of which corresponds with four yard lands, and the whole sixteen consequently
represent the 64 yard lands into which the common is divided. A certain number
of the tenants, consequently, have the same mark, which they always keep, so that
every one of them knows his own. The use of these marks is to enable the tenants

40 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 5f>— (c) In regard to the common rights on the waste little

need be added here : it may be noted however that space had

and rights . i >»

to common to be provided for each community " pro numero cultorum.
^Tihe"^^ This limitation may have reference to the necessity of securing
"""** sufficient pasturage for the teams of oxen which the culti-

vators possessed and without which they could not carry on
their tillage'; more probably, however, it means that they al-
lotted the land, so that the cultivators could carry on extensive
culture without being forced to recur to soil already tilled,
before several years had elapsed and it had completely re-
4ncluding covcrcd ''. The meadow reverted to the common waste as soon
^ndatuMe. ^^ ^^^ ^^J "^^^^ harvested =*, and the cattle could pasture there,
or on the stubble from which the corn had been removed.
Our experience of modern agriculture renders it hard for us to
realise the great importance of the common waste in primitive
economy. We are apt to think of a prosperous village as
one that had good fields with sufficient pasturage attached,

every year to draw lots for their portion of the Meadow. When the grass is fit to
cut, which will be at different times in different years according to the season, the
Grass Stewards and Sixteens summon the tenants to a general meeting, and the
following ceremony takes place. Four of the tenants come forward each bearing
his mark cut on a piece of wood, as, for example, the 'frying pan,' the 'hern's foot,'
the 'bow,' the 'two strokes to the right and one at top,' etc. These four marks
are thrown into a hat, and a boy, having shaken up the hat, again draws forth
the marks. The first di-awn entitles its owner to have his portion of the Common
Meadow in ' Set One,' the second drawn in ' Set Two,' and thus four of the tenants
having obtained their allotments, four others come forwards, and the same process
is repeated until all the tenants have received their allotments.. ..Themost singular
feature of this very intricate system remains to be told. When the lots are aU
drawn each man goes, armed with his scythe, and cuts out his mark on the piece
of ground which belongs to him, and which in many cases lies in so narrow a
strip, that he has not width enough to take a full sweep with his scythe, but is
obliged to hack down his grass in an inconvenient manner, as he is best able."
This may be a survival, or it may have arisen at a later date from endeavours to
manage laud, which the burgesses had the right of occupying, in an equitable
manner. Prof. Maitland on Survivals of Archaic Communities in Law Quarterly,
IX. 219.

1 On the reservation of pasture as an adjunct of the holding see Vinogradoff,
Villainage in Englandy 261.

2 "As the natives of the coast are ignorant of the advantages of manure, and
probably ai'e too idle to hoe the ground, they never raise two successive crops
from the same plantation ; a new one is made every year, and the old one
remains uncultivated for four, five, six or seven years according to the quantity of
land conveniently situated for rice plantations which may be possessed by them."
Winterbottom, Sierra Leone, 52. See on the Karens above, p. 34, note.

3 In Wales after the Aftermath was secured [Vendotian Code, m. xxv. 27),
Ancient Laws, p. 160.

THE ENGLISH IN FRISIA. 41

but it would be far more true to say that it had ample B.C. 55—
waste, portions of which were temporarily used for tillage
and as meadow. Between harvest and seed time in each
year the whole of the village lands once more reverted to
the condition of common waste ; and if there was only
enough of it there could be no fear, under an extensive
system of tillage, of failing to secure 'good' arable ground,
somewhere or other, in each successive year.

The possession of ample waste was the primary condition 3fode of
for prosperity. So long as this was available, the group out the
need never have recourse to fields already cropped ^^^^nddseach
sufiScient time had been allowed for natural recuperation, 2/^*''-
since unexhausted land lay ready for use continually. They
were also saved a great deal of trouble in the actual process
of assigning the arable land each year; "facilitatem parti-
endi camporum spatia proestant." No knowledge of land-
surveying was needed in order to lay out the portions of Each
each cultivator, for his holding did not consist of an area of go>L"J^^
contiguous land like a modern farm, but of a great many "{^f^^^^
separate portions which lay intermingled with the separate stripsintet
portions of the holdings of neighbours. It would appear with the
that as the land was cleared, and broken up by the plough, Ithermen
it was dealt out acre by acre, to each cultivator in turn.
If the joint-family consisted of ten households, or 'families'
in a more restricted sense, to each of which a share of
arable land was assigned, the typical holding of 120 acres
allotted to each would consist of 120 separate portions of an
acre each, or even of 240 of half an acre, each scattered over
an area of 1200 acres, and lying intermingled with the acres
allotted to other families. This mode of dealing out the
separate acres in turn would of course be convenient if it
was desired to give each a fair share ^ of the good and bad

1 Vinogradoff has shown that the desire to secure equality was the determining
motive in this system of division. Villainage in England, 233 — 236. The method
of allotment which was in vogue among the Welsh, when men associated them-
selves together and each contributed something to the common plough team and
plough, may be compared. The first acre {erw) went to the ploughman, the
second to the irons, the third to the owner of the ' exterior sod ' ox, the fourth to
the owner of the 'exterior sward' ox, the fifth to the driver, then to the owners
of the other oxen in turn. Ancient Laios [Vendotian Code, m. xxiv. 3), p. 153,
(Qwentian Code, n. xix. 1) p. 354. Leges Wallice, n. xxx. p. 801.

42 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— land in each place. We can understand how the right to
have a share (higid) should be quite precise though the
actual area was still undetermined, and that this right to
share might even be treated as a saleable property^
No 24. This is a convenient point at which to look a little

date for the farther ahead and describe the next step in social progress :
*timoT ^^^ ^^^ which, so far as we can see, the tribes with their
located stores were almost ready in the time of Tacitus,
though they may not have actually made this advance till a
much later date ; but we have no direct evidence on the
subject and must draw on the knowledge we obtain by com-
paring the condition of other countries in the present day.
Mr Wallace has called attention to the important changes
which follow in Russia upon the introduction of more careful
tillage ^ Sooner or later men come by choice to continue
cultivating the same land ; this ma}'^ be because a particular
plot proves convenient for their fixed dwellings ; or it may
merely be a result of increasing skill, when they find that
by expending labour in manuring the land a better crop
intensive can be obtained ; and then a system of intensive farming
will supersede the more slovenly extensive tillage. Instead
of trying to keep up the supply by taking in a new area,
men will employ more care and forethought on the lands
already under plough ; they will wish to plan their opera-
tions with regard to a longer period of time, and will be
glad of such conditions of tenure as will enable them to
carry out their purpose. The plot that is really well worked
one year will retain a certain portion of the advantage for a
second^, a third or a fourth season; and the holder's claim

1 Such ' ideal ' property is the subject of transfer among Karens. Journal
Asiatic Soc. Bengal, xxxvn. p. 126.

2 Wallace, Eussia, ii. 217.

3 This may be also called the one field system, as one plot of ground is
cultivated over and over again with the same crop. "In the parish of Alvah,
fields to which lime had been applied, were reckoned fit to yield from twelve to
nineteen crops of oats in succession. And it was to Kincardineshire that the old
school farmer belonged, who, on being complimented on the good appearance of
his crop, said, ' It's nae marvel, for it's only the auchteent (eighteenth) crop sin'
it gat gweedin' (dunging).' " Northern Rural Life, p. 23. If the application of
lime or manure appeared to give rise to such long-continued benefits, we can
easily understand that villagers who had been at the trouble of improving their
plots, would protest against a redistribution.

culture.

THE ENGLISH IN FKISIA. 43

to get the benefit of his unexhausted improvements will B.C. 55—
make him desire to retain the use of his land for a longer ' "
period than the single year, for which the plot was originally theditusT
allotted to him. Where intensive culture is well carried on of ^■'^'>^'^'^l

re-allot-

this desire will be felt by most of the members of the com- '>nent,
munity, and few, if any, will wish for a re-allotment of the
lands ; the custom of annual or even of frequent redistri-
bution will only linger among backward communities ; and
gradually it falls into disuse altogether.

When this revolution occurs, the cultivator still retains and the
the same rights over his house and yard, still has common i-ights of
rights on the common waste, but he has acquired a right to Cultivator
the use of a particular holding of arable land indefinitely, ^o P^op^^^y
since with the introduction of intensive culture, his share
becomes permanently individualised. Under this new order,
(a) the arable fields are no longer shifted from year to year,
but form a portion of the village land which is regularly used
for tillage, just as the meadow is regularly used for growing
hay; and (6) there are permanent allotments to individuals
in the arable fields. The villager no longer merely possesses
a definite right to share in all parts of the village land, but
he is able to claim a particular piece of arable land as his
own, together with the right to meadow land and the use are no
of the waste for pasture. His property to use a common 'Tdeai' hut
phrase is no longer 'ideal' but 'realV since he has not onl}' a '^'*^'
right to share, but a right to particular plots as his share, a.d. 449.
Whether this change took place before or after the English
invasion, whether intensive culture was known to our fore-
fathers when they came here, or, as on the whole seems more
probable, was not introduced in Teutonic Europe generally
till after that time, it may be impossible to decide with
certainty^; but it was a change of great importance and

1 Hanssen, Agrar. Abhand. i. 30.

2 See below, p. 75 ; Prof. Jenks' article on Legal Execution and Land Tenure
{Eng. Historical JReview, vm. 417) gives good reason for thinking that intensive
culture was not practised in German lands in the sixth century. On the other
hand Waitz {Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte, i. p. 121) seems to consider the
probabilities are in favour of the supposition that the English were acquainted
with the practice at the time of the conquest of Britain. This may be so, but it
is worth while to observe that in the time of Tacitus, as in that of Caesar, they
were ignorant of intensive culture in its commonest form; and the survival of

44 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. r->r-,-~ fraught with far-reaching results. It was a step ia the
process by which a man's obligations came to be defined in
terms of his territorial possessions.

It would be of great interest if we could tell exactly
when and how this stage of agricultiiral practice was attained,
for the system thus developed was maintained in England
with little alteration all through the middle ages, and in
many districts until the eighteenth century. The land was
laid out in permanent open-fields, each of which was divided
up into numbers of acre or half-acre strips, and these were
separated from one another by narrow grass paths known as
balks. These do not run the whole length of the field, as
at the end of a group of strips which lay lengthwise side by
side a headland was left where the plough was turned ; the
continued ploughing along the side of a hill has sometimes
resulted in a curious terrace formation known as lynches.
Each holding, large or small, would consist of a number
of such scattered strips, until at length the progress of
'enclosure' in Tudor times marked the beginning of a new
method of laying out land \
Theorgani- 25. The Organisation of the tribes is a matter of consti-
^tfe^^ib/s tutional rather than of economic interest, but we must not
foreco-_ wholly ncfflect it; the village (views) Avas the unit of their

nomic,ju- JO ' o \ /

diciai and ecouomy, and the method of tillage and lot of each freeman

military i-iii -n ji i ii

purposes. Were decided by the village customs ; the gau or hundred
(pagus) was a military and judicial division of the people
{civitas) as a political whole, and in each of these there were

the practice of redistributing arable land in "Hill Parts" at Lander in Berwick-
shire (Maine's Village Communities, 95) seems to show that some of the settlers
brought with them the practice not of intensive but of extensive agriculture, and
that the old method has been maintained. The rearrangement of land so as to
set apart tithe "as the plough traverses the tenth acre" (Ethelred, vxn. 4, rx. 7,
Thorpe, Ancient Laws, i. 338, 343), especially when read in the light of the Welsh
laws about co-aration (see above, p. 41, n.), seems to imply a condition where land
was not finally allotted, and to be at least congruent with extensive culture.
On the whole subject of early ploughing and the relics of it, compare Seebohm's
Village Community, ch. i. and iv. The evidence of Welsh survivals and Welsh
laws is carefully examined by Mr A. N. Palmer in his Ancient Tenures of Land
on the Marches of Wales.

1 A photograph of the open fields and balks at Clothall, Herts, was taken for
me by Miss E. M. Leonard, and forms the frontispiece to this volume. I am also
indebted to Mr Seebohm for permission to reproduce the excellent map of the
open fields at Hitchin from his English Village Community.

A NORMAL
VIRGATE orYARDLAND

\ \Ji

THE ENGLISH IN FRISIA. 45

assemblies for the conduct of affairs. In these assemblies the B.C. 55—

A D 449.

freemen and nohiles took part and elected the principes, who
were their judges and captains; while the captives of war, or
those who had lost their freedom through crime, were the
mere slaves of the free, with no portions in the soil and no
right of defending themselves by arms. At the head of all
was the king, elected from among the direct descendants of
the gods ; a princeps in his own hundred, he was seldom
called on to exercise any authority over the whole nation; yet
when a national council was held he would preside, or if a
national migration took place he was the natural leader.

The working of the village institutions and customs The com-
deserves much closer attention here, as it is more especially
of economic significance ; unfortunatel}'^ it has been most
frequently discussed in a political aspect, and the subordi-
nate question of the rights and freedom of individuals per-
sonally has attracted undue attention. The typical village
community seems to have been an enlarged patriarchal
family, the members of which worked together on their
fields, shared the meadow land, and enjoyed the common use
of the waste. We can dimly trace a process by which the
shares became more and more individualised, and see that,
under changing conditions, there were opportunities for the
accretion of new social elements. Though the tie of common of blood,
blood was the basis of the system, it would be strengthened
by a sense of neighbourliness^, and render.ed still firmer
because of the convenience it offered for working the soil
by associated labour and with combined stock.

Possibly some groups in England were formed apart or com-
from the blood tie by men who were associated for military m war-
purposes, and who, having fought side by side, settled down
together, under the leadership of a superior who was an
embryo manorial lord^ In other cases the cultivating

1 The formation and character of the Marhgemeinschaft in different parts of
Germany has been fully discussed by C. T. v. Inama Sternegg, Deutsche Wirth'
schaftsgeschicMe, i. 52 — 92. See also Hanssen, Agrar. Ahhand. n. 85. The
growth of "the joint family into a village community," which seems to be of
constant occurrence in India, may be taken as illustrating the process. Phear,
Aryan Village, 233. Compare also, however, Laveleye, Prim. Property, 181.

2 Earle, Land Charters, Iv. Ixx. Such would be the apportionments of land
mentioned in the English Chronicle in 876 when " Halfdene apportioned the lands

46 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— group misfhfc consist of men who were reduced to subjection

A.D. 449. . .

by the invading English. Agricultural practice, as well as

iefeot. internal relations between the members of such groups,
might be very similar even when there were great differ-
ences of social status between the men who formed one gi'oup
and those who formed another. Those who were the mere
serfs of some neighbouring lord, and owed him a large share
of their produce, might yet regulate their common affairs
by the same sort of rules and by means of officials such
as directed the work of free cultivators, who were only
occasionally and nominally controlled by political or military
superiors. If we make an allowance for these different
degrees of freedom, we may say that the village community,
Tht village as an agricultural unit, is a world-wide institution, and we
a world- may draw on the information furnished by other countries,
7titution. i^ order to fill out the bald outlines indicated by survivals
of these groups as they existed among the English tribes.
The much debated question as to the measure of dependence
or freedom which any of these village communities possessed
at any time in our land may be reserved for such remark as
seems necessary below \ In order that the common tillage,
and due management of the meadow land, as well as of the
waste which supplied fuel, wood for building, and so forth to
each village community, might be carried on, it was obviously
necessary that there should be some administration. This
has generally been committed by the assembled householders
to one man, who undertakes the duties for a year*. In

of Northumbria, and they thenceforth continued ploughing and tilling them," or
in 880 when East Anglia was apportioned. We hear that in the apportionment of
land in Iceland, which was taking place about the same time, regard was had to
the position of "the ship's company in the mother country" (N. L. Beamish,
Discovery of America, v.), though sometimes they cast lots instead of apportioning
according to dignity. In the Saya of Thorfinn Karlsefne it is related that
when the ship of Bjami, the discoverer of America, was found to be sinking from
borings by the teredo, and they were forced to take to a small boat which would
not hold all the crew, the captain generously said, "It is my counsel that lots
should be drawn, for it shall not be according to rank." The lot fell on Bjami to
go in the boat, but he gave up his place to an Icelandic man " who was desirous to
live," and went back to the sinking ship. Beamish, Discovery of America, 104.

1 See §§ 46, 47.

2 Compare Altenstadt in 1485. "Das man aUe jare nach Sant Walburgendag so
man erst mag ein merkerding halten sol, vnd alle ampt bestellen, nhemlich so sal

THE ENGLISH IN FRISIA. 47

Russia the office of headman is a burden which everybody B.C. 55—
is anxious to escape^; in other cases the administration r^^^}^^^',i.
appears to have been hereditary in a leading family from '«««•
the earliest formation of the community, for it certainly does
not always seem possible to derive the individual from the
communal rights ^ However this may be, we know that
even at the first there was no equality^, but a difference
of status and therefore of wealth among the members of
the community ; and as time went on these differences
sometimes became more decided so as eventually to break
up the system altogether*.

ein oberster merckermeister vnd ein yndermerkermeister die das vergangen jar
merckermeister gewest sein, das merckerdirig besiczen, und sobi die rugen horen,...
vnd wan das also geschehen ist, so sal der vndennerckermeister vnd alia furster
dem obersten merckermeister ire iglicben ampt vffgeben in sein hant, vnd wan sie
das getban, so sal der oberst merckermeister die mercker ermanen vnd sie heisseo
widder ein vndennerckermeister zu kiesen, das sie dan also thon sain, das anch
recbtlichenn also berkommen ist, vnd dieselbenn, die also daruber gekorn werdenn,
soln ein obersten merckermeister uber ire ampt geloben vnd zu den heiligenn
schwerenn, der marg recbt zu tbun und niemant vnrecbt." Grimm, Weisthiimer,
m. 453.

1 D. M. Wallace, Russia, 1.168. Compare also in Sierra Leone: "The Headman
of the village claims from the general stock as much rice as, when poured over
his head, standing erect, mil reach to his mouth. This quantity is scarcely
adequate to the expense which he incurs by exercising that hospitality to
strangers and others, which is expected of him as a duty attached to his oflSce."
Winterbottom, Sierra Leone, 53.

2 Heara, Aryan Household, p. 232.

s Tacitus, Germania, 26; cf. Phear, Aryan Village, p. 235. See above p. 39,
note 1.

* The village community is a very widely diffused institution : it may be in a
sense natural to a people who take to a settled life when the simple co-operation
of labour is required for carrying on agricultural operations : the labour of slaves
can be organised by their master, but that of men who are in any sense free must
be organised by themselves through the appointment of a directing head. Various
elements in the institution aj-e discussed with much discrimination by Mr G. L.
Gomme, The Village Community. A general sketch will be found in Sir Henry
Maine's Village Communities ; other points are brought out in Dr Hearn's Aryan
Household. A good account of the system as actually existing is given by Mr C.
L. Tupper [Punjab Customary Law, n. 1 — 62, in. 128 — 152) and by Sir John
Phear {Aryan Village) for India and Ceylon ; by Sir D. Mackenzie Wallace in
Bussia (i. 149 f.) and by M. Kovalevsky in Ifodern Customs and Ancient Laws of
Russia (p. 69j ; by M. Laveleye for other parts of Europe in his Primitive Property,
where many survivals are noted. Various degrees of permanency of individual
possession within the community are distinguished by Meitzen, op. cit. in. 574.

The history and changes in the institution in Germany are fully described by
C. T. V. Inama Stemegg (Deutsche Wirthschaftsgeschichte, i. 52 — 92) ; the different
degrees of freedom and inequality of possession among the members of these com-
munities are fully brought out ; while stress is laid on the social and economic side

EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 5&—
A.D. 449.

Industrial
Arts.

Swords.

Coinage.

26. From what we know of the habits of our forefathers
we must feel that they had made considerable progress in the
industrial arts. Their powers of locomotion, both by land
and sea, show that they could construct wheeled vehicles*,
and handle their ships^ But the most definite evidence in
regard to their mechanical skill is drawn from the relics
which have been preserved ; ancient swords, shields, and
other implements can be identified by their forms, or by the
special type of ornament, as of purely English manufacture,
and these speak decisively to the skill of the men who made
them. In regard to such points it may be worth Avhile to
quote the opinions of specialists.

There seems to be good reason to believe that the English
were acquainted with the use of money before they migrated

of the institution, and its political importance is minimised. This distinction was
not sufficiently recognised hy von Maurer in his classical work on the subject of
Marhverfassung. The corresponding changes in England can be partly traced with
the help of Kemble, Saxons in England (i. pp. 35 — 71), Stubbs, Oonstitutional
History (i. pp. 33, 49), and Nasse, Land Community, also Scrutton, Common Fields,
p. 8. Mr Kemble did gi-eat service at the time he wrote, but his conclusions on
almost every point have been modified by later investigators. There is a temp-
tation to adopt for England what has been worked out for Germany, instead of
investigating the phasnomeua as they occurred here. By far the most tliorough
examination of the EngUsh evidence is to be found in Mr G. L. Gomme's Village
Community. He adduces good reasons against accepting the conclusion at which
Mr Seebohm arrived that all the communities in England were originally servUe,
but the facts collected and arranged by Mr Seebohm in the English Village Com-
munity are of the greatest interest, even though there be a ditference of opinion
about the manner in which they are to be interpreted.

Mr Pahner in his Ancient Tenures on the Marches of Wales calls attention (p. 115)
to evidence of pre-manorial freedom and joint-proprietorship of lands by a family
group. The historians of Ireland and Scotland have noted a state of society which
was somewhat similar, though modified by a strong feeling of kinship and respect
for the head of the sept ; see SuUivan's introduction to O'Curry's Manners and
Customs of the Ancient Irish, I. cxxxi — cxcvi, and a history of early tenures in
Mr Skene's Celtic Scotland, in. pp. 139, 215.

It is interesting to find traces of the same institution among a Semitic people,
and to examine the incidental allusions in the Bible to the laud system of the
IsraeUtes. For the first settlement see J. Fenton in the Theological Beview, xrv.
489; and for an admhable account of the changes as well seethe Church Quarterly
Review, x. p. 404.

1 In which apparently their wives and children could be conveyed. Cpesar,
B. G. I. 51. Tacitus, Germania, 7, 18. Jlist. vi. 18. Procopius, De Bella Goth.
I. 1. De Bello Vandal, n. 3.

2 The ships of the Germans in the time of Tacitus had not sails ; on their ships
and those of the Vikuigs compare Moutelius, Sweden, p. 115, and Eeary, Vikings,
22, 140.

THE ENGLISH IN FRISIA. 49

to Britain. The whole system of Wergilds is very primitive, BC 55—
and appears to have been organised in a state of society when
cattle were the ordinary form of wealth ; but Mr Seebohm
has shown that the parallelism between Anglo-Saxon and
continental practice extends to the money payments which
were enforced \ If money was demanded in composition for
crimes it was doubtless in circulation for purposes of trade*.

The evidence of relics shows that they had other ele- chronicles
ments of culture. Dr Guest argues ^ that the earlier entries *"'^-^""^''-
in the English Chronicle may have been records inscribed on
staves, and arranged like those of a 'bardic frame.' "As to
the characters in which these events were recorded, what
could they be but the ' runes ' which our ancestors brought
with them into the island, and which, even after the Roman
letters had been introduced by Christian missionaries, were
regarded with so much favour that we often find them
transcribed in our MSS. even as late as the thirteenth
century with the title 'Alphabetum Anglicum' written over
them."

Their skill in other arts may be seen from the equipment Warnor'<
of the great warrior who is represented in Teutonic Legend as men *
not despising the craftsman's skill, but as well able to fashion
the blade he wielded ; he had a sword with a double-edged
blade of steel and a shield with a rich boss. Specimens of
these survive to bear witness about the state of the arts as
practised among our forefathers in their pre-Christian days^,

1 Seebohm, Tribal Custom in Anglo-Saxon Law, 438.

2 The evidence drawn from the Anglo-Saxon dooms does not appear to he
confirmed, as was argued in other editions of this work, by the character of the
Anglo-Saxon coins. " Amongst the ahuost innumerably various types which are
found upon the Anglo-Saxon money, there are only two known which can with
any possibility be derived from the Eomans." (Ending, Annals of the Coinage,
I. 101.) More recent investigation seems to show that the Anglo-Saxon
silver coinage was not primitive, but was derived from that of the Franks
in Merovingian times. Mr Keary holds that the Roman coinage did influence the
Anglo-Saxon types, but that the actual introduction of an English coinage "was

not due to the influence of the Roman currency but to that of the Prankish

currency upon the other side of the Channel." (Catalogue, i. xi.) Roman civili-
sation did not survive in Britain so as to be a dominating influence on Enghsh
trading practice.

* Early English Settlements from Transactions of the Archmological Institute,
1849, p. 39. On Roman influence in Scandinavia compare Montelius, Sweden, 97.

* Nmnerous illustrations of the relics found in graves are given by Du ChaiUu,
in The Vihing Age. Hodgetts {Older England, 16) describes the warrior's equip-

C. II. 4

50 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— and these may be fairly taken as showing what their native
genius apart from foreign influence was able to accom-
plish.

Warfare 27. When we see how much of their skill was directed

culture. to the manufacture of arms and adornments for the warrior
we may learn what a large part warfare played in their
ordinary life; it could be carried on without disturbing
the territorial system already described. We have an

B.C. 55. instance of a great defensive war in which the Suevi
engaged, half of them being under arms, and half occupied
in tillage every year; the village system rendered this ar-
rangement possible and it was adopted by the English at a
much later date as giving the best systematic defence against

A.D. 894. the Danes^ Again we find members of these tribes em-
ployed by the Romans as mercenaries under their own
leaders, not merely recruited from German settlements
within the limits of the Empire*, although such settlements
existed. But much more important schooling in warfare was

Piracy. obtained by piracy ; this was the recognised business of many
of the people, and offered a constant opening for the employ-

Increase of ment of the surplus population. What may be the conditions
which render a nation so specially proliiic as Jbjnglish tribes
appear to have been at that time are hardly known*; but
it is commonly said that peoples just emerging out of
barbarism exhibit a suddenly increased power of multiplica-
tion ; partly perhaps because a more settled life is favourable
to the nurture of the young. The social conditions which
rendered the Germans more prolific than the Romans are

ment as vei-y elaborate indeed. " In the ' Lay of Beowulf,' we find how the war- net
is woven by the smith, how the * ring bymie ' was hard hand-locked or riveted, how
the iron shirts sang as the warriors marched: how the rings and chains were
twisted and woven, but not as women weave, tiU the war shirt rattles the song of
Hilda (Goddess of War) in the air. How the Nichars could not assail Beowulf in
the water because of his byi-nie, nor could the monsters of the deep tear him
because of his linked maU." But coats of mail do not at all events appear to
have been common, and there is no satisfactory proof that they were of native
manufacture in the fifth century.

1 English Chronicle, 81)4.

3 Bethmann-HoUweg, Die Germanen vor der Volkerwanderung , p. 78.

s They axe discussed most ingeniously by Doubleday {True Law of Popu-
lation, 5), who produces much evidence to show that fecundity is coimected with
piivatiou. See also Roscher, Political Economy, ii. 297.

THE ENGLISH IN FRISIA. 51

alluded to by Tacitus^; and these, along with the simplicity B.C. 55—
and vigour of a young nation, make up the whole explanation
that can be offered 2.

This increase of population gave rise to a surplus which The
•could not be maintained by means of primitive methods of ^^^J *"
subsistence; but the German's love of wandering is as strong
as his love of home, and any leader who started on a life of
adventure in foreign parts was likely to find a following. In
inland districts these bands doubtless resembled the free-
booters who infested the English and Scotch borders, and
whose doings are familiar to the readers of the Monastery
and others of the Waverley Novels ; but the tribes that
bordered on a sea coast sent out their surplus population to
engage in regular piracy along neighbouring shores. The >ava^ing
■coasts of Normandy and of Britain had suffered for many
years from these pirates, so that the officer whose duty it
was to repel these attacks had the regular title of Comes
Litoris Saxonici per Britanniam^; indeed these ravages, at
the hands of one or other of the northern peoples, continued
for centuries, — so long as warfare was prosecuted by the
Norsemen as a regular business*. A life of piratical adven-
ture had many attractions and was eagerly adopted, while it

1 Germania, 18, 19, 20.

2 Bethmann-Hollweg, Die Germ, vor der Volhenoanderung, 18. Civil-Prozesa,
IT. 104—129.

8 E. Guest, Early English Settlements. Proceedings of Archceological Institute,
1849, p. 33. Another view is taken by Lappenberg, Saxon Kings, i. p. 46.

* E. G. Geijer (Poor Laws, pp. 70, 102) has some interesting remarks on the
effect of this continued prosecution of war as a trade on the internal development
of Sweden : for its effects on an inland people, see W. W. Hunter, Mural Bengal,
"p. 219. Compare the enumeration of various employments given by Aristotle: oi
fLev ovi> (jioi ToarouToi <T\e66v elciv, ocjoi ye aiiTorpvTov 6)(ovat ttiv epyaaiav Kal
fit) Si dWaytj? Kal Kairi)XiLai Trof}i'^ovTai Tijv -rpocptjv, vofiaSiKOv yewpyiKdi
XritTTpiKoi o\ieuTiK-(3s dtjpevTiKoi. The pirate's employment is treated of as a
subdivision of the larger class of men who get their living by the chase. Politics,
X c. 8, §§ 7, 8. See also the Cyclops' enquiry of Ulysses :

'Q ^elvot, Ttj/es ecTTe ; Trodev irXeiO' iiypd Ke\evda ;
'H Tt (faxd Trptj^iv ij /ia\}/iSico^ dXdXijaOe
Old Te Xri'i(TT>jpe^ uire'ip d\a ; Toi t' aXooij/Tai
■^i/)fas irapQifxevoi, kukov dWoSairoXai (pepovTes. Od. rx. 252.
Thucydides calls attention to this state of things as evidence of a very different
•etate of feeling to that of his own day. (i. c. 5.) On the curious revival of piracy
in New England at the close of the seventeenth ceutury, compare Weeden, Eeo-
iwmic and Social History, i. 344.

4—2

52 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— was readily adapted to institutions which survived from

A JO. 449. .

times when war was necessary, not merely for the main-
tenance of some, but for the defence of all. This mode of
life gave rise to a generally recognised social institution ;.
Organisa- the princeps gathered a comitatus, who were bound by the
predatory closcst of all ties to fight in his behalf and act as a
oanda, permanent force, or as a body of freebooters or pirates when
the tribe became more settled. It is indeed a question,,
whether these pirate bands did not serve another purpose.
We have seen in the preceding paragraph that there is at
least a strong probability that the German tribes were
accustomed to trading, and that they made use of materials
which must have been imported from distant lands. It
would seem most likely that this was accomplished by
and con- mcaus of thesc expeditions, and that the shipmen did a
^ommercl. little commerce when there was no satisfactory opportunity
for plundering^ There is abundant evidence to show that
in the fourteenth, and even in the sixteenth, century,
commercial and piratical transactions were not completely
differentiated ; and we may take these early expeditions as
the beginning of our merchant shipping, as well as of our
naval prowess and attempts at colonisation.
Temporary j^ jg ^q^ alwavs possible to distinguish the ravaeres com-

settlements j sr o o

1 The life of Anskar (Migne, cxvni. 959) gives a good many interesting hints as-
to northern commerce in the ninth century. He built a church at Sleswick, whick
was one of the great trading centres, with the special object of reaching the
merchants (c. 41); and missionary work suffered more than once from the
depredations of pirates (cc. 16, 22, 29). The merchants of 'Byrca,' which is
described as a very wealthy depot of trade, failed to organise resistance against a
viking and his naval mercenaries (c. 28) ; fighting was so frequent that there was
no security for property; and the bishopric of Hamburg was endowed with a cell
in Flanders (c. 19), which was comparatively safe. There was very httle im-
provement during the next two himdred years, for the close connection between
trade and piracy comes out in many of the Sagas. In Harald Haarfager's Saga,.
c. 38, it is related that Biorn went but little on war expeditious, but devoted
himself to commerce with success (Laing, Chronicle of Kings of Norway, i. 305).
In the Saga of King Olaf the Saint, c. 62, we read that the people "had much
trading intercourse with England and Saxony and Flanders and Deimiark, and
some had been on viking expeditions, and had had their winter abode in Christian
lands" (Laing, n. 62). The slave dealer would appear in each character alternately
when on an expedition, or selling at a fair. See also Streatfield, Lincolnshire and
the Danes, 101, 103. Keary (Vikings, 183) mentions a pan* of scales, found along
with his wai--gear in the tomb of a viking, as a "curious type of the double nature
of his life as a soldier and a tradesman."

THE ENGLISH IN FRISIA. 53

mitted by such bands from the misTations of a tribe that B.C. 55—

AD 449

found their quarters uncomfortably contracted ; for the and'reguiar

pirates might settle for a time as the best means of securing migrations.

the spoils, and the fort thus formed become a centre to

which their countrymen migrated; nor was very much more

preparation required for the one expedition than for the

other. Their wives and children were stowed in the wagons

their oxen drew, so that a portion of any tribe could swarm

■off by land transit to quarters that were unpeopled or weakly

defended, and their ships would give similar or even greater

facilities. But we hear of cases where migrations were due

to special causes which drove a tribe from its home ; such

was the migration of the Usipetes from the neighbourhood b.c. 55.

of the victorious Suevi^; or of the Cimbri when driven from

their homes on the Danish peninsula by the inundations of

the sea*. The great incursions of the English into Britain

were not improbably partly due to a similar destruction of

their homes; the people would thus be forced to migrate

as a body, instead of merely sending out bands of marauders

or comparatively small bodies of settlers. The first raids

would however be made by bands of warriors ; and each new

wave of invasion which came from across the sea, or which

rose among the English settlers and drove the Welsh farther a.d. 755.

and farther toward the West, would be of the same type'.

It was thus that the bold enriched themselves with spoil, or

procured estates as the reward which the princeps bestowed

on their valour.

There is great difficulty in piecing these various details Summary.
together so as to get a real picture of the life of our ancestors
in their German homes ; for the different traits are so incon-
sistent, that it seems strange that they could have been
combined at all. But the accounts of the migrations of the
tribes forbid us to suppose that they had many slaves, and
we are forced to believe that the warriors were not mere
ruthless savages, but men who were capable of manual
labour, and who were skilled in certain crafts. The hero

1 Caesar, B. O. iv. 1, 4.

' Bethmami-Hollweg, Civil- Proxeis, iv. 105.

• Eiigliah Chronicle, tinder 755.

EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55—
A.D. 449.

AD. 1790.

was able to forge the blade with which he encountered his
foe. It is strange perhaps to think of the warrior as ever
betaking himself to the less stirring labours of husbandry,
but Caesar's language in regard to the Suevi is quite conclu-
sive ; nor are instances wanting in modem times of tribes
that sustained themselves partly by the cultivation of their
fields and partly by their plundering expeditions : for many
years the people of Lower Bengal were subject to the ravages
of hill tribes, who yet carried on agriculture of their own
during the summer months^ The Angles, Saxons and Jutes
had a love of adventure and were mainly engaged as warriors,
but the very stories of their piratical expeditions themselves
are inexplicable unless we recognise that the same men who
fought so ruthlessly were skilful craftsmen, and were not
wholly averse to tillage.

III. The Conquest of Britain.

AJD. 400—

577.

Britain in
the fifth
century.

The plant-
ing of a
Rovian
Colony:

28. The preceding paragraphs have described the con-
dition of our forefathers while they were still living in
Germany and before they undertook the conquest of Britain ;
it is worth while now to turn to examine the state of the land
where they fixed their new homes and see what they found
on their arrival. This is a preliminary enquiry, on which
we must enter before we face the difficult question how far
the material progress of the English people was directly and
deeply affected by their contact with the remains of Imperial
civilisation in Britain. With regard to this we may anti-
cipate the conclusion reached below and state that the
historical evidence seems on the whole to show that the
subsequent English civilisation was almost entirely a native
growth, though elements of Roman lore and skill were
indirectly introduced among our countrymen at a later date,
by Christian missionaries, and travelling merchants from
the continent.

There can of course be no dispute as to the high civilisa-
tion which Britain had attained in the second and third

1 Hmiter, Annala of Rural Bengal, 219.

CONQUEST OF BRITAIN. 55

centuries. It had been settled like other Roman colonies, A.D. 400—
and imperial officials had directed the development of its *
resources. The Roman citizens greatly coveted grants of
the broad territories which were subdued by their legions*,
and there was never much difficulty in planting a new terri-
torium with such settlers; the tenure on which they held ^''«»'«^«^''-
their estates was technically known as possessio'^ since the
land was theoretically resumable by the State, though as a
matter of fact it was hereditary, and licence could be obtained
for its alienation. But the old inhabitants were retained as
coloni, the actual cultivators of the soil to which they were
attached, though they had in other respects a considerable
amount of personal freedom'. But the most important
changes were those which were made on the actual land and estates.
itself. All Roman territoria were laid out on one definite
plan ; roads were made both as great channels of communi-
cation, and for the purpose of tillage*; these roads served as
the limits of the different centuriae (of about 200 acres each)
into which each civitas was divided, while boundaries were
marked by mounds, stones or trees, which defined in a
permanent manner the limits of the various estates; the
rectangular portions thus laid out by the Roman agri-
mensores were designed to be permanent divisions of the soil.

The Romans were accustomed to introduce such animals^ AccUmati-
plants and trees as they thought would flourish in any new
colony ; the cherry and the vine were brought to Britain by
them, as in all probability were a great many forest trees, if the
names they bear can be taken as evidence. Mr Coote thinks
that some herbs were also introduced, and, among other
things, quickset hedges'. The whole country as far as
Hadrian's Wall was portioned out, and the amount of corn'
produced must have been very great; the Roman settlers had

1 H. C. Coote, Romans of Britain, p. 239. 2 ibijj, op. cit. p. 49.

« Ibid. op. cit. p. 128.

* On the laying out of a colony see Coote, Romans of Britain, 42 — 119.

* On differences between the native and Roman breeds of cattle see Prof.
Hu;,'hes' article in Royal Agricultural Soc. Journal, 3rd Series, v. 561.

'^ Neglected Fact, 53. For a good summary of the effects of the Roman
occupation, see 0. H. Pearson's England in Early and Middle Ages, i. 55.

'' According to Zosimus, lib. 3, page 145, eight hundred vessels were sent on
one occasion to procure com for the Roman cities in Germany.

EARLY HISTORY.

AJ). 400—
A.D. 577.

and de-
velopment
of natural

resources,

A.B. 61.

A.D. 207.

A.v. 250.

Disinie-
ffration of
Roman
society.
A.D. 401.

Picts and
Scots.

Deaeition
bv Romans.
A.D. 410.

built numerous cities, and introduced into them the muni-
cipal and social institutions, to which they were accustomed
in Italy. There is abundant evidence of the high civilisa-
tion and large population which existed in the island under
Roman occupation. The colonies of Londinium and Verula-
mium possessed a population of which 70,000 were slaugh-
tered in the days of Boadicea\ A later panegyrist^ describes
the rich natural productions, the minerals, flocks and herds,
the commercial facilities, and the revenues derived from
them, while we also learn that there were fifty-nine cities in
Britain about the middle of the third century ^

But before the English had made any settlements in
Britain this civilisation had received many rude shocks.
We read in the pages of Bede how terribly the country
suffered after the Roman generals had withdrawn the
legions. " From that time, the south part of Britain, desti-
tute of armed soldiers, of martial stores, and of all its active
youth, which had been led away by the rashness of the
t3rrants never to return, was wholly exposed to rapine, as
being totally ignorant of the use of weapons." When the
Picts and Scots fell upon them and they were unable to
defend the rampart which stretched across from Frith to
Frith, it seemed that total destruction was inevitable. " Mes-
sengers were again sent to Rome, imploring aid, lest their
wretched country should be utterly ruined, and the name
of a Roman province, so long renowned among them, over-
thrown by the cruelties of barbarous foreigners, might
become utterly contemptible." But when the slight as-
sistance sent in answer to this appeal was finally withdrawn,
the ravages recommenced, till " at last the Britons, forsaking

1 Tacitus, Ann. xrv. 33.

2 Eumenins. Et sane non sicnt Britaimise nomen unum, ita mediocris
iacturse erat reipublicoe terra tanto frugum ubere, tanto Iseta numero pastionum,
tot metallorum fluens rivis, tot vectigalibus qusestuosa, tot accincta portubus, tanto
immensa circuitu. Panegyricus Constantio, c. 11. Merito te omnibus casli ac
soli bonis Natura donavit, in qua nee rigor est nimius hiemis, nee ardor aestatis,
in qua segetum tanta fecunditas, ut muneribns utrisque sufBciat et Cereris et
Liberi, In qujl nemora sine immanibus bestiis, terra sine serpentibus noxiis;
contra pecorum mitium innumerabilis multitudo lacte distenta et ouusta velleribus.
Panegyricus Constantio, c. 9.

• 'E^et TToXets eiri<Ttjfiovi vd'. Marcianus, Periplus, n. c. 14.

CONQUEST OF BRITAIN. 67

their cities and wall, took to flight and were dispersed, a.d. 400—
The enemy pursued and the slaughter was greater than
on any former occasion, for the wretched natives were torn
in pieces by their enemies, as lambs are torn by wild
beasts. Thus being expelled their dwellings and posses-
sions, they saved themselves from starvation by robbing and
plundering one another, augmenting foreign calamities by Famine
their own domestic broils, till the whole country was left Faction.
destitute of food, except such as could be procured by the
chased" Even if we make considerable allowance for rhe-
toric, and limit the description to the old Northumbria, in
which Bede wrote and which was most exposed to the
ravages of the Picts and Scots, the words show that a
quarter of a century before the Jutes landed in Thanet
Roman society in Britain was entirely disintegrated ^ Even
during this brief period there was no opportunity for recovery,
as the ravages of famine, and later of pestilence', were added a.d. 426—
to those of their enemies ; and the temporary plenty that
ensued for a time did not serve to resuscitate the decajdng
civilisation. There was besides another cause of weakness,
for two distinct parties can be traced in the Roman Province
itself; in the person of Ambrosius there was a leader sprung
from the old Arturian gens, and his patronymic has come a.d. 520.
to designate the ideal of Christian heroism ; while Vortigern
to judge from his Celtic name must have been of a very
different stock. Wasted by famine and torn by faction, the
Roman province of Britain seemed an easy prey to the
* heathen of the Northern Sea.'

29. All evidence goes to show that the Roman civilisation Resistance
was completely disintegrated at the time when our forefathers }ui^btu^the
began their invasion ; but the Romans and Welsh, though conquered

° _ _ ' o tooula not

they could not organise an effective resistance and repel the submit.
attacks of the English tribes, were too proud to submit to
them. As one wave of invasion succeeded another the
struggle was carried on ; the battle of Deorham may be a.d. 577.

1 Bede, H. E. 1. c. xii. (Bohn's Series).

2 A graphic description of the severance between the Koman and Germanic
worlds, and of the completeness of the isolation of Britain, is given by Mr C. F.
Keary, Vikings, 4.

2 Bede, H. E. i. c. xiv.

EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 400—
A.D. 577.

Cowse of
the long-
continued
struggle.

Gradual
iritTi ■
drawal.

Displace-
ment of
oldj)oj)u-
lattoji.

taken as the really decisive event ; but that was not fought
till a hundred and twenty years after the conquest of Kent.
During all that time the struggle was continued with varying
success and with occasional checks. Britain was not rapidly
overrun by triumphant victors ; but during these one
hundred and twenty years, new bands of settlers came from
across the sea, or made incursions from the lands which their
fathers had won ; and thus the country became theirs gradually,
shire by shire or hundred by hundred. The precise course
of that long-continued struggle may be best treated if it is
regarded as a matter of local history. Local dialects help to
identify the stock from which the precise band of settlers
came ; the boundaries of the shire sometimes serve to show
the extent of the district which fell into their hands at some
battle of which only the name is preserved ; while the
physical features of the ground may have a tale to tell for
those who are skilled to read it^ and so to reconstruct a
forgotten story. The English advanced bit by bit, and the
Romans and Welsh gradually gave way as they were worsted
time after time by the brute courage of the heathen they
despised; the survivors of what had once been a civilised
province drew away farther and farther into the western parts
of the island rather than submit. They clung desperately to
the hope that English victories were a merely temporary
chastisement, and they tried to withdraw to places of greater
security till the time for which God had permitted this
heathen tyranny was overpast ^

It was not by any sweeping victories but by the gradual
displacement which resulted during this long-continued

1 Compare Dr Guest's excellent paper iu the Transactions of the Archceologieal
Institute, 1849, on the Early English Settlements in South Britain.

2 "To escape from their (the Saxons') bloody yoke an army of British monks,
guiding an entire tribe of men and women, freemen and slaves, embarked in
vessels, not made of wood, but of skins sewn together, singing or rather howling
under their fall sails, the lamentations of the Psalmist, and came to seek au
asylum in Armorica and make for themselves another country (a.d. 460 — 550).
This emigration lasted more than a century ; and threw a new, but equally Celtic
population, into that portion of Gaul which Roman taxations and Barbarian
invasion had injured least." Montalembert, The Monks of the West, u. 260. On
earUer intercourse between Britain and Armorica, see Bridgett, History of the
Holy Eucharist, i. 28. An excellent illustration of this withdrawal is found in the
legend of S. Beino, quoted by Green, Making of England, 197.

CONQUEST OF BRITAIN. 59

aggression and retreat, that Roman civilisation was swept a.d. 400—
away from the greater part of Britain, almost as if it had
never been. The centre of the Roman life had been in the The towm
towns, but the towns failed to maintain themselves against "^ '
the invaders. The numbers and skill of the English were not
so great that they habitually stormed the Roman defences
and destroyed the wretched inhabitants, and the fate of
Anderida was probably exceptional. The towns were not a.d. 491,
however safe places of refuge and could not even maintain a
defence; for as soon as the invaders had secured the sur-
rounding country they could ruin trade, even if they did not
deliberately cut off supplies. One after another of the great
cities which the Romans had built was deserted and decayed.
The very sites of some were forgotten ; Uriconiura, one of the
wealthiest of all, had wholly passed out of mind before it was
discovered in 18.57 ^; and Silchester has been disinterred from
beneath fields which have been ploughed time out of mind.
In other cases where the name and site have survived there
is clear evidence that the place ceased to be a centre of
commercial and civilised life. Had Verulam preserved a or at least
continuous existence there would have been no temptation aacmtres
for the population to migrate and build on the other side of ^^^^"„,;
the valley where S. Albans now stands. Even though the wall cmfisa-
and streets of Chester remain, and though York, Lincoln, and
Leicester embody many relics of their Roman times, it is
improbable that any of these served as a city of refuge
during the storms of the English invasion. Still less likely
is it that the orderly habits of civilised Roman life, and the
practice of Christian rites, were continuously maintained in
these strongholds. There must always be danger in arguing
from the mere silence of our authorities, but it seems
possible that London had sunk into insignificance'^ before
it passed into English hands. The old civilisation had been so
disintegrated that the attacks of the invaders could not be
repelled, and it even failed to maintain itself in those centres

^ Wright, TJriconium.

2 Loftie, History of London, i. 54. The attempt to show, from archaeological
evidence, that the desertion was so complete that the main thoroughfares had
fallen into decay appears to rest on a misapprehension. Lethaby, London before
the Conquest, 88, 150. Compare also Gomme, op. cit. 48.

EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 633.

A.D. 100— where it had been most firmly established. There doubtless
A.D. 577. ^^^^ many individuals who survived the battles, but failed to
escape, whose Hves were spared, and who then lived to serve
the conquerors in house or field ; but Roman society with its
language, law, commerce, administration, and religion did not
survive in any single locality. In the more northern parts
of England there were districts which maintained their in-
tegrity, like the kingdom of Leeds; and there may have been
in many other parts hamlets of cultivators who remained on
tbeir old lands'; but little else weathered the storm. There
is no inherent improbability which need compel us to dis-
count the story of destruction and devastation recounted by
Bede, Gildas, and Nennius. Despite the similarities between
some English and some Roman institutions ^ there is no
such identity as to compel us to believe that the English
habits were derived from the Romans or that our civilisation
is other than a native growth. We owe a debt to Christian
missionaries, to Danish adventurers, to Flemish weavers, but
there is little which we can ascribe to direct Roman influence
surviving in Britain.

30. On the territory which was thus gradually vacated
the successive tribes of English invaders settled themselves :
they were forced to till the ground for supplies, while the war
was still waging, and they were doubtless ready for a summons

1 There are a good many Celtic names preserved in Cambridgeshire; the laws
of the Thegns Gild (Cooper, Annals, i. 15) imply the continued existence of
"Welshmen round the town ; for it does not seem in this case that ' wealh '
merely means foreign to the gild. So too in Wessex itself it seems that soma
of the Britons were so far successful in resistance as to maintain a footing as
landholders (Coote, Romans of Britain, 1S2). For there can be no doubt, that
unless the slaughter proceeded from a mere ruthless love of destruction, the
proportion of inhabitants who were preserved, in different districts, would vary.
The traces of Welsh names are more numerous in Kent than in Sussex: and it
seems not improbable that the conquest of the first kingdom was effected with
comparative ease, and that there was in this case rather a usurpation than a
conquest. In Northumbria the number of inhabitants preserved seems to have
been considerable; while the new settlements in the northern part of that
kingdom were few and far between. In Cumbria and Strathclyde the chief
power remained in Celtic hands, though some of the invaders found homes for
themselves in that district ; such names as Cunningham in Ayrshire, Penning-
hame in Wigton, Workington and Harrington in Cumberland, are evidence of
these scattered settlements in a Celtic kingdom. The naimes of their villages are
the chief indications of the tide of English conquest.

2 See below, p. 107.

The

gradual
advance
of the
English,

CONQUEST OF BRITAIN. 61

to take part in it if need were. The men of Kent had been a.d, 400—
established in their new homes for a century before the West
Saxons succeeded in appropriating Bedfordshire \ The north a.d. 571,
folk and the south folk had held East Anglia many years
before the East Saxons pushed their way into Hertfordshire
and sealed the fate of Verulara*^; the tide of conquest wasctVcaseo
still flowing forward long after the period of settlement had
begun. It may of course have been true that the first
English bands were not cultivators but mere plunderers who
made raids on the Saxon shore, and that the mercenaries
who took possession of Thanet persisted in drawing supplies
from the fields of the Britons in Kent ; but the very success
of the English conquest rendered it impossible for the ad-
vancing tribes to obtain support unless they started tillage and im-
on their own account^. As each new district was appropri- recourse <o
ated, crops would be sown, and the arts of agriculture would '* '^^"'
be practised, in the same sort of way as had been done across
the sea ; and thus a firm basis was given for the operations of
coming campaigns. There was nothing to tempt the English
warriors iu the remains of Roman cities*, and as they would
have little use for the great roads they would often avoid
them ; they doubtless settled in little grou,ps as Tacitus
describes, as they were attracted by conveniences of wood
and water.

The division of the conquered territory into hundreds Method of

, , , , •11 -1 assignment

seems to suggest that the land was systematically assigned
to the victorious armies, and the number of villages, which
consisted of ten hides of land^ favours the idea that some
formal occupation was carried out on the lines which Tacitus
describes for an earlier era®.

Tracts of uncultivated land were apportioned to groups of
warriors, and the groups settled here and there as they were

1 Green, Making of England, p. 123.

2 Ibid. 109 n.

3 Compare the accounts of the Danes ravaging the country and then settling
in it. English Chronicle, 876 and 880.

* Stubbs, Constitutional History, i. 61.

5 Maitland, Domesday Book and Beyond, 390. Compare also Seebohm, Tribal
Custom, p. 418.

6 See above, p. 41.

62 EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 400— attracted by wood or water, to enjoy their hard-earned hold-

■ ■ ■ ings. The evidence of nomenclature seems to show that

several men of the same sept* took up land together and

to groups of foxmed a village (t'dn)-; other groups may have been com-
posed of those who had fought side by side before, and who
were ready to go out and serve together again. The amount
of land assigned to each such group would naturally depend
on the number of the cultivators ; and it would then be
possible for them to proceed to begin the labour of tillage
and assign a holding to each separate family*. Whether
the arable holdings were apportioned once for all, or whether
under a system of extensive culture they were reassigned
every year, the method adopted would be similar. The
allotment of acres was apparently determined by a desire to

to each 0/ mye a fair share to each cultivator*; as the land was broken

tufiom a ° .

holding of up it would be possible to deal out any convenient number
was dealtT ^^ arable acres, which would of course be intermingled to the
various members of the gi'oup. The members were already
oi'ganised for military discipline, and police responsibility ;
and the person who held a leading position for these pur-
poses would have land assigned him " according to his
dignity;" but most of the members would personally engage
in the labour of tillage. Each would have a house and
yard {toft) and such a share of land, extensively or intensively
cultivated, as a team could plough ; he would also have a
claim to meadow grass for hay, and a right to pasture his
oxen on the waste'; but unless the whole account of the
English Conquest of Britain has been greatly exaggerated
we cannot suppose that so many of the old inhabitants
were retained that the conquerors were able to rely wholly
and solely on cultivation by dependents ; it is much more
probable that when not required for warfare, they like the
B.C. 55. Suevi of former days undertook the actual labour of agricul-
Village ture themselves. In any case some organisation was needed

organi-
sation.

1 Kemble, Saxons in England, i. App. A.

^ On the use of this word and the precise sense of township compare Prof.
Ashley's article, Quarterly Journal of Economics, vm. 345.

* Bede habitually estimates land in this fashion. Lives of the Abbots of
Wearmouih, §§ 4, 7. * Vinogradoff, Villainage in England, 236.

* On the mode of settlement in Wiltshiie, compare Gomme, op. cit. 73.

CONQUEST OF BRITAIN. 63

for directing the common work of the village, and theA.D. 4oo—
institutions of the village community as already described
would serve the purpose ; though in any group, where there
was a leader who called them to arms, and who was
responsible for good order, he may probably have exercised
some authority in the administration of rural affairs from the
first*. The balance of historical evidence seems to be in
favour of the opinion that the warriors as they settled formed
villages; and that the freemen, who were ready to follow
the king in arms, and to assist him by their judgment in
the folkmoot, were associated together under their military
leaders in villages for the purpose of carrying on the agri-
culture by which they lived.

Some question has been raised as to the existence of
groups of cultivators in any other form than as hamlets of
servile dependents^; but men who were free to dispose of
their common property* could not have been dependent, and a.d. io86.
there are other indications that thirteenth century villains
had sunk from an original pendant*. We are forced hy Free miti-
the received accounts of the English Conquest to suppose
that the free warriors betook themselves to tillage, for there
must have been a general displacement of population to
allow of the introduction of a new speech, and the destruc-
tion of the Christian religion in the south and east of
Britain. The continued existence of a numerous and gene-
rally diffused servile population of rural labourers would be
incompatible with such sweeping changes.

When the lands they had conquered were apportioned
among the warriors in townships, a considerable area re-

1 Earle, Land Charters, Ixviii. Ixxii.

2 Seebohm, Village Community, 179. Ashley, Introduction to Fustel de
€oi-Janges' Origin of Property. Compare the discussion of this point below,
§§ 46, 47. * Kovalevsky, Die oek. Entwichelung Europas, i. 605.

* Dr Vinogradoff has analysed the complex structure of thirteenth century
villainage with great skill in his English Village Community. " Legal theory
and political disabilities would fain make it all but slavery ; the manorial system
ensures it something of the Koman colonatus ; there is a stock of freedom Ln it
which speaks of Saxon tradition," p. 137. This comes out most clearly in the
position of the villain socmen of ancient domain (p. 136), of the hundi'edors
(p. 194), and of men whose servile status had not been proved (p. 85); in the
rights of free commoners (p. 277) ; in the traces of communal holding among free
tenants (p. 340), in communal rights (p. 358) and in the procedure of certain
courts (p. 382).

64 EARLY HISTORY.

AD. 400— mained, much of which was covered with forest* ; but some?

■^ " 'of it would be inhabited, as in the case of any surviving
Welsh hamlets. Over such land the king had very large
claims, and some of it seems to have remained unalienated
as the ancient domain of the Crown; but he had alsa
valuable, if somewhat indefinite, rights over the persons
and property of the free warriors in their villages, as
they could be summoned to fight, or might be heavily fined
for various offences, or demands might be made for support.
The power to exercise these rights was a valuable possession,
and it formed the chief fund for national purposes. The
king maintained the public servants and military officers
by the temporary grant of land, or rather by the assignment
of his rights — whatever they were, or a portion of his rights

Temporary — within some particular area to one of his thegns^. The

%egm. " English thegn received his arms from the king, to whom
they were returned at his death as a heriot ; and he was
supported by a grant of land, or rather of royal rights over
some piece of land. The judicial rights over a few pros-
perous townships might be very valuable, while a grant
of all the royal claims over a larger area of unoccupied
forest^ would yield but a poor income ; perhaps the best

^ Pearson, Hii^torical Maps, 49.

s In thus devoting a portion of royal rights in land to public uses the English
were perpetuating a custom which prevails in nomadic and half-settled com-
munities. The power of a Kafir chief depends chiefly on the quantity of cattle
he possesses, and with which he rewards his followers: and the young men of
the tribe frequent his court and do husa as the comites attached to a leader.
Compare a Compendium of Kafir Laws and Customs printed for the Oovernment
of British Kaffraria, 1858. The reports which were sent by Government officials
describe many institutions which are curiously similar to Teutonic and Celtic
ones. The judicial system, pp. 58, 74, the royal revenue, p. 29, the wergilds, p. 61,
the position of married women, p. 54, are all of interest in this respect.

8 King Alfred writes as if the o^vuer of a temj)orary grant supported himself
from the products of the waste. The illustration from the difference between
laenland and hocland is well worthy to stand La a preface even to such a book
as S. Austin's Soliloquies ; and to us it is very instructive. " It is no wonder
though men 'swink' in timber working, and in the outleading and in the building;
but every man wishes, after he has built a cottage on his lord's lease, by his
help, that he may sometimes rest him therein, and hunt and fowl and fish, and
use it in every way to the lease both on sea and on land, until the time that he
earn bookland and everlasting heritage through his lord's mercy. So do the
wealthy Giver, who wields both these temporary cottages and the everlasting
homes, may He who shapes both and wields both, grant me that I be mete

CONQUEST OF BRITAIN. 65

return could be obtained where Welsh rural hamlets con- A.D. 400—

„ . . 1 A.D. 577.

tinued to exist through the storm of mvasion and were

allowed to go on tilling their lands but on more onerous

terms. Such hamlets would be specially important to the

invaders when they were found in districts where minerals

could be procured, and when the inhabitants were skilled

in mining and the Avorking of ore. The smelting in the Survival of

Forest of Dean is said to have been carried on continuously dustries.

since Roman times^; and this is quite probable also in regard

to the tin mines of Cornwall and the lead mines at the Peak.

But the continued existence of these industries in special

districts- in the hands of men who had special rights, does

not at all diminish the force of the evidence, which goes to

show that there was a sweeping change throughout the

country generally.

So far then as we can peer through the darkness and
come to any conclusion as to the nature of the English
settlements, it appears that though portions of the land
were cultivated by dependents, free, warriors connected by
ties of kinship obtained their holdings as convenience
dictated, and were associated together in the common work
of agriculture.

IV. Early Changes in England.
31. The three centuries that elapsed between the battle a.d. 577—

. . 901

of Deorham and the reign of Alfred contain little that attracts Tjn-ough
the interest of the ordinary reader. It requires an effort to i-^i«Jong

. . ..... penud

realise that the lapse of time, in a period which is dismissed there teas
in a few pages, was really as long as that from the Spanish
Armada to the present day. These centuries were marked of
course by the planting of the Church in England, and by the
consequent changes in thought and life introduced ; they are
noticeable too for the beginning of Danish invasion, and the

for each, both here to be profitable and thither to come." Blossom Oatherinr/s
in King Alfred's Works (Jubilee Edition, Vol. 11. Part 11. page 84).

1 Craik, Pictorial History of England, i. i. 268.

* On the survival of silver mining see below. Vol. n. p. 3. The si^ecial
organisation of the miners and their position on royal forests all tend to confirm
the view that they may be survivors of Welsh hamlets.

c. u. 5

66 EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 577— new forms of energy that were called forth in imitation of

A D 901. . .

" ' , ', their enterprise. But throuo^hout the chaos of local and

a gradual ^ o

coalescence apparently fruitless struggles, one change was steadily pro-
doms. ceeding; the lesser states were being absorbed into the
larger kingdoms, and the temporary superiority, which the
Bretwalda exercised over neighbouring kings, was preparing
• the way for the recognition of the claim of Egbert to be
king of all the English. This coalescence of the smaller
kingdoms was the chief political event.
Growth of This process need not necessarily have made any gi-eat
of the king change in the methods of cultivation, or in the status of the
inhabitants. When two peoples were joined, more land
would be available to the victorious king for the support of
an enlarged comitatus ; and the cultivators on such land
would be reinstated, but under conditions that ensured their
loyalty. In one respect however such fusion was of great
importance. The power of the kingly office increased with the
enlargement of his responsibilities' ; and with the increase of
his power, his ability to make valuable grants, and the status
of his personal attendants, rose as well; the earl, or even
churl, in a village was not so very far removed from a king
whose realm consisted of only a few hundreds ; but when
the king ruled over several shires the case was different;
■and of his and the thegns, who were military and judicial officers of
icgns. ^j^ege more powerful kings, came to have a much higher
social status than they had at first ; the churl or earl kept
his old position, while that of the others had greatly im-
proved. Thus we have the foundation of a new nobility,
not of blood but of service and wealth.
The 32. The internecine warfare of the little kingdoms of the

m'iZion, heptarchy was a fatal obstacle to advance in civilisation ; and
nothing contributed so strongly to the cessation of these
struggles and the formation of a united English nation, as
the influence of the monks who came from Rome under
A.D. .597, the leadership of S. Augustine. The consolidation of the
separate tribes and the first beginnings of really national
councils are closely connected with the ecclesiastical usages
which the missionaries introduced, so that their work was

1 Kemble, Saxons in England, i. 147.

EARLY CHANGES IN ENGLAND. 67

indirectly of great economic importance ; but it is also true a.d. 577—
that comparatively little economic advance can be ascribed ^^^ 'g^^.'
to their direct and immediate influence. In Gaul, the Roman ^•'f'f^^j?^^
civilisation had so utterly decayed that the soil had to be economic
reclaimed again, by clearing the forest and jungle ; in that
province the greatest material benefits directly accrued from
the establishment of religious houses and the unremitting
labours of the monks \ In more distant regions, where the
Roman empire had never extended, the monks began engi-
neering works, such as those which marked the countries
which had formerly been subject to Imperial rule I But
the special needs of the English, at the time of their
conversion, and the circumstances of their land were not
the same as those of the Franks, or of the Picts and
Scots. They had settled down to till their lands, and though
they still sent out bands against the Welsh or engaged in
struggles with one another, they had entirely relinquished
the old roving life on the sea. So soon as commerce
developed, the old Roman routes of communication were
ready prepared for the use of the chapmen who began to
traverse them, and Roman bricks lay ready to hand for the
repair of Roman bridges and the construction of new towns
where the Roman cities had stood. The trees which they
had planted^ would also remain and yield their fruit to the
English settlers ; altogether there are few material changes
which need be directly traced to monastic enterprise and
diligence, though particular places, like the fens round Crow-
land, owe much to their zeal. Still it is true that in England
the chief economic influence they exercised was due to the
constitutional changes they accelerated, and especially to the hut ae-
way in which they promoted the power of the king, and of coytstitu-
his personal dependents; while the communication with Rome, ^chames

1 Montalembert, The Monks of the West, n. 314.

- The civilising influence of the Columban Church among the northern tribes
can hardly be exaggerated ; each monastery which was planted became a living
witness, to a wild age, of the excellence of a godly life of industry rather than of
one of contemplative piety, artistic work and education. Many roads in Scotland
were due du-ectly or indirectly to the existence of monasteries. Skene, Celtic
Scotland, 11. 351. Lines, Scotland in Middle Ages, p. 146.

* See above, p. 55.

5—2

EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 577—
A.D. 801.

Christian
Priests as
Thegiis :

grants in
perpetuity.

Bocland,

how
granted;

which was probably opened up for religious purposes, was
used for commercial intercourse as well.

The fact that S. Augustine and the other leaders of
the Roman mission came especially to the kings, and that
Christianity was from the first a court religion, gave these
teachers the position of royal dependents, closely analogous to
that of the thegns^ As the one did service by fighting for
the king, so did the others intercede for him by their prayers,
but while the military service could only profit the king
during this life, the prayers of God's servants might avail him
in the place of deaths It thus became desirable to secure
the perpetual rendering of such service ; and kings began to
make provision for communities of monks, by granting them
a piece of land, or rather rights and superiorities over land
already occupied, so that they might 'serve God for ever^'
This land was secured to them by means of a charter (boc),
and thus royal rights which had hitherto been only tempo-
rarily assigned were granted away to the owner of bocland*.

These grants in the ninth and tenth centuries generally
purported to be made by consent of the Witan, and this may
have done something to prevent the national resources from
passing into private hands. It probably was not a serious
obstacle, however, and as the kingdoms increased in size there

1 Lingard, Avglo-Saxon Church, i. 171.

2 Montalembert, The Monks of the West, i. 45.

3 It is not a little civrious to notice that this, the chief economic effect
of monasteries in England, did not occur from the planting of monasteries in
Scotland. The Columban monasteries were endowed with land which was not
ahenated from the family which granted it, and the abbot was always selected
from among the blood relations of the founder ; the one who was highest Ln the
monastic community was to succeed. It frequently happened however that a lay
brother succeeded, or even a member of the clan, who had made no monastic
profession at all ; and thus the lands of the monasteries became secularised. The
fundamental difference, which underlay all the questions between the upholders of
the Scottish and Catholic usages at Whitby, was due to the fact that the one
Church was organised on this tribal model, and the other on the territorial system
which had come iato vogue in the rest of Christendom. The subsequent history
of the tribal Church in Scotland and Ireland proves the superiority of the latter
system. Skene, Celtic Scotland, n. 68, 270, 365. Todd's S. Patrick, p. 158.

■• The owner of bocland apparently exercised powers of jurisdiction subject
to the fulfilment of certain specified duties ; the important thing for the grantee
was that the charter should grant the amplest privileges and that the obUga-
tions it imposed should be of the slightest — nothing more perhaps than the trinoda
necessitas.

EARLY CHANGES IN ENGLAND. 69

was less possibility of a grand assembly of all freemen at the a.d. 577—
witenagemot; these were sometimes, in consequence, little
more than a gathering of a few royal thegns, who did not
put a very effective check on the disposition of the king.

The character of the numerous monasteries thus founded, sometimes
which were each independent and not responsible to the head pretences.
of an order, depended very much on the character of the ruling
abbot ; in some cases no real discipline was enforced, and the
pious purpose was only put forward as an excuse for securing
land in perpetuity. These pretended monasteries were a
source of grave scandal ; but the advantages of a perpetual,
as opposed to a merely temporary, possession were so great,
that men were strongly tempted to endeavour to secure
estates on these terms. Others succeeded in obtaining grants
on the strength of an intention, which was never carried out,
to found a monastery ; and large portions of territory were
disposed of, in what were little better than packed assemblies.

This process had already gone on to a great extent in the Consequent
Northumbrian kingdom in the time of Bede, whose letters to lueakness.
archbishop Egbert^ give us very important information on a.d. 73i.

1 The letters are worth quoting at some length. Bede advocates the establish-
ment of additional sees, and continues, "Ac si opus esse visum fuerit ut, taU
monasterio, causa Episcopatus suscipiendi, amplius aliquid locorum ac possessionum
augeri debeat, sunt loca Lnnumera, ut novimus omnes, in monasterium ascripta

vocabulum, sed nihil prorsus monasticte conversationis habentia Et quia

hujusmodi maxima et plui-a sunt loca, quse, ut vulgo dici solet, neque Deo neque
hominibus utilia sunt, quia videlicet neque regularis secundum Deum ibidem vita
servatur, neque ilia milites sive comites secularium potestatum qui gentem
nostram a barbaris defendant possident; si quis in eisdem ipsis locis pro
necessitate temporum sedem Episcopatus constituat, non culpam prevaricationis

incun-ere, sed opus virtutis magis agere probabitur Ne nostris temporibus vel

religione cessante, amor timorque interim deseratur inspectoris, vel rarescente
copia militise secularis, absint qui fines nostros a barbarica incursione tueantur.
Quod enim turpe est dicere, tot sub nomine monasteriorum loca hi, qui monachicse
vitsB prorsus sunt expertes in suam ditionem acceperunt, sicut ii)si meUus nostis
ut omnino desit locus, nbi filii nobihum aut emeritorum militum processionem
accipere possint: ideoque vacantes ac sine conjugio, exacto tempore pubertatis
nullo continentise proposito perdment, atque banc ob rem vel patriam suam pro
qua militare debuerant trans mare abeuntes relinquant; vel majori scelere et
impudentia, qui propositum castitatis non habent, luxuriae ac fornicationi deserviant.

At alii graviore adhuc flagitio, quum sint ipsi laici et nullius vitas regularis

vel usu exerciti, vel amore praediti, data regibus pecunia, emunt sibi sub pretextu
monasteriorum construendorum territoria in quibus suae liberius vacent hbidini,
et hsec insuper in jus sibi hereditarium edictis regalibus faciunt ascribi, ipsas
quoque literas privilegiorum suorum, quasi veraciter Deo dignas, poutificum,

70 EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 577— the subject. He points out that most serious consequences
must follow to the national economy from allowing the royal
rights to be thus alienated. The king could no longer support
an effective body of retainers and the nation would be left
defenceless ; land given over to such men was of use neither
to God nor man ; to allow a few men to monopolise such
possessions in perpetuity was to sap the national resources,
so that the army could not be maintained, or the veterans
rewarded. There is an interesting confirmation of Bede's

A.D. 737. warning in the entire collapse of the Northumbrian kingdom
so soon after his time ; while Wessex, which ultimately
absorbed the whole heptarchy, was so situated that it was
possible to keep up a more military life by grants of the
lands from which the Welsh were gradually driven back^

Sdf' , 33. We may then think of England as occupied by a

villages. large number of separate groups, some of which were villages
of free warriors, some estates granted on more or less favourable
terms ; as in all probability there was comparatively little
communication between them, they would all be forced to
tiy to raise their own food and provide their clothing. The
mode of tillage and habits of work would be similar, what-
ever the precise status of the villagers might be ; but the
information which has come to hand is very meagre, and most
of the direct evidence consists of some few phrases in laws,
and scattered hints in the legends of monastic saints. We
may however fill out tlie details by reference to Welsh and
Irish Laws, which illustrate the habits of primitive tillage,
that is to say of tillage which is carried on by separate
communities, each of which is controlled by a single head*,
is chiefly self-sufficing and hardly depends on others for any
regular supply.

abbatum, et potestatum sseculi obtinent subscriptione conlirmari. Sicque usur-
patis sibi agellulis sive vicis, liberi exinde a divino simul et humano servitio, suis

taiitum inibi desideriis laici monachis imperantes deserviunt Sic per annos

circiter triginta...provincia nostra vesano illo errore dementata est, ut nuUus pane
exinde prsefectorum extiterit qui non hujusmodi sibi monasterium in diebns

suae prsefecturse comparaverit Et quidem tales repente, ut nosti, tonsnram pro

suo libitu accipiunt, suo examine de laicis non monachi, sed abbates efficiuntur."
§§ 5, 6, 7. Haddan and Stubbs, in. 319.

1 Lappenberg, Saxon Kings, i. 251. Evidence of the survival of the priitceps
and comites in Wessex occurs in the English Chronicle, 755.

2 Hei-niann, Staatswirthschaftliche Untersuchungen, 10 — 15.

EARLY CHANGES IN ENGLAND. 71

The most deifinite information, however, may be found in a.D. 577—
the regulations made by Charles the Great for the manage- ^ ;
ment of his estates. They serve to show what was the ideal husbandry.
which a prudent man kept before him — an ideal which
would serve, with some slight variations, for Englishmen as
well as for Franks \ The actual inventory of the buildings
and stock of seed on several estates is of great interest;
and Charles was careful to provide that there should also
be skilled artisans on the premises, and that each establish-
ment should be well stocked with all that was necessary for
successful culture.

If we turn to our own country, we find that the legends Columban
of English and Scottish saints contain many touches which teries^'
help us to picture the condition of the uncleared land in
which many monks reared their homes. The work which the
conquering settlers had to do must have been similar, and
their daily tasks must have closely resembled those of
which we read in stories of life in the Scottish and British
monasteries, which were the model villages of the time^ In
the island settlements, where they were partly protected from
the ravages of their neighbours, these monks set themselves
to lead a life of godly industry, and to commend their religion
as much by the life they led as by the preachers they sent
forth. We read in Bede's History how the monks of Bangor^ a.d. 607.
all lived by the labour of their hands, and of disputes that
arose about the sharing in labour^. The legends of many
saints throw instructive light on these matters, but it is in
the Life of S. Golumba by his successor Adamnan^ that we
get the completest picture of such a monastery, and of the
various arrangements it contained, — its granaries and mill,

1 Canniugham, Western Civilisation, u. 51.

2 Thus Bede writes in his Lives of the Abbots of Wearmouth (Stevenson's
Translation, p. 609), "It was a pleasure to him, obediently to be employed
along with them in winnowing and grinding, in milking the ewes and cows, in
working in the bakehouse, the garden and the kitchen, and in every other

occupation in the monastery Frequently, when he went out anywhere for the

furtherance of the business of the monastery, whenever he found the brethren at
work, it was his custom to join them forthwith in their labour, either by directing
the plough handle, or working iron with the forge hammer, or using the winnowing
fan in his hand, or doing something or other of the same sort."

3 H. E. 11. c. ii. 4 ^, _£•. IV. c. iv.
* Eeeve's Edition, notes, pp. 33i — 369.

EARLY HISTOPY.

A.D. 577-
A.D. 901.

A.D. 679.

Trade
hardly
■existed

except for
one or two
requisites
such as
salt.

its oven and all the other offices. Even in monastic commu-
nities, which were endowed with estates well stocked with
meat and men and therefore did not depend for subsistence
on the labour of the brethren, many trades were carried on.
We hear of Bede's own labours; of another who was an
excellent carpenter, though but an indifferent monk^; of
nuns at Coldingham who busied themselves with weaving^
We are justified in regarding each of these raouasteries, and
to some extent each of the villages, as a self-sufficing com-
munity where all the necessaries of life were provided in
due proportion by the inhabitants, without going beyond
the limits of the village itself^

In early days there was in all probability so little regular
trade that no village could rely on procuring necessary
stores except from its own resources ; the fact that they
tried to do so serves to distinguish them from the most
backward hamlet in the present day ; the food came from
their fields, and their herds; the flocks supplied the
necessary clothing ; from the waste land they got fuel,
and there the swine lived on the acorns and mast*; honey
held the place of sugar as a luxury. Salt was however a
requisite which could not be produced in many of the inland
villages by the efforts of the inhabitants themselves, and in
those places where it was possible to obtain it the manu-
facture was a very profitable industry. This was one
article the desire of which would tend to bring about the
existence of trade from the very first. Even the Arab^ who
with his flocks and date palms is largely provided for, still
depends on the caravans for salt ; and many of the English

1 B. E. V. c. xiv. 2 ^_ ^, jy. c. ssv.

9 This is more true of the Columban and Cistercian houses than of others.
As Professor Middleton has pointed out to me, there is an interesting difference
between the results of founding at any special place a Benedictine or a Cistercian
Abbey. Benedictine monks were not as a rule handicraftsmen, and so even if a
Benedictine monastery were set in the country, a town grew up round it with
craftsmen to supply its wants. With the Cistercians this was not so, their
monasteries were completely self-sufficing; every possible craft that could be
was carried on by the monks or by the conversi, and so the Cistercian houses
often remained in the solitude in which they were founded.

* The plentiful supplies which a waste might furnish can be gathered from the
panegyric on Ely at the time of Hereward's defence, Liber Eliensis, n. c. cv.

6 Herzfeld, Handelsgeschichte der Juden, 13.

EARLY CHANGES IN ENGLAND. 73

villao-es must have traded for it too. Till root crops were a.d. 577—

ad 901
introduced, it was difficult, from lack of fodder, to keep a ' '

large herd of cattle all through the winter ; and accordingly

the meat for winter use was ordinarily prepared and salted

down in the autumn. Unless the first English settlers were

stricter vegetarians than is commonly supposed, or else were

well acquainted with the management of meadow land, they

must have practised this system of salting down meat in

autumn, and salt must have been a specially necessary

article for their use.

34, There was not, in all probability, any remarkable
change in tillage or industry during this long period. As
has been said above extensive culture prevailed among some
of the settlers in England, for otherwise it would be hard
to account for the modified survival at Lauder^; but it doubt-
less gradually yielded to the more convenient methods oi Methods of
intensive culture. For this purpose special fields, consisting tillage.
of intermingled strips", were set apart ; these were kept under
crop with regular fallowing and they were marked off by
large balks as permanent arable fields. There was besides
a definite area of meadow land ; but during winter all de-
marcations were removed so that the cattle might wander
freely over the stubble and on the strips from which the
hay had been cleared, as well as over other portions of the
waste. It was an open field system of which traces still sur-
vive in many parts of England ^

But though the fields were thus permanently set apart One field,
for arable purposes, it was not easy to go on taking crops
from the same land year after year (the one field system)

1 Maine, Vill. Com. p. 95.

2 Vinogradoff, Villainage in England, 254, 317.

3 Numerous survivals of this state of things can still be noted : the great torf
balks which divided the fields from one another are still observable from the
railway between Hitchin and Cambridge; within the last centiury the whole
country between Roystou and Newmarket is said to have been unenclosed; whUe
a few isolated parishes, of which Laxton in Nottinghamshire is an example, are, or
lately were, in this condition. In many parts ot the continent there is not only
evidence that common tillage has existed, but it actually holds its own.

So far as England is concerned the best illustrations will be found in Mr
J. G. L. Mowat's Sixteen Old Maps of Properties in Oxfordshire. There are ex-
cellent descriptions by Mr Seebohm {English Village Community, 1), Prof.
Andi-ew {Old English Manor, 117), Prof. Maitland {Township and Borough, 34)
and Prof. Vinogradoff {Villainage in England, 231).

EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 577-
A.D. 901.

three field,

without seriously exhausting the soil^: and recourse was
had to regular fallowing ; according to the two field system,
one of two arable fields was cropped each year, and one
lay fallow ; according to the three field system, two out of
three arable fields were under crop each year and one lay
fallow.

This three field system was eventually more, common
than the other, as it gave better returns for the same work.
Early in the autumn of each year the husbandmen would
plough the field which had been lying fallow during the
summer and sow it with wheat, rye or other winter corn;
in the spring, they would plough up the stubble of the field
on which their last wheat crop had been grown, and sow
barley or oats instead ; the third field would still have the
stubble of the previous barley crop till early in June, when
it was ploughed over and left fallow till the time of autumn
sowing.

I n in

Oct.

March

June

August

Fallow

Stubble of
wheat

Stubble of
barley

Plough and

Ploufjh and

Plough twice

sow vrheat
Reap

sow barley
Reap

Stubble of
wheat

Stubble of
barley

Fallow

and two
field.

In the following year, field I. would be treated as field
II. in the diagram, field II. as III., and field III. as I., so
that a rotation would be kept up.

The two field system was similar and is illustrated by
the diagram, if it be supposed that field II. is omitted and
that there was a regular alternation of I. and III. The fields

1 This persistent cultivation of the same land with the same crop is not unknown
however. See Hanssen, Agrarhist. Abhand. i. 192. Northern Rural Life, 23.
Oats was the crop which was grown for successive years in Scotland.

EARLY CHANGES IN ENGLAND. 75

misrht have been alternately sown with wheat and fallowed ; ad. 577—

. V D 901

though it appears that it was not unusual in Germany to ' ' '
alternate the crops also, and have wheat, fallow, barley, fallow
in succession in each field ^ If half the field under cultivation
were used for wheat and half for barley, as was sometimes
done, the necessary work of ploughing would be more con-
veniently distributed throughout the year than would other-
wise be possible on the two field plan. A thirteenth century* Tieir
writer has compared the relative advantages of the two ^(^mltages.
systems in detail, and shows that although a much larger
area was under crop each year when the three field system
was used, the expense of ploughing was really the same. In
this way it seems that the three field system was an im-
provement on a two field husbandry, but the two systems
have been carried on side by side in some districts, and the
three field system never altogether superseded the other^
Throughout England generally — in some districts during the
sixteenth and seventeenth and in others during the eighteenth
century — both systems gave way to modern methods of
convertible husbandry in which periods of grass growing
alternate with arable culture*; and when this change took
place the two field system — as the less elaborate — lent itself
more readily to the alteration, especially to the introduction
of four-course husbandry^.

Though there is no positive evidence as to the precise Early use
mode of cultivation which was in vogue in early times, there j[J^lyg[^^
is every probability that the three field system was not *" ^^'■" ^

•' ^ '' _ ■' many ana

unknown. Hanssen quotes one instance of it in Germany possibly in
in 771, and considers that it was the normal practice in the '^

1 Hanssen, Agrarhist. Abhand. i. 178.

2 Walter of Henley, 8 n. and Litro. xxviii. If the land was laid out in two
fields of 80 acres each, there would be 40 acres to plough before the wheat was
sown, 40 more before the barley was sown, and 80 to be ploughed twice over in
June, when the stubble of the second field was broken up and it was left fallow,
i.e. 40 + 40 + (80 x 2j=240. If the three field system were used, there would be 60
acres to plough before the wheat sowing, 60 acres to plough before the barley
sowing, and 60 acres to plough twice over when the stubble was broken up in
June, i.e. 60+60+ (60 x 2) =210. There is reason to believe that Walter of
Henley's estimate of what the plough could do in the year was exaggerated.
(Maitland, Domesday Book and Beyond, 398. Page, End of Villainage in
England, 22.) s Hanssen, Agrarhist. Abhand. i. 179.

* See below, p. 528. 6 Hanssen, Agra/hist. Abhand. 1. 178.

*76 EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 577— time and on the estates of Charles the Great'; this is con-
■ firmed by an ingenious argument of Professor Jenks, who
shows that changes in the form of legal proceedings against
debtors imply that some sort of intensive culture had
come into vogue generally^ That it quickly spread to
England is probable enough ; but we have very little definite
evidence. The laws of Ine in regard to the amount of land
to be kept under cultivation are not obviously relevant and
are certainly not conclusive', though there is one of them
which renders it clear that some sort of open field cultivation
was in vogue. If agriculture is carried on in such open
fields there must be difficulty in maintaining the temporary
fencing which is needed to keep the cattle ofif the growing

A.D. circ. corn or growing hay. King Ine's law provides as follows, —
" If churls have a common meadow or other partible land*
to fence, and some have fenced their part, some have not,
and (cattle stray in and) eat up their common corn or grass ;
let those go who own the gap and compensate to the others
who have fenced their part, the damage which there may be
done, and let them demand such justice on the cattle as it may
be right. But if there be a beast which breaks hedges and
goes in everywhere, and he who owns it will not or cannot
restrain it ; let him who finds it in his field take it and
slay it, and let the owner take its skin and flesh, and forfeit
the restl" This law gives us a very vivid picture of the early

Partible tillage, — the fields undivided except by temporary fences,
and each churl's land lying intermingled with the rest. A
holding of thirty acres would consist of sixty separate strips,
of which, under the three field system, forty would be in
cultivation each year. The strips were all intermingled in

1 Agrarhist. Abhand. i. 152, 154.

2 "It seems then abundantly clear that several ownership, and therewith
intensive culture, were familiar to Teutonic Europe before the close of the eighth
century. It would have been idle to provide execution-process against the im-
movables of a debtor, unless the ownership of immovables had been generally
recognised." Eng. Hist. Rev. viii. 422.

* cc. 64, 65, 66 in Thorpe, Ancient Laws and Institutions, i. 144. The Oehur
{Beet. Sing. Pers.) was to have seven acres of his ' yard ' sown when he entered
on possession, but was this a half or a third or a quarter of the whole ? Thorpe,
I. 435.

^ Obviously strips in the common arable fields.

'•> Laws of Lie, 42. Thoi-pe, 1. 129.

land.

EARLY CHANGES IN ENGLAND. 77

each of the great fields and only marked off from one another A.D. ;"77—

, J . A.D. <)01.

by narrow grass edging.

Each landholder also possessed the necessary stock for Stocic on
working his land — a pair of oxen went with the ordinary ings.
villain's holding in the time of the Confessor. In all proba-
bility the tenants combined their stock and formed a strong
team, like the manorial teams of eight^ or twelve^ though
we find mention of plough teams of very various degrees of
strength^ and we cannot suppose of some of them that they
did very effective work.

The possession of draught oxen would have been useless Pasturage.
unless the churl had the means of feeding them; for hay,
he had an allotment of meadow, and for pasturage he had
facilities for feeding on the common waste including the
fallow field, and on the other fields between harvest and
seed time*. There can be little doubt as to the manner
in which agricultural processes were carried on, and the
general type was probably almost the same whether the
cultivators were servile or free.

Each separate group was thus in a position to raise its industry in
own food supply ; but it could also, in all probability, furnish sufiicing
its own industrial requirements from its own resources to ^ '^^'
a far greater extent than any agricultural village would do in
the present day ; each was almost entirely self-sufficing. It
was in these early times an economic unit, with no buying
and selling between its members, — like a household where
each member gets a living and has to do what work there
is, instead of undertaking so much definite work for so
much pay. A lady's maid is engaged to do the dress-making
for certain persons, and may have much or little to do ; but
she gets her living and a quarterly salary, and is not paid by the
piece. When the village community is really a self-sufficing
whole, the thatch er or smith" is a member of the body, and

1 This appears to have been the typical team. See below, p. 126.

* Northern Rural Life, p. 33.

* 0. C. Pell in Domesday Studies, 187. Viaogradoff, Villainage in England,
252.

^ Scratton, Commons and Common Fields, 4. See p. 526 below.
^ Gwentian Code, i. xxxviii. Leges WaUice, i. xxi. Ancient Laws of Wales,
332, 817.

78 EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 577— pursues his craft without payment either by the hour or
, ■ ■ ' ' ■ piece, because his livelihood is secured to him in the form of

now re- ^ '

munerated. gQ many bushels from each householder, by the custom of the
village ; he does what work is required in return for his keep.
There are of course many advantages in the modern system
by which a man is paid for what he does ; on the other hand
the poorer rayats in India might be able to contribute to the
support of a village artisan, while they could not save so as to
pay for work at the precise time they wanted it : there may
be cases in which the balance of advantage still lies in the
primitive method.

In English villages in the eleventh century the swineherd
was commonly supported in this way ; each gehur was bound
to contribute six loaves towards his maintenance \ The
bee-keeper superintended what was an important industry
in the period before the Conquest", and there was careful
supervision of pasture rights^ All these regulations serve
to illustrate the habits of life in any village which was a
single economic unit*, since buying and selling did not go
on between the members, but each stood in a known custo-
mary relation to the rest. They had little if any external
trade, and were practically self-sufficient and able to provide
for all their ordinary wants from their own resources.

35. There is no evidence that the early English villages
valued their condition of self-sufficiency so highly as to try to
check the development of trade, as has been done by German

Beginning ^^^ Indian Communities^ On the contrary we get the im-

of internal: ■' o

1 Thorpe, Ancient Laws, i. 435.

2 Andrews, Old English Manor, 206, » lb. 213.

* In the "Welsh Laws we get minute regulations for co-tillage, — the contri-
butions which were to be made for the common work, and the responsibilities and
reward of the ploughman. Vendotian Code, m. xxiv. Leges Wallice, n. xxx.
Ancient Laics of Wales, 153, 801. The Brehon Laws give us a stiU more
complicated case of collective labour and rights in connection with the use of
a water-mUl. Ancient Laws of Ireland, iv. 217.

s Von Maurer, 3/arJcverfassung, p. 179. We find traces of a complete protective
system on the part of these self-sufficing communities, closely analogous to the
protective system adopted later with the view of keeping England a self-sufficing
coimtry. The sale of rare products to other villages was strictly forbidden by
their customs, and that of many chattels was only allowed after the villagers
had had the refusal of them. Such protection may also be resorted to, not
in the interest of native resources, but of native artisans. (Compare below,
pp. 308, 429.)

trade.

EARLY CHANGES IN ENGLAND. 79

pression that pains were taken to foster intercommunication ; a.d. 577—
provision was certainly made for the proper conduct of trade ; ' '
the laws of Ine lay down that chapmen were to traffic before drc. a.d.
witnesses, so that they might be able to prove their innocence
when accused of thefts One of Alfred's laws insists that chap- drc a.d.
men were to present the men they intended to take with
them before the king at the folk-moot, to explain how many
there were, and to declare it when they had need of more-.
In another case we read of the dealer who came across the drc. a.d.
march from another estate, and of the responsibility of those
who gave him temporary shelter^ On the whole, protection
was needed, for the presumption was against the honesty of
the stranger. " If a far coming man or a stranger journey drc. a.d.
through a wood out of the highway, and neither shout nor
blow his horn, he is to be held for a thief and either slain or
redeemed ^" Besides attending to the personal security of
chapmen the kings always insisted on the duty of maintaining
the roads and bridges^ without which they would have been
unable to exercise any authority throughout their dominions ;
the four great roads soon received English names, and tracks
connected them with many of the villages. The monasteries
too were centres from which there was frequent communica-
tion, either to cells on outlying estates or to other churches
in England and abroad, and the village life would become
more comfortable as it ceased to be so entirely isolated.

Reference has been made already to primitive trade in Differences
salt, but apart from this there were other ways in which resources.
the natural differences between localities must have made
themselves felt ; metals could not be everywhere obtained —
for the point of the wooden ploughshare, and for arms if for
nothing else ; some wastes must have been more favourable
for sheep and others for swine : some land for corn and some
for meadow ; all such natural differences would render internal
trade immensely advantageous®. These physical circumstances

1 Laws of Ine, 25. Thorpe, i. 118.

2 Laws of Alfred, 34. Thorpe, i. 82.

3 Laws of Hlothere and Edric, 15, 16. Thorpe, i. 32.

* Laws of Ine, 20. Thorpe, i. 115.

* RectiUidines Sing. Person, i. Thorpe, i. 432. Earle, Land Charters, xxi.

^ Compare Aristotle's account of early bartering as distinguished from trading

EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 577— would make trade profitable, as soon as the social conditions
„, ■ ■ which render trade possible became general. In any land
possibiiitii where each village is hostile to every other — defended from the

of Trade. , • ■ ^ ■ ^ -i ^ p ,

predatory incursions ot neighbours, not by any respect tor the
property of others, but by the wide extent of its own waste —
regular trade would seem to be impossible ; but even under
such circumstances, the advantages of trade may be so clearly
felt that the boundary place between two or more townships
comes to be recognised as a neutral territory where men may
occasionally meet for their mutual benefit, if not on friendly
terms, at least without hostility. Some writers regard the
Markets, boundary stone as the predecessor of the market-cross, and the
neutral area round it as an original market-place^; but there
is more probability in the theory which treats the English
town cross as the permanent emblem of royal authority I
But however this may be a good deal of regular internal
trade may go on, even in a country which is disturbed by
constant feuds, and where every hamlet is liable to be
plundered by the men from other villages. There is no
reason for refusing to believe that there was a certain amount
of internal trade from the earliest days of the English settle-
ment. We may perhaps add that the market and its customs
may have been instituted among the tribes before their
immigration, and imported rather than developed here.

On the whole it seems that from very early times there
must have been regular trade ; not indeed carried on from
day to day, but still, in regular places at particular times ; not
merely like the occasional visit of a ship to a savage island,
but occurring at more or less frequent intervals which could
be anticipated, and for which preparation might be made.
And this introduces a most important step in advance ; when

for the sake of profit: ■>] fitv oTiv ToiauTt] fieTa^XrjTiKTJ o'ure irapri (piiaiv ouTt
j^/oii/uaTjCTiKJjs eaTiV eloos ovSeV ets dvairkijputiriv yap Ti|9 Ka-ra ipvtriv avTapKeiai
iiv. Politics, I. c. 9, § 6.

1 Maine, Village Comm., 192. Compare also Sir John Lubbock's Origin of
Civilisation, p. 205, on the various functions which boundary stones have served.

2 Compare R. Schroeder, Deutsche Bechtsgeschichte, 590, and references there ;
also Sohm, Entstehung des Stddtewesens, 18. The cross is frequently associated
with the sword and the glove, which are recognised symbols of royal authority ;
and the name by which they are often known in Germany, Rolandsiiule, seems to
connect them by tradition with Roland the sword-bearer of Charles the Great.

EARLY CHANGES IN ENGLAND. 81

men engage in labour, not for the sake of satisfying their own a.d. 577—
wants by the things they produce, but with a view to ' '
exchange, their labour results not only in chattels for their
own use, but in wares for the market as well. There is a
farther change to be noted ; while there is no opportunity for
exchange, there is little inducement for anyone to preserve
a surplus; a very abundant harvest is more likely to be
prodigally used within the year, and so with all othet
supplies ; but the existence of opportunities for trade makes
it well worth while to gather a store that far exceeds any
prospective requirements, and to stow in warehouses for sale^ Ware-
all that need not be used by the producers to satisfy their a^iew ^
immediate wants; the conditions are present which still -^"^^^^
further favour the accumulation of wealth.

36. The disorders of the three centuries which succeeded Decaif of
the battle of Deorham seem to have tended to the demora- skill.
iisation of the victors ; there is little evidence that the ^'°' ^'^*
Christian English of the ninth century had advanced on
their heathen forefathers in any of the arts of life,, except in
so far as they were subject to foreign influences. Some new introdw-
forms of skill had been introduced by Christian missionaries ; some new
writing and illuminating on parchment with the brilliant "''**•*
colours which attracted Alfred as a child ^ were arts that
occupied the monks in the scriptorium, and some found
employment in lock-makiug and other forms of working in
metals. Glass beads had probably been used for ornament Glass.
long before, but the use of window glass seems to have been
due to Benedict Biscop in the seventh century', " When a.d. 675.
the work was drawing to completion, he sent messengers
to Gaul to bring over glass makers — a kind of workman
hitherto unknown in Britain, — to glaze the windows of the
church and its aisles and chancels. And so it happened
that when they came they not only accomplished that
particular work which was required of them, but from this
time they caused • the English nation to understand and
learn this kind of handicraft, which was of no inconsiderable
utility for the enclosing of the lamps of the church, or

'^ Hermaim, Untersuchungen, p. 25. 2 Asser's Life 0/ Alfred, rt. 450.

8 Bede, Lives of the Abbots of Wearmouth (Stevenson's Translation), p. 607.

C. H. 6

EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 577-
A.D. 901.

Water
supply.

Weaving,
A.D. 716.

Decline in
.seaman-

ship.

Ship'
huitdirg
revived.
A.D. 897.

for various uses to which vessels are put\" Other arts for
domestic comfort which had been used in Roman Britain
were reintroduced or revived at a later date but under
similar ecclesiastical influence. The Abbey of Christchurch
at Canterbury had an admirable water supply, which was
thoroughly Roman in all its arrangements and fittings^, but
it was not constructed till after the Norman Conquest.

The importation of vestments from abroad would give a
considerable impulse to the feminine arts, as they then were,
of weaving and embroidery. Aldhelm^ describes most gor-
geously woven brocades, though he does not speak of them as
of native manufacture : but the art of embroidery soon took
root*, and the English rapidly attained a high degree of skill
which was maintained all through the middle ages.

This increased skill in ecclesiastical art is quite compatible
with a decline in some of the arts of war in which they had
formerly excelled. As an agricultural people, whose expedi-
tions were chiefly directed against their neighbours and the
Welsh, they had little occasion for a seafaring life ; and they
had probably lost much of their skill in seamanship. It
seems not impossible that Christian influence discouraged the
pursuit of war as a traded and that the effective force of the
people declined in this respect. At any rate they were
compelled to cultivate arts they had apparently forgotten,
when they were forced to resist the Danes; and to resist
them by learning from them and trying to outstrip them. It
was in this way that King Alfred set himself to revive the
art of shipbuilding. " He commanded long ships to be built
to oppose the esks ; they were full nigh twice as long as the
others ; some had sixty oars and some had more ; they were

1 Glass had been manufactured in Britain in Roman times, but the art had
died out; as it apparently did again, after being reintroduced in the seventh
century. T. H. Turner, Domestic Architecture, i. 75.

2 Willis, Architectural History of Christchurch, 160. Monks in Greenland
had their cells warmed by pipes of hot water laid on from a natural hot
spring close by. Major, Zeni, pp. Ixxxvii, 17. Compare the Franciscans' Conduit
at Southampton in 1290. Davies, Southampton, 114.

8 De Laudihus Virginitatis. Migne, lxxxix. 114.
* Liber Eliensis, ii. c. Ixiii.

5 It is certainly curious to notice how soon the power of the Norsemen declined
after their conversion was effected.

EARLY CHANGES IN ENGLAND. 83

botli swifter and steadier and also higher than the others, a.d. 577—

They were shapen neither like the Frisian, nor the Danish,

but so as it seemed to him they would be most efficients'

How far Alfred's new design was really au improvement or

not it may be hard to say, as the first engagement near the

Isle of Wight seemed to show that the West Saxons were not

fit to manage them.

The Danes could doubtless have given him much instruc- Danish
tion in the arts of navigation ; the Sagas show that they made a.d. 1266,'
voyages at this time and during the succeeding centuries,
which would hardly have been undertaken by any of the
ancients, and were not repeated till the sixteenth century.
Some, like the polar exploration of Halldor, would be
regarded as remarkable expeditions even now^. On these
voyages they had neither compass, nor any of the appliances
of modern navigation, but they had ingenious, though rather
rough and ready, methods of making observations. Distance andobser-
they calculated by a day's sail, which was estimated at about
twenty-seven to thirty geographical miles*; they guessed at
the direction of the nearest land by letting birds escape and
watching the direction of their flights They observed on
one voyage" that the sun was above the horizon both night
and day ; on S. James's Day it was not higher when at the
meridian "than that when a man lay across a six oared boat
towards the gunwale, the shade of that side of the boat
which was nearest the sun, fell on his face, but at midnight
was it as high as at home in the settlement when it is in
the north west." Rafn® has interpreted this as showing they
were in 75° 46" north latitude, but it at any rate illustrates
a primitive mode of nautical observation.

87. There were other respects in which King Alfred Voyages of
was certainly anxious to learn from his foes ; the Northmen *^''°^*''^'
even in his time had undertaken distant explorations and
opened up important trading routes. It appears that in the
ninth century they had regular trade from the Baltic to Arabia

1 English Chronicle, 897 (Bohn's Edition).

2 Beamish, Discovery of America, 126. s ibid. p. 53.

* Macpherson, Annals, i. 261. 6 Beamish, 127.

« Antiqu. Americanae, Abstract of Evidence, p. xxxix.

6—2

EARLY HISTORY.

AD. 577— and

A.D. 901

A.D. 874.
A.D. 985.

Ohthere.

the East by means of the rivers which run into the
Caspian and Black Sea'; while they had also settlements
in Iceland from which they afterwards made their way to
Greenland and even explored some part of North America^
Alfred put on record' the accounts he received of the
voyage of Ohthere, a whaler and owner of many reindeer,
who dwelt in Holgeland in Norway and who had sailed^
partly in hopes of procuring walrus tusks and partly as an
explorer, till he rounded the North Cape and penetrated to the
White Sea. He also voyaged along the coast of Norway and
Wulfstan. through the Sound*, whilst Wulfstan, a Dane, recounted how
he had sailed up the Baltic to an East Prussian port*: but
the interest which Alfred took in these more southerly
voyages shows how little Englishmen then knew of the seas
which were perfectly familiar to the merchants of the North-
ern lands, from which according to Alfred a portion of their
forefathers had emigrated.

In so far as the English had carried on foreign trade at all
it was with southern lands. An English merchant was
sojourning at Marseilles early in the eighth century'; they
apparently frequented the fairs of Rouen, S. Denys, and
Troyes or elsewhere in the dominions of Charles the Great ;
the letter to Offa of Mercia in which he assures them of
justice and protection is our earliest commercial treaty'.
The trading and proprietary rights which were conferred

English
trade.

A.D. 796.

1 Worsaae, Danes and Norwegians, 103. * See below, p. 90.

» Alfred, Orodus (Bosworth), § 13, p. 39.

* Alfred, Orosius (Bosworth), § 19, p. 47.

* Alfred, Orosius, § 20, p. 50.

* Lappenberg, England under Saxon Kings, n. 864.

7 De peregrinis vero, qui pro amore Dei, et salute animarum suamm, beatonim
limina Apostolomm adire desiderant, sicut olim perdonavimus, cum pace sine omni
perturbatione vadant, suo itineri secum necessaria portantes. Sed probavimus
quosdam fraudulenter negotiandi causa se intermiscere : lucra sectantes non
religioni servlentes. Si tales inter eos inveniantur locis opportunis statuta
solvant telonea; cseteri absoluti vadant in pace. De negotiatoribus quoque
scripsisti nobis, quos volumus ex mandate nostro ut protectionem et patrociuium
Labeant in regno nostro legitime, juxta antiquam consuetudinem negotiandi. Et
si in aliquo loco injusta affligantur oppressione, reclament se ad nos, vel nostros
judices, et plenam jubebimus justitiam fieri Similiter et nostri, si aliquid sub
vestra potestate iujuste patiaiitur, reclament se ad vestrae sequitatis judicium, ne
aliqua inter nostros alicubi oboriri possit perturbatio. Haddan and Stubbs,
Councils, in. 496.

EARLY CHANGES IN ENGLAND. 85

on ecclesiastical houses on the continent at this early time, A.D. 577—
also bear witness to the frequency of communication. Such
were the privileges given or confirmed by Offa to the Abbey
of S. Denys\ or the grant of Lewisham to S. Peter's at
Ghentl But Englishmen habitually passed still further
south', and a year in which the usual communication with
Rome did not take place seemed to deserve special mention
from the Chronicler*. Alfred had gone there as a boy, when a.d. 853.
his father visited the Pope accompanied by a large train
of attendants I His emissaries at a later time undertook a
still greater enterprise, when Sigeburt bishop of Sherbourne
travelled to India itself with King Alfred's gifts to the shrine
of S. Thomas, and brought back many brilliant gems on his
return®.

The particular trade of which we hear most during these The slave
centuries is traffic in slaves — not necessarily because it was
the most important, but because it was obnoxious to Christian
sentiment. We may well remember that it was the sight of
English slaves in the market at Rome which first touched the a.d. 573.
heart of Gregory as a deacon and made him desire to send
the gospel message to our distant isle^ But we feel that
the trade must have been generally prevalent in districts
where ancillce and servi were used as money, and pay-

1 These included a grant of salt-works at Pevensey, and of the port of ' Lim-
denwic' De Freville, Rouen, i. 56. Doublet, 8. Denys, 187, 720. The Church
of S. Mary of Eouen had a valuable estate in Devonshii'e in the time of the
Confessor. Domesday Book, i. 104.

2 By Alfrithe, daughter of Alfred. Varenbergh, Relations diplomatiques, 40.

8 S. Bertin, when making a journey to Rome, in the end of the seventh century,
travelled with a company of Saxons from S. Omer to Verdun, when they parted,
as the Saxons were going to Spain. Miracula S. Berlin in Acta Sanctorum,
b Sept. p. 597.

* English Chronicle, 889.

5 Asser's Life of Alfred [Church Historians), n. 445.

6 William of Malmesbury, Oesta Pontificum, 11. 80. Some doubt has been cast
on the truth of this story by the fact that it is not mentioned in the life of Alfred
by Asser, who does not speak of direct communication with any more distant
potentate than the patriarch of Jerusalem. See his A7mals in Church Historians
of England, 11. p. 472. But Pauli points out that the journey was not more
impracticable than that of Charles the Great's emissaries to Bagdad, and that the
report of that exploit might have stimulated him to this undertaking. Life of
Alfred, 146.

7 There is some reason to beheve that this iniquitous traflBc with Italy was
carried on in Christian times. Haddan and Stubbs, Councils, m. 38L

86 EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 577— ments were reckoned in terms of slaves^ From very early
* ■ ■ times penalties were imposed on those who sold their

700- countrymen, bond or free, over the sea, "though he be

guilty^": and it was reiterated that Christians^ should not,
at any rate, be sold into a heathen land'', but despite
the frequent fulminations by ecclesiastical and civil autho-
rity the trade appears to have continued. It existed in all
its horror at Bristol" at the time of the Conquest*; and
if we may trust Giraldus Canibrensis it had not been
stamped out in the twelfth century''. The Irish bishops
incited their flocks to boycott the English slave dealer in
1172. From the accounts of the early fairs in Germany it

1 For the use of slaves compare Haddan and Stubbs, Councils and Documents,
n. 127, where canons are quoted in which payments are reckoned in ancillce
and servi. See also Ancient Laws of Ireland, i. p. xlvi. CumhaZ (originally a
female slave) is constantly used as a measure of value. See below, p. 123.

a Laws oflne, 11. Thorpe, i. 111.

8 The redemption of slaves was a recognised form of Christian benevolence,
S. R. Maitland, Darh Ages, p. 88. S. Eligius, while still a leading man at the
court of Dagobert, spent large sums in redeeming slaves by twenty, thirty, fifty
or even a hundred at a time, Vita 8. Eligii (Migne, Lxxxvn. 487). The monks
of Jumi^ges in the seventh century fitted out vessels in which they sailed great
distances to redeem captives and slaves. Montalembert, n. 501. See also Vita
Anscharii, cc. 21, 66 (Migne, cxvm. 975, 1007). Missionaries also adopted the
plan of purchasing young heathen slaves, whom they trained as Christians,.
Vita Anscharii, c. 63 (Migne, cxvin. 1005).

* Laws of Ethelred, v. 2, vi. 9, vin. 5. Thorpe, i. 305, 317, 338. Theodor.
Pcenitent. XLn. 4, 5. Thorpe, n. 50. Excerpt. Ecgberti, cl. Thorpe, n. 124.
Pcenitent. Ecgberti, iv. 26. Thorjie, ii. 213. On the trade as carried on in the
fairs of Champagne, see Bourquelot, Memoires Acad, des Inscriptions, n™e S6ne, v.
i. 309; he explains that Jews were the agents who sold Christian slaves to the
Mussulmans of Spain and Africa, in the eighth and ninth centuries ; the trade at
MoiitpeUier in Saracen slaves and slave girls lasted tiU the fifteenth century. On
the Eastern trade, see Heyd, ii. 543.

6 Vicus est maritimus, Brichstou dictus, a quo recto cnrsu in Hibemiam
transmittitur, ideoque illius terrae barbariei accommodus. Hujus indigenae cum
cseteris ex Anglia causa mercimonii, saspe in Hibemiam annavigant. Ab his
Wlfstanus morem vetustissimum sustuUt, qui sic animis eorum occaUuerat, ut nee
Dei amor nee Regis Willelmi hactenus eum abolere potuissent. Homines enim ex
omni Anglia coemptos majoris spe queestus in Hibemiam distrahebant ; anciUasque
prius ludibrio lecti habitas jamque praegnantes venum proponebant. Videres et
gemeres concatenatos funibus miserorum ordines et utriusque sexus adolescentes :
qui liberah forma, setate Integra barbaris miserationi essent, cotidie prostitui,
cotidie venditari. Facinus execrandum, dedecus miserabUe, nee beUuini afifectua
memores homines, necessitudines suas ipsum postremo sanguinem suum servituti
addicere. William of Malmesbury, Be Vita S. Wlstani, ii. 20. in Wharton, Anglia
Sacra, n. 258. Compare also Andrews, Old English Manor, 183.

^ See also the tolls at Lewes in Domesday. i Exp. Hib. i. c. 18.

EARLY CHANGES IN ENGLAND. 87

almost seems as if they could have been little else than a.d. 577-
slave marts^ and it may well be that at the fairs which the
northern merchants held on the shore ^, the captives they
had kidnapped^ formed the staple article of trade.

V. Danes.

38. The Danes were the first of the foreign shoots A.D. 787—
which were grafted into the English stock; many circum- ^'^^^^^^^j
stances have combined to make us nesflect the importance «^«™«n* ,

n -I p 1 ^^ n 1 • i introduced

of the fresh life that we then received. We have been
accustomed to view the Danes with the eyes of our own
chroniclers — as mere plunderers^, who destroyed churches,
and amassed treasures at the expense of peaceful citizens ;
and indeed they were ruthless enough'. We admire the

1 G. J. Tborkelin {Essay on Slave Trade] has collected many incidental
notices of this trade in Germany and the North: "Hehnold beheld at once in
the market at Mecklenburgh no less than 7000 Danes exposed to sale," p. 9.

2 Worsaae (Danes and Norwegians, 100) states that merchants from all pai"ts
assembled at the annual fair at Elsinore: "booths were erected along the shore;
foreign wares were bartered for fish, hides and valuable furs ; whilst various games
and all sorts of merry-making took place." A similar fair was formerly held at
Scarborough.

2 The opening of the Saga of King Olaf Tryggvesson, c. 5, gives an interesting
picture of the times. When a boy the vessel in which he and his mother were
sailing under the care of some merchants was attacked by vikings, " who made
booty both of the people and goods, killing some, and dividing others as slaves.
Olaf was separated from his mother, and an Esthonian man called Klerkon got
him as his share, along with Thoralf and Thorkils. Klerkon thought that Thoralf
was too old for a slave, and that there was not much work to be got out of him,
so he killed him ; but took the boys with him, and sold them to a man called
EJaerk, for a stout and good ram. A third man called Eeas bought Olaf for a
good cloak." Laing, Chronicles, 1. 371.

* The cruelty with which Roger Hoveden and the author of the life of S.
.^Iphege charge the Danes is thus explained by Tborkelin: "The Danes had no
market for slaves in England, and they could neither give a share of their
provisions to their captives, nor detach a body of men from the aimy to keep
in order such an immense number of slaves, who they knew would undertake
anything that might restore them to liberty, and enable them to harass their
enemy. Under such circumstances the barbarians had no other alternative than
to put their captives to death — death was perhaps far preferable to a diseased
life consumed in a horrid dungeon, which has often been the case." Essay on
Slave Trade, p. 29.

5 Keary, Vikings, p. 143, has some excellent remarks on the courage, cruelty
and humour of the Northmen.

88 EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 787— heroism of Alfred the Great and his enthusiasm for the
A.D. 1066. pj.Qjjj^j^-Qj^ Qf glj^ll aQ(j enterprise, but we forget that the
among the English people were even then so enfeebled that half their
£nylish. country had been wrested from them ; and though his im-
mediate successors obtained a widely extended supremacy,
the kingdom fell at length into the hands of a better man.
A.D. 1042. When the line of Wessex re-appeared in the person of the
Confessor, he could not trust to native administrators;
Danes still filled important posts and Norman habits began
to supersede the older usages. Despite the success of Egbert
and the genius of Alfred, the English had not been fused
A.D. 960. into a united, well-ordered polity ; and the state of the Church
in S. Dunstan's time gives an unfavourable impression of the
whole tone of Society. The English had settled down, they
had adopted Christianity, but they had not preserved the
spirit of enterprise and the eager activity which still charac-
terised their kin beyond the sea.
Narsetrade In order to form any fair estimate of the importance of
^ast. * the element which was thus grafted into the English stock
we must turn our attention to the condition of the Danes
and Norsemen, and the proofs of their extraordinary vigour
and enterprise, at the very time when so many of the race
were settling in England. They had opened up a vast com-
merce with the East, by the Russian rivers and the Caspian
or the Black Sea* ; furs and amber were probably the chief
articles of export and the precious metals were brought in re-
turn. Large numbers of Arabian coins have been dug up; "in
Sweden, and particularly in the island of Gothland, such an
immense quantity of these has been found at various times,
that in Stockholm alone above twenty thousand pieces have
been preserved, presenting more than a thousand different
dies, and coined in about seventy towns in the eastern and
northern districts of the dominions of the Caliphs .... It
was the trade with the East that originally gave considerable
importance to the city of Visby in Gothland ; and it was
subsequently the Russian trade that made Visby, in
conjunction with Novgorod, important members of the
German Hanseatic League. As long as the Arabian trade

2 Montelius, Sweden, 190.

THE DANES. 89

flourished Gothland was the centre of a very animated A.D. 787—
traffic. Even now an almost incredible number of German, ' '
Hungarian and particularly Anglo-Saxon coins, of the tenth
and eleventh centuries, is dug up in the island. The collec-
tion of coins in Stockholm comprises an assortment of Anglo-
Saxon coins, mostly the product of these discoveries, which
for extent and completeness surpasses the greatest collections
of the sort, even in London and England \" Political
disturbances in the eleventh century gave a considerable
shock to this trade however; the Italian depots obtained
a large share of the traffic after the Crusades, and the re-
opening of a route somewhat similar to the old one, by the
Russian Company, was one of the principal commercial a.d. 1553.
events in the sixteenth century.

In the north and west their achievements were still more Settlements
remarkable and bear witness to the boldness of their seaman- piorations
ship'^. In 874 the colonisation of Iceland began and proceeded '^rj^^^ ^nd
with great rapidity, so that Harold Haarfager feared that ^'^^^*-
Norway would be depopulated. They found parts of the
island already occupied by some men such as those who in frail
coracles, made of two hides and a half, and with only a few
days' provisions, left their home in Ireland whence " they
had stolen away because they desired for the love of God
to be in a state of pilgrimage they recked not where^"
The Irish monks, like their Welsh brethren, deserted the
island when it was invaded by heathens*, and the Danes
had soon occupied the whole of it with their settlements.

1 Worsaae, Danes and Nonoegians, 103. This is no longer the case; the
collection in the British Museum is second to none.

2 This is brought out by Mr J. ToulmLn Smith {Discovery of America, p. 32'2)
in the couise of an excellent discussion of the comparative merits of Columbus and
the Northmen.

3 English Chronicle, 891 (Bohn).

^ Mr Keary ( Vikings, 186) dates this Irish settlement in the year 795. " At
that time was Iceland covered with woods between the mountains and the shore.
Then were here Christian people whom the Northmen called Papas, but they
went afterwards away because they would not be here among heathens, and
left after them Irish books and bells and croziers from which could be seen
that they were Irishmen. But then began jieople to travel much here out from
Norway untU King Harold forbade it because it appeared to him that the laud
had begun to be thinned of inhabitants." Schedce of Ari Frode. Beamish,
Discovery of America, 175.

EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 787— From Iceland they pushed still farther away; storm-driven
mariners had brought back reports of a land in the west.
Eric the Red, who had been banished from Norway for one
murder and from some parts of Iceland for another crime,
was forced to set out on a voyage of exploration ; after two
years he returned with the intention of getting companions

Greenland, to form a settlement. He called the land which he had
found "Greenland 'because' quoth he 'people will be attracted
thither if the land has a good name'." The fleet of
colonists suffered much from a storm, but enough escaped
to found two settlements in 985 \

A.D. 986. In the following year Bjarni, the son of one of the

colonists, set sail with the view of joining his father in
Greenland. After three days' sail he got into a fog, and
was driven for many days by the north wind ; at last they
sighted land, but they did not go ashore as from its appearance
they were sure it was not Greenland ; they worked their way
northwards in the open sea, but returning at times to the
coast, and thus saw lands which have been identified as

America. Connecticut, Long Island, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Nova
Scotia (Markland), and Newfoundland (Helluland). When at
last Bjarni reached Greenland his lack of curiosity in not
having gone ashore became a matter of reproach to him. Leif
the son of Eric the Red was determined to carry on the work
of discovery; he visited the lands Bjarni had sighted, and

A.D. 994. wintered in Mount Hope Bay near Cape Cod^ They called
the place Vynland, as a German sailor recognised gi-apes
among the products of the country ; none of the others had
seen them before, but he was familiar with them on the
Rhine. In 1007 an attempt was made from Iceland to
establish a regular settlement in Vynland and occasional
communication was kept up for some time. Curiously enough
the Danes appear to have been anticipated in this discovery
also by the Irish — not indeed by ecclesiastics ; how or when
the first Irish emigrants crossed the Atlantic is unknown*,

1 Saga of Eric the Bed. Beamish, p. 49. 2 Beamish, p. 63.

s Mr Beamish suggests that it may have been in the fourth century when the
Irish made such vigorous attacks on Roman Britain, p. 218. Mr J. Toulmin
Smith holds that they visited the country but never settled there. Discovery,
p. 233.

THE DANES. 91

but a country somewhat south of Vynland was commonly a.d. 787—

A T\ 1 AAA

referred to as Great Ireland, and there are a curious number ' '
of survivals which confirm the evidence of Sagas on this point.
The Danish expeditions across the Atlantic seem to be well-
established. We may certainly feel that it was a most
important thing for the future of England, that a large area
of our land was peopled with men who could plan aud carry
out such explorations as these.

39. Of the Danes as mere plunderers it is unnecessary Danish
to say more^; the changes which were made by the Danes *" "^"*'^'
as conquerors are of constitutional rather than economic
interest, but the influence which was exercised by the Danes
as settlers demands attention. It is certainly noticeable that a.d. 879.
the Danelagh, as defined in the time of Alfred^ including as
it did East Anglia and Lincolnshire, has contributed so much
to English industrial success; while a closer study would
show that the ports on other coasts, where commerce has Its extent.
been ardently pursued, have had a large infusion of Danish
or Northern bloods The numbers who came to this country
were so great that they really formed an important element a.d. 911.
in the population. Rollo and the Northmen who took posses-
sion of Neustria were plunderers transformed into conquerors,
who lorded it over the existing inhabitants ; but in England,
part of Lincolnshire* became completely Danish, and the north-
eastern side of Watling Street was so largely populated by
Danes that their customs superseded those of the English.

There were not of course the same difficulties in the way Amaiga-
of amalgamation between the Danes and the conquered "'"

^ The allegation that runic inscriptions and Norse remains were found on
the New England coast appears to have heen mistaken, but the existence of a
settlement in Greenland is fully confirmed. The later history of these settlements
is somewhat obscure: in 1121 Bishop Eric of Greenland visited Vynland (Beamish,
149): in 1347 a ship is mentioned as coming from Markland (Nova Scotia). We
read of intercourse as late as the end of the fourteenth centuiy in the work of
a Venetian named Zeno ; the genuineness of this has been much disputed, but it
seems to have been established by Major, Voyages of the Zeni (Hakluyt Society).
The Greenland colony received little assistance from Europe in the latter part of
the fourteenth century, and seems to have been almost destroyed by the Esquimaux
about 1418. Major, Zeni, p. Lsvi.

2 See above, p. 51.

* Compare the map in Dr Taylor's Words and Places.

* On the settlement and distribution of the Danes in England compare Keary,
Vikings, p. 352.

92 EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 787— Ansfles, as had been felt when the Enp-lish overcame the
Romanised Welsh, since both came of the same stock ; but
there may have been some displacement of population, espe-
cially in Lincolnshire. In the Danish raids many English
lives must have been sacrificed, and such of the younger
generation as were spared and were deemed superfluous
would find their way to slave marts across the sea; but
after all, England was probably not so thickly populated
that the Danish settlers need have had much difficulty in
finding room for themselves.
Character Their rural settlements were probably very similar to

lettUments those which the English had made ; many of them are
easily distinguished by the forms of the name, and especially
by the familiar termination in -hy. There seems to be a con-
siderable proportion of villages which take their names from
persons^ rather than from septs, and perhaps this might
throw some light on the character of the invading bands in
in large the English and Danish conquests respectively. The villages
o^es .^ ^j^^ Danish parts of England are comparatively large ; as
was the case in Denmark also, where there were few isolated
homes, or small hamlets. One other characteristic feature
is observable in the great Survey; in the Danish counties,
such as Lincolnshire, and in East Anglia, a very large pro-
of freemen, portion of freemen still survived ^ In the English counties
they were no longer found in any considerable numbers ; but
we are not therefore forced to conclude that they had never
existed, especially when we remember that they had been
exposed to centuries of warfare with one another and with
pirates, while the Danish settlers had not suffered in the
same way.
The Danes 40. More important, however, than the planting of new
beainning villages is the fact that it is from the time of the Danes
o/tovms. i\^^^ ^Q jjjg^y trace the beginnings of our towns. The towns
were indeed little better than more thickly populated villages,
and most of the people lived by agriculture ; but still the
more populous places may be regarded as towns, since they
were centres of regular trade. The Danes and Northmen

1 Streatfield, Lincolnnln •■ and the Danes, c. v.

2 Compare the maps iu Air Seebohm's Village Community, p. 86.

THE DANES. 93

were the leading: merchants, and hence it was under Danish a.d. 787—

1 n.-r ■ n ,1 , -11 1,1 A..D. 1066.

and Norse influences that villages were planted at centres
suitable for commerce, or that well-placed villages received a
new development.

In some cases the proof of this is easy ; the evidence is The Jive
partly constitutional. The Danish burghs of Lincoln and
Stamford, with the Lawmen of whom we read in Domesday
Book^, seem to have had the most completely organised
municipal government which is mentioned in that record^
The Danes have left their mark in other towns as well,
notably in London itself, where the 'busting' shows the
part they took in its government ; there were ' lawmen ' in
Cambridge too. There is also some ecclesiastical evidence ;
for the dedications to S. Olaf and S. Magnus in York or
Exeter or Southwark point to a Danish origin just as clearly
as the name ' S. Clement Danes ^' suggests that this church
was originally built for a Danish community. There seems
also to be a sign of Danish influence in the improved legal
status which was ascribed to merchants in the tenth century;
among the Danes trading was a profession worthy of a prince,
and the merchant and his crews were honourably welcomed''.
There is a reflection of this feeling in the doom which de-
clares ' that if a merchant thrived so that he fared thrice
over the wide sea by his own means, then was he thenceforth
of thane-right worthy*.'

Hitherto English foreign trade had been chiefly with New lines
southern lands, and the Danes were instrumental in enabling commerce.
them to open up commerce with the trading settlements of
the Northmen; Chester and Bristol came into communica-
tion with Dublin* and with Iceland ; and this intercourse

1 Domesday, i. 336, v. 336 h.

2 Maitland, Domesday Book and Beyond, 211.

3 S. Clement, with his anchor, was obviously a suitable patron for seafaring men.
* Saga of Thorfinn Earlsefne. Beamish, p. 85.

5 Ranks, 6. Thorpe, i. 193.

" The influence of the Northmen in Ireland gives an instructive parallel to
their doings in England; despite the communication with the continent, of which
we have evidence (Montalembert, Monks of the West, ii. 891), there can have
been httle trade in Ireland during the halcyon days of Scottish civihsation there.
Despite the power and enthusiasm of Scottish Christianity, it never succeeded in
introducing stable conditions for the development of secular industry and com-
merce; it even gave new excuses for tribal warfare, as when in 562 a.d. half
Ireland engaged in battle about the possession of a psalter (Ibid. iii. 125).

EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 787—
A.D. 1066.

Internal
trade.

Origin of
toicns.

must have been considerable as in that northern island a
law was passed with regard to the property of English
traders who died there*.

41. During the period between the death of Alfred and
the Norman Conquest there were conditions under which
internal trade would develop; there was more of a union
in name at least between the different districts than had
hitherto been the case, while foreign trade had received a
considerable stimulus from the settlement of the Danes and
intercourse with their connections. We may distinguish diffe-
rent nuclei round which trade tended to centre, and thus see
the conditions which brought about the origin of towns.
What has been maintained in regard to other Teutonic
lands" probably holds good of England also ; any village
which was recognised as a place of constant trade may be
spoken of as a town.

From very early times men have gathered to celebrate
the memory of some hero by funeral games, and this has
given the occasion for meeting and for trading, so that fairs
were held annually at places of burial ; to these the men of
surrounding districts flocked, to take advantage of the best
opportunities for making a satisfactory exchange. When

Even the mouks were sometimes drawn from their arduous manual and literary
labours to take part in warfare in 516 a.d. (Ibid. iii. 303). It seems also to
be generally held by numismatologists, though Dr Petrie dissents (Round Towers,
212), that the people of Ireland had minted no coins of their own before the North-
men began to settle among them (Keai-y, Vikings, 183), and hardly any specimens
of Roman or early EngUsh and continental coins are found there; if so, their
commerce was certainly unimportant. Though they were brave and skilful
sailors the nature of the coracles they habitually used was unsuited for trade.
(Moiitalembert, in. 218.) It is quite unlikely that under these circumstances
there was any great development of industry or commerce. On the other hand
unconscious testimony to the civilising influence of the Northmen is borne by
the Irish chi-onicler who relates that after the battle of Clontarf "no Danes
were left in the kingdom, except such a number of artisans and merchants in
Dublin, Waterford, Wexford, Cork and Limerick, as could be easily mastered at
any time, should they dare to rebel ; and these King Brian very wisely permitted
to remain in these seaport towns, for the purpose of encouraging trade and traffic,
as they possessed many ships, and were experienced sailors." Quoted by Worsaae,
Danes and Norioegians, 337.

1 Lappenberg, England under Saxon Kings, ii. 364.

'■i Sohm (Entstehung des Stadtewesens, 12) insists that market rights are of
primary and fundamental importance among all the various elements that have
contributed to the growth of the rights enjoyed by German burgesses.

THE DANES. 95

Christianity was introduced, and monasteries sprang up at a.d. 787—
the grave of each early martyr, the commemoration of the ^^,.^„g5
saint became the occasion of a similar assemblage' and thus
religious gatherings served as great opportunities for trade^.
Shrines, which attained a great celebrity, and were con-
stantly frequented, were spots where trade could be carried
on all the year round. Thus the origin of Glasgow may be
traced from the burial-place of S. Ninian*. It is to be noted a.d. 570.
too that a stream of pilgrims, even if they journeyed with no
other than religious aims, opened up a route that could be
used for other purposes ; the regular establishment in the
twelfth century of a ferry across the Forth was due to Queen
Margaret's desire to provide for the transit of the pilgrims
who flocked to S. Andrews*. Such places as these would
be suitable sites for annual fairs and would give opportuni-
ties for trade with more distant parts.

For regular internal trade other centres would prove villages.
more suitable. In some places a single village has grown
into a town, and such names as Birmingham indicate
this origin ; something of the old administration survived
in many towns till the era of municipal reform in the last
century, and there are doubtless instances where elements
still remain, though they are not so obvious as in Scottish Coales-

C&IXCG of

towns ^ Some great cities like Athens and Rome have villages.
arisen through the coalescence of several villages, so that
this has come to be considered as a typical mode of de-
velopment. It is possible that some English towns grew up
in this fashion®; the arrangement of the town-fields suggests

1 Village feasts not infrequently fall on the day of the dedication of the church,
and show the universality of the tendency here noted.

2 On this point, and indeed on the whole subject of the history of fairs in
JEnrope, see Bourquelot's Memoire in the Acad, des Inscriptions, n"" Serie, v. i. 14.

8 Skene, Celtic Scotland, n. 184.

* Skene, op. cit. n. 351. For the connection between pilgrimages and village
trade in Russia see Systems of Land Tenure, 370.

5 The provost or praepositus represents the headman, or officer elected by the
villagers.

6 Such an origin naturally suggests itself in the case of any city where several
parishes abut together. The negative influence may certainly be drawn that
towns Mke Leeds, Bradford, or Liverpool, which Ue wholly within one parish,
have not originated thus. The parish is the nearest modem representative of the
primitive community. At the same time the parochial organisation — the vestry,
churchwardens, &c. — appears to be of ecclesiastical origin, though it probably was

EARLY HISTORY.

A.D. 787—
A.D. 106G.

Forts.

910 to 924

A.D.

Soman
relics.

Several

conditions

combined.

that Cambridge grew from the combination of two separate
villages ^ Whether a town arose from coalescence or from
a single township, it would be a centre of local trade and a
market-town, properly so called''. A good deal of light on
the early character of these towns may be got from survivals.
It is obvious from an analysis of the officers * who were still
maintained in many of them in 1884 that a very large
proportion of our towns were originally agricultural villages ;
the pinder, whose business it was to impound strange cattle,
is found in several; and the history of the town-fields* is
well worth investigating.

The original nucleus in some cases might be incidentally
due to the Danes; the "army" of which we read in the
Chronicle occupied forts, and they would require supplies.
Markets would also be created by the garrisons in the
positions which were fortified by Edward and iEthelfleda to
keep the Danes in cheeky — such as Bridgnorth, Hertford,
Tamworth, Stafford, and Warwick. Military centres, where
royal authority was paramount, while the men of the shire
were responsible for maintaining the fortifications, seem to
have been deliberately planted ^ In other cases the existence
of a Koman road, and the neighbourhood of Roman building
materials, would give the opportunity for raising a town on
or near the site which they had occupied.

Though these different circumstances are enunciated as
distinct, it is clear that, in many cases, two or more of them
were present to account for the growth of a town in some
particular spot. S. Albans had Roman remains, but it was
also the shrine of the British protomartyr. Cambridge was
apparently a fort, as well as a group of villages ; while there
were building materials at hand, in the remains of the

grafted, as in the ease of other ecclesiastical institutions, on to existing civil
di\isions of territory. Bishop Hobhouse, Preface to Church Wardens' Accounts
(Somerset Record Society), p. xi. ^ Maitland, Township and Burgh, 52.

2 On Village Markets in India see Phear, Aryan Village, 29.

' Gomme, Index of Municipal Officers, 7.

* Maitland, op. cit. 52. Lethaby, London hefore the Conquest.

5 See especially Bedford, English Chronicle, 919. Kemble, Saxons in England,
u. 321. On similar forts erected in France, compare Keary, Vikings, p. 308.

6 Maitland. Domesda>i Book and Beyond, 187. On the growth of continental
towns see Cunningham, Essay on Western Civilisation, n. 57 £,

THE DANES. 97

Roman city^ ; these were distinct influences, but they a.d. 787—
might be so combined as to render one point an important ' ' '
centre of trade, and thus cause the growth of the town
planted there to be very rapid.

But when we have thus enumerated the different spots Physical
which commerce favoured, there is still much that must '^°^"
remain unexplained. The growth of a town on any of these
spots was undoubtedly due to natural advantages of site and
position; but it cannot be too often repeated that natural
advantages are relative to the condition of human beings ;
what served as a good natural harbour two hundred years
ago, would often be useless now : and so with all other means
of communication. It is hard enough for us to try and
realise the condition of any English town in, say the ninth
century, and quite impossible to gauge the natural advan-
tages of one spot over another for the conduct of a commerce
which we understand so dimly. One thing indeed is clear ;
while roads were few and defective it was most important
to make use of river communication as much as possible ;
and tidal streams which enabled the small sea-going vessels Tidal
of the day to penetrate far inland led the way to the sites of* '^""^ *
the chief towns. Chester, York and Ipswich are cases in
point ; while the excellent natural canals on which Norwich,
Doncaster^ and Cambridge were situated, served almost as
well. The precise physical conditions which have brought
ibout the origin and development of different towns deserve
careful attention from local historians.

VI. Economic Ideas and Structure.

A. Property.

42. At first sight it might seem hopeless for us to B.C. 55—
try and reach any real understanding of the nature of the ^"^ ^^^'^'
economic ideas of our forefathers in primitive times, or at
any rate impossible to specify the changes which took place
during these long centuries. The wiitten evidence is so

1 As well as at Grantcbester. Bede, H. E. iv. cxix.

2 Deuton, Fifteenth Century, 183.

C. H. 7

98 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— slight, and so much of one kind, that we can only get meagre
* fragments of direct information; but there are other data
to which attention may be turned. The various entries in
Domesday Book contain definite terms and imply clear and
precise ideas on economic matters, such as could not possibly
have been present to the minds of a semi-nomadic people.
Economic Men cannot think about phenomena, or describe them ac-
a'^definite curatcly, Until they are brought within the range of their
ecorwmic experience ; economic ideas could not be precise and definite
till the industrial and commercial life of the day had rendered
the importance of accurate distinctions apparent. The more
highly developed life of the eleventh century involved the
habitual use of definite ideas of ownership and status, such
as men, in the condition Csesar describes, could not have
grasped. Dealings at markets and fairs, as well as the
assignment of definite portions of land, necessitate the
employment of measures for which the primitive Germans
could have had little use. How far the change was a native
development, or how far it was due to the influence of
Rome, whether exercised directly through imperial officers,
or indirectly through ecclesiastics, is a question which de-
mands much skilled investigation by specialists^ but the
greatness of the change cannot be doubted. The gist of the
whole may be brought out by fixing our attention on the
idea of property.
Property. It is tolerably apparent that no one can wish to have

permanent possession of a thing which he cannot use either
for profit or pleasure ; and that a knowledge of the arts of
life and some power of applying natural materials and forces
to human service must precede the attempt to appropriate
them.
me and In the preceding pages attention has been directed to

'tfon"^^^'^' evidence which shows that the English were gradually
learning to make better use of that which nature affords.

1 Mr Seebohm and Mr Coote hold that imperial civilisation in Britain exercised
a great deal of direct influence on the habits of the English settlers; but this view
can hardly be reconciled with the history of the EngUsh invasion, and the evidence
of the displacement of the old population. Sir Henry Maine pointed out that the
practice of making wills was probably of ecclesiastical introduction. Ancient
Law, 173. See also Earle, Land Charters, xv

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 99

Nomads whose flocks crop the pasture do not appropriate B.C. 55—
the soil over which they wander; but when men have
learned the arts of tillage, especially of intensive tillage,
they wish to set up a claim to the exclusive use of par-
ticular portions of land ; or a claim to property in land, of land..
When this claim is respected \ and the right to use it is
secured, there is property; common property is that which
a man has a right to use along with others, private pro-
perty is that which he has an exclusive right to use. At
the time of the English Conquest our forefathers had so
far emerged from the nomadic condition that the warriors
acquired holdings either ideal or real, of their own, and
claimed them hy folk right\ Other rights over land were
at later times assigned to corporations or individuals, and
their exclusive use was secured by a boc. The terms of the
grant show what a man had a right to in any given case ; for
distinct rights over the same area might be vested in dif-
ferent persons, as one man may have the right to till certain
fields, and another the right to shoot over them. When
Domesday Survey was compiled every yard of English soil
was as really, if not as definitely, subject to rights as it is
now; and these are treated in the Survey as individual
rights, involving personal responsibility. The existence of
property implies the existence of proprietors ; and by the
time of the Confessor the ties of blood and personal duty
had been translated into other terms, and the social fabric
was a system of contracts between proprietors.

English Society as constituted in the eleventh century. Proprietors

^ The analysis of the modem conception of property gives us a metaphysical
justification of private ownership rather than a real account of the genesis of the
thing. In early times the conceptions of dominium and proprietas appear to have
been blended (Maitland, Township and Burgh, 28 — 31), and the historical problem
is as to the process by which each became distinct, as, with changing circum-
stances, it was expedient for manorial lords to make claims to the undeveloped
wastes of a village, or to abandon claims to predial service. It may be sound to
regard labour- as the sole title to property as Locke did ( Civil Government, c. v.
§ 27), or to treat it more generally as an embodiment of rational purpose with
Hegel [Phil, des Bechts, pp. 76, 81) and J. H. Stirling {Philosophy of Law, p. 36) ;
but these are attempts to defend the institution, not an account of its origin.

2 See the Oath, Thorpe, i. 185. Pollock and Maitland, History of English
Law, I. 37.

7—2

100 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— presents a striking contrast with English Society as we know
it now, as well as with the life of the primitive tribes. Now
every Englishman is a possible proprietor; he may be very
poor and have few actual possessions, but he is secured in
the enjoyment of them ; and his own force and energy may
enable him to amass great wealth and obtain large estates.
But in the eleventh century this was not the case ; and

Economic there was a line of demarcation between those who were

Jfeedom.

free to part with property by gift or sale, and those
who were themselves with their progeny the property of
others. Apparently this was not a hard and fast line,
dividing the nation into castes like those in India, for men
might rise out of the unfree condition ^ or might lose their
freedom''', but it was none the less a definite line, however
it was drawn at any one time '. Domesday Book, as well as
the Hundred Rolls of the time of Edward the First, seems to
take this scheme of demarcation for granted and classifies

1 Seebolim holds that there was less opportunity for rising in social status in
the ninth century. Tribal Custom, in Anglo-Saxon Law, 367. The Saga of
King Olaf the Saint, cc. 21, 22, describes a viking who was a benevolent master.
"Erling had also a ship of thirty-two benches of rowers, which was besides very
large for that size, and which he used in viking cruises, or on an expedition ; and
in it there were 200 men at the very least. Erling had always at home on his
farm thirty slaves, besides other serving people. He gave his slaves a certain
day's work; but after it he gave them leisure, and leave that each should work
in the twiUght and at night for himself, and as he pleased. He gave them arable
land to sow corn in, and let them apply their crops to their own use. He laid
upon each a certain quantity of labour to work themselves free by doing it ; and
there were many who bought their freedom in this way in one year, or in the
second year, and all who had any luck could make themselves free within three
years. With this money he bought other slaves ; and to some of his freed people
he showed how to work on the herring fishery ; to others he showed some useful
handicraft ; and some cleared his outfields and set up houses. He helped all to
prosperity." Laing, Chronicles, u. 19.

2 Stubbs, Constitutional History, i. 78. When William devastated North-
umbria, and a terrible famine prevailed, some persons were forced to sell them-
selves into perpetual slavery. Roger of Hoveden, i. p. 119.

8 Professor Maitland points out that the important legal distinction, as shown
in the early laws, is between the man for whom a wergild should be paid and
whose relatives had some sort of right of feud, and the man who was a mere
chattel, like an ox or other beast of the field. The villani of Domesday were free
according to this older distinction. In the thh-teenth century the obligation to
pay merchet on the marriage of a daughter was the chief distinguishing condition
which proved whether a man were free or no; and according to this, classes
which were formerly free were counted as servile.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 101

the population into these two broad divisions ^ There were B.C. s.'s—
many subdivisions within each of the great classes, but for
economic purposes at all events they are not obviously im-
portant ; the main division lay between those who were
free under known conditions to possess and to part with
land, and those who with their progeny were attached to
another man's estate. Leaving out of account for a time Beorgani-
all questions connected with the unfree, we may see how all 'society on
the organisation of society, for military, judicial or fiscal ^Jry^basZ.
purposes, was interpreted in terms of property, even if it
was not as a matter of fact grounded upon this basis.

43. The great importance of this change lay in the fact
that it was possible to state the duties and responsibilities of
each individual in definite terms. Personal obligations are Indefinite
vague and indefinite ; it may be a duty to follow a leader in Tbiigations.
the fight, but the questions as to how often he is to be
followed, and how far, and for how long a time, could be at
all events most easily defined in connection with the tenure
of property; this also served as some security for the fulfil-
ment of obligations. The process of commendation^ may Commend-
have been convenient to the humbler freeman as a means of
obtaining protection for person or property, or both^; it was
also convenient to the military earl, as a means of securing
more effective organisation. There are signs of military Military
organisation in several of the entries of the Chronicle which tionT^'^'

1 It seems to be analogous to the distinction between gesithcund and ceorlisc
in Ine's Laws (Seebohm, 447). Another hne of division in Anglo-Saxon times was
drawn between the value of a man's life and of his testimony as an oath-helper,
and Englishmen were ranked as twelf-hyoide and twy-hynde. Seebohm, ojp. cit. 406.

2 Commendation was the choice of a lord by a landless man or free proprietor
who required surety and protection. Stubbs, Const. Hist. i. 153.

' Mr Scrutton has called attention to some interesting instances of commen-
dation in Norfolk: "At Dersingham we read 'In eadem viUa tenent 21 liberi
homines 2 carucatas terrae et 35 acras, 5 bordarii, 3 carucas, 7 acras prati...
habet suus antecessor ' (the predecessor of the then lord of the manor) ' commen-
dationem tantum, et horum 18, si veUeut recedere, daret quisque duos solidos:
Stigand de omnibus socam.' Here we may conjecture that the village community
of the 21 liberi homines had put itself under the protection of a more powerful
man, at first retaining the ownership of its lands, which it afterwards lost. At
Horsey in the same county the stage of commendation is a little later in date."
Common Fields, 14. Some Cambridgesliire cases which point to a similar process
occur in Domesday, Escelforde, i. 198 a, 2, 191 a, 2. Herlestone, i. 200 a, 2.
Hauochestone, i. 198 a, 1.

102

EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55—
A.D, 1066.
A.D. 874.

A.D. 917.

A.D. 918.

Military
service.

Fiscal re-

sponsi-

hility.

deal with the Danes; as for example in 874, when Ceolwulf
held Mercia on their behalf, and gave hostages that he
would be ready to help them in his own person and with
all that should follow him. In 917 the Lady of Mercia
got possession of Derby and all that owed obedience thereto,
and in the next year, Leicester, " and the greater part of
the army that owed obedience thereto became subject to
her ; and the people of York had also covenanted with her,
some having given a pledge and some having bound
themselves by an oath that they would be at her command."
In the same year as the result of Edward's successes, " Thur-
kytel the earl sought to him to be his lord, and all the
captains, and almost all the chief men who owed obedience
to Bedford, and many of those who owed obedience to
Northampton." Commendations and oaths' and military
tenure seem here to be taking the place of the loyalty and
discipline which had been previously secured by pledges and
hostages.

The personal devotion of the comes to the princeps may
have been more effective when it was flavoured with the
expectation of a share in the spoils, and not by gratitude for
a grant in the past. There must have been difficulty in
enforcing the claim to personal service when it was not
fully rendered ; and this may be one reason why the English
defence collapsed at the time of the Danish invasion. At
any rate, when the monarchy was reconstituted and re-
organised under Cnut and the Confessor, the claim for
service no longer rested on a mere personal tie, but vjas made
on each man as the holder of so much property ; the obliga-
tion was not imposed on him so much as on his possessions.
There is a significant hint of this change in the law which
determined that a churl should rank as a thegn as soon as
he had land enough to fulfil the duties of his position ^
Thus military obligations which had originally been personal
came by commendation to be defined in terms of property ;
and when, through the failure to maintain an effective de-
fence, tributary Danegeld was levied, the relations of the

» Oaths, 1.
a RanJcs, 2.

Thorpe, 1. 179.
Thorpe, 1. 191.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 103

poorer and richer proprietors might well undergo a change ^ B.C. 55—
Those who were able to discharge this heavy fiscal responsi-
bility would confer a real benefit on their neighbours by
undertaking to pay the geld when it was due, and accepting
a regular rent in return.

In a somewhat similar fashion the judicial status of each Judicial
individual — the immunities he claimed and the jurisdiction IZityT'
he exercised — was defined in connection with the property he
possessed. It was an enormous advantage for the man who
was sued for any offence to be able to rely on the help of a
powerful friend; the great lord who answered for his man
and was willing to maintain his cause in the king's court, was
an antagonist that no suitor would willingly face, and from
whom it was difficult to obtain the desired redress. The
wish to secure such assistance in connection with criminal
charges or other litigation must have been a great incentive
to commendation'^, but the lord could hardly be expected to
make himself responsible for a man over whom he possessed
no control. Hence the freeman was bound to attend at
the manorial coui't ; the lord had toll and team, the rights
of sac and soc^ — whatever these difficult terms implied —
and he was to this extent free from the jurisdiction of
others. It is needless to speculate here how such juris-
diction arose, — how far from royal grant, and how far as a
survival of the primitive police of little communities; but
it did not rest on personal qualifications or powers, and
it was exercised in connection with the possession of so
much land, and marked the status of different classes of
proprietors. "As soon as a man found himself obliged to
suit and service in the court of a stronger neighbour, it
needed but a single step to turn the practice into theory
and to regard him as holding his land in consideration of
that suit and service*."

1 The pressure of the land revenue in India, and the proprietary changes
which have followed in connection with the work of collecting it— as in the
permanent settlement of Bengal under Lord Comwallis— offer an illustration
fi-om real life of the hypothesis in the text. See helow, p. 111.

2 Edioard and Guthrum, 12. Thorpe, 1. 175. ^thelstan, i. 2, 3. Thorpe, i. 201.

* Maitland, Select Pleas, Manorial {Selden Society), i. xxiii. Domesday,
Horsei, i. 199 b, 2; Wadon, 194 b, 1; Orduuelle, i. 198 b, 2; 193 b, 1.

* Stubbs, Constitutional History, I. 189.

104 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— 44. By the time of the Confessor then, the social organ-

„■ ■ ism had embodied itself in a 'territorial shell,' and various

Pro-

pnetary duties incumbent on free Englishmen were commonly stated

obligations. .., .. r • c iijj

as incident to the positions oi proprietors oi so muen land and
of such land. These obligations correspond to what we
should call taxation ; though they often consisted of actual
service, and not merely of money payments.
Trinodc (a) Actual service was rendered in the defence of the

necessitas. ^^^^^^y^ actual work on roads and bridges, and on fortifi-
cations; tliis was the trinoda necessitas^ from which even
favoured personages were apparently never exempted. Neg-
lect to attend the fi/rd entailed very serious punishment'':
but there were other personal services from which many of the
holders of bocland were exempted by the terms of their charter
The most common of these perhaps was the employment of
their teams in public service at the requirement of the sheriffs
Definite ob- For the taxpayer it was most important that these
ligations. g^g^^^^Qj^g ghould not be unlimited but should be defined;
and the precise obligations at the time of the Domesday
Survey appear to have been well known and easily put on
record. The land, originally apportioned or granted by boc,
was subject to many burdens ; the tenants of the king's
lands were under special if not better conditions, since
they paid rent to the king {gafol or gahluvi) as being the
landlord of their estates, as well as services to him in his
capacity as king*. In later days it appears that the tenants
on royal domain were on the whole more favourably dealt
with than others, and bore less of the public burdens. The

1 This appears to be incorporated in the administrative system of Charlemagne.
Dr Stubbs has noticed the obligation in genuine English charters of the eighth
centui-y, but does not regard it as derived ilirectly from Roman Imperial Institu-
tions, Const. Hist., I. 76. Compare on the other hand Coote, Romans of Bntain,
p. 259.

2 Laws of Ine, § 51. Thorpe, i. 135. On the other hand the length of service
in the field was defined as extending to no more than 60 days ; a hmitation which
was of fatal importance in connection with the success of the Norman invasion.
Freeman, Norman Conquest, iii. 336, 404.

3 The liectittidi'iies Singularum Personarum gives the following enumeration:
Et de multis terris magis laudu-ectum exurgit ad bannum regis, sic est deorhege ad
mansionem regiam, et sceorpum in bosticum, et custodiam maris, et capitis, et pacis,
et elmesfeoh, id est pecunia elemosine, et cirisceatum, et alie res multimode.
Thorpe, i. 432.

* Round, in Domesday Studies, i. 132.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 105

owner of bocland might have got a very favourable charter, B.C. 55—
even one which gave him practical immunity from all ' '
burdens except the three.

(6) There was also a certain amount of ecclesiastical Tithe.
taxation. The Christian duty of giving a tenth of one's
substance to God had been enforced from the time of a
legatine council in 787, and thus the payment of tithe was
established. A considerable sum was also levied by a tax of
a penny on every hearth and transmitted to Rome ; the first
pajTiient is associated with the name of Ofifa, but it had
become a regular tax in the tenth century.

(c) Up to the time of the Conquest the ordinary public Danegeld.
duties were chiefly defrayed by actual service, or the service
of deputies ; but there were also extraordinary burdens which
were necessarily paid in money, such as the geld or
Danegeld, which was originally a tributary payment exacted
as a means of buying off the Danes, but was subsequently
levied as stipendiary, so as to maintain the mercenary
defensive force. Ihis was paid off in 1050; but the prece-
dent thus set enabled Edward the Confessor, and the Norman
kings to levy similar exactions when emergencies arose^.
The due assessment of the geld was the primary purpose
which the Conqueror had in view in taking the T)omesday
Survey. The information it contains as to the changes
among the owners of land, or the character of their tenure,
is all incidental; the main object was to provide a satis-
factory basis for the assessment of this revenue.

45. If we turn to consider the position of the unfree man, The unfree
we find that this too is susceptible of definition in connection '^ "'^^^^'
with what he had. If he was not a free proprietor, neither
was he a mere chattel ; he was able to hold land and use it,
even though he did not own it, and could not sell it. He
was restricted to one estate, and he and his progeny were

1 Round, in Domesday Studies, i. 81. An interesting illustration of tributary
Danegeld, from the point of view of those who were engaged in collecting it,
occurs in a Saga.

" Sigurd imposed a tribute on the inhabitants of Man, and when they had made
peace the Jarl left men behind him to collect the tribute : it was mostly paid in
smelted silver." Subsequently the collectors were wrecked on the Irish coast, and
relieved by an Icelander who traded with Dublin, and who sold them a boat,
and "took therefore a great part of the tribute." Beamish, p. 187.

106 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— under the control of the lord, but he had recognised privi-
■ ■ ■ leges too. The estates were worked by tenants who contri-
buted services in return for the holdings assigned them, and
who each stood in an economic relation to the proprietor;
they did the work on his domain farm, and they also held
land which they cultivated for themselves and with stock
provided by the lord'. The most important thing for the

Definite oh- ioj-(j was that he should be able to attach a large body of

ligations , . ,,f.i, j_

dependents to his estate ; the most important tor the tenant

that the kind of service and amount of service due from him

should be definitely settled. Though there may have been

many estates where arbitrary exactions were still in vogue '"',

the obligations of the tenants of different sorts were in

many cases clearly defined in the time of the Confessor.

difficult to The economic relation thus indicated can hardly be

modern ^^ Satisfactorily described in modern termS; as these connote

terms distinctions which only emerged at a later date. We might

say that the landlord received a labour-rent for the tenant's

holding, or we might say that the tenant^eceived a holding

as wages for the work done for the lord ; again it might be

contended that part of the return due to the landlord was

rendered on account of the use of the oxen with which

the tenant's holding was stocked. But the fact that all

these three were combined renders it impossible to compare

the receipts of the Domesday proprietor with modern rents,

or the position of the agricultural labourer then and now.

butsus- At the same time we may notice that so soon as the

covimuta- relations of lord and serf come to be defined as economic

txon. incidents of the tenure of land, they had taken a shape in

which they could be commuted for money payments, and

stated in a pecuniary form. In the time of the Confessor,

the obligations of the tenants could be valued in terms of

money, and on some of the royal estates in particular the

commutation of service for money appears to have come in.

The usual duties of the different classes of unfree tenants
on a manorial estate are described in great detail in an
eleventh century document entitled the Rectitudines Singu-

1 On tlie customary method of settling tenants on the land see Laws of Ine,
67, and Seebohm, Tiibal Custom, 422. 2 Pollock, Land Laws, p. 19.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 107

larum Personarum; taken in conjunction with the Gere/a, B.C. 65—
recently discovered by Dr Liebermann, of which a trans-
lation is printed in the Appendix, it throws much interesting
light on the management of a great estate at the beginning
of the eleventh century. The cotsetle had a holding of about Cotsetu.
five acres, and was bound to work for his lord one day a week
all the year round (weekwork) and three days a week in
harvest (boonwork). The gebur had a yardland, of thirty or Oehur.
forty acres, which when he entered it was stocked with two
oxen and one cow and six sheep, as well as tools for his work
and utensils for his house ; he was in return to do, as week-
work, either two or three days a week according to the
season ; and he was to lie at the lord's fold in winter as often
as he was told ; several payments are also specified, as well
as occasional boonwork. The whole statement may be taken
as t3^ical, but we are reminded that the different customs of
different estates may have varied very greatly; still it is
evident that the obligations on each particular estate were
defined with considerable precision in recognized quantities
of service or money, or money's worth.

46. A feudal society which was thus interpenetrated by Resem-
ideas of property, and the obligations incident to the tenure j-^^ll^^i%
of property, offers many close analogies with that which ^^<"'!«"
was in vogue under the Roman empire ; on the other hand it and con-
presents strong contrasts with the amorphous and nexible the con-
condition of the German tribes at the time of Caesar or \le°EngUsh
Tacitus, or even at the time of the English Conquest. On *'* ^^^'■^•
the grounds of this double probability it has been argued
with gi-eat force and learning by Mr Coote^ and later by
Mr Seebohm^ that the destruction wrought by the English
invasion has been exaggerated, and that Roman civilisation Did Roman
survived the shock and reappeared at the time of the Con- 'sui- *
fessor with but little change from the form in which it lurviwl'
had existed in the days of Constantine, save that Christian
teaching had affected it, and ameliorated the lot of the ser£

Their case is very strong from some points of view ; it Reasons
seems unlikely that a great civilisation should disappear, and -{"^^ "^^^^^e*"
that another civilisation so closely resembling it should arise ''^^a^t^ve.

1 Romans o/ Britain, p. 5. 2 Village Community, cc. viii, xi.

108 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— a few centuries later on exactly the same lands. It is
' ■ ■ incumbent on those who believe that the balance of proba-
bility after all favours this view to show the grounds on
which they rely for proof of the destruction of the imperial
civilisation, and to make it clear that the reconstruction of
such a similar society was possible within the available time..
Proof of The proof of destruction has been already given^ the

yVow""**"" histories are agreed as to the disintegration of society and
hiatones ^j^Q conquest of the Roman province of Britain ; but it is
possible that the statements of Bede and Nennius, who are
inclined to moralise on the events, are somewhat exaggerated
rdic$. or only refer to special localities. The histories are however
confirmed by monuments, which tell of the utter and rapid
ruin of flourishing houses and cities. They are also confirmed
Little by the facts that the old language did not survive and that
language the Christian religion was not preserved where the English
or rehr/wn. gg^^jg^j jja^^ ^|^g English Conquest been a mere raid which
swept over but did not overthrow the Roman civilisa-
tion, the country would have been Christian, as Wales or
Gaul was Christian, before the time of S. Augustine or
S. Cuthbert, and our language would have been a Roman or
Gaelic dialect like French, or Welsh. In other countries
like France or Italy, the ecclesiastical divisions served to
perpetuate the memory of the old civil divisions of the
Roman provinces^; but the English dioceses have no ap-
parent relation to the territorial divisions of Britain under
the Roman Empire ; they seem to have been completely
effaced at the time when Gregory determined to plant the
Church in England. There is no reason to believe that the
fiscal system or the military system could survive, when the
language and religion were swept away and left so few traces
behind I The burden of proof seems to rest with those who
maintain that despite these sweeping changes, the organi-
sation of rural industry was practically unchanged, and that
the Roman villa remained untouched in all its main features \

J See p. 59 above. ^ Freeman, Historical Geography, i. 166.

3 For indications of sui'vival of both compare Coote, Romans of Britain,
pp. 416, 458.

^ Compare Prof. Ashley, Introduction to Mrs Ashley's translation of Fustel de
Coulauges, Origin of Property in Land, p. xxxii.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE, 109

On the other hand, the things which speak to us most B.C. 55—
plainly of the Romans, such as the roads, the camps, the ^^^^^^ J
trees, the stones of centuriation, would be little affected by i^oman

' _ *' remains.

a great social upheaval, and would remain unless they were
deliberately destroyed. A very small surviving element of
population would serve to keep the old local names, and to
preserve a few terms as well.

47. The argument as to the possibility of the growth Por^^ihUity
of a similar society must necessarily be more or less hypo- %con-
thetical ; for we have no such sufficient records of the first f 'Jiwol"'''^
settlement and subsequent changes as to enable us to specify society.
all the steps.

(i) It may be pointed out however that an argument similarity
drawn from the great similarity between the two societies ^ro«e"coK-
in favour of a real continuity of the same social type, '*"*'**y'
is by no means conclusive. There is a danger of neglecting
purely natural resemblances. In all societies where agri-
culture is carried on in the same sort of way there must
be many analogies in detail ; a similar team will be required,
and the mode of laying out the land which is convenient
for the day's work will also be similar. As noted below
there are many natural units of measurement which will
come to be used so soon as a people wish to have accurate
knowledge of height or area or value. It can be shown
that the English need not have derived their knowledge
of ploughing with oxen from the Romans, since this is a
practice common to the Aryan race, and it naturally follows
that there must have been many similarities of detail which
were necessarily involved in this practice and need not
have been derived from any outside source. If our acre
were precisely identical with the Roman acre there would be
either a very strange coincidence or a proof of dependence ;
but a mere similarity can be accounted for without supposing
actual derivation \

(ii) Nor need we suppose that there was continuity even especially
when there is precise identity of usage, if we can account for can
the late introduction of the Roman habit from another source. '^lig°^Jil{°o.

duction of

1 The fact of the variety of local measiu'es seems to indicate that they were not ?■ -^9"*""
, . , , ' ■' habit.

derived from a common source

110

EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. Z7>—
A.D. 1066.

Not

impossible
that feiu/al
society was
a native
growth.

Military
responsi-
bility.

Bon an
analogy.

The influence of Roman missionaries must have been enor-
mous ; and the Roman Calendar, and much Roman termin-
ology, legal and other, would easily come from this source.
This must be borne in mind in estimating the bearing of
documentary evidence on the point in dispute*; the eccle-
siastics who drafted the early charters would be likely to
use Roman terminology to designate existing institutions,
whether they were survivals from the imperial times, or a
native English development. Further, the desire of English
kinglets to imitate the doings of Charles the Great, makes it
clear that in so far as his Capitularies became known they
would modify the customs current in England. When we
have discounted these elements of similarity, the force of
the argument for continuity is greatly weakened.

(iii) It remains to be seen whether the dissimilarity
between the life of the English invaders and the social
system at the time of the Confessor, is so great that we
cannot suppose the one was a development of the other.
Here again the argument must be merely hypothetical ; it is
only thus we can see whether two sets of well-established
facts can be reconciled or not ; but even if we cannot
altogether account for the growth of the new civilisation, the
evidence adduced for the destruction of the old, and the
consequent breach of continuity, remains unshaken.

(a) The English occupation was the settlement of an
army, and preserved certain features of military organisation ;
military responsibilities are implied in the proprietary system
under the Confessor; but the chief difference is that the
class of free soldiers working shares of communal property
seems to have disappeared, and a class of lords relying on the
labour of dependents had taken its place. But we may
remember that this is parallel to a change which occurred in
Italy itself; the old type of Roman citizen who cultivated
his own land and also fought in the armies of the republic,
disappeared under the pressure of many wars; some were
killed off, and many more were utterly impoverished ; so
that the old system of proprietary cultivation was super-
seded by the latifundia, cultivated by dependents. The

1 Ashley, Oriyin of Property in Land, xv.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. Ill

wars against the Danes would be likely to necessitate more B.C. 55—
elaborate organisation, in which whole villages were forced
in self-defence to accept a position of dependence on a
neighbour ^

(b) It is said, however, that the composition of each Manorial
estate, and the dependents who worked it, could never have
grown out of free associations of cultivating soldiers. It is
of course unlikely that all had the same history, and it is
probable enough that many were originally servile, even if
others were originally free. Professor Maitland has shown
that there were villages at the Domesday period which were
free from seignorial domination^, and these may have been
the surviving representatives of a state of affairs which had
once been very general. After all, a village community is
a social unit employed in the prosecution of agriculture ; its
members will manage their affairs in much the same way
whether they are in other respects free or servile. The
Welshmen' in their scattered hamlets would probably feel Senih
the yoke of the conqueror*, and so would the men in the
English villages that succumbed in the subsequent conflicts
for supremacy; but they would still be independent in
managing their internal affairs, and they would continue to
elect their own praepositus^ though their status was lowered.

On the other hand, the free soldiers were probably asso- ^ree
ciated together for the cultivation of the lands originally
assigned them, and arranged their common affairs by elect-
ing their own administrators from time to time. As the
process of individualising the shares went on, there was
increasing room for the growth of inequalities within each
group. The success of some men would enable them to
secure the help of dependents, while others, in the stress of
their poverty, might bargain themselves into a servile con-
dition. The necessity for doing so might arise from any one
of a large number of different contingencies. Whenever
an individual or a village became liable to a heavy fine on

1 Andrews, Old English Manor, 70. 2 Domesday Booh a?id Beyond, 129.

3 The evidence from Wales, Palmer, Ancient Tenures, p. 115, points to a time
of preraanorial freedom in some Welsh maenols. Compare also the history of the
Russian mir. Kovalevsky, Modem Customs and Ancient Lav)s of Russia, 81.

* Seebohm, Tribal Custom, 399. * See below, p. 236.

analogies.

112 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— account .of some crime committed*, they might have to
throw themselves on the mercy of the lord and compound
by accepting more onerous obligations for themselves and
their children for all time. The pressure of royal demands
for geld, or of tithe '^ might be severe, and little grace was
given to the man who failed to pay on the right day and
was likely to fall into arrear. Whenever a man incurred
a liability which he could not discharge, his more fortunate
neighbour might come to his aid, and help him in the
pressing emergency, but on terms that made a permanent
change in their relative positions for the future. The mere
pressure of a bad season apart from anything else might
force men down to a lower social grade on which their

Indian children would continue to live^ Even in a land like
India where custom is much more stereotyped than here,
the village communities are breaking up, sometimes by
partition into separate estates, and sometimes by a wealthy
man absorbing the property of all ; a manorial farm, or a group
of small manorial farms will then take the place of the
community. The process in India appears to be closely
connected with the pressure of the land tax ; the patel, or any
officer who is responsible for the collection of the village
assessment, may be able to rise to a position of superiority
over the other villagers, especially if they fall behind hand
with their payments and he advances the money. The im-
position of the Danegeld and efforts to collect it may well
have had similar effects in England. If it is true that the
manerivm* was the economic unit ^ from which the payments
were in the first instance collected, the lord of each manerium
was put in a position of considerable responsibility for his
neighbours, and consequent power of controlling them. In
any case the Indian analogies seem to show that it was

1 I^aivs of Edward and Chithrum, 12 seq. TLorpe, 1. 175. Ethelred, vii. 16.
Thorpe, i. 333.

2 Ethelred, vs.. 7—12. Thorpe, i. 343.

3 Nehemiah v. 1 — 5. The change which occurs in Ireland when a tenant is
hopelessly in arrears and after eviction is reinstated as a care-taker may serve as
a modem illustration.

4 See below, p. 127.
^ The Bectitudines appear to state the economic relations of each member of a

typical manor but do not mention the fiscal connection with other proprietors.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 113

not impossible for manorial farms to grow out of and super- B.C. 55—

„ „ . , r o n A.D. 1066.

sede communities of freemen m the course oi tour or live
centuries, even though we cannot follow the actual course
of the chansfe. To do so we should have to speak not qI Local
England in general, but of particular districts ; Danish
England differed greatly from the southern portion, and in
particular contained a far larger proportion of freemen ; but
even within the Danelagh there were great varieties, for
neither the Welsh nor the English were wholly swept away.
The actual history would need to be a local history, which
tried to examine what the original settlement in one parish
after another had been, and to what causes the changes in
each place were due. That such history cannot be com-
pletely recovered is obvious ; but in default of it we must
be content with seeing that the supposed change was
possible.

Evidence of the loss of freedom in historic times, or of Survivals.
its survival till a comparatively late period, must also be
taken into account, before it can be admitted that all mem-
bers of the original English village communities were servile.
Even if the village community was not broken up, the mem-
bers might lose their status by the necessity of commen-
dation^ ; and indications of primitive freedom are found as late
as the fifteenth century''. There was a tendency to gravitate
to a lower status ; and though there is ample evidence in the
period after the Conquest of the rearrangement of economic
relations, and acceptance of money payments in lieu of
service^ it is difficult to see under what circumstances a lord
would plant a body of freemen on his estate unless he found
it necessary to provide for comrades in war, as was done both
by Danes and Normans. It seems most reasonable to treat
the isolated instances of lordless villages as survivals of a state

1 Mr Seebohm refers to interesting analogies, Village Community, p. 307.

2 Scrutton, Common Fields, 14. The judicial evidence as to the original con-
stitution of manorial coui-ts also seems to point to the existence of a considerable
class of freemen. Maitland, Select Pleas, Manorial (Selden Society), i. Ixv.

* These commutations cannot be taken as evidence of increasing freedom on
the part of the villeins. It appears that the services exacted on the Ramsey
Manors became more onerous during the thirteenth century. NeUson, Economic
Condition of the Manors of Ramsey Abbey, 50.

C. H. 8

114

EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— of affairs which had once been general among the original

A.D. 1066

Facilitie$

for

exchange.

English settlers ^

Barter.

B. Exchange.

48. The commerce of the primitive tribes must have
been of a very elementary character ; whereas in England at
the time of the Conquest the trade was large and definitely
regulated. There must then have been a steady improvement
in the facilities for exchange, and in the other conditions
which are necessary in order that it may be carried on. The
primitive tribes had possessed coins, and payment in kind still
survived after the Norman Conquest ; but the one mode of
conducting exchanges was gradually superseding the other and
it is worth while to consider what is involved in the change
from barter to the use of money, and the immense advantages
for the conduct of trade which follow. Exchange in its
earliest forms can only be barter, the exchange of one object
of use for another object of use, but even in this simplest type
there are distinctions which are worth noting. The man who
is most anxious to conclude a bargain will always gain less
advantage from it than the other ; the savage, who covets a
sailor's jack-knife, and feels that anything he has would be
worth sacrificing for the sake of possessing it, will be willing
to give a tusk of ivory or anything else the sailor fancies ; the
savage gratifies his pressing need, but the sailor has got an
article which would usually give him much more trouble to
procure than another knife would'*. The man who is least

1 On the whole subject compare Prof. Vinogradofif, Villainage in England.
See above, p. 63, n. 2.

2 The commerce between the Danes and the Esquimaux offers an instructive
illustration. " When they came together they began to barter, and these people
would rather have red cloth than anything else ; for this they had to offer skins
and real furs. ..For an entire fur skin the Skraelings took a piece of red cloth, a
span long, and bound it round their heads. Thus went on their trafSc for a time,
then the cloth began to fall short among Karlsefne and his people, and they cut it
asunder into small pieces which were not wider than the breadth of a finger, and
still the Skraelings gave as much for that as they did before, and more." When
the cloth was all gone, Karlsefne got the women to take out milk porridge to the
Skraelings, who were so delighted with this new article that they would buy
nothing else. " Thus the traflSc of the Skraelings was wound up by their bearing
away their purchases in their stomachs, but Karlsefne and his companions retained
their goods and their skins." Sagas of Thorjinn Karlsefne and Erik the Red.
Beamish, p. 97.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 115

anxious about the matter drives the best bargain ; we may B.C. 5;V-
call him ev^n in a case of barter, the seller, and the man who ggn'^j.^ ^^
has set his heart on a particular article, the buyer. buyers.

Again we may see the limits within which the exchange Limits of
can take place ; the jack-knife has a certain usefulness to the "^exchange.
sailor, he would not part with it except for an amount of ivory
which would at least enable him to buy another ; while the
savage sees no prospect of securing another if he lets this
opportunity slip, and its usefulness to him is immense. In
technical language, value in use to the buyer and value in use Value in
to the seller give the extreme limits within which the price "**'
in ivory can fall.

The consideration of the limits of exchange enables us to Gains of
understand the nature of the gains that are made by traders.
The trader has a supply of knives or other articles which the
savages are anxious to use, and he gets from them articles
which he does not himself want to use, but only to exchange
again^ ; his own anxiety is at a minimum and thus he can, in
the absence of competition, drive up the price to almost the
point of value-in-use to the buyer. He may be able to drive
a similarly good bargain with others who mean to use them,
in disposing of the commodities he has himself received in
exchange. This is the secret of the enormous profits made
by the merchants in eastern caravans, amounting to 200 or Caravan
300 per cent. ; they do business on a system of tedious bar-
gaining in which they reap a benefit through the difference
between the importance of an article to one who wants to use
it, and its importance to one who regards it as a mere article
of commerce.

The intervention of money — or a medium of exchange — Money as a
facilitates trade by reducing the disadvantage to which the exchange.
buyer is exposed in simple barter. Simple barter fails to
afford facilities for many exchanges which would be advan-
tageous if they could be carried out. I have a coat which I

- 1 This distinction is of great importance and is very clearly stated by Aristotle :
tKaoTou yap KT»j/uaxos 5itti/ ri )((0»7<7ts «orTi|/,...a'AX.' »j fitv o'lKeia »j 6' oiiK
o'lKSia Tov irpayfiaTo^, olov vTroSi^fiaTo^ t) t6 uTroOfO'ts Kai rj /i€Ta/3\j)xtKr;.
afiifyoTepai yap inroSTJfxaTOi XP'l"'^"' "'^'^ VV o dWaTTOfievoi tio Seofxevu
VTTOOfj/iaxos uvtI vofiiofxaTO^ i) 'rpo(f>rji 'X^piJTai Tto virotrip.aTL j; uvoSt^/xa, dW o{>
Tt\v oiKiiav xpiiff'"' oil yap dWayn^ eveKeu yeyoueu. Politics, I. c. 9, §§ 2, 3.

8—2

116

EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55—
A.D. 1066.

Functions
of money ;

unit for
com-
parison ;

medium, of
exchange ;

standard

for

payments.

Slaves and
cattle as
media.

want to exchange for bread; you have bread which you want
to exchange for boots ; unless a third party comes on the
scene it may be impossible for us to arrange any terms at
air. There may be a similar difficulty in effecting an ex-
change when the right articles are present, but in quantities
that cannot be fairly equalised. All these disadvantages in
barter are obvious, but it is worth while to try and notice
how far they may be overcome, even before the general intro-
duction of pieces of money.

To discuss this we must consider the various functions
which are performed by coins ^. It is in terms of coins that
we reckon the value of different articles, one is worth five,
another six shillings ; a current coin serves as a unit for the
comparison of wares. Again, coins are universally desired ;
people are always ready to accept coins, because it is a form
of wealth for which they can always find a use ; coins are
therefore a medium of exchange, and as they are very divisible
and equable they form a singularly good medium. Again,
when payments have to be made at any time in the future —
or over a period of years — it is coinage that gives a standard
for deferred payments ; while lastly, the compact form in
which a great value is contained makes coins a suitable
commodity for hoarding.

In early stages of society cattle are universally desired, as
also are slaves, and these articles can therefore be used as
media of exchange ; but it is obvious that as a living animal
cannot be divided, slaves or cattle only serve this purpose for
large payments. Though they probably had no better media
in some pre-historic periods, the English were acquainted with
the use of coinage for some payments at the time of the

1 Mr i'razer has i)ointed out to me a curious case from real life which is
given by Mr Brooke :

"A Dyak has no conception of the use of a circulating medium. He may ba
seen wandering in the Bazaar with a ball of beeswax in his hand for days
together, because he can't find anybody willing to take it for the exact article
he requires. This article may not be more than a tenth of the value of the
beeswax, but he would not sell it for money, and then buy what he wants.
From the first, he had the particular article in his mind's eye, and worked for
the identical ball of beeswax with which and nothing else to purchase it." Ten
Tears in Sarawak, vol. i. p. 156.

8 Walker, Money, pp. 1 — 23.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 117

occupation of Britain. We are accustomed to a well marked B.C. 55—
unit, represented by a definite piece of metal, in terms of ' '
which the value of articles can be measured ; and we can
scarcely see what meaning prices would have if no such
tangible unit existed. But primitive circulating media were
in all probability little used, and it was possible to manage
fairly well with an ideal uuit for money of account; one could ideal units.
compare a book worth five shillings with a stool worth six,
even if no shillings were ever coined ; and the mancus appears
to have been a unit of comparison, but a merely ideal unit^
to which no coin corresponded. The difficulty of finding an Rents in
unvarying standard never in all probability occurred to our
forefathers; but as a matter of practical convenience they hit
on a system which is now recommended by scientific au-
thorities as fair ; for deferred payments it was customary to
agree to give provender rents I Uncoined precious metals
served as well for hoarding as coins do, and each of the kings
would doubtless aim at the possession of such a treasure. As
trade flourished it would become more possible to procure the
precious metals; if Thorpe's collection of documents is really Precious
representative, it would seem that during the ninth centurj^
these metals became much more abundant. Occasional
donations of them are mentioned after 811, and regular
money payments from tenants appear to date back as far as
900. It would however be an error to suppose that estimates
of obligations in terms of money always imply that the debt
was actually discharged in coin and not in kind.

We may thus see that all the various functions of money a»y the
could be performed, if not so well, at least to such an extent of coins.

1 Ruding, Annals, i. 111.

2 An example is in the Ticlibourne estate, twenty hides of which were granted
by Edward the Elder to the Bishop of Winchester on this condition, among others,
" that every year at the return of the day there be given twelve sesters of beer, and
twelve of sweet Welsh ale, and twenty ambers of clear ale, and two hundred great
loaves, and a third of small, and two oxen, one salt, the other fresh, and sis wethers,
and four swine, and four flitches, and twenty cheeses. If it happen to be Lent,
then let the worth of the flesh be obtained in fish unless it be extremely abundant."
Thorpe, Dip. Aug. p. 158. We have here in actual use a system of payment which
would always supply a sufficient feast to the king and his court, and which has,
curiously enough, a resemblance to the plan of a multiple legal tender proposed
by Prof. Jevons, Money, p. 327. It suited the convenience of many monasteries
to continue (Maitland, Domesday Booh and Beyond, 319) and to impose (Viuogradoff,
Villainage in England, 304) food rents.

118 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— as to render the circulation of wares ^ possible, before the
introduction of coins. That step was an expensive one ; it is
not every man who is well supplied with ready money, and
it is not every community that is so rich as to be able to
afford the amount of precious metals which must be provided
before there can be a general circulation of coins. When the
advantages of coinage were realised, and when the kings saw
that taxes could be more easily collected, or that by pro-
moting trade they could increase their own dues, they would
doubtless make great efforts to provide a metallic currency.
We shall not perhaps be far wrong if we argue that the
imposition of the Danegeld implies that there was a very
general diffusion of the precious metals through the country
in the eleventh century.

49. The Domesday Survey is retrospective, and embodies
a great deal of information about the time of the Confessor ;
indirect evidence of the advanced condition of society
before the Norman Conquest is to be found in the precision
with which measurements of all sorts could be taken. This
Survey, as well as the Laws which have been so often quoted,
shows that Englishmen had accurate terms by which payments
of all sorts, whether in money or in kind or in service, could

Metric be defined ; indeed there were several distinct metric systems,.
which were apparently prevalent in Welsh, English and
Danish districts respectively. The whole subject is beset
with many difficulties, partly because the same term may
mean one thing when it is used in a Danish and something
else in an English district, but chiefly because the connotation
of the words themselves must have changed, and sometimes
came to be defined more precisely. Progress in this as in
other matters is from the vague to the definite, and while
primitive tribes may estimate land very roughly by units*
which have no precise areal value, agriculturists in a highly
civilised society desire to have an accurate metric system.

Natural This was however a very difficult problem ; it is hard

enough to define the measures in common use so that if they

1 K. Marx, Das KapitaZ, pp. 83—93.

' Compare Achenbach, Haubergs Genossensch often des Siegerlandes, pp. 8, 9. If
the hide meant originally land for a family, it had probably reference to possible
produce rather than to actual area.

systems.

untts.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 119

were all destroyed it would be possible to reproduce them\ B.C. 55—

. . .AD 1066

and it must have been still harder to find convenient units
which it was natural to adopt, and to settle on the method of
multiplying and dividing which gave a suitable system. If
we could ascribe its original purpose to each kind of measure-
ment, we should see what units it is natural to adopt, and
understand how similar units are found in many different
and unconnected regions; on the other hand the mode of Modes of
counting, by threes or tens or twelves, sometimes seems to ^^7a(j(,„,
discriminate from one another some of the distinct tribes o.v
races which inhabited various parts of England at different
times.

Short units of length. A whole series of units which have N'ail,
proved convenient for measuring cloth and other fabrics B.ve'iiand','
derived from the hand and arm ; the nail, the finger, the hand, 1^//"^'^
the ell, and the yard can all be got in this way ; the fathom
is the distance given from tip to tip when the arms are
fully stretched out. That the human frame varies and that
these units were still in want of precise definition, both in
themselves and in relation to one another, is of course
clear enough ; but the fact remains that the original units
of measurement were given by the division of this limb.
On the other hand the primitive definition of these measures
was given in terms of a natural object — three barley corns,
one inch^.

Another series, which are perhaps more used in outdoor Foot, pace.
or building operations, are given by the lower limbs, such as
the foot, and the pace.

Units of area. The measurement of areas of land natu- Acre.
rally bore a close relation to tillage, and the unit is the acre.
This was, roughly speaking, the amount of land which could
be ploughed in a day ; and would of course vary with the
character of the soil and the strength of the team — not to
mention the length of the day ; but somewhat similar areas
came to be precisely defined for each locality by the manner
in which the ploughman set out his work. He ploughed an

1 Jevons, Principles of Science, i. 357.

2 "Which rule is not at all tymes true, For the lengthe of a barlye come of
some tyUage is lenger, and of some tyUage is shorter." R. de Benese, Boke of .
Measurynge Land (1537).

120

EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55—
A.D. 1066.

oblong space, ten times as long as it was broad; the most
common acre was 22 yards across, and the furrow was 220
yajds long ; the breadth was laid out by taking four falls of
a rod which measured 5^ yards ; and thus the acre was
divided into roods.

220 yards

or 4 roods or 66 feet

Various
rods and
acres.

Chain
(acre).

Furlong.
League.

But though this acre was the commonest, there were (and
are) an immense number of local acres, defined by the
length of the rod with which they were laid out. In a
thirteenth century treatise* on estate management, rods of
16, 18, 20, 22 and 2-i feet are mentioned, and the acres
approximately corresponding to some of these still survive
in Cheshire", Ireland and Jersey. The acre in one place
is not the same as the acre in another; but the acre of
each estate was a perfectly definite area of soil to be
ploughed. The normal acre of 220 yards long by 22 wide
was divided into four quarters or roods, each of which was
220 yards long and a rod (5^ yards) wide.

Units of distance derived from measures of area. The
whole acre was sixty-six feet wide, and could be ploughed into
72 furrows ; so that the day's work of the men in ploughing an
acre involved traversing a distance of 7 2 furlongs, or nine miles'.
Hence from this statute acre we can derive several units of
distance ; the breadth of the acre, 22 yards, gives us Gunter's
Chain, and the term acre, as a linear measure, was sometimes
employed in this sense*; the length of the acre gives us
the furrow long or furlong of 220 yards. The term most
commonly used for long distances in Domesday is the league';

1 The anonymous Husbandry in E. Lamond's Walter of Henley, pp. xli, 68.

2 The peculiarities of the Cheshire acre are discussed very fully by Mr A. N.
Palmer in his History of Ancient Tenures in the Marches of Wales, p. 15 and 19 n.
It appears to be derived from an entirely different system of working the land and
to be based on a square rood.

s Walter of Henley, Husbandry, p. 8.

* Eyton, Key to Domesday, Dorset, 27.

5 0. C. PeU in Domesday Studies, i. 271. Even if it was not laid out in this

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 121

it consisted of twelve furlonqs (one mile and a half) and the B.C. 5.5—

AD 1066

day's work of the team in ploughing consisted of six
leagues.

Units of capacity are probably derived from some con-
venient natural object, such as an egg^, a gourd, or a shell ;
but the multiples of these units ordinarily correspond with
measures of area; as it was desirable to make exact
allowance for the quantity of corn which was given out of
the granary for seed. The relation between the two is so Measures
close that in some districts an acre of land is expressed in ^ '
terms of the quantity of seed required to sow it ; thus we
have the firlot-&ov^vag^, four of which make up the holl of
land, a Scotch nomenclature which corresponds to the quart
and gallon. On the other hand these measures of capacity
are correlated with measures of weight^; the tun is an
example of a term which applies to weight, as well as to
capacity (in the case of wine), and it apparently refers to the
same quantity viewed in the distinct aspects of weight and
capacity*. Curiously enough the same term is still used
in Denmark to denote a "tun sowing" of land^ and thus
to estimate area.

50. It has been pointed out above that the English
were acquainted with the use of coinage when they landed
in Britain, but it was also clear that payments in kind and
barter were in vogue after the Conquest. We have evidence Units of
therefore of various units of value during this long period, generally.
and they were derived from the most convenient media of
exchange.

In order that an article may serve as a medium of Any ac-

. , . ... . , ceptable

exchange, there is one quality it must possess — it must be commodity
an object of ordinary desire which is generally taken as mon%^^
payment ; any commodity which is thus acceptable, either

fashion we may note that a strip of land one furlong wide by a league long, gives us
I'JO acres or a Domesday hide. The square league would be an allotment of 12 hides.

1 Ancient Laws of Ireland, lu., Bool:: of Aicill, 335. On a curious mode of
measuring com see above, p. 47, note 1.

2 Statistical account of Scotland, Wick, p. 145.

3 Compare the Assize of Measures (1303), 12 ounces, one pound ; 8 pounds, one
gallon of wine ; 8 gallons of wine, one London bushell, and 8 busheUs one quarter.

* Barlow, Phil. Trans, xli. 457.
» Kelly, Cambist, 77, 78.

122

EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55—
A.D. 10(36.

hut the
precious
metals are
most con-
venient.

Quantities
of silver
which
represented
the value
of cattle

or slaves.

The ox,

solidus
A.D. 786,

from its nature, or as in the case of inconvertible paper
currency by convention, may be used to supply a unit of
value. For purposes of convenience from their portability,
divisibility, uniformity of quality and from the facility for
testing them, coins made of the precious metals have gene-
rally superseded other objects of value as media of exchange ;
but they appear to have been weighed out in quantities
which served to represent one of the more primitive units
of value — which were apparently cattle and slaves. Among
the English as elsewhere cattle and slaves would alwaj's be
taken as payment, and we consequently have estimates of
worth commonly made in terms of cattle, and occasionally in
slaves. There was, however, much inconvenience in such
currency ; it might suffice for large payments but it was not
divisible, and it would not be acceptable to the merchant
who travelled long distances over land or sea. The dif-
ferences in the quality of different oxen rendered them an
uncertain mode of payment, and there were great advantages
in substituting a definite amount of silver as the repre-
sentative of the normal ox. As in ancient Greece and the
other Mediterranean lands, the price of an ox appears from
evidence drawn from a large area^ to be the unit of value,
and the solidus of twelve pence was regarded as the equi-
valent of an ox by Charles, in his dealings with the Saxons \
The ox also corresponded with the mancus in another
system of computation^, though there is no reason to believe
that coins of this denomination were ever issued. The
silver mancus was worth thirty pence* and the shilling in

^ Ridgeway, Origin of Currency and Weight Standards, 124.

* niud notandum est quales debent solidi esse Saxonum: id est, bovem
annoticum utrisque sexus, autumnali tempore, sicut in stabulum mittitur, pro
uno solido: similiter et vemum tempus, quando de stabulo exiit; et deiuceps,
quantum setatem auxerit, tantimi in pretio crescat. De amiona vero botrinis pro
solido uno scapilos quadraginta donant et de sigule viginti. Septemtrionales autem
pro solidum scapilos triginta de avena et sigule quindecim. Mel vero pro solido
botrensi, sigla una et medio donant. Septemtrionales autem duos siclos de meUe
pro uno solido donent. Item ordeum mundum sicut et sigule pro uno solido
donent. In argento duodecim denarios solidum faciant. Et in aUis speciebus ad
istum pretium omnem sestimationem compositionis simt. Capitulare Saxonicum,
11. Migne, xcvn. 202. Pertz, Mon. Germ. m. 76.

8 Dunsetas, Thorpe, i. 357, see also 23.

* ^Ifric, Grammar (Somner, p. 52).

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 123

this system contained five pence. Affaiu in the Brehon B.C. 55—

^ ^ T , , A.D. 1066.

Laws the cow appears as corresponding to the ounce; so that Ounce.
we have three distinct systems in which the unit appears to
be based on the value of cattle \

Similarly the pound may possibly have been selected The slave.
as a unit because it was the silver equivalent of the worth
of a man^; though such a phrase as 'half a pound of
pennies^' would seem to show that it was not a natural
unit of value, but a measure of weight applied to making
large payments of money. In any case, and as a warning
against possible confusion, it is necessary to note that several
distinct modes of computation for money appear to have
been in vogue before the Conquest. Thus we have the
pound divided into (a) twelve ounces of twenty-pence each*, Abound
(6) twenty shillings of twelve-pence each®, (c) forty-eight
shillings of fivepence each®, (d) sixteen ounces of sixteen-
pence containing 30 wheat corns ^

Hence it appears that the smaller measures of weight® Small

weights,

1 Senchus Mor, i. 246. Though the basis is similar in each of these cases, it
does not seem to me possible to explain the relation of each system to the others
by taking this as a common term. The solidus of Charlemagne was 12 penny-
weights of 32 wheat corns each or 384 wheat corns : the mancus was equivalent to
30 similar pennyweights or 960 wheat corns; the Brehon ounce to 576 corns
(Petrie, Bound Towers of Ireland, 214). How similar animals should come to
have such different equivalents in sUver is a problem we may leave on one side,
though at that early time England and Ireland may well have been quite isolated
80 far as cattle breeding is concerned, but the evidence is very strong that the
head of cattle gave the unit in each of these systems.

2 Dunsetas, 7. Thorpe, i. 357. See also Ancient Laws of Wales, 794, 825.
According to the Leges Wallice, n. xvii. 30, 31 and ii. xxii. 13, the price of a
slave was one pound, but of one brought across the sea, a pound and a half.
The slave who was brought from a distance was much less hkely to escape, or
even to attempt it, and was therefore a more valuable property; this principle
still holds good among slave-owners. Slaves must have vaiied in quaUty, and the
quotations of the prices actually paid were sometimes much lower, Turner, Anglo-
Saxons, n. 98 (4to). On the other hand the toll on a man at Lewes {Domesday,
I. 26 a, 1) was eight times as heavy as that on an ox. Navelle, Cochinchine fran-
caise xrn. 302.

8 Turner, Anglo-Saxons, n. 128.

* This is Welsh. Seebohm, Village Oommunity, 204, 292.

6 This mode apphed to Tower Pound and Troy Pound, but the amoimts
differed, the Tower Penny is 22 grains, the Troy 24.

* Alfred and Guthrum, Thorpe, ii. 481. 200 shUlings of five pence make four
pounds and forty pence.

' PeU in Domesday Studies, 238, refers to Inquisitio Eliensis, p. 38, Pampisford.
8 Large measures of weight would be comiected with the amount which could

124

EARLY HISTORY.

natural
units

B.C. 55— could be conveniently derived from weighing out small
■ ■ ■ quantities of the precious metals for payment', and that
units of weight are obtainable from units of value expressed
in terms of gold or silver. The habit of paying by weight
appears to have been in common use at the time of the
Conquest, though payment was sometimes taken by tale,
even then^
The 51. Many of the irregularities in our metric system are

l^l"!.lTi^ ^^ due to the fact that it contains natural units of different
orders, and that it consists to some extent of definitions of
one unit in terms of another. The clearest instance of this is
in the Calendar, where we have three distinct units of time, —
the rotation of the earth, the moon's circuit and the earth's
circuit; as these cannot be adjusted their relations can only
be expressed in fractions. But something similar occurs in
our system of measures of length where the relations of the
rod, or plough unit, and the foot can only be expressed in
fractions. A good illustration of a table of " moneys " which
contain different natural units of value is found in the
Brehon Laws*.

In other cases where the larger measures consist of
multiples and the smaller ones of divisions of a natural unit
it is difficult to account for the practice of one people in
counting by twelves and another by tens; some by fours and
others by threes. Similar modes of counting were applied
to quantities of different sorts.

In weight the ton with its twentieth part divided into
quarters is a similar mode of computing to the smaller
weight of the ounce divided into twenty pennies and far-
things. So in measures of area ; the acre consisting of four
roods of forty perches each is computed in the same fashion

Modes of
com-
putation.

be carried. Definitions of three distinct loads occur in the Assize of Measures,
attributed to 31 Ed. I. These are respectively (a) 1500 lbs. of 240 pence,
[h) 2100 lbs. of 300 pence, and (c) 2100 lbs. of 240 pence. The Load of the Peak
is described as much smaller than the least of these. Compare the phrase cum
duobus curribus de silva, in Domesday i. 199 b, 1, SneUeweUe: also 2 Kings
V. 17.

i Ridgeway, Origin of Currency and Weight Standards, 114.

2 See for example the case of Soham in Cambridgeshire quoted on p. 171 below,
also Escelforde, Domesday, i. 190 a, 1.

* Irish Laws, Senchus Mor, i. 246.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 125

as the two-field carucate of 160 acres. With this a monetary B.C. 5.5—

, ^ r 1 F, 4 1 ■ A.D. 1066.

system corresponds also, as the mark ol 13s. 4a. contains
160 pence \ Similarly the village organisation at Bampton
described above^ is arranged in sixteens, and the use of
this multiple suggests an affinity with the Mercian ounce
of sixteen pence, but it need not extend farther than to
the mode of computation ; they would naturally use the
same method of multiplication for quantities of land and
of money.

52. Domesday Book, in which so many of the incidents
of English life before the Conquest are preserved, also records Units of

,1 -J r 1 x. J. J. Tx J.* u'l • assessment.

the existence oi an elaborate system oi taxation wnicli raises
the question as to the unit of assessment. There had been
various collections of Danegeld in pre-Nornaan* times, and
the Domesday Survey avowedly followed the old precedents.

The hide is the unit of assessment over the greater part Hide.
of England ; this word in its vague original sense referred to
the land which was suitable for a family ; and of course
included arable land and pasturage for the cattle which
worked it^ The quarter of the hide was a virgate. These
terms have no direct relation to land under plough, and as
a unit of assessment the hide was applied in Dorsetshire^
to large tracts of land which may not have been cultivated

1 V. yards di make a perclie in London to mete lands by, and that perche is
XTi fote di longe. In dyvers odur placis in this lande they mete groimde by poUis,
gaddis and roddis som be of xviij foote, som of xx fote and som xxi fote in
length, but of what length soo ever they be Clx perches make an akir, for as a
mark conteyneth Clx pence soo every akir land conteyneth Clx perchies, and as a
noble conteyneth Ixxx pense so half an aker lande conteyneth Ixxx perchis.
The forme and the Mesure to mete land by (time of Ed. IV.) in Louce's Arnold's
Chronicle (1811), p. 173.

The agreement between the two different tables was commonly used as a
means of calculating the size in acres and roods of any piece of land, measured iu
perches. K. de Benese, Bake of Measurynge of Lande,

mark = acre. 4.0d. = 1 rood,

royal (10s.) = 3 roods. lid. — 3 day works,

noble = \ acre. 1 grote = 1 day work.

5s. = 1 rood and v day works. 1 p. = 1 perch.

* See page 39, note.

* Round in Domesday Studies, i. 79.

* Ambreslege. Haec antiquitus pro iii hidis fuit liberata, sicut dicunt cartas de
ecclesia (Evesham). Bed tempore regis Edwardi fuit munerata pro xv hldis inter
sOvam et planum, et tres hidse ex eis sunt liberse. Domesday, 1. 175 b, 2.

5 Eyton, Key to Domesday, Dorset, 13.

126

EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55—
A.D. 1066.

Carucate.

The

Hundred.

at all ; but when applied to arable land, it seems to have
had reference to an area of 120 acres^ Professor Maitland
has made it clear from an examination of entries in Cambridge-
shire, where the total estimate of a village is given, and the
fractional parts are stated as well in terms of virgates and
acres, that the equation 1 hide = 4 virgates = 120 acres holds
good*. This term, which is used as a unit of rateable value,
points us back to a time when shares of lands were allotted
to tribesmen according to the number of the cultivators.
The term which is used, both under the Confessor and the
Conqueror in the Danish parts of England, for the unit of
assessment is carucate, with its eighth the bovate, and this
is obviously derived from the stock which was needed to work
the land*. For the purposes of rating it apparently signified
the same thing as the hide ; but these fiscal terms do not
give us direct light on the actual agricultural conditions of
the villages to which they are applied*.

Other places, and especially the towns, appeared to be
measured by a different unit, the hundred, or half-hundred'^:
it has been suggested with much ingenuity by Mr Round
that these are really multiples of another unit which was

1 Mr Round {Ancient Charters, 68) points out that land at Tillingham, which
is entered in one charter as a hide and a half and ten acres, is also described as
'three holdings of 60 acres plus one of 10 acres.'

2 Domesday Book and Beyond, p. 476.

8 The usual team was eight oxen. Compare the numbers of the teams ou the
Peterborough estates, where eight is most common, though six is also frequent.
Liber Niger (1125-8) in Chronicon Petrohurgense (Camden Society), App. See also
p. 163, n. 3, below. A bovate was the land suitable for the man contributhig an
ox. Round, Domesday Studies, i. 200.

* There has been much ingenious argument based on the supposition that the
land assessed was land under crop, and that we can obtain information as to the
acres under tillage and the acres of fallow from a discriminating examination of
the teiTns of assessment {Cambridge Ant. Soc. Comm., vi. 47, 72). By this
method Dr Taylor attempted to distinguish places in Yorkshire where the three-
field system was in vogue from those where the two-field was practised {Domesday
Studies, I. 157). He argued that a carucate which was worked on the three-field
system and had two fields under crop was assessed as two. But farther exami-
nation has shown that this view is untenable. Steveuson in English Historical
Review, v. 142. Maitland, Domesday Booh and Beyond, 486.

6 The Tribal Hidage of the seventh century was made on this basis, and
cases in the eleventh century seem to show places where the old basis of rating
was retained. Corbett, The Tribal Hidage in Transactions o/ Hoyal Hist. Soc.
XIV. 216.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 127

primarily intended to estimate responsibility for service in B.C. 5.5—
the fyrd. The possessor of five hides was responsible for ' '
sending one man to the host ; this is stated as the custom
in Berkshire, Exeter and Malmesbury*. It may well be
that the towns were assessed in terms of their military re-
sponsibility, which was stated in multiples of five hides ^, and
that this same assessment was taken to serve for their fiscal
responsibility with reference to levies of geld. The town
that was rated as one hundred, would be bound to furnish
twenty soldiers for the fyrd^ and also to pay £10, £5 at
Christmas and £5 at Whitsuntide*, when the geld was levied
at the usual rate of 25. a hide. The term hundred is used
here not to denote an area, but as a mere unit of assessment
for military service and fiscal payments ; though there can
be no doubt that the organisation of the hundred as a terri-
torial and judicial division was much used in connection
with the revenue, and the information in regard to the
rating of each manor was taken according to the oaths of
the men of the hundred.

There is another term in Domesday which might at first The manor
sight appear to be a unit of assessment ; for we read that cLn^? of
land was held pro ii maneriis^; this however, as Professor ^''2/'«««f-
Maitland suggests®, more probably describes the channel
of payment, and has no direct bearing on the amount of
payment. Manors were of most various sizes, and of very
different values ; but the owner of each manor, big or small,
might well be responsible for the payment of the Danegeld
for that estate. This too would explain part of the relation

1 EoTind in Domesday Studies, i. 120. 2 Ranks. Thorpe, i. 191.

8 Bedeford tempore regis Edwardi pro dimidio liundredo se defendebat, et mode
facit in expeditione et in navibus. Terra de hac villa nunquam fuit hidata.
Domesday, i. 209 a, 1.

* Very severe measures were taken with anyone who was not punctual in
paying at the terms. Under Cnut persons four days in arrears with their taxes
were hable to f oi-f eit their lands, and ' wita ' appears to have been a payment in
lieu of forfeiture. Round, in Domesday Studies, i. 89.

5 Eidmerlege. Uhnar et Ulchetel tenuerunt pro ii Maneriis et poterant ire
quo volebant. Domesday, 1. 176 a, 2.

6 Select Pleas, Manorial {Selden Society), i. xl. There is a curious entry regard-
ing Neweton between the Ribble and the Mersey. Hujus Manerii aUam terram
XV homines quos drenchs vocabant pro xv maneriis tenebant, sed hujus manerii
berewichea erant, et inter omnes xxx solidos reddebant. Domesday, i. 269 b, 2.

128

EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55—
A.D. 1066.

Faetlitits
for

foreign
trade.

Fixed
customs.

between the free tenants and the lord of the manor ; if he
was responsible in the first instance for their fiscal payments
they would form part of the manor as a ' unit of geldability/
even if the lord had no other claims upon them, and they
owed him no military service. We may thus think of the
hide (or carucate) as the unit of assessment, and of the
manor as the local organ, through which payments were made.

53. The fact that the English had come to require
and make use of definite measures of all sorts is one of the
most obvious proofs of the progress of society ; they were in
possession of the skill and terminology by which men are able
to drive a bargain with precision. This would be of use for
all the purposes of daily life, and for the internal trade at
little markets, but there is other evidence which shows that
there were increased facilities for foreign trade as well.

a. The improvement in this respect is partly parallel to
the changes which have been noticed above, where personal
duties gave place to specified obligations which were incident
to the possession of property ; in a somewhat similar fashion
the position of the foreign trader was rendered definite and
his obligations were limited and became precise as customs.

The kings at first exercised a personal protection over the
few chapmen who wandered about the country, a protection
which Charles the Great assured to English merchants ; but
they could hardly hope to obtain this favour if they came
empty handed. It is thus that English traders in the
present day have to secure their footing in half barbarous
countries by presents and bribes ; it is an immense advantage
to them, as it was to early merchants here, when regular and
fixed rates of tolls are substituted for these gifts. This im-
proved practice had been partially introduced in the eleventh
century, as we know the tolls which were charged at
Billingsgate in the time of ^Ethelred^.

1 Dooms of London {Laws of Ethelred, iv. § 2), Thorpe, i. 300. Tolls were
demanded at inland towns as well as at seaports. " Wainsbilling " and "load
penny" at Worcester (899) are described as dues that always go to the king
and cannot therefore be remitted or assigned by an alderman (Thorpe, Dip.
Ang. 138). But these were sometimes granted by the king, as e.g. Edgar granted
(978) the market dues at Taunton to the See of Winchester (Thorpe, Dip. Ang.
235) ; or as Cnut did to Canterbury (102.3) : " And I give to the same mouasteiy

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 129

h. Besides providing for the protection of the trader the B.C. 55—
Anglo-Saxon dooms also contain much legislation in regard ^'^^
to commercial crime. Business had to be conducted publicly^ merciai

■"• "^ cnme.

before witnesses, as there was no means of giving a regular
receipt, and it might often have been difficult for a man
to prove that he had not stolen a purchased article unless his
statement was supported by testimony ; hence the obligation
of trading "in port." But there was danger of dishonesty in
rural occupations also ; horses or cattle might be stolen and
hence it was necessary for men who wished to live at peace
to form associations for mutual aid in the pursuit of nefarious
persons. The regulations for the City of London are very Gilds.
interesting^, and those of the Cambridge gild are worth
noting also^ These were less concerned with the recovery
of property than with enforcing due money penalties for
manslaughter and personal injuries. It is most unfortunate
that the ordinances of the cnighten gild, which existed in
London in the time of Henry I.* and of the similar gilds
in Canterbury^ and Winchester®, have not been preserved.

for the subsistence of the same monks, the haven of Sandwich, and aU the
landings and dues of both sides of the stream, let own the land whoever owns
it, from Peppeness to Marfleet; so that when it is full flood, and the ship is
afloat, as far as a taper axe can be cast from the ship upon the land, let the

ministers of Christchurch receive the dues And theirs shall be the ship, and

the ferry over the haven, and the toU of all ships... and all that which is found
on this side of the middle of the sea, and brought to Sandwich, be it a garment,
be it a net, or a weapon, or iron, gold or silver, the half part shall be for the
monks and the other part shall be for him who finds it " (Thorpe, Dip. Aug. 317).
On tolls at later periods, see pp. 217, 277.

1 Laxos of Edward, i. Thorpe, i. 159. Laws of Atheist an, 10, 12. Thorpe,
I. 205. Laws of Edgar, Supplement, 8. Thorpe, i. 275. Special care was taken
in regard to certain classes of goods, such as cattle and old clothes, where the
presumption of theft was particularly strong. Laws of Edward the Confessor, 38.
Thorpe, i. 461.

2 ^thelstan's Laws, v. Thorpe, i. 229. It is at least doubtful whether these
judicia are properly described as gild ordinances. Dr Gross [Gilda Mercatoria, 11)
treats them as poUce regulations imposed fi-om above, not framed by the members
of an association or gild for themselves. In later times it was not uncommon for
the rules of a craft gild made by the members to be enforced by the weight of
municipal authority.

3 Cooper's Annals, i. 11. The ordinances of the gilds which existed early in
the eleventh century at Exeter, Woodbury and Abbotsbury show that they were
primarily reUgious organisations for providing masses for the souls of deceased
brethren.

* Rymer, Fcedera, i. 11. Compare Unwin, CHlds of London, 23.

5 Kemble, Codex Dipl. n. 83.

6 Liber Winton, 1 {Domesday Book, in. 531). See below, p. 219.

C. H. 9

180

EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55—
A.D. 1066.

Trade
policy.

Beffttla-
iions.

There is some incidental and circumstantial evidence^ which
goes to show that they were really gilds of merchants^ and
they may have been the germs of the gilds merchant, which
were established in so many towns in the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries.

c. There are also some slight indications of a trade policy:
so far as exports were concerned, the chief desire was that we
should not part with them too easily. It seemed a pity that
valuable goods should go to foreigners except on terms that
were really remunerative. The weigh ^ of wool was to be sold
for 120 pence; and if any was sold at a cheaper rate, both
the buyer and seller were to forfeit 46 shillings to the king*.
In all probability wool was even then a principal article of
export; it is enumerated in Henry of Huntingdon's account
of the valuable products of England^; and the fact that the
fleece was worth | of the sheep ^ seems to show that wool-
growing was very profitable. We shall come across many
instances of similar laws protecting native products in after
times^

The one surviving set of regulations for the transactions
of foreign merchants is also of great interest, as it indicates
a scheme of policy that was enforced for many centuries.
The foreigner was only to sell wholesale ^ and he was not
to interfere with the employments of native Englishmen
by engaging in any work which the citizens were wont to

1 Dr Gross, who has called attention to the passages referred to in the text,
has treated the whole subject very carefully in his Oilda Mercatoria, pp. 19 — '25
and 93. He shows that the term cnight was commonly used as the designation of
townsmen in charters, along with the Portgerefa. The connection of the London
gild with Portsoken ward is also of interest.

2 Somner, Antiquities of Canterbury, (Ed. Batteby) i. 179. In an exchange
of land between the gUd and Chi-istchurch, the gild is described as the cnights
at Canterbury or ceapmann gild.

8 The weigh was half a sack; the sack consisted of twenty-eight (or thu-ty)
stone of 12i lbs. Assize of Measures, 31 Ed. I.

* Laws of Edgar, u. 8. Thoi-pe, i. 271. The settmg of a fixed minimum of
price for an export is worth notice at this early date ; the same poUcy was
afterwards enforced by parliament, and also by Merchant Companies, pp. 314, 416.

5 See below, p. 196.

6 Craik, Pictorial History of England, i. 265, 275.
1 See below, pp. 308, 438, also above, p. 78, n. 4.

8 Not less than twelve pounds of pepper or spices, and cloths of silk, wool or
linen were to be sold in the piece.

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 131

do, or by taking up retail traded This interesting set of B.C. 55—
dooms is chiefly concerned with defining the liberties of ' ' '
the townsmen and protecting them against the abuses of
royal power; but we also learn that the position of the
foreign merchant was not wholly uncertain and merely
dependent on the personal favour of the monarch and the
protection it afforded. The Rouen merchants who brought Aliens.
wine had secured definite conditions for the exercise of their
calling, and the Men of the Emperor had obtained a factory
in London with special commercial immunities. In this case,
as well as when rights over fairs and markets were granted
to special proprietors, the royal control of trade came to be
exercised under the form of proprietary grants, and the
royal demands were rendered precise when they were ex-
pressed as specific obligations.

54. The practice of exchange had gone so far, at the time Trade
of the Confessor, that it had greatly affected the structure of division of
society. Regular intercourse would soon undermine the self- 1'^^^°^'
sufficiency of the separate communities : tiie mere fact that
coinage was coming more and more into circulation shows
that trade was becoming more general. The increase of
trade, too, gave opportunity for more specialisation and greater
division of employments. An early example of reflections on
the combination of employments and its advantages is to be
found in Archbishop .^Ifric's Colloquium^, which was written Before a.d.
for the purpose of instructing English boys in the Latin tongue.
It is a dialogue between the teacher and a number of men
who were engaged in work of different kinds. It gives us a
vivid picture of the day's work of the ploughman and his boy,
with all he had to do, as well as the duties of the oxherd, who
tended the cattle at night in the pasture. We read also of
the king's hunter, who took game with nets and also hunted
with dogs; he was provided with food and clothing and a
horse by his royal master. There was a fisherman, too, who
fished in the rivers and found a good market in the towns,
but who rarely went on the sea and was too timorous to try
to catch a whale. There was a hawker, as well as a merchant,

1 Laws of Edward the Confessor, Libertas Civitatum, Thorpe, i. 464.
* Thoi-pe, Analecta Anglo-Saxonica, \). 101.

9—2

132 EARLY HISTORY.

B.C. 55— who boasted that he was of service to the king, and the
alderman, and the wealthy, and all the people, for he went in
his ship, with his goods, and bought precious things^ which
were not native to England, and brought them across, despite
the perils of the deep and the risks of shipwreck. And when
he brought them he tried to sell them for more here than he
paid there, so that he might have some gain and support his
wife and son. The salt maker, the baker, and the cook follow; a
group of artisans is next introduced, and the question is pro-
pounded, Which is the best of crafts ? The reply is tillage,
since the ploughman feeds us all. But the smith objects
that he is more necessary, since he supplies the ploughshare,
and the coulter, and goad, and indeed the implements for
every craft. The wright puts in his claims to preeminence,
and the discussion is closed by the wise man, who repeats his
view, as to the primary importance of tillage, while he exhorts
them all to be diligent in their respective callings. In this
interesting picture of eleventh century society we see that
there were such facilities for exchange that the division of
employments could be carried out to some extent, while at
the same time the inter-connection of these employments
and the necessity of their harmonious working for the
common good are clearly recognised.

We have also an interesting statement, from pre-Norman
times, of the end which all these various callings seemed
to subserve. King Alfred has left on record his views of
national prosperity and of the means by which the king
should strive to attain it. The passage is introduced in his
translation of Boethius^. " When Wisdom had sung this lay,
he was silent, and the mind then answered and thus said ;

0 Reason, indeed thou knowest that covetousness, and the
greatness of this earthly power, never well pleased me, nor
did I very much yearn after this earthly authority. But
nevertheless, I was desirous of materials for the work which

1 was commanded to perform ; that was, that I might
honourably and fitly guide and exercise the power which

1 He imported purple, silk, gems, gold, dyed stuffs, dyes, wine, oil, ivoi-y,
latten, brass, tin, sulphur and glass.

2 Boeihius, I. c. 17 in King Alfred's Works, u. 452 (Jubilee ed.).

ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRUCTURE. 133

was committed to me. Moreover, thou knowest that no B.C. 55—
man can shew any skill, or exercise or control any power,
without tools, and materials. That is of every craft the
materials, without which man cannot exercise the craft.
This then, is a king's material and his tools to reign with ;
that he have his land well peopled ; he must have bead-men,
and soldiers, and workmen. Thou knowest that without
these tools no king can shew his craft. This is also his
materials which he must have beside the tools ; provision for
the three classes. This is, then, their provision ; land to
inhabit, and gifts, and weapons, and meat, and ale, and
clothes, and whatsoever is necessary for the three classes.
He cannot without these preserve the tools, nor without the
tools accomplish any of those things which he is commanded
to perform. Therefore I was desirous of materials wherewith
to exercise the power, that my talents and fame should not "^
be forgotten, and concealed. For every craft and every
power soon becomes old, and is passed over in silence, if it
be without wisdom; for no man can accomplish any craft,
without wisdom. Because whatsoever is done through
folly, no one can ever reckon for craft. This is now
especially to be said ; that I wished to live honourably
whilst I lived, and after my life to leave to the men who
were after me, my memory in good works."

Of King Alfred it may certainly be said that he attained
the object of his noble ambition ; but his whole view of state-
craft, and of the duty of a king to interest himself actively
in all the different sides of national life, is in itself in-
structive, and may help us to understand the immense
influence for good and for evil, which was exercised by the
crown in subsequent reigns.

II. FEUDALISM.

I. The Norman Conquest and its Effects.

A.D.iOGfi 55. In a preceding paragraph an attempt has been

j^g "" made to trace the gradual change by which, both in the
dements of kingdom and the manor, personal ties developed into pro-
prietary obligations. The whole social fabric was kept to-
gether by a number of contracts between different holders
of land ; the land which was commended to a powerful neigh-
bour was secured from other aggressors by a contract; the
office which was granted to a judge or a sheriff was held
under terms of a contract ; the gebur's tenure of land was
a contract between the manorial lord and his serf, in terms
of land and service. Such is the form under which these
various social relationships can be described ; but oppor-
tunities of revising the terms of any of these bargains rarely
occurred ; men were generally forced to accept a position
which had been defined long before they were bom and
which they could do little or nothing to improve. The
main desire of the trader or agriculturist was that of
having a clearly defined position, as this afforded a security
against the arbitrary exercise of irresponsible power. Each
individual among the people had a definite status, deter-
mined by his relations to other individuals ; and hence they
composed, not a community, nor a tribe, still less a nation,
a feudal but a feudal system in which each man took his place,
^ys em. ^^^ through ties of blood or loyalty, still less through citizen-

EFFECTS OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 135

ship but in accordance with inherited and forced, rather a.d. iog6

^' — 1212.

than free, contracts.

The mere attempt to portray the characteristics of a
feudal system brings into light its grave defects — defects Jts defects.
which soon called forth antagonistic influences. Indeed the
reaction was at work from such an early time that it is
probably more correct to say that there was an active feudal-
ising tendency, of which the effects still survive, than to
speak of feudalism as a system, — for the system was breaking
up before it was completely formed. In the times when the
tendency first showed itself, there was no sufficient public
protection ; men had to seek security by agreement with
their neighbours ; there was no sufficient machinery for
guarding the realm or administering justice; for national
enthusiasm or public spirit, there was no place in a feudal
system^ Such a system was necessarily only a passing stage
of social progress ; had the national life been permanently
confined by its naiTOw restrictions, no great material achieve-
ments could ever have been accomplished. For growth
and development imply change ; the feudal contracts would
have so fettered individuals as to check all energy and
enterprise-.

There can be little doubt that feudalism gave far greater The Ung'g
securities for person and property than there had been before ^"^
it arose; but it is to be noticed that, when it had once be-
come an organised social system, the whole of its working
depended to an extraordinary extent on the personal character
of its head.

Up till the time of Cnut there had been a gradual ex- a.d. ioi7.
tension of the royal power ; in the Norman reigns we see it
reaching its greatest vigour; the first William checked the
tendency for the great feudatories to become independent of
the king, and made the relationship of each subject to the
crown to be clearly felt ; the Domesday Book with its con-
stantly repeated " quando recepit " marks the beginning of

1 G. W. F. Hegel, Philosopliy of History, 385.

2 The deleterious eifeets of many traditional covenants in fai-m leases — as to
tlie course to be adopted, &c. — are becoming generally recognised, and are an
instance, on a small scale, of the evil noted in the text.

1154.

136 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 this definite assertion of royal authority over all conditions of

"" * men in the land, and of royal interest in the details of their
circumstances. The king is the centre of the whole, and it is
by their relationship to him that the various tenants in chief
are connected together; with each the king has a definite
compact — such possessions held in return for such services.
Looking back on this feudal system we find that it worked
so differently in different reigns that it is impossible to
appraise it as good or as bad ; when we see what society

A.D. 1135— became at the times, such as Stephen's reign, when the
authority of the king was set at nought^ and the whole
fabric fell to pieces in consequence, Ave are inclined to pass
a judgment^ on the tyranny of William different from that
which we should pronounce if we contrasted his rule with
government by a modern constitutional monarch.

Of all the cant which is current in the present day about
history, none is more pernicious than that which professes to
be concerned, not with kings and battles, but with the life
of the people, and so discards the story of real personages
and real events in order to busy itself about an abstraction.
It is true indeed that in modern times the life of the
people can be treated apart from the consideration of the

TheUng's personal character of George IV. or William IV. But in
the Norman reigns this was not the case ; security for person
and property, intercourse with other nations and commercial
advance were directly connected with the personal character
of the king ; the life of the people was most deeply affected
in every way by the strength or weakness of his disposition.
It would be interesting to try to explain the reasons of this

1 "When the traitors perceived that he was a mild man, and a soft and a good,

and that he did not enforce justice, they did all wonder Every rich man

built his castles and defended them against him, and they filled the land full of
castles. They greatly oppressed the wretched people by making them work at
these castles, and when the castles were finished they filled them with devils and
evil men. Then they took those whom they suspected to have any goods, by night
and by day, seizing both men and women, and they put them in prison for their
gold and silver, and tortured them with pains unspeakable, for never were any
martyrs tormented as they were." English Chronicle, 1137 (Bohn's Series).

" English Chronicle, 1087, see also on Henry I. " He was a good man and great
was the awe of him; no man durst ill treat another in his time: he made peaca
for men and deer." English Chronicle, 1135,

EFFECTS OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 137

change, and to show why the personality of the king which a.d. io66
was so all important long ago is of comparatively little
moment now ; but it is merely idle to ignore the fact, or to
try to understand the history of the Norman reigns without
taking it into account.

We may fully believe that feudalism was the best social
system possible in England in the eleventh century ; but the
very fact that it was so, marks the extraordinary difference
between that age and this. Nowadays the free play of indi- Little
vidual self-interest is assumed in commercial arrangements, ir^h-idual
and this force has given the greatest possible incentive to the ^'*'*''^''**^
development of industry by inventions, and of commerce by
enterprise ; the main principle of much commercial legislation
in this country has been that of giving free scope to this
individual, self-interested activity. But for this the social
system gave no scope whatever during the Norman reigns;
there could be but little desire of accumulation when the
ever-recurring tallages, aids and fines, were sure to empty
the hoards that had been filled during several preceding
years. There could be no enterprise in seeking out a new in agH-
line of life, for each villain was bound to the land, and no '

lord would willingly part with his services ; there could be no
high farming while the custom of the manor and the col-
lective ownership of the teams forced all to adopt the same
system^ Even in trade, there was little opportunity oHiidrntry
raising oneself, for the prices of articles of native production
for which there would be much competition were regulated
by authority^; and merchants too were subject to special or iracfe.
risks, or to special fines for protection, as well as to heavy
trading dues. If the royal authority was a key-stone for the
whole social fabric, it is not less true that the condition of
industry and commerce was directly affected by the royal
decisions ; the initiative in progress, where progress was
made, lay far less with individual traders than with the king
himself.

The story of the reigns of William's two sons brings into wnuam
clear light the extraordinary influence which the personal

1 On the break-up of this system see below, p. 397-

2 At least in accordance with legal regulations ; see below, p. 250.

138 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 character of the kins: exercised on the whole condition of
A.D. 1087— society and on every relation of life. The Red King, with
1100. gQjQg chivalroua benevolence, yet fearing neither God nor

man, made the most of every occasion for extortion which
K.D. 1094. the ingenuity of Ranulf Flambard was able to devise, so as
to support a body of mercenaries and to defray the cost of
A.D. 109-2. building gi-eat castles and defences at Chepstow, Carlisle, and
elsewhere. The military obligations, to which the tenants
had become liable under the Conqueror, were more stringently
demanded; what was implied in the whole Domesday Survey,
but never stated there, was now logically expanded and
ruthlessly enforced. The feudal system of taxation was
that of giving aid as occasion demanded, and the art of
the crown advisers consisted in making occasions. So too
each great office, supported as it was by revenues of some
kind or another, was looked upon as a possession granted
by the king, and for the bestowal of which he might fairly
demand a relief; the public responsibilities of officers of state
were unthought of, and the sacred calling of priests and
bishops was ignored^ The worst abuses of the reign of the
Red Bang are recorded in the charter^, in which Henry I.
specifies the evils he will seek to remedy.
mnnj I. In the reign of a wise administrator like Henry I, we

1135, ~~ find that all this is completely changed ; it was in him to
develop a well-organised and firm government, so that the
people might be at peace while the king profited by their
immunity from violence. The exactions of Henry were per-
haps more oppressive, in a sense, than even those of Rufus,
since they were more frequent ; for the large occasional aids
of these times were not supposed to fall upon income, but
to be drawn from the accumulated hoards of several seasons.

1 On the death of a bishop the revenaes were treated as escheating to the king,
of whom he held his ofiSce.

2 " 1. Sciatis me Dei misericordia et communi consilio baronum totins regni
Angliae ejusdem regni regem coronatum esse ; et quia regnum oppressum erat
injustis exactiouibus, ego, Dei respectu et amore quem erga vos habeo, sanctam
Dei ecclesiam imprimis liberam facio, ita quod nee vendam, nee ad firmam ponam,
nee mortuo archiepiscopo sive episcopo sive abbate aliquid accipiam de dominico
ecclesiiB vel de hominibus ejus donee successor in earn ingredietur. Et omnes
malas consuetndines quibus regnum AngUse iajuste opprimebatur tnde aufero;
quas malas consuetudines ex parte hie pouo: " &c. Stubbs, Select Charters, p. 100.

EFFECTS OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 139

Yet even in spite of all this the Lion of Justice did so far a.d. io66
maintain security for life and property as to give more
favourable conditions for industry than had been known for
many preceding years. It was thus that the needed initia-
tive was taken by the king, and that trade began to thrive.
If the king profited, it was because of the comparative pros-
perity of the people under his rule ; and when the terrible
anarchy of the so-called reign of Stephen was over, the same
course was pursued by Henry II.

It is in the reigns of the second Henry and his sons that ^enry ii.
we see the crown attaining to its highest pitch of irrespon- lisb.
sible power ; his governing is no longer the reckless self- irrespomi-
assertion of a tyrant like Rufus, but an unfettered sway by
the head of a great social system, of which all the parts were
completely subordinated to himself. This result was partly
attained by the commutation of the personal knightly
service, which had been expected in the preceding reigns
from those who held land by military tenure, for the pay-
ment of scutage, with which the king could maintain a more Scutage.
regular army. A somewhat similar change had taken place
with regard to other contributions for military purposes ; it
had begun when ^thelred levied geld, to hire mercenaries, Danegdd.
instead of calling out the national host\ Each demand for
Danegeld was practically based on the duty of assisting to
repel an invader ; and though the excuse for the levy of sti-
pendiary Danegeld ceased under the Confessor, the people
were still liable to the old obligation of assisting to defend
the realm. In the first Norman reign it was levied on
several occasions; and in 1084 at the treble rate of six
shillings per hide ; Rufus took a geld of four shillings per
hide in 1096, and his successors were able to extort the tax
annually. When Henry II. obtained money in lieu of
knightly service, he rendered the crown more free from
the recurrence of embarrassments, such as those which
had prevented Harold from keeping his levies together on
the south coast or had stood in William's way when he called
his barons to aid him in his crusade for a kingdom.

The feudal system in England was in form one of

1 On the whole subject see Kound in Domesday Stiulies, i. p. 77.

140 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 contracts between the king as centre of the whole, and each
~ "" of his tenants ; but there Avas no public opinion to determine
the contracts, and no public authority to see that they were
truly carried out on both sides ; nor did any of his successors
show the same conscientiousness in trying to be fair, as is
evidenced for us in the pages of William's Survey. When
the tenants were able to elude the performance of their
Anarchy, obligations, society fell into a state of anarchy ; when the
king was strong enough to hold his own, he was strong
enough to defy resistance and to strain the obligations of the
barons in his own favour — he was practically irresponsible.
Thus the period of feudalism was not so stagnant as the
nature of the system might have led us to expect ; there was
a constant change from anarchy to irresponsible monarchy,
and from irresponsible monarchy to anarchy. Through the
whole of this political ferment new ideas began to spread,
till new social forces made themselves felt, and new institu-
tions arose.
Norman 56. The modifications, which were introduced during

"j^'^"'*"''^'^ the Norman reigns, into the administrative system, were
undoubtedly due in many cases to the influence of Norman
advisers or to the experience which had been gathered in the
government of that duchy. This is most clearly seen in the
constitution of the Exchequer^ and the limitations which
were put on the power of the great feudatories ; but there
has sometimes been a tendency to exaggerate these changes
and to speak as if William the Conqueror introduced the
feudal system into England. A social system cannot be
introduced like a new fashion from France, and it had been
growing for generations in England before his time. Most
A.D. 1017. important steps had been taken under Cnut. Till his reign
we may trace the absorption of authority into the kingly
office ; from his time onward we may rather notice the
leasing out of royal rights to particular individuals, and
for particular districts. It was he who reorganised the
national system of defence on a basis of contract, while his
forest laws anticipated much of the regulation that is popu-
larly ascribed to the Conqueror.

1 Matlox. Exchequer, iv. §§ 4, 5.

EFFECTS OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 141

The changes made by William of Normandy were not A.D. 1066
forced upon the country generally, but were introduced Ty^aw/
whenever the death of the tenant or his participation in any among the
of the rebellions, including resistance to the original invasion, holders
gave occasion for the redistribution of the soil. Such lands
were then granted on the condition of military service, while
the Danegeld was exacted again, and more frequently than
before ; the military resources of the country were thus
immensely increased ; but it is rather true to say that a
military direction was given to the existing feudalism than
that the Normans introduced the feudal system. A glance at
a page of Domesday Book will certainly show that a very large
number of landholders had been dispossessed on one pretext
or other; all, except ecclesiastical corporations, who con-
tinued to hold their lands, did so because they were reinstated
in them by the king; but the terms on which land was
held were never arbitrarily altered. We thus get important
evidence to show how far the process of feudalisation had
gone before the death of the Confessor. By far the larger
number of sochemanni in Cambridgeshire had been bound to
render avera and inward, or to pay a composition ; and the
relation of Earl Harold to Edward is very parallel to that of
Earl Alan to William.

The Conqueror modified the character of English feudal- and in the

11- j_ 1 nn • 1 r^ 1 terms of

ism by takmg steps to secure the enective control 01 the teyiure.
crown over the military resources of the land. He would have
no great feudatories like the house of Godwin under Edward,
or Edwin and Morcar under Harold; a strict limit was placed
on the powers assigned to the most trusted favourite, and a
direct relationship established between each of the numerous
smaller tenants and the king himself \ He did not commit
more than one county to the hands of any single earl, and he
gave real authority to the sheriffs in each shire. The success
of this policy can be best seen by comparing the histories of
the kings of England and of Scotland or France. The Scottish
crown never kept the great families in real subjection ; but
it was only by unusually persistent combinations, or at times

* Freeman, Norman Conquest, v. 366.

142

FEUDALISM.

A.D. lOCG
—1272.

Commen-
dations.

A.D. 1290.

Changed
relations
with the
Continent.

A.D. 401—
871.

A.D. 960.

A.D. 1017

of special weakness, that the barons were able to resist or
control an English king.

That the feudal system was not brought from abroad and
imposed from above becomes still clearer when we fix our eyes
more closely on the evidence of the felt necessity for commit-
ting one's life and property to the protection of another ; the
extension of the king's ' peace ' and of the jurisdiction of his
officers have been noted aboveS along with other signs of
this tendency ; while in later days people were only too glad
to buy a measure of exemption and to treat for the right to
manao-e their own affairs. Not only was regal protection
sought after; freemen commended themselves to a lord of
the manor while preserving a measure of their freedom ; or
laymen made over their property to a monastery in order to
have the advantage of the exemptions which Church lands
enjoyed ; this tendency was at work and gave occasion for
special legislation in the reign of Edward I. A system
which was the natural outcome of such deeply rooted and
widely operative tendencies Avas certainly no foreign im-
portation.

On the other hand it is hardly possible to exaggerate the
importance of the new factors that were brought into play by
the close connection which now subsisted between England
and the Continent. From the time when the Romans left
Britain, till the days of Alfred, England had been almost
entirely isolated from the rest of the civilised world; the
occasional visits of merchants and the journeys of eccle-
siastics were, after all, few and far between. The energies
of Alfred and the reforms of Dunstan had done something to
check the decay, and to enliven the stagnant energies ; but
England was not really recalled from its isolation till it was
absorbed in the great Danish empire, and made to partake in
the commerce and adventure of the Northmen. Though this
life was fresh and vigorous, it was in some ways ruder than
our own ; and the Norman Conquest is more important
than the Danish, not so much because it introduced a new
and fresher element, as because it brought us in closer contact
with all that was best in Christendom at the time.

1 See above, §§ 43, 47.

. EFFECTS OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 143

Of all races in Europe the Normans were most fitted to a.d. io66
play this part ; the conquerors of Neustria had been too few to '^f^'^'^' '
introduce many usages of their own, but they admired and Normans.
appropriated the culture of the people over whom they had
gone to rule. The original stock differed little from that of
the Danes ; the Normans, too, had been pirates and adven-
turers ; they had, however, ceased to be mere pirates when they
obtained the power in England. Still, the spirit of adventure
was not dead among them ; they found their way to Sicily a.d. 1029.
and the Mediterranean, and they were foremost among the
Crusaders. It was chiefly because England had become the
possession of the Normans, that she was drawn out of her
isolation to take a place among the nations and have a part
LQ the life of Christendom.

Even in this matter also we may notice the importance Personal
of the personal characters of the kings and of their dynastic dltastic
relationships. William the Conqueror had married Matilda ^'''"'^^cnoHs,
of Flanders, and the first great immigration of foreign
artisans was partly determined by the fact that the Flemish
weavers hoped to find a protectress in the queen ; Richard's
ambition as a crusader, John's failure in his continental
schemes and, more than all, his homage to the Pope, had no
little effect in determining the course of English progress ;
while the spasmodic piety of the third Henry had much to do
with attracting the colonies of religious men who set them-
selves to repair the destruction which William had made
when he devastated Yorkshire. In each reign we have new
foreign connections, and new foreign elements introduced.
Some remained alien, like the favourites of Henry, and were
at length expelled from English soil ; but others were as-
similated so as to become part and parcel of the English
people, and to be important elements in the development of
English industry and commerce.

It may not be fanciful to compare the economic changes Analogy
which took place at the Norman Conquest through the advent westem
of foreign rulers to England, with those that have occurred in ^-^i^dia.
India under the British government. We have created an
effective rule over all parts of that Empire ; and the establish-
ment of one centre of supreme administration, as a power

144 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 10G6 which makes itself felt in every part of the land, bears some
~~'^'^''^- analogy to that which worked in English as compared with
Continental feudalism. India has been suddenly brought in
contact with Western civilisation. English arts and inven-
tions are being introduced on every side and are trans-
forming the character of the native workmanship and
economic institutions. While the probable social and moral
effects of this sudden revolution are most difficult to
Economic forecast, there can be no doubt of the extraordinary way
^'^^"' in which the country has been opened up and its resources

have been developed. English fashions and furniture are
preferred by enlightened rulers ; and buildings for the
English officials and their native imitators are rising in every
station and in many cities. All this has some analogy with
the time when the Normans flocked here and the great period
TJte era of of church building began ; there has been so much rebuilding
building, at different times, so much destruction at others, that it is
difficult for us to form any conception of the actual amount
of masons' work that was accomplished under the Normans
and early Plantagenets ; the abbeys and cathedrals which
were erected then may be counted by tens, and the parish
churches by thousands. Anyone who will take a single
county and look for evidences of Norman, Transitional and
Early-English work may easily convince himself with his own
eyes that this is no exaggeration. And as we instinctively
feel that activity in the erection of new buildings is a sure
sign of the prosperity of a town or village now, we may infer
that an age when so many admirable stone buildings were
completed, for civil and military as well as for ecclesiastical
purposes, in so many different places, was on the whole a
time of general prosperity.
Moral .57. The foreign influence was also effective in forming

new moral sentiments ; the field was w^ell prepared for their
growth, for human nature could not be strictly tied down
within the limits prescribed by the feudal system ; and when
the obligations of vassals were wrongfully strained by E-ufus
or later kings, who took full advantage of their irresponsibility,
all that was best in human nature was set in antagonism to
the social system. The force of reaction gave scope for the

EFFECTS OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 145

religious and the adventurous spirits of the time ; but both A.D. loee
had grown to be considerable powers in continental countries, ~

o _ '■ ' Kepresston

and especially in France. In that land the royal power had of private
not hitherto made itself eflfectively felt; anarchy like that
of Stephen's reign was the normal condition of affairs, since
private war between the barons never ceased. The king's TheUng's
peace was not respected, and there were no royal tribunals to
punish breaches of it ; whatever security was gained for the
husbandman and the plough, for" the weak and unprotected,
was gained by the struggle of the Church to maintain the
peace of God\ In so far as the warfare of the barons was
kept within limits, it was through the establishment of the
truce of God on several days in each week, and many weeks The truce.
in each year. In France these ecclesiastical customs declined, "-^ " '
when, with the growth of the regal power, and other means for
attaining the same ends, the need of them was no longer felt ;
for precisely similar reasons they had never been required in
England. The religious spirit was not called on to create Religious
means for controlling the barons in our land ; but it did find *^"'**-
scope in taking a stand against the conduct of the kings.
This gives an abiding interest to the career of S. Anselm ; he a.d. io93.
made a protest against the practice of treating all offices as
possessions held of the king on the king's terms ; he felt that
he had a greater responsibility than that of satisfying the
king ; and his struggle about the symbol of investiture was a
declaration that such duties as his must be discharged with
reference to right, not in mere accordance with his contract
with a king.

Yet after all, this earnest feeling had not sufficient force Ecde-
to bring about any marked step in social advance; thef^rig!"^
severance of the ecclesiastical and civil courts, as well as the *^*<'**°"-
attempt to enforce the rules of Christian jurisprudence by
clerical judges and ecclesiastical sanctions, was on the whole
a failure ; the effectiveness of the courts was destroyed by
the intrusion of archdeacons, and the expense of appeals
to Rome. There was no important social change in
England itself which can be directly ascribed to the new
spiritual earnestness in the English Church ; for our purpose

1 Semichon, La paix et la treve de Dieu, i. 36.
C. H. 10

146

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066

—1272.

Papal cor-
ruption.

A.D. 1154.

Spirit of
adventure,

A.D. 1147.

The
Crusades.

it may be regarded as a mere sentiment which scarcely led
to any positive result, unless when, combined with other
factors, it served as an additional incentive. It was also
weakened by the English jealousy of foreign interference, and
by the corruptions of the rulers who had most power in the
matter ; for the papacy, instead of rising to its opportunities,
was being dragged down to the level of the secular policy of
the day. Realms were treated as fiefs which the pope granted
to kings on definite terms ; there was no fundamental differ-
ence between the grant of Ireland to Henry 11. on condition
of paying Peter's pence \ and any similar grant from a king
to a lay-baron, though the precise terms of these contracts
were dissimilar. But it was by the course of papal policy
during the reign of king John that the distrust of the
Roman court as a fountain of justice came to be most
strongly felt in England. People had hoped to find that
the papal policy would be based on a high standard of
right, while it seemed to be shaped merely by the desire of
aggrandising the Roman see and of enriching foreign ec-
clesiastics. Though the direct and immediate influence of
the reinvigorated Church life in England was thus small, we
need not forget that its indirect results were enormous ; the
freedom from royal caprice, which was secured to the Church
and her possessions, was extended to one district after another ;
while the lay public opinion, which was formed partly under
its guidance and partly by practical experience, was permeated
throughout by Christian feeling and expressed itself in local
customs and gild laws.

It has been already noted that in the ordinary routine of
life in feudal times there was little scope for individual enter-
prise of any kind ; and hence, from the very force of reaction,
there was a ready welcome for projects which offered it an
outlet. On the Continent schemes were found which gave this
sentiment shape. The lofty ideal of S. Bernard, and the enthu-
siasm for the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre from the infidels
which his eloquence aroused, fully met the longing of the
barons and knights for some sphere of independent action.
Whatever the horrors and the follies of the Crusades may have
1 Rymer, Fcedera, 1. 19.

EFFECTS OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 147

been, they afforded a nobler outlet for human energy than had A.D. 1066
been found in the constant private warfare, which was being
slowly extinguished by the Church, through the truce of God,
and with the growth of royal power. The spirit of adventure
and daring found a new outlet ; and terrible as were the cruel-
ties perpetrated in the name of Christianity, manly bravery
was ennobled and consecrated by being devoted to a less selfish
end. This was obviously the case even in Europe itself; the
sense of the devotion of bodily powers to a holy purpose
raised the whole tone of military life, and took a place in
society in the chivalrous orders.

The same spirit of adventure, which moved the nobles,
showed itself as strongly in the sadder story of the multitudes
of peasants^ who set forth on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. a.d. 1095.
With no conception of the length or difficulties of the journey,
with vague ideas of Old Testament plenty and New Tes-
tament glories at Jerusalem, they started by thousands, —
each family in its bullock cart, — leaving all the means of
industry behind ; it was like the rush to the gold fields in
modem times, but undertaken with far denser ignorance and
under a more blinding glamour.

If the Crusades had had no other results than these, Effects on
there would have been little need to lay stress upon them
in connection with the Economic History of England. But
they were of a paramount importance for the commercial
development of Europe ; they enabled the enterprising
spirits of Western Europe to come into contact with
the remains of Roman civilisation which were preserved at
Byzantium, and to obtain a footing in the lucrative trade
with Asiatic races. The Genoese and the Venetians assisted in
the Crusades as a simple method of pushing their business con-
nections ; these cities of Italy succeeded in founding colonies
in the Levant and in obtaining factories at suitable points for
trade with the East. Such were the most lasting results
of the Crusades ; and the new commercial activity, for which
they gave scope, gradually affected even the most distant
parts of Christendom ^ The fruitless adventures of the

1 Michand, Crusades, i. 59.

2 Mr W. A. Shaw has traced the course of this commercial expausion in
coimection with the diffusion of gold coinage. History of Currency, 5.

10—2

148 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 Crusaders are chiefly interesting to us because of the way
~~ * in which they prepared new channels for commerce, and
re-acted indirectly on social life at home.

II. Royal Revenues.

Norman 58. The potent royal influence, to which attention has

evenue. y^^^^ directed above, was habitually brought to bear on
industrial and commercial life in connection with the collec-
tion of revenue. The great surveys, which give us the fullest
information about the condition of society, were due to a
desire to estimate the yield which might be expected from
the chief sources of taxation ; and many of the steps, which
opened up the way for future progress, were taken with
the view of simplifying the collection of dues or of drawing
on new sources for obtaining a revenue.

Domain i. The royal domain was the chief source of regular royal

revenue ; in these reigns it was partly in forest, but a very
large amount was used for agriculture and yielded large rents
{gafol or gahlumy, so that the king was able to ' live of his
own,' and defray all the ordinary expenses of state out of the
crown estates. The revenue was drawn from the whole
of England, and a portion of it was paid in kind till the time
of Henry I.^. Indeed at a later date the constant journeys
of Henry II.', whatever may have been their object, would at
all events be facilitated by the store of provisions which the
king could count on at his various estates; he was not
indeed, as we shall see below, forced to rely on this expedient,
but it may have been a help. The collection of this revenue

farmed by was in the hands of the shire-reeve ; William the Conqueror

" " sold out his lands as dear as dearest he might, and then some

other man came and bid more than the first, and the king

granted them to him who offered the larger sum ; then came

a third and bid yet more, and the king made over the lands to

1 Eound in Domesday Studies, 132.

* Diahgus de Scaccario, I. vii. Compare the census of Edward of Salisbury,
Sheriff of Wiltshire. D. B. 69 a, 1. The business of a mUl at Arundel is reckoned
in com, in the Pipe Roll, 31 Henry I. p. 42 ; see also the dairy in the New Forest
which supplied cheese, p. 39. » Eyton, Court of Henry II.

ROYAL REVENUES. 149

him who offered most of all ; and he eared not how iniqui- A.D. 1066

•■■ 1272

tously his sheriffs extorted money from the miserable people,
nor how many unlawful things they did^"

ii. The profits which arose in connection with the exercise Juris-

» i-'Ti- j^i r 1- diction.

of royal jurisdiction were another source or regular income.
Murders and other infractions of the king's peace rendered
the district liable to a heavy payment ; and the following up
of accusations, without too strict regard to the weight of the
charge, was a method which William appears to have
employed for obtaining funds for his campaign in 1086^.

iii. The third source of regular income lay in the king's
rights over his subjects and their property, — such as are
acknowledged in the primitive gifts offered to a chief. The
king's claims were paramount and therefore he had the
prerogative of pre-emption Avhen the goods of the subject Pre-
were needed for his use. On their frequent journeys the
kings employed purveyors, who provided the necessary
supplies. This right of forced purchase of the goods of
subjects, who had no sufficient means of recovering pay-
ment from the royal purveyors, must have given rise to
great oppression. We cannot wonder at the frequent com-
plaints of their exorbitant demands, and should not under-
rate the importance of the heavy burdens of hospitium* and
avera and inward^ which fell on all land not specially
exempted. The same right of pre-emption when exercised
on wares intended for sale, or right of prise, seems to have Pnse.
been the foundation of all the tolls which were charged at
ports or fairs or markets on imported or exported goods®;
these were originally levied in kind, and this practice survived
in the prisage'' of wine and in special cases connected with
wool ; but it was gradually commuted for payments in money,

1 English Chronicle, 1087 (Bohn). 2 English Chronicle, 1086.

* Stnbbs, Constitutional History, i. 380.

* The precise meaning of firma unius noctis, which is constantly mentioned as
the amount due for hospitium, is not clear. Archdeacon Hale calculates that as a
matter of fact the court consumed 150Z. in Oxfordshire Lq three nights. Domesday
of S. Paul, p. xl. On the payment of food rents to the crown and great abbeys
compare Vinogradoff, Villainage in England, 302.02.

5 Wainage and attendance on the sheriff.

6 Hall, Customs, i. 62.

' Bight to one or more casks in each vessel.

150 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 or was at any rate defined as a fixed quantity — as a tun before
~~^^^ ' and one abaft the mast^ At the time when Edward I. came
to the throne, the royal officers were no longer able to mulct
the dealers at discretion.

iv. Besides these regular sources of income, other pay-
ments were made on special occasions, and these may be con-
Feudai venicntly included under the head of feudal incidents. After
mc enta. ^^^ Conquest the feudal relation was not perhaps more real, but
it certainly was more explicit than before, and it could therefore
be taken advantage of for purposes of taxation with greater
ease. For each five hides of the large quantity of land held
by what had come to be military tenure, the demand might
be made of a knight's service for forty days in the year ; and
this was required, not only for defensive purposes, but for
Aids. foreign wars as well. Occasional aids {auxilia) were also
asked for the knighting of the king's eldest son, the marry-
ing of his eldest daughter, or the ransoming of his person.

V. There was one source of income which must not be
overlooked, more especially as it is not heard of before the
The Jews. Conquest. The Jews appear to have been introduced into
England in the eleventh century, and they lived as mere
chattels enjoying the king's protection, but subject to constant
exactions from him ; they had no status of their own, but
continued to exist as a part of the king's possessions them-
selves, and all that they had was not their own but his. In
this lay their security from popular violence **; but it was a
security for which they had to pay dearly *. Their transac-
tions were all registered in the Exchequer; debts due to

1 Hall, Customs, u. 96.

* "Letters patent tested the 3rd of April, were issued, setting forth the injuries
the Jews had lately received in the disturbances throughout England, and com-
manding the bailiffs and good men of Cambridge to make public proclamation
throughout the town, that no one under peril of life and members should damage,
molest or aggi'ieve the Jews, their lands, property, houses, possessions and goods,
both within the town and without as much as they could." Cooper, Annals of
Cambridge, 1266.

8 By a writ tested the 14th of May the king constituted Isaac the son of
Samuel, and other Jews, together with the sheriff of the county, commissioners for
distraining the Jews of the town of Cambridge for the proportion of a tallage of
20,000 marks; and a writ of assistance of concurrent date was directed to the
sheriff. The commissioners had power to seize the wives and children of the
parties charged with this tallage. Ibid. 1241.

ROYAL REVENUES. 151

them were really due to the king ; and they might not accept A.D. 1066
compositions for payment, or grant a secret released As a ~
matter of fact therefore, the king had, indirectly, a monopoly
of the money-lending in the country ; so that the expulsion
of the Jews by Edward I. was a permanent loss of revenue to a.d, 1290.
the crown. The Jews gained usurious interest ; the king by
general fines, by fines for law proceedings, or by punishments
for crimes, — even without proceeding to the grosser extortions
which were practised by John, — replenished his own treasury
out of the gains of men whose lives and property were in his
absolute control, and whom he could mortgage, like other
possessions, if it suited his purposed

vi. From these sources of revenue payments were made Danegeld.
to the king as a great landowner, or by men who stood in
definite personal relations to him ; the contributions for public
purposes were of a different character. The one which
William found partially organised when he came to the
throne was the Danegeld. First imposed in ^thelred's time,
Edward had continued to collect it, but some land was
entirely exempt, and other estates were very favourably rated.
William took it at a treble rate in 1084 (6s. instead of
2s. per hide^); and though in the time of the first Norman
king these were occasional not annual payments*, they were
regularly exacted by Stephen^ ; subsequently, the name fell
into disuse^ but the crown continued to receive payments as
carucage'' and as the ferm of the towns^

1 Compare Madox's chapter on Judaism. Exchequer, c. vii. Also the admirable
work of Mr J. Jacobs, Jews of Angevin England.

2 On the social position of the Jews see below, p. 200.

* Domesday Studies, 82, 97. * Dialogus de Scaccario, i. xi.

' Madox, Exchequer, xvn. 1. * Stubbs, Constitutional History, i. 582.

' Payment per plough-land.

8 Ferm means rent (Madox, Firma Burgi, 3). Fee-Ferm or feudi Jirma,
perpetual rent, paid by a man and his heu-s, townsmen and then- heu's, or by a
corporate body (Ibid. 4). "The yearly ferme of towns arose out of certain locata
or demised things that yielded issues or profits * *. The ordinary issues of towns
were commonly in value more than sufScient to make up the yearly ferme. But
if perchance those issues feU short * *, then the ferme was to be raised among tho
townsmen by collection or contribution. And they who were bound to contribute
to these and such like forestations and payments were said to be in lotto, or ad
geldum et scottum" (Ibid. 251). The issues of towns "consisted of diverse things
according to the situation and production of the town," as rents of assize, pleas,
perquisites, fau-s, markets, stallage, &c.

152

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
—1272.

Tallages.

Taxes on
moveables:,

A.D. 1181.

A.D. 1188.

A.D. 1225.

Another tax of a somewhat similar character was
levied upon the towns which grew up on royal domains.
This consisted of the tallages which were taken from the
tenants on ancient domain when the king was in special
need ; they appear to have originated in contributions from
places which were not liable to the payment of Danegeld\
but they were afterwards used as a means of supplementing
the scutage which was paid by the knights, and of levying
something from the "freeholders and towns^"

vii. With the exception of the rights of purveyance and
of taking customs, these taxes all fell upon the owners of
real property. Henry II. took the important step of taxing
moveables. An inquest had been held in connection with the
Assize of Arms^ in order to find out how far each citizen
was able to provide himself with the armour necessary for
serving in the fyrd. The contributions made in the parish
churches towards the expenses of the First Crusade had been
voluntary, but those who paid insufficiently for the Salad in
Tithe were liable to be assessed by their neighbours on oath*.

The first tax on moveables therefore was of a semi-
ecclesiastical character and for an expedition which had
papal sanction; but it laid the foundations for a regular
system which continued during the reigns of Richard, John
and Henry III. There are frequent demands for fractional
parts of the possessions of subjects, sometimes a thirteenth,
sometimes a fifteenth, sometimes a thirtieth, sometimes a
fortieth, once a fourth. These demands, however, were sub-
ject to exemptions of various kinds ; arms and other posses-
sions required for public service ^ and the necessary articles

1 Dowell, History of Taxation, i. 41. "^ Stubbs, Constitutional History, i. 585.

* Stubbs, Select Charters, 154. * Dowell, History of Taxation, i. 46.

5 Rymer, Fcedera, i. 177. Exceptis tamen ab hac quinta decima quantum
ad archiepiscopos, episcopos, abbates, priores et caeteros viros relig^onis, comites,
barones, milites et liberos liomiaes qui non sunt mercatores, omnimoclis libris suis ;
et oriiamentis ecclesiarum et capellarum ; et equis ad equitandum ; et equis
carectariis et sunimariis, et armis omnimodis, jocalibus, vasis, utensilibus, lardarils,
cellariis et fenis ; et exceptis bladis ad warnisturam castrorum emptis.

Exceptis etiam ab hac quinta decima quantum ad mercatores, qui de omnibus
mercandisis et mobilibus suis quintam decimam dabunt, armis ad quae jurati sunt,
et equis suis ad equitandum, et utensilibus domornm snarum, cellariis et lardariis
ad victum suum.

Exceptis etiam quantum ad villanos armis ad quae jmati sunt, et utensilibus

ROYAL REVENUES. 153

of attire for different classes, are excluded in some cases, a.d. lose

1270

while in others the poor are exempt ; though Edward I. in
his first Parliament obtained a fifteenth when the people were a.d. 1275.
assessed " inaudito more ad unguem." It is perhaps necessary
to add that these taxes were rarely levied on the whole realm
simultaneously. One year a carucage would be taken from
the country generally ; another a scutage would be levied on
the knights, and tallages on other tenants ; another there
would be a grant of a fraction of moveables ; but even this
would not be a general tax, it would fall on some class ;
perhaps on the clergy, or on the religious orders^ perhaps a.d. 1227.
on the laity^; at all events we may see that the system a.d. 1209.
of taxation consisted in making occasional demands from
particular classes in turn, and not in levying equivalent
shares from all simultaneously. We can easily understand
that under the circumstances it was of the first importance
for men to have a voice in the assessments that were made ;
and that it was most necessary to prove clearly who were
tenants of ancient domain and liable to contributions firom
which others were exempt, or liable to contributions at a
different rate.

The whole taxation, with the exception of the customs, Chamjes m
was direct, but there were continual changes in the basis of
rating; first we have hidage^; then we have carucage on
cultivated land, scutage on the knight's fee, and tallages from
tenants on domain ; but for these the more convenient, and
also more onerous, estimates of moveables were eventually
substituted. Still taxation of moveables continued for some
time to be occasional and sectional ; the king still lived
of his own, and taxes were levied for particular emergencies
and from a particular class of the community on each
occasion.

59. The royal revenue could not be properly collected un- The
less there were coins in circulation in which it might be paid ; ^'^^"^'^'■^'
and the business of the moneyers and organisation of the
mint required frequent royal attention. The coming of the

snis, came et pisce, et potn suo quae non sunt ad vendeudam, et feuis suis et
forragio suo quae non sunt ad vendendum.

1 Dowell, I. 72. 2 Dowell, i. 69.

8 See above, p. 125.

154 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 Normans did not make any radical change in the coinage of

~^^ ' the country^ except perhaps by the general introduction of a
shilling worth twelve-pence. The weight of the penny was
still thirty-two good wheat grains, and the standard of
fineness was kept up for centuries, viz. eleven ounces two
pennyweights of silver fine, and eighteen pennyweights of
alloy'. The means of coining were very rude, and there is
consequently considerable variation in the size and weight of
coins as they are now found, even in the best preservation ;
one die was wedged into a wooden block, the other held
in the hand as a puncheon, and the metal stamped by
repeated hammering I

The mint. The constitution of the mint became more definite after

the reign of Stephen*, when the royal prerogative in this
matter was more strictly maintained ; there was perhaps less
need for minting coins at distant places, as they would
circulate more easily as trade increased. From the time of
Henry II. minting was confined almost entirely to London.
In pre-Norman and Roman times coining was at least
occasionally conducted at a large number of towns ; some of
them were places which have never been of much import-
ance*. The business was carried on by moneyers, whose names
generally appear on each coin, along with the name of the
place where it was minted ; but this was by no means a
sufficient protection against fraud, as the frequent laws on

A.D. 1125. the subject* and the vigorous measures of Henry I.' suffi-
ciently show. Early English laws insisted that the coining
should take place in frequented places® — a precaution which
perhaps survived in the public trial of the pyx. The fact
seems to be that while there was so little intercommunication

1 Charter of Henry I., c. 5. Stubbs, Select Charters, 101.

2 Euding, Annals of Coinage, i. 10. s Ibid. i. 67.

^ His coins are sometimes 'barbarously uncouth' in design, and were also
iU-struck. (Ending, i. 168.) On the whole the coins were better struck before
the Conquest, when a collar was used, than afterwards; the Norman coins were
▼ery irregular in shape, so that it was easy to clip them without immediate
detection.

5 Euding, op. cit. 1. 142, 154. Compare a giant to the Abbot of Bury by the
Confessor. Thorpe, Dip. Ang. p. 415.

6 Laws of JEthelstan, i. 14 ; ^thdred, m. 8, 16, rv. 5, 9 ; Cnut^ 8.
' English Chronicle, 1125.

" Laws of Mthelstan, 1. 14 ; of JLthelred, ui. 16.

ROYAL REVENUES. 155

between different parts of the country, there was no facility A.D. 1066
for the general introduction of coinage, unless it was minted
in all sorts of places. When the court travelled through the
land, any expedient which saved the cost of carrying money
would be advantageous, and it was convenient for the
kings to have moneyers in different localities^ Others too
tried to claim a similar privilege ; in the case of the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury^ and of some others it appears to have
been admitted ; but it was one of the royal prerogatives
which the barons had grasped in Stephen's time, and which
were wrested from them by Henry 11.^

The royal rights over coinage took another development
also. The increase of foreign trade must have necessitated Exchange.
the presence, at every great mart, of men who were skilled
in the business of exchanging the coins of one country
for those of another; the great variety in circulation, even
in one country, where many people claimed the right of
coining, must have been considerable*; and when foreign
merchants arrived to make purchases, it was necessary to
effect an exchange of their foreign coins for the coinage of
the country. This was done by the moneyers ; and was,
naturally enough, part of the business of the mint, as the
foreign silver was recoined for use in England. But as soon
as the work of the mint was concentrated in London, there
came to be a class who made it their business to change coins
current in one land for coins of other denominations, or
perhaps of the same denomination but of other values,

1 The cnstoms regarding moneyers at Hereford were as follows: "Septem
monetarii erant ibi. Unus ex his erat monetarias episcopi. Quando moneta reno-
Tatnr dabat quisque eormn xviii solidos pro cuneis recipiendis. Et ex eo die qno
redibant usque ad unum mensem dabat quisque eorum regi xx solidos, et similiter
habebat episcopus de suo monetario xx solidos. Quando veniebat rex in civitatem
quantum volebat denariorum faciebant ei monetarii de argento scilicet regis. Et
hi vii habebant sacam et socham suam. Moriente aliquo regis monetario habebat
rex XX solidos de relevamento. Quod si moreretur non diviso censu suo, rex
habebat onmem censum." Domesday , i. 179 a, 1. This is suggestive of a privi-
leged association such as existed from Roman times in some of the continental
towns.

« Perhaps this may account for the part taken by Anselm along with the king
in punishing the dishonest moneyers. Freeman, Norman Conquest, v. 159.

3 Dialogus, I. c. vii.

* It was specially obvious in Germany, Shaw, History of Currency, 25.

156 FEUDALISM.

AD. 1066 current in the land where the alien merchants lived ; this

~~^'^^^* was a craft involving much skill, and the earnings made by

exercise of it were called cambium minutvm,. It is obvious,

however, that this occupation gave very great opportunities

for fraud, and there was good reason that it should be in the

hands of public officials^

The 60. The machinery for the collection of the revenue was

Excheqwr. gg^j.gf^jjy organised ; and it is particularly interesting to note

how closely the arrangements for managing the English

finances approximated to the system in vogue in Normandy ^

Dialogue Richard, bishop of London, in his Dialogus de Scaccario, gives

slaccario. ^ ^iH account of the business of the Exchequer as it was

organised in the time of Henry II., when it was a department

of the king's court with an elaborate staff of officers.

Easter and Michaelmas were the two terms at which
moneys were received ; at Easter the sheriff made a payment
on account, of half the sum due in the course of the year ;
this was credited to him, and he received a tally as voucher.
At Michaelmas he had to render his accounts in due form ;
the business was carried on at an oblong table, which was
divided into parallel columns running across it', each one of
which was used for a different sum, — £1000, £100, £20, £1,
shillings, or pence. At one side sat the treasurer, and his
clerks with their rolls ; at the other the marshal, calculator
and sergeants, who received what was paid in by the sheriff.
At one end was the chancellor and other high officials, at the
other end the sheriff and his suite*. On the treasurer's side
of the table counters^ representing the amount due from
the sheriff were laid in the columns, and on the other side
the calculator ranged the results of vouchers or moneys

1 On the official exchanges under Edward I. see below, p. 283.

3 Madox, Exchequer, iv. §§ 4, 5.

' The table was thus divided into parallel columns, not into squares; thougih
it would have a checkered appearance when the counters were laid on it, there
does not seem to be much reason for supposing that the cloth with which it was
covered was checkered, as is commonly said in explaining the name. It is
however so represented in the cm-ious picture of the Irish Exchequer reproduced
in Longman's Edward III., i. 183.

* Mr Hubert HaU, Pipe Boll Society, m. Introductory, p. 41.

5 For a full account of the Exchequer Dot System of arranging the counters to
represent various sums see Mr Hubert Hall, 10 H. n. Intro. Pijje Boll Soe.

ROYAL REVENUES.

157

which the sheriff actually put in to discharge the debt. a.d. io66
After any arrears had been gone into, the first item taken
was the sum which had been paid into the Exchequer at
the previous Easter, and for this a tally ^ was produced.
Then followed the statement of the various sums for which
the payment by the sheriff was allowed ; these were fixed
allowances, in alms, tithes, payments, or lands, or special

;^ J

/<L

^ The figure represents an Exchequer
Tally delivered to G. R. Minshull, Esq.,
on payment of £1133. 14s. 4|(i. into the
Exchequer for Land-Tax collected in
Buckinghamshire in 1819, and is repro-
duced from the Illustrated London News,
1858. A modern example is curious as
showing the survival of this method of
giving a receipt ; but modern tallies are
more clumsy than those of Plantagenet
times, which were nine inches long. The
tally was a slip of hazel or other hard
wood, on the edges of which notches were
cut, which by their size and position indi-
cated definite sums. The tally was then
split in two lengthwise, and each of the
two halves showed the same notches on
its edges ; one half was given to the sheriff
as a receipt, while the other was retained
to check his statement of account at
Michaelmas. It will be seen that the
notches differ greatly in breadth, and
that each of the six sizes of notches cor-
responds to one of the columns on the
table where the reckoning took place.

158 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 allowances empowered by royal writ or other definite autho-
~~ " rity. The sheriff would then be debited with the balance,
or he was credited with the surplus; in the instance given
below it will be seen that he started the year with a debt of
£48. 10s. 7d., and ended with a surplus of £10.
Mode of The Great Roll of the Pipe, from which an extract is sub-

paymen . j^j^jg^j^ puts on record the state in which each of the sheriffs,
who were responsible for the ferm of the shire and other
recurring sources of revenue ^ stood towards the Crown.
The royal officers had not only to be careful about the
accounts rendered but also to examine the money which was
tendered in payment. Owing to the confusion as to coinage,
it was necessary either to test the coins (per combustionem)
that were paid by tale {numero), or to exact an additional
sum of one-twentieth — as de-albating or blanching money —
to cover all risks from this source {blank); and there were
also two different systems of reckoning the weight, according
as 6d per pound was accepted to turn the scale {ad scalam),
or according as the coins were actually weighed {ad pens um).
It would however be a mistake to suppose that such dis-
tinctions, in regard to modes of payment, were introduced
by the Normans, as we find several of them are noted in
passages of Domesday Book^ where the customs under the
Confessor are described.

HUNTENDONESCR

PAIAN^ VIC . redd . Comp . de . xlviii . ti. 7 . x g. . 7
. VII. d. bt. de veti firma de Hvntendscx. In th . xxx . li.
7 . xiiii . s. 7 . II . d. bt.

Et In Soltis . Rad Waspail . xvii . ti. 7 . xvi . §. 7 . v . d. bt.

Et Quiet^ est.

ET Id vie . redd Comp . de Nona firma. In tfe . C . 7
. Lii . ti. 7 . XII . s. 7 . VI . d. bl

Et In Elefn Const . Militib} de Templo . I . m. arg. Et
Canonic de Huntend . XL . s.

1 There was besides a series of Receipt Bolls, of which an example survives
for 1185. It appears to contain a statement of all the sums received ; and to be
practically a list of tallies issued. Most of the receipts are entered in the corre-
sponding Pipe Eoll, but payments made once and for all seem to have been entered
only in the Receipt Eoll. Hall, Beceipt Boll of the Exchequer, 1185, p. ir.

- See below, p. 172.

ROYAL REVENUES. 159

Et In Donis . Joscet de Haireiz . xx . §. Et In Soltis . a.d. io66

1272

Wiito Cade . x . ti. 7 . x . s.

Et In lifeat Const . Wilto fit Holdegari . xxx . s. 7 . v . d. Et
Alano Cornatori . XXX . s. 7 . v . d. Et fCuratori vinee . lx . s.
7 . X . d. Et In Custamto uinee . xiii . s. 7 . 11 . d. Et Epo
de Eli . V . s. Et In Suo SuppP . viii . s. 7 . viii . d. Et
habet de Suppl^ . x . ti. fet

TELARII de Huntend reddt Comp . de . XL . §. p Gilda sua.

In th libauert. Et Quieti st.

Nova Placita 7 Noue Conventiones.

Id vie . redd Comp . de . x . m. arg . de plac canceft . 7 m"dr.
In th . XXXII . §. 7 . X . d.

Et In pdon p br . 1^ . Epo Lincot . xxii . §. 7 . vi . d. Et
Eid . XV . s. 7 . x . d. Et Afebti de Torneia . I . fn. arg. Et
Dfie Clementie . xil . §. 7 . vi . d. Et Walto de Lindeseia
. X . §. Et Hufeto fit Ernaldi . v . s. Et Witlo ff i B . xi . s.
7 . nil . d. Et Com . War . X . s. Suma . C . s. 7 . VI . d.

Et Quiet^. est.i

1 Pipe BoU of 4th year of Henry n. 163 (Record Commission). When extended
it runs as follows.

HUNTENDONESCIRA.
Paianus Vicecomes reddit Compotum de xLvm libris et x solidis et vn denariis

blancis de veteri firma de Huntendonscira. In thesanro xxx libras et xini

solidos et n denarios blancos.
Et in Soltis Eadulpho Waspail xvn libras et xvi solidos et v denarios blancos.

Et Quietus est.
Et idem Ticecomes reddit Compotum de Nova firma. In thesauro clii libras et

XII solidos et vi denarios blancos.
Et in Elemosynis constitutis Militibus de Templo i marcam argenti. Et Canonicis

de Huntendon xi, solidos.
Et in Donis Joscelin de Haireiz ix solidos. Et in Soltis WiUiehno Cade x libras

et X solidos.
Et in liberationibus constitutis Willielmo filio Holdegari xxx solidos et v denarios.

Et Alano Cornatori xxx solidos et v denarios. Et Procuratori vineae lx solidos

et X denarios. Et in Custamento vineae xin solidos et n denarios. Et Epis-

copo de Eli v solidos. Et in suo Superplus vm solidos et vui denarios. Et

habet de Superplus x libras blancas.
Telarii de Huntendon reddunt Compotum de xi, solidis pro Gilda sua.

In thesauro liberaverimt. Et Quieti sunt.
Idem vicecomes reddit Compotum de x marcis argenti de placitis CanceUarii et

murdro. In thesauro xxxii solidos et x denarios.
Et in perdonis per Breve Regis Episcopo Lincolniensi xxii solidos et vi denarios.

Et Eidem xv solidos et x denarios. Et Abbati de Torneia i marcam argenti.

Et Dominae Clementiae xii solidos et vi denarios. Et Waltero de Lindeseia

160 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 Pagan the Sheriff renders account

-1272. ^^ ^^g ^Q^ >j^ ^£ ^}^g fgj.jjj of £ s. d. £ s. d.

Huntingdon for last year . • 48 10 7

Paid in the Treasury (blanched) . 30 14 2
And in payments to Ralf Was-

pail (blanched) .... lUA ^

48 10 7 48 10 7

The Sheriff himself renders account of the ferm*
of the present year .....

Paid in the Treasury (blanched) . . , lo2 12 6

And in customary alms to the Knights' Templars

1 mark. To the Canons of Huntingdon 40*. 2 13 4*

And in gifts to Joscelin of Haireiz 205. And

in payment to William Cade £10. 10s. . 11 10 0*

And in fixed payments to William son of
Holdegar, 30s. bd. And to Alan the Horn-
blower, 30s. bd. And to the Keeper of the
Vineyard, 60s. \0d. For the expenses of the
Yineyard, 13s. Id. And to the Bishop of
Ely, OS 6 19 10*

And on account of his surplus . , . 8^ 8

174 4 4

[Less by £1. Is. 2d. to blanch the payments
marked *, at the rate of one shilling in the
pound] He has as Surplus £10 (blanched) 11 1 2

163 3 2

X soliflos. Et Huberto filio Ernaldi v solidos. Et Willielmo fratri Regis

XI solidos et nn denarios. Et Comiti Warennae x solidos. Summa c solidi
et VI denarii. Et Quietus est.

1 This payment, on the analogy of other dii-eet dealings between the Sheriff and
the Crown, was probably in blanched money, though this is not recorded.

2 The amount due as ferm is never stated in the Pipe Rolls {Dialogus, i. 5) ; I am
informed by Mr Hubert Hall, on the authority of a list of all the f erms in England ia
the time of Henry m. (British Museum, Harg. MSS. 313), that the ferm of Himting-
donshire was £153. 3s. id. With this, as he has pointed out to me, the statement of
acconnt for the third year of Henry 11. agrees. In that year the Sheriff paid into
the treasury £82. 8s. 9d. (blanched), and expended on behalf of the king £11. 19s. 4d.,
which when blanched by taking off ^ (or 12 shillings) gives £11. 7s. 4«?.; the total

ROYAL REVENUES. 161

The weavers of Huntingdon render ;^^- P*"^

account of 40.s. for their own gild 2 0 0

Paid in the Treasury . . . 2 0 0

2 0 0 2 0 0

The Sheriff himself renders account

of 10 marks of silver for Chan-
cellor's Pleas and for murder . 6 13 4
Paid in the Treasury . . . 1 12 10

Remitted by Royal Writ to the

Bishop of Lincoln, 22s. Qd. And

to the same, 15.§. lOd. And to

the Abbot of Thorney, 1 mark of

silver. And to Lady Clemence,

125. 6d. And to Walter of Lind-

sey, 105. And to Hubert son of

Ernald, 55. And to William the

king's brother, 11 5. 4<d. And to

Earl Warenne, 105. Total £5.0s.6d. 5.0 6

6 13 4 6 13 4

The extract brings out the responsibilities of the Sheriff
in regard to the ferm of the shire, and indicates the addi-
tional complications in rendering account, which were due to
the state of the currency. It also serves to illustrate the
manner in which other matters were passed through the
accounts, such as the value due from usurpations, and
escheats to the Crown, the tallage from Royal Domain,
including all lands of ancient domain, as well as fines for
murder or other breaches of the king's peace.

payment was £93. 16s. Id. He was allowed to transfer the surplus of £10. 16s. 6rf.,
which he had on his Surrey account (this is stated under Surrey, p. 94, but is not
alluded to in the Huntingdonshire accounts) ; this with the debt of £48. lOs. Id.
(blanched) still owing, makes up the ferm of £153. 3s. 2d.

In the fourth year, as given above, there is a discrepancy of £10 for which I am
unable to account ; it does not appear to have been transferred to either of the
other counties, for the revenue of which Pagan was responsible. It certainly seems
as if the Sheriff ought to have been credited with a surplus of £20. That there has
been some confusion in the matter is probable from the appearance of the roll ; the
parchment shows that there have been erasures where the £152 paid by the Sheriff
into the treasury is entered, and also where the superplus of £10 is entered. These
corrections are clearly written in blacker ink than the rest of the accnunt ; the
XWijrment of £10. 10s. (£10 blank) to William Cade appears to be an addition, and
it is written with the same ink as was used for the corrections.

C. H. 11

162 FEUDALISM.

III. Royal Inquisitions.

A.D. 1066 61. When William of Normandy had succeeded in

"e t'mat /-possessing himself of the English crown, and in settling his
resources, followers on the lands of those who had resisted him, or who
had perished in the struggle, it became a matter of im-
portance that he should be accurately informed about the
resources on which he could count in this new dominion!
He wished to know the condition of the royal estates which
Gafoi. yielded him an annual revenue {gafol, census), as well as
the wealth of the whole land from which he could levy
Geld. the Danegeld^ With this object he sent commissioners

^■"' "'■ through the length and breadth of the kingdom with in-
structions to take the sworn testimony of the sheriff, barons
and freemen in each hundred (as well as of the priest, reeve,
and six villains of each village) in regard to the various
points of enquiry. Of the actual returns which were thus
collected, one specimen has survived in its original form.
Mode of The Inquisitio Cantahrigiensis^ gives us the names of the
rM5MjstaoH.j^^j,^j.g in each hundred and it contains the lands arranged
territorially, as they were visited. The scribes at Winchester,
when they compiled the actual Domesday Book, rearranged the
information and grouped the lands according to the proprietors,
who were ranged by their status from the king downwards.
It appears that the commissioners reported on some details
which were not regarded as sufficiently important to be
embodied in the completed work. On the other hand it
also appears that the sets of commissioners did their work in
slightly different fashion, and that the compiling clerks were
not always equally strict; for a vast mass of interesting

1 Cuuningham, Alien Immigrants, 52.

- The royal lands rendered [reddit) certain payments either in coin or kind,
while the estimated value of other estates {valet) is also given. In the entries of
the royal land between the Kibble and Mersey there is a good case. Omnis hac
teri'a geldabilis et xv maneria nihil reddebant nisi geldum regis Edwardi. Hoc
manerium Derbei cum his supradictis hidis reddebat regi Edwardo de flrma xxvi
libras et duos solidos. Et his iii hidse erant liberae, quarum censum perdonavit
teinis qui eas tenebant. Domenday, i. 269 b, 1. Here was royal land which paid
the Danegeld, but from which the king did not receive any rent. The tenants were
however obliged to do the necessary repairs on the manorial buildings.

•i Edited by N. E. S. Hamilton.

ROYAL INQUISITIONS. 163

detail has been preserved to us in the parts of Domesday a.d. io66
which deal with Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex. These Eastern
Counties were assessed on an intricate system, which was
quite different from that prevailing in the rest of England^ ;
its difficulties have been successfully unravelled by Mr
Corbett's careful investigation. An enumeration of horses,
pigs, sheep and goats is also retained for a great part
of the West of England in the document known as the
Exon Domesday^, though many of these details were omitted
when the Exchequer copy was compiled. Accurate state-
ments, which are invaluable, have been preserved in regard
to the size of holdings in Middlesex, and in Middlesex only.
Despite these minor variations, the entries are on the whole
of a similar type, and the ordinary characters of an English
estate are revealed to us in the articles of enquiry ; when
these have been examined and we have taken one typical
example of the information returned, we may go on to see
what additional light can be obtained from the more detailed
entries, which occur here and there.

62. The articles of enquiry are given in the transcript Articles of
which the Ely monks preserved of those parts of the ^"2'"'2'-
Cambridgeshire Inquisition which described their own lands.
The commissioners were to note first the name of the manor,
who held it in the time of King Edward {T. R. E.), and who
held it at the time of the enquiry (modo). Next they were
to report the rateable value of the estate (quot hido}), and
how it was stocked with teams (carucoe)'^ which were dis-

1 Instead of assessing each vill according to the number of hides, every
hundred was regarded as responsible for the payment of £1; and the share of each
Tillage is given by stating the number of pence it would contribute to make up £1
for the whole hundred. The method of apportioning the payment is complicated ;
each hundred was divided into leets, sometimes six, seven, ten or eleven in number,
and each leet paid an approximately equal share, though the contributions from
different villages might differ considerably. The whole is an interesting study in
the eleventh century method of dealing with fractions. On the whole subject
compare Mr Corbett's Danegeld in East Anglia in the Cambridge Historical
Essays.

2 D. B. IV. 1. It also contains special information about the allowances made
to the collectors of the Danegeld.

* One of the most common confusions in regard to Domesday Book has arisen
fi'om the fact that the same contraction car is used for carucata and carnca.
Carucata occurs in certain counties as the unit of assessment in place of the Mda.
It is only from its position in the entry that the meaning of this contraction can

11—2

ment.

164) FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 tiiDguished into the lord's teams (quot in dominid) and those
~ ' ■ of the villains {quot hominibus), also how it was stocked with
men, whether villani, cotarii, or servi. They were next to
note the freemen attached to the manor, whether socmen or
liheri homines^ ; and then to make mention of the resources
of the waste, and the meadow ; what wood there was and
what fisheries, as well as the mills. The value of the whole
estate, with any depreciation or improvement, was to be
given, as well as that of the holdings of the free men ; and
this was to be stated for the time before the Conquest, the
time when the land was granted (quando Rex Willielmus
dedit, quando recepit), and the time of the enquiry. They
were also to see whether it could be estimated at a higher
rate than had been the case before. We may look a little
more closely at each point in turn.
Assess- Attention has been already directed to the meaning of

the term hida in the Survey ; it no longer gives a rough
mode of estimating land, but a unit for expressing the rate-
able value at which the land was assessed for the Danegeld**
(se defendebat pro, geldabat, in geldo). From this some places
had been excused ^ while in other cases the owner was rated

be determined with certainty. The first car in any entry in these counties is
probably a contraction for carucata and answers the question quot hidcef the
second and subsequent entries are probably contractions for carucce, and describe
the stock on the land. This is quite clear in some of the Yorkshire entries where
the two words are written out in full. In Picheringa sunt ad geldum xxxvii
carucatae terrse quas possuut arrare xx carucse. Domesday, i. 299 a, 2. In the
Burto7i Chartidary the nomenclature is less confusing. Terra se defendit pro tma
carucata. In hac terra sunt xvi bovatae, ex hiis siut vii in dominio et satis ad
unum aratrum fortissimum (p. 23).

^ This order is not carefully preserved ; m Worcestershire the priest and the
radman appear to be enumerated first among the human beings on the estate,
though they did not render predial services ; and the former tenant and the tei-ms
of his tenure come at the beginning of the entry. In dominio sunt ii carucai et
presbyter et propositus et uuus radchenistre et xii villani et vii bordarii. Inter
omnes habent xiiii carucas. Inter servos et ancUlas sunt vii. Domesday, 1. 174 a, 2.

2 On the artificial character of the assessment and difficulty of readjustiag it,
compare Vinogradoff, Villainage in England, 2-14.

8 Nadford. Hsec terra non geldat nee pergit ad hnndredum, Domesday Booh,
I. 175 a, 1. Bixa. Hse duse terrse nee geldum nee aliud servitium reddiderunt
regi, I. 160 b, 1. Cauna. Nuuquam geldavit, ideo nescitur quot hidse sunt ibi, i.
64 b, 2, also (next entry) nimquam hidata fuit. Frome. Nee scitur quot hidae
sunt ibi, i. 86 b, 1. Round in Domesday Studies, 109, points out that the carucates
of land, in counties where the hide is the unit of assessment, were not taxed, also
that the lands designated 'inland' were free from Geld; compare Appleby

ROYAL INQUISITIONS. 165

on specially favourable terms (beneficial hidationy. On the a.d. io66

whole the number of hides at which an estate was rated

con-esponds closely with the greatest number of pounds which

the estate was worth annually.

The enumeration of the teams which were required to Cultiva-
tion.
work the land was a simple method of indicating the amount

of cultivation that was carried on in any one place ; and the

division into domain teams and villains' teams may have been stocle.

a rough indication of the mode in which the work was

organised, and of the proportion of land which the lord had

in his own hands. In some cases the estate was insufficiently

stocked with oxen^, as would be not unnaturally the case

during the struggles consequent on the Norman invasion.

This occurred not infrequently in Cambridgeshire, and a

great part of Yorkshire had been so effectually harried that

there was no stock remaining at all.

Very much greater difficulty attaches to the entries in Tenants.

regard to the men on the estates ; and the remarks which

follow can only be regarded as a tentative explanation. From

all we know of English Society there appears to have been a

number of social grades, which were not however separated

from each other by any impassable barrier. There were

certainly many differences between the customs of one locality

{Burton Chartulary, p. 30). The earlier meaning of inland was simply domain
land. Thorpe, i. 263, 435. This variation in the connotation of the word is a
useful warning against making use too readily of earlier or later documents to
determine the precise sense of Domesday terms, e.g. Villanus, Liber Homo, &c.

1 Chipeham pro decem hidis se def endebat tempore Regis Edwardi ; sed quidam
vicecomes misit eas ad quinque hidas per concessionem ejusdem regis, quia firma
ejus enm gravabat, et modo se defendit pro quinque hidis. Domesday, i. 197 a, 2.
llr Round points out (in Domesday Studies, 1. 110) that the four counties which first
came under William's rule, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire, were very
leniently dealt with and had their rating greatly reduced. Several good illustra-
tions occur in the archiepiscopal land in Sussex (i. 16 b, 1). Pageham had been
rated at 50 hides in the time of King Edward, but was assessed under the
Conqueror at 33 only. In the same period the worth had gone up from £40 to £60 ;
it was actually paying £80, but this was too high. While the value had gone uji,
the rating had gone down ; so too in Tangmere and Loventtae. The exceedingly
low hidation in Cornwall was not apparently due to a change made by the
Conqueror ; the low rate had ruled there aU along. Ipse comes tenet Liscarret.
Mcrlesuain tenebat tempore Regis Edwardi et geldabat pro ii hidis. Ibi tamen
sunt xii hidaB. Domesday, i. 121 b, 1.

2 Hageleia, Domesday, i. 177 a, 2. Adhuc viii carucse plus possunt esse.
Kelham, Domesday Book Illustrated, 361, quotes a case where it was overstocked.
Villani plus habent carucas quam arabilem terram.

tenants.

166 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 and those of another. In Domesday Booh we have a rough
" ' - system of classification which was meant to apply to the
whole country ; it is obvious that the special peculiarities of
status which were due to the history of one county, or the
differences of obligation which were perpetuated in the
customs of separate manors, could not be fully recognised
in this brief summary. We cannot expect to find precise
statements as to the status or obligations of different
tenants \ but only a rough classification which should
serve the fiscal purposes for which the enquiry was under-
taken.
The manor Whatever the legal constitution of the manor may have
^nit. '*''" been, it appears to have served the purpose of a fiscal unit^
The sheriff looked to the lord of the manor for the geld of his
own estate and of the men who held of him ; the tie with
Free some of the free tenants was very slight, as they could

apparently break it at pleasure and sell their lands without
leave asked or given^ but others could only do so on obtaining

1 An attempt was made after the Peasants' Revolt to use Domesday Book in
this fashion, see below, p.. ,399, note 2.

2 Maitland, Selden Society, Select Fleas, Manorial, i. xl.
8 Though the free tenants were not astricted to the land they lived under

different conditions, even in the same place (Meldrede, Domesday, i. 202 a, 1),
in regard to the tenns on which they could sell; potuit recedere sine ejus licentia,
Soham, i. 195 b, 2; non potuit recedere sine licentia ejus, Haslingfelde, 194 b,
1; potuit dare vel vendere, soca vero domino remansit, Trepeslau, 197 a, 1.
The fullest freedom is defined in the Worcester customs about the man who
neglected the summons to service in the field. Si ita Uber homo est ut habeat
socam suam et sacam et cum terra sua possit ire quo voluerit, i. 172 a, 1.
The exercise of proprietary rights more or less freely, appears to give the line which
is drawn in Domesday between the free and the unfree. For legal purposes it
was marked by the right to plead in certain courts, and by the subjection of the
progeny to the lord, which was symbolised by the obligation to pay merchet.

The Worcestershire entries show clearly that the free tenants might be respon-
sible for predial service. De hac terra (Longedune) tempore Regis Edward!
teuebant ix hberi homines xviii hidas et secabant uno die in pratis domini sui et
faciebant servitium sic ut eis precipiebatur (i. 174 b, 1). So at Poiwic of the viii
radmans habentes inter se x camcas et plures bordarios et servos cmn vii carucis.
Quod tenebant valebat c solidos. Ipsi rachnans secabant uno die in anno in pratis
domini et omne servitium quod eis jubebatur faciebant (i. 174 b, 2). At Chemesege
Ah-icus eas tenebat etiam tempore regis WiUielmi, et reddebat inde omnes con-
suetudines firmse sicuti reddebant antecessores sui excepto rustico opere sicut
deprecari poterat a proposito, i. 172 b, 2. So the liberi homines of Lailaud
between the Ribble and the Mersey like those of Salford non operabant per
consuetudinem ad aulam domini neque metebant in Augusto. Tantummodo
unam haiam in silva faciebant (i. 270 a, 1).

ROYAL INQUISITIONS. 167

licence from the lord ; still the socman, radman and other A.D. 1066
free tenants appear to have been free proprietors or lessees^
whose geld was included along with that of the manorial lord,
and who were in a greater or less degree under his control.
Mr Seebohm has shown that there was a much larger propor-
tion of this class in the Danish counties than in other parts
of England.

Of the other tenants by far the most numerous and widely vuiani.
diffused class were the villani'^ ; from the Middlesex entries
it appears that their holdings differed in size, and there are
only a few incidental notices of services rendered by the men* ;
at the same time, it seems not unreasonable to identify this
class with the men who are described under the same name
in the extenta of later manors ; these usually held a virgate of
land, which was stocked for them, and were bound to do week
work, boon work and to make some occasional payments to the
lord. Some Domesday villani had already attained the posi-
tion oi gablatores, who paid rent either in kind or coin; though
the commutation of predial services for money payments does
not appear to have taken place very rapidly till the fourteenth
century, when money was becoming more generally available*.

1 In some of the Worcestershii-e entries the terms of the tenancy are stated.
Land at Pershore was rented at una firma or twenty shillings for the man's own
life and that of his wife, but was then to retui-n to the Abbey. Other land was let
for foiu- lives, and the last heir held it at the time of the Survey. Ibid. 175 a, 2.

* Prof. Vinogradoff has shown that considerable confusion arises if this term
in Domesday be interpreted with the strictness that was subsequently given to it.
Villainage in England, pp. 119, 209, 218.

8 The services are only noted incidentally. In Bricstelmestune x villani et x
bordarii cum vi camcis et arant et semLuant vi acras de proprio sendne. So too
in Depeforde; and in Aichintune vi coliberti reddunt per aimum xi solidos et ii
denarios et arant et seminant de proprio semiae xii acras {Domesday, i. 174 b, 1).
KeUiam quotes a similar case, Domesday lilies. 361. The services noted are often
those of men who were considered free. Derbei. Omnes isti taini habueriuit con-
suetudiuem reddere ii oras denariorum de unaquaque carucata terras et faciebant
per consuetudinem domos regis et qu£e ibi pertiuebant sic ut vOlani, et piscarias et
in silva haias et stabUituras ; et qui ad hsec non ibat quando debebat U solidos
emendabat et postea ad opus veniebat et operabatur donee perfectum erat.
TJnusquisque eorum uno die in Augusto mittebat messores suos secare segetes
regis, I. 269 b, 2. The men of Newton in Lancashire had the same liberties as those
of Derby Hundred, et plus Ulis ii diebus in Augusto metebant in cultuiis regis, i.
269 b, 2. Again at Deerhurst in Gloucestershire. De terra hujus manerii tenebant
radchenistri id est liberi homines tempore regis Edwardi qui tamen omnes ad
opus domini arabant et herciabant, falcabant et metebant. Domesday, 1. 1G6 a, 2.

* T. W. Page, E7id of Villainage in England, 39, 43. See below pp. 233, 398.

168

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
—1272.

Ootarius.

The villain may be taken as corresponding with the gehur,
who is described in the Rectitudines as holding a yardland
and owing similar services, in week work and boon work, to
those which were exacted later from the villanus.

In the next place we have a class of tenants which is
sometimes distinguished into two sub-varieties— the cotarius
and the bordarms; generally we have one or the other
specified, but occasionally they both occur together'; they
appear for the most part to have had little plots with
their homesteads; but not to have had any oxen of their
own^. We should be justified in all probability in
identifying one or other of them with the cotsetle men-
tioned in the Rectitudines. The beeherds, swineherds* and
others enumerated in that document are apparently grouped
together under the heading of servi in Doynesday Book.

It would be interesting if we could be sure that the
^jfoniefday. enumeration of Domesday is complete, and that it gives an
accurate statement of the able-bodied population. There is
no reason, however, to believe that this is the case ; in one
instance where we can test it, the information furnished by
Domesday is not exhaustive. There are only a few notices
of parish priests or parish churches; yet there is every
reason to believe that these ecclesiastical divisions date from
a far earlier time ; and no mention is made of some churches,
like that of S. Benet in Cambridge, which were certainly
standing. The clergy as a class are omitted from the reckon-
in or, and we have no reason to believe that the enumeration
of other classes is complete ; if there was a class of ' free
labourers' it is not clear under which heading they would
have been included. It seems possible too that the reckoning
is not so much of people as of personal responsibilities which

Servi.

The amis-

1 This is the case at Staines : the enumeration there given of the size of the
holdings is instructive: Ad dominium pertinent xi hidre et ibi sunt xiii carucse.
Villaui habent xi carucas. Ibi iii villani quisque dimidiam hidam et iiii villani
de i hida et viii villani quisque de dimidio virgatse et xxxvi bordarii de iii hidis et
i villanus de i virgata et iiii bordarii de xl acris et x bordarii quisque v acras, et
T cotarii quisque de iiii acris et viii bordarii de i virgata et iii cotarii de ix acris
et xii servi et xlvi burgenses qui reddunt per annum xl solidoa. Domesday, i.
128 a, 2.

a Andrews, Old English Manor, 173.

3 An account of the servants at Glastonbury and then- perquisites will be found
in the Liber Heniici de Soliaco, pp. 10 — 17.

ROYAL INQUISITIONS. 169

might be discharged by more than one human being, as it is a.d. io66
difficult to account for the phrase 'half a villain'^ unless by
some such supposition.

There is a great variety in the method of describing the The waste.
waste, and in the uses to which it was put^ ; it was important
to note tliat there was pasture enough for the teams^ and
wood for repairing the houses* and for making the tem-
porary fences which kept the cattle from straying into the
growing corn^ In some cases, as in Yorkshire, the length and
breadth of the waste is given ; in Cambridgeshire it is rather
estimated by the pannage for swine; hawking or hunting
facilities are occasionally mentioned®; and great stress is
laid on opportunities for fishing. We also find careful note
of the other resources, in particular of the mills ; it is not Milh.
always clear what was the power which worked them, as
in the case of the mill which endangered the ships in the
harbour at Dover " per magnam turbationem maris ^" One
very important industry was the manufacture of salt ; the Salt.
pits at Droitwich were much worked, and a large number
of neighbouring proprietors had an interest in them ^ ;
curious details are also given in some of the Cheshire
entries'. There is evidence that iron ore was worked at Iron.
Rhyddlan in Flintshire" as well as in the neighbourhood
of Gloucester". Another set of profitable rights were those
connected with markets^^, which are mentioned not infre- Markets.
quently. On the other hand fairs are rarely^* specified.

1 Domesday Booh, Burewelle, 192 b, 2 and Grantesete, 196 a, 1. xlii viUani et
dimidium ; iii viUani et dimidium.

2 The Bishop of Worcester's rights at Malvern are a good instance. De hac
habebat mel et venationem et quicquid exibat et insuper x sohdos. Modo est
in foresta. Pasnagium vero et ignem et domorum emendationem inde accipit
episcopus. Domesday, i. 173 a, 2. 8 Pastui-a ad pecuniam villce.

•' Compare the rights in the wood of Milchete in Wiltshire ; quater xx caretede3
ligiiorum et ad domos et ad sepes quod opus est. Domesday, i. 68 a, 1 and 2.

6 Nemus ad sepes reficiendas.

^ Sutona. Harum viginti hidarum onines silvas habet comes in foresta sua
positas. Unde maneria sunt multum pejorata. Haec foresta habet x leugas
lougitudine et iii leugas latitudine. Ibi sunt quatuor airse accipitrum. Domesday,
I. -268 b.

1 Domesday, i. 1 a, 1. 8 Domesday, i. 172 a, 1.

9 Domesday, i. 268 a, 1 and 2. «> Domesday, i. 269 a, 1.

" Domesday, I. 162 a, 1. 12 J'rome, Domesday , 1. 86 b, 1.

13 Aspella in Suffolk, Domesday, 11. 413.

170

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
— 127-2.
Valines,

Milton

The last point noted in each entry is a statement of the
sum of all these separate items ; this is given by simply
noting the annual value of the whole estate in terms of
and their money for three distinct periods. We can thus see fairly
variations. ^^^^ which estates had suffered most during the troubles
connected with the Conquest ; wherever the numbers of the
tenantry had decreased, whether they paid in money or by
their work, the annual value would decline. On the whole
it appears that the lowest point was reached, generally
speaking, at the time when the lands were granted by King
William ; many estates had recovered since that date, and
some were in better condition than they had been in the
time of the Confessor. The comparison of these annual
values with the rating {quot hidce) gives us the means of
detecting the cases where the taxation was levied at favour-
able rates.

63. Leaving the articles of enquiry we may now look at
one or two particular entries ; they give us illustrations of the
points already discussed, but we can also glean from them
a great deal of interesting information as to the way in
which estates had changed hands at the Conquest.

In Middeltone ten Kadulf^ de Picot . Xll . hid

i __ e . ^ _ ^^

VII . car . In dnio funt . Ii . 7 alioe . II . pofs . ee

i _ h ^

uiiii cu XII . bord 7 IX . cot hnt . Ill . car . Ibi . V

ptu llll . car . Pafta ad pecun . De marefch

anguiH-. 7 xii . den . In totis ualent uai . Vli . lib . Qjdo
recep i viii . lib . T.R.EC xii . lib^

" In Middleton Radolf holds twelve hides of Picot ; there
is land for seven teams. On the domain there are two teams,
and there could be two more. Ten villains with twelve
bordars and nine cottars have three teams there. Five serfs
are there. There is a meadow for four teams and pasture

1 Domesday, I. 201 b, 1. In Middeltone tenet Radulfus de Picoto xii hidas.
Terra est vii carucis. In dominio sunt duae et aliae duse possunt esse. Ibi x
villani cum xii bordariis et ix cotariis habent iii carucas. Ibi v servi. Pratum iiii
carucis. Pastura ad pecuniam. De marisca del anguillae et xii denarii. In totia
valentiis valet vii lib. Quando recepit viii lib. Tempore Eegis Edwardi xii lib.

Tra. e
Ibi X.

ferui .
fexcent 7 L.

ROYAL INQUISITIONS. 171

for the cattle. From the marsh 650 eels and twelve pence, a.d. io66

'■ ^ 1272.

The whole is worth seven pounds : when he received it eight

pounds; in the time of King Edward twelve pounds*." The
entry closes with an account of the previous tenants: one had
been purveyor of the royal household ; he had held six hides
and three virgates of the Abbey of Ely, and he was not free
to sell them nor to separate them from the church ; through
his death the land returned to the church of S. Etheldreda of
Ely; four other socmen held four hides and half a virgate
under the Abbey of Ely, but they were able to sell their
land. There is little here that calls for special remark ; the
domain at Milton was part of the Ely land, which the Abbey
had got in exchange for another estate ^ but the long resist-
ance of Hereward from his ' Camp of Refuge ' had given
ample excuse for confiscation, and it now belonged to Picot
the Sheriff; the four socmen, who each held a hide, had also
suffered in the struggle, and if they survived, they were no
longer in possession ; it is not probable that they had
exercised their powers of selling their land.

In the entries of some of the manors we get very definite Forms of

1 1 1 n -I T T • 1 payment

statements, not only as to the value oi the obligations to be
discharged but as to the form of payment. In connection
with the royal manor of Soham we read of seven fishermen
who were bound to give fish three times a year, and the
terms for settling pecuniary debts are clearly defined*.

1 From the Liber Eliensis we gather that the price of land was about £5 a hide
in the tenth and eleventh centuries : in all probability this included the stock on
the land: the team of eight oxen would be worth £1. The live-stock on the waste
at Milton is given in the Inquisitio J5JZie«sw, and from various incidental quotations
of the prices of stock (Thorpe, Ancient Laws, i. pp. 139, 235, 357, 582 ; Hale,
S. Faul's, p. xlui) we get the value of the stock as follows :

2 oxen unemployed .... 50

220 sheep at 5d 4 11 8

24 pigs at Si 16 0

6 horses at 10s 3 0 0

£8 12 8

• 240 acres in exchange for 227 at Fordham. Lib. Eliensis, vs.. 31.

8 Saham manerimn regis pro ix hidis et dimidia se defendebat. Terra est
xiv carucis. Ibi sunt xvi viUani et xvi bordarii cum xii carucis. In dominie
ii carucse et iv servi et ii molendini xxiv solidorum. De piscaris iii miUa et
quingentse anguill£e. Pratum xiiii carucis. Pastiura ad pecuniam viUse. Ibi vii
piscatores reddentes regi presentationem piscium ter in anno secundum quod

172 FEUDALISM.

^Po-^,^^*' Twenty-five pounds were to be tested and weighed ; thirteen

hy weight pounds and eight shillings were to be paid by tale, with an

or by tale. a^iiQ^r^nce of de-albating money for the defects of the coin ;

this payment was apparently a new composition for the petty

customs on corn, malt, and honey. This last article was

very greatly prized, as men had to rely almost entirely on

honey and the honeycomb, both for sweetening and for

lighting.

The towns. 64. Among the most interesting entries in the Survey

are those which put on record some information as to the

various towns. There seems to have been in each shire

a hurg or civitas, which was not part of the royal estate';

each of these towns was a curiously complex group, and quite

a number of different proprietors appear to have had houses

and rights in them I It is difficult to see amid all the

possunt. In totis valentiis reddit per annum xxv libras arsas et pensatas et
liii libras et viii solidos et iv denarios ad numerum de albis denariis pro frumento,
brasio, melle et aliis minutis consuetudinibus. Tempore Regis Edwardi reddebat
xxv libras ad nmnerum, et per iii dies flrmam de frumento, melle et brasio et
de omnibus aliis. Hoc manerium habuit rex Edwardus semper in domiuio.
Domesday, i. 189 a, 2.

1 Maitland, Domesday Book and Beyond, 178.

2 In Burgo de Waruuic habet rex in dominio suo cxiii domus, et barones
regis babent cxii de quibus omnibus rex habet geldum suum. Episcopus de
Wirecestre habet ix masuras. Episcopus de Cestre vii. Abbas de Coventreu
xxxvi et iiii sunt vastse propter situm castelli. Episcopus constantientis i domum
habet. Comes de MeUend xii masuras. Albericus comes habuit iiii quae pertinent
ad terram quam tenuit. Hugo de Grentemaisnil iiii et monachi pilardintone
babent i de eo. Heinricus de Fereres habet ii. Eobertus de Stradford vi. Rogerius
de iuri u. Eicardus venator i. Kadulfus de Limesi ix. Abbas Mahnasberie i.
Willielmus bonvaslet i. WUliehnus fihus corbucion duas. Goisfridus de Magneville
1. Goisfridus de Wirce i. Gislebertus de Gant ii. Gislebertus budi i. Nicolaus
balistarius i. Stephanus stii-man i. Turchil iiii. Hai'old ii. Osbernus fihus
Bicardi i. Cristiaa i. Luith moniahs ii.

Has masurae pertinent ad terras quas ipsi barones tenent extra burgum et ibi
appreciatae sunt. Praeter has supradictas masuras sunt in ipso burgo xix
burgenses qui habent xix masuras cum saca et soca et omnibus consuetudinibus,
et ita habebant T. R. E. Tempore Regis Edwardi vicecomitatus de Waruuic cum
burgo et cum regaUbus Manerijs reddebat Lxv libras et xxxvi sextaria meUis, aut
xxiii libras et viii solidos pro omnibus quae ad mel pertinebant.

Modo inter firmam regalium Maneriorum et placita comitatus reddit per annum
cxlv libras ad pondus, et xxiii libras pro consuetudine canum, et xx solidos pro
snmmario, et x hbras pro accipitre, et c solidos reginae pro gersuma.

Prajter hoc reddunt xxiiii sextaria meUis cum majori mensura, et de Burgo vi
sextaria meUis, Sextarium scilicet pro xv denariis. De his habet comes de
MeUend vi sextaria et v solidos.

Consuetude Waruuic fuit ut eveute rege per terram in expeditionem, decem

ROYAL INQUISITIONS. 173

diversity of separate claims wherein the unity of the group a.d. io66
consisted ; but there were at least common obligations to the
Crown, definite rights in the common fields, some tradition of
common custom, and the germ of burghal administration.
The towns seem to have suffered more seriously than the
merely rural districts during the struggle for the English
Throne. It is said that the Danish elements in the
population prolonged resistance more than others, and
this may have accounted for some of the opposition,
which developed in the north and called down such
terrible vengeance ; it may account too for the partial
destruction of Exeter and Chester, of Lincoln and York.
But the chief complaint was due to the clearances which
William effected in order to obtain sites for the castles with
which he finally quelled resistance. More than half the parfini at-
houses had been destroyed in Barnstaple, Wareham, and
Dorchester; and in Cambridge, besides the smaller destruc-
tion which had taken place in other wards, 28 houses had
been pulled down in one ward to build a castle. The city of
Shrewsbury was in a pitiable plight ; not only was much of
it destroyed, but the French burgesses^ were exempted from
the payment of burgh assessments, so that the sum which
was formerly defrayed by the contributions of 252 house-
holders was now levied on a miserable remnant of 59^.

It is also striking to notice the distribution of the more djstribu-
important towns ; the southern coasts were evidently of chief
importance. Though London is not included in the Survey
we can draw on other sources for some information regarding
the chief city of the kingdom ; it was assessed at 1200
hides^ and its customs have been recorded in some detail.
The city of York contained 1600 houses — even Norwich
and Lincoln were smaller — and Chester was the centre of

burgenses de Warauic pro omuibus alijs irent. Qui monitus non ibat c solidos
regi emendabat.

Si vero per mare contra hostes sues ibat rex, uel iiii batsueins, uel iiii libras
denariorum ei mittebant. Domesday, i. 238 a, 1.

1 Ou the francigense of Domesday compare Appendix E.

2 Domesday, I. 252 a, 1.

3 Hidagium comitatus totius Middehexe. The Abbey of Westminster was
rated at 118 hides ; the county of Middlesex at 853^ hides, and paid £85. 0,?. ixl. for
Danegeld, while London paid £120. British Museum, Add. MSS. 14,252, f. 127.

174

FEUDALISM.

and con-
stitution

A.D. 1066 a larsre trade which extended to the Danish settlements in

1272

Ireland and perhaps to more distant regions.

There was both a landed and a moneyed interest in the
towns, and the townsmen, in so far as they were engaged in
tillage, probably found themselves subjected to heavier
burdens in the period after the Conquests The Cambridge
burgesses had to lend their teams nine times a year to the
sheriff — formerly three times ouly. The best description of
the rights and duties which were enforced in a trading
centre is to be found in the account of Chester^ The
regulations for local police serve at all events to show the
nature of the crimes which were most common ; but there is
curiously little mention of difficulties in the actual conduct
of transactions, or of the security of foreign merchants.

65. Besides the Domesday Survey there were other
royal inquisitions which throw light upon this period. Not
only are there interesting inventories^, which were got to-
gether for assessing taxes on movables, and local enquiries
like the Liber Winton of Henry I.*, but by a most fortunate
coincidence there was a second general enquiry, from the
results of which we have a detailed record of the condition
of many parts of England at the close of this period. We
are thus able to get some data for estimating the growth
which took place during the two centuries which elapsed
between the compilation of Domesday Book and of the
Hundred Rolls ; while the records of ecclesiastical houses
furnish us with many particulars for special places in the
intervening years. The Inquisitio Eliensis^ and Exon
Domesday^ were apparently transcribed for the sake of pre-
serving a statement of the condition of the monastic and
ecclesiastical property at the time of the Conquest. The

The

Hundred

Rolls.

1 Maitland, Township and Burgh, 45. The predial services at Leicester,
which were a matter of complaint in 1200, may not have been older than the time
of Henry I., when Robert of Needham established his power over the whole town
with the exception of the Bishop's fee: ^a.ieson, Records of the Borough of Leicester,
L XIV. XX. On later controversies in regard to the Lammas lands at Coventry
see M. D. Harris, Life in an Old English Toion, 206.

* The customs relating to foreign merchants are interesting, and they show three
separate jurisdictions in one city, the king, earl, and bishop. Domesday, i. 262 b,
1 and 263 a, 1. 3 Rot. Pari. i. 228 a. * D. B. iv. 531.

5 Z>. B. IV. 495. Also edited by N. E. S. Hamilton. 6 £>. B. iv. 1.

ROYAL INQUISITIONS. 175

larger Liber Winton^ was drawn up by the orders of Bishop a.d. 1066
Henry in 1148 ; the Boldon Book^ was a survey of the rents
of the church of Durham, made by Bishop Hugh in 1183.
Similar investigations were carried out by Abbot Samson
of Bury about 1185', and surveys, more or less complete
in character, have survived for the lands of Burton*, Peter-
borough^ and Glastonbury^, as well as for those of S. Paul's in
London^ and S. Mary's at Worcester ^ The special features
of these inquisitions have been discussed by Mr HalF.

The precise object which the first Edward had in view
when the Hundred Bolls was compiled in 1274, was some-
what different from that of the first William in 1086, as
he wished to discover the real nature and extent of the
traditional rights of the crown, and to detect the malver-
sations of royal officers. When Edward I. returned to Eng- Malversa-
land and assumed the reins of government, he found that
the royal rights had suffered most serious encroachments
and that royal lauds had been appropriated, to the very
severe loss of the crown". He therefore appointed com-
missioners who were charged to enquire into the royal
lands and royal rights in each shire ; this survey was con-
ducted in very much the same way as that of the Conqueror.
Extracts from the inquisition then made, which have special
reference to the usurpation of jurisdiction and other royal
rights and possessions, exist for all the counties of England.
The Hundred Bolls in their full shape only survive for seven
counties, but they contain a most extraordinary mass of

1 D. B. IV. 54-2.

2 D. B. TV. 565. Also edited by Greenwell for the Surtees Society.

•^ This enquiry is mentioned by Jocelin in his Chronicle, p. 21. The portion
of the survey which has been preserved gave a clue to Mr Corbett as to the levying
of the Danegeld in East Anglia.

* Burton Chartvlary (1113), Wm. Salt, Archceol. Sac. Collectioiw, v. 18.

^ Liber Niger (1125 — 8), in Chronicon Petrohurgense (Camden Society).

s Liber Henrici de Soliaco, edited by J. E. Jackson and published as Inquisition
of Manors of Glastonbury Abbey (1189), (Eoxburgh Club).

"' Domesday Radulphi de Diceto (1181). Registrum de visitatione niancriorum
(1222), edited by Hale for the Camden Society.

8 Registrum Prioratus Beatce Marice Wigorniensis (1240), edited by Hale for the
Camden Society. There is also an interesting rental of Coldingham in Berwick-
shire (1298). Correspondence dc. of Coldingham (Surtees Soc), p. Ixxxv.

9 Formula Booh, pt. ii. 5, 22.
1° Annals of Winchester, 119.

176

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
—1272.

Articles of
enquiry.

Export of
wool.

information, very much more detailed than that which is
given in Domesday Book; they afford us a most curious
insight into the life of the time, and supply information
bearing on the progress of the country since the earlier record
had been compiled.

The articles of enquiry are elaborate ; they first demand
information as to what manors the king had at the
time or used to have in his own hands ; there is then an
enquiry as to the royal tenants in chief and as to losses by
subinfeudation ; then as to the free socmen on royal domain ;
then as to the ferm and other rents of each hundred or
burgh, and of alienations; there next is an article about
those who claimed to hold courts of wreckage, to have other
royal rights or the assize of bread and ale ; also about those
who by the privileges granted to them interfered with the
course of justice, and assumed or enlarged chases and
warrens. Enquiries are made too as to the misdeeds of the
royal officers, either in taking biibes and compounding
crimes, or in fiscal exactions^ ; also in connection with the
repairs of Toyal castles and manors, escheats to the crown
and such other matters.

The articles, as given at the commencement of the
printed volume, are not quite complete ; there were four or
five other points on which enquiries were made and one of
these yielded information that is of special economic inte-
rests It had reference to the export of wool to Flanders at
the time when owing to the hostile relations between the
king and the Countess^ that trade had been prohibited or
only carried on by special licenced In regard to each of the

1 The bailiffs of the ports iii King John's time took excessive custom ; in cases
where merchants sold a portion of their goods to get supply of victuals, they were
only to be charged customs on the goods sold and not on the whole cargo. Black
Book of Admiralty, I. 72.

2 Item qui durante discordia inter dominum Eegem et comitissam Flandrise
fi-audulenter contra inibicionem vel defensionem Domini Regis lanas duxerunt.
Bot. Hund. II. 245.

3 yaxeabergh^^elations diploniatiques entre Flandre et V Angleterre, 134, 138.

^ Eespondent et dicunt quod durante discordia inter dominum Eegem Angliaj
et comitissam Flaudi-iae quod Gregorius de Eokesle, Stephanus de Cornhull,
Thomas de Basingges, Nicholas de Wynton, Wohnarus de Estchep, Petrus Cosyn,
WUlielmus Box, Eobertus de Araz, Eicardus de Araz, Eicardus de Abbingdou,
Eicardus de Evere, Alanus ad Castrum Baynard, Eobertus de Basingges, Eicardus

PwOYAL INQUISITIONS. 177

alleged infractions of royal right, there is the reiterated A.D. 1066
question as to the warrant by which the man presumed to ~ ' '
usurp crown property or regal privileges.

The commissioners appear to have executed the task Extra-
most exhaustively, and to have carried back their enquiries detail.
as to proof of title for several generations. They also put on
record in many cases very detailed statements of the precise
position and obligations of the tenants on different estates.
The purpose of the Ddmesday Survey had been to make such
a financial estimate as to enable the king to reckon on the
revenue he might expect as gafol, or the suras he might
levy as geld ; but in the Hundred Rolls the immediate
object was to investigate the legal rights of the king, and "
of the tenantry. The mode of procedure was similar to that
which the Conqueror had adopted ; it can be followed step
by step in the case of Lincolnshire. First in 1274 the
commissioners were empowered to make their enquiries of
sworn jurors, and they appear to have completed their task
within the year. From the rolls thus furnished, extracts
were compiled of those matters which demanded farther
information, and quo warranto proceedings based upon them Quo
were instituted before the Justices in Eyre^ In the Lin- "**"""" "•
colnshire and in the Gloucestershire Rolls, a brief note is
appended of the results which were finally reached. Thus
it was i'ound that Norman Percy held a carucate of land at
Fulletby in Lincolnshire which was part of the honor of
Horncastle, and which had been alienated as long ago as the
time of Henry I, It was worth five marks annually. It was
finally decided by a jury of twelve men that it was geldable

Digon, Morekiuus le Wolmongere, Lucas de Lukes et tota sua societas, Aldebrandus
de Luca et tota sua societas, Eustikeyl et tota sua societas, Denteytus et tota sua
societas, Hugo Pape et tota sua societas, Jacomimus de Leget et tota sua societas,
Williehnus Lamy de Eothomago et multi alii tarn de regno Anglise quam de aliis
regnis quorum nomina et personas penitus ignorant contra inhibicionem domini
Regis fecerunt cariare lanas ultra mare set quot saccos et quos portus omnino
ignorant et quo warranto similiter ignorant. Rot. Hund. i. 405. Pi-om other
entries it appears that the wool was mostly shipped either to Calais or S. Omer
(i. p. 406). Wool grown in Northamptonshire was shipped to Eouen by South-
ampton (n. 4). In some cases it was smuggled out, made up like parcels of cloth
(i. p. 411), and in others it was packed in casks of wine (i. p. 414).
1 Statute of Gloucester (1278), preamble.

C. H. 12

trade

holders.

178 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 land and that the kins: had seisin of it^ The abbot of

J272 •

Westminster was accused of very many encroachments- ;
he had extensive privileges but he had enlarged them in an
unwarrantable fashion, to the prejudice of the king and his
subjects, since the time of the battle of Evesham.

Though the enquiry had a legal rather than a directly
financial bearing, it preserves details which throw an im-
mense amount of light on every side of industrial and com-

Wod mercial life. It is possible to get a surprisingly detailed
account of a portion of the English wool trade from these
pages ; the persons who were engaged in it both internally
and as export merchants ; the rates at which business was
done, the ports of shipment, and so forth. It would be
comparatively easy to construct a wonderfully complete
directory for certain towns, with the names of each of

House- the householders and a summary of his title^; and much
curious information occurs as to the dilapidation* of bridges,
and the encroachments of building in the streets. Again in
some rural districts, as in Huntingdonshire, the rights and
responsibilities of the various tenants are stated in detail.

1 Rot. Eimd. I. 303.

* Dicunt quod Abbas Westmonasterii babet et clamat habere returnum et
eitractas brevium et tenet placita de namio vetito, levavit etiam furcas in comitatu
Middlesex. Habet etiam assisam panis et cerevisise videlicet returnum et extractas
brevium et placita de namio vetito in omnibus maneriis suis in comitatu Middlesex.
Assisam panis et cerevisiae in villa de Stanes et apud Westmonasterium. Et
apud Stanes mercatimi levavit, etiam apud Tybom quasdam furcas constmxit,
etiam quoddara molendinum aquaticum in Tbamisi in comitatu Middlesex in-
pediens rectum cursum aque predicte in prejudicium corone domini Eegfis et aJ
maximum dampnum civitatis sue Londoni quo warento nesciunt et biis usus est
post bellum de Evesham. Rot. Bund. i. 422.

* Thirty-six closely-printed pages are devoted to details about Cambridge.
Item Lucia quae fuit uxor WiUielmi Toylet tenet unum messuagium in parochia

Omnium Sanctorum juxta Osspitalem, quod emit de Williehno de Sancto Edmundo,
capeUano, qui quidem WiUiehnus iUud habuit de dono Eoberti de Sancto Edmundo
patris sui, qui quidem Kobertus illud emit de Andrea de Wimpol, qui quidem
Andreas illud habuit ex antiqua successione antecessorum suorimi et inde reddit
per annum Cancellario TJniversitatis Cantabrigensis iii 8. et Hosspitali Sancti
Johaniiis Cantabrigensis xii d. Rot. Hund. n. 390.

* Dicunt etiam quod cum pons Londouie fuisset mnlto tempore in manu civium
civitatis et semper consueverint de communi asseusu facere custodem ad commu-
nem proficium domini Eegis et sue civitatis et omnium transeuncimn, nunc est
dictos pons in manu domine Regine, et nesciunt quo warento. Dicunt etiam
quod idem pons est in magno periculo cadendi per defectum custodie quod est ad
magnum periculum domini Eegis et sue civitatis et omnes {sic) transeuncinm.
Rot. Hund. I. 406.

ROYAL INQUISITIONS. 179

The question how far these data enable us to estimate A.D. 1068

■■• , . 1272

the progress that occurred during the two centuries after
the Norman Conquest, is not easy to answer. If we hope
to make accurate comparisons we shall for the most part be
disappointed, since we are so often baffled by the silence Popuia-
of Domesday. It cannot be doubted, however, that there
was a very great growth of rural population, and a consequent
increase of manorial resources \ The total services due in-
creased'^ and holdings were often subdivided*, while there was a
great addition to the number of free tenants in some estates*.
At Milton^ there were twenty-three free tenants, twenty-nine
villains, and fifteen cottars, besides the rector and his half-
dozen dependents. The change is still more striking in the
towns, for it is evident that they had not only increased in
number but had also altered in character. Many had become
centres of dealing and industry ; they were filled with shops,
and were not only agricultural, but industrial and commercial®
groups.

What is most curious about some of the towns is the
complicated system of government which obtained in them'^. Dual
In occasional difficulties at Cambridge as to the respective
rights of University and town, we still see something of
the confusion which was caused by conflicting rights and
privileges, but the case of Edinburgh affords a more curious
instance of the survival of separate local jurisdictions. The
burghs of Canongate^ and Portsburgh and the bailiary of
Calton maintained their independence of the city of Edin-
burgh till they were merged in it in 1856. The tradition of
the severance between the French and English towns® still
lingers at Nottingham, where it was perpetuated by the

' See p. 104 above.

■■^ N. Neilson, Economic Conditions of the Manors of Ramsey, 46, 50.

* Kovalevsky, Die oek. Entwichelung Europa's, n. 70.

* Page, Die Umwandlung der Frohndienste in Oeldrente, 19. See below, p. 3D8.
5 Rot. Bund. n. 452.

^ This appears even in the depreciatory remarks which are put into the mouth
of a French Jew; at Bristol there was no one but soapmakers, a.d. 1192.
Eichai'd of Devizes, Chron. § 81.

^ In Norwich the king and earl had had sack and soc and consuetude over
238 burgesses, Stigand over 50, and Harold over 32. Domesday, n. 116.

8 Scottish Municipal Corporations Report (1835), Part i. p. 323.

9 In Norwich the two distinct elements seem to have been merged in one
system of municipal government in 1223 and perhaps earher. Hudson, Lect
Jurisdiction in the City of Norwich, xiv. xv.

12—2

180

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 10G6

—1272.

Wards.

Fairs.

A.D. 1211.

A.D. 1150.

A.!). 1211.

differences in the customs of the two towns*. In London
each single ward had its own government ; and the separate
reports, which the commissioners collected from each of them,
show how little administrative unity there was throughout
the different parts of the city. It was still a congeries of
distinct wards each belonging to a distinct ' baron ' ; and
there Avere conflicting privileges and competing jurisdictions
in many localities.

After all, a great deal of the trade of the country was
carried on at occasional marts rather than at permanent
centres, and we find a good deal of information in the
Hundred Rolls about various fairs. This is a matter on
which Domesday is almost entirely silent^ and there can be
but little doubt that many fairs had been founded since that
time. In Cambridge there were tour annual fairs, one
belonging to the Prior of Barnwell, held for four days from
the Vigil of S. John the Baptist^, and now surviving in
Midsummer fair, for this he paid a mark of silver; another,
which existed in the present century as Garlic fair, belonged
to the Prioress and nuns of S. Rhadegund, and lasted for two
days from the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin*; a
third, belonging to the Master of the Lepers' Hospital^, was
held on Holy Cross Vigil and Day, and survives in Stourbridge
fair^ ; the fourth belonged to the burgesses and was held on

1 Nottingham Records, i. pp. 124, 168, 172, 186.

2 This silence is not of course absolutely conclusive, nor do charters prove the
date of the origin of a fail- ; fairs which were granted to particular persons may
have existed before that time, either as mere usurpations, or in the king's own
hands. So far as Domesday is concerned a fair might have existed, but if the
king had not granted the toUs to any one, but kept them in his own hands, it
would make no difference in the rating for the Geld and might possibly be
omitted from the Eecord. The mention of Irish merchants visiting Cambridge
with cloth {Liber Eliensis, n. 32) is at least suggestive of a fair there before the
Conquest. On the other hand it is sometimes possible to trace the history of the
origin of a fair ; there can be no doubt that the fair at S. Ives did not originate
before the discovery of the alleged relics in 1002, and the earliest grant is 1110.
Maitland {Selden Society, Select Pleas, Manorial, i. 131). There were fairs at
Chester fDugdale, Mon. Ang. n. 386) in the time of William IE., and at Exeter in
the twelfth century {Pipe Roll, 6 H. 11. p. 51).

8 By grant from King John, Rot. Hund. n. 358.

* By grant from King Stephen, Hundred Rolls, ii. 359.

^ By grant from King John, Hundred Rolls, n. 3fiO.

6 In the eighteenth century Stourbridge continued to be a most important
mart for all sorts of manufactured goods, as well as for horses, wool and hops.
Compare Daniel de Foe's most interesting account, Tour (1724), i. 91.

ROYAL INQUISITIONS. 181

the Rogation Days\ By far the greater part of the internal a.d. loes
commerce of the country was carried on at such fairs, as they ~ "'"■
afforded the only opportunities which the inhabitants of
inland districts possessed of purchasing pepper and other
imported articles ; while they gave the best opportunity for
bailiffs to lay in a store of those necessaries which they had
little facilities for procuring in their own homes*. Stourbridge
fair near Cambridge was the greatest of English fairs*; the
fens which cut off the north of England from the rich district
of East Anglia here came to an end, while the old Ickneild •
road which had skirted the north of the great Hertfordshire
forest and connected Norwich with the south passed close by.
Cambridge was thus a natural emporium for trade, but it was
greatly favoured by the character of its river; this was a
natural canal along which goods would be easily brought
from the port of Lynn. It was here that Oxford colleges laid
in their stock of salted eels for use during Lent, and that
wool and woollen cloth were largely bought.

A very vivid picture of the arrangements that were made Undue
for the business of a fair is presented to us in the agreement of fairs.
which was made between the Abbey of Lenton and the
burgesses of Nottingham about the year 1300*. The fair was
to be curtailed four days, in the interest of the local traders,
and there was to be no open market in the town during the
time the fair lasted. The size of the booths and the rents to
be paid for them are specified ; cloth-merchants, apothecaries
and mercers frequented it, as well as men who dealt in hides
and iron ; and the terms of their rents and tolls, according as
they were members of the Nottingham gild, and had land
in the town or not, are explicitly stated. Merchants from
distant towns would meet at these fairs, and they offered the
chief opportunities for wholesale trade. Any disputes which
arose were expeditiously settled at the Courts of Piepowder''

1 Hundred Rolls, u. 391. 2 Thorold Eogers, Six Cent. r. 146.

3 From the point of view of the Londoner in 1189, Boston and Winchester
fairs appear to have been more important; the Husting Court was not held, as
otherwise it would have conflicted with the business engagements of the citizens
at these marts. Turner, Domestic Architecture, I. 275. On Boston fair see
Thompson, Assoc. Arch. Sac. n. 370. * Nottingham Records, i. 61.

'' Maitland, Selden Society, Select Pleas, Manorial, i. 132. On the regulations
of fairs in Flanders, compare Warnkonig, Flandrische Staats- und Rechtsgesckichte,

182

FEUDALISM,

A.D. 1066 and generally according to Law Merchants The right ta
~^^'"'^" have such a fair and to receive tolls from those who carried
on the merchandise was very lucrative ; the owner of the fair
was tempted however to hold it for a longer period than
that which his grant assigned, and for this reason the fairs
were carefully investigated by Edward's commissioners.

Taking these matters together we may say that an
examination of the Hundred Rolls leaves on the mind an
impression of most rapid growth during this period. The
• population both in rural districts and in towns had increased
greatly, and there is ample evidence of a large foreign trade,
and of great facilities for internal trade. At the same time,
despite the mass of information which each record has pre-
served, we have not got the precise data which would be
necessary in order to enable us to give an accurate statement.
about the actual growth in any single direction.

IV. Foreign Intercourse.

Political
relations
vfith
Continent,

and

influence
en trade.

66. By far the most important results of the Norman
Conquest, so far as English History and Commerce were
concerned, lay in the new communications which were opened
up with other parts of the Continent — communications which
have been frequently interrupted, but never completely
suspended. This was partly due to the double position of
the reigning monarch, as Duke of Normandy as well as King
of England, for a close connection was established between
our country and the great northern duchy of France ; in the
early Plantagenet reigns by far the larger portion of the
territories of the King of England were on the Continent.
The constant intercommunication, which these political

I. 320, and App. No. 38. Very full information regarding those of Champagne
will be found in the work of Bourquelot, Memoires presentes a V Academie des
Inscriptions, n"' Serie, v. On the subject generally seeHuvelin, Essai historique
sur le Droit des Marches et des Foires.

1 On the special characteristics of Law Merchant see the curious paragraphs
printed by Mr Bickley in The Little Eed Booh of Bristol, i. 57.

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 183

relations rendered necessary, must have given much more a.D. io66
frequent opportunities for trade ; while the fact, that the ~ "
lands on each side of the Channel belonged to the same
ruler, made trading far more secure, and therefore more
profitable.

A similar impetus had been given by the connections
with Denmark and Scandinavia which were consolidated a.d. ioi7.
under Cnut, but they were of far less importance, for the
Norsemen with all their skill and enterprise failed to establish
a permanent and stable civilisation. Few things are more
remarkable than the complete collapse of a power which had
sho^^^l so much enterprise in planting industrial and trading
settlements ; but there was a want of cohesion among the
several parts, and the alternation of tyranny and anarchy
seems to have been fatal to the commerce of the northern
lands. The decline of northern seafaring and power syn- a.d. 1170.
chronises in a remarkable manner with the conversion of the
Swedes and Norsemen. But there was ample compensation
in the rapid development of industrial and commercial life in
Flanders, in Lorraine and the north of Germany, and among
the French communes ; signs of progress were beginning to
show themselves in the growth of new cities within the
provinces of the old empire, and even beyond its limits at
Hamburg, Bremen, and Lubeck^ the nucleus of the Hanse
League, which suppressed piracy and organised trade.
Strassburg, Cologne and other German towns had risen
into importance under the wise rule of Otho II. and the a.d. 975.
fostering care of Archbishops and Bishops^; in the twelfth
century they were beginning to secure independence from
the control of the ecclesiastical potentates®. S. Omer*, a.d. 1127.
Bruges and other Flemish towns had already attained
considerable status and importance. The northern towns
exercised a great influence on this island, not only by com-
mercial intercourse, but through the settlers who immigrated
here*. Tradition reports that many of them found homes in

1 Cunningham, Western Civilisation, n. 112.

2 Ghoier, Papst Gregorius VII.,yii.2. B.'6hlhanm, Hansisches Urkundenbuch,
1. Nos. 4, 5, 6.

3 Schmoller, Strasshurgs Bliithe, p. 14, Hbhlbaum, op. cit. i. No. 7.

* Giry, Histoire de la Ville de S. Omer, p. 47. ^ See Appendix E.

184 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 Moray* and Aberdeenshire", and associates them with the
"" '"■ Hanse which existed north of the Grampians in the thirteenth

century ^
Intercourse Great as was the influence exercised by these northern
Zant^ple towns, far more important results were due to the fact that
western Europe now began to come in contact with the
heritage of Roman civilisation, as it had been preserved at
Constantinople. The debt which Christendom owes to this
great city is rarely acknowledged : she was the bulwark
which broke the force of one wave of invasion after another ;
the Goths in the fourth century, the Huns in the fifth,
the Slavonic tribes in the sixth, the Persians and Saracens
in the seventh and eighth, and the Magyars and Bulgars
in the ninth, were all checked by the strength she com-
manded in her impregnable position*. It was no slight
service she rendered by merely affording time for the slow
growth of western civilisation ; but we owe her far more
than this, for the final achievements of the ancient world
were preserved for us, not in the old Rome, but in the new.
It was in Byzantium that the great code of Civil Law was
compiled ; it was in Byzantium that the best results of
Greek science and letters were retained; above all it was at
Byzantium that the trading habits and connections of the
Empire were preserved. We in England gradually appro-
priated the heritage of ancient Rome, but it reached us
through strange and tortuous channels : little came to us
directly from the province of Britain ; a larger share was
introduced by missionaries and ecclesiastics ; but still more
came through the Italian cities, which had derived their com-
mercial vigour from their intercourse with Constantinople.
Italian commerce revived in centres which had preserved
their allegiance to the Eastern Emperor ; Bari was one of the
first towns in Italy to show signs of a fresh commercial life ;
but it never attained to the importance of Amalfi, the town
from which a code of mercantile law emanated, and the name
of which is associated with the discovery of the compass,

1 Bain, Nairnshire, pp. 92, 93. 2 Robbie, Aberdeen, p. 18.

s Scottish Municipal Corporations, General Report (1835), p. 11.
^ D. Bikelas, Christian Greece, 23.

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 185

The people of Amalfi had the first Italian factory at Con- a.d. io66
stantinople ; they had trading connections with Antioch in ~ "
Syria; and as they entered into friendly relations with the
Mahomniedans in Sicily and North Africa, they did not a
little to re-establish the commercial intercourse which the
Arab invasions had severed. The Venetians, who had always
held aloof from the Lombardic kingdom, soon followed the
example set them ; they obtained a footing in Constanti-
nople, and engaged in friendly trade with the Saracens ;
while their position enabled them to open up commercial
intercourse with Germany as well. The town life of Italy,
and the Eastern and African trade of Italy, had begun to
re\dve before the time of the Norman settlements in Sicily
or of the Crusades. These were in many ways disturbing
elements, but they at least served to raise up new com-
petitors in Italy, and to introduce the French and English to
Mediterranean waters.

The existence of all these towns in such widely separated Consequent

£■ • • • 1 J." -i ii 1 J commercial

regions is a sign oi reviving commercial activity throughout revival.
Europe at this time ; they supplied the necessary conditions
without which regular trade could hardly be carried on at
all. Unless in a town, or in a fair, the foreign merchant had
not any sort of status and could not recover his debts ; he
was liable to be mulcted, not according to the Law Merchant
which he understood, but by local customs which were un-
familiar. This was equally true whether his business took
him to another country or only to another county. The Legal
Norwich merchant who visited London was as much of a-^"^**^'**
foreigner there as the man from Bruges or Rouen. In the
Calendar of fourteenth century letters despatched officially from
the city of London we find the same sort of communications
sent to the Bailiff and Good Folk of Gloucester, as went to
the Burgomasters and Echevins of Sluys\ Commerce almost
necessarily concentrated itself where such legal facilities

1 The two eutries referred to are consecutive ; in the first the Gloucester
authorities are asked to compel Thomas son of William Porter of Gloucester
to pay a long standing debt of 100 shillings to Andrew Aubrey of London ;
in the next the Burgomasters are informed that John Pelegrym and William
Crudener of Sluys had paid £3. 13s. which was owing to John Bartelot. R. E.
^Yi^'^e, Calendar of Letters, bl.

186

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
—1272.

Inter-

municipal

commerce.

immigra-
tion of
arlisans.

Weavers.

were available ; and thus the towns, or communes, with their
gild merchant, were institutions without which trade could
not be conducted, or at any rate not conducted on such
a scale. Even in regard to the business done at fairs
the municipality was an important factor; for it was
through the municipality to which the merchant belonged
that redress could be obtained in the case of any wrong
done'.

The commerce of the twelfth century then was municipal
rather than national ; internal trade was inter-municipal and
so too was distant trade. It grew rapidly because the king's
peace and the peace of God, and the personal protection
vouchsafed by foreign princes, gave some security for friendly
intercourse. But the chief occasions for intercommunication
throughout Europe arose in connection with the Crusades,
and their direct and indirect influence is observable in
England as elsewhere. Still, apart from this fresh impulse,
the kingdom gained not a little, by the mere fact that it had
been drawn out of its isolation into closer connection with
continental lands.

67. There was, for one thing, a large immigration of
artisans which began soon after the Conquest*^. A number
of Flemings had been driven from their own land by an
inundation, and they not unnaturally sought new homes in
an island where a noble Flemish lady had gone to reign as
queen. She took them under her own personal protection,
and they were scattered all through the kingdom, where
however they did not succeed in getting on peaceably with

1 Roll of S. Ives fair printed by Prof. Maitland, Sdect Pleas, Manorial, i. 133.
A most interesting correspondence is printed by Delpit {Collection, Nos. lxviu,
LUX. and i.xxi.). It arose out of a dispute between some horse-dealers at the
lairs of Champagne and Brie in 1292. A Florentine resident in London was said
to be in debt for horses bought but not paid for, and the custodes of the fair
wrote in 1300 to the mayor and citizens of London. The Florentine produced a
quittance duly signed, sealed and attested, but the custodes of the fair declareii
themselves dissatisfied and demanded that the goods of the Florentine should
be distrained, and he himself arrested. This the mayor refused to do without s
mandate from the king, who was away in Scotland, as the Florentine and his
friends were "de libertate civitatis Londoniensisw" Apparently intermunicipal
justice was slow, and not always sure.

• For additional proofs of the views expressed in this section see Appendix E.

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 187

the other subjects. King tlenry I. contemplated expelling a.d. io66
them from the realm, but finally assigned them a special ^^^ ^^q,j
district in Wales. There are still marked differences which
distinguish the men of Tenby and Oower from their Celtic
neighbours. Giraldus describes them as "gens Cambrensibus
inimicissima"; but adds "gens (inquam) lanificiis\ gens mer-
cimoniis usitatissima-." The position which these weavers
and dealers had originally secured cannot have been satis-
factory ; Camden remarks that they were not enriched with
lands, but taken under personal protection by the queen. So
long as they were specially privileged they could not amal-
gamate readily with their neighbours ; it was impossible
to perpetuate the distinction for all time, and therefore
it was necessary that they should either settle down as
ordinary burgesses, or occupy a separate district by them-
selves.

We have specific information in regard to these Flemings, Merchants.
but theirs was not the only, nor perhaps the most important
migration. A chronicler tells us that merchants followed in
the wake of the Conqueror from Rouen ; they preferred to
dwell in London "inasmuch^ as it was fitter for their trading
and better stored with the merchandise in which they were
wont to traffic."

Many monuments remain and give unimpeachable evi- Builders.
dence of a large incursion of builders at all events. The few
stone buildings which date from the time before the Con-
quest^ are different both in style and workmanship from
those which were erected in the twelfth century, but the
twelfth century was a time of extraordinary activity in
masons' work of every kind^ There are numberless abbey

1 The linen manufacture of Ypres and Cambrai {cambric), though it probably-
existed at that time, was not planted in England till later. Madox, Firma
Burgi, 197.

2 Giraldus Cambrensis, Iter Camb. i. xi. See also Camden's note, p. 850, and
Holinshed, Chron. 1107.

3 Anonymous Life, in Materials for History of S. Thomas a Beclcet (Rolls Series),
IV. Quoted by Green, Short History, 88.

* Such are the churches of Deerhurst (Gloucestershire), Bradford (Wilts),
Worth (Sussex), Dunham Magna (Norfolk), Stanton Lacy (Shropshire); also the
towers of S. Benet's, Cambridge, S. Michael's, Oxford, Earl's Barton (Northants).

5 On the Church and Castle Building in Norfolk alone, compare Rye, Norfolk,
p. 33.

188

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066

—1272.

Churches.

Castles.

The

position of
alien
artisans
in towns.

churches^ and cathedrals which still bear witness to the skill
of the Norman builders ; but they give but a small idea of
the amount of work which was going on at that time.
However it may have been altered since, the fabric of very
many of the parish churches of England still supplies
evidence that the present buildings were first erected in the
twelfth century ; possibly the churches before this date had
been usually constructed of wood- ; and the parishes through-
out the length and breadth of England seem to have vied
with each other in substituting new churches of stone? But
besides these ecclesiastical edifices, many castles were reared.
From Rochester to Carlisle*, from Hedingham to Ludlow
the land was studded with huge fortresses. Both in design
and in detail the masonry of the time bears witness that it
comes from the hands of the men who practised the arts
as they were followed at Caen. When we consider the
number of these buildings which are still standing, though
with more or less of subsequent alteration, and the tedious
labour that was required to erect them, we cannot but feel
that a very large number of masons and builders must have
come in with the Conqueror.

Domesday Book gives us ample evidence as to the
existence of artisans of French or foreign birth. The case
of Shrewsbury has been noted above ^ Norwich had been
much wasted, partly by the exactions of Earl Roger, partly
by fires and partly by the pressure of the Danegeld, and
many citizens had betaken themselves to Beccles, There
had been French burgesses in the new town even in the
time of the Confessor, but the number had greatly increased".
This brings clearly before us the fact that the immigration
of foreigners had begun before the Conquest itself, in con-
nection perhaps with that fashion for Norman ways which
characterised the Confessor's Court ''. They were so far an

1 One case occurs of contemporary church building in the Worcestershire
Domesday, Bratfortuue. Ibi sunt boves ad unam carucam sed petram trahunt ad
iecclesiam. r. 175 b, 2. 2 Like Greensted in Essex.

8 E. S. Prior, Gothic Art in England, 42. The affinities of English art were
rather with Norman and Angevin than with French models, ih. 16.

* M. Creighton {Historic Towns), Carlisle, 26.

* See above, p. 173. Compare also the seeondand seventh wards of Camlniilge.
Domesday, i. 189 a, 1. 6 /j. h. 117, ng. 7 Freeman, op. cit. n. 29.

» FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 189

important body that one of the so-called Laws of "William A.D. 1066
defines their position ; the Frenchmen who had been settled ~"
in England in the time of the Confessor were to be at scot
and lot with the other inhabitants according to the law of
England ^

From this we may perhaps infer that the artisans who ivas ex-
settled in this country after the Conquest, were not at scot '^^^ ^"^ '
and lot with the other inhabitants^, but had an exceptional
position such as was accorded to the Flemings by Queen
Matilda. This may have been a specially favourable con-
dition at first, but as the burgesses gradually secured an
increased number of chartered privileges for themselves, the
men of foreign extraction who were in the community, but their dis-
not of it, would be placed at a disadvantage. This is re-
flected in the early laws regarding weavers in Winchester,
Marlborough, Oxford^ and Beverley, which are preserved in
the Lihe7' Citstumarum* ; the greatest precautions were
taken to prevent a weaver^ obtaining the franchise of the
town and he had no standing in the courts as against a
freeman. The disabilities under which weavers laboured
cannot be accounted for by supposing that the richer bur-
gesses oppressed the artisan®, for at Winchester at all events '^"'"■,0-0

1 Laws of William, m. 4, in Thorpe, Ancient Laws.

2 Compare the statement as to the position of the English and French
burgesses in Hereford. Domesday, i. 179 a, 1.

° See below, p. 191, n. 4.

* RoDs Series. Munimenta Oildhallm, n. 130, 131.

s The analogy of Aberdeen is instructive. There it appears from a charter
granted by Alexander II. in 1222, that the weavers and dyers (waulkers) were
already privileged, and were therefore excluded when the bui-gesses were allowed
to have their hanse. But the members of the gUd merchant were not called on
to abjure such crafts, in fact none might exercise them but the members of the
gild who were at scot and lot with the other burgesses "with the exception of
such as had hitherto their charter securing this privilege." Bain, History of the
Aberdeen Incorporated Trades, 36.

6 Prof. Ashley maintains {Economic History, 83) that the disabilities of the
weavers were instances of oppression which artisans suffered at the hands of the
rich. It is difficult to suppose that trade had so developed in aU these towns as
to allow of the formation of a class of wealthy merchants. It appears that in
Newcastle (Stubbs, Select Charters, 112) the freemen did not disdain to be engaged
in cloth manufacture. In Scotland there are more signs of exclusiveness on the
part of the gilds merchant, as both butchers and dyers, as well as some others,
were excluded from the gild merchant if they laboirred themselves at the business
IBurgh Laws of Scotland, c. xcrv. p. 46). This is parallel to the Belgian prohibi-
tion against admitting those ' with dirty hands ' or ' blue nails ' (Brentano, Gilds

190 FEUDALISM. 4

A.D. 1066 there were burellavs who were freemen ^ But the whole
~ " ■ becomes intelligible if we may assume that weaving, as a
regular craft, was introduced into England by foreign settlers
about the time of the Conquest*, and that the weavers in the
various towns were foreigners who were not at scot and lot
with the other inhabitants^ ; their independent position gave
rise to jealousies and riots in the time of Henry I., and would
continue to do so in the case of those who had not availed
themselves of the opportunity, if it offered, of removing,
as other wool workers did, into the south-west of Wales.

If this supposition be correct, it will go some way towards
explaining the first beginning of craft gilds in England.
andorgani. Frith gilds* were a native institution, and merchant gilds
"craft gilds, may havc been so, in germ at any rate, though we do
not find them in their fully organised form till Norman
times'*; but strangers who lived by the same trade and
had common interests, while they suffered under similar

E. E. T. S. cvii.). But on whatever gi'ound the prohibition of one or two particular
crafts was based, it must not be too readUy strained into an objection to artisans
as such. It is curious too to observe that one of these very trades is specially
reserved to burgesses in a charter granted to Chesterfield in the time of Edward
II. No one was to be a dyer or tanner unless he was a burgess or had made
satisfaction to the lord. Records of the Borough of Chesterfield, pp. 36, 40.
1 English Gilds, 351. Archmological Journal, ix. 77.

* The reasons for this are the facts that wool was exported and cloth imported
before the Conquest, and that weavers are not mentioned before that time so far as
I have noticed. There might of course be a great deal of domestic weaving by
women in households; this was the way in which the art was practised in the
time of Charles (Gfrbrer, Gregorius VII., vii. 130) ; and there might be plenty
of very artistic work, even though it was not a regular occupation by which men
earned a living for themselves and their families.

* David, a dyer of Carlisle, fined in the sixth year of king John to have his
house made a burgage and to have the same hberties as the other burgesses of
Carlisle. Madox, Exchequer, p. 278.

* The king's peace was on the whole so effective in England that the frith gilds
played a less important role than the corresponding institution in France, where a
great deal was accomplished by the common action of similar associations in the
way of securing the inhabitants of each comimme against the depredations of
barons engaged in private wars, and, generally speaking, of maintaining the peace
of God. Thierry, 11. 122. Semichon, La paix et la trive de Dieu, i. p. 195.
Levasseur, L'histoire des Classes ouvrieres en France, p. 180. There was no need
for them to undertake this function in historic times in England, as the king's
peace was enforced dm-ing the parts of the year which the peace of God had been
intended to protect, and also professed at all times to give security on the main
roads and navigable rivers of the realm. Eoger of Hoveden, 11. 219, 223.

6 Gross, Gild Merchant, i. 2, 4.

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 191

disabilities, would be glad to associate themselves together ; a.d. iocs
and no form of association was better adapted to their needs
than that of which examples in all probability already existed
at Paris and Rouen\ Some of these obtained royal sanction,
and paid annually for their privileges ; while others, which had
been informally established, would have been fined by Henry
II. in 1180^ when he amerced various gilds which were
certainly composed of native Englishmen, like that of the
burgesses of Totnes. At the same time it is important to
notice that the permission to form such craft gilds, while it
might give immunity to the foreign weavers, would not allay
the irritation of the burgesses who were at scot and lot*,
against those who had no real status in the towns where they
lived, but had direct relations with the crown. In the time
of Henry II. there were weavers' gilds under royal protection
in Nottingham, York, Oxford*, Huntingdon and Winchester ^ a.d. ii60.
The most frequently mentioned of all these gilds were the
weavers of London, and they had charters from Henry I.,
Henry II. and Henry III. John promised the citizens that he
would suppress this gild^ on their paying a larger annual sum
than the weavers had been wont to pay ; but apparently he
only took money from both parties and allowed matters to run
in the old course. They may possibly, during their earlier
struggles, have inhabited a soke of their own, exempt from
civic jurisdiction'; but though they still had a weekly court
of their own for regulating their internal affairs in the time
of Edward I., the city had succeeded in asserting authority
over them, as they were under the j urisdiction of the Mayor in

1 Gasquet, Precis des institutions politiques, rr. 238. Levasseur, L'histoire des
Classes ouvriires, i. 193. Araskhaniantz, Franzosische Getreidehandelspolitik, 5.
See Appendix E.

2 Madox, Exchequer, c. xrv. § 15, p. 390. Mr Unwin regards the adulterine
jilds as social rather than industrial. Gilds of London, 52.

■' This seems to be the general phrase for contributing to the burgh rate. The
common opinion, that ' scot ' means the payment of a rate and ' lot ' the perform-
ance of communal obligations, has been discussed with care and disproved by
Gross, Gild Merchant, i. 54. He also points out a case where it seems to mean
liaving a share in goods purchased — the right of gavel. See below, p. 221, n. 1.

* They paid a cask of wine as a fine in 9 H. III. to be allowed to cany on tlie
manufacture of cloth as they had done under Hemy II. and John, and not to be
obstructed by the mayor of the town. Madox, Exchequer, 286.

5 Madox, Firma Burgi, 26. Exchequer, c. x. § 5, p. 232.

fi Madox, Exchequer, ix. § 2, p. 329, note m. '> Riley, Liber Cust. i. Ixii.

192 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 1300\ The difficulty of dealing with craftsmen who claimed
to have royal authorisation and to be independent of local
jurisdiction was illustrated under Edward IV. by the quarrel

i.r. 1475. between the tailors at Exeter and the town'', and it seems to
have been a question of general interest in the time of the

A.D. J376. Good Parliaments The formation of craft gilds, as specialised
branches of town authority, occurred very frequently in the
fourteenth century*, but these earliest craft gilds may well
have originated as institutions formed by foreigners who had
settled in English towns.

<^'*^ These gilds were probably formed in the places where

manufac- ° . . .

uire. weavers had settled in some numbers, but there is evidence

that in the thirteenth century definite efforts were made
to develop the industry. The assize of cloth issued by
Richard I." (1197) and enforced under the Great Charter^
was apparently intended to foster a regular English trade.
It would restrict or prevent the sale of cloth woven as a
household occupation and favour the weavers, who took
up the industry as a trade ; but it also told against the
merchants who imported cloth of different kinds and
qualities from foreign markets®. Those who frequented
Stamford fair^ protested against the regulation, and many
towns in the reign of King John paid fines for liberty to deal
in cloth of any length and breadths Simon de Montfort*
exerted his influence on behalf of the native production;
and the manufacture must have grown so far, that it seemed
possible to supply the home market successfully, when the
Oxford Parliament in 1258 adopted the policy of prohibiting
the export of wool"; but they had to contend with a lack of
patriotism on the part of Englishmen, who did not support
home industries but preferred to purchase foreign cloth.
The subsequent restriction, from 1271 to 1274, of the export
of wool to Flanders, or import of cloth thence, would protect
the home producer; but it was doubtless due in part to political

^ Liher Oust. 1. 121. See below, p. 341. On the jurisdiction of the Weavers and
Fishmongers respectively. Compare Unwin, Gilds of London, 42.

2 English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), 302. s Rot. Pari. ii. 331, No. 54.

^ See below, p. 338. 5 Roger of Hoveden, iv. 33.

6 As in 1328. 2 Edward 111. c. 14. "> Ashley, i. 180.

8 Madox, Exchequer, c. xiii. § 3, p. 324.

9 Annal. Monast. (K. S.), iv. 158. «> Walter of Hemingburgh, i. 306.

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 193

■motives, as there was a deliberate desire to damage Flemish a.d. io66

. " 1272

traded The thii-teenth century ordinances show the con-
tinued regulation of the trade at Winchester^, while the
appointment of an aulnager by Edward I. and Edward II.'s
prohibition of the export of teasles^, gave expression to
the care which successive monarchs bestowed on the trade ;
disputes about the regulation of the worsted trade in
Norfolk, in 1815, show how far one branch of the clothing
industry had developed. There is also indirect evidence
that these various attempts at fostering and protecting this
trade were successful. English cloth was to some ex-
tent an article of export, and was in demand in Aragon*;
while the quantity of dye which was imported gives a slight
indication of the progress of weaving, though the art of
dyeing lagged behind the manufacture, and English cloth
was sometimes worn of the natural colour of the wool.

These various pieces of evidence, which have been for
the most part accumulated by Professor Ashley, seem to
show that the foundations of English cloth manufacture
were firmly laid before Edward III. invited John Kemp
and others in 1337 ; but though it was not introduced from
abroad at that date, there is no reason to suppose it was of
purely native origin.

At the same time it is disappointing that we know so
little of the places at which the trade thus rapidly developed
was carried on in the thirteenth century ; the facilities for
general regulation took away the chief economic excuse for
forming new local gilds of weavers. The men of Esseburn
who stretched their cloth unduly, were surely weavers rather
than merchants; and the occasional mention of dyers,
fullers or shearmen may be taken as indicative of a weaving
neighbourhood. The art is easily learned, and would soon
spread in any town where a skilled weaver settled, while

1 The enquiries in the Hundred Bolls elicited some curious information about
evasions.

2 Archceological Journal, ix. 70.

3 For this point I am indebted to Mr Hubert HaH, who has called my attention
to this interesting proclamation. Close Rolls, 19 Ed. 11. M. 5 d. See Apjiendix
D.

* F. D. Swift, James I. oj Aragon, p. 229.

C. H. 13

194 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 the conditions of life in Flanders and England respectively

" ■ would favour such immigration, though we do not hear of it
as we do in the twelfth and fourteenth centuries.

Alien 68. The artisan settlers were gradually absorbed in the

mere ants. Qj.(jJQjj^j.y English life of the places where they were established,
but there were other foreigners who simply came to trade
and not to settle. They were always anxious to live according
to their own rules and decide their own disputes, and also to
secure a place of residence where they could be housed and
store their goods, without being at the mercy of English
hosts. The privileges which they obtained time after time
were purchased from the kings; and the struggle between
conflicting authorities, which we have seen in connection
with the immigrant artisans, repeated itself in regard to the
rights of aliens who lived and did business under special
privileges in London or other cities.

Germans. The men of the Emperor^ had been established in a

permanent position in London in the time of King Ethelred
and their privileges are carefully noted in his laws'-*. William
of Malmesbury mentions the importance of their trade at
London^ Veiy extensive privileges were granted to the mer-

A.D. 1157. chants of Cologne by Henry IL They were to be protected
as his own men both in their merchandise, possessions and
house in London, and no one was to make new exactions from
them* ; later, they had a concession in regard to selling their
wine on the same terms as French wines. King Richard on

A.D. 1194. his return from captivity passed through Cologne and was
still more lavish in his grants to the traders there ; they were
to pay two shillings yearly for their gildhall in London, and
to be free of all tolls and customs in the city, and also to be
fi-ee to buy and sell at fairs throughout the land, in London
and elsewhere^. This charter was subsequently confirmed by

A.D. 1213. John® and by Henry III.''. The chief obligation under which
they lay was that of repairing the gate called Bishopsgate ;

1 Heyd {Levanthandel, i. 98) holds that these probably came from the fair at
Frankfurt and from Mainz, which was then the staple for Eastern produce, and
was frequented by the burgesses of many towns. Lappeuberg, Slahlhof, i. 5.

2 De Imtitut. Londonie, 2. Thorpe, i. 300.

8 Lib. de Gest. Pont. u. prol. * Lappenberg, Stahlhof, ii. 4.

6 Ibid. II. 5. 6 Ibid. ii. 6, 8. 7 Ibid. ii. 12.

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 195

"but during the reign of Henry III. they had allowed it to a.D. irw6
fall into disrepair* and an effort was made early in the time ~
of Edward I. to distrain them ; under this pressure they a.d. 1-282.
made a payment towards the necessary repairs of 240 marks
sterling, and promised to keep it in repair for the future.
On this the city authorities* confirmed the privileges they
exercised with regard to dealing in corn and electing their
own aldermen. There were to be many feuds in after times
between the men of the Hanse and the London citizens, but
this incident closed by a formal agreement that the Hansards
should elect their own aldermen, but that the superiority of
the city should be ^ecognised^

At this time the Steelyard, or house of the German ^^«

"^ . . Steelyard.

merchants, was a considerable place ; it had been enlarged in
1260 by the purchase of an adjoining house and garden*. The
precise relations between the merchants from the different
towns which subsequently formed the League do not concern
us here, but it appears that the men of Lubeck and Hamburg
had separate privileges" ; and the Flemish merchants also
had a hanse of their own in London ^

The trade between London and Germany was very Provincial
important^ but it was not confined to London. There were ^ermau
many merchants from Lubeck and other German tov^^ns in ' **
Boston and Lynn^; hansehouses were eventually built at
both places; but as early as 1271 the Germans had some
sort of local organisation of their own, and Symon, a citizen
of Lynn, was their Alderman there ; on one occasion he gave
a pledge on behalf of some Lubeck merchants to the amount
of £200. On the whole we find a marked progress in the
privileges of the German merchants ; at first they had a vague

1 Eot. Eund. I. 416, 428 b, 431. a Lappenberg, Stahlhof, n. 14.

3 Concesserunt etiam eisdem quod habeant aldormannnm sumn prout retro actis
temper ibus habuerunt; ita tamen quod aldermannus iUe sit de libertate civitatis
predicte, et quocieus per predictos mercatores electus fuerit, maioii et aldermannis
civitatis presentetur et coi-am eis sacramentuin faciat rectum et justiciam in curiis
suis quibuscumque faciendi, et se habendi in officio suo, prout salvo jure et cou-
suetudine civitatis se habere dtbebit et consuevit. Lappenberg, Stahlhof, u. 15.

* Maitland, Survey of London, i. 29. - s Lappenberg, Stahlhof, i. 13.

6 Warnkonig, Flandrische Stoats- und Eechtsgeschichte, i. App. No. 39.

■? William of Malmesbury, Gesta Pont. § 73.

8 Lappenberg, Stahlhof, i. 163, 166. Lubecker Urhundenhuch, i. No. 329.
See also on Lynn in Sartorius, Deutsche Hanse, ii. 228, No. 113.

13—2

196 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 protection as the personal subjects of the Emperor, but their
status was recognised both by royal and municipal authority
in the reign of Edward I., when they had an organisation in
several towns, and a local habitation in London.

Articles of We have ample contemporary information as to the staple
articles of the leading trade. Henry of Huntingdon, whose
history was finally given to the world in 1155, while extolling-
the natural products of Britain \ adds a single sentence in
regard to its trade. He speaks of the trade with Germany as
extensive, and mentions the objects in which it was carried
on ; the exports were lead and tin, fish and meat, fat cattle,
fine wool and jet. Most of these are articles of very general
demand ; while our realm was so self-sufficing that England
did not depend on Germany for any of the necessaries of Kfe.
Under these circumstances the silver of German mines was
imported into this country in very considerable quantities.
There seem to have been occasional instances of the export
or import of corn, and this according to William of Malmes-
bury was one of the main advantages of the trade, that we
could buy com in time of scarcity.

Eastern There is every reason to believe that spices and other

trade. "^ . . '^

articles of luxury might be imported from the East through
this channel. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries
the Slavs carried on a great trade, as the Norsemen had
previously done. They had a trading emporium at the mouth
of the Oder, and were in constant communication with the
Russian cities at Kiew and Novgorod, and thence with the
Black Sea and the East*. Charles attempted to open up the
Danube valley for commerce' ; though there does not seem to
have been much through communication from Germany along
the whole line, until the time of the Crusades, when several
of the expeditions made a passage by this route. Constanti-
nople was in a commanding position for trade with the East,
whether goods were brought by caravan through Syria, or
across from Egypt, or by Trebizond and the Black Sea ; this
last was the route which remained most constantly open, as
the Mohammedan power extended.

1 Compare the accounts of the natural products given by Bede, Hist. Ece. i.
* Lelewel, Giog. du Moyen Age, m. 216. • Heyd, Levanthandel, i. 91.

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 197

69. The northern trading connections remained un- a.d. io66
Taroken, and we may note signs of a vast development in the j'^^^j-
importation of wine. The merchants of Rouen, who enjoyed «'*'»«•
unexampled prosperity during the latter part of the twelfth
century \ did a large trade in wine transported, as it had
been before the Conquest, from central France^; but we hear of
other vintages too, as a great Lorraine fleet arrived annually'; a.d. 12-2L
repeated privileges were given to the men of Cologne* ; and
Rochelle shipped wine to Dublin ^ There were Gascon
merchants in London in 1275, and they received a charter
of liberties from Edward I. The city complained that the
terms of this charter were an infraction of their privileges ;
apparently the difficulty was about the right of the mer-
chants to live together and have their own table*. The
citizens did not contest their right to have cellars and
w^arehouses ; the Londoners were more successful than
they had proved in their complaints against the men of
the Emperor, and kept the control of this trade in their
hands. This would require shipping, as communication
with Gascony must of course have been carried on by sea,
but it does not appear that English sailors voyaged further
till the time of Richard Coeur de Lion, when we have the a.d. iioo.
first undoubted instance of English ships penetrating to the
Mediterranean'.

There was of course abundant intercourse with Rome
on ecclesiastical and diplomatic affairs, but this was doubtless
carried on by the Seine, the Rhone and Marseilles ; Rouen
was the main port of communication, though Bruges was also
used^, as well as Calais. The detailed itinerary from this
point, but for a later period, by Paris, Lyons and Turin is
given in Arnold's Chronicle^. Along some such route as this
the wool of England was conveyed to be worked up in Italian
looms. Lucca had been a centre of this trade in the ninth

1 E. de Ereville, Commerce maritime de Bouen, i. 108.

2 Wine of Auxerre, Madox, Exchequer, xni. 3. s Lib. Oust. i. 61.

* Lappenberg, Stahlhof, n. 6. ' Munic. Doc. Ireland (Rolls) 77.

6 Delpit, Collection, lxx. lxxix.

" Macpherson, Annals, 1190. The first of the fleets of galleys which came from
"Venice appears to have been organised in 1317. Brown, Calendar {Venetian), I. Ixi.
8 Encomium. Emma, 1042. Sharpe, Calendar of Letters, vi.
» London, 4to. 1811, p. 242.

198

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
—1272.

A.D. 1275.

Export of
tcool.

Venetian
and

Genoese
j'lictories.

century, the Florentines took it up somewhat later ; but the
Hundred Rolls show us that many merchants from both
cities were engaged in buying wool for transport from
England. They seem to have formed large merchant houses
with several partners ; Aldebrand of Lucca and all his com-
pany, Lucas of Lucca and all his company had been dealing
in London'. There were several companies of Florentine
merchants who bought wool at Stamford and shipped it at
Boston 2 or Lynn*, as well as a Piacenza company; and there
were more Florence merchants in Northampton*. Indeed it
appears that in 1284 many monasteries in Great Britain
had agreed to sell their wool to the Florentines*. It has been
frequently stated® that the Lombards and other Italians first
settled in the north as agents for the collection and trans-
mission of papal taxation, but it is at least clear that they
cari'ied on a large mercantile business at the same time or
developed it after they arrived. The proof of the export of
wool to Italy shows that it was perfectly possible to remit
the value of the payments to Rome without denuding the
country of the precious metals'.

This great trade with Italy gave improved opportunities
for communication with the East ; allusion has already been
made to the new developments of commercial activity at
Amalfi and Venice. The Norman invaders destroyed the
commerce of the southern town, and the first Crusades had
little immediate result for the Venetians. But since Genoa
and Pisa had ousted the Saracens from Corsica and Sar-
dinia, they were free to take part in more distant enter-
prise ; they undertook much of the transport service for
the Crusaders, and established factories in Syria, which gave
them access to the caravan routes towards the East ; whilst

1 Rot. Hund. I. 405.

2 The returns of the customs seem to show that the wool trade of Boston
greatly exceeded that of any other port at this time. P. Thomson, Assoc. Arch.
Soc. u. 369. » Eat. Hund. i. 353, 357, 396. * Ibid. n. 4, 15.

6 Peruzzi, Storia del commercio e dei banchieri di Firenze, p. 70.

6 Schanz, Englische Eandehpolitik, i. 111.

1 A very curious story showing that foreign merchants travelled to England
■with ready money and collected wool for export as early as 1114, is quoted by Prof.
Ashley [Enrilish Woollen Industry, p. 35) from Hermann, De miraculis S. Maria
Laudunensis, u. cc. 4, 5 (Migne, clvi. 975).

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 199

Genoa secured a factory in Constantinople in 1242; and a.d. 1066
thereby roused the jealousy of the Venetians. The destinies
of the imperial city were for a time determined by their
rivalries ; the so-called Fourth Crusade was organised by the
Venetians in their own trading interests, and when they had
succeeded in establishing the Latin kingdom at Constanti- a.d. 1203.
nople, they enjoyed, for nearly sixty years, unrivalled oppor-
tunities of expansion ; their factories, at the mouth of the
Danube, at Kiew and in the Crimea, date from this time. But
when the Greeks, with the help of the Genoese, reestablished
themselves at Constantinople in 12()1, the Ligurian republic
was able to follow in the wake of the Venetians, and to
obtain settlements of their own in the Black Sea. Hence
the Western nations, which were visited by merchants either
from Venice or Genoa, were brought into closer connection
'.vith the trade of the East. Though Richard I. relied on
the Genoese and adopted their patron saint, their subse-
quent relations with France were so close that they were
often hostile to England. With the Venetians and Floren-
tines on the other hand our intercourse was frequent and
but little interrupted.

The Crusades met with so little success in Egypt Egypt.
that hardly any attempt was made to establish Frankish
colonies, like those in Syria ; but several of the mari-
time cities had mercantile factories there, and trade by
the Red Sea and the Nile routes was little interrupted;
while the increasing power of Aragon, and her conquest of a.d. 1229.
the Balearic Isles, rendered the Western Mediterranean more
secure ; the immediate results were seen in the revived
prosperity of Barcelona and Montpellier, The twelfth and
thirteenth centuries were marked by an extraordinary in-
crease of commerce in every part of the Mediterranean ; and
improvements in navigation and in mercantile practice went
hand in hand with this development. Englishmen had but
little direct part in all this maritime activity ; their time was
not come ; but the Italian merchants who bought English
wool or visited English fairs brought them vnthin range of
the rapid progress that was taking place in Southern Europe.

70. At the end of the thirteenth century it would TheJeits

200 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 appear that the English municipalities had so far advanced
~'^^^^' that they were able to absorb the foreign artisans and to
come to terms with bodies of foreign merchants. But there
was another large body of opulent men with whom the
citizens had little or nothing in common. There was so
much common law and so many similar habits of life
throughout the whole of Christendom, that the artisan or
merchant who was born in a French municipality would soon
be able to adapt himself to the ways of English neighbours ^
But it was not so with the Jews ; they were intruders, with
no status of their own, but such as was afforded them by the
as royal king who owned them as his chattels. As against the king
they had no rights at all, and they could not grant a
discharge to their debtors without the consent of royal
officers^; in so far as they held land, it was simply a pledge
which they possessed, not an estate to which they had a full
titled They were indirectly the instruments of countless
exactions by the kings from their subjects, and shared in the
unpopularity of their royal masters. But they were also
personally unpopular because they maintained themselves in
their isolation, just as the Chinese now do in San Francisco ;
they were determined not to adopt the industrial and com-
mercial usages of a Christian community. How far this was
their misfortune, and how far their fault it is not easy to
say. Mr Jacobs contends* that the formal acknowledgment
of Christianity, in the taking of oaths, was required in the
acceptance of any public office, or the entering on an estate,
and that the conscientious Jew was excluded from all ordi-
nary business. It is difficult to believe that the formality
was in\ariably enforced, and that it affected all methofls
of acquiring land to till ; but it is probable that the social
and religious feeling against them had become so strong that
Edward I.'s attempt to force them to take to ordinary pur-
suits was impracticable ^ So long as the Jews were regarded

1 Richard of Devizes, Chron. § 81.

2 Capitula Judaeorum (1194), Eoger Hoveden (Rolls Series), m. 266.

3 J. Jacobs in Anglo-Jexcish Exhibition Papers, p. 33. The case of 'Manasses'
who had bought land in Oxfordshire, without the king's licence, appears to be an •
early instance, but too much importance must not be attached to a mere name.
Blicestone, Domesday, i. 160 b, 2. * Jews in Angevin Englcmd, p. xi.

* Statutes of Jtwrtj, B. L. Abrahams, The Exjmlsion of the Jews from
England in 1296, p. 38.

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 201

with such antipathy that they were liable to attacks from A.D. loer.
their neighbours, it was hardly possible for them to take to
ordinary merchandise, or work, as they could not secure bulky
goods from destruction, although they could secrete jewels or
papers. The ancient house at Lmcoln seems to suggest by its
plan and arrangement that the inhabitants were prepared to
stand a siege, and men who lived under such conditions
could hardly venture to pursue ordinary avocations.

The very isolation of the Jews during this period renders Their
their history specially interesting. The excellent collection
of documentary evidence, which we owe to the industry of
Mr Joseph Jacobs and the publication of the Anglo-Jewish
Historical Exhibition papers, has shed a flood of fresh light
upon the whole subject, and it is more easy to note the
manner in which this one social group was afifected by the
various conditions of the time, and thus to obtain a clearer
understanding of the nature of these conditions themselves.
The political structure of the realm, and the comparative
strength of the English crown, gave them on the whole a
more favourable position than they enjoyed in other lands^ ;
in the latter part of the twelfth century a special court,
the Exchequer of the Jews, was erected for the purpose The
of regulating their affairs both fiscally and judicially; and of the
the Jews were practically forced to gather together into '^'""'
those towns where public chests were maintained for the
registration and preservation of their bonds. The king was
able, on an estimate of these debts, to tallage the Jews
from time to time and, if they did not meet his demands,
to appropriate the properties pledged to them. The Jews
thus served the purpose of a sponge which sucked up the
resources of the subjects, and from which their wealth could
be easily squeezed into the royal coffers.

The feeling against them also serves to illustrate the Unsempn-
current tone of morality in various matters. Ihe unscrupu- nuhiesg
lous manner in which miserably insufficient evidence against fj^'j^**"*"
them was accepted, and the violent cruelty with which they
were treated by their persecutors^ are striking instances of

1 See the admirable paper of Gross in Anglo-Jewiah Exhibition Papers, 170.
Compare also von Raumer, Qeschichte der Hohenstau/en, v. 243 — 256.

2 Walter Rye in Anglo-Jewish Exhibition Papers, p. 136 f.

202 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 the credulity and ruthlessness of the times ; but these things
lie on the surface and need not be insisted on here. For our
purpose it is more important to note that the feeling against
them was partly due to the trade they can-ied on, and that
the attitude which was taken towards them illustrates the
nature of the current business morality to which they failed

Usury. to conform. The precise nature of the Christian objection to
usury will be stated below' ; it may suffice to point out here
that the Jewish capital can have been of but little use for
trading purposes as the merchant would apparently have had
to borrow at something like forty per cent.*. If he could
trade to advantage with capital obtained on such terms the
ordinary rate of business profit must have been remarkably
high, despite the terrible risks run by mediaeval merchants.
The real objection was that the Jew obtained forty per cent,
by lending money to extravagant or heavily taxed land-
owners®, and bargained himself out of risks of every kind,
while the merchant who undertook the dangers and diffi-
culties of trading could not obtain a similar rate of return.

Ba^e The Jew got his large return, not because he was more

c tngs. clever in the way in which he did legitimate business, but
because he made a living by base and dishonourable callings.
Contemporary writers did not make the excuses for the Jews
which have been indicated above, and blamed them bitterly;
and however much they may have exaggerated, we cannot
but feel that an opinion which has asserted itself in so
many lands and so many ages, deserves at all events to be
examined, before it is contemptuously dismissed as an idle
prejudice ; and a little reflection on the conduct of the Jew
in the East*, or in pagan Rome, will serve to disprove the

^ See p. 256. 2 Anglo-Jewish Exhibition Papers, 207.

8 For an excellent example compare the deed of William of Tottenham
Ecknowledging a debt of 100 marks and mortgaging his land. Kound, Ancient
Charters, 82.

* For centuries they continued to live habitually by sordid callings. In the
days of their great king foreign labourers had been required to build their
temple, and their prophets in their highest moments of inspiration {Is. Ixi. 4)
rejoiced in the thought that the Gentiles were to do all the work while the Jew
would idly enjoy the fmit. The contemptuous estimate of honest labour as
compared with cultured leisure in Ecclesiasticus (xxxviii. 33) brings this side of
the national character into fuller rehef , while the ingenuity of the Talmudists was

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 203

calumny that the faults of the Jewish race originated wholly A.D. 1066
in the maltreatment they received at the hands of Christians. ~ " ' *
Every legislative effort* was made in the thirteenth century
to induce them to conform to ordinary ways and take to other
callings so that they might be assimilated into the life of the
places where they lived.

Their devotion to their own faith, even if it was not the
sole reason for their isolation, was at any rate a very serious
obstacle to their being absorbed into ordinary English
society. Many efforts were made to convert them, and an Missimary
hospital was founded in 1233 for the support of those who *'^*"^*'
relinquished Judaism and were baptised. The converts
ceased as Christians to be the chattels of the king, but as

devoted to the elaboration of a code of dealing by which they might continue to
spoil the peoples among whom they sojourned. If we consider the sort of
reputation which the Jew enjoyed in pagan Rome, we find that he was no better
and no worse than the Jew of the mediaeval chroniclers. The darker side of the
Jewish character has not been entirely produced by the treatment the race haa
received from Christians. It may not be possible to distinguish entu-ely the
respective influence of circumstances and of disposition, but it is noticeable that
the Jews have in many ages and lands roused the suspicions of those among
whom they sojourned and alarmed them into seK-defence. It is worth while to
compare the feeling in Russia at the present time, which, be it observed, does
not extend to those who have rejected the teaching of the Talmud.

The demands of the people of Pereyaslav are as follows: — 1. That Jews,
members of Town Coimcils and Provincial AssembHes, Vice-Directors of different
town banks, should voluntarily give up their present posts, casting off the cloak
of pride ami braggadocio : as persons not possessing civic virtue, they are unfit to
hold such places. 2. That the Jews should impress on their wives and daughters
not to deck themselves out in silk, velvet, gold, etc., as such attire is neither in
keeping with their education nor the position they hold in society. 3. That the
Jews dismiss from their service all Russian female servants who, having served in
Jewish houses, assuredly become prostitutes, forget their religion, and are inten-
tionally depraved by the Jews. 4. To banish without delay all Jews belonging to
other places who do not possess any real property in the town. 5. To close all
drinking-shops. 6. To forbid Jews to abuse the Christian burgesses, and in
general to scoff at them. 7. To prohibit Jews from buying up in the markets the
first necessaries of life with the intention of reselling them to the Russians. 8. To
impress on wholesale dealers in spirits not to mix with vodka any foreign element,
which sometimes is injurious to health. 9. Not to trade on the Sabbath before
noon, and at Christmas and Easter not to trade for three days, and not to work
on our holidays. 10. To pj-ohibit Jews buying wheat for trading purposes within
thirty versts of the town of Pereyaslav, and therefore to remove all existing grain
and flour stores. 11. To prohibit Jews from buying up uncut wheat, also to lease
land from private inchviduals. 12. The Town Council is begged not to let, and
the Jews not to hire, the grounds at fairs and markets, with the object of farming
them out. Consular Reports, Russia, No. 2, 1882, p. 9.

1 Statutes of Jewry.

204

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
—1272.

Regulation
of their
business.

Influence
of the
Grusades
on their
position.

they were unable to claim their goods from him, they had to
begin life as mere paupers K The Domus Conversorum, as
reorganised by Edward I., became an industrial training
home. It maintained 97 persons in 12802, but some of the
conversions were more apparent than real, if we may judge
from the letter which Archbishop Peckham addressed to
Edward I.^. He held that though they could not be compelled
to profess the Christian faith, they ought to be forced to
maintain a profession once made and sealed by Baptism.

But when they remained steadfast in the faith of their
fathers it was necessary, if they were to be absorbed into
ordinary English life, that they should give up the special
modes of obtaining a livelihood which they practised, but
which were forbidden to Christians. From the time of
Richard I. their usury had been regulated rather than pro-
hibited, but Edward I. forbad them* to live by such loans,
and insisted that they should seek their living and sustain
themselves by other legitimate work and merchandise^ They
had however continued to carry on usurious dealings under
the colour of honest trade ; and Edward was forced to revert
to the plan of limiting the rate to 42 per cent., and decreeing
that the Jew should not be able to recover more than three
years' interest®, along with the principal.

The bitter feeling against the Jews was obviously intensi-
fied at the time of the Crusades ; barons and knights who
stayed in England were not unwilling to show their zeal by

1 Tovey, Anglia Judaica, 216. Edward I., in his anxiety for the conversion
of the Jews, and the removal of obBtacles to their absorption, consented to waive
his claim to the property of converts. Bot. Pari. i. 49 (43).

2 E. M. Clay, Medieval Hospitals, 22. In 1308 the number had sunk to 51.
L. Wolf in Anglo-Jewish Exhibition Papers, 55.

' Non sine dolore cordis et angustia est nostris auribus inculcatum, quod
nonnnlli sesus ntriusque, tarn ra civitate London quam alibi, qui a Judaica
perfidia ad Christianam religionem conversi fuerant, ad vomitnm redierunt, super-
stitionem Judaicam, ut primitus non sine contemptu fidei Christianse nequiter
mntantes. Registrum Epist. J. Peckham (Eolls Series), i. 239.

* Tovey, Anglia Judaica, 200.

B Statutes of Jewry. The duty of working, as a mode of personal self-
discipline, and as supplying the means for aiding man and serving God was
strongly urged by the Fathers, and was embodied in tb'e Monastic Eule. This
was probably the element in the public feeling against Jews which can be most
directly traced to Christian teaching, and not merely to practical experience.

• Gross, Anglo-Jewish Exhibition Papers, 226.

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 205

slaying their unbelieving neighbours, especially when by so a.d. io66
doing they were able to wipe out intolerable arrears of debt.
The Crusades had besides opened up opportunities for doing
business which Jews were glad to seize. Though the landed
proprietor did not require money for purposes of trade, he was
seriously at a loss for the means of equipping himself for an
expedition to the Holy Land. The same circumstances which
enabled many of the towns to buy their freedom, enabled
the Jews to lend large sums on the security either of lands,
or of an annual return in produce from the land\ There
was in consequence an enormous increase in the amount of
wealth which passed through Jewish hands' at the very
time when religious passions were most deeply stirred.

The persecution began at the time of the coronation of a.d. ii89.
Kichard I.^; the Jews wished to propitiate this king and
attended in numbers; but the mob maltreated the Jews
who mingled in the crowd at the palace, and the scuffle was
continued by an attack on the houses of the London Jews ;
many of these were burned and the inhabitants perished
miserably. This evil example was followed at Lynn, Bury,
and Norwich ; some young crusaders attacked and slew many
of the Jews who had gathered at the Stamford fair. But the
most terrible scenes were enacted at York*, on the return
of Joceus from Richard's coronation ; he had been forcibly
baptised and, since he renounced this compulsory conversion,
he became specially obnoxious as an apostate \ He succeeded
in taking refuge with all his treasures in the castle, and the
Jews endeavoured to defend themselves there ; but as they
were so mistaken as to defy the castellan and refuse him
admission to his own castle, he took the lead of the mob
which was still more incited by the preaching of a Premon-
stratensian Canon. Many of the Jews, acting on the spirited
advice of a Rabbi, killed themselves ; the remainder, who
offered to treat, were massacred by the mob at the instigation
of a certain Richard de Malabestia, who was deeply indebted

1 Gross, Anglo-Jewish Exhibition Papers, 173.

* In 1259 the lower baronage complained that they were being ousted from
tiieir estates to the advantage of the magnates of the realm. Abrahams, op. cit.
23. Stnbbs, Select Charters, 358. * Bye, Anglo-Jeioish Exhibition Papers, 141.

* Drake, Eboiacam, ai. ' Bye, op. cit. 146.

206 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 to the Jews^ By slaughtering their victims the crowd only
accomplished half their purpose ; they then proceeded to the
Cathedral and burned the bonds which were enrolled there,
so as to destroy the evidence of the royal claims upon them.
This bitter hatred of the Jews made itself felt, not only
in these savage outbreaks, but in the disabilities which were
imposed by regular authorities. They were not able to secure
the possession of their houses, and were gradually driven
from their quarters in the Old Jewry in London'. The
townsmen who were trying to free themselves from the
meddling of the sheritf were specially concerned to be rid of
the presence of royal chattels^, and the Jews were expelled

eirc. A.D. from one town after another. Simon de Montfort turned
them out of Leicester and promised the burgesses they should
never return^ In 1275 they were expelled from Cambridge
by the influence of the king's mother^; but, as we have
already seen, such action was not always disinterested on the

A.D. 1231. part of noble personages. Robert Grossteste, in writing to
the Countess of Winchester, is particular to point out that
Christian rulers should not reap advantage from the results
of Jewish extortion ^ Though we hear less of mob outrage
in the thirteenth than in the twelfth century, no substantial
success attended the attempts to assimilate them, and absorb
them into the ordinary life of the towns in which they lived.

Foreign 71. The difficulties between the towns and the Jews

JEcclc-

siastics, Were primarily due to the fact that the latter claimed what-
ever status they possessed from the king himself, and had no
immediate relation with inferior authorities. But there were
other immigrants who asserted rights to entire independ-
ence ; they owed obedience to authorities beyond the realm,
and claimed immunity, not only from the local regulations
of burghs, but from the royal power itself. Such were the
ecclesiastics, who flocked into England after the Norman
Conquest. It has been pointed out above that the mission

1 The proof of his debt and therefore of his motive came out in a document
exhibited at the Exhibition in 1885. Eye, Anglo-Jewish Exhibition Papers, 149.

2 Compare Mr Jacobs' scholarly paper and map in Anglo-Jewish Exhibition
Papers, 30. ^ B. L. Abrahams, op. cit. 18.

* Thompson, History of Leicester, 72.

^ Bye in Anglo-Jewish Exhibition Papers, 16.5. ^ Epistolm (KoUs), 36.

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 207

of S Auffustine and the Roman monks to England was not A.D. 1066

o Y 127"2

of much direct importance*, so far as economic matters are
concerned, but that the indirect results were very far-reaching,
especially in the legal changes which were introduced or
accelerated, such as the granting of land in perpetuity by
hoc. On the other hand the great ecclesiastical invasion in and their
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries is of interest, not only in /njuence.
legal, but in economic and fiscal affairs as well.

a. William's expedition had been somewhat of the Ecde-
nature of a crusade ; and the ecclesiastical reforms which j^ris-
were carried out by Lanfranc and Anselm all tended to '^**'**'"*'
strengthen the papal influence in England. The separation
of the civil and ecclesiastical courts opened the way for
frequent appeals to Rome, and gave a new importance to the Appealg.
revived study of ecclesiastical jurisprudence. The Arch- Arch-
deacons, who had been educated in Italy even if they were
English by birth, were not always a credit to their order- ; and
the payments which arose through papal claims on English
benefices, and in connection with fees at the Roman court',
were enormous. The whole machinery for obtaining decisions
in ecclesiastical causes was permeated by Italian influence,
and the great papal revenue was collected by papal merchants; The Pope's
apparently the tithes which the Pope claimed were gathered
in kind and sold in the town markets ; so that those who were
opposed to the taxation were able in 1231 to obtain payment
of tithes on the Pope's behalf by means of forged letters, and
then to sell the goods for the public benefit*. The price
obtained by the Pope's merchants at these sales was transmit-
ted to Italy by bills of exchange, against which, as' it appears,
wool was exported. It is not likely that much was actually
transmitted in specie^ ; the frequent complaints of the scarcity
of coin in consequence of the papal taxation would be quite
as much justified if the coin was hoarded by merchants as if

^ See § 32. - Stubbs, Lectures on MedicBval History, 302.

* Otho proposed to assign a Proctor at the court of Rome to each diocese, bnt
it was not clear that the payment of one man would make it less necessary to fee
several. Pearson, History, n. 143.

* Pearson, u. 150. Rymer, i. 203.

6 On the whole subject of papal taxation, see Gottlob, Aus der Camera
Apostolica and Die papstlichen Kreuzzugssteuern.

208 FEUDALISM.

AD. 1066 it was actually exported ; this last would only be done when

~^^'^' it was absolutely necessary.

If the Pope's merchants were thus able to amass large
hoards of silver, they were naturally tempted to use them as

and money the Jews did, by lending money on good security ^ they were

Undtng. fQ^^ed to have recourse to ingenious devices in order to obtain
profit on money lent, without being technically chargeable
with usury. Matthew Paris gives a most interesting
document from which we discover one such method of
evasion^ A sum of 104 marks was borrowed of certain
merchants, called Caursines', on April 24, to be repaid in full
without interest on August 1st. If however the money was
not forthcoming at that date, interest at the rate of 10 per
cent, every two months, — 60 per cent, per annum, — besides
other charges, was to begin. This interest was nominally
payment for expense incurred in sending for the money again
and again ; and through this excuse, the various canons and
enactments against taking interest were evaded. The re-
marks of the monk may be quoted as clearly expressing the
state of feeling on the subject ; the Caursines " circumvented
the needy in their necessities, cloaking their usury under the
show of trade, and pretending not to know that whatsoever is
added to the principal is usury, under whatever name it is
called. For it is manifest that their loans lie not in the path
of charity, inasmuch as they do not hold out a helping hand
to the poor to relieve them, but to deceive them ; not to aid
others in their starvation but to gratify their own covetous-
ness; seeing that 'the motive stamps our every deed*.'"
Hence it came about that the popular indignation, which
had been raised against the Jews, was diverted to expend
itself on the wealthy Florentines ^

Sfmae- b. The Norman and Angevin reigns were marked by the

foundation of a very large number of monasteries ; this was
the available means of devoting wealth, not only to the glory

1 Compare the interesting case (1273) of the Abhot of Bordesley who obtained a
loan in money which he tried to discharge by paying wooL Rot. Pari. i. 1.

2 Mat. Paris, Chronic. Majora, m. p. 329.
8 Cam-sines, probably derived then- name from Caorsa, a town in the valley of

the Po, near Piacenza. Dante, Jn/erno, xi. 49 — 51.

* Mat. Par. (Bobn) i. 2. » See below, p. 288.

tertes.

FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 209

of God, but to the maintenance of culture and learning. The A.D. 1066

" 1272

existing houses in England were mostly Benedictine ; each
abbey was a separate centre under the control of its own
abbot, and monks had replaced the secular canons in several
foundations. Under Norman influence there were many
attempts to revive discipline ; but the plan, which was a.d. io86.
adopted in the charter of Battle Abbey, of exempting the
monks from episcopal control had baneful results. Twenty-
six Benedictine Houses were planted under the two Williams ;
and some of the new orders were also established ; the Angus- The new
tinian Canons, who were favourably distinguished from some
other bodies^, appeared in the time of the Conqueror ; the
Cluniac (6ZacA;), Cistercian {white wonA:^), and Carthusian (wAiYe
hahit hut black cloak) Orders all arose as attempts to reform
the Benedictine (black vionks) Rule, and were introduced into
England under the Conqueror, Rufus, and Henry II. respec-
tively. The white canons of Premontre were introduced in
the time of Stephen; the Dominicans {Black Friars) and TkeFriart
Carmelite Friars, as well as the Franciscans {Grey Friars),
appeared in the reign of Henry III. There were besides
the great military Orders; the Hospitallers {black with a
white C7-oss), and the Templars {white with a red cross)^ so
that a very large amount of the wealth of the country was
in the hands of ecclesiastical corporations.

Fiscally the results were serious, as ecclesiastical land did Fiscal
not contribute so largely as the land held by military tenure '
for purposes of war; the military Orders owed their first duty
to the defence of Christendom and not as other knights to the
realm*. And there was a difficulty about the collection of any
revenue, as the houses of the Cluniac and Carthusian orders
were only priories, and the ultimate control of their property
rested with the Abbot at the mother houses ; the Cistercians
too owed allegiance to the mother house, from which each
English abbey traced its descent, but this plea did not
enable them to evade royal taxation in the time of Edward
III.^

1 Giraldus, Itin. Camh. i. c. 3.

2 M. E. C. Walcott, English Minsters, ii. 11. s Addison, Templars, 237.
* See below, p. 275. Ou Edwitrd I.'s aetiou iu 1300 compare Greatest ofPlanta-

genets, 228.

C. H. 14

210

FEUDALISM.

Wool.

Struggle
with the
■towns.

A.D. 1066 Industrially and commercially on the other hand, there

Influence ^^^^ ^^^ much causc for complaint ; considerable pains were

on industry taken in the management of their estates, and though they

commerce, failed to adapt themselves to the changed conditions of life

in the fifteenth century, and were greatly impoverished, they

were perhaps less unpopular at the last than at the time

when they were frequently engaged in disputes with villain

tenants. There is ample evidence too that the monks

devoted themselves to cultivating our staple export by

pasture farming ; the Cistercians who had settled in the

deserted districts of the north had special opportunities for

this business, but we have records which show that the

Florentine wool merchants obtained supplies from all parts of

the country and from houses belonging to different orders \

The connection between the monasteries and the towns
was close and not always friendly ; to the Abbey the town
often owed its origin ; but as they increased in wealth, the
townsmen wished to be freed from the control which the
abbot exercised ; men were everywhere inclined to resent the
claims of manorial lords, and the monasteries exercised these
rights in some prosperous places where the grievance was
most deeply felt'^ Again, the friars occupied large sites in
prominent positions in the towns, and there were frequent
and angry collisions between them and the burgesses. The
struggle between the monks at Norwich' and the townsmen
led to open warfare, and terrible destruction of life and
property. Similar stories are told of outrages and riots at
Bury*, Reading*^, and elsewhere. Owing to the position of the
monks, and the protection they could count upon from Rome,
kings were not able to give an unfettered decision, and the
burgesses had great difficulty in securing justice for them-
selves, or in resisting any encroachment on their chartered
rights.

1 See Appendix D.

2 See the interesting document recounting the dispute at Shrewsbury about the
mills, printed by the Eev. C. H. Drinkwater, Salop Archceolog. Transactions,
1894, 2*1 Ser. vi. 341.

s Blomefield s Norfolk (1739), n. 39.

* Yates, History of Bury, 121 — 138. Much additional information on these
quaiTels is given in the documents printed by Dr Gross, Child Merchant, ii. 29 — 36.
' Coates, History of Beading, 49.

ROYAL CHARTERS. 211

V. Royal Charters.

72. Attention has already been called to the fact that A.D. 1066
there was an immense increase in the prosperity of the
towns during this period. This was a noticeable feature in The. growth
Europe generally, and there is abundant evidence of municipal ^/'<'"^*-
progress in England in particular. At the same time it is
exceedingly difficult to frame any satisfactory account of
this most important phase of commercial and industrial
development. There are analogies between the story of one
town and that of another, but it is hardly possible to fix on
a typical example of town life ; and still more impracticable
to lay down any ordinary and regular stages of municipal
growth. We have ample material for describing the typical
manorial estate, and for tracing the principal changes which
occurred from time to time in the management of land ; but
each English town seems to have an individual character
and biography of its own. Each town had its own physical
position, with special advantages for agriculture or for trade ;
each had its own responsibilities to the Crown, and its own
connections with ecclesiastical authorities or lay lords.

While this is true if we speak of town life as a whole,
we may yet find it possible to distinguish various elements
in these rising communities. Buying and selling were
frequent and habitual ; we soon hear of the organisation of
gilds merchant, while the success of enterprising men^ gave
opportunity for the coalescence of holdings, and for the growth
of manorial claims and institutions on the town fields. We
can also see dim traces of an ancient burgh-moot which en-,
forced burgh custom and of burgh officials who had charge of
a common purse ^ ; while the burgesses were always on the
alert to secure such additional powers of self-government for
themselves as were exemplified in the privileges of more
favoured towns.

The actual course of the changes by which any towns- Charta-s
men succeeded in getting the management of fiscal, ^Jiff^rent^
economic and judicial affairs into their own hands is written "<'''***''"«
in the charters of each town. The process was gradual,
going on step by step, faster here, and more slowly there,

1 On changes in London compare Gomme, Village Community, 112.

2 M. BatesoD, Leicester Town Records, i. xlvii.

14-2

town.

212 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 according as circumstances favoured the towns, and the
~~ ' chances of buying their own freedom occurred ; the needs
of the nobles who were setting out for the East gave the
opportunity of bargaining for grants of privilege ; and simi-
larly the towns were able to secure many immunities from
royal interference at the times when Richard I. started for
the Holy Land, and when it was necessary to raise money for
his ransom. The townsmen would usually agree to pay a
fixed annual rent as a commutation of dues and perquisites,
and they would also have to pay a heavy fine for the charter
which secured to them the privilege of making this annual
payment, and so of being free from outside officials; they
were often glad to make themselves more secure by paying
a fine to a new king for his inspeximus, or confirmation of
the privileges already given by his predecessors.
ineacTi The history of constitutional progress in any town is

therefore the history of the particular steps by which the
inhabitants secured immunity from various disabilities ; the
opportunities, which occurred in one case, were not available
in another, or the townsmen were not wealthy enough or
wise enough to seize them ; hence the history of each town
differs from the history of every other. But not only was
there a difference in the time at which these privileges were
secured, but in the persons who were concerned in granting
them. In some places the king was in such direct relations with
the town that his charters availed to remove all the various
disabilities ; but in other cases there was a manorial lord, or
an abbot, who had to be satisfied for some matters, while the
royal claims had to be met for others ; and there were other
towns, like London itself, in which there were several 'barons'
each exercising a separate jurisdiction within his own ward.
Until these separate jurisdictions were suppressed, it was
almost impossible to have a consolidated municipal govern-
ment in which all matters of trade, and police and taxation
should be treated by a single recognised authority. Even in
the time of Edward I. these separate jurisdictions presented
such serious difficulty, that he devoted much energy to
laying out and building towns in new situations^ where the
burgesses might be free from the interference of any authority

1 See below, p. 267, □. 2.

ROrAL CHARTERS. 213

but the Crown. It is not easy to distinguish the precise A.D. 1066
nature of the privileges "which successive charters secured,
but we can realise that immense advantage accrued to any
urban community from unification.

73. It may be convenient to fix attention first of all on Manorial
the sort of disabilities to which townsmen were exposed at acuities.
the hands of manorial lords, whether clerical or lay ; we may
then examine those for which they were in all cases forced to
seek relief from the king directly ^ In Norwich, despite its
close relations with the monastery, the royal authority was
exbrcised immediately ; it was divided into four leets, where
bailiffs exercised jurisdiction as representatives of the king,
whether in his seignorial or royal capacity^ : but the similar
court in Manchester was held under the authority of a feudal
lord, who exercised his control till 1846 ; when the metropolis
of the cotton manufacture entered at once on the enjoyment
of a nineteenth century constitution', and the last vestiges of
the old Court Leet disappeared.

This court had been held twice in the year by the lord's <^ourt
steward, and all the fines and other profits arising from
matters which fell within the jurisdiction of the court went
to the manor. The steward summoned the court through
the bailiffs, and all those who owned service were required
to present themselves for the view of Frank-pledge ; it thus
afforded an opportunity of reviewing the available military
strength as well as of inquiring into any sort of misdemean-
ours that had been committed. Some of these were crimes
which the Leet could only present, and which must be dealt

1 A lord might gi-ant to a town immunities from royal rights if the king had
authorised him, cf. Thurstan's charter to Beverley (Stubbs, Select Charters, 109).
But it is not clear what right the manorial lord had, or could acquire by
prescription, and for what he required distinct warrant. Maitland, Select Pleas,
Manorial, i. Ix. In the case of Manchester " the ancieut royal grants to its lords
included a fair, in 1222 and 1227, and free warren in 1249 ; but as to any grant of
a Court Leet or View of Frank-pledge the public records of these early times are
silent; leaving us only to conjecture that, hke the weekly market and other
ancient franchises of Manchester, this court was held by prescription." Harland,
Manchester Court Leet Becords (Cheetham Soc), p. 10.

2 On the constitution of these courts see Mr Hudson's Introduction to the Leet
Jurisdiction in the City of Norwich, p. xxvii.

* The Records of the Court Leet have been published by the Cheetham Society,
and more recently and completely by the Corporation.

214 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 106G with and punished in other courts — such were treasons and

1272

felonies. Other matters of police fell within the jurisdiction
of the Court Leet ; affrays and bloodshed could be dealt with,
as well as failure to follow the hue and cry against robbers,
nuisance arising from the blocking of highways, the stopping
of water courses, or the breaking of bridges. Besides this,
the court had jurisdiction in all matters of trade ; forestallers,
regrators and engrossers, butchers who sold diseased meat,
shoemakers, tanners and glovers who sold bad goods or dear,
bakers and brewers who broke the assize, as well as those
who used false weights and measures were all liable to have
their cases taken and investigated in this court and might
be punished by fine, or the stocks, or pillory \ Since the
lord had rights both in the markets and the fairs, all matters
connected with the wholesale and retail trade of Manchester
came under his cognisance, and he received the profits of
this jurisdiction. We cannot but suppose that in the case
of such towns as Manchester and Sheffield, which grew into
affluence under this system, the government must have been
good on the whole, but the townsmen had no such security
against rapacious and ignorant officers'* as they could hope
for when the right to adjudicate on such affairs lay in their
own hands.
Ancient Another point was of even greater importance ; if they

Customs, had the right of jurisdiction they could judge according to
the customs they themselves approved. We gather that in
Leicester the law, which had been in use under the old
lawmen, was modified in Norman times, and the townsmen
were forced to settle their disputes by wager of battle.
This would seem to have been a tedious proceeding, since a
judicial combat which began at 6 a.m. only ended at 3 p.m.,
when one of the parties engaged had the misfortune to fall
into a pit I The whole incident and the conduct of the

1 Kitchin, Jurisdictions, p. 16.

2 Kitchin writing in 1598 says, "In some courts baron I have seen such sub-
verting of justice by stewards, some by ignorance and wilfulness and some
stewards to please their lords or for fear of losing their fee***that justice many
times had no place there, to the perilous example and overthrow of estate."
Jurisdictions, p. 9.

8 Thompson, Leicester, 28.

ROYAL CHARTERS, 215

disputants so impressed the townsmen, that they endea- a.d. 1066
voured to prevent the recurrence of a similar scandal, and
agreed to pay the earl three pence for each house in the
high street, on condition that the " twenty-four jurors who
were in Leicester from ancient times should from that time
forward discuss and decide all pleas they might have among
themselves^"

The history of Leicester also brings out other manorial. PredM

1-11 11 i-i^ ^ njr services.

disabilities from which the towns had suttered. Many
of the burgesses owed predial services to the lord ; so
long as the towns were really agricultural communities
this obligation was probably enforced by actual service. In
Leicester it had been commuted for definite money pay-
ments, and in 1190 the burgesses were freed from these
obligations by Earl Robert. " I have demised and in every
way quitclaimed from me and my heirs for ever those
pennies which were accustomed to be taken yearly from
my burgesses of Leicester on account of reaping my corn
at Leicester^ " and other servile obligations. The history of
S. Albans and other towns shows that these manorial claims
were bitterly resented two centuries later ; and we can under-
stand how anxious the inhabitants of twelfth century towns
would be to secure not only personal freedom from servitude,
but the right of self-govertiment in regard to matters of
police and of trade. It was with a great price that many
of them acquired this freedom, paid in an immediate fine
and an annual rent ; and the older towns were certainly at
a disadvantage when compared with the towns which king
Edward planted and which were free-born.

74. The townsmen, like other subjects, were bound to Royal
contribute to the defence of the realm, and they had to '^ '*'"**'
discharge other fiscal obligations. They could not of course
be freed from these responsibilities, but to men engaged in
trade there were many matters of practical importance which
could be adjusted by royal favour, both in regard to the rate
at which their liabilities were discharged and the persons
through whom they were paid.

The regular revenue -from the town and the occasional Shenfs.

1 Thompson, English Municipal History, -10. 2 Ibid. 46.

216 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 taxation, which might be due from it, were in the first instance
~ " collected by the sheriffs ; they were practically irresponsible,
and they sometimes abused their position. The Hundred
Rolls contain a great deal of interesting evidence on this
point ; in Cambridgeshire there were many complaints of
Roger of Estra. When the bridge over the Cam was carried
away by a flood he took a tax of 2s. and afterwards of Qd. a
hide on pretence that he was going to build a stone one,
and then he only built a wooden one after all. It was also
pointed out that he spent seven weeks in making this
structure and charged exorbitantly for the use of the barge
he provided in order to ferry the inhabitants across^
Collective Hence the townsmen specially valued the privileges of

^biltty.^^ being recognised for themselves and their heirs as collec-
tively responsible for the royal revenue, instead of having to
pay it through a sheriff. To be free from the sheriff in any
respect was a gain, and it was also an advantage to the king
when no middlemen intervened in receiving the revenue. In
some instances the collection of dues and taxes had been
farmed to one of the inhabitants rather than to the royal officer
in the shire ; but it might not always be the case that any of
the townsmen were such substantial men as to be deemed by
the king fit for such a responsibility. When the burgesses
became sufficiently rich, they were willing to be collectively
and individually responsible for the payment of the annual
ferm, and for the payment of arrears incurred at any subse-
quent time. By the establishment of a collective responsibility
on the part of the burgesses the king had a responsible body
with whom to deal, and he could then dispense with making
any provision for collecting the various ' issues ' ; while the
townsmen would be careful to see that no one fell into arrear.
The citizens undertook to pay an annual composition for
various branches of revenue and thus were made free of
customs and other taxes while they levied a house rate
Scot and among themselves to discharge the annual payment. Those
who were at scot and lot with the other inhabitants and bore
their fair share of the public burdens, were welcome to all
the privileges of the place, but the greatest jealousy was felt

1 Rot. Bund. I. 54, 55.

lot.

ROYAL CHARTERS. 217

of upland men or foreigners (whether native or alien) who a.d. iogg
tried to take advantage of the town privileges in their trade,
while they did not as householders contribute a fair share
to meet the town payments. This feeling found expression
in countless regulations to prohibit foreigners from carrying
on their business in such a way as to compete with the
inhabitants of that place. The statutes of the Southampton*
Gild Merchant, which date from about 1300, are very detailed
and serve as an admirable illustration of the policy which
was generally pursued.

The question of the rate at which the townsmen should Fiscal
be taxed depended on two distinct considerations ; it was ° ^^'''*<'"^-
partly resolvable into the farther question as to the terms
on which their land was held, and therefore as to the
occasions on which they should pay^. On the whole the
tenants of ancient domain^ came off most easily* ; and hence
the townsmen, like other landowners, were inclined to claim
this position^ As far back as the time of the Confessor
certain towns had been favoured, as the geld was demanded
less frequently®, and so long as occasional taxation lasted it
was desirable to be placed in the status of those from whom
demands were least frequently made.

There was also room for a great deal of adjustment in Tolls.
regard to the levying of dues. The townsmen undertook to
give a rent annually, and claimed to be free from the
duty of paying the royal tolls ; they would be able to levy

1 Gross, Gild Merchant, n. 214.

2 The town of Reading had been granted to the Abbey there, and it was decided
after much dispute that the Abbot might tallage the townsmen, when the king
levied a tallage on his tenants. Gross, Gild Merchant, u. 204.

* The villains of ancient domain were a class, who appear to have preserved,
under special circiuustances, the more favourable conditions of the pre-Norman
times. Vinogi'adoff, Villainage in Englaml, 92. , ^^

* So in 1306 of those who held land within a royal forest. " If any of them
that be disafforested by the pm-Ueu would rather be witliin the forest as they were
before, than to be out of the forest as they be now, it pleaseth the king very well
that they shall be received thereunto, so that they may remain in their ancient
estate, and shall have common and other easement, as weU as they had before."
Ordinance of Forest. 33 Ed. I.

5 On the other hand cases of claiming not to be of ancient domain and therefore
not to be tallaged are given by Madox, Firma Burgi, 5.

•^ Exeter only paid geld when London, York and Winchester paid. Domesday,
in. 80.

218 FEUDALISM.

A.D. iof.6 octroi duties for the use of the town and defray their
~"^"'^' payments to the crown by the house rate. They would gain
greatly as their trade increased ; but they might also have
considerable privileges in regard to paying tolls in other
parts of the kingdom^ In the time of Henry I. the men of
Beverley and of York were free from tolls throughout York-
shire'*: the men of London and all their goods were free
throughout England and the ports of the sea, of toll and
passage and lastage and all other customs^ The history of
A.D. 1519. the Cinque Ports affords aa instance of the assertion of this
right in the time of Henry VIII. They had been free to buy
and sell from the time of Edward I., that is to say, not only
free from the obligation of paying dues at their own homes,
but free from the obligation of paying them anywhere in the
kingdom. A merchant who exercised this privilege with
regard to some wool in Blackwell Hall* was forced to defend
his rights in the matter, and the Cinque Ports established
their position as free towns. As in other cases, this freedom
meant that they had got rid of restrictions on their business,
by undertaking some definite payment or obligation. In
the case of the Cinque Ports they were specially bound to
supply shipping for the defence of the realms
Exclusive- We need not wonder that the towns were jealous of any
down's ^^^ infraction of these dearly-bought privileges', whether by
unworthy burgesses, royal charters or unwarranted encroach-
ments'. The burgess of a town which had obtained this
full freedom both from royal and manorial control would
have to make considerable payments towards the sum which
was annually due to the crown, or the occasional taxes which
were taken ; but he would be assessed by his neighbours,
and in this right he would find some protection from the
sheriff who extorted money in the king's name and then

1 On the procedure for enforcing this right see Sharpe, Calendar of Letteis, vi.
In Davies, History of Southampton, 229, there is a Ust of all the towns which
could legitimately claim this privilege.

2 Stubbs, Select Charters, 110. « Ibid. 108.
* Jeake, Charters, 8, note 1. « Ibid. 25.

« They are clearly summarised in the case of Cambridge, Rot. Hund. rr. 391.

' See the curious complaint of episcopal encroachments at Winchester. The
bishop attracted the burellars to his own quarter, and his tenants were as free to
buy and sell as the members of the gild merchant. Archaeological Journal, vn. 375.

ROYAL CHARTERS. 219

applied it to his own uses. The new mode of levying the A.D. 1066
payments was less expensive because it was more direct ;
the burgess was at scot and lot and paid on his tenement ;
it was through his residence and the payments it involved
that he earned the privileges he enjoyed. The whole
policy of the towns, as we read it in their records, shows us
how jealous they were of upland men and unfree men^
who tried to enjoy the privileges of a burgess while they
did not pay for them ; and the strong measures which they
took against those who connived at the cheat thus practised
on their neighbours. The subsequent history of the towns
and of the struggles against alien workmen in the fifteenth
century, as well as against the new centres of industry
which began to rival them in the sixteenth, only become
intelligible when we keep the nature of municipal privi-
leges and the cost of securing them carefully in view.

75. When attention has thus been given to the different Their or-
matters in regard to which the townsmen desired to be free '
from outside interference, it remains for us to notice the steps
which they took in organising self-government for themselves.

In the charters of Henry I. leave is given to many towns Gilds
to form a hanse or gild merchant ; in some cases this may '"^"^ "^"''
have been the mere revival of the cnighten gilds, such as had
existed in pre-Norman times in Winchester^, Canterbury and
London^ ; thus in the charter to Dunwich we read that the a.d. 1215.
townsmen were to have their gild merchant with a hanse and
other customs and liberties pertaining to that gild^ ]But in
many of the towns which were springing up in the twelfth
century, there could have been no such forerunner of the a.d. 1204.
later institution, and we find that they were granted a gild
merchant with all the liberties and customs which are wont
and ought to pertain to a gild merchant^. The questions

1 Scottish Burgh Laws, 5, 7, 83.

2 Gross, Gilda Me.rcatoria,-p. 24. Chenictehalla ubi chenictes potabant gildam
suam. Domesday, in. 531, 533. This phrase is illustrated by the later ordinances
of Winchester. Kant len purvoit bevere gilde markande, len doit per commun
assent par les mesters de la vUe enquere geuz ke convenable soient et de bone
fame a requiller en gilde markande. Gross, Gild Merchant, 11. 256.

8 Unwin, Gilds 0/ London, 23. Round, Ancient Charters (Pipe Roll Society), 25.
For legendary history and other evidence connected with this gild, see Stevens,
Abbeys, u. 84 ; also Hot. Eund. i. 413.

* Rot. Cart. 211. 6 Derby, r,ot. Cart. 138.

220 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 as to the origin and character of these gilds are closely con-
~^^^^' nected with the constitutional history of our towns^; it is
obvious that gilds merchant were bodies of great economic
importance, but it is difficult to make out what precise part
they played, and the exact nature of the practical influence
they exerted. We are, however, onfairly firm ground in
saying that the gilds merchant were not capitalistic, were
not identical with the town, and did not exercise civil
jurisdiction.
Regulation The objoct of thesc assoplations appears to have been the
Immunity, regulation of trade. Free tenants of all sorts had indeed
the right to buy and sell victuals in all English towns
without paying toll^ but the members of the gild obtained
a similar freedom in regard to goods of every kind ; and as
they paid for the privilege' they were careful to secure it
Exclusive for themselves exclusively. This exclusive right of dealing
"^ '*• is what strikes one most forcjbly in all the documents con-
nected with gilds ; none but members were to buy and sell,
or at any rate the gild had such supervision over all buying
and selling, that those who infringed their privileges were
liable to be fined by the gild*. The right at Chester in-
cluded freedom to elect their own reeve ; members of the gild
might buy merchandise coming to the town either by land or
sea, but non-members could only do so by permission"^; those
who obtained the necessary licence were known as censers or
Pnviiegcs. teiisers^, and there were unfree traders of various grades. But
while the privileges of the townsmen and their gild were
thus exclusive, they were also inclusive ; the members of the
gild had a right to claim to have a part with another

1 The charter of Edward I. to the Cmque Ports refers to charters of several
kings from Edward the Confessor onwards granting liberty for their 'mercatuni,'
though if the barons failed to do justice there was an appeal to the warden.
Jeake, Charters of Cinque Ports, 23. This may imply that they had a continuous
self-government for commercial affairs from before the time of the Conquest. The
mention in Domesday of a Gildhalla at Dover is interesting, though of course not
in any way conclusive, as the Gildhalla may have belonged to a social and religious
gild which had no mercantile functions. Gross, Gilda Mercatoria, 73.

2 Rot. Hund. I. 356.

8 Gross, Antiquary, IfeSo. Hot. Ohlatis, 17, 19, 111, 223. Madox, Excheqzier,
273.

* Gross, Gild Merchant, i. 44. * Mamecestre (Cheetham Society).

6 Hibbert, Influence of Qilds, p. 146.

ROYAL CHARTERS. 221

member in a successful bargain ^ If he fell into poverty a.d. 1066
he might count on their aid^, and if he was imprisoned', ""
or even unjustly accused* they would assist him. Through
membership in a gild merchant the trader obtained a status
which was recognised outside the limits of his own town ;
and each body of burgesses sought to obtain a 'most fa-
voured gild' clause, and to have its members put on the
same footing for purposes of trade, as those who carried
on business to the most advantage. In many cases the
inhabitants of the town and the members of the gild were
practically coextensive bodies", and the gild merchant in-
cluded artisans as well as traders ; but Dr Gross has pointed
out instances where the townsmen were not all members of
the gild, and others where non-burgesses were members of
the gild merchant ; aliens might also be received into the
full citizenship of a town, and thus be naturalised. When
all Flemings were arrested in London, a certain Christin a.d. I3ii.
Lewebrere was imprisoned with the others, but the king
ordered his discharge as he was claimed by the men of Lynn
as their comburgensis®.

These gilds had courts in which such trade offences as
refusing to share a bargain with a gildsman'', or engaging in
colourable transactions with strangers, might be punished; but
it appears that mercantile business was more usually transacted
in the ordinary burgh courts, in which questions connected with

1 No one was to have lot or scot with the burgesses in merchandise bought by
themselves or by others, in the town of Chesterfield, but the burgesses ; but the
burgesses themselves and their servants should have scot and lot with all the rest,
according to the ancient custom. Becords of Chesterfield, p. 36. This right of
gavel is frequently mentioned in the customs of the Scotch municipalities, which
present interesting analogies. Statuta Gilde, cc. 27, 41, 48. Burgh Laws of
Scotland, 76, 83, 86. See also Worcester, English Gilds, 210. Sandwich, cf. Lyon,
Dover, n. 299. Eomney, op. cit. 11. 333. Eye, op. cit. u. 366. Southampton,
Gross, Oild Merchant, 11. 219.

2 Statuta Glide, c. 14, op. cit. p. 70. * SoxUhampton, c. 11, Davies, 140.
* Statuta Glide, c. 15, op. cit. p. 70.

5 The membership of gilds merchant was at any rate large ; compare Totnes
in 1260, Hist. MSS. Com. m. 342 ; artisans as weU as merchants were included
in these gilds. Thompson, Leicester, 54. See also the early gild rolls of Shrews-
bury, printed by the Eev. C. H. Drinkwater in the Salop Archaol. Trans. 2^ Ser.
II. 29 (1890), and Bcyyai Hist. Soc. Trans. (1895).

6 " Et in scoto et loto cum predictis majore et communitate tamquam liber br.r-
gcnsis ejusdem villfe existit et in eadem villa natus fuit." Delpit, Collection, XCY.

7 Bateson, Leicester Borough Records, 1. xxxiii.

222

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
— 1272.

Recovery
of debts,

tkrouf/h
the gilds
merchant.

the terms of payment, and the recovery of debts could
usually be settled^ When the gild increased in power and
overshadowed the burgh authorities, it is not always possible
to distinguish the precise capacity in which action was taken,
and the later statutes of the Southampton Gild require that
the Alderman should inquire into the ability o the members
to meet their debts or serve as surety ^ So long however as
the gild merchant can be distinguished as merely an element
in the municipal life, the main legal business appears to
have been done by the ordinary courts, and the town itself
(communitas) was the organ by which payments to or from
the merchant of another place might be adjusted ; it was by
suing the community that the creditor could reach a de-
faulting debtor at a distance. Though membership of the
gild was not necessary to enable the burgess to recover a
debt from another town*, it is probable that the fact that
he was admitted wnthin this body, gave any townsman a
better commercial status! He had a wealthy body behind
him, so that he was a person of credit ; his promise to pay,
or his warrant for goods was worth more than that of the
merchant who stood alone on his personal reputation for
honesty, and whether he visited a distant toAvn or a fair he
could claim to be regarded as a person of status, who could
give a sufficient reference in connection with all transactions
in which he was concerned.

When these two privileges, freedom from toll and the
possession of commercial status, are taken together, we see

1 The citizens of Chester had acquittances, releases, recognisances and their
appurtenances and a pendice (court house) in which to hear them (Harlaud,
Mamecestre, i. 190) ; those of Bristol were entitled to have all pleas about debts
held in the town according to the custom of the town.

2 Gross, Gild Merchant, u. 219 (27).

* The recognised process is described in detaU in the Eomney Custumal. Lyon,
Dover, u. 338. See also letters from Yarmouth, Blomefield, Norfolk, xi. 343.
In whatever way it was managed under different circumstances, the providing
a satisfactory machinery for the recovery of debts was a prime necessity for
the growth of commerce at this time. The statute of Acton Burnel, like the
Burgh Laws of Ipswich, shows the provision that was made in England for
foreigners. The Mayor of the Staple alfio entered recognisances of debt.

* In Dublin the members of the merchant gild were bound to settle their
disputes by arbitration among themselves, and also to maintain a brother's cause
if he was sued in another court. Gross, Gild Merchant, u. 65, Helston, Ibid. ii. 108.

ROYAL CHARTERS. 223

what a valuable right the townsmen obtained when they a.d. io66

* 1*27 '2

were allowed to have a hanse^ but there were direct ad-
vantages which accrued from belonging to such a trading
association ; they were by combination able to secure better
terras^ each member was able to share in the fortunate
transactions of others or of the whole body', and they
could count on getting assistance in case of misfortune^
There can be no wonder that the gild merchant was a
widely diffused institution. Dr Gross gives a list of more
than 150 towns in England and Wales, and most of them
appear to have acquired the privilege in the twelfth or
thirteenth centuries.

76. He has also worked out some very interesting facts Affiliation,
as to the filial relation between various towns^, from which
we ca,n gather the importance men attached to the privilege of
living under good customs®, as well as to that of freedom from
tolls. The latter lay of course in the king's power, but the
transmission of bodies of customs depended on the will of those
who already enjoyed them, and the men of Hereford were not
inclined to grant them gratuitously to townsmen who were
only of servile condition^. The bond which bound the new

1 Dr Gross explains that this term is used in three senses in England, (1) a
gild, (2) the entrance fee, (3) a mercantile exaction. Giry describes two distinct
institutions at S. Omer; the gild, which comprised both merchants and artisans
[Histoire de la Ville de S. Omer, 281), and the hanse, which was exclusively com-
mercial and enjoyed a monopoly of commerce between the town and England.
(Ibid. -282, 413.)

' See Dublin, a.d. 1452. Gross, Gild Merchant, ii. 67.

* Liverpool, 1565. Gross, Gild Merchant, ii. 148.

^ Coventry, 1340. Gross, Qild Merchant, n. 50; Lynn, op. cit. ii. 161. South-
Hmpton, c. 22, op. cit. ii. 218.

5 On the Affiliation of Mediceval Boroughs in The Antiquary for 1885.

s The men of Derby offered King John sixty marks for a charter like that of
Nottingham, and the men of Gloucester not less than two hundred marks for the
customs, laws and liberties of Winchester {Antiquary, 1885, p. 14). See also the
case of John Gray, Bishop of Norwich. Quia dominus Rex nobis per cartam suam
concessit ut eUgeremus Burgum in Angha quemcumque vellemus, ut easdem
libertates quas Burgus ille habet, haberet et villa nostra de Len' et nos eligimus
Oxenefordiam. MackereU, King's Lynn, 248.

7 " The kings cittizens of Hereford who have the custodye of his citty (in regard
that it is the principall cittye of all the market townes from the sea even unto
the boundes of the Seaveme) ought of ancient usage to dehver theire lawes and
fustomes to such townes when need requires, yet in this case they are in noe wise
bound to do it, because they say they are not of the same condition ; for there are
dome townes which hould of our Lord the Kuige of England and his heires without

customs.

224 , FEUDALISM,

A.D. 1066 town to the parent from which its privileges were derived
~^^^' was so far recognised that advice was sought at the fountain
derived head in disputes about any of the customs. Some towns on
the Continent appear to have had coercive jurisdiction over
those which were derived from them, but in England the
appeal seems to have been merely consultative ^ The
Oxford men were to judge on recondite points at Bedford*,
while they themselves obtained information from London as to
the mode of holding pleas of land in the Hustings It thus
came about that while the history of each English town is
distinct from that of others, the commercial law and practice
of English towns in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries may
be divided into two or three distinct types. The custom of
London obtained over a very large area^ and was still more
widely transmitted through Bristol and Oxford; but its
largest expansion took place from Winchester, as the custom
of this city Avas not only current in the South West, but
through transmission to Newcastle, in Northumberland and
Scotland. Smaller groups were attached to the custom of
York, and of the Cinque Ports, while the intiuence of Breteuil

any mesne Lord ; and to such we are bound, when and as often as need shall be,
to certifle of our lawes and customes, chiefly because we hold by one and the same
tenure ; and nothing shall be taken of them in the name of a reward, except only
by our common towne clerke, for the wryting and his paynes as they can agree.
But there are other markett townes which hold of diverse lords of the kiugdome,
wherein are both natives and rusticks of auncient tyme, who paie to their lords
corporall services of diverse kinds, with other services which are not used among
us, and who may be expelled out of those townes by theire lords, and may not
inhabit in them or be restored to theire former state, but by the common law of
England. And chiefly those, and others that hold by such forreine services in
such townes, are not of our condition; neither shall they have our lawes and
customes but by way of purchase, to be performed to our capitall bailiff as they
can agree between them, at the pleasm-e and to the benefitt of the citty aforesaid."
They gave a certificate of certain of their customs to Denbigh and Haverford West
(Duncumb, Hereford, i. 336), as well as to Cardiff (Ibid. i. 338) when fines were paid.

1 The case of the Cinque Ports and Great Yarmouth is exceptional ; as the
Yarmouth men did not derive their customs, but their very existence from the
ports. Their town gi-ew up on the site of the herring fair over which the Barons
of the ports had jurisdiction. Blomefield, Norfolk (Parkin), ix. 297. Jeake, 12.

2 Placita de quo waranto, p. 17.

3 Liber Albus, i. 181—4. For another case see Sharpe, Wills, p. vi. Letters,
No. 198.

^ An interesting survival of the old municipal mode of government occurs in
1390, when the Commons prayed that the Custom of the City of London about
usury might have statutable force through the realm. Rot. Pari. m. 280, No. 24.

ROYAL CHARTERS. 225

is specially noticeable on the borders of Wales^. The ad. 1066
charters, which granted a gild merchant, not only gave
valuable privileges to particular towns, but aided effectually
in diffusing a similar body of commercial law. The history
of each town is distinct and the steps by which it obtained
its freedom were somewhat different in each case, but the
privileges they obtained were very similar ; and each town,
which secured a gild merchant, obtained a place in the circle
of inter-municipal commerce.

77. It is by no means easy however to state in general Municipal
terms the bearing of the establishment of a gild merchant
on the growth of other constitutional privileges. It is of
course clear that when a body of men were recognised as
competent to regulate all matters of trade, they might more
easily be trusted with the ordinary police of the town ; the
members of the gild merchant too would include the wealthy
townsmen and those who were best able to undertake
fiscal responsibility. Indirectly therefore the gild merchant and gilds
may well have been an important factor in securing self-
government in regard to petty offences, and self-assessment
for the royal revenue ; but the precise relations of any one
gild merchant to the burgh authority in the same town
cannot be so easily stated, though it appears that in most
English towns in the fourteenth and fifteenth century, the
gild merchant had come to be almost entirely merged in the
municipality and the Gild Hall was used as the Town Hall.

The coalescence of these distinct authorities was pro- Nominal
bably due to some change in economic conditions, but the^fvivaL
memory of the distinction was preserved even after the
bodies had been practically merged into one. At Reading^
and at Carlisle the name 'gild merchant' was long used to
designate the whole body of craft gilds and companies ; and
thus the evidence of its latest survivals, as well as in regard
to its origin, seems to preclude the common opinion that the
English Gild merchant was an association of merchants in
the modern sense of the term, or was either indifferent or
hostile to the interests of artisans. In other cases the
existence of a class of non-burgesses, who were free to trade,

1 M. Bateson, Laws of Breteuil in English Historical Review, xv. 74.

2 Gross, Gild Merchant, i. 118.

C. H. 15

226 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 kept the idea^ of a gild merchant alive. At Shrewsbury
~ " ■ there was a considerable class of censers, who were not free
of the town, but who paid an annual rent (census) for the
privilege of being allowed to trade"; and a similar class is
mentioned in Worcester, Chester, Canterbury and many
other towns. There were also inhabitants in thirteenth cen-
tury towns, like the JeAvs and the Flemish weavers, who held
directly from the Crown and were outside municipal and gild
privileges. Town liberties and gild privileges were distinct
and were not always acquired simultaneously^; in Leicester,
where the gild merchant was in existence long before the
townsmen obtained the Firma Burgi or were free from
predial service, the records enable us to see the differences
between the gild and the burgh organisation, as well as their
gradual coalescence, with remarkable clearness^ The case of
London is most curious of all ; that there had once been a
gild merchant is possible and gilds merchant were found in
towns that derived their customs from London ; but there is
little clear trace of a gild merchant in the great centre of
English commerced
Yarmouth. In Other places the town grew up under the mercantile
protection ; this was specially the case at Yarmouth, where
the Cinque Ports had managed the herring fair, and a town
had gradually gathered beside the site where this great
annual fair was heW. Even when this town had obtained
complete municipal privileges — on the model of those of
Oxford — the bailiffs of the Cinque Ports still took their part
along with the men of Yarmouth in managing the fair.

The precise relation in which the gild mei'chant stood
towards the municipal constitution is a problem to be investi-

1 Hibbert, Gilds, 18.

2 Mr Hibbert has investigated the position of these tradesmen, op. cit. 145.

s When Ipswich received a royal charter one of the first steps taken was that
of forming a gild merchant. Merewether and Stephens, Boroughs, i. 394.

* Compare Miss Bateson's introduction to the Leicester Town Records.

6 A solitary mention has been found by Mr C. G, Crump in a charter of 1252
{E7ig. Hist. Review, 1903, xvni. 315), but it cannot be regarded as conclusive. See
also Unwin, Gilds of London, 60. Compare p. 219 above.

6 As in the case of S. Ives. Maitland, Select Pleas, Manorial, i. 131.

ROYAL CHARTERS. 227

gated separately in each single case ; it was generally an a.d. io66
important factor, but not always equally important. There ^.^J^ '
are many distinct elements which are combined in each of "i^'^'"^^-
the complex groups which we call a town. London was
not improbably a combination of hundreds, and Norwich
of Leets; while others were more like an aggregation of .
separate manors. The mere analysis of the surviving officers^
shows how complex each separate structure was ; in some
the agricultural element is strong; in some the old royal
officer, the portreeve, maintained his position as head,
through many changes"; in some a manorial officer, the
bailiff, continued to hold sway; in others we find a con-
stitution of a Norman type, or at least with Norman
nomenclature, in which the mayor, who was an elected Mayors.
official, held the reins of government. The example of
London tended in favour of the diffusion of this magisterial
system; and there were great advantages in securing one
governing body for the whole of a town, though in the
case of Norwich the new constitution appears to have been
more oligarchical than the separate Leet Jurisdictions which
were superseded in the fourteenth century*. None of these
official designations suggest the gild merchant as a prime
element, the officials of which took over the administration
of the town ; but there are cases where an A.lderman was
at the head of affairs and he may be a representative of
the important contribution made by gilds merchant to the
progress of the towns, though this is at least uncertain^; but
whether they left any permanent mark on official nomencla-
ture or not, they certainly contributed in no small degree to

^ Gomme, Index of Municipal Offices.

2 In the free town of Hull, the King's Warden was chief ofiBcer (Tickell's Hull,
p. 11).

3 In the 18th year of Henry HI. the citizens of Lynn complained that the
Bishop of Norwich had excommunicated them because they had created a mayor
among themselves, and had taxed and taUaged themselves in the said burgh
without his assent, and it was agreed between them in the said court that the
bishop should grant for himself and his successors and his chui-ch of Noi-wich,
that the said burgesses for the future may choose and create to themselves a
mayor, whomsoever they pleased of their own body, to be presented to the bishop
and admitted by him. Blomefield, Norfolk (Parkin), vui. 490.

* Hudson, Leet Jurisdiction of Norwich, Ixxi.
6 Gross, Gilda Mercatoria, 72.

15—2

228 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 the development of municipal constitutions. It may be
'sif. '. worth while to add a couple of instances which serve to
vernment. illustrate the manner in which the towns exercised their

new powers of self-government.
Wooden There was an adequate reason for the vast amount of

fires. building which took place in the twelfth century, as wooden

structures were so easily destroyed by fire; and it was
specially desirable to substitute stone for timber houses in
towns where the closely compacted dwellings rendered it easy
for a fire to spread rapidly. At the same time the work of
building could hardly have proceeded so rapidly as it did
both in town and country if England had not been prospering
economically. London had suffered greatly from a fire in
the reign of Stephen which destroyed the Cathedral Church
and spread from the Bridge as far as the Fleet ; some persons
then began to build in stone, and it was found that their
houses not only served to protect themselves, but to stay the
progress of any conflagration. In 1181 the citizens met and
agreed on an Assize^ which should both give facilities to
those who wished to build, and might also appease "the
contentions which sometimes arise among neighbours about
boundaries made or to be made between their lands, so that
such disputes might be settled according to that which was
then provided and ordained." All sorts of points about
boundary walls, with gutters for drainage and cesspools were
decided, as well as matters that might give rise to dispute where
one man owned a wall and his neighbour's buildings rested
on corbels in that wall. The work did not proceed with such
rapidity however as to prevent the outbreak of another fire
on the 2nd of July 1212, by which London Bridge and very
many of the houses of the nobles, as well as a large number
of men and women, were destroyed. The citizens met shortly
afterwards and passed several ordinances for allaying disputes
and purifying the city, as well as for protecting it against
fire, ' with the help of God.' Besides containing other points
of interest this document gives us an early instance of fixing
a maximum for the wage of builders^ ; and it is instructive

1 Liber de Antiquis Legihus (Camden Soc). Turner, Domestic Architecture,
pp. 17, 275. 2 Turner, Domestic Architecture, 281.

ROYAL CHARTERS. 229

to compare the arrangements with the statute which was a.d. iog6
passed after the ereat fire in the time of Charles 11.^ ~^^^!'

A.D. 1666.

The other duty of self-assessment was carried out by the Seif-
burgesses of Colchester when they were called upon to pay ''■'^««*'"«"'-
theii' quota towards the seventh which was granted in 1295
to King Edward, as an aid for his war lately commenced
against his enemies and the rebellious in France. With this
object, sworn assessment was made by twelve burgesses of
Colchester of the goods and chattels of every one who lived
wdthin the precincts. The inventory which was then made
shows that Colchester had not yet emerged from the agri-
cultural condition; there are comparatively few artisans or
merchants, and their stock in trade was very small. A coal
merchant had goods worth £6. 3s. 4c^. ; two tanners were
reckoned at £7. 85. 10c?. and £8. \s. 4cZ., a pepperer at 145. 4d,
a glove-maker at 8O5. The tanning trade seems to have
been the most common of all industries, but it is evident
that a very large number of the inhabitants were engaged in
tillage^.

Some light is thrown on the manner in which the taxes
were levied from the citizens, by the Winchester customs'
which have been so much quoted, as well as by an early
London* agreement. Three thousand marks is taken as the
usual quota for the county of Middlesex, and the proportion
to be paid by different men, according to their wealth, is
worked out, with a considerable desire to be fair, but not
without difficulty in regard to the arithmetic® of vulgar
fractions.

VI. Royal, Municipal and Manorial Economy.

78. In the preceding sections it has been necessary to The
insist over and over again on the differences which marked '"''"^"
out each town and each estate from every other. The manor

1 18 & 19 Charles H. c. 8
- Rot. Pari. 1. 228; see also 243.
8 ArchceologicaZ Journal, rx. 73.
* Brit. Mus. Add. 14,252. See Appendix G.

6 Mediaeval calculating was done with the help of an abacus. Ball, Mathe-
matics in Cambridge, p. 2.

230 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 was an economic unit, organised by itself; so too was each
"■^ ' ■ town. There was doubtless a common type, such as is given
by the Rectitudines, or in the often quoted manor of East
Greenwich, and other manors resembled this type more or
less closely ; from the legal decisions of the thirteenth cen-
tury judges it is possible to draw a doctrine as to the
rights and disabilities of villains generally. There was
a body of customs in London, which many other towns
adopted, but each was an independent, separately organised,
and separately administered body. The threads which
I bound them all together were their common relations to
the Crown, relations which were most clearly defined by
and pro- proceedings in the Exchequer. The granting of charters
ceedingsin -^{^^^ increased privileges is marked by fines, and annual
Exchequer, payments to the Exchequer; the stock on the manors and
the moveables of the people were scheduled so that the
owners might pay their taxes ; the rights of the various
tenants were questioned that the occasions and terms of
payment might be properly known; and thus the whole
details of the position and transactions of the various subjects
are reflected in the records of the Exchequer. This is the
way in which they become known to us, and it is from rolls
originally drawn up with reference to fiscal obligations that
by far the largest body of evidence in regard to manorial
industry and municipal commerce has come down to us.

The influence of the Exchequer was all pervading, and
we have full information as to the manner in which it was
organised. A long series of royal accounts^ has been preserved,
and we also possess an explanatory treatise on the subject.
Dialogus The Dialog US de Scaccario is not only an interesting descrip-
Scaccario. tion of the method by which business was done, but it is a
valuable account of the ' political economy ' of the time.

The dialogue is usually, and with much probability,

ascribed to Richard Bishop of London, who, as treasurer, was

intimately acquainted with the working of the Exchequer;

and it is pervaded by a fine sense of the responsibility of

dutl^'^ the duties in which he and his colleagues were engaged

1 n. Hall, Formula Boole, Part u. 91.

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 231

in administering the royal revenue. The royal riches, as a.d. iocs
he asserts, served to support the royal dignity, and the ~
power of princes was raised by abundance and suffered by
the want of it. This was specially the case in warfare, but
attention to revenue was equally necessary for the main-
tenance of government in time of peace, the building of
churches and the relief of the poor. Work of such importance
as this, and which bore so directly on the maintenance of the
civil power ordained by God, was, as the author maintains,
no unfitting occupation for ecclesiastics. The personal
responsibility of kings to God for the manner in which they
exercised their office was generally recognised in mediaeval
writings on political subjects^, but the author passes on to
insist on the necessity of care and trustworthiness on the
part of the royal subordinates also ; skill and probity were
needed in every department of the work.

Here as in other matters we may feel a striking contrast
between the ideal depicted and the actual practice of the
royal officers of whose extortion we so often read ; but after
all, it is well worth while to cherish a high ideal, and those
who fail to do so will never attain to an exalted standard of
actual conduct. At all events it is characteristic of the time in finance.
that finance should be treated as an important department
of work to be honestly done out of a sense of duty, and not
merely regarded from the point of view of expediency as to
the convenience of raising and collecting the revenue in one
way or in another.

As a matter of practice, a movement was steadily taking
place in favour of having all obligations discharged in terms
of money, and of rendering the money payments as definite
as might be. The commutation of predial service for money
on the royal estates, and of actual service for scutage,
rendered public burdens less inconvenient and less 'ex-
pensive' to the subjects and more profitable to the Crown ;
by the substitution of fixed fines and regular customs for
arbitrary dues and prises, they were made less ' uncertain.'

1 It was frilly recognised by James I. (Treio Law, Works, p. 209) that the
king was responsible to God for the good of the people committed to him; in
arguing that he was not responsible to the people, he makes no claim to arbitrary
authority. For the change in opinion on this point see Lilly, Century, ch. i.

232

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
—1272.

How to
check mal-
versation.

Accounts.

Manorial
documents.

Practical changes were being made in accordance with Adam
Smith's maxims, but the principles were not as yet thought
out and formulated. The chief matter of importance, in the
mind of the writer of the Dialogus, was to explain a system
by which payments legally due to the Crown might be
collected with as little malversation as possible. He pro-
pounds no scheme for developing the resources of the realm,
or increasing its power, or the well-being of the subjects ;
such ultimate objects lie beyond the scope of his work,
because they lay beyond the purview of the men of his time ;
not till Edward had consolidated the realm was it possible to
frame an economic policy. The Dialogus is simply concerned
with the work of administration, and only alludes to the
underlying political objects with the view of showing how
necessary it was that the administration should be upright
and skilful.

At the same time it is evident that the work which was
thus described and discussed was worth doing well ; it was a
great thing to devise a good system of accounts for the
finances of the realm. No one in the present day is likely
to underrate the importance of keeping accurate accounts
in business of every kind, if for nothing else, as the chief
means of removing temptations to dishonesty on the part of
subordinates. Agriculture was much the most important
industry in England, but so far as we know landowners did
not attempt to keep accurate accounts in the eleventh
century, and it was not till the thirteenth century that the
practice became general. The organisation of the Exchequer
was not only a reform in the management of royal finance,
for it also gave an example of a mode of keeping accounts
which was gradually copied by corporations and individuals
for their own private atfairs.

79. From records that have been preserved it would
appear that in the ordinary manorial estate there were docu-
ments of three different kinds which were regularly kept. In
so far as these have survived in regard to any manor, we are
able to reconstruct for that estate a curiously complete
picture, which is clear in its main outlines and accurate
in the principal details; and we may be able to follow the

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 233

changes that took place among the tenantry with perfect A.D. 1066
certainty.

The " 'enta or Survey of the Manor was the recorded Extenta.
result o." a verdict given by a body of jurors chosen from
amoner the tenants. This contained an account of the whole
condition of the estate, the buildings belonging to it, the
fields and stock on the domain, the pasturage, the amount
of wood and the profits of the waste, the mills, fisheries and
so forth. It also enumerated the free tenants and stated the
terms of their tenure ; the villains and cottagers, and their
services^as well as the patronage and other incidental rights
belonging to the manor. Great portions of the Hundred
Rolls practically consist of collections of such surveys ; and
the Domesday Book is a collection of abstracts of the sort of
information in regard to each estate, which was subsequently
embodied in the Extent. It served as a great inventory of
the manor and all that belonged to it or was attached to
it, so that it enabled the landowner to see at once what his
revenue in each year ought to be, or what item had fallen
short. The Hundred Rolls show us that at the end of this
period, the process of substituting money payments for actual
service had begun, though it was not common^. From
the printed Extents in these Rolls it appears that at the
end of the thirteenth century there were three different
classes of tenants ; those who had commuted all their services
for a definite money rent^; those who paid either actual
service or gave the value of the service in money according
as the lord preferred"*; and those who still performed their

1 It is to be inquired also of customary tenants that is to wit how many there
be, and how much land every of them holdeth, what works and customs he doth,
and what the works and customs of eveiy tenant be worth yearly, and how much
rent of assize be paid yearly besides the works and customs, and which of them
may be taxed at the will of the lord and which not.

It is also to be inquu'ed of cottagers that is to say what cottages and curtilages
they hold, and by what service, and how much they do pay by the year for all
their cottages and curtilages. Extenta Mancrii in the Statutes of the Realm,
usually assigned to 4 Ed. I. It is practically embodied in Fleta, n. 79, iu
connection with the duties of the Seneschallus. It forms the basis of Fitzherbert's
Surveying which was published in 1523 and takes the foi-m of a commentary on the
separate clauses of this statute.

2 Page, End of Villainage in England, 39.

5 Reddens pro omnibus operationibus et serviciis quae antecessores sui facere
solebant. Bot. Hund. 11. 636.

* Debet s.xs. vel opera ad valorem. Mot. Hund. 11. 32i.

ones.

234 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 obligations, either in whole or in part, in the form of actual
~ ' service'. The intermediate class, whose services were valued
in money, would undoubtedly be often called to pay in
money ; for when an accurate method of keeping accounts
was once devised, it was far easier to collect the manorial
dues once for all in coin than to ensure that the various
services, of week work and boon work, and the various
payments of seed, fowls or eggs, were properly discharged.

However the obligations were discharged, it was desirable
that the lord should know what his estate with its stock was
worth ; and this information, recorded in writing, is given in
the Extents The Domesday entries, which maybe taken as
early and previously unwritten Extents, embrace details
about the goods and stock, which would in the thirteenth
century have been found, not in the Extent, but in the
Invent- Inventory ; this enumerates the pigs and the poultry, as well
as the kitchen and dairy utensils ^ and the furniture of the
Hall*. In the Cambridge University Library^ there is a tract
giving instructions as to the taking of such an inventory, and
containing a sort of schedule of the things which would have

1 In some cases where the services are specified they are also estimated in
terms of money. Et dictoe precarise &c. appreciautur ad xvd. Rot. Eund. ii.
494. Some light is thi'own on these enti-ies by information which Prof. Maitland
has derived from the rolls of Cambridgeshire manors. The Wilburton Series
is very complete, and shows that in the time of Edward II. it was the practice
to sell a considerable number of the ' opera ' in each year to persons who were
bound to do them, but the number of ' opera vendita ' varies from year to year
and rarely if ever exceeds half of the total number of 'opera' that are due; the
reeve and bailiff had to account for the 'opera' not 'vendita,' and show they were
actually done. On the other hand there are instances of villains paying fines in
order to live at regular money rents; the following enti-y from 16 Ed. II. is
typical of many others. Johannes Albin de Littleport fecit finem cum domino
pro omnibus operibus suis et arruris prevenientibus de j plena terra (i.e. 12 acres)
et de duabus dimidiis terris que tenet de bondagio domini ita tamen quod ipse
reddet omnem redditum assisum et non dabit gallinam, nee erit in serviciis domini
et pro ista arrentacione dat domino per annum xxx solidos.

2 It is obvious however that the main elements in the Extent would be matter
of common knowledge, which might be perpetuated by tradition for generations
without being reduced to writing. This occurred iu some parts of the Deccan where
the collectors of the Land Revenue held hereditary posts and collected the Nizam's
income by hereditary knowledge of the quota due from different persons. Sir
Salar Jung, suspecting some of these men of dishonesty, replaced them by strangers,
to the serious loss of the revenue as the new men had no knowledge, and could not
obtain any, of the obligations in the way of land revenue under which the different
parties were living : this is a present-day instance of an miwritten Extent.

3 Andrews, Old Enylish Manor, 206. * Ih., 112. "> Dd. vii. 6.

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 235

to be entered, in a typical manor ; it is in a fourteenth cen- a.d. 1066
tury hand-writing, and does not give us an impression of a
very sumptuous household, even though the Hall contained
various tressels for putting up tables and " unum scaccarium
cum familia." We may say that the later Extents and
Inventories, taken together, are the fully developed forms
of the brief summaries of the value of estates which we
find in Domesday Book. They are not mere estimates, but
record the actual condition of the whole live and dead stock
on the estate, together with all the pecuniary rights which
the lord enjoyed, so as to give the component parts of what
we should in modern times call the lord's capital.

The annual income which accrued from the estate may be Ministers'
seen by examining the accounts (compotus). The practice of "''''''""'*•
balancing the accounts annually was probably of immemorial
antiquity on the continent, and can be traced in England in
the twelfth century \ An immense amount of information
as to the method of audit adopted by a great proprietor, who
had many separate estates, may be obtained by an exami-
nation of the enrolments of the ministers' accounts which were
prepared for the Bishops of Winchester. The proximity of
the officials of the royal exchequer would be likely to modify
and improve the practice of the episcopal clerks in compiling
these accounts^; but other clerks would be glad of guidance
in the matter, and it is interesting to see what pains were
taken to diffuse skill in this particular branch of estate
management. In the Cambridge University Library there ^ooZ;-
are two interesting forms for bailiffs' accounts, with brief
remarks on the way in which they should be kept; so far
as the substance goes they are practically identical, but
they are distinct. One, which dates from the time of
Edward I.^ has special reference to the audit; it is intended
to help the lord to understand the accounts presented, and
tells him to insist on seeing all the tallies and letters of
quittance produced. The other-* is meant to assist the
bdiliff in writing the accounts, and tells him in what order

1 HaU, Red Booh of the Exchequer, u. p. cclxxvii.

2 Hall, The Pipe EoU of the Bishopnc of Witichester, p. x.

8 Ee. i. 1. * J)d. vii. 6.

236 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 the various items should be entered ; it gives him a choice

~^^^"^" of two alternative modes of entering the horses; and the
copyist confesses that by a stupid blunder he has entered
the heifers in the wrong place. It also points out that
certain headings should be inscribed in the margin; and
of course concludes with the form of quittance by which
the accounts were passed.

Services. There must have been many matters which were not

necessarily passed through the accounts at all ; where villains
rendered actual service this did not always appear. The
bailiff had to get the men to do the work; if they failed
to do it, the prtepositus, their own official, had to see to the
matter, as they were collectively responsible to the lord for
work and for rents* ; but opera would not necessarily pass
through the accounts of money, though the actual services
are often accounted for on the back of the roll. At the same
time there are in many compotus rolls incidental allusions
which indicate that, when they were compiled, actual services
were being exacted. The entries of opera vendita show us
the sums received for commutation in that year, but this
form of entry seems to imply that it was only a temporary
arrangement and not a regular rent". In some cases the
bailiff accounts in the last entry on the back of the roll
for the services which were not vendita that year, and
shows that the full balance had been rendered*. In other
instances the accounts of the corn used prove that the
customary tenants did their work and received their rations,
even when there is no other hint of actual service ; and in
others there are incidental memoranda which allude to the
matter ^

Court The third important series of documents consists of the

Court Rolls, which give us the records of the proceedings
in the manorial courts, and enable us to follow the history of
the tenantry ; we can trace changes in the persons who

1 See Appendix B.

2 Compare Compotus Eoll, Symondshide, Herts (1326), British Museum Add.
Charters, 28,737.

•' Mapledurham (1440), British Museum Add. Charters, 27,656. Wilsford,
Hampshire (1447), British Museum Add. Charters, 27,679.

■» Chedyngston Common (1476), British Museum Add. Charters, 27,312.

Bolls.

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 237

occupied the different holdings, and changes in the terms at a.D. 10C6
which they lived. The Court Leet generally had the view ~^"■^^^•
of Frank-pledge and was called upon to inquire into many
matters of crime and police^ ; the chief interest for economic
matters, however, lies in the fact that these courts enforced
fair dealing, as in regard to the assize of bread, and weights
and measures. The records of manorial courts also note that
new tenants were admitted, and the desertion of villains was
recorded. These rolls furnish evidence of a very valuable
character in regard to the population of each village and are
of special importance in trying to estimate the effect of the
Black Death.

80. From the consideration of the nature of the books Manorial
on the estate, we may pass to the question of the officials °-^'^^''^-
who administered it. The business of a manor was very
elaborate and a great deal of supervision was necessary in
order to ensure good management ; but if an estate consisted
of several manors, on which different customs were in vogue,
as to measures, weights and so forth, the whole affair became
far more complicated. The various officers on a large estate
consisting of many manors are described in a tract entitled
Senescalcia^. This inculcates a high ideal of duty from the lord Senes-
and each of his subordinates, and it is not perhaps fanciful to
urge that in the plan the author has adopted, of describing
the working of a manorial estate by enumerating the duties
of the various officers, there is a sort of reminiscence of the
Dialogus de Scaccario. The Seneschal, Bailiff and Prjeposi-
tus are treated at considerable length ; the Seneschal was to
visit the manors in turn and see that the bailiff of each
estate did his duty ; he had therefore to know the ' extent '
and the customs of each estate, so as to be able to overhaul
the management. He acted on behalf of the lord, but he
had to show the special warrant of the lord in removing
a bailiff or exercising his authority. The bailiff as the lord's
officer, and the prsBpositus as that of the villains, had the chief
responsibility in the actual cultivation of the soil ; the hay-

1 View of Frank-pledge in Statutes of Realm assigned to 17 Ed. II. See also
Kitcbin, Jurisdictions.

■^ Printed in Miss Lamond's edition of Walter of Henley, p. 83.

238

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
—1-272.

Treatises
on estate-
manage-
ment.

Walter of
Henlen.

ward was a subordinate officer, who was always present to
superintend whatever work was going on; and the respective
duties of the carters, ploughman, swineherd, shepherd, cow-
herd and dairymaid need not detain us.

81. The working of this complicated mechanism is
admirably exemplified in the records which survive in regard
to the management of the manor of Forncett^ in Norfolk.
Further light is thrown on the matter by three treatises
which deal with English ^ estate-management ; one of these
is associated with the name of Sir Walter of Henley, another
with that of Robert Grossteste, but the author of the third
is unknown.

Of Sir Walter of Henley nothing is known beyond the
statement in a Cambridge MS. that he was originally a
'chevalier' and afterwards became a Dominican Friar^; there
can be little doubt that he wrote in the thirteenth century.
Internal evidence goes to show that he was a very shrewd
individual, and the quaint English and French proverbs
which he was fond of quoting give point to his remarks.
His book takes the form of advice, given by an old man to his
grandson, as to prudence in the management of affairs ; it is
by little and little that people become rich, and by little and
little they fall into poverty^ and hence it was important for
the lord to know all about his estate himself. His treatise is
entitled Husbandry, or as the Merton MS. adds Economy,
husbanding his resources; but as tillage was the main means
of income, it is also a treatise on farming both arable and
pasture. Written in French it seems to have been an
extraordinarily popular work and deservedly so; a number
of MSS. still survive^ ; the work was translated both into

1 F. G. Davenport, Economic development of a Norfolk manor, 20 — 48.

* The system was doubtless of Koman origin, aud au excellent example of
careful administration was set by Gregoi-y the Great. In his letters about the
Sicilian estates he discusses details of every kind, from the treatment of the
peasants to the management of a herd of cattle {Epist. i. 44 and u. 32 in Migne
Lxxvn.). There is little trace on the continent of mediaeval writing on agriculture,
though Petrus de Crescentiis (1300) compiled a dictionary entitled Opus ruralium
commodorum. The estates of great nobles in England were so scattered that
systematic management was specially requisite.

3 Dd. vii. 5.

* On the MSS. of these treatises see the Introduction to Miss Lamond's edition
of Walter of Henley ; together with some additions and corrections in the Royal
Hist. Soc, Transactions (N.S. rx. 215).

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY, 239

English' and Latin '^ in the latter part of the fourteenth a.d. iogg

/• 1272

century. It appears to have held its ground as the best
book on the subject till Fitzherbert published the results
of his forty years experience as a practical farmer in
1523. It was obviously intended to convey such information
on rural affairs that the lord should be able to exercise a
more effective supervision over his servants, and see that
they did not cheat him. In some points it is hardly so full
as an anonymous treatise on Husbandry^ which was probably Hus-
written about the same time or somewhat earlier, and which ^'*" '^"
must have been specially useful to landowners who were
beginning to have accounts presented in writing. It lays
down the method to be pursued in drawing up the account ;
this was to be done by a clerk ; at the beginning comes a
statement of the bailiff's arrears from past years ; then the
receipts are to be entered, rents of assize and other things
which yield money, and the total is to be given ; next comes
the outlay in money on materials and all necessaries not
found on the estate, and the payment of all work which
could be neither begged nor commanded. The treatise then
proceeds to lay down rules by which the outlay on the estate
for materials and labour may be as small as possible ; none
are to be paid for unless it is necessary, but estimates are
given to form a guide in cases where the resources of the
estate and the labour of the tenants did not suffice, so that
money had to be paid ; there are also other estimates of
the probable returns from land and stock.

The third of these treatises has an interest of its own, as Qrossteste.
it is the work of a well-known author, and it contains
information as to the circumstances under which it was
compiled. It is less detailed than the work of Walter of
Henley but it embraces many topics on which he did not
touch. The treatise entitled the Reules Seynt Robert was
written by Grossteste for a particular person, the countess of
Lincoln, and consists of 28 practical maxims to guide her in
the management not only of her estate but also of her house-

1 London, Brit. Mus., Sloane MS. 686 ; Camb. Univ. Libraiy, unique copy printed
by Wynkyn de Worde ; the translation was mistakenly attributed to Grossteste.

2 Oxford, Bodleian, Bighy, 147.

8 Printed in Miss Lamond's edition of Walter of Henley, p. 59.

240 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 hold. Margaret, Countess of Lincoln, was left a widow in
~ ' ' 1240, and had the manors of ' Ingoldemers, Throseby, Houton
and Seggebrock ' assigned by the king for her maintenance,
until her dowry out of her late husband's land should be set
forth. In 1242 she consoled herself, and found a natural
protector for her property, by marrying Walter Marshall,
Earl of Pembroke. Grossteste's rules must have been written
therefore in 1240 or 1241 ; he was probably a friend of some
standing, as he had been Archdeacon of Chester when her
first husband was constable of Chester, and her uncle
Ranulph was in possession of the Earldom'.

As the treatise was written for a lady, directions for the
cultivation of the ground and the maintenance of live-stock
were not thought necessary, and supervision on these matters
was left to the seneschal. The countess was not however to
trust everything to him entirely. She was to know what her
estates were worth and what income they could yield so that
she might arrange her expenses according to that income.
The Tixles are most detailed on points of domestic organisa-
tion, and most of them are concerned with the household
rather than the estate. As "the good Bishop" holds up his
own establishment as a model, we have in the treatise an
interesting picture of the arrangement and management of
a large establishment in the middle ages.
Household. The rules lay down that servants and retainers are to be
of good character, faithful, painstaking and so forth, they are
to do what they are bid immediately without any grumbling
or contradiction ; if they show any such disloyal spirit they
must be dismissed, for many can be had to fill their places.
The household is to be quiet and orderly, and guests secular
or religious are to be courteously received and served. The
regulations of meals, even to the setting of the dishes and the
way the servants are to walk when they approach the table,
are minute, but they have more bearing on questions of
etiquette than of economy.

82. Where the Rules treat of domestic economy how-
ever they become not only curious but instructive. They
date from a time when rural life was very much more

^ Pegge, Life of Grossteste, 95.

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 241

important, relatively to town life, than it is in the present a.d. io66
day ; the great households were very notable social insti- ~^^'^^-
tutions and schools of manners if not of learning ; the re-
sources and labour of large stretches of the country were
consciously organised and controlled with reference to their
needs. As has been pointed out to me by Miss L. Toulmin
Smith, these Bules lay down principles which are illustrated
in many particulars by the specimens of contemporary house-
hold accounts which have come down to us.

The most striking contrast with our own time arises
from the fact that the great households were continually
on tour. After Michaelmas, when the accounts and esti- Households
mates of the produce on each estate had come in, the pro-
gramme of the next year's residence would be arranged ^
We can thus see that economic conditions compelled the
kings and great men to be constantly travelling through the
country with their establishments. It was easier to move the
household than to convey the produce to any one estate;
and this practice must be borne in mind when we notice
the extreme discomfort of thirteenth century residences.
A noble did not require any permanent home, but was
forced to be content with providing travellers' shelters for
his household at different points, where he could take up
temporary residence for a longer or shorter period. At
intermediate stages he might be able to quarter himself
and his retinue in one of the religions houses ; they were
much aggrieved that they were so liable to have one or
another of the great lords, who were so constantly on tour,
as unwelcome guests^ These great monastic establishments
were permanent residences and would have need to draw

1 "Every year at Michaelmas, when you know the measure of all your corn,
" then arrange your sojourn for the whole of that year, and for how many weeks
" in each place, according to the seasons of the year, and the advantages of the
" country in flesh and in fish ; and do not in any wise burden by debt or long resi-
" dence the places where you sojourn, but so arrange your sojourns that the place
" at your departure shall not remain in debt, but sometliiug may remain on the
" manor, whereby the manor can raise money from increase of stock, and especially
"cows and sheep, until your stock acquits your wines, robes, wax and all your
" wardrobe ; and that will be in a short time if you hold and act after this treatise,
" as you can see plainly in this way. The wool of a thousand sheep in good pasture
"ought to yield fifty marks a year, &c." Rules of S. Robert, xxvi. in Walter of
Henley, p. 145. 2 gge below, p. 276, u. 3.

C. H. IG

242 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 supplies to a common centre, but their officials had occa-

—1272. .

sionally to go on visits to the outlying estates \

This habit of keeping the household in frequent motion
is abundantly illustrated by the accounts of Bishop Swinfield;
the editor has given a brief calendar of the principal halts
for the greater part of a year, by noting the places and the
payments which were made for the episcopal washing'*. This
cannot be regarded as a heavy item of expense, but the local
distribution is instructive ; and the same point is exemplified
in the Wardrobe Accounts of Edward I. for 1297 ^ and in
the journeys of Eleanor, Countess of Leicester, during the
disturbed year 1265*. The gradual changes, which took
place in subsequent centuries, enabled the lords to let their
land for money, instead of farming their estates for the sake
Money of the Subsistence of their households. And when a money

Economy, . •'

system was introduced and the lords purchased the pro-
visions they required, there was no longer need for such
frequent changes. The beautiful mansions of the Tudor
times mark the commencement of a new era, when it was
possible for a great landowner to live a settled life in one
particular home. The Earl of Northimiherland' s Household
Book (1512) gives us an insight into the period of trans-
ition^; on the one hand it describes in detail the great house
which had been erected at Leconfield^, while on the other
it details all the arrangements for the removal of the house-
hold,— with the hangings, beds, and other furniture^ — in
seventeen carriages 'beside the chariot.' The duties of
superintending these removals, and of defraying the daily

1 When the Prior of Holy Trinity, Dublin, visited the Manor of Balscaddan in
1337, he was able to obtain sufficient supplies in store on some days, but wine had
to be sent on in advance, and the provisions were often supplemented by purchases.
Account Roll of Holy Ti-inity, Dvblin, edited by J. Mills.

2 Roll of Household Expenses (Camden Soc), Abstract, p. xxxix.

* Liher Quotidianus, edited by Topham for the Society of Antiquaries, p. IxviL
Compare also Hartshorne's Itinerary of Edward II., and Eyton's Henry II.

* Manners and Household Expenses (Roxburgh Club, 1841), p. xxvii.

* On the other hand Lord William Howard's Household Book (1612 — iO) seems
to show that he was habitually resident at Naworth. (Surtees Soc.) On the
expenses and furniture of country gentlemen under Elizabeth see Walcott in
Shropshire Archceological Transactions (1878) 1.

6 Household Boole of Henry Algernon Percy, fifth Earl of Northumberland,
edited by Thomas Percy, Bishop of Dromore, p. 377.
1 lb. p. 386.

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 243

expenses at each residence, were subsequently divided S but a.d. io66
at first they all lay, in the case of the Royal household, with
the Treasurer of the Wardrobe ; and the details, to which he
had to attend in the thirteenth century, are carefully enume-
rated by the compiler of Fleta^.

The special objects towards which the economy of each Supplies.
estate was directed were in accordance with the migratory
habits of the households; it was necessary at Michaelmas
to make a careful estimate of the supplies available on each
estate ^ " Command your seneschal that every year at
"Michaelmas he cause all the stacks of each kind of com,
"within the grange and without, to be valued by faithful,
" prudent and capable men, how many quarters there may
"be, and then how many quarters will be taken for seed
"and servants on the land, and then of the whole amount
"and of what remains over and above the land and the
"servants, set the sum in writing, and according to that
"assign the expenses of your household in bread and in
" ale ; also see how many quarters of corn you will spend
" in a week in dispensable bread, how much in alms." The
food that was over and above at meals was distributed in
alms*, and a more liberal supply on the table went to in-
crease the daily alms. In addition to what was given as Alms.
broken meat, the royal munificence to the poor was very
great, but not apparently very discriminating ; hundreds of
paupers appear to have been maintained or relieved by

1 Compai-e the ordinances for the Duke of Clarence with the list of officers of
the riding household and standing household respectively. Collection of Ordin-
ances and Begulations (Society of Antiquaries, 1790), pp. 99, 100. For this and
many other references I am indebted to Miss L. T. Smith, and her excellent
Introduction to The Earl of Derby's Expeditions, Camden Soc. 1894.

^ Fleta, edited by Selden, n. c. 14. The Liber Quotidianus of Edward I.
should be compared with this chapter.

3 Walter of Henley, p. 127.

* Baskets and buckets were provided for this purpose. Thus in the Derby
Expeditions (Camden Soc.) 183, "Item Johanni Peck pro ij boket emptis apud
Dansk pro elemosinis domini, v s. pr." Miss L. Toulmin Smith refers me to a
similar entry in the Finchale Accounts (Surtees Society), p. cxviii, "Item j skepe
pro elemosyiia," and also to the ordinance for the Almoner in Clarence's Ordinances
{Collection of Ordinances, p. 89), "And that the said Almoner at every dinner and
supper, wait upon the said Duke's table, and there take up every dish when the
said Duke hath set it from him, and thereof to make sufficiently the alms dish,
to be given to the most needy man or woman by his discretion."

16—2

244 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 Edward I. in accordance with ancient custom^, while there

—1272

were also large donations of private alms^. On the whole,
however, the household of the thirteenth century was or-
ganised on the basis of natural economy : the requirements
of the establishment were reckoned and the generosity of
the proprietor found expression, not in money, but in food^.

Purchases. Even in the thirteenth century, however, some neces-
saries had to be purchased, and money was also needed to
procure any luxuries that had come into use. Wine and
rich clothing were the chief of these luxuries*. Robert
Grossteste recommended that the necessary purchases should
be made at two seasons", " that is to say, your wines, and
"your wax and your wardrobe, at the fair of S. Botolph,
" what you shall spend in Lindsey, and in Norfolk, and
"in the Vale of Belvoir, and in the country of Caver-
"sham, and in that at Southampton for Winchester, and
"Somerset at Bristol: your robes purchase at S. Ives."
Bristol was the centre from which Swinfield procured a
large supply of wine^; though he also had vineyards of his
own, and made frequent small purchases as well. Besides
silks and finer articles of dress, cloth was bought in con-
siderable quantities for the liveries of the household'. Hence
a certain amount of money was needed in order to keep the
establishment going; and the produce of the pastures was,
even at this early period, the source to which the landowner
could look for an article to sell so as to provide himself with
money. Grossteste gives a rough estimate of the income to
be derived from a flock of sheep ; but the profit from dairy
and cattle farming could not be so precisely estimated, though
' much money ' could be had for cheesed

Payments Money also seems to have been needed for the payment

of artisans of every kind ; there appears to have been com-

1 Liber Quotidiamis, p. xxviii.

2 "Works of charity also figure largely in the Household Books of John Duke of
Norfolk (1481 — 1490), (Eoxburgh Club, 1844). He spent considerable sums in
aiding the education of youths at Cambridge, p. xxvi.

3 Compare the Compottis (1300) and Eedditus (1283) in the Domesday of S.
Paul's, pp. 160 and 164*.

* Liber Quotidianus, p. xlvii. 6 Walter of Henley, p. 145.

6 Household Expenses of Swinfield, p. xliv. ' lb. p. xxx%i.

8 Walter of Henley, p. 145.

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY, 245

paratively little industrial life in the household itself. There a.d. 1066
was a tailor^ as part of the royal establishment, and he re-
ceived board wages, when he was living in London, away
from court and at his own expense. Of all kinds of skilled
labour, tailoring is the most likely to maintain its character
as a household occupation; and the migratory character of
the households would militate against the organisation in
England of large workshops, like the ergastula of Roman
times. Swinfield seems to have had his own farrier-, and
Robert Grossteste recognises resident craftsmen as part of
an establishment. But there is frequent mention in the
accounts of payments for artisan work of different kinds;
they do not convey the impression that the organisation
of the household, for industrial purposes, was very com-
plete'.

83. It is perhaps a sign of the times that, while there Municipal
is so much remark on estate management and household
arrangements, there are, so far as I have seen, no special
treatises on the right management of municipal affairs, such
as those which were compiled for the use of thirteenth cen-
tury landowners and their bailiffs ; mediaeval ideas of politi-
cal right and political duty are excellently reflected in the
Dialogus, and in a fourteenth century treatise on money by
Nicholas Oresme*. The Opusculum de regimine principum,
attributed to S. Thomas Aquinas, contains a few remarks
on the choice of a situation for a city and the respective
advantages of agriculture and commerce as sources of supply :
he refers to the Politics, but disparages mercantile life in
a way that recalls Plato^ rather than Aristotle®. In any
case the remarks of Aquinas are somewhat doctrinaire'' —

1 Liber Quotidianus, p. 55. Cissor, a cutter; coini)are the 'Cissor robarum
domini,' Miss L. T. Smith's Introduction to Derby Expeditions, p. xcv, but he was
possibly a shearman engaged in finishing the cloth; see Sioinfield's Expenses,
Abstract, p. xxxvlii.

2 Swinfield's Expenses (Roll), 27.

3 It is possible that the corps de metiers abroad were developed out of the
great hotiseholds, Giry, S. Omer, 280. Nitzsch traces the development of town
government in Strassburg, Cologne, &c. from the Court organisation of Charles
the Great. Ministerialitdt und Biirgerthum 203.

* See below, p. 355. s Laws, iv. 1. ^ Politics, iv. (vri.), 6.

"< See especially the remarks on the planting of cities, Opusc. de reg. princ.
U.3.

246

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
—1272.

Planting
of new
urban
areas.

Municipal
Records.

an attempt at adapting ancient authors, rather than a
genuine expression of the spirit of the age in which he
lived, when so many towns were springing up as centres
of commerce. The thirteenth century was a period when
large areas were being laid out with new streets, which
formed additions to old towns, while in other places new
towns were being deliberately planted. The single street, and
the confined market-place of a town that had grown up in
the period before the Conquest, offer a striking contrast to
the large market-places which were opened up in Bury,
Peterborough, Cambridge and Boston ; and the arrangement
of the building lots^ and streets" in these new quarters,
shows that the areas were carefully and exactly laid out.
Not a few towns were founded during this century and the
plans were carefully designed by royal and ecclesiastical
authorities. Edward I. laid out many free towns ^; Salisbury
was transferred bodily to a new site, where a more ample
water supply was available, and St Andrews was planned by
the bishop, who induced immigrants from Berwick to come
and organise the activities of the new town^ The very
plans of these cities afford evidence of the deliberate care
which was taken to supervise and foster the expansion of
towns, while the remains of Guildhalls and of Town-houses
are interesting testimony to the development of trading
activity and municipal authority.

From the masses of records which survive in different
towns it is possible to form some idea of the relations between
the various elements in municipal life ; and we can also
gather information as to the policy which the townsmen

1 This did not necessarily imply that aU houses were of the same size. There
were some in Cambridge provided with yards and wide entrances, while others
had access to the back yard by a mere internal passage. These passages were
sometimes left as public ways outside the houses, as we see them in the Yarmouth
rows.

2 The principal types are best seen in continental examples. The square
blocks into which Carcassonne was divided have analogies in such towns as
Salisbury and Winchelsea, and the careful arrangement of an oblong town, with
three principal streets, which we find at Montpazier, re-appears at St Andrews.
See Cunningham, The corrupt following of Hippodamus of Miletxis at Cambridge,
in Camb. Ant. Soc. Trans.

^ On the towns in his continental possessions, see below, p. 267, n. 2.
* Scott, Berwick, 6.

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 247

pursued, and the nature of the business which had to be a.D. io66
done. After all, the affairs which demanded attention were ""
similar in a town like Leicester, where the Gild Merchant
seems to have been abnormally developed^ and in one like
Manchester, where a manorial Court Leet regulated the
everyday doings of the townsmen. In so far as we have
insight to interpret the records aright, and to understand
the occasion and objects of the orders they issued, we may
get a singularly accurate knowledge of much of the daily life
in particular cities.

There is in one respect a very marked contrast between Com-

^ . viunal

the thirteenth century and modern times, as the con- prosperity.
ception of national aims was so little developed. So far as
the burgh authorities had an economic policy, they desired
to promote communal prosperity; national prosperity was
beyond their purview, individual prosperity was only of
interest to them, in their official capacity, as it subserved
the prosperity of the town. Their economic regulation was
chiefly intended to develop the trade of the burgesses so that
they might be able to pay their dues ; in this respect their
schemes of policy were narrower than those of the mercan-
tilists, who aimed at the development of national resources,
and less personal than those of modern writers, who urge
that it is practically wise to allow to each individual the
greatest possible scope for accumulating wealth. But be-
cause the communal interest comes to the front, we need
not idealise the characters of the merchants of the day,
and suppose that they were entirely guided in all their
transactions by impersonal sentiments.

So far as the affairs of individual workers or dealers came Fair
before municipal courts, the authorities tried to do what was ^"' *"^'
fair between man and man; and in burgh customs we find the
record of their practical wisdom and experience. They had
not necessarily a very high ideal of Christian duty, and the
gilds merchant do not appear to have developed much re-
ligious or philanthropic activity^; but they felt that 'honour-

* Bateson, Leicester Borough Becords, i. x.

2 There were some exceptions, however, see p. 408 below. On the extent and
character of the provision for lepers see E. M. Clay, Medieval Hospitals, 36 — 39,

248

feudalism:.

A.D. 1066
—1272.

ttieiit.

Competi-
tion of^fo-
reiyners.'

able thiDg was convenable' for the men of the town, and
they tried to enforce what was fair as to a day's work and a
day's pay, and to secure that transactions should be conducted
on reasonable terms, — that the buyer should pay a reasonable
sum for an article on which the seller made a reasonable
profit. But we must again remember that, though the
courts and their customs embodied this view, it was not
necessarily the line taken by each individual tradesman. The
medijBval craftsman would scamp his work, and the medieval
merchant try to pass off inferior articles at high prices ; but
we only hear of him when he was found out. The ordinances
of gilds and regulations of towns set a standard to which the
honest citizen would wish to conform, so that he might hold
an honourable place in the town ; the rules would thus affect
personal morality favourably. But if all men had lived up to
a high ideal, and done their work in the best way from mere
love of it, there would have been no need of either craft gilds
or ordinances to keep them up to the mark.

There are several distinct types of document which amply
illustrate the current practice of the municipal courts.

i. With reference to the discharge of communal obliga-
tions to the Crown, we have a scheme for the assessment of
the citizens in London, when the king took three thousand
marks from the county of Middlesex^ and various inventories
of goods which were made in connection with a levy of a
fifteenth or tenth on moveables. But we have also records
of the struggle to prevent foreigners (whether aliens or not)
from competing injuriously with the burgesses. Reference
has already been made on this point to London customs
which purport to date from the reign of Edward the Con-
fessor; and the same policy continued through the middle
ages till the Tudor time, when this exclusive municipal life
was absorbed in the wider economy of the nation. Foreigners

The Scotch bnrghs were more careful to protect the towns against infection from
leprosy than to provide, as a body, for the maintenance of the lepers. The leper
who persisted in entering the town was to have his clothes burnt, and to be
"thrust forth naked." Statuta Gilde, c. 18. Burgh Laws of Scotland, p. 72.

In several towns careful arrangements were made for the protection of orphans
and their property ; London (Shai-pe, Wills, xlvi.), Dover (Lyon, Dover, ii. 27GJ,
Sandwich (Ibid. ii. 305).

1 Appendix 0.

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 249

were not to sell by retail, and they were not to sell goods to a.d. io66
one another, because such business could be done by burgesses ;
and those who paid rates believed they were fairly entitled
to be protected from injurious competition in their regular
callings. Still more strongly did they reprehend the conduct
of the burgess who was disloyal to his own town, and entered
into arrangements with foreigners, which made for his private
profit and that of an unfree partner, but were opposed, in
spirit at all events, to the policy pursued by the town
authorities in the interest of the community under their
charge.

At the same time the townsmen were fully aware that Facilities
they would prosper better if their burgh was frequented hy mlrchaiul
foreign merchants, who used it as a centre for wholesale
import trade and purchased products for export. With this
object they provided the stranger with facilities for recovering
his debts; and the letters which passed between different
towns gave rise to a very elaborate system of inter-municipal
communication in regard to debts \ We are also able to
learn something of the means by which these debts were
discharged ; letters of credit were in common use, and bills
of exchange passed between the Italian bankers and their
correspondents, in the thirteenth century. Just as we have
found that the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were marked
by improvements in the keeping of accounts, and that the
practice was introduced on many estates, so we may say
that the same period gives us early examples of the use of
instruments of credits The debts due to Gascon merchants
by Londoners were registered^ ; and on one occasion the city
was used by Edward I. to conduct a great fiscal operation and a.d. 1299.
to pay to knights in Gascony the sum of £1049. 135. lid*,
for which the citizens were reimbursed by the sheriff out
of the ferms of the city and the county of Middlesex.

ii. In the attempt to do the fair thing between man and
man, many regulations were framed on matters which we
now allow to take their own course. At the same time there

1 Sharpe, Calendar of Letters from Mayor of London, No. 1, 4, 7 &c.

2 For specimens see E. A. Bond in Archceologia, xxvm. 207 — 320. Endemann,
Studien, I. 82.

3 Delpit, Collection, No. xvui. < Ibid. No. lvi.

250 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 is an obvious advantage in thinking out the fair price and
J^as'naiZe settKng it, where this can be done. There is a distinct
rates. advantage in having an authoritative tariff as to the reason-
able cab fare, and the maintenance of regulations in regard
to those vehicles does not in all probability interfere with the
prosperity of the trade ; so long as the regulations are wise,
they subserve the comfort of the public and the good of the
trade. In the circumstances of mediseval commerce, when
there were comparatively slight fluctuations in the conditions
for the supply of manufactured goods, and labour was such
a very important element in the cost of production, it was
almost as easy to frame similar regulations for reasonable
transaction in trades of all sorts, as it is to fix rates for cab-
hire in the present day.

There were of course varieties of season, and the food-
supply was naturally drawn from a comparatively limited
area, so that a local scarcity would affect prices more than it
Corn. does in the present day. From the time of the Black Death
onwards frequent efforts were made to regulate the prices of
produce, but, even when these were determined by com-
petitionS pains were taken to ensure that this competition
should be public, and that there should be no attempts to
make a profit by speculative transactions or by creating an
artificial scarcity. Common folk had a strong suspicion that
the man who was able to secure a monopoly by engrossing or
by buying up the available supply of any article, would retail
on terms that were to his own profit but not to the advantage
of the community. But when the price of corn had adjusted
itself by ' the higgling of the market,' a sliding scale could be
used to adjust the price of bread, so that the baker might
recoup his expenses and get a fair profit, while the public
would be supplied at rates which were not excessive. This
sliding scale was known as the Assize of Bread ; it was
certainly framed in the time of Henry IL, but this need not
have been the first attempt at formulating it.

When the price of food was thus known it was possible

fVages. and 'reasonable' to assign rates of wages; in the time of

Henry II. wages were apparently intended to vary along

with the price of bread, from the time of Edward III. till

^ See below, p. 542.

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 251

Elizabeth parliament fixed a maximum rate, and under A.D. 1066
Richard II. the justices were empowered to fix the rates,
so long as the maximum was not exceeded. Under Elizabeth
the maximum was abolished and the justices were enjoined
to see that the labourer had sufficient wages. When the
whole attempt was finally abandoned at the beginning of the a.d. I813.
present century, the crying necessity was the enactment of a
minimum rate below which wages should not be allowed to
fall*; but it was generally feared that the attempt to enforce
such a standard was impracticable, and that if successful it
would so limit the field of employment as to cause increased
misery.

84. The municipal courts enforced what was fair as a
matter of policy ; but there was another authority which
dealt with what was right and wrong as a matter of Christian Christian
duty. The discipline of penance, and the canons which were ^^ ^'
enforced in the ecclesiastical courts were framed, not with
reference to burghal prosperity, but in the hope of detecting
and suppressing the greed of gain. In earlier times there
had been very sweeping condemnations which would have
included almost every kind of trading^: but it was obviously
impossible to enforce such prohibitions. Even though it
might be admitted that the merchant's life was one of many
temptations, since there were so many opportunities of fraud,
it by no means followed that he always yielded to them.
The difiiculty became more pressing in the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries, when trade was generally extending;
and if the evils were really to be met, it could only be done
by finding the inner grounds' of the prohibition, and applying
it equitably according to the different circumstances of dif-
ferent cases. The question of buying and selling was one of
the greatest practical importance, and deserves consideration
first of all : and we find that in the thirteenth century

1 Parliamentary History, xxxiv. 1428.

2 Qnicunque tempore messis vel vindemise non necessitate, sed propter cupidi-
tatem comparet annonam vel vinum, verbi gratia de duobus denariis comparet
modium unum, et servat, usque dum vendatur deuariis quatuor, aut sex, aut
amplius, hoc tiu-pe merum dicimus. Codex Juris Canonici, c. 9, C. 14, q. 4. See
also c. 1, C. 14, q. 3, and c. 3, C. 14, q. 3.

8 Neumann, Geschichte des Wuchers, p. 15.

252 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 reflection had gone so far on this matter that it had been

~^^'"' possible to formulate a doctrine of price.

Object of Modern theory assumes that in buying and selling each

^ejtio em ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ what is most to his own private advantage,

doctHms and thus explains how the prices of different classes of goods

contrasted, iq^^^ to be determined on this assumption : it merely attempts

to give an explanation of actual practice. The mediaeval

doctrine of price was not a theory intended to explain the

phenomena of society, but it was laid down as the basis of

rules which should control the conduct of society and of

individuals. At the same time current opinion seems to

have been so fully formed in accordance with it that a brief

examination of the doctrine of a just price will serve to set

the practice of the day in clearer light.

In regard to other matters it is difficult to determine how
far public opinion was swayed by practical experience, and
how far it was really moulded by Christian teaching — this is
the case in regard to usury. But there can be little doubt
about the doctrine of price ; the whole conception of a just
price appears to be purely Christian ^ ; according to Professor
Ashley, who has written an admirable exposition of the
whole subject, it is unknown to the Civil Law^ and had
as little place in Jewish habits as it has in modern society ;
but it really underlies a great deal of commercial and gild
regulation and it is constantly implied in the early legislation
on mercantile affairs.
Aqninas. g, Thomas Aquinas, whose treatment of the subject is

classical, assumed that everything has a just price, — that
there is some amount of money for which it is right that the
owner of the ware should exchange it. He does not discuss the
conditions on which this depends ; as it is of more practical
importance that we should understand how the just price of
anything is to be known. The just price is not an arbitrary
demand ; as an extortionate dealer may obtain an absurd
price when he sees that he can drive a hard bargain ; or a
man in need may be willing to part with some heirloom

1 Though partly based on Aristotle, Ethics, v., aud Poliiics, i. 10. See
S. Thomas, Summce, 2a, 2w, q. 77 a, 1, 4.
* Ashley, Economic History, 132.

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 253

for a mere trifle : for in the one case there is unfaii- gain, in A.D. 1066
the other a real sacrifice. The just price is known by the ~~ ' '
common estimation of what the thing is worth ; it is known Common
by public opinion as to what it is right to give for that * *'"*' '°"'
article, under ordinary circumstances.

So far we have a parallel with modern doctrine ; the
mediseval 'just price ' was an abstract conception of what is
right under ordinary circumstances, — it was admittedly vague,
but it was interpreted by common estimation. Modern
doctrine starts with a ' normal ' value which is ' natural ' in
a regime of free competition ; this too is a purely abstract
conception, and in order to apply it we must look at common
estimation as it is shown in the prices actually paid over a
period when there was no disturbing cause.

Common estimation is thus the exponent of the natural
or normal or just price according to either the mediaeval or
the modem view ; but whereas we rely on the ' higgling of
the market' as the means of bringing out what is the
common estimate of any object, mediaeval economists
believed that it was possible to bring common estimation
into operation beforehand, and by the consultation of experts
to calculate out what was the right price. If ' common
estimation ' was thus organised, either by the town authori-
ties or gilds or parliament, it was possible to determine
beforehand what the price should be and to lay down a rule
to this effect ; in modern times we can only look back on the
competition prices and say by reflection v/hat the common
estimation has been.

It was of course felt that this mode of detecting the just
price was not very precise, and indeed that it was not possible
to determine the just price of any article absolutely. The
obvious fact that the seasons varied made it clear that the
price of food could not be fixed once for all ; still, men thought BepvJaUd

DVlCCS,

that it was desirable to settle prices as much as possible, so
as to leave less room for arbitrary demands and unreasonable
rates. The real question is not whether prices can be defi-
nitely fixed, but how far they can be fixed at any given time.
Even in the present day certain economists contend that it
is possible to settle authoritatively the relation of exchange

254 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 between gold and silver ; for barristers' and doctors' fees, as
~~^^'^" well as for railway and cab fares, there is a fixed and definite
tariff; and if it is possible to carry out the scheme of
determinate prices so far in the twentieth century, we may
be sure that there was very little difficulty about including a
large range of articles in the thirteenth. At the same time
S. Thomas Aquinas would have admitted that the just price
could not be so definitely settled that it was a positive
duty to take that and no other ; all that could be done was
to point out things that must be avoided and that were
unjust. The conception of a just price was used not as a
positive guide, but as a negative test which might assist
men to avoid what was wrong.
Variations Prices assigned by common estimation would sometimes
npnce. ^^ high and sometimes low according as an article was
plentiful or not ; the just price varied from time to time for
such commodities. Nor was it unjust for a man to sell an
article for more than he had paid for it as its just price, if
there had been a change of circumstances, — such a change of
time or place that he deserved remuneration for some trouble
in connection with transport or for other service rendered.
But it was unjust to try to get an arbitrary price ; that is, to
try to form a ring, or to speculate on the possibilities of the
future in such a way as to be able to demand an extortionate
price. If we allowed ourselves to be guilty of the ana-
chronism of trying to summarise mediaeval doctrine in
modern terms, we should say that they thought it unjust to
sell without conscious reference to what is now called the
cost of production. It was impossible for them to give a
positive justification for the profit of the man who bought to
sell again ; all that moralists could say was that under
certain circumstances it was not wrong to do so, and
practical men kept a suspicious eye on the dealings of
middlemen.
Forms of The practical men who held that certain forms of trans-

oh'/"*" action were wrong were able to draw a pretty definite line, and
Ti^uductf'^ to enforce it strictly. The moralist who had to consider the
motives in the heart was in a more difficult position ; in all
mercantile transactions there was a real danger of greed of

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 255

gain; but mercantile dealings were for the common good of a.d. loee
mankind and must be carried on, despite the possible danger. ~
Commerce might be carried on for the public good and
rewarded by gain, and it was only sinful if it was conducted
simply and solely for the sake of gain. The ecclesiastic who
regarded the merchant as exposed to temptations in aU his
dealings, would not condemn him as sinful unless it were
clear that a transaction was entered on solely from greed, and
hence it was the tendency for moralists to draw additional
distinctions, and refuse to pronounce against business practices
where common-sense did not give the benefit of the doubt.
Remuneration for undertaking risk was at first prohibited ^ ; circa
but the later canonists refused to condemn it. The parlia- ^'^' ~ '
ment of Edward III. however adhered to the older view
and took the stricter line in legislating for trade with
Gascony -.

85. The condemnation of usury in all its forms was Condemna-
decided : but in this matter too we see how, through an ^Turf.
unwillingness to pronounce that current transactions were
necessarily sinful, distinctions were drawn and excuses
recognised, which gradually diminished the force of the
ecclesiastical prohibition, and which gave rise to all sorts
of ingenious evasions. One of these has been mentioned Evasions.
above, as practised by the Caursines; another is explained
by Mr Round ^ as effected by an agreement to lease lands
at a nominal rent to the lender; the nominal rent was to
be paid for the reduction of the principal by yearly instal-
ments, while the creditor gained by the difference between
the nominal rent and real value of the land. Lay opinion

1 c. 19, Decret. Greg. IX. v. 19. Naviganti vel eunti ad nundinas certam
mutuans pecuniae quantitatem, pro eo, quod suscipit in se periculum, recepturus
aliquid ultra sortem usurarius est censendus. This has been sometimes interpreted
as a clerical error for non est censendus. For authorities who take it thus see
Neumann, Geschichte des Wuchers, 17 n. For those who take it as prohibitive see
Giuepro da Diecimo, La Giustizia de' Contratti, 94 n. The MS. authority
together with the remarks of the pseudo-Thomas in the Opusculum de usuris
appear to me conclusive in favour of taking the sentence as it stands.

- 27 Ed. m. c. 6. See below, p. 319.

3 Ancient Charters, 94. The kind of coUusive bargain here described was
apparently condemned in 1163 by a decretal addressed to the Archbishop of
Canterbury, c. 2, Decret. Greg. IX. v. 19.

256

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
—1272.

Aquinas.

Use.

Money.

and municipal courts appear to have been less lenient than
the ecclesiastics \

S. Thomas Aquinas' reasoning on usury for money loans
only becomes intelligible in connection with the distinctions
drawn in Roman Law. If you give a loan of money {mutuum)
you part with property in the article, and if you subsequently
acquire property in a similar article you ought to be satisfied.
You do not have the use of the money you lent, but neither
do you have the risks which always attach to property. But
if you demand payment for the use of your property, and
insist on its being replaced as well, you charge for something
that has no existence, for money can only be used by spending.
When you handed over the property in the money to your
neighbour you knew he was going to spend it, for that is the
only use he can put it to ; since he has bargained for a
reimbursement of your property it is unfair to make him pay
for the use of that which has become his own property and is
held at his own risk. Of course if he does not apply for the
money in order to spend it, but for purposes of display, the
case is different ; he will then return the jjieces of silver, and
it is a case of hiring (pecunia locata), just like that of a horse
or a house. Bullion in the form of plate might often be thus
used ; but there is no excuse for treating wealth which has
been handed over to be the property of another for a time in
the way one may fairly do with goods that are only hired
out but remain the property of the original owner I

Again if we consider the nature of money we see that it
has been devised to serve as a medium of exchange, and it
does greatly facilitate the natural type of exchange where
mutual needs are satisfied by bartering the product of each
other's work. But to treat it as a source of gain is to divert
it from its proper function and thus to make gain where no
gain naturally accrues. This argument might have some
force if we took the attitude of classical writers and stigma-
tised all trading for gain as base ; but when we allow that
certain transactions are permissible when undertaken in the

1 See below, p. 361. The following paragraphs are extracted from my Christian
Opinion on Usury, pp. 30 — 33.

2 SummcR, 'la, 2re, q. 78 a, 1.

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 257

hope — but not for the sake — of gain, it has no longer the a.d. io66
same force. The distinction may seem a mere subterfuge,
but it was of real practical importance, as it served to mark
out that some modes of dealing^ were wrong. To bargain
for gain as a certainty, however the transaction turns out,
and to bargain for a share in the gains but none in the
risks of business, was to trade, not merely in the hope but
for the sake of gain. From this standpoint however we are
compelled to admit the lawfulness of compensation not only
for actual loss {damnum emergens) but for the cessation of
gain {lucrum cessans) from the use of one's capital. The
former of these is explicitly admitted in writings attributed
to S. Thomas Aquinas^, and the latter is discussed with
hesitation. But such admissions really take most of the
force out of the prohibition ; and thus the arguments, which
had their first bearing on the status of classes in a heathen
city, lose their conclusiveness when applied to the rectitude
of motive and conduct in a Christian man.

But still further modifications became necessary. It was Excep-
obvious that a man might fairly desire to be paid when he *"'"'
incurred the possibility of losing all he had lent, or when he
was put to inconvenience by the failure of the borrower to
return the goods at the right time. In such cases as these
justice seemed to require that the lender should be recom-
pensed, and hence we have the permission of receiving
payment on the ground of periculum sortis. This was the
ground of the permission which fcenus nauticum, enjoyed ^
and the various maritime customs* show how wide this
practice was. At the same time it appears to be explicitly
condemned by Gregory IX. ^

1 As dealing on commission. Statuta Gilde, c. 25. Burgh Laws of Scotland,
lb.

2 SummcB, 2a, 2ce, q. 78 a, 2, and q. 62 a, 4. See also more fuUy in the
spurions Opusculum de Usuris, c. 7.

3 Summm, 2a. 2cb, q. 78 a, 2. Sed ille qui committit pecuniam suam vel
mercatori vel artifici per modum societatus cnjusdam, non transfert dominium
pectmise snse in ilLum, sed remanet ejus: ita quod cum periculo ipsins mercator
de ea negotiatur, vel artifex operatur ; et ideo sic licito potest partem lacri inde
provenientis expetere, tamquam de re sua.

* See Les hones costumes de la Mar, 194, 195, 211, in tlie Black Book of the
Admiralty, m. 380.

B See above, p. 255, u. 1.

C. H. 17

258

FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066
—1272.

Public
opinion.

Effect on
society.

A further reason for payment of more than the sum
borrowed was found in the poena conventionalis which seems
to have been most generally recognised ; a delay in repay-
ment might obviously inflict serious damage on the lender,
and this gave occasion for additional payments by the debtor;
this obligation takes a very prominent place in the contracts
between borrowers and lenders in the Middle Ages, and the
case of Antonio and Shylock has made it familiar to us all.

Partly then from the doctrine of S. Thomas Aquinas, and
partly from the practice of a Christian country like England,
we find that many exceptions to the strict letter of the
prohibition of usury were tolerated. It is clear that on one
or other of these reasons almost every loan might claim a
certain amount of interest, and the whole doctrine might
have become a dead letter. But with certain well-known
exceptions, there was little inclination on the part of the
authorities to connive at such evasions, and the common-
sense of the public agreed in this matter with the ecclesias-
tical decisions. The law of the realm was in practical accord
with the canons discussed by S. Thomas Aquinas; other
guardians of morality, in the pulpits and elsewhere, exerted
their influence in the same direction. We need not be
surprised that under these circumstances a strong public
opinion was formed on the subject, — a public opinion which
supported the ecclesiastical and other powers in inflicting
penalties on the usurer. The public opinion thus created is
a most noteworthy feature in English history; the strong
feeling against usury was more vehement and stringent than
the laws by which it had been formed ; and it failed to
recognise the fairness of the distinctions which subtle intel-
lects drew, and of which the moneyed men made use as
excusiDsr their extortions.

It is commonly supposed that narrow-minded ecclesiastics
laid down an arbitrary and unjustifiable rule against taking
interest, and that they thus hampered the growth of trade.
The rule was not arbitrary, but commended itself to ordinary
common-sense and it did not hamper trade. The limits
which were laid down in regard to money loans were not so
narrow as modern writers appear to suppose and every

ROYAL, MUNICIPAL AND MANORIAL ECONOMY. 259

encouragement was given to men who could afiford it, to A.D. 1066
make gratuitous loans for definite periods, as a form of
Christian charity^: and it may be confidently affirmed that
no real hindrance was put in the way of material progress
in the then existing state of society by these restrictions.
Tillage was so generally carried on by communities, or at
any rate was so far cooperative, that the cultivator would
rarely be reduced to borrowing money, as the Eastern
peasantry do. Poverty probably meant a greater personal
dependence on a manorial lord^ not a constant dread of the
exactions of usurers. Nor was it necessary for the artisan
to borrow, as in all probability his gild^ would supply
the means of carrying on his trade if unexpected losses or
sickness crippled his resources ; while, generally speaking,
the stock-in-trade required was very small, as he often
worked on materials supplied by customers. If he was
engaged on a long job where money was needed, he could
borrow for the purpose, on terms which remunerated the
lender with a share in the profits, without being guilty of
usury, as understood by S. Thomas Aquinas*. The merchants
too were not restrained from using the capital of other men
in their ventures or firom remunerating them for the risk in-
volved. The cases in which men were generally reduced to
borrow without being able to offer the lenders a profitable
partnership, were those where kings and barons were suddenly
called on to meet the expenses of a military expedition, or
where land-holders and ecclesiastics had to borrow to meet
the calls of royal or papal taxation ; borrowing for the sake
of building magnificent works or for other purposes of display

1 See a case (1188) in Round's Ancient Charters, p. 90 ; also the instance in
1115 of Bricstam (Orderic Vital vi. in Duchesne, Hist. Nor. 628). Ipse etiam
nen multum dives, nee nimium pauper, secundum laicorum ordinem in possessione
metliocri seipsum et familiolam honeste regebat. Vicinis suis indigentibus num-
mos non tamen ad usuram accommodabat, sed propter infidelitatem multorum a
clebitoribus vadimonia retinebat. As to loans by a burgess to the municipaUty see
Winchester Ordinances, Archceological Journal, ix. 73. The ordinances of the gild
merchant at Coventry provide for a gratuitous loan of money to a brother who
has fallen into poverty so as to enal)le him to trade. Gross, Gild Merchant, 11. 50.

2 Compare the practice of Russian proprietors before the enfranchisement.
Wallace, Bussia, n. 200. See also on the tradition of monastic management,
p- 532 below.

3 Compare the practice of making such loans on pledges to sick brothers in
Germany. Schanz, Zur Geschichte der deutschen Gesellenverhdnde, p. 72.

■1 See above, p. 257, n. 3,

17—2

260 FEUDALISM.

A.D. 1066 we need not consider. Mediaeval usury was quite unlike that
~" * of pagan and Eastern countries, for it was prevented from
attacking and preying on the industrial resources of the
country ; the comfortable classes and ecclesiastics were those
who suffered most by being occasionally forced to apply to
bankers or Jews when they really needed coins.

III. HEPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

I. Political and Social Conditions under the
Edwards.

86. The preceding sections have shown us the develop- a.d. 1272
meiit of complex and well-organised chartered towns which j.^^ j^^^-^,
made resrulations for their internal and for foreign trade, ^^W ^f

o _ " national

arranged for the superintendence of manufactures, and en- economic
forced a code of commercial law. But though much progress tion.
had been made in London, at Ipswich and elsewhere, it was
in all cases a local growth. The time of Edward I. marks
the most important turning-point in our history, since he set
on foot a machinery for framing general regulations for the
whole country, and thus took the first steps in organising a
national economic life that was to outlive and outgrow and
absorb the most fl«t)urishing gild of the thirteenth century.
Hence we now have the first beginnings of a political economy,
so far as England is concerned. Hitherto we have had to deal
with village or manorial economy ; or to trace how special
municipal and market privileges were conferred upon the
inhabitants of particular towns and used by them, and how
special trading privileges were granted to groups of foreigners ;
but we are now to see the industry and commerce of the realm
dealt with as a whole.

There are two main sides to the work of Edward I. ; Constitu-
he instituted the representation of the people and he re- changes
organised the fiscal system of the realm. Of these the former

262 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 was an improvement in the constitution on which it is un-

1377. ■'■

necessary to dwell in detail here, and the direct economic

effects of his changes in taxation may have been but slight

and their at first. None the less was his work of the greatest signifi-

indirect r» • i ^ i i -j •

influence cance SO tar as industry and commerce are concerned ; it is

mwdustry ^^^ ^\^2^\, he did that is remarkable, but what he rendered

commerce, possible; he provided the machinery by which the whole

subsequent development of English industry and commerce

has been directed and controlled. Indeed it is not too much

to say that the whole structure of society was altered by

his wisdom. Formerly there had been a vast number of

separate local jurisdictions, each united by a similar tie to

the king as head, but without any real connection with one

another; now the towns in different parts of the country

were enabled to realise the interests they had in common,

to get over some of the old local exclusiveness, and to join in

demanding measures for the common good of their class in

all parts of the realm. Hitherto particular bodies had bought

particular privileges for themselves, now they made terms as

to the contributions which were to be taken from the whole

land, and framed regulations which should be enforced

throughout its length and breadth. This was the work

which the estates of the realm were called on to undertake

when they were summoned to consult with the king about

what concerned all.

Connection It was a new departure ; but still it was only another

various stcp in the work which the first William had begun. He

^head, bad done much to weld the several part^ of England into a

united whole, for he had forced each of the local powers into

attachment to the common head of the whole realm ; Edward

proceeded to organise them all as parts of one body, not

only connected by allegiance to the head, but bound by

and with common interests and obligations to one another. The time

oneanotker. p ■, ,. . , . ., r i ^ ^ p

lor merely granting special privileges by charter and tor
relying on occasional contributions from particular groups of
tenants was over, and the day had come when the strangely
various elements of English population were at last organised
into a body politic, and could thus simultaneously share in
the advantages and in the burdens of government.

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 263

There had of course been general regulations for the a.d. 1272

. . . l'J77

whole realm on certain economic matters before this time ; ^,,-^^^
a uniformity of weights and measures had been decreed, as attempts at

general

well as Assizes of Breads Ale and Cloth, and an effort had regulation
been made to ensure fair dealing in regard to the commonest '^■°' ^^^^
articles of consumption*. But it may be noticed that these
were points in which the King and the Court were directly
interested, since it was of the first importance that the sup-
plies he required in progresses through the country should be
obtained in definite and known quantities, and at reasonable
rates when they were purchased ; the trading classes required
definite weights and measures in each district, but a general
uniformity of weights and measures was important to the
king, and he was specially interested that there should be no
sudden raising of the price of food when a visit of the court
created a sudden demand. The Edwardian legislation may
certainly be regarded as a new departure, since it was very
different in form, and it primarily aimed at regulating trade
in the interests of the subjects. Indeed it corresponds, not so in the
much with the charters which kings had issued, but with the of the
customs which had been formulated in different municipalities. ^^^grMy.
The subjects, by adopting common usages in so many towns,
had organised a body of customs on commercial and trading
matters, and Edward only carried out what they had begun
when parliament gave to similar customs the force of law in
all parts of the realm.

From this time onwards we may notice the gradual Local
development of this national industrial regulation, and how l^g/g"*'*""*
in regard to commerce, to manufactures and to agricul- ^^l^'^^f^^^
ture alike, the local authorities were gradually overtaken h

1 See Appendix A.

2 Precipue ex parte Domini Regis precipiatur qnod nullus forisstellaritia
paciatur in viUa commorari, qui pauperum eat depressor manifeste et tocius
communitatis et patrie pnblicus inimicus ; qui bladum, pisces, allec vel res quas-
cunque venales per terram vel per aquam venientes, quandoque per terram vel
aquam obviando prse ceteris festinat lucrum scienter viciosum, pauperes opprimens,
et diviciores decipiens, qui sic minus juste illo qui eas apportaverit multo carina
venders machiuatur ; qui mercatores extraneoa cum rebus venaMbus circumvenit,
offerens se vendicione rerum suarimi, et sucgerens eis quod bona sua carina
vendere poterunt quam vendere proponebant, et sic arte vel ingenio villam seducil
et patriam. Statutum de pistoribua.

264

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272
—1377.

the more
effective
worJc of
parlia-
ment.

Centrali-
sation and
individual
indepen-
dence.

and superseded by the increasing activity of parliament, till
in the time of Elizabeth the work was practically finished,
and a complex but well-articulated system of national
economy was completed.

The general character of the local powers has been already
indicated; it would be a mistake to suppose that serious
efforts were made to suppress them wholly. Indeed it may be
said that under Edward I. the towns made rapid advances ;
the free towns which he founded attained the highest point of
constitutional importance, for they were free from manorial
restrictions of every kind, and they were not yet overshadowed
by the growing power of parliament. In succeeding reigns,
even when the towns continued to grow in wealth and power,
the special privileges for which they had paid so dearly came
to be of comparatively little importance, not so much ou
account of actual attacks directed against them\ but because
statute law extended the blessings of good government
throughout the country generally. Special municipal privi-
leges were not withdrawn, but they were superseded as other
localities came to enjoy similar advantages through the
vigorous action and wise regulations of the central authority.

The progress of this centralising tendency brought about
one remarkable result ; as it increased, the range of freedom
for the individual citizen became wider and wider. The
restrictions which seem to us so galling were not imposed for
the first time by statute ; for the most part parliament
transferred the enforcement of certain regulations from a
local to a central authority, and by so doing gave an immense
increase to personal freedom. That there should be similar
laws, similar customs, similar taxes, similar conditions of
business throughout the length and breadth of the land was
a very great gain for purposes of internal trade ; as all
Englishmen came to be subject to one law and shared in the
same privileges, they were freed from the fetters that local
immunities had imposed on their intercourse. In some other
countries the special and local restrictions and privileges

1 Though these also occurred in the legislation on behalf of alien merchants
which, as the cities complained, was inconsistent with their chartered privilegea.
See below, p. 392.

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 265

were swept away, not without blood, and the continuity with a.d. 1272
the past was rudely broken by the sudden introduction of~
modern improvements ; in our land affairs have run another
course ; local regulations were superseded by general legisla-
tion, and then general legislation ceased to play such an im-
portant part, as world-wide commerce outgrew the control of
national ordinances. Hence one may say that there has been
continuous progress in this matter; local regulations were
better than none, and towns regulated by their own gilds had
a start in the race ; but general regulations are better still,
and when the country had so far advanced that general
regulation was possible, the maintenance of merely local
regulations would have been restriction. It is not regulation Regnlation
that is an evil, but unsuitable regulation ; unregulated trade striction.
is not necessarily in a sound condition, and regulated trade
is not restricted trade unless it is ill-regulated trade. If we
do not bear this in mind we shall hardly realise the extent of
the progress which is marked by the close of the charter
period and the beginning of legislation ; while we shall
certainly fall into grave errors if we forget that the
Plantagenets and their parliaments were making regulations
for their own times and not for ours.

87. Edward I. laid the foundations of a system of
national regulation of industry and commerce, and this
gradually outgrew the municipal institutions ; he rendered it
possible for his successors to survey the commercial condition
of the country as a whole, and to form a definite policy for
the development of national resources and for establishing
satisfactory relations with foreign places. Before his time
the rulers could only aim at securing good administration, and
collecting the revenue satisfactorily; but after his reign it
had become possible to devise a national policy and increase
prosperity, so that the sources from which revenue was
obtained might yield more freely. It is in the reign oi Foreign
Edward III. that we can see the beginnings of a commercial -^^'^-^^^
policy of an international and not merely of an interraunicipal ■^^■^•
character ^

1 This and several subsequent paragraphs were read as a paper before the Boyal
Historical Society acd have been published in their Transactions {N.S. iv. 197).

266

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D 1-272
—1377.

Bix claim
to the
French
crown

end Ms
connection
with the
great fitfi.

There is a striking contrast between the reign of Edward I.
and that of Edward III. ; one was a legislator whose chief
triumphs were constitutional, while the life of the other was
passed in pressing claims to continental dominion. But in
his wars, Edward III. aimed at objects which were approved
by the Commons assembled in parliament, even while thev^
groaned under the pressure of the expenses entailed; the
assertion of his claim to the kingdom of France was a card
he was forced to play in the hope of winning the game. It
is not probable that he was merely actuated by dynastic
ambition, — still less that he was endeavouring to secure
possessions abroad which would render him independent of his
subjects at home. His policy appears to have been largely
based on economic considerations; he seems to have aimed at
the development of national wealth, and he may possibly
have recognised the cohesive power of commercial intercourse.
His plans were not farseeing, and they broke down because
he failed to bring conflicting interests into harmony. The
privileges he conferred on Flemish merchants roused the
jealousy of his English subjects^; while the arrangements,
which were favourable to sheep farmers and to consumers in
this country, proved to be injurious to English shipping.

Curiously enough too, Edward III. was the instrument of
thwarting Philip in his endeavour to carry on a work of
consolidation in France, similar to that which Edward I. had
accomplished in England. The great fiefs, — Guienne, Brit-
anny, Flanders, — were the main obstacles which delayed the
union of France under one strong rule, and each of these in
turn had the support of Edward III. in maintaining its
opposition to the feudal superior. He was the hereditary
ruler of Guienne, though other provinces to which he had an
equal title had been filched away from him, and he was
closely related to Flanders by his marriage, while he attempted
to form similar connections with Brabant as well. These
personal relationships made it incumbent upon him to try to
hold his own, and refuse to submit to yield to the arrogant
claims and underhand schemes by which Philip was endea-
vouring to oust him. But these personal ties do not account

i Welsford, Strength of England, 134.

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 267

for the method he pursued in carrying on the war, the a.d. 1272
provisions on Avhich he insisted in his treaties, or the favour
with which the Commons vieAved his schemes.

The two districts in which he was thus personally in-
terested,— Flanders and Guienne, — were the two regions
which were most closely connected with England by common
mercantile interests. "Trade follows the flag," and trade
goes on more peacefully between two parts of the same
empire ; it was undoubtedly true that if Flanders and
England, as well as Gascony and England were united, or Oascony.
closely connected, politically, there would be every prospect
that the commerce of both would flourish. The English rule
seems to have been popular in Gascony at first and Flemings
were ready to acquiesce in this scheme and support Edward
most heartily; according to Froissart^ he only assumed the
style and arms of king of France with much reluctance, and a.d. 1340.
because the Flemish towns urged him to take this step.
They were not on very friendly terms with their own
court, and they had every reason to fear the French king ; if
Philip's schemes Avere successful and he made his suzerainty
over Flanders a reality, they would be in subjection to a Flanders.
monarch who Avas bitterly jealous of the growing strength
of his own communes, and who had already waged a cruel
Avar against them. They could not but be struck Avith
a contrast in the action of the English kings ; Edward I. had
been a great builder of towns, not only in his own island, but
on the continent 2 too ; he had called the burges.«es to give

1 Chronicle, c. 42.

2 On the whole subject of the Bastides or Villes franches founded by Edward I.
in Guienne and Aquitaine see A. Curie Seimbres, Essai sur villes, pp. 43, 61. Some
interesting details are also given by J. H. Parker in his continuation of Tui-ner's
Dome.itic Architecture, 1. 154. In plan they were rectangular and fortified, divided
by streets 24 or 30 feet wide into blocks, which were again separated into separate
plots by passages six feet wide. This isolation of each plot served to prevent dis-
putes about party walls ; gave security against fire and was convenient for drainage.
These were matters which had received attention in London from the time of
Eeiu-y n., and Edward not unnaturally sent to his own capital for skilled men to
lay out some of his new towns in Aquitaine in 1298 (op. cit. i. 157 n.). The neigh-
bouring lords, whether ecclesiastical or lay, strongly objected to these new and
free towns: when the Ville franche de Rovergne was laid out the neighbouring
bishop excommunicated any one who should go and build in it, as he fetired that it
would ruin his own town of Eodez (op. cit. 1. 169). " No less than fifty towns were
founded by the Enghsh in France within the same number of years, and the best

268 KEPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 him counsel in parliament, and his grandson summoned
"" ' merchants — as he at other times summoned other classes —
to colloquies on matters affecting their interests. They
might well wish to be under such a king, while the require-
ments of their manufactures rendered it essential that they
should get a constant supply of English wool\
Sovereignty Had Edward III. maintained his claim to the throne of
of tie sea. j^j.^j^^g j^g would havB of course secured a position as
suzerain of Flanders ; it might possibly be argued that he
went some way to assert this right when he issued the noble-,
intending it to circulate both in England and Flanders ; this
certainly looked very like the assertion of a princely right in
regard to these countries, while the claim to the Sovereignty
of the Sea would be more easily enforced and the king's
peace maintained on the waters by a monarch who pos-
sessed the land on either shore.
The course Be this as it may, we see that in his first campaigns,
campaigns. Flanders was the base of operations; that in the great
A.D. 1346. campaign, after landing in the Cotentin, he again turned away
both from Guienne and from Paris to establish his forces in
the Low Countries ; while his protracted negociations with the
people, as well as the princes, of Flanders and Brabant, seem
to show how much his proceedings towards Philip were
affected by the way in which he kept the interests of the
wool trade in view.
The The other great branch of continental trade, the wine

trade. trade with Gascony, was more than partially Anglicised, since
it had been concentrated in Liboume and other English
towns, where the burgesses would welcome the policy pursued
by Edward III. His hereditary right to the Duchy made
this really a trade between two different parts of his own
possessions; and to have established a firm hold upon
Gascony, Flanders and England, would have been to create a
remarkably powerful commercial federation. It is probable
that the misgovernment of the Black Prince, by alienating the

proof of the success of the plan is in the strong hold which the English people
held in the affections of the people of this part of Prance, and in the fact that
most of these towns are still existing, and in a flourishing state." Op. eif. 1. 170 n.
Also, Brissaud, Les Anglais en (iuienne, 114, 127, 151.

1 On the export of wool to Flanders see Appendix D, * See title-page.

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 269

southern peoples, rendered it impossible to realise this scheme, a.D. 1-272
for the Flemish connection^ was the less important project, ~^^'^'^-
especially when the manufacture of cloth was being so
successfully prosecuted in England; but it was a highly
ingenious plan and would justify the reputation Edward
III. enjoyed as the Father of English Commerce. It would
be curious, as it is idle, to speculate how very differently
European politics must have shaped themselves if this
dream had been realised ; if France had been wedged in
between two tracts of territory, united both by loyalty and
commercial interest to England ; and if over-sea trade had at
that early period received the extraordinary impetus which
these political connections must have given.

88. Though the constitutional change which took place
under Edward I. is one of the turning-points of industrial
history, and the political schemes of Edward III. seem to
mark a new era in the progress of the nation, there were
other sides of life which exercised no little influence on
economic affairs, and in regard to which no change was
apparent; current morality was not substantially altered, Oom-
and the practical measures which embodied it are similar to ^^ality.
those which were already in vogue.

In a preceding section an attempt has been made to
sketch the methods of trading which approved themselves
to the gilds merchant in thirteenth century towns : a similar
feeling found expression on a larger scale in parliament, both
as regards the methods of regulation adopted and the exclu-
siveness as against outsiders. Had civil lawyers been more statute
largely represented in parliament it is quite conceivable that g^^rces
our commercial legislation might have been copied almost
entirely from the code of Justinian ; on the other hand, the
attempts to limit the rapidly increasing wealth of the Church
would hardly have emanated from an assembly where eccle-
siastical feeling was dominant ; in either case there might
have been some expression of jealousy at the prosperity of the
burgesses and the traders. But the earliest economic legis- ^^^9^

'-' customs.

1 In the treaty of Bretigny (§§ xii, xxxi, xxxii) king Edward sacrificed his
claims on Flanders as the price of the promised cessation of French interference
in behalf of Scotland. Kymer, Fcedera, in. i. 487.

270 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 lation is very similar to the burghal customs ; it is purely
~Empiric(d empirical; and it reflects the opinions and prejudices of
Ugtalation. practical men, especially of merchants — the class who were
dominant in the regulation of town affairs. Early legislation
is concerned with providing facilities for trading, for more
frequent intercourse, for better markets and better prices —
in the hope of securing a supply of wares in plenty to the con-
sumer*. It also aimed at enforcing what was fair, as between
man and man in every-day transactions ; but it rests on practical
experience, not on scholastic teaching, and it is difficult to
use the mediaeval doctrine of a fair price, as it is found for
example in S. Thomas Aquinas, so as to explain the actual
regulations and restrictions. The more the enactments are
examined the more does it become clear that they are based,
not on the Aristotelian doctrine of moralists, but on practical
experience of bargaining about different kinds of commodities
in the market or the fair. There was much in the acts of
these parliaments that was mistaken, but the legislators erred
as practical men may err ; there was nothing doctrinaire in
the remedies they tried or the regulations they proposed ;
they were often short-sighted, but they were not led away by
some favourite theory in the days of the Edwards. It was a
time of legislation and regulation by rule of thumb ; and
unless an effort is made to understand the social conditions
which moulded our industry and commerce during that period
the legislation itself may be entirely misunderstood.

II. Consolidation.

Represen- 89. While Edward I. was ready like De Montfort to

associate the estates of the realm with himself in the work of
government, he was by no means willing to forego any of the
just claims of his position as king ; it was not because he was
weak and careless and desired to be rid of responsibilities
that he summoned his parliaments, but because he believed
that his government would be stronger if his plans were

1 Hence the Edwardian legislation resembles that of the nineteenth centui'7
more closely than that of any of the intervening periods; see p. 310, below.

CONSOLIDATION. 271

supported by the suffrages of his subjects. His father had a.d. 1-272
endeavoured to exercise a personal sway, and he had been
forced to give up the kingly powers to a committee of his
barons. Edward by endeavouring to act in conjunction with
the estates of his realm, did not indeed always get his own
way, but he succeeded in establishing a government that was and royal
really effective against the discontented and disorderly. And "" "" ^'
hence, while in the time of Henry there had been the most
serious encroachments upon royal wealth and jurisdiction,
Edward was able to recover and maintain much that had
slipped from his father's grasp. Here one may notice that it
■was because he was successful in asserting his rights as king
against individual barons, or the Pope, that their constitu-
tional powers were defined in the form they actually took,
and that they were prevented from usurping a power which
would have been dangerous to the nation itself When Usurpa-
staunchly maintaining the rights of the Crown, Edward was ^tyranny.
taking the most effective means for securing the ultimate
redress of the wrongs of the poor^ This comes out very clearly
in the story of the disafforesting controversy. By an adjust-
ment of boundaries considerable portions of the Crown forests
were given over to certain barons, who gained personally ; but
the position of the tenants was so much altered for the worse
that their case obtained special attention in the Ordinance o/a^.-d. 1305.
the Forest, by which their rights of pasture and common
were secured.

If this was the most formidable, it was not by any means Encroach-
the only encroachment about which he had cause to bestir "|^"^^ ""
himself. As has been described above, one of his first acts on '■'?^'«-
coming to the throne had been to institute an inquiry into
the full extent of the losses which the Crown property had
sustained^ He sent out commissioners and took account ofA.D. I27'i.
jfche losses of the Crown from usurpations by the subject, and
of the misdeeds of royal officers. The results of the inquiries
are embodied in the Hundred Rolls and the records of the
proceedings which ensued ; they contain much evidence to

1 For a picture of these about this time see the ' Husbandman'g Song,' ia
"Wright's Political Songs (Camden Society), 149.

2 See above, p. 175.

272

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272
—1377.
A.D. 1275.

The
Church

and its
revenue.

show that where the king was badly served, the people
suffered too. Many things required amendment in the realm
at the time of his accession, "for the prelates and religious
persons of the land were grieved many ways, and the
people otherwise entreated than they ought to be, and the
peace less kept, and the laws less used, and the offenders less
punished than they ought to be^" The enforcement of laws,
and the enactment of more widely effective laws were abso-
lutely necessary for the good of the country.

90. There was one particular direction of change however
which called for special intervention ; corporations never die,
and the munificence of successive generations had tended to
bring a large area of the lands of the country into the hands
of the clergy. The excessive endowment of religion was a
political evil, as such a large proportion of the revenues went
directly or indirectly to the enrichment of the see of Rome - ;
these ecclesiastical claims had existed for a long time past and
were increasing. Peter's pence had been paid with more or less
regularity since the ninth century ; and while preparing for
the second crusade, the Pope taxed the clergy throughout
Christendom as a means of supporting the undertaking. The
connection with the Roman See, which William of Normandy
had introduced and S. Anselm favoured, was soon made an
excuse for constant appeals ; and immense sums were paid as
mere bribes to the papal servants at Rome. The position
of feudal suzerain of England, which the Pope had acquired
during the reign of John, and the fact that by the will of
that monarch he was guardian to the young Henry, strength-
ened the hold which the papal pow*er had upon the wealth of
England, and the revenues of the English Church'. In par-
ticular the various pretexts under which Rufus had appro-
priated Church revenues* were soon used on behalf of the
papacy; while a large number of the richest benefices in

1 First Statute of Westminster (preamble).

2 On the organisation of papal taxation, see Gottlob, Kreuzzugs-Steuem.

3 On the payments made in connection with the intrigue for placing Prince
Edmund on the throne of Sicily, see Gottlob, Kreuzzugs-Steuern, 81 ; Whitwell,
Italian Bankers in B. Hist. Soc. Trans. N.S. xvu. 179.

^ For calculations as to the amount of these resources compare Pearson,
Sist. Eng. ii. 496, and Milman, Lat. Christ, ix. 15. In the reigu of Edward III. the
Commons estimated it at a thu'u of the property of the realm. Rot. Pari. n. 337 a.

CONSOLIDATION. 273

England were in the hands of aliens and foreigners. This A.D. 1272

^ , . . . ° , 1377

was a crying evil in the thirteenth century, and despite
many efforts to check it, there is little sign that it really
abated. In the reign of Edward III. the Commons com- a.d. 1376.
plained that the taxes paid to the Pope amounted yearly
to five times the sum paid to the Crown \

This was in itself a serious matter; but the evil hecsime Papal pre-
more obvious, when Pope Boniface VIII. claimed to have
such authority in England that royal taxes on the temporali-
ties of the clergy should only be levied with his consent and
approvals The new and startling claim was met by a
vigorous measure, for Edward I. withdrew all legal protection a.d. 1297
from the clergy, and his sentence of outlawry soon sup-
pressed the attempt to maintain such pretensions. But the
fact that this claim could be put forth rendered it still
more necessary to press forward, on the lines of action, which
Henry II. had taken by enforcing the obligation of the clergy
to pay scutage on the knights' fees which they held.

The first of Edward's measures with this view was the Mortmain.
Statute of Mortmain', which prevented the clergy from ac- a.d. 1279.
quiring additional lauds either by gift or purchase without the
consent of the chief lord, and without bearing their fair share
of public burdens ; there had doubtless been fraudulent con-
veyances of lands to the Church by men who desired to be
reinstated in possession as Church tenants, and as enjoying
immunities on that account. This measure was followed up by
the Quia Emptores*, which not only condemned the collusive a.d. 1290.
sales by which the tenants in chief and the Crown had been
damaged, but provided for the more easy transference of land
so long as the rights of the superiors were properly preserved ;
for every tenant was now permitted to sell his lands or parts
of them. There is reason to believe that this statute was
taken advantage of very generally, and that there was in
consequence a great increase in the number of free tenants,
many of whom however had but small holdings ^ This was

1 Eot. Pari. II. 337 b.

2 Greatest of Plantagenets, 229. On the increase of papal taxation in the four-
teenth and fifteenth centuries, see Gottlob, Aus der Camera, 183.

» De viris religiosis, 7 Ed. I. ii. ^ Quia emptores, 18 Ed. I. ii.

* Scrutton, Commons andCommon Fields, 55. Jessopp, Coming of the Friars, 190.

c. H. 18

274 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 the effect, though not so far as appears the object, of the
measure ; but once again the effort to secure the rights of
the Crown indirectly led to the granting of improvements
in the condition of the tenant.

Theccclesi- The Struggle to assert the rights of the Crown was

'orders. prolonged in the case of the various ecclesiastical Orders.

Templars. The Templars were among the first to feel the weight of
royal displeasure ; they were already unpopular with the
clergy because they had been removed from ordinary ecclesi-

A.D. 12.")6. astical jurisdiction, and several bulls were issued in their
favour^ ; and when the loss of Acre sealed the failure of the

Aj). 1291. Order to recover the Holy Land from the Infidel, it was
possible for Edward I, to argue that they should no longer be
protected in the enjoyment of wealth which had been granted
in the hope of accomplishing this object. Their accumulations
were large, as the religious character of their establishments
gave some immunity from pillage, and they were rendered
specially secure by the strength of their construction and the
training of their defenders. The Temples^ at London and Paris
were favourite places for depositing jewels^ and other treasures;
the hoards of wealth amassed in them were very great*, and
the Templars not oxaXj negotiated the ransoms of prisoners^,
but engaged in such financial business as making payments
in distant places®, and advancing money to the crown'. Since
they were thus concerned in lucrative financial business, they
were not entirely free from the suspicion which attached to
all those who were engaged in monetary transactions, and
they were occasionally the victims of royal necessity or

A.D. 1295. cupidity. Edward I. appropriated the revenues which they
were about to transmit to Cyprus, though he restored them on
the earnest appeal of the Pope^ Edward IL on his succession

1 Rymer, Fmdera (Record), i. i. 334, 335.

2 Leopold Delisle, Operations FinanciSres des Templiers in Acad, des Inscrip.
t. xxxiii. p. 2. Gottlob, Krevxzugs-Sfeiiern, 240. See below, p. 288. Also E. Ferris,
Relations of Knights Templars to English Oroion in American Hist. Rev. vin. 1.

3 Eymer, Fcedera, I. pp. 435, 492. Henry III. obtained advances from
merchants on Crown Jewels deposited at Paris in 1264.

* Edward I. when Prince of Wales forcibly took £10,000 from the London
Temple in 1263. Gervase Cant. R. S. ii. 222.

5 Compare the arrangements for the ransom of William Brewer (1204). Patent
Rolls, p. 41. « King John (1206, 1213), Patent Bolls, pp. 65, 103.

I King John, Patent Rolls, pp. 135, 152. 8 Rymer, Fmdera, i. ii. 823.

CONSOLIDATION. 275

seized no less than fifty thousand pounds in silver, besides a.d. 1272
gold and jewels which had been deposited in their treasury \
When through a shameful intrigue** the papal protection was
at last withdrawn, the Order was left utterly defenceless ; but
it is to the credit of Edward II. that he showed considerable
reluctance to believe the accusations against the Order^ or a.d. l^o?.
to lend himself as an agent for their suppression.

The foreign monastic Orders escaped at this time, but like Chmiacs.
the alien beneficiaries* they were very severely treated by a.d. 1346.
Edward III. The Cluniacs had, like the Templars, been
supplying money for the uses of the chapter in foreign parts ;
while the Cistercians had endeavoured to evade the duty of cister-
contributing to the royal revenue, on the ground that their *'*""*'
houses in England had no complete control over their
possessions'*. But these evasions were of no avail, and
by rejecting them firmly, Edward followed his grandfather's
example, and took another step in the consolidation of the
realm as a whole.

91. So far we have had to do with the enforcement by Undefined
constitutional means of the prerogatives of the king as '^''^ ^"^
supreme landowner ; we must now turn to examine the pre-
rogatives which he exercised as supreme in disposing of the
products of the soil, and as controlling the use and exchange
of them. This side of the royal power has been less commonly
understood and admitted® than Crown rights on the land,
for it was never so explicitly asserted as when William I. put
forward the claims of the feudal king at Salisbury, and it
was only exercised within limitations. Nevertheless it is
only on the supposition of such a prerogative that the
various forms of royal exaction and royal control, over the
internal and external trade of the country, become in-

1 Addison, Knights Templars (2iid Ed.), 448. 2 ibid. 450.

8 Eymer, Fcedera (Record), n. i. 10, 19. * Ibid. ni. i. 68.

5 It appears that Henry m. admitted this claim (a.d. 1242), as he appealed
direct to Citeaux. Mat. Paris, Chron. Maj. rv. 234, 235, 257. See p. 209 above.

6 For one thing it conflicts with the doctrine which has been held by Locke,
Adam Smith, and their followers, that property in the products of the soU rests on
labour (see above, p. 99 n.). But it is notorious that there is communal control
over all the products of labour in a vUlage community, and there is nothing absurd
in maintaining a national right to control and disi^ose of all the products of the
labom- of individual citizens in the nation.

18—2

276 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 telligible. The king — the head of the nation — might require

^/ • ^ 2:oods for his own use and that of his household, and for
the commissariat in warfare, and he might control the
disposal of them in the interest of the subjects or of the
national resources. His requirements might be satisfied
(a) by taking the articles he required, (6) by purchasing
them on more or less favourable terms, or (c) by accepting
money in lieu of the exercise of these rights \

The indefinite rights, which the kings had exercised by
immemorial usage, were now to be systematised and defined ;
the Domesday Survey is full of hints of obligations connected

purvey- with purveyance, and the earlier statutes contain frequent
references to the subject. The requirements of the court
had to be met when the king travelled through the country,
and this was done either by compulsory purchase (emption)
or the simpler method of caption. A similar right, when
exercised in regard to articles of export or import, was known
as prise ; and the liability to demands of this sort — for which
the merchant could only hope to be remunerated in part and
after a long delay, if at all'^ — rendered these forms of indirect
taxation exceedingly inconvenient, if we judge of them by
modern canons, as well as very expensive, from the malversa-
tions of which officers were occasionally guilty. The practice
must have become specially noxious in connection with the
continental wars of English kings. So long as personal
service in the field was maintained and the knights had to
' find themselves ' it would not be so bad, as the barons were
not in all probability able to imitate the royal practice very

A.D. 1159. closely ^ But when the payment of scutage relieved the
knights from this obligation it became the duty of the king

1 On the whole subject compare Mr Hubert Hall's Customs Revenue, i. 55 — 72.

2 Hall, Customs, i. 61.

8 Hot. Pari. n. 62 a. Forced enjoyment of the hospitahty of religious houses
■\vas an approach to the exercise of rights of purveyance. It was checked by the
First Statute of Westminster, c. 1. "Because that Abbeys and Houses of Religion
have been overcharged and sore gi-ieved, by the resort of great men and others, so
that their goods have not been sufficient for themselves whereby they have been
greatly hmdered and impoverished, that they cannot maintain themselves nor such
charity as they were wont to do, It is Provided that none shall come to eat or
lodge in any House of Rehgion of any other foundation than his own at the costs
of the House, * * and that none at his own costs shall enter in and come to lie
there against the will of them that be of the House."

CONSOLIDATION. 277

to organise a commissariat ; and the exports and imports of a.d. 1272
the realm lay ready to hand for this purpose. They might "~^'*^^*
either serve as supplies, as in the case of wine, or might be
carried abroad, so that the sale might furnish the king with
the means of purchasing the necessaries of life. The purvey-
ance of commodities for the king's use within the realm is
consequently of far less economic importance than the action
of the Crown in regard to merchandise. The fiscal history of
the reigns of Edward I. and Edward III, turns very much on
their efforts to exercise these privileges with, and sometimes
without, parliamentary sanction.

Under ordinary circumstances the king preferred to take Definite
his share of the value of the exports in the form of a toll, and
custom had apparently come to recognise a definite payment a.d. 1275.
which was a fair toll to take ; this was the so-called ' ancient Ancient
custom ' on wool, woolfells and leather of half a mark on ''"* ""*'
every sack of wool, and one mark on every last of hides \
Similarly, there was a recta prisa of wine^, the chief article Becta
of import, which consisted of one tun taken before and one-^"^^*^'
abaft the mast. It does not appear that the rates with
regard to other articles of export and import were similarly
defined. Aliens, however, stood in a somewhat different
position ; they paid all their dues in money ; for freedom
from the king's arbitrary prise of wines they rendered hutlerage Buthrage
of 2s. a tun*. Similarly, they paid an additional duty on
wooITand Sd per pound avoirdupois on all other commodities,
to be free from the king's prises on their commerce ; this was
the nova or parva custuma* to which denizens were not liable.

Exactions in excess of these rates were regarded as Mala toita.
oppressive (mala tolta), and provoked a considerable outcry
in 1297. The parliament was, however, willing to make addi-
tional grants in great emergencies ; and owing to a scarcity of
money^ grants of wool were made to Edward III. and afforded a.d. 1341.
excellent opportunities for the operations of contractors ^ Sub-

1 Hall, Customs, i. 66. 2 Ibid. n. 96. 8 Ibid. 11. 102.

■* Lib. Oust. u. 209. It was temporarily abolished by Ed. IT. (1309) in the
Statute of Stamford as a fiscal experiment {Bot, Pari. i. 4-il a.), but subsequently
reimposed. See below, p. 291.

5 Bot. Pari. n. 103 No. 4, 107 No. 7, 112 No. 5, 131 No. 42.

6 Bot. Pari. u. 108 No. 10, 120 £ No. 19 &c. HaU, Customs, i. 78.

278

EEPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272
—1377.

Stibsidies

Customs
officials.

sidies on wool, in addition to the ancient custom, were
voted in the fourteenth and twenty-seventh years of Edward
III.^ There were also frequent subsidies of tannage and
poundage', which were subsidies in addition to the ordinary
prisage of wines and other goods paid by denizens, and the
butlerage and nova custuma paid by aliens. While the
customs were the parliamentary shaping of the ordinary
exercise of the prerogative, subsidies were the parliamentary
voting of special aids.

The collection of these tolls and subsidies required a body
of officers ; the king's chamberlain, the sheriffs, and a con-
siderable variety of persons had been employed in earlier
reigns^ but Edward I. appointed regular customers for the
duty*; their business was partly that of collecting the revenue,
and they were also charged with the responsibility of putting
down smuggling. They had to see the wools weighed, and
to seal (cocket) them before embarcation; similar duties in
regard to exported and imported cloth were also discharged
in connection with the collection of revenue by subordinate
officials". The formation of a special customs department
was perhaps more necessary, since so many towns had
become exempt by their charters from the interference of
the sheriff and from the ordinary courts. In order that the
Crown might reap the full benefit from the export trade,
it was necessary to superintend the dealings in wool and
to weigh the quantities exposed for sale, so as to gather the
tolls and prevent illicit trade*. But this could not be done
without taking measures to force the trade into channels
where it could be properly controlled ; Berwick, Newcastle,
Hull, Boston, Lynn, Yarmouth, Ipswich, Dunwich, London,
Sandwich, Chichester, Southampton, Bristol, Exeter, Cardigan,
and Chester were among the principal commercial ports in
the time of Edward I. The scheme was more definitely
organised by Edward IIL'; in some cases the customers

1 Hall, Customs, n. 134. 2 i^id. n. 146. s Ibid. ii. 3.

* This appeared to be an infraction of chartered privileges and was apparently
resented as such at Bristol. Eot. Pari. i. 859.
6 HaU, Customs, n. 49.

6 See the inquii-y in the Hundred Bolls, above, p. 176.
S In 1353. Ordinance of the Stabiles, § 1.

CONSOLIDATION. 279

were responsible for superintending the trade at a neigh- a.d. 1272
bouring harbour as well; thus Chepstow and Bridgewater
were grouped with Bristol,

In thus organising the collection of customs, Edward I.
and his parliament asserted a right of regulating the places
of trade, and of determining the conditions under which
trade should be carried on. But besides improving the Ports.
conditions at the centres of commerce, he appears to have
done his best to develope new places of trade. Kingstown- Free towns.
upon-Hull^ entered on a new career at this epoch ; and other
towns were laid out and rebuilt. Winchelsea^ which still
preserves the ground-plan of an Edwardian town, had suffered
from an inundation and was reconstructed in this reign. Great a.d. 1-299,
Yarmouth appears to have been laid out at the same time,
and the king endeavoured to place the relations of the
burgesses to the men of the Cinque Ports on a friendly
footing. There was already a trade in coal from Newcastle*
to London^ and shipments were made beyond the seas^ At
present it may suffice to notice that the king was successful
in asserting a right of controlling trade, and to indicate the
nature of the machinery which was organised in connection
with this claim ; a great part of the commercial history of
England consists in tracing the different ways in which the
right thus asserted has been exercised from time to time^

92. Since the Crown had such rights in regard to trade, improved
it had also duties towards those who conducted the traffic, y-^" ^^^^
While Edward I. organised a system for collecting a definite
revenue, he set himself to improve the conditions of trading
as well. He took up the regulations in regard to police and
to the recovery of debts, which were already in vogue in
certain towns, and rendered them general, while he initiated
some important improvements in regard to the currency.

1 The story of the founding of Hull given by TickeU and Parker and men-
tioned in the second edition of this work (p. 258) appears to be quite untrust-
worthy. Lambert, Two Thousand Years of Gild Life, 7.

2 Parker, Domestic Architecture, 11. 158.

3 Mining rights are mentioned in 1245, and the town had greatly increased in
1281. Brand, Newcastle, 11. 253.

4 1306. Brand, n. 254. Rot. Pari. i. 405. s /j^^. parl. i. 433 No. 9.

6 The constitutional questions as to the relative powers of King and parHament
in controlling trade may be neglected, from the present point of view.

280

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272
—1377.
Police.
&.D. 1285.

A.D. 1285.

A.D. 1275.

WrecliS.

a. Police ordinances. Of these the most important are
the Statuta Civitatis Londonie, with the regulations for se-
curing good order in the town, especially after dark. It was
necessary that a known citizen should be responsible for
the good behaviour of every resident in the town, so that
everyone might live under the eye of a respectable man who
was answerable for his behaviour. On this account it was
ordained that no one but a freeman of the city might keep a
hostelry or inn\ Similar legislation was made for other towns
in the Statute of Winchester, which also gave greater
security to the merchant when travelling by land. " And for
more surety of the country the King hath commanded, that
in great towns, being walled, the gates shall be closed from
the sunsetting until the sunrising; and that no man do
lodge in suburbs nor in any place out of the town, from nine
of the clock until day, without his host will answer for him.
* * And further, it is commanded. That highways leading
from one market town to another shall be enlarged, whereas
bushes, woods or dykes be, so that there be neither dyke nor
bush, whereby a man may lurk to do hurt, within two
hundred foot of the one side and two hundred foot on the
other side of the wayl"

In the First Statute of Westminster Edward had already
shown his care for the protection of traders. Legal etfect
was given to the old custom^ that when a ship was stranded
it should not be accounted a wreck if a man, cat, or dog,
escaped alive from it. The cargo was to be kept by the
royal bailiff, and those to whom it belonged might have the

1 ""Whereas diverse persons do resort unto the city, some from parts beyond
the sea, and others of this land, and do there seek shelter and refuge, by reason of
banishment out of their own country, or who for great offence or other misdeeds
have fled from their own country, and of these some do become brokers, hostelers
and innkeepers within the saide city, for denizens and strangers, as freely as
though they were good and lawful men of the franchise of the city ; and some
nothing do but run up and down in the streets, more by night than by day, and
are well attired in cloathing and array and have their food of dehcate meats and
costly, neither do they use any craft or merchandise, nor have they lands or
tenements whereof to live, nor any friend to find them, and through such persons
many perils do often happen in the city and many evils." Statuta Londonie.

a Statute of Winchester, 13 Ed. I. st. n. cc. 4, 5.

8 It is referred to as such by Giraldus Cambrensis, De instrtictione principum,
I. [Anglia Chnstiana), p. 190. He speaks of the constant disregard of the custom
as one of the proofs of the degeneracy of England under the Angevins.

CONSOLIDATION. 281

whole restored to them on laying a claim within a year and a.d. 1272
a day; and this was to hold good whether the rights of ~ *^"'
wreckage belonged to the king or to a subject\

b. Recovery of debts. The policy in regard to debts Dehta.
owing to foreign merchants, which had commended itself to
the men of Ipswich as 'convenable for the town'^ was rendered
more general. " Forasmuch as merchants which heretofore a.d. 1233.
have lent their goods to diverse persons be greatly impove-
rished because there is no speedy law provided for them to
have recovery of their debts at the day of payment assigned,
and by reason hereof many merchants have withdrawn to Foreigners.
come into this realm with their merchandises, to the damage,
as well of the merchants, as of the whole realm, the King
by himself and by his Council'" ordained and established,
that when the debt was acknowledged before royal officers in
specified towns, they should be impowered under the King's
seal to distrain for debt in default of payment. At Acton
Bumel this scheme was tried, as in London, York and Bristol;
but complaints became current that the sheriffs misinter-
preted the statute, so that it was re-enacted in 1285 as a
Statutum Mercatorum ; this was much more explicit, and
gave the same sort of facilities in any town which the king
might appoint, as well as at fairs. These advantages were
abused, possibly by creditors who foreclosed and took pos-
session, under this system, of lands which had been pledged,
and the operation of the statute was limited to merchants,
their goods and tenements; and in 1311 twelve towns were
specified* where recognisances for debt might be taken
before "the most safe and the most rich men," chosen by
the commonalty for the purpose.

The statute of Acton Bumel had done something to Unfair
remove the necessity for municipal interference for the
recovery of debts, and Edward passed a measure to
prohibit unfair distraint for debts ; as has been shown above

1 3 Ed. I. c. 4. For cases which illustrate the law of wreckage (1363), see
Sharpe, Calendar of Letters, pp. xiv and 98, No. 213.

2 See above, p. 2'22, n. 3. Black Book of Admiralty , n. 115.

3 De Mercatoribus, 11 Ed. I.

* Newcastle, York and Nottingham for counties beyond the Trent; Exeter,
Bristol and Southampton for the South and West; Lincoln and Northampton;
London and Canterbmy ; Shiewsbury and Norwich. 5 Ed. 11. § 33.

282 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 it had been usual to hold a man coming from another town,
~"^^''' whether English or continental, responsible for the debts
incurred by any of his fellow-townsmen. Edward endeavoured
to stop the practice so far as it affected the burgesses of any
AD. 1275. town within the realm. The very terms of the statute show
how little homogeneity there was between different parts of
the country. "It is provided also that in no city, borough,
town, market or fair, there be no foreign person, which is
of this realm, distrained for any debt whereof he is not
debtor or pledger*," It was at least as important that there
should be no hindrance to internal trade as that foreign
merchants should be led to frequent the realm. Under the
same head one may note the protection against the oppressive
exaction of tolls in market towns^ and of payments directly
due to the Crown — amercements made on account of offences
against the king's peace were to be reasonable, the freeman
was to have his freehold exempted, the merchant his merchan-
dise and the villan his wainage^; while the rights of prise"* and
purveyance® were to be fairly exercised. It is impossible to

1 First Statute of Westminster, c. 23. It is not perhaps a matter of surprise
that the merchants from the Welsh marches had to submit to this grievance, a
century later, in the English town of Calais. " A tres noble Conseil notre Seignonr
le Roi monstrent les Countes de Wyrcestre, Salop, Stafford, Hereford, Bristul, et
Crlouc', que come pluseurs Marchauntz et autres Gentz des ditz Countes travail-
lent a Caleys ove lour Marchaunies, en profist des ditz Countes et de tout le
Roiahne; Queux Marchantz et autres gentz plusours foitz sont arestuz, ascun
foith pur trespas, ascun foith pur dettes des autres hommes des ditz Countes:
Desqueux trespas et dettes les ditz Marchantz et autres gentz n'ount rien a
f:iu-e, et plusours foitz n'ount conissance de ceux pur queux ils sount arestuz."
Hot. Pari. u. 352.

2 First Statute of Westminster, c. 31. » Ibid. c. 6. * Ibid. c. 7.
* Ibid. c. 32. " Of such as take victual or other things to the King's use upon

credence, or to the gan-ison of a castle or otherwise, and when they have received
their payment in the Exchequer or in the Wardrobe, or otherwhere, they vrithold
it from the creditors, to their great damage and slander of the King, it is provided
for such as have land or tenements, that incontinent it shall be levied of their
lands or of their goods, and paid unto the creditors, with the damages they have
sustained, and shall make fine for the trespass, and if they have no lands or goods
they shall be imprisoned at the king's will.

"And of such as take part of the King's debts or other rewards of the King's
creditors for to make payment of the same debt, it is provided that they shall pay
the double thereof and be grievously punished at the King's pleasure.

"And of such as take horse or carts for the King's carriage more than need
and take reward to let such horse or carts go, it is provided that if any of the
court so do he shall be grievously punished by the Marshalls."

On the misdeeds of purveyors two centm-ies later compare 28 H. VI. c. 2.

CONSOLIDATION. 283

exaggerate the importance of attempting to give greater a.d. 1272
security in these respects, though of course we cannot judge ~^ ''
how far the statutes were at all effective ; but it was at least
something to have this desire put on record.

c. The currency. Edward took active measures to remedy Currency.
the debasement of the currency of the realm ; the Mint was
reorganised in his reign, and coinage of an excellent standard
was issued \ He also endeavoured to prevent the mischief
from recurring; it had been chiefly due to the introduction
of money from abroad in payment for English wool. He a.d. 1299.
passed a measure de falsa moneta which was sternly re-
pressive, and declared all pollards^ and crocards forfeit unless
they were at once brought to the king's exchange ; but he
also endeavoured to provide against the continuance of the
evil by establishing exchange tables at Dover, where foreign Exchanges.
merchants or pilgrims going abroad might take their money
and have it exchanged for the current coin. The statute
takes the form of a writ which was addressed to all the
sheriffs throughout England, to the wardens of Berwick,
the Cinque Ports and the Channel Islands, the justices of
Chester, Ireland, North Wales and Cornwall, and the barons
of the Exchequer. Special writs were also addressed to
the sheriffs of London and the collectors of customs there,
as it was believed that the bad coinage was brought in to
pay for wool and the staple commodities of the realms Ex- a.d. 1299.
changing must have been carried on previously, probably
by the king's moneyers or some of the officers of the Mint,
but the differentiation of this department of business from
the coining of money is worthy of attention, as it was symp-
tomatic of the development of English trade ; the new ar-
rangement may have been partly due to a desire to take

1 Crump and Hughes in Economic Journal, v. 60.

2 These appear to have been debased foreign coins; the pollards were nearly
of the fineness of English sterling silver, but crocards were of a baser white
metal according to Euding, Coinage, 1. 201. See however Crump and Hughes in
Economic Journal, v. 62.

8 iStatuhim de falsa moneta. The king was determined to keep the jurisdiction
on this matter in his own hands, but the commonalty of each port were "to
choose two good and lawful men of the same port for whom the electors will be
answerable," who were to search for and arrest all who were bringing false money
into the reahn. It is another interesting instance of communal responsibiUty.

284 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 away all excuse for the exercise of this craft for gain^ by

1377 . a J

Jews or private persons.
QoU- The business of exchange and assay is so closely connected

smxihi. ^fJ\)^ the work of sfoldsmiths that it is worth while to call

A.D. 1300. . , ° , . , 11,.

attention here to the statute which regulated their craft ; no
vessels or ornaments were to be made of worse gold than " of
the touch of Paris"; and similarly the touch for silver was to
be settled, and no vessels were to be made of worse metal,
though they might be made of better. The main interest of
the enactment lies in the machinery which was organised to
carry out these objects. It was provided that all " the good
towns of England, where any goldsmiths be dwelling, shall
be ordered as they of London be, and that one shall come
from every good town, for all the residue that be dwelling in
the same, unto London for to be ascertained of their touch."
Thus the London custom was to be communicated to the
other towns and to hold good there. The whole work of
giving effect to the statute was left in the charge of the
wardens of the craft in each town; they were to "go from
shop to shop among the goldsmiths" and assay the gold with
which they were working ; silver was to be marked with the
leopard's head, and no articles were to be sold until they had
passed the scrutiny of the wardens'*. This is, so far as I
know, the earliest instance when the wardens of a craft gild
were recognised by public authority as the agents through
whom a parliamentary enactment should be carried out.

To criticise such legislation on the ground that it

interfered with the freedom of trade is to misapprehend the

whole state of the times, — when there was so little security for

person and property, and so many temptations to chicanery

When local and deceit, unregulated trade was not to be thought of. To

^gsw/ej--"" substitute for the special customs and privileges of each

^qtn&ral locality general regulations for the kingdom was a great

advance ; though charters had done much for the places

which obtained them, they were of little use for the general

^ Camhium minutum, a fair charge for the trouble involved in the transaction,
which was considerable, as the varieties of coinage cnrrent in each country made
it very difficult to know their worth. Chaucer's Merchant had gi-eat skill in this
business. Canterbury Tales, Prologue. On the coins circulating at Calais in tlid
fifteenth century see Maiden, Cely Papers, xlix. 2 28 Ed. I. c. 20.

CONSOLIDATION. 285

progress of the realm ; for local immunities created local a.d. 12:2
jealousies, and in later history we may see how each town
and locality was tempted to demand protection and support
against neighbouring rivals.

Edward did force merchants to use particular ports, and
otherwise limited their freedom to trade as they pleased,
while his tariff favoured denizens as compared with aliens;
but even if modem enlightenment is justified in condemning
these regulations, and this is more than doubtful, we need
not forget that our country once suffered from a still
greater evil, in the protection of one locality or one market
against others in the same shire ; by substituting general trade
regulations for the bye-laws of each locality, Edward was more free.
really freeing trade. The statutes of Edward I. mark the
first attempt to deal with industry and trade as a public
matter which concerned the whole state, not as the particular
affair of the leading men in each separate locality. We have
already noted the high development of Scotch burghs at the
commencement of Edward's reign ; they never however
profited by the example of the southern kingdom, for their
trade was managed — so long as management was in vogue —
not so much as an affair of state but rather as the business of
traders, who met in their own convention^ and strove to
maintain their local privileges and immunities against all
rivals. Till the present century, trade in Germany was not
freed from disadvantages of the same sort as those which
the first Edward did much to remove in our own land, by
consolidating the trading interests of the various localities
and organising a single body economic for the whole realm,
instead of merely perpetuating the intermunicipal commerce
which had formerly existed.

93. The very success of these measures of consolidation,
however, brought into clearer relief a difficulty which had
been becoming more and more noticeable for several genera-
tions. The peculiar position which the Jews occupied in TkeJeu-si
England has been already described^; but as time went on,

1 Compare the Records of the Convention of Royal Burghs 1295—1597,
Preface.

'^ See aboTe, p. 200.

286

KEPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 it was impossible that that position should be maintained.

~ ■ They had no place in the social system, but were the
personal chattels of the king ; and as society was reorganised,
and personal connection with the monarch ceased to be the
sole bond which held the different parts together, it became
necessary that the Jews should no longer occupy an exceptional
position, but should take their place as ordinary citizens,
submitting to the same laws and adopting the same usages
as their neighbours. There were two well-marked character-
istics which rendered it impossible for them to be combined
with Englishmen on the same footing; they had a different
ethical code — Talmudic, and not Christian — in regard to
lawful trading, and they had at all events no readiness to
betake themselves to actual labour. The frequency of the
outrageous charges brought against them shows how easily
popular excitement was inflamed. It is by no means prob-
able, however, that the attitude of the Jews was conciliatory^;
they were said to be more outspoken in their contempt of
Christianity as they grew in wealth ; and the story of their
attacking a religious procession at Oxford serves at all events
to illustrate the fact that embittered feeling existed*" and
rendered it impossible for the Jews to live under the protec-
tion of the ordinary law of the land.

When there was so much incompatibility of temperament
we may surmise that but little was needed to determine
Edward to decree their banishment ; it is at least interesting
to remember that he was following the example of the great
baron' from whom he had learned the elements of the
military art as well as the importance of representative

demanded government. Parliament had urged this expulsion nine
years before it actually took place ; the state of the cun-ency,
which engaged Edward's attention at a later time*, may have
served as an excuse, and it is possible that some pressure was

A.D. 1215. exercised by ecclesiastics. The Lateran Council had taken

their

expidsioji

1 Tovey, Angl. Jtul. 208. 2 Ibid. 168.

' Simon de Montfort expelled the Jews from Leicester, and gave a charter
promising that they should never return. James Thompson, History of LeicesUr,
p. 72. Compare also Newcastle, Brand, n. 140.

* See above, p. 283. The reiterated accusation against the Jews for cUppmg
the coinage had led to a terrible massacre of them in 1279.

CONSOLIDATION. 287

action in the matter^; and a synod at Exeter in 1287 a.d. 1272

1377

bad followed suit with ordinances as to dress and behaviour
which tied them down more strictly than before^ But
whatever the precise occasion may have been, there was a
political necessity that persons, who either could not or would
not conform to the usages of their neighbours and make
a living by ordinary callings', should remove from the society
which king Edward was reconstituting.

It is notorious that king Edward did everything in his and
power to alleviate the misery which their banishment must *"'^"'^''
cause them^ The strongest inducement was put on English-
men to pay their debts to the Jews before they departed,
as those who did not pay a moiety to the Jews remained in
debt to the Crown for the full amount due, till it was
remitted by Edward III.' The prior of Bridlington had
not repaid any portion of the £300 borrowed by him
from Bonamy, a Jew of York, at the time of the expulsion ;
the Archbishop of York had connived with the prior at
concealing the fact that this money was owing to the king,
and was, as a consequence, impeached and condemned to
pay a heavy penalty for his share in the transaction". At
the time of the actual banishment special injunctions were a.i>. 1200.
given to the warden of the Cinque Ports as to the treatment'
of the Jews, and condign punishment was inflicted on the
malefactors who chose to disregard the royal wishes in this
matter. The total numbers expelled are variously stated at
fifteen or sixteen thousand ; but there is some evidence to i^oiv far
show that a considerable section remained behind, and ^^^^
Jewish tradition speaks of 1358 as a year of final expulsion*.
From a petition in the Good Parliament it appears that even
after that date some of them continued to carry on business in
the character of Lombard merchants^. Some few may have
been allowed to return ; a Jewish physician named Elias Sabot
came from Bologna and was allowed to settle and practise in ^.u 1110.

1 Mansi, Concilia, xxii. 1055. 2 Tovey, Anfjl. Jud. 309.

* Statutes of Jewry. (Record Edition, i. p. 221.) * Abrahams, op. cit. 70.

5 1 Ed. in. St. u. c. 3.

« Rot. Pari. I. 99 (13), 120 a. 7 Tovey, op. cit. 241.

8 L. Wolf in Anglo-Jewish Exhibition Papers, p. 57.

9 Mot. Pari. II. 332 (58).

merchants

288 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION,

A.D. 1272 any part of the realm ^. The continued maintenance of a
Domus Conversorum till the seventeenth century suggests
that there were at any rate persons of Jewish descent in the
country, from whom a supply of residents was maintained \
There is more reason to believe that the number of Jews
living in England was considerably increased by migration
from Spain at the time when Ferdinand and Isabella expelled

A.D. 1492. them thence ; it is certain that they did not scruple to endeav-
our to recover their debts in English courts of law^,and they
are said to have built a synagogue for themselves in London.

Italian 94. When the Jews were thus expelled the feeling

against other aliens asserted itself more vigorously than before.
Englishmen were coming to be able to undertake some of the
business that had been carried on by the Jewish financiers ;
for it appears that there were several native-born subjects, or
naturalised aliens^ who had amassed money". There must
have been opportunities of doing so, as there was a steady
flow of bullion into England during the reign of Edward I.
and very large amounts of silver were coined at the Mint*;
and someone must have profited by the partial remission of the
debts due to the Jews, and by the confiscation of the hoards
of the Templars. Those who were enriched by these violent
changes had good openings for using their money remu-
neratively. They could undertake all sorts of business
for the king, such as farming the revenue, or the customs;
this was one source of the vast wealth of William de la
Pole^ They might also obtain subsidiary offices in con-
nection with the customs, such as that of weighing the

1 Eymer, Fcedera (orig.), vrn. 667. On the complaints against Gatmse in the
time of Elizabeth see I. Abrahams, J. Gaunse in Trans, of Jeioish Hist. Soc. iv.

2 Wolf in Anglo-Jeioish Exhibition Papers, 54. The baptism of a Jew named
William Piers in 1391 is mentioned by Stow, Annales, 492.

8 Wolf, op. cit. 60. Calendar of State Papers (Spanish), i. No. 89.

* It is not easy to distinguish the Lombard aUen from the Lombard citizen.
Bokerel, Mayor in 1223, whose name survives in Bucklersbm-y, is said to have
been one of a Pisan family of Boccherelli by Kingdon, Archives, xi. Stow notes
that the Vintner's Company included "as weU Englishmen as strangers bom
beyond the Sea," but subjects to the king of England. Strype, Stow i. bk. m. p. 2.

6 Compare the paper by Miss A. Law on The nouveaux riches of the XIV
century in Boyal Historical Society's Transactions, 1895.

6 Messrs Crump and Hughes, op. cit. p. 65.

' He farmed the tax on wool in 1339 {Rot. Pari. n. 114 No. 22, 23) and com-
plaint was made of his extortionate conduct in this affair.

CONSOLIDATION. 289

wool*, or weighing goods by aver-du-pois^ ; they might collect a.d. 1272
and sell the wool which was voted for the royal necessities' ;
or they might make direct advances to the crown. English-
men who had amassed capital were beginning to compete
with the Lombards in all these branches of financial busi-
ness*, and parliament sided strongly with the natives and
complained bitterly of the misdeeds of the great Italian
banking companies. John Van and his Lombard partners, a.d. 1309.
who farmed the business of Exchange, enjoyed ample privi-
leges*; it was said that they neglected their duties and
rendered no accounts^ Edward III. had frequent recourse
to Italians^ but he was also under considerable obligations to
native merchants ; in 1339 he appears to have driven a very
hard bargain with the Bardi in connection with a contract
for wooi^; while he also postponed the repayment of money
he had received^ This 'stop of the exchequer' must have
acted almost as effectively as the formal expulsion, which had
been long before proposed ", in driving away the Italians from
England. By the pressure put on them the resources of the Ruin of
Bardi were exhausted, and their ruin in 1345 served to shake 1345.*
the prosperity of Florence to its very foundations" ; from that
time onwards, the public financial business, which the Lom-
bards had inherited from the Jews, passed almost entirely

1 The importance of this oflBce is illustrated by a complaint at Southampton.
Rot. Pari. II. 38, No. 39, 40. See also Hall, Customs, 11. 51.

2 On the privileges of the Pepperers as the King's Weighers compare Kingdon,
Grocers' Archives, p. xiii. See belo-sv, p. 323.

8 Rot. Pari. n. 108, No. 10, 120, No. 19 &c.

* The papal business appears to have remained in the hands of Italian merchants
as depositaries (Gottlob, Aus der Camera, 109), but English Ecclesiastics were
sometimes nominated as collectors (Eymer, Fcedera, 1. ii. 705, 3 Feb. 1289), also
in 1377. Bot. Pari. 11. 373, No. Ixi.

* Kymer, Fcedera, 11. i. 68. John Van and his companions are here described
as citizens, in the Eolls of Parliament they seem to be spoken of as Lombards.

6 Rot. Pari. I. 293, No. 23. "> Bond in Archceologia, xxvm. p. 256.

8 Rot. Pari. u. 121, No. 26. See also 143, No. 58.

9 In 1339. The Bardi and Peruzzi were excepted. Eymer, Fcedera, n. ii. 1080.

10 By Bishop Eoger of London in 1235. Matthew Paris, Chronica Majora,
in. 331.

11 Peruzzi, Storia dei hanchieri, 452, 459. Compare also the interesting appeal
in 1358, made by the authorities of Florence for royal bounty to save the childrcu
of King Edwai-d's ruined creditors from utter destitution. Ellis, Original Letters,
Series m. Vol. i. p. 42.

C. H. 19

290 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 into English hands. The ruin and partial withdrawal of the
Italians* was not wholly a matter of congratulation, for they
left many debtors behind — probably depositors whose money
had been swept away in the crash '^; their place was partly
taken for a time by a group of Flemish bankers', who were
before long the victims of Wat Tyler s rebellion ; but on the
whole it may be said that during the reigns of the Edwards
this large department of profitable business passed out of the
hands of Jews or Lombards into those of native Englishmen.
It is much less easy to describe the precise attitude which
was taken, either by the Crown or by the townsmen, towards
the merchants of Gascony and Flanders. Edward was in-
clined to favour the latter as his allies ; the former were his
Flemings subjects, and their country afforded the principal basis for
Gascons bis Operations in France. The advantage which accrued from
Tot^adtlt *^® visits of these foreign merchants, who imported wine like
tht Crown ^jjg Gascons, or exported wool, had been generally recog-
nised. The clauses of Magna Carta* had granted freedom to
foreign merchants ; and the towns, in their municipal regu-
lations as well as by their representatives at Acton Burnel,
had shown themselves anxious to encourage foreigners to
come here with their wares®. As a matter of fact unless aliens
brought them, there was little chance of the country being
supplied with articles of foreign produce at ail ; the presence
of merchants from abroad also facilitated the sale of English
wool in some ways, and parliament was sometimes inclined to
rely exclusively on aliens for the transaction of this necessary
business®. They were indeed forced to pay customs at a
AJB. 1369. higher rate than denizens ; but this does not appear to have
told seriously in regard to the exportation of any article but

1 Florentine Houses bad factors at Lincoln in 1376. Eot. Pari. n. 350, No. 160.
Compare also above, p. 289, n. 4.

2 " A large part of tbe money tbey bad lent was not tbeir own capital, but bad
been borrowed by tbem or received on trust from fellow-citizens and strangers."
Villani quoted by Bond in Archceologia, xxvm. 259. See also Rot. Pari. n. 240,
No. 31.

» Stubbs II. 532. Varenbergh, Relations, 423. Tbe Commons in 1381 bebeaded
as Flemings aU those whose pronunciation of bread and cheese indicated that they
were of foreign extraction. (Stow, Annales, 458.) Some of the Flemings were
offensive, as pursuing disreputable callings [lb. 452).

* §§ 41, 42. « See for Ipswich, Black Booh of Admiralty, a. 115.

6 43 Ed. m. c. 1. See below, p. 315.

CONSOLIDATION. 291

raw wool; and so far as the importation of wine was concerned a.d. 1272

1377

they were hardly at any disadvantage at all. During the
reign of Edward II. the expedient was temporarily tried of
removing the chief burdens which they bore in addition to
those charged to denizens ; this step seems really to have
been due to a city intrigue^, and when this failed the new a.d. isio.
customs were reimposed. On the whole it appears that, in
the early part of the fourteenth century, the rising class of
English merchants were engaged in shipping to a considerable
extent ; we read complaints of the difficulties to which their
trade was exposed in Norway^, in France*, in Holland* and
indeed 'in all realms'.' But, though it is very difficult to
follow the course of events, the English shipowners appear
to have been at a disadvantage during a great part of the
reign of Edward III., and they were almost driven from
the field*'. It was not till the reign of Richard II. that they
established their footing in foreign trade ; his Navigation
Act struck a blow at the Gascon merchants, and the export
trade of the country was coming to be organised in the hands
oi the Merchant Adventurers as well as the Staplers.

In the reign of Edward III. then it seems that English
merchants were practically excluded from foreign trade,
and the struggle against aliens was chiefly waged about
the internal trade of the country. There was a deep-
seated feeling of jealousy against such aliens as settled but not to
here and interfered with Englishmen who were dealing in retail
among each other ; they were not wanted for retail trade, °rade^"^'^
and were prevented from following it. The London citizens
had formulated their own customs for alien merchants, but
they were not able to enforce them, and they complained
to Edward I. that the citizens, who bore the common a.d. 1290.
burdens of the town, were impoverished by the compe-
tition of foreigners, whose stay was unlimited and who

1 The duties had been imposed by charter in 1303, and the Londoners argued
that when the extra customs were abolished the privileges were also at an end.
Delpit, Collection, p. 42 foL Schanz, Handelspol. 1. 393. See above, p. 277, n. 4.

2 Eymer, n. 2S8, 400. a Hjij. „, 132^ 248.

* Ibid. II. 80.

* The phrase occurs in a petition to Clement VI. iu 1350. Riley, Mem. 252.

6 A tradition as to the insignificance of English shipping, even in the Hfteenth
century, remained in the Low Countries. De Witt, Interest of Holland, 278.

19—2

292

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272
—1377.

Police

rexponsi-

bihty.

A.D. 1327.

Hosts.

Statutes
m their
favour,

A.D. 1335,

A D. 1337,

carried on business that had formerly been done by natives^.
The to\vnsmen wished to keep the retail trade in their own
hands, as well as the business of catering for the alien mer-
chants ; they disliked any interference with callings that were
already established, and they had grave suspicions against the
aliens of forming rings and enhancing prices^ if they sold
to one another. But perhaps the chief antagonism of the
native to the alien merchant arose from the police system
of the City, which had come in the fourteenth century to
be closely connected with the gild organisation ; no one
could obtain the freedom of the City unless men of the same
mistery were ready to undertake for him. The alien who
continued residing in London was neither under authorita-
tive control nor was he liable for his fair share of taxation.
Hence in his first charter Edward III. straitly commanded
"all merchant strangers coming to England to sell their wares
and merchandises within forty days after their coming thither,
and to continue and board with the free hosts of the City
(and other cities and towns in England) without any house-
holds or societies by them to be keptl" The host was
responsible for the behaviour of his guests, and for seeing
that they did not carry English coin out of the realm or
evade commercial regulations^; on the other hand there is
occasional evidence that the free hosts abused their monopoly,
and charged exorbitantly for poor accommodation®.

In the ninth year of this reign, however, parliament
passed a statute conferring very large privileges on aliens :
it enacted that "all merchant strangers and English-born
and every of them, of what estate or condition soever . . .
might without interruption freely sell the same victuals or
wares to whom they would, as well to foreigners as English-
born," and this in despite of any local charters to the
contrary®. The citizens of London, however, claimed the
privileges conferred on them in the recently confirmed Great

1 The king would not interfere. Rex intendit quod mercatores extranei sunt
ydonei et utiles maguatibus et non habet consilium eos expellendi. Hot. Farl. l
65 (112).

2 Rot. Pari. n. 332 (59). 8 Noorthouck, History of London, p. 788.
* 9 Ed. III. St. ii. c. 11 ; also Cunningham, Alien Immigrants, 92.

'" Jusseraud, English Wayfanng Life, 1'2,6 i. eg Ed. III. i. st. i.

CONSOLIDATION. 293

Charter ; and Edward, by a charter in the eleventh year of a.d. 1272
his reign, ordained that nothing should be done by pretext ~ .' ''
of the late statute which infringed the ancient privileges of ^^omion

... PI T , charters.

the City . The privileges conferred on aliens were somewhat
enlarged by another statute, which asserts the right of
foreigners to sell to foreigners, all over the kingdom, and
sets aside all charters that would hinder them. Possibly as a
result of this legislation, however, we find renewed complaints
of encroachments towards the end of Edward's reign,
and notably in the Good Parliaments The answer which a.d. 1376.
was given to the petition was embodied with more precision
in a final charter granted by Edward III. to the City of
London; it ordains that no stranger "shall from hence-
forth sell any wares in the same city or the suburbs thereof
by retail, nor be any broker in the said city or suburbs
thereof, any statute or ordinance made to the contrary
notwithstanding," with the exception that the privileges of
the merchants of the Hanse League were carefully preserved^

The struggle between denizens and aliens has many
aspects; not only did it involve the question of shipping,
and give rise to mutual recrimination about extortionate
prices, but it was to some extent a rivalry between old and
new centres of trade. Up till the time of Edward III. the
greater part of the wholesale trade of the country had been
done at fairs which aliens were free to frequent*. The policy
of the fourteenth century^ was to draw the trade into staple
towns and not to be satisfied with the occasional opportunities
of trade which the fairs afforded.

95. The end of the thirteenth and beginning of the Zenith of
fourteenth century may be taken as the culminating 'point prosperity.
of a long period of steady and solid progress. The towns,

1 Noorthouck, p. 790.

2 Eot. Pari. u. 332 (59), 347 (143). In these petitions the dearness of imported
goods is referred to, but apparently as due to the decay of English shipping, or to
combinations among aliens.

3 Noorthouck, p. 792. Schanz, Handelspolitik, i. 175.
* On the decay of fairs, see below, p. 451.

^ Signs of the same tendency are found in Norway, where Bergen was a staple
for the Iceland trade (j). 418), and in France, where Philip tried to induce the
English to frequent the staple at S. Omer instead of the fair at Lille in 1314.
Eymer, n. i. 248.

294

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272

—1377.

Good

(/overn-

nient.

Arts.

Building.

which were the centres of commercial life, were prospering
greatly, and many of them had secured full powers of self-
government; their vigorous young life was free to shape
itself in the forms and institutions that seemed most favour-
able under the circumstances of the time. So much attention
had been given to the good goveroment of the country
generally, that intercommunication was more easy and com-
merce more secure ; while it had not yet advanced so far as tO'
render the gilds merchant and kindred organisations in each
town needless, and therefore restrictive, institutions. Muni-
cipal regulations were not sensibly weakened, because they
were reinforced and their scope extended by parliamentary
authority. So far both these powers were working har-
moniously on the whole, and there were admirable social
facilities for commercial and industrial progress.

We have ample evidence that this progress was real, and
was generally diffused throughout the country. All sorts of
arts were cultivated with extraordinary success in the time
of Edward I. The monuments of the twelfth century seem
to be more substantial, though their apparent massiveness
has sometimes concealed grave structural defects, but there
is a grace and refinement about the choir of Lincoln and the
nave of York to which the earlier buildings can make no
claim. Nor was architecture the only art these men culti-
vated with success ; the west front of Wells shows us their
sculpture ; the seven sisters at York are specimens of their
glass painting ; their metal work was excellent and their
bell foundries unrivalled^ and their embroidery was cele-
brated all over Europe.

There is hardly any token of general prosperity on which
we may rely with more confidence than the fact that many
people are able and willing to expend money in building ;
and the buildings of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
were not merely ecclesiastical. The great fortresses which
Edward I. erected in Wales are interesting illustrations of
the military engineering of the day, and show what pains the
king took to render the principality secure and orderly.
The improved system of estate management and account^

1 Denton, Fifteenth Century, 54.

CONSOLIDATION, 295

which had come into vogue under Henry III., appears a.d. 1272
to have borne fruit in many rural districts, for manorial ~
halls were erected on the domains^, and massive stone
barns* began to supersede the wooden erections, of which a
few examples still survive'. The reconstruction of Loudon in
masonry was going on, and free towns were being laid out on
the most approved principles. In town and country alike
building was proceeding apace, and better provision was
being made for all sorts of different purposes — ecclesiastical
or military, rural or urban. Especially we find that attention
was directed to the improvement of communications be-
tween different parts of the country, and bridges* were
repaired or constructed in many places ; this is in itself an
indication of commercial activity.

96. The great change, which was completed during this Fiscal
period, in the mode of raising revenue is another proof oi'^^'f_^'
the steady increase of wealth. The experiment of levying
taxes on moveables as well as on real property had been first
made by Henry II., and this had come to be one of the main a.d. 1188.
sources of revenue, when the tenth and the fifteenth were Tenth and
definitely fixed in 1334. There were, however, difficulties
about the mode of assessment, which was sometimes arbitrary
and extortionate ; special complaints had been made as to
the manner in which the tax was levied in 1832*. When a
similar grant was made in 1334, it was provided that the royal
commissioners were to treat with men of the townships and
tenants of ancient domain, as well as with the towns and
burghs, and to agree on a composition which should fairly
represent the proportion which that town or village should

1 The twelfth century manor house consisted of a large hall in which the lord
and his retainers dined, and lived and slept ; the chapel, kitchen and other rooms
were separate buildings within the court yard {curia) connected with the hall by
covered passages (aleice) of wood (Turner, Domestic Architecture, i. 59). Towards
the end of the century it became common to attach a building to the haU, the
chamber on the first floor of which (solar) was entered by a staircase from the
hall ; the space underneath was used as a cellar. There are also several examples
of houses which seem to have had no haU but consisted of a lofty cellar on the
level of the ground, and a solar above it (Turner, i. 5, 6).

2 There are good examples at Bredon in Worcestershire and Bradford in Wilts.

* As at Wigmore Abbey in Herefordshire.

* Jusserand, English Wayfaring Life, 45.
6 Eot. Pari. n. 418, No. 105.

296

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

PrfSfure
of taxa-
tiou.

A.D. 1272 be called upon to pay^. The payment, which was agreed
~ ' ' upon by the representatives of the kinc^ and of each locality
respectively, was henceforth regarded as the sum which ought
to be contributed by that place when parliament granted
a fifteenth and a tenth, and no subsequent valuations and
reassessments were required. The total sum obtained at
this time was nearly £39,000, and from that time onwards a
fifteenth and a tenth became a mere 'fiscal expression^' for a
grant of about £39,000. Englishmen were always endeavour-
ing to render their liabilities definite and import an element
of 'certainty' into the taxation they had to pay; the Tudor
subsidies and parliamentary assessments, as well as the land
tax, were all converted from flexible into fixed methods of
raising revenue ^ From an economic standpoint the change
was most advantageous; the taxes levied on real property
from time to time were as objectionable as taxes on capital
would be in the present day : they swept away hoards which
might have been expended on improved buildings, or roads
or bridges, or which at any rate would enable the farmer to
live through a famine year ; they drew directly on possible
sources of future wealth. But in levying taxes on moveables
it was possible to make exemptions in regard to the require-
ments of public service, the necessaries of life and the prime
essentials of future production, though these exemptions
were dictated by equitable rather than by economic con-
siderations. The stock of the farm was taxed, but the food
and provender in the possession of the villain was exempted
in 1225*. In some of the later assessments there was a
definite limit, and those whose total wealth fell short of ten
shillings^ were exempted altogether, as people Avith incomes
of less than £1G0 are excused from the payment of income-
tax in the present day. Once again we may see that the
principles which were implied in early practice, though not
perhaps explicitly put forward, have been stated and defended
by modern writers and financiers as economically sound.
Customs. The practice of raising a large revenue from exported

1 Hot. Pari. u. 447, No. 104.

8 Ibid. I. 88.

6 Eot. Pari. n. 447, No. 103.

2 Dowell, Taxation, i. 87.
* See above, p. 152.

CONSOLIDATION. 297

wool was also apparently very defensible. When the foreign A.D. 1273
demand for English wool was large and growing, the expense ~ ^^"
of the payment would fall on the foreign consumer ; but even
if the duty in any way reduced the price which foreigners
were willing to pay for wool and the imports were not so
large as when trade was free, the pressure which fell on the
English consumer of foreign produce would be comparatively
unimportant, for England provided herself with all the main
requisites of production ^1 and a slightly increased price of
wine, fine cloth and silk would not be a serious injury to the
industry of the realm.

97. At the same time the inventories taken for purposes Comforts
of assessment show clearly that, if there had been an increased "e,fjg^^.,
accumulation of wealth, the ordinary householder had but o/^*/*-
a small command over the comforts and conveniences of life.
A dwelling with an earthen floor, with no carpet, and in
which there was hardly any furniture, where meat was served
on spits for want of earthenware plates and there was no
glass for drinkiog out of, would seem to imply the lowest
depths of squalid poverty; but royal palaces were little
better provided till after the time of John^, and well-to-do
burgesses lived in some such fashion at the end of the
thirteenth century. As a matter of iact, life in the middle
ages was far more social than it is now ; the churches and
the halls were the places they frequented ; occasional pageants
provided them with instruction and amusement; there was
little privacy, and hardly any attuntion was given to private
comfort. This is one of the chief difficulties which confront impossi-
us if we try to compare the condition of the people in ^^olmafisiyti
different ages ; if we merely consider what he could get '**^''
to eat, the media3val labourer was often better off than the day.
unskilled labourer of the present day ; but he seems to have
been worse housed and worse clad. After all, in regard to all
such comparisons we must remember that the life is more
than meat ; it is probable that a mediaeval workman who
awoke in the present generation would greatly miss the
social gatherings in which he had taken part, and that if a
modern artisan .could be transplanted into the thirteenth

1 Fish was perhaj.js aa exception. See p. 299 below. '' Turner, i. 97 — 104.

298 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D._1272 century he would find little to compensate him for the loss of

his tea, his newspaper and his pipe.
Mediceval For our purpose it is more important to notice that the

^^'""*' steady progress of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries was
checked, suddenly checked in the fourteenth ; the strain of the hun-
dred years' war would have been exhausting in any case, but
the nation had to bear it at a time when the Black Death had
swept off half the population and the whole social structure
was disorganised. We need not wonder that the long reign
of Edward III. closed amid signs of general discontent and
misery, and that the fifteenth century was, with some
important exceptions, a time of decay and ruin both in rural
and urban districts. A period of recovery came at last, but
not till the old social conditions had greatly changed, and the
revived industrial life was organised in institutions differing
in many respects from those which were working so success-
fully in the time of Edward I.

III. Beginnings of Commercial Policy.

98. We have already seen reasons for believing that

Edward III.'s foreign policy was affected, if not dictated, by

commercial considerations ; and it is necessary that we should

now enquire into the nature of the objects which he had in

The means view. The Dialogus assumes that prosperity is a good things

^material but Edward III.'s legislation implies definite schemes as to

prospenty. ^jjg hest way of obtaining wealth. There was one distinct

practical object which was pursued throughout his reign,

and there were others which were less prominently brought

forward. He endeavoured (a) to foster foreign commerce,

(6) to foster industries, and (c) to check extravagance by

sumptuary legislation.

Foreign a. There were two reasons why Edward III. might be

^^tered. S^^ *^ ^®® *^® development of foreign commerce. It

brought him in a revenue by means of the customs he

charged, as has been obvious in previous reigns, when so

1 See above, p. 231.

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 299

much attention was given to the collection of revenue^ and a.d. 1272

<-' 1377

the organisation of a customs departments The export trade
in wool had so much increased, that the customs from this
one article afforded a very large revenue; this was one of
the main supports on which Edward relied for the mainten-
ance of his armies in the field. But while there was every
reason to attend to this department of finance, he and his
subjects also valued foreign commerce on the grounds which
led ^Ifric's merchant to magnify his office' ; it afforded
the means of supplying all sorts of goods, which were
not produced in England, plentifully, and therefore at a
cheap rate. To make imports cheap to the Enaflish con- Cheapness
sumer, and to obtain a good sale for English exports, were consumer.
the implied principles of Edwardian statesmanship ; and they
come out most clearly in the regulations made for the wine
and wool trades respectively.

The attempt to give effect to this policy would earn the
approval of all traders who were connected with the export
of wool, but it involved a conflict with certain vested interests a.d. 1335.
and especially with the Fishmongers, who were powenul
representatives of the victualling trades. The nature of the
grievances alleged against them comes out most clearly in the
preamble of the statute which confers full freedom of traffic on
their alien rivals. " Great duress and grievous damage have
been done to the King and his people, by some people of
cities, boroughs, ports of the sea and other places of the said
realm which in long time past have not suffered nor yet will
suffer merchant strangers, nor other which do carry and
bring in by sea or land, wines, aver-du-pois, and other
livings and victuals, with divers other things to be sold,
necessary and profitable for the King, his prelates, earls,
barons and other noblemen, and the commons of this realm,
to sell or deliver such wines, livings, or victuals, or other
things to any other than themselves of the cities, boroughs,
ports of the sea, or other places where such wines, livings
or victuals, and other things to be sold shall be brought or
carried, by reason whereof such stuff aforesaid is sold to the
King and his people, in the hands of the said citizens,
1 See above, p. 156. a See above, p. 278. » See above, p. 132.

300 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 burgesses and other people, denizens, more dear than they

~^^''' should be, if such merchant strangers which bring such
things into the realm might freely sell them to whom they
would^" Aliens appear to have taken great advantage of

A.D. 1343. the freedom thus accorded, for in the seventeenth year of
Edward III. it was found necessary to subject them to direct
taxation, according to the length of their sojourn, when it
exceeded forty days'^

English merchants retorted by bringing the same accusa-
tion against their rivals, for we read how the burgesses

A.D. 1376. complained at a later date that the combinations of merchant
strangers were to blame for greatly enhancing the price of
all sorts of foreign merchandise*. The desirability of provid-
ing the consumer with foreign goods on moderate terms, is
generally assumed as a primary end to be kept in mind.

Protection These were the objects which Edward appears to have

merchants, kept before him in trying to encourage foreign trade ;
among the means he adopted we may notice the increased
facilities which were given to travelling merchants*. A

A.D. 1330. statutory limitation was imposed as to the fare which might
be charged between Dover and Calais %• it was fixed at
sixpence for a man on foot and two shillings for a man with
a horse. An attempt was also made not only to protect
their pockets, but their persons on the journey*. Edward I.
had endeavoured to provide safe travelling for those within
the realm, but Edward III. made a beginning of affording

Perils of protection on the seas. The dangers of travelling by sea
in those days were enormous ; apart altogether from the
dangers from perils of the deep, the whole Channel was
infested with pirates. The mouth of the Rhine, Calais and

1 9 Ed. m. St. I., preamble. See also c 1.

2 Rot. Pari. u. 137 (13). » Ibid. n. 332 (59).

■* There were organised associations of ' hackiiey-men ' in the fourteenth
century who let out horses to hii-e, and sometimes had them stolen. A patent of
19 E. n. granted additional privileges to those who worked the Dover Road:
"AmpUores libertates coucessie homuubus vocatis Hackneymen inter London et
Dovorem pro conductione equorum suorum ac precium cujuslibet itineris ac inter
ctetera quod coiiductio restituatur si equus in itinere deficiatur." Calend. Rot.
Pat. 230 b. No. 8. See also Turner, Domestic Architecture, 119.

s 4 Ed. ni. c. 8.

« Providing shelter for wayfarers and pilgrims was a recognised form of
medieval beneficence, Clay, op. cit. 1 — 14.

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 301

S. Malo are mentioned at different times as being their A.D. 1272
chief haunts, and a very powerful association of pirates was ~ '^' '
allowed to ravage the North Sea and the Baltic. The
Hanse League had availed themselves of the dangerous aid
of these freebooters during their struggle with the king of
Denmark which was closed by the treaty of Stralsimd ; a.d. 1370.
but they were not immediately able to put down the evil
they had allowed to spread, though the great organisation
of pirates known as the 'Victual Brothers^' was broken
up after the great naval defeat off Heligoland in 1402.
They had burnt Bergen in 1392, and under their leaders,
Stortebeker and Michelson, had specially devoted themselves
to preying on merchants who frequented English ports^. Yet
Englishmen were quite as uuscrupulous in regard to depre-
dations, for the ordinary shipmen were hardly above having
recourse to amateur piracy when occasion served*. The
portrait which Chaucer* drew, gives us the best picture of
the conditions under which trading was then carried on^

1 Zimmern, Hansa Towns, 126,

2 A pitiful complaint in 1383, from the men of Scarborough, shows us the nature
of the perUs to which they were exposed ; as their town lying open to the sea was
day after day assailed by Scots, Frenchmen and Flemings in their ships, and
though they had provided a barge and balinger for their own protection, they
were unable to provide an effective defence without aid in manning these shijjs.
Rot. Pari. III. 162 (46).

3 Compare the complaint as to the conduct of the men of the Cinque Ports in
1264, Annales Monastici, iv. 157.

* Canterbury Tales, Prologue. The Shipman.

fi The Records of the Scotch Burgh Convention are full of interesting illustra-
tions of these points, two centuries later.

In regard to Piracy, these burghs provided at their own expeiise:

Inlykemaner, that it be proponit to my Loird Regentis Grace and Loirdis
foirsaidis, in cais the Quenis Majestie of Inglaad will gi*ant and consent that sum
of her schippis sail remane upovn her sea coistis and watteris for pm-ging of the
saymn of pyi-atis, and vtheris wicked persouis. That inlykwayis it may be grantit
be his Grace and Lou-dis foirsaidis to the merchantis of this realm, upon their
commoun chargis to set furth ane ship with ane bark for purging of our Souerania
watteris of the saidis pyrattis and wicked personis, and for convoying the shippis
of this realme langis the cost of Ingland, and vtheris pairtis needfull, from tha
danger of innemeis, dmiug sic tyme as we sail fynd gude ; and incais the samyn be
grantit, the commisaris of the burrowis foirsaidis gevis thair commissiovn and full
powar to the provestis, baillies, and counsaiUis of Edinburgh, Doudye, Abirdene
and Stervelyng for the said schip and bark to provyde men, meit, mvnition and
aU vther fumvsingis necessaer thairto, durhig quhat time they sail think gude,
(1574), I. 27.

At one time the Isle of Wight was practically in the possession of a certain

302 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 Intermunicipal arranorements may have sufficed in order to

—1377 IT o »/

recover debts, and to prosecute civil suits \ but the towns
were not able to protect burgesses from violence in distant
places, or to obtain redress from sailors who belonged to
no recognised centre of trade. Under these circumstances,

A.D. 1313. appeal was made to the king; as when some Lynn sailors'^
were imprisoned by Haco, king of Norway. The simplest

Beprisala. means of giving some sort of redress was to allow the
aggrieved party to seize the goods, in England or on the seas,
of men who hailed from the same region, in the hope that
the penalty would fall on the right shoulders at last. Thus
when Bordeaux merchants had their wines taken from them

A.D. 1320. by Flemish pirates they procured letters of reprisal against
Flemish merchants in England ^ The injurious effect on the
honest trader of this granting of letters of reprisal can hardly
be exaggerated, as the prospect of recovering the loss from a
fellow-subject must have been small ; but it must have been
even more hopeless for a trader to have his goods taken on
account of a debt incurred by the king to some foreigner:

Joliu of Newport, who added piracy to bis other crimes: "for he and hus hath do
BO meny gret offencis in the See aboute the Bond, in morthering the kingis people
and hus frendis, castyng them owte of bar vessellis into the See as thei have be
' comyng to the port of Hampton, bi the which the kinggis Costumes of his port of

Suthampton hath be lost, bi his riot kept uppon the See, of v or vi M. marks in a
yere." Rot. Pari. v. 204 (2j.

1 The royal power was also called into requisition to enforce demands for
redress where the municipal authorities failed. " Testatum est per Cancellarium
et clericos CanceUarii quod quando communitas alicujus villse testatur per com-
mune sigillum eorum quod ipsi per bonam probationem et testimonium fide
dignorum inteUexerimt quod iUi cui Rex scripsit noluerunt parere mandato sno,
quod extunc Eex faciat arestare infra regnum suum bona hominum parcium
illarum ad valenciam &c. Ideo quereus (Henry Gare, merchant and citizen of
Norwich) habeat breve de CanceUario ad arestandum et salvo custodiendum &c.,
hoc tamen adjecto, quod nichU de bonis arestatis amoveatur absque Consilio
Domini Regis." Rot. Pari. i. 200 (5G).

2 Rymer, Foedera (Record), ii. i. 206, 207. See also for Grimsby merchants,
n. i. 110, 133. The Lincolnshire and Norfolk coast may have been specially
exposed to attack, but there is frequent mention of mishaps attending Lynn
vessels. A ship with lampreys and other supplies bound for Perth was attacked
by Stralsnnd pirates, who slew some of the crew and carried off the cargo to
Aberdeen, where they sold it. The Stralsund authorities treated with scorn all
letters demanding redress, and Edward II. had to interfere (1318). Delpit,
Collection, No. cvii. The arguments about a robbery at Boston Fair by some
Zeelanders (1353), the responsibility of the community, and the mode of pro-
cedure, are given by Blomefield, Norfolk, xi. 344.

8 Rot. Pari. I. 379 (74).

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 803

yet this was the fate of an unhappy merchant of York, who A.D. 1272
lost £109 worth of wool, which was taken by a Flemish noble ^ j, ^3^5
on account of a debt due from Edward III.^ That the fear
of reprisal acted as a deterrent to keep men from trading
need scarcely be pointed out. The merchants of the Abbot a.d. 1327.
of Fecamp were threatened with being held liable for some
losses incurred at the hands of their masters, and not
unnaturally absented themselves from England ^ During
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries a sort of licensed
private warfare was threatened or carried on between English
merchants and people of Norway, Prussia, Flanders, Scot-
land, Spain and Genoa. Even if it was the only way of
putting pressure on foreigners to look after the piratical ten-
dencies of some of their subjects, it must have been ruinously
costly.

The assertion of the sovereignty of the sea^ was a states- The

sovereignty
of the sea.
1 Hot. Pari. n. 353 (178).

3 To the petition of John de Barton, and his fellowes EngHsh Merchants,
shewing, That whereas they were within the jurisdiction of the Abbot of Fiscamp
with a certain ship, laden with diverse Merchandize, the said Abbot and his Men
entered the said Ship, and the goods and chattels &c. to the losse of cc. li. which
summe is found in the Chancery for which hee should make restitution ; who
obeyed not; of whom our Lord the King is certified in his Chancery: whereof hee
comanded sundry Sheriffes by his writs to levie to the value of the foresaid goods
of the Merchants of the foresaid Abbot coming into England, which Merchants
have absented themselves from England. Wherefore they pray that it would
please the Kiiij,' to grant a Writt of the said Exchequer to bee made against the
said Abbot of his goods and chattels, lands and tenements, which he hath in
England. It is answered, Let the Petition be dehvered in Chancery, and let the
petitioners come thither, &c. And if the Abbot be found a tresepasser or main-
teyner or that the goods come to his profBt, then let execution be done. Bot. Pari,
u. 439.

' The title Dominus Maris Anglicani circumquaque had been explicitly claimed
by Edward m. early in his reign, and when by the taking of Calais he had
estabUshed English power on both sides of the Channel, he coined a golden noble,
an engraving of which may be seen on the title-page, and which had on the
reverse, a ship and a sword, to serve as emblems of sovereignty at sea. The
earliest document which asserts this right is a memorandum of 12 Edward III.
The claim to the sovereignty of the sea involved many rights — those of fishing
and diving for pearls, or of property in the products of the sea ; rights of taking
toUs for the use of the sea; right of free passage for ships of war; and the right
of jurisdiction for crimes committed at sea. C. Armstrong, Sermons and declnra-
tioiiK against Popery (1530), stands almost alone in protesting against the assertion
of this sovereignty ; as he held that the increased trade, for which it gave facili-
ties, was not reaUy beneficial like that in old days; then aheus had brought
bullion to buy within the country instead of importing artificial wares to exchange,
and so competing with our craftsmen ; but his objection shows that this stroke

304

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

AD. 1272
—1377.

Fletits.

Sept. 8.

Safe
conduct.

Planting

new
industnes.

manlike endeavour to put down this public nuisance* and
establish the king's peace; and the granting of letters of
safe conduct, for which special payments were made*^, was the
first form in which the Crown gave protection to its subjects
when travelling by sea, or at any rate attempted to give it^
They also endeavoured to organise a fleet which might sail
together under convoy. Thus in 1353 Edward III. pro-
claimed that the vessels sailing for Gascony should all
assemble at Chalcheford* on the day of the nativity of the
Virgin and ^il thence together under the charge of royal
officials*. But these measures were not very effective. In
fact the losses by sea were so frequent on the part of men
who had arranged for safe conduct across the narrow seas*
that commissioners were appointed to enquire into this
grievance in 1347. They served to indicate good intentions,
and at length it came to be recognised that those who paid
customs should have such protection as a matter of right,
and not as a luxury to be specially paid for.

b. The efforts of Edward III. to improve existing and
plant new industries in the country were made at a singularly
fortunate moment. His connection by marriage with Hainault
may probably have rendered the weavers of the Low Countries

of policy benefited English merchants. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
the claim had important practical bearings in regard to the duty of repressing
piracy. Twiss, Black Book (Rolls Series), i. Ivii.

In the seventeenth century, when the success of the Dutch in prosecuting
fishing off our coasts was exciting great jealousy, and when their commerce was
rapidly developing, the nature of English rights became the subject of very
vehement discussion; Grotius attacked the claim as absurd (De Mart Libero), and
Selden replied with much learning {Mare Clausum). The historical justification,
such as it was, of the claim, is stated by Sir John Borronghs, Sovereignty of
British Seas (1C51).

1 In a somewhat similar fashion the attacks of the Saracens had led the Pisans
to exercise ' rights of commercial and naval supremacy ' on the W. coast of Italy ;
while Genoa had a similar authority in the Gulf of Lyons (1138). Mas Latrie,
Commerce de VAfrique septentrionale, p. 69.

2 On the Constitutional aspect of these extra payments see Hall, Customs, i.
167 n.

* Bot. Pari. u. 166 (11) give a curious case of failure to afford the promised
protection.

* This was probably Calshot Castle outside Southampton Water, a point
which was known as Calshord (11 H. VII. c. 5). The Gascony trade had flourished
there in the time of Edwaid I. Bot. Pari. 1. 193 (10).

5 Delpit, Collection, clxv.

e Bot Pari. u. 171, 172 (58, 59).

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE, 305

more willing to settle in England, and there is thus a close a.d. 1307
parallel between this new immigration and the earlier in- ~
vasion of artisans from the Low Countries in the eleventh FitmiHii
and twelfth centuries \ Ample evidence has been already tion of
adduced to show that the weavers' trade was carried on in
many towns in the twelfth century, for we find notices of
their gilds. During the thirteenth century the trade seems to
have been fostered with some success; attempts were made to
give the English weavers the monopoly of the home market,
and they were also beginning to export cloth to Venice
and Santiago I It seems that in this as in other matters
Edward I. followed the example of Simon de Montfort ; at any
rate he is reported to have laid the foundations of the West of
England clothing trade by introducing weavers from the con-
tinents The occasional interruptions of the shipment of wool
caused serious inconvenience in Flanders^ and Edward II.'s
prohibition of the export of teasles^ must also have been in-
jurious to foreign rivals as well as beneficial to the producers
in England. But though there had been a regular and
steady development® since the Conquest there was still room
for further progress. The statute of 1328 in regard to the
aulnager' shows that cloth was imported from abroad, while
the organisation of the staple proves that there was a large
export of the raw material of the manufacture.

One of the inducements which Edward III. offered when weavers
he tried to persuade the Flemish weavers to come and settle
in England was the promise to give them " franchises as
many and such as may sufiice them"; and in this appears
to have been included a certain hberty in the matter of
the length of the cloths they made. The first letter of pro-
tection was given in 1331 to a Fleming named John Kemp*,

1 See Appendix E.

2 Brown, State Papers, Venetian, 1265, No. 3; also Plac. Ah. 56, H. iii. p. 181.
See above, p. 192.

s Dallaway, Antiquities of Bristow, p. 79, but no authority is given.

4 Giry, S. Omer, 316, 323.

8 Riley, Memorials, 149, 150. See Appendix D.

* The course of progress is sometimes to be traced by incidental evidence, as
in the Norfolk complaints of the anlnager. Rot. Pari. ii. 28 (50). The manufacture
had apparently been planted within recent memory (n. 409, No. 175), but certainly
existed at Worstead before 1315. Eot. Pari. i. 292 (18).

7 2 Ed. lU. c. 14. 8 Eymer, Foedera (Record), ii. 823.

c. H. 20

306 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 who had come with servants and apprentices, both weavers,
,'J' fullers and dyers. He and his were to enjoy the kind's

and dyers. -^ J J b

protection, and were eucouraged to exercise their craft and
instruct those who wished to learn. Similar letters were
issued in 1336 on behalf of two men of Brabant who had
settled in York^; a general measure Avas also passed, and in

A.D. 1S37. the next year special protection was accorded to a number of
immigrants from Zeelandl

Induce- This promised protection would not of course have

induced the Flemings to migrate unless they had been
anxious to come, but there were various circumstances that
made their position in the Low Countries unattractive ; they
suffered from grievances which were partly political and
partly economic. The privileges accorded by the English
kings to the towns in their dominions must have been well
known, and Flemings could not but contrast the treatment
they had themselves received, for they had suffered severely

A.D. 1328. at the hands of Philip of France^ In 1328 he compelled
five hundred weavers and five hundred fullers to leave Ypres,
and settle as hostages in France for three years*. There
is also evidence not only of royal but of municipal oppression,
for towns like Ypres', Ghent" and Bruges' had tried to main-
tain their privileges in the trade and to suppress weaving in
the suburbs and neighbouring villages®; the struggles were
similar to those which occurred in England in the sixteenth
century' Even within the Flemish towns the lot of the
weavers was not altogether satisfactory ; and there had been

1 Kyiner, Fcedera (Record), n. 951. 2 ibid. 969.

* Longman, i. 28. Edward's own statement is startling. " Cum nonuUi homines
diversarum mesterarium de Flandrie, pro adbesione sua parti nostre, a dictis
partibus banniti, et alii partium earumdem ob affectionem quam ad nos habent ad
dictam civitatem (London) et alia loca regni nostri Anglie pro mesteris suis
exercendis et victu suo per labores querendo accesserint." Delpit, clxvui.

* Diegerick, Inventaire, n. 51, No. 430, 432, 448.

5 A. charter was granted in 13"22 forbidding weaving within three leagues of
Ypres. Ibid. i. p. 291, No. 363, and n. No. 378, 515, and 516.

6 Ibid. I. p. 245, No. 313.

7 Ibid. I. p. 289, No. 360. Bot. Pari. n. 166 (10). For further details see
Diegerick, Inventaire, n. 125 ; the quarrel at Ypres was as to the kind of cloth
woven. Ibid. n. 124, 126, 127, 134.

8 All local metiers, except one for each parish, were put do^Ti outside free
towns in 1342. Ibid. n. p. 125, No. 516, 518.

9 See below, p. 51b.

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 307

a riot in Ypres in 1281, when the weavers, fullers, shearmen A.D. 1307
and drapers complained that their interests were sacrificed
to those of the merchants of the London hanse\ and there
were similar disturbances in Bruges and Douai^ Artisans
had but little part in the government of these towns ; they
were excluded from taking part in mercantile life^ and they
were subject to many restrictive regulations for their call-
ings*. In these circumstances the weavers would be likely
to look to England as a place of refuge, and in one case we
know that a migration occurred as a direct consequence of
such disputes ; for the prime movers of a disturbance at
Poperinghe in 1344 were exiled to England, for three years^
By residence in England the weavers would at any rate
escape the dangers of a famine of wool, and would cease to
be so dependent on the merchants who imported it®. The
superior attractions of England have been painted in glowing
terms by Fuller : " The intei^course being settled between the
English and Netherlands, unsuspected emissaries were em-
ployed by our king into those countries, who wrought them-
selves into familiarity with those Dutchmen as were absolute
masters of their trade, but not masters of themselves, as
either journeymen or apprentices. These bemoaned the
slavishness of these poor servants whom their masters used
rather like heathen than Christians; yea, rather like horses
than men; early up and late in bed, and all day hard work,
and harder fare (a few herrings and mouldy cheese), and all
to enrich the churls, their masters, without any profit to
themselves. But how happy should they be if they would but
come into England, bringing their mistery with them, which
should provide their welcome in all places. Here they should
feed on beef and mutton, till nothing but their fatness should

1 Giry, S. Omer, 162. Diegerick, i. 118, No. 137, 143.

2 Giry, S. Omer, 163. 3 Warnkonig, Flandre, U. 510.

* Giry, S. Omer, 848. This and the following pages contain a most interesting
account of the different branches of the cloth trade in Flanders ; the regulations
for journeymen &c.

5 Diegerick, ii. p. 135, No. 527.

6 For grants allowing export of wool by men of Ypres in 1232 and 1259 under
Henry IH. see Diegerick, pp. 47, 88, Nos. 52, 102. Edward I. authorised the sub-
jects of Gny to travel freely in Flanders and buy wool in 1296. Ibid. p. 148, No.
176, also 188. Compare also in 1326, Ibid. ii. p. 17, No. 388.

20—2

308 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A D. 1307 stint their stomachs... Happy the yeoman's house into which

"^^^^* one of these Dutchmen did enter, bringing industry and
wealth along with them. Such Avho came in strangers within
doors soon after went out bridegrooms, and returned sons-in-
law, having married the daughters of their landlords who
first entertained them ; yea, these yeomen in whose houses
they laboured soon proceeded gentlemen, gaining great
worship to themselves, arms and worship to their estates^"

Protection. The king, moreover, conferred substantial privileges on
this industry by re-enforcing the protective measures which
had been tried in the thirteenth century'^; he prohibited
the export of English wool, so that the clothworkers might

A.D. 1337. have the material cheap ; he insisted that all Englishmen
should wear native cloth, and limited the class who might
wear fur, while he forbade the importation of foreign cloth ^;
and the workers in England had thus a complete monopoly
of the home market*. At the same time the fullest security
was promised to weavers who chose to come from any country
whatever and settle under the king's protection in England,
Wales or Ireland*. Whether all this protection was necessary
to secure a footing for the new manufacture or not*, the
interests of the consumer were not entirely forgotten, for the
aulnager and his officers were supposed to exercise a sufficient
supervision as to the character of the cloth exposed for sale.
It is, of course, possible that Edward might have accom-
plished his object more speedily if he had made his effort in
some other form ; but the fact remains that he did introduce
or improve the manufacture of the ' old drapery ' so success-
fully, that the export of raw wool began to decline and the
home manufacture came to flourish more and more^ It is

1 Church History, Book ni. § 9. 2 gee above, p. 193.

8 11 Ed. in. cc. 3, 4.

* This protective system was not completely enforced for any long time.
Compare 27 Ed. III. st. i. c. 4, where attention is given to the complaint that
foreign merchants have withdrawn themselves, and the grievances of foreigners
importing cloth are redressed.

5 Statutes, 11 Ed. III. cc. 1 — 5. The London weavers were by no means
disposed to welcome the immigrants. See below, p. 341. But there is far less
evidence of local jealousy of alien artisans than we find in the time of Edward IV.
and the Tudors.

6 MiU, Political Economy, Bk. v. 10, § 1.

1 Hall, Customs, n. 139. See below, p. 434.

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 309

interesting to observe, too, how closely many subsequent a.d. 1307
efforts to plant new industries followed on the lines which
Edward III. laid down; they secured a monopoly to the crafts-
men, while they at the same time tried to insist on a high
standard of excellence in the wares produced.

This does not appear, however, to have been the only Cloci-
attempt of the kind that was made during the reign of
Edward III. In 1.868^ three clockmakers from Delft were
encouraged to settle and ply their trade in London ; and the
craft of linenweavers was also introduced before the end of
the century ■■*.

c. The measure which has been already noticed in regard Promoting
to the wearing of furs was at any rate partially protective ;
there were, however, other sumptuary laws which had no
similar excuse, but were merely intended to check idle extra-
vagance and to promote thrift. The chroniclers are agreed
that the success of the English arms on the Continent, and
the loot which was brought from France, tended to demoralise
the nation iu this respect ; but even before this time there
was a great increase of extravagance. We can see it in the
accounts which survive of tournaments ; the subjects might
certainly plead that if they did indulge in costly display
they were only following the example the king had set them,
especially on his visit to the emperor, when apparently he
was forced to pawn his crown'' in order to get money for
himself and his retinue. In the earlier part of his reign he Food.
had legislated against luxurious living: "No man shall cause a.d. 1336.
himself to be served in his house or elsewhere at dinner,
meal, or supper, or at any other time with more than two
courses, and each mess of two sorts of victuals at the utmost,
be it of flesh or fish, with the common sorts of pottage, with-
out sauce or any other sort of victuals : and if any man chose
to have sauce for his mess he well may, provided it be not
made at great cost : and if flesh or fish are to be mixed
therein, it shall be of two sorts only at the utmost, either
fish or flesh, and shall stand instead of a mess^" A later

1 Noorthouck, History of London, p. 72.

2 Firma Burgi, 197. Harland refers to the linen manufacture as introducod
from Flanders in 1253. Collectanea, i. 78.

* Longman, Edward III. r. 170. * 10 Ed. III. st. in. De cihariis uiendis.

310

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 statute regulates the apparel of every class of the community.
"T ^' " It appoints the diet and apparel of servants, of handicrafts-
A.D. 1363. men and yeomen, as well as their Avives and children ; it
explains what apparel gentlemen under the estate of knights
may wear, what knights with lands of 200 marks may wear,
and what those with 400 marks may have ; and includes de-
tails for the guidance of merchants, citizens, burgesses, and
handicraftsmen, the several sorts of clerks and ploughmen
and men of mean estate. At the same time it insists that
clothiers shall make sufficient cloth at the various prices
permitted to different classes, so that there may be no excuse
for infiinging the law\ We might suppose at first sight that
the artisans of this period — just after the Black Death —
must have been in most prosperous circumstances if they
could attempt* to wear the fabrics that are forbidden to
them by this and subsequent sumptuary laws ; but we must
remember that expensive clothes might be procured for
occasional use at civic and ecclesiastical functions, by those
who were habitually clad in very coarse fabrics. The change
of social habits and of the purpose for which clothes were
bought may mislead us, if we merely compare prices, and
assume that the clothes were meant to be frequently worn,
and worn out by the original purchaser as they usually are
now. We should think it odd in the present day if a lady
left her clothes in her will to be made into vestments for a
church*, but this was formerly a usual bequest.

If we for a moment ignore the means by which these
ends were pursued, and look only to the objects aimed at,
we find that the commercial policy of Edward III. is in close
accord with the principles which were generally accepted in
England in the latter half of the nineteenth century. He
desired to increase the volume of trade, and he legislated
in the interest of the consumer, and in disregard of the
claims of particular producers of wool and fish. He
also endeavoured to develop a manufacture for which the

1 37 Ed. m. cc. 8—15.

2 Doubleday, True Law of Population. Eden, Hist. Poor, i. 69.
8 " Also I will that myn apparell be made in vestimentes and oraamentes of the

chnrche and to be given to Malteby, Kegworthe and Nonyugton." Dame Mand
Parr (1529) in Wills from Doctors' Commons, Camden Society, p. 17. See also
Lady Ela Shardelowe (1457), Bury Wills, p. 13.

Ends in
view.

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 311

country was specially suited, and showed himself somewhat a.D. 1307
cosmopolitan in inviting artisans from the Continent; we
could find recent parallels to these proceedings in our
colonies, if not in the mother country. He set himself
to encourage thrift among the labouring population — more,
it is true, by precept than example — and modern economists,
especially the school of Ricardo, have followed on the same
line. The necessity of procuring large supplies forced him at
times to make severe demands upon the commercial classes,
and his policy was prejudicially affected by considerations of
immediate pecuniary gain ; but it was also defective, from the
manner in which attention was concentrated on commercial
intercourse and the fostering of national activities was
neglected.

99. While Edward III. thus made some new departures Regulation
in his commercial policy, he also maintained the approved °^
modes of organisation and regulation. Edward I. had named The staple
certain ports and forced the wool trade into particular
channels so that the collection of the customs might be
facilitated ; Edward III. carried this still further by the
ordinances he made for the staple. The earlier history
of this institution is involved in much obscurity^; the
merchants claimed to date, as a separate body, from the
time of Henry III.; that there was some sort of re-
cognised association of English merchants trading to Flanders
is certain from the mention of their mayor in 1313^, organised.
when he was sent to settle some disputes that had arisen.
It is not clear, however, that the ' Staplers ' of later days can
be traced back to this early organisation^, or that there was
one definite mart which these merchants frequented at first
to the exclusion of others ; and indeed the evidence of the a.d. 1275.
Hundred Rolls renders this more than doubtfuP. A patent
was issued, however, also in the same year — the 6th year of a.d. 1313.
Edward II. — " pro certa stapula pro mercatoribus Anglise in
partibus transmarinis ordinanda ac libertate pro majore

1 The staple was a depot where goods were deposited so that tolls misht be
collected, and ihejus stapulae was the right of a town to have such goods exposed
for sale in its market. Huvelin, Droit des marchSs, 206.

" Rymer, Foedera, n. 202.

3 A New Company of Merchants at Calais is mentioned in 1363. Rot. Pari. u.
276 (11). '' See above, p. 176.

312 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D, 1307 eo^um^" It is likely that Englishmen had before this time
~^^^^' frequented divers marts in Brabant, Flanders, Antwerp ; but
this patent^ insists on the evils that had arisen from allowing
merchants, whether native or alien, to ship wool to any port
they chose, and enjoins the "mayor and communal tie of mer-
chants of the realm " to fix on one certain staple in the Low
Countries to which all wool should be taken ; the mayor and
council of the said merchants were empowered to enforce this
regulation ; subsequently the customers at the various ports
Aj). 13-20. were informed of the arrangements This plan failed to give
satisfaction, and at the beginning of his reign Edward III.
enacted that " all staples beyond the sea and on this side,
A.D. 1328. ordained by kings in time past should cease*," but he did not
maintain this perfect freedom of trade, for we find that a
staple was regularly established in Flanders in 1343.

It is indeed possible that merchants preferred to have
one assigned mart, where English produce might be regularly
supplied, so that those who wished to purchase it might
frequent that recognised place of sale. It has been argued
that in early times, when the stream of commerce was too
feeble to permeate constantly to all parts of the country, the
concentration of trade at certain staple towns, or at fairs, was
Its advantageous for industry and commerce'. To this it may be

't^vantayeii. ^^ded that a number of English merchants, who frequented
one mart, might have political and judicial privileges granted
to them such as they could not have hoped for, unless they
gave a quid pro quo by pledging themselves to frequent that
town". At the same time there certainly were merchants

1 Calend. Rot. Pat. p. 75, n. 5.

2 Delpit, Collection, xcvin. (Canterbury, May 20, 1313). Delpit dates it 1312,
but the reign began on July 7.

3 Hakluyt, Voyages, i. 142. This is not given in Eymer; it embodies the
patent quoted above, and was given from Dover on June 18, 1320 ; there was thus
a farther attempt to carry out the poUcy adopted in 1313.

* 2 Ed. m. c. 9, Statute of Northampton.

6 W. Roscher, Englische Volkswirtkscha/tslekre, 133.

* The Scotch merchants appear to have found it best to fix a staple, and not to
have an open trade. It is interesting to notice the privileges for which they
bargained, in fixing their staple at Campfer in 1586, when they made the following
demands: 1. The confirming of old privileges. 2. Providing a better passage for
the entry of ships. 3. To have a berth on the docks where their ships could lade
and unlade without disturbance from the fishermen. 4- Protection against
extortion on the part of the custom-house ofiBcers. 5. All customs to be charged

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 313

who preferred to go to other ports, as we find that they were a.d. 1307
willing to pay for royal licences^ to make shipments of wool ~ "'
to other places than Calais, when the staple was fixed there.
These economic reasons give some justification for the
policy of fixing on certain staple towns ; there was at all
events a widespread belief in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries that this was a wise step in the interests of com-
merce*, and the English kings were only acting in accordance
with the current opinion of their day. But in England the Export of
chief of the staple commodities of the realm was wool ; and ^°° '
the organisation of the institution by the Crown and by
Parliament was determined by the necessity for regulating
transactions in this particular article. In connection with
the levying of duties on export it was necessary to have (i) a
set of collectors of customs in all the ports ; there was also
need for (ii) ofiicials who were charged with the weighing of
wool ; while (iii) attempts were made from time to time to fix
the price at which it should be sold. Authoritative weighing
of wool* was not only important for the fair transaction of
business between traders, but also as a fiscal measure, when
subsidies were voted at so much per sack of wool ; the men
charged with this duty apparently found their ofiice a re-
munerative one ; and they, like the farmers of the customs, Keepers of
would have excellent opportunities, as royal factors, for age.
taking up the large quantities of wool which the Commons
granted to Edward III.* It seems probable that we must
look for the origin of the great organisation which was known
as the Merchants of the Staple'^, to these classes of officials,

according to an authoritative list. 6. Security against double exaction of the
customs. 7. Freedom from ' convoy gUt.' 8. Reasonable charges by artisans and
warehousemen. 9. So too by pilots and fishermen. 10. To have premises
assigned for their merchants to live in. 11. That their conservator should not
have soldiers billeted on him. 12. That in aU quarrels between Scotchmen and
townsmen the conservator should be heard by the Court before judgment was
given. 13. That in criminal smts among Scotchmen the trial should be conducted
by the conservator. 14. That he should have a place assigned him for use as
a prison. 15. That they should have a chapel for their own form of preaching
and prayers. Records of Convention, i. p. 57.

1 Rot. Pari. u. 323 (17), v. 149. 2 See above, p. 293, n. 5.

8 Ordinance of Staple, 27 Ed. m. st. n. c. i. and c. x. HaU, Customs, ii. 47.

* See above, p. 277.

* The new organisation of the Staple appears to have interfered with the
chartered rights of weighers of wool. Rot. Pari. n. 38, No. 39, 40.

314

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 with opportunities for private trade, rather than to the ship-
~^^^'' pers who frequented Flemish marts in the time of Edward I.
and Edward II. The Merchants of the Staple appear to have
attained to power and prominence at the very period w hen the
restrictions on Englishmen shipping wool were most severely
felt.

The policy of fixing a price for wool also seemed necessary
at a time when there was so much royal trading; it gave
an authoritative means of calculating the worth of the wool
supplied from each county for the royal needs, and the price
of Nottingham^ appears to have been fixed with reference
to these demands. But there was also a wider reason.
All through the legislation about the wool trade, we see an
anxiety to keep up the price and make continental towns
pay heavily for our product. There were few competitors in
growing wool on a large scale at that time*, as the great
arrangements for pasture farming in Spain* date from the
middle of the fourteenth century — the time of the Black
Death. Under these circumstances there was no need to
force a market by supplying wool at a cheap rate : there
was little danger that the fleeces would be left on the hands
of the growers, and their chief anxiety was to get as good a
price as possible. The high price of wool would be felt more
severely in proportion by the native weavers, who produced
coarse cloth, than by the foreigners; but it was doubtless
thought that they could recoup themselves by charging more
for their cloth, though this did not give satisfaction when
they tried it in London in 1321* But on the whole the

Maintain-
ing a high
price for
wool
exported.

1 The price of Nottingham was assessed in 1337, and was taken as the basis of
Edward's transactions in 1340 (Rot. Pari. n. 119, No. 10). In 1343 the merchants
complained that it was impossible to keep to this price (Ibid. 149), and a new rate
was set (Rymer, Faedera, u. ii. 1225, and Appendix D) which was to be a minimum
for export. But the practical difficulties caused by any assize were so great that
it was determined in the following year to allow the price to be settled freely (Hot.
Pari. 11. 149 a, and 156, No. 49).

2 Thorold Rogers, Economic Interpretation, 9.

8 On the organising of the mesta see Bonwick, Romance of the Wool Trade, 40.
There mast however have been some importation long before that time, as we
read of the manufacture of Spanish wool in England in 1262 at Andover, Gross,
Gild Merchant, ii. 4, also Madox, Firma Burgi, 199. On the quality of Spanish
wool see Armstrong's Treatise, p. 28; see below, p. 439, n. 3.

* Liber Custum. (Rolls), 416 — 425.

COMMERCLAL INTERCOURSE. 315

tendency was, not to attempt to push trade as is done in a.d. 1307
modern times, but to be content to export the surplus ~^'^'^-
commodities, which could not be used at home. From this
point of view it appeared desirable that foreigners should pay
at a high rate, even if the amount of exports declined. The a.d. 1343.
curious Assize of Wool embodied in the Appendix^ shows
what pains were taken to prevent dealings with foreigners in
this staple commodity at any low price ; there was a hope
that by enhancing the prices of the wool in England it might
be possible to draw more money into the country^.

There were grave complaints as to the conduct of the Monopoly
men of Bruges, where the staple was then held. They tried
to monopolise the supply for Flemish towns, and prohibited a.d. 1344,
the export of wool by the Italian and Spanish merchants ituiian
who frequented the mart^ ; they even put unnecessary hin- -^^«''c''a»''»-
drances in the way of Brabant dealers, and the large towns
prevented the weavers of the smaller villages from coming a.d. 1347.
to buy^ For these evils a remedy, which had been proposed*
some years before, was adopted in 1353^ and the staple was
removed to England. The reasons for this step are very
curious; the free concourse of aliens to this country was
already permitted, so that the Englishmen hoped they would
no longer sufifer from the restrictive regulations of the people
of Bruges, but would have a better market, and that the com-
petition of buyers from many lands would raise the price of
wools. This was possible ; but it is not at all clear that the
loss which arose from the perils of the deep and from piracy'
would be reduced because the staple was removed, though it
might fall on aliens and not on English subjects ; it almost
appears as if parliament did not realise that the foreigners
would recoup themselves, for undertaking these risks by
paying less for wool in England than they did in Flanders.

1 Appendix D. Fosdera, u. 1225. 20 May, 1343.

2 Rot. Pari. n. 138 (17). Compare Laws of Edgar. See above, p. 130.

3 Rot. Pari. n. 149 (5), 202 (13). ^ Ibid. u. 166 (10).
6 Ibid. n. 143 (58). s 27 Ed. III.

"> It is of course possible that the English merchants suffered from Flemish
pirates, and that Parliament believed they would not attack Flemish merchants in
the same way. On these piracies iii 1371, see Varenbergh, llelations, 407.

316 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D, 1307 At any rate they deliberately transferred the export trade
""■^^^^" to aliens by prohibiting Englishmen from engaging in it
at all, and as the customs which aliens had to pay were
much higher than those of denizens (10s. instead of 3s. 4cZ.
per sack) this would put another hindrance in the way of
trade and a very decided obstacle to any rise in the price of
wool. Their last point, that the holding of the staple in
England would give a better opportunity for preventing the
introduction of inferior money of foreign coinage, was pro-
bably sound, and there was also an advantage in having
the merchants within reach, if there was occasion to distrain
any of them for debt^
Organisa- The Ordinance of the Staple, which carried out this

»«^/e * policy, named Newcastle, York, Lincoln, Norwich, Westmin-
ster, Canterbury, Chichester, Winchester, Exeter and Bristol,
as staple towns for England^; and for each of those which
was situated inland a special port was appointed ; as Hull
for York, Yarmouth for Norwich, and Sandwich for Canter-
bury. Careful arrangements were made between the mayors
and the Customers to secure the due payment of the king's
taxes. Every facility was given to foreign merchants to
frequent these marts, and they, like the king's subjects, were
to be free from the exactions of purveyors on their journeys
thither. All the transactions at these staples were to be
taken out of the jurisdiction of the justices and the common
law, and settled by the Mayor of the Staple according to law
merchant while alien merchants were to be chosen as asses-
sors; arrangements were thus made for doing speedy justice
from day to day and hour to hour. All sorts of other induce-
ments were held out so as to induce the foreign merchant to
frequent these marts; rents were to be reasonable, aliens
might sell by retail if they wished (c. 11), no man was to be
impeached for another's debt, and their oaths were to be

1 See below, p. 418, also p. 496.

2 Boston was added to the list in 1369, when the staple once again returned to
England after being fixed in Calais. The effect of holding a staple in any given
town can be observed in this case ; the neighbouring towns, like Lincoln, com-
plained bitterly {Hot. Pari. n. p. 832, No. 62). It served to give an additional
attraction to foreigners to settle at the town, as many had done from the time of
Edward I. A factoi-y of the Hanse League was organised here (P. Thompson,
Boston, 339).

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 317

accepted as to the value of the merchandise they brought A.D. isov
when ad valorem dues were levied (c. 26)\ Everything was
done which might attract the foreign merchant here, and bring
about a good competition for our wool ; but the experiment
was not altogether successful, the fees charged by the officials
were exorbitant and had to be reduced by an ordinance* in
1354 ; Parliament preferred to have the trade more concen-
trated, and although there were some changes, the staple was,
generally speaking, fixed at Calais ^ where elaborate arrange- at Calais
ments were made for the conduct of the trade and the
residence of merchants ^

100. In regard to imports the main object of policy was import
just the reverse, as it was deemed desirable that these

1 Ordinance of the Staple, 27 Ed. m. n.

2 Ordiiiatio de foedis Stapule. It is not qnite clear whether this was issued in
the tweuty-seventh or twenty-eighth year, but the earlier date would only allow
for a couple of months' experience of the evils complained of.

8 This appears to have been proposed in 1362, with the hope of raising the price
of wool and redressing other evils. " Item pour cause que les Leines du Roiahne
sont mis a petit value, tant pour cause que eles ont amenez hors du dit Roialme
en autri Seignurie et Poair ou notre dit Seignour le Roi n'ad Jurisdiction, ne les
mesprisions et outrages faitz a les Subgiz poit redrescer, n'ameuder, come pur
soners Eschanges des Mouoies et feblesce d'yceUes, et plusieui-s autres damages et
mischiefs ad este parle et monstre au Conseil notre dit Seignour le Roi plusieurs
foitz que bon serroit mettre remedie : Et que la Ville de Caleys qui est a notre dit
Seignour le Roi et en il ad plein Jniisdiction, serroit bon place et lieu convenable
pur les Leins et demoer des Marchantz, per eschuer les meschiefs et damages
suisditz et par tant le pris de Leines serront amendez et enhancez." Rot. Pari.
n. 268.

The policy of discouraging native merchants to go abroad had apparently been
reversed before this time, as the EngUshmen at Bruges, who had suffered much in
status and position since the staple had been removed to England, were allowed to
organise themselves and have a mayor in 1359. {Rot. Stap. '27 — 46 Ed. HI. m. 11,
Tower Records, Record Office.) See Appendix C. These merchants were appa-
rently predecessors of the Merchants Adventurers.

The uncertainty of the place at which the staple should be held is alleged as the
reason for the grant by Urban V. in 1368 to the Merchants of the Staple of the
privilege of having an English speaking chaplain. (Wilkins, Concilia, m. 80.)
In 1369 owing to the war it was necessary to move back into England, Rot. Pari.
u. 301 (24), but the staple was fixed at Calais in 1376 by the grant of Edward m.
(Rymer, m. ii. 1057). There was the same sort of vacillation in 1390 and 1392.
HaJl, Customs, i. 235.

Armstrong's Treatise concerning the staple and the commodities of the realm
(1519) is well worth perusing in this connection, as in regard to all matters
connected with rural economy, industry or commerce during the centuries im-
mediately preceding the Reformation. He argues that the removal of the staple
to Calais was beneficial to the merchant class but injurious to the pubhc, p. 20.

* See the excellent account by Mr Maiden, Cely Fapers, x. xxxix.

318 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 articles should be obtainable on easy terms by consumers.

1377 , .

A great deal of care was devoted from the time of King

John to the management of the chief branch of import
trades — that in wine, in the hope of rendering it plentiful
and cheap \ On the whole the Edwards were inclined to
favour their Gascon subjects, and native English shippers
felt themselves at a serious disadvantage during the greater
part of the fourteenth century.
Wine. Edward I. gave the Gascony merchant privileges which

A,D. 1289. roused antagonism in the City of London^ ; and Edward II.
continued this protection and had recourse to severe threats
against the authorities of the City* ; the men of Cologne had
similar privileges*. The reason of his anxiety that these
merchants should be encouraged to visit London, becomes
A.D. 1310. apparent in the regulations he issued for the sale of wines' ;
the king and nobles were to have an opportunity of pur-
chasing before the wine was offered to the public ; the prices
at which the different qualities were to be sold are defined ;
arrangements are made for the callings of the ' grossour ' and
the taverner respectively, and precautions are taken about
the assay of wine. The charge of this was to be in the
hands of the mayor and aldermen, as they were co choose
twelve jurors to test the quality of the wine ; and no taverner
might sell it by retail till it had passed this scrutiny.
Borne- These regulations for the price of wine were not confined

grown ah ^^ London but extended to the provinces as well. There
had been many vineyards in England in Roman and Norman
times, and the manufacture was not wholly extinct®. The

1 King John established an assize of wine, fixing the price at which the wines
of Poitou and Aujou were to be retailed, and also the wholesale prices. He left
so little margin of profit, however, that the merchants could not continue the
trade, and the retaUtug price was raised from 4t?. and &d. to &d. and Sd. the
gallon, "et sic repleta est terra potu et potatoribus." Roger of Hoveden, rv. 99.

2 Delpit, Collection, xxxiu.

* Ibid. Lxxxix. xc. xci. xcu. c. ci. Brissaud, Les Anglais en Guyenne, 169.

* Rot. Pari. I. 315, No. 12. 6 Delpit, xciv.

6 Turner, Domestic Architecture, i. 135. Rot. Pari. i. 315, No. 109. Baruaby
Googe writing in 1577 says, " We might have a reasonable good wine growyng
in many places of this Eealme : as doubtless we had immediately after the
Conquest, tyU partly by slothfulnesse, not hking anything long that is painefuU,
partly by Civil discord long continuing, it was left, and so with time lost, as
appeareth by a number of places in this Eeahne, that keepes still the names of
Vineyards : and upon many Cliffes and HUls are yet to be seene the rootes and old

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 319

chief supply came from abroad ; not only was it desirable A.D. 1307
to obtain a close connection and safe communication with ^^^ ^^'^.
Gascony, but to provide for the terms on which the wine
should be obtainable in different parts of the country. In
1330 an Act was passed regulating the distributive and
retail trade. " Because there be more taverners in the
realm than were wont to be, selling as well corrupt wines
as wholesome, and have sold the gallon at such price as they
themselves would, because there was no punishment ordained
for them, as hath been for them that have sold bread or ale,
to the great hurt of the people; it is accorded, that a cry
shall be made that none be so hardy as to sell wines but at
a reasonable price, regarding the price that is at the ports
whence the wines came, and the expences, as in carriage of
the same from the said ports to the places^ where they be
sold." The town authorities were to make an assay twice a
year, and all wines found to be corrupt were to be shed and
cast out and the vessels broken ^

Somewhat later in Edward's reign there were some very
curious enactments, which were designed to strike at the
profits of middlemen, in the vain hope that wine would be
rendered cheaper. It was assumed that middlemen gained Reguia-
at the expense of the public ; and it seemed to follow that ;*,"^e
if middlemen did not gain, the public would be put to less ^-^^ ^^^^"
expense. English merchants were not to forestall wine in
Gascony, or buy it up before the vintage, and the time of
the common passages^ ; nor were they to charge high for the
wine, on the pretence that they ran risks. Cost of carriage
was a charge which could be checked, and this might doubt-
less be allowed for when sale was made in London* ; but

remayues of Vines. There is besides Nottingham an auncient house called Chylwel,
in which house remayneth yet as an auncient monument in a great wyndowe of
Glasse, the whole order of planting, proyning, stamping and pressing of Vines.
Beside, there is yet also growing an old Vine that yeeldes a grape suflBcient to
make a right good wine as was lately prooved by a Gentlewoman in the saide
house." Epistle to the Reader prefixed to Heresbach's Foure Boohes of Eushandi-y.

1 The Chancellor and Members of the University of Cambridge complained
more than once that they were not served with wine so cheaply as the residents in
the sister university. Rot. Pari. ii. 48 (69), in. 254 (8).

2 4 Ed. in. c. 12. 8 27 Ed. IH. i. 5, 7.

* Though the statute does not say so, c. 6. Compare, however, Rot. Pari. ir.
279 (35j.

320 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 remuneration for risk was obviously regarded as a mere

~ ' excuse for arbitrary demands on the part of the merchant,
and these were not to be permitted at all. The operations
of the English merchant were confined to two special ports,
but the Gascony traders might ship to any port they pleased :
under these circumstances it need not be a matter of surprise
if English shipping declined for a time.

It thus appears that the Englishman was forbidden to
export wool, so that it might be sold dear, and that he was
prevented from importing wine, in order that it might be
bought cheap ; in both trades he was placed at a disadvan-
tage as compared with the foreign allies or subjects of the
Crown \ The only part of this curious statute which would
commend itself to modern ideas, as likely to do much for the
encouragement of trade, is the last clause, which provides that
the tuns and pipes should be authoritatively gauged so that
the purchaser might make sure of obtaining the full quantity

A.D. 1363. for which he paid ; ten years later it was found necessary to
have the wine gauged at Bordeaux as well as in England ^

101. Other regulations to promote fair dealing in internal
trade are simply copied from the ordinances that were in
force in many towns^ Besides the regulations mentioned

Fore- above against Englishmen forestalling or engrossing important
goods^ we have one general prohibition of engrossing the
wares that were brought to the staple towns^; but there is

Herrings. One Special case that brings out very clearly the grounds of
the objection which was commonly felt against middlemen
of every kind ; it occurs in a couple of local Acts, which may
possibly have been necessary from the double jurisdiction
exercised in Great Yarmouth by the local burgesses on the
one hand and the Wardens of the Cinque Ports on the other®.
It is an interesting illustration of the manner in which they
tried to ensure fair competition in those cases where it was

1 Rot. Pari. n. 261 (48), 282 b. « Ibid. n. 279 (34).

8 See above, p. 250. Also the Statutum de pistoribus quoted p. 263, n. 2.

4 27 Ed. m. I. c. 7. Rot. Pari. n. 261 (48). The prosperity of the grocers and
their Company roused a good deal of jealousy during this period, Rot. Pari. u. 277
(23), 280 b.

5 Ordinance of the Staple, c. 11. See also 25 Ed. III. m. c. 3.

6 Jeake, Charters of the Cinque Ports, 17.

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 321

impossible to calculate out and settle what a reasonable A.D. 1307

/ ... 1377

price would be — as well as of the practical difficulties which
rendered their well-meant efforts futile. The poor fisherman
was the victim of the greed of the Yarmouth hostelers, the
local consumer was outbid by the engrosser who wished to
transport the fish to other markets^ ; of course if they had
been allowed to do this freely, there would have been less
difficulty about the low price for fish given to the fishermen.
But the attempt to remedy these two very dissimilar griev-
ances at the same time resulted in meddlesome regulations
which introduced new and unlooked for mischiefs.

In 1357 a statute was passed against the hostelers oi Dij^cvlty
Yarmouth* and others, who made special bargains with th.e fering with
fishermen and forestalled their goods before they were landed
or exposed in open market ; a price was fixed of 405. the last,
above which no one should buy for the purpose of curing
fish ; the rate of profit on reselling, and the tolls that might
be taken, were carefully defined, and the market was to be
held in broad daylight. All these regulations were meant
to let the ordinary consumer have a fair chance, and to
prevent the middlemen and speculators from having special middlemen
opportunities of purchase, and so setting an unreasonable
price for their own profit. But before four years had elapsed a.d. isei.
it was found that the results were very prejudicial ; whatever
ill effects accrued from their speculations, the middlemen
undoubtedly had been discharging a needed function. A in the
new ordinance was made, which recites in a most interesting of producer

1 The feeling that lay at the bottom of this complaint was something of this
sort: the resident on the spot felt that he had a first claim to the products of the
place, and that only the surplus should be sent to other locaUties, Enghsh or
foreign. The same idea underlay a great deal of protective legislation at a later
time : we should find a vent for our sui"plus, but should not export useful
commodities miless there was a sm'plus : see on vUlage protection above, p. 78.

2 31 Ed. III. st. n. The preamble recites the precise grievances; it runs as
follows : Que pour cause que les gentez de Grant Jememuthe encontrent les pes-
chours, menantz harang a la dite vLUe en temps de feyre, et achatent et forstaUent
le harang, avant qil veigne a la ville : et auxint les hostiUiers de mesme la viUe qi
herbergent les peschours venantez illoeqes ove lour harang, ne veullent soeffrir les
ditz peschours vendre lour harang, ne meUer de la vente dicels, einz le vendent a
lour volunte demesne, si cher come ils veullent et donent as peschours ceo qe lour
piest ; pour quoi les peschours se retrehent de vente illoeques et Issi est le harang
mis a plus gi-ant chierte qe unqes ne fust.

C. H. 21

322 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 manner the arguments for the statute as well as the evils to

— 1377 -

which it had given rise : the fishermen had great difficulties
in personally attending the public market at the times it
was open while also prosecuting their trade ; the collecting
of the purchase-money from all the retail buyers took up
time which they should have spent in fishing, and the fishers
were thus prevented from bringing their fish to that port at
all. Besides this, while the statute had thus inconvenienced
or con- the fishers, it had done little good to the ordinary consumer^
*""**'■• fQj. ^}jQ middlemen and merchants, or others, no longer allowed
to forestall, were now ready to outbid the retail purchaser,
and buy up the fish for curing, and for transport to distant, or
export to foreign, markets ^ All that could be done to redress
the Yarmouth grievance, was to give the right of selling freely
to the fishers whenever they came to port, while at the
same time a prohibition was put on anyone interfering with
another buyer while he was bargaining — a piece of trade
etiquette which is still very generally observed^. The
supplying of a town with fish was a trade in which the inter-
vention of middlemen was almost inevitable ; the Fishmongers
in London had regulated the terms of supply from time
immemorial in their Hallmoot^ and they succeeded in
obtaining a status which enabled them to exercise extra-
ordinary influence in London afiairs and national politics ^
Assixe of There was also a ffood deal of discussion about the Assize

Cloth. p

Aj). 1328. of Cloth, and the action of the aulnager. The manufacturers
of worsted cloths had been accustomed to make them of
various lengths from 24 to 50 ells ; but the aulnager insisted
on all the cloth being made in pieces of 24 ells only, which
did not suit all the buyers so welP. They subsequently
complained that the diversity of wool with which they had
to work made it impossible to keep any specific standard ^
and attempts were made to abolish the office of aulnager

1 That foreigners should be more cheaply served with good English fish, and
the price raised to home consumers in consequence, would have been universally
regarded as an evil, for which no cheapening of imports could compensate [Dis-
course of Common Weal, p. 68) : and Norfolk men would have a certain jealousy
towards the inhabitants of London. 2 35 Ed. EI.

8 C. P. Allen, Ambassadors of Commerce, 78. The old Cloth Hall at Halifax
was planned with separate cubicles with a view to uninten-upted bargaining.

« Unwin, Gilds of London, 128. ' See below, pp. 378, 382.

6 Bot. Pari. n. 28 (50). ' Ibid. n. 409, No. 175.

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 323

altogether^ ; this was not done, but his duties were differ- A.D. isor
eutly defined, and restated so as to suit the views of mer- ,''.^
chants who imported cloth from abroad. According to the
new scheme, he was to give an authoritative statement as to
the length of the cloths exposed for sale, but was not to
insist that goods, which were not up to the old English
standard measure, should be forfeited^. In accordance with
the liberty thus granted to foreigners a customary assize
seems to have grown up in different districts, as the later
statutes on the cloth manufacture insist on definite measures
for all cloths, but on different measures for cloths of different
make I Under the new system there must have been less
temptation to stretch* short cloths so as to bring them up to
the required standard.

Though there was little fresh legislation on the subject,
there was much organisation connected with the authoritative AutTiori-
weighing of goods. Just as the Lihripendes attained to con- Weighing.
siderable importance in the times of the Roman Empire^ so
one, if not more, of the great livery companies seems to have
come into being in connection with duties of this kind. The
pepperers® had a leading share in nominating the officials
who were admitted to the office of weighing aver-du-pois^,
and in 1316, they made ordinances for weighing. Some of
the leading men among them appear to have been of Italian
origin^, and they certainly dealt in spices and other goods^

1 Rot. Pad. n. 252, No. 34. 2 27 Ed. m. i. c. 4.

» See below, p. 435.

•• Madox, Exchequer, c. xiv. § 15.

8 Codex Juris Cimlis, Inst. rt. tit. x. De testamentis ordinandis.

6 Kingdou, Grocers' Archives, p. xiii.

^ The origin of tlae name seems to be indicated in an ordinance of the time of
Henry m., Quod nnllus mercator extraneus vel alius vendat vel emat aMquod
averium quod ponderari debeat vel tronari nisi per stateram vel tronam nostram
{Lib. Alb., p. 138). An early dispute on the subject {Bot. Pari. i. pp. 47, 332),
seems to show that it was used by Spanish merchants at Southampton (1290 and
1314). The origin of this metrical system, with 16 oz. to the lb. is somewhat
obscure, a closely analogous system has survived in Madrid, Lisbon and Marseillea
(Martini, Manuale di Metrologia), and there was also an analogous system in the
Low Countries (lb. Bruges, Cologne). The pound of 15 English ounces of
450 grains, mentioned in Fleta (n. c. 11), or of 25 shillings as it is defined in the
Stotutum de ponderibus (6750 grains), is possibly a rough approximation to the
present aver-du-pois pound of 7000 grains.

8 See above, p. 288, n. 4.

' The wares weighed by aver-du-pois are enumerated in the Ltber Albin,

21—2

324 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 which reached England from the south of Europe ; in
"" * 1345, they united with the spicerers in forming the Grocers'
Company, — a body which exercised a predominating influence
on London affairs in the latter part of the fifteenth century.
Grocers. They may have derived their name from the popular com-
plaint against them as engrossers, but it seems possible that
they assumed it from their wholesale transactions, en gros^,
or even from their dignified ofiice of weighing by the peso
grosso^ ; they came to have charge both of the king's and the
wool beam' — the statera or the trone. Their rivals, the
Mercers, were originally pedlers and retailers of goods in
small quantities*; their earliest ordinances date from 1347',
and they seem to have had official cognisance in the City of
the standards used in retail trade. It has been suggested
above that the official weighing of wool was one element
of the organisation of the Staplers; the Grocers had the

p. 230, and are distinguished from " sotils choses." A distinction between " peso^
groBso" and "sottile" survived tUl 1843 at Genoa; the former system — whicli
dififered from the English aver-du-pois — being used for merchandise in general,
the latter for retail transactions and fine goods : mercers, jewellers, druggists and
confectioners used the latter. Martini, Manuale di Metrologia, p. 224 ; see also for
Frankfurt, ib. p. 213.

1 Compare the use of the word for a wholesale wine-merchant, p. 318.

2 Kingdon, Grocers' Archives, xxxi.

8 "In 1453 the [Grocers] Company, having the charge and management of the
public scale or Zing's Beam, made a regular tariff of charges. It appears that to
John Churchman, grocer, who served the office of sheriff in 1385, the trade of
London is indebted for the establishment of the first Custom House. Churchman,
in the sixth year of Richard II., built a house on Wool-wharf Key, in Tower Street
Ward, for the tronage or weighing of wools in the port of London, and a grant of
the right of tronage was made by the King to Charchman for life. It is probable
that Churchman being unable of himself to manage so considerable a concern as
the pubUc scale, obtained the assistance of his Company, and thus the manage-
ment of the weigh house, and the appointment of the officers belonging to it came
into the hands of the Grocers' Company." Eeport of Royal Commission on London
Livery Companies (1884), xxxix. pt. ii. 130.

* See above, p. 323, n. 9. " Mercer in ancient times was the name for a dealer
in small wares * * • Merceries then comprehended all things sold retail by the
httle balance or small scales, in contradistinction to all things sold by the beam or
in gross, and included, not only toys, together with haberdashery, and various
other articles connected with dress, but also spices and drags ; in short what at
present constitutes the stock of a country shopkeeper. The Mercers in these
periods of simplicity, chiefly kept the fairs and markets ; for we learn that in
1290, mercers who attended the French fairs for trading, in some instances sat on
the groimd to sell their wares and only paid a half -penny toU, whilst others who
elevated their goods on stalls paid a penny." Herbert, Livery Companies, p. 230.

6 J. G. NichoUs in Middlesex Arch. Soc. Tram., it. 119.

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 325

official custody of weighing by aver-du-pois, and the Mercers^ a.d. 1307
dealt by retail in ponderous goods which were weighed ~~
by a different system, with a small balance (balancia). It
is quite clear that before the end of the fourteenth century
these various merchants were not keeping strictly to their
own callings. The Grocers had charge of the king's beam,
and they also claimed the tronage of wool. Parliament
interfered to insist that each merchant should keep to one
style of business^, though it must have been very difficult to
define the precise spheres of the Staplers, Grocers and
Mercers respectively, especially when the latter increased in
wealth and began to import goods as well as to retail them.

It is unnecessary to observe that the mere existence
of detailed regulations for export, import, and internal Inconveni.
trade, and the occasional attempt to improve them, must changtny
have caused terrible inconvenience to the merchant, from r,*?"/*"
the frequent uncertainty of the conditions under which he
would have to dispose of his goods. On the eve of a Budget
this element of uncertainty may affect those branches of •
trade in which changes of tariff are expected, but it must
have been infinitely more oppressive in byegone times.

The raising of the revenue affords the one excuse for
such governmental interference as still survives ; but finance
was so mismanaged in Edward's time, as not only to in- Fiscal
convenience traders, but to disorganise the whole com- TOeJ^sf "
merce of the country. This was especially the case in those
instances where the king obtained supplies not in coin but
in kind, and traded with it himself, or through appointed
factors. Thus in 1337 the king obtained a grant of wool, Chants in
and the export of other wool was forbidden that he might
have a monopoly of the foreign market ; though it seems
that the prohibition was not in force long enough, or
that all the profit went to his factors, as very little gain
accrued to the king'. In any case the expedient was of

1 In the time of Edward m. " the Company also appointed a common meter
of Imen cloth and sUk, a common weigher of raw silk and tackle porters to do
their work at the waterside." Report of London Liv. Companies Commis.
xxxvu. ii. 2. For the fifteenth century see Middlesex Arch. 80c. iv. 140.

a 37 Ed. m. c. 5. Bot. Pari. n. '277 (23), 280 b. See below, p. 382.

8 Longman, Edward III. i. 117.

326 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

AJ). 1307 doubtful wisdom ; for the interference with trade would so
'~^^''' far reduce the regular customs, that little if any profit might
arise from the extraordinary grants. Besides these attempts
at speculation, and the reorganisation of the staple as a
means of collecting the customs, which has been already
described, there is little in connection with Edward's taxation
that calls for special attention.
The 102. The reign of Edward III. is distinguished by some

currency. ^^^ remarkable experiments in regard to the currency.
The increasing communication with the Continent would
bring a greater influx of foreign coin. Edward I. had tried
to prevent its getting into circulation, but his grandson was
also forced to legislate against importing it. The preamble of
A.D. 1335. his first statute on the subject complains that " divers persons
beyond the seas do endeavour themselves to counterfeit our
sterling money of England, and to send into England their
weak money in deceit of us, and damage and oppression
of our people\" and as a remedy it provides that none shall
carry gold or silver out of the realm without a license and
that no money shall be molten to make plate. If the coinage
were not thus diminished, there would be less temptation to
introduce coins from abroad, while a special provision was
made against bringing in counterfeit sterlings and false money.
Coins _ King Edward I.^ had slightly diminished the weight of

the English sterling ; and as the efforts to keep bad money
out of circulation had been unsuccessful', especially during
the reign of Edward II.*, heavy and light money were circu-
lating together. As payments were still made by weight
and not by tale in some cases, a curious fraud was per-
petrated by the receiver of the tenth and fifteenth in the
diocese of Canterbury, who had selected old and heavy
pennies to serve as weights, and exacted enough silver to
balance them, apparently 25 per cent, more than he ought
to have received \ With the coinage in such a state, we

1 9 Ed. m. St. n. 2 Ruding, Annals of Coinage, i. 201.

8 According to the calculations of Messrs Crump and Hughes the complaints
of the badness of foreign coin were much exaggerated. Economic Journal, v. 62.

*■ Ruding, Annals, i. 207. Rot. Pari. i. 444.

* "RxxAmg,, Annals, i. 211. This story seems to confirm Mr Seebohm's suggestion
that when payments were made by weight, they were made in the weight of the

tri size.
£J). 1800.

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 327

need not be surprised that the better coins continued to be a.d. 1307

1S77

exported and light and debased coins, known as pollards,
crocards, scaldings, brabants, eagles, rosaries and others, were
brought by foreign merchants into England^ Three different
expedients were tried in order to remedy these evils.

a. It was proposed that every merchant should give
security to bring 40s. in plate into the realm for every sack a.d. 1339.
of wool he exported^. This was decreed* in the following year,
though in a modified form, requiring only that 13s. 4<d. should
be thus secured; and it was hoped that plenty of bullion
would thus be supplied to the mint.

6. It was proposed that certain foreign coins, Florins de
Escu, should have free circulation in this country for sums
over the value of 40s.*; this was not done; but after consul-
tation with the goldsmiths as to the fineness which should

cnrrent coin [Archmological Review, in. 20) ; and that prices remained fairly
stable because the value of silver was slowly rising, so that the practical effect of
diminishing the size of the coins was to prevent the fall in nominal prices which
mnst otherwise have occurred, so far as we know the conditions of the time.
Professor Thorold Rogers on the other hand assumes {Economic Interpretation,
194) not only that payments were made by weight, but that they continued to
be made by the old weights till the time of the Tudors. In support of this view
the payments for certain pieces of plate are quoted, but Mr Seebohm's careful
calculations have shown that these prices would be excessive if reckoned according
to the old and heavy weights, and that Professor Rogers has gi-eatly underrated
the value of silver in the fifteenth century. His assumption lauds us in several
other difficulties in regard to the value of silver before the discovery of America.
It also seems to imply that all payments must have been made in the same way,
i.e. by weight, since the rates by weight and by tale would differ so much.
On Mr Seebohm's view there would be no difiiculty in having some payments by
weight and others by tale as was actually the case at the time of the Domesday
Survey. See below, p. 545. In so far as payment of money by weight was
practised in London in the thirteenth century it seems to have been a cumbi'ous
business. De autiquis leyiuus liber, 25.

Gold was commonly paid by weight tiU much later times, as at fairs in Ii-eland
in the eighteenth century. When Heni-y V. insisted that all gold should pass by
weight (9 H. V. st. i. c. 11, st. n. c. 9) he made no similar provision for silver; gold
was accepted in 1421 by greatly diminished weights, as 5«. 8d. was to count for
6«. 8d. in payment of the fifteenth and tenth. Hot. Pari. iv. 151 (10).

1 Ending, i. 201, gives Uttle explanation of these terms; the coins appear to
have been made of a white metal which resembled silver. A pound weight of
'Lushbonrnes' (Luxembourg coins) was only worth eight shillings, Eot. Pari. n.
160 (15), and some of the Flemish money appears to have been so debased that
a pound of it was only worth forty pence. See Appendix D.

2 Eot. Pari. n. 105 (14).

3 14 Ed. m. I. c. 21, and 14 Ed. m. m., cf. also Rot. Pari. n. 138 (16).
* Rot. Pari. n. 105 (14).

328 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 be adopted, and in conjunction with the people of FlandersS

A.D. 1343. 3, gold coin was struck for currency both in England and
Flanders, and some attempt was made to come to an agree-
ment as to a common silver coinage as well^. This gold
money was not required for internal trade, and as it was at
first somewhat overrated, people were unwilling to receive it
for silver. In order to retain a supply of good silver coin in
the country, a proclamation was issued forbidding anyone to
carry any money, except the newly minted gold, out of the
kingdom ; while to meet the convenience of merchants in the
north it was coined in York as well as in London^. This
bimetallic circ\ilation did not answer its purpose, and it gave
rise to a good deal of internal complaint ; bad foreign money,

A.D. 1346. especially of the coinage of Luxemburg*, continued to find its
way into England. The Commons complained most bitterly
of the wrongful gains of those who introduced such money ^.

c. In 1351 the king appears to have been wearied out
with the struggle to maintain the old standard of coinage ;
and an entirely new coinage, both of gold and silver, was
issued, of the same fineness but of considerably less weight ;
the standard of the money issued was thus reduced towards
the standard of the money in circulation*. This was by far
the most sudden change in the value of the current coins that
had yet taken place, and it caused no little dissatisfaction.

Exchatige. Two things are noticeable as to the actual manner of
carrying on this business of coining; it was let out from
time to time to different persons. Similarly the business of
exchange, which furnished the channel by which the Mint
might be supplied with bullion, was maintained as a royal
prerogative and farmed out to different merchants from time
to time'; others might exchange for mutual convenience, but

A-D. 1351. not for the sake of profit ^ Both of these are repetitions,
though on a larger scale, of the methods adopted by Edward I.,
while the regulation of the goldsmiths' craft^, and reliance on
their advice, also recall his statute on the subject.

1 Rot. Pari. u. 137 (14). '•> 17 Ed. lU.

8 18 Ed. in. n. c. 6. * Piers Plowman, 82 b.

8 Rot. Pari. n. 160 (15). 6 Euding, Annals, i. 226.
' Rot. Pari. n. 452. 8 25 Ed. III. v. c. 12.

9 37 Ed. ni. c. 7.

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 329

Similar monetary difficulties were felt in other lands ; a.d. 1307
the Flemings made a strict law against the exportation of
bullion, and this rendered it impracticable to carry out the
payments required'' on each sack of wool imported from
England. The Scotch coinage was suddenly debased, and
as it had circulated freely in England, the change caused
much inconvenience. But there is one point that is well
worth attention in this English legislation on the import bullion
and export of bullion ; it seems to have reference to coin- coinage.
age and coinage alone. There is a desire to 'increase the
money' of the country, and therefore to get more bullion
which should go straight to the mint and be coined, but
no hint of trying to amass treasure ; the plate which was
to be brought in for each sack would do little more than
serve to pay the customs, it would not pay for the wool.
The effort to prevent the influx of inferior money is
as constant and persistent as the effort to prevent the
export of the good coins. On the other hand there was no
objection to the good gold money, which hardly circulated
internally, being exported'^, and merchants were allowed to
re-export money which they had not spent in goods^ When, a.d. 133S
later in the reign, the export of gold and silver was pro-
hibited an exemption was still made in the case of those who
imported fish*, who might apparently carry money away with
them if they liked. Edward III. dealt with the question as
a mere matter of the circulating medium ; he lived before
the times of bullionists or mercantilists, and his experiments
and regulations are unaffected by the prejudices which arose
later, and which we have outgrown.

103. The reign of Edward III. also furnishes us with
the first of an important series of statutes defining the hours
and wages of the labouring man. These had not of course Regulation
been unregulated up to this time ; the custom of each manor',
and the ordinances of the gilds in each town had hitherto
sufficed; but in the presence of the terrible plague which
swept over England in 1349 ^ the frame of society and

1 Rot. Pari. II. 202 (15). 2 ibid. n. 137 (14).

3 27 Ed. m. n. c. 14. * 38 Ed. DI. i. c. 2.

6 B. H. Pntman, Enforcement of the Statutes of Labourers, 156.

e The course of the plague from the East has been graphically told by Dr

330 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 the ordinary instruments of social authority were entirely
~~ ' shattered and it was necessary for the central government
to interfere. This is the principal case, during the reign of
Edward III., in which Parliament took over a department
of regulation that had been hitherto left to local bodies^ ;
they were thus carrying out the policy of Edward I. in
another direction, as well as continuing to work on lines he
had already laid down.
Black Of the ultimate effects of the Black Death ^ in its

ij) 1348 successive visitations* and the impulse it gave to far-reaching
social changes it will be necessary to speak below, but a few
words may be said as to the extent of its ravages at first.
The terror which it caused is noticeable in the extraordinary
change which was brought about in the artistic represen-
tations of death about this time : the horrors of the actual
visitation can certainly not be described, nor, for that matter,
easily imagined. It has been argued that about half the
population of England was swept away by this visitation;
and though we are tempted to treat the estimates of con-
temporaries as exaggerated because of the horror which the
new and sudden death caused, they appear less impossible
when the records of the time are examined*. The chief of
these, for larger areas, are the records of the institutions of

Creighton {Epidemics, i. 142). He appears to be mistaken in supposing that
De Mussis was actually on board the vessel which brought the infection to Genoa.
((Jasquet, Great Pestilence, 4 n.)

1 Compare the regulations for Builders in London, Appendix A; also in the
time of Edward I., Liber Oust. n. 541.

2 A good accovmt of the causes, nature, and character of this disease as well as of
its moral effects is to be found in Hecker's Epidemics of the Middle Ages, pp. 1 —
66. Part of the horror it caused was due to the sudden and unexpected outbreaks.

* Creighton, Epidemics, i. 202 f. In an Inspeximus by Edward IV. of letters
patent of Henry VI. the impoverishment of Winchester is ascribed to the repeated
plagues; — "now through frequent plagues and withdrawals of citizens and mer-
chants so mined by the destruction of eleven streets seventeen churches and 987
houses within the last fifty years that it is quite unable to pay the fee farm rent
of 100 marks." Kitchin, Winchester (Historic Towns), p. 174.

* The evidence for different towns, districts and ecclesiastical houses in England
has been carefully discussed by Dr Creighton (Epidemics, 1. 123), and more exhaus-
tively by F. Gasqnet (Great Pestilence), who has collected an immense amount of
valuable material. His work serves to bring out the long-continued effects of the
plague, and the slowness of the recovery from its devastations. The condition of
Florence and other ItaUan cities, which has been recently examined by Dr Ko waleski,
is curiously analogous to what we read of England.

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 331

clergy to benefices^ for particular villages, the records of a.d. 1307
the court rolls^ While the former seem to show that with
all allowances for the ordinary death rate, more than half
the parish priests died during the year, the latter give us
instances where whole villages were practically annihilated.
We shall not be far wrong in saying that nearly half of the
population^ was swept away at this time^

* Jessopp, The Coming of the Friars, 193. 2 gee Appendix B.

3 The researches of Dr Creightou aud P. Gasquet tend to confirm this
estimate.

* A much greater difficulty arises if we try to estimate not the proportion but the
number of deaths ; that is to calculate the total population at the time. This has
led to a controversy between Mi* Seebohm and Prof. Thorold Rogers {Fortnightly
Review, n. m. iv.). The latter discontinued the discussion on the gi-ound that no
time "is lost more thoroughly than that devoted to arguing on matters of fact
with a disputant who has no facts but only very strong convictions ' [Six
Centuries, 117). Mr Seebohm had argued that the tax roUs of 1377, which give a
population of about 2^ millions, represent pretty closely the population as left by
the Black Death, since the return of the plague in 1361 and 1369, and the unsettled
condition of the time had probably left little room for any increase of population
between 1350 and 1377 : he therefore supposes that the population before the Black
Death may have been five millions {Fortnightly Review, n. 153, rv. 89). Professor
Thorold Rogers holds that the population had recovered from the ravages of the
plague in the twenty-five years which immediately succeeded, because he cannot
admit that mediaeval England had the means of supporting a larger number.
The reasons for assigning this limit are, his conviction that the populace lived
practically on wheat, and that the area of other cereals sown may be neglected for
this pui-pose. He refers to the Assize of Bread, which indeed only mentions wheat,
but which supphed the basis from which the price of bread of other grains could
be calculated (see Appendix A). But oatmeal and other cereals than wheat were
coumiouly used for food. In the allowances provided for various servants, the
reeve had equal quantities of wheat and rye, the other men had more rye than wheat
(Denton, Fifteenth Centvxy. 317). Steffen (Eng. Lohnarbeiten, 234) insists that
Rogers' argument only applies to the counties in the south and east, and that
wheat did not become the common food of the people in the north and west till a
later date. The case against Rogers' view is put more strongly by Savine, \n Oxford
Studies, I. 199. The area of food-producing land may therefore be taken as much
larger than that which Professor Rogers assumes (Seebohm, Fortnightly lievieio,
IV. 38) ; he has failed to show that five millions was an impossible population in 1346.

Professor Thorold Rogers also adopts another line of argument, and works back-
ward from the time of Henry VH. and Elizabeth, when the population may be
put at between two or three millions, and expresses a conviction that as there had
been no change in aga-icultural production, population could not have been larger
in 1346. But there was a great alteration for the worse during the fifteenth cen-
tury : sheep farming was substituted for tillage in many places, a change which
Professor Rogers postdates by a considerable period, as he underrates its importance
before the time of Elizabeth (see below, p. 4G3 n.). Besides, the south-east of
Kent, to which he specially refers, was exposed to attack from 'Enemies,' while
there is some reason to beUeve that the soil was more exhausted (Denton,
Fifteenth Century, 153). If under these cu-cumstances of decreased tillage and
greater insecurity a population of two and a half millions could be sustained

332 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 As one immediate result there was great difficulty in

V 't f S®^^^"^? labourers ; the difficulty was aggravated in those
labour. cases where the tenants had died off and the lords were left
with large holdings on their hands and no means of working
them ; while they lost the predial services of these deceased
tenants on the home farm. There was consequently an
immensely increased demand for hired labourers at the very
time when their numbers were so much thinned, and it
seemed as if the agriculture of the country was completely
ruined. A very vivid picture of the widely spread disaster is
given in the story of a Cambridgeshire chantry at Bottisham.
Sir Thomas Chedworth had endowed it in 1848, but he
found in 1351 that the estate which was intended to support
two secular priests was only sufficient for one, so greatly
had the revenues declined. The new instrument by which
the original deed of foundation was altered states that owing
to the vast " mortality of men in those days . . . lands lie
uncultivated in many places, not a few tenements daily and
suddenly decay and are pulled down, rents and services
cannot be levied nor the advantage of them generally had
can be received, but a much smaller profit is obliged to be
taken than usual \"

under the Tadors, the uumbers at the beginning of the fourteenth century might
have been considerably lajger.

The results, which are of a somewhat negative character, may be stated as
follows: (1) that the population was pretty nearly stationary at over two millions
from 1377 till the Tudors, (2) that circumstances did not favour rapid increase of
population between 1350 and 1377, (3) that the country was not incapable of
sustaining a much larger population in the earlier part of Edward m.'s reign than
it could maintain in the time of Henry Vn.

1 Hailstone, History of Bottisham, 278. In the manor of Blackmere in Shrop-
shire there were three mills which used to be worth 20 marcs, but now they are
worth only half that sum, by reason of the defect of grinding on account of the
pestilence. At Doddington two carucates of land used to be worth 60 shillings, and
now the said jurors know not how to extend the said land because the famuli and
servientes are dead, and no one is willing to hire the land. The water mill is sunk
from 30 shillings to 6/8 because the tenants are dead. Owen and Blakeway's
Shrewsbury, i. 165. Very many similar instances are given by F. Gasquet.

An Inspeximus of a charter of Simon, Bishoi) of Ely (dated 12 Sept. 1365),
regarding the parish churches of All Saints and S. Giles, of Cambridge, near the
Castle, asserts that the parishioners of All Saints are for the most part dead by
pestilence, and those that are alive are gone to the parishes of other churches;
and that the parishioners of S. Giles's have died; and that the nave of All Saints
is ruinous, and the bones of dead bodies are exposed to the beasts ; and he unites

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 333

While the plague was actually raging Parliament could A.D. 1307
not meet^ but a proclamation was at once issued'"' by the p^^ j^^
king with the advice of certain prelates and nobles, of which '"O"-

All Saints and S. Giles. App. to Sixth Report of Commission on Historical MSS.,
299. See also Dunston in Norfolk. Suckling's Suffolk, i. 195.

Some interesting information as to the plagne in Lancashire is obtainable from
a document in regard to claims for probate duty, as well as the administration of
the estates of persons who had died intestate. It was printed by Mr A. G. Little
in the English Historical Review, 1890, p. 524, 1891, p. 153.

On the enrolment of wills in London see Sharpe, Wills, xxvii. Many orphans
died at Sandwich, and the Mayor as trustee had to make special arrangements for
their property. Lyon, Dover, n. 306.

Walsingham [Hist. i. 273) puts the mortality at more than half, and mentions
the common opinion that not a tenth of the people were left alive. The numbers
given for Leicester seem to be exaggerated, unless they cover a period of years
(Bateson, Records of the Borough of Leicester, n. p. Ixiv.); Knyghton states
(Decern Scriptores, 2599) that 380 died in the little parish of S. Leonard, more
than 400 in S. Cross, and more than 700 in S. Margaret's pai-ish ; his account of
the ravages of the plague in Southern Europe and the East is also interesting.
There was formerly an inscription in the Church at Great Yarmouth which
reckoned the deaths there at 7,052. Weever's Funeral Monuments, 862.

A similar record has been preserved about Bodmin. In registro apud Bodmin
Ecclesia fratn/m vainorum Mag7ia pestUencia per vniuersum munduwi Inter Sara-
cenos quam paganos et pos<ca inter Christiauos Incepit pnmo in singulis ctVca
Kalend' August' et parwTw ante n&tivitatevi domini Intrauit villam Bodmine vbi
mortui fuerwrat ctVca Mille quingentorum per pestilenciam Et nuTwerus fratrum
defimctorum vt (?) in capitvlo generali lugdun' celebratum anno christi 1351 vaque
ad aliud seque;!S capitulum. generale fueruw< de ffratrtbus tresdecim milia octingenti
octoginta tres exceptis sex vicariis. Itinerary of WiUiam of Worcester, Corpus
Christi Library, Cambridge, 210, f. 29.

1 Rot. Pari. u. 225 (4). The corresponding state of things in other countries is
worth comparing. A good deal of evidence for Italian towns has been collected by
Dr. Kovalevsky in his article in the Z. f. Social- und Wirthschaftsgeschichte, 1895.
In France a gi-eat Ordounance dealing with all matters of trade and industi-y waa
issued in 1350, which contains the following clause (Tit. 52, Art. 231) : NuUe per-
sonne qui preune argent pour son sabm-e pour jouruee, ou pour ses oeuvres, ou
pour marchandise qu'U face de sa main, ou face faire en son hostel pour vendre, et
desquels U n'est ordonne en ces presentes ordonnances, ne pourra pour sa journee,
salaue, ou deniers, prendre que le tiers plus de ce qu'il prenoit avaut la mortalite,
sur les peins dessus contenus. Ordonnances des rois de France de la troisieme race,
n. p. 377. From Levasseur's account it seems that the chief difficulty in France
lay with the gilds of artisans who about this time endeavoured to insist on monopoly
rates for all work done by craftsmen. Classes ouvriires, i. p. 396.

In England the disturbance of prices affected aU persons who lived on fixed
incomes, and appears to have been severely felt by Parish Priests, whose demands
for increased fees and payments were met by a statute in 1362. 36 Ed. III. c. 8.

2 23 Ed. m. The plague first attracted attention in London as a public
danger at the very end of 1348, as the meeting of Parliament had to be postponed
(Eymer, Fcedera, m. i. 168). The proclamation about wages was issued, according
to the copy printed in the Statute Book, ou 18 June 1349 ; in Rymer it is placed in
1350, which would have allowed a very long time to elapse without any interven-
tion [Faedera, in. i. 198) . ParUament did not meet till February 1351.

334 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

AD. 1307 the preamble states that " many seeing the necessity of
~^^''^- masters and great scarcity of servants will not serve unless
they get excessive wages," and that consequently the land
can be scarcely tilled. Everyone, free or villan, who can
work and has no other means of livelihood, is not to refuse
to do so for anyone who offers the accustomed wages ; each
lord is to have the preference in hiring the men on his own
estate, but none is to have too many men for his work ;
no labourer is to leave his employment before the specified
time ; nor to receive more rations or wages than he did in
the twentieth year of the king and the common years before
that; none are to give or take more wages in town or
country, — for the proclamation mentions saddlers, skinners,
tailors, smiths, carpenters as well as farm labourers, — subject
to definite and severe penalties. After thus enjoining the old
terms with respect to wages, the proclamation insists on
reasonable prices for victuals and all the necessaries of life ;
and announces a strict penalty against valiant beggars who
though able to work preferred to wander about as tramps,
while those who gave them support were to be imprisoned ;
this and a previous clause seem to imply that there was some
system organised by the labourers to enforce their demands,
""^ Subsequently the same regulations were enacted by a statute S

A.D. 1351. insisting on the accustomed wages for work of various kinds,
— mowing, reaping, threshing, the labour of carpenters,
masons, plasterers, their servants, tilers, and carriers, as well
as shoemakers and other craftsmen, — and at the same time
decreeing a limit for the price of corn and other victuals, and
A.D. 1357. insisting on the use of the old measures. Strenuous efforts
were made by the appointment of special justices to bring
these measures into operation'^, the sums obtained in the form
of penalties offered a new source of revenue, and were at first
applied to the relief of existing taxation^ In the year 1360
the penalties were rendered far more severe, as labourers and
artificers were no longer to be merely fined but imprisoned
without the option of bail ; those who broke their agreement
and went into another country were to be outlawed, pursued
and branded with F " for their falsity " ; while towns

1 25 Ed. in. St. n. c. 1. 2 B. H. Putman, op. cit. 15. ^ Ibid. 105.

COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 335

where runaways were harboured were to be fined ten a.d. 1307
pounds^.

There are very many interesting points to be noted in Policy of
regard to this legislation. It had two different sides, — in wages and
the first place it tried to fix fair rates of wages, and in the ?^'**^*^-
second to insist that men should do work if it was offered
them and not become vagrant tramps; this second object of
the statute marks the beginning of a great part of our
legislation in regard to the poor — not the destitute poor, but
the ' valiant beggars ' — and it has been much less criticised
than that which fixed the rates of wages. But as in the
case of the legislation for trade, so in regard to these
regulations for wages, there is need of a warning against
trying to jvidge about the facts of the time, unless we first
attempt to comprehend its ideas ; it is difficult to agree with
Mr Seebohm^ and other writers in thinking that it was
unjust to try to prevent wages from being determined by
competition, when the prices of goods were not so determined.
Prices were then so closely connected with wages, that there
seemed to be good ground for expecting that if wages were
forced back to their old level the abnormal prices would no
longer be demanded. Both the proclamation and the subse-
quent statute attempt to regulate prices and wages together,
both in town and country districts, and to go back to the time
when normal rates had ruled I Under these circumstances it
is not reasonable to denounce these statutes as t3n'annously
oppressive towards the labouring classes.

In spite of the strenuous efforts to enforce them, the
statutes do not seem to have been very successful in driving
back the rates of wages. Competition for labour was keen ;

1 34 Ed. III. cc. 9. 10, 11. 2 Fortnightly Review, n. 273.

8 Chronicles, 1348. Contemporaries remarked on the variations of prices.
Under 1337 Holinshed notes, ' ' The King sought by all waies possible how to recover
monie, both to supplie his charges for the Scotish wars and also to furnish the
other wars which he meant to take in hand against the French King : he got so
much into his hands that it was verie scant and hard to come by throughout the
whole realme : by reason of which scarsitie and want of monie, or upon some
other necessarie cause, vittels and other chaffer and merchandize were exceeding
cheape," n. p. 605. When peace was made in 1348 and wealth pomed into
England, so that most " English maides and matrons were bedecked and trimmed
up in French womens jewels and apparel " (Holinshed, n. p. 649), the drain of
coinage would cease and prices would be likely to rise : the simultaneous reduction

336 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 and wages were not kept at the statutory level though they
"" ■ were " kept for ten years at a lower level than would have
resulted from a regime of free competition^"; and they also
gave employers an increased hold over labourers who went off
before their term of service was up''. But the shock to
society brought about a greater mobility of labour on the
whole, and the era of competitive wages had begun. Parlia-
ment failed in the attempt to go back to the old customary
conditions ; and began to make persistent efforts to organise
a new system of reasonable wages, and regulated prices to be
enforced by central authority. It is by a curious irony that the
nineteenth century, which under ordinary circumstances ac-
cepted competition with all its severe pressure on the weak
as the only possible method of adjusting wages, and which
familiarised us with the countless oppressions of the poor
labourer by contractors and sweaters, should have been so
much shocked at the men who refused to regard competition
as a satisfactory means of determining wages, and who en-
deavoured— with little success indeed, but still honestly — to
calculate wages that should be fair.

IV. Craft Gilds.
Crafi 104. No industrial institution in the Middle Ages has

**''^** attracted more interest than the craft gilds, but though a
considerable mass of documentary evidence is available for
the study of their practice and powers, there has been a
curious conflict of opinion in regard to many fundamental
questions about them. Increased investigation of local
archives will doubtless throw fresh light on points which
are still unsettled ; but in order to read aright the evidence
at present available, it is necessary to resist the temptation

of the size of the coins would of course make these fluctuations more striking.

Another author recognised the connection between the continued demands of
the labourers and the advance of prices which was due to the depreciation of the
coinage in 1351. Willelmus de Edyiigdone excogitavit et fecit insculpi novam
monetam, scilicet grossum et dimidium grossum sed hsec eraut minoris ponderis
quam correspondens summa sterlingorum. Quae res fuit expost occasio, quod
victualia sive mercimonia fuere per totam Angliam magis cara. Operarii vero et
artifices ac servientes proinde caUidiores et fraudulentiores soUto sunt effecti.
Thomas of Walsingham, Hist. Aug. l 276.

1 B. H. Putmau, op. cit. 221. 2 ibid. 195.

CRAFT GILDS. 337

to seek for parallels with the policy of modern Trades' a.d. 1307
Unions*, and to beware of pressing the similarities between
English craft gilds and their continental analogues too
closely '^ It may be worth while to recall the conclusions
already stated as to the earlier history of the towns before
going into any details about those industrial organisations.

Some reason has been adduced above for believing that Their
craft gilds (or corps de metiers) existed in the Norman, origin.
Flemish and German towns in the twelfth century, and
were first introduced into this country as royally authorised
organisations among alien artisans settled in English towns.
They appear to have been in occasional conflict with the
town authorities, but by the beginning of the fourteenth
century the causes of disagreement seem to have been set
at rest ; and the Mayor of London had succeeded in esta-
blishing authority over the Weavers' Gild in 1300^ From
that time onwards gilds were organised among the inhabitants
who worked at one craft, with the consent and approval of the
municipal government, and were utilised for certain purposes
of police and regulation by the town officials.

But though the craft gild seems to have been of foreign Favourahle-
extraction, the circumstances of the English towns in which in En-
it had taken root must have greatly affected its growth. ^ '
In German towns in the eleventh century there were privi-
leged merchants who carried on foreign trade*. They were
not a very large class ^ but they had a position of superiority
in the towns, and in the thirteenth century these wealthy
merchants made an oppressive use of their powers. In
England there does not appear to have been any correspond-
ing native class in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", as

1 As e.g. in Mr Howell's Trades Unions. The distmction is admirably drawn
by Mr and Mrs Webb, and the opinion that the modem Unions had an historical
connection with the old gUds is disproved. History of Trades Unionism, 14.

2 This appears to me to be a defect in Dr Brentano's Essay in the Inti'oduction
to Toulmin Smith's English Gilds ; a work which deservedly attracted much atten-
tion, and influenced the treatment adopted by Mr J. R. Green and others.

^ Lih. Cust. 121. The new ordinances which were then established, providing
for the reception of weavers from abroad (c. 14), and in regard to the court (cc. 12
and 23) are not commonly foimd in gild regulations. Compare also Ibid. 416 seq.

* Regalium institores urbium. Lappenberg, Hamh. Urhunderibuch, \. p. 56.

*• Nitzsch, Ministerialitat und B'drgerthum, p. 203.

6 See above, pp. 189, n. 6, and 223, n. 1.

C. H. 22

338 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 SO much of the foreign trade was done by aliens. A class of
~ ' wealthy London dealers had grown up in the fourteenth
century, and they formed organisations of their own, like the
Fishmongers, Grocers, Mercers, Drapers and Vintners' com-
panies^; but in many towns craft gilds had taken shape
before special classes of dealers in wares were organised, and
without being subjected to the hostile influences^ of which
the artisans in Flemish cities complained^

As distinguished from the twelfth century weavers' gilds,
which took their authority from the Crown, the fourteenth
century craft gilds were created with the approval of the
civic authorities, and controlled by them. Some friction may
have occasionally occurred in the differentiation of craft gilds
Formation and delegation of authority*. A very early instance of the
lonmers' formation of such a craft gild is found in connection with
■■^* ■ the lorimers, who did the smith's work for bits and other

harness : " These are the provisions which the forgers of
lorimery in Loudon* have provided by the common counsel
of them all, and with the assent of Sir William FitzRichard,
the then Mayor of London, and the other barons of the same
city, for the amendment and relief of the mistery^ and the
honour of the city, and for the abating of all guiles and
A.D. 1261. trickery." They insist on the Saturday half-holiday and
various other holidays ; they provide against the enticing
away of apprentices, and fix the terms on which apprentices
may be taken and strangers received to work. " These
provisions aforesaid to hold and to keep all those of the
mistery have sworn, and before the Mayor aforesaid and the
barons of the city have granted ; and, for the greater surety,
all the masters of the mistery and the wardens likewise have
confirmed this writing with the impress of their seals."

1 See above, p. 324, below, p. 382.

2 In some Italian towns the industrial companies appear to have been
organised for public convenience. The Lucca statutes of 1308 show that the silk-
trades and the wool-weavers' tr&de were under the authority of the Merchants
[Arch. Stor. Ital. x. Doc. p. 58), but as early as 1255 a corporation of silk-dyers
existed and had their composition approved (Bini, I Lucchesi a Venezia,i. 58) and
the weavers had a corporation (universitas) of their own in 1320 and 1358 (lb. i. 63).

8 The history of Coventry affords a striking iUnstration ; a bakers' gUd — a body
which still exists — was authorised by the town authorities in 1208. W. G. Fretton,
Memorials of the Bakers' Gnild, Coventry, in Mid-England (March 1880), p. 122.

4 Bateson, Leicester Town Records, i. xxxiv.

6 Liber Oust. ii. 535. ^ Ministerium, not ixvarnpiov.

CRAFT GILDS. 339

The doings of the cord wain ers are also of interest, a.d. 1307
* Whereas many good folks cordwainers of the City of London ^o^f^.''
have given to understand unto John le Blount, Mayor, and '""*"^^*-
unto the Aldermen of the same city, that some persons of
their trade work false things — that is to say, mix basiP with
cordwain^, and calfskin with cowskin, and cut out shoes of
basil, of calfskin, and of dogskin and sell the same to knights
and other great lords of the land for cordwain and kid :

" And that many of the mistery trade with denizens and
strangers, and are not freemen or sworn to the franchise, to
the great scandal of the craft and the damage of the common
people of the land, rich and poor ; and it is ordained, as for a
long time heretofore it has been provided and established,
that those who shape and make shoes shall mix no manner
of leather with other, but shall make them wholly of one
leather, &c. :

" And for the maintaining and performing of these points
there are chosen four proved men of the mistery... who are
charged to go each month at least, and at all times when
they shall hear that there is necessity, throughout the trade
and make search ; and the articles they shall find made
and mixed they shall take and bring into the chamber of
the Guildhall, to take their award before the Mayor and
Aldermen according to the law and the usages of the City
of London.

"And the said four men are charged upon their oath that
all the names of those who become master cordwainers and
others makers of shoes, and who trade with denizens and
strangers, who are not sworn to the franchise — that such
names they shall present unto the Chamberlain of the com-
munity, to be shown unto the Mayor and the Aldermen....

" And it is forbidden that the servant workmen in
cordwaining or others shall hold any meeting to make
provision which may be to the prejudice of the trade and
to the detriment of the common people, under pain of
imprison ment '. "

1 French, Bazen, inferior leather made from sheepskin (Riley).

2 A tawed leather made in imitation of that of Cordova in Spain, similar
probably to the modern morocco leather (RUey).

* Liber Cust. u. 540. Compare also Riley, Memorials, for articles of Armourers,

22—2

340 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 The ordinances of the London crafts were enrolled in the

1377

BeJation to City records, and alterations were only made by the City au-
municipai thoritics^ ; the oath of the masters and wardens^, as well as the

€illtfi07'lt'lBS

attempts of the civic authorities to strengthen their hands=*,
testify to the fact that these industrial bodies exercised their
powers under the constant and friendly supervision of the City
authorities. The people of Exeter were careful to preserve
full control over the cordwainers' gild ; for they compelled
them to deliver up their powers every year to the town
authorities, and to pay a fine for having them renewed*;
and the evidence of the compositions, or annual agreements
between the town authorities and the gilds, which survive
for one place* or another, illustrates the care that was
taken to maintain complete control over the gilds. In the
case of the building trades generally, it appears that the
Mayors and Aldermen did not encourage the formation of
gilds, but kept powers of direct regulation in their own
hands*; they were also always ready to put down self-con-
stituted authorities^

In the above cases we see that the craft gilds received
authorisation from the municipal officials^; where the town
had no real rights of self-government, the craft gild might
derive its authority from the lord of the manor, as was
the case with the Cutlers' Company of Sheffield in its early

p. 145; Pelterers, p. 153; Girdlers, pp. 154, 216; Tapicers, p. 179; Cutlers, p. 217 j
Spurriers, p. 2'26 ; Whittawyers, p. 232 ; Heaumers, p. 237 ; Hatters, p. 239 ;
Pewterers, p. 241 ; Glovers, p. 245 ; Shearmen, p. 247 ; Furbishers, p. 258 ; Braelers,
p. 277; Masons, p. 280; Farriers, p. 292; Waxcbandlers, p. 300; Plumbers, p. 321;
Bowyers, p. 348 (a peculiarly full account) ; Haberdashers, p. 354 ; Blacksmiths,
p. 361 ; Scriveners, p. 372 (fuU account) ; Barbers, pp. 394, 606 (full accounts) ;
Founders, p. 512; Fletchers, p. 556; Limners, p. 657; Forcemakers, p. 563;
Brasiers, p. 625 ; Stringers, p. 634. I have thought it worth while to enumerate
these cases; not one gives any indication of the oppression which is commonly
spoken of, and the accounts of all confirm, or at least harmonise with, the
statements in the text.

1 See additions made for Cordwainers, Riley, Memorials, 391 ; for Cutlers, Ibid.
439 ; Blacksmiths, Ibid. 568.

2 Liber Albus, i. 527. » Ibid. i. 494.
* Toulmin Smith, English Gilds, 334.

s Hull. Lambert, Two Thousand Years. Shrewsbury. Hibbert, Influence of
Gilds. *> Webb, Trades Unionism, 8.

' See the case of Hugh the Limeburner. Riley, Memonals, 174.

^ Compare also the estabUshment of a taUors craft by the Mayor of Northamp-
ton in 1344. Markham, Records of Northampton, i. 276.

CRAFT GUILDS. 341

davs^ When the industrial monopolies were effectively A.D. 1307
controlled by local authorities, as was secured by the
administrative system at BristoP, there seems to have been
little trouble ; but disputes arose in cases where any gild of
craftsmen claimed to be independent of local authority. This
had probably been the real reason of the disagreement between
the twelfth century weavers and the towns ; and difficulties
of the same sort arose again and again where aliens were
introduced into a town under royal protection. The Flemish
weavers, who were introduced under Edward III., did not at
once fall into line with the established crafts. The London
weavers were anxious to retain a monopoly', and they would
in any case be unwilling to have so many skilled intruders
settling among them* When they had to submit to accept
the Flemings as neighbours, they tried to force them to
belong to the Weavers' Gild^ This the king refused
to allow ; but subsequently the Flemings and Brabanters
organised an alien Weavers' Gild of their own, with the
approval of the Mayor and Aldermen, and the quarrel was
set at rest when the civic jurisdiction was fully recognised^

The same sort of difficulty, from the incomplete control of Burghs
the local authorities, occurred in other towns besides London, "y'iids!^"''
and the Commons complained in 1376 that many of the
Mayors of burghs were prevented from exercising their office
thoroughly, by the special charters which had been granted
to certain misteries, and prayed that these special charters
might be rescinded so that the hands of the local powers might
be strengthened^. In one instance — that of the tailors of
Exeter — the difficulty cropped up in the time of Edward IV.*,
owing to the special charter they held from the king, which
enabled them to defy the municipality.

1 Hunter's Hallamshire (Gatty), p. 150. The Oyster-dredgers of Faversham,
who are said to date from the time of Henry II., are described as governed by
salutary laws and amenable to courts appointed by the Lord of the Manor. Pen-
nant, Journey to Isle of Wight, i. 97.

2 Bickley, Little Red Booh of Bristol, xxi.

3 They apparently were guilty of abusing their privileges to their own advantage,
e.g. by refusiug to admit qualified strangers. Eiley, Liber Custum. 424i.

* Ashley, English Woollen Industry, 47. Delpit, Collection, CLXvirt.

5 Madox, Firma Burgi, 283. 6 Eiley, Memorials, 306, 331.

f Bat. Farl. u. 331, No. 54. 8 Toulmin ^mii\i, English Guilds, 299.

342 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 105. The purpose of these gilds was the regulation of

'conditions work in such fashion that the public might be well served,
of industry, and that the trade might therefore flourish. The conditions
of supply and demand in each city were so well known
that it was possible to attempt to bring them under
control, and the whole industrial life was governed by
different ideas from those which are at present in vogue.
To-day each manufacturer works to produce at as low a
price as possible, and thus to force a sale for his goods by
their cheapness. In old times the effort was to secure
satisfactory conditions for production — skilled workers and
honest materials — and to ensure a price which should be
Reasonable ' reasonable ' to receive, and therefore reasonable to pay, for
such wares thus made. The tendency in the present day
is for the conditions and quality of work to conform to
the market price, and to be ruled by the opportunities for
sale, whereas in old days the conditions of production were
attended to first of all, and the price asked and the develop-
ment of the trade were rendered conformable to these prior
and fundamental conditions. It is, of course, true that the
two sets of conditions must react on one another, but none
the less has the change been very striking; it comes out
more curiously perhaps in the proceedings of mercantile
than of industrial associations ; but it was the real basis on
which all mediaeval dealings were supposed to rest and on
which all gild ordinances were founded.
Oioects of In order that the trade might thus be well conducted it
legidation. was necessary that the wares should be of good quality ; but
this could only be secured if men who were really skilled in
the trade were appointed to supervise, with a right of search
into all that was done by the craftsmen ; they had to see to
the quality of materials, the skill of the workmen^ and often
to the time of working. Thus night work was apt to be
secret work and badly executed work ; while it gave oppor-
tunities for fraud and was also objectionable as disturbing to
the public* ; and it was consequently prohibited.

1 Thus the Braelers were to examine any strangers who came to the town and
wished to follow their trade, and to report to the Mayor whether he was properly
skilled, and of good standing for dwelling in the same city. Riley, Memorials, 277.

2 Ochenkowski, Enylands wirthschaft. Entwiclc, 72.

CRAFT GILDS, 343

The wardens who exercised this right of search could not a.d. 1307
supervise the trade unless they had some hold over the crafts- ~~ " '
man ; and hence it was required that the members of the
craft should be resident, and that some householder should
be responsible for each of them — the master for the appren- Re/tponsi-
tice who resided under his roof. To some extent, therefore, ' ' '*^"
it was a police system^, but it was also a brotherhood; many
of the regulations about enticing away the apprentices or
servants of another master in the craft, or about not working
on holidays and so forth, were intended to secure fair play
between the different craftsmen and to exclude an unfair
and dishonourable competition which could not be for the
ultimate good of the trade. It is unnecessary to attempt
to illustrate the various parts of this policy in detail; it
must suffice to have sketched thus biiefly the principles
which governed it. There are probably few, if any, ordi-
nances which have come down to us that do not become
intelligible when they are viewed in the light of these prin-
ciples.

There is however one question of great difficulty which Craft giidt
is suggested by these regulations ; it has been said above merchant.
that a gild merchant, Avith powers to regulate trade, existed
in many English towns ; what then was the relation of
the craft gilds to the gilds merchant ? Of course in many
towns this question does not arise ; in London, from which
most of the. illustrations have been taken, the gild merchant
had no distinct organisation in times for which we have "
records — if indeed it had ever existed at all ; in Coventry
the Bakers' Gild had been established for more than a century
before any gilda mercatoria was created. But it seems as if
the gilds merchant and craft gilds must have existed con-
temporaneously in some towns ; it may be possible to discover
the relations which subsisted between these two sets of
authorities, but it is not easy to do so.

It may be said at once that there is no evidence that Xo rivalry
they were conflicting or rival authorities — no instances have *" "^ **
been alleged of disputed jurisdiction between gilds mer-
chant and craft gilds. Indeed the chief difficulty in regard

* Ochenkowski, Englands wirthschaft. Entwick., 66.

344 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 to the matter arises from the fact that there is so little
~ " mention in the fourteenth century of gilds merchant at all ;
they seem to have passed out of sight altogether. There
appear to be only two ways of accounting for this strange
silence; we may suppose, either (i), that the gild merchant
had been practically absorbed into the civic government of
the town, or (ii) that the crait gilds were specialised branches
of the old gilds merchant, and that these particular bodies
supplied for each trade in a town the supervision which had
been originally exercised by the gild merchant generally and
over all. When we recall the fact that the relations of the
gild merchant to the burgh differed in different places, we
shall see that we are not even justified in assuming that
any single hypothesis will explain the disappearance of the
gild merchant in all towns alike. It seems quite probable
that each of the alternative hypotheses already suggested is
true for certain places; and that in some towns the gild
merchant became practically identical with the governing
authority of the townS while in others it survived as an
aggregate of special craft gilds. Indeed they might be true
together; for it is to be noticed that the two hypotheses
are not mutually exclusive ; the gild merchant, as identified
with the town authority, might call craft gilds into being,
while the members of the gild merchant formed the body
out of which the separate gilds were carved.
Gilds mer- The gild merchant has been treated as identical with
troUing"^' *^® burgh by so many lawyers, and the difficulty of distin-
crafts. guishing the two is so great, that it is likely enough that
the gild merchant was really combined with the town, in
creating and controlling craft gilds among the inhabitants ;
the functions in this respect, which Poulson ascribes to the
gild merchant of Beverley, are exactly those which were
exercised by burgh authorities. "Another regulation of
" this gilda mercatoria or merchant fraternity was appoint-
"ing lesser gilds, with an alderman or warden to each, so
"that each description of trade was governed by its own
" particular rules, subject to the approbation and control of
"the twelve governors'."

1 At Wisbech a religious gild was the precursor of the civic corporation which
obtained its charter from Edward VI. Watson, Wisbech, 173.

2 Poulson, Beverlac, i. 112.

CRAFT GILDS. 845

That in some instances the members of the craft ffilds a.d. 1307

^ 1377

were also members of the gild merchant is abundantly
proved. The history of industrial life in Shrewsbury has Craftsmen
been preserved in unusual detail. We there see that from J/^^^ ^^l°f
its first foundation the gild merchant contained craftsmen^ ; <^hant.
and as time went on and special gilds were formed for
special trades their members continued to possess the privi-
leges of membership in the gild merchant ^ Dr Gross has
quoted cases where the aggregate of craft gilds were spoken
of as the gild merchant'; and it may be regarded as estab-
lished that in such towns as Reading, Andover, Carlisle,
Ipswich and Kendal at all events, the old gild merchant
lived on, not so much as a distinct body, but in the life
of the separate crafts into which it had been specialised.

I venture to add two remarks, which may serve as sug- Changing
gestions for further enquiry, though they are little more
than speculations at present. There is one feature in some
English craft gilds which inclines me to think that this pro-
cess of specialisation, which has been established in one or
two instances, was not uncommon. According to the ancient
custom of London, the man who served his seven years'
apprenticeship in any trade became, not merely free to
practise that particular calling, but free to trade in any
fashion within the City. There was a recognised liberty for
a freeman to change his business^ and this ancient right,

1 GiM Merchant Rolls, printed by the Rev. C. H. Drinkwater in Salop Archceo-
logical Trans., Ser. ii. Vol. n. p. 29, and Royal Historical Society Trans., 1895.

2 Hibbert, Influence of Gilds, 23.

8 Gross, Gild Merchant, i. 118. This appears to me the correct intei-pretation
of the evidence about Newcastle. Dendy, Merchant Adventurers, i. xxiv.

* Compare the Complaint of the Weavers against a Grocer printed in Appendix
C, and for York, Drake's Ehoracum, 212. See also my article in the Z.f. Social-
und Wirthschaftsgeschichte (1893), i. 60. A typical case is reported by Sir Henry
Calthrop. Reports of Special Cases, Hilary Term, 12 James I.

"The said John Tolley doth plead a special plea in bar, shewing that there is
t» custome of London, which hath been used time out of minde of man, — That
every Citizen and Freeman of London which hath been an Apprentice in London
unto any trade by the space of seven years, may lawfully and well relinquish that
trade and exercise any other at his will and pleasure. And sheweth further, —
That all the customs of London were confii-med by King Richard EC. in the parlia-
ment holden La the seventh year of his reign. And averreth, That he had served
one in the Trade of a Wool Packer, as an apprentice, by the space of seven years,
and that he was a Citizen and Freeman of London, and that he did relinquish the

346 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 though often attacked was never abrogated ; this custom
was probably in vogue in the towns which followed the
custom of London ^ This curious usage is quite intelligible
on the supposition that the crafts were all mere branches of
such a body as a gild merchant, and that each formed an
avenue by which an apprentice became free of all the trade
privileges of the town ; but it is difficult to reconcile with the
suppositions that the craft gilds were formed either by asso-
ciation in self-defence or by the civic powers with mere re-
ference to the economic efficiency of each industry.
Hifjh Medieval gilds were very numerous both in town and

cuifts7nen. country places'^ : but even when existing solely for religious
objects, they appear to have been formed by men and women
of some social status, and to have been somewhat exclusive-
When the institution came to be adapted to be an organ of
industrial regulation, within a town, it did not lose this
exclusive character, and the craft gilds appear to have

trade of a Wool Packer, and betook to himself the trade of an Upholsterer, as
lawful! it was for him to do." * * *

" As to the first question, which is the lawfulnesse of the custome, it was agreed
to be good; for it might have a reasonable construction, beginning and just cause
for the putting of it in execution, in so much that London, being a famous City
for traffique and commerce, cannot but sometimes have merchants and tradesmen
in it, who by misadventure of Pyrates, or Shipwrack in the Seas, or by the con-
fiscation of their goods in Forraign Countries abroad, or by casualties of fire etc.
at home have theii- estates sunk ; * * * And it were lamentable, that when
inevitable casualities have disabled a man to proceed in that course wherein he
was brought up, he now should not be permitted to acquire his living by any other
trade. Also it may be, that the trade whereunto he was an Apprentice, requireth
great labour and strength of the body, as the trade of a Smith, Carpenter and such
like, and that through sickness or other disasters befaln him, he is become infirm
in body and weak in strength, whereby he is not able to use that trade. Now to
debar him of all other trades which are more befitting his crazy body were some-
what unreasonable. Wherefore, to meet with these inconveniencies, and to give
incouragement unto the Citizens and Freemen of London, this custome of rehn-
quishing the trade whereunto they had been apprenticed by the space of seven
years, and betaking themselves unto another trade. Hath had a perpetuall al-
lowance, and being grounded upon so good reason, still hath its continuance, and
may not any ways be called m question for the unreasonablenesse of it."

1 See above, p. 224. The argument does not assume that there was a formally
organised gild merchant in London, but only that the full trading privileges of
London were open to aU burgesses and were not lost by any of them when they
joined craft gilds.

2 There seems to be no reason for supposing that Cambridgeshire was specially
favourable to this form of organisation, and if it is really typical the number
throughout the country must have been enormous. M. Bateson, Cambridge Oilds
(Camb. Ant. Soc), also W. M. Palmer, Gilds of Camhridyeshire in Cambs and
Hunts Arch. Soc. Trans. I. 330.

CRAFT GILDS. 347

consisted of the aristocracy of labour^ and its membership was A.D. 1307
recruited from those who had trading privileges in that town.
Journeymen in Enghind were not a very well defined and
important class, and there seem to have been large bodies of
half-instructed helpers and unskilled labourers who had no
part in the gild at all. The good men of the trade governed
it, with constant supervision from the town authorities, but
the craft gilds can hardly be regarded as democratic bodies ;
they were apparently the dlite of each trade, and each was
closely attached to the interest of a particular town.
There seems to have been less regular intercommunication
among men of the same craft in different towns in England
than there was on the Continent ; and these features in the
craft life are at least congruent with the opinion that the
craftsmen here inherited the local exclusiveness of the gild
merchant. This is confirmed by a consideration of the trades
in which craft gilds are known to have existed ; in London
almost every possible industry had its own gild, but there
are some remarkable omissions in the later lists. It almost
seems as if, when weaving was diffused through the country
and regulated by statute, the weavers' gilds, which had been
the earliest of all — fell into abeyance ; while we have hardly
any evidence as to the labour organisations among the masons
who built our great cathedrals. That there was organisation
we cannot doubt ^ but it seems to have been based on
different lines from that of the ordinary craft gild. The
English craft gilds were formed not merely of any men who
were skilled in some craft, but of those who, being free to
trade within some place, practised a particular handicrafts In

1 This point is well brought out by Mr and Mrs Webb. Trades Unionism, 37.
Compare also Mrs Green, Town Life, ii. 101, who refers specially to the case of
Norwich in 1340. Hudson, Leet Jurisdiction, Ixvi.

2 Webb, Trades Unionism, 8. Some suggestive details wiU be found in Raine's
York Fabric Rolls, 171, 181.

3 The ordinances of the Gu-dlers are most instructive on this point. The
London girdlers had a charter which gave the wardens of their trade a right of
search along with local girdlers throughout the kingdom ; and the custom of the
Loudon craft would be likely to influence those of other towns. (Riley, Afem. 154.)
The London rules insist that no one should take an apprentice unless he was free
of the City, and that no stranger should be admitted to work unless he would serve
as an apprentice or buy his freedom. No women were to be set to work in the
trade with the exception of the master's wife or daughter. Compare also the

Analogies.

348 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 any case where membership of the gild merchant went along
~^^'^' with membership in the craft gild, the right of the craftsman
to change his trade becomes intelligible, and the comparative
exclusiveness of the crafts would be the natural tendency in
gilds developed on this basis. Just because the craftsmen had
the fullest trading privileges in these towns, their gilds were
less able to welcome or find a place for members who did not
possess such freedom to traded
Scotch The curious difference, which may arise in the develop-

ment of similar institutions, is illustrated by comparing the
town history of Scotland with that of England. The Scotch
towns derived much of their constitution from Newcastle
and the custom of London ; but there was a strong Flemish
influence from the first, and this was ofiicially recognised
after the war of Independence'^; while the weakness of the
royal power in Scotland gave rise to political conditions which
resembled those of Flanders rather than of England.

The division of the inhabitants into guildry and burgesses
reveals a state of affairs like that at Bruges or Ghent ; for
the guildry appear to have been an inner circle or mercantile
aristocracy, and the mere burgesses did not attain to full
trading privileges. Nothing analogous to craft gilds, or
'trades,' appears to have existed in Scotland till the fifteenth
century, and at that time each craft was regulated by a deacon
appointed by the town, which was practically governed by
the guildry. During the fifteenth and sixteenth century the
trades (or crafts) were constantly struggling to obtain the
power to elect their own deacons, and to have a share in
the government of the town, but it was only at the close
of the sixteenth century that they attained these desired
privileges. The local privileges survived till 1846, and gave

articles of the spurriers prohibiting aliens of another country or foreigners of this
country from following or using the trade unless they were enfranchised. Ibid. 227.

1 The merging of the gild merchant in the constitution of a town would teU
against the position of women in craft gilds. Women might be members of the
gild merchant but not burgesses; and would have no standing in craft gUds con-
sistiug of bui-gesses. (See below, p. 352.) On the whole position of Women in
Parisian and London GUds respectively, compare Miss Dixon's article in the
Economic Journal, 1895. The chief mention of them in London is in connection
with the feasts of the London Companies of Merchants. Heath, Grocers, 54.

2 Gross, Gild Merchant, i. 199.

CRAFT GILDS. 349

rise to frequent cases in the courts of law, so that the study A.D. 1307
of old town life in Scotland is facilitated by its survival till
recent times. But the continued existence of the guildry as
an active body, and as a body from which the craftsmen were
excluded, serves to accentuate the difference of development
in England and Scotland respectively^; such remarkable
divergences in the external relations and internal rules of
the craft gild bring out the necessity of studying the
evidence about this institution as it is found in each
country, and not trusting to the argument from analogy,
however tempting it may be.

106. When craft gilds reached their full development Gild
the members were ranked in three distinct classes^.

(a) Apprenticeship seems to have been at first a private
arrangement between a master, who was also a householder,
and a youth whom he undertook to instruct in his business ;
but it had become a recognised institution before the four-
teenth century ^ and was subject to public regulation in
London, and other towns adopted a similar practiced During
the fifteenth century it became the usual, if not the
only, method of entering a calling". The position oi Appren-
the apprentices may be most easily understood from
the terms of an indenture of the fifteenth century : —
" This indenture made the xviii day of September the a.d. 1480.

1 In Scotland the deacons concerned themselves with viewing articles exposed
for sale, but the right of search by the wardens, into the materials and conditions
of manufacture, was little exercised ; there was much laxity in Scotland about the
terms of apprenticeship and the essay or masterpiece was the chief test of fitness
for the trade ; little is heard of that in England though something of the sort was
required by the London Pewterers Company in 1559 (C. H. Welch, History of
Peioterers Company, i. 201), and several seventeenth century instances are
mentioned by Mr Uuwin {Gilds and Companies, 264, 347).

2 These grades are found in the highly developed gilds of Paris as early as the
thirteenth century (Etienne Boileau, Livre de metiers), and they are apparently
alluded to in the thirteenth century Assize of Bread, where servants and lads are
mentioned as well as the baker (see below, p. 568).

3 EUey, Lib. Cust. i. 93. See also p. 338 above. The growth of apprenticeship
in England has been carefuUy traced by Miss 0. J. Dunlop in an unpublished essay
on the National System of Apprenticeship.

4 Bristol, 1344 (Bickley, Little Red Booh, 36), Lincoln, 1328 (Toulmin Smith,
English Gilds, 183).

5 Miss Dunlop points out that the older practice bad been to admit any men
who could prove that they were skilful workmen into the craft gild (p. 342, n. 1
above) ; but that this practice, though not whoUy forgotten, became much less
common after the middle of the fourteenth century.

350 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

AD. i:?07 year of the reign of King Edward the iiiith the xxth between
~^^'^- John Gare of Saint Mary Cray in the county of Kent, cord-
wainer on that oon partie and Walter Byse, son of John Byse
sumtyme of Wimelton in the same county, fuller on that
other partie, Witnessith that the saide Walter hath cove-
nanted with the saide John Gare for the time of viii yeres,
and that the saide John Gare shall find the saide Walter
mete and drink and clothing during the saide time as to the
saide Walter shall be according. Also the saide John Gare
shall teche the saide Walter his craft, as he may and can,
and also the saide John Gare shall give him the first yere of
the saide viii yeres iiid in money, and the second yere vid
and so after the rate of iiid to an yere, and the last yere of
the saide viii yeres the saide John Gare shall give unto the
saide Walter x shillings of money. And the saide Walter
shall well and truly kepe his occupacyon, and do such things
as the saide John shall bid him do, as unto the saide Walter
shall be lawful and lefull, and the saide Walter shall be none
ale goer neyther to no rebeld nor sporte during the saide
viii yeres without the licence of the saide John, In witness
whereof the parties aforesaide chaungeably have put their
seales this daye and yere abovesaide^'
Relations There are many additional illustrations of the position

Masters, of apprentices as it was defined in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries Some rules are intended to protect the masters
against an apprentice leaving before his full time had expired,
or leaving in the master's debtl At Coventry (1520) no
capper was to take an apprentice unless he had two sureties
that he would perform his covenant ; if the apprentice com-
plained that he had not sufficient " finding'," and the master
was in fault, the apprentice was to be removed on the third
complaint and the master would have difficulty in replacing
him. Once a year, the principal master of the craft was to
go round the city, and examine every man's apprentice and
see they were properly taught. The Clothiers' regula-

1 MS. 0. 2. 53 in Trin. Coll. Carab. 2 Heaumers, Riley, Mem. 238.

3 Mrs Green notes that at Ii)swicli this included clothing, shoes, bedding, board
and chastisement. Hist. Mss. Com. ix. 259. At Romsey the apprentice was to
receive 10s. at the conclusion of his term. Ibid. v. 543. Elaborate rules for the
protection of apprentices existed at Northampton, C. A. Markham, Records, u. 320.

CRAFT GILDS. 351

tions, which appear to be of about the same date, though a.d. 1307
they are incorporated with rules of a later character, had a
system of allowing an apprentice to be turned over to another
master if his own master had no work, so that he might
not lose his time. In Norfolk, where a similar custom was
in vogue, the masters were liable to very severe punish-
ment' if the change worked unfairly to the apprentice.

(6) In describing the position of the aj^prentice it has Jour7uy-
been possible to draw on evidence from a later date, as servants.
the rules which were enforced in the fifteenth or sixteenth
century at all events serve to illustrate the condition of this
class. But there is much greater difficulty in obtaining
evidence about the journeymen ; this class is not so clearly
defined as that of the apprentices, and we have not sufficient
data to distinguish with certainty between skilled and un-
skilled helpers in any craft. The records of some continental
towns^ are full of regulations for the journeymen ; we read at
S. Omer^ that they were not to seek work at shops but were
to wait in public to be hired, that preference was to be given
to the decayed master, and to the burgess of the town over
the foreigner. In England the journeymen had occasionally
a position of importance* ; but for the most part the rules
about them and the serving men are confined to insisting on
the responsibility of masters for the conduct and welfare of
those they employed^, and with laying down that no master
is to entice away another man's servant®, and that the
servants are not to combine among themselves and make
congregations. The evidence which we have as to the
condition of the journeymen comes almost entirely from
times when disputes occurred between them and the
masters. Such difficulties arose after the Black Death among
the London Shearmen^, when the serving men and journey-

1 Paston Letters, i. 378.

2 In some places on the Continent the journeyman class was not more clearly
defined than in England. Somhart, Der modeme Capitalismus, i. 117.

3 Giry, ^S*. Omer, i. 349.

■1 At Exeter in 1481 two of the Cordwainers' Wardens were shopholders and
two were journeymen, English Gilds, 332. The ordinances of the London Bowyer
were agreed to by the serving men as well as the masters. Riley, Mem. 348.

5 Heaumers, Riley, Mem. 232, Braelers, Ibid. 277.

6 Sheai-men (1350), Riley, Mem. 247, Glovers, Ibid. 245, Braelers, Ibid. 277,
and Pewterers, Ibid. 244.

7 Ibid. 247, 250. See also the general order, 253.

Master.

352 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1307 men were combined in a demand for higher wages. But
~^^''^' similar trouble had arisen among the cordwainers as early as
1306^ and the journeymen were forbidden to make ordinances
for themselves. In 1887 there was a great conspiracy among
the servants in this craft to raise wages ; they maltreated a
'blackleg' who would not join them, and relied for assistance
from the Court of Rome on the kind offices of a friar^ At the
same time these conspiracies appear to have been merely
occasional, and there is at present little evidence that English
journeymen united in permanent associations*, such as were
common on the continents This lack of organisation is not
improbably connected with a difference of practice, for English
journeymen do not appear to have formed the habit of
spending some Wanderjahre in perfecting their acquaintance
with their craft^
The (c) The master was a substantial man and a householder

who both from his skill and his position in the town could
undertake the responsibility of training an apprentice. The
members of his household had a recognised position, for his
eldest son could claim to become free of the craft by patrimony,
and wife and daughter were permitted to help in the craft®
while he was prohibited from employing other women. In the
case of the London weavers these rights descended to his
widow, but in a restricted form ; for if she subsequently
married a man who was not of this craft, she had to relinquish
her house to someone who was a weaver^ Even in this care-
fully limited form the right seems to have been exceptional ;
for the position of women was much less favourable in the
gilds of London than in Paris ^. In the French town women
workers had gilds of their own, which were organised on
exactly the same type as the other corps de metiers ; while
women members were definitely recognised in many of the
other bodies ; women workers do not appear to have been

1 Lib. Oust. (E. S.), 84.

2 Riley, Mem. 495. As Mrs Green points out the friars were in several cases
accused of aiding and abetting these movements. Town Life, n. 125.

•* On the yeoman and bachelors gilds, see below, p. 443.

1 Schanz, Oesellen- Verhande, p. 31. 6 Webb, Trades Unionism, 23 n.

« English Gilds, 180. Riley, Memorials, 217, 278, 547.

7 Riley, Mem. 124. 8 Miss E. Dixon in Economic Journal, 1896.

CRAFT GILDS. 353

under any disability on account of their sex. In London, A.D. 1307
on the other hand, there seem to have been no organisations
among women workers in the fourteenth century, and the
privileges they enjoyed were very restricted. That they
were regarded as mere outsiders may also be inferred from
a statute, which left them free to pursue various callings
while it restrained any artisan from following more than
one^

V. Economic Doctrine.

107. The rapid development of trade, which had taken a.d. 1272
place in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, had rendered ~,"'.

^ _ . _ Hejiection

commerce a very important element in social life. The onecom-
commercial classes had attained an independent status in mena
their gilds merchant, and their representatives were able to
take a decided part in the government of the realm. And
as merchants had such a distinct and well marked position,
and were such an important factor in the State, it was
natural that special attention should be given to their
requirements, and that men should reflect on the conditions
which would promote the prosperity of merchants and
through them that of the realm. The time was ripe for an
advance in economic doctrine, for economic phenomena could
be easily examined as a well marked group of social affairs.

The fourteenth century too rendered some examination and
of commerce, and especially of the medium of exchange, not problmis.
only possible but inevitable. In many countries the coinage
had been much debased, and internal trade as well as
foreign commerce was hampered by the scarcity and de-
fective character of the circulating medium. The most in-

1 It is ordained that Artificers Handicraft People hold them every one to one
Mystery, which he will choose betwixt this and the said Feast of Candlemas ; and
Two of every Craft shall be chosen to survey, that none use other craft than the
same which he hath chosen * * But the Intent of the King and of his Council is,
that Women, that is to say, Brewers, Bakers, Carders and Spinners, and Workera
as well of Wool, as of Linen Cloth and of Silk, Brawdesters and Breakers of Wool
and aU other that do use and work all Handy Works may freely use and work as
they have done before this time, without any impeachment, or being restrained by
this Ordmance. 37 Ed. III. c. 6.

C. H. 23

354

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 teresting economic treatise of the time, written in England,
deals with the subject of the currency; the Tractatus novae
monetae'^ was probably the work of Walter de Bardes, a
Lombard who held the office of Comptroller of the MinL
during a great part of the latter half of the fourteenth cen-
tury'*; he describes the technicalities of his department in
a fashion which invites comparison with the dialogue on
the organisation of the Exchequer. He treats at some length
of the purchase of metal for coining, and of the business of
the mint, especially of the trial of the pyx ; but while he
writes as an authority on these technical points, he hardly
touches on any of the financial questions about the currency
which were coming to the front. Grave practical difficulties
had arisen in the reigns of Edward I. and Edward III. ;
and the various proposals put forward show that the legis-
lators were feeling their way and had no clear doctrine in
regard to money and coinage. A very successful effort had
been made by a French bishop, however, before the end of
Edward III.'s reign, to investigate the whole subject ; and
his treatise De mutatione Monetarum may be regarded as
the first careful study of the reviving commercial life of
Europe. Its interest lies partly at least in the fact that it
is not a mere re-setting of fragments of classical learning,
but is a careful examination of the actual difficulties that
were felt in commercial circles at the time when the author
lived.

Some information in regard to the economic doctrine of
the fourteenth century may be obtained from another source ;
the condemnation, which City authorities pronounced and
enforced on certain forms of business, gives us an insight
^Itdence"' ^^^ City Opinion as to the legitimate and the baneful use of
of City commercial capital. The sixteenth century worked a revo-
lution in mercantile habits and ordinary business practice,

Nicholas
Oresme it
treatise.

Business

1 My attention has been called to this treatise by Mr Hubert Hall, who has
discussed the authorship in his Introduction to the Bed Book of the Exchequer.
The treatise is also found in the British Museum, Lansdowne, 171.

» Messrs Crump and Hughes suggest that the treatise was written in the reign
of Edward I., but that in its present form it contains insertions made in 1350;
they make no attempt to solve the question as to the identity of the Author.
Economic Journal, v. 51 n.

ECONOMIC DOCTRINE. 355

as iu much else, but even as early as the fourteenth century A.D. 1272

•^ -1377

there were conditions which favoured the growth of a moneyed
class ; it is interesting to see the problems which exercised
men's minds at this time, as well as to trace the influence on
industry which the nouveaux riches exerted in the fifteenth
century\

108. During the whole Edwardian period we have seen Oresme'*
how a conscious regard to the well-being of the realm as a
whole was superseding the mere municipal privileges of the
earlier reigns. In the work of Nicholas Oresme, which was
apparently written in 1373, some years before he was elevated
to the see of Lisieux^ this comes out with great clearness. It
was known and circulated in England and an English version
was attempted by a translator who was quite incapable of
carrying out the work intelligently, but his unsuccessful effort
at all events proves that the work was known and valued hmcn in
in England in the earlier part of the fifteenth century*. It
had to do with questions of coinage — a matter of pressing
interest both in England and France. Before dwelling on
the economic doctrine it contains, however, we may just note
the political principles embodied in it.

The fundamental point in his whole argument is the The money
assertion that the money of a country belongs to the com- the com-
munity and not to the prince ; it is not the sole possession '""'""^ ' •
of the monarch, as it is not intended for his sole use, but for
a social purpose'*. The prince has authority to issue coinage
and regulate it, though it is not his own possession, but that
of the whole body who have the use of it. From this principle
the author deduces an opinion that the expense of minting
should fall on the community ; and he also insists that the
prince has no right to make a gain out of the coinage or to
tamper with it in any way.

The object which the prince should keep in view in all
acts of government is clearly stated, while the conduct of the -^'^"^''^
tyrant is contrasted®. The tyrant aims at his own private tyrants.

1 See below, p. 437. 2 Wolowski's edition, p. xxxiv.

8 This translation, in a hand which appears to be not later than 1450, is in the
Library of Trinity College, Cambridge, O. 3. 11.
* cc. .5, 6. 5 c. 25.

23—2

356 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 good and tries to subordinate the subjects to this end ; the
~'^^'^''- king on the other hand prefers public to private ' utility,'
and next to God and his own soul he loves the good and the
public liberty of the subjects. The whole treatise is full of
references to the Ethics and Politics of Aristotle, such as are
not common in fourteenth century books. It is also inter-
esting because the author disputes the opinion expressed in
the Opusculum attributed to S. Thomas Aquinas, and shows
that the prince has no right to make gain out of the coinage.
So grave are the economic evils which come from debase-
ment, that the community itself could never be justified in
delegating a power of this kind^ and the prince neither
possesses it inherently nor is there any source from which he
can receive it.
Practical Even though this treatise did not fulfil the author's

o/Ha"^ expectation** and serve to set all controversy on the subject
treatise. ^f coinage at rest, it may fairly be credited with very great
practical results. During the reign of John the Good, and
especially in the years 1359 and 1360^ the French coinage
had undergone a series of constant variations ; and the evil
eflfects of the uncertainty thus produced were everywhere
patent. Nicholas Oresme as the tutor, or at least adviser,
of Charles V. had ample opportunity of indoctrinating that
king with his own views on the currency, and during his
reign practical effect was given to the views expressed in
this treatise and the fluctuations ceased, with most beneficial
results as far as the commerce of France was concerned.
M. Wolowski* has pointed out that Nicholas Oresme for-
mulated opinions which were prevalent and were embodied
in a great ordinance of 1355, issued from Paris. It is also
true to say that some of the views he promulgated were
those on which Englishmen were acting. This is especially
obvious in regard to the political principles which he put
forward ; with him the * communitas ' is not the commune,
but the commonwealth. He is not merely concerned to
promote the well-being of some incorporated town, as
against other towns, but he deals with the whole body

1 c. 22. 8 Prologue.

8 Wolowski's edition, p. xlii. * p. xlvi, note.

ECONOMIC DOCTRINE. S57

politic in which the same coins circulate, for whose use a.d. 1272

r _ , 1377.

money is provided, and to whom it belongs. In thus making

a clear survey of the national possessions and obligations,

as well as the national relations to other countries, Oresme

took the standpoint of political rather than of municipal

economy ; and it is the good of the polity, not the advantage

of the person who occupies the throne, that he considers.

The conceptions of national wealth and national power were Natimal

ruling ideas in economic matters for several centuries, and "^'^

Oresme appears to be the earliest of the economic writers

by whom they were explicitly adopted as the very basis of

his argument.

109. The treatise of Nicholas Oresme is not only inter-
esting from the standpoint he adopts, but because of the
acuteness with which he discusses many matters of economic
interest. He shows the convenience of exchange, because of Exchange.
the difference of natural products in different places ; and he
defines money as the instrument of interchanging the natural
riches which in themselves supply human wants. Money does
not directly support life, but is an instrument discovered by
art for the more ready exchange of natural wealths From Riches,
this distinction it appears to follow that some men are
engaged in supplying the commonwealth with natural riches
and thus pursue useful and honourable callings, which are
necessary for the community^. There are others who enrich
themselves by transactions in artificial riches, as exchangers artificial.
or usurers ; such men are superfluous to the community as
they do not cater for its necessities, and are disreputable ;
while their riches are often obtained by the impoverishment
of others. This may be regarded as a hint of a distinction
corresponding to that which modern economists have drawn
between productive and unproductive labour; honourable
callings supply the actual needs of the community, physical
and spiritual, directly ; men who follow disreputable callings
do not really cater for the needs of the community, but enrich
themselves at the expense of their neighbours.

The author also discusses the materials of which money Matmil
may most suitably be made^ and decides in favour of the "^^

1 c. 1. 2 cc. 18, 21. « c. 2.

358

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. l'J72
—1377.

Alteration
of money

in denomi-
nation

precious metals; they can be readily handled, they are
portable, and they have much value in small compass. All
these qualities gold possesses in a high degree ; but it is
not always available in such abundance as to be a sufficient
medium of circulation, so that it may often be necessary to
use silver also, and even baser metals like copper or an alloy
of silver like black money \ which is specially convenient for
small payments. He lays down as a rule that if two kinds
of metal are circulating together, the more precious should
not be alloyed, but should be kept above suspicion, while a
sufficient supply of money may be provided by an alloy of
the less precious of the two.

Next we have a discussion of the different ways in which
money may be altered. The stamps on the coins may be
altered, but this is of little importance, as long as it involves
no farther change ; though there may be good reasons for
calling in the old coinage when this is done, if worn coins or
debased foreign coins are in circulation. Again, the ratio of
exchange between gold and silver may be altered; Oresme
assumes that 20 to 1 is the ordinary ratio of exchanges, and
he rightly holds that their ratio as coins ought to follow the
relation of gold and silver as commodities, and that there
should be no arbitrary rate'. This is perfectly sound as far
as it goes : the farther question — what determines the ratio
of exchange of gold and silver ? — is one on which he does
not enter; and indeed it was not satisfactorily dealt with
even by the economists who discussed recoinage in the time
of William III. : they had made but little advance on the
mediaeval doctor.

He then passes to consider another expedient — that of
altering the denomination of the money by affixing a new
sense to the old names ; if only one name is altered while
the others are preseiwed, that is a change of ratio ; but if all
are altered, so that the ratio is preserved, there can be no
good result; and it ought not to be done, because it is merely

1 c. 3. 2 c. 9.

8 Verumtamen ista proportio debet sequi naturalem habitudinem auri ad
flrgentmn in pretiositate, et secundum hoc instituenda est hujusmodi proportio,
quam non licet voluntarie transmutare, nee potest juste variari, nisi propter causam
realem, et variationem ex parte ipsius materise, qose tamen raro contingit. c. 10.

ECONOMIC DOCTRINE. 359

false and scandalous to call that a pound which is not a pound. A.D. 1272

/■ ■*• 1377.

Besides it will be really prejudicial to those who have made
agreements about regular payments, such as rents, in terms
of coin.

Diminution of the weight of coins, as well as the coining hy reducing
of less pure metal, are both condemned as false, and unworthy and
of the prince ; but the latter is worse as it is less easy to "^^*'*^'
detect: "magis est sophistica et minus perceptibilis et magis
potest nocere et plus Isedere communitatem\" All through
there runs the idea that for the prince to issue money, under
his own image and superscription, which is not what it pur-
ports to be, is mere lying ; and that to try and get gain by
so doing is to grasp at wealth which is not really his. In
one very interesting chapter the author proves that to get
wealth in this way is worse than usury — in fact it is a depth
of depravity to which Aristotle's contemporaries had not
attained, so that the philosopher does not discuss it at all.
For the usurer lends his money to one who has made a
voluntary contract with him 2, while the prince who debases
the currency deprives the subject of good money and gives
them bad,, whether they like it or no.

The author follows out the evils that arise from debased Effects
currency in some detail. The prince may have to condemn ment.
utterers of false coin, but how scandalous if he were guilty of
the same crime himself. There is a temptation to get gain
in this way rather than by levying taxes, because it does
not cause such immediate complaint ; but it is all the more
perilous on that account : for where bad money has been
issued, good money will be carried out of the realm, however
careful the supervision may be, and debased money, similar
to that which already passes, will be imported from abroad.
In this way the bullion of the country will be diminished,
and if there are no mines, the prince will not have the
necessary material for issuing coinage ^ Altogether it may
be said that a very large number of points of economic
doctrine in regard to coinage are discussed with much
judgment and clearness.

1 c. 13. 2 c. 16. 3 c. 20.

360

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272
—1377.

City

opinion on
vwnetary
tranaac-
tions.

Loan for

three

mouths

at interest

110. Evidence has been already adduced to show that
during the fourteenth century a moneyed class of English-
men was coming to the front. English capitalists had ousted
the Jews and Lombards from their position as intermediaries
in public finance ; they had been temporarily balked in their
endeavours to force their way into foreign trade but they
were more successful in their efforts to secure a command
of internal trade. The existence of this capitalist class gave
rise to many interesting developments of town life and
industrial institutions in the fifteenth century, which we
shall have occasion to consider below ; but even in the
fourteenth the ethical questions connected with the use of
capital were engaging the attention of the City courts. One
case has been recorded which serves to illustrate the nature
of the monetary transactions in the City, and the opinions of
business men about them.

In the month' of January, 1377, Ralph Cornwaille, of
Broad Street, made a complaint to the Mayor and Aldermen
of the City of London. At the preceding Michaelmas he had
been anxious to get a loan for a period of three months, and
went to two brokers, one of whom was a Lombard^ to procure
it for him, at the same time promising them a commission
for their trouble in the matter. The brokers found that
Walter Southous was willing to lend the money (either his
own or acting on behalf of a friend) on receiving security for
the repayment of the full amount on a given day from Ralph
Cornwaille, as well as similar security from Ralph's friend,
John Tettesbury. When the necessary documents were com-
plete, however, the brokers only advanced £10 to Ralph ; at
the time of repayment, he tendered the £10, which was all he
had had, but Walter Southous refused to receive it, persisted
in his demand for £2 more, and sued Ralph before the SheritF,
to his " great wrong and damaged"

The case was a hard one according to modern ideas, for 20
per cent, was an extravagant charge for a three months' loan

1 This and the following paragraphs formecl part of a paper read before the
Bankers' Institute and published in the Journal.

2 John de Saint Mariemont and Aldebrande Gascoigne.
8 Eiley, Liber Alhus (4to.), 340.

ECONOMIC DOCTRINE. 361

fully secured ; but the wrong which rankled in the mind of A.D. 1272
Ralph was not that the interest was extortionate, but tliat he
was called to pay interest at all, — to return anything more
than he had received — and his view of the case was fully
endorsed by the City authorities before whom the matter was
re-opened. Some years before this time, King Edward III.
had empowered the men of the City of London to form a
special tribunal to deal with cases of the sort\ They had
framed their own ordinances and they had full power to
enforce them. In the present case, Ralph Cornwaille was condemned.
declared free from all obligations in connection with the debt,
and Walter Southous was condemned to be imprisoned till
he made over double the £2, which he had tried to get by
usury, as a forfeit to the City of London. He had, with the
cognisance of the brokers, disregarded the ordinances of the
City of London against usury^ — ordinances which the public
opinion of the day completely endorsed' — and there could
only be one result, according to the law and feeling of the
time, when such conduct was brought home to him.

1 Eiley, Liber Albus (4to.), 318.

2 Framed in 1363. "Whereas heretofore the City of London has sustained
great mischiefs, scandals, and damages, by reason of certain persons who, neither
for fear of God nor for shame of the world, cease, but rather do daily exert them-
selves to maintain the false and abominable contract of usmy, under cover and
colour of good and lawful trading; which kind of contract the more subtily to
deceive the people they call 'exchange' or 'chevisance,' whereas it might more
truly be called 'mescheaimce,' seeing that it ruins the honour and soul of the
agent, and sweeps away the goods and property of him who appears to be
accommodated, and destroys all manner of right and lawful traffic, whereby, as
well throughout the land as the said city, they ought principally to be upheld and
maintained." In IS'.iO, additional explanations were framed. "And whereas such
ordinance is too obscure and it is not comprised therein in what is especially usury
or unlawful chevisance, Adam Bamme, Mayor, and the Aldermen with the assent
of the Commons of the said City in the GuildhaU assembled on the twelfth day of
May in the fourteenth year of King Richard the Second with good advice and wise
deliberation thereon, with the assent aforesaid, have ordained and declared these
articles as to usm-y and chevisance, in manner following, that is to say: — If any
person shall lend or put into the hands of any person gold or silver, to receive
gain thereby, or a promise for certain witliout risk, such person shall have the
punishment for usurers in the said ordinance contained." Eiley, Liber Albus
(4to.), 319, 344. Complaints of ecclesiastical laxity in this matter are not nn-
frequent. Compare Rot. Pari. m. 280 (24) and 541 (68).

3 The Commons petitioned in 1376 that the ordinances of the City of London
be enforced against usury and that similar powers be given to the baUiflfs and
mayors of aU cities and burghs. Bot. Pari. 11. 350 (158). On the transference
and extension of municipal customs in earUer times see above, p. 224.

362

REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272
—1377.
Conditions
of medi-
ocval husi-

MeiaUic
currency.

Exchange
of coins.

The conditions of business in the fourteenth century-
were such that banking operations were very circumscribed.
Though bills were used for the transmission of wealth, there
is a striking difference between those times and ours in the
absence of commercial credit^ as a basis for transactions of
other kinds ; there were no bank notes or cheques, or other
instruments of credit. We must remember that transactions
were carried on in bullion; men bought with coins and sold
for coins; loans were made in coins and repaid in coins; a
special coin was struck for payments to foreign countries'^ ;
and thus the whole currency was metallic. There was no
paper circulation of any kind ; this continued to be the case,
for practical purposes, till the latter part of the seventeenth
century. Dealing for credit was little developed, and dealing
in credit was unknown ; hence there was no room for a large
part of the functions of modem banking.

It might have been supposed, however, that there was
scope for business in money changing; that just as the
modern banker receives payments in " promiscuous money's
worth," and converts them into money', so there was need of
some men to distinguish the different values of the coins of
different countries, and to supply merchants from abroad or
merchants going abroad with current coin in exchauge for
the money they had with them. This was certainly a very
difficult business; and the necessity of accomplishing it some-
how led at a later time to the establishment of the Bank
of Amsterdam*. But it was not a calling which was open to
moneyed men in London in the fourteenth century, as it
was carefully preserved as a prerogative of the Crown, and
exercised by royal officers, or merchants who farmed it from
the Crown for a period of years. The reason of this was
obvious; the minting of money was one of the royal pre-
rogatives, and the officers of the Exchange were empowered
to see that no foreign coinage got into circulation in this
country, but that it was sent to the Mint for re-coinage ; and

1 Except what corresponda to book debts.

2 The Noble. Rot. Pari. u. 137 (14), 452 (117).

3 Eae, Country Banker, 156.

* Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, rv. 3.

ECONOMIC DOCTEINE. 363

also that the English currency was not unduly exported. It a.d. 1272
was not unnatural, therefore, that the business of exchange
should be kept in the hands of officials, though freedom
was granted to merchants to exchange with one another as
long as they did not do it for gain, but only for mutual
convenience.

While two of the principal functions of modern banking
were not open to the moneyed men of the fourteenth century,
they were also restricted in their operations, because the
opportunities for lending out money were comparatively few.
The demand for money for commercial or industrial purposes, Little

\ ■ , 111 demand jor

at the only rates at which men were accustomed to lend, was loans of
practically nil. It is not likely that the mediaeval merchant '^"'^
was often able to make a profit on capital if he borrowed at
80 per cent., and, as a matter of fact, money was not borrowed
except for emergencies, — as in the well-known case of The
Merchant of Venice. The emergency might arise in many Emergen-
ways ; but it less frequently occurred in connection with trade
than from the sudden pressure of taxation on a man who was
really wealthy, but had no ready ca.sh in which to defray
these demands. Thus royal and papal agents had the most
frequent opportunities for lending money to English subjects;
the Jews had come over with the Conqueror and settled in
the principal English towns to carry on money-lending as a
sort of royal monopoly, and the Lombards are said to have
come as the agents of papal taxation. In these times taxes
were levied in large amounts, which were demanded every now
and then as occasion arose, and the Jews and Lombards lent
money to the subjects who were suddenly called on to pay large
sums which they did not possess ; they might be wealthy land-
owners or merchants, but their wealth could not be realised,
and the Jew or Lombard was able to take advantage of their
necessity to charge exorbitant rates. Money-lending in its
beginnings here had nothing to do with commerce ; wealthy
men borrowed in an emergency, or to equip for a war ; they
could give ample security to the lenders, but the rate of
interest they had to pay had no relation to the profits of
commerce, for it was simply determined by the temporary
necessity of the borrower. No wonder that the Commons

864 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 complained^ that " many men had been undone and brought
AD 1376 *° poverty by this horrible practice."

GraHiitotis It is probable that even in an emergency merchants did
"'*^' not often have recourse to borrowing, as the gilds merchant
made arrangements which enabled them, in some cases at
all events, to get temporary aid^ ; but for the ordinary course
of business they preferred another expedient when they saw
an opportunity of trading on a larger scale. They formed
Partner- temporary partnerships, in which two or more persons joined
* *^*" in the risks of an enterprise on the understanding that they

would share in the gains ; this was lawful traffic as the people
of London understood it, and men who had money lying by
them might use it so as to gain by it fairly and honourably
if they would share risks and profits with other merchants.
There was no reason why a hoard should lie idle because it
could not be borrowed on a promise for certain gain without
risk, as it might be clubbed with the hoards of other men
Avho shared risks and profits together. No objection, either
ecclesiastical or popular, was made to such a manner of
proceeding as this; while it was available, there was no
necessity to borrow capital for trading purposes ; and hence
the field for lending money was limited, although the rates
at which it could be done were exceedingly profitable.
TotaJ. mass Lastly, and most important of all, there was in those days
small. a comparatively small supply of money which could be loaned
out ; the whole amount of the precious metals in Europe was
small, and though England had long carried on a prosperous
trade, the drain for papal taxation and political purposes
must have been considerable. In the reign of Edward III.,
indeed, the spoils of Calais and the newly-planted industries
may have combined to bring more bullion to England, and
to render it more common for merchants or other burgesses
to possess a hoard which they did not know how to use ; but
at all events it was convenient that the business should be
carried on by the intervention of brokers, who brought the
borrower and lender together, and had a commission for their

1 Bot. Pari. n. 350 (158J.

« Compare the Gild Statutes of Coventry. Gross, Oild Merchant, n. 50.
For other cases of gratuitous loans see above, p. 259 nn.

ECONOMIC DOCTRINE. S65

trouble : this seems to have been the nearest approach to a.d. 1272

. • —1377

banking during the fourteenth century in the City. The
ordinances of 1363 mentioned above^ are very instructive as
to the usual practice, and the opinion of the City authorities
on the subject. " Whereas such bargains are but rarely
carried out without false brokers, who, for their own profit,
do often intermeddle so as to deceive both parties, the said
good folks have also ordained and established, that all those
who shall from henceforth be attainted of acting as brokers
in such knaveries, shall the first time be put in prison one
whole year; and if they shall be a second time attainted
thereof, that they shall forswear the said City forever, and
shall be led through the City, with their heads uncovered,
unshod, and without girdle upon horses without saddles ; and
shall be so escorted from the midst of the place unto without
one of the gates of the said City that so all others may be
warned through them, and be the more abashed to commit
such or other like knaveries. And be it made known that
the intention is of all the good folks that the punishments
aforesaid shall be incurred as well by those who shall be
attainted of being partners in the said bargains, as by the
principals therein ^" Evidently an evil time for those who
had hoards they were disposed to lend, or for the brokers
who brought the lender and borrower together, and thus did
banking business.

111. This account of fourteenth century opinion may The merits
be rendered clearer if we revert to the consideration of the
special illustration quoted above. Ralph Comwaille went to
the Lombard broker who was to negotiate the loan and get
something for his trouble ; so far it was all right, no one
took exception to such payment for a real service rendered.
Walter Southous demanded full security that the money Security.
should be repaid at a definite date, and there, too, his conduct
met with full approval from City men at the time. He might
be inconvenienced if he lay out of his money beyond the
given time, and if the borrower did not keep his day; to
avoid risks as to repayment and risks as to punctuality he
was perfectly justified in seeing that the debt was amply

1 See above, p. 361. « Eiley, Liber Albus (4to.), 320.

366 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 secured. But when he went further than this and charged

—1377. £^^ ^1^^ ^^g^ ^£ ^l^g money, public opinion did not support him.
His money was safe, it appeared, he was sure to get it back

No gain if at the time he wanted it himself; and that being so, why
should he charge for the use of it ? He need not, they would
have said, have lent the money unless he liked, — unless it was
lying idle in his strong box, — but having lent it why should

no damage he be paid for an action which involved no risk and no
privation ? Of course, if there was risk, or if the borrower
' broke day ' and caused inconvenience, there was a reason
for making a charge ; but the case we have before us was
typical of a vast number of transactions when there was no
real risk and no real privation, and therefore, as men thought,
no justitication for taking usury, or interest as it is more
commonly called in the present day. We may regard 80 per
cent, as an excessive rate of interest, but the City men of 1377
did not condemn it because it was excessive ; in their eyes
it was wrong that there should be any charge for the use of
money, of which the repajnuent at a given date was fully

andnorisk. secured. 'No risk, no gain' was their maxim of lawful traffic,

and therefore, from their point of view, the man who took

security, or otherwise bargained himself out of all the risks

of trade, had no claim to share in the profits.

The What then were the reasons of a feeling, which is at first

justif^a- sight unintelligible ? Modern men would be inclined to say
tton of < ^YiQ^ gQ \qj^2 as the rate was not excessive, Walter Southous

interest. o ...

did a real service to Ralph Comwaille by lending him the
money when he wanted it, and that the Lombard showed
himself a useful member of society by introducing the two,
and thus bringing about a transfer of capital that was lying
idle into the hands of a man who had occasion to use it.
Such money-lending was in itself useful to society ; and even
though risks were excluded by the terms of the bargain, the
wealthy man required some inducement to render the other a
service ; had the City authorities not made regulations which
rendered it necessary to do such business secretly he would
probably have been satisfied with a moderate rate; Ralph
Comwaille had to pay highly for the accommodation, because
of the mistaken attempts at regulation.' Such I take to be

ECONOMIC DOCTRINE. 367

ordinary City opinion now, that (a) money-lending is useful a.d. 1272
to society by bringing capital into the hands of men who see
their way to employ it well ; that (b) people must have some
inducement beyond security for its return, or they will hoard
their money instead of allowing others to use it ; and that
(c) exorbitant rates have been brought about by mistaken
governmental or ecclesiastical interference. From each of
these propositions City opinion in the fourteenth century
would have dissented.

To begin with (c) : As a matter of fact, money-lending for interest
the sake of gain had first appeared in England under royal, charged at
and had continued under ecclesiastical, patronages. The high "^"l^^" ^
rates paid to the Jews were not due to the risk incurred in
evading the law, as there was no tribunal which could touch
a Jew for his part in such business. The high rates obtained
by the Pope's merchants were apparently charged under
forms which were not condemned by the Canon Law, and
there was no appreciable danger of their being convicted in
any of the ecclesiastical courts. The exorbitant rates were
charged because there were comparatively few moneyed men,
and these men were able to trade upon the necessities of
their fellow-subjects.

Again, it would have been said in reply to (6), that the Partner-
opportunities for gain which partnership afforded were quite facilities
sufficient to draw out the hoards of the wealthy. ' Let him {^^7^'
have full security, or let him have gain/ but money was
forthcoming without bribing men by offering both security
and gain. Partnership in risks and in gains was the true
way to develop sound enterprise : brokers would be well
employed in arranging such partnerships, and there was
ample inducement for the wealthy man to bring out his
money and have it employed for him. But if he would not
take business risks, he ought not to bargain for a share in
business gains ; however small the sum he asked might be
he was claiming an assured gain when the speculation might
really fail, and the borrower have to pay for the use of money
which had as a matter of fact proved useless. If he liked to
lend money for which he had no use, and to require repayment
at a given date, and get security for the repayment, good and

368 REPRESENTATION AND LEGISLATION.

A.D. 1272 well ; but to ask for the most moderate usury for money he

could not use, and would not risk, seemed to the men of that

time quite unjustifiable and merely extortionate,

Avd it v:as And heuce the fourteenth century City men would have

"thatmoney- emphatically denied (a), since money-lending Avas not useful

^'^tMuM^ to society according to their notions. Apart altogether from

bfnefit the the injurious effect on the morals of the lender, which the

" Church should look to,^ apart altogether from the injury done

to the borrower Avho was lured by an unreal advantage to his

ruin, it did mischief to society by hindering lawful traffic ;

just because men could make large sums by lending, they

were less likely to join in partnerships, and undertake the

risks of trading, though it was by * lawful traffic ' and not by

money-lending that the prosperity of the country was really

developed. In so far as the wealth of moneyed men was

diverted to usurious dealings^ instead of being employed in

regular trade, there was a danger and not a benefit to society,

for money was actually diverted from the directions in which

it could be best used for the real advantage of the nation.

On the whole it appears that City opinion was in perfect

harmony with the principles about natural and artificial

riches which are laid down in Oresme's treatise.

1 See p. 557 below. The ecclesiastical authorities bnsied themselves about the
moral character of secured investments of various kinds rather than with the use
of capital engaged in trade. The conditions, under which Rent charges had been
treated as allowable, were gi-adually disregarded. An interesting example is given
by Mr Leadam, Select Cases in the Star Chamber, lxxxiii.

* John Gower, Vices of Society in Political Songs (Rolls), i. 358.

IV. LANCASTER AND YORK.

I. Disintegration and the Beginnings of Modern
Society.

112. The course of English History till the reign ofA.D. 1377
Edward III. was marked by continued, if not steady growth. '^■^ '^f
Even the struggles which brought about temporary dis- national

. . . 1 ./ progress,

organisation, had resulted in the infusion of new and valuable both
elements into the population. Danish settlers and Norman
artisans found a footing on our island, along with the agri-
culturists who had won it at an earlier time. From the
Norman Conquest onwards, we appear to have a constant
development of the powers of producing wealth. There
was a rapid increase in the towns and a real progress in the
rural districts, as is evidenced by a comparison of Domesday
Book with the Hundred Rolls; and the monuments which
survive prove the excellence to which Englishmen had at-
tained in many of the arts of life.

There also had been a great improvement in the means and social
of regulating the industrial and commercial forces of the
country. The moral suasion of the Church, in protesting
against slavery, in securing the weekly rest of the serf, or in
seeking the protection of the pilgrim, was no longer the
chief factor in introducing improved conditions for industry
and for trade ; the king's peace and royal charters had
given definite securities here and there, parliament had
begun to legislate for the country as one industrial and com-
mercial whole, and the ambition of Edward III. synchronised
c. H. 24

370 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 with a definite scheme for the relations of England with

—1485. ^1,1-

other trading countries.
Disastrous But the social structure, which had been thus gradually
French built up, was Subjected to a severe strain, and to more than
^"''' one serious shock, during the latter part of the reign of

Edward III., and in subsequent times. The long-continued
French war, even though it enriched this country with spoil
for a few years, must have been a constant drain on English
resources, both of men and money; the energy thus mis-
directed was not available for prosecuting the various lines
of industrial progress that were opening up. On com-
merce this long war had still more noticeable effects ; for
the disturbances in France rendered the old route from the
Rhone valley northwards impracticable for merchants, and
the great fairs of Burgundy ceased to. exist' ; the old lines of
communication and places of intercourse were utterly de-
stroyed.
and of the Still more serious mischief was done by the Black Death;

Black

Death. some attempt has been made above to estimate the extent
of loss inflicted, but it is also necessary to add that recovery
seems to have been very slow indeed. There was no country
from which a stream of population could pour to fill up
the space that was left, and it may be doubted whether
the population and productive power of England had even
begun to recover, thirty years after the plague first visited
our shores. It is perfectly clear however, that even if the
population were increasing, it could not be so effective in-
dustrially as in old days. The old methods of organisation
had broken down, and a long series of troubles with the
labouring class culminated in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.
In preceding chapters we have been able to follow the story
of a gradual growth which went on for centuries ; but in
entering on this new period we shall have to try to trace
the effects of sudden and violent catastrophes. It is not easy
to follow out the far-reaching consequences of the Black
Death, or to indicate all the readjustments which it set in
motion.

There is a special difficulty in solving these problems,

^ See below, p. 122.

DISINTEGRATION. 371

because the most superficial examination of the fifteenth a.d. 1377
century presents us with a number of startling contrasts, so
that it is by no means easy to detect the general course of
events. There is a temptation to lay stress on some feature, One-sided
which was prominent in certain places, and to exaggerate its *'*^'^™^'*'*-
importance by neglecting the qualifying or conflicting con-
ditions which were certainly present, but which do not lie so
much on the surface. Under these circumstances there need
be little reason for surprise that different writers have ex-
pressed strangely conflicting opinions about the condition of
England during this period. Mr Denton* paints it in the
darkest hues as a period of misery and disaster ; while au-
thorities like Sir Frederic Eden^ and Professor Thorold
Rogers^ have argued from the rates of wages actually paid,
and have spoken of it as the time when the masses of the
people attained the highest degree of material prosperity.
The picture they have drawn of the rural population harmo-
nises with the vivid description, which Mrs Green* has given
us, of the vigorous life in some English towns at this time.

Many interesting facts may be brought forward in support
of each of these conflicting opinions in turn, and hence a
great mass of evidence can be adduced to shew that each one
of them is an overstatement. It has been noticed above that Evidence
there is no such clear sign of prosperity, either in the present ^oli^icting.
day or in the past, as is given by certain building operations.
If men have wealth which they can afford to sink in unre-
munerative works, they must have enough and to spare. The
fifteenth century was a great period of church and chantry
building and decoration ; it was also an age when many civic
halls and merchants' houses were erected in the towns, and
it cannot have been such a desperate time as Mr Denton's
language would lead us to suppose. On the other hand, the
evidence which he adduces as to the general condition of
the rural districts renders it necessary that we should be
careful in interpreting the figures which Professor Rogers
has collected ; quotations of prices never carry their own ex-
planations with them, and we can only get at the real mean-

1 Fifteenth Century, p. 103. 2 History of the Poor, i. 65.

* Six Centuries, p. 326. * Town Life, i. 58.

24—2

372 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 ing of such particular facts, when we view them in the light
— i48o. ^^ social conditions. We shall see below that the figures
given by Professor Rogers do not necessarily bear the in-
terpretation he has put upon them. Again, though Mrs
Green has gathered a large collection of interesting facts
about towns that were making progress, she has had to con-
fess that she could only procure detailed information about
comparatively few; she has written as if the others were
making quiet progress also, and has failed to take account
of the incidental evidence that many of them were silently
declining.
Attempt to We cannot get at the truth of this difficult period by
wITe?'" ignoring either side of the evidence, nor can we hope to
strike out any rough and ready compromise between opinions
that are diametrically opposed. The solution is only to be
found in more careful and discriminating study, which will
shew how far and where there was progress, and how far and
where there was decay. We need not be surprised that, in
a period of rapid change, there were many phenomena which
it is, at this distance of time, difficult to reconcile. The
historian of the future may be tempted to think that the
declarations of free traders "that our prosperity has increased
by leaps and bounds," are incompatible with the " bitter cry
of outcast London." Yet both sets of facts have coexisted
side by side in our own day. If we could get a thorough
understanding of the fifteenth century, we should doubtless
be able to reconcile well-established pieces of evidence re-
garding it, which now seem to be conflicting.
Distress It may be convenient however to point out the direction

hut relieved i^ which, as it scems to me, a reconciliation is most likely
^ to be found. No complicated investigation can be conducted

without the help of a working hypothesis ; the following
suggestion is only offered as a first approximation to that
complete explanation which cannot be hoped for, till the rich
local records of several towns and manors have been more
thoroughly examined. On the whole it appears that the
fifteenth century was a period of general distress, when little
employment was available in rural districts, when the roads
and internal communications fell into decay, and when the

DISINTEGRATION^. 373

towns had not vigour enough to recover from the desolation a.d. 1377

caused by the Black Death. Industry, internal commerce

and tillage were alike depressed. But yet the gloom was by

no means unrelieved; there were two directions in which, tJie progress

IT n 1 • n °t cloth

despite the general distress we may find signs of new pro- vmnu-
sperity. The cloth trade was developing in many parts of ^^^
the country, and all those who were connected with this
particular industry — in growing wool, or manufacturing cloth,
or exporting it — were flourishing greatly; it is not a little
curious to notice how many of the perpendicular churches —
like those of Long Melford and Lavenham — are monuments
to the prosperity of this special industry in a time of general
depression. The action of Edward III. in encouraging the
introduction or improvement of this trade was bearing good
fruit. But even if there had been no additions to the pro- and of
duction of the country and no increase in the volume oi English-
trade, there was another way in which there seem to have "*^"'
been new developments of native prosperity. The commercial
and financial business of the country had been partly and
was being increasingly transferred from the hands of aliens
to those of Englishmen ; the wealthy burgesses, who had
taken the places of the Jews and Lombards, were able to
organise themselves in important companies and to build
magnificent Halls both in London and other towns. We
may find a clue to thread our way through many of the
confused phenomena of the time, if we remember that, de-
spite the general depression and decay in town and country
alike, the cloth trade, in all its branches, was developing
rapidly, and that the English capitalist was conducting in
English towns much of the business which had hitherto been
done by aliens at fairs \

113. The violence of the economic changes, which were Decay of
at work during the last half of the fourteenth century, can be ^authority
partly indicated from the fashion in which they reacted on °^ ^"-^^

1 The parallel in France is of considerable interest ; when commerce began to
revive after the Hundred Years' War, it was no longer conducted by Lombards and
other aliens at the great fairs, but by native Frenchmen who formed a sort of
commercial aristocracy, and it centred in the towns, especially those of the south
(Pigeonneau, Commerce de la France, n. 339), though there was also much activity
in Eouen [Ih. 354).

374 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 the constitutional system of the country. It has been pointed

~ ° out above that during the Norman and Plantagenet reigns,
the Crown was of supreme importance as connecting the
various parts of the country into one, in controlling the
whole, and initiating progress of every kind. This was no
longer the case at the beginning of the fifteenth century ;
though there was a revival of royal influence at its close,
under the Yorkists and Tudors. Richard II. seems to
have schemed ingeniously, in order to utilise the unrest
of the times for his personal advantage ; but his effort
to obtain absolute power ended in failure. His deposition
affected the prestige of the crown ; while the usurpation
of Henry IV., and the weakness of Henry VI., all con-
tributed to lower the importance of the kingly office. A
strong monarch like Edward IV. was able to do much to
assert himself, but it may be said of him, and of the Tudors,
that they appeared strong, because there was no effective
resistance ; it may be doubted if they had the same influence
in controlling the conduct of affairs throughout the realm —
so much power to rule — as Edward I. or even as Edward III.
And if the Crown was ineffective for internal rule, it was not
successful in fulfilling the duty, most recently undertaken,

and sea. of protecting the realm from enemies on the seas, and in
finding a footing for our citizens in foreign parts. English
shipping continued to suffer from the attacks of pirates ; the
English coasts were plundered by ferocious expeditions that
recall the days of the Danish invasions ; and the terms of the
commercial treaties, of which so many were made during
this period, show that trade was not a peaceful calling.

Pariia- While the royal power was thus wanting, it cannot be

said that the parliaments were as yet either wise enough
or strong enough to provide an effective substitute, or to
maintain a good central government. We may pei'hapa
trace in them the new political importance of that class
of English moneyed men whose rise has been noticed above.
In so far as English merchants, or English towns, were the
royal creditors, they had an opportunity of bringing pressure
upon the Crown^ — an opportunity which was constantly used

1 Stubbs, Const. Hist. n. 379.

ment.

DISINTEGRATION. 375

both under Richard II. and by the Lancastrian parliaments, a.d. 1377
The centre of gravity of power had shifted since the time
of Edward I. in accordance with changes in the distiibution
of wealth. But though the Commons were able to assert
themselves effectively as against the Crown, they had neither
the wisdom nor the self-restraint that was necessary if the
realm was to be well governed. The Lancastrian parliaments
furnished important precedents in regard to constitutional
procedure, but they were not altogether deserving of respect,
and their influence was not such as to provide the country
with a really strong central authority.

The lack of effective political control is even more obvious Decay of
when we turn from the central authority to the local ad- tutiolT *'
ministrative authorities. Their weakness appears .to be to
some extent the unlooked-for result of Edward I.'s reforms ;
through his action there had been a growth of national
powers, and it was perhaps an inevitable result that local
life, industrial and political, should at any rate cease to
develope, and as new circumstances arose, should be proved
inadequate. Edward I. possibly intended parliament to do
little more than supplement the existing institutions, and
during his reign it may be that both were doing good work,
and that the local courts and chartered towns were con-
ducting their affairs wisely in the comparative peace which
was secured them by a strong ruler. But the succeeding
reigns tried them severely ; the parliament not only supple-
mented but superseded their powers^ while the feeble
government of Edward II., and the economic difficulties of
the time of Edward III., subjected them to a very severe
strain. The manorial authority proved powerless to control becomes
the social and economic movements which originated with in the
the Black Death. The reign of Richard, with the convulsions ^IJich^/rdiL
that marked it, brings into clear light the darker side of the
changes which had been taking place in the previous reigns.

The Peasants' Revolt in 1381 was the overt expression

1 The effect of national regulation in superseding the influence of local
authorities is seen, not only in rural districts with Justices of the Peace, but in
the decay of Craft Gilds in towns. As a modern illustration we may compare
how the School Board system has tended to supersede, not merely to supplement,
voluntary efforts.

376

LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377
—1485.

Decay of
manorial
powers,

of muni-
cipal au'
thority,

ofgUds,

and of
eccle-
siastical
influence.

of the disintegrating influences which were affecting every
side of social life ; though the outbreak was repressed, there
is no reason to believe that the old institutions, which had
maintained order and enforced morality, recovered an effective
sway. Alike in town and country the foundations of their
influence were sapped. The manorial system was doomed
at the time of the Black Death, and an agricultural revo-
lution was spreading slowly but surely throughout England;
not till the time of the Tudors did it advance so rapidly as
to attract the great attention it deserved ; but the change in
the position of the labourers, which was a concomitant in
this revolution, soon came into startling prominence. When
Richard II. ascended the throne a large proportion of the
English peasant population were serfs; when Henry of
Richmond defeated the third Richard, serfdom was fast be-
coming extinct. Manorial authority was ceasing to have the
practical importance which it had once possessed in regard
to all the details of village life.

Nor did it fare better with the regulation of town in-
dustry ; many of the towns were over-assessed and sank into
decay under the burden of taxation for the war ; but even in
cases where trade was expanding, just because it was a time
of growth, there was a strain on the industrial organisation.
It could not readily adapt itself to the new circumstances
which had arisen in consequence of this expansion; the
management of commerce by Livery and other Companies
may have undergone some improvement, but the system of
craft gilds, at any rate in London, was beginning to get out
of gearing, as we may note with special clearness in the time
of Henry VI.

The weakness, which is seen in all these civil authorities,
also affected the Church on every side. The supply of clergy
continued to be insufficient, and the religious houses never
really recovered from the devastation caused by the Black
Death'; from one cause or another the ecclesiastical powers
no longer inspired the respect which had once rendered them
important factors in the economic life of the realm, and this
may be one reason why the condition of secular morality sank

1 Gasquet, The Cheat Pestilence, 20.5.

DISINTEGRATION. 377

SO terribly low as it appears to have done during this period', a.d. 13:7
But in some directions, at any rate, the secular consciousness
imposed a stricter rule than ecclesiastical authorities tried to
enforce ; the laxity of the courts Christian in regard to usury
and chevisance is a complaint on the part of city men — who
certainly showed no inclination to connive at these mal-
practices. Nor do the monasteries appear to have been
altogether exemplary in providing for the relief of the poor,
when they needed an admonition from parliament in regard
to this matter.

114. The reign of Kichard II. may be regarded as a ^ new
turning-point, because in the course of it this process of decay ^^""^ "'^'
comes into clear light, but it would be an error to regard
this age as destitute of all constructive force. The consti-
tutional changes by which the Commons were able to assert
themselves and to establish their claim to take an effective
part in the government of the country were of lasting im-
portance ; and they were specially noticeable at this juncture,
since they mark a turning point in economic policy. We
may discover in the legislation of Richard II.'s reign the
germs of economic ideas which were destined to have most
important results in the subsequent history of the country.
The commercial policy which Edward III. had pursued was Reversal
discredited by failure ; and a new scheme began to appear, poUcy
which maintained itself in its main outlines till the present
century. It was a policy of encouraging the native shipping
which Edward III. had neglected ; it favoured native mer-
chants, and subsequently artisans, in opposition to aliens, and
at the possible expense of consumers^; there were deliberate
attempts to encourage the agricultural interest and
especially the corn grower; part of this new scheme was
an endeavour to attract the importation of bullion for the
accumulation of treasure and not merely with a view to the
maintenance of the purity of our coinage. In all these
respects the legislation of Richard's Parliaments is very
different from that which held sway during the greater part
of the reign of Edward III. ; but the dust of conflicts between
sectional interests, local requirements and personal ambitions

1 Denton, Fifteenth Century, 119. 2 See pp. 266 and 311 above.

378 LANCASTER AND YORK.

-hiaf^' ^^^^^* ^^^^ completely obscured the underlying issues at the
andfrst ^ime. The London Fishmongers were the spokesmen of the
tlTcSih shipping interest ; but there was frequent agitation against
system. their monopoly of an article of common consumption ; and it
may be doubted if they were conscious pioneers of a new
policy, even though they had an important part in laying
the foundations of the Mercantile system. The Navigation
Laws, the Corn Laws, and the deliberate manipulating of
commerce with a view of procuring bullion were allied in
fact, since they were economic expedients which subserved
the development of a vigorous national life ; but in Richard's
time they seem to have been adopted separately to meet
pressing practical needs. The agricultural depression con-
sequent on the Black Death gave a sufficient reason for
encouraging tillage; the jealousy of aliens — even though
they were continental subjects of the Crown — contributed to
the passing of the first Navigation Act ; and the difficulty of
meeting the demands for Papal taxation called attention to
the dangers which might accrue from a steady drain of
bullion. Each was a separate object, and each appealed
specially to a distinct class in the community; it was only
gradually that statesmen came to co-ordinate them, and to
treat them as parts of a definite economic policy. The
keystone which eventually bound them into a ' mercantile
system ' — the desire of national power — was not altogether
awanting in Richard's reign, though it was not so potent as
it afterwards became ; but we may certainly feel that an age
which took a new departure in so many directions, and with
such far-reaching results, is not without great constructive
importance in the story of English commerce. The history
of after times throws a strong reflected light on the maxims
of commercial policy which were coming into operation fi'om
the time of Richard II.
The classes 115. In looking back, too, we may discern something
soaie y. ^^^^ i\id.r\. the disintegration of society ; there were signs of
decay on all sides, but there were also traces of social
reconstruction in new forms and on new lines. Mediaeval
groups were breaking up, but modern distinctions were be-

DISINTEGEATION. 379

ginning to appear; and we sec indications of the lines ofA.D. 1377
cleavage which are familiar to us in modern times, and which ~
have given us the different classes of our existing society.
Feudal society had been an aggregation of local groups, each
directly connected with the king as head ; the inhabitants of
each place had their position and privileges as members of
that group, whatever their precise status might be. In
Edward III.'s sumptuary laws, however, there is a recognition
of classes in the nation at large ; and this appears more
clearly at the time of the Black Death and in the sub-
sequent * statutes of labourers,' which attempted to enforce Labourers.
regulations for wage-earners^ wherever they were found,
throughout the whole country. Before Tudor times, the
main lines of cleavage of English society had ceased to be
perpendicular, into privileged local groups, and had become
horizontal, into separate classes, and classes precisely similar
to those we have now. Employer and Employed, Landlord
and Tenant are seen, with the relations between them
reduced to something like the simple cash nexus of modern
times ; social conditions had become such that the owner of Oa:pi-
capital could make himself felt as an important power, not
only in commerce, but also in regard to the management of
land and the organisation of industry. Large capitals were
invested in sheep farming, and the wealthier companies and
wealthier members of them were the dominant powers in
industrial life in London.

The recognition of a labouring class in the country
generally, and also of a moneyed or capitalist class of native
Englishmen is the principal feature in the period on which we
are entering''*. The attempts to define and to regulate the
labouring class throughout the realm as a whole, begin at the
time of the Black Death. It is not so easy to assign any date
for the rise of a capitalist class. We find the names of wealthy
individuals and little knots of moneyed men specified all
through the fourteenth century. We cannot be surprised that

1 Those accused of demanding excessive wages were drawn from a large
HTunber of callings. Putnam, op. cit. 80.

2 Compare the Cambridge Modern History, 1. 497, on Economic Change.

380 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 a considerable class should have arisen before its close, when
we consider the opportunities which were accessible to the
enterprise of the English capitalist. The financial crises of
the time of Edward III. had laid open to natives a large field
for business operations which had previously been carried on
by aliens. One after another of the bodies which had formed
the moneyed interest in the country had succumbed. The
Jews had been expelled by Edward I., the Templars had been
broken up in the time of Edward II., and the Florentine
Bankers had been ruined by Edward III. The whole of the
financial and banking business of the country had been
broken up once and again ; yet all this time the trade
with foreign lands was increasing, and industry was being
developed, while money was coming more and more into use
in the ordinary life of rural districts, and natural economy
was being superseded by a system of cash bargains. The
forms and methods of business differed from those to which
we are accustomed, but there can be little doubt that during
the fourteenth century native Englishmen had new oppor-
tunities at every commercial centre of taking a part in
financial business.

The reality of this change in social structure must not be

Positive iomored, for it had very important results : there is sometimes

results. . .

a temptation to speak as if the halcyon days of English
prosperity had been arrested at the death of Edward I., and
mere disorganisation subvened till the strong government of
the Tudors rendered progress possible once raore^ But the
two centuries which intervened between the time of
Edward I. and Henry VII. were not wholly barren, and the
Tudors did not take up the task where Edward left it. It
may be that the soil had rest while the nation was distracted,
and that a silent recuperation had taken place unknown and
unobserved ; in any case the manorial farm of Edward's
days would have been a terrible obstacle to the agricultural
improvement which was going on under the Tudors and the
Stuarts. Whereas commerce had merely been municipal and
inter-municipal in Edward I.'s time, it had become national

i Dentoii, Fifteenth Century, 65, 1'24.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 381

and international in Tudor days ; while a vast amount of ^f^gj^^'^
experience as to the possibility of regulating industry, and
the best methods of promoting commerce had been acquired.
When we see how intimately the great industrial and com-
mercial code of Elizabeth is connected with previous attempts
at legislation, we can judge better of the real advance which
was made during the long period of depression and transition.

II. The Mercantile Class and the Labourers.

116. The first hints of the so-called mercantile scheme The
of commercial policy and the increasing importance of capital class
have been spoken of above as the two main elements which
attract our attention at this time. It is not fanciful to
connect them both with another phenomenon which is
noticeable during the reign of Richard II. — the wealth and
political importance of the native merchant class ^

It is not a little remarkable that, in spite of the dis-
advantages of which they complained, the mercantile classes
had been growing in wealth and importance during the
reign of Edward III. ; the ranks of the nobility were even under Ed-
then recruited from among English merchants^. We should "'"'^
probably realise the new state of affairs most clearly if we
thought of the new men, not so much as merchants, but as
capitalists. The progress made by the capitalist class is most
clearly shown by their increasing organisation, and the
formation and incorporation of companies of merchants, each
of which dealt in a particular class of goods. Some account The
has already been given of the rise of the two most im- ^'^other
portant companies of this type, the Grocers and the Mercers ; ■^*»'«n/ .
during the first forty years of their existence the former
attained to overweening proportions ; they were accused of
encroaching on the business of other traders ^ and they had
immense influence in the government of the City. They

1 The deliberate encouragement of a body of London merchants to compete
with aliens in the shipping of Wines is seen in the letters patent granted bj
Edward lU. to the Vintners' Company. See below, p. 382.

2 Bourne, English Merchants, 65, 68.

3 Hot. Pad. u. 277.

382 LANCASTER AND YORK.

AD. 1377 were largely represented among the aldermen^ and one of
them, Nicholas Brembre, seized the mayoralty for a second
time by violence in 1385^. These companies had emanated
from the classes of wholesale dealers and retailers respectively.
There is evidence of the growth of a trading class and
specialisation by different branches of commerce, not only in
the offshoots of the older companies, such as the Apothecaries'
and Haberdashers'*, but in the new attempts to discriminate
between different kinds of trade. In 1363 it was enacted"
that no merchant should deal in more than one kind of mer-
chandise, and though this measure was repealed in the
following year®, a somewhat similar result was attained by

Vmtners. the formation of two new companies, the Vintners and
Drapers, in 1364 and 1365 respectively. The charter granted
to the former company is of special interest^ not only because
its language affords an early anticipation of many parts of
the Mercantile System, but because we see that this company
of Winetunners of Gascony was to consist of two classes, —
the Vinetarii, who dealt wholesale and were importers, and
the Tabernarii, who bought from the importers and retailed
the wines ; the two branches were analogous to the Grocers
and Meroers, as one had to do with the wholesale trade, by
tuns and large measures, and the other with retailing by the
small measures. The Vintners had exclusive rights of retail
as against aliens ^ and were encouraged to compete against
aliens in the import trade ; for this purpose they were allowed
to export cloth and herrings, but only to Gascony as return

Drapers, cargo for imported wine. The Drapers, as they were called
in London, corresponded to the Clothiers* of the West of
England and dealt in cloth ; the growing importance of the
industry is shown by the establishment of a weekly market

1 A. B. Beaven in English Historical Review (1907), xxii. 523.

2 Herbert, I. 89. See the Mercers' petition in Rot. Pari. (1386).
8 Offshoot of Grocers.

* Offshoot of Mercers who deal in aver d'acies. Herbert, ii. 533.
8 37 Ed. in. c. 5. « 38 Ed. HI. c. 2.

7 It is printed in Strype's Stow, u. bk. v. p. 194. Compare also Rymer,
Fosdera, ni. i. 742.

8 But apparently some aliens were members of if.

9 Herbert, 391.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 383

for the sale of country cloth at Blackwell Hall in 1397 \ The a.d. 1377

•' _ . 1399

Fishmongers had a long standing, and were not mere retailers
for they were among the chief shipowners on the Thames^
they were wealthy enough to give considerable assistance to
Richard II. ; they were strongly hostile to aliens, but there
were many complaints of their monopoly of this victualling
trade and it was thrown open under the Lancastrians ^ The
attempt to limit each trader to one kind of goods could not
be maintained ; and we have already, in the case of the
Vintners, an indication of a new method of definition, by the
local limits to which they might export ^

The formation of capital in the hands of native English- Wealthy

.,, . -, .,.., artisans.

men was evidently going on, and there are indications that
men were rising from the ranks of the craft gilds to compete
in internal trade. Nicholas Brembre appears to have taken
an active part in preventing weavers and tailors from taking
up the business of drapers ^ by enforcing the restriction which
parliament passed in 1363*'; this was obviously intended
to prevent artisans from encroaching on the business of
merchants.

We may gather some additional confirmation as to the Power
growing importance of the capitalist class from the changes merchants
which were made in the constitution of the City. These
were sudden and violent, and it is difficult to understand the
objects which rival factions had in view, more especially as
the worst rioting by the city mob synchronised with the
incursion of peasants from Kent and Essex under Wat Tyler'.

^ Liv. Company Commission (1884), xxxix. pt. i. p. 170.

■^ Unwin, Oilds of London, 39, 40.

3 Welsford, Strength of England, 156, 162, 174, 179.

* According to the view here taken we first have the gild merchant regulating
dealing of all kinds within the town (see above, p. 219) : next we have craft gilds,
regulating the production of a particular class of goods (see above, p. 341) ; now
we have livery companies regulating dealings, especially if not exclusively whole-
sale deahngs, in a particular class of goods in a given city ; and later we have the
merchant companies, trading in all sorts of goods with particular foreign countries,
and within specified limits (see below, p. 416). There are some signs of all these
gilds and companies in the history of London, though the existence of a gild
merchant in London is doubtful. It is not perhaps quite clear that the twelve
great companies have any precise analogue in other English towns; but there
were gilds merchant, craft gilds, and merchant companies in many of them.

•5 Herbert, i. 30, n. 6 37 Ed. Til. c. 6.

■^ The reasons for the conduct of Home and the other traitorous aldermen who
facilitated the entry of the men of Kent into London (Re'ville, Soulivement, 190)

towns.

384 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 The constitution of the City had been settled in the time of
— i:m £(^^y3^j.(^ jl 1. \y^^ in 1376, when the conduct of Lyons and

m London ' •'

Peche had caused wide-spread scandaP, an attempt was made
to put the government of the City on a more democratic
basis by organising a Common Council to be elected by the
misteries^ Complaint was subsequently made, however, that
the proceedings of the Council were swayed by clamour
rather than by reason and the popular powers, both as to the
election to the Council*, and in regard to the election of
Aldermen^ were considerably restricted. Steps were taken
to insure that no single company should have a dispropor-
tionate share of influence ; but the wealthy merchants were
able to retain a dominant position in civic politics; and by a
custom which continued unbroken for centuries, the important
administrative offices were reserved for members of one of the
Twelve Great Companies.
and other The great increase in the wealth of the mercantile class

is specially significant, as it occurred at a time when the
nobility were greatly impoverished. There had been an
extraordinary change in the distribution of wealth, and the
moneyed interest began to exercise unwonted political power.
The movement was not by any means confined to London,
though it is not likely that there were many companies of a
purely trading character in provincial towns in the time of
Edward III. The formation or reconstitution of great gilds
for social and religious purposes in such towns as Wisbech^
Coventry^ and Norwich^ at all events suggests the existence
of a class of prosperous dealers ; and there is other indirect
evidence that the centres of trade were places of very consider-

remain unexplained. The attack on the Savoy is alleged to have been begim by the
city mob, and not by the peasants (Oman, Great Bevolt, 194) ; and after ' the novices
and well-meaning ones had been appeased ' (Froissart, c. 138), an attack was made
by Walter Attekeye, a brewer, of Wood Street, on the GuUdhall, with the view of
destroying the ' Jubilee Book ' (R(5ville, op. cit. 206).

1 Noorthouck, History of London, 785.

2 E. E. Sharpe, Letter Book H. 38.
8 The first result of this revolution seems to have been the compiling of the

book called Jubilee, which must have contained regulations which bore hardly on
the Fishmongers and Brewers. (R. E. Sharpe Letter Book H, 41 and note
above.)

4 In 1384 (Sharpe, op. cit. 227). « In 1397 (Sharpe, op. cit. 436.)

6 Watson, Wisbech, 152.

' Mrs Green, Town Life, n. 205. ^ Blomefield, Norfolk, n. 734.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 385

able wealth. Like Edward I. and Edward III.^ Richard II. a.d. 1377

1 • 1 ■ . . . „ —1399.

found it necessary to borrow, either in anticipation oi revenue
or for the sake of some exceptionally large expenditure; but, a.d. 1376.
while his predecessors had for the most part relied upon
foreigners, he was able to draw upon native resources, and he
seems to have borrowed chiefly, though not exclusively, from Toions as
corporate bodies. On one occasion he pledged his jewels creditors.
with the city of London and obtained £9000 ; and lists
have been preserved of the payments made by different
towns in 1382, 1386, and again in 1397. It is not easy to
see on what principle the demands were regulated, as it did
not apparently depend on any accurate assessment. These
loans were exacted both from private persons like the great
landowners and from towns as well ; an analysis of the list
of 1397^ shows that of the 193 contributors 78 were ecclesi-
astics who gave sums varying from £1000 to £13. 6s. Sd.^
45 were gentlemen who gave sums varying from £400 to
£3. 6s. 8d., and the remaining 70 payments came from towns*.
The class of moneyed men were made to bear a large share
of the burdens which had hitherto been defrayed by the
landed interest only, whether ecclesiastical or lay. To lie out

1 On his transactions with Richard Lyons, see Bot. Pari. ii. 324 (17).

2 Thus Gloucester which paid twice as much as Cambridge iu 1397, paid a
smaller sum, £54 as against £60, in 1386 ; default to meet the demand called for a
renewed requisition of a proportional payment from every citizen worth £20 in
Boston. Rymer, Fcedera, vn. 544. No mention occiu's of several important places
in this Hst, e.g. Newcastle and Coventry, the latter of which had contributed £320
in 1386. Literesting information as to the si^ecial characteristics of each town will
be found in a document printed by C. Bonnier, Eng. Hist. Rev. xvi. 501.

8 London, £6666. 13s. M. ; Bristol, £800 ; Norwich, £333. 6s. %d. ; Boston,
£300; Lynn, £266. 13s. \d.\ York, Gloucester and SaUsbury, £200 each;
Lmcohi, £133. 6s. M. ; Southampton, £113. 6s. M. ; Bury, £106. 13s. ^d. ;
Cambridge, Colchester, Hull, Hereford, Shrewsbury and Winchester, £100 each ;
Oxford, £80; Abingdon, Canterbury, Chichester, Grantham and Harlaxton,
Leicester, Northampton, Nottingham, Sandwich, Stamford, Scarborough, Wor-
cester and Yarmouth, £66. 13s. 4^^. each; Cirencester, £60; WeUs, £53. 6s. 8(i. ;
Beverley, £45 ; Bedford, Blakeney and Cley, Dover, Ely, Grimsby, Huntingdon,
Hadleigh, Homcastle, Ipswich, Louth, Maldon and Sail and Eeepham, £40 each ;
Lymiugton, £33. 13s. 4cZ. ; Barnstaple, Barton-on-Humber, Cromer, Ludlow,
Pontefract, Sudbury and Thetford, £26. 13s. \d. each ; Bath, Cawston, Derby,
Lavenham, Whitby, Plymouth and Lichfield, £20 each ; Beccles, Bildeston,
Bodmin, Burton-on-Trent and Lostwithiel, £13. 6s. 8d. eachj Harwich, £10;
Braintree and Liskeard, £6. 13s. 4d. each.

* Macpherson, i. 608.

0. H. 25

386

LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377
—1399.

Shares in
assessment

The

standard
of living
in the
XVth cen-
tury and
in the
present
day.

of their money on the king's behalf^ was probably much more
of a grievance to the merchants than to tlie landowners.

Even more distinct evidence as to the position of mer-
chants may be gathered from the rate at which they were
assessed for the poll tax of 1379. The tax of 1377 had been
levied at the rate of 4c?. per head-, and the returns of the
amounts collected give invaluable information as to the popu-
lation at that date — a quarter of a century after the Black
Deaths But the poll tax of 1379 was graduated. The
sums levied on the trading classes are as large as those
taken from the nobility, if the Dukes of Lancaster and
Bretagne and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who were each
to contribute £6. 13s. 4cZ., are left out of account. The Lord
Mayor of London was to pay £4, like an Earl, Bishop or
ilitred Abbot; the London Aldermen and the Mayors of
larger towns £2 each, like barons or abbeys with a rental
of £200 a year. The mayors and jurators of other towns and
the great merchants were to give £1 each, like knights or
abbeys with a rental of over £60. The substantial merchants
and mayors of small towns were to pay 13s. 4d, IO5. or 6s. Sd.
according to their estate, like the landed esquires and lesser
abbeys ; and smaller merchants and artificers were to give
6s. 8d, 3s. 4d, 2s., Is., or %d. All seems to show that the
trading classes had come to form a very important section of
the community for fiscal purposes*.

117. These lists give an interesting survey of English
society, and of the wealth of different classes at the end of
the fourteenth century ; it is impossible to glance through
them without having questions raised in regard to the
material well-being of the ordinary Englishman then, as

1 The lists from which these facts are taken are in the form of letters to the
treasurer to offer security for the repayment of the loans to the various parties
who had accommodated the king. Rymer, Fadera (original), vn. 341, 543. The
loan of 1397 was on the king's personal security. Rymer, vin. 9.

2 Rot. Pari. II. 364 (19).

3 The counties of Durham and Chester are not included, but the retui'n gives
for the rest of England 1,376,442 lay persons above fourteen years of age. The
total population, clerical and lay, including these counties is usually estimated at
2,500,000. Topham, in Archceologia, vii. 337.

* Hot. Pari. ui. 57 (13). For the clerical payments see Wilkins, Concilia.
n. 141.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 387

compared with that of a man in a similar social position in A.D. 1377
the present day. No attempt will be made here to answer
such questions at all precisely, but some suggestions may be
thrown out whiVh show the difficulty of solving the problem.

In the fifteenth century the mercantile classes had a
position of dignity and importance in all English towns ; and
the house and style, which were maintained by a merchant A merchant
prince who could entertain royalty, show us the height of
material comfort that was attainable by rich men at the
time\ The visit of Edward IV. to Bristol was the occasion a.d. 1461.
of magnificent pageants in the town, and he was the guest
of William Canynges in a house of which fragments still
^emain^ It had been built as a suburban residence about
the end of the fourteenth century, and had all the newest
improvements ; the ground floor was no longer of bare earth
but covered with tiles, and the overhanging bay windows
of the first floor were completely glazed, probably with
richly stained glass. The amount of plate, which a merchant Magnifi-
could then display, was of great value, as he invested an
extraordinary proportion of his wealth in this form ; and
the hangings on the wainscot, and the glass would not im-
probably be better than any that could now be procured.
But despite all this magnificence, there was a singular lack lack of
of comfort even in the house of a merchant prince \ " Few '''""•''" "
houses, even those of the gentry, could boast of more than
two beds fur the accommodation of the inmates, and any
possessing three or four were considered to be furnished with
this article of domestic comfort after a very extraordinary if
not extravagant fashion." The sleeping accommodation in the
attics of Canynges' house was small and uncomfortable ; the
principal apartment would have tables on tressels, benches,
and window seats, with but little other furniture, and the
floors would have mats of plaited straw.

This picture of the home of a merchant prince is at least
suggestive of the conditions under which other men lived, who
Avere so poor that they could afibrd little or nothing for display ; Homes of
if there was so little comfort in the sumptuous abode of the ''^**"""

1 Compare the account of the dress, etc., of John Hall, woolstapler, of Salis-
bnry. Dnke, Prolusiones hisforicae.

« Pryce, The Canynges Family (1854), 125. s Ibid. 119; Steflfen, op. cit. 28.">.

25—2

388 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 great magnate of Bristol, the homes of the poor must have

~~ ^ ' been most miserable, according to nineteenth century notions.

It may be that our life would seem dull and colourless to the

Change in fifteenth century burgess; the whole conditions of society

remiire- have SO altered, and the requirements of an ordinary English-

meitta. rnan are so different, that we can hardly get any sound basis

for comparing the standard of comfort then and now, and we

are forced to fall back on a merely physical test. We may

The sup- ask how far the social conditions were favourable for the

^rol^nqa- maintenance and prolongation of human life, and whether

tionoj they were more or less favourable in the fifteenth centurv

aujuan life. -^

than they are now?

Unless the statements of the chroniclers are grossly
exaggerated, England suffered severely during the fifteenth
century from two scourges which are now entirely unknown

Famines — famine and pestilence. The population was dependent on
the seasons for the food supply, and though this might be
plentiful in good years, there was often a general scarcity
which was intensified in particular districts into a local
famine. At such times men were driven to use acorns and
roots for food*, and had recourse to the flesh of dogs and
horses: some cases of cannibalism are reported ^ It was only
rarely that starving people were reduced to such extremities,
but there is some reason to believe that they habitually used
diseased and unwholesome food, and that they were thus
rendered a ready prey to the ravages of pestilence. The

«'^ Black Death was specially terrible, but we read of many

pestilence. ... , " ^ i • i m ■ i

other visitations, the accounts oi which are sufnciently
appalling. "A century during which more than twenty
outbreaks of plague occurred, and have been recorded by

1 Holinshed, 1439.

* In 1314 " notwithstanding tlie statutes of the last Parliament, the Kings
Writtes &c., all things were sold dearer than before, no fleshe coulde be had,
Capons and Geese could not be found, Egs were hard to come by, Sheepe died
of the rot. Swine were out of the way; a quarter of wheat, beanes and pease
were solde for 20 shillings, a quarter of Malta for a marke, a quarter of Salt for
35 shillings." In the next year "Horse flesh was counted gi-eat delicates; the
poore stole fatte Dogges to eate : some (as it was saide) compeUed through
famine, in hidde places, did eate the flesh of their owue Children, and some
stole others which they devoured. Theeves that were in prisons did plucke in
pieces those that were newhe brought amongst them and greedily devoured them
hall alive." Stow, Annals.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 389

the chroniclers, can hardly be regarded by us except as one ad. 1377

long unbroken period of pestilence^" "The undrained

neglected soil ; the shallow stagnant waters which lay upon
the surface of the ground, the narrow unhealthy homes
of all classes of the people ; the filthy neglected streets
of the towns ; the insufficient and unwholesome food ; the
abundance of stale fish which was eaten; the scanty variety

of the vegetables which were consumed; predisposed the

agricultural and town population alike to typhoidal diseases
and left them little chance of recovery when stricken down
with pestilence ^" It is thus that Mr Denton sums up the
normal conditions of life in the fifteenth century^.

It may however be argued that this picture is too highly
coloured, that he has attached too much importance to the
exaggerated statements of ill-informed chroniclers, and that
the famines were only local, and the pestilences only occa-
sional-' and due to climatic conditions rather than induced
by the habits of life. We may approach the problem from The mc«n»
the other side and try to form some estimate as to the means inhourer's
at the command of the ordinary labourer for procuring the '^^^posoZ.
necessaries of life. He could not of course secure a greater
degi'ee of comfort than the merchant prince, but how far could
he count on obtaining an adequate share of the supplies that
were available ? What were the means at his disposal ? for
even though food were plentiful and cheap, the labourer
might suffer real privation, if he was too poor to purchase
corn^ The means at his disposal would depend partly on
the rates of wages and partly on the constancy of employment.

It is probably true that when the daily labourer was Bates of
engaged on a long-continued piece of work, and could count ""^""

1 Denton, 105. s Ibid. 103.

8 Compare Also Rogers {Fort. Rev. iii. 193) and Jessopp (Friars, 89), who ars
both speaking of the foui-teenth century.

* The evidence is discussed in considerable detail by Dr Creighton, History oj
Epidemics, i. 225. He shows good reason for supposing that the prevalence of
leprosy, which was alluded to in the second edition of this book (p. 347), has been
generally exaggerated (chapter ii).

* During a recent famine in India, when the export of rice from Bengal
c-iutinued, it was said that there was sufficient food if the people could have had
it conveyed to them and purchased it, and that they suffered from poverty rather
than scarcitv.

890 LANCASIER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 on constant employment, he fared well ; the statutable wages
~ "' ■ were not low as compared with rates that had been formerly
paid, and Professor Thorold Rogers maintains that the sums
actually paid were sometimes in excess of the limits laid
down by parliament. This might seem to show that there
was a great demand for labour; but there is also evidence
irreg^i- that employment was irregular. " The custom of hiritig
employ- labour by the day is more general during the sixteenth and
vicnt. seventeenth centuries than it was in the thirteenth and
fourteenth, mainly because the practice of cultivating land*
was abandoned by the great landowners and wealthy corpo-
rations, and the labour which they hired was occasional and
casuals" A comparison of the salaries of servants engaged
by the year, with the wages of day labourers, makes it
probable that day wages were comparatively high, because
employment was so irregular that the labourers could not
live unless they were well paid for any work they got to do ;
but no accurate conclusion can be drawn, as those who had
yearly salaries may not improbably have been indoor ser-
vants. Still it seems unlikely that, even if they could eke
out a living from the common waste, the daily wage earners
of the fifteenth century had a larger free income than the
agricultural labourer of the present day; we could not insti-
tute an accurate comparison unless we knew not only the
prices of the articles they used, but also the quality of the
goods they were able to procure. It is not easy to obtain
such information in the present day, and we cannot hope
to get sufficient data for judging about the distant past. We
can, however, as Prof Nicholson has shown'', find illuminat-
ing facts both as to the condition of particular classes and the
progress of society by a careful study of the changes in the
relative prices of certain commodities in common use.
Holidays On another side, however, the question seems simpler, as-

to the amount of free time at the labourer's disposal. The
holidays were frequent, and those who were paid yearly
salaries would have the advantage of them ; they were care-

1 Agriculture and Prices, rv. 493.

* Principles of Political Economy, m. 65 — 99.

and

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 391

fully taken into account in reckoning the payments that were a.D. 1377
due for opera vendita^; but the day labourer would only find
that they reduced his opportunities of finding employment
and therefore of earning. His free time must be reckoned,
not by the periods of enforced idleness, but by the leisure he
could count on when fully employed. In so far as regularity
of employment and short hours are a test of the well-being
of the workman, the fifteenth century day labourer was
badly off ; his summer hours lasted from five in the morning hours of
till half-past seven at night, with breaks which amounted to
two hours or two hours and a half'' in all.

On the whole it appears that, even if we altogether forego Improved

^^ 1 i_ condition

the attempt to measure now much one or the other was of the
better off, the balance of advantage lies with the modern rural ^jp^^er.
labourer. In all probability his employment is less irregular,
and his hours are shorter; he enjoys practical immunity
from famine and pestilence, and he is far less exposed
to attack from 'enemies,' or to violence from unruly reti-
nues^ The French Wars and the Wars of the Roses led to
a terrible amount of disturbance and crime, and we may be
certain that whatever disasters occurred, — whether pillage or
famine or pestilence, — the poor were least able to resist its
effects and suffered most from it. Taking one consideration
with another we may feel that the lot of the labourer did
not render his life a good one from an insurance point of view.

It might indeed have been supposed that these evils MV»«n/ and
were so far common to all classes of society, that the labourer
might be satisfied with his condition, since he could not
hope for any great improvement. The distinction between
rich and poor was marked by all the externals of rank, but it

1 Compotus Roll of Wilsford in Hampshire, 1447. British Museum, Additional
Charters, 27,679.

2 The long hours of which .ffilfric's ploughman complained — who had to plough
an acre or more in the day — would not greatly differ from those insisted on in
the Act of 1495.

s This was no new evil, for it was a grievance in the time of Edward L, both
in rural districts (Song on the Retinues of Great People in Wright's Political
Songs, Camden Society, 237) and in towns. Licence was requiied by the Bishop
of Durham while attending i)arliament before he could venture to quarter his
retainers at Stratford at Bow (Rymer, Fcedera, rv. 143). From the time of Richard
n. (13 R. n. st. m.) there was frequent legislation against the practice till the
reign of Henry VII., under whom it was practically suppressed.

392 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 was not such a wide gulf as separates the East and West of
~ ■ London in the present day. Though all classes were so
much more nearly on a level, so far as the material conditions
of well-being were concerned, there is ample evidence that
the labourer was not so comfortable as to be contented with
his lot ; the records of frequent riots and constant crime
show only too clearly that the masses of the population
were not only poor, but also miserable ; their political im-
portance came out chiefly in antagonism to the existing
order. The attempt to widen the basis of taxation and to
force wage-earners and peasants to contribute directly Ho the
revenue was the signal for the great revolt of 1381.
Political 118, Changes in the relative distribution of wealth as

mercTants. between landed proprietors and the capitalist classes seem to
be reflected in the new powers which merchants possessed for
influencing the policy of the realm. A body of men, who
contributed to the royal necessities as largely as the citizens
of London did, had really a direct means of putting pressure
on the king ; the towns from which the king borrowed had a
more immediate means of making their wishes felt than
through the agency of petitions in parliament, where the
Mercantile landed interest might not always support them. This is
po icy* possibly the reason why the objects they had at heart were
secured to them by charter, at a time when the statutes were
framed on different lines ; but before the end of the reign of
Richard II. statutory force was given to some of the principles
of trade-management for which the London merchants had
been steadily contending.
Restric- i. The chief point for which they pressed was a limitation

aliens. of the freedom of aliens, especially their freedom to compete
with Englishmen in internal trade, and to sell by retail.
The deeply rooted objection to the upland man, which shows
itself in the earliest municipal laws, appears here in a later
form ; men who bore the burdens of the town had a right to
the gains which came from its trade. The men of London
put their case very strongly in 1372, when they urged that

1 The poll tax offered the means of procuring revenue by a much less cumbrous
machinery than was required to collect the fines incurred by offenders against the
Statutes of Labourers. Dictumque fuit ibidem quod pecunia regni fuerat in
manibus opificum et laborantium. Eulogium Historiarum, R. S. in. 345.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOUKERS. 893

they could not meet the royal demandtj if their ancient a.d. 1377

•^ _ _ •' . . 1399.

charters were infringed by the privileges newly granted to
aliens ^ They took a very early opportunity of bringing
their grievances before Richard II., who reaffirmed their
ancient privileges, but in doing so he made a further ex-
ception in favour of his subjects in Aquitainel This indul- a.b. 1377.
gence appears to have been withdrawn by the statute of 1378,
which forbids the aliens to sell wine or other imported
merchandise by retail in London or other towns, though it
gave them considerable freedom at fairs for selling by retail
and selling to one another^ Subsequently the privileges of
aliens were affirmed by statute*, and the charters of boroughs A.n. 1387.
set aside in their favour^ ; but in the end the citizens were
too strong for them, and carried a measure after their own
heart®, for it prohibited aliens from selling to one another
and from selling by retail. The statutes' which had a.d. 139-2.
-favoured aliens Avere set aside and it was enacted that "no
merchant stranger alien shall sell, nor buy nor merchandise
within the realm with another strange merchant alien, to sell
again ; nor that no strange merchant alien shall sell to retail
within the said realm, nor shall put to sale any manner of
wares or merchandises, except livings and victuals, and also
that aliens shall sell wines by whole vessels, and spicery by
whole vessels and bales, and in no other manner ; and that
no manner of spicery, after that it be brought within the
realm, shall be carried out of the same realm by alien or
denizen upon pain of forfeiture of the same." It may be internal

. , .... , ami retail

said that this measure marks a stage m this long struggle trade.
with foreigners : contests with foreign merchants in the
fifteenth century have a different character, for Englishmen
were beginning to compete with them in that foreign trade
and carrying trade in which they were eventually to succeed
so well. What they had accomplished so far was that they
secured the retail tcade and the internal tiade of England for
Englishmen.

1 Eot. Pari. u. 314 (46). 2 Eot. Pari, m, 27 (127). ^ 2 E. II. st. i. o- L
* 5 E. IL St. n. c. 1 ; 14 E. H. c. 9. 6 n e. n. c. 7.

6 16 E. n. c. 1. On the political influences which brought about these
changes of policy compare Welsford, Strength of England, 145, 158.

7 9 Ed. ni. St. I. c. 1 ; 25 Ed. III. st. m. c. 2 ; 11 E. H. c. 7.

394 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 ii. They were not satisfied with the victory however,

Snaliah ^^^ ^^ey were anxious to obtain a firm footing in foreign
thipjnng. trade as well, and demanded that encouragement should be
given to English shipping. The policy of Edward III. had
told against the English shipper ; though the statutes which
gave commerce over to his alien subjects were not strictly
enforced, for the London Vintners got their charter in 1364,
and Englishmen continued to frequent the marts at Bruges',
and obtained indemnity for the severe penalties to which
they had rendered themselves liablel The commercial re-
strictions, though they hampered, did not entirely destroy
English shipping ; but there were other causes which led to
its decline. The owners and crews of ships requisitioned for
A.j>. 1372. war were put to great expense and inconvenience ^ and they
suffered by the enforcement of forfeiture* for trivial breaches
of custom regulations ; and the decrease of the navy appeared
to be a public danger*. This feeling found expression in the
first Navigation Act®, which is of a very sweeping character.
A.D. 1381. " To increase the navy of England which is now greatly
diminished, it is assented and accorded, that none of the
king's liege people do from henceforth ship any merchandise
in going out or coming within the realm of England, in any
port, but only in ships of the king's liegance," under penalty
of forfeiture of goods shipped in other vessels, the third part
of which were to go to the informer. Apparently, however,
the navy was so far minished that the statute could not
be enforced ; and an explanatory clause was added in the
following year to the effect that English ships when " able
and sufficient " should be preferred " before all other ships^"
A.-D. 1390. A further condition was annexed' some years later, from
which it appears that the shipowners had taken advantage
of their monopoly to charge exorbitant rates, instead of being
satisfied with " reasonable gains."
Mwey and iii. There was a third point in the great statement of
AD 1376 *^® grievance of the towns which was made in the Good

1 Bot. Stapvl. See Appendix C. 2 Hot. Pari. 11. 314 (47).

8 Rot. Pari. II. 311 (20).

< Ibid. m. 94 (33) ; 38 Ed. III. i. c. 8. See p. 41 1 below.

6 Ibid. n. 314 (46). « 5 R. H. st. i. c. 3.

» 6 R. n. St. I. c. 8. 8 14 E. n. c. 6.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 395

Parliament ; it was mentioned in connection with the en- A.D. 1377
couragement of aliens and the decay of shipping. Men " '
said that the land was without money*, and this last point
received consideration from the parliaments of Richard II.
" For the great mischief which the realm suffereth, and long a.d. issi
hath done, for that gold and silver as well in money, vessel,
plate and jewels as otherwise by exchanges made in diverse
manners is carried out of the realm, so that in effect there
is none thereof left, which thing if it should longer be
suffered would shortly be for the destruction of the same
realm, which God prohibit V it was ordered that no one
should export gold or silver except for the wages of Calais
and other fortresses beyond the sea. Necessary payments
were to be made with royal licence, and through the agency
of good and sufficient merchants, who were to be sworn not
to send any gold or silver beyond the sea under colour of
the said exchange ; the debt was to be liquidated in the
last resort by the export of goods, not of bullion. By a later a.d. 1390.
statute this was explicitly ordained with respect to payments
made to Rome ; it is possible that a decline of the Floren-
tine exports of wool rendered intervention of this kind more
necessary than before'. An interesting commentary on the
whole is found in the record of the information on which
it appears that the statute was based*. The Warden and
other officers of the Mint were summoned to give evidence
as to the reasons of the scarcity of coinage. The large sums
paid to Rome, and the export of money in the course of
exchange were the chief points they spoke of; some laid
greater stress than others on prohibition of the export of
bullion, but one of the officers, Richard Aylesbury, stated his
opinion in terms which appear to anticipate the doctrine of
the balance of trade. Since neither gold nor silver is to be Balance of
had in England unless it is imported from abroad, he con-
sidered that if the merchandise which goes out of England
were well and justly governed, the money that is in England
would remain, and great plenty of money would come from

1 Rot. Pari. n. 332 (59). 2 5 k. n. st. i. c. 2.

• See p. 433, below. Compare also 14 E. II. c. 2.

* Rot. Pari. III. 126, 1 and 2.

396

LANCASTER AND YORK.

AD. 1377
—1399.

A.D. 1335.

Treasure.

A.D. 1364.

The

Peasants'

revolt.

A.D. 1381.

abroad; the value of imports should never exceed the vahie
of exports. Parliament went so far as to pass a statute of
'employment' by which they insisted that half the value of
the imports of aliens should be expended on English exports\

Edward III. had also legislated with reference to the
currency and in terms that are somewhat similar to those
quoted above ^ but none the less may this enquiry, and the
statute which resulted from it, be taken as marking an
important point of departure. The reference to the "de-
struction of the realm " suggests at any rate the importance
of accumulating treasure for political purposes, and not merely
as a circulating medium; of this there is no hint in Edward's
statute. Besides this, the attempt to regulate the expendi-
ture of merchants was a distinct addition to his regulations.
The permission Edward made in favour of fishermen coming
in small ships with fish, and who might be paid in gold and
silver since they did not " meddle in other merchandise V'
shows that the rule at which he aimed was an exchange of
goods for goods*; but there is no evidence that he attached so
much importance to it, or saw its bearing in the same light
a.s the parliaments of Richard II.

119. These grievances in connection with the commerce
of the country will help to account for much of the unrest
which characterised the time of Richard II., but we must
look a little more closely in order to understand the reasons
for the violent and widespread revolutionary movement which
occurred in 1381. The peasants had many sympathisers
in other classes of the community, and the irritation caused
by the enforcement of the Statute of Labourers would be felt
in any area where capitalism had come into vogue and there
were clearly marked classes of employers and employed*: this

1 14 R. n. c. 1. Parliament acloi^ted a bullionist expedient, while Richard
Aylesbury appears to have been a mercantilist, — to adopt terms which were in
vogue in the seventeenth century.

2 9 Ed. III. St. n. c. 1.

3 38 Ed. in. St. I. c. 2. The mercantilists of the Stuart time would have con-
demned with all the force of language they could command, a proposal to leave
fishing — the school of seamanship — in the hand of foreigners and to pay them in
bullion for doing it.

* And this is clear from the Vintners' charter of the same date.
5 Compare the commission to the Keepers of the Peace at Beverley. Seville,
Soulevement, 268, No. 164.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABUURERS. 397

was the case in London, and probably in the clothing country a.d. 1377
of Norfolk. But in rural districts generally there was no y^^g ;^^^;.
wealthy capitalist class such as existed in the towns ; the lords w&re

•^ '^ . great h^ tm-

men who had been wealthy were now on the verge of ruin' ; povenshed
the old system of land management which rested on mutual
personal obligations, discharged in kind, had become im-
practicable; and great difficulties arose in connection with
the introduction of the cash nexus, pure and simple, into
rural life. This was what the villains preferred ; and the
commutation of labour-services for money payments which
was gradually taking place^ went on rapidly^ in the period
after the Black Death when larger amounts of circulating
mediums were available^ ; but when the landowners began to
reorganise estate management in accordance with the new
conditions, they adopted expedients which afforded less scope
for employment, and there must have been increased difficulty
in maintaining even the diminished population. In cases and were

fOTC€(i to

where labour could not be procured, or additional land wsis'taieto
thrown on the lord's hands through the deaths of the tenants, farming or
the lord might be almost compelled to take to sheep farming^, 1"^* '*«*'"

land on
lease.

1 Come par les Pestilences et grantz veutz sont diverges meschiefs et merveil-
louses avenuz, diverses Manoirs, Terres et Tenementz de notre Seignour le Roi,
tenuz en chief, auxi bien come autres, sont touz desolatz, gastez et anientez: si
bien les Homages et Bondages come les chiefs Manoirs et tieux Tenantz de
Bondage come feurent devant ne poent ore estre trovez. Et pur les dites
Meschiefs eschuire, et pur avoir ascun profit des dites Terres et Wastes, les
Seigneurs des dites ruinouses places les lessent, toute ou partie, a terme de vie pur
les enhabiter, q'est survys et accomptez Alienation saunz congie du Koi ; lesqueux
Lessez ne poent estre Alienations la ou nostre Seignour le Roi ad Tenantz en
droit. Hot. Pari. n. 279 (33).

2 Herdsmen at wages were a part of the establishment of some manors, where
other services were uncommuted (Maitland, History of Cambridgeshire Manors in
English historical Bevierv, ix. 417). Hired labourers with the lord's own oxen seems
to have often been preferable for ploughing to the enforced labour of the villains
and their oxen. Trevelyan, Age of Wycliffe, 186 ;. Ashley, Economic History,
I. i. 32 ; Page, Frohndienste, 22.

* Page, Erid of Villainage, 57. Professor Thorold Rogers greatly antedates the
time when services had been commuted in the country generally (,iSia; Centuries, i.
44, 253) ; he even asserts tliat in 1381 "no memory went back to the older custom"
[Economic Interpretation, 29). This has led him to argue that the fundamental
grievance was an attempt on the part of the lords to re-introduce predial service
[Six Centuries, 218). Mr Page's researches have rendered this view untenable.

* Page, Frohndienste, 22 ; Trevelyan, Age of Wycliffe, 186 ; Ashley, Econ.
Hist. I. 32.

* Davenport, Norfolk Manor, 50, 80 ; Cullum, Hawsted, 217. See p. 448 below.

398 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 but this was quite likely to bring him into conflict with the
""" ' surviving tenantry ^ Another expedient was for the lord to
let his land either for arable purposes or for sheep. The stock-
and-land lease was a convenient agreement during the latter
half of the fourteenth century % but instances occurred both
earlier and later*. The new tenant took the land and the
stock oif the lord's hands and made in return a definite
annual payment. Gradually, and possibly by mere lapse of
time as the stock died off, it was replaced by the tenant, not
the lord ; and we thus have early examples of the ordinary
system of English tenant farming, in which the capital is
supplied by the tenant, who pays a definite rent to the land-
lord for farm and buildings. The yeoman farmers, or tenant
farmers, as we may call them, may have mostly sprung from
the class of labourers who had no holdings, and were under
no obligations to do predial service^ but some of the bond-
men were able to take land on new terms.
With the The grievances of the villains in 1381 were primarily

llonofThe social ; to some extent they might perhaps be described as
cash nexus sentimental ; though they also involved serious hardships.
In the lack of detailed evidence as to the precise nature of
the economic element in their revolt against the existing
order', we may borrow some light by considering the agrarian
difficulties which came into prominence in Tudor times, and
by arguing retrospectively to the earlier stages of the
movement for enclosing®. It is also very instructive to
examine the analogies suggested by economic changes that
are going on in Russia at the present time in consequence of
the freeing of the serfs.

1 See p. 526 below. There are complaints of repeated trespass of peasants and
their cattle on tbe lord's pasturage. Court Roll, Stapleford, January 1382.
British Museum, Add. Charters, 28792.

2 Thorold Rogers, Agriculture and Prices, i. 24.

s Hall, Formula Boole, n. 19, No. 13. See also Appendix B, p. 586 below.

* Mr Page points out that the services exacted from the new essai-ts were
comparatively light, and that as soon as all the waste land of the village was
allotted in holdmgs, an increase of villain population would mean the growth of a
class of viUam status, who had no predial obligatioHS because they had no laud.
Die Umwandluny der Frohndienste in Oeldrente, 20.

s There is an interesting statement in 1 K. II. c. 6.

« See below, p. 528.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 399

Sir D. Mackenzie Wallace points out that in " the time a.D. 1377

■•■ _ _ 1399.

of serfage an estate formed, from an economic point of view,

a co-operative agricultural association under a manager who
possessed unlimited authority and sometimes abused it, but
who was generally worldly wise enough to understand that
the prosperity of the whole required the prosperity of the
component parts." A " communal equality " had been arti-
ficially maintained ; but in consequence of recent changes
" the strong compact whole fell into a heap of mutually in-
dependent units with separate and often mutually hostile

interests The restrictions on individual freedom have

been removed, the struggle for life has become intensified,
and as always happens in such circumstances, the strong men
go up in the world while the weak ones go to the wall. All distinction

, r> 1 1 1 1 1 1 • • p between

over the country we nnd on the one hand the beginnmg of prosperous
a village aristocracy, — or perhaps we should call it a peasants
plutocracy, for it is based on money, — and on the other ^^^ame

i . . . more

hand an ever increasing pauperism. Some peasants possess marked
capital with which they buy land outside of the Commune,
or embark in trade, while others have to sell their live stock,
and have sometimes to cede to neighbours their share of the
communal property. This change in rural life is so often
referred to that a new word differentsiatsia (differentiation)
has been invented'."

In England the economic changes consequent on the
introduction of the cash nexus would be similar, with the
great difference that in England in 1381 the serf had not
become free, and was therefore not able to better his position
by migrating or seeking other employment as the Russian
peasants habitually do. The sudden introduction of the cash
nexus in consequence of the labourers' demands could not
but give rise to a great deal of mutual recrimination between
different classes of the community. The personal ties be-
tween rich and pour were sometimes softened by kindly
sentiment and timely assistance; this seems to have survived
in the case of some of the monasteries till Tudor times^, but
the cash nexus would strain it considerably ; and there is
1 Russia, 200. 2 gee p. 528 below. Compare also Wallace, op. cit. n. 198.

400

LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377
—1399.

and the

rights of
manorial
lords were
called in
question.

much complaint in WyclifFe^ and Piers Ploivman^ of the
harshness of the landed classes. The breaking down of
habitual practice and introduction of new conditions almost
necessarily roused a spirit of enquiry as to the grounds on
■which the authority of the manorial lords rested. What
justice was there in the exclusive claims of the lord to the
game on land, where the villains had common rights*? What
right had the lord to prevent one of his tenants from trying
to better himself by taking service in a town ? The economic
grievances in rural districts, and such incidental annoyances
as the obligation to use the lord's mill^ or the interfering
with a right of way", were the occasions of a discontent which
found expression in attacks on the foundations of society.
The villains of 1381 were not communistic, but they were
in a sense anarchists, since they i-egarded the whole social
system, defined by legal documents, as unjust, and as some-
thing that ought to be swept away*. Hence the assaults on
muniment rooms ^ and on the Temple^ as the home of the
legal profession become sufficiently intelligible ; while the
manner in which the tenants of St Albans* were satisfied
over the question of game, and the men of Kent and Essex

1 " Lords strive with their tenants to bring them in thraldom, more than they
Bhonld by reason and charity." Wycliffe, English Works, E. E. T. S. 234.

2 Langland, Piers Plowman, vi. 89. » Knighton, R. S. 137.

* The villains on breaking into S. Albans abbey at once took possession of the
handmills which the abbots had confiscated. Gesta Abbatum 8. Albani, ui. pp.
309, 329, 346. This popular feeling gave additional point to the address of Jakke
Mylner, where the state is compared to a windmill. Knyghton, 1381. Compare
also Sir Walter Scott's description of the Miller of Melrose and his anxieties, in
the Monastery, c. 13. In 1737 there was much dissatisfaction at Manchester,
because the miUers of Manchester insisted that all the inhabitants should grind at
their mills " tho' they were not able to serve half the town." See the epigram in
the Gentleman's Magazine, 1737 (vii. p. 307).

But the particular grievances that seemed most oppressive differed in different
places : at Cambridge the townsmen rose against the University, and first attacked
Corpus Christi College, "because that coUege was endowed with many candle
rents, so that a sixth part of the town is said at that time to belong thereunto."
Fuller, Hist. Univ. Camb. p. 53.

* J. Ross, Historia Regum Angliae, p. 126.

8 The sentiments which Shakespeare puts into the month of Jack Cade are
more appropriate to the rising under Tyler and Ball. Henry VI, Part ii. Act iv.
So. 2.

' Walsingham, Hist. Angl. i. 455. The revolt has thus a family likeness to the
great revolution in France. Maine, Fortnightly Review, xxi. N. S. p. 462.

8 Oman, op. cit. 58. ^ Reville, op. eit. 35, 45.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 401

when personal freedom was conceded^ goes to show what it a.d. 1377
was that they felt to be oppressive. ~ ■"

The 'differentiation' of which we read in Russia was
a marked feature of English rural life in Tudor times^; and
it had begun to show itself in Norfolk* within a generation
after the Black Death. The new class of yeomen farmers
were probably going up in the world*; while on the other
hand there is no reason to suppose that there had been The revolt
any improvement in the lot of the peasants who had J^g'^'^*"^
not secured additional land, if indeed they had not gone "Jl^^^l^^^f
from bad to worse. The subdivision of land seems to
have proceeded very far before the Black Death ^, and
there appears to have been a considerable class of landless
villains. The villain-holdings, when worked on the old
methods, would in many cases hardly suffice to maintain a
family except on the verge of starvation". The villains who
carried on a collective husbandry on the old system might
not find it easy to market their produce and obtain money to
pay their quit rents ^ and they could in all probability make
little profitable use of the additional time they had at their
disposal. All the conditions were present which would give
rise to ' land hunger ' ; and although we do not find it
specially mentioned, we cannot infer from the silence that it
did not exist. There would be a difficulty in formulating

1 See above, p. 383. a See p. 528 below.

8 Davenport, Norfolk Manor, 53.

* There seems to have been an active market for holdiiigs at the close of the
foitrteeuth century. Petruskevsky, Vozstaine Uota Tailera, n. 204. In the latter
part of the fifteenth century tenants were sometimes able to purchase the farms
they worked. Johnson, Disappearance of small Landowner, 37. Compare also
Su- T. Smith, Commonwealth, Bk. iii. c. 10.

6 Kovalevsky, op. cit. m. 70; Neilson, Ramsey Abbey, 49; Davenport, op. cit.
19. It seems that in Tudor times 20 acres was regarded as the minimum on
which a husbandman could live and thrive, as no effort was made to maintain
smaller holdings as separate tenancies. 4 H. VEE. c. 19. 2 and 3 P. and M. c. 2.

6 The poverty of the peasant proprietor in France is a matter of common
remark, and is said to be due to the tiny holdings from which they can only obtain
the barest subsistence by hard work. M. de FovUle, who defends the system in
France at present, pomts out that under existing conditions there are re-adjust-
ments which prevent excessive subdivision from being permanent but the English
serf had no such freedom to deal with his land as the French peasant enjoys.
{Morcellement, 199.)

7 The same difficulty would arise about paying their quota of taxation under
the Poll Tax. It is noticeable in Russia how closely the arrears of taxation reflect
the poverty of the serf in any district. Wallace, op. cit. 11. 204.

C. H. 26

402 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 this grievance, and in seeing whether to lay the blame on the
landlord or on the new class of tenants \ There was appar-
ently a feeling, as subsequently in the Chartist times ^ that
if the matter of political status could be put right, economic
grievances would be easily remedied. The very improvement
in the condition of those who had land on lease would be
an additional irritation to villains in hopeless poverty, who
saw no means of bettering their position^

but it was The imposition of the Poll Tax was the incident which

ftw'^r"* caused this widespread irritation to break out in open revolt;

Poll Tax a^nifj in this respect its importance can hardly be exaggerated,
for this exaction affected the poorer population of town and
country alike, and thus rendered the revolt both widespread
and formidable. The economic and social difficulties might
have worked themselves out separately and locally, but the
new demands raised political questions as to the government
of the realm as a whole. Other classes than the peasantry
were eager that action should be taken, and a widespread
organisation gave solidarity to the movement for political
reform. Wat Tyler and his followers attributed the mis-
government of the realm to John of Gaunt, and he was by no
means popular in the city. The finances of the realm seemed
to be in hopeless disorder ; the yield of the last parliamentary
grant had been small, and had come in slowly ; the Crown
jewels were in pawn and the English garrisons in France had
arrears of pay due to them* for more than a year. Parliament
therefore voted a poll tax, as a means of raising a large sum
immediately. Everyone over the age of fifteen years was to
pay ; but this seems to be assessed as a graduated tax on the
value of every man's goods, though no one was to pay more
than sixty groats and no one less than half a g^oat^ The

1 Hay ward's account of rural discontent under Edward VI. is illustrative, " Some
would have no justices, some no gentlemen, some no lawyers nor ordinary courts
of justice ; and above all Inclosures must be put down, but whether all, or which,
none could tell, every man regarding what he followed, not what might follow
thereof." Kennett's Complete History, n. 293.

2 See below, vol. u. p. 736.

8 In Russia, the serfs are able to make a good deal of money by obtaining
occasional employment in the towns (Wallace, op. cit. i. 186. ii. 213), but the
Euglish serfs were prevented from doing this.

* DoweU, History of Taxation, i. 97.

5 Hot. Pari. ni. 90 (13). The grant contains a phrase, to which DoweU refers
{History of Taxation, i. 99), as showing that the tax was modelled on a French

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 403

form of the levy, which involved an inquisitorial investiga- a.d. 1377
tion into every person's property by officers who did not
always execute their difficult duty with delicacy, was enough
in itself to render it unpopular, and this was the occasion
which brought the separate and local discontents into a
single focus and united different classes in a common
rising.

This political discontent reacted on the agrarian agita-
tion by raising a new point, — as to the value of the contri-
butions made by landed proprietors of different kinds to
the good of the realm. Knights and men at arms were ready
to defend the realm and serve the king in foreign parts ; but
the question as to the nature of the contribution made by
monastic establishments to the good of the realm was not so
easy to answer. Wycliffe formulated what must have been a
very widely spread feeling in his writings on the possessions
of the clergy^ There had long been a feeling that the and was
ecclesiastics did not pay a sufficient share of taxation even in directed
money ; and it need be no matter of surprise that this '^^i^l!^ ' '
should have taken hold of the popular imagination, and that *'^"'^'-
the possessions of the monasteries should have been a special
object of attack. It almost seems that if Richard II. had
anticipated Henry VIII. the dissolution might have proceeded
on a wave of popular approval. The sympathy with which
the peasants met in unexpected quarters was doubtless due
to a recognition of the fact, on which they insisted, that they
were not thieves aiid robbers but zealous for truth and
justice^ The destruction of traitors, the abolition of places
of luxury or useless idleness, and the freeing of prisoners
condemned for offences against unequal laws, seemed to them

impost : per issint qe les fortes feussent constreintz daider les feobles. But the
tax granted by the assembly at Paris in 1369 was a hearth tax, not a poll tax, and
the phrase ' le fort portant le faible ' in their grant refers to the fact that fortified
towns were taxed four francs, and unfortified towns or places in the open country
only li. Clamageran, Histoire de I'impot, i. 391. It seems to be a common
mediaeval phrase for ' equality of taxation ' ; the different application in France
and England gives some instructive light on the respective condition of the two
countries ; in England unfortified places were not so insecure that they had to
have special rates when taxes were levied.

1 English Works, E. E. T. S. 117, 139.

2 Knyghton, E. S. 135.

26—2

404

LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377
—1399.

The

peasants

found

support
from waqe

earners in

the towns

hut the
revolt
ended in
complete
failure.

to be the first steps in the regeneration of society. So far as
they had a positive political programme it was apparently the
establishment of a free peasant proprietory, to be governed
by the king as monarch \ without the intervention of the
knights and nobles, whom they regarded as oppressors.

There were successive outbreaks in Kent, Essex, Cam-
bridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and other counties, and
much light has recently been thrown upon these from new
sources of information ^ The most violent proceedings were
in London, where the combined mobs from the rural dis-
tricts and from the City itself were for a time masters of
London^ and wreaked their vengeance on the persons of the
Archbishop of Canterbury and Richard Lyons, while they also
destroyed the property of John of Gaunt. But their triumph
was very brief and they were unable to use it so as to secure
permanent advantage ; the manumissions were retracted* the
peasantry were exposed to ruthless punishment at the hands
of the Bishop of Norwich. The legal system, which they
had defied, reasserted its power and long accounts remain of
judicial proceedings, while new repressive statutes were
passed.

So far as regards the political and social objects which
the villains had in view, they entirely failed to carry out any
constructive policy; and the law givers of the next reign
looked back on them as merely subversive of order of every
kind, and condemned the Christian Socialism of the Lollards
as a mischievous doctrine*. The rebellion had also been an

1 There is a close analogy between the English Revolt and that of the German
peasants, especially in the desire of both for a political absolutism. See Roscher,
Geschichte der Nat. Oek. 79; and compare the assertions of the peasants that they
■were loyal to the king. The Russian empire is probably a closer approximation
to their ideal than anything that exists elsewhere in the world.

2 Reville, Le Soulevement des Travailleurs d'Angleterre ; Powell, The Rising in
East Anglia in 1381 ; Trevelyau and Powell, The Peasant Rising and the
Lollards ; also the Anomial Chronicle printed by Trevelyan in Eng. Hist. Rev.
XIII. 609, and translated by Prof. Oman {Great Revolt, 186).

* See p. 383 above.

* 5 R. n. St. i. c. 6, also c. 8 ; and 6 R. II. st. i. c. 4. Compare also Rymer,
Foedera (Record), iv. 126.

5 2 Henry V. c. 7. Trevelyan (Age of Wycliffe, 199) defines Wycliffe's personal
position clearly. Compare also Kovalevsky, op. cit. iv. 288.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 405

effort to get rid of the stigma of serfdom and to secure the a.d. 1377
status of freedom for all the peasantry, and in this aspect
also it proved to be a failure ^ It is also clear that they
did not obtain any great economic advantage, for they only
escaped from the obligation to pay predial service by degrees ^
In every respect the rebellion failed ; but the slow agricul-
tural revolution, which rendered their services less useful to
the manorial lords, gradually set the villains free by removing
the interest their masters had in retaining a hold upon
them.

120, The disorganisation in rural districts seemed to be f^erious _
a serious danger to the realm ; on the one hand there was the ^ 'f "^^sT
risk attendant on a decline of population, and on the other
thei'e seemed to be doubt about the maintenance of a sufficient
food supply. The remedy for both evils seemed to lie in the
encouragement of arable farming, but great difficulties lay in
the way. These are described in the preamble of the statute of
1388^ This measure attempts to enforce remedies by fixing the
wages for different classes of labourers and ordaining penalties
for those who paid more than the regulation rates, while it
also lays down that artificers, their servants and apprentices,
should be "compelled to serve in harvest, to cut, gather
and bring in the corn."

This statute plainly recognises the new condition o^oj lease-
affairs where tenants were the principal employers oi others.
labour; the grievance was felt by them, and only in-
directly by the manorial lords as it touched their rents.
Subsequent clauses throw considerable light on the social
condition of the country ; though wages were comparatively Rural
high, the lot of a rural labourer was not attractive, and a iadon^^^'

1 The opinion of Stubbs [Const. Hist. 11. 485) and Thorold Rogers' Economic
Interpretation of History that the rebeUion was the means of securing substantial
gain is discussed by Petit-Dutaillis in his introduction to Reville, op. cit. oxxvni.

2 See p. 534 below. The coiu-se of the changes in Forncett has been carefully
traced by Miss Davenport in A Norfolk Manor, 96.

* 12 R. II. CO. 3 — 7. "The servants and labourers will not, nor by a long
season would, serve and labour without outrageous and excessive hire, and much
more than hath been given to such servants and labourers in any time past, so
that for scarcity of the said servants and labourers, the husbands and land tenants
may not pay their rents nor unnethes live upon their lands, to the great damage
and loss as well of theii* lords as of ail the Coumions."

406 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 prohibition was introduced against those who had served in
"~ ' agriculture till twelve years of age, being subsequently-
apprenticed to a trade in the town; this might prevent the
supply of agricultural labour from being still further dimi-
nished. We also find some indication of a feeling that it
was important to maintain the rural population, not only for
agricultural but for military reasons ; the servants and
labourers were to have "bows and arrows and use the
same on Sundays and Holy days, and leave all playing at
tennis or football, and other games called coits, dice,
casting of the stone, kailes (i.e. skittles), and other such
importune games." The prohibition of swords and daggers
to the labourer and artificer, "but in time of war for defence
of the realm of England," was no unnecessary precaution
when there were so many disorderly but able-bodied tramps,
and when there were large retinues of liveried ruffians ready
to maintain a quarrel \ Bands of discharged soldiers lurked
in the woods and made travelling unsafe ^ and the "assemblies,
conferences and conspiracies" of labouring folk seemed to be
Game fraught with danger ^ and were prohibited in the first Game

Protective There are two other points, which are worth noticing ; in
Asi^iml' subsequent statutes Edward III. had prohibited the export-
Cow ation of corn to any foreign port but Calais and to Gascony*;
if the production was diminished, it was desirable to secure
the whole harvest for the use of English subjects, but under
A.D. 1394. Kichard II. parliament entered upon another policy. If the
prosperity of agriculture was to be assured, it was necessary
that the farmer should have a good market for the corn, and
Freedom of SO at the request of the Commons the king "granted licence
3" JKi; ^^ ^Y[ jjis liege people of the realm of England to ship and

1 1 R. n. c. 7. 2 Denton, Fifteenth Century, 186.

8 13 K. II. St. I. c. 13. "Forasmuch as divers Artificers, Labourers, Servants
and Grooms keep greyhounds and other Dogs, and on the Holydays when good
Christian people be at Chuixh hearing Divine service they go Himting in Parks,
Warrens and Conningries of Lords and others to the very great Destruction of the
same and sometime under such Colour they make then- AssembHes, Conferences
and Conspiracies for to rise and disobey their Allegiance," laymen with less than
40s. and clergy with less than £10 a year are not to keep dogs or use ferrets, heys,
nets, harepipes, cords or other engines to destroy deer.

* 34 Ed. ra. c. 20.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 407
carry corn out of the said realm to what parts that please a.d. 1377

"^ _ _ ,•'•_■'• 1399.

them except to his enemies\" The king's council appear to
have interfered frequently and to have rendered this law a
dead letter, but this statute, as confirmed'^ and amended'
under Henry VI., may be certainly taken as an attempt to a.d. 1137
keep up the price of corn and so to encourage the farmer to
carry on and to improve tillage. The policy thus begun, of
affording protection to native tillage, was carried still farther
under Edward IV. The merchants of the Hanse League prohibition
had taken to importing corn in considerable quantities *, and ing^om. '
in 1463 parliament prohibited the importation of foreign
grown corn, when the price of wheat at the port to which it
was brought did not exceed 6s. 8d. the quarter ^ This was
deliberately done to relieve the condition of the labourers
and occupiers of husbandry and to raise the price of corn
grown within the realm.

The statutes of this reign also notice the existence of a Poor
class about whom there was to be an immense amount of
legislation in later times — the impotent poor ; there was no
intention that they should incur the penalties which were
designed for the sturdy tramp who was wandering about
with no testimonial from his last employer, but they were
to stay in the cities and towns where they were dwelling at
the time of the proclamation of the statute®, "and if the
people of cities or other towns will not or may not suffice
to find them, then the said beggars shall draw them to other
towns within the hundreds, rape or wapentake, or to the
towns where they were born, within forty days after the
proclamation made, and there shall continually abide during
their lives." There is a certain nalveU in the sanguine tem-
perament of legislators who thought that the 'settlement'
of the impotent poor might be effected once for all in six
weeks ; the maintenance of the impotent was of course left to The
charity, and this could not always be depended upon. Owing ^'^^'
to the agricultural depression, there had been a considerable

1 17 R. n. c. 7. 24 H. VI. c. 5.

s 15 H. VI. c. 2.

* Worms, La Ligue hanseatique, 232. * 3 Ed. IV. c. 2.

6 12 R. n. c. 7.

408 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 falling off in clerical incomes^; and the tithes, which had formed
~^^^^- a somewhat uncertain source for poor relief, were quite in-
sufficient for the purpose. The claim of the poor upon them
was not wholly forgotten, and it was enacted that when a living
was impropriated, a convenient sum should be set aside to be
distributed yearly to the poor parishioners^ As Professor
Ashley has argued, there is little reason to believe that the
almsgiving, either at monasteries or from the establishments
of wealthy nobles did much to relieve or abate pauperism ^
More real benefit may have accrued from the parish stock*
which was sometimes available for the use of the poor, and
from the proceeds of which relief could be given both in
Mospitals. kind and in cash. The foundation of hospitals and alms-
houses of an ecclesiastical character had been a favourite form
of benefaction in the thirteenth and earlier part of the four-
teenth century. After the Black Death, many of these
foundations suffered from greatly reduced incomes', while
others were gi'ossly mismanaged^ Municipal authorities
had occasionally exercised supervision in regard to the
control of these establishments^ ; but in the fifteenth century
there was a great increase in the philanthropic activities of
secular institutions. Town authorities and companies^ busied
themselves, not only in the maintenance of orphans, but also
by providing accommodation for the passing traveller, for the
sick and for the impotent poor.
First signs It thus appears that in dealing with rural problems, the
%li^y!° parliament of Richard initiated several very important lines
of policy. They set themselves to encourage tillage as a
permanent employment, and began the Corn Laws, and in
doing so they had a regard not merely to the need of food,
but to the military strength of the country as recruited from
the rural population. Again, we have in this reign the first
legislation for the impotent beggars as distinguished from
the sturdy tramp ; and since both sides of the problem are

1 Ashley, Economic History, i. ii. 310. ^ 15 R. II. c. 6.

3 Ashley, Economic History, i. ii. 313. ^ Ibid. 310

5 R. M. Clay, Medieval Hospitals, 18-2, •2-22. This was partly through the fall of
rents aud partly from the decrease of tolls at fairs. See above, p. 180, n. 5.

6 2 H. V. St. i. c. 1. Ashley, Economic History, i. ii. 318.

7 R. M. Clay, op. cit. 16.

8 R. M. Clay, op. cit. 17, 18. Mrs Green, Town Life, i. 41 n. E. Leonard,
Early History, 23. Ashley, op. cit. 325.

THE MERCANTILE CLASS AND THE LABOURERS. 409
attacked we may consider this the beffinninff of the Poor a.d. 1377

" _ 00 1399

Laws ; the idler was discouraged by the Statutes of Labourers,
which attempted to force vagrants to accept employment,
and by the Game Law. Like the mercantilist regulations
for trade, and the Navigation Acts of the time, they are mere
germs from which a whole elaborate code was to spring,
but it is not uninteresting to notice how all these branches
of social legislation have their first beginnings during this
reign.

III. Commercial Relationships.

121. It is commonly said that Richard's failure to a.d. 1399
protect English shipping alienated the merchants from his ~^ ^/ f
side, and indeed that his deposition was directly connected Enghsh
with the weakness of the naval force of the realm, since a
small fleet might have prevented the landing of Henry of
Bolingbroke^ Be this as it may, Richard's successors were
more careful than he had been, and tried, with but little
apparent result, a variety of expedients for giving protection
to English shipping and to the English coasts.

Some allusion has been made above^. to the piratical
organisation known as the Victual Brothers ; when it was
crushed the evil hardly abated ; several small nests of pirates
were formed out of the surviving elements of the great
association. Their ravages both by sea and land were so
bold that the men of Amsterdam at length endeavoured to
take the matter in hand, and entered into a league with a.d. 1408.
Hamburg, Lubeck and other towns for the extirpation of
the eviP. They were successful in destroying nine of the
haunts of these pirates at the mouth of the Ems ; but little
permanent good was done. A celebrated pirate named Voet,
who was at any rate acting in the interest and possibly with
the connivance of the Hanseatic League, sacked Bergen
in 1428 ; this was a serious blow to English trade in the

1 Macpberson, Annals, i. 610. 2 See p. 301 above.

* Vossius, Annates Hollandiac, lib. xv. p. 470.

410

LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1399
—1461.

A.D. 1429.

Expofsed
condition
of the
coants.

t..i>. 144-2.

Self-pro-
tection by
merchants.

A.D. 1406.

North Sea. But similar evils occurred nearer home, and
there were pitiful complaints of the attacks of bands of
outlaws, known as 'Rovers of the Sea,' who pillaged the
coasts in the time of Henry VI.^ The reprisals of one
trading community upon the merchants of another, was
also a serious trading risk ; but it ought not to be confused
with mere plundering, for after all it was a rough and ready
way of obtaining recovery for debts ^.

It is only, however, by an examination of the separate
histories of different localities that we get any real idea of
the frightful extent of this evil along all our coasts. Agnes
Paston writes in 1450, as an everyday event, of a neighbour
" who was taken with enemies walking by the sea side," and
adds, "there ben ten great vessels of the enemies: God give
grace that the sea be better kept than it is now, or else
it shall be a perilous dwelling by the sea coasts" The
marauders seem to have kidnapped young and old*; we can
well believe that rural districts like the neighbourhood of
Paston had cause for alarm, when towns like Sandwich and
Southampton were burned, and London and Norwich were
forced to plan means of defence" with booms and chains.

Henry IV., though he organised a considerable navy in
1400 by requisitioning ships from the nobles and the towns^
did not attempt the difficult task of protecting English ship-
ping. Probably the best security was given by merchant
vessels sailing together as a fleet, and this was a generally
recognised practice''. But Henry attempted to organise a

. 1 Hot. Pari. rv. 350 (42), 376 (29). One of the first signs of the rising maritime
importance of Holland was given when they helped to clear out a nest of pirates
from Friesland. Macpherson, Annals, i. 620.

2 The line was not drawn very strictly however. The commanders of vessels,
who gave security for their good conduct according to treaty engagements with
Brittany, were expected to refrain from attacking Breton vessels, presumably
under all circumstances. Eymer, Foedera, x. 804.

8 Paston Letters, i. 114. -^ 20 H. VI. c. 1.

e Denton, Fifteenth Century, pp. 87, 89.

6 Eymer, Fcedera, vni. 127, 172.

7 Cotton, Abridgement, 548. John Sharpe owner of a vessel called the
Christopher of Hull, complainant, sheweth that the same Christopher at Bordeaux
was appointed to be one of the Admirals of the English navy then bound for
England, and how that all the English Masters were sworn before the Chief
Officers of Bordeaux not to depart or leave the said Admiral until they came to

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. 411

system of defence rather for the coasts than the shipping ; a.d. 1399
he committed this duty to the merchants themselves in
letters addressed to the various ports, which empowered
them to take three shillings on every cask of imported wine,
besides other payments on staple exports for expenses con-
nected with the work\ They were also to nominate two
admirals ^ one for the south and one for the north, to be
appointed by the king and to have full jurisdiction in
maritime affairs, as well as power of organising naval forces
whenever it was necessary ; but a brief experience seems to
have shown that the scheme was a failure, and the payments
were rescinded*. A somewhat similar expedient was tried
under Henry VI.; the Earls of Salisbury, Shrewsbury, Wor- a.d. 1453.
cester, and Wiltshire, with Lord Sturton, were appointed to
' keep the seas ' for three years ; a grant of tunnage and
poundage was assigned them for the purpose, and certain
towns were to contribute specified loans, on the security
of these taxes, for their immediate equipments But this
attempt was also dropped, and the lords were, at their own
request, discharged from the duty**.

It is indeed difficult, in looking back, to realise that insecurity
there was a real difference in the actual security afforded coast^s.
during any part of this period ', or that Richard's reign was
marked by greater losses than those of his grandfather' and
his successor. The expedients of the Lancastrians appear to
have been futile, though the military intercommunication with
France^ especially in the days of Henry V., may have afforded

England, and how by doing the contrary the said ship fully freighted was taken by
the enemy : for the which ship and goods he requireth recompense of all the other
ships.

1 Rymer, Fcedera, vm. 438. 2 ibid. vm. 439. « Ibid. vm. 455.

^ Cotton's Abridgement, 652. « Ibid. 657.

6 It appears however that the tradition of the English sovereignty of the seas
had not become altogether a dead letter, if we may trust the complaint alleged on
behalf of John Willis, a poor fisherman of Ostend, who was carried off to Hull
along with fifteen companions and four boys, although they were unarmed and
lowered their sail as soon as the Enghsh hailed them : the incident is traditionally
interpreted as a sort of salute. Rymer, Fcedera, vm. 277.

7 See above, p. 300.

8 Henry V. had in 1417 a fleet consisting of six large vessels, eight barges and
ten balingers (Nicolas, Agincourt, App. p. 21).

A good deal of interesting information on the state of the arts in England is to
be found in the accounts of Henry V.'s preparations for his French campaigns.

412 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A. D. 1399 a greater measure of safety on the seas. This was at best a
very temporary improvement, for in the reign of Henry VI.
we find all the old complaints ; the people on the coasts
could not even get satisfaction by pillage, for their enemies
claimed the prizes they took by forged letters of safe conduct.
It appears that it was safer for ' neutrals ' to send their goods
in foreign ships, as they were less likely to be attacked, and
the native shipping — so important for the safety of the realm —
was much discouraged ^ It is also curious to note how the

There was a great gathering of craftsmen to wait for the king; tents (Eymer,
Fcedera, ix. 200), bows (224), carts (248), horseshoes and nails (250), arrows (436),
guns (542), are all to be provided. Ships were to be hired in Holland and Zealand
(215), and impressed from English ports; seamen were to be got to man them:
carpenters and masons, presumably for making engines of attack (261), and sur-
geons (252 and 363), were to accompany the expecUtion: whUe bacon (437) and
aU sorts of other victuals were to be provided (224). For ready money he seems
to have had recom-se to pawning the Crown jewels (284), and to trying to raise
loans, though without much success (499 and 814). The regulations made for the
good government of Normandy, providing for uniform weights and measures, and
coinage (738), the repression of unfair dealing by soldiers and merchants (728, 759),
and confirmation of former possessions and privileges, show a real effort to govern
the conquered coimtry well.

1 " Whereas poor Merchants of the King of this Realm daily be robbed by the
King's Enemies, upon the Sea, and in divers Kivers and Ports within the said Realm,
of their Ships, Goods and Merchandises, of great Riches, and their Bodies taken
and imprisoned with great Duress, and put to great Fines and Ransoms, and the
King's poor Subjects dwelling nigh the Sea Coasts taken out of their own Houses,
with their Chattels and Infants upon Land, and carried by the said Enemies where
it please them, which Mischief come by reason that the said Merchants be discouraged
with Force and Puissance of Ships and of People defensible to keep the Sea and
the Coasts of the same, for that the Ships, Goods and Merchandises by them taken
from the said King's Enemies, be sometimes claimed by the Bong's Enemies, by
Colour of Safe Conducts not duly purchased, nor of Record enrolled, so that the
King's Subjects may have Notice of them, and sometimes be claimed by Merchant
Strangers of the King's Amity, to be belonging to them, by Colour of false Wit-
nesses of their Nation and by Letters of Marque, and Charters Party by them
counterfeited, and by such Proofs upon such Claims be restored to the same
Goods and Merchandises often taken in Ships and Vessels belonging to the King's
Enemies, and the King's said Subjects put to great Vexation, and Loss of their own
Goods, whereby the said Enemies be greatly enriched, and their Navy strongly
increased, and the Navy and Merchandise of the said Reahn of our Lord the King
greatly diminished. ...Our said Lord the King considering the Premisses, and that
if People of the King's Amity be feared and discouraged to freight the Ships and
Vessels of the King's Enemies and Adversaries, their Navy in time to come will be
decreased and diminished, and the Navy of the King's Subjects increased and
enlarged " — it was provided that all Letters of Safe Conduct should be void unless
they had been enrolled in Chancery, and that Goods taken from Enemies' ships
which had not such letters should be lawful prize. 20 H. VI. c. 1.

This preamble throws an instructive Ught on the negotiations with the

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. 413

first attempt at remedying a crying evil only seemed to a.d. 1399
aggravate the mischief: the issue of letters of safe conduct "
prevented the men on the English coasts from getting redress
by taking the matter into their own hands, while they did
not serve to secure any immunity from danger.

Henry V. endeavoured to bring about one change of Ship-
permanent value, for he devoted himself to the improvement "* *"^*
of English ships, in imitation of the large vessels of the
Genoese ; three ships of unwonted size were turned out from
the docks at Southampton, and were called respectively the
Trinity, the Grace de Dieu and the Holy Ghost; twenty years
afterwards the glory of this achievement was still celebrated^
Private merchants also showed great enterprise in this way ;
John Taverner of Hull built a great carack and received a.d. 1449.
substantial encouragement by being exempted from the law
of the staple^, and William Canynges owned 2,853 tons of
shipping, among which was one vessel of 900 tons burden^ •
Similar endeavours were being made in other countries;
it was during this century that the large herring busses,
■which are familiar to all readers of Adam Smith, first
appeared in English waters^; and large ships capable of
holding two hundred passengers were now built, and went ad. 1445.
on regular voyages in the summer season, with pilgrims who
desired to visit the shrine at Santiago di Compostella^ It
is of course difficult for us to estimate the precise amount
of the progress that was now made, but it is well worth
noting as an important effort ; these improvements in
ship-building enabled Englishmen to send out fleets that

Hansards as to the damage they had suffered, and as to the course taken by
the EngUsh Ambassadors in requiring clear proofs of the wrongs done, and in
cutting down the amounts claimed.

1 Lihelle of English Poly eye in Political Songs, ii. 199.

* llymer, Fcedera, xi. 258.

* William of Worcester's Itinerary (Dallaway), p. 114. But it is not clear that
they were English built ; for it is stated as a grievance in 1442 {Pot. Pari. v. 64,
No. 39) that Englishmen were prevented from buying or building ships in Prussia
and the Hanse towns. The largest ship of which we hear at this time in English
waters was one belonging to the king of Sweden, which was of 1000 tons.
Eymer, Fcedera, xi. 364.

* Macpherson, i. 631.

6 Jusserand, English Wayfaring Life, 367. Eymer, Fcedera, x. 396, 401, 567,
3U. 77.

414 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1399 were fit to be employed in voyages of discovery under the
Tudors.

Navigation While this direct encouragement to the building of ships
may be regarded as a new departure, the older and indirect
methods were not left out of sight, though they were allowed
to drop, and the navigation policy was somewhat in abey-
ance * ; a navigation act very similar to those of Richard II.
was passed in 1463^; but it was only temporary, and it
appears to have expired at the end of three years and not to
have been renewed.

Com- 122. The growth of English commerce at this time is

treaties, shown by evidence of another kind, for we have a consider-
able number of commercial treaties. There was much corre-
spondence between the Venetians and Edward III. before
the trade was established on a satisfactory footing^ The
Venetians appear to have desired protection for their Flemish
galleys on the Channel*, but they were indisposed to call at
English ports", till they were driven to do so in self-defence
by the competition of the Genoese. The agreement with
Britanny® had special reference to the hostilities between
England and France ; that with Burgundy laid the founda-
tion of English trade at Antwerp'. Others were of a more
general character, and show that direct trade was extending
to wider limits. An agreement for the security of the subjects
of the two contracting parties was made between England and
Castile in 1408, by which freedom was given to them to go
and stay for a time and return with their goods, in safety
both on land and sea^ Our political relations with Portugal*

J- Sclianz, Handelspolitik, i. 363. Henry IV. was asked to confiscate foreign
ships and reinforce the Navigation Act of Eichard II. (p. 394 above), but he took no
active steps [Rot. Pari. m. 1'14, No. 153), and no Navigation Act was passed under
Henry V. or Henry VI. 23 Ed. IV. c. 1.

3 State Papers, Venetian, No. 9, No. 47. See below, p. 425.

* Eymer, Foedera, ni. pt. i., 351.

6 After the disastrous riot of 1323. State Papers, Venetian, Nos. 18, 19, 20.
The king did his best to reassure them. Eymer, Foedera, n. i. 593.

6 Eymer, Foedera, vni. 490.

7 Evan Bmysell, Histoire de la Commerce en Belgique, n. 125 ; Eymer, vm.
469. 8 Ibid. vm. 312.

' Philippa, daughter of John of Gaunt, was married to John I. of Portugal. Her
third son was Prince Hemy the Navigator. C. E. Beazley, Henry the Navigator,
p. 135.

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. 415

rendered the commercial ties closer than before ; though the a.d. 1399
connection was not very popular in this country, and the
existence of a treaty did not restrain English subjects from
capturing ships and goods belonging to natives of Portugal ^
It must be added that these agreements do not render it
quite clear that English merchants were actually accustomed
to visit the Peninsula at that time.

To the north of the continent of Europe they certainly Merchant
traded ; but English merchants in Prussia and the Hanse '"""i^'*'"**-
towns found themselves at a disadvantage and exposed to
loss, because there was no proper authority to regulate their
officers and settle disputes among them^; they elected a
governor whose authority was confirmed by Eichard in 1891.
Subsequently Henry IV. empowered* the merchants trading
in those parts to meet together and elect governors who
should not only have authority in quarrels which arose
among the English themselves, but should have power to
arrange disputes between English and foreign merchants and
to secure redress for any injury that might be done them in
foreign parts. This was in 1404, and three years later
similar privileges were granted on precisely similar grounds
to the English merchants of Holland, Zealand, Brabant and
Flanders*, and afterwards to those of Norway, Sweden and
Denmark^ These documents are of considerable interest as a.d. 1408.
they are among the earliest instances of the formation of or-
ganisations of English merchants for mutual protection in the
prosecution of trade ^ In the formation of these companies
there is no close analogy with the Merchants of the Staple,
though they formed a trading association', for they were

1 Eymer, Fcedera, viii. 329.

2 Ibid. VII. 693. » Ibid. vm. 360.
* Ibid. ^Tii. 464. 6 Ibid. vm. 511.

6 The previous protection afforded by treaty (Hakluyt, Voyages, i. 150) had
not proved effectual, aud for a time trading relations were suspended.

7 The earlier organisations of Staple Merchants, such as those of which we
read in the time of Edward 11., and the organisation of the staplers at Bruges
in 1359 (see Appendix C), are much more nearly parallel to these new com-
panies. The action of the staplers in regulating trade is alluded to in a complaint
which came before Parliament in 1442, and exposed the mischiefs which accrued
from the Staplers' Ordinance of partition. The merchants were obliged " to leave
their Merchandises of Woll and WoUfeU, because they may not be rulers of their
owen goodes," and others who could not "abide the streight rule of the saide

416 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1399 primarily concerned with one great source of revenue and
"" ' carried on their transactions in a town that belonged to En-
Merchant glands The various companies of Merchant Adventurers
turefa' which were authorised at this time seem to have been created
for commercial purposes, and not as administrative agents
of the government : each of them had definite territorial
limits assigned, within which its members were privileged to
trade. Similar companies played a great part in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and served as the organs
by which English trade was so greatly extended in America,
Africa, and the East Indies. As institutions these companies
form a curious connecting link between the intermunicipal
trade of the Middle Ages and the world-wide commerce of
modern times. The riierchants who traded from London,
Newcastle, and Hull to Bruges, and whose affairs were
managed by a court of English residents in Flanders,
advanced so fast as to become dangerous rivals to the
Hanse League in some branches of their trade. The prime
object of these companies was to secure judicial facilities
for their members in foreign places; but they also had
much to do Avith the regulation of trade, and they laid
down rules which were intended to keep the members from
reckless trading, and to prevent any of them from spoiling
the market for English goods. In the later history of the
A.D. 1600. Merchant Adventurers we hear much of a ' stint ' or limit
assigned to each member according to his standing in the
Company, and which restricted the number of cloths he
might export in each year*. Similarly the regulations for
A.D. 1467. the trade of Bristol, as reissued under William Canynges,
presuppose that there should be a ' ruled price ' for each of
the chief commodities of trade, and that no merchant should

partition," had taken to smuggling wool out of the country, and defrauded the
king of his regular customs. Rot. Pari. v. 64 (38).

1 From the time of Richard n. till 1558 the staple -vras usually fixed at Calais.
Gross, Oild Merchant, i. 141. It was primarily a ' fiscal organ ' though also sub-
serving trading piu-poses. Ibid. 144. The mayor of the staple in Exeter, and
presumably in other towns, continued to exercise jurisdiction in commercial cases :
Leadam, Select Cases in Court of Bequests, lxxiv.

2 12 Henry VII. c. 6. ^ Rymer, vui. 464.
'' Gross, Gild Merchant, i. 153.

'" J. Wheeler (Secretary of the Merchant Adventuiers), Treatise of Commerce, b7.

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. 417

sell below it, unless he was in difficulties and the wardens of a.D. 1399
the company had failed to ' provide a remedy ' after three
days' noticed

Provision for the protection of English merchants could Consuls.
also be made by the appointment of foreign consuls. The
Italian cities had accredited such agents long before this
time; but the appointment in 1485 of Lorenzo Strozzi, a
Florentine, to be English Consul at Pisa appears to be the
first instance recorded of an official being empowered to
undertake this responsibility for Englishmen in the Mediter-
ranean^ Possibly his duties were not very arduous at first ;
it appears from the terms of the appointment that English
merchants were intending to trade there, and that the
experience of other nations showed that the existence of
such an officer Avould prove an inducement to Englishmen
to undertake direct voyages to Italy.

In the north, however. Englishmen were really pushing Rivalry
their trade to such an extent that they were brought into ^Hansards.
difficulties with more than one of their neighbours. At the
beginning of the fifteenth century the Hansards found that
their monopoly of the Baltic trade was threatened by English
merchants*, as well as by their old antagonists the Danes;
after the accession of Queen Margaret, the Danish influence
became dominant over the whole Scandinavian peninsula*.
There was no immediate breach with the Hansards, but they a.d. 1397.
complained that they were unfairly treated by the Danish
officials in various ports ; and open war was carried on in the
time of Eric. The great Norwegian staple town of Bergen
suffered severely during this struggle ; a corsair from Wismar a.d. 1429.
attacked and destroyed it, and the English merchants who
resided there were massacred'*. They had been in a more
favoured position than the Hansards, and were thus specially
obnoxious to their rivals. On the whole, however, English
merchants gained by the struggle between the Danes and the
Hansards ; they were able to open up communications with
Prussia, where they were welcomed by theTeutonicknights*,and

1 Barrett, History of Bristol, 179. 2 Eymer, Foedera, xn. 270.

8 M. Sellers, Acts and Ordinances of Eastland Company, C. S. i. 141.
* Worms, La Ligue hanseatique, 139. * Ibid. 144.

''' Ibid. 150.

c. H. 27

418 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1399 thus the monopoly, which the Hansards had enjoy-ed in the
~ ■ Baltic, was completely broken down. Even by the treaty of
A.D. 1471. Utrecht, in which Edward IV, was forced to treat the
Hansards with special indulgence', the right of the English
to trade in the Baltic was preserved, and the position of
Eastland merchants who traded with Prussia was rendered
more secure on paper, though it does not appear that they
gained much practically.

Though the rulers of Scandinavia and Denmark were
willing to encourage the merchants of England and Holland
in preference to the Hansards, and in order to break down
their monopoly, they were by no means inclined to brook
interference in the regions where they had themselves en-
Trade uith joyed an exclusive trade. Iceland was their chief depend-
ency, and they were anxious to preserve the fur trade for
their sole benefit, and also to keep their fishing rights on
the north and western coasts inviolate. This was the regular
policy of the Norwegian rulers"-, but though it was frequently
re-enforced, it was not steadily maintained, and foreign mer-
chants did not willingly conform to it. The English persisted
in trading with Iceland ; and in the early part of the four-
teenth century, an elaborate proclamation' was issued for
regulating the bartering at the general market; for coined
4.D. 1413. money does not seem to have been in use there. Englishmen
preferred to deal direct with the island, and were not content
to frequent the royal staple at Bergen and abide by the
regulations which governed transactions there*. The king
endeavoured to enforce his rules and confiscated the goods of
English merchants throughout his dominions — a step which
caused general consternation, for as there were no Danes
trading to England it was impossible to make reprisals ^
Our seamen continued to carry on the contraband trade with

1 See below, p. 422.

2 Worms, La Ligue hanseatique, 156.

8 Professor Muller of Bombay has called my attention to this interesting
document. It has been printed by F. Magnusson, Nordisk Tidshift for
Oldkyndighed, and a translation is given in Prof. Eidgeway's Origin of Currency,
p. 18.

* 8 H. VI. c. 2.

5 10 H. VI. c. 3. In some previous quarrels the Hansards at Boston had
been held responsible. Rynier, vin. 684, 701, 736 ; ii. 325. See above, p. 316.

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. 419

Iceland under various excuses*, and in 1476 they ravaged a.d. 1399
Iceland and slew the royal bailiff there. Such open defiance ~~
Avas promptly met by their expulsion from Bergen and re-
sulted in the triumph of their Hanseatic rivals for the time^.

123. The disabilities to which Englishmen were liable Alien

/. • , I 1 ,1 •,• £• r • • merchants

m foreign parts reacted on the position 01 toreigners m in England.
England. King Henry IV. was forced to call pointed atten-
tion to the fact that the privileges granted to the men of
the Hanse Towns had been accorded to them on the express
condition that English merchants abroad should receive
similar treatment in Germany^. But negotiations were
always complicated by the fact that reprisals were con-
stantly going on, from both sides; and the main business
was not so much to arrange the footing on which merchants
might trade, as to settle the large claims for redress which
were put in by the merchants of different trading towns.
The practice of reprisal and the existence of organised bands
of pirates have been spoken of above* ; but much additional
information may be drawn from the accounts of the two
serious attempts that were made to settle outstanding
grievances.

Tedious negotiations began in 1403 when William Esturmy, NegoHa-
Knight, and John Kington, Canon of Lincoln, were sent injuries.
from the court of parliament at Coventry, " very slightly in-
formed^," as royal ambassadors to treat about the " injuries
unjustly offered " on both sides. Each town makes its plaint
in turn, and the ambassadors endeavoured to cut down
exorbitant demands. The chief complaint against the English
came from the Livonians, who had had three ships "unjustly" Claims
robbed and -rifled by the English in July 1404 ; they valued 'sngiish. '
the ships and goods at £8037. 12s. Id., but the English
ambassadors reduced the claim to £7498. 13s. lOfrf. It was

1 John, one of the Icelandic bishops who was afraid to go and get installed,
deputed John May, Captain of the Katharine of London, to go and inspect the
temporalities of hia see. Richard Weeton, a stock-fishmonger, was also con-
cerned in this voyage. Rymer, x. 645 ; see also 682 and 762.

2 Worms, La Ligue hartseatique, 152.

' Rymer, Foedera, vrii. 112. Richard II. had made an express stipulation " of
their aiding, counciling, and comforting" Englishmen abroad. Rot. Pari. m.
62 (6).

« pp. 301, 409. 6 Hakluyt, Voyages, i. 154.

27 2

420 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1399 also alleged that in the affair the English had caused " 250
~~ ' men very barbarously to be drowned, of whom some were
noble and others honourable personages, and the rest common
merchants and mariners," in respect of whom the English
agreed that the " said sovereign lord the king should of his
great piety vouchsafe effectually to devise some convenient
and wholesome remedy for the souls of such persons as
were drowned." The people of Hamburg claimed 9117
nobles, and after due examination restitution was promised
to the sum of 416 nobles ; to the men of Bremen, who
claimed 4414 nobles, no satisfaction was promised ; and the
claims from Stralsund, Ltibeck, Greifswald and Kampen were
greatly reduced. Some matters were deferred till additional
evidence could be procured, and English goods in the hands
of foreigners were to be counted as an offset.
Claims The chief claims on the English side were against the

English, citizens of Wismar and Rostock, who, in the ten preceding
years, had committed robberies on ships from Newcastle,
Hull (five complaints), York (two), London (two), Colchester,
Yarmouth (five), Norwich, Clee (six), Wiveton (six), Lynn
(seven). The most serious charge was from the people of
tuy. 1394. Lynn ; they had a mercantile settlement consisting of twenty
houses at Bergen in Norway; this town was attacked by
the men from Wismar and Rostock and burnt ; the English
merchants lost their houses and goods, and had to ransom
their persons at an expense of £1815^ It was "further
averred by the English ambassadors that these were not
the mere acts of individuals, but that the whole towns were
implicated in these outrages, since the men were "hired
thereunto at the expenses and charges of the common
societies of the cities aforesaid, and that the. inhabitants of
every household in the aforesaid cities (each man according
to his ability) wittingly and purposely set forth one, two
or more men for the same expedition." Eventually king
Henry agreed to pay" the sum of 5308 nobles.

1 Hakluyt, Voyages, i. 169.

* Eymer, Fadeia, vm. 601. It is especially stipulated that the payment
Bhould be by bills and not made in bullion, except a reasonable sum for the
ambassador's expenses.

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. 421

When the question of damages is thus set aside, we may a.d. 1399
see more clearly the nature of the grievances on each side. j^rafMre
The Hansards chiefly complained of the way in which the °f^^^

1 , . 1 . T^ . grievances.

customers performed then* duties at different ports, in charg-
ing customs twice over, or charging at illegal rates, and they
claimed the privileges of their ancient charters. The English
complained that the Hansards would not deal with their
merchants, and had carried this boycotting so far as almost
to starve some of them ; they had not only made unreason-
able regulations themselves, but had procured the passing of
similar laws in Norway and Sweden. It was also urged that
they had infringed their privileges in London ; they were
accused of allowing strangers, who were not members of their
society, to "colour" their "goods and merchandise under
their company V' and so had diminished the king's custom.
This had been done so commonly for twenty years past,
both by the general council and particular cities, that the
loss to the revenue could not easily be calculated. The loose
organisation of the Hanse League rendered it very difficult
to check frauds of this kind, and the English ambassadors
demanded a declaration in writing as to "what and what
manner of territories, cities, towns, villages or companies they
be, for which the said society challengeth and pretendeth
that they ought to enjoy the privileges granted unto their
merchants."

One result of these negotiations was a new effort to put Airange-
down * unjust ' robberies by sea ; it was agreed that when redress.
anything was taken by English pirates from Prussian subjects
and carried to England, the governors of the various ports
should be bound on sole report or probable suspicion to arrest
and keep the goods in safe custody to be restored to their
owners ; and if they omitted to do so they were themselves
bound to recompense the losses ; a delay in executing justice
or reimbursing the pillaged merchants, was to be met by
the arrest of English goods in Prussian towns. Such limita-
tion of reprisal, so that it became the final remedy when
legal processes failed, was a real step in advance.

Still more important negotiations were carried on in the Political

1 Hakluyt, i. 174.

422

LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1390
—1461.

relations
01 the
Hansards.

Nature of

Jtalian

trade.

time of Edward IV.; and the treaty of Utrecht was confirmed
by the king in 1474. The Hansards then secured very
favourable terms, which were wrung from Edward IV. some-
what against his will, for he desired to stand well with the
City merchants ; but the Hansards had come to his aid at the
crisis of his fortunes and he did not dare to resist their
demands. When, in 1470, Warwick secured French support
for the cause of Margaret and the Lanca.strians, the Hanse
towns, with some exceptions, felt called upon to interfere ; if
French influence came to dominate in London, there was little
hope that their privileges would be respected, and they gave
substantial assistance to Edward, who landed at Ravenspur
and carried all before him\ Four years later he had to pay
the price for their aid, and the Hansards were able to secure
unusually favourable terms ; they were to have absolute
possession of three factories, the Gildhalla Teutonica, or
Steelyard in London, the Steelyard in Boston, and another in
Lynn^ Besides this, they were credited with a sum of
£10,000 in satisfaction for injuries done them ; this sum was
not to be paid, but deducted from the customs as they accrued.
Various important privileges were confirmed to them, and
they secured the right of selling Rhenish wines by retail'.
This agreement probably marks the highest point of success
to which the Hanse merchants attained in their dealings
with this country ; the settlement in London had flourished
for more than four hundred years, but their monopoly of the
Baltic trade was already broken. So far as their position
in England was concerned their decline and fall were sin-
gularly rapid, and in the time of Elizabeth the ancient
Steelyard was altogether deserted,

124. The frightful disasters which overtook France
during the Hundred Years' W^ar must have reacted to
some extent on the trading connections of England. The
whole of the country had suffered terribly, but no part was
more utterly exhausted than the districts of Champagne
and Burgundy*, where the great fairs had been commonly

1 On the whole incident compare R. Pauli, Die Haltung der Hansestddte in
den Rosenkriegen in Hansische Geschichtsblatt. (1875), 75 — 105.

2 Eymer, Fmdera, xi. 796. » Ibid. xi. 799.
* Basin. Hist, de Charles VII., n. c. 1, ed. Quicherat, p. 44.

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. 423

held. These were practically discontinued \ and merchants A.D. 1399
no longer travelled along the ancient trade route from Mar- ~
seiiles by Lyons to the north ; the course of traffic was
diverted, and the chief stream of commerce between Italy
and the north was forced to make its way through the Straits
of Gibraltar and the Bay of Biscay. Italians continued to
frequent this country, but they sailed here in their galleys, Italian
and no longer travelled by the overland route. There was a '^^ *^*'
change too in the style of the business they carried on, for
it was mercantile rather than financial. It is commonly said
that Italians originally settled here, as in other parts of the
north, with the view of collecting and transmitting papal
taxation* ; and this becomes probable, when we bear in mind
that finance was not their exclusive calling, and that, as we
have seen, the Florentines were also engaged in procuring
raw wool for the manufacturers in their own city ; while men
of Italian extraction were partly occupied in the importation
of spices". In 1284 three Italian merchants wrote from
London to acquaint their principals with the arrangements
they had made for procuring wool regularly from various
monastic establishments ; and a list survives from the year
1315 of nearly two hundred ecclesiastical houses in England
and Scotland which furnished the Florentines with this
article*. The fact that the papal agents were also engaged
in an export trade goes far to explain how it was possible
for England to meet the continual drain of papal taxation;
as the wool trade declined^ it became more necessary to
insist on the use of bills of exchange in this business, for the

1 Pigeonneau, Hist, du Commerce de France, i. 363.

* Schanz, Eng. Handelspolitik, i. 111.

5 Chronicle of the Mayors and Sheriffs. De antiquis legibus Liber (Camden
Soc), 118. See above, p. 323.

* S. L. Peruzzi, Stona del commercio et dei banchiert,di Firenze, 70.

6 The development of the cloth trade in England may have interfered somewhat
■with their chief exports, and inclined them to attempt that direct export of bullion
■which Richard 11. prohibited ; but in the earlier part of the fourteenth century,
their busmess must have been principally that of negotiating bills of exchange;
these ■were probably liquidated partly through transmission of English wool over-
land to Italy, and partly at the great fairs of Champagne. A. Beer, Allgemeine
Geschichte des Welthandels, 1. 221. Bourqaelot in Mem. de V Academic des In-
icriptions, IX. series, v. ii. 127.

424

LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1399
—1461.

Florence.

Genoa.

wool-merchants would prefer to export raw material when
they could.

The first Florentine merchants settled in England were
chiefly occupied in transmitting money's worth to Italy and
in carrying on financial business in England : the Fresco-
baldi, Bardi and Peruzzi were, not so much merchants, as
bankers with whom Edward III. had large transactions.
He was not the only royal defaulter of the time\ and the
disasters which attended the banking-houses appear to have
reacted on the prosperity of the Tuscan city itself ^ They
never recovered their financial importance however, but they
seem to have followed in the wake of the Venetians and to
have carried on a direct maritime trade with England in
the fifteenth century ; their great galleys brought ' things
of complacence ' to London, while their merchants throve by
their business relations with the Netherlands ^

The original connection with the Genoese was of a dif-
ferent character. Richard I. had established relations with
them, but it was not easy to preserve friendly ties with
the Ligurian republic*. They took the same impartial in-
terest in the maritime struggles of the fourteenth century
as the Swiss did in military operations at a later time, for
they were always ready to supply mercenary ships of war.
In 1316 King Robert the Bruce hired some galleys from
Genoese citizens to be used against England, and Edward II.,
into whose hands some letters about the transaction had
fallen, complained of this infraction of the ancient amity with
the Republic ; while a few months later he endeavoured to
procure similar assistance for himself®. Edward III. was at
great pains to court their friendship® and to disarm their
hostility ^ As French influence over Genoa increased there
was a breach of the friendly relations with England*. This
was a matter of regret on other grounds, as the Genoese

1 Robert of Sicily. Peruzzi, Storia, 461.

2 S. L. Peruzzi, Storia, 457.

8 Lihelle of English Polycye in Political Songs, n. 172.

i J. T. Bent, Genoa, 149. 5 Pccdera, ix. i. 293, 313.

6 Ibid. II. ii. 941, 946, 948. 7 Ibid. n. ii. 1156 ; m. i. 126.

8 Ibid. vin. 717, 773. Henry V. endeavoured at least to secure their
neutrality, as when he granted them trading concessions he did not bind them
not to trade with his enemies. Faedeia, x. 120.

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. 425

had opened up commercial as well as military connections A.D. 1399
with the north of Europe, and the trade with them would ~
have been particularly profitable. At one time there
was a prospect of a Genoese staple being established at ad. 1379.
Southampton, but this was prevented by the jealousy of
London merchants^ ; and England lost the advantage which
would have accrued. The Genoese were skilled in the
manufacture of weapons and munitions of war^ and they
also imported alum, woad and other materials which were
useful for the cloth manufacture ^ while they exported
large quantities of English goods ; the business they carried
on was more in favour with the English citizens than that
done by other Italians* despite their political connection with
France. But this connection affected the privileges which
the king allowed them to enjoy, and their position suffered
flora the varying relations of the Lancastrians and Yorkists
to France ^

The Venetians were under no such disadvantage ; they Ve^uM.
seem to have frequented this country for trading at an earlier
date than any of the other Italians'; and they were the
pioneers among their countrymen in organising direct trading
voyages. The Flanders galleys first sailed in 1317, they
seem to have called at Southampton on some of their earUer
voyages ; we hear of a quarrel between the crews of five
Venetian galleys and the people of Southampton and the
Isle of Wight in 1323^; shortly afterwards a regular grant
of trading privileges® was accorded by the Crown, but the
Venetians do not seem to have been willing to take advantage
of it at firsts The growing success of their Genoese rivals in
Flanders, however, forced them to alter their views and to
visit Southampton^", and in the early part of the fifteenth

1 Walsingham, Bist. Angl. i. 407, 449.

2 A. Beer, Geschickte des Welthandels, i. 200.

s We hear of the import of corn in 1316, a famine year. Fcedera, u. i. 292.
* Lxbelle in Political /Songs, n. 172.
^ Schanz, EmjHsche Handel spolitih, i. 116.
« Ibid. I. 117. Rot. Cart. p. 84, 13 Jan. 1201.
' Calendar of State Papers (Venetian), i. 5, No. 18.
" Eymer, Fcedera, n. i. 593.
^ See above, p. 414.
^0 The early history of commercial interconrse with Venice may be traced in th«

426 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1399 century this port, with Bruges, was the great centre of

~ ' Venetian trade in the north of Europe; they sailed to London

and other Enghsh ports with merchandise, thence passed to

Flanders to transact business, and afterwards loaded with

English goods and returned to the Adriatic*; they enjoyed

very special privileges about arrest for debt, and in regard

to the tribunals before which they should plead ^ while

they shared in the relaxation of the staple regulations which

was permitted to merchants trading towards the West^ But

A.D. 1379. the trade which they carried on did not meet with general

approval. Venetians had far outstripped their Italian rivals

in the development of manufactures, and their connections

did not enable them to bring to England raw materials for

cloth dressing and dyeing, such as the Genoese furnished ;

they therefore imported spices, drugs and fine manufactured

goods which public opinion condemned as mere articles of

luxury that pandered to extravagant tastes.

Import of This objection to certain branches of foreign trade, on

unproduc- what we may call sumptuary grounds, is one we shall meet

tiv£ coil-

iuinptiun. State Facers (Venetian) i. In 1317 (the fust year when the fleet was organised) an
attempt was made to come to some agreement with Edward IH., and unless this
an-angement was ratified the Flanders galleys were not to visit England (No. 9).
In 1319 (No. 11) the agent of a certain Nicoleto Basadono sold 10,000 lbs. of sugar
and 1000 lbs. of candy in London, and lent also 3580 livres in money. He bought
a return cargo at Boston fair and set sail in two coggos to Flanders, but was robbed
by EngUsh sailors. Hence we may argue that at this date direct trade by sea had
already begun. The riot of 1323 caused a rupture in the direct intercourse between
Venice and English ports (Nos. 18 and 22) but English products were being con-
veyed by the sea route, and there were frequent ordinances levying duties on English
wool brought overland from Flanders (Nos. 21, 23, 34, 37). In 1384, however, the
successful competition of Genoese galleys in Flanders seems to have forced the
Venetians to send part of their fleet to Southampton (No. 96), but the oarsmen
were to be prohibited from going ashore. Similar tentative arrangements were
made in subsequent years (Nos. 97, 98, 102, 105), and after 1392 one or other of tl;e
English ports was regularly visited by the Flanders fleet. According to their
regular course, they visited Syracuse, Majorca, the coasts of Spain and Portugal,
and proceeded thence to England, and to the Low Countries ; they frequented the
Channel ports rather than London itself. The whole was under the direction of a
Commodore elected by the Great Council ; each vessel had 30 archers on board, fo'-
purposes of defence. The galleys were manned by 180 Sclavonian oarsmen, who
had a fraternity in Southampton and their own place of sepulture at North Stone-
ham, where the inscription may be read, " Sepultura de la schola de sclavoni, ano
Dni McccCLXXXxi." E. Brown, Calendar of State Papers (Venetian), i. Ixi.

1 Rymer, Fcedera, vin. 595.

2 Calendar of State Papers (Venetian), i. 41, No. 138.
8 2 E. n. c. 3; 2 H. V. st. u. c. 6.

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. 427

over and over again, but it nowhere finds more definite a.d. 1399
expression than in the Lihelle of English Polycye,

The grete galleys of Venees and Fflorence

Be wel ladene with thynges of complacence

All spicerye, and of grocers ware,

Wyth swete wynes, alle manere of chaffare,

Apes, and japes and marmasettes taylede,

Trifles, trifles that litelle have availede

And thynges wyth whiche they fetely blere oure eye,

With thynges not enduryng that we bye.
*****

Thus these galeise for this lykynge ware,

And etyng ware, here hens our best chaffare,

Clothe, wolle and tynne, whiche as I saide beforne,

Oute of this loude werste myghte be forborne.

Ffor eche other londe of necessite

Have grete nede to by some of the thre,

And wee resseyve of them into this cooste

Ware and chaffare that lyghtlye wol be loste^

On these and other grounds public opinion demanded
that some limitation should be imposed on the Italian
traders. It was asked first of all that they should only
import commodities from Venice and the East, as they had
engaged in the carrying trade between Spain, Portugal,
Britanny and England^; here we have another indication
of Navigation policy, requiring these foreign merchants to

1 LibeUe of English Polycye in Political Songs (Rolls), n. 173. This most
interesting tract should be compared with Sir John Fortescue's Comodytes of
England, written before 1451 but only recently printed. After mentioning the (1)
rivers and (2) harbours, which gave all parts of the land the advantage of trade,
he adds, "The third comodyte of this land ys that the giounde thereof is soo good
and commodyous to the shepe, that beare soo goode woll, and ys soo plentyous
thereof that all the merchands of two londs may not by that one merchandyz.
The fourth comodyte that the comones have with in hem ys wollyn clothe redy
made at all timys to serve the merchaunts of any two kingdomys Chrystenye or
Lethynnye." i. p. 551.

a " Eke when the Spaynards, Portyngalers, Bretons, and othere Merchantes of
the Contres on this half the saide Straytes (Marrock, i.e. Gibraltar) brought and
solde theymself here in this Reaume, Greyn, Oyle, Wei, Iren, Fruyt, and suche
other Merchandises of the same Countres, and also where that the Merchantes of
Engelonde with her Shippes, myght goo and bye there hemself such Merchandises
and brynge hem into Eugelond, thanne were al suche maner of Merchandises in
grettere habundance, and at bettere chepe and price wythynne this Reaume, and
the Navie and the Merchaundises of this saide Reaume in bettere estate thanne
ever they were or are lykly to be." Since the ItaUaus had taken up the carrying
trade they had brought fewer goods from their own land, with the usual complaint
of increase of price, decrease of customs, lowering the price of native exports,
and "eke to gretter hurt of alle the Navye," Rot. Pari. v. 31 b.

428 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1399 import only the produce of their own land. The petitioners

~" ■ also urge the singular plea, quite in a Cobdenite spirit,

that commercial needs would facilitate peace between the

hostile nations, if it were not for the intervention of neutral

traders. " All tho that are youre Ennemys in any Centres

on this half the said Streites schall be fayne to desire your

peas and frendeship, or atte best to bryngge hider their

and, of Merchandises and fette yours be sauf conduyts\" No action

thatviigU was taken on this petition, and in 1445 there were other

figured at complaints brought against them ; this is the first symptom

home. of i\^Q objection that they were seriously interfering with

the native industry of the country — and indeed with the

staple trade. "Whereas the Merchaunds Straungers Italyans,

of longe tyme contynually abydinge in this your noble

Keame, have customably used to ryde aboute for to bye

Wollen Clothes, Wolle, Wolfelles, and Tynne, in every partie

of the same Reame, by the sufferaunce whereof the said

Merchaunds have knowleche of all the privetees of the

same Reame, as well of the povertye of your peple as of

The cloth their penurye. Wheche poverte and penurye the said Mar-

chaunds percevynge, have redye money and therwith at

the first hande bye Wollen Cloths, Wolle, Wollefelles and

Tynne, of such indygent persones as sell hit at their grete

myschief and losse, and summe of the said Merchaunds

putte the said Wolle for to make Clothe thereof," and the

price of wool and cloth had in consequence been greatly

diminished and decreased, than which there could be no

greater hurt to the liege people of the realm. The suggested

remedy was to ordain that these foreigners should only buy

the staple commodities at the ports where their galleys

called, and that they should not be allowed more than

three months in which to dispose of their cargoes'^. Like

the previous complaint this was ineffectual and it is not

hard to discern the real ground of the objection here

alleged. The London wool staplers and clothiers' did not

pay ready money, and for that matter did not always pay at

1 Rot. Pad. V. 32 a. 2 Rot. Pari. v. 334 (11).

s See a complaint of their monopoly from the drapers in 1406. Rot. Pari. m.
508, No. 127.

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. 429

alP. Such competition as that of the Italians in the internal A.D. 1399
trade of the country must have interfered seriously with their
accustomed profits. The complaint of their buying wool,
" some of which they delivered to clothiers to make cloth
after their pleasure," reappears in the reign of Richard III., a.d. 1484.
along with a very complete summary of the other grievances
which had been matters of complaint at all times — of storing
goods so as to sell at enhanced prices, of selling by retail,
of exporting money and not commodities, and of harbouring
other aliens^

125. Though the outcry about the interference of Protection
foreigners in the great manufactures of the country had no %.titans
immediate effect, serious efforts were made in the latter half
of the fifteenth century to encourage native industry, partly
by prohibiting the importation of finished goods and partly
by encouraging the importation of materials. In 1455 a
complaint was made on behalf of the silkwomen and spinners
of the mistery and occupation of silk-working in London
that the Lombards, with the intention of destroying the said
mistery, were introducing " ribbands and chains, falsely and
deceitfully wrought, all manner girdles and other things
concerning the said mistery and occupation, in no manner
wise bringing in any good silk unwrought as they were wont
to bring heretofore " ; and parliament entirely prohibited the
importation of these goods, under the penalty of forfeiture
together with a heavy fine^

The reigns of the Yorkists were particularly distin- un^er Ed-
guished for the eagerness with which this policy was pursued. "'"'^
Edward IV. passed similar measures with regard to silk in
1463'* and 1483'; but the former statute contained another
clause of a far more sweeping character. It complains that
owing to the import of wares "fully wrought and ready made
to sale" the "artificers cannot live by their misteries and
occupations as they have done in times past, but diverse of
them, as well householders as hirelings and other servants
and apprentices in great number be this day unoccupied and

1 Paston Letters, m. 166. 2 1 K. III. c. 9.

8 33 H. VI. c. 5. 43 Ed. IV. c. 3.

5 22 Ed. IV. c. 3.

430 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1399 do hardly live in great misery, poverty and need," and it
~ ' proceeds to prohibit the introduction of a very miscellaneous

assortment of finished goods \
A.D. 1463. The wardens of the various misteries in towns where they

mtntary ©xisted weic to have the right of search to aid in executing
recognition ^}^jg gtatuto, and their powers were extended so that they

of the craft .... . *^

gads. might search in adjoining towns and villages where there
were no wardens of their own craft. It is a curious feature
that the prohibition did not extend to the sale of "goods
taken upon the sea without fraud or collusion or that come
into the realm by way of wreck." Similar prohibitions were

A.D. 1134. enacted by Richard III.'', and there is every reason to suppose
that this protective policy was worked with some success, for
towards the close of the fifteenth century we begin to hear
of an incursion of Italian artisans to reside and exercise their
callings, but not to settle in Eng]and^ Parliament prohibited

1 Woollen Caps, Woollen Cloth, Laces, Corses, Ribbands, Fringes of Silk and
Thread, Laces of Thread, Silk Twined, Silk in any wise embroidered. Laces of
Gold, Tyres of Silk or Gold, Saddles, Stirrups or any Harness pertaining to
Saddlery, Spurs, Bosses of Bridles, Anndirons, Gridirons, any Manner of Locks,
Pinsons, Fire Tongs, Dripping Pans, Dice, Tennis Balls, Points, Purses, Gloves,
Girdles, Harness for Girdles of Iron, Latten Steel, Tin or of Alkemine, anything
wrought of any Tawed Leather, any Tawed Furrs, Buscans, Shoes, Galoches, or
Corks, Knives, Daggers, Woodknives, Bodkins, Sheers for Taylors, Scissors,
Piazors, Sheaths, Playing Cards, Pins, Pattens, Pack Needles, or any Painted
Ware, Forcers, Caskets, Rings of Copper or of Latten Gilt, or Chaifing Dishes,
Hanging Candlesticks, Chaffing Balls, Sacring Bells, Rings for Curtains, Ladles,
Scimmers, Counterfeit Basons, Ewers, Hats, Brushes, Cards for Wool, blanch
Iron Thread commonly called White Wire. 3 Ed. IV. c. 4.

2 1 R. ni. c. 12.

8 "IV. Moreover a great number of artificers and other strangers not born
under the king's obeysance, do daily resort and repair to the city of London, and
to other cities, boroughs and towns of the said realm, and much more than they
were wont to do in times past, and inhabit by themselves in the said realm with
their wives, childi-en and household, and will not take upon them any laborious
occupation, as going to plough and cart, and other Uke business, but use the
making of cloth and other handicrafts and easy occupations, and bring and
convey from the parts beyond the sea, great substance of wares and merchandises
to fairs and markets, and all other places of this realm at their pleasure, and
there sell the same, as well by retail as otherwise, as freely as any of the king's
subjects use to do, to the great damage and impoverishment of the king's said
subjects, and will in no wise suffer nor take any of the king's said subjects to
work with them, but they take only into their service people born in their own
countries, whereby the king's said subjects for lack of occupation fall into idleness,
and be thieves, beggars, vagabonds, and people of vicious Uving to the great
pertmbance both of the king and of all his realm; and when the merchants,
artificers and strangers before rehearsed have gained within this realm, by buying

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, 431

artificers who came from abroad from exercising their crafts A.D. 1S99
as independent householders, or as employers ; they were to
engage themselves as "servaunts unto suche of your subgietts
oonly as ben experte and connynge yn suche Fetys, Crafts
and Werkes as the seide Straungiers can occupie." Alien
artificers S already established in the country, were only to
sell by gross and not by retail, and only to take the king's
subjects for their servants. There is indeed one interesting
exception to this prohibition ; the act was not to be prejudi-
cial to any "Artificer or Merchant Stranger, of what Nacion
or Countrey he be or shall be of for brynging into this Realme
or selling by E-etaill or otherwise of any manner of Bokes
wrytten or imprynted or for the inhabitynge within the said
Realme, for the same intent, or to any writer, lympner, bynder
or imprynter, of such bokes as he hath or shall have to sell
by wey of Merchandise, or for their abode in the same Reame
for the exercising of the said occupacions."

126. The preceding paragraphs show that there hhd Money and
been a very great increase in the trading connections of
the country since the time of Edward III., and considerable
attention was directed to questions connected with the media
of exchange. There was not however any fresh departure
from the lines laid down under Richard II.''; aliens were still
to expend half their money in goods though they might take
the rest in bullion^ ; but before long this permission was a.d. uoi.
rescinded* and they were required to expend the whole of

or by such easy occupations and handicrafts, great substance of goods, with the
same substance they go out of this said realm to such parts beyond the sea as
likefh them best, and there spend the same goods, oftentimes among the king's
adversaries and enemies, to the great damage of our sovereign lord the king and
his subjects, and impoverishment of this realm and the commons of the same, and
so by occasion of the premisses, the substance of the inhabitants in the said cities,
boroughs and towns now late hath fallen, and daily dotl fall into great poverty
and decay, to their great undoing, unless the king's gracious aid be to them in
this behaK showed."

In answer to this petition aliens were restrained from exercising handicrafts,
and were compelled to sell their goods in gross, and within eight months from
landing, and restrained in other ways. 1 Richard m. c. 9.

1 Of these the number must have been considerable; in 1436 no fewer than
1738 aliens, dweUing in different counties, were naturalised. Rymer, Faedera,
X. 637.

* See above, p. 395. 8 2 H. IV. c. 5.

* 4 H. IV. c. 15.

432 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1399 their moneys, saving only their necessary expenses, on the

~~^ ^ ' commodities of the realm. Severe restrictions were also put
upon their dealings with one another; and houses were to
be assigned for their residence where they might live with

Aj). 1-103. sufficient host8\ This statute is chiefly remarkable for the
clause which renders it felony to multiply gold or silver or
use the craft of multiplication ^

Becoinage. Henry V. framed a complete code of regulations in con-
nection with an attempted reformation of the gold coinage ;
he ordained that the clipped and worn coin should only be
accepted by weight, and endeavoured to induce the public

A.D. 1421. to bring in their money to be recoined^; they were to pay
seignorage of 55. on the Tower Pound of gold, and fifteen pence
on the pound of silver^ and to receive the money recoined in
eight days^; all the gold in the hands of the exchange was
to be brought for coinage also^ At the same time he ex-
tended the time which was allowed to the Pope's Merchants
to export goods to the value of their bills, from three months
to nine ; as they complained that they could not bind them-
selves to carry out the terms of their bonds within the

A.D. 1423. shorter time. In the reign of Henry VI. a new step was
taken, and aliens were required to give sureties from their
companies that they would not export gold ; the same
measure contains a noticeable exemption, for it permits the
exportation of gold for the ransoms of English prisoners".

1 On this system compare Cunningham, Alirn Immigrants, 93.

2 5 H. IV. cc. 4, 9. Tliis was suspended by Ilenry VI. in favour of philosophers
who undertook to transmute metals for him. Fosdera, xi. 12S, 240.

3 9 H. V. St. I. c. 11.

* 9 H. V. St. n. c. 1; compare 2 H. VI. cc. 15, 16.

* But the royal exigencies rendered this condition nugatory: see the complaints
Eot. Pari. IV. 101 (17).

6 The business of the Exchange was still organised in the old way and let out to
individuals for a period of time (see above, p. 283). There were complaints from
time to time as to the way in which this duty was discharged (e.g. John Van, Rot.
Pad. I. 293, No. 23; Hugh Bryce, Rot. Pari. v. 634, No. 42), and at the accession of
Henry IV. the ofScers of the Exchange were specially exempted from the general
pardon. Rot. Pari. iv. 7 a. In 1464 the office was granted to " Master William
Hatteclyf our Phisicion and Moreys Burghill," on a payment of £20 yearly " as it
was laten to ferme beforu, and £10 over of encrese by yere." Rot. Pari. v. 529 b.
In Henry VII.'s reign it was let for a similar sum (£30. 6s. Sd.) to Fox. Rot. Pari.
vi. 377 b. The charge on exchange was one halfpenny on every noble. Rot,
Pari. V. 635, No. 43. '' 2 H. Vi. c. 6.

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, 433

The evils could not be easily prevented however ; the precious a.d. 1399
metals were so scarce in Europe at this time, that all nations f^carduj of
were makiner similar regulations in the vain effort to retain \^Mion in

00 Europe.

them\ while they were being extravagantly used for purposes
of adornment and display; and Edward IV. increased the
penalties by rendering the export of bullion felony, in the a.d. 1478.
hope of averting " the impoverishing of the Realm, and final Political
destruction of the Treasure of the same Realm*." He also of Treasure
enacted that merchants of the staple should insist on im-
mediate payment, and that half their receipts should be in
the form of money or bullion and should be sent within three a.d. 14G3
months to the mint^ While a political motive may just be
detected in the foregoing regulations with regard to treasure,
a similar intention stands out in clear relief in the measure a.d. 1472
which insisted on the importation of bow staves*. Richard's
statute in 1483 is particularly curious, as it combines the and of
diverse objects of providing for the defence of the realm and
encouraging a body of native artisans. " Mekely shewen
unto youre discrete wisdom youre besechers the Bowyers
inhabitant within Citeez, Burgh es and Villages of this noble
Realme of Englond, occupying Artillary to theym belonging
for the sure tuicion and defence of the seid Realme, that
where in tymes past goode and hable stuff of Bowestaves as
well by Englishe Merchaunts as by Straungiers hath been
brought into this said Reame, by the which the said inhabi-
taunts Artillers myght competently live upon suche Stuff as
they then bought of Bowestaves at xls. the C, or xlvis. and
viiid atte mooste. It is so nowe, that by the subtile meanes
of Lumbards useing to diverse Fortes in this Realme, the
Crafte of Bowiers aforesaid is sore mynnushed and likly to be
uttirly undone, and therby the londe greatly enfebled to the
greate Jeopardie of the same, and the greate comforte to the

1 Scbanz, Englische HandelspoUtik, i. 483.

2 17 Ed. IV. c. 1. This seems to imply a recognition of the two distinct
objections which were m-ged by mercantilists, (1) to draining the coimtry of coinage
as an inconvenience to the public, and (2) diminishing Treasure as a political
danger.

8 3 Ed. IV. c. 1.

* Four with evei-y ton of goods, 12 Ed. IV. c. 2, and ten with every butt of
wine, 1 R. HI. c. 10; both enactments are specially du-ected against Italians.

c. H. 28

434 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1461 Enemies and adversariez thereof." They continue to point
~~ ''■ out that bowstaves are now sold at four times the old price,
and that they are sold unsorted, good and bad alike, at this
outrageous price. While the political motive lies in the
forefront, the statute is interesting as being an early case of
legislation for the import of the raw materials needed in a
branch of manufacture.

IV. Industry and Internal Trade.

Themanu- 127. There is abundance of evidence to show that the
clotL^ manufacture of cloth had increased with such extraordinary
rapidity, that it had grown to be a very important trade.
English wool was still sought after by foreigners^ but much
was retained at home ; the customs from wool were declin-
ing^ while commerce was expanding fast ; and in the notices
of trade, as well as the complaints about pirates, we find
that cloth, and not merely wool, was an ordinary English
export. The manufacture had its chief centre in the eastern
counties, but it was really diffused throughout the length
and breadth of the country, as we may gather from the
various statutes which were intended to regulate the pro-
The duction. The aulnager held an ancient office, as it existed

auhiager. -^ ^^^ ^.^^ ^^ Edward I.'; it was his duty to visit the fairs
and presumably to try to enforce the one measure of cloth
which had been established for the kingdom*. His office
gave great opportunity for fraud and there are frequent
A.D. 1380. complaints of ' covin ' between dealers and aulnagers, to the
hurt of the public"*. The attempt to enforce one measure for
the whole country was discarded in favour of the makers
A.D. 1390. ofCogwareand Kendal cloth, in divers counties®: and from

1 On the project of opening a staple for wool at Pisa see below, p. 493.

2 From £68000 in the time of Edward HI. to £12000 in 1448, at Calais.
27 H. VI. c. 2. See also Ramsay, Lancaster and York, u. 257.

8 Perot le Taillour forfeited the office and Pieres de Edelmeton was installed
in his place and took the oaths. Madox, Exchequer, 638. See also Rot. Pari. i.
292 (18) and ii. 28 (50).

■1 Magna Carta (9 H. IH. c. 35).

6 3R. II. 0.2; 17 R. II. c. 5.

6 13 R. n. st. I. c. 10. They were allowed to make these sorts of cloth of the

INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE. 435

the same statute^we learn of such abuses in the manufacture a.d. 1461
in Somerset, Dorset, Bristol and Gloucester, that the mer- '^vest'of
chants who took them abroad were imprisoned, and in danger J'-ngiand.
of being killed. The Essex custom, of selling cloths opened, Esaex.
so that the buyers might examine them, was put 'in force
more generally. A few years later greater scope was given
for the varieties of local manufacture, as any one was allowed a.d. 1394.
to make cloth of the length and breadth he liked, so long
as it Avas measured by the king's aulnagers and sealed to
show what it really was''; but this liberty was abused and
subsequent statutes defined the exact sizes to which cloths
of different sorts should be made'. Worsteds were made in East
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge, of four different dimensions, ^ ^^ ^^^^
and the oversight of these counties was assigned to the
eight wardens chosen at Norwich^ The making of broad-
cloth was also carried on in East Anglia and Essex ^; London
was known as a centre for manufacture ^ as well as
for sale, early in the fifteenth century, and towards its
close^, we hear of the cloth industry at Salisbury and Win-
chester.

The manufacture was evidently extending to different Vnrifjiy
localities, and as the hands became more skilled, an increased "^"^ ' ^"
variety of articles was produced ; though high-priced and,
presumably, fine cloths were still imported*. The variety
was partly due to the quality of the wool grown in particular
districts, and on this account the practice of mixing flocks
with the cloth was permitted in certain parts of Devonshire,
though it was forbidden elsewhere*; but in other cases,
increasing skill was doubtless able to meet varieties of
taste. The statute of Richard III. which defines the sizes a.h. usi.
of the ordinary cloths, broad-cloths, straights, and kerseys,

xisnal breadth of three-quarters of a yard. This, one may notice, is the Flemish
eU of 27 inches (Toulmin Smith, Gilds, Winchester, p. 351 n.), and the practice
may possibly point to a Flemish origin of the species of manufacture.

1 13 R. n. I. c. 11. 2 17 R. n. c. 2.

* 11 H. VI. c. 9, and statutes recited there.

< 7 Ed. IV. c. 1. 6 8 Ed. IV. c. 1.

6 4 H. IV. c. 6. 7 1 K. in. c. 8.

8 4 Ed. rV. c. 1. The French Herald appears to admit that more cloths are
made in England but insists that far finer cloth is made in France. Pyue, 80.

^ 7 Ed. rV. c. 2.

28—2

436 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1461 yet enumerates some half-dozen additional sorts to which it

"" ■ did not apply\

By far the most complete picture of the cloth manu-

A.D. 1465. facture in the fifteenth century is furnished by a statute
of Edwald IV. The preamble makes the usual complaint
of bad workmanship, and alleges that English cloth was
falling into disrepute abroad ; the statute regulates the
whole business in all its details. The size of cloths of
different sorts, the modes of sealing good cloths, imperfect
cloths and half cloths were all ordained, and full discretion
was given to appoint a sufficient number of officers to attend
to these duties. The long list of officials charged with
powers under this act gives proof that the trade was carried
on alike in towns and rural districts, and that mere municipal
supervision could no longer prove effective. The whole act
serves to show that there was a very complete system for the

National national regulation of the chief industry of the country, and

tion. "' that this system was chiefly enforced by the action of a royal
official and his agents.

The existence of such national supervision was unfavour-
able to the maintenance of a system of local regulation by
means of craft gilds^though in Norfolk and other places the
local gilds were used as instruments for exercising parlia-
mentary controP. The craft gild was an association of house-
holders to whom the supervision of the trade in their own
locality was officially entrusted ; and the granting of parlia-
mentary recognition to any of these gilds would tend to
perpetuate this domestic type of industrial organisation.
When authoritative regulation was exercised over craftsmen
by outside officials, there was less obstacle to the introduction
of new forms of business organisation. We can see that in
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the moneyed men with
capital were coming to take an active part in the clothing
trade, and that in the arrangements they made for the conduct
of business, the household no longer served as the unit for
purposes of trade regulation, as it had done in the ordinances
of craft gilds. As early as 1339'* we find that Thomas
» 1 R. in. c. 8.

2 For an excellent illustration from the organisation for searching cloth in
Coventry in 1518 see Miss D. Harris's Life in an Old English Town, 254.

3 See below, pp. 441 and 513. * Eymer, Fosdera, u. ii. 109S. Ashley, i. ii. 202.

INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE. 437

Blanket of Bristol, who came of an important family there, was a.d. 1461
setting up looms and causing workmen to be hired to carry on
the trade ; whilst a few years later, certain merchants had their
cloths fulled in villages round about the city to the disadvan-
tage and discredit of the Bristol fullers^. This class of Capitalist
capitalist employers might be recruited from different sides ;
it might consist to some extent of those who bought up the
wooP used as material, and let it out to workmen to weave
into cloth ; it might be drawn, as Professor Ashley^ points
out, from a class of manual labourers like the shearmen who
finished the cloth, and began to trade wholesale in the pro-
duct when thus ready for the market ; or it might be that
drapers, who dealt wholesale in cloth*, and tailors, who made
goods out of cloth^ began to employ workmen in the manu-
facture. By whatever steps a man rose to be a capitalist,
those whom he set to work would become economically
dependent, and the small masters in a trade he organised
approximated to the position of journeymen. Personal super-
vision by an employer was more effective than gild regulation*,
and capitalistic management was compatible with increasing
division of labour and with the introduction of machinery. Division of
The signs of progress in equipment are an additional indication '"' °^^'
that the industry was being conducted on a large scale ; and
the confused story of the trade organisations of the time
becomes more intelligible when we view them as inci-
dents in this transition ; on the one hand we have asso-
ciations of capitalists, connected with the manufacture, but
engaged in wholesale trading; while on the other, there are

1 English Gilds, 285.

2 Ashley, Ec. Hist., i. ii. 227. 4 Ed. IV. c. 1, and 3 H. VIII. c. 6.

3 Ashley, Ec. Hist., i. ii. 211. The proclamation of 1364, confeiTing a charter
on the Drapers' Company shows that artisans, as we should call them, were en-
gaging in the cloth trade. It orders that " Each of the mysteries of tenterers,
letters and fullers confine themselves to their own mysteries, and in no manner
intermix themselves or interfere with the making, buying or selling of any manner
of cloth or drapery on pain of imprisonment." Herbert, Livery Companies, i. 400.

* Political Poems, R. S., n. 285. Armstrong's Sermon, p. 65.

s Their ordinances show that the tailors of Bristol were skilled artisans who
could cut out in 1401, but that they claimed to engage in the trade of dealing ia
cloth as an ancient usage in the time of Charles I. Fox, Merchant Taylors of
Bristol, pp. 32, 86. 6 Compare Vol. n. p. 499.

438

LANCASTER AND YORK,

A.D. 1461 struggles to maintain, under the new conditions, regulations
similar to those which had been in vogue under the old order.
The statute of 1465 already referred to, indirectly indicates
that the influence of capital had made itself felt on every
side, and that the industry was carried on in those forms which
survived till a century ago when the invention of machinery
Clothiers, brought about the Industrial Revolution^ Clothiers delivered
the wool to the spinners, carders and other labourers by
weight, and paid them for the work when it was finished*;
but apparently they perpetrated frauds on the labourers,
in delivering the wool, and by forcing the labourere to take
a great part of their wages in pins, girdles, and other ' un-
profitable wares.' This appears to be the earliest act against
truck ; it ordains that for the future payment shall be made
in true and lawful money. The various employments, which
were combined in the manufacture of cloth, — as carders,
spinners, weavers, fullers, shearmen and dyers*, — are dis-
tinguished, and the duties of the fullers described with great
Suh- precision. Among subsidiary employments connected with

ployments.' the preparation of cloth, the dyers seem to have occupied a
prominent place. At Coventry in particular they seem to
have been a powerful body*; and defective dyeing with
materials that faded or of cloth not properly prepared was
especially condemned by statute in 1484^
Materials. Considerable care was taken that English workmen should
A.D. 1463. be well supplied with raw materials ; Edward IV. rearranged
the regulations for the staple with the intent that "sufficient
plenty of wool might continually abide and remain in the
realm, and might serve for the occupation " of clothmaking,
in all its various branches^ while he prohibited any bargains
for the clip of wool before the sheep were shorn, in any of
the southern counties where the clothing trade chiefly lay'.

1 A good description is given in the Report on the Woollen Manufacture,
Commons Journals, Lxi. 696, and Reports, 1806 in. Compare also Mrs Green's
remarks on Norfolk. Toicn Life, ii. 105 n.

2 This type of industrial organisation was probably not universal even in the
West of England. According to Westcote [View of Devonshire in 1603, p. 61)
the farmers sold wool to spinners, who sold yam to weavers, who sold the cloth
to clothiers.

8 4 Ed. IV. c. 1. ^ Rot. Pari. iv. 75, No. 21. « 1 R. HI. c. 8.

6 3 Ed. IV. c. 1. ■? 4 Ed. IV. c. 4.

INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE. 439

On the other hand we do not hear of such restrictions on A.D. 1461

1485

the export of fuller's earth, teasels and other agents in the
manufacture, as had been in vogue in its early days under
Edward 11.^ Parliament had apparently endeavoured to
preserve the English breed of sheep* but Edward IV. is
commonly charged with less care in this matter, and it is
said that the breed of Spanish sheep was greatly improved
in consequence of a present of rams sent by him to the king
of Aragonl There were also endeavours to keep the whole
of the process of manufacture in the country, and prohibitions a.d. 1429.
of the export of * thrums '* and woollen yarn^

Whether the rapid development of the industry was the
reason why it attracted capital, or whether the introduction
of capital led to its rapid growth, or how far these conditions
reacted on one another, it is hardly possible to say. The
fact remains, that while there was stagnation or retrogression
on so many sides of economic life, the one industry, which
was already organised on modern lines, was flourishing
greatly ; it affords one of the few redeeming features in
the gloomy story of the fifteenth century. The beautiful Social
buildings which perpetuate the somewhat gaudy taste of
the prosperous classes at the time are so striking, that we
may easily exaggerate their testimony, and argue that the
century which produced them was a time of general pros-
perity®. That this is a hasty and onesided inference has

1 Riley, Memorials, 149, 150. See Appendix.

2 ?> H. VI. c. 2. This was partly intended to prevent frauds on the revenue by
exporting live sheep to shear them in Flanders (Pyne, Debate of Heralds, 544), but
it had also reference in all probability to the preservation of the English breed which
was at all events believed to be superior. Ashley, Woollen Manufacture, 70 n.

8 Smith's Ckronicon Rusticum, i. 69. Eden [Hist. Poor, i. 88) gives a case
of the exportation of English sheep to Spain in 1350. See above, p. 314.

4 The threads left unwoven at the end of a piece of cloth.

6 8 H. VI. c. 23.

6 Professor Thorold Rogers regards the "fifteenth centui-y and the first quarter
of the sixteenth," as " the golden age of the Enghsh labourer " [Six Centuries, 326).
He is followed by Gunton ( Wealth and Progress, 137) and Hyndman [Historical
Basis of Socialism, 1), who doubts "whether any European community ever enjoyed
such rough plenty as the English yeomen, craftsmen and laboui-ers of the fifteenth
century." This view rests entirely on the interpretation of prices, and especially
on the assumption that employment was constant, and that the labourer's income is
fairly represented by 300 times his daily wages (Rogers, Agriculture and Prices,
IV. 7*^5); it is hardly necessary to observe that accounts made out for times when

440

LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1461
—1485.

Decay of
tillage

■<ind of

many

towns.

Develop-
ment of
cloth mami-
facture.

been already shown ; but on the other hand it would be a
mistake to ignore the fact that the rich clothiers, and others
were able to spend large sums on building ; the distribution
of the finest examples of Perpendicular Architecture in
England coincide closely though not exactly with the areas
where the clothing industry was planted ^ There is also
good evidence that there was, in other districts, a decay
of tillage and lack of rural employment'^, during this century ^
and many of the towns were impoverished too. The frequent
complaints which led to exemption from taxation, the pre-
ambles of the Yorkist statutes, as well as the narration of
the gild difficulties, show that there was much suffering in
towns in all parts of the country. But while tillage was
decaying, and some towns were becoming impoverished, the
wealth of the clothiers was increasing ; the rates of payment
they offered would suffice to keep up the rates of wages
for agriculture, and to increase the difficulty of carrying on
tillage with hired labour ; boys and girls who had opportuni-
ties of learning some branch of the textile trade were
authoritatively forced to labour in the fields*. We may thus

work was going on, are not evidence as to the frequency or length of periods when
work was not obtainable. Some men worked aU through Sundays and hoUdays
and worked extra hours to complete a piece of work, but this does not help us to
guess how far employment was constant.

1 This can hardly be regarded as conclusive however ; King's College Chapel
and monastic buildings which were paid for by wealth drawn from distant estates
might be flourishing, while the lay inhabitants of a town were much reduced in
numbers and wealth. The building of Great S. Mary's at Cambridge dragged
over many years (Fuller, History of the University of Cambridge, vi.), and was only
accomplished by persistent begging for subscriptions ; as a matter of fact these
buildings must have been going on at the very time when the town obtained
exemption on the ground of poverty in 1472, and again in 1489 {Rot, Pari. vi. 438).
On the other hand the great Suffolk churches like Lavenham and Long MeKord
were erected by the munificence of successful clothiers.

2 Denton, Fifteenth Century, 94. The authors of that invaluable storehouse
of facts, the Annals of Commerce, also speak decidedly: "the manufactures and
commerce of the country were grievously depressed and their advancement re-
tarded." Macpherson, i. 609.

8 Professor Thorold Rogers calls attention to it as a matter of importance in
•'the later years of the sixteenth century" and notes that the complaint is found
"as early as" 6 Henry VLQ. c. 5; but it had attracted attention in parliament
long before that time. He apparently holds that the enclosing of the fifteenth
century was not made at the expense of tUlage {Agriculture and Prices, tv, 63.
64 n., 109).

* r2R. n. 5; 7H. W. c. 17.

INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE. 441

find in the growth of the clothing trade, a solution of the a.d. 1461
apparent contradictions spoken of above. For some of the
rural population the fifteenth century was a time of abund-
ance ; not because agriculture was flourishing, but because
of the reaction of the development of the clothing trade upon
rural life. By way of contrast we may note that the close
of the eighteenth century was a time of great misery — not
merely because agriculture was in difficulties, but because the
domestic industries were giving place to the factory system.

128. Phenomena somewhat similar to those which have Royal
been described in cormection with the cloth manufacture, ^ofcioth°^
may be observed in other trades, though they operated in a o/^oW-"'*
different fashion. Parliament interfered to exercise a national s""<^»-'
control over various branches of industry ; but in doing so, it
did not set the gilds aside, but acted through them and
used them as the instruments of national authority \ Public
attention was given to the goldsmiths"^ and embroiderers'
craft^, since they were concerned in the use of the precious
metals and gold thread. The statute about goldsmiths in a.d. 1423.
the time of Henry VI. recognises their gild as the agency for
carrying out the regulations that seemed necessary ; each
workman was to set his own mark on every article as well
as the Leopard's Head which testified to the quality of the
metal ; and the mark and sign of every goldsmith was to
be known to the wardens of the craff. In the time of authorisa-
Edward IV. other craft gilds came to be recognised by statute giijsf
as the authorities for searching out manufactures illegally im-
ported' ; they were charged with important public functions,
and had power to exercise them outside their own particular
town. Such functions could hardly have been undertaken by
mere operatives, and there are signs of the existence of employ- Cra/t
ers in various callings. The mason's craft had always been ^ll^icipal
carried on by substantial men, who could undertake a <'#<''=''*•
considerable responsibility^; but the organisation of this

1 Statutory authority was given to worsted weavers in Norwich to elect War-
dens (23 H. VI. c. 3, 7 E. IV. c. 1). 2 03 E. I. c. 20 ; 37 E. HI. c. 7.

s 2 H. VI. c. 10. < 2 H. VI. c. 17. s 3 e. IV. c. 4.

" Compare a building contract dated 1412, in Canon Rains's Catterich Church
in the County of York. On the Masons' craft, see Cunningham, Western Civilisa-
tion, n. 98 n., 128 u.

442 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1461 industry lay outside ordinary municipal controls Difficulties
arose when any attempts were made by a prosperous man to
carry on some municipally authorised branch of industry on
capitalistic lines: the whole system became strained. It has
been argued above that there is no evidence of a conflict be-

Aferchants tween craft gilds and a merchant class in the twelfth century:

and Crafts- . ° "^ '

men. but during the fourteenth century a class of wealthy burgesses

had come into being and there is reason to believe that
there was a divergence of interest between them and the
manual labourers in their crafts. If Professor Ashley's sup-
position is correct, and the Coventry shearmen took up the
business of dealing in cloth, then the frequent and partially
successful efforts of the fullers to separate from the shearmen
and form their own gild^ may be interpreted as an attempt
on the part of craftsmen, both masters and journeymen, to
retain economic independence. There is reason to believe
that towards the middle of the fifteenth century there was a
considerable increase in the population, unaccompanied by
any great improvement in the means of production^, and
consequently a relative overpopulation in several European
countries ; and there can be little doubt that this was the
case in English towns at all events. The alleged exhaustion
of the soil* and the prevalence of sheep-farming were at all
events incompatible with any great increase in the food-
supply, while there was a tendency for the rural population
to move into the towns. The frequent complaints of poverty
and lack of employment, which led eventually to stringent
measures against foreign competition, confirm the evidence
from other sources to show that the gilds were being over-
stocked with journeymen who could hardly hope to attain
the position of householders and employers. In the callings
where the old organisation was effective there was an

1 Iron smelting was also extra-municipal, and it seems to have been carried on
by employers and wage-earners. Lapsley, Account Rolls of a Fifteenth Century
Iron-master, in English Hist. Review, xrv. 509.

2 Li 1448 and subsequently. W. G. Fretton, Memorials of Fullers' or Walkers'
Oild of Coventry, p. 10.

s SchmoUer, Die historische Entwickelung des Fleischconsums in Deutaehland
in Tubingen Zeitschrift far die yesam. Staatswissenschaft, xxvn. 343.
* Denton, 153.

INDUSTllY AND INTERNAL TRADE. 443

increasing tendency, during the fifteenth century to restrict a.d. 1461
the avenues by which the freedom to exercise a craft could ~^'^ ^'
be obtained^ ; larger fines were demanded on admission-. Condition
while the standard of social qualification for those who were wei"""'*^
eligible as apprentices was raised. In those trades in which
the capitalist interest had become dominant, the small
masters appear to have united with the journeymen in trying
to maintain the economic independence of manual workers
and to secure better terms for them by forming yeoman or
journeymen gilds^ The movement appears in England at a
very early date indeed, as in 1303 the "servant workmen in Cord-
cordwainery" were forbidden "to hold any meeting or make '"*'"^'*"
provision which may be to the prejudice of the trade and
the detriment of the common people*." The confederacy of
masons which was put down by Edward III. appears to have
been a joint effort of masters and journeymen to get better
terms from the public^, but among the Shearmen the Black Yeoman
Death seems to have roused a dispute between masters and ^^ *'
men* in regard to wages. The earliest proclamation recorded in a.d. 1883.
English in the City was directed against " congregations and
conventicles^"; but it had no effect on the cordwainers who
met at the Friars Preachers, and did conspire and confederate
to hold together in rebellion against the overseers of the trade*.
They had given money to a certain Dominican to obtain
confirmation to their fraternity from the Pope*. Similarly the
Saddlers had a yeoman gild, the members of which attended Saddiem.
mass once a year, and went when summoned to vigils and
masses for dead members of their fraternity ; but the masters
asserted that under a "certain feigned colour of sanctity" they
werereally combining to secure excessive wages^". The journey-

1 Brentano, History and development of Gilds, 74. Miss Dunlop has collected
much additional English evidence on this point.

2 See p. 511, below.

3 Similar gilds attained to great importance on the Continent. Schauz, Zur
Geschichte der deutschen Gesellenverbdnde im Mittelalter, 11.

* Liber Oust. u. 541.

5 34 E. III. c. 9, so also 3 H. VI. c. 1.

6 RUey, Memorials, 251.

7 Ibid. 480. 8 Ibid. 495.

9 The journeymen brotherhoods sometimes had a religious character similar to
that of the Tertiaries among the Franciscans. Schanz, Gesellenverbdnde, 70 n.

10 Riley, Memorials, 643.

444

LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1461
—1485.

A.D. 1396.
Tailors.

Coventry.

Bristol.

Introduc-
tion of
machinery.

man tailors too preferred to live together in companies in
dwelling-houses by themselves without any superior to rule
over them, and their conduct caused a good deal of difficulty
to the Wardens, and scandal to the City in 1415^ The
formation of such combinations in London, even if they had
little permanence", testifies to dissatisfaction among the
workmen, while there is evidence of similar difficulties in
at least one provincial centre of trade. At Coventry in the
early part of the fifteenth century the masters and journeymen
of the weavers' craft came to a formal agreement ; its terms
serve to indicate the nature of some of the points in dispute.
It was agreed that anyone who could use the art freely might
have as many looms, both linen and woollen, in his cottage,
and also take as many apprentices as he liked ; every cottager
or journeyman, who wished to become a master, might do so
on payment of twenty shillings ; while the journeymen were
also allowed to have a fraternity of their own, on condition
that they paid a shilling a year to the Weavers' Gild for
the privilege, and a shilling for every member they admitted^
The journeyman tailors of Bristol had wardens of their own
and a common chest to which contributions were made for
the relief of poor brethren, but the whole arrangement
seems to have been under the supervision of the Master
and Fraternity of Merchant Tailors*. The Bachelors' Com-
pany of the London Merchant Taylors consisted of small
masters as well as journeymen*; Mr Unwins has adduced
other examples which seem to show that the London yeomen
gilds came to be organisations of small masters, under the
general control of the trading elements in the companies.

Not only do we thus see symptoms of organised struggles
between the employer and the employed, but there was also
a difficulty arising from the introduction of machinery. This
was apparently felt in the cappers' trade in 1376 when a

1 Riley, Mfmorials, 609.

2 Webb, 'I'rade Unionism, p. 4. It is noticeable, however, that journeymen
gilds seem to have existed as important institutions among the plasterers and
tailors in Dublin in the eighteenth century, H. Nelson, A poem in honour of the
ancient society of Journeymen Tailors, 1726. Brit. Mus. 1890 e, 5 (168), see also
1890 e, 5 (209).

8 Coventry Municipal Documents, Leet Book, f . 27.

* Fox, Merchant Tailors of Bristol, 38.

s Clode, Early History of Gild of Merchant Taylors, p. 60.

* Industrial Oryanisatiun, 60.

INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE, 445

question arose as to the use of water-mills, which were said a.d. 146i
to do the work insufficiently and badly ; but still the public ~
bought their caps from the men who used the mills, and
the simple folks of the trade were greatly impoverished and
at the point of perishing^ Despite the prohibition then,
members of the craft and others frequently had recourse to
the use of these mills^ Eventually the matter came before
parliament and the use of Fulling Mills was forbidden by
statute in 1483'.

The gilds were not only in difficulties as to their internal Gilds as
affairs, but in regard to their relations with the public.
The weavers' monopoly was a grievance as early as 1321^;
there had been other difficulties in 1376. The charges in
1437 were more specific, although the grounds of complaint
were similar, — that the gilds set the local authorities at
defiance, and thus injured the public I This petition called a.d. 1437.
forth an act*, the preamble of which recites that " masters,
wardens, and people of gilds, fraternities, and other companies
corporate, dwelling in divers parts of the realm, oftentimes
by colour of rule and governance and other terms in general
words to them granted and confirmed by charters and letters
patent of divers kings, made among themselves many un-
lawful and unreasonable ordinances, as well in prices of ware
and other things for their own singular profit and to the
common hurt and damage of the people " ; and it goes on to
provide that new ordinances shall be for the future submitted
to justices of the peace, and recorded by them. There is
here a further step in the process of nationalising the craft
gilds ; on the one hand they were being used by parliament
as its agents for regulating trade, while on the other they
were being controlled more rigorously by extra-municipal
authorities.

Even the spirit of monopoly had somewhat changed
its character in accordance with the new conditions of the

* Riley, Memorials, 403. There is an instructive phrase: "which to the
advantage of the people cannot be properly and lawfully fulled save thi'ough the
support of jjersons skilled in the said trade."

2 Ibid. 559. 667. a 2-2 E. IV. c. 5.

* Riley, Lib. Oust. i. 416.

* Bot. Pari. IV. 507. e 15 Henry YL. c. 6.

446 LANCASTER AND YOT^K.

A.D. 1461 times. In the old days it had been directed against upland
~^^^^' men, who, though English, were foreign to the town — in fact
laith aliens, against non-residents who did not contribute to the burdens
of the town. In the fifteenth century the same feeling was
brought to bear on the resident alien. The mercers of
Shrewsbury, in the time of Edward IV., made an ordinance
against receiving French, Flemish, Dutch, Welsh or Irish
apprentices^; and the tailors and coopers of Southampton
were also at pains to exclude resident aliens from competing
in their crafts''; they were more particularly exposed to the
immigTation of Italian artisans which has been already
noticed. English capitalists had ousted the aliens from
financial business and from internal trade ; English mer-
chants were at last holding their own in foreign trade ; but
under the Yorkists and Tudors the stress of alien competition
was borne by English artisans; and the national prejudice^
gave new force to the local exclusiveness of the craft gilds.
Oilds The union which took place among many of the gilds in

earn tmnr,. ^^^ fifteenth century was probably due to the success of one
gild in obtaining ascendancy over allied crafts*. It may have
been fostered by such social influences as the struggle of
Englishmen to hold their own against aliens ^ and the obliga-
tion to take part in the pageants which were provided annually
in some towns and occasionally in others ^ The plays at York^
at Chester^ and Coventry^ were performed by the various
misteries; Shrewsbury Show^" was also a magnificent spectacle,
which involved a heavy outlay. The wearing of liveries" was
another extravagance by which the companies rivalled the
state of great nobles ; and expenses of this sort, even though
they testify to the prosperity of the richer crafts, may well

1 Hibbert, Gilds, 64. 2 Davis, Southampton, 273, 276.

3 On protection during this period compare Mrs Green's Town Life, i. 71.

^ Unwin, Industrial Organisation, 35. ^ See vol. n. p. 36.

*> In Norwich the Eidings or processions of the gilds were organised under
the authority of S. George's GOd, and occurred three or four times a year
(Blomefield, Korfolh, ii. 97). Latterly several crafts seem to have combined under
the same banner on these occasions (Ibid. n. 148).

1 Miss L. T. Smith {Yorh Plays), and Miss Sellers in Eng. Hist. Rev. ix.
300. ^ Helsby's Ormerod's Chester, i. 380.

9 Discourse of Common Weal, p. 16, 1. 18 n.

io Hibbert, Gilds, 117. ^i Ashley, Economic History, i. ii. 127.

INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE. 447

have proved a heavy burden to the poorer ones, and accele- a.d. 1461
rated the process of decay.

On every hand it appears that the gilds were changing
their character and were coming more and more, in so far as
they were preserved, to be at once the organs of and subject
to national regulation ; while their exclusiveness was the
expression of a national feeling^ They were accused of per-
mitting oppression on one side and of being guilty of extrava-
gance on the other. But there was no easy remedy for the
mischiefs which were beginning to appear in craft gilds, and
which at length called forth the mournful reflections of
Clement Armstrong who looked back to the reign of
Edward III., when there " were no corporations of no craftes
in London nor halles with no constitution and ordinaunces
for no syngularities as now is but the Guyldhall-."

129. The agricultural policy of these reigns was de- Encourag-
veloped on the lines that had been indicated under Richard '"^ * ^*'
II.' : but the preambles explicitly state that the statutes were a.d. 1437.
intended to encourage tillage. Those who went in for higher
farming and " used manurement of their land," could only get
a ' bare price,' and were therefore allowed to export wheat Freedom to

•1 T 1,1 • i i/ir^7 export com.

Without a license when the price was not more than 65. 8a.
the quarter-*; in 1444 this statute was made perpetual,
especially for the advantage of the counties on the sea-coast
which could not sell the " substance of their corn " except for
transport by water". In 1463 the English farmer received ProUUtion
another boon'; he suffered greatly from the importation Qf 'v *'"i""' *•
foreign corn, and this was only allowed for the future when
the price exceeded 65. d>d. per quarter, so that in plentiful
harvests he had a monopoly of the home market. These
measures offer the most signal instance of the reversal of the
policy of Edward III.; that corn and victuals should be
plentiful and cheap was quite axiomatic in his time, and the
complaints of the doings of alien merchants generally allege
that somehow or other they made goods scarce and dear.
WooP and cloth* were treated differently, as Englishmen

1 Disabilities on aliens caused the people of Antwerp to migrate to Amsterdam
rather than to England in 1585. De Witt, Political Maxims, 52.

2 Sermons aiid Declarations in Pauli, Drei volkswirthschaft. Denksckri/ten, 45.

3 See above, p. 406. « 15 h. VI. c. 2. ' s 23 H. VI. c. 5.

6 3 E. IV. c. 2. 1 See above, p. 314. 8 gee above, p. 416.

448 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1461 wished to sell at dear rates to the foreimer. When we

2-185

remember the dislike of engrossers and others who raised
the price of victuals, it is very strange to find that parlia-
ment was willing to pass measures of this kind^ One can
only suppose that the increase of sheep farming^, at the
expense of tillage and cattle breeding, was going on so fast as
apparently to -threaten the national food supply.
Pasture The first signs of this change have been noted above ; it

otthT^ ^&d gone great lengths in the time of Henry VII., and there
e^wense of .^j.q isolated notices which show it was steadily progressing.
The case of Stretton Baskerville in Warwickshire is a
striking example. "Thomas Twyford, having begun the
depopulation thereof, in 4 Henry VII. decaying four mes-
suages, and three cottages, whereunto 160 acres of errable
land belonged, sold it to Henry Smith, Gentleman. Which
Henry following that example, in 9 Henry VII. enclosed 640
acres of land more, whereby twelve messuages and four
cottages fell to ruine, and 80 persons there inhabiting, being
employed about tillage and husbandry, were constrained to
depart thence and live miserably. By means whereof, the
church grew to such ruine, that it was of no other use than
for the shelter of cattle, being with the churchyard, wretchedly
prophaned, to the evil example of others, as are the Words of
the Inquisition ^"
Scarcity of It might at first sight appear strange that while the
" ''"'* breadth of ground under tillage was thus decreasing there
should be any serious difficulty in finding a supply of labourers
well qualified for agriculture, but the renewals of the statutes
of labourers show that there was an alarming deficiency.
In the time of Henry VI. it was ordained that every servant
A.D. 1445. leaving employment must give ample notice so that his
master might find some one to take his place*. Rates of

1 Impoverished landlords had the means of redress themselves and were more
likely to lay down their land in pasture than to petition parliament for com
laws. See above, p. 404.

2 It was apparently a common jest with foreigners during the time of Henry
VI. to associate the decline of our naval power with the increase of sheep
farming. Cachinnant de nobis inimici, at dicunt, "ToUite navem de pretiosa moneta
vestra, et imprimite ovem, vecordiam vestram in hoc arguentes." Capgrave, de
illustribua Henricis, p. 135. See also Lihelh of English Folycye, vv. 35, 36,
Political Poems, R. S., n. 159.

8 Dugdale's Antiquities of Wanuiclslnre, p. 36. * 23 H. VI. c. 12.

INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE. 449

wages both in town and country are laid down with very A.D. 1461
great precision for summer and winter, with meat and ~ ^'
without it. These are obviously intended to be the maximum Assessment
rates ; since the time of Eichard II. * the Justices had been "-^ ^<^i'««-
empowered to assess agricultural wages twice a year accord-
ing to the plenty or scarcity of the time so long as they did
not exceed the statutable limitations ; they had the means of
authoritatively lowering wages, when it seemed expedient.
Every efifort was made to promote tillage by rendering cheap
labour available ; but the labourers in rural districts must
have had diminished opportunities of employment, at care-
fully restricted rates of pay. Besides this, the frequency of
holidays must have made a considerable difference to the
wage-earner, since he was only allowed to take a proportionate
payment on these days.

That many mere idlers were kept as retainers under
colour of husbandry may have accounted for part of the
difficulty of procuring labour when it was needed ; but it
was most probably chiefly due to the development of the Attraction
cloth manufacture in rural districts. Children who had "•^^''^^'^^^
served till the age of 12 years at husbandry were to keep to facture.
that occupation, and under Henry IV. it became illegal for any
but freeholders with 205. per annum to apprentice their chil-
dren to a traded But while this had little success so far as
husbandry was concerned it checked the development of, and
indeed did positive inj ury to, chartered towns. The citizens of
London (8 H. VI. c. 11), and later those of Norwich (11 H. VII.
c. 11), were exempt from its operation. The citizens of Oxford
were not so successful in their appeal ; they complained of the a.d. 1450.

1 13 R. n. st. ii. c. 8. Allusion was made to this attempt to regulate wages
in accordance with prices in the first edition of this book, p. 194. I had mistakenly
supposed that it was a mere paper proviso and omitted all reference to it in the
second edition; but Miss McArthur has shown (English Hist. Review, ix. 305) that
the assessment of wages formed one of the well-recognised duties of the Justices
of the Peace under Henry VII. and Henry VIII. It is therefore evident that the
system of assessing wages was intended to operate along with the limitations fixing
a maximum wage. The change introduced by the Elizabethan Act (5 El. c. 4) was
the removal of the upper limit ; it did not introduce new machinery or impose a
new duty on the Justices (though it did impose penalties if they neglected the
duty) but it removed the old limitation, so that they could fix wages at as high a
rate as they thought desirable. See vol. n. p. 38.

« Rot. Pari. V. 205 (3).

0. H. 29

450 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1461 heavy ferm they had to pay to the king, and urged that when
it was fixed the town was fully inhabited with merchants, arti-
ficers and lay people ; in consequence of the statute they could
not obtain apprentices for different crafts, and could neither
meet the royal charges, nor serve and please the clergy and
university that is there ^; they claimed to have their ancient
liberty in the matter, such as the people of London^ enjoyed.
We are forced to believe that a development of manufacturing
was causing a demand for the services of labourers, and that
the measures which had been intended to promote tillage
hindered the towns from obtaining the benefit of the in-
creasing trade.

Decay of 130. The break-up of the manorial system, the decline of

tillage and the paucity of agricultural labour^ soon came to
afiect the internal communication in the country, and the
roads and bridges were not properly maintained. There were
some public-spirited individuals who gave attention to the
matter, and a fourteenth century stone bridge was built to
replace the wooden one at Rochester*; but on the whole it
seems that care for internal communication diminished with
the declension of manorial courts, and still more through the
impoverishment of the monasteries which had done much
for the maintenance of roads. Professor Thorold Rogers has
connected the complaint of bad roads with their disruption',
but it may certainly be traced back to the time of their

A.D. 1536. decline. The monasteries had difiiculty in adapting them-
selves to the conditions of money economy®, and in some cases

1 Rot. Pari. V. 205 (3). ^ XJnfler whose customs they lived. See above, p. 224.
8 The care of roads had fallen on the villains under the supervision of the
Manorial Courts. Denton, Fifteenth Century, 173.

* Rochester Bridge " was built in the time of Richard 11. by that great warrior
Su- Robert KnoUys and Sir John de Cobham. The old bridge had been of wood
and stood near the castle. It consisted of nine piers. The repair of the arches
was allotted to different people ; for example — the Ai'chbishop had care of the fifth
and ninth pier, the Bishop of Rochester of the first, the king of the fourth.
Gillingham, How and other manors and lands had the care of the remaining,
which by their tenures they were bound to support." Pennant, Journey from
London to Isle of Wight, i. 73. Catterick Bridge, the contract for the building
of which still survives, was erected in 1425. Murray's Yorkshire, 323.

^ Agriculture and Prices, rv. 114, 217.

* The monasteries had no capital for the development of industrial or mining
enterprise (Savine, in Oxford Studies, i. 124), and they bargained to obtain pay-
ments in kind from leaseholders on the domain lands, even after the customary

INDUSTEY AND INTERNAL TEADE. 451

their resources were dissipated through the bad management a.d. I46i
of an abbots and many of them were much impoverished at ^^^ ^^jq
the time of the dissolution. The roads suffered, because the
institutions which had been accustomed to do repairs lost
their resources, and no one else had sufficient public spirit
to take up the matter in earnest. There were occasional
benefactions for the purpose ; a London alderman left for
•'the repair of the highway without Bishopsgate 5 marks
and for the highway without Aldgate 100 shillings^" In a.d. 1469.
Reformation times the Bishops regularly enquired at their
visitations as to the manner in which such bequests had been
-expended ^ But when a great town like London was
dependent for repairs of the leading highways on private
munificence*, we can easily guess how much the rural
districts were neglected in such hard times.

The bad condition of the roads must have reacted on the Decay of
internal trade of the country, and was alleged as a reason for'^'**"'
the decay of some of the fairs. In 1891 the burgesses of
Cambridge complained that on account of the mire on the
king's highway, men withdrew themselves and their mer-
chandise from Reach Fair^ There were also other causes at
work which brought about the decline of fairs; a large
number of grants for new fairs* were given in the fifteenth
century, and the competition of these new centres must have
affected the prosperity of the old centres of trade. Thus a
fair was set up at Bristol, and this interfered with the trade
in cloth which had been previously done in the fair at Bath'.

services had been commuted for money (Ibid. 164) . A supply of com, rather than of
money to buy corn, was also preferable in Elizabeth's time for the maintenance of the
Oxford and Cambridge Colleges. 18 El. c. 6. Kenuett, Parochial Antiquities, 605.

i ti. Mary's, Alcester, Rot. Pari. v. 206 (5) ; S. Andrew's, Northampton, Rot. Pari.
Ti. 434 (35). Bath, Leadam, Select Cases from the Star Chamber, Ixxxii.

- Orridge, Illustration of Jack Cade's Rebellion, 8. ^ Denton, 175.

^ Similarly the town of Bristol could not repair the streets, not for lack of
money so much as because they had not the necessary powers. Rot. Pari. vi.
390 (9). 6 Cooper, Annals, 1391, p. 139.

6 A. Law, Town Life in Economic Review, rr. 385; an article to which I am
indebted for several references. These new fairs might be convenient for the sale
of country produce, as are the numerous fairs in Ireland now ; when trade was so
much distributed, no one mart would be important enough to attract aliens.

^ Rot. Pari. u. 347 (141). Compare the decay of the weekly market at Rich-
mond (1433) through the establishment of markets at Masham, Bedale, and
Middleham. G. H. de S. N. Plantagenet-Harrison, Yorkshire, i. p. 33.

29—2

452

LANCASTER AND YORK.

Boston.

A.D. 1461 It is possible that at a time when social disturbance was rife,
~ ' the Government looked with some suspicion on these great
gatherings of people, who could not be effectively controlled.
In 1394 the king commanded the sheriffs to attend Barnwell
fair in person, and to make proclamation against any illicit
conventicles or congregations, secret or open, which might
lead to a breach of the peaces Whatever the causes may
have been which co-operated to produce this result, there
can be no doubt that the great fairs, which had attracted
merchants from all parts of Europe, were declining in im-
portance.

The fairs of S. Botolph at Boston and of S. Giles at
Winchester had been two of the principal events of the com-
mercial year in 1327 ^ when the skinners of London obtained
a right of search with regard to the sale of furs throughout
the kingdom. It had been the custom in London to put off
the Husting at the time of Boston fair; but in 1416 it was
alleged that ' the holding of the fair had entirely ceased for
many years, and that there was therefore no excuse for inter-
rupting the usual course of legal business in London'.' S.
Giles's fair^ was also greatly reduced in 1471®; and a statute
of 1478 seems to show that the evil was general, and that
trade no longer centred at these great annual marts. The
A.D. 1478. courts of Pie powder were, like all other local jurisdictions,
working badly. Complaint was made that the stewards and
bailiffs were inclined to take cognisance of matters over
which they had no jurisdiction, and to misuse their powers
for the private advantage of their friends ; these malpractices
were said to be the reason of the decline of some of the
fairs®.

The restrictions on town trade which had been imposed

Win-
chester.

1 Cooper, Annals, 142. In the xvmth century May Fair was complained of as
a centre of disorder, and Bartholomew Fair was limited on the same gromids.
Reasons for siippressing the yearly fair in Brook Field (1709).

2 EQey, Memorials, 154. « Ibid. 657.

* For a brief period after 1456, in consequence of disturbances in London, the
ItaUan merchants ceased to frequent that city, and resorted to Southampton and
Winchester instead. Eatchin, Winchester (Historic Towns), 175.

* Kitchin, Charter for S. Oiles's Fair in Winchester Cathedral Records, p. 23.
6 17 Ed. rV. c. 2. The fair was less frequented, so the Lords lost the tolls and

the public were not so well served with goods. 1 E. m. c. 6.

INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE. 453

in the interest of the fairs had been grievances of long A.D. i46i
standing*; and it might have been supposed that the decline
of the fairs would react favourably upon the prosperity of Conseqwtit
the towns. That this occurred to some extent is likely ^^("o/^"*'
enousfh, but there is no reason to believe that the business 'ome^ro-

_ ® ' ... vxnctal

which had been done at a provincial fair was transferred to tovma.
a neighbouring town. It is more probable that the decline
^f provincial fairs favoured the development of London, and
possibly of some other centres of trade. The aliens who had
frequented S. Giles's fair did not transfer their business to
Winchester ; and in the time of Edward IV. the men of the
Hanse withdrew from Boston^ It is probable that the towns
had gained from the concourse of people in their neighbourhood
much more than they lost from restrictions on their ordinary
business, and that the decline of the fairs reacted prejudicially
on the prosperity of provincial towns. Despite the wealth
and extravagance of the capitalist class in many places, the
fifteenth century towns were in a miserable plight ; several
of them had failed to recover from the ravages of the Black
Death. This seems to have been true of Richmond in a.d. 1438.
Yorkshire^, while the case of Bristol is still more striking ;
as the port where the most enterprising merchants fitted
their ships for foreign trade, and a convenient centre for the
products of West of England looms, Bristol had every chance
of growing rapidly; and yet even in this case, a century
seems to have elapsed before it recovered from the blow
which had been inflicted by the Black Death*. We cannot
be surprised that in other parts of England, where there was
less opportunity for foreign commerce, less development of
weaving, and more disturbance from the Wars of the Roses*,
the revival should be delayed still longer.

The administration of town affairs appears to have been Constita-
gradually concentrated in the hands of those who were best changes.
fitted to exercise it efficiently'. This change was the natural

1 Kitchin. Charter for S. Giles's Fair, p. 17. See above, p. 181.

s Leland, Ititi. vn. 145. 8 Plantagenet-Harrison, TorJcshire, i. p. 33.

* Seyer, Bristol, n. 144.

'" The local feuds between the Berkeleys and their rivals were of sufficient im-
portance to cause serious distui-bance to industry and trade. Seyer, Bristol, n.
193. 6 Bateson, Leicester Records, u. Uv.

454

LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1461
—1485.

Remissions
to towns in
the collec-
tion of
fifteenths
and tenths.

£4000.

outcome of the conditions which have ah-eady been sketched
with regard to the distribution of wealth ; for it too was con-
centrated in a few hands and places. An almost uninterrupted
wail of complaint rises from town after town ; they professed
themselves unable to pay their shares of the tenths and
fifteenths. Such grumbling might not perhaps be in itself
conclusive — the more important fact remains that very
large remissions were actually granted ; one parliament after
another evidently believed that the complaints were well
grounded and that the burgesses could not pay. Hard
pressed as the parliaments were to find money, they were
forced to make special exemptions in some of the votes under
Henry VI. The tenths and fifteenths were still assessed on
the basis of 1384; and in 1433 parliament allowed a re-
mission of £4000 in voting a fifteenth and tenth, "in release
and discharge of the poor towns, cities and burghs, desolate,
wasted or destroyed, or over greatly impoverished or else to
the said tax greatly overcharged " ; Great Yarmouth and
Lincoln are specified for particular exemption^ £6000 was
also remitted on the fifteenth and tenth and half fifteenth
and tenth voted in 1439 ^ when Lincoln, Elm, Wisbech,.
Leverington, Newton S. Giles and Tidd S. Giles in Cam-
bridge, and Andover and Alresford in Hampshire are parti-
cularised for relief. In 1442 the remission is at the same
rate on the sum granted ; but Lincoln is to be entirely
exempt, Cheltenham, Alresford, Andover, Headington in
Oxfordshire and Scarborough are to pay half, and Great

1 After the peasants' revolt "from one cause or another groups of men were
" formed in the midst of every town who were shut out from the civic Hfe of the
" community, and whose natural bond of union was hostility to the privileged class
" which denied them the dignity of free citizens and refused them fair competition
"in trading enterprise. The burghers yearly added to their number half-a-dozen
"or perhaps a score of members wealthy enough to buy the privilege, while the-
" increase in the unenfranchised class, which had begun very early in the town
" life, proceeded by leaps and bounds ; till presently the old balance of forces in the
" Uttle state was overthrown, the ancient constitution of a free community of equal
" householders was altogether annulled and forgotten, and a comparatively smaU.
" class of privileged citizens ruled with a strong hand over subject traders and
" labourers, to whom they granted neither the forms nor the substance of liberty."
Town Life, i. 196. Mrs Green however occasionally uses language which seema
to imply that the whole community shared in the prosperity of the time (lb. i. 58)
but without adducing any evidence of general welfare.

3 Rot. Pari. IV. 425. s Ibid. v. 5.

INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE. 455

Yarmouth three-quarters of their ordinary assessment*. In a.d. 146i
consecutive entries^ March 15th and April 9 in 1445 there ~
are grants of half a fifteenth and tenth, and of a whole, and
a half, fifteenth and tenth ; in the former the remissions
were similar to those of 1442, but by the latter £9000 was £6000.
remitted. In 1449 there was a remission of £3000 on the
half tenth and half fifteenth granted, Great Yarmouth being
named for relief^ ; in 1453 the remission was at the same
rate, £6000, on one fifteenth and tenth, and Lincoln and
Great Yarmouth were entirely relieved*. The same towns
were again allowed to go free when £31,000 was given to
Edward IV. in 1465, though he endeavoured to get payment
of the £6000 which had been remitted of the last grant of a
fifteenth and tenth^ In 1472 there is the same remission,
New Shorehara and Cambridge coming in for the boon as
well as Great Yarmouth and Lincoln®.

There is no reason to look far afield for the causes of this Causes of
general distress; the strain of the long-continued French ^''°'^'
War imposed a heavy burden, and the disturbances arising
from the Wars of the Roses caused terrible misery. It is
the fashion to regard this struggle as a sort of tournament in
which the nobles and their retainers took part, while the
routine of ordinary life went on with little interruption.
A very different picture is given us by the contemporary
chronicler, who had seen the wretched fugitives seeking
refuge in the fens from the ravages of the northern army.
Peterborough, Cambridge and Boston were burnt, and Stam-
ford suffered so severely that it never recovered its former
prosperity ^ The soldiers who fought in these battles must
have obtained supplies somehow, and it is only likely that
they laid hands on any cattle they found, and left the
peasantry without any means of cultivating the land^ The

1 Rot. Pari. T. 37. 2 ibid. v. 68, 69.

8 Ibid. V. 142. * Ibid. v. 228.

« Ibid. V. 497. 6 ibid. vi. 40.

' Peck, Stamford, bk. xiv. p. 63.

8 I am indebted to Mr Leadam for one instance of the kind at Abbots Ripton
in Huntingdonsliire. "And further examined saithe that he bathe hard hys father
saye, that before the batayle whiche was callyd Ester daye Feld, all the tenauntes
of Abbottes Rypton were Copie holders & held of the Abbot of Ramsey. And the

456 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1461 very defences which the towns erected for their own protection
were terribly costly ; the burgesses at Coventry appear to
have found great difhculty in erecting and repairing their
wall^ In some other cases special reasons are alleged for

A.p. 1421. the poverty of a town. At New Shoreham the heavy pressure
of taxation is assigned as the chief cause of decline from 500
to 86 residents, though it had also suffered from incursions

Sea. from the sea^. Rottingdean suffered from the sea, but it

had also been burned by the French, and the heavy assess-

War. ment forced the inhabitants to withdraw^ The port of
Yarmouth was stopped up, so that ships could not enter*.

A.D. T407. Lynn had been attacked by the French ^ so had Melcombe";

Pestilence. Truro had also suffered thus, as well as from pestilence ^
Of the others mentioned, it may well have been the case that
the Cambridgeshire towns had been attacked by enemies ;
while Lincoln had probably been injured by the competition
of Boston. It is obvious that whenever a town was tem-
porarily injured from any accidental circumstance, the neces-

Taxation. sary contributions for the ferms would fall very heavily on
those who were left, and that the temptation to migrate from
corporate towns must have been strong. We may see in the
present day how high rates drive inhabitants outside the
municipal boundaries to build large houses in the suburbs,
and even affect great business concerns ; the Great Eastern
Railway is said to have saved in rates by moving their
continental traffic from Harwich to Parkeston. The real
extent of the decay, and the position and character of the
places which escaped, could only be clearly understood by
the investigation of the history of many localities separately,

Northen men laye there so long before the Felde was Fowghten that they
Impoveryshed the countrey. And the tenauntes were fayne to yeld vp theyre
Copye holdes, for that they were not hable to Eepayre theym. And then came
other tenanntes and occupyed theym as tenauntes at wyll and they had the Rentes
Abatyd." Court of Bequests MSS., Hunts' Calendar, Bundle 7, No. 10, m. 8.

1 Discourse of Common Weal, p. 18, 1. 33 n.

2 Eot. Pari. IV. 159. s ibij. iv. 160.
4 Ibid. m. 620. «> Ibid. iii. 640.
« Ibid. lu. 638. ' Ibid. m. 638.

MEDIEVAL AND MODERN IDEAS. 457

A.D. 1377

V. Medieval and Modern Economic Ideas ~

CONTRASTED.

131. The fifteenth century and the first half of the Paucity of
sixteenth may be regarded as a period of transition from *'*''"'"'■*•
mediaeval to modem society ; many of the changes which took
place under the Lancastrians and Yorkists went on with
greatly accelerated rapidity under the Tudor kings. It is
always exceedingly difficult to mark with any precision the
point which the tide of progress had reached at any particular
date; but this difficulty is really insurmountable in the
present case, from the meagreness of the economic literature
with which we have to deal. In the Lihelle of English Polycye
we have one invaluable storehouse of information, and the
preambles of Statutes and Rolls of Parliament have much
to say on particular points; but there was little if any
attempt to expound the old principles afresh, and till the
invention of printing there was no facility for the publication
of pamphlets discussing current topics. But though we
cannot mark how far the change had gone at the time of
the battle of Bosworth, we may try and set in clear light the a.d. 1485.
real character of the movement which was taking place. We
can most easily specify the phase of development on which
England had entered in the fifteenth century by noticing
some of the habits which were being discarded.

In preceding sections the characteristics of what is com- Natural
monly called a system of natural economy have been pointed sune^decL
out\ There may be plenty of production from the soil, and
a considerable development of industry, but trade does not
advance very far, unless there is a recognised medium of
exchange in some form of money. Money facilitates trade of
every kind, since it renders bargaining easier and more accu-
rate, and so soon as it is used at all it is sure to be gradually
introduced into all economic relations. At the close of the
fourteenth century money had come into use in all parts of
the country for many economic purposes. Comparatively
few of the obligations of the citizens were discharged in

1 See above, pp. 22 and 2^4.

458 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 person ; and their payments to the government were ordi-
narily made, not in food or wool, but in money. The disputes
about wages after the Black Death, and the act against truck
in the time of Edward IV. show that the obligations of the
employer to the employed were ordinarily discharged in
money, or in money with food ; while the value of all sorts of
goods exposed for sale at fairs or markets can be quoted from
recorded prices in money. Even the relation between land-
lord and tenant was commonl}' expressed in terms of money,
and noted in a rental ; though payments in service or in kind
continued to be the practice on some estates.

Interven- With the partial exception of the payment of rent, how-

tionof . f -J 1 11- -1,

moTiey. ever, it may be said that money had come into use m all
economic relations; at the time of the Peasants' Revolt it
offered a more convenient method of discharging obligations
and of receiving what was due. But the habitual use of
money in any department of business prepared the way for a
further change. At first, the substitution of payments in
money for payments in kind made no difference in the recog-
nised method of calculating the amount that was due ; there
was a customary standard of what was fair which was
reflected in a customary price. The intervention of money
brought with it a possibility of close bargaining, of which
either the buyer or the seller was anxious to take advantage.
There may be great advantages to the community in main-
taining a steady range of prices^; but the individual at each
moment prefers to get the highest and pay the lowest price
that is possible then and there. It is obvious that in the
case of any commodity like corn, the plenty of which is
affected by the seasons, a regulated price would often be
either higher or lower than a market price ; and if it were
Cuttomary enforced, either the buyer or the seller would suffer^. Hence
petition it follows that so soon as the use of money becomes common
{incu. ^^ g^jjy department of economic life, competition prices or
rates are likely to take the place of calculated or customary
rates. Customary prices are the money equivalents of pay-

1 As in the Com Bounty System in the xvmth century. See vol. n. p. 541.
* On the break-down of the Assize of Bread see vol. n. p. 318.

MEDIAEVAL AND MODERN IDEAS. 469

ments in kind ; they are the expression of a natural economy a.D. 1377
in terms of money ; but, as the habit of close bargaining ~
comes to be practised in one direction after another, these
customary prices give way, and competition comes to be the
means of determining price.

In the fifteenth century the use of money had become Tramition.
general ; the old forms of natural economy were discarded, but
though prices could be quoted in a money form, they were not
vet determined by monetary considerations pure and simple.
This seems to me to be the gist of the confused movements
of the time, and to mark the particular step of progress
which was taken during this period. Old institutions of
every kind, in town and country, were falling to pieces ; new
attempts were being made to regulate industry and encourage
commerce — that lies on the surlace, and no one can fail to
observe it. ' But the completeness of the change cannot be
satisfactorily accounted for until we see that the principles on
which the economic organisation of the middle ages was based
were being discarded, and that the system which was rising
on its ruins was being framed in accordance with entirely
different ideas and objects; we shall really get near the root
of the matter if we contrast the modern and mediaeval ideas as
to the principles which determine or should determine prices.

So long as each man had a definite place in the social
group to which he belonged, it was possible to calculate what Becon-
his reasonable wages should be, and thus to estimate reason- society.
able prices for the commodities he produced. Even in articles
like bread and beer, which were closely dependent on the
chances of the season, an element of reasonable calculation
and regulation could be introduced ; but the competition
of aliens in the fifteenth century, and of unfree craftsmen
in the sixteenth, rendered it a matter of increasing difficulty
to secure these calculated prices, and the organisations which
had assessed them were falling into disrepute and decay.
The gradual subdivision of employments and the appearance
of intermediaries rendered it more and more difficult to name
a price that should be precisely just — as had been attempted
in bygone days — and competition prices, from their greater
convenience, came slowly into vogue.

lonpnces

460 LANCASTER AND YORK.

AD. 1377 It is of course possible to argue that the price which is

—1485. reached by mere competition is the just price there and then^;

Coinpeti- it givcs a TOUgh and ready way of measuring what is due to
the seller, by showing what buyers are willing to give for
the right to use these wares. It certainly is true that in a
large market, where there are many buyers and many sellers,
one effect of competition is to give a uniform and therefore a
fair price all round ; but the results are not so satisfactory
when prices are determined by mere competition, although
there happens to be little competing. Sometimes the
physical conditions are not present which render it possible
for many buyers and sellers to meet ; at such times the price
of the commodity is really settled by a bargain in which one
party can take the full advantage of some accidental circum-
stance which gives him an advantage in haggling. This was
the very thing which mediaeval regulation had been intended
to prevent, as any attempt to make gain out of the necessities
of others, or to reap profit from unlooked for occurrences would
have been condemned as extortion. It is by taking advantage
of such fluctuations that money is most frequently made in
modern times ; but the whole scheme of commercial life in the

and flue- middle ages was supposed to allow of a regular profit on each
transaction. Traders did not flood a market with goods so
as to force a sale ; but they stinted the export in the hopes
of getting a good price and a clear profit on all the transac-
tions ; and all the industrial and commercial institutions of
the fifteenth century — craft gilds, merchant companies, or
' Flanders fleets ' — were engaged in regulating industry and
commerce so that there was comparatively little room for
fluctuations. As all these institutions decayed a great oppor-
tunity was given for enterprise and business capacity ; there
were henceforward fields in which the active man could
push forward and the man of capacity could speculate with
success, and thus the breaking down of the old system
gave scope for an extraordinary development of industry
and trading. The spirit of enterprise which had been
checked before was at last left free to assert itself.

1 Medina, De rebus restituendis. Scaccia, Tract, de Commerc. p. 120, n. 65.

tuations.

MEDIEVAL AND MODERN IDEAS. 461

In our own modern days then we take for granted the A.D. 1377
existence of continual fluctuations in price as mediaeval "T '.
society did not do ; but we also approach all questions about i^'O'^wc^ton

n -i 1 mi 1 1 • T underlying

prices irom an opposite pole, ihe older view was that ot price.
taking the common estimation of the cost of production,
while an attempt was made to secure that the articles were
of good quality and thus likely to meet the needs of the
purchaser who was willing to pay the 'just' price. But the
ruling conception, which has come to the front in modern
times, is not the cost of making the article, but its convenience
and usefulness and desirability when made. One might say
that in old times utility determined whether any exchange
took place or not, but considerations of fairness regulated
the terms of the exchange ; whereas in modern times it is by
mere reference to present or future utility^ which includes
the idea of scarcity, that the rate of exchange is agreed on.
Only on an average and in the long run do competition
prices represent the cost of production ; mediaeval prices
were regulated by a consideration of the requirements of
the producer, modern prices are determined primarily by the
utility of the wares.

The diiference, which emerges according as we start from
one principle or the other, comes out most distinctly with
reference to wages. In the middle ages reasonable wages Price
were taken as a first charge, both by the writers who laid reward of'
down the doctrine of just price, and by the gilds which calcu- '"^o"'"-
lated out the rates that were to be paid; in modern times
the reward of the labourer cannot but fluctuate in connection
with fluctuations in the utility and market price of the

1 The really important consideration in the mind of the seller is the utility of
the article; its usefulness to him if he resolves not to part with it, or its usefulness
as a means of procuring other goods at a future time if he defers the sale ; he may
often part with it for less than the expense of production if he neither wishes to
use it nor sees a chance of getting a better price. So too the buyer only thinks of
the usefulness-of-the-article-to-him; he will not pay more for any piece of goods
than will suf&ce to get him something else that serves his turn as well; the
expense of production is nothing to him, the utility of the article is all he cares
about.

In a large market this is disguised ; the price to all is that which is expected to
tempt just so many buyers to come forward, that all the stock offered may be
sold; the price which all pay accords with the-usefulness-of-the-article to the least
anxious buyer who actually buys it.

rechoning.

462 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 things. There always must be a connection between wages
and prices, but in the olden times wages were the first charge,
and prices, on the whole, depended on them, while in modern
times wages are, on the other hand, directly affected by prices.
Something similar may be noticed in regard to pay-
ments made to landlords; a fertile estate would have yielded
but little annual income, unless the necessary labour was

Rent attached to it. The peasant's share of taxation, p.dd through

the landlords, was probably the original element in rent;
and so far as the copyholders were concerned, their quit
rents had direct reference to the personal predial services
of which they were quit, and the fines marked their entry
on a definite personal relationship with the lord, in which
mutual obligations were implied. But in letting land on
lease, account had to be taken of the character and worth of
the land and of the possibilities of working it at a profit, and
rent in its modern form, as the surplus which goes to the
landlord after outlay has been defrayed, came into vogue.

The rent to be paid on this basis could best be settled by
competition and not by assessment. Immediately after the
Black Death, there seems to have been a keen competition
for holdings, and rents were high^; but during the fifteenth
century generally, the landlords who desired to keep up the
effective force of their tenantry seem to have had difficulty
in getting offers from substantial men'', and the rent of
arable land ranged low. Hence the price which could be
obtained for wool, opened up possibilities of gain of which
landlords in many districts were ready to avail themselves.
Land was diverted from a less profitable to a more
profitable use and sheep runs took the place of cultivated
farms. We read complaints of reckless evictions and de-
population; but it does not appear that rents rose on the
land which continued to be used for tillage. In the
sixteenth century, however, the effects of bargaining began
to be felt ; landlords began to demand from the arable farmer
a payment which should be equivalent to the utility of the

1 In the lack of detailed evidence the Norfolk manor which has been carefully
investigated is taken as typical. Davenport, Norfolk Manor, 78.

2 IVequent remissions of rent are noticeable in manorial records in the fonr-
teeiith century, e.g. at Preston La Kent on account of the mildew on wheat. Camb.
Univ. Lib. Dd. in., 53 f, 141. Also on account of a murrain. Ibid, f, 143.

MEDI/EVAL AND MODERN IDEAS. 463

land if employed for pastured Here once more, consideration a.d. 1377
of the personal condition of the tenant falls into the back- ~^^®^'
ground, and attention is fixed on the utility and worth of the
holding under a system of competition rents.

In the same sort of way the old objection to usury broke Uswy.
down because men came to look at the matter in a new way.
In the middle ages attention had been riveted on the personal
needs of the borrower, and public opinion condemned those
who took advantage of his folly or his necessity ; but in the
fifteenth century men were awaking to the use which might
be made of their stored-up wealth for industrial as well as
commercial purposes, and the formation of 'capital' was be-
ginning 2. Of course every craftsman must have had his stock
in trade of materials and tools as well as food and clothes ; he
must have had the means of waiting till his work was
completed as well as the means of working. But by capital Capital.
■we habitually mean far more than this : we mean a store of
wealth which can be directed into new and more profitable
channels as occasion arises. Stock in trade is fixed and
cannot be readily diverted from one channel of production to
another; capital is to some extent fluid — always being
consumed and replaced, and so far changing its form that it is
capable of transfer from one kind of production to another.
The moneyed men of the fourteenth century had demonstrated
the power of capital by their operations in commerce and to
some extent in industry, and the formation of capital becamean
object of ambition. A man who had some success in his calling
and began to gather wealth would not necessarily increase
his own stock in trade, and he could hardly be contented to
hoard his money ; he tried to embark in any profitable in-
vestment; it seems that there were such opportunities for
the profitable use of money at the close of the fifteenth and
beginning of the sixteenth centuries, that money was not so
much hoarded — perhaps even that hoards were broken up^ —

1 This was a matter of common complaint early in the sixteenth century (below,
p. 526), but Thorold Rogers contends that there was no real, only a nominal, rise
of rents until the time of Elizabeth. Agnculture and Prices, iv. 135, 750.

2 For an investigation of the conditions and effects of the introduction of
Capital in the later middle ages, see Sombart, Der moderne Capitalismus, i. 398.

8 "He (Enterprise) wiU promise you to wante noe treasonr.* * The mei'chants,
the ffarmours, the grasiers that be rich, into this market will bring their bags that
they have kept see long. And as for the widows and the wyves also they will

464 LANCASTER AND YORK.

AD. 1S77 and that the coinage circulated more rapidly. Such in-

~ ^' vestors, dealing as they did for the most part with prosperous
city men, felt no call to consider the personal condition of the
borrower, as long as the security was good; for he seemed well
able to look after himself. The one important point on which
they insisted was that their wealth was of use in industry or
commerce, and that they could be paid by men who wished
to have it to use.

£ocial 132. Mediaeval economy with its constant regard to the

relations of persons was giving place to modern economy
which treats the exchange of things as fundamental; and
this has introduced an extraordinary simplification in the
structure of society ; the whole of the complicated industrial
organisations of the middle ages have passed away, and the
strong esprit-de-corps, which gave so much healthy life in
many cities ^ has also disappeared. Economically we have
only three broad divisions in society, for men arrange them-
selves according to the things they own and exchange ; they
may exchange their labour for wages, or they may exchange
the use of their capital for interest, or they may exchange the
use of their land for rent. In modern societies Labourers,
Capitalists and Landlords are the three classes which group
themselves round the possession of the power to labour,
the possession of wealth and the possession of land. This
is the social structure we habitually assume, but it is
strangely unlike the municipal and manorial life it has
superseded.

Individual The change which has so altered the structure of society
has also affected the individuals who compose it ; the old
burgess society has doubtless been idealised to an absurd ex-
tent ; but it had this striking characteristic, that the ordinary
object of ambition was not so much that of rising out of one's
grade, but of standing well in that grade ; the citizen did not
aim at being a knight, but at being warden and master of his
gild, or alderman and mayor of his town. For good or for evil
we have but little sympathy with these humble ambitions ;

ransacke their forcers [chests] and their knotted cloutes to the last penny they cau
finde." Dudley, Tree of Commonwealth, 52.
1 Eiehl, Deutsche Arbeit, 23.

MEDIJEVAL AND MODERN IDEAS. 465

everyone desires to rise in the world himself; and the philan- a.d. 1377 •
thropic construct social ladders by which the poorest child
may climb to the highest rank, as was done by ecclesiastics in
the middle ages. And with this changed social structure, and
changed social ambition, money has come to have a new im-
portance for the individual who possesses it. In the older days
coinage had given a unit for the comparison of one kind of
wares with another ; but it was not an object which men were
likely to seek after, except in so far as they desired to lay by for
a rainy day. If they had large sums at command they could
not invest them ; and,so far as the greater part of the population
were concerned, their food and clothing were practically deter-
mined by their status in the social system. So long as prices
were arranged by calculation, there must have been compara-
tively little variation in the real reward which a man got for
his labour ; and while payments were partly made in kind,
attention was not directed forcibly to money as a purchasing
power. But with competition prices all this changed ; the
amount of comforts a man could procure no longer depended
on the regulations of his gild, but on the purchasing power
of the money he obtained by the sale of his wares. Statesmen
aimed at something more than regulating the coinage so
as to have a definite unit for the comparison of wares ; money
had come to be a thing for which everyone sought, not exactly
for its own sake, but because of its purchasing power ; it was
a convenient representative of all other objects of wealth, and,
as such, a thing of which each man desired to have as much
as possible ^ From this time forward the desire of wealth, as Thedenre
the means of gratifying the desire of social distinction and all ^-^ ^'^"
else, became a much more important factor in economic
affairs than it had been before.

133. These changes had a very important bearing on all Morality
questions of commercial morality ; so long as economic deal-
ings were based on a system of personal relationships they all
had an implied moral character. To supply a bad article was
morally wrong, to demand excessive payment for goods or for
labour was extortion, and the right or wrong of every trans-
action was easily understood ; but when all dealings are

1 Eatzinger, Volhsivirthschaft, 296.

c. H. 30

466 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 considered as so many instances of exchange in an open
market, the case is different. No compulsion was put upon
either party to the exchange ; and if either of them came
badly ofif,it might be regarded as his fault or his misfortune;
but it was not always easy to say that the other party to the
transaction was to blame. In every case of exchange one
party has an advantage ; he may have superior knowledge, or
he may be less anxious to come to terms, and he can therefore

of driving afford to wait ; in either case he is able to drive the better

burgains.

bargain. There are extreme limits which define whether any
transaction shall take place or no ; and though the advantage
which accrues within these limits is not often equally divided,
there is no apparent moral wrong in taking full advantage of
the power of driving a good bargain under conditions of free
competition. In many cases the weaker has gone to the
wall ; and some writers have even formulated an iron law of
wages which states the existence of an irresistible tendency
on the part of the employer to drive down the labourer.
Though this appears to be a decided overstatement, the
fact remains that there is really no means of applying moral
judgments to economic affairs at present ; 'supply and demand'
are taken as ultimate ; and so long as transactions are above-
board and in accordance with market rates, the ordinary
modern conscience is unable to go behind these circum-
stances and discuss how far they are right or wrong.
The gilds Once again the existence of the gild system demonstrates

rlsponsibie how much mediaeval and modern feeling differ in this matter ;
/or wrong, j^ jg often spoken of as a police system, and it was a police
system because it served the purpose of bringing home the
responsibility for every mischief and scandal to some one or
other. The city authorities looked to the wardens of each
craft to keep the men under their charge in order ; and thus
for every public scandal, or underhand attempt to cheat, some
one was responsible, and the responsibility could generally
speaking be brought home to the right person. In the great
social difficulties of modern times all this is altered ; all
deplore the evils of the sweating system, but the blame
cannot be brought home. Thought and opinion on economic
subjects do not now attempt to offer decided moral judgments.

MEDIEVAL AND MODERN IDEAS. 467

Political Economy explains what tends to happen, but declines a.d. 1377
to decide what ought to be done at any juncture ; it professes ~
to be non-moral. And hence modern ways of thinking about
business transactions were very shocking to the ordinary
conscience when they were first propounded. The immorality
of rent enhancers^ and others, who only thought of their own
private gain, was a favourite topic for preachers in Reforma-
tion times ; though their language has been re-echoed during
recent agitations, the ordinary modern reader is out of sym-
pathy with their denunciations' of many practices which he
takes as a mere matter of course.

134. While the structure of society was being recast, jvationai
and the recognised principles of economic morality were only ^'""^'"
derided, there seemed to be complete moral chaos; but there
was one factor which was strong enough to reduce the
anarchy to order again ; men were forced in their dealings
to have a due regard to the power of the state ; this is the
central idea in the commercial systems of the Reformation
and post-Reformation periods.

In the fifteenth century this principle was consciously as a
taken into account, and it operated to restrict action which prindj'ie.
seemed to be fraught with danger. Naval power was
afifected by the use of foreign shipping, and native vessels
were preferred ; so too, the export of bullion was prohibited
as it led to the impoverishment of the realm. Any importa-
tion which interfered with the employment of the people,
the woolgrowing and clothmaking which threatened the food
supply, and the unthrifty games which interfered with their
military training, were all authoritatively checked; but as
time passed on, the desire of advancing the national power
came to be much more effective ; it was the ruling ambition,
and the whole commercial and agricultural system was formed

1 " You landlords, you rent raisers, I may say you step-lords, you unnatural
lords, you have for your possessions yearly too much. For that here before went
for twenty or forty pounds by year (which is an honest portion to be had gratis in
one lordship of another man's sweate and labour) now is let for fifty or a hundred
pounds a year." Latimer's Sermons (Parker Society), p. 99. "Let these terrible
examples suffice at this present to teach and admonish the enhancer of rents."
Ibid. p. 109. See also Thomas Becon, Catechism, &c. (Parker Society), 599.

For similar expressions of opinion by German reformers see SchmoUer in
Zeitschrift Jllr gesam. Staatswissenschaft, xvi. 461.

30—2

468

LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 on this basis. As this principle was more definitely thought
"~ **' out it became, not a restrictive and limiting, but a construc-
tive force, and under its guidance commercial enterprise and
industrial skill were stimulated, while they were combined
into a great national economic system.
Municipal National ambition could hardly come to be the guiding
patHotism. principle in industry and commerce, while municipal life was
at its best; the enthusiasm of the mediasval merchant did
not go far beyond the advance of his own town in wealth and
dignity. Under this limited impulse the Italian cities at-
tained a high degree of wealth and power, and the monuments
of their mediseval splendour are still a glory to the world*. In
England this feeling was less potent than elsewhere ; the work
of William I. and Edward I. had laid the foundations of a
true national life ; even in England, however, the great centres
of wealth were municipal in their feeling and ambitions, at
all events^ in the fourteenth century. But the decay of
municipal institutions, in the fifteenth century, must have
done much to check this ancient spirit, and to sap the
old burgess ambitions; while the long war with France called
forth a new sense of national unity^ and a pride in England
as a country. This is strongly reflected in the literature of
the time, especially in that curious work the Debate of the
Heralds* which, fashioned as it apparently was on a real
incident^, puts before us the points of which the English were
wont to boast*. The claim that they were " more richly and
amply provided with ships than any other nation of Christen-
dom" was 'one plain lie to begin with^': the French Herald

1 The enthusiasm for theur city was perhaps stronger in Venice than elsewhere
(Oliphant, Makers of Venice, c. 1), though the jealousy of other Italian cities was
felt in each of them.

2 The Merchant Adventurers and some of the other fifteenth century companies
though chiefly composed of Londoners were really national institutions. Gross,
Gild Merchant, I. 151.

* On the growth of nationalities in Europe at this time see R. V&vli,Rosenlcriege
in Hansische Geschichtshldtt. (1874), p. 78.

* Written by Charles, Duke of Orleans, 1458—1461.

* The dispute at the Council of Constance in 1416 as to whether England
should foi-m a distinct nation. Pyne, England and France, p. xii.

6 Pyne, p. 89.

' As Sir Thomas More said of another assertion, which seems to have taken its
rise from these Debates, that there were 52,000 parishes in England. Pyne, op.
cit., xvii. note. More, Supplication of Souls, in Works, p. 232.

The
Heralds.

MEDIEVAL AND MODERN IDEAS. 469

did not contest the point so forcibly as he might have A.D. 1377
done\ though he accused the English of merely using their ~
ships to plunder the commerce of others ; the English Herald
extols the national policy by which the English " cunningly
withdraw and bring to their own countries the money of the
neighbouring countries V and he speaks of the great quantities
of cloth exposed for sale at Calais, and the number of large
and populous villages'. Sir John Fortescue's Commodities of Fortescue.
England* is a noteworthy contribution to the controversy
which was written some years earlier; it enumerates the
rivers, havens, and so forth, the " woollen cloth ready made
at all times to serve the merchants of any two king-
doms. Christian or heathen," and lays claim to the greatest
treasure in the world, that is gold and silver ore, " whereof
Englishmen bad the worthiest payment passing any land,
Christian or heathen." But it is against France that he draws
unfavourable comparisons with most gusto; her havens
never had any navy of ships and never shall have, but only a
few ships of war that can do us no harm, while we on the
other hand cannot do the French much harm, for they have
very little maritime trade with other countries. The Libelle of Lihelh of
English Poly eye, already quoted, is full of a similar spirit oi poiycye.
national ambition; and this conscious desii-e of national power
was the element that was needed to bring all the isolated
experiments in mercantile legislation together and form them
into a complete system. Other nations were taking up the
same ideas, and Charles V. is generally spoken of as the man
who created this mercantile policy"; but he was certainly
anticipated by Fernando of Portugal ^ and, as we have seen, a.d. 1367.
English commerce had long been affected by similar prin-
ciples. So far as England is concerned and with regard to

1 Compare the complaint in parliament in 1444. And also atte that tyme more
pleinte of Shyppes and other Nave in this Reaume of Ingelonde by the half thanne
is now, as it apperith opeynly to every man by experience ; the which was in tho
dayes gret plesur to all estatez and degreez, grete richesse, and by the myght of
such Nave gret defence for all this londe, and grete fere to all thayme that ben
Ennemyes to this lond. Bot. Pari. v. 113. Schanz, i. 368.

2 Pyne, p. 67. s pyne, pp. 61, 62.

* The works of Sir J. Fortescue, edited by Lord Clermont, i. 551.
5 Blanqui, History of Political Economy, 213.

* Schanz, i. 358. See also for a later period Heyd, n. 511.

470 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 her insular position, we may state the main lines of policy
~ * thus, — to obtain Power, we needed (i) Shipping, (ii) Treasure,
which came by commerce ; while within the realm, we had to
attend to (iii) the Food Supply, which gave the means of
maintaining a vigorous Population. All the galling inter-
ferences with private interests which Adam Smith condemned,
and which move us to wonder, were directly connected with
one or other of these objects, and hence had their ultimate
justification in a desire to promote the power of the nation.
Plenty v. When this aim was consciously and persistently pursued

as the main end of mercantile regulations there was an entire
reversal of the principles which had actuated such a ruler
as Edward III. ; the first signs of tentative efforts in the
new direction may be found in the complaints of the Good
Parliament and the Statutes of Richard II. Edward had legis-
lated in the interests of the consumers and with the view of
providing p^ew^y; the parliaments of Richard II. took another
turn, and insisted on introducing conditions which eventually,
as they were worked out in subsequent centuries, favoured
the growth of English power. It is only when we cast our
eyes forward that we see the full importance of the changes
which were urged in the Good Parliament and carried out in
Richard's reign, and that they really laid the foundations of
the famous mercantile system.
The The encouragement of natives and discouragement of

^steti!^ * foreigners, the development of shipping, and the amassing of
treasure — these were the three main points of the mercantile
programme, and they were all deliberately adopted by the
parliaments of Richard II., who deliberately rejected the
opposite policy which had been pursued in each of these
particulars by Edward III. The scheme for commerce which
they preferred directly favoured the immediate interests of
English merchants, while it had obviously grown out of the
antipathy to the upland man and the stranger, which charac-
terised the householders of chartered towns. But the rise of
nationalities and the increasing bitterness of national rivalries,
the discoveries of the New World and the struggle for the
possession of its treasures, brought about, in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, political conditions which were

MEDIiEVAL AND MODERN IDEAS. 471

favourable to the detailed development of the mercantile A.D. 1377
system, though the main lines of it had been laid down long ~
before.

When Lord Bacon in a well-known passage remarks that Turning-
Henry VII. bowed the ancient policy of this realm " from ^''"' *'
consideration of plenty to consideration of power^ " he calls
attention to the leading characteristic of the commercial
action of the Tudor kings; but it was not they who made
the change, it really occurred when the City merchants had
attained such an influence that they were able to give effect
to their own ideas. To some extent, plenty is a condition of
power, and the two policies may have much in common ; but,
whereas Edward III. desired to see large cargoes, whoever
brought them, i.e. plenty, the Ricardian Parliament desired
to have more English ships, even if the home consumers were
for a time badly supplied with wine. The distinction may
become clearer for us if we take a modern analogue. It was
only last century that England discarded the economic policy
on which the parliament of Richard II. entered, and began
again to aim at plenty instead of power. The corn laws had
been intended to keep up the home food-supply, and thus to
give us strength; but parliament repealed them in 1846, with
the view of making corn more plentiful. The navigation laws
have disappeared, and intercommunication with all parts of
the world is unfettered, with the result that the mercantile
marine of other nations has greatly developed, and that our
naval supremacy is threatened. While questions of currency,
and especially those connected with a double standard, are
felt to be of overwhelming importance, no serious effort is now
made to amass treasure as a source of political strength. In
fact, England has reverted to the commercial policy of
Edward III., a policy framed in the interest of the consumer,
but a policy which depended for its assured success on the
maintenance of stable political relationships with other
regions. There are great differences of course ; the consumers
of foreign produce in Edward's time were the comfortable
classes who drank wine, not the masses who needed bread ;
the area within which the exchange took place was most

1 Bacon, Hist. Henry VII. ; Works, \i. 95.

472 LANCASTER AND YORK.

A.D. 1377 limited, now it is world wide; none the less is it true that
~~ ''■ Cobden turned the policy of this realm back from considera-
tions of power to considerations of plenty, and that England
. thus returned to a line which bears a closer analogy to the
policy of Edward III. than it does to the scheme which had
been on the whole dominant since his time.

V. THE TUDORS.

I. Preliminary Survey,

135. The great discoveries of the last decades ofA.D. 1485
the fifteenth century eflfected a revohition in the whole ^^^^
trade of the world, for they opened communications discoveries
between the most distant parts, and thus laid the foun-
dations for the great international commerce of present times.
MedisBval, like earlier European trade, centred in the cities
of the Mediterranean ; there were streams of traffic by
the Russian rivers and the Danube, which led towards the
Baltic and to South Germany, but the great centres of
commerce and industry were on the shores of the Mediter-
ranean; the citizens of Genoa and Venice were the chief
agents in carrying on the traffic between East and West.
But when the Cape of Good Hope was successfully rounded and mw
by the Portuguese, an entirely new prospect was opened to \rade with
European traders ; they could make their way to India direct, ' * *" '
instead of submitting to the exactions of intermediaries in
Alexandria and elsewhere ; the great stream of commerce
between East and West was at once directed from the Levant
to the Atlantic, and the Portuguese became for a time the
chief trading people of the world. Partly at all events in the
hope of sharing in this lucrative trade, Columbus planned
the voyages which led him to the West India Islands, and
Cabot found his way to the coast of North America. A little
later, according to the ordinarily accepted view, a Portuguese

474 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 expedition to the East was driven out of its course, and this
~ * led to the discovery of Brazil^; and from this time onwards
Lisbon bore away the palm from the Italian cities and became
the great commercial dep6t for Western Europe I
Effect on Henry VII. was too parsimonious to seize the oppor-

(xmmerce. tunities which were offered him and to take a leading part
in this age of discovery*; perhaps the English colonial
empire was all the stronger because it grew so slowly; the
immediate effects on English commerce were small, but
none the less the events of this time really form the great
epoch in English commercial history. Far from the Mediter-
ranean, English merchants had taken little part in the trade
of the world; they sold English products and catered for
English tastes, but they had not had any opportunity of
acting as intermediaries and carrying goods to their own
dep6ts to be distribiited thence to other nations. From the
Tudor times onwards English trade assumed this character,
and with ever-increasing success ; in the present day by far
the larger part of the trade of the world is carried on in
English ships, and London is a depot for the trade of
all nations. England had only been on a side-eddy before,
but the discoveries of the fifteenth century placed her on the
main stream ; and though the immediate results were small,
English enterprise took a new character with most far-reach-
ing effects.
Removal of The change lies far deeper than any mere modification of
limit. the political life of the country, for it affected the world
as a whole, and England as one of the family of nations
arising in Christendom ; it is a striking instance of the
sudden removal of a limit imposed by physical conditions, and
of the extraordinary advance which enterprise is ready to make
when thus set free. It has no parallel but in the mechanical
inventions of the last hundred years ; in both cases advancing
knowledge removed barriers which seemed to be insuperable.
The limit lay of course, as always, not in any material obstacle

1 Mr Tnle Oldham has argued with mach force that this was the most accessible
route to America, and that Brazil was probably discoTcred by the Portuguese as
early as 1447, but that they did not pursue this line of enterprise. Geographical
Journal, March 1895.

^ Heyd, ii. 511. « Bacon, Henry VII. (Spedding), vi. 197.

PRELIMINARY SURVEY. 475

which was removed b}' some physical change, but in the a.d. 1485
want of that knowledge and skill which at length enabled men ~ ^'^ '
to grapple with the difficulty and overcome it. There is
no absolute limit to the advance which man may ultimately
make ; though there is in every age a relative limit, not set
by physical nature, but corresponding to the limitations of
human skill and energy at that time. Nor do we sufficiently
honour the names of those pioneers of invention and discovery,
whose skill, or patience, or daring enabled them to overleap
the barriers, which former generations had found insuperable,
and by so doing to break them down for all posterity ; the
name of Columbus is known to all, but "some there be which
have no memorial." Those who deprecate hero-worship The spirit
assure us that the "spirit of discovery was in the air" and "-^ ' ^°'^'^'
that Columbus was only the "embodiment of the spirit of
his age." He certainly did not embody the spirit of any
other ages than his own; if he had done so he would have
been a far less important personage for practical life ; only in
literary circles is there much interest in such anachronisms.
His greatness simply consists in the fact that he did embody
the spirit of his age, and that through his energy, the floating
speculations of many took definite shape and were brought to
a successful issue.

The revolution which occurred at this time was of such Qeographi-
immense importance that it is worth while to indicate very udgZ
briefly some of the steps which led up to it. The travels of
Sir John Mandeville and the Venetian Marco Polo had aroused
a great deal of interest, and there was a desire which sur-
vived from the time of the Crusades to break through the ring
of Mahommedan influence^ which circumscribed Christen-
dom on every hand. Prince Henry the Navigator and his
captains succeeded in coasting beyond the region dominated
by the Crescent, and past the inhospitable desert of Sahara,
to the rich territory beyond. The trade on the African
coast was so profitable as to check the enthusiasm of the
sailors for further discoveries ^ though the Prince seems to
have been eager to press on and force a route to the East by
cii'cumnavigating Africa. Others who had been at most pains

1 Beazley, Frince Henry the Navigator, 175. 2 Ibid., 211.

476 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 to enquire about Eastern countries were of opinion that Cathay
~ ■ might be approached from the west ; the Florentine Paolo
Toscanelli (born in 1397) had drawn a map of the world in
which this is suggested, and sent it to Portugal ; Columbus
entered into correspondence with him and procured a copy of
his map in 1474\ A globe^ embodying the same geographical
views was made in 1492 by Martin Behaim of Nuremberg.
He had lived for many years at the Azores and made voyages
from them ; and as Behaim spent the latter part of his life in
Lisbon, he may have been in communication with Columbus,
though there is no proof of any connection.

The tradition of the success attending the voyages of
Previous the Norsemen to Vynland must have been well known to
voyages. Qolumbus, as he spent some little time at Bristol, and sailed
thence to Iceland'. His residence in that town cannot but
have stimulated his interest in possible discoveries, as such
projects seem to have met with much support from the
merchants there ; he may have met the great John
Cabot — a native of his own town of Genoa, but a Venetian
citizen — who was to rival his own fame as a discoverer of
America*. There had been previous attempts which had
ended in failure indeed ; as in 1291 when the Genoese
Theodosius Doria and Ugolino Vivaldo set out with two
vessels through the Straits of Gibraltar on a voyage of
discovery westwards" from which they never returned ; and
again in 1480, when two ships set out from Bristol, in quest
of the island of Brazil®, but after a two months' voyage they
returned to take shelter in an Irish harbour.

There were, however, distinct commercial objects which
rendered the views of Columbus attractive, and which afforded
the discoverers plenty of support, so soon as it became quite
clear that their scheme was at all practicable. The gradual

1 Peschel, Geschichte des Zeitalters der Entdeckungen, 110.

2 A portion is figured in Mr Yule Oldham's paper, Oeographical Journal, March
1895, p. 8.

3 Peschel, op. cit., 101.

* F. V. HeUwald, Sebastian Cabot, 7. Virchow and Holtzendorff 's Sammlimg,
VI. Heft 124.

* Kiesselbach, Der Gang des Welfhandels, 308. Heyd, ii. 143.
6 William of Worcester, Itinerary (Dallaway), 153.

PRELIMINARY SURVEY. 477

advance of the Turks had seriously interfered with commerce ad. 1485
between East and West. The Venetians were able to maintain '^j^^ ^^^
their trading stations in the Bosphorus after the invasion o{ routes of

. . trade

the Turks, and the Egyptian route was still available, though dosed
the Tartars had rendered the northern line of traffic impracti-
cable. Not only were Europeans forced within narrower
limits, but their transactions were hampered with very heavy
dues. Worse than this was in store for them ; in 1471 Kaffa
was attacked and 70,000 Christians were carried off as
slaves ; the islands of the Archipelago and Levant had to be
abandoned ; nothing was left but the Egyptian trade, and since
that could not be regarded as secure, there was the keenest
desire on the part of traders to open up a new commercial
route with the East.

The Portuguese\ who had already established themselves Portuguese
in the Azores and Madeira, were gradually pushing their ^" ^'^'^**-
discoveries and trade along the coast of Africa, and reached Africa.
the Equator in 1481. They were also acquainted with the
products which came by caravan to Morocco, and in 1445
Fernandez was despatched to the desert to make inquiries
about the trading prospects. Even before this time, however,
geographers had represented Africa as a peninsula, and there
is no doubt that the Portuguese were really aiming at finding
a route to India by these expeditions'-'. Another explorer, India.
Pedro de Covilham, with Affonso de Payva, was sent out to
India by the Egyptian route ; he visited the Malabar coast, a.d. 1487.
and the Persian Gulf; returning to Aden, he wrote a full
account of his journeys to Portugal and gave much informa-
tion about the African coast as far south as Madagascar. It
was plain to his mind that ships might find their way past
Guinea to the east coast of Africa and to India^ ; he himself
started on an expedition to Abyssinia from which he never
returned, though his letters bore out in the most curious way
the expectations that were raised by the success of Diaz
in rounding the Cape of Good Hope. But it was not till a.d. 1487.
some years later that an expedition was sent out to try the

1 Kiesselbach, 304.

2 Peschel, Zeitalter dcr EntdecJcungen, chapter ru., especially pp. 71 — 73.
8 Heyd, u. 506.

478

THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485
—1558.

The

Portuguese
and the
Venetians.

Material
prosperity

anct

national
ambition.

new route, and Vasco da Gama anchored with his four ships
at Calicut in May 1498. From that time onwards King
Manuel sent out fleet after fleet in rapid succession, impressed
the native princes with his power, and established strong
factories for trade. Despite the indignant efforts of the
Venetians to use Arabian influence to oust the Portuguese
from the East, they made good their footing ; African gold
and Indian spices were obtained in greater abundance than
ever before, and the Levantine trade with the East was
destroyed \ The greater part of the trade was carried on in
royal ships, though the king allowed Florentine vessels to
accompany them on some occasions ; but he deliberately
planned that the whole trade should flow through Lisbcn,
and that the monopoly for Indian spices in Europe should be
in his hands I A new incentive was now given to the ex-
ploring expeditions of other peoples, for they hoped to find
out some new routes by the west, which might break down
the Portuguese monopoly, and Englishmen were specially
haunted by the ambition of discovering a north-west
passage.

136. Before this commercial revolution occurred, industry
and commerce had been considered almost entirely with
reference to the internal condition of the country ; commercial
policy was affected by the facilities for collecting customs and
the prospect of increasing them, and by the expectation of
providing plenty, or of securing employment for the people.
Local interests had gradually fallen more and more into the
background, and parliament legislated for the prosperity of
England as a whole; but at length men came to see that if this
was to be preserved, they must take a still wider survey. We
have already traced the growth of the idea of a national interest;
in modem times, this conception has been consciously grasped
and has dominated all commercial policy. Our statesmen have
considered the condition and progress of England not by itself,
but relatively to that of other nations ; what they sought was
not mere progress within their own land, for they wished to

1 In 1503 pepper was brought to England in Portuguese ships, and we were no
longer dependent on the Venetian supply, Heyd, n. 526.
- Heyd, n. 525.

PRELIMINARY SURVEY. 479

prosper relatively to other nations. They were not satisfied to a.d. i485
aim at maintaining some standard of comfort, they desired to YtdaH
exercise an influence upon the peoples of the world. In fact superiority.
the object of their ambition was to increase the power of the
nation, and greater power implies a greater relative advance ;
greater power could be obtained by inflicting loss on others
as well as by attaining positive gain for England ; it has dis-
tinct reference to a relative condition. If we discuss whether
England is a more powerful maritime realm now than ten
years ago, we mast consider not merely what the fleet was
and is, but what other fleets were and are ; we may have
bigger ships and better armed, but we are not stronger
for offence and defence if we have merely considered the
excellence, and not the relative superiority of our own navy.
The one leading idea of policy which caused so much national
rivalry, and led statesmen to attach so much importance to
the maintenance of the 'balance' in Europe, was this aspira-
tion after national power, or relative superiority.

It was brought out into stronger relief by the rise of other Rise of
nationalities in Europe, — the consolidation of Spain under "j^^.
Ferdinand and Isabella, and the recovering strength of the
French monarchy; and also by the great struggles which
occupied the sixteenth century. The division of Europe in
regard to the papal pretensions, the religious passions which
they called into being, and the eager desire to partake
in the expected treasure of the New World, aroused the
bitterest feelings of jealousy between rival nations.

The keen national feeling which was thus evoked, and Suhordina-
the desire to strengthen the power of England against all her *privcde
rivals, affected the commercial and industrial lesdslation in ^°'V] ■"
every particular ; on every hand private tastes and personal oood.
convenience had to give way to the patriotic duty of
strengthening the nation. It was thus that men were re-
quired by law to eat fish all through Lent and twice a week
throughout the year; they might not like fish, but by
buying it they helped to encourage fishermen and thus in-
directly to keep up a school for seamanship. Time-honoured
sentiment had preferred that the dead should be wrapped in
linen, but public policy demanded that this sentiment should

480 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 be set aside and that woollen should be used. And as in

—1558

these matters, so in everything else ; current opinion de-
manded that private interest should be set aside, at once, in
favour of an apparent public gain. How far the gain which
accrued to the power of the country was real may be
discussed below ; that there was a distinct loss to individuals
from the enactments no one would have denied. It was
admitted that the planters were hampered by the navigation
acts, and the Englishmen who had established grazing farms in
Ireland suffered from the laws against importing cattle ; there
was a loss of their wealth, and a decrease of the aggregate
wealth to that extent. This was obvious long before the time
of Adam Smith; but parliament had no scruple in doing these
injuries, because they believed, rightly or wrongly, that it
was necessary to sacrifice the interests of some individuals
for the sake of increasing the shipping and maintaining the
wealth which was available for national defence. The}?^ may
have been right or may have b^en wrong ; in some matters
they certainly made grave errors of judgment, but they were
not ignorant of the bearing of the policy they pursued.
Current sentiment has changed so much in regard to this
matter that it is very difficult for us to understand the
attitude which was generally taken in the sixteenth century
by public opinion ; the one reiterated complaint which we
meet with on all sides is that men were seeking their
private lucre and singular advantage, without having due
cave for the prosperity of the community. Artisans who
withdrew from the pressure of burgh rates and the restric-
tions of craft gilds, landlords who raised their rents, miners
who did their work in the easiest way^ capitalists who asked

1 A petition was made in 1532 about the harbours of Plymouth, Dartmouth,
Fowey and Falmouth. That where the said Portes have byn iu tyme paste the
princii)an and most commodious havens and portes within this Reahne, for the
rode, suertie and preservacion of Shippes, reporting from all places of the World,
aswell in perill of Stonnes as otherwise ; For where before this tyme all manner of
Shippes beynge under the portages of viii. C. tonnes resorting to any of the saide
portes or havens myght at the lowe water easely entre into the same and there lie
in suertie what wynde or tempest soever dyd blowe, By reason wherof not only a
greate multitude of Shippes as well of this Eealme as of other Regions and
Countreis before this tyme have been preserved and saved, but also in tyme of
•warre the said havens and ports have been the greatiste fortijicacion of that partie of

PRELIMINARY SURVEY. 481

for a definite return on their capital, were all branded as the a.d. 1485

... ,1 1 1 vl —1558.

victims of covetousness, not merely by preachers and writers,
but in public documents.

The politicians of the sixteenth, seventeenth and greater MercantiU
part of the eighteenth century were agreed in trying to
regulate all commerce and industry, so that the power of
England relatively to other nations might be promoted;
and in carrying out this aim they had no scruple in tramp-
ling on private interests of every kind. The main principles
of the scheme of policy which dominated in England during
this long period have been sketched above^but it nia}^ be
conveivient to repeat them a little more fully, as they furnish
the framework on which the facts of the succeeding periods
in the national life may be most clearly exhibited.

Power depends on (a) the accumulation of Treasure, (6) Power as
the development of Shipping, and (c) the maintenance of on
an effective Population.

(a) The accumulation of Treasure, in a country which has Treasure,
no mines, depends on the proper management of commerce,
whether by (a) making regulations for the flow of the precious
metals and the exchanges, or (/3) by making regulations for
the export and import of commodities. From this point of
view the volume of transactions is much less important as
a sign of prosperity than the nature^ of the trade that is
being carried on.

(6) A strong navy was obviously necessary for defence, shipjdng
and with this purpose it was desirable to encourage the

thisRealme and the speciall preservacion of the great parte of the Navie of the same,
Whicli said portes and havens ben at this present tyme in manner utterly decayed
and destroied by means of certain Tynne workes called Streme workes used by
certain personnes within the said Counties which personnes more regarding their
own private lucre than the commonwelthe and suertie of this liealme have by work-
ing of the said Streme workes digging, serching, washing of the same nere unto
the freashe rivers, waters and lowe places dissending and comming outeof the londe
towards and into the saide portes of the sea, conveyed sand, gravel and rubbish
which filled up the havens so that a ship of 100 tons could hardly enter at half
flood. Tinners were to have "sufBcient hatches and ties in the end of their
buddels," and thus keep the sand from being washed away by the streams.
23 H. Vill. c. 8. The itaUcised passages are instructive; in this century we
should be afraid of hampering industry and would be likely to let the tinners do
their worst and then try to dredge out the gravel from the Harbours.

1 See above, p. 470.

' Thus in the controversies at the beginning of the eighteenth century the
trade with France was constantly spoken of as a 'losing ' trade. Vol. n. p. 396.

C. H. 31

482 THE TUDORS.

AD. 1485 employment of English ships ; hence we have a whole series
of navigation acts, while attention was also directed to
measures for procuring the materials for shipbuilding and
necessary naval stores. It was also felt to be a matter of
the first importance that we should encourage the fishing
trade, as that was the best school for seamen.

Subject to the restrictions about the kind of trade and its
bearing on treasure, the increase of the volume of trade was
important, as it not only gave a larger sum in customs but
also stimulated the development of shipping. Hence there
was a preference for distant trade over coasting trade, as it
gave more employment to ships, while the commodities of
distant lands were often things that could not be produced
at home. On the other hand, the planting of new trades
in England, the development of our industry, and the reten-
tion of all the arts in which we excelled, enabled us to
dispense with purchases from rival lands and gave us more
products which we might sell in the markets we frequented.
This also tended to give employment to our own people and
so to maintain an effective population. Hence arose all the
attempts to regulate industry; it did not itself directly
promote power, but it could be so managed as to give a
stimulus to the accumulation of treasure, and lead to the
development of commerce as well as provide favourable
conditions for the population.

Popuia- (c) This last object depended most immediately and

directly on the food supply. Sufficient corn could be most
easily secured by the encouragement of tillage, though the
fisheries were also an important source of supply; tillage also
gave the kind of employment which was most favourable for
the maintenance of a healthy and vigorous race, accustomed
to outdoor sports and likely to offer the best material for
forming a military force.

The end in view was Power; this was furthered by
attention to Treasure, Shipping and Population ; while these
objects could only be attained by the careful regulation of
Industry and Tillage. Such in brief is the rationale of the so-
called Mercantile System, which had been gradually coming
into operation since the time of Richard II., and which

twn.

PRELIMINARY SURVEY. 483

survived with much vigour in some of its parts till Cobden a.d. 14.35
and Bright completed the revolution in English policy. ^ d^i«46

The long period when these principles of commercial
policy dominated in England can be conveniently divided
according to political considerations ; but here again there is
a difference from the periods we have already reviewed.
Since shipping and treasure, as the handmaids of power, have
become the main objects of importance, we are compelled to
look, not so much at the main changes in constitutional
structure, but at the changes in political relations. It has
been noted above that the personal character of the monarch
was, in Norman times, one of the most important factors in
industrial life and progress during his reign ^ but the changes
from Elizabeth to the Stuarts, from the personal government Political
of Charles to the Commonwealth, or at the Restoration, made H^pl^""
very little difference in industrial affairs; a similar system of
policy was carried out, with more or less skill, and more or less
success, through all these sweeping constitutional changes ;
their chief effect lay in altering our political and trading
relationships with other nations. Hence the epochs which
form the most convenient divisions of the history of the
Mercantile System in England will be found in the accession
of Elizabeth, and entire breach with the rulers of Flanders ;
the accession and fall of the Stuarts, coinciding with the
period of bitter rivalry with the Dutch; the Revolution
serves to date the outbreak of a life and death struggle with
the French for supremacy in the East and in the West;
the victories of Clive and Wolf marked its greatest triumph,
and the revolt of the American colonies was the beginning of
its fall. From that time onwards we can trace the steady
and rapid decline of the system which had held sway so long.

II. Accelerated Rate of Change.

137. The views and schemes above described were The
slowly coming into operation much more clearly than they p'^wer'
had done during the fifteenth century. From the accession
of the Tudors onwards we hardly hear of serious attempts on

1 See above, p. 136.

31—2

484 THE TUDORS.

AD. 1485 the part of English kings to acquire great continental pos-
sessions,— not because they were less powerful than their
predecessors, nor certainly because they were less ambitious,
but because their ambition took a new form. They felt that
it might be possible to exercise a practical sway over the
affairs of Europe by holding the balance between rival powers.
The foreign policy of England took this shape during the
time of Henry VIII.'; and Elizabeth succeeded in playing
off her angry neighbours against one another. "True it
was," as Camden said'*, "which one hath written, that
France and Spain are as it were the Scales in the Balance
of Europe, and England the Tongue or Holder of the
Balance." The ambition of an English statesman was to
hold the balance, not merely to be a passive tongue that
announced the relative position of the other monarchies, but
an active member that could decide it.
Effact So far as they desired to extend English power, they were

discoceries ^^'^d with an ambition to share in the riches of the New
World ; these recently discovered lands stretched more widely
than the provinces of France and could be far more easily
won. Lord Herbert of Cherbury sketches this prospect as
it appeared to the more far-seeing statesmen who, in 1511,
endeavoured to dissuade Henry from reviving his claim to
the crown of France.

" Some yet, that did more seriously weigh the Business,

reasoned thus; that the Kings Title indeed in France,

especially to the Hereditary Provinces was undoubted, the

on schemes Occasion fair, and many Circumstances besides conducing to

twentcd this great Business : yet that all these were not sufficient for

conquest, ^j^g making of a War against so potent a Neighbour, unless

there were more than Possibility of effecting our Purposes.

This they might consider by comparing these Times with the

former. And if when all Guyenne, Anjou, Tourrain and for

a long while Normandy was ours ; and when besides this the

Duke of Britany was our Friend, and the House of Burgundy

an assured Ally and Confederate to this Kingdom, we yet

1 On the connection between the commercial and political theories consult
Baron v. Heyking's admirable Geschichte der Mandelsbilanztheorie.
a Camden, Elizabeth (1688), 223.

ACCELERATED RATE OF CHANGE, 485

could not advance our Designs in that Country, what Hope a.d. ii85
is there now to attain them ? Are we stronger now than at
that time ? Or can we promise ourselves better Success ? Let
it be granted, that as many Battles as we have fought against
the French have been almost so many victories, What was the
Kingdom the better for them ; who can say he made a fortune
thereby; Had we ever a more glorious Time than that of
Edward III.; and was yet the Country ever more poor or
weary of the Wars ? If you will not believe our Histories,
look even on our Records, and you will find not only how the
Treasure of our Kingdom was much exhausted but even the
People themselves glutted with their Prosperity ? And shall
we now trust to better Days ? What though with over
12,000 or 15,000 we have oft defeated their Armies of
50,000 or 60,000 ? Stands it with Reason of War to expect
the like success still ? especially since the Use of Arms is
changed, and for the Bow, proper for men of our Strength,
the Calaveer begins to be generally received. Which besides
that it is a more costly Weapon, requireth a long Practice
and may be managed by the weaker Sort. Let us therefore
in Gods name leave off our attempts against the Terra firma.
The natural Situation of Islands seems not to sort with
Conquests in that Kind. England alone is a just Empire.
Or when we would enlarge ourselves let it be that way we
can, and to which it seems the eternal Providence hath
destined us, which is by Sea. The Indies are discovered,
and vast Treasure brought from thence every Da}'. Let us
therefore bend our Endeavours thitherward, and if the
Spaniards or Portuguese suffer us not to join with them
there will be yet Region enough for all to enjoy. Neither
will a piety equal to that of succouring Julius II.' be wanting,
since by converting those Infidels to the Christian Religion,
there will be a larger field opened for doing of Good, than by
establishing a doubtful and controverted Head^ of the
Church ^" Whether this be a trustworthy report or not,

1 Wlio was TirgiBg England to attack Prance and thus aid him.

2 The Council of Pisa had determined to depose him.

* Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Life and Beign of King Henry VIII. (Ed. 1741),
p 17.

486 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 it is certainly an excellent statement of the policy which
came to be more and more popular from that time onwards,
and it gives precision to the more general remarks which
have been made above.

The accu- 138. That the importance of Treasure was fully recog-

h-easilre nised appears very clearly in some words which Bacon ^ puts
into the mouth of Cardinal Morton, as a speech to the
Commons. " His Grace prays you to take into consideration
matter of trade as also the manufactures of the kingdom,
and to repress the barren and bastard employments of
moneys to usury and unlawful exchanges, that they may
be (as their natural use is) turned upon commerce, and
lawful and royal trading ; and likewise that our people be
set on work in arts and handicrafts, that the realm may
subsist more of itself, that idleness be avoided, and the
draining out of our treasures for foreign manufactures
stopped. But you are not to rest here only, but to provide
further that whatsoever merchandize shall be brought in
from beyond the seas may be imployed upon the com-
modities of this land ; whereby the kingdoms stock of
treasure may be sure to be kept from being diminished by
any overtrading^ of the foreigner. And lastly because the
King is well assured that you would not have him poor
that wishes you rich ; he doubteth not but that you will
have care, as well to maintain his revenews, of customs and
all other natures, as also to supply him with your loving aids,
if the case shall so require.... And you know well how the
Kingdoms about you grow more and more in greatness, and
the times are stirring, and therefore not tit to find the King
with an empty purse."

by Henry To do Henry VII. justice he took great pains to provide

against this contingency ; he was not always too careful as to
the means he adopted ; he was a^ king " that loved wealth and
treasure, he could not endure to have trade sick^," but the
course of trade was a slow and uncertain means of replenish-

1 History of Henry VII. (Spedding), vi. 79. See also on p. 75, note 1.
* Not outrtmning his capital or credit, but " overballancing us in trade " so as
to export bullion.

^ Bacon, Henry VII. (SpeddLug), vi. 172.

ACCELERATED RATE OF CHANGE. 487

ing the royal coffers, and the sums that he acquired by the a.d. M85
more rapid means of ' Morton's Fork ' and the exactions of y^l^^^
Empson and Dudley are proverbial. Perkin Warbeck's exactions.
proclamation called public attention to these " extortions,
the daily pillaging of the people by dismes, tasks, tallages,
benevolences and other unlawful impositions\" but there
was no change after the insurrection was put down ; a great
treasure may have seemed the best security against other pre-
tenders. In 1497 the Milanese ambassador reported that
Henry was perfectly secure, partly through his wisdom and
partly on account of his treasure, which was even then said
to exceed 6,000,000 golden ducats and to which he was add-
ing at the rate of 500,000 per annum ; this he might easily
do, for his revenue was great and real, not a mere written
schedule, and his expenditure was small ^ Indeed it was
not till he was firmly seated on the throne that his most
oppressive exactions began. "As for Empson and Dudley's
mills ^ they did grind more and more. So that it was a
thing strange to see what golden showers poured down upon
the King's treasury at once. The last payments of the
marriage money from Spain. The subsidy. The benevo-
lence. The recoinage. The redemption of the city's liber-
ties. The casualties.... He needed not to make riches his
glory, he did excell in so many things else; save that
certainly avarice doth ever find in itself matter of ambition.
Belike he thought to leave his son such a kingdom and
such a mass of treasure, as he might choose his greatness

1 He also promised to " see that the commodities of our reabn be employed to
the most advantage of the same, the entercourse of merchandize betwixt realm
and realm to be ministered and handled as sluill more be to the common weal
and prosperity of om- subjects." Bacon, who quoted from the original document,
Henry VII. (Spedding), vi. 169. At the same time it is noticeable that there is far
less managing of trade in the pnbhc interest than in some of the preceding reigns.
The navigation laws were hardly enforced; despite the decay of tillage, there was
no attempt so far as I have noticed to pass laws about the exi^ortation of corn bo
as to favour the farmer. The new modes of warfare had given a special import-
ance to beU-metal and the export of it was forbidden (33 H. VIII. c. 7, 2, and
3 E. VI. c. 37), as the import of bowstaves had been encouraged in preceding
reigns.

2 Brown, Calendar, i. 261, No. 751.

3 Their method of misusing legal forms and penal laws for the purpose of
extortion are described by Bacon, Henry VII. (Spedding), vi. 217.

488

THE TUDOES.

A.D. 1485
—1558.
Henry
VIIL

Confisca-
tion and
debasement
of coinage.

Trade.

By exac-
tions and
eonfisca-
tiotis

where he would'." In this ambition he certainly succeeded.
Henry VIII. inherited a treasure which seemed to be simply
fabulous, and, whatever the total mass may have been, it
would have an enormous purchasing power in the early
years of the century, before the flow of silver from Potosi
and the rich mines of America had begun.

Though Henry VIII. was personally extravagant and
soon ran through this large sum, he had resources to draw
upon which his father had left untouched. The nobles, the
towns and the Cornish miners had felt the pressure of that
hand ; it was left for the Defender of the Faith to appropriate
the lands of the monasteries, and to eke out his resources by
debasing the coinage. Edward VI. continued the confiscations
and the debasement. The sense of insecurity and the
confusion of the currency disturbed the whole social fabric,
but they did not do much to replenish the royal coffers.

Like the Portuguese and other monarchs of the time the
Tudors also tried to reap a direct benefit from the expanding
commerce of the world. Henry VII. and Elizabeth made some
efforts to participate in the profits, but not in the risks of
trading with the New World ; Henry VII. was quite unsuc-
cessful in the attempt, and the gains of the English ships
upon the Spanish main in the days of the Virgin Queen did
not always arise from legitimate trading.

139. The Tudors thoroughly understood the possibility
of treasure being brought to England in the course of trade,
but they also realised that it could be most easily secured for
the use of the Crown by extortion, or confiscation, or piracy.
The exactions of Henry VII. must have added to the
pressure on the citizens of corporate towns, as well as on the
agriculturist; industry and tillage could scarcely revive in
his reign ; but the high-handed proceedings of Henry VIII.
and Edward VI. added new difficulties both to rural economy
and to mercantile dealings. The disintegration of society
became complete ; and the institutions, which had already
begun to decay, could not survive the shock they then

1 Bacon, Henry VII. (Spedding), vi. 225. Some of the chantries he founded
for perpetual prayers for bis soul were obtained by diverting ancient endowments
to himself.

ACCELERATED RATE OF CHANGE. 489

received. With some exceptions in regard to shipping, and A.D. 1435
possibly in regard to the repair of the towns, there is no •
improvement, no reconstruction which can be traced to the
reigns of the Tudor kings ; the blight which fell on England
with the hundred years' war, was not removed when peace
once more reigned. It was indeed necessary that the throne
should be secured from pretenders and the crown strong
enough to be above the intrigues of king-making nobles ;
but the social anarchy which was produced under the Tudor
regime was a heavy price to pay for the privilege of living
under the tyranny of such a king as Henry VIII., and of
such place-hunters as Cromwell, Somerset or Northumber-
land.

Even under the most favourable circumstances the marvel-
lous commercial expansion which followed on the discovery of
America would have involved rearrangement within the realm,
and considerable social change. Old institutions cannot readily
adapt themselves to changed conditions; but while better rulers
would have set themselves to diminish the evils and render
the transition as smooth as might be, the action of the Tudors the
tended in every way to aggravate the mischiefs. The towns evUs 0/ "
were decaying, and Henry VII. pressed on them unnecessarily ^^^a^T*
for additional grants ; the decline of tillage and increase of g'O'Vated.
grazing was a national danger, and Henry VIII. transferred
large tracts of land to courtiers who evicted the tenantry,
and lived as absentees on the profits of their flocks. The
minister of Edward VI., who was so ready to rob churches,
seems to have had no scruple in continuing and increasing a
public injury by the debasement of the coinage. The rising
of the commons under Arundel and Kett were startling
expressions of the grievances which were felt in all parts of
the country; other evidence is supplied by the frequency
and severity of the poor laws which were called forth by the
misery which ensued from the disorganisation of the whole
economic system.

490

THE TUDORS.

III. Shipping.

A.D. 1485
—1558.
Naviga-
lion acts
A.D. 1485

A.D. 1489

rtlaxed

and re-
enforced.

140. The navigation policy, which had been begun
under Richard II., was fitfully maintained under Henry VII.
In response to complaints of the decay of shipping and the
lack of employment for mariners, the traders with Gascony
were compelled to import their wine and woad in English
ships manned with English sailors^ when they could be
obtained. The king was personally in favour of this policy,
for he rarely granted exemptions, though the sale of licences
to use foreign ships would have been an easy source of
revenue; it was one of which Henry VIII. availed himself
so frequently that the law became a dead letter^, and there
are contemporary complaints of the laxity which prevailed,
especially when compared with the very strict navigation
laws which were in force in Spain*. Wolsey was apparently not
disposed to insist on a regulation which undoubtedly rendered
wine less plentiful in England, so as to diminish customs and
raise prices", but Cromwell took a different line^ In 1540
a very complete act was passed for " the maintenance of the
navy"; it calls attention in the preamble to the insular
position of England, and adds that " the navy or multitude
of ships of this realm in times past hath been and yet is
very profitable, requisite, necessary and commodious as well
for the intercourse and concourse of merchants transporting
and conveying their wares and merchandises as is above said,
and a great defence and surety of this realm in time of war
as well to offend as defend, and also the maintenance of many
masters mariners and seamen, making them expert and
cunning in the art and science of shipping and sailing, and
they and their wives and children have had their livings of

1 1 H. Vn. c. 8; 4 H. VII. c. 10.

- See the table in Schanz, i. 370.

3 Schanz, n., No. 138. Starkey, Dialogue, 174.

* Brewer, Calendar, in. part ii. 639, No. 1544. In the time of Edward VI.
when the navy of England had again declined, the act in favour of shii^pLng
■wine and woad in English ships was repealed, as it tended to keep up the price
in England to an excessive rate. 5 and 6 Ed. VI. c. 18.

5 23 H. Vm. c. 7.

SHIPPING. 491

and bv the same, and also hath been the chief maintenance A.D. 1485

*' _ 1558

and supportation of the cities, towns, villages, havens, and
creeks, near adjoining unto the sea coasts, and the kings
subjects, bakers, brewers, butchers, smiths, ropers, ship-
wrights, tailors, shoemakers, and other victuallers and
handicraftsmen inhabiting and dwelling near unto the
said coasts have also had by the same a great part of
their living"; but the complaint continues that the navy
^vas diminished and the towns on the coast decayed, and
that " diverse persons not regarding the maintenance of the
said navy, nor yet the commodities and profits coming and
growing unto this realm by occasion of the same, for their
own singular lucre and advantage" had not refrained from
infringing the existing laws against importing in foreign
ships. The old laws were re-enacted, and the freights were
strictly defined for goods of various sorts from different ports ;
inducements were offered to aliens to make use of English
ships, and arrangements were made for the publication in
Lombard Street of notice of the sailings of ships ^ This
act gives a clear statement of the political objects of the
navigation acts, while the recognition of the coasting popu-
lation, and the attempts to remove the practical difficulties
which had rendered previous measures inoperative, show a
considerable advance on the laws that had been already
passed.

141. The protection of merchant shipping also engaged Safety of
the attention of King Henry VIII.; when the war broke out ^Uppi,^.
between France and Spain assisted by England, an attempt
was made by the two monarchs jointly to organise a regular a.d. 1511.
fleet to keep the seas. Ferdinand and Henry were each to
furnish 8000 men ; the English fleet were to guard the coast
from the mouth of the Thames to " the Trade"," and the
Spanish ships were to be on duty beyond that limit*. The
English Admiral, Sir Edward Howard, was to scour the sea*,
and to give protection to the merchant ships which were to

1 32 H. vin. c. 14.

2 Not as Macpherson interprets it, Gibraltar, but either the Trade or Rade of
Brest (Brewer, Calendar, i. 559, No. 4005), or the roadstead of Bi-onage near
Oleron. Pigeonneau, Hist, de Commerce, n. 116.

8 Foedera, xiii. 315. ^ Ibid. xin. 326.

492 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 sail under his directions, and the whole fleet was so far as
~~ " ■ possible to keep together; they were to revictual at Cowes
when necessary, and the rates of pay per man, at which Sir
Edward undertook to maintain the captains, crews and soldiers
on the eighteen ships^ under his command, are specified in
detail.

But protection was needed for English merchants, not
only during time of war, but in the actual conduct of their
Com- business as well. Two great commercial treaties were made
trtaiies. by Henry VII. which are of very considerable interest, as
they refer to very different trades and were concluded with
powers whose trading policy was exactly opposite. The kings
Trade, with of Norway had always regarded Iceland as a sort of royal
"* " domain, and trade was carried on either in royal ships or with
special royal permits. Bergen was appointed as the staple,
and all foreigners were required to trade through this mart ;
but English merchants found that they could drive a very
profitable trade by smuggling to Iceland^ and this business
was prosecuted, on a large scale, from Scarborough and later
from Bristol, and was as usual combined with piracy and
A.K. 1415 pillage-. Henry V. prohibited this ilKcit trade*, and parlia-
ment followed his example in 1429^; but from the numerous
outrages of which we read, there is every reason to believe
that the trade continued to exist, despite these attempts at
repressing it.

Henry VII. was able to obtain an advantageous settlement
of this difficulty at a time when the extensive pretensions of
the Hanse League had rendered it very unpopular in Scandi-
navia and Denmark, and when there was a general desire to
enter into friendly commercial relations with England. By
the terms of the Treaty* of 1490, the English had all their
permitted, former privileges reassured, particularly the right of forming

1 The Eegent of 1000 tons was the largest of the rest, 1 was of 500 tons, 3 of
400, 1 of 300, 1 of 240, 1 of 200, 1 of 180, 2 of 160, 2 of 140, 4 of 120, and one of 70
tons. The admiral had 10s. a day, the captains Is. 6^. a day, the soldiers and
marines 5s. a month for wages aud an allowance of 5s. a month for victuals.
Fcedera, xm. 326.

2 See above, p. 418. s Schanz, i. 254.
* Eymer, ix. 322. s g H. VL c. 2.

« Eymer, Fcedera, xu. 381.

SHIPPING. 493

companies and electing their own Aldermen ; ,they had A.D. 1485
favourable terms given them in regard to customs and the
recovery of debts, and they were permitted to trade direct
with Iceland, on paying the customs there.

Another great commercial treaty, which was signed some a.d. 1490.
months later, presents many points of interest and is in
itself evidence of the development of English trade with the Mediter-
Mediterranean. This was probably due to the remarkable trade.
scheme, which Florence had tried experimentally and at length
embraced heartily, of abandoning protective tariffs and navi-
gation regulations and adopting a policy of Free Traded The
neighbouring cities and Venice were most jealous of the
Tuscan capital, more especially as she could now obtain the
raw material for her woollen trade at an easier rate ; it was
to the advantage of the Florentines that English wool mer-
chants should make the port of Pisa, where they already Pisa.
had a consul, a regular depot, while the Florentine con-
nections with Constantinople^ and Egypt ^ rendered it very
desirable for the English to establish a footing there.
The Venetians were greatly perturbed when they heard
that the project of establishing an English Staple for
wool at Pisa was seriously under consideration, and in
private letters to their agent in England, as well as public
despatches to the Lord Chancellor and Lord Mayor, they
argued against the scheme as prejudicial to English interests,
and threatened that if it were carried out they would no
longer send their galleys to England ^ In the treaty as
finally drawn up^ it was agreed that 600 sacks of wool should
be allowed to go to Venice, but that the rest of the wool
required for all Italian towns should be shipped to Pisa in
English ships. Englishmen were to be put on the same
footing as the scholars who resorted to Pisa, and they might
if they wished form a company and elect officers to have

1 The gi'adual reduction of duties was carried through bit by bit with a most
careful examination of the results as shown in trade statistics for different periods.
It is described in detail by Pohlman, Die Wirthschaftspolitih der florentinen
Renaissance, pp. 117 seq. {Preisschriften gekront von der jablonowskischen Oesell-
sckaft, XXI.), Leipsic, 1878.

2 Heyd, u. 336. s ibid. u. 477, 485.

* Brown, Calendar of State Papers (Venetian), i. 185, Nos. 561, 562.

* Rymer, Faedera, xu. 390.

494 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 jurisdiction over their affairs. This was probably the first

~~ " attempt at establishing a regular factory of English mer-

The chants in the Mediterranean ; but trade was soon pushed

Levant. farther eastwards, for in 1513 Baptista Justiniauo, a Genoese,

was appointed consul for English merchants in Scio and

the Archipelago^ and an Englishman, Dionysius Harris, was

appointed consul in Candia in 1530^ The articles of trade

to the Levant were those in which grocers dealt; it is

probable that these merchants were members of their

company, and that the Turkey Company grew out of the

Grocers^, much as the Merchant Adventurers was an offshoot

from the Mercers.

While these new developments of English trade were
being carefully fostered, attention was also given to the
trade with the Netherlands. It had indeed greatly changed
its character; the weaving industry in the neighbourhood
of Bruges had declined*, as that of England increased; the
trade in wool was inconsiderable, but England was trying to
secure a footing for the regular sale of her cloith. Antwerp
had come to be the centre of the commercial 'world ^ and it
offered advantages which neither Calais® nor any other town
afforded to the merchant. Henry VII. was fully alive to its
A.D. 1496. importance ; he succeeded in re-establishing commercial re-
lations by means of a treaty, the Magnus Intercursus^ which
gave rise to general rejoicings*; and pressed for and obtained
an agreement against the arbitrary increase of customs
beyond the rates which had obtained "from the beginning
of the world to the present time*" in 1506. This measure
proved ineffective, but it set forth an ideal i*>, which Henry VIII.
and his ministers strove to realise, with but indifferent
success. The political and religious" conflicts of the time

1 Rymer, Fadera, xni. 353; xiv. 424. ^ ibid. xiv. 389.

8 Heath, Grocers Company, 39. * Schanz, i. 32.

6 Ibid. 30. « Hall, Chronicle, 724, 729.

7 Rymer, Foedera, xii. 578. ^ Schanz, i. 18.

9 Rymer, Fadera, xiii. 133. i" Schanz, i. 39.

M Bishop Creighton has kindly pointed out to me a case in point when
Pope Clement demanded that the King of England should not admit into his
realm merchants from those parts of Germany which had not submitted to
the Edict of Worms, since they might be suspected of heresy. The king was
loth to take this step ; " dubitaudo forse che poi li Osterlingi non se movesseno

SHIPPING. 495

caused frequent interruptions^ to trade, and the jealousy of A.D.1485
the new commercial and surviving industrial interests in the
Low Countries complicated the matter. Despite these
difficulties, however, the English seem to have advanced on
the whole, for we see signs of progress in the organisation of
the merchants who traded with the Netherlands. They
claimed to exercise privileges granted by the Duke of
Brabant in the time of King John, bat the body probably
came into existence in 1407, when Henry IV. granted the
Adventurers the privilege of a consul at Bruges^; they had
developed out of the Mercers Compauy in London, and had
local connections in Newcastle, Boston, Exeter, and many
other towns^. Though nominally national, their maia strength
was in London, and provincial merchants regarded them with
jealousy; like the other companies of the time they became
more and more exclusive, and they raised the entrance fees
from 6s. Sd. to £20* ; Henry VII. pursued the sound policy
of reducing the entrance fine to ten marks (£6. IS*. 4fZ.).
But while checking the exclusiveness of the company he
gave it a much more complete constitution^ than it had ad. 1505.
hitherto possessed; the members were to choose a governor
and twenty-four assistants, who were to have authority to
, hear complaints, levy fines, and make and enforce regulations,
while all the merchants trading within their limits were to
submit to their authority. Their head-quarters were to be
at Calais, and they soon got into difficulties with the mer-
chants of the Staple as to their respective rights and juris-
diction®; but it is unnecessary to attempt to follow the
struggle in detail or to adjudicate on the merits of the case.

The difficulty of adjusting the conflicting claims of the Proposed
difierent bodies of merchants comes out in a curious paper, South-
written by King Edward VI,, which contains an abortive "'"■?**"••
project for opening a great mart at Southampton. It was

contra di se retenendoli quel polvere nsa li Inglesi a conservar le sue pecore,
senza el qual in minor termine de dui anni morerieno tutte. " Baulau, Jlonu-
menta Beformationis Lutherance, p. 360.

1 Tlie story of these diplomatic efforts, their partial success and occasional
•failure is told by Schanz, Handelspolitik, i. 55 fol.

2 See Appendix 0. ^ Gross, Gild Merchant, i. 153.

4 12 H. VII. c. 6. 6 Schauz, u. No. 121. 6 ibid. u. No. 124.

496 THE TUDORS,

A.D. 1486 proposed that for five weeks after Whitsunday, merchants
should be encouraged to frequent Southampton, by a remission
of half the usual customs on goods landed there; business was
to be suspended in the neighbouring counties; and it was
thought that Southampton would soon rival Antwerp as a
commercial depot. The mart was to be closed before the
time of S. James's Fair at Bristol and Bartholomew Fair in
London, so as not to interfere with them. It was thought
Erpected that in the disturbed condition of the Netherlands, the
tagei. Channel might provide safer means of communication than
the land routes ; that continental merchants would frequent
our island, bringing bullion with them; and that English
merchants would carry on trade in greater security, as they
would not be liable to arrest for every light cause. The
whole project was mooted in consequence of the unsettled
state of the Continent. It was evident that there would be
some difficulty in changing the channels of commerce, though
this perhaps might be done when the advantages of the new
harbour and depot were understood; but the chief obstacle
lay in the privileges of the Hanse Merchants and of the
Merchants of the Staple, while the Merchant Adventurers
would be unwilling to break up their factory at Antwerp.
Whether any serious attempt was made to carry this scheme
into effect does not appear; had it succeeded, the king
contemplated opening a similar mart at Hull, some time after
Stourbridge Fair, but before the northern seas became unsafe
from the ' Great Ices^' The day when commerce could be
advantageously controlled in this fashion had however gone
by ; companies of traders were pushing their business in the
places where they found that it could be made to answer;
some of the evils which King Edward proposed to rectify
were cured, not by our merchants withdrawing to the limits
where the king could protect them, but by their making good
their footing abroad, so that they were able to protect them-
selves.

1 Burnet, History of Reformation ; Collection of Records, v. 109. The whole
is worth perusal, as it throws a very interestmg retrospective Ught on the changes
of the place where the staple for wool was held under Edward III. ; especially it
brings out the reasons why parliament was so much inclined to hold the staple in
England. See above, p. 316.

SHIPPING. 497

While the Merchant Adventurers were prospering abroad, a.d. 1485
the position of their ancient rivals the Hanse League became y.^^J
less and less secure: internal dissensions loosened the bond {Hansards

. 1 • 1 • 1 ■r\ • mEngland.

between the various towns which were its members. Danzig
had always maintained a somewhat independent policy \ and
the authorities of Riga concluded a separate treaty with a.d. 1498.
Henry VII."; the English antipathy to the Hansards did not
diminish^, and in 1551 tlie Merchant Adventurers urged on
the Privy Council that these merchants had abused their
privileges and ought to forfeit them. After mature con-
sideration the special privileges which had been granted
them were resumed and they were put on the same footing
as other merchants aliens King Edward VI. was obdu-
rate, despite repeated appeals, and they never regained their
old position. The action they had taken in support of
Edward IV. probably gave them a longer tenure of their
special privileges in England than they would otherwise have
possessed ; but the fact that they could no longer hold their
own in London shows how much English commerce had deve-
loped. Not only had native merchants succeeded in ousting
foreigners from the internal trade of the country, but they were
able to do a large proportion of its foreign business as well.

142. The condition of the coasts and harbours of England
exposed our ships to many serious risks, and Henry VIII.
took an excellent step towards reducing the losses when he
incorporated the Fraternity of the Holy Trinity at Deptford. Trinity
There is every probability that there was some gild already
existing among the pilots on the Thames, and that Henry VIII.
reconstituted and incorporated it; the original documents
relating to this venerable body were destroyed by a fire
in 1714, but copies of the charters of Henry and Elizabeth
survived. According to the original charter they Avere a.d. i5ii.
empowered to frame " all and singular articles in any wise
concerning the science or art of mariners"," and to make
ordinances " for the relief, increase and augmentation of this
our realm of England." They were governed by a governor,

1 Schanz, i. 228. 2 Rymer, xii. 701.

- Armstrong in Pauli, Drei wirikschaftliche Benkschriften, 36.

* Wheeler, Treatise of Commerce, 57. Biddle, Sebastian Cabot, 186.

c. H. 32

498

THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485
—1558.

A.D. 1566.

Improve-
ment of
■harbours.
A.D. 1545.

J)e/ences.

-A.T), 1513.

Arsenal.

wardens and assistants, and had jurisdiction over all offenders
against their rules, while they had power to sue and to hold
real property^ By the first charter of Elizabeth^ they were
also empowered to erect beacons and sea marks, which were
much needed in consequence of the destruction of certain
steeples and natural landmarks on the coasts, and in 1594
she conferred on the incorporation all the rights connected
with beacons, buoys and ballastage which had hitherto been
enjoyed by the Lord High Admiral of England, and which
were now formally relinquished by Lord Howards

A body was thus established which had general oversighf)
over the coasts and harbours, but special attention was givea
to the requirements of particular localities. There was a very
large outlay in making piers at Dover'* and Scarborough', and
parliament intervened to prevent the harbours of Devonshire
and Cornwall from being injured by the operations of the
miners ^ Similarly provision was made for the ruined con-
dition of Rye and Winchelsea in 1549'. Henry VIIL also
made a beginning in the work of fortifying the Thames ; the
river was so exposed to the attacks of pirates that Henry IV.
had narrowly escaped capture when crossing the river, and all
his baggage had fallen into the enemy's hands^ A fort was
now erected however at Gravesend, and another opposite it
on the Essex shore^ and Londoners'" were able to rest in
greater security than they had done before.

Henry VHI. also attempted to establish a naval arsenal ;
this too was settled at Deptford". So long as there had been
no royal navy, there was of course no need for royal docks or
magazines for naval stores. But Henry was really bent on
having a well-equipped fleet ; the destruction by fire of the
Regent, his great ship of 1000 tons, set him on building
another, the Grace de Dieu, which should be of still larger
dimensions ; and there was decided need for an arsenal, like
the celebrated one at Venice, for building and fitting ships.

1 J. Cotton, Memoir of the origin and incorporation of Trinity House (1818), 161.

2 Ibid. 166. 3 Ibid. 169.
' Pennant, Journey from London to Isle of Wight, i. 197.

6 37 H. VIII. c. 14. 6 23 H. VIH. c. 8. See above, p. 480.

7 2 and 3 E. VI. c. 30. 8 Holinsbed, 1407.
9 Macpherson, Annals, ii. 46. w Denton, 89.

1' Macpherson, ii. 46.

SHIPPING. 499

143. In this connection we may notice one or two in- A.D. 1485

*> 1558

dications of what was afterwards an important part of the j<ia.^a.i
pohcy of developing shipping. In Elizabeth's and subsequent ^^ores.
reigns great pains were devoted to increasing the supply of
naval stores and materials used in shipbuilding; one little
enactment shows that Henry VIIL was alive to the importance
of so doing. The decline of arable farming had affected the
growth of other sorts of produce besides corn, and for naval
purposes it was most desirable to have a good supply of
hemp. This was probably the intention in insisting on
the cultivation of hemp, as well as flax, in a statute^ which
recites the mischief which accrued from dependence on other
countries for linen cloth ; a quarter of an acre was to be in
flax or hemp, for every sixty acres of tillage.

But there was another matter of far greater moment ; Seamen
neither the royal nor the mercantile navy could be well
manned unless there were a number of able-bodied sailors from
whom mariners might be drawn ; and the fishing trades offered
a convenient and inexpensive, as well as a thorough, school
of seamanship. This was one of the commonplaces of politics and fishing.
in the seventeenth century, when the keenest anxiety was felt
about driving the Dutch fishermen out of waters which might
have afforded remunerative employment for the men from
our own coasts. Neither Henry VII. nor Henry VIII. real-
ised its importance sufficiently to interfere actively in favour
of the English fisherman^; but in 1549 parliament enacted
an extraordinary measure for encouraging the fishing trade
by promoting the general consumption of fish. " Albeit V' it Political
runs, "the King's subjects now having a more perfect and clear
light of the gospel and true word of God, through the infinite
cleansing and mercy of Almighty God, by the hand of the
King's Majesty and his most noble father of famous memory,
promulgate, shewed, declared and opened, and thereby per-

1 24 H. VIII. c. 4.

2 33 H. Vni. c. 2, seems to show that the fishing on the east coast was
almost extinct, as the men went in boats and bought the fish from foreigners
instead of catching it. The strictness with which Lent had been kept comes out
in the proclamation of Feb. 9, 1543, which permitted the eating of white meats
such as milk, eggs, butter, and cheese, because the supply of fish was short. Tudor
Proclamations.

3 2 and 3 E. YI. c. 19.

32—2

500 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 ceivinsf that one day or one kind of meat of itself is not more
holy, more pure or more clean than another, for that all days
and all meats be of their nature of one equal purity, cleanness
and holiness, and that all men should by them live to the
glory of God, and at all times and for all meats give thanks
unto Him, of which meats none can defile Christian men or
make them unclean at any time, to whom all meats be lawful
and pure, so that they be not used in disobedience or vice ;
Yet forasmuch as diverse of the King's subjects turning their
knowledge therein to satisfy their sensuality when they
should thereby increase in virtue, have in late time, more
than in times past, broken and contemned such abstinence
which hath been used in this Realm upon the Fridays and
Saturdays ^ the Embering days, and other days commonly
called Vigils, and in the time commonly called Lent, and
other accustomed times, The King's Majesty considering that
due and godly abstinence is a mean to virtue* and to subdue
men's bodies to their soul and spirit, and considering also
especially that Fishers, and men using the trade of living by
fishing in the sea, may thereby the rather be set on work,
and that by eating of fish much flesh shall be saved^ and
increased, doth ordain " that all statutes and constitutions
about fasting shall be repealed, but that all persons who do
not observe the usual fast days (Fridays, Saturdays, Ember
days, and Lent) shall be fined 10s. and suffer ten days'
imprisonment for the first offence. This curious effort to
maintain, from motives of political expediency, the very
usages which were officially condemned as superstitious is
characteristic of the times ; the measure was taken up with
great energy by Burleigh, who regarded it as the best means
of encouraging fishing and seamanship.
The 144. Though the Tudors did so much for developing

English commerce, they took no real part in the great
discoveries of the age; Henry VII. had the opportunity

1 Tliere is reason to believe that Saturday had not been generally observed
as a fast in England, though the practice was enjomed by a Roman CouncU in
1078. Thomassin, Traite des Jednes, i. 420.

2 See the proclamation of June 16, 1548 (lays stress on abstinence as a moral
duty). All such proclamations .

8 The main object of the proclamation, March 9, 1551, was to reduce the
consumption, and lieep down the price of meat. Tudor Froclamations.

discoveries .

SHIPPING. 601

but wanted the will, and Henry VIII. who had the will to a.d. 1485
push forward in this matter, was fully occupied with more
urgent affairs \ England was most favourably situated for
the undertaking, and in 1487 while Christopher Columbus Columbus.
was waiting on court favour in Lisbon, his brother Bartho-
lomew'^ went to London to try to interest Henry VIL in
the enterprise; he was robbed by pirates on the way, and
was glad to get employment at the English court for a time
in drawing maps and making a globe, but he was unsuccessful
in the main object of his journey.

John Cabot was more fortunate ; there is some reason John
to suppose that he had resided for a considerable time at
Bristol, where the interest in maritime discovery was Bristol
exceedingly strong. On July 15th, 1480, two ships of
eighty tons burden belonging to John Jay, a prominent
merchant of Bristol, who had served the office of sheriff,
and whose monument is in S. Mary's Redcliffe, set sail to
the west of Ireland to find the Island of Brazil. They were
driven back in September by tempestuous weather, and had
met with no success ; but it was evidently a serious expedition
which had been placed under the charge of " the most
skilled mariner in the whole of EnglandV' and some
students have hazarded the guess that Cabot was the
man*, though it is clear that he was a Welshman named
Lloyd®. Even if he had not this reputation, however, Cabot
was apparently entrusted with the charge of an expedition

1 Schanz, i. 322. 2 Peschel, 112.

3 William of Worcester, Itinerary (Dallaway), 153. The author died about
1484 (Ibid. 17), before the actual discovery of America.

* F. V. Hellwald, Sebastian Cabot, 9 ; M. d'Avezac-Macaya, Les Navigations terre-
neuviennes, 10. These writers have discussed the intricate questions connected
with the Cabots in some detail, and on the whole their results harmonise. The
voyage of 1494 is much questioned and the information furnished by the Paris
map has been recently shown to be merely second-hand (Coote, ^S". Cabot in
Dictionary of National Biography) : but the tradition of the early discovery
appears to be confirmed by the terms of the Patent granted in 1497 (Rymer,
Fcedera, xn. 595). Biddle's Life is most careful and thorough, but it was written
in 1831 and without knowledge of the important documents which have now been
published in the Calendars of State Papers. The story that he was employed in
1495 by Henry VII. to effect a treaty with Denmark by which Iceland should be
made a staple for trade is exceedingly improbable; similar privileges had been
granted to English and other merchants in 1490 (Schanz, i. 257 n.).

6 The name is given variously as Thlyde and Llyde. DaUaway, 153.

602 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 which set out from Bristol in 1494, and discovered the
~ ' mainland of America; he sighted it at five in the morning
on June 24, 1494, and called the land Prima Vista, and the
island opposite S. John's \ Thus far it would seem that the
expeditions were sent out at the expense of the Bristol
merchants. " The people of Bristol," wrote Pedro de Ayala
in 1498 to his masters in Spain '^j "have for the last seven
years every year sent out two, three or four light Ships in
search of the Island of Brazil and the Seven Cities, according
to the fancy of this Genoese. The king has determined to
send out, because the year before they brought certain news
that they had found land. His fleet consisted of five vessels
which carried provisions for one year. It is said that one
of them in which went Friar Buil has returned to Ireland in
great distress, the ship being much damaged. The Genoese
has continued his voyages. I have seen, on a chart, the
direction which they took and the distance they sailed, and I
think what they have found or what they search is what
your Highness already possesses." This document is of great
interest in one point of view, as it is confirmatory evidence
of the fact that the merchants of Bristol had sent out
exploring vessels before the news of the success of Columbus
could have reached them.
Royal King Henry was now willing to patronise these expedi-

tions ; he had taken no initiative ; according to P. de Ayala
he " equipped a fleet in order to discover certain islands and
continents which he was informed some people of Bristol had
found who manned a few ships for the purpose." The licence
Pro Johanne Cabote et Filiis suis super Terra Incognita
Investiganda^ empowers Cabot to fit out five ships at his own
expense, but confers a strict trading monopoly with all the
lands he might discover, on the condition that a fifth part
of the capital gain was to go to the king. Cabot was to go to
lands " which have been hitherto unknown to all Christians "
and to take possession, plant the English flag, and exercise

1 A map attributed, but mistakenly {Diet, of Nat. Biography), to Sebastian
Cabot in the Bibliothfeque Nationale at Paris contains this information.

2 Bergeuroth, Calendar (Spanish), i. 177, No. 210.
s Kymer, xn. 595.

licence.

SHIPPING. 503

jurisdiction in the king's name over the peoples there. This A.D. 148S
was in 1496, and Cabot was able after some delay to set
out in a single ship the 'Matthew.' The results of this
voyage are best described in the language of a contemporary
writer. Lorenzo Pasqualigo^ wrote to his brothers, on October
11, 1497, "The Venetian our countryman who went with
a ship in quest of new islands is returned, and says that 700
leagues hence he discovered land, the territory of the Grand
Cham. He coasted for 300 leagues and landed, saw no
human beings, but he has brought hither to the king certain
snares, which had been set to catch game, and a needle for
making nets; he also found some felled trees, wherefore he
supposed there were inhabitants, and returned to his ship in
alarm. He was three months on the voyage, and on his return
saw two islands to starboard^ but would not land, time being
precious, as he was short of provisions. He says that the tides
are slack and do not flow as they do here. The king of
England is much pleased with this intelligence. The king
has promised that in the spring our countryman shall have
ten ships armed to his order, and at his request has conceded
him all the prisoners, except such as are confined for high
treason, to man his fleet. The king has also given him
moneys wherewith to amuse himself till then, and he is now
at Bristol with his wife, who is a Venetian, and with his sons ;
his name is Zuan Cabot, and he is styled the great admiral.
Vast honour is paid him ; he dresses in silk, and these English
run after him like mad people, so that he can enlist as many
of them as he pleases and a number of our own rogues
besides. The discoverer of these places planted on his new
found land a large cross with one flag of England, and another
of S. Mark, by reason of his being a Venetian, so that our
banner has floated very far afield."

The patent for this new voyage was granted in 1498;
it appears to imply a scheme for colonisation rather than for

1 Brown, Calendar State Papers (Venetian), i. 262, No. 752.

2 The Milanese Envoy had less accurate information than the Venetian : he
says that Cabot had discovered two large islands and the seven cities 400 leagues
from England. Brown, Calendar (Venetian), i. 260, No. 750.

8 To him that found the new isle, £10. Biddle, p. SO n.

504

THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485
—1558.
Sebastian
Cabot.

■Other ex-
peditions.

.A.D. 1502.

Thome.

discovery or trade ^ Apparently John Cabot had died in
the interval and Sebastian carried out the undertaking,
and started from Bristol with five ships; they discovered
Newfoundland, and Cabot afterwards stated that he had
also made out the route of a north-west passage^. But his
success did not come up to the expectations of Henry ; and
Cabot, having entered the service of the king of Spain, was
not to be tempted back even by the liberal offers of Wolsey
in 1516^

Though there was so little royal encouragement for the
explorers, the merchants of Bristol were not readily dis-
couraged. In 1501 Henry VII. granted a patent to Richard
Ward, John Thomas, Hugh Eliot, Thomas Ashehurst, and
three Portuguese* to go on a voyage of discovery and
exercise a trading monopoly. Shortly afterwards a larger
scheme was planned^ and two Bristol merchants with two
Portuguese associates were empowered to establish a trading
settlement on the newly-found lands; the king afterwards
assigned them a trading monopoly for forty years and
granted them some remission of customs on imports.

It is unnecessary to attempt to follow out the results of
the different exploring expeditions which were now sent out
to the west. Robert Thorne, a linen merchant, persuaded
Henry" VIII. to make an attempt at finding the north-west
passage to the Moluccas. " With a small number of ships,"
he urged, "there may be discovered diverse new lands and
kingdoms in the which without doubt your Grace shall win
perpetual glory and your subjects infinite profit. To which
places there is left one way to discover, which is into the
north." Spain had already discovered the west and Portugal
the east, " so that now rest to be discovered the said north
parts, the which it seemeth to me is only your charge and
duty, because the situation of this your realm is thereunto
nearest and aptest of all other*." The expedition did not
prosper however, and royal interest in the matter was again

1 It is printed by Biddle, Sebastian Cabot, 76.

2 Or possibly a nortb-east passage. Brown, Calendar (Venetian), m. 294.
8 See Scbanz, i. 677.

< Rymer, xiii. 41. s Ibid. xiu. 37.

6 Hakluyt, i. -213.

SHIPPING. 505

checked, though English enterprise pushed on. Hawkins A.D. 1485

— 155S.
Hawkins.

made his way to Guinea and Brazil in 1530^ and South-

ampton merchants began to trade there. Another attempt
at discoveries in the north-west was made in 1527 under the
advice of a forgotten canon of S. Paul's " which was a great
mathematician and a man endued with wealth^"; he himself
sailed in the Dominus Vohiscum. Little resulted from this
voyage; but nine years later, Master Hore of London, "a
man of goodly stature and of great courage and given to the
study of cosmography," planned another expedition. This
led to the establishment of the colony which first developed
the Newfoundland fisheries; these are mentioned with
approval and protected from abuses in 15491

Foiled in the west, the English merchants, who complained North-mst
of a depression of trade, turned their attention, on the sug- P"^^°'J^-
gestion of Sebastian Cabot, to a north-east passage to the
Indies*. Some London merchants founded a joint-stock com-
pany with a capital of £6000 in £25 shares, for prosecuting
the enterprise^; Edward VI. looked favourably on the scheme
and gave them letters to foreign potentates in Latin, Hebrew
and Chaldee'. The whole of the arrangements were directed
by Cabot ; but Richard Chancellor and Hugh Willougbby were chancellor.
in charge of the expedition, which set out from Harwich
in 1553. Willoughby was forced to winter in Lapland, and he
and his companions perished miserably ; but Chancellor was
more fortunate and succeeded in reaching Archangel. The
people, who were " amazed with the strange greatness of his
ship (for in those parts before that time they had never seen
the like), began presently to avoide and to flee ; but he still
following them, at last overtook them, and being come to
them they prostrated themselves before him, offering to kiss
his feet : but he (according to his great and singular courtesy)
looked pleasantly upon them, comforting them by signs and
gestures'". The friendly intercourse thus set on foot, led to
the establishment of regular relations. The Russian Com- The
pany obtained recognition from Philip and Mary^, and when Company.

1 Hakluyt, ra. 700. 2 ibid. m. 129.

8 2 and 3 Ed. VI. c. 6. * Biddle, Life of Cabot, ISi,

6 Macpherson, 11. 11-1. 6 Strype, Ec. Mem. 11. 76.

7 Hakluyt, i. 2i6. 8 ibid. i. 265.

506 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 an ambassador from the Great Duke of Muscovy reached

1558 . . .

London in 1557 he was received in state by the merchants
adventuring for Russia, to the number of 150 persons with
their servants, all in one livery^. This was a promising trade
for it seemed to offer an inexhaustible supply of wood for
shipbuilding, hemp, oil, tallow and furs. It also led ulti-
mately to other important openings, for the operations of the
Russian merchants prepared the way for the Whale Fishery
at Spitzbergen^ while their connection with Moscow enabled
Jenkinson and other English merchants to enter into trading
communication with Persia and the east.

IV. The Gilds.

145. While shipping was thus fostered and commercial
enterprise was being stimulated into such new activity, there
is very little sign of any fresh development" of industry;
Condition indeed the evidence of contemporaries would lead us to
ofuidustrij. gyppQgg ^}ja,t there had been no recovery from the blight
which had fallen upon the urban communities at the time
of the Black Death. Complaints of the impoverishment
of towns continued under Henry VII., and were supported
in the next reign by appeals to the obvious testimony of
deserted houses and impassable streets. There is indeed
Taxation no rcason to suppose that the places which had suffered so
much from the pressure of taxation and the troubles of the
fifteenth century were able to recover under the exactions
of Henry VII. Pedro de Ayala describes the general decay
in 1498 and ascribes it to its true causes. The king of
England " likes to be thought very rich because such a belief
is advantageous to him in many respects. His revenues are
considerable, but the custom-house revenues, as well as the
land rents, diminish every day. As far as the customs are
concerned, the reason of their decrease is to be sought in the
decay of commerce partly by the wars but much more by the
additional duties imposed by the king. There is however
another reason for the decrease of trade, that is to say, the
impoverishment of the people by the gi-eat taxes laid on

1 Hakluyt, i. 287. 2 Macpherson, u. 115.

THE GILDS. 507

them\" There must have been very real decay when such a a.d. 1485
king granted large reductions by letters patent, — for example
in the fee ferm of York which was allowed to fall from
£160 to £18. 5s. ". When two fifteenths and tenths were a.d. us?
granted in 1496 there was a remission at the usual rate*
amounting to £12,000 in all, and Lincoln and Great Yar-
mouth obtained specially favourable treatment*. There is
indeed less mention made of decay in the first thirty years
of the sixteenth century ; but the facts were again brought
forcibly forward when the parliament of Henry VIII. began
to put pressure on the owners of houses to repair their a.d. 1534
property and to remove the rubbish that endangered life
in the towns. Norwich had never recovered from the
fire of 1508* ; the empty spaces at Lynn Bishop' allowed and decay.
the sea to do damage in other parts of the town. Many
houses were ruined and the streets were dangerous for
traffic in Nottingham, Shrewsbury', Ludlow', Bridgenorth,
Queenborough, Northampton and Gloucester® ; there were
vacant spaces heaped with filth, and tottering houses in
York, Lincoln, Canterbury®, Coventry, Bath, Chichester,
Salisbury, Winchester, Bristol, Scarborough, Hereford, Col-
chester, Rochester', Portsmouth, Poole, L3rme, Feversham,
Worcester, Stafford, Buckingham*, Pontefract, Grantham,
Exeter, Ipswich, Southampton, Great Yarmouth, Oxford,
Great Wycombe, Guildford*, Stratford, Hull, Newcastle, Bed-
ford, Leicester and Berwick^", as well as in Shaston, Sherborne,
Bridport, Dorchester, Weymouth, Plymouth, Barnstaple,
Tavistock, Dartmouth, Launceston, Lostwithiel, Liskeard,

* Bergenroth, Calendar erf State Papers (Spanish), i. 177, No. 210.

2 Rot. Pari. VI. 390. The Commons of York in 1533 complained of lavish
hospitaUty as one cause of the decay of their city. Eng. Hist. Review, ix. 297.

8 As this sheet was passing through the press my attention was called to
Mr W. Hudson's most interesting publication of the assessment of Norfolk, as
made in 1834, with the remissions as adjusted in the fifteenth century {Norfolk
Archceology, xn. 243). The assessments of Blakeney and Wiveton were much
reduced, while Cley remained at the old figure. The explanation of the facts is no
easy task, hut the facts themselves are of great interest.

* Rot. Pari. VI. 514, also 438. » 26 H. VHI. c. 8. « 26 H. YUI. c. 9.
1 Shrewsbury and Ludlow are mentioned both in 27 H. VIII. c. 1, and in

35 H. Vin. c. 4. 8 27 H. Vm. c. 1.

9 Canterbury, Rochester, Guildford and Buckingham are mentioned in 33
H. vm. c. 36, as weU as in 32 H. Vin. c. 18. w 32 H. VIII. c. 18.

508

THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485
—1558.

Signs of
im pro fe-
me lit.

DtJfJculties
in the
towns.

Bodmin, Truro, Helston, Bridgewater, Taunton, Somerton,
Ilchester, Maldon^ and Warwick ^ There were similar dangers
to the inhabitants of Great Grimsby, Cambridge, the Cinque
Ports, Lewes^ ; and even in the more remote provinces things
were as bad, for Chester, Tenby, Haverfordwest, Pembroke,
Caermarthen, Montgomery, Cardiff, Swansea, Cowbridge,
New B-adnor, Presteign, Brecknock, Abergavenny, Usk,
Caerleon, Newport in Monmouthshire, Lancaster, Preston,
Liverpool and Wigan* were taken in hand in 1544. In trying
to interpret this evidence, however, we must remember that
we are reading of attempts to repair, not of complaints of
new decline ; the mere fact that such efforts were made
was perhaps an indication that things had reached their
worst; and we are perhaps justified in inferring from the
double mention of some few towns that a real improvement
was effected in the others. If the pressure of taxation was
such as to prevent recovery after any occasional disaster, like
the Norwich fire, these acts for the re-edification of towns
may be regarded as marking the extent of the damage done
during many preceding years ; they are not so much evidence
of recent decay, as of a reviving life which was endeavouring
to effect an improvement that had been long delayed. It is
possible that places like Shoreham and Fowey® showed so
little sign of returning vigour that it was impossible to make
any attempts for their restoration.

146. It is of course difiicult to speak with any confidence
on such a subject ; but even if this interpretation of the facts
is correct, and the towns were on the whole beginning to
recover from long years of disaster, we must not too hastily
assume that their prospects were altogether bright ; for there
were causes at work, other than the pressure of taxation and
disasters from pestilence, fire, or piracy, to hamper the in-
dustry of the older towns. Attention has been directed in
a preceding section to the difficulties caused at Oxford by the
stringent policy of Henry VI. about apprentices®, and to the

1 Mentioned both in 32 H. VIII. c. 19, aiid a5 H. VIH. c. 4.

2 32 H. Vin. c. 19. 8 33 H. VHI. c. 36.
<5 35 H. Vni. c. 4.

s Which were mentioned ahove as greatly decayed : see pp. 455, 480.
6 See above, p. 449. 8 H. VI. c. 11, and 7 H. IV. c, 17.

THE GILDS. 509

complaints which were made in London of the mischievous a.d. liss
ordinances of the gilds \ In the sixteenth century the gilds "'•^^^^•
were no longer serving a useful purpose. The organisation
of industry on a household basis was proving cumbrous and
was being superseded ; where the old system was still
retained, efforts to enforce restrictions drove workmen to leave
the towns and establish themselves in villages where the Miriration
gilds had no jurisdiction. In some cases the towns may have " "*"^^
been suffering, not through any real decay of the trade, but
because their own regulations led to a displacement of
industry : while in other instances they were prevented from
getting the full benefit of the revival that was beginning to
be felt in different directions.

It may be worth while to call attention to the facts Abuses in
which indicate that the difficulties in regard to the gilds, ^'""•^^ ^'^'^^'
which have been noted in the fifteenth century, were
becoming more pronounced.

The craft gilds had in their origin exercised police Failure to
control over their members and thus secured the safety thf'ap-
and good order of the town ; while each master really had i"«"^*'^««-
a limited number of apprentices and servants living under
his roof, this was a practicable method for maintaining go6d
order, as each man was responsible for his own household.
The conduct of the tailors in 1415 described above, shows
that the journeymen were inclined to withdraw from this
control; and in the beginning of the sixteenth century
the apprentices appear to have been a very unruly body;
they were doubtless strongly imbued with the prejudice
against alien workmen^ which found expression under Ed-
ward IV., and in 1517 they broke out in a riot which was
long remembered as Evil May Day. The incident appears to Evil May
have begun through the action of a broker named Lincolne, ^^'
who induced Dr Bell, who was preacher at the Spital on the
Tuesday in Easter week, to read from the pulpit a paper in
which he had stated " the griefs which many found with

1 See above, p. 446. 15 H. VI. c. 6.

2 There was also a great riot against the alien merchants in 1494 when the
trade of Englishmen with the Netherlands was suspended. Hall, Chronicle,
4G7.

510 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 strangers for taking the livings away from artificers, and the
intercourse from merchants"... Dr Bell then preached from
the words, Coelum coeli Domino, terram autem dedit filiis
hominum, and "upon this text he entreated, how this
land was given to Englishmen, and as birds defend their
nests, so ought Englishmen to cherish and maintain them-
selves and to hurt and grieve aliens for respect of their
commonwealth. * * By this sermon many a light person
took courage and openly spoke against strangers, and as
unhap would, there had been diverse evil parts of late
played by strangers in and about the city of London which
kindled the people's rancour more furiously against them.
The 28th day of April diverse young men of the city picked
quarrels to certain strangers as they passed by the streets,
some they did strike and buffeted, and some they threw into
the channel, wherefore the Mayor sent some of the English-
men to prison. * * Then suddenly arose a secret rumour and no
man could tell how it began, that on May Day next, the city
would slay all the aliens, in so much that diverse strangers
fled out of the city^" The rumour came to Wolsey's ears, and
after consulting with him the City authorities ordained that
every man should shut his doors and keep his servants within
from nine at night till nine in the morning. This was pro-
claimed but not very generally, and Sir John Mundie on his
way home found two young men in Cheap playing " at the
bucklers " and a crowd of others looking on ; he ordered them
to desist and would have sent them " to the counter," but the
prentices resisted the alderman, taking the young men from
him and crying " Prentices and Clubs ; then out at every
door came clubs and other weapons so that the alderman was
fain to fly. Then more people arose out of every quarter;
forth came serving-men, watermen, courtiers and others " to
the number of 900 or 1000 ; they rescued the prisoners who
had been locked up for mishandling strangers. They plun-
dered all the houses within S. Martin's; near LeadenHall
they spoiled diverse Frenchmen who lived in the house of
one Mewtas, and if they had found him, " they would have
stricken off his head " ; and they brake up the strangers'

1 stow, Annals, under 1517.

THE GILDS. 611

houses at Blanchapleton and spoiled them. When order was a.d. 1485
at length restored signal justice was done on the offenders, ~^^^^'
including Doctor Bell, who was sent to the Tower. On the
whole it may be said that those members of the City Council,
who did not feel satisfied with the authority of the house-
holders and "thought it well to have a substantial watch,"
were sensible men.

Another of the objects which had been clearly kept in injurious
view in the authorisation of craft gilds was the welfare of the tioILT
public ; these associations were able to ensure the production
of wares of really good quality. They had so far ceased to
fulfil these functions that their own ordinances were brought
under the control of the justices in 1437 ^ ; but the evil
reappeared when that statute expired, and parliament enacted
in 1503 2 that "no masters, wardens and fellowships of crafts
or misteries nor any of them, nor any rulers of gilds and
fraternities take upon them to make any acts or ordinances,
nor to execute any acts or ordinances by them here afore
made, in diminution of the prerogative of the king, nor of
other, nor against the common profit of the realm " ; unless
their ordinances were approved by the Chancellor or the
Justices of Assizes.

The third object which the gilds had professed to serve was Oppression
that of obtaining fair conditions for those who worked in the neymen.
trade ; instances of difiSculty between the journeymen and the
rising class of employers have been mentioned above ^ but in
the time of Henry VIII. the mischiefs were so patent as to
attract the attention of the legislature. This point is of very
special interest as it helps to explain the reason of the dis-
placement of industry which characterised the times.
Restrictions had been imposed on admission both to
merchant companies* and to other corporations by charging Fines.
excessive fees on apprenticeship. " Divers wardens and a.d. 1531.
fellowships have made acts and ordinances that every
prentice shall pay at his first entry in their common hall to
the wardens of the same fellowship some of them forty
shillings, some thirty, some twenty, some thirteen and four-

1 See above, p. 446. 15 H. VI. c. tt. 2 19 h. VH. c. 7.

3 See above, p. 443. * 1'2 H. VII. c. 6.

612 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 pence, some six and eightpence, some three and fourpence,

~ ' after their own sinister minds and pleasures,... and to the
great hurt of the king's true subjects putting their child to
be prentice ^ " ; it was therefore enacted that no craft should
charge more than half-a-crown as an apprentice fee and three
and fourpence as a fine at the end of his term of service.

Of still greater practical significance were the grievances
of the journeymen for which redress was provided in 1536.
Previous acts relating to craft abuses are recited and the
statute proceeds, " sithen which several acts established and
made, divers masters, wardens and fellowships of crafts have
by cautel and subtle means practised and compassed to
defraud and delude the said good and wholesome statutes,
causing diverse apprentices or young men immediately after
their years be expired, or that they be made free of their occu-

Oaths. pation or fellowship, to be sworn upon the holy Evangelist
at their first entry, that they nor any of them after their
years or term expired shall not set up, nor open any shop,
house, nor cellar, nor occupy as freeman without the assent
and license of the master, wardens or fellowship of their
occupations upon pain of forfeiting their freedom or other like
penalty; by reason whereof the said prentices and journeymen
be put to as much or more charges thereby than they before-
time were put unto for the obtaining and entering of their
freedom, to the great hurt and impoverishment of the said
prentices and journeymen and other their friendsl" Such
restrictions naturally resulted in the withdrawal of the
journeymen to set up shops in suburbs or villages where
the gild had no jurisdiction; and from this they were not
precluded, in all probability, by the terms of their oath.

4.D. 1550. This might often be their only chance of getting employ-
ment, as the masters were apparently inclined to overstock
their shops with apprentices, rather than be at the expense
of retaining a full proportion of journeymen^
Craft gilds 147. Such were the abuses connected with the crafb

authorities gilds; it is obvious that they were working badly, and the
policy which Henry VII. and Henry YIII. pursued was

1 22 H. Vin. c. 4. 2 28 H. VIH. c. 5.

8 3 and 4 Ed. VI. c. 22.

THE GILDS. 513

sound ; they carried on the work, which had been already AD. 1485
begun, of nationalising the gilds. The increase of capitalism
had rendered the old system of municipal regulation, exercised
through householders, nugatory, and the abuses called for
the intervention of parliament or the crown. Henry VIL
took a decided step in transferring the supervision of the
craft gilds from the municipal authorities to the Judges^; "^
and they could be convemently used for administrative
purposes when they were thus brought under effective control, sujp^orted
The gilds still appeared to be the most effective instruments
for regulating each industry and keeping it in good order, and
the Tudor kings continued to employ them for this purpose.

The Tudors continued to pursue a protective policy against struggle

- 1 TTT *''*'^ aliens

ahen workmen, such as had come into vogue under Edward i v.,
and the struggle between the London crafts and the alien
workers was at last decided by the victory of the gilds^ in
1523. The aliens were prohibited from taking more than
two journeymen, and they were forbidden to take aliens as
apprentices; by a still more stringent clause, every alien
handicraftsman in any part of the City or within two miles
of it was to be under the search and reformation of the
London wardens of his craft, who were, however, to choose a andusedas
stranger to act along with them in searching, viewing and ^agenu^^
reforming the aliens at their work, and in assigning their
trade marks. Similar powers were to be exercised by the
craft gilds, or, when no gild of the craft existed, by the
borough authorities, over alien workmen all over England.

There were complaints from the pewterers and brasiers of brasiers.
London and York as to the frauds perpetrated by those who a.d. 1504.
carried on the trade in out-of-the-way places, or who stole
the materials, did bad work and used false weights. The
remedy was again found by insisting that the standard
adopted by the London gild should be everywhere adopted ;
the craft gilds in every town and borough were to have the
right of search in towns, and the Justices of the Peace to
appoint searchers for the shires ^

1 19 Henry VIE. c. 7.

2 14 and 15 H. VIII. c. 2. See an earlier instance with regard to alien
cordwainers, 3 H. VIII. c. 10.

3 19 H. VII. c. 6.

C. H. 33

614

THE TUDORS.

AD. 1485

—1558.

Coopers.

Leather
trades.
A.D. 1485.

Dyers.
A.D. 1523.

Clothing
trades.
A.D. 1488.

Precisely similar steps were taken in 1532 with regard to
the coopers, who had, perhaps with the connivance of the
brewers, been making barrels of uncertain and insufficient
size. The London coopers were to have search and to gavige
and mark all barrels turned out in London ; and in towns
where no gild of coopers existed the local authorities were to
insist on the same standards being used \ In the same way
the tallow-chandlers were to search oils, and to destroy such
as were mingled or corrupt ^

The leading trades of the country were dealt with in similar
fashion ; Henry VII. defined the respective relations of the
tanners, curriers, and cordwainers ^, in the hope of securing
better work if each man was only responsible for one part of
the process ; in 1512 the fellowship of curriers in London
was given the right of search over the tanners, and also over
the fellowship of alien cordwainers^ The evil did not abate,
however, since in 1533 few of the king's subjects could either
"go or ride either in shoes and boots," and by the Act con-
cerning true tanning and currying of leather^ the powers of
the fellowship of curriers to search in London were confirmed,
and the mayors were instructed to appoint cordwainers or
others to search all tanned leather. The interest of the
fellowships of saddlers and of girdlers in the matter was
acknowledged, and perhaps stimulated, by giving them
shares in the forfeitures under the Act.

A precisely similar measure was passed with regard to
the dyeing of cloth ^; the wardens of the mistery of dyers
in each corporate town might search the dye-houses within a
mile compass of each town, and in places where no wardens
existed, the local officers were to do it instead.

The regulation of the cloth-manufacture continued to be
a matter of interest ; from very early times it had been
conducted by royal officials, and was only committed to the
gilds in special cases. The manufacture had expanded
rapidly in the fifteenth century. In some parts of England
a very large trade was being carried on, as we gather from

1 23 H. VIII. c. 4. The attention of mayors was called to this Act by procla-
mation. Tudor Proclamations, 24 Ap. 1522. - Stow, Survey, Book v. c. 12.
3 1 H. VII. c. 5, and 19 H. VII. c. 19 ; cf . also 2 H. VI. c. 7.
* 3 H. VIII. c. 10. 6 24 H. VIII. c. 1. « 24 H. VIII. c. 2.

THE GILDS. 515

the history of Jack of Newbury ^ But there was every dis- a.d. 1485
position to push the business farther ; the advantage which
England possessed for this branch of industry may not
improbably have been impressed on the mind of Henry VII.
when he was a refugee at the court of Burgundy, The
West Riding had been a centre of the clothing trade before West
his time^ but there is much probability in the tradition a.d. im
that he improved the manufacture, and " secretly procured a
great many foreigners who were perfectly skilled in the
manufacture to come over and instruct his own people here
in their beginnings'." As in previous reigns legislative
encouragement was given to new industry; the export of
wool* and of white ashes^ was prohibited, so as to supply a.d. 1488.
materials for making and dressing the cloth ; and gilds were
partially recognised as executive bodies^for in 1550 an Act
was passed for the true making of woollen cloth''; the wardens
of the clothworkers, wherever they existed, were empowered
to act along with public authorities in seeing that the
regulations were properly carried out. On the other hand
in 1552, — when a great Act was passed which enumerates a
variety of cloths produced in different parts of the realm, and
thus gives a brief survey of the whole manufacture through-
out the kingdom, — a somewhat different, line was taken.
The subject was examined with the advice of drapers, shear-
men and others, but the execution of the Act appears to
have rested with the municipal authorities pure and simple®,
and the trades in their corporate capacities are no longer
recognised for this purpose.

1 John WiiicLcomb, who died in 1519, was a clothier whose prosperity became
proverbial and was celebrated in a sixteenth centiu-y ballad. (Ashley, Ec. Hist. i.
ii. 255.) "Within one roome being large and long, There stood two hundred
Loonies full strong ; Two hundred men, the truth is so, Wrought ui these Loomes,
all in a row." Each weaver was assisted by "a pretty boy"; on the same
premises were employed a hundred women in carding, two hundred maidens in
spinning, one hundred and tifty children in sorting the wool ; fifty shearmen,
and eighty rowers, besides forty men in the dye-house, and twenty persons in
the fuiling-mill.

2 Watson, Halifax, p. 66. » Defoe, Flan of English Commerce, 127, 129.

* 4 H. VII. c. 11 ; 22 H. VHI. c. 2 ; 37 H. VIII. c. 15.

8 2 and 3 E. VI. c. 26.

6 Compare the authority given to the woolmen of London with regard to the
winding and folding of wool in all parts of the kingdom. Tudor Proclamations,
May 28, 1550.

7 3 and 4 E. VL c. 2. Compare the proclamation of April 17, 1549. All such
proclamations. * 5 and 6 E. VI. c, 6.

33—2

516

THE TUDORS.

AD. 1485 Some instructive illustrations of the difficulties with

1558

Norfolk which the legislature had to contend, in its efforts to regulate
and encourage industry, are furnished by the worsted manu-
facture in Norfolk. The trade had been organised with eight
wardens in 1467 \ but it had remained in a stationary or
declining condition till 1495 ; this was attributed to the
action of the statute of Henry IV. respecting apprentices,
"by reason whereof the young people of the said city be
grown to idleness, vices and other diverse misgovernances^"
This Act was consequently repealed so far as the citizens
of Norwich were concerned, the custom of a seven years'
apprenticeship was enforced, and the shearmen of Norwich
(always subject to the authority of the mayor) were to have
search over the shearmen, dyers, and calenderers of worsted.

Shearmen. The powers thus vested in the worsted shearmen interfered
with the rights of the old-established shearmen who plied
their craft in regard to cloth of all sorts ; and we have the
usual trouble about disputed jurisdiction between two crafts;
this led in 1504 to a minor alteration of the Act of 1495,
and in 1514 order was taken with respect to the process of
calendering; dry calendering was forbidden, and those who
did the work were to serve a seven years' apprenticeship and
satisfy the Mayor of Norwich and two masters of the craft
of their ability to do this work well^ Under these various

ks>. 1523. regulations the trade was much increased and multiplied in
Norwich and the adjoining towns; but since it was "costly
and painful" for the people of Yarmouth and Lynn, "who
were daily using and practising the making of the said cloths
more busily and diligently than in times past," to take the
worsteds to be examined at Norwich, the worsted weavers of
Yarmouth were to be permitted to choose a warden of their
own*; as soon as there should be ten householders of the
said craft of worsted weavers at Lynn, they were to have the
same privilege. The whole was recited in an Act of 1534,
which makes some provisions for trade marks, limits the
number of apprentices to two for each worker, and exempts

1 7 E. IV. c. 1. See above, p. 435.

2 11 H. Vn. c. 11 ; 19 H. Vn. c. 17.
* 14 and 15 H. VHI. c. 3.

8 5 Henry VIH. c. 4.

THE GILDS. 517

Lynn and Yarmouth from the obnoxious Act of Henry IV,; it a.d. i485
also insists that the whole process of manufacture, shearing,
calendering, dyeing and all, should take place before the
cloth is exported ^ This series of statutes is instructive in
many ways, but especially because it shows that the need of
regulation was strongly felt. Parliamentary regulation was
superseding merely municipal authority in the control of
trade affairs, but the old institutions continued to be used,
so far as was practicable. It was the policy of the govern-
ment to reorganise and recreate misteries, or fellowships,
or craft gilds in places where they did not then exist, so long
as they were really kept in subjection to parliamentary or
judicial authority.

There were other matters connected with the worsted Wool.
trade that demanded attention ; the Norfolk trade depended
on a supply of wool from the Norfolk breed of sheep, and
in 1541 sufficient yarn from this wool could no longer be
obtained by the local weavers, as it was bought up by little
and little by regrators who exported it to Flanders, and we
have a statute against the regrators of yarn^ A general
statute against the regrators of wool was so worded^ as to a.d. 1545,
render illegal the operations of the middlemen, who supplied
the Norwich spinners with 8d. worth or one shilling's worth
at a time; and this made it impossible for the poor to get wool
to spin, so that further modification was needed*. These a.d. 1547.
ma}^ appear to be the merest trivialities, but they are worth
mentioning, since they serve to show the great practical dif-
ficulties with which the legislature had to contend during
the whole of the period when serious efforts were made to
develope native industry by governmental interference ; the
aim of these measures was one thing, but they often had
indirect effects which were unforeseen and which rendered
subsequent modification inevitable.

148. In so far as the control of industry was thu3\
nationalised, and effective measures were taken for securing
the use of honest materials and good workmanship through-
out the country, the old centres of industry would lose any

1 26 H. Vni. c. 16. a 33 H. Vm. c. 16.

8 37 H. VIII. c. 15. * 1 Ed. VI. c. 5.

518 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1486 advantage they possessed by a special reputation for good
~ ' manufacture. The displacement of industry from these
ancient towns was also accelerated by other causes, for they
had not only lost their advantage, but suffered from con-
siderable drawbacks in attempting to compete with new
Decay of districts. The pressure of the apprenticeship Act of Henry IV.,
'uywns^ * the heavy assessments which they paid for the wars with
France and for Henry VII.'s unnecessary exactions, and lastly
the regulations made by the gilds with regard to apprentices
and journeymen, were all telling against the old corporate
towns ; they were at a disadvantage as compared with neigh-
bouring villages, and there was as a consequence a con-
siderable displacement of industry from old centres to new
ones, or to suburbs.
Worcester. An excellent instance may be found in the complaint of
the clothiers of Worcester, Evesham, Droitwich, Kidder-
minster and Bromsgrove with regard to a trade which had
A.D. 1534. been existing from a very early time. " Whereas the said
city, burghs and towns^ have been in time past Avell and
substantially inhabited, occupied, maintained and upholden
by reason of making of woollen cloths, called long cloths,
short cloths and other cloths, as well whites, blues, and brown
blues, and the poor people of the said city, burghs, towns
and of the country adjoining to them daily set awork as in
spinning, carding, breaking and sorting of wools, and the
handycrafts there inhabiting as weavers, fullers, shearmen
and dyers, have been well set awork and had sufficient living
by the same, until now within few years past that diverse
persons inhabiting and dwelling in the hamlets, thorps and
villages adjoining to the said city, burghs and towns within
the said shire, for their private wealths, singular advantage
and commodities, nothing regarding the maintenance and
upholding of the said city, burghs and towns, nor the poor
people which had living by the same, have not only engrossed
and taken into their hands diverse and sundry farms and
become farmers, graziers* and husbandmen, but also do

1 25 H. yrn.. c. 18.

2 The point of this complaint, as in regard to Hemp at Bridport, had reference
to the price of wool.

THE GILDS. 519

exercise, use and occupy the misteries of cloth making, a.d. 1485
weaving, fulling and shearing within their said houses, and do
make all manner of cloths, as well broad cloths, whites and
plain cloths, within their said houses in the countries abroad
to the great decay, depopulation and ruin of the said city,
towns and burghs." It was therefore enacted that none were
to make cloths in Worcestershire but the residents in the towns,
and with a view of facilitating the return of the craftsmen it
was ordered that house rent should not be raised to clothiers
above the current rate of the preceding twenty years.

Precisely similar measures were also passed with regard a.d. 1529.
to Bridport about rope-making, which was a trade of special
importance for naval purposes ^ and another about coverlets a.d. 15^3.
in Yorkshire : none were to be made but in the city of York,
and the wardens of their craft were to have the right of
search all over the country^ There is some evidence in 1550
of the special difficulties to which London artisans were
exposed " as well in bearing and paying of taxes, tallages,
subsidies, scot, lot, and other charges as well to the kings
majesty as to the said city and at many and sundry
triumphs and other times for the kings honour," so that
there was a danger of the freemen being driven away *. In
the time of Philip and Mary the same sort of change was a.d. 1555.
taking place in Somerset, and the weavers and other artisans
were moving into villages where they escaped the supervision
that would have been exercised over them in Bridge water *.

Nor was this a merely local affair which was only to be
noticed in one or two districts ; it was a cause of general
complaint by John Coke, the Secretary of the Merchant
Adventurers, in his vapid reply to the Debate of the Heralds^,
and it called forth a statute in 1554 of a perfectly general
character. The preamble sets forth how the cities were
formerly very populously inhabited by craftsmen, and the
children "were civily brought up and instructed" so that the

1 21 H. VIII. c. 12. 2 34 and 35 H. VIH. c. 10.

8 3 and 4 Ed. VI. c. 20. < 2 and 3 P. and M. c. 12.

* "Also if our clothiei's were commaunded to enhabyte in townes as they do in
Prannce, Flaunders, Brabant, Holande and other places, we shuld have as many good
townes in England as you have in France and cloth fyner and truelyer made notwy th-
standynge your bragges." John Coke, Debate. See also Armstrong (Pauli), p. 64

520 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 kings could obtain the services of many persons well fur-
~ ° ■ nished for the wars, and the towns could pay fifteenths and
tenths, which were far too high for them in their impoverished
Retail condition. The most pressing mischief arose from the way
in which linendrapers, wooUendrapers, haberdashers and
grocers in the country districts, not only carried on the trade
where they lived, but interfered with the retail trade in the
towns as well ; and it was provided that countrymen might
not retail goods in market towns except at fairs \ From this
very curious statute we may see that the migration of industry
had gone so far, that the retail dealers were forced to follow
the artisans in order to get a livelihood, and that the older
towns were decaying, not merely as places for industry but
as centres for buying and selling. There were so few
substantial householders who were not concerned in the
victualling business and eligible for the duty of regulating
the assize of bread and ale^, that the regulations of the
statutes were relaxed in their favour in 1512 ^

What has been proved so far is the general decay of
English towns in the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries, the
effects of which were patent in the sixteenth ; we have also
found evidence of the displacement of industry in particular
centres where it was migrating from the older towns to the
country districts ; while there are indications of the growth
of one important industry and the partial recovery of Great
Yarmouth : the whole picture would become more complete
if we could name any new towns which were beginning to
New towns, come into prominence. But it is much harder to date the
expansion of a village into a town, than to mark precisely
the signs of the decline of what had once been a flourishing
city into a mere village. There are, however, three of the
great modem centres of industry which began to come into
if an. notice in the Tudor reigns. Manchester is casually referred

cfi^ster.^ to as a market town in the time of Edward IV.*, but it is
spoken of in 1542* as a flourishing centre of textile manu-
facture, both linen and woollen, especially of Manchester

1 1 and 2 P. and M. c. 7. a 12 Ed. n. c. 6. 6 R. II. c. 9.

3 3 H. VIII. c. 8. "Many and the most part of the cities, buighs and towns
corporate within this realm of England be fallen in ruin and decay."
* Rot. Pari. VI. 1S2 a. « 33 H. VIH. c. 15.

THE GILDS. 521

cottons and Manchester freizesK Leland gives a most inter- a.d. 1485
esting picture of Birmingham as it was in his time, and we ~ ^, ',„
may picture it as a mere village, but with very active forges Birming-
and ironworks ^. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth the Lord ""'
of the Manor of Sheffield^ permitted the formation of a Sheffield.
company of cutlers there. In each of these cases an ancient
village, which was still under manorial government, and had
not risen to the rank of a corporate town, comes into notice
as a centre of the active industrial life through which it has
subsequently attained a world-wide fame. The assessment
of 1334, which rendered the Lancastrian taxation so heavy
to the older corporate towns, was in all probability but
lightly felt in these rising villages ; and we may surmise
that craft gilds had never obtained any considerable sway.
It is not improbable too that London was greatly rein-
vigorated at this time*. The new companies, such as the Lovtion
Muscovy Merchants, the Turkey Merchants and others, were
mostly composed of London citizens, and the rapid growth
of the capital gave rise to much anxiety, which found expres-
sion under Elizabeth and Charles I.

149. Since the corporate towns were thus decaying, Oiida
it seems to follow that municipal institutions for the re- Edward
gulation of trade would be in a moribund condition. The
craft gilds, in so far as they were merely municipal, and had
not been nationalised by royal charter or parliamentary
legislation, had little power for good, and they had long been
complained of as detrimental to the public ; they were ready
to vanish away^ In the reign of Edward VL, their prestige
suffered seriously by the confiscation of the property they
held for religious purposes, while it also appears that their
powers, for good or for evil, were greatly diminished.

1 5 and 6 Ed. VI. c. 6. The 'cottons' were a kind of woollen manufacture.

2 Leland, iv. 114. 8 Hunter, Uallamshire (Gatty), p. 150.
* Compare Armstrong's complaint in Pauli, Drei Denkschriften, p. 40.

5 Some of the York gUds, which had the right of voliug in city elections,
disappeared about the middle of the sixteenth century. (Miss M. Sellers, in Eng.
Hist. Review, rx. 279.) Other crafts continued to exist and to exercise their
municipal rights of election to the common council under the Charter of
Henry VIII., but it seems doubtful whether they exercised much direct authority
over their respective trades. It appears that they served as mere assessors in the
Mayor's Court in trade disputes, and did not exercise coercive powers of their own
after 1519. (Drake, Eboracum, 215.)

522

THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485
—1558.

Dis-

criminat-
ing attack
on gild
projperty.

The generally accepted opinion \ that the entire property
of the gilds was confiscated by Somerset in 1547, can no
lonsfer be maintained without considerable modification.
Professor Ashley- has shown that the confiscatory statute*
was drafted in most careful terms, and discriminated clearly
between the property devoted to religious and to secular
purposes. All the property of gilds which simply existed
for religious purposes was taken away ; but the property of
craft gilds was left untouched, except in so far as it was held
in trust for some religious purpose ; in such cases it was
swept away as superstitious. But even though the statute
was thus discriminating, it may be doubted whether con-
siderable loss was not inflicted on the gilds in their secular
character. Gilds which were founded for purely religious
objects occasionally devoted their funds to works of secular
importance, like the repairing of roads, bridges or sea walls ;
it is not clear that such bodies would escape under this Act,
though at Wisbech* the inhabitants were able, by paying a
heavy fine, to obtain the position of a corporate town and to
retain the possessions of the Trinity Gild. The real question
is as to the fairness of the commissioners in enforcing the
Act ; some educational foundations were spared as had been
done in 1546*, but since this was the work which the royal
advisers professed to have chiefly at heart ^, they could
hardly do less. On the other hand the story of the diffi-
culties connected with the preservation of the hospital at
Coventry'^ renders it doubtful whether they were scrupulous
in maintaining charitable provision for old age ; and it is
difficult to understand the precise motive of the Grocers'*
and other companies in attempting to conceal their lands* if
there was no danger that the commissioners would deprive
them of their property.

1 J. Toulmiu Smith, English Gilds, 250. Rogers, Six Centuries, 349.
a Economic Hist. i. ii. 145. s i Ed. VT. c. 14.

4 Watson, Wisbech, 169 f. s At Ludlow, English Gilds, 198.

<> No new schools in Yorkshire were founded by Edward VI., and some existing
educational foundations were dissolved. Page, Chantry Certificates, n. xi.

7 It appears from Dugdale's Warwickshire, that the lands of Ford's Hospital
were claimed by the Crown under the Act, and that Bond's Hospital was re-
founded by a patent in 2 Ed. VI. See also R. M. Clay, op. cit. 225.

8 Strype's Stow's Survey, n. v. 177. ^ Clode, Early History, 144.

THE GILDS. 523

Though the character of the Act of 1547 has been mis- A.D. 1485
represented and its effect exaggerated, it is difficult to believe T., "^ '
that it passed over the craft gilds and left them unscathed, ^trictiona.
Another measure in 1549^ struck a more direct blow, not at
their property but at their powers^. It was especially aimed
at victuallers and cooks, and it decreed that any brotherhood
or company of any craft or mistery of victuallers which
combined to raise prices should be immediately dissolved;
but it also prohibited any artisans or workmen from making
those very regulations which it had been the chief function
of the craft gilds to enforce. Workmen were not to conspire
or make oaths that they shall not do their work but at a
given rate, or shall not work but at certain times and hours.
This enactment seems to strike a blow at the powers of all
the craft gilds, in so far as any of them rested on merely
municipal authority, and had not been re-enforced by the
crown or by legislatiou.

In any case, the day of these municipal institutions was
over ; as was pointed out above, they were hardly consistent
with capitalist production; and the leading manufacture of
the country was being organised more and more on the new
lines, John Winchcomb was a great employer of labour, who Factories.
seems to have been under little restriction as to the number
of his apprentices or the conditions of his journeymen.
Stump, who fitted up monastic buildings at Malmesbury as
a sort of factory ^ was a man of a similar type ; that cloth-
making had assumed a capitalistic type is no longer a mere
inference, and the evidence is confirmed by the terms of the
Act of 1555, which shows that this trade had got into the
hands of employers with large capitals. "For as much as
the weavers of this realm have as well at this present
parliament as at diverse other times, complained that the

1 2 and 3 Ed. VI. c. 15. The third section of this Act relating to the building
trades was repealed ia the following year, 3 and 4 Ed. VI. c. 20, but the sections
summarised in the text were made perpetual by 22 and 23 Charles n. c. 19, and
only repealed in 1825.

2 In Scotland where these measures did not operate the remains of the gUd
system are far more obvious than in English towns ; as in S. Mary Magdalene's
Chapel in the Cowgate in Edinburgh or the Trinity HaU in Aberdeen.

3 Leland, Itin. ii. 53. On the Tames of Cirencester and Fairford compare
Mrs Green, Town Life, n. 68, and Leland, Itin. v. 65.

524

THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 rich and wealthy clothiers do many ways oppress them, some
~" ■ by setting up and keeping in their houses diverse looms, and
keeping and maintaining them by journeymen and persons
unskilful, to the decay of a great number of artificers which
were brought up in the said science of weaving, their families,
and households, some by engrossing of looms into their hands
and possession and letting them out at such unreasonable
rents as the poor artificers are not able to maintain them-
selves, much less their wives, family and children, some also
by giving much less wages and hire for the weaving and
workmanship of cloth than in times past they did^" Economic
conditions would cooperate with the decay of the towns and
the action of Parliament, to hamper the old craft gilds, but
there is no reason to believe they were actively stamped out
or entirely suppressed. Even if their prestige was lowered
and their authority sapped they might still linger on ; before
the close of Elizabeth's reign there was a reaction in public
opinion in favour of some institution of the kind, and they
were reconstituted, or companies which corresponded to them
were created anew. But these Elizabethan institutions differed
from those they had replaced in two particulars — they were
national not merely municipal institutions, for they drew
their powers from Parliament or the Crown ; they were also
in their composition, capitalistic associations, and thus they
were in close accord with the changed conditions of the times.
The increasing importance of capital in industry may
also be indfrectly gathered from measures which were passed
in the reigns of Edward VL and his sister. Steps were
A D. 1550. taken to prevent employers from hiring their journeymen by
the week or for other short periods ; and they were also pro-
hibited from overstocking with apprentices, as each man was
to have one journeyman to every three apprentices'^. Those who
are familiar with the discussion which has arisen in our own
time about uncertainty of employment and ' hourly hirings*,'
or with the eighteenth century outcry about 'overstocking
with pauper apprentices*,' will have no difficulty in recognising
in such phenomena the symptoms of capitalistic industry.

1 2 and 3 P. and M. c. 11. 2 3 and 4 E. Vl. c. 22.

s Indtistrial Remuneration Conference Report, pp. 92, 106. * Brentano, CLxxn.

Jonmey-
men and
Appren-
tices.

THE GILDS. 525

There is another striking instance of the important part A.D. 1485
which industrial capital was beginning to assume in connection ~"^^^^-
with textile manufactures. Russets, satins and fustians of Planting
Naples had been imported into the kingdom in large quantities "*'" ''^" "'
and the Norwich worsted trade was said to be suffering in
consequence. It occurred to certain substantial men of that
city, however^ that it might be possible to introduce the
foreign art into this country ; and the Mayor with six Alder-
men and six other merchants of Norwich had, " at their great
costs and charges, as well in bringing of certain strangers from
the parts beyond the sea into the said city, as also in making
looms and all other provision for the same," introduced the
art, and set twenty-one weavers to learn it, so that the russets
and fustians of Norwich were better and cheaper than those a.d. 1555.
of Naples. They accordingly obtained an Act of Parliament
by which they were incorporated, and had power given them
to regulate the manufacture and to choose wardens who should
search for defective goods. This is, so far as I know, the first
venture of capitalists to import the necessary plant and the
necessary skill so as to introduce a new trade ; the craft gilds
had originated as associations of those who were actual workers,
but it is evident that this was a corporation consisting not of
artisans but of capitalists. Just as the merchants of Bristol
were empowered to make discoveries and trade to the west,
and the London merchants to send their expeditions to the
north and east, so were these Norwich merchants associated,
but for an industrial and not a trading enterprise. We might
push the analogy farther and notice that in both cases they
were enabled to form a regulated and not a joint- stock
company. The efforts which were made to develop mining
in England^ with the help of Germans and others in the
sixteenth century must certainly have proceeded on capi-
talist lines. The increased attention which was now given
to industrial improvement was at least congruent with the
new importance which capital was assuming in industry.

» 1 and 2 P. and M. c. 14.

2 Cuimingham, Alie7i Immigrants, 122.

526

THE TUDORS.

V. The Land Question.

A.D. 1485
—1558.

150. The Tudor reigns were a period of great discontent
and some disorder in rural districts ; the tendencies which
had begun to operate after the Black Death were causing
results which were viewed with great anxiety ; the depopu-
lation of some parts of the realm — with the dearness of
provisions which was supposed to be associated with it' —
seemed to be a great political danger. The remarks of
such writers as Sir Thomas More'^, the Chancellor of the
Realm, and Thomas Starkey, a Royal Chaplain', are con-
clusive as to the wide range over which the change was
progressing, as well as the preamble of the Act of 1534'*.
Improved It is neccssary, however, to look at the matter a little more
closely, in order to appreciate the reasons which rendered the
new methods of land management profitable, and to note
the precise nature of the injuries which were being inflicted
on some classes of the rural population.

There were doubtless many landlords who used their
land as sheep runs", and this Avas the form of the new land
management which struck the popular imagination. But this
was only one of the ways in which the new order was proving
incompatible with the old ; whatever was inconsistent with
the traditional customary husbandry Avas injurious to a
peasantry who preferred to carry on their work by the
methods to which they were habituated. Improved land
management of any kind implied the withdrawal of some
open fields or some portion of the waste fi'om use in common :
it was the destruction of the " territorial shell " of the
traditional agricultural organisation, and was spoken of as
enclosing. Neither a landlord nor a tenant could use his
land exclusively, in the way in which he could turn it to

manage
ment

with

enclosure
for sheep

&.*.

husbandry,

1 On this point the judgment of contemporaries seems to have been mistaken.
There appears to have been no disproportionate rise in the price of com and other
victuals. It was a time when all prices were rising. Strype, Ecc. Mem. n. i. 146
and II. ii. 359.

2 Utopia, p. 41.

* Dialogue between Cardinal Pole and Thomas Lupset (E. E. T. S.), p. 72;
Introduction, Sec. 2, refs.

4 25 H. Vm. c. 13. * See p. 448 above.

THE LAND QUESTION. 527

most advantage, without depriving his neighbours of some of a.d. 1435
the rights they had previously exercised. If a portion of the ~ ' ^'
common waste were enclosed, the area on which the tenants
could pasture their cattle was diminished, and they might
find it impossible to keep their stock in proper condition.
A similar injury, though on a smaller scale, was done by the
enclosure of adjacent strips in the arable fields, as the
commoners could no longer let their cattle range over the
whole of the stubble in what had once been common fields.
The nature of the evil becomes most clear when we refer to
a present day illustration afforded by recent troubles in the
north-west of Scotland. The position of the Skye crofter is,
economically at all events, closely analogous to that of the
husbands in the Tudor times ; a struggle has arisen between
the small farmer working his holding on traditional
lines and the leaseholder or tacksman with a farm\ which
he worked on the most remunerative system. The precise
grievances alleged are very similar, as in many instances
sheep farming was very profitable. Sometimes we hear
more of eviction and the pulling down of houses, sometimes
of deprivation of pasture and the consequent inability
of the crofters to farm at a profits The parallel becomes
even more close when we remember that much of the de-
populating in Tudor times was made not so much for profit,
and the keeping of sheep, as for the amenity of enjoying a
park, and for sport. "If they will needs have some deer for orfordetr.
their vain pleasure, then let them take such heathy, woody
and moory grounds as is unfruitful for corn and pasture so
that the common wealth be not robbed ; and let them make
good defence that their poor neighbours joining with them
be not devoured of their corn and grass ^" The fashion of
imparking seems to have been less prevalent in Elizabeth's
time, and some of those who realised that it was a useless
extravagance began to dispark their land*.

1 Syke Crofters' Commission Report, App. A., pp. 5, 36.

2 RepoH, p. 31.

3 H. Brinklow, Complaynt of Roderyck Mors (E. E. T. S.), p. 17. Whittaker'a
Whalley, n. 188.

* Harrison, c. 19 in Holinshed, 346. Norden, Surveyor's Dialogue, 118.

528 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 There can be no doubt that in some cases there was

1558

Depopuia- deliberate depopulating^ on the part of landlords who desired
zw^ d *^ ^^^ ^^^ whole of the area into their own hands and to use
it in the way that gave them most profit or pleasure. The
practice of granting land on leases of lives had become
common 2, so that on an estate where the new system of land
management was adopted, the tenantry could be gradually
dispossessed without any straining of legal rights on the part
of the landlords ; though the greatly increased fines which
were sometimes demanded' were felt to be a hardship. In
very many instances, however, it would appear that the
landlords were not the prime movers in the matter, but they
were only to be blamed for giving permission to enterprising
tenants to enclosed There is ample evidence that the process
of differentiation was going on among the English peasantry
and yeomen, and that while some felt the pressure of the
new conditions severely, others were prospering greatly^
Farmers were doing so well that many of them were able to
and by buy the lands of unthrifty gentlemen*. These men were not
fenofjts'"'* for the most part sheep farmers, but men who combined
arable farming with cattle breeding, and carried on what was
known as convertible husbandry^. To do this, however, it
was necessary to Avithdraw the land from the customary
system of tillage, and to be free to fence it, and use it as
separate closes. This could hardly be managed so long as a
man had a holding which consisted of many scattered strips^:
what the tenant wished to do, was to get hold, by exchange

1 See p. 448 above. Hall, Formula Booh, u. 181.

2 Bacon, Henry VII. in Works, vi. 94. See also A. H. Johnson, op. cit. 61.

8 A supplication of Poor Commons (E. E. T. S.), 79. Scrutton, Commons, 82.

^ Norden, Surveyor's Dialogue, 98, 101.

• Davenport, op. cit. 85. Hasbach, English Agricultural Labourer, 38.

6 See p. 401, n. 4, above. Harrison in Holinshed, i. 275.

■^ Cattle breeding had been an important element in monastic economy (Savine,
English Monasteries, 194) as a supply of dairy produce was needed in large
establishments. Dairy farming, as well as com growing, involved the employ-
ment of labour, and sheep farming, with depopulation, was unfavourable to both.
The pubhcation of L. Mascall's Government of Cattel (1600) and Husbandlye
Ordering and Governing of Powltrie (1581) was significant of the increased atten-
tion given to these branches of rural industry in the latter part of Elizabeth's reign.

8 The Doctor in the Discourse of the Common Weal argues that if the system
of holdings, each consisting of scattered strips, were maintained, enclosing would
not occur, p. 56.

THE LAND QUESTION. 529

or purchase of contiguous strips which he could fence, and a.d. 1485
which would form a convenient close. The enterprising y,ko united
tenant who wished to work his land on the best system was '^^o^dings
anxious to join several holdings and to work them as one
farm, and this practice of letting two or three tenantries unto
one man was particularly singled out for reprobation in 1514
and subsequent years\ Under these circumstances there
would be a keen competition for farms, and those who were
carrying on their business on the best methods would be
able to outbid the men who adhered to the customary
system. The man whose holding was in severalty was Avell
able to thrive, both as regards ploughing with oxen^, folding
his sheep on fallow^, breeding and rearing lambs*, rearing
calves ^ and using his pasture to advantage"; while he could
also count upon having better crops than grew on the
common fields. Trouble almost necessarily ensued from the
inevitable competition between the men who farmed in
severalty and those who kept to the traditional practice.
Men who practised convertible husbandry were able to afford
to pay rents'' which were ruinous to those who carried on the
traditional customary tillage. The rise of rents would occur
in connection with improved agriculture, and not merely
because the value of the land for sheep-pasture had increased.

The operations of a tenant who obtained leave from the and
lord to farm in severalty were plainly injurious to the rest s'evei^alty'
of the villagers ; and it is interesting to note that the most
dangerous of all the outbreaks against enclosing appears to
have originated in grievances of this type. There is no
reafson to suppose that there had been any great development
of sheep farming in Norfolk^, and the complaints of Kett and

1 Compare the Petition to Henry VIII., 1514, quoted in Ballads from MS., by
Furnivall, p. 101. Tyndale, Doctrinal Treatises (Parker Soc), 201. W. Eoy,
Hede me and be nott uxrothe (Arber's Eeprint), p. 100. Ballads from MS., p. 17.
Hutchinson's Wo7-]cs (Parker Soc), 301; T. Lever, ^ Sermon made in the Shroudes
at Poules (Arber's Eeprint) ; Crowley's Epigrams of Rent Raisers (E. E. T. S.). On
the connection between engrossing and enclosing, compare H. L. Gray, Yeoman
farming in Oxfordshire in Quarterly Journal of Economics, xxiv. 322.

2 Fitzherbert, Husbandry, p. 7. •' Ibid. p. 20.
4 Ibid. pp. 34, 36. * Ibid. p. 51. '■ Ibid. p. 71.

7 T. Lever, Sermon. See Vol. u. 106, n. 1 ; Harrison in Moiinshed, i. 318.

8 Davenport, op. cit. 81.

c. H. 34 . '

530

THE TUDORS,

so as to

save

labour.

A.D. 1485 his followers were almost entirely confined to allegations of
~ ' encroachment on common rights ^ and to abuses in con-
nection with dove-cotes and rights to fishing and to game I
There is no mention of the pulling down houses in order to
convert land to pasture, and the excitement might all have
arisen in connection with piece-meal enclosure by tenants
for convertible husbandry. Fitzherbert, and the other ad-
vocates of agricultural improvement appear to have thought
that it would be possible for all the tenants in a town to
adopt convertible husbandry, so that all should gain by
enclosing their holdings into severalty^ But the improved
husbandry was a labour-saving system ; a large area could be
profitably worketi by the tenant himself, without help ; and
each man was anxious to get as large a holding as he could
manage to advantage. The march of agricultural improve-
ment involved a certain amount of depopulation ; as Harrison
observed " The ground of a parish is gotten into a few men's
hands yea sometimes into the tenure of one, two, or three,
whereby the rest are compelled either to be hired servants
Tinto the others or to beg their bread in misery from door to
door'*." This change was not so ruthless as the depopulation
caused by the introduction of sheep farming, but it was
practically incompatible with the maintenance of open fields
and of the customary tillage. The enclosure of a few acres
might be felt as a serious grievance even in cases where the
greater part of the parish continued to lie in open fields.

151. The outcry and social disorder which arose in con-
nection with the introduction of the new system of land-
management necessitated government interference on several
occasions ; the action of the government was directed towards
political and social objects, and there was an evident desire
not to obstruct the course of agricultural improvement.

Owing
to the
national
dangers

1 Eussell, Kett, 48. Compare also in Cambriflge ; Cooper, Annals, ii. 38.

3 Compare the complaints in 1381. See p. 403 above.

8 Fitzherbert, Surveyinge, p. 96. Norden, Surveyor's Dialogue, 99. Compare
also the agreement quoted by Mr Corbett, Elizahetho.n Village Survey, in Royal
Hist. Soc. Trans., N.S. xi. 84. Discourse of Common Weal, 49; Tusser, Five
Hundred Points of Husbandry , chaps, xviu. and Liu.

1 Holinshed, i. 325.

THE LAND QUESTION. 531

There were three points of view from which sheep farming a.d. usj
with depopulation was to be deprecated : it diminished the
effective fighting force of the realm; it encouraged ab-
senteeism, and it interfered with the raising of the largest
available supply of food. The political danger of having an
insuflScient number of inhabitants to repel an attack, was
the point which first attracted the attention of Parliament^;
the Isle of Wight was taken up with a few large shoep-runs, statutes
the towns and villages had been let down, the fields dyked pai^sed to
and made pasture, and there was no effective force to defend g^^^*/*
the coast against the French ; hence it was decreed that no fo-rming
one was to have more than one farm, or a farm the rent of
which exceeded ten marks. The lords did not exert them-
selves to put pressure on their tenants as they might have
done under Henry VIII. 's first Acts on the subject^ ; but in
1517 the matter was taken up energetically by Wolsey^ and
royal commissioners were appointed to visit every county
and to make enquiries on the spot as to the area that had
been enclosed since 1488, as well as the number of ploughs
laid down, of houses decayed, and other evidences of depopu-
lation. The result of these enquiries survives for several
counties ; it was known in an imperfect form to some previous
enquirers* : but it has been examined with great care,
analysed in detail and published by Mr I. S. Leadam^ The
minute information it furnishes as to the nature of the
changes wrought during thirty years is of the greatest
interest; but it does not appear that the enquiry led to
successful measures for checking the evils of depopulation.
In 1536 Parliament enacted that the king should have the
moiety of all lands decayed since the previous statute was
passed, till the owners should repair or re-erect houses of
husbandry again «; while another statute prohibited any

» 4 H. YII. c. 16.

2 6 H. VIII. c. 5 and 7 H. \T:II. c. 1.

3 E. F. Gay, Inqxdsitions of Depopulations in Royal Hist. Soc. Trans., N.S.
xrv. 236.

4 Schanz, ii. 671.

5 Transactions of the Royal Hintorical Society, vi. 167, vu. 127, vin. 251.

6 27 H. Vin. c. 22.

34—2

absentee-
ism.

532 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 single grazier from having a flock of more than 2000 sheep-.

—1^58. rpjjg political danger which arose from the progress of sheep
farming was also put prominently forward as the ground for
the Commissions of enquiry issued in 1547",

and We should have been inclined to suppose that Parlia-

ment would have been as decidedly opposed to depopulating
for the sake of forming a park ; but an exception was made
in favour of these enclosures. The reason may probably
have been that the sheep farming proprietor was likely to be
an absentee, while the man who indulged in the extravagance
of a park was likely to make his country house his home.
Whatever the faylts of monastic management may have
been^, the religious houses were resident landlords and
tradition ascribed to them a readiness to perform duties
which new men were not unlikely to ignore. A very
large area of landed property changed hands about this
time^, and the evils of enclosure were brought into fresh

1 25 H. Till. c. 13.

2 The King's Proclamation is very explicit. The force and puissance of this
onr realm, which was wont to be greatly feared of all foreign powers is very much
decayed ; our people wonderfully abated, and those that remain grievously
oppressed. Strype, Ecc. Mem. n. ii. 349 also u. i. 145. Compare also the address
of Hales to bis fellow-commissioners. " For lack of people to defend us against
our enemies we shall be a prey for them." Strype, Ecc. Mem. n. ii. 352.

8 See above, p. 450. A tradition survived in some quarters as to the
kindly relations of monasteries with their tenants. "If any poor householder
lacked seed to sow his land, or bread, corn or malt before harvest, and came to a
monastery either of men or women he should not have gone away without help ;
for he should have had it until harvest, that he might easily have paid it again.
Yea if he had made his moan for an ox, horse or cow, he might have had it upon
his credit, and such was the good conscience of the borrowers in those days that
the thing borrowed needed not to have been asked at the day of payment.

"They never raised any rent, or took any incomes or garsomes (lines) of their
tenants, nor ever broke in or unproved any commons although the most part and
the gi'eatest waste grounds belonged to their possessions. If any poor people had
made their moan at their day of marriage to any Abbey they should have had
money given to their gi-eat help.* * Happy was that person that was tenant to
an abbey, for it was a rare thing to hear that any tenant was removed by taking
his farm over his head, nor was he afraid of any re-entry for non-payment of rent,
if necessity drove him thereto." Cole MSS. (British Museum), xu. fol. 5, The
Fall of Religious Houses.

* The difficulty of making any estimate in figures, either as to the area of the
monastic lands or the amount of their income is discussed by Savine (English
Monasteries, pp. 76 f.), but the sense of insecurity which the dissolution caused
must have been widespread, and tenants would be anxious to obtain leases from
the new owners even at increased rents (Ibid. 54).

THE LAND QUESTION. 533

prominence by the action of those who had obtained posses- a.d. 1485
sion of confiscated lands ^ The Act of 1586 had endeavoured ~ '^ '
to guard against absenteeism and contained a clause that
the new owners should be bound to keep a good and con-
tinual house and household on the same site, and to keep up
the same amount of tillage as formerly.

On the other hand the form of enclosure which was being hut
pushed on by enterprising tenants, who desired to have Tushmdry
holdings in severalty, was a real improvement in agriculture, Checked.
and provided an increased food supply ; and no government
could have seriously set about trying to stop it. Bacon
explains the discriminating policy which was adopted under
Henry VII.^ The government were content to try and
guide the change, and to prevent the small men from being
crowded out, in the hope that the practice of farming in
severalty might be adopted generally without injury to any
one. As, however, convertible husbandry was a labour-saving
system, its introduction tended to a decrease of the popula-
tion maintained upon the soil and social difficulties necessarily
ensued ^

152. The failure of the Commissions of 1549 shewed Farming
that the new system of land management had come to stay : market
the manorial economy under which land was cultivated by a «"P«''*«'^«<^
great household consisting of the lord and his dependants was ^i/stem of

11 I I'lpi •! • Ti • catering for

broken up ; the skiliul agricultunst did not aim, as Walter household
of Henley had done, at providing sustenance for a great
household, but at meeting the requirements of the market.
Both in rural and in industrial areas the household was
ceasing to be the unit of organisation*, and market consider-
ations were becoming paramount : in towns the change is
marked by the decay of gilds; in rural districts by the
extinction of villainage.

1 Jokn Hales in Miss Lainond's Introduction to the Discourse of the Common
Weal, XI. Lix. ; Supplication of Poor Commons, 80.

2 Bacon, Henry VII. in Worhs, vi. 93.
s Vol. n. pp. 101, 552.

* Thei-e is a parallel but also a contrast. In towns there had been an associa-
tion of small householders and it gave place to a system of large employers ; in
rural districts there had been large households and they gave place to small
capitahst farms.

534 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 Manorial economy had come to an end, for the traces of

"~ ^ ' serfdom which crop up at intervals before this time may now
serfdom \)q gaid to ccase. There is incidental evidence of the very
a^caji, general continuance of serfdom long after the time of the
Peasants' Revolt. The efforts of the villains to shake off
their disabilities by inducing the lords to answer their
pleadings in the king's courts, would hardly have demanded
special legislation in 1385 if they had practically succeeded
in attaining their ends'. Servitude of a practical character
survived the revolt ; Henry VI. legislated about his villains,
or bondsmen, in Wales^; the manumission of a serf and
his three sons on the estates of Bath Abbey is recorded
in 1531*. Much evidence of the general retention of
serfdom has been adduced* in corroboration of the complaint
of Fitzherbert, who, in the third decade of the sixteenth
century, lamented over the continuance of villainage as a
disgrace to the country ^ In 1536 the House of Lords read
and rejected a bill for the manumission of serfs called bond-
men ^ but Elizabeth issued a commission for enquiring into
the cases of bondmen on royal estates and for granting
manumissions^. In some localities the exaction of predial
services from villains by manorial lords can be traced as late
as the time of Elizabeth ^ but though no change was made in
the law, the lords seemed to have found that it was not
worth their while to assert their rights over the persons of
their bondmen®. Cash relationships entirely superseded
personal obligations in the ordinary conduct of the operations

1 9 E. II. c. 2. 2 25 Henry VI.

3 Granted by Bishop John Clarke. Harl. MSS. 3970, f. 37.

* Savine, Bondmen under the Tudors in Royal Hist. Sac. Trans., N.S. xvn.
175 ; Leadam, Select Cases in the Court of Bequests, 42, 46, and Select Cases in
the Star Chamber, cxxiv.

6 Fitzherbert, Surve.yinge, chapter xin. Compare also Institutions, f. 44,
quoted by Professor Jenks, Economic Journal, iii. 683. Leadam, Last Bays
of Bondage in England in Law Quarterly Beview, ix. 356. See further Rett's
Demand, "We pray that all bondmen be made free, for God made all free with his
precious blood-shedding." Russell, Rett's Rebellion, p. 51. Norden, Surveyor's
Dialogue, 78.

^ Journals of House of Lords, 15 July, 1436.

7 Rhymer, Fosdera, xv. 731. s Hasbach, op. cit. 30.

9 32 H. VIII. c. 2. See Howell's State Trials, xx. 40, in the report of the case
of Somerset, a negro slave, in 1771. Noy, Reports, 27.

THE LAND QUESTION. 535

of rural life ; but survivals of the old system in the habits of a.d. 1485

' ... 1558

collective husbandry remained in many districts^ and con- ^^^ .^^^y
tinned to affect the rate of agricultural progress. The open ^''^f^^fl^
field system, with customary tillage, held its own in many husbandry
parts of the country till the beginning of the nineteenth
century ; and it would be interesting if we could detect the
local causes, economic and others, which brought about the
introduction of new methods of land management in some
areas, while the old and less profitable system was maintained
in other districts^

153. No important change was made during this period Labourers'
in the statutes of labourers. The Act of 1495* closely follows ^
on the lines of that which had been passed fifty years before*;
it could not be enforced and was repealed^ but its provisions
were revived in 1514. These Acts limit the payments for
holiday times, and permit reductions for laziness in the
morning or at noonday or for sitting long over meals ; they
fix maximum rates of wages and permit the payment of
lower rates, where lower rates are usual. They are thus
obviously intended to keep wages down, but it is interesting
to notice that the statutable rates are higher than they had
'been ; the bailiff might get 26s. 8d. as against 24s. 4d. ; the
common servant in husbandry 16s. 8d. and 4s. for clothes as
against 15s. and 3s. 4<d. for clothes; artisan wages (without
meat and drink) go up from 4f^. and 5d. per day to 5d. and
Qd. per day in summer and winter respectively. The pre-
scribed hours of labour® are long. From the middle of March and hours
to the middle of September artificers were to work from 5 a.m. '""^'
till between 7 and 8 p.m., half an hour for breakfast and an
hour and a half for dinner and for the midday sleep, which
was allowed from May to August. In winter they were to
work during daylight^ This Act could not be enforced in

1 On collective organisation for the management of milch kyne see my address
in the Bo'/al Hist. Sac. Trans. 1910, 3rd Ser. Vol. iv.

2 Hasbach giveS many interesting cases where local conditions affected the
character of enclosing, oj). cit. 369.

» 11 H. Vn. c. 2-2. i 23 H. VI. c. 12. s 12 H. VII. c. 3.

6 The grounds on which Professor Rogers infers from various incidental
indications that the working day only lasted eight hours are very slight.

' 6 H. VIII. c. 3. A convenient summary of the laws regulating labour will
be found in The Ordynal, ?1542. [Brit. Mus. 1379 a, 3 (3).]

636 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 London, where higher wages had been given and where the
~~ ■ artisans were "at great charge for rent and victual"; so that
London was specially exempted from these regulations in
Ri.'^e of the following year\ The statute book also furnishes some
prices. additional evidence of a continued rise of the prices of
food, and consequent demands of labourers ; victuallers were
prohibited from combining to ask unreasonable prices, and the
artisans from combining for various purposes. Some of them
agreed not to work but for a rate which they themselves
fixed, they would not carry on the work which others had
begun, they limited the work they would do, and the hours
they would work each day, and generally conspired and took
oaths to back one another up in securing their own terms ;
this conduct called forth a severe law against such combina-
tions^ in 1549.

154. Such were the conditions on which employment

was obtained ; it remains for us to glance at the arrange-

The un- ments made for the unemployed. The problem was not

<wp oye . ^^^ -^^^^ .^ ^g^g pressing, and it was felt in all parts of

Europe^; the best methods of dealing with poverty were
being debated, and the municipal authorities, in English and
Continental towns, made strenuous efforts for the better
organisation of relief*. Reform in the method of bestowing
alms to the poor was one point on which Roman theologians*
were at one with Lutherans® and Zwinglians''. The English
legislation of the day distinctly reflects the new view of duty
which was thus gaining ground ; it was an endeavour to
adapt the experience that had been obtained and the prin-
ciples laid down in other countries to English use.

There was of course the double problem of dealing with
the vagrant and with the impotent poor respectively. The
difficulty in regard to the latter class was greater than ever.
The progress of enclosing, accompanied as it was by evic-

1 7 H. VTTT, c. 5. 2 2 and 3 E. VI. c. 15.

s In 1525 the town of Ypres led the way in an attempt to put down mendicancy
and to provide employment for the poor, and the Sorbonne expressed approval of the
project. On the whole subject compare the excellent Essay in Prof. Ashley's
Economic History, I. ii. 340.

* E. M. Leonard, Early History of English Poor Belief, 23.

5 The work of L. Vives, De Subventione pauperum (1526), was written in Loudon
(Ashley, op. cit. 343). 6 jbid. 342. f Ibid. 343.

THE LAND QUESTION. 537

tion, must have reduced large numbers of the population a.d. 1485
to the condition of homeless wanderers, while the disbanded
retainers were even more dangerous tramps. The literature Tram^a.
of the time is full of complaints of this evil, and in Starkey's
dialogue one of the speakers contends that idleness is the root
of the mischief But the Act of Richard II. was so severe that a.d. 1383.
it could not be enforced^ ; all the vagrants could not be
committed to gaol, as there was no accommodation for im-
prisoning the crowds of valiant and sturdy beggars. Ac-
cordingly the first measure of Henry VII.^ reduces the a.d. 1495.
penalty for vagabonds to three nights in the stocks, a punish-
ment which was afterwards limited^ to a day and a night.

The difficulty about impotent beggars was met by enjoin- The
ing everyone who was not able to work to "go rest and abide ^^or.
in his hundi-ed where he last dwelt, or where he is best
known or born, there to abide without begging out of the said
hundred." Those who professed to be scholars of the Uni-
versities were to be punished like other vagabonds unless they
could show letters from the Chancellor; and soldiers and
sailors were to be provided with letters from the captain
of the ship in which they landed*. Subsequent legislation
followed on these lines but became more and more definite.
In 1531 licenses" were required from all impotent persons ; Licenses
these were to be granted by justices of the peace and to define ° *^*
the limits within which the holder was licensed to ask for
alms. The able-bodied vagrants were now submitted to more
vigorous treatment ; they were to be tied to the end of a
cart and whipped through the place where they were found
begging, and then to be dispatched by the straight way to the
place where they were born or last dwelt, there to labour " like
as a true man oweth to do."

So far legislation had proceeded on the old lines ; it is Funds/or
in the Act of 1536 that the traces of the new opinions may ^'j, 1535^
be seen ; and, as Professor Ashley points out®, this measure
is the real basis of the English Poor Law System as it was
further developed under Elizabeth. An attempt was now

1 7 E. 11. c. 5. a 11 H. VII. c. 2.

8 19 H. YII. c. 12. 4 11 H. Vn. c. 2.

6 22 H. Vin. 12. s Ashley, Ec. Hist. i. ii. 359.

538 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 made to raise funds in each parish which might be used
~ ° ■ for the employment of the able-bodied and for the relief
of the impotent. The lack of some such provision had been
the chief defect in previous measures ; it had been found that
the existing Acts could not be enforced because there was no
money for the relief of the impotent poor, nor for the employ-
ment of the able-bodied, when they did return to the places
where they ought to be maintained ; there were besides no
sufficient instructions as to the way in which tramps should
repair to their proper districts. A beggar who was tramping
homewards at the rate of ten miles a day was to be relieved
" upon the sight of his letters given him at the time of his
whipping," and the officers of all towns and villages were to
Relief of keep the poor by way of voluntary and charitable alms ; while
impo en . ^]^g^ were to set the able-bodied to work so that they might
maintain themselves. The churchwardens were to gather the
alms with boxes on Sundays, festivals and holy days, so that
the poor, impotent, lame, sick, feeble and diseased might be
sufficiently provided for and not have to go about and beg\
Discoura;]' The most striking feature of this Act, however, is to be
l"ideled°'^' found in the clauses which prohibit begging and those that
chanty. ^^^ directed against indiscriminate charity. It was here
that the influence of the new opinions on Christian duty
is most obvious. If adequate provision were made for the
impotent by the authoritative administration of charitable
alms, begging was inexcusable, and private munificence only
came to be a temptation to the idle. Hence the first clause
imposes a penalty on any parish which does not make suitable
arrangements for organising the charity of the parishioners ;
and anyone who gave common doles or alms, except through
the agency thus created, was liable to a fine of ten times
the sum so expended. It is obvious that this provision
could not be strictly enforced, as the bona fide traveller
was permitted to give alms, and the monasteries were allowed
to continue their usual doles.

It is important to notice that these enactments were
found necessary before the effects of the dissolution of the

1 27 H. Vni. c. 25, which was composed by Henry himself (Froude, i. 80).
Dorset in Suppression of Monasteries, 36.

THE LAND QUESTION. 539

monasteries could be felt ; the religious houses obviously A.D. 1485
had not sufficed to relieve all the pauperism in the country, ^-^^
for the complaints to which allusion has been made above dissolution
all date from the time when they were still in full pos- nasteries.
session of their wealth. But there can be little doubt that
their suppression was followed by a frightful increase of the
evil ; we cannot of course obtain an3^hing of the nature of
statistics^ though the desperate measures of Edward VI. are
monuments of the greatness of the evil with which they
attempted to deal. His attention was called to the subject
by a sermon which Bishop Ridley preached at Westminster,
and the municipal authorities were encouraged to utilise the London
resources of the London Hospitals so as to provide for the diffe-
rent classes of the poor^. The Grey Friars' house was intended,
as Christ's Hospital, to be a home for beggar children.
S. Thomas's and S. Bartholomew's were assigned to the
sick, while Bridewell was to be used for the reception of
the thriftless poor ; this scheme was worked out by Bishop
Ridley in conjunction with the Lord Mayor. Three hospitals
" were also set aside as places where the poor could be set on
work^" in the city of York, where much consideration had
been given to the best means of dealing with the poor.

The effects of the destruction of the religious gilds in 1547 Oihi<! as
appear to have been exaggerated* ; but even if the labouring Societies

1 "Concerning the poor people, notwithstanding all the laws made against
their begging and for the provision of them within their several parishes and
towns where they dwell: for there be for one beggar in the first year of King
Henry Vin. at this day in the thirty-thu-d year of her Majesty an himdred. As
may partly be gathered by the multitude of the beggars that came to the funeral
of George late Earl of Shrewsbury celebrated at Sheffield in Yorkshire the 13th
day of January in the thirty-third year. For there were by the report of such as
served the dole unto them, the number of eight thousand, and they thought that
there were almost as many more that could not be served through their uuruliness.
Yea the press was so great that diverse were slain and many hurt : and further it
is reported of credible persons that well estimated the number of all the said
beggars that they thought there was about twenty thousand. Now judge ye what
a number of poor people is to be thought to be within the whole realm, seeing so
many appeareth to be in one small part of a county or shire, for it is thought by
great conjecture that all the said poor people were abiding and dwelling within
thirty miles of the town of Sheffield aforesaid and yet were there many more that
came not to the dole." The Fall of Religious Houses, Cole MSS. xii. fol. 25.

2 E. M. Leonard, Early History of I'oor Relief, HI. Clay, op. cit. 236.

3 M. Sellers, City of York in XVI. Century, Eng. Hist. Review, ix. 287.
^ See p. 522 above.

540 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 classes did not suffer much from the actual loss of property,
"" ' they were poorer by the destruction of these institutions.
The landed property of these gilds was for the most part
devoted to the maintenance of masses for departed brethren ;
but from the chests, as they were annually replenished with
fees and payments, assistance had been given to brethren
which enabled them to tide over hard times. The loss of the
peasantry cannot be measured by guessing at the probable
amount of cash in these chests, for the wrong that was done
them consisted in the removal of the friendly aid which would
have enabled them to pass through times of difficulty without
being ruined. The real mischief lay in the break up of
institutions which had saved men from falling into poverty,
far more than in the actual loss of accumulated funds.
Full information in regard to the possessions and rentals
of the gilds at the time of the confiscation is available for
the county of Somerset^ ; and while it is clear that there
had been considerable sums set aside for the support of
priests and the maintenance of lights, as well as wealth
in the forms of vestments and plate, it is not obvious that
there were accumulated fands or much land of which the
income had been assigned to benefit purposes ; it is doubtful
how far the discriminating provisions of the Act were
carried out, but it is possible that the benefit funds were
sometimes preserved for their original purposes. The de-
struction of the organisation was a serious matter, but the
loss of the possessions was comparatively unimportant, so far
as their friendly society functions were concerned.
Loiterers. The first year of Edward's reign was remarkable for an
extraordinary statute about loiterers ; they were to be reduced
to a temporary, and if incorrigible, to perpetual slavery, to be
kept in irons, and branded with a V. for vagrant or an S.
for slave according as their slavery was terminable or life-long.
It was also enacted that beggar children might be taken from
their parents against their will and apprenticed to serve till
they reached the age of four and twenty'^; but such severe
remedies were of course ineffectual ; they were set aside and

1 E. Green, Survey and Rental (1888), Somerset Record Society.

2 1 Eel VT c. 3.

A.D. 1547.

THE LAND QUESTION, 541

the Act of 1536 was revived with some trifling modifications A.D. 1485
in 1550\ ~^^^^-

The arrangements for providing employment and for the Charity
relief of the impotent were overhauled in 1552'', and the Uon.
system of charity organisation, which had been introduced '^■^- 1^^2.
in 1536, was modified in some details. Two collectors were
to be appointed by each parish ; they were to have a list of
all needy persons as well as of all parishioners, and to
" gently ask and demand " regular gifts of so much a week
from every man and woman. If any persons declined to
give, the parson was to exhort them ; and if they were still
obdurate, they were to be sent for by the Bishop who was to
persuade them as best he might. Under Queen Mary the a.d. 1555.
same system was continued, but Christmas was fixed as the
time for obtaining promises about weekly contributions^; and
it was arranged that if there was such a number of poor that
the people could not support them, some might have licenses
and badges and go about begging. So far it seemed that
local charity, even when organised, did not sufiice to provide
for the really deserving poor, and that it was impossible to
put down open begging altogether.

VI. The Revenue.

155. The Tudor kings were distinguished in various
ways from all other English monarchs, but they are specially
marked out by the expedients on which they ventured in
order to obtain supplies. Their high-handed robbery of
religious and charitable institutions is sometimes defended
on the ground that the monasteries and hospitals had
become useless anachronisms. Their abuse of royal rights,
by the reckless debasement of the coinage, seems even less Tampering
excusable ; but we ought to bear in mind that they had very Zrrmcy.
little experience to help them to steer their way through
the currency troubles of the sixteenth century. The
remedies which they tried aggravated the disease ; but this
need scarcely be a matter for surprise when we take account

1 3 and 4 E. VI. c. 16. 2 5 and 6 E. VI. c. 2.

8 2 and 3 P. and M. c. 5.

xssueti.

542 THE TUDORS.

A.p. 1485 of the extraordinary complexity of the financial difficulties of

— 1558.

the day.
Debased The Toot of the evil lay in a variation in the ratio

between gold and silver, and this was in all probability due
to the opening up of new sources of supply. There had been
frequent complaint that the silver money of the realm
was much clipped, and in 1522 the rate at which gold and
silver coins of recognised weight should be current in the
king's dominions was fixed by proclamation ^ Soon after-
wards a new evil began to appear; the Council had reason to
fear that the kingdom would be depleted of its gold alto-
gether, since gold coins were rated much higher in terms of
silver in Flanders than in England'*. With the view of
correcting this arrangement two proclamations were issued
in 1526 and the value of an ounce of gold in England was
enhanced from 40s. to 45s. in silver. Silver coins were
struck of the old purity, but of diminished size, so that they
might correspond to the newly-fixed rates of the precious
metals; thus two very different issues of silver coins were
circulating together, and the clipping of the larger and older
coins came to be once more the subject of complaint*. Some
years afterwards, at the instance of Sir Kichard Gresham*,
the restrictions on the import and export of the precious
metals were abandoned^ with the result that England came
to be more directly affected by monetary conditions on the
Continent. A farther enhancement of gold within the realm
from 45s. to 48s. to check the drain of gold to foreign parts
may have been desirable^ ; but the debasement of the issues
from the Mint, both of gold and silver^, had disastrous con-
sequences whatever excuse there may have been from the
standards which were adopted in other lands. The difficulty
with which Henry VIII. had to contend was not solved till
1816, by the complete acceptance of a gold standard and the

1 Kufling, I. 302. ^ Hall's Chronicle, 718.

8 Tudor Proclamations, July 5, 1527.
* Burgon, Life of Sir T. Gresham, i. 34.
5 80 July, and 6 Aug., 1539.

« 16 May, 1544. Letters etc., Henry VIII., xix. p. 318.

1 The lowest depth was reached in 1551, when Edward VI. coined 3 oz. of silver
with 9 oz. of alloy into £3. 12.s. Od. of coinage.

THE REVENUE. 543

coining of silver as token moneys ; the Tudor monarchs were a.d. 1485
unable to cope with it. The drain of gold became naore
alarming than before*, while at the same time the currency
deteriorated still farther. The base issues from the Mint
gave an excuse both for the counterfeiting of English coins
and for the importation of debased money from abroad^.

There can be little doubt that silver was the ordinary a sUmr
standard of value for internal prices ; as early as 1530 it was
remarked that the groats had been so far reduced in size as
to be less valuable than formerly*, and the debasement of the
currency was followed by a rapid rise of prices. The regula-
tions restricting the price of butchers' meat^ and of poultry'
had to be revised from time to time. This appeared to be
due to special causes ; and even the evidence of a con- Rise of
siderable rise in the price of corn' was not attributed to the ^"'^^*'
condition of the currency. King Henry VIII. issued a
Proclamation concernynge Gome in 154)2, and stated that
"com of all greynes and especially wheate and rye is
sodaynely enhaunced at unreasonable prices and one special
cause is, by occasion that it is used for a common merchandise,
and most commonly bought by suche persons as haue plentie
of their owne growthe, to the entente to make a derthe
thereof; and dy verse husbandmen and fermers do colour
such byingis for sede, where they have no such necessitie
to do... .the kinges most royall maiestie....consyderyng
that (thankes be to God) there is no just ground or cause,
why such grayne should be so high enhaunced in price, as it
is, but that the enhauncement thereof groweth by the
occasion aforesaid, and by the subtle invention and crafte of
dyvers covetous persons V The evidence of contemporaries as hoio_ ex-
to what occurred may be perfectly reliable, but we need not ^canumpo-
accept their explanations of the reasons of changes they de-
plored. The great rise of wages and prices after the Black

1 See vol. n. p. 438. « All such proclamations, 11 AprU, 1549.

s Ibid. 10 April, 1548. ^ J. Rastell, Pastime of People, p. 212.

5 24 H. Vin. c. 3 ; 25 H. VIH. c. 1. Tudor Proclamations, 21 May, 1544,
1 July, 1549.

6 25 H. Vm. c. 2. Tudor Proclamations, 21 May, 1544, 2 July, 1549.

7 22 Oct. 1534, 25 March, 1535. The export of grain was prohibited, except
tinder special conditions, on 27 June, 1546, and 24 Sept. 1550. Tudor Proclamations.

* Tudor Proclamations.

ranes.

544 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 Death had been due to the way in which the labourers took
advantage of their monopoly, and in the sixteenth century
each class was supposed by its neighbours to be acting in a
similar fashion and to be guilty of causing general distress ^

Comhina- The landlords were said to enhance their rents, and hence it

tion.

was believed food was dearer ; the rich graziers were said to
have combined so as to keep up the price of wool, and the
clothing trade suffered ; and labourers were accused of joining
to dictate their own terms to their masters. At the very time
when competition was destroying the old institutions, there
could be no such close rings formed by rival traders, and it is
much simpler to suppose that the main cause of the change
lay in the debasement of the circulating medium and the con-
sequent rise in the price of goods of every sort. Indeed the

1 The unanimous opinion of contemporaries that the rise of prices was due to
combination is very curious. It finds expression in the very severe law which was
passed against the engrossing of corn, wine, fish, butter, cheese, candles, tallow,
sheep, lambs, calves, swine, pigs, geese, capons, hens, pigeons and conies (5 and 6
E. VI. c. 14). This was intended to render food cheap, by preventing middlemen
from reaping speculative profits. So too there is a similar enactment about the
engrossing of butter and cheese (3 and 4 E. VI. c. 21). The law against conspira^
cies to raise the price of victuals and to obtain excessive wages is conceived in the
same spirit (2 and 3 E. VI. c. 15). But this view of the reason of the rise of
prices appears in its most naive form in connexion with the price of wool. We
should say that when wool was ijlentiful it must be cheap, and they felt that since
it was plentiful and not clieap, the price must be unduly raised by the speculations
of the graziers. " They that have grete nvunberment of shepe must nedes have
great store of woU, and we cannot thynke who shulde make the pryse of woll, but
those that have grete plentye of shepe. And we do partly know that there be
some dweUynge within these thre shyres (Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, North-
amptonshire) rather than they will sell their woll at a low pryse they will keep it
a yere or twayne and aU to make it deare and to kepe it a deare pryse." Certayite
Causes in Four Supplications, E. E. T. S. 96. "Than begane the rank myschyfi
and distraction of the holl reame to spx'yng and sprede owt of London dui-yng this
fourty yers past and more. Than begane so many byers of wolle in aU contreys
caUid broggers and not staplers nor clothmakers, but such as gate it owt of pore
mens hands and ferms to sell it to the staplers in London for coynne of money.
Than began the price of wolle to rise so hygh more and more daily, that fermoui's
alwey metyng at marketts, as alle sorts mete like to hke, oone heryng of another
the highnes of the price of wolle so risyng stodyed and devisid, how to destroy
mens werks of housbondry to encrese more woUe, therof to have the more plenty.
So rose the price of woUe so hyghly, that in conclusion fermours, yhe, and gentil-
men began to putt ther erthe to idulnes, makyng pasture to fede more shepe to
encrease the more staple woUe, in so moch as they begane to serche and stody ther
wisdome to accownt the gret profite, that they myght wynne therby, serchyng owt
the leyrs of the grownd, wherin Godd gaff his gifft of fyne woUe, either fei-mours,
that of the lordes cowd gete erth in ferme by leisz, or the lordes of the erthe theym
selfes, perceyvyng such singularites, made ther accownts." Clement Armstrong
in Pauli's Drei Derikschriften, 22.

THE TUDORS. 545

difficulty does not lie in accounting for the rise of prices in A.D. 1485
the time of Henry VIII., but in understanding why that rise
had not taken place before. Not only had the standard been
reduced by the issues of 1412 and 1445, but the formation of
capital, and the employment of capital in the manufacture of
cloth, might have been expected to bring money which had
been hoarded into active use, and to increase the rapidity of
circulation^. This would of itself have rendered a considerable
rise of prices possible, even if no diminution had occurred in
the size of the coins ; but the two causes in combination
might have been expected to produce very marked, and not
merely slight, changes during the fifteenth century, before
the great debasement began.

Two matters must however be taken into consideration. Extrava-
In the first place there was an extraordinary and extravagant preciom
use of the precious metals in the arts; gold lace, and gold and '"«*«^*-
silver trappings, heavy gilding and massive plate must have
been obtained by making use of silver that might otherwise
have got into circulation. The frequent regulations of the
goldsmiths' trade seem to imply that they found a good deal
of employment, and we need not forget that if society generally
was distressed in the fifteenth century, there were many
individuals who had prospered in trade as clothiers and had
made considerable fortunes. Edward IV. did not borrow from
the overtaxed towns, but cast himself on the benevolence of
individual citizens ; the nobles and the gilds vied with one
another in costly display.

Besides this, the action of Henry VII. in hoarding so Woards.
much bullion would also diminish the circulating medium \
and prevent prices from rising. If he withdrew anything
like £500,000 a year, it would certainly do a great deal to
keep nominal prices stable during the less active period of
debasement. Much of this wealth was probably drawn from
tlie private hoards which Edmund Dudley knew so well, and
not taken directly from the money in active circulation ; but
the action of the ro^^al miser would at all events tend to
minimise the rise which might have been expected from de-
basement, and which became more apparent as Henry VIII.
squandered his father's treasures.

1 See above, p. 428, on the competition of aliens and clothiers.

c. H. 35

546 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 Other considerations drawn from areneral social conditions
„ ^.^' render it improbable that the debasement would act very
eondiHons rapidly on prices. Money economy was not completely
rerider introduced ; and under a system of paying labour partly in
^suilU. coin and partly in rations, an alteration in the coinage would
be very slowly felt in the agreements between employers
and employed. This practice was found not only in the
immemorial customs of manorial estates, but in a newly
developed industry. We hear of a truck system in 1465, and
it existed in the clothing trade, which would otherwise have
been most likely to be easily affected by changes in the
circulating medium, as it was growing rapidly. So long as
natural economy survived or calculated prices were in vogue,
there were institutions which tended to diminish the
fluctuations ; the regulations of each gild, and the jealousy
which each gild felt for its neighbours, would make for
stability in prices. The relations of exchange were chiefly
determined by the calculations of the makers of different
wares, and coins were to some extent like counters, in which
the payments agreed on could be settled, and for which
valuable articles could be procured at the calculated rate.
Mode of Another suggestion to account for the stability of prices

paymen (j^j,jjjg ^}^q later Middle Ages has been made by Professor
Thorold Rogers, who supposes that payments were generally
made by weight and not by tale, and that nominal prices
continued to represent the same quantities of silver, though
as the coins were reduced, each pound in weight would be
made up of a larger number of coins. Some reasons have
been given above which tell against this view, for it appears
that when payments were made by weight, they were made
according to the weight of the current coin^ ; but it is very
doubtful if any considerable number of transactions in silver
money were conducted in this cumbrous fashion during the
fifteenth century. There can be no doubt that payments by
tale were common at the time of the Conquest, and it is not
clear why the more primitive practice should have been re-
introduced, while it is difilcult to see what possible motive

1 See above, p. 326, n. 5. A proclamation of Jnly 5, 1527, takes account of the
practice of payiug by weight, but it does not appear to have been the ordinary
practice. Tudor Proclamations.

THE REVENUE. 547

there could be for diminishing the size of tlie coins, if the a.d. 1485

CroAvn was not to pay by tale, and so to gain the difference. ~'^^^^-

When the state of the currency was the subject of official

enquiry in 1382, John Hoo suggested that a remedy would

be found^ by insisting that payments should for the future

be made by weight ; this sufficiently proves that payment by

tale was a usual practice then. On the whole we are forced

to suppose that silver payments were usually effected by tale, and rise in

and that, when made by weight, they were reckoned in terms ^of^lter

of the diminished coins, so that the stability of prices is

due to the fact that the value of silver was steadily rising

at the time when the kings were reducing the weight of

their issues.

These considerations as to the structure of society and
doubts about the mode of payment serve at least as sugges-
tions which may some day or other be so far confirmed as
to render the stability of prices in the fifteenth century
more explicable. They may certainly warn us against the
error of trying to interpret the fluctuations of mediaeval Difficulty
prices as easily as the changes which take place in the preting'
modem society with which we are perfectly familiar ; in the ?"''*''•
case of articles such as com, in regard to which no general
regulation was possible and where fluctuations were fre-
quent, the difficulty of carriage and the accidents of
drought or flood, made it possible for prices to be at a famine
point in Leicester while they were much more moderate in
London. Changes in prices, while the state of society is
known and remains practically unaltered, may lead us to
examine the possible causes of change, and may even help
us to estimate how great a change has been brought about
by some known cause ; figures may give more precision to
the knowledge we already possess, but we must have some
acquaintance with the social conditions and the forces that
were actually at work in each age, if we are to avoid
anachronisms in trying to interpret the course of commercial
transactions.

156. The remissions which had been so constantly allowed Tenfhs and
during the fifteenth century, in voting fifteenths and tenths, "' *'

1 Rot. Pari. m. 127 a.

85—2

548 THE REVENUE,

A.D. 1485 made it obvious that some new form of conti-ibution
~ " must be devised. The fifteenths and tenths, which had
been originally a payment of fractions of actual posses-
sions, were in 1334 turned, by agreements between royal
commissions and the local authorities, into fixed payments to
be regularly made and accepted in lieu of accurately assessed
fractional parts of the actual wealth at the time when a
fifteenth and a tenth were voted^. The towns which had de-
clined in importance were too heavily burdened, while there
must have been many wealthy clothiers and graziers who
only contributed a very small quotum for public purposes.
It would have been very difficult to upset the old settlement ;
Englishmen have apparently always objected to inquisitorial
levies based on attempts to find out what their actual pos-
sessions amount to, and greatly prefer to pay a fixed sum.
The levying of an additional charge was the simplest
solution. In 1514 when the Commons were endeavouring
to make up the deficiency which had been caused by
Henry's French expedition of the year before, they granted
General a general subsidy of Qd. in the pound; and similar general
subsidies were afterwards voted along with grants of
fifteenths and tenths. As an illustration one may refer to
the Act of 1534^, when supplies were voted because of the
expenses incurred by the king during the twenty-five years
just closed in war with Scotland, in fortifying the Northern
Border, and in renovating the defences of Calais and the
harbour of Dover; and also because of his intention "to bring
the wilful, wild, unreasonable and savage people of his said
land of Ireland, and his whole dominion of the same, to
such conformity, rule, order and obedience as the same
for ever hereafter shall be much utile and profitable to the
kings of this realm, and a great surety and quietness to the
subjects and inhabitants of the same." A fifteenth and
tenth were then granted ; and in addition a general subsidy
of one shilling in the pound on the property of those who
had lands of £20 a year, or goods to the amount of £20, and
who were subsequently known and commonly spoken of as
' subsidy ' men. Gilds, Corporations and Companies, as well
as all aliens, were to pay at double this rate. The king was

1 DoweU, History of Taxation, i. 97. 2 26 H. Vm. c. 19.

THE REVENUE. 549

to send commissioners to every shire, who were to make en- A.D. 1485

155s

quiries through the constables as to the amounts, v/hich differ-
ent persons should contribute to this tax ; these persons had
however the opportunity of appealing to the commissioners
if they were overcharged. But this elaborate machinery
did not really serve for the purpose of readjusting the claims
of the revenue, as the wealth of the country developed ; the
assessment got into a regular groove. Each subsidy was A fixed
simply based on the payments made on the last occasion
when one was levied ; and thus in the later Tudor times a
subsidy came to mean a payment of about £80,000^ though
there never were such definite agreements as those which
had reduced the fifteenths and tenths to pa3nTients of about
£37 000, irrespective of the actual value of the property of
which they professed to be fractional parts.

So far for direct taxation. A very important change was
also made in the collection of the customs during this period ; Oust(ms.
the old practice had been to take the oaths of the merchants
as to the value of the goods which were passing in or out ;
m the time of Queen Mary, however, a book of rates was
compiled, which assigned an official value to different
classes of goods I This may have served a double purpose,
as it prevented frauds on the part of merchants, and it
would probably operate as a check upon the collectors. It
was notorious that frauds on the revenue were constantly
practised by the officers ; there was surely some exaggeration
in the statement of the Venetian ambassador that of £200,000
levied from merchants, only a fourth part reached the royal
treasury^, but the accounts show that the admitted expense
of collection was sixteen per cent.*, and this may in itself
be taken as evidence that the management was inefficient
and corrupt.

The returns of the customs also reflect the chang^es that Clod.
were going on in English commerce. In the time of Edward
III. the main revenue had come from the custom on wool,
but during the Tudor period this became less important ^

1 Dowell, I. 197. 2 Ibid. i. 165.

3 Ibid. I. 166. 4 HaU, Customs, n. 144.

5 Ibid. u. 138.

550 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 while on the other hand the revenue obtained from cloth was

~ •' increasing ; what remained of the Great Custom on wool was

assigned for the maintenance of Calais, and at the faW of

that town the whole system was re-arranged by the book

of rates.

One other matter of considerable importance comes out
in the Tudor times, and especially in the reign of Mary, for
new payments over and above the customs, tonnage and
Impositim. poundage were levied as ' impositions ' on the goods imported
by aliens, and on the importation of foreign luxuries. This
was a new development of the ancient prerogative of the
Crown \ and it was used in a fashion which did not at fii'st
render it unpopular, for it was the means of giving special
advantages to English merchants, and of protecting English
artisans. This definite political object was kept clearly in
view with regard to direct and indirect taxation alike. In
the very same year in which the general subsidy was voted,
A.D. 1634. which aliens paid at a double rate^ the king was empowered*
to re-arrange the whole scheme of rates; and the subse-
quent manipulation of the new customs was prejudicial to
alien merchants, while the levying of impositions was
favourable to the English artisan. The conditions under
which aliens had to trade were rendered so hard that so
soon as English shipping again revived under Elizabeth
they were driven out of the field ; in the time of Edward IIL
they had done most of the trade of the country, but they had
been gradually forced out of internal trade and were now
driven from conducting our foreign commerce.

VIL Changes in Opinion.

157. The period which we have been reviewing was a
time of transition ; mediaeval life was breaking up, and
modern society was slowly rising on its ruins; but just
because it was a time of startling changes, it was not a
time when the full bearings of these changes could be

1 HaU, Customs, i. 124. » 26 H. Vni. c. 19.

8 26 H. Vni. c. 10.

CHANGES IN OPINION. 551

clearly understood, and there is very little progress in a.d. 1485
thought on economic matters.

National regulation for national objects was accepted as Mercantile
necessary and right ; but the maxims by which effect was aside under
being given to this aim had not taken such a firm hold on p^'"^'
the minds of the men of the time as to dominate over
practical politics. Under Edward VI. it was impossible to
sacrifice the least chance of obtaining an immediate revenue,
and the increase of the customs was felt to be of more im-
portance than anything else ; hence the navigation law with
regard to wine and woad was suspended. Everyone seemed
to be poor; the range of prices was high, and it appeared
cruel to force up the price of bread to a higher level ; hence
corn laws were dispensed with, though the government was
most anxious to encourage tillage. The collection of the
full ' fifteenths and tenths ' from the old and highly assessed
towns was rendered difficult by the migration of industry to
more favourable centres, and this natural development was
checked in the hope of reviving the prosperity of decaying
towns. The government of Edward VI. was living from hand to
mouth, and was forced to discard all the recognised principles
for increasing the power of the nation, in order to keep things
going from day to day. But just because the government
was living firom hand to mouth, and was unable to attend to
the development of the national wealth and to strengthen the
foundations of national power, little fresh experience was
obtained as to the best means of promoting this object, and
of so systematising industry and commerce as really to build
up the national strength.

The government of the day could not afford to attend to Capital.
the development of the power of the country, and it was also
suspicious of the new element which was coming into play
to facilitate improvements in the production of wealth. So
far as it had intruded in rural districts, capital was bringing
about progress of many kinds; but contemporaries did not
welcome this advance; on almost every side an outcry was
raised, and the legislature were ready to check the new mode
of working. The large graziers and the wealthy clothiers were
held up to execration, and every effort was made to retain the

552

TEE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485
—1558.

Descrip-
tion of
economic
changes.

Husbandry,

old arable farms, and to res^nlate the action of capitalist em-
ployers in the cloth manufacture. In our time the wealthy
capitalist has been spoken of by men of the Manchester School
with great enthusiasm as if he were a sort, of national bene-
factor ; in Tudor days he was regarded with grave suspicion.
There was at that time a remarkable growth of this very
powerful factor in economic life ; but so much attention was
directed to the evils which accompanied it, that no one
recognised the importance of the power of capital, nor gave
serious thought to the question of directing it aright.

158. The economic literature of the time is of great
interest, since it reflects current opinion at a time of startling
chauge; but just because the times were so confused, there
was much difficulty in obtaining a clear grasp of economic
principles, and the writing of the Tudor reigns has very
little scientific value. The surviving literature is full of
interesting description and suggestion ; but if we except the
Discourse of the Common Weal which was probably written
by John Hales ^, there is little sign of greater accuracy
of thought or definition of language in dealing with the
social and economic problems of the time. He was the only
writer who did much to give clearness to the current ideas of
national prosperity, or to lay down principles which should
guide men in pursuing it. There are, however, some
treatises of a practical character which show a distinct
progress in particular arts.

Fitzherbert's Husbandry is in itself evidence that serious
and conscious etforts were being made to improve the agri-
culture of the country. Till the sixteenth century Walter of
Henley's treatise had been the best work on the subject; and
though the later copies and English translation show, by the
interpolations, that some progress had been made in knowledge

1 From the two mss. which she had discovered (Mr Lambarde's, and the Bod-
leian) Miss E. Lamond proved that the date of this dialogue is 1549, and showed
that the edition published in 1581 had been deUberately garbled. Of the three
MSS. which have been identified since her text was printed, two — Lord Calthorpe's
and the Hatfield mss. (see vol. n. p. 162) — are very similar to the Bodleian. The
British Museum mss. (Harl. 4888), to which my attention was drawn by Prof. C. M.
Andrews, is closely allied to the Lambarde copy, though it is not disfigured by so
many careless blunders, and it contains the table of contents for the third
dialogue.

CHANGES IN OPINION. 553

that was necessary for the grazier, the thirteenth century a.d. 1435
suggestions appear to have been accepted as a sufficient guide ~
in regard to tillage. Fitzherbert was possibly acquainted
with Walter of Henley's book and deals with similar topics :
but he was also a practical farmer and he embodied the
result of forty years' experience^ in the treatise he wrote, out
of the " great zeal, love and comfort," he bore to the " farmers
and tenants, and all other goddis creatures that they may surely
easily and profitably increase and susteyn their poore house-
holde, wyves and chyldren, and also truly to pay theyr rentes
customes and services unto theyr lordes." It opens with a
discussion of the parts of a plough, and the best team for
doing the work, and gives practical hints on all agricultural
operations, as well as on the management of sheep, cattle,
horses, pigs and bees ; it is specially explicit on hedging and
ditching and on arboriculture; the concluding portion is
taken up with remarks on household and personal duties.
This work went through an extraordinary number of
editions in the sixteenth century; and the author also
issued another tract on Surveying, intended, not for the Surveyivf/.
husbandman, but for the landlord. It is a treatise on estate
management in the form of a commentary on the Extenta
Manerii in the Statute Book. The author speaks very
strongly about the iniquity of unfair evictions, and adjures
lords that they " doo not heighten the rents of their tenants."
"A greater bribery nor extortion a man cannot do than upon
his own tenants for they dare not say nay, nor yet complayne,
and therefore on their sowles go it that so do and not on
myn^" At the same time he is fully alive to the advantages
of convertible husbandry, and in the last chapter he shows
how by enclosing, the annual value of a township may be in-
creased fifty per cent.

When the work of enclosure was actually undertaken, the
process of measuring out each man's holding and readjusting
the various lots must have presented grave practical diffi-
culties; it was hard enough to manage this satisfactorily in the

1 See the colophon. This statement renders it probable that the work was not
written by Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, but by his elder brother John. Compare
R. H. C. Fitzherbert, The Authorship of the Books 0/ Husbandry and Surveying
in English Historical Review, xa. 225.

554

THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485
—1558.

Mensura-
tion.

Arbori-
culture.

Travel and
discovery.

later era of enclosing, at the beginning of the nineteenth cen-
tury; and Fitzheibert wrote his Husbandry with a view to the
requirements of landlords who were not able to write \ and
there was much need for a simple book of rules for the more
ordinary calculations in connection with the management of
land. This was supplied by Sir R. de Benese, a Canon of
Merton, whose Boke of the measuring of land was published
in 1537. One can easily see that, in conjunction with Fitz-
herbert's hints in regard to quick-set hedges, it would be a
real help in carrying out the enclosure of open fields.

The section of Fitzherbert's Husbandry on Horticulture
would be acceptable at a time when increased attention was
being given to gardens and orchards*. There are signs of
a revived interest in this matter in the fifteenth century, as
the work of Palladius enjoyed a considerable popularity. It
was translated in verse by a Colchester Monk^, and formed
the basis of a Treatise of Planting and Grafting of Trees
which is sometimes found in conjunction with Walter of
Henley*. The merchants and clothiers were inclined to take
to rural pursuits ^ and they had plenty of money to invest in
the planting of trees and laying out orchards and vineyards.

There is another series of writings which have survived,
and which bear on practical matters of another kind. There
is a great deal that is fascinating in the accounts of voyages,
and the speculations which go to make up so much of the
literature of discovery. The whole world then afforded
problems such as are now presented by the remoter parts
of Africa; one writer after another collected accounts of
voyages and travels, and on the information thus obtained,
schemes for new expeditions were based. Hakluyt's great

1 See the chapter entitled, A short information for a younge gentleman that
intendeih to thrive, f. 57.

* On the introduction of Kentish Cherries by Harrys in the time of Henry VUL
see Pennant, Journey from London to I. of W., i. 51.

s Edited for the E. E. T. S. from a MS. of about 1420 A.D.

* British Museum, Sloaue, 686. It also occurs with the translation of Walter
of Henley which was ascribed to Grossteste and printed by Wynkyn de Worde :
there is an example in the Cambridge University Library. It is also printed by
Douce in his edition of Arnold's Chronicle: it seems to have had an interest for a
city merchant as well as the forms of letters of credit which stand beside it in
his book.

* Crowley's Epigrams, Of Merchants, p. 41.

CHANGES IN OPINION, OOO

collection is fall of recitals of pluck and enterprise, but none a.D. 1485
of the papers it contains is of greater interest than Mr ~ ° '
Thome's argument in favour of prosecuting the north-west
passage. In particular it brings out clearly the objects which
attracted the English merchants of that time in urging the
government to carry on the work of discovery; they were
eager to trade and to secure a share of the highly prized
spices of the East, for which the demand in Europe was
very great, and also to establish factories and plantations.
The idea of mining for the precious metals did not take
a prominent place in their schemes, at first ; but as the
Spaniards obtained larger spoils and at last opened up
the seemingly inexhaustible treasures of Potosi, English
enterprise was for a time diverted to lawless methods
of sharing their booty and to lauds where similar gains
might be secured.

159. The treatises which deal with strictly economic
topics are of great interest from the way in which they
afford an insight into opinion current at the time, but the
explanations they give of the phenomena they describe do
not commend themselves to the modern mind as sufficient.
The very form of some of the most interesting works in-
dicates the uncertainties of the times ; for the chief writings
which deal with the welfare of the nation as a whole, do not
lay down definite principles, but set forth conflicting opinions
in dialogue form. More's Utopia and Starkey's Dialogue Dialogue.
are both works of intense interest, but it is hard to see that
the authors reach any very definite conclusions, or are able
to formulate any new principles for economic life. The justi-
fication of sheep-farming, which is put in the mouth of
Cardinal Pole, and assertion of the benefits which accrue to
us from being able to buy foreign goods which we cannot
make at home, may be taken as an interesting statement
of the importance of securing plenty, but it cannot be said to
advance beyond the views of Edward III. and his counsellors.
To make a real step forward it would have been necessary to
show how this pursuit of plenty could be really reconciled
with the pursuit of power, which seems to be the guiding
principle in other passages ; but as this is not done the whole
tract lacks cohesion. On the other hand, in the Discourse of

556

THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485
—1558.

L'reachers

and

moralists

A.v. 1550.

uttered
fine senti-
ments hut
did not
formulate
principles
of duty

which wet'
applicable

the Common Weal of this Realm of England the dialogue
form serves not only to set forth the complaints of different
classes, but to lead up to the very acute and discriminating
remarks in which the Doctor suggests remedies to be applied.

Besides these dialogues, there is a good deal of literature
which deals with economic topics from a moral point of view,
though it gives little definite liglit. The sermons of Clement
Armstrong, Latimer, and Gilpin^ are full of spirited denun-
ciation of the vices of the time. There is a still greater
interest attaching to the Tree of the Commonwealth, the
treatise which Edmund Dudley wrote while in prison and
sent to King Henry VIII., and Crowley's Epigrams contain
some pointed remarks. But these moralists do not speak
with a very certain sound ; they waver between principles
of Christian duty and judgments of political expediency,
and though their exhortations were very vigorous, we can
hardly be surprised that they were not effective, for there is
no satisfactory basis for positive teaching.

So long as they confined themselves to denouncing vices
there was little difficulty. Some launched out against the
extravagance of the rich, some against the idleness and
discontent of the poor, some against the greed of merchants
in their bargains, some against the harshness of landlords in
raising their rents. We may agree that all social evil springs
from human selfishness and admit that if all men did their duty
unselfishly and wisely the whole nation would be in a better
state ; but these are mere truisms. What was needed was
definite teaching as to the particular duties of life in each
different position in society. Mediaeval moralists had distin-
guished the kind of transaction that was right from the kind
of transaction that was wrong, and the distinctions they drew
could no longer be enforced ; there are also signs of a feeling
that the self-interest, which they denounced absolutely, was
not only sometimes allowable but, when kept within due
limits, was positively beneficial to the community.
; Christian moralists in all ages had said it was wrong not
to work; and in the organised structure of mediaeval society

1 Strype, £c. Mem. u. ii. 134.

CHANGES IN OPINION, 557

there was little difficulty in saying what each man ought to A.D. 1485
work at, or how long he should work. He misfht serve the .

' o o in new

king in war, or till the soil, or follow his trade and make goods circnm-
111- • n ■ ■ stames.

to sell ; but m a time oi transition, when there were so many

wlio could get no work to do, there seemed to be no particular
use in reproving them for being idle. Lupset and Dudley are
both inclined to take that line, but what was really needed
was some positive teaching as to the duty of employers. They
were turning men off from the opportunity of working,
and were thus increasing idleness, but there was great diffi-
culty in deciding what their duty really was. It is not a duty 7s it a duty
to find a man in work, in the same way as it is a duty to pay pioymentf
him for the work he does ; the obligation is entirely different.
It may be an act of charity to make employment for those
who are out of work, but it is impossible to say that it is
the duty of every employer to carry on his business in such a
fashion as to provide the greatest opportunities of employment.
This has been seriously urged\ and it is a common feeling on
the part of those who destroy propei'ty in the vain hope of
thereby making work. But there is no need to demoDstrate
how unsound the position is ; all the great improvements in
the power of satisfying human wants have come about by
introducing natural forces to lighten the pressure of the
drudgery done by human muscles — but at the same time each
step in advance has necessarily restricted the opportunities of
employment, for a time at all events. Preachers could not
positively say that it was a duty to conduct affairs in such a
way as to give employment, but they gave utterance to a
sentiment that it was wicked not to do so.

In similar fashion all Christian moralists had contended
that it was wi-ong to be greedy of gain ; and the merchant, ??« Pr^&d
as a man who was peculiarly liable to this temptation, was ^"'^
held to pursue a dangerous calling. There had been a
great deal of acute casuistry expended on the effort to
distinguish what kinds of transactions were fair, and what
were to be deprecated ; to ask for a share in the profits of
business while bargaining to be free from the risks, had
always been denounced as wrong; and yet in the changed

1 Defoe, Flan of English Commerce, 58.

558 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 circumstances of Tudor times it was very hard to say
precisely why it was wrong. Professor Ashley has examined
the teaching of continental Canon Lawyers and Theologians
in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries^, but it is not easy
to see the precise influence which their decisions exercised
on the practical conduct of business in England^ To lend

vTithotu a merchant money, and to bargain for a definite, instead of
a contingent, share in his gains was not extortionate, and it
was convenient to both parties; was it allowable that it
should be done or not^ ? What benefited trade benefited the
realm ; and though the sentiment against usury survived, the
ordinary conscience did not feel clear that it was altogether
an evil practice, since there was difficulty in saying why it
was hurtful. Moralists could no longer get a hearing when
they insisted that it was wrong to take any payment for
the mere use of money; all they could urge was that
people should not lend on exorbitant terms; but there
was no rational definition of what was excessive, for the
limiting of the rate to 10 per cent., as was done in 1545*, was
no real solution of the difiiculty ; to some borrowers 10 per
cent, might be an excessive, to others it might be an easy rate.
The duty of work and the evil of greed had been the two
great foundations of Christian teachiiig on social matters; and
in the Tudor times, the maxims which had been thought out
and formulated by Christian morahsts became inapplicable for
guidance in actual life. This change was due to the introduc-

The power tion of Capital. The duties of employers could not be laid down

oj cajpi ^g duties of strict obligation, nor could the right and wrong use
of capital be stated with perfect precision; both were constantly
treated and regulated not as matters of right and wrong, but
with a view to political expediency ; their bearing on the power
of the state came to be the criterion of what was allowable.
In this way enclosures were deprecated, and on this ground
the State did much to control the direction in which capital

* Ashley, Economic History, i. ii. 397.
2 See p. 367, above.

* On the contractus trinus or threefold bargain with one person, which opened
the way for lending at definite interest to persons engaged in trade, see Ashley,
Economic History, I. ii. 440.

* 37 H. Vni. c. 9.

CHANGES IN OPINION. 559

was employed ; but Christian moralists were no longer able a.d. 1485
to give positive teaching as to what was right or wrong, ~ ^'^ '
they were contented to appeal to sentiments which practical
men regarded as merely fanciful. The outcry against the and the
un-Christian character of social life in the present day is a Sentiment.
vigorous protest against the movement which has been going
on steadily since the fifteenth century. Since the power of
capital has come into being, society has been reconstituted
on a basis in which the old moral distinctions do not apply ;
the sentiment has remained, but merely as a sentiment, and
no serious effort has been made to determine what is right
and what is, not criminal but still wrong, so as to give clear
and definite guidance in ordinary business affairs.

160. The srood intentions and the real weakness of cur- Edward

• I'll Tr» 1 • ^^^ *'"^

rent economic discussions are admirably exemplified in a paper national
which possesses a special interest, as it is in the handwriting "*"*^°'*-
of King Edward VI. ^ In presence of the social disorgani-
sation of the time, there was a wide-spread feeling that it
would be well if everyone would do his duty in his own station
of life ; this was one element of canonist teaching which, as
Professor Ashley has pointed out, has to some extent survived.
" Men * * had been placed by God in ranks or orders, each
with its own work to do and each with its own appropriate
mode of life'^." Fitzherbert^ following the Oame and Play
of Chesse which is familiar to lovers of Caxton, insists on the
differences of degree* among men, and the importance of ^f«r«^c«s
fulfilling the " authorities, works and occupations " for which
they were respectively responsible. The idea runs through
the whole of King Edward's tract. He is nervously anxious
that society should be well organised with each man in his
own appropriate place, and he dreads any increase of in-
dividual wealth which should disarrange the social fabric.
The gentleman who took to sheep farming, the merchant
who became a landed man, the farmer who took several
farms at once, or who became a pedlar merchant, the artificer

1 Discourse about the Be/ormation of many abuses. Temporal Regimen. Bamet,
Reformation, v. 97.

' Ashley, Economic History, i. ii. 389. * Husbandry, Prologue.

* Sliakspere, Troilus and Cress, i. iii. 83.

660 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 v*^ho for his more pastime would live in the country, were

all pushing, prosperous men, but they were all obnoxious

according to Edward's idea of a well-ordered commonwealth.

The No one should have more " than the proportion of the

^Jffi^^^ country would bear"; and therefore the king approved of laws

country, f^p preventing any one man from having too many sheep,

or more than two farms or more than one trade to live by.

There is indeed a constant and ever recurring difficulty
between maintaining a systematic organisation on the one
hand and leaving scope for expansion and growth on the other^
Regulation and organisation are good, but they become an
evil if it is necessary to sacrifice activity and vigour in order
to maintain them ; and this was what Edward was quite
prepared to do, in his capacity as head of the body politic,
and to ensure that no one part of the body should " eat up
Repression, another through greediness." But in attempting to repress
the evils of the time he had no clear principle to guide him,
but the rough guess that it was "hurtful to enrich im-
moderately any one part. I think," he writes, " this country
can bear no merchant to have more land than £100; no
husbandman nor farmer worth above £100 or £200 ; no
artificer above 100 marc ; no labourer much more than he
spendeth. I speak now generally, and in such cases may
fail in one particular ; but this is sure : This commonwealth
may not bear one man to have more than two farms, than
one benefice, than 2000 sheep, and one kind of art to live by.
Wherefore as in the body, no part hath too much nor too little,
so in a commonwealth ought every part to have ad victum et
non ad saturitatem." But the whole of his argument suffers
because there is no clear principle to which appeal can be
made; the proportion of the commonwealth gave no certain
guidance. He entirely failed to see that the very energies
which he was repressing were working indirectly for the

1 As a modern analogy we may notice how with the growth of Trades Union
organisation there has been a tendency to restrict each individual to specific
departments of work and in some cases to a limited amount of work (Schloss,
Methods of Industrial Remuveration, p. 14), according as the 'proportion' of the
trade 'would bear.' These restrictive regulations have called forth much criticism
on the ground that they were unfair to energetic individuals and interfered with
the expansion of English ti-ade.

CHANGES IN OPINION. 561

enriching of the whole commonwealth, so that in time to A.D. 1485
come each of ihe various classes would be the gainers; the "
proportion of the country was so altered that it was able to
bear the rise of a moneyed class, and middle class, and the
struggles of a vast working class, to help themselves.

The contrast is easily pointed by turning to the contempo- Anticipa-
rary writing which affords a singular anticipation of the modern
modern attitude of mind, on most of the questions in dispute. ''*'^"'* ""
The Discourse of the Common Weal has always been re-
garded as an accurate and striking work ; but it gains im-
mensely in interest now that we know its real date\ and
are able to see how much its author was in advance of his
contemporaries. He treats of each of the topics which at-
tracted attention in his day, and he deals with each in a
masterly fashion ; there is much that is remarkable as a
vivid description of the state of the times, but the main
interest lies in the clear enunciation by the leading speaker
in the dialogue of principles which his companions are
skilfully led to accept. A brief summary of the leading
principles the Doctor lays down will serve to bring out the
epoch-making character of this treatise.

The Political Philosophy which is implied in the Doctor s
remarks first claims our attention ; it shows a curious simi-
larity to the priiiciples which were implicitly assumed by
economists for the next two hundred years. ' Modern Taxation.
Political Economy,' says Mr Bonar, ' may be said to begin
with the introduction of taxation as a means of supporting
states^' This method of finance is habitually assumed by
the Doctor. 'So long as the subjects have it, so it is
meet the king should have it ; but what and they have it
not? for they cannot have it when there is no treasure
left within the realm.... And as for the subsidies, how can
they be large, when the subjects have little to depart
with ? ' The paragraph as summarised in the margin — ' How
the king cannot have treasure when his subjects have
none^ ' — gives a philosophy of taxation in a nutshell.

1 See p. 552, n.

2 Philosophy and Political Economy, p. 69.
8 Discourse of Common Weal, p. 35.

c. H. 86

662 THE TUDORS.

A-D. 1485 A still closer affinity with modern habits of thought
"~ ■ is brought out by another point. All through the middle
Self-inter- ^§"68 self-interest and private lucre had been spoken of a?
***' immoral and evil principles which ought to be put down ;

as we have seen the preambles of the Tudor statutes reiterate
the condemnation^; and writers of every school of thought
were equally strong in denouncing them. But in modem
times, self-interest is recognised as a stimulus to energy
and enterprise, which may have beneficial results; we are
inclined to let it have free play, or only to check it when
its influence is plainly baneful. Under the Mercantile
System it was the avowed object of statesmen to play ujjon
self-interest so as to direct it into the wisest channels ; and
with this the Doctor agrees. Men 'may not purchase to
themselves profit by that that may be hurtful to others.
But how to bring them that they would not do so is all
the matter^.... True it is that that thing which is profitable
to each man by himself (so it be not prejudicial to any
other) is profitable to the whole commonweal, and not other-
wise'.... To tell you plainly, it is avarice that I take for
the principal cause ; but can we devise that all covetous-
ness may be taken from men? No.... What then? We
must take away from men the occasion of their covetousness
in this part*.' This discriminating view of self-interest
marks a considerable divergence from contemporary writings;
and the general attitude of the Doctor corresponds very
closely with that taken by economic writers long after his
time.

When we turn to specific economic doctrines we find
the Cur- that the Doctor is perfectly clear on one iaiportant point.
rency, ^hjch was not fully understood by some of the financial
authorities of his own day. He is quite decided as to the
evils of a debased currency, and as to its effect in causing
dearness or dearth. ' And thus to conclude,' he says, ' I
think this alteration of the coin to be the first original cause
that strangers first sell their wares dearer to us ; and that
makes ail farmers and tenants, that reareth any commodity,

1 See above, pp. 4.80 n., 526, and 556. ^ Discourse of Common Weal, p. 50.
3 Ibid. p. 51. < Ibid. p. 121.

THE TUDORS. 563

again to sell the same dearer; the dearth thereof makes the a.d. 1485
gentlemen to raise their rents \' This is a commonplace ~ ^^ '
now, but it was an acute observation at that time.

While there is no sign of attaching undue importance
to the precious metals, as if they were the only wealth,
there is a clear recognition of the fact that a treasure of
gold or silver is necessary for the royal requirements, ^^e balance
especially in war, and that this might be most easily sup-
plied through the commercial balance of trade. ' If we keep
within us much of our commodities, we must spare many
other things that we have now from beyond the seas ; for
we must always take heed that we buy no more of strangers
than we sell them ; for so we should empoverish ourselves
and enrich them. For he were no good husband that hath
no other yearly revenues but of husbandry to live on, that
will buy more in the market than he selleth again^' The
Doctor takes the mercantilist position as distinguished from
the bullionist. Modern writers are inclined to assert that the
object which these parties had in view was a mistaken one;
without discussing this criticism it may be enough for me to
point out that the Doctor advocates the more sensible means
for attaining the end in view; in 1549 he urged an opinion
which found general acceptance a century later.

If we pass now from points of doctrine to direct practical
proposals, we find the Doctor recommending measures, the Practical
wisdom of which was eventually recognised, so that they '^"'■^'' "
were adopted at later times.

The dialogue of 1549 is full of remarks^ on the debased
state of the coinage ; among them is a suggestion as to
the best method of effecting a remedy. After criticising
various proposals for a gradual change, the Doctor says, for
the goldsmiths ' apperceiving the new coin of gold to be '^ ^° ""^^'
better than the new coin of silver that was made to counter-
value it, picked out all the gold, as fast as it came forth

1 Discourse of Oommon Weal, p. 104. It is one of the grounds for believing that
the Doctor was drawB from Hugh Latimer that this bishop had expressed himself
in similar terms in his Lent sermons before the King. [Sermons, 68, 95, 137.)

2 Ibid. p. 63.

•' These were recast or omitted as no longer applicable in 1581, when W. S.
issued his edition.

36—2

564 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 14S5 of the mint, and laid that aside for other uses ; so that
~ * now ye have but little more than the old current. And
so both the king's highness is deceived of his treasure, and
the thing intended never the more brought to pass; and
all is because there is no due proportion kept between the
coins, while the one is better than the other in his degree.
And as I meant to show you another way ; that is, if the
king's highness should call in suddenly all his now current
money, and set forth a new coin somewhat better, but yet
not all so pure as the old\' It is interesting to notice
how closely the suggestion here made tallies with the plan
actually adopted in 1560.
for en- The Doctor was also strongly in favour of inviting skilled

Im[m"^ artizans to settle among us. He would not set the privileges
'foreign- ^£ ^^iq old Companies entirely aside, but he condemned them
as being sometimes injurious. 'I say not that strangers
should commonly have like liberty or franchise [as they
that were prentices in a city]. But as one craft makes
but one particular company of a town or city, so I would
have the wealth of this city regarded, rather than the com-
modity or franchise of one craft or mistery : for though
commonly, none should be admitted there to work but such
as is free, yet when a singular good workman in any mistery
comes, which by his knowledge might both instruct them
of the town, being of the same faculty, and also bring into
the town much commodity besides, I would in that case,
have private liberties and privileges to give place to a
public wealth, and such a man gladly admitted for his ex-
cellency to the freedom of the same town, without burdening
of him with any charge for his first entry or setting up.
Yea, where a town is decayed, and lacks artificers to furnish
the towns with such crafts, as either were sometime well
exercised there, or might be by reason of the situation and
commodity of the same town, I would have better crafts
allured out of other places, where they be plenty, to come
to those towns decayed to dwell, offering them their freedom,
yea their house rent free, or some stock lent them of the
common stock of such towns. And when the town is well

^ Discourse of Common Weal, p. 106.

CHANGES IN" OPINION. 565

furnished of such artificers, then to stay the coming of A.D. 1485
foreigners ; but where the town lacks inhabitants of artificers, ~
it were no policy for the restoration of the town to keep off
any strange artificers ; for the most part of all towns are
maintained by craftsmen of all sorts, but specially by those
that makes any wares to sell out of the country and brings
therefore treasure into the same^' When we remember
how much England has gained from the introduction of
skilled workmen under Elizabeth, and in later reigns, we
cannot but feel that the Doctor was wise in pleading for such
liberty.

The most imminent danger of his time was of course
due to the increase of sheep farming at the expense oiandfrr
tillage, and the agricultural policy which the Doctor suggests ^d^ljuu.
closely coincides with that which was eventually adopted. ^'''"•
He was anxious to make the profit of the plough as good
as the profit of the grasiers^; he proposed — in language
which still more closely harmonises with the views of the
statesmen who granted Corn Bounties under William III. : —
that ' the husbandman might have as much liberty at all times
to sell corn, either within the realm or without, as the grasier
hath to sell his ; which should make the husbandmen more
willing to occupy their plough. And the one seeing the
other thrive would turn their pasture to tillage. And though
it enhanceth the market for a time, yet would it cause much
more tillage to be used, and consequently more corn; which
in time of plenty within the realm, might bring in much
treasure ; and in time of scarcity would suffice for the realm,
as I showed you before. And thus with lucre they should be
enticed to occupy the ploughs' A comparison of this argu-
ment with the remarks of Harrison, some thirty years later,
on Corn Bodgers^ enables us to feel how much the Doctor
was ahead of his contemporaries. It is not a little noticeable
that as in his commercial principles, so with respect to
industry and agriculture, he makes recommendations which
were afterwards generally accepted, and long maintained.

The author of the Discourse was in advance of his time,

1 Discourse of Common Weal, p. 129. 2 Ibid. p. 53.

* Ibid. p. 123. * Descnption of England.

666 THE TUDORS.

A.D. 1485 and full effect was not given to all his ideas when the
~ ■ economic system of the country was really organised on a
The Eliza- national basis in the time of Elizabeth, but there was com-
code!* paratively little of the repression which Edward recom-
mended ; and the repression was exercised in connexion
with a political, not an economic, principle. The idea of
national power which had been gradually coming into clearer
consciousness was treated seriously by her advisers ; private
interest was looked on with disfavour, but it was only re-
pressed when it conflicted with the strength of the realm ;
for the rest its activity and force were recognised and directed.
The true solution of the conflict between public and private
interest is not perhaps to be stated in general terms ; it must
possibly be discovered anew by each age for itself ; but we may
at least feel that if the legislation of Elizabeth had been
drafted in the spirit which inspired Edward's little essay, it
could not have stood so firmly or so long as it did. Rules
were laid down for every department of life — for industry and
agriculture and commerce — and a very elaborate code was
passed for employers and employed and unemployed. Yet
so much scope was given for enterprise and the accumulation
of wealth that the great force of private interest was guided
and regulated, not repressed ; its best energy was directed
into channels which served to promote the riches of in-
dividuals, and did not at any rate injure the power of
England.

APPENDIX.

A. THE ASSIZE OF BREAD.

The earliest form of regulations for the price of bread, which
might possibly have influenced English ordinances on the subject,
is to be found in the Frankfort Capitulare of a.d. 794. It aims
at limiting the price of corn and of food, no matter what the
season might be, and fixes a maximum rate; tliis was a matter of
importance for Charles and his court.

Statuit piissimus dominus noster rex, consentienti sancta
synodo, ut nullus homo, sive ecclesiasticus, sive laicus sit, ut
nunquam carius vendat annonam sive tempore abundantise, sive
tempore caritatis, quam modium publicum et noviter statutum.
De medio de avena' denario uno, modio ordii^ denariis duo,
medio sigli* denarii tres, modio frumenti^ denarii quatuor. Si
vero in pane vendere voluerit duodecim panes de frumento,
habentes singuli libras duas, pro denario dare debeat, sigalatius
quindecim aequo pondere pro denario, ordeaceos viginti similiter
pensantes, avenatios viginti quinque similiter pensantes. De
vero annona publica domini regis, si venundata fuerit, de avena
modius 2 pro denario, ordeo den. 1, sigalo den. 2, frumento mod.
denar. 3. Et qui nostrum habet beneticium, diligentissime prae-
videat, quantum potest Deo donante, ut nuilus ex manciiDiis ad
ilium pertinentes beneficium famen moriatur, et quod superest
illius familiae necessitatem, hoc libere vendat jure prescripto^.

In London regulations were made on this suloject at a very
early date ; the following rule, which occurs in close conjunction
with one for wages, is certainly not later than the twelfth century,
and may be earlier*.

De constitutione et ponderatione panis.

Lune post sanctuTn lucam cowstitutum est apud GWdhallam
q?;ando frumentum vendebat^6r pro xl et aliud -pro xxxviij d.
tunc ponderavit gastellwrn^ de ob. Ix solidos et panis bisus® de
ob. ix marcas.

1 Oats. 2 Barley. s Coarse wheat. * Wheat.

6 Capitularies. Migiie, xcvii. 193.

^ British Museum, Add. 14,252, f. 113 b, in a twelfth century or very early
thirteenth century hand.

' Waste] bread, fine bread (Fr. gateau). 8 Brown bread (Fr. bis).

568 APPENDIX.

Db conditione operariorum.

Et ibidem tunc provisum est ut magister carpentariMS et
magister macerius^ et magister tegulator^ capiat inde ij d et conre-
diiu^i'* vel sine conredio iiij d pro omnibus. Minores vero iij ob.
cum conredio, vel sine conredio iij d. Coopertores* rero ut de
iunco vel arundine capiat jnagitster iij ob. cum cortredio vel iij d
sine conredio, minores au^em i d et conredium vel ii d pro omnihus,
et ita servetwr usq^te pascha.

The same mss. contain (fol. 85 b) an Assize of Bread which
is much more elaborately worked out ; it is of the time of
Henry II., and differs in several important respects from that
in the Statute Book. The range of prices for wheat is different,
as this runs from eighteenpence to six shillings a quarter, while
the Statute Book gives larger variations, from two to twenty
shillings. The order is different, as this runs from a high price
and small weight to a low price and large weight, while the
Statute Book begins with cheap corn and a large loaf and runs to
dearer corn and smaller weights. The two lists agree in the size
of the loaf when corn was sold for four shillings and sixpence ; it
was to weigh 30 shillings, each presumably of twelve pence, and
the pennies of twenty to the ounce ; but in the earlier assize the
loaf was smaller than in the later one, both when corn was as
dear as six shillings and when corn was as cheap as two shillings
the quarter'. The allowance for the baker's servants is larger
in the later assize, as the baker was to have three halfpence for
three servants instead of four, and a halfpenny instead of a
farthing for the two lads.

Hec est assisa de pane faciendo et vendendo que probata est
per pistores domini regis Henrici secundi, ita quod pistor poterit
sic vendere ut subscriptum est et in qwolibet quartinario frumenti
lucrari tres d. et brennuw exceptis duobws panibws ad forna-
gium*. Et qwatuor servientibws tres obolos et duobws garcioni-
hus quadrantem. In sale ob. in gesto^ ob. in bosco tres d., in
candela quadrante//; in buneter"* ob.

Quando qwartiermm frumejiti se vendit pro sex sol. ; tunc
debet panis esse bonits et albus et ponderare sexdecim sol. de xx''
lorres" ; et panis de toto blado^" debet esse bonws ita quod nichil
inde subtrahatwr et del^et ponderare viginti quatuor sol. de xx
lorres. Q?/ando quavterium frume^iti se vendit pro quinque

1 The maker of the wattled sides of a house.

2 The tiler. ^ Allowance of food, rations. ^ The thatcher.

5 According to the assize in Ai-nold's Chronicle, which is probahly of the
fifteenth century, the prices of wheat given range from 3s. to 20s. the quarter.
The weights are given in ounces and pennies ; if the ounce was 20d., the farthing
loaf was to weigh 296 pence when corn was 4s., as against 360 in the time of
Henry III. ; this looks as if the debasing of the currency was reaUy felt, but it is
too doubtful to be the basis of any inference.

6 The payment to the baker himself.

7 Yeast. ** A bolting cloth.

3 Twenty pence to the ounce ; see the patent of 2 R. II. quoted as a note in
Piecord Edition of Statutes, i. 200.

10 Whole meal bread.

ASSIZE OF BREAD. 569

solidis et sex denariis tunc debet ponderare viginti sol. et alius
panis viginti octo sol. Quando pro qwinque solidis tunc debet
ponderare viginti qwatuor sol. et alius panis xxx** duos sol.
Qttando pro quatuor solidis et sex d. tunc debet ponderare
triginta sol., et alius qwadraginta sol.

Quando pro qwatuor solidis tunc debet ponderare triginta sex
sol. et alius quadraginta sex sol.

Quando pro trihus solidis et sex denariis, tunc debet ponderare
qwadraginta duos sol. et alms qitinquaginta qwatuor sol.

Quando pro tribws solidis tunc debet ponderare qwadraginta
octo sol. et alii*s sexaginta quatuor sol.

Quando pro duobus solidis et sex denariis tunc debet ponder-
are q«inqwrtginta qwatuor sol. et aliws sexaginta duodecim sol.

Quando pro duobws solidis twwc debet ponderare sexaginta
sol. et alius quatuor libras.

Quando pro octodecim denariis tunc debet ponderare sexa-
ginta sex sol. et alius qwatuor libras et octi sol.

Et sic deinceps ad plus vendicionis frumenti minor panis et
ad minus vendicionis frumenti maior panis.

(Expliciunt leges illustrissimi et invictissimi Henrici Regis
secundi filii Matillidis predicte imperatricis.)

Other sorts of bread occasionally mentioned are bread of tret,
which I take to be tourta, and to correspond to the bread of
sigala, though this grain was rarely grown in England (compare
Rogers' Prices, i. 174) : from the frequent mentions in the Liber
Alhus (i. 259, 265, 338, 704, and especially iii. 414 note) it
appears to be bread made of coarse flour, but it is not clear
how this would differ from bread de omni blado, or de toto blado.
In the assize in Arnold's Chronicle, where several sorts of loaf are
specified, the ' loaf of all manner of grain ' is distinctly spoken of
as a wheat loaf (p. 56). On the other hand we also hear of
mixtilionis, which appears to have been composed of different
grains, and of horse bread, which was made of beans (Riley in
Glossary to Liber Alhus sub payn pur cJievaux).

The various loaves mentioned in this assize then appear to be
made of wheat and of wheat only : but the Judicium pillorie,
which is attributed to the time of Henry III., ordains that the
jurors who settle the assize of bread should take account of the
price, not merely of wheat but of oats. The Statutum de pistori-
bus too has a special clause de venditione farine which refers to
the adulteration of oatmeal. It appears that just as the price of
wastel bread was given as sufficiently indicating the price of
other wheat loaves, so the price of wheat ruled the rate at which
rye bread, or any other bread was to be sold. In the face of all
the evidence we have that other bread was constantly used for
the allowances of servants on estates, it seems impossible to
believe that it was never exposed for sale in towns.

The mode of proceeding in attempting to enforce the assize of
bread is fully described in the Romney custumary, Lyon, Dover,
11. 337.

570 APPENDIX.

B. MANORIAL RECORDS.
I. SERVICES AND EXTENTS.

The interesting description of the duties of a Reeve has been
printed by Dr Liebermann from the ms. in the Library of Corpus
Christi College, Cambridge (cccLxxxiii. f. 102); for the translation
and notes I am indebted to the kindness of Professor Skeat. The
ms. dates from about 1 1 00, but the document is probably from the
early part of the eleventh century ; it immediately follows the well-
known Rectitudines, and throws considerable light on the system
of managing estates in England before the Norman Conquest.

The documents which follow serve to illustrate the conditions
of rural life at periods from which much fuller informa-
tion survives. The first is a remarkably detailed survey of
the Manor of Borley in Essex ; it was taken in the first
year of Edward 11. and it shows the obligations and position
of the villains before the services were commuted for money.
At the time when this extent was taken the manor of Borley
belonged to the King. Edward I. had procured it, along with
other lands and castles, for a sum of 20,000 marcs ; it continued
to be vested in the Crown till 1346, when King Edward III.
granted it to Christchurch, Canterbury, in exchange for all the
rights of the convent in the port of Sandwich and Isle of
Sheppey (Morant, Essex, ii. 318). The extent is now transcribed
from a book in the British Museum which belonged to Christ-
church (Add. mss. 6159), into which it was probably copied at the
time when the monastery came into possession of this manor. A
translation has been printed by Prof. E. P. Cheyney in the Annals
of the American Academy of Political Science, vol. iv. p. 275.

Some other extracts are appended as illustrations of the
changes which occurred when lands were let at a rent, and the
services were commuted for money. The information about
Barrington is extracted from an extent which occurs in a book of
deeds relating to property there, written in a fifteenth century
hand, and now in the muniment room of Trinity College,
Cambridge. It shows that before the third year of King
Edward III. the services of the villains were all valued, so that
they might be actually rendered or else paid in money; they were
then commuted for regular rents.

The extract from the Winslow Court Rolls is from the twenty-
first year of Edward III., that is before the Black Death, and is
interesting as showing that the Abbey endeavoured to maintain
the collective responsibility of the tenants for the money pay-
ments, just as they had been collectively responsible for services.
The other cases occurred after the Black Death. There are two
extents of the manor of Rustington, Sussex, in a fifteenth
century hand in a ms. (O. i. 25) in the Trinity College Library at
Cambridge : one of these was made in the third year of Edward
III., and the other in the eighth year of Edward IV. They

MANORIAL RECORDS. 571

illustrate very clearly the change which was going on at this
time. From another document in the same book it appears that
a considerable alteration occurred in the forty-second year of
Edward III., and there were farther changes in the twenty-first
of Richard II., as we learn from the body of the later extent.
One or other of these is probably the event which is referred to
by a clerical error in the extract as occurring in the twentieth
year of Edward III.

For the example of a stock and land lease I am indebted to
the kindness of the Rev. W, Hunt. It has been already
printed by Mr Archbold in his Somerset Religious Houses,
p. 355, along with much valuable information on the condition
of the monasteries and their property. It affords an illustration
of a type of contract which has long ceased to be familiar ; this
lease was made by the Prior of Bath Abbey in 29 and 30
Henry VIII., just before the dissolution of the monasteries,
and it serves to show that this method of letting land survived
till a much later date than is generally supposed.

A considerable number of documents similar to the specimens
here given have been printed at different times, and may be found
in County Histories and other publications. The excellent
Classified List of Printed Original Materials for English Manorial
and Agrarian History, by Miss F. G. Davenport (Radcliffe
College Monographs), forms an invaluable guide to the available
sources of information.

1. Be gbsceadwisan gerefan.

[1] Se scadwis gerefa sceal segSser witan ge hlafordes landriht
ge folces gerihtu, be Sam Se hit of ealddagum witan geraeddan,
and selcre tilSan timan 5e to tune belimpS ; for Sam on manegum
landu«i tils biS redre Sonne on oSrum : ge yrSe tima hrajdra, ge
mseda rsedran, ge winterdun eac swa, ge gehwilc oSer tilS.

[2] Hede se Se scire healde ]>a't he friSige and forSige selce
be Sam Se hit selest sy ; and be Sam he eac mot Se hine weder
wisaS. He sceal snotorlice smeagean and georne Surhsmugan
ealle Sa Sing Se hlaforde magan to rsede.

[3] Gyf he wel aginnan wile, ne mseig he sleac beon ne to
oferhydig ; ac he mot a;gSer witan ge laesse ge mare, ge betere ge
msetre Saes Se to tune belimpS, ge on tune ge on dune, ge on wuda
ge on wsetere, ge on felda ge on falde, ge iune ge ute ; for Sam to
soSe ic secge, oferhogie he oSSe forgyme Sa Sing to beganne and
to bewitanne, Se to scipene oSSe to odene belimpaS, sona hit wyrS
on berne ]?ce^ to Sam belimpaS.

[4] Ac ic Isere ^cet he do swa ic ser cwseS : gyme segSer ge
Sses selran ge J^ses ssemran, \)(Bt naSor ne misfare, gyf he wealdan
maege, ne corn ne sceaf, ne flsesc ne flotsmeru, ne cyse ne cyslyb,
ne nan Sera Singa Sa sefra to note msege.

[5] Swa sceal god scyrman his hlafordes healdan, do ymbe
his agen swa swa he wylle. A swa he gecneordra swa biS he
weorSra, gyf he wiS witan hafoS his wisan gemsene.

572 APPENDIX.

[6] Symle he sceal his hyrmen scyrpan mid manunge to
hlafordes neode and him eac leanian be 6am Se hy earnian.

[7] Ne laete he nsefre his hyrmen hyne oferwealdan, ac wille
he selcne mid hlafordes creafte atid mid folcrihte. Selre him his
sefre of folgoSe Sonne on, gyf hine magan wyldan Sa Se he scolde
wealdan. Ne biS hit hlaforde rsed \icet he '^cet Safige.

[8] -^fre he mseig findan on Sam he mseig nyt beon and Sa
nytte don Se him fylstan scylan ; huru is msest neod ^oet he asece,
hu he yrde maege fyrme geforSian Sonwe Sses tima sy.

[9] Me mseig in Maio and Jumo and Julio on sumera
fealgian, myxendincgan ut dragan, lochyrdla tilian, sceap scyran,
bytlian, bote atan tynan, tymbrian, wudian, weodian, faldian,
fiscwer and mylne macian ;

[10] on hserfeste ripan, in A gusto and Septembri and OctobH
mawan, wad spittan, fela tilSa ham gaederian, Sacian, Secgan and
fald weoxian, scipena behweorfan and hlosan eac swa, ser to tune
to stiS winter cume, and eac yrSe georne forSian ;

[11] on wintra erian and in miclum gefyrstum timber cleofan,
orceard rseran and msenige inweorc wyrcean, Serhsan, wudu cleofan,
hrySer anstyllan, swyn stigian, on odene cylne macian — ofn and
aste and fela Singa sceal to tune — ge eac henna hrost ;

[12] on Isengfcene eregian and impian, beana sawan, wingeard
settan, dician, deorhege heawan and raSe sefter Sam, gif hit mot
gewiderian, mederan settan, linsed sawan, wadssed eac swa,
wyrtun plantian and fela Singa ic eal geteallan ne mseig, ]>cet
god scirman bycgan sceal.

[13] A he mseig findan hwset he inseig on byrig betan ; ne
Searf he na unnyt beon Son7?-e he Sser binnan biS : oSSe hus godian,
rihtan and weoxian and grep hegian, dicsceard betan, hegas
godian, weod wyrtwalian, betweox husan bricgian, beoddian,
bencian, hors anstyllan, flor feormian oSSe synnes sum Sing Se
to nyte mpege.

[14] He sceal fela tola to tune tilian and fela andlomena to
husan habban :

[15] -^cse, adsan, bil, byrse, scafan, sage, cimbiren, tigehoc,
nsefebor, mattuc, ipping-iren, scear, cultur and eac gadiren, siSe,
sicol, weodhoc, spade, scofle, wadspitel, bserwan, besman, bytel,
race, geafle, hlii'dre, horscamb and sceara, fyrtange, wseipundern ;
and fela towtola : flexlinan, spinle, reol, gearnwindan, stodlan,
lorgas, presse, pihten, timplean, wifte, wefle, wulcamb, cip, amb,
crancstaif, sceaSele, seamsticcan, scearra, nsedle, slic.

[16] And gif he smeawyrhtan hsefS, Sam he sceal to tolan
fylstan. Mylewerde, sutere, leodgotan and oSran wyrhtan selc
weorc sylf wisaS hwset him to gebyreS ; nis senig man ]>cet atellan
msege Sa tol ealle Se man habban sceal.

[17] Man sceal habban wseiigewsedu, sulhgesidu, egeSgetigu
and fela Singa Se ic nu genaemnian ne can, ge eac mete, dwel and
to odene fligel and andlamena fela : hwer, lead, cytel, hlaedel,
pannan, crocca, brandiren, dixas, stelmelas, cyfa, cyflas, cyme,
cysfset, ceodan, wilian, windlas, systras, syfa, ssedleap, hriddel,

MANORIAL RECORDS. 573

hersyfe, tsemespilan, fanna, trogas, sescena, hyfa, hunigbinna,
beorbydene, baeSfset, beodas, butas, bleda, melas, cuppan, seohhan,
candelstafas, sealtfset, sticfodder, piperhorn, cyste, mydercan,
bearmteage, hlydan, sceamelas, stolas, laeflas, leohtfset, blacern,
cyllan, sapbox, camb, yrsebinne, fodderhec, fyrgebeorh, melu-
hudern, selhyde, ofurace, mexscofle.

[18] Hit is earfoSe eall to gesecganne ])cet se beSencan sceal
Se scire healt ; ne sceolde he nan Sing forgyman Se sef re to note
mehte : ne forSa musfellan ne, ])cet git Isesse is, to htepsan pinn ;
fela sceal to holdan hames gerefan ajid to gemetfsestan manna
hyrde.

[19] Ic gecende be Sam Se ic cuSe; se Se bet cunne gecySe
his mare.

(1) The sagacious reeve ought to know both the lord's land-
right and the folk-rights, even as the counsellors of olden days
have determined ; and the season of every crop that pertains to
a homestead; since, in many districts, the farm-work is earlier
than in others; that is, ploughing-time is earlier, the season for
mowing is earlier, and so likewise is the winter-pasturing, and
every other kind of husbandry.

(2) Let him who holds such office take heed that he guard
and further every work according as is best for it; and he must
act with regard to it as the weather directs him. He ought pru-
dently to consider and diligently to look into' all the things that
may be for his lord's advantage.

(3) If he wants to begin well, he must not be too lax nor
too overweening, but he must know both the less and the more,
both the greater and the less important matters that concern
a homestead, both in the farm-yard and on the down, both in
wood and in water, both in held and fold, both indoors and out.
For I tell you of a truth, if he be too proud or negligent to
undertake and attend to the things which belong to cattle-stall or
threshing-floor, the result, in so far as it depends on such matters,
will soon shew itself in the barn^.

(4) But I advise that he do as I said before. Let him pay
attention to things great and small, so that neither go wrong as
far as he csin control it; neither corn nor sheaf, nor flesh nor
cream ^, nor cheese nor rennet^ nor any of the things that can
ever be of use.

(5) So should a good reeve keep his lord's goods; let him do
what he will with his own. Ever, as he becomes more diligent, will
he be more valued, if he observes a course like that of a wise man.

J Lit. ' to creep into ' ; but ^urhsmugan was used (like the Icel. smjiiga), with
the particular sense of putting the head through the neck-hole of a smock-hke
garment; see Skeat, Etym. Diet., b.v. smock. Hence the sense of 'peer into."
' look into,' or ' investigate.'

2 Perhaps a proverbial phrase.

^ Here 'flesh' means what we now call 'meat.' Flotsmerti is obviously
'cream,' though poorly translated hitherto by 'floating-fat.' However, the Icel.
anijor is the usual word for ' butter ' ; and ' float-butter ' is obviously ' cream.'

* Prov. Eng. cheeselope.

674 APPENDIX.

(6) He should ever stimulate his servants by an admonition
(to observe) their lord's desire; and moreover should pay them
according to what they deserve.

(7) He should never let his servants get the upper hand of
him, but let him wish (to direct) each one, with a lord's authority
and according to folk-right. Far better were it for him to be
always out of office rather than in it, if they whom he should rule
come to rule him. It will not be prudent for his lord to permit
this.

(8) He can ever be finding out something to be useful in,
and be thinking of useful things to assist him. However, it is
most desirable for him to search out how he may promote the
estate by farming^ wlien the right time for it comes round.

(9) In May and June and July, in summer, one may harrow,
carry out manure, set up sheep-hurdles, shear sheep, build up^,
repair, hedged build with timber, cut wood, weed, make folds,
and construct a fish-weir and a mill.

(10) In harvest one may reap, in August and September
and October one may mow, set woad with a dibble*, gather home
many crops, thatch them and cover them over, and cleanse* the
folds, prepare cattle-sheds and also shelters', ere too severe a winter
come to the farm; and also diligently prepare the soil.

(11) In winter, one should plough, and in severe frosts
cleave timber, make an orchard, and do many afiairs indoors;
thresh, cleave wood, put the cattle in stalls and the swine in pig-
sties, set up a stove on the threshing-floor — for an oven and a
kiln' and many things are necessary on a farm — and moreover
(provide) a hen-roost.

(12) In spring one should plough and graft, sow beans, set
a vine-yard, make ditches, hew wood for a wild-deer-fence ; and
soon after that, if the weather permit, set madder, sow linseed
(i.e. flaxseed) and also woad-seed, plant a garden, and (do)
many things which I cannot fully enumerate, that a good steward
ought to provide.

(13) He can always find something on the manor to improve;
he need not be idle, when he is in it; he can keep the house in
order, set it to rights and clean it; and set hedges along the
drains^, mend the breaches in the dikes, repair the hedges, root
up weeds, lay planks between the houses, make tables and
benches, provide horse-stalls, scour the floor; or let him think of*
something that may be useful.

1 I here venture to tva.nsla.te fyrme literally.

2 I alter the punctnatiou, to give some sense ; the passage is certainly corrupt,
but the emendation botettan (for bote atan) is almost certain.

8 Omitting atan; see note 2. * See sect. 15, for wddspitel.

5 Zupitza suggests that this is cognate with G. wischen ; see also Swed. visha,
to wipe over with a brash.

* A guess ; supposed to be aUied to kleow. ' Lit. an oast-house.

8 Liebermann translates grep by Ger. kaninchen. However, the Epinal
gloss has: " Scrobibus, ^roepwOT { = grepum)." The reference is obviously to the
setting of hedges with trenches below them, in the ordinary way.

9 synnes is obviously wrong, but the final s was due to the a in sum. Bead
synne=sinne, let him think of. It should govern a genitive.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 575

(14) He should provide many tools for the homestead, and
get many implements for the buildings: (as, for instance) —

(15) An axe, adze, bill, awl, plane, saw, chimbe-iron^ tie-
hook*, auger, mattock, prise ^, share, coulter; and also a goad-iron,
scythe, sickle, weed-hook, spade, shovel, woad-dibble, barrow,
besom, beetle, rake, fork, ladder, horse-comb and shears, fire-
tongs, weighing-scales, and many spinning-implements, (such as):
flax-threads*, spindle, reel, yarn-winder, stoddle**, weaver's beams,
press, comb, carding-tool*, weft, woof^ wool-comb, roller*, slay'
(I), winder with a bent handle, shuttle, seam-pegs'", shears, needle,
slick-stone".

(16) And if he has skilled workmen, he should provide them
with tools. As for the mill-wright, shoe-maker, plumber, and
other artisans, each work itself shews what is necessary for each;
there is no man that can enumerate all the tools that one ought
to have.

(17) One ought to have coverings for wains, ploughing-gear,
harrowing-tackle, and many things that I cannot now name; as
well as a measure, an awl, and a flail for the threshing-floor, and
many implements besides ; as, a caldron, leaden vessel, kettle,
ladle, pan, crock, fire-dog, dishes, bowls with handles, tubs,
buckets, a churn, cheese-vat, bags, baskets, crates, bushels, sieves,
seed-basket, wire-sieve, hair-sieve, winnowing-fans, troughs, ash-
wood-pails, hives, honey-bins, beer-barrels, bathing-tub, bowls,
butts, dishes, vessels, cups, strainers^*, candle-sticks, salt-cellar,
spoon-case, pepper-horn, chest, money-box, yeast-box, seats ^* (?),
foot-stools, chairs, basins", lamp, lantern, leathern bottles, box
for resin [or soap?], comb, iron bin, rack for fodder, fire-guard,
meal-ark ^^, oil-flask^®, oven-rake, dung-shovel.

(18) It is toilsome to recount all that he who holds this office
ouglit to think of; he ought never to neglect anything that may
prove useful, not even a mouse-trap, nor even, what is less, a
peg for a hasp. Many things are needful for a faithful reeve
of a household and for a temperate guardian of men.

1 Prov. Eng. chimbe, the prominent part of the staves beyond the rim of a
barrel. A chimbe-iron was probably a sort of spokeshave, to make the stave-ends
even.

'- I do not see how a ' tie-hook ' can mean a vice, as suggested. I take it to be
a hook such as is used for twisting hay-bands.

3 Prov. E. prise, a lever for opening a box ; the A. S. word means ' opening-
iron.'

* Translated by Ger. Jiachswinde, without authority ; the A. S. line (pi. linan)
means ' a line.'

5 Palsgrave has : ' Stodyll, a toole for a wever ' ; sense unknown.

6 Perhaps allied to prov. E. to turn, to card wool for the first time.

7 ' Cladica, wefl vel oweb ' ; Gloss. 13. 23 ; and oweb=woof.

8 ' Kip-tree, the horizontal roller of a draw-well ' ; Halliwell.

9 See Bosworth. lo i.e. pegs to hold a thing for sewing.
" See HalliweU.

12 See Toller; from seon, to strain. i' Ii=hleda.

1* Lat. lobelia.

15 Hardly a meal-Aowae, but rather a meal-ark or box, called a meal-house as
being a place where it is stored.

16 I take eel in the sense of ' oil,' not ' eel.'

676

APPENDIX.

(19) I have declared all as well as I could; let him who
knows better declare more than this.

2. EXTENTA MaNERI/ DB BoRLE.

f[ Mesua-
gium.

C Cmtila-
ginm.
C Gardi-

C Advo-

caiioEccZe-

siarum.

Molendi-
nnm cum
pisoario.

C BOSCMS.

C Terre in
dominico.

C Extenta Manerii de Borlee facta ibidem die mavtis
■pronima. post iestum sancti Mat^hcei Aposfoli Anno domi'ni
iicccviil regno F\.egis ^dwardi fiHi ^egis 'E^dwardi primo, coraw*
Johawnem le Doo Senescha^^o per manws Will/eZ»ti de ffolesham
clerici per sa,cramentuva Philippi le Reve de Borlee, Henrici
Lamberti, Dionisu Rauf, Ricarc^i atte Mere, Walteri Johan
et Robert! Ernald tenewtes domini in predic^a villa de Borlegh,
Qui omwes yxvati dicu?it qwod est ibidem unum mesuagmT/i bene
et rationabiKter edificatum et sufficit pro exitibws manerii ec
cowtinet in se infra situwi manern qwatuor acras per estimationem.
Et valet herbagium inde per annum per estimationem ij s. d Et
curtilagmm inde valet per annum xij d. aliquanrfo plus et ali-
(\Mando minws secundum quod appreciatitr. Et gardinum inde
valet per annum ut in pomis et uvis vinearwrn cum acciderint v s.
et aliquawc?o plus. C Swmma viij s.

^[ Et sciendum qwod dominus est verus patronws ecclesie de
Borlee, et valet dtc^a ecclesia ut in Bladis oblatis subventionibt<-?
et aliis minutis decimis per annum secundum t&xationem x li6ras.

f[ Et ibidem unum molendiwum aquaticum in manerio, et
valet per annu??2 ad dimittendttT/i ad firmawi Ix s. Et piscariw?/*
in stagno* valet per annum per estima^iowem cum avalatione
Anguillarwm de gurgitibws xij d. C Summa Ixi s.

C Est ibidem unus boscus vocatus le Hoo et continet in se
X acros, et valet herbagmm inde per annum v s. Et suboscus
inde valet per annum, et hoc sine wasto, v s. Et pannagiwm-
inde valet per annum xii d. Et ibidem quidam alius boscus
vocatws Chalvecroft' et continef in se v acras cum fossatis. Et
valet herbagium inde per annum ij s. vi d. Et suboscus inde
valet per annum iij s. Et pannagmm valet inde per annu?n vi d.

^ Swrnma valoris xvij s.
C Sunt ibidem de terra arabili in dominico in diversis
campis ccc acre terre per minus centum. Et valet per annuwi
ad dimittendwm, xv li. precmm acre xij d.

C[ Smmma SLcrarum ccc.
fl Swmma valoris xv li.

C Et sciendum quod pertica terre in isto manerio continet
xvi pedes et dimidium ad terram mensurandam. Et quelibet
acra potest congrue seminari de ii husscllis et dimidio frumenti,
de duobws hussellis et dimidio sHiginis, de ii hussellis et dimidio
pisorwjw, de iij hiissellis avene, et hoc annulatim et de iiij°'

1 Weir or milldam.

2 Payment for permission to feed swine in the lord's wood.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 577

hiissellis ordei per mensuram rasam'. Et qaeUbet caruca debet
jungi de iiij'"' bobws et iiij'"' affns. Et caruca potest communiter
arrare per diem unam acram terre et aliquando plus.

f[ Sunt ibidem de prato falcabili in diversis locis xxix acre et ([ Pratnm
i roda. Et valent per annum vij li. vi s. et iij d. ■precium acre v s. falcafctTe.
C^ Swrnma acrarwm xxix acre, i roda.
C! Swmma denariorum vij li. vi s. iij d.

€ Sunt ibidem de pastura separabili xxviij acre et valent per <[ Pastura
annum xlii s. precm?^, acre xviij d. de quibi.;s xvi acre assignaniwr separabilis.
vaccis pro daeria. Et xii bobus et stottts. CL Swrnma xlii s.

^[ Sciendti7?i quod dominus potest habere in communa pasture C Pastura
(sic) de Borlee cwm. esiainewto fFriscorwm et dominicorttm. domini comwums.
tempore aperto^ C bidentes per maius centmn,^

Et valet pastura cujuslibet capitis per annum ij d. et non plus
propter resumptionem cibi Berkar'. ^ Swmma xx s.

^[ Est ibidem quedam cur?'a de libere tenentibits domini et c ffines et
custumariis de iii septima?iis in iii septiraanas. Et valent fines P«''qiisite
et perquisite inde per annum cum visu iranci pleg^^ xx s. hete.

C Swmma patet.

^[ WilhWmus filiws ^a.diilphi Miles tenet de domino xviij C Libere
acras redde?ic^o inde per annum ad pascha xviij d. ad fes^wm '^^'"®" ^^'
Sancti Michae^is xviij d.

^[ Henricws de Latheleye tenet de dommo 1 acras terre
reddeMC?o inde p^r annum ad Pascha xxi d. et ad festwm Sarecii
Michae^is xxi d. Et debet sectam curie.

f[ Johannes de Lystone tenet de domino in Borlee xl acras
terre et iiij acras prati reddeno?o inde per annum ad iestum Sancti
Michae^is vj d. pro omwibws serviciis.

C Willie^mMS Joye tenet de domino unum mesuagmm et xx
acras terre et ii acras prati et dimidiam acra?n pasture, reddenc?o
inde per annum ad festum Sawed Michae/is xij d. Et debet
sectam curie.

C Hugo atte ffen tenet de do^nino vi acras terre et diwic^iam
acram prati et i rodam pasture, reddendo inde per annum ad
predic^os duos termireos ij sol. ix d. Et debet sectam curie.

fl Reginaldus Crummelond tenet de domino xii acras terre
reddewo^o inde per annum x s. et debet sectam curie.

^ WilkWmws le Yacther' tenet de domino in dominico et
servitio ij acras terre et dimidiam, acrawi prati, reddewc^o inde
per annwm ad Pascha et ad festum &anct\ Michae/is per equales
portiones vij d. Et debet sectam curie.

^ Tenentes terra; Simowis Aunsel videlicet.

1 Com was either heaped in the bushel, or straked so as to fill the measure and
no more ; this latter was mensura rasa. When the bushel was heaped [curmdata^
an allowance was made pro curmdo in keeping the reckoning ; see below, p. 602.

2 When the temporary fencing was removed and all the fields lay open.

8 He might pasture 100 sheep, by the greater hundred, i.e. 120.

c. H. 37

578 APPENDIX.

Molraen>. C Johannes Aunsel tenet unum cotagiwm et unam rodam

terre. C Rogerws atte Remete iiij*"" acras et iii rodas terre,
Ricardus Gakoun ij acias terre. C WiWielmus Oslock' i acrffl?>i
terre. C Augustus le Clerk' ij acras et dimidiam terre. C
Walterus Morel iij acras terre. C Dionisms Raufws i rodaui
prati. Et reddim^ inde per annum videlicet ad Pascha ix d.,
et ad iestum Sancti 'Michaelis ix d. Et ad Tp\xrificationem de
Unthiel ij s. ij d. ob. q. Et ad Natale domini una//i gaWinam
precw i d. ob. Et invenient ii homines metentes ad unu7?i
Bedrepe' in autumpno pro voluntate domtni ad cibum domini ut
patet inferms. Precmm cujuslibet operis ij d. Et f acieut sectam
curie.

^ WilHe^mws Oslock tenet de domino i mesuagium. et xx
acras terre et i rodam prati, Reddendo inde per annum ad p?-e-
dic^os ij terminos iiij s. Et de Until ield ad purifica^ionem Bea^e
Marie ij s. ij d. ob. q"^. Et ad Natale do7nini i gallmam preen
i d. ob. Et metet in autumpno ad un?^m Bedrepe per duos
homi?ies ad cihiwi domini ut supra. Et debet merchet. Et
iacit sectam curie.

€ Summa redditus assise de ter/?iino Qancd Michaelis
libe?-e tenentiwm ix s. viii d.

C Item V s.

f[ Summa tej'mini pu rif ica^ioviis de Unthield per annuw
iiij s. V d. ob.

^ Summa reddilus termini pasche viij s. ij d.

C Item V s.

fl ^urnma Gallinaritm de termiwo NataZis domini iij d.

Custum- 0[ Walterus Johan tenet de domino in villenagio unum

aril. mesuagiwm et x acras terre Redde?io?o inde per annum ad festwm

Vuvijlcationis Beaie Marie de Hunthield iiij s. v d. ob. Et ad
Pascha xx d. ob. Et ad festwm Sa?icd MichaeZis xxi d. ob. Et ad
iestuvn 'Natalis domini i gallinawi et dimidiam precii galliwe i d.
ob. Et a festo Sancti 'Michaelis usqwe ad iestun^ Qancti Petri ad
Vincula qwalibet septimawa tria opera per unum hominem sine
cibo domini p?-ecii<m. operis ob. Exce/itis iiibus septima?zis, videlicet
septimana NataZis Domini, Pasche, et septimawa Pentecostes in
quib?ts non ope?'abunt, nisi indigeat de necessitate pro blado in
autumpno ligando, et fenis* levandis. Et arabit cum caruca sua,
sive iungat sive non iiii""" acras terre do7?iini sine cibo do??jini
preci?im cuiuslibet acre vd. q*^, unde ii acras tr^7?ipore seisowe ivmnenti^
et ii acras ad avenam. Et cariabi^ lima' dowiini in manerio cu?7i.
equo et caretta sua ad cibum- domini, videlicet quolibet die i pane??i
et dimidiam siligiwis unde de q?/.arterio debent fieri xl panes. Et
sarclare hiadum^ domini quamdiu fuerint sarclandw^i et alloca^i^wr

1 Men holding in villainage but paying money rent, with light services.
Vioogradoff, Eng. Hist. Rev. i. 734. Round, Ibid. n. 103.

2 Reaping done at the lord's biddhig. * Hay.

* Time for sowing wheat (autumn). 6 Manure. « To weed the corn.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 579

in operihus suis. Et debet falcare' pyata domini videlicet i
acrawi et te?-tiam pa?*tem uuius acre per mensuram ydonea/u. Efc
sdlocabitur in operibws suis, videlicet pro qusdibet acra iij opera.

C Et sciendwrn quod quavidociinqae ipse simul cum aliis
custumar«'s ville falcav-jrint pratum de Rainholm, haiebuiit
ex cotisuetudine iii busse^/os frMme?id ad panem et unum Hur-
t&rdum^ precii xviij d., et i lagenaw butyri et unum caseum ex
daeria domini post meliorem, et sal et farinam avene pro patagio
suo et totuOT lac matutinale de omtiibus vacc?'s totms Daerie ad
ipst^m tempus. Et sparget, levabit et cuniulabit predictam acram
et dimidiam feni et cariabit ad manerium et allocabitttr in operibus
suis. Et ha^ebit pro quolibet opere falcatio?iis tantura de herbag/o
viridi cum falcauerit, quantum poterit levare super punctum f ale is
sue. Et cum cariaverit dictum fenum habebit in fine dicti cari-
agii de feno plenum corpus csbrette sue. Et metet in autuwipno
a festo Sancti Petri ad Vincula usqwe ad festum Sattcti Michae^is
per totum autumpnum xxiiij opera sine cybo dommi precium
operis i d. Et cariabit bladwwi domini et tassabit et diWocahltur in
operib?^s suis. Et habebit quotiens cariaverit i garbam vocata?;*
meneschef *, et averabit cum equo suo xii leucas circa manerium ad
pondus duorum hwasellorum saKs, vel iii hxis&eWorum irumenli,
siligmis et pisoricm et fabar?<m. Et de avena iiij hus. avene. Et
debet querere predic^ttm bladum ad granarmm domini cum pre-
dict equo et sacco proprio. Et habebit qwotiens averaverit de
avena quantnvi potest ter in manu sua palmare et levare poterit.
Et si non averaverit nihil dabit set allocabit^tr pro quok'6e^ {sic)
avera i opus precium ob. Et dabit auxilium et faciei sectam
curie. Et dabii merchetum pro tilia sua maritanda ad volun-
tatem domini.

^[ Idem Walterus tenei i toftum qui continet ij acras terre.
Et faciet a festo Trinitatis usqwe ad Gulam A.ugusti* qnalihet
septimana ij opera precium operis ob. Et pro dimidio tofto qua-
libet septimana per idem tempos i opws precium ut supra. Et a
Gula Augusti usqwe iestum. Qancti Michae^is qualified septima^w*
i opus et dimldium, sine cibo domini precium ope?*is i d. Et
habebit j garbam vocatam Tofschef ® quantum poterit ligare in
quodam ligamine metato et n07i abradicato®, neqtoe cum radicibws
ne terra extracto.

^I Ricaro?us atte Mere tenet de Domino in villenagio xx
acras terre redd ewc?o inde per annum de Unthield ad iestum
puvificationis iiij s. v d. ob. et ad pascha xvi d. Et ad iestum
iiancti Michae/is xvij d., et ad 'Nutale do7?iini i galli?Mt?n precii
ut supra. Et operabit a iesto Sancti Michae^is usqwe ad festwm
Sia7icii Petri ad vincula qusdibet septimana ut Walterws Johan.

1 To mow. 2 A ram.

3 Men's sheaf, which two reapers received while at work, Scrope, Castle
Combe, 50. * August 1. Lammas Day.

5 Possibly the sheaf received by the holder of a toft who worked in harvest ;
Spelman gives tofman, the owner of a toft.

s Stiibble was much valued, and iu reaping a gi-eat deal of straw was left.

37—2

580 APPENDIX.

Et arrabit, cariabit fimu?>^, sarclabit bladwwi, falcabit pratum,
sparget, cnmulsihit et ad Msmerium cariabit, metet in autumpno,
averabit et faciet omnia alia servicia ut predictus Walterwa
Johan. Et dabit auxilimn et merchet et faciei sectam cuHe.

^ Idem ^icardus tenet unum toitum. Et iacit a iesto
Trinitatis usqwe ad Gula?^. A.ugusti qualibet septtmama ij opera
•precium nt supra. Et a fes^o Gule Augws^i usqwe fesiwm sa?icri
MichaeZts quaH6e^ seiptimana i opus sine cibo domini precium j d.

41 Robertus Ernald tenei de domino in villenagio xx acras
terre reddendo inde et facie7^do 07nnia, servicia et co7isuetudines in
omnibus sicwt dictus Rica?-c?us atte Mere. Et dabit auxilia et
merchet et faciet sectaw, curie. Et tene< i toft?im de domino et
faci< in ommbws et singu/Iis sicut predicttis Hicm-dus atte Mere.

f[ Matilda Davy tenet de domino in villena^'io xx acras terre
reddenc^o inde et facie^ido in omnihus sicut dictus ^icardus atte
Mere. Et etiam pro tofto suo sicut dictus Hicardus. Et dabi^
auxilia et faciei merchet et sectam curie.

C[ Fhilippus le Reve tene^ de domino in villenagio x acras
terre reddens inde per annum ad purijicationem heate Marie de
Unthield ij s. ii d. ob. q. Et ad Pascha viij d. Et ad festum
Sancti MichaeZis viij d. Et ad Natale domini i gallinam precii
I d. Et arrabii, caria^ii fimos, sarclabit bladiim, lalcabit prata,
tsparget, cumulabit. Et faciei omwia alia servicia medietate ut
terra predict Ricarc?i atte Mere. Et dabit merchet et iaciet
sectam curie.

^ Idem Vhilippus tenet unum toftum et facii pro eo omwia
servicia ut predic^tts Hicat-dus atte Mere et sectam curie.

J[ Dionisiws Rolfws tenet de domino in villenagio x acras
terre reddendo inde et faciendo in reddidit et omwibus aliis
serviciis ut predic^ws B.icardus atte Mere. Et pro uno tofto
qwod tenet faciei in ommbws sicut idem RicarcZws. Et idem
I)ionisii6s tenet unain acram terre redde?zc?o inde per annum xii d.
ad festwm pasche et sa?icti MichaeZis per equales porciones.

CL Petrws ad crucem tenet de dornino in villenagio x acras
terre. Reddewrfo inde et faciewdo reddi^wm et alias conauetudirtes
et servicia ut prediciws philippus le Reve. Et pro uno tofto
qwod tenet iacit in omnihus sicut idem l^hilippus et iacit sectam
curie.

^[ 'Edmund Nel tene^ de domino in villena^'io x acras terre
redde7ic?o inc?e per annum et faciendo omnia servicia ut predictus
philippus. C Idem Edmund tenet dimidium tectum et facii in
omnibMS omnia servicia medietatem ut toftum predict philippi.

^ Wualterns de Lynton' tenet de domino in villenagio x
acras terre Reddendo inde et faciendo omnia servicia et consi^e-
tudines ut predic^ws PhiZijo^^ws le Reve.

^ Idem Wualterus tenet de domino dimidium toftwm et
£aci< in omnibus sicut predictus Edjoaund Neel.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 681

C Aschelot le Yonge tenet de domino in yillenaffio x acras
terre et dimidium toftum et ia.cit in omnib?^s ut Tpredictus Wal-
terus de Lynton'.

d Henricus Lamberd tenet de domino x acras terre et
dimidium toftum. Et iacit in omnibus et singulis sicut Wal-
terus de Lynton'. Et insuper pro quadam strata vocata Rap-
strete ij d. per annum.

C[ Johannes Rolf tenet de domino x acras terre et dimidium
toittim. Et iacit in om,n\hus servicii's sicut dictus, Walte?'?is. Et
pro qwadam Rapstrete ii d. per annu7/i.

C Sdhanna. Gille, WilHeZ/ziws Gille et Petrws Gille tenent x
acros et dimidium toftum, et ia,ciunt in om^iibMS servic^^s sicut
dictus Walterws de Lynton'.

C Agnes Selone tenet de domino x acras terre et dimidium
toitum. Et ia^cit in omnibus servictis et consuetudinibus sicut
dictus Walterus.

#[ Thomas de Reculver cle?ncu3 tenet de domino quamdam
terram vocatam Stanegroundeslond que co?? tinet x acras terre
et dimidiuTn toitu7n. Et iacit omnia alia seruicia et consuetu-
dines in ommbws serviciis sicut dictus Walterus de Lyntone.

d Wilk'e^mMS Warengws et Matilda Warengws tenent de
domino in villena^io v acras terre. Et redd^w^ inde per annum,
ad iestum ipvLriJicationis heate Marie de Unthield xiij d. ob. Ad
pascha iiij d. Ad festwm sanc^i Michae^is iiij d. q. Et ad Nat-
ale domtni j gallii^am precii ut supi-a. Et faci^ in ommbMS aliis
serviciis et consuetudinibus medietatem ut terra Fhilippi le Reve.

^[ Idem WiWielmus et Matilda tenent unum toftum et iaciunt
in omnihus sicut predic^iis PhiUppus.

f[ Idem Willie^mits tene< v acras terre per se. Et ia,cit in
ommbMS serviciis et consuetudinibus medietatem ut ])7-edictus
"philippus. Et pro qwarta parte uniws tofti qwod tenet, facit
quarta/re 'partem sicut et alii solvunt pro tanto tenemenio.

d Idem Willie^mws debet pro Warengerestrete ij d. per annum
ad terminos prescriptos.

4L Willie^mws Faber tenet de domino vi acras terre pro
ferramento carucar?/m domini de proprio ferro eiusdem domini
fabricando. Et reddi< de Unthield xii d. ob. q.

C! Dionisiws State tenet de do?nino in villenagio v acras terre,
et quartam partem unius tofti, Reddendo et faciendo in omnihus
et singulis per annum sicut dic^MS Willie^mws Warengws pro v
acr«s terre et qwarta parte uniws tofti sui.

4[ NichoZaus Hervy tenet de domino in villenagrio v acras et
•••ju,/» partem j tofti, reddendo et facie?^do in omrabus per annum
sicut dict?*s W. WarengMs pro tawta terra.

^[ WillieZmws Selone tenet de domino in villewap'io v acras
terre et iiij**™ partem j tofti, Reddeno?o inc^e et facierido in omni-
bus per annum sicut dic^ws W. Warengws pro tawta terra.

582 APPENDIX.

^ Margeria Simondes tenet de domino v acr^s terre, red
dendo inde et faciendo in omnibus sicut dictus WiWielmus pro
tanta terra.

C[ Walterus Arnewy tenet de domino in \i\\enagio v.acras
terre reddewc^o inde et faciewdo omnia servicia sicut predicts,
Margena.

C! MabilKa atte Mere tenet de domino v acras terre, Red-
dendo et faciendo in omwibws et singulis sicut predic^a Marg^^ria.

^ MabilHa Nicole tenet de domino v acras terre, reddendo
et faciendo in omnibus et singulis sicut predict Margeria.

C lidem Walterus MabilKa atte Mere et Mabillia Nicole
tene?it unum toftum reddejido inde et faciendo servicia sicut
Fhilijjpus le Reve pro tofto suo.

Cotemen. ^ Radulfus Denys tenet de domino unum toftum reddendo

inde per annwm in omwibws sicut dictus Thilippus le Reve. Et
propter hoc debet aperire sulcos aquaticos in yeme super terram
domini, tewipore seisorie irume^iti. Et debet spargere lima doniini
qwamdiu fuerint spargenda qualibet seisona anni. Et si nan
aperierit neque fima sparserit nichil dabit.

^ Mabillia de Alfetone et Gundreda soror eius tenent de
domino j toftum- et ia,ciunt in omnibus sicut predicizts RaduZ/^Aus
Dynis.

C[ Willielmus Nenour tenet de domino j cotagiwm et faci<
qualibet septimawa operabili j opus die lune precii<m ob. videlicet a
festo sancti MichaeZis usqw.e festum sancti Petri ad vincula et a
festo Sancti Petri ad Vincula usqwe ad iestum. Sancti MichaeZis
qualiie^ septimana j opus precio operis j d.

^ Walterus Selone tenet de domino j cotagiwm et iacit in
omnibits sici*^ Walterus Nenour.

Hotandnm. J[ Et sciendum quod si predic^i W. Nenour et Walter?<s
Solone tritutaverint bladum in Grangia domhii habebu?zt de
domino de foragio qnantu??* poterunt simiil et semel cunt uno
rastro in area dicte Grangie congregare. Et sic de feno cum in
prato do»n'ni eu?;i congregaverint. Et hoc a tempore quo non
. extat memoria, ut dicitur.

Hotsmdum. C Sciendwm q?/od omnes custumarii supradicii debent metere
in autumpno per unum diem ad unum. Bedrepe de irumento. Et
ha&ebunt inter eos vj hussellos irumenti ad panem suu/?i in manerio
furnitum et potagiit??! et carnem videlicet duo homi?ies i ferculum
carnis bovine et caseum et cervisiam ad bibendwm. Et predic^i
custumarii operabuwt in autumpno ad duas precarias avene. Et
ha6ebunt vi hussellos siligmis ad panem suu7/i ut predictura
est. PotagiM//i ut priws, et alleces' videlicet quili^ei duo homines
vi aUeces et caseum ut prins et aquam ad bibendw??i.

1 Herrings.

MANORIAL RECORDS.

583

Summa redditus assise custumarii de
termino Sawed Michaelis per
annum

Swmma redditus de Unthield de
termino Tpnriiicationis

S^mma redditus de termino Pasche.

Suxnma redditus Gallinarwm dic^o-
rum custumaHorwm de termino
'Neitalis Domini

Suvarna redditus assise de termino
pasche. tam Kbere tenentium o^uam
custumariorwm

Sttmma redditus eorum,dem de ter-
mino ^ancti Michaelis per annwm
xxviij s. vij d. Item x s. ad
predictos termmos

Swrnma Custumorwrn \ocatorum Un-
thield ad purificationem beate
Marie per a.nnum

^uu\nia reddi^ws Gallinarww de Na-
tali domini

^uiama sumwarwwi predtc^arMwt cum
Unthield per annum

^[ Item de Reginald' Crummelond' x s.
inveniente...pos^ exteri<a?n factarn.

xviii s. xi d. ob. q.

Iv s. vii d.
xvii s. ii d. ob.

C De

tervnriQ

Micliae?8«.

C I'nrifi-
cationis.

C Pasch-
alis.

C Nafa/»»
do/ztini.

XXV s. iv d. ob.

Ix s. ob.

iii s. ii d.

cxvij s. iii d.
reddi^^is per unnum

^[ Sunt ibidem de operibws custumarns ut patet superiws a Opera.
iesto ?,ancti Michaels usql^e ad gulam AMgusti per xliiij septimanas
mcccc iiij"" et v opera per septima?iam iij opera.

fl Et de duobws cotagiarws pe?- idem tempws iiij" viii opera
de (\\xo\ihet eorum per septi'manam i opzis.

tl Et de xvj toftmen a iesto sancte Trinitatis usqtie ad gulam
Augusti per x septimanas ccg et xx opera precium cuiusK6e<
ope^'is ob. de quibws retracta^wr pro iij septima?zis videlicet Nata^i
Pasche et Pentecosies allocandis. Et etiam pro ij cotagws et
pro arrurts gabule...ad seisowas diversas a\\oca7idis, clii opera.
Et remaned mdccxlij opera p?-ecmm operis ob.

4[ Summa iiij Ii. vj s. viij d. ob.

^ Sunt ibidem de exitw predic^orwm custumar?'or?t»j xxij
gabule et dimidia qaarum, quelibet gabula debet arrare super
terram domiyii ad diversas sesonas. Et valet gabula ad commodum
do7ftmi ad omnes seisinas x d. ob.

C 8umma xix s. viij d. q.

C Sunt ibidem de operibus autumpnalibus predictorum cus-
tuman'orwm a gula AugM.s-^i usqjte ad festwm sawed MichaeZis
eccc xxiiij opera precium operis ij d.

Qumma xlj s. ij d.

684 APPENDIX.

f[ Swmma totiws valoins per extentam xliij li. xix s. ob. q.

^ Item de Reginald' Crummelond' x s. per annum inveni-
ente post coniectum extente ut supra, de quibws retract /s vij d.
reddi^Ms debiti Domme ffelicie de Sender per annum pro quodam
prato vocato Baselyemede apud Radbrygge.

^ ^emanet xliij li. xviij s. v d. ob. q. C. liem. x s. ut supra.

f[ Et sciendwTO qwod do7ninvLS prior 'Ecclesie Christi Can-
tuariensis ha6et libertateT/i suam, in villa de Borlee. Et ha6et
Infangenethief ^, et Utfangenethief ^ cum manu opere cap^o videlicet
Hondhabbande^, Bakberande^. Et furce judiciales eiusdem liber-
tatis stant et debent stare ad Radbrigge. Et inde ad inquiren-
duni de pillor/a et Trebuchet'^. Et inquisitu7/i est qwod debetwr
stare extra portas exteriores versus occidente??i iuxta porcariw/n
doinini.

Hot&ndum. €[ Et memorand?(m qMod quocienscuwqi^e indigent quod iiij
h.07nines et praepositum extiterint coram iusticmrus in itinere
vel alibi videlicet ad gaolas domini Hegis deliberanr^as vel alibi
ubicumque fuerint. Dommus debet invenire duos homines
sumpti^MS suis coram eisdem iusticiariis. Et villata de Borlee
sumptibus suis iij homines inve?iient. Et hoc per consuetwc^mem
a tempore quo non extat memorm ut dicitur.

ISotancluTn f[ Et sciendum qwod si qwis custumarms domini in isto

manerio obierit Dominus habebit de herietto* meliorem bestiam
ipsiws tenejitis tempore mortis sui inventam. Et si bestiam non
habuerit, dabit domino pro herietto ij s. vi d. Et heres faciei
finem dommo pro tenemento quod fuit pa^ris sui, si s,ib\ viderit
expedire, sin autem, nichi^ ino?e haiebit. Salvo tamew uxori
eiusdem tenen^is defuncti toto tenemeri^o qwod fuit viri sui
die quo ohiit ad tenendum de domino ut liberum bancum suuwi
ad termm7tm vite sue, si se tenuerit sine marito, et faciendo
se^-viciffl domino inde debita et consueta. C Si anten per licen-
ciam domi?zi se maritaverit, heredes predieri defuncti predic^wm
tenementum per licenciam domini intrabuwt et uxorem relictam
dicii defuncti de medieia^e died tenementi dotabuw^.

3. Commutation of Services for Rent. Barrington.

SequitMr serviciMm quod died tenentes tenentwr facere annua-
tim sub hac forma. M-emorandum. quod dimidia virgata terre
custumabilis in villa de Barentonw de homagio domini Ricardi
de Munfichet dabit operari pe?* annum viz a ffesto sancti MichaeZis

1 Jurisdiction over a thief caught on the manor.

2 Jurisdiction over any of the men of the manor taken for felony, out of
his fee.

3 When the thief had stolen goods in his hand.

* When the thief was bearing stolen goods on his back.

' A tumbrel.

6 In early tunes the horses and arms of military vassals went to the king
when they died, and a similar obligation was long discharged by villains with
inferior animals.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 585

Msque ad Natale Domini in qualibet quindena, tres operaciowes
precmm operis ob. Et debet arrare per unum diem et dimidium et
erit allocate pro tribes OTperacionibus. Et valet arrura si now arat
vi d. Et debet herciare quinque dies cu?n j equo et sdlocabuntur
ei V operaciones, et valet si now herciat v d. Et dabit ad festum
sancti Martini j d. ad Warhpayn et ij d. ad Slayrecher et ii
gallinas ad Natale domini precii ii d. Et debet averare ter pe?
annu??i et erit allocatum pro tr-ibws OY>era,Q,ionibus. Et si sit foris
per una?rt noctem haiebit sibime^ cibum et equo suo de custu
domini, et erit alloca^w»t de quoK6et averag[iJo ii operacio?ies et
vale^ vi d. Et iaciet quarteriam brasii contra Natale domini vel
ii d. Et inveniet foragiu/u ad ii equos dom-ini per ij noctes infra
Natale domini ad domuw suam si domintts habet hospi^em. Et
de6et operare a Natali domini usqwe ad Pascha in qualibet
qr/indena, iij operaciones -precium operis ob. Et de6et arrare per
i diem et dimidium et erit alloca^wHi pro trib?is operaciombw^, et
vale^ si n07i arat vj d. Et faciei j (\uavterium brasii' contra
pascha vel ij d. et dabit x oua ad pascha et valent ob. Et
debet operare a pascha usqite ad iest^im sancti Johannis Baptis^e
in q^ialibet qwindena iij operacio7ies -precium operis ob. Et debet
arrare per unu/M diem et dimidi^im. Et erit alloca^a pro iij
operibus. Et vale< si non arat vi d. Et debet operare a festo
sawed Johannis Baptis^e usqwe ad gula/;i Augusti in quali6e^
quindena iij operaciones precium operis ob. Et falcabit holmum
domini infra clausum et omwes custwmarii simwl * * * pro
multone suo precium x d. ob. Et falcabit aliuo? pratum et
levabit pro ij operibus. Et sarclabit per unujw diem pro amore,
viz quod a festo sancd Michae^is usque ad gulam augusti quuon
debet triturare pro operibws xxiiij garbas ivumenti triturabit pro
uno opere et xxx ordei pro uno opere et tantum fabarwm. et
pisorwrti pro i opere. Et si ad opws fecerit operabit a mane
usqzte ad nonam pro uno opere. Et de gula augusti usqtte ad
festum sancti Michaelis debet in qualibet q?*/nderia v operaciones
per totum diem cum j homiwe precium, operis j d. et ob. Et debet
facere iij precarias per iij dies quolibet die cum ij Ixominihus et
ha6ebit cibum suum.. Et debet facere iij lovebones post precarias
cum j homiwe suo opere et suo cibo preciwm cuiwsli6et i d. et ob.
Et cariabit xvi carectas bladi suo opere precio cuiuslibet carecte
ob. Et falcabit j sellionem de dolo dom.ini si domintis vult, et
cariabit ad hospiciwm domini pro j opere. Et si sit dimidia acra
falcabit pro ij operibws et dabii dimidiam. aucam, ad festum sancti
Michae^is precio j d. Et dabit j garbam ivumenti propter quod
equi sui manducant dum intrawt bladu?^ suum aliqwa occasione.

Et sciendum quod infra xij dies Natalis do7«ini, septimanas
pasche et Pentecoste*" quiet^is erit ab omwi opere, et si dies
operacionis sue sit in die apostoli vel in alio fi'esto de quo hahetur
vigilia q?iietws est ab omni opere, et consuetudiiie. Et non
potest ponere filium suum ad studium neqife maritare filiam suam

1 Malt.

586 APPENDIX.

sine Ucentia domini. Ista \ero opera supra dtci!a mutata sunt
in pecuniam et sic isto die non faciunt opera sed solvu/it ut
sequitttr. [The names and payments follow.]

Win SLOW. (Monday after S. Ambrose Ep. in the twenty-first
year of Edward III.) Dimissio terrarum.

Memorandwrn quod omwes tenentes infra scripti tarn de
"Wynslowe quam de Greneburgh conceduw^ pro se et suis here-
dibws quod quociens et quando redditws terrarum et pasturar?tw
infrascriptus aretro esse contigerit ad alique?/i terminum in parte
vel in toto, quod dominus per balli-yos suos in OTwnibws aliis
terris et tenementis que de domino tenentwr in Wjnslowe et in
Greneburgh predict-is possit distringere et districtos retinere
quous^'we de predicts redditibus sive arreragiis, plenarie fuerit
satisfactws. Et preterea omnes heredes predictorum tenentmm
tinem facient cum dommo post mortem antecessorwm suorwm
pro ingressu ha6endo in tenementis predictis ad voluntatem
domini. Et herietabi^ etc.

A later entry shows that a considerable area of land was
again let in the forty-second year of Edward III,

RUSTINGTON,

ISotandum quod omnes virgate terre et dim,idie virgate et
fferthinglondes ab antiquo tenebantwr in bonda^'io jorout patet
per custumas ^r^dictas, et postqwam magna pestilencta fuit, viz
in terapore l^dwardi tercii, alique tenure inde uno tempore et
alique alio, permisse fuere in manws domini, et postea dimisse per
dominu7n pro certis redditibus prout paiet per antiqwam com-
positionem. de aw?io l^dwardi iij xx° [sic]. Et sic al^erata fuit
tenura bondagii et custumaria operi6ws et servicm. Et sic
modo tenen^Mr ad voluntatem. dom,{ni.

Nomina nativorum domini de sanguine huic manerio suo
pertinentiuni, viz. (but the names are not added).

4. Stock and Land Lease.

The following example, to which my attention was called
by the Rev. W. Hunt, occurs in a Register of Bath Abbey
(Brit. Mus. Harl. mss. 3970 f. 20). It illustrates the form of
contract very clearly, though it is a case of letting a farm stocked
not for tillage but for grazing.

The Indenture op William Pole of Combe.

To alle trewe Christen to whom thys presente wryttyng
Indented shall come. William Holleweye by the suflFeraunce
of God Priour of the Monasterye and Cathederill Churche of
Saynct Sauyour and of tlie holie apostelles Peter and Paule of
Lathe in the comite of Somerset and Conuente or chapiter of

MANORIAL RECORDS. 587

the same place sendeu greten in our lorde god euerlastinge.
Knowe ye that we the foresayed priour and Oonuent or chapiter
with one assente haue lett taken and by thys our present
wryttyng indented confyrmyd to William Pole of Combe in the
Comite aforsayd husbondeuiane to Edythe hys wyfe and to
Thomas their sonne alle that our fFarme barne and sheppon sett
and beyng withyn our manour of Combe aforsayede with alle
landes medowes leases pastures woodes and vnderwoodes with
alle and sundrye theire appourtenaunces to the foresaide ffarme
of olde tyme by ryght perteinyng or belongyng. Except not
withstandyng and reseruyd allewayes to vs the said pryor and
Conuent and to our successours the Rentes Relevys and alle other
seruices of all other tenauntes theire togither with alle custumarye
werkes of the same tenauntes there to be done or elleswhere
and allso excepte likewyse and reseruide to vs and to our suc-
cessours the niansione or place of our manour of Combe aforsaide
with alle the courte ande dovehouse garden and orcharde there
and also the weye that goith frome the kechyn walle vntille the
hi^^'he weye by the Shepen. And allso excepted and reseruid to
vs and our successours our lordesshyppe or Royalte there withe
weyffes and streis and alle ryghtes and profFytes of our courtes
there vsyde and accustomyd And allso excepte and reseruyd to
our chauntre or chauntreys office for the tyme being the thythes
of the lande of our parke within our lordesshepe of lyncombe
and Jussements of alle catelle and bestes there pasturyng aboue
thys nombre folowyng that ys to saye of xij oxen or for them
other xxiij bestes vj leyen vj kalves oone bule a mayere and
i colte. And allso excepte and reseruyd to vs the sayd priour
and Conuent and to our successoui's the pasture or fedyng of
cc female conyes their brede goyng restyng and fedyng yerelye
duryng thys graunte at horsecombe within the sleite of Combe
frely and in reste withoute any lette gaynesaye or Impedymente
of sayd William Edithe or Thomas theire sonne or theire assynes.
And moreover knowe ye that we the foresayde pryour and
conuent by our lyke assente and consent have grauntede lett
taken and by thys our present wryttyng indented confyrmed
to the sayd William Pole Edythe hys wyfFe and Thomas
their sone alle that our wether ffloke of Combe aforsayde con-
tenyng in nombre ccclx wethers with alle and alle manere Issues
proflyttes and reveneM'es yerly comyng and growyng of the sayed
wether ffloke togyther with pastures sleytes closes medowes
hylles or downes and alle other maner of landes or fieldes
belongyng or apperteinyng to the sustentacyon or fedyng of the
sayed wether ffloke of olde tyme within the lordesheppe of
Combe aforsayde and elles where with the custumarye werkes
of our tenauntes there that ys to saye of waysshyng and sheryng
of the sayde wether floke at the seasons or tymes mete and
accustomyd To have and to holde alle the forsayed fFarme of
our manour aforesayed with other the premisses excepte before
excepted. And also the foresayd wether floke contenyng in

588 APPENDIX.

nombre ccclx -with the pastures of the same and custumary
werkes aforsayed to the forsayd Wyllyam Pole Edithe his wyfe
and Thomas their sonne frome the laste daye of Aprylle in the
xxiij" yere of the reigne of our soueraigne lorde kynge henrye
theight .for terme of their ly ves and for euery of theim longer
lyver successively hoolye quyetlye weile and in peace Yeldyng
and payng therfore yerly duryng the terme aforesayede to vs
the sayd pryour and Conuent and to our successours in maner and
forne folowyng That ys to saye for the forsayde ffar[m]e of our
manour and other the premysses in grayne or come as folowythe
That ys to saye thei shalle paye or cause to be payed carye or
cause to be caryd at theire owen propre costes and expenses yerly
duryng the terme aforesayed into the Garnere of the sayd pryour
and Conuent and their successours within the sayd monastery of
pure and clene and of the beste whete and not of the orffes of
any whete weille and purelye thressyd and wynowed xvi quarters
of good and lawfule and resonable mesure. To be payde and
dylyveryd alleweys betwyne the ffeastes of Saynt Mychelle
tharchaungell and Witsontyde wekely as shalbe demaunded and
requiryde of theym by the sayed pryour and hys successours or
their seruauntes or officers. And in pure and of the beste barlye
Weill and purely thressyd and wynowed xxii quarters of good
lawfuUe and resonable mesure. To be payede browght in and
diliueryd as yt be foresayed yerly allewayes bitwyne the ffaestes of
alle sayntes and of saynt Davide the confessor the ffyrst daye
of Marche wekelye lykewyse as shalbe demaunded and required of
theim by the sayed pryour and hys successours or theire mynisters.
And moreouer thei shall cutte downe r'ene and make before the
monethe of Maye and carye or c[a]use to be caryd at theire
owen propre costes and expenses yerly durying the terme afore-
sayed foure weyne loodes of woode or fuelle owte of our wood
of Pryston or elles where as then shalbe assignede into the
Bruerne Orte within our Monasterye or to our manoure of
Combe yf thei be so commaunded and theire to pyle the same
where thei shalbe assigned at -their owne costes and charges and
allso they shalle ffeede and faten in stalle yerly duryng the sayed
terme for vs and our successours with theire beaste heye from
the ffeaste of Saynt Martene the Bysshope in wynter vntille the
Invencyon of the hollye crosse one oxe. And moreouer thei
shalle carye or cause to be caryd yerly duryng the terme afore-
sayd three loodes of heye of the draught of vi oxen owt of the
brodecrostes to Combe for the fedyng of the sayed wetherfloke
at theire owne propre costes and expenses and yeldyng and
paying yerly duryng the sayed terme to vs the sayed pryour and
Conuent and to our successours for the sayed wetherfloke with
their pastures and other their appertenaunces vi poundes of good
and lawfuUe monye of Englande. To be payed yerly in the
ff"aeste of the Natiuitye of saynt John the baptyste in the
chapelle of alle sayntes within our monasterye aforesayede. And
the foresayd. Wylliam Edythe hys wyfe and Thomas their soone

MANORIAL RECORDS. 589

and euery of them shalle sue duryng the terme aforsayed to the
halymote courte of the sayed pryour and Conuente and theire
successours twyse euery yere at lyncombe and lykewyse at the
lawe dayes hundre of the Barton twyse euery yere as the manour
ys summons hade before. And furthermore thei and euery of
them shalle yerly duryng the sayd tyme gather paye and leuye
alle the rentes of the sayed pryour and Conuente and hys suc-
cessours of theire tenauntes there and bryng hyt hoipe to theire
monasterye and theire paye yt to the sayed pryour and hys suc-
cessours or their deputes in their behalf e quarterly e and therof
also at theire audyte make a trewe compte without any fee
therefore demandyng. And furthermore yt ys couenauntyd
the forsayd Wyllyam Poale Edithe hys wyfe and Thomas theire
soone and euery of them duryng the terme aforesayed shalle
from tyme to tyme weill and sufficientlye repayer susteigne and
maynteigne when and as often as ned shalbe at their own
propre costes and expenses the foresayed ffarme in hedges yattes
dyches and alle other manour of defenses and so weille and
sufficientlye repayred susteyned &, mayntenyd in thende of
the sayd terme shall leve and gyve vppe. AJid yt shalbe not
lawfule to the sayed Wylliam Edythe nor Thomas theire soone
to lette or assigne any porcyon or parte of the premisses to any
other persone duryng the terme aforesayed withoute specyalle
lycence of the sayed pryour and Conuent or theire successours
thereunto fyrst askyde had and obteynyd. And yf yt chaunce
the sayed yerly rente of grayne that ys to saye of xvi quarters of
whete and xxii quarters of Barley for the foresayed ffarme or
the foresayd yerly rente of vi poundes for the forsayed wether-
floke. Or the ffelyng downe cleuyng and carying of the foresayde
woode and heye at their tymes to be byhynde vnpayed by the
space of one monethe after any terme of payment that it owght
to be payed then it shalbe weille lawfulle to vs the sayed pryour
and Conuent and to our successours into the forsayed ffarme and
other the premisses with their appertenaunces or into any parcelle
thereof to entere and dystreine and the destresse so there founde
take bere and chase or dry ve aweye and with vs stylle for to kepe
and reteigne vntill suche tyme as vnto vs f ule satysfactyon of the
sayed grayen and rente of the wetherfloke with tharrerages of
the same if any be and our costes damages and charges in that
behalue be duely made and payede. And yf the forsayed rent of
grayne of whet and Barleye or the sayed rent of vi poundes
for the sayed wetherfloke or the sayed cuttyng downe cleuyng
makying and carying of the sayed woode and heye be byhyud
vnpayed e in parte or in hole by the space of a quartere of a
yere after any terme of paymente that it ought to be payede
and in the mene season sufficient destresse for the sayd rent so
beyng behynd cannot be founde vppone the sayed ffarme in
thappertenaunce. Or yf the foresayd ffarme in aUe hedgyng
dychyng gattes and other defenses be not frome tyme to tyme
duryng the terme aforesayde weille and sufficientlye repayrd

590 APPENDIX.

susteynd and mayntaignd. Oryf there chaunce any wayste to be
made there by the sayed Wylliam Edythe hys wyfe or Thomas
theire sonne then it shalbe weill lawfulle to vs the sayed pryour
and Conuent and to our successours or assignes into alle our
foresayed ffarme and other the premysses with alle and sundrye
theire appertenaunces to reentere resease and haue agayne and
in our handes after our fyrst or formere state to reteigne and
peasiblye to possesse thys our present graunt in anythyng not-
withstandyng. And furthermore to areste and saese in to our
handes alle the goodes and catalles of the sayed Wylliam Edythe
and Thomas tharrerages and dutyes for the sayd ffarme and tioke

yf any be byhynde and theim so arestyd in to our

handes kepe stylle vntylle we be fully contente and paid with
our costes and damages susteynyd in that behalue. And
FFURTHERMORE by specyalle couenaunt made the said William
and Edythe hys wyfe and Thomas their sonne couenaunt and
bynde theym and euery of them theyre heyres and executours
by theise presentes that they and euery of them streight im-
medyatly after the sealyng and delyuerye of theise Indentures
shalle stonde oblysshed and bounden by theire wrytyng oblygatory
vnder the payne of one c li to vs the saide prioure and Oonuente
and to our successors that they or oone of theym whom it shalle
chaunse to be laste or hys executors or assignes in that be
halue in thende of the forsaide terme well and truly yelde and
delyuer to vs the saide priour and Conuente or to ower successours
or to our deputie in that behalue the forsaide wetherflocke
conteynyng in nombre ccclx hoole sound e and stronge not rotten
banyd nor otherwise diseased. Or at the leaste for euery pole or
peace xviij*^ to be estemyd valued or Judgyd by the hole homage
there. So that allewayes notwithstondyng it shalbe at the
libertie and choise of vs the said priour and Conuent and ower
successours whether we wylle then take the forsaid shepe or the
price aforesayd and also that they and euery of theim contynually
durynge the terme aforesaid shalle maynteyne and kepe vpp the
nombre of the wetherflocke aforesaid withoute any notable
dymynycion vpon the pasture aforesayd. And furthermore that
they shalle stonde to performe and fullefylle euery oone off hys
tyme alle other thynges before specyfyed and expressyd. And
we the foresayd Priour and Conuente and our successours alle
the forsaid ffarme and other the premysses with their apperte-
naunces excepte before exceptyd to the forsayd William Edithe
and Thomas for termes off their lyues and of euery of theim
longer lyuer in maner and forme aboue wryten shalle ageynste
alle people waraunte acquyte and defende by theyse presentes.
In wytnes whereof to thone parte of thys wrytyng indented
remaynyng with the foresayd William Edythe and Thomas we the
forsayd Priour and Conuente have putt oure comen or Conuente
seale. And to thother parte off the same wrytyng Jndentyd
remaynyng with vs the said Priour and Conuente and our suc-
cessours the foresaid William Edythe and Thomas haue putt

MANORIAL RECORDS. 591

theyr seales. Yevbn in our chapter house with our hole assent
consente and wylle the xi*^*^ day of Nouembre in the xx" yere of
the Reigne or our souerayne lorde Kynge Henry theight.

II. COMPOTUS ROLL.

This remarkably full statement of the accounts of a Hert
fordshire Manor gives an admirable picture of the whole system
of estate management. It shows that in this case a considerable
number of services were still rendered in the old fashion and
not commuted for money at the beginning of the fifteenth
century. Anstie had temporarily escheated to the Crown, as its
owner the Duke of York had died in the previous August and
his son had not yet done homage for it. Clutterbuck, Hertford, iii.
34L The Roll is at the Record Ofiice among the Exchequer
Records, and is numbered Q. R. Minister's Account, No. 547/3L

Ansty Herts. 2 & 3 Henry IV.

Anesty "I Compotus WilAelmi Wodeward p7-epost7i ibic^em

J a festo Sancd MichaeZis anno regni Regis Henrici

Quarti post Conq?<es<Mm secziwdo usque in Crastinum ejusdem

fes^i tu7ic 'pros.imum sequentem anno Regni Regis predict tercio

videHcet per unu7« annujw integrum.

Arreragia \ De axreragiis ultirai sui compoti precedents nil
J hie <\uia sdWuiitur super coln^potum. suum.

Humma, nulla.

Redditws Assise '| Idem oneratwr de Ix s. iiij d. ob. de redditu
J assise ihidem terminoSancti Andree Apostoli.
Et de ij d. de reddi^i* assise ibidem, termino Natctfe DominL
Et de Iviij s. xj d. de redditu assise ihidem. iei-mino Annuwcia-
cionis Beate Marie. Et de xiij s. iiij d. de reddi^2* assise ibidem,
termino Pasche. Et de vj d. ob. de auxilio vicecomitis ad eundem
terminum. Et de lix s. iiij d. de reddi^w assise ibidem termino
'Nativitatis Sancti Johajinis Bap^iste. Et de xiiij s. ij d. ob. q*.
de reddidit assise ihideva termino Sajicti Michaei^is. Et de vj d. ob.
de auxilio \icecomitis ad eundem terminum. Et de ij d. de in-
cremento redditus v acrarum, terre libere quas Johan?ies Whassh
natii'MS Domini perquisim^ per cartam de Henrico Pake per
annum ad eundem terminum. Et de ob. de incremento redditiis
di7nidie acre terre libere quam Thomas Ode natives Domini
perquisivit per cartam de dic^o Henrico per annwm ad eundem
terminum. Et de ij s. de incremento redditiis uniws columbarii
edifica^i super tenementum Ricaro?i Reymound sic eidem Ricartfo
concessi per licenciam J)o7nim Tenendi eidem Ricart/o et here-
dibus suis de Domino per annum ad eundem terminum. [De
xij d. de novo redditu ejusdem columbarii ni^ hie nee decetero

1 A fixed reut, which was paid by the free tenants.

692 APPENDIX.

quia -predictvis redditus condonatwr Tpi-edicto Jlicardo et hevedibus
suis per Dominum ut -patet per K^^eras Domini patentee auditori
directas super hunc compo^wm ostensas et penes eundem 'Ricardum
Temane7ites Datas apud HertSordiam iiij^ die Decembm anno
regni Regis Henrici quarti secundo'.] Et de v d. de novo
reddi^w uniws tofti et iiij acrarum terre libere vacate Paskates
quas Petrus Phippe nativws Domini perquisim^ per carta7«, de
Johanne Paskat per annww ad eundem terminum.

Suvama x li. x s. ob. q.

Firme^l Et de iiij s. de Roberto Tryndeleygh pro firma
J tenementi quondam Alicie Milward sic eidem di^uissi
per annwm Solvendis terminia Andree Annu?iciacioms Beate
Marie et l^&tivitatis Qancti Johawwis Baptisie equalizer et solebat
di/Jiitti pro vij s. Et de x s. de eodem pro lirma tenemew^i
Hacchislond sic eidem di??ii3si per annwm ad terminum ix'^™
annorwm hoc a,7i7io iiij'^" et solefta^ di/^itti pro xij s. viij d. Et de
vj s. ix d. de &rma vj acrarwm iij rodarwm terre dominice sic
dimissarwm diversis ho7«-inibMS per annuyti ad eosdem terminos.
Et de xij d. de Wil/ifil/zio Joye pro firma uniw* acre terre voca^
Ethomisacre per annwm ad eosdem, terrninos. Et de iiij s. de
Mauricio Longe p?-o firma tenemew^i Andreux nuper in tenura
Johannis Mervyn sic eidem dimissi per annwm ad term,inum
xviij'^"" annorwm hoc a,nno xj™° et solefea^ dimitti pro vj s. Et de

V s. de Mauricio Wodeward pro firma tenemejiti Verdons hoc
anyio ad eosdem terminos et solebat dimitti pro vj s. Et de vj d.
de eodem pro firma uniws acre terre do»«inice apud Milnemar in
Northayfeld jux^a terram Bandons per annum ad eosdem terminos.
Et de V s. de Johamze Longe pro firma uni?^s mesuagii et vij
acrarwm terre native quondam Robe?-^ le Cook sic dimissorwm
eidem per annuvn ad eosdem terminos. Et de vj s. iij d. de
Johanne Perlebien et WilAelmo Thomas pro firma unii/s tofti et

V acrarwm terre natiiJe quondam Johanwis Mervyn vocatorwm
Ratelers sic eis dimissorwm per annwm ad eosdem terminos. Et
de vj s. de Joha?me Ode pro firma unius tofti et v acvarum terre
native quondam Ricarcfi filii Alicie Gayller que WilAelmifS
Waldyng nuper tenuis sic ei dimissortim per annuva. ad terminum
xij*^™ annorwm hoc a.nno vij°. Et de x s. de Nicholao Goodzer
p?o firma tenementi quondam Joha/inis Breustere sic ei dimissi
per anwwm pro omnibw* serviciis exceptis precariis^ in Autumpno
per annum ad eosdem terminos. Et de v s. de Petro Phippe pro
firma uniws mesuagii et v acrarum terre native vocatorurn
Ruddexs que 'Wil/ielmus Arnald nuper tenuis sic ei dimissorwrn
per annum ad eosdem terminos. Et de iiij s. de Ricarc/o Andrew
p7-o firma tenementi quondam Wil^elmi Longe quod 'W\\he\mus
Vauwe nuper tenuis sic ei diwiissi per annum ad term,inum xij*^""

1 Tliis passage is cancelled in the original.

2 Rents at which the laud was let from time to time ; it appears that there had
been a fall in rents.

3 Precaripe, Boon days, or occasional days of work which were requu-ed in
addition to the regular week work.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 593

annoni7?i hoc anno yiiy. Et de vj s. de Johajine Ballard pro
firma tenementi et v acrarum terre native vocatorum Olde
Andreux que Rober^iiS Wyse nuper tenuis sic ei dimissorum per
Sinnum ad terminum xij"™ annorwm hoc anno iij". Et de v s.
MauHcii Sothman pro firma uniws tofti et v acraruyn terre
native vocatorum Clates que WilAelmtts Waldyng nuper tenuis
sic eidem Mauricio dimissorum -per annum ad terminum xxiiij""^
annoTU7n hoc anno iij°. Et de vj d. de Johanne Ballard pro
firma uniws acre et dimidie terre ^acentium in Weston quas
Matilda Drive?-e nuper tenuis pro xij d. in manw Domini exis-
tentium per escaeta?^ cawsa felonz'e quam Johannes Bekenor iecit
sic dimtssarwm eidem Johawm per annum ad eosdem terminos.
Et de vj d. de eodem Johawne pro firma unitts acre terre in
Weston quondam Joharims le Reue parcelle dtcie escaete sic
eidem Johanni dimisse per annum ad terminum xviij*^"" annorwm
hoc anno xj°. Et de xvj d. de E,icaro?o Gerard pro firma uniws
crofti voca^i Crowescroft cuwi j acra terre ad^acente sic eidem
dimissi per annum, ad terminum xviij"™ annorum hoc anno xj°.
Et de iij s. viij d. de Johanne Doraunt p?*o firma ij croftoritm
Yocatorum Whelymers continentium v acras terre native pa?'cellam
de XV acris warec/i' terre native quondam Johanms Reymound
de Wodestrete per annum, ad eosdem terminos. Et de x d. de
Johawne Helder pro firma j acre et iij rodarum terre native
parcella died tenementi in Berstall feld que Wil/ielmws Kent
nuper tenut^ sic ei dimissarttm per annum, ad terminum xviij*""
annorwm hoc anno xxj™° (sic) ut pa^e^ per rotulum curie de aimo
regni regis \i\]^. Et de xiiij d. de eodem Johanne pro firma ij
acrarwm terre native pa?-cella died tenevnen^i sic dimissarum
eidem per annum ad eosdem terminos. Et de x d. de Henrico
Colsweyn pro firma uniws acre et dimidie terre native et uniws
rode prati parcella died tenementi sic ei dimissarum per annum
ad terminum xxj"* annorum hoc anno x™°. Et de vij d. ob. de
Ricarc?o Thruston pro firma uniws acre et uniws rode terre
native parcella died tenementi sic ei dimissarum per annum ad
terminum xviij'="" annorwm hoc anno xvij°. Et de viij d. de
Nicho^ao Reymound pro firma uniws acre et dimidie terre native
parcella died tenementi in Berstallefeld xocatarum le Thonge sic
ei dimissarum per annum ad terminum xviij'^"" annorttm hoc anno
xvij°. Et de iij d. de Roberto Tayllour pro firma iij rodarwm
terre native parcella died tenementi sic di^nissarawi eidem
Johanni per annum ad eosdem terminos. Et de iij d. de Johanne
Baroun pro firma diwic^ie acre te?Te native parcella died tene-
menti sic diniisse eidem Johanni per annum ad terminum xxj""
annorwm hoc anno xj°. De firma ij acrarum et dimidie terre
native parcella died teneme«^i nil hoc anno pro defec^w condwc-
tionis^. Et de ij s. de Ricaro?o Reymound pro firma uniws
tenementi minoris tenure voca^i Beckes q?^od WilAelmtts Kene
prius tenuis per opera sic dimissi eidem Ricarc?o per annum ad
eosdem terminos. Et de iiij s. de Thoma Vyne pro tii-ma uniws
1 Fallow. 2 j'or default of a lessee.

C. H. 38

594 APPENDIX.

tenementi et v acrar-nm terre native vooatorum Rauenes que
Nicho/aus Goodzeer prius tenuis per opera nuper in tenura Alicie
Lavender ex concesaione Domini tenenda eidera Alicie ad ter-
minuw vite sue moc^o sic dimissorum eidem Thome per a,nnum ad
terminum xviij*^"" annorw?7i hoc sunno x° et solehat dimitti pro v s.
Et de iij s. de Wil/iel??io Algood pro firma uniws \nemiagii et iij
SiCrarum terre native vocatoritm Coupers tenement que Johannes,
Milnere nuper tenuz^ per opera sic di?«issorMm eidem WilAelmo
et heredibu?, suis per a.nnum. ad eosdetn terminos ut patet per
Hotulum Curie de anno re^m regis iiij'". Et de vj s. viij d. de
Thoma Martyn pro firma uni?<s mesnagii et vij acrarum terre
native cum pertinentiis quondam Henrici Joye que WilAelmtts
Arnald nuper tenuis per opera mof/o sic dimissorwrn eidem Thome
per a.nnum ad terminum xxiiij annorwm hoc a,nno xiiij". Et
de xviij d. de Domino Johamie Caules rectore pro firma uniws
crofti contiiientis j acram. terre native cum pertinewcm vocatum,
Hewlotes Croft q?^od WilAelmws Joye nuper tenuis moc^o sic
dimissi eidem Domino Johan/ii per a,nnu7n ad terminum, xij*^'™
annorwm hoc a,nno et solehat dimitti pro ij s. Et de viij s. vj d.
de WilAelmo Ode pro firma uniws tenementi majorts tenure cum
pertinencits quondam Ricarrfi Buntyng qwod Thomas Saman
nuper tenuis per opera sic dimissi eidem WilAelmo per a^nnum pro
ovunihus service's ad terminum. xviij''™ annorwm- hoc &nno xj™°.
Et de iiij d. de Joha?iwe Ode pro firma uniws acre terre dominice
jacentis apud Hungerhul nuper in tenura Joha?tms Thressher morfo
sic dimisse eidem Johawni ad termiitum, vij®"" annorum hoc anno
x"° (sic). Et de viij d. de eodem Johanwe pro firma ij acrarwm
terre dominice cum pertinenciis parcella dic^e pecie sic dimisso-
mm eidem Johawwi per aiinura ad terminum xxj"' annorwwi hoc
anno v*°. Et de iiij d. de Johanwe Baroun pro firma uniws acre
te?Te dominice cum pertinenciis parcella dicte pecie sic dimisse
eidem Joha^iwi per annum ad terminum xl^ annorwm hoc anno x°.
Et de iiij d. de Wil/ielmo Togood pro firma uniws acre terre
dommice cum pertinencm jacen^is apud Smetheshul sic dimisse
eidem WilAelmo et heredibus suis per annum ad eosdem terminos
ut patet per 'Rotulum Curie de anno re^ni re^is xix°. Et de viij s.
Nicho/ao Reymound pro firma uniws tenement* majorts tenure
cum pertine?iciis quondam Nichofoi Horsman qitod idem Nicho-
laus Reymound prius tenuis per opera sic dimissi eidem Nichofoo
per annum, pro omnibus serviciis nativis ad terminum xij'^'™
annorwm hoc anno v*", Et de iiij d. de WilAelmo Crench pro
firma uni?ts acre et unins rode terre dominice jacen^iwm apud
Hungerhul sic dimissarnm eidem WilAelmo per annum ad ter-
minum xx" annorMm hoc anno ij*^". Et de viij s. de Ricarc^o
Stokwell pro firma uni?/s tenenien^i et x acrarum warecti de
Molond existe?i<mm in mann Domini per escaetam causa abju-
racionis' et felonie quas WilAelmus Martyn feci< sic dimissornm

1 A man or woman who had committed felony and taken sanctuary was
pennitted to make an oath that he or she would leave the realm as soon as
possible. Cf. A. Keville in Revue historique, l. 1.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 595

eidem Hicardo ultra amtiquum redditit?^ et servicia per awnwm
ad terminum xij"™ annorwm hoc a.n7W ij°. Et de viij s. vj d. de
Johanwe Ode pro firma unms tenementi majoHs tenure eontinetitis
X acras warecti terre native cum pertine?icus que dictus Johannes
nuper tenuis per opera sic dimissi eidem et heredibus suis pro
omnihtis serviciis nativis per annum ut pa<e< per V\,otulum Curie
de anno Re^rw Re^j's Henrici Quarti seCMwdo. Et de v s. de
Johanwe Helder pro firma uniws tenewewii et v acrarwm warec^i
terre native cum pertine?icm vocatorwm Whelers que dic^ws
Johamies nuper tenuis per opera sic dimissor-wm eidem 3ohanni
per annuwi ad terminum ij""™ annorum ut "patet per Hotulum
Curie hujus anni, Et de xij d. de Nicholao Rediswell pro firma
ij acrarwm terre dowiinice in Bandennfeld sic dimissarum eidem
NichoZao per annum ad terminum xxiiij'"' annorttni ut pa^e^ per
Hotulum Curie hujus anni. Et de iiij s. j d. de Ricardo Helder
pro firma vij acrarwm terre dominice et uni^is rode et dimidie
pasture parcella dicte pecie terre voca^e Bayllyhul sic dimissarum
eidem Jiicardo per annum ad terminum xx'^ annorwr/i ut pa^e^
per Ro^M^wm Curie hujws anni. Et de xvij d. de Johanne Frer
pro firnirt ij acrarwm iij rodarwm terre dominice apud Hirchouns-
heg sic dimissarum eidem Johanni per annum ad terminum vj
auTLOvum, ut pa^e< per ^otulutn Curie hujws anni.

Swmma vij li. xij s. ix d. ob.

Opera vendiia "I Et de iiij s. v d. de cvj operibus yemalibus

j venditis extra precium operis oholus. Et de

iij s. iiij d. de xl operi^ws autumpnalibus venditis extra precium

operis j d. Summa vij s. ix d.

Exitus manerii 1 Et de vj s. de firma xij gallinarum hoc anno

J pro capiie vj d. Et de j d. de xx ovis gallin-

arum de reddidit vendi^is extra. Et de xviij s. de iiij acris ij rodis

subbosci venditts in ambobws bosci^ hoc anno pro acra iiij s. Et

de iij d. de spinis venditi^ in Busswode hoc anno. Et de x s. de

raceints' et croppes querculorwm in Busswode venditis hoc anno

in grosso. Et de vj s. de stramiwe albo vendito diversis hoc anno.

Et de iij s. de stramine pisorwm vendito hoc anno. Et de x d. de

stramine vendito bercarie hoc anno. Et de iij d. de corio uniws

vituli de morina vendito extra. Et de 1 s. vj d. de feno vendito

diversis hoc anno. Et de ij s. iij d. ob. de ij acvis iij rodis warec^i

venditis Johanni Frer hoc anno. Et de viij s. j d. de diversis

sepis venditis hoc anno. Et de xx d. de veteri meremio^ cujusdam

pistrine^ tenementi Rauenes prostrate per ventum vendito hoc

anno. Et de xiij d. de ij peciis veteris meremii venditis per

warentum. Et de ij s. de lopp is et raceinis meremii prostrati pro

molenc^iwo vendi^is Johanni Nhote hoc anno. Et de loppis fraxi-

norum* in Rookwode venditis Simoni Warenn ij s. Et de vj d.

de ij peciis veteris meremii venditis per waren^wm.

Summa cxij s. vj d. ob.

1 This appears to be a latinisecl form of the French racine, from the low-
Latin Tculicina. The phrase stands for Roots and branches.

^ Timber. s Bakery. * Ash-trees.

38—2

596 APPENDIX.

Perquisi^a CuHe 1 Et de xxiv s. v d. de j curia tenta ihideja
J die Lune iproxitno &nte iestum. Simonis et
Jude. Et de x s. viij d. de j curia tenta ibidem die Jovis Y>rox.ivio
post iestum sancti Hilam. Et de xxiv s. ix d. de j curia cum
\isu tenta ibidem die Sabbat in Vigilw's Transfigurationis. Et
de iiij s. xj d. de j curia tenta ibidem die Lune in festo Sancri
Jacobi. Swm772a Ixiiij s. ix d.

Vendi^io pasture 1 Et de ix d. de pastura circa sepes hercarie
J vendita Johanm Baroun. Et de ix d. de
pastwra circa Milleheg eidera vendita. Et de vj d. de pastura per
sepes circa gardinum eidem vendita. Et de iiij d. de pastura
in La Stonydane vendita. Et de iiij d. de pastura per sepes
exopposito tenemento Johawms Helder eidem vendita. Et de
xvj d. de pastura subtws tenementum WilAelmi Togood vendita
Johanni Frer hoc anno. Et de xv d. de pastura de La Teenacres
vendita Wil/ielmo Thomas hoc anno. Et de vj s. receptis de
pastura in terra frisca' tarn pro iiij vitulis ablactaiis quam pro
bestiis diversis ultra sciiwm^ manerii ibio^em pasturandis hoc anno.
De agistamento ^ in campo post autu?npnu??z nil hie qwia amercia^?ir
in ^otulo Curie. De pastura apud La Lygh ni^ ca,usa supradic^a
et eciam qwia depasta cum hidientibus Domini. De pastura subtws
boscum Prioris ni^ qma subter et dimitti^Mr ad firmam. supra
in ti^u^o firmarwm. Et de iij s. iiij d. de pastura apud La Hale
cum una parva pecia terre frisce subtws croftum Robert Wyse
in eodem campo vendita Domino Johanm Caules rectori hoc anno.
Et de iiij s. de agistame?ito equorwm diversorwm in Estwode ven-
dito hoc anno. Swmma xviij s. vij d.

Vendi^io \Aadi ) Et de xlviij s. de ix quarteriis ivumenti
j venditis extra pro qiiavterio v s. iiij d. Et de
iiij li. xix s. de xvj quarteriis iiij hussellis irumenti venditis
hospicio Domini ext7-a pro qwar^erio vj s. Et de xliij s. iij d. de
xij qr. vij bu. pisorwm venditis ad dive?'sa precia. Et de xxxj s.
viij d. de ix. qr. iiij bu. drageti venditis qr. ao? iij s. iiij d. Et de
viij li. vj s. X d. de xlv qr. iiij bu. ordei venditis qr. ad iij s. viij d.
Et de iiij li. ij s. de xx qr. iiij bu. ordei venditis extra qr. ad iiij s.
Et de XXX s. viij d. de xj qr. iiij bu. avene venditis hospicio Domini
apud Waltham quarterium ad ij s. viij d. Et de iiij li. ix s. viij d.
de xxxiij qr. v bu. avene venditis extra quarterium ut supra. Et
de xviij s. de vj qr. avene venditis extra quarterium ad iij s.

Swmma xxx 1. ix s. j d.

Vendi^io Stauri ) Et de xxxij s. de iiij bovettis venditis extra
j mense Octobris pro capi^e viij s. Et de
xvj s. de ij stottis dehilibus venditis extra mense Junii. Et de
iiij s. de xij aucis venditis extra pro capite iiij d. Et de viij s.
iiij d. de xxv caponi^Ms venditis extra -pro capite iiij d. Et de
XX. d. de X gallinis de redditu venditis extra pro capite ij d.

Summa Ixij s.

i Waste land.

2 The curtilage of the manor-house.

8 The taking in of other people's cattle to graze.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 597

Firma Yaccarum) Et de Ixxv s. de lirma xv vaccarum ad
j plenaw tirmawi ex.istentiu7n pro capite v s.
Sitmma Ixxv s.

Chevagm7?i ' "1 Et de xij d, de chevagjo WilAelmi Breustere de

J Walkerum nativi Do??zmi pro liceticia morandi

extra dominium per annum. Et de vj d. de chevagio Johannis

Horsman de Mesden nativi Domini pro licencia morandi extra

dominium, per annum. ^uxnma xviij d.

RedditMS et recepta iorinseci \ Et de xl s. de firma de

j Brunne pertinew^e ad istud
m.anerium per annum. Et de Ix s. de prima escaeta causa feloni'e
quam Radulphus Reymound iecit. Et de xxv s. vj d. de parte
ultime escaete causa felonie quam idem Radulphus iecit ut Tpatet
per Tlotulum Curie hujws anni. Et now plus quia diversa staura
et hostilamenta^ ejusdem escaete appreciata ad Ixij s. reserva?i^wr
ad opus Domini,

Summa vj li. v s. vj d.

Yendi^io super compo^wm 1 Et de ix s. j d. de diversis rehus
J venditis super compo^itm extra.
Swmma ix s. j d.
Swmma totalis receptorwrn Ixxij li. viij s. vij d. ob. q.

Alloca^iones et deiectus redditus) Inde in defec^u redditus

j tenementi vocati Hacchis-
lond quia in manw Domini et ad firmam, per annum termiwis
Andree Annuwcict^ioms Beate Marie et 'Sativitatis Sanc^i Jo-
harmis Baptiste xviij d. In defec^u redditus tenementi quondam
Johannis Reymound de Wodestrete per annum ad eosdem ter-
minos xiiij d. In defec^u redditus tenementi qwondam Ricaro^i
Buntyng per annum ad eosdem terminos xij d. In alloca^iowe
redditus Johannis Nhote messoris^ pro officio suo per annum ad
eosdem terminos v s. ^umma viij s. viij d.

Custws carectarwm) In ferro et ascere* emptis pro ferramewto
j ij carect«rMmfabricatorM97i hoc anno viij s.
vj d. In stipenc/io fabri pro fabrica^iowe earwndem ix s. iiij d. In
iiij stradcloutis* emptis pro pecia ij d. ob. xd. In iij Rusteschon*
emptis pro pecia iij d. ix d. In iiij ferris pedali^ws emptis xv d.
In iiij duodenis ferrorwm equinorwm. emptis tarn pro eqwis carec-
tarum qwam pro stottis ferrandis hoc anno pro duodena ix d. iij s.
In [miWe] clavorz^m equinorwm emptorwm tarn pro dictts ferris
qwam pro veteribws firmandis pro cen^ewa iij d. ij s. vj d. In

1 A capitation payment, or poll tax.

2 Stores and household goods.

3 The hayward, an official who looked after the seed paid by the villans and
the sowing, and who had an allowance made in his rent in consequence of
discharging these duties. Compare Fleta, n. 84. * Steel.

= Mr Hall informs me that this means a plate of thin iron with which the upper
part of the end of the axle was ' clouted ' so as to prevent the wheel from wear-
ing it.

6 Rusteschon is probably old horse-shoes.

698 APPENDIX.

stipenc?io fabri pro imposiciowe et r...cz*one dictorum ierrorum
ex consuetudine ultra iruinentum. eictra ij s. In stipenc^io car-
"pentarii tarn pro fac^ura novarnm carectarum de meremio Domini
hoc anno quam pro coopera^a exAcione cairectarum^ et herciarw?^^
manerii ex consuetudine per annum iij s. vj d. In uno vomere
de novo emp^o ij s. iiiid. Summa xxxiiij s.

CustrMS carrorwm ) In unctwra em-pta pro c&rris iiij d. In
J dimidio corio dealba^o empto pro harnesiis
reparandis viij d. In ij reynes de canwabe emptis pro capistrt>.
[j d.] Sum/nil xiij d.

Empcio blac^i et stauri \ In xxiiij pulcinis emp^is pro capont-
j bus iaciendis pro capite j d. ij s. In
iiij vituKs emptis de firmario vaccarwm ex consuetudine firme sue
iiij s. Summa vj s.

Minuta ) In obla^ione iiij famulor^im carucariorwm et uniws
j carectarii pro die Natalis Domini ctijuslibet in
die ij d. x d. In ob^a^ione eorMndem pro die Pasche cujuslibet
in die ob. ij d. ob. In pergamew^o empto tarn pro Ro^wZo Curie
et Extractis quavo. pro isto Compoto superscribeno?o xij d. lu
emendacio7ie iij parmm cathenarwTn et serMvarum equinarti??*
iiij d. In stipeniiio Mauricii Longe iacie7itisx ij clades* profalda
de virgis Do7?imi viij d. In stipenc^io Johannis Doraunt carpen-
tarii de novo iacientis unum alveuTji ligneuT?* et unuwi presepe
pro vitulis iiij d. In una serura equina cum, cathenis* empta vj d.

Swmma iij s. x d. ob.

Custws DomMS "I In stipeno^io Mauricii Longe cooperientis
j super longuwi stabulum ac eciam super sta-
bulwm carectarum per iij dies [e^] dimidium, capientis per diem
iiij d. xiiij d. In stipenc?io Alicie Helder tractan^is stramen
eideni per idem tempus vij d. In stipeniiio Willielmi Joye car-
pentarii vergentis granariitm infra per j diem iiij d. In spykyngs
et minutis clavis emptis ad idem vij d.

SuTuma ij s. vii d.

Custus Moleric^mi et biden^Mm ) In una petra molar is emp^a

) pro molenc^iwo Ix s. In sti-
penf^io moleno?inarii circulaw^is le trendeP molenc?im iiid. Soluti
molendinario cubanti dic^am novam, petram molarem ex consue-
tudine xij d. In stipenc?io Wilhelmi Joye carpentorii scalpantis
meremiw^n. pro iiij postibws novis una cum imposiciowe uniMs
whepe® unitts overway ac eciam bordantis latera ex utralibet
parte niolewf/iwi ex consuetudine in grosso xiij s. iiij d. In spy-
kyngs et clavis emp^is pro dictis borda<io?ii6MS firmandis xiij d.
In expensis preposid et unii^s molenc^i?irtrii euntium usque Canta-
brigiam pro dicta petra molareemenda vj d. In carcacione' dicte

1 Fitting the axle to the wheels and body of the wain.

2 Harrows.

8 Hurdles. * Bits and reins. ^ Turning the treadle (Lye).

6 The sail of a windmill. ' Can-iage or freight.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 599

petre molaris una cum expensis ipsius preposid molendinaru
iamnlorum et eqiwrum manem ac aliorum ad idem auxilmm
eundo et redeundo omnibus in denariis computaws preciurri
avene ut extra ij s. iiij d. In j lagena resine empfa pro hidentibus
ungendis^ viij d. In una lagena butiri emp^a ad miscendu?/i cu/n,
eodem pro unctura inde haftenda viij d.

Suvama Ixxix s. x d.

Trituracio et vannacio^l In vj qr. iiij bu. irumenti tvituratis

J ad tascAam pro qr. iij d. xix d. ob.

In vj qr. avene tvituratis ad tascham pro qr. ij d. xij d. In Ixx qr.

diyersorum hladorum tarn de trituratione famulorwOT quam ad

tascham vannatis ad tascham pro qr. ob. q*. iiij s. iiij d. ob.

Sarcula^io et falcatio^l In blac^is Domini sarcuiandis ultra
J opera cnstnmariorum et molemen-
norwm hoc anno v s. x d. In v acris [e^] dimidia herbage fal-
candis ad tascJiam hoc anno pro acra viij d. iij s. viij d. In dicto
ht;7"bagio spargendo \e\ando et in f eno f aciewc^o ut in servisia data
eisdem custumarm et molemenviis ult7'a avixilium famulorMwi hoc
anno iiij d. et non plures acre ialcate ad tascham quia xxj acre
falcate per opera custumarioritm et molemennorwm et non plures
pro tenementis que sunt in manti Domini hoc anno. In uno
homine conducto ad ialcandum cum eisdem custumariis et mole-
menwis loco tenentis Rauenes quia in man?* Domini et ad firmam
supra viij d. Et pro tenemenio q?^ondam Henrtci Joye causa
predicta viij d. Et p?'o tenemento quondam. RicartZi Buntyng
causa predicta viij d. Et pro tenemenio Whelers causa predicta
iiij d. Et pro tenemento quondam NichoZai Horsman causa
predicta iiij d. Et pro tenemew^o quonc/am Thome Ode cawsa
predicta iiij d. et non plures qma iaciunt opera sua ut molemen?ii.
Et pro tenemento messoris cattsa officii sui iiij d. De ij d. pro
uno tofto cum ij acris dimidia terre de molagio* vocato Claces
existence in manu Domini per sursttm reddicionem^ Hugonis
Blunvyle et Agne^is uxo?-is sue usque ad plenam etaiem hereo?is
nulla aWocatio hie quia Mauriciws Wodeward faci< predictum
opus hoc anno. Et sciendum [es<] quod Mauriciws Wodeward
faci< predic^wm alternato anno. De iiij d. pro tenemento quondam
WilAelmi Martyn existence in manu Do//tini causa supradic^a
nidla allocaiio hie nee decetero qwia tenementum predic<wm in
manii Domini et ad tirmam supra cum operibus suis. In caseo
emp^o pro eisdem custwmariis et molemenwis ialcantibus in pratis
Domini ex consuetudine vij d. In feno prediciarttm xxj acrarwm
iaicatarum per ope?'a llevanc?o et iaciendo nil quia per opera
eustumariorum et molememtoriim de consuetudine.

Swrnma xiij s. ix d.

Custus Autumpni'l In ij° xxx allecium per min?^s centuvi
j emp^ih' tarn pro expensis cj*^^ custumario-

1 For the scab. 2 Threshing and winnowing.

2 Weeding and mowing. * Mohnen's land.
5 The surrender of a holding into the hands of the lord.

600 APPENDIX.

rum et molemennoruni venientiuni quasi per unum diem ad ij siccas
precarias ' in autu?upno de consuetudine ut extra qwam pro expenses
uniMS messoris unius carectarii iiij isimulorum caxncariorum et
unitis bercam (\uovum custumarii et molemenwi quilibet habehat
ij alleces p^-ecti qiiadrantis et predicti vij famuli quiH6et similiter
habehat ad utramgwe precariam ij alleces p/'ecii quadrantis ex
consuetudine ij s. iiij d. ob. q*. In xxix acm dimic?ia irumenti
xnetendis et ligandis ad ta,scha7n pro acra vj d. xiiij s. ix d. In xliij
acris dimidie ipisorum et avene metendis et ligandis ad tascAam p?'0
acra v d. xviij s. j d. ob. In xxj acris dimidie ordei metendis et li-
gandis ad tascham pro acra viij d. xiiij s. ij d. In diversis blac?is de
messo?'is famuli.? ligandis ad tascAam propter occupacionem carit-
carii xij d. In expensis famulo?'?<m manerii metentium, ligantium
et colligenciMm diverse hlada ut ex^ra cariantium iurcantiu7n ac
XDeiancium hlada in grangiam hoc anno prout alloca^wm est in
compoto precedente iij s. iiij d. In v panhus ciroticarum emp^is
pro famuKs manerii x d. In candeli.s emp^i^ pro autu?«pno ij d.
In expensis famuIorMr?i ad eorum, Ripgoos^ in fine autumpni
xviij d. In stipencZio uniits Repreve ni^ hoc anno quia nullw7?i
habuerunt. Swmma Ivj s. iiij d. q*.

Stipenc?m "I In stipentiio preposid per annum xiij s. iiij d.
J prout aWocatum est in compo^o precedents. In
stipendio firmarii qui est eciam loco uniws daye* per annum, iij s.
In stipenf/io clerici scvihentis hunc compo^wm vj s. viij d. In
stipenofio iiij famulorw«i carucariorwm et uniws carectarii qwoK^et
capiente per annum xij s. Ix s. In stipeno^io nnius bercam ex
consuetudine per an^ium x s. Et predict famuli percipient
vesturam uniws rode irumenti et uniws rode pisorwm vel avene ex
consuetudine ut e^tra et vocantwr cowrodes. Et messor similiter
percipiet vestztram uniws rode irum,enti et uniits rode pisorwm vel
avene. Swmma iiij li. xiij s.

Vadia et annue^a^es ) In vadiis Simonis atte Bowe de Buntyng-
J ford per tempus comport ad ij d. per diem
ex concessione Domini ad terminum vite sue pro custodia silvarwm
et wavennarum ut patet per liiteras Domini patentee aliter super
compoium ostensas et penes eundem Simonem revaanentes Datas
apud London x° die No vem iris anno Regni Re^is Henrici Quarti
ij° Ix s. X d. Et soluti Johanni Harwe de quadam annueta^e xl s.
per annum, eidem Johanni concessa per Dominwm Edmwnrfwm
Duceni Eboracensem et Comi^em Cantabrigie ad terminuni vite sue
percipiendft annuatim de Dominio de Brunne pertinente ad istud
mane?-iu7H ad termi/ios Pasche et Sancd Michaels per equales
porciones ut patet per litteras Domini patentee penes eundem
Joha^mem rema7ientes aliter super compo^wm ostensas et per
lii^eram Domini de warento preposito directam aliter super com-

1 Precariae when no beer was allowed. Apparently 'siccse precarise' might fall
on dies operabiles and the tenant then was excused from rendering the less valuable
service. See below under opera autumpnalia.

2 Ripgoos. This may have been the Kern-supper when harvest was over.
8 Dairy woman.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 601

"potum. ostensam et penes eundem TpreTpositum remanentem Datas
ij° die ApriKs anno regni Regis Ric(Z?-c/'i vij° pro terminis Pasche
et Banod MichaeZis hoc anno xl s. Et eidem Johanni de quadam
annuetaie xxxiij s. iiij d. per anuum eidem Johanni concessa per
dictuux Doininum ad terminum vita sue percipienda aunuatim de
hoc manerio ad termirios Pasche et Sancti Michae^is per equales
porcio7ies ut patet per littersiS Domini de warento preposito
directas aliter super compo^^tm ostensas et penes eundem preposi-
tum remanentes Datas xxvij die Aprih's anno regni Re^is Pdcardi
xxij" pro terminis Pasche et Sancd Michae/is hoc anno xxxiij s.
iiij d. Surama vj li. vij s. vj d.

Expensa senescalli cum feodis "I In expenses senescalli curie

j coronatoHs cleHci sui et ab'o-
rtnyi ibic^em existentium ad unam curiam ibic^em tenta??* propter
inquisitionein et appreciacionem bonorwrn. et catal/orM7n Radulphi
Reymound felonis ac eciam quo die dic^us Radulphus abjuravit
regnum Anglie omnibus computaiis in denarits v s. Et solw^i
senescallo tenenti curiam Domini ibidexn pro feodo suo pe?' annum
ex precepto Domini et consilii sui xiij s. iiij d.

Swmma xviij s. iiij d.

Expensa iorensica "i In expensis prepositi equitantis apud
J Waltham ex p7-ecepto Petri Mavan se-
nescalli hospicii Domini p?*o iruinento et avena providendis pro
dicto hospicio eundo et redeundo per ij vices hoc anno xij d. Et
solutx Johanni Child coronatori et clerico suo pro feodis suia
existentihus ibidem die quo Radulphws Reymound abjuravit
regnum Anglie ut supra v s. Sitmma vj s.

Jjiheratio Domini "i Liberaiio Henrico Bracy thesattrario hos-

J 'p'i'^^i''' Dowiini tara in denariis q?tam victw

ultimo die Febrwarii ut Y>atet per quandam indentur«7?i sigiUo

ipsius signa^am xiij li. xij s. iiij d. Et eidem per eandem inden-

turam x™° die Marcii xj H. vj s. viij d.

Suvama xxiiij li. xix s.

Suvama omnium expensar?.tm. et libera^iowwrn xlvij li. xvj s.
X d. ob. q*. Et debet xxiiij li. xj s. ix d. E quib^s alloca^i eidem
xj d. pro agistamewto uniws vituli Race [?] ibio?em. Et eidem
xvj d. de rewardo facto servienti^ws ibid'em ad potandwm. Et
eidem xx d. pro j vitulo anno predicto shniliter dissolutos. Swmma
allocate iij s. xj d. Et sic debet xxiiij li. vij s. x d. quos solutos
super compo^wm Thesawrarii. Et quietus est.

[Back of the Roll.']

Anesty "1 Exitus grangie ibiofem de anno Hegni Henrici
J Quarti primo.

Frwmen^Mm "1 Idem respondit de iiij^^ ij qu. j bu. di. menswra

J rasa de toto exitu grangie ibirfem hoc anno

ultra vestw?'am ij rodarwm ejusdem exitus \iheratam famulis

602 APPENDIX.

manerii et messoW ex consuetuditie anno precedente. Unc?e
trituratis et Yannatis ;id tascham viij bu. cumulatos vj qr. iiij bu.
Et pro cumulo ad idfim j bu. di. Et per famulos secundum xxj
pro XX Ixxv qr. v bu. di. Et pro avautag-io ad idem iij qr. vj bu.
Etdej bu. ivumenti de mutuo novi grani raspondit pro liheratione
famulor^m. Summa iiij"^ vj qr. ij bu.

Inde in seraine super Ixxix acras te^Te per estimationem
sevainis in Hoomfeld hoc an7io xxiiij qr. vj bu. sic super acvani
ij bu. di. plus in toto di. bu. per taWagium contra Johannem
Nhote messorem et semijiatore/n et prepo.si^Mm inde iactum. In
stipenrf'io preposid per annum cap/e«<<s per an7ium j bu. ivumenti
prout aliter est in compose precedente vj qr. iiij bu. Et libera^i
ad mixturan* famulorwm inieriorum xxv qr. v bu. di. In pane
furnato pro expenses cnstnmariorum, et vaolemenncn'um, in pratis
Domini de consuetudine hoc anno iiij bu. untie hurit de hussello
xj panes et non plures quia non plures custuniaru qui operantwr.
In pane furna^o pro expenses cj custumariorwrn et molemenworwm
ultra expensas messoWs et famulorwm ut infra quasi per unum diem
\enientiuni ad ij siccas precarias in Autumpno hoc anno quorww
quiK6et percipiet j panem unc^e fiuvit de hussello x panes de
consuetudine et xv custuniririorww et molemenriorwm quilt6et
percipiet si«i,iliter ad vesperam j panew ad utramque -precariam
unde hunt de hussello xv panes et vocantwr Aveloves j qr. v bu.
di. In vendicione hospicio Domini infra xvj qr. iiij bu. Et pro
cutomIo ad idem iiij bu. Et venduntitr in p«^riam ix qr. Et pro
avant((^/o ad idem iij bu. di. Datws Fehruario ex consuetudine
ferrure equorum cavectarum et stottorwrn ultra denartos infra
j bu. In stipend'-io uni?is garcioms spargentts sulcos^ per ix septi-
manas ad seasonam irumenti et xP capientis per seTptimanam di.
bu. iiij bu. di. Swmma que supra. Et eque.

Pisa "1 Et de xxiiij qr. vij bu. di. pisorum menswra rasa

J respondit de toto exitu grangie ihidem hoc anno unrfe

trituratis et vanna^is per opera mensura rasa xvij qr. ij bu.

Et pro famuKs secundum xxj pro xx vij qr. v bu. di. Et pro

a.yantagio ad idem iij bu. S^mrna xxv qr. ij bu. di.

Inde in semi?ie super xxix acras terre per estima^iowew semwiis
in Korthayfeld ix qr. per tsllagium contra eundem sic super acvam
ij bu. di. minws in toto di. bu. Et liherati ad mixt^tram farau-
\orum inferms ij qr. vj bu. di. In vendicione infra xij qr. vij bu.
Et pro avanta^io ad idem v bu.

Swmma que sujrra. Et eque.

Ordeuw \ Et de Ixxviij qr. ordei mensitra rasa respondit de
J toto exitu grangie ihidem. hoc anno. JJnde tritu-
ratis et vannor^is per opera menswra rasa xx qr. iiij bu. Et per
famulos secundum mensurarn supradic^am Ivij qr. iiij bu. Et
p/'o avanta^io ad idem ij qr. vij bu.

Humma iiij''^ qr. vij bu.
1 Fiurowa.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 603

Inde in semine super xxiij acras dimidiam terre 'per estima-
tionem semiids in Hoomfeld hoc anno xj qr. vj bu. per taWaffium
contra eundera sic cap?e?is acra iiij bu. In vendictowe infra Ixvj
qr. Et pro avant«(/io et cumwlo dato ad idem iij qr. j bu.

Sitmma que supra. Et eque.

Dragetwm 1 Et de ix qr. iiij bu. drage^i menswra rasa re-
J s])ondit de toto exitu grangie ibio^em hoc a.nno
trituratis per famulos. Et pro avanta^io ad idem iij bu. di.

Suvama ix qr. vij bu. di.

Inde in vendicione infra ix qi*. iiij bu. Et pro arvsintagio dato
ad idem iij bu. di. Summa que supra. Et eque.

Avena ) Et de iiij'^ viij qr. ij bu. avene menswra rasffl
j Tespondit de toto exitu grangie ibic^em hoc anno
ultra vestw?"am ij rodarum ejusdem exitus liheratam famuKs man-
erii et messoj'i ex consuetudine anno precedence. JJnde trituratis
et YSiunatis per ope?-a mensitra rasa xxxvij qr. v bu. per famulo*^
eadem menswra xl [iij ?] qr. v bu. Et pro avanta^to secundum ix
bu. pro (\uarterio v qr. iiij bu. Et ad tascham eadem mensttra vj qr.
Et pro avanta^^io ad idem vj bu. Et de vj bu. ejusdem exitus per
estimationem in Ix garbis \iheratis pro suste7ttatio7ie iiij vitw^orwm
ad staurum Domini reservatorum. Et de xv qr. iiij bu. de toto
residwo ejusdem evitus per estiTaationem in m^ ij*^ xl garbis libera-
tis equis carectariis et stottis mane?-ii loco sue p'^ehende ut patet
per dietam infer ms hoc a?nio. Et de j bu. avene de mutuo novi
grani. Summa c™x qr. vij bu.

Inde in semiwe super iiij^ viij acras dimidiam terre per esti-
matione seminis in Northayfeld hoc &nno xxxiij qr. j bu. per
talla^mm contra eundem sic super a,cr am, iij bu. minw*' in toto di.
bu. In i-Arina facta pro pota^io famulorwT/i hoc a,nno j qr. iiij bu.
In prebenJa ij Q(\uorum carectarum a fes^o Michaelis us^-we Gulam
Augusti per vices prout labora6a?iC per estimatione7n in cl garbis hoc
anno j qr. vij bu. In prebenc?a xij stottorwm ad seasoniam iru-
menti prout lahorabayit per estimationem, in cc g&rbis hoc anno ij qr.
iiij bu. In prehenda eoritwdem a xx° die Januarii usqwe x™"™ diem

C X

Maii videlicet per ex noctes per estimationem in viij iiij x [i.e. iiij^]
gai-bis hoc anno xj qr. j bu. capientium, quali6et nocte inter se viij
garbas plus in toto ij garbas. In suatentacione iiij vitulorum ad
sta?y?'wm Domini reservatoriom hoc anwo per e&timationem in Ix
garbis eisdem liberaCis sujwa vj bu. In vendicione hospicio T>omini
infra xj qr. iiij bu. Et pro avanta^io ad idem j qr. iij bu. di. In
vendicio«e in paCriam xxxix qr. v bu. Et pro avanta^io ad idem
secimdum ix bu. pro qwarterio et xxj qr. pro xx vij qr. di. bu.
Liberal Simoni Waren pro perdicifews ex precepto Thesawrarii
Hospicii Domini ij bu. In prebeno?a stottorwm cariantium unam
petram molarem pro moleniiiwo de Cantabrigia usqwe Anesty j bu.
novi grani. Summa que supra. Et eqwe.

Multwra mole??c^iwi 1 Et de vj qr. iiij bu. mnlture molendini
J sic dimissi Ilicaro?o molenc?i«ario hoc
anno et non plus propter defeciMm petre molaris.

Siumma vj qr. iiij bu.

604 APPENDIX.

Inde liherafi ad mixtwram famulorMm inferw^s vj qr. ij bu.
Et aWocati eidem Ricartio niolendinario pro tempore quo uxolendi-
num quassat'M7n fviit per magnum ventum ac eciam stetit ociosum
tempore reparacionis ij bu. Swmma que s,upra. Et eqwe.

Et de XXV qr. v bu. di. ivumenti ij qr. vj bu. di. pisorwm vj qr.
ij bu. mixture moXendini respondit supra p?"0 libera^iowe laumvloruin.

Swmma xxxiiij qr. vj bu.

MixtMra famulori^m "1 Inde in liherationibus unius csirfictarii
J iiij famulorwm carucariorwm et uniws
bercarw per a.nnum quok"6et eorum capien^e per mensewi iij bu.
unde ij partes irumenti et iij* pars mixture Taolendini et quum
blao?a Taolendini desunt j bu. irumenti et ij bu. pisorwm mixti loco
ejusdem ^cx^x qr. ij bu. In libera^ione uniws messoris tempore
seminis et xP et per viij° septimanas in. Autumpno hoc a,nno
c&piente ad quamliftet seasoniaw vj bu. et in Autu??ipno vj bu.
ex consv^tudine ij qr. ij bu. unt^e ij -paHes .. .supra. In \iheratio7ie
uniMS firmarii vaccarwm qui est eciam in loco uniws daye per
a.nnum iij qr. ij bu. iTumentx capiente j qr. irume^iti ad xvj
septwnanas. Summa que su2)ra. Et eqwe.

Seminant'wr ibidem cum diversis generibws blac?orM7?i hoc anno
supra ccxx acre. Swmma ccxx acre.

Acre sejmwate ") Inde in liherationibus famulorwm manerii ex
J consuetudine pro firma uniws vacce pro eis
conducts pro lacte inde ha6endo vestwra j rode ivumenti et j rode
avene hoc anno et Yocantur cowrods. Et liherata messori pro
sotuKs' suis in autumpno ex consuetudine vestura uniws rode frit-
menti et j rode avene hoc [anno] et \ocantur Veewrod. Et mete-
ban^wr per opera AutumpnaKa inferms xxxij acre per precarias
siccas Ixviij acre pro denariis infra iiij^ x... acre di. Et per
famulos xxiiij acre di. Sttmma que supra. Et eque.

Equi car- \ Et de ij equis carectorwm de remanentibus. Summa
ectarum j ij- Et remanent ij eqm carectarum.

Stotti "1 Et de xij stottts de remanentibus. Et de iiij prove-
J nientibus per escaetam causa felonie quawi Radulphus
Reymound iecit ut patet per 'Rotuhim Curie. Summa xvj.

Inde in vendicione infra mensem Junw. Et Uherati Johonwi
Ode ex p?-ecepto Auditorjs.

Swmma iij. Et remanent xiij stotti.

Taurws ) Et de j tauro de remanente. Sum^ma j. Et remanei
j j taurws.

Vacce ) Et de xv vaccis de remanentibus. Summa xv. Et
j remanent xv vacce.

Bovetti et juvence ) Et de iiij bovettis de remanentibus.
j Et de iij juvewcis de adjunct iorie
juve/icularwm inferiits. Swmma vij.

1 A plainly wi-itteu but unintelligible word ; vitulis is a tempting emendation.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 605

Inde in vendicione infra mensem Octobris iiij bovetti.
Sum ma iiij. Et remanent iij juvence.

Bovicwli et juvencule ) Et de iij juvencuKs de remanentihus.
j Et de j boviculo et ij juvencuKs de ad-
^unctione vitulorMm annalmm inferms. Summa vj.

Inde in adjuwctione cu?n juvencis supra iij juvencule. Summa
iij. Et remanent j boviculws et ij juvencule.

YituK de ex.itu \ Et de iiij vituKs de rem.anentibus. Et de
J iiij vituHs de exitu emptis de firmar/o vac-
carum ex consuetudine firme sue. Swmma viij.

Inde in adjuric<r'on.e cum bovicuKs et juvencuKs supra j
vitulws mas et ij iemine. In morma' mense Octobris ut 'patet
■per l^otulu7n Curie j vitulits mas.

Summa iiij. Et remanent iiij vituK quorwm ij mas (sic) et ij
femme.

Goria cruda ") Et de corio unius vituK de morina supra,
j S)umma j. Et venditor infra. Et nil remanet.

Auce ) Et de j auce (sic) et iij aucis msiribus de reraanentibus.
j De iiij aucis de redditu ad Gulam Augusti nil hie
quia tenebantur in manw Domini et ad firmam ut patet in titulo
firmarwm infra. Et de xv aucuK's de e:s.itu dictsLrum iij aucarum
marmm per annum ex ce?'ta consuetudine facta per Dominum
"Rogerum de Wylesham cmt/i firmario vaccarwm.

Swmma xix.

Inde in decimis data j. In expenses famulorwm ad eorum
Ripgoos in fine Autumpni ij. In vendicio/ie infra xij.
8umma xv. Et remanent j auca et iij auce mares.

Capones 1 Et de xxiiij capomiws de remanentibus. Et de
J xxiiij caponibus de faci!ura pulcinorwm interius
emptoj'wm hoc anno. Et de ij caponibus de redditu ad terminum
Pasche. Swmma 1.

Inde in defec^u redditws tenemen^i quondam Nicho^ai Hors-
man quia in mantt Domini et ad firmam j capo. In venditions
infra xxv. Swmma xxvj. Et remanent xxiiij capones.

Galli et galline 1 Et de j gallo et xij gallinis de remanentibus.
j Et de j gallo et xvj gallinis de reddidit
custumariorwm ad Nata^e Domini. Summa xxx.

Inde in defec^u tenemen^i reddi^ws quondam Johanms Rey-
mound de Wodestrete teneme^^i Hacchislond tenemen^i quondam
Johannis Breustere et tenementi quondam Wil/ielmi Longe quod
WilAelmws Dauwe nupe?- tenuis et reliquit qwia ad firmam iiij
galline. In defec^u tenementi Yocati Claces tenementi voca^t
Buntynggs et tenementi quondam Nicho^ai Horsman iij galline.
In vendicione x. Swmma xvij. Et remanent j gallws et xij

galline.

1 Murrain.

606 APPENDIX.

Ova ) De ex.itu gaWinarum nil hie quia galline ad firmam.
j Sed de iiij^^ xv ovis de redditu custmnariorum ad
iestum Pasche. Summa iiij" xv ova.

Inde in deiectu reddi^ws tenementi Yocati Hacchislond xv ova
tenementi quondam Johannis Reymound de Wodestrete tenementi
quondam Johawms Breustere tenementi vocati Buntynggs tene-
menti quondam Nicho^ai Horsman et teneme^i^'i quondam Thome
Ode caiusa supradic^a 1 ova pro quoK^et tenemew^o x ova. Et
pro tenemento quondam WilAelwii Longe et tenemen^o vocato
Claces X ova pro utroque tenemento v ova. In vendiciowe infra
XX ova. ^unyma que supra. Et eqwe.

Pulcini ) De pulcinis de exCfw gallinarwrn nil hie quia galline
j ad tirmam infra, ^ed de xxiiij pulcinis de empiis
infra.

^umma xxiiij. Et fiunt in capones. Et nil remanet.

Cyncibrwm J Et de j uncia cyncibri de reddi^z* ad terminum
j Sancii MichaeZis.

Swmma j uncia. Et liberato auditori super compo^wm. Et
nil remaiiet.

Fenum ) Et de feno xj prati de remanerite. Et de feno
j xxviij acrarwTn di. prati de es.itu pratorwm ad opus
Domini falcate hoc anno unc?e in Sflkemeed vij acre di. et in
Hoommed xxj acre, Swmr/ia feni yyyjy acre di.

Inde in decimis datwm fenum ij acrarw?n iij rodarum prati.
In expensis eqworwm carwcarwm. [e<] stottorwm manerii equorum
charectarwm equorwm senesca^^i eqwor^im auditoris et sdiorum
de consilio Domini ibiifem supervenienciwrn. hoc Sinno x a,crarum.
In vendicio?ie infra fenum. xvj acrarwm di. In vendi^ione super
compo^><m fenu»2. iij acrarwm p?'ati pro [ix s. j d. in marghi\.

^umma feni xxxij acrarwm j rode. Et remaned fenttm vij
Sicrarum j rode prati.

Et de ij™^ iiij" Ixxiiij o^peribus yemalibv^ Tprovenientibus de
xxviij custumariis inter iestum. Michae^is et Gulam Augusti
videlicet per xliij septimawas et iiij dies quorum vj custumarii
quili^et faciens per septimanam iij opera per dies Lune Mej-curii
et Veneris xvij custumarii quili6et faciens per septimawam ij
opera scilicet per dies Lune et Veneris et v custumarii quili6e<
taciens per septimanam j opus videlicet per diem Lune.

Swmma ij°^ iiij° Ixxiiij opera.

Opera yemalia preciitm operis ob. \ Inde in det'ecfu operum

J vj majorwm custuma-
riorum, videlicet tenem,enti vocati Hacchislond tenementi quondam
Johanms Reymound de Wodestrete tenementi quondam Joha?i«is
Breustere tenemew^i vocati Bunttynggs tenementi quondam Ni-
cho^ai Horsman et tenementi quondam Thome Ode quia in manw
Domini et ad firmam quorum quilifeet faci^ per septimanam
iij opera Dec iiij'^ opera pro quoli6et tenemento per temjpits

MANORIAL RECORDS. 607

Tpredictum cxxx opera. In defec^u operum xij tenentium ij*
tenure videlicet tenenienti quondam Alicie Milward modo dimifisi
Roberto Tryndeleygh tenenienti Andreux modo [dimissi] Mauricio
Longe tenementi Verdons modo dimissi Mauricio Wodeward
tenemend Roberti le Reue modo dimissi Joharmi Longe tene-
menti Ratelers [»woo?o] dimissi Johanm Parlebien et WilAelmo
Thomas tenementi quondam Ricarc^i filii Alicie Gayler nioc^o
dim/ssi Johanni Ode tenem,enti Ruddexs moc^o dimissi Petro
Phippe tenem,entb Longes modo diwiissi ^icardo Andrew tene-
menti Oldeandreux modo dimissi Johanni Ballard tenementi Claces
moc/o dimissi Mauricio Sothman tenementi quondam Henrici Joye
modo dimissi Thome Martyn et tenemert^i vocati Whelers modo
dimissi Johawm Helder [^^wia] in ma,nu Domini et ad firmam
inf?-a m' xliiij opera pro quoli^et tenemertfo per tempws predic^wm
jjjjxx yjj opera. In defec^u operum nnius tofti [mi]noris tenure
qwondam Nicho^ai Crowe qwia in manw Domini et ad firmam
xliij ope?-a per sei^timanam j opus. In defec^u operum uniits
acre terre vocate Ethonsacre causa pj'edicto xliij opera per
septima7iam. j opws. In defec^u operum unijis tenementi ejwsdem
tenure vocati Becbes qwod WilAeb/tws Kene nuper tenuis per opits
modo dimissi RicarcZo Reymound et ad firmam xliij opera per
8epti?na?ia7rt j opus. In defeciu operum alterius tenementi ejwsdem
tenure vocati Coupers tenement qwod Joha7iries Milnere nuper
tenuis per opera moci^o diwiissi per seuesca^^wm WilAelmo Algood
pro iij 3. per anwwm pro ovanihus serviciis ut patet per ^otulum.
Curie de anno Re^is Ricarc/i iij° xliij opera per septima?iam j opus.
In defec^u ope?'um unitts acre te?Te ejusdem tenure voca^e Howlo-
tiscroft qwod Thomas Ode nuper tenuis per opsra moc^o dimisse
per senescallvmi Domino Joha^iwi Caules rectori pro xviij d. per
annum pro ommbMS serviciis ut patet per Jlotulum Curie de a,n7io
'Regis Henrici Quarti primo xliij ope7-a per septimar^am j opus.
In defec^u ope?'um uniws tenementi ij* tenure vocati Rauenes
qitondam Alicie Lavender moo^o dimissi per senescallum Thome
Yyne per iiij s. per annum [j)ro~\ om?«ibMs serviciis ut patet per
"Rotulum Curie de anno Regis RicarcZi xv° iiij^^ vij opera per
septimanani ij opera. In aWocatione medieta^is operum uniws
tenement... tenure qitondam Mauricii Howe qwod Thomas Parker
tenet per opus ex consuetudine stipencZii sui hoc anno xxxv opera
per septimanam ij opera. In allocatione operum iiij minoriim
custumarioriim remanentium ad ope?'andMm per iij septima/ias
festivas videlicet l^atalis Pasche et Pentecos^es in quibws non
operantwr xxiiij ope?a pro quolibet custumario per septimawam ij
opera. In alloca^ioTie operum dic^orwm iiij custumariorwTn pro

Luua

ix diebiis festivis accidentibus super dies suos... videlicet Luce.

Lune Liine Veneris Veneris Lune

Omftiwm Sanctorum, Nicho^ai Annu?<cia^ioms Parasceues Marci ;

Veneris Veneris Lune

Baptiste Magdalene Jacobi xxxvj opera cujuslihet custumarii
p?vv...die festivo j opus. In alloca^icwe operum dictorwm iiij
custumariorwm. falcawiiwm in pratis Domini preter consuetudinem

608 APPENDIX.

molemennorum iiij opera cujuslibet eorum j opus. In allocatione
operum pro eoruin averagio nil hoc smno quia nulla iecerunt. In
xvij qr. ij bu. Tpisorum xx qr. iiij bu. ordei trituratis et vanna^is per
opera custuniariorum ut supra c opera pro singulis iij bu. j opws.
In xxxvij qr. v bu. avene trituratis et vanna^is per opera ut sup?'a
xliij opera pro singuHs vij bu. j op?^s. In vendiciowe infra cvj
opera. Swmrna que supra. Et eqwe.

Arrure "precium, operis iiij d. \ Et de xvj OTperibus arrure

j provenientibus de custuma-
riis et molemen/iis cum viij carucis suis juwctis hoc anno ad
seasonias ivumenti et xl^ Et de vij operibrts arrure provenie^z^i-
bus de eisdem custumarws et molemenms cum vij carucis suis
ju?^ctis ad seisomam wa,rectationis. Et sciendum quod quili^et
havens carucam per se vel ^unctim arahit di. acram ad quamli6e<
seisoinam pro OTperibus suis precium o'peris iiij d.

^uvuma xxiij opera. Et expenduntwr in terra T)oniim. arranda
et warectanda. Et nil remaned.

Opera sarcula^ioms ) Et de xxviij operibus sarcula^ioms pro-
j Yenientibus per dimidium diem de Iiij
custumarMs et molemenms quorum quili6et de xxxvij custumariis
et molemen?^^s predictis quiH6et iacit iij opera j molemennus iacit
ij opera et quiKftet de xv custumariis et raolemenwis predicts
i&cit j opus. Summa cxxviij opera.

Inde in alloca^iowe operuna messoris pro officio suo iij opera.
In aWocatione ope?'um xix tenementorum custumarioriim in manw
Domini et ad fir[man^] titu^o operum yemaKwm Ivij opera pro
quoK^et tenemento iij opera. In defec^u operum v tenementorum
minoris tenure ridelicet tenementi Beckes [quod Ricardus'\ Rey-
mound tene^ tenem,enti vocati Coupers tenementi qz^od Wil/ielmws
Algood tenet uniits acre terre vocate Ethonsacre uniws tofti cum
j acra terre ad^acente qwondam NichoZai Crowe unius crofti
continentis j acra^/i terre -vocati Howlotes Croft cawsa predic^a v
opera pro quoliftet tenem,ento j opus. De iij operibws pro uno tofto
cum ij acris di. terre de Malagio vocaio Claces existence in manw
Domini per surswm, reddicionem Hugonis Blunvyle et Agnetis
uxoris sue usque ad plenam eta^em herec?is nil allocatur hoc anno
quia Mauriciws Wodeward faci< predic^a opera. Et sciendum,
quod Mauricizis Wodeward faci< predic^a opera alternate anno.
De iij operibus pro uno teneme?ito de Malagio existence in nianw
Dom-ini per escaetam causa felonie quava Wil^elmws Martyn feci<
nil hie nee decetero quia tenementum predictum in manu Domini
et ad firmam cum operibus et custwmis suis. In blarfis Domini
sarculandis hoc anno Ixiij opera.

Siimma que supra. Et eque.

Et de viij° iiij^ vj operi^ws autumpnali6ws provenien^i6ws de
xxviij custwma^'iis inter Gulam Augusti accidentem die Lune hoc
anno et iestum. MichaeZis accidentem die Jovis hoc anno scilicet per
viij" septima«as et ij dies quorwm vj de predicts custwmariis

MANORIAL RECORDS. 609

quilibet ia,ciens -per septimauam v opera scilicet per dies Lune
Martis Mercurii Jovis et Veneris xvij de custumariis. -predictis
quiHJet faciens per septimanam iiij opera videlicet per dies Lune
Martis Mercurii et Veneris ij de cnstumariis predicts quiKiet
isicieins per septimanam ij ope?'a videlicet per dies Lune et
Veneris et iij de cnstumariis predicts quiH6et faciews per septima-
nam j opus videlicet per diem Lune.

Swmma viij*^ iiij^^ vj opera.

Opera autumpnalia precmw operis j d. ) Inde in defecfu

j operum vj majo-
Tum custumariorMm videlicet tenementi Hacchislond tenemeii^i
Joha?mis Reymound de Wodestrete tenemeuti quondam Johawnis
Breustere tenementi Buntynggs tenemen^i qwondam NichoZai
Horsman et tenementi quondam Thome Ode quia in manw Domini
et ad i[irmam,^ infra pro quok'6et tenemewto per septimanam, v
opera ij° Iij opera. In defec^u operum xiij tene7Hentorum ij"
tenure videlicet tanementi quondam Milward tenementi Andreux
tenementi Verdons tenement Roberti le Reue tenementi Ratelers
tenementi quondam Ricarc^i filii Alicie Gayller tenementi Ruddoxs
tens?reere^i Longes tenementi Oldandreux tenementi Claces ten«-
menti quondam Henrici Joye tenementi Ravenes et tenementi
Whelers quia in manw do2/iini et ad firmam. pro quok'6et tene-
mento per septimanam iiij opera iiij*^ xlij opera. In defec^u
operum ij tenementorum minoris tenure videlicet tenementi vocati
Coupers Tenement et tenementi vocati Beckes causa predicts pro
quok6et tenemento per septimariam ij opera xxxij opera. In
defec^u operum uniws acre terre voca^e Ethonsacre causa predicta,
viij opera per septimanam j opus. Et pro uno tofto cum j acra
terre adjacente quondam Nicho/ai Crowe viij opera per septima-
nam j opus. Et p?'o uno crofto continente j acram terre vocato
Howlotes Croft c&usa predicta viij opera per septimanam j opus.
In sdlocatione operum [^uatuor custumariorum,] adhuc operan-
cium, pro vj diebws festivis siccidentibus super dies sues operabiles

Mercurii Luue Slercurii

hoc &nno videlicet Laurejicw Assumpcionis ^artholomei Exal-

Mercurii

tacioms et Mat^hei xxiiij opera cujuslihet pro quoK6et die festive j
opus. In allocafione operum dic^orwm iiij custumariorwrn pro ij
siccis precariis accidentihus super dies suos operabiles hoc artwo
viij opera cujuslibet pro quaKiet precan'a j opus. In xxxij acris
diversorw/H blac^orwm metendis colligendis adjuvandis et ligandis
per opera hoc anno Ixiiij opera sic capiens acram per extentam ij
opera. In vendicione infra xl opera.

Swmwia que supra. Et eqtt*.

Et de C iiij'^^ j precariis sicci« provenientihus de Ivij custu-
mariis et molemen^iis ad ij siccas precarias in Autu?wpno quorwm
xxxiij custumarii et molemenni quili/)et iaciens iiij precarias xvj
custumarii et mollemenni quiliftet faciens ij precarias et v custu-
marii et molemenwi quiliJet faciews j precariain.

Summa C iiij" j precarie.

c. H. 39

610 * APPENDIX.

Inde in sMocatione operum messoru- pro officio suo iiij precarj'e.
In aX\.ocationQ operum xix tQnementorum tam majorwm (\uan\
vahiovum in xn&nu Dommi eydstertcium et ad firma/ra infra Ixvj
opera pro quoliiet teneme?i<o iiij precarie et non plures (\uia
tenews Breusters i&cit precar ias suas tenens Horsmans et tene-
menti qitondam Thome Ode et tenews Whelers ut molemenm.
In defecfu operum unizts tenementi minoris tenure vocati Beckes
qiood [_Iiica?'dus] Reymound tenet causa predicts ij precarie. Et
pro uno tenemento Yocato Coupers Tenement qwod Wil/ielmws
Algood tenet ca,usa -predicts, [ii precarie^ Et pro una acra terre
\ocata Ethonisacre causa predtc^a ij precarie. Et pro uno tofto
contmen^e j acram terre adjacen^e q-wondam Nicho/ai Crowe caM6a
predicta. ij precarie. Et pro uno crofto continenie j acram terre
voca^o Howlotes Croft causa pr-edtcifa ij precarie. De j precaria
pro uno tofto cum ij acris di. terre de molagio rocato Claces exis-
tence in man?* Domini per sursum reddic^o?^em Hugonis Blunvyle
et Agnetis uxoris sue ut supra nil allocatur hoc aiiuo quia
Mauricms Wodeward lacit predicCam precariam-. Et sciendum
qtiod Mauricms Wodeward iacit pred-iciSam precarmm. alternate
anno. De iiij precarm pro uno tenemento de Molagio existence
in manti Domini per escaeta7J^ causa felonie qwam WilAelm-i^s
Martyn iecit nil allocatur hie nee decetero qwia tenementum
predictum. in manu Domini et ad Urniam cum operibus et custu-
mi*' suis. In Ixviij acris diversorwm blaiiorwm supra nxetendis
colligendis adjuvandis et ligandis per precarias sicca*- hoe anno cj
precarie p?'o singulis ij acris metent^is et ligandis iij precarie plus
in toto j precaria. Swmma que supra. Et eqwe.

III. COURT ROLLS.

The following entries are tak^i from the records of the court
at Winslow in Buckinghamshire ; it was a manor belonging to
the Abbey at S. Albans, and the records are preserved for a
portion of the reigns of Edward III. and Henry VI. in a hand-
some volume in the Cambridge University Library, Dd. vii. 22.

The longer portions selected are the entries for the hamlet
of Granborough in three distinct courts ; one in the year before
the Black Death, another in the year of the Black Death, and
another in the time of Henry VI. The spring court iu 1349
dealt with an enormous number of holdings vacated by deaths in
that year, though Granborough seems to have suflered much
less than the other hamlets in the manor ; an extract from the
record of the autumn court suffices for purposes of illustration.

The last entry is a memorandum appended to a letting of
the lands for rents in 1347. It is instructive as showing an
attempt to maintain the collective responsibility of the villagers^
so that no individual need be allowed to get into arrears.

MANOrxIAL RECORDS. 611

1. 'H.AhlMOTUM DE WyNSELOWE DIE LuNE PEOXIMA ASTE
TESTUM SANCTI LuCE EYA^GELISTE ANiV^O XXIJ°. J. ByNH^m'.

Greneburg'.

Johannes le Longe reddidit sursum in ma,nus domini dimidia,m
acj'am terre cum Tpertineiitibus iuxta terram Walt/'ri Taillour' apucl
le Redebrede. Et dominus concessit p/ed/c^am terram cum per-
tine7itibus Waltero Geffes tenendam sibi et suis in viUenagio et ad
volunta^em domini per seruicia inde debita et consueta. Et dat
de fine ij s. Et fecit fidelitatem, &c.

Johannes de Longe reddidit sursum in manws domini dimidiava
acrom terre cum ^pertmentib^ls iacentem super le Mellehulle iwKta
te?Tani donimicam. Et dommws concessit predic^am terram cum
^pertinentibus Isabelle Elyot tenendam sibi et suis in villen«^io et
ad Yoluntatem domini per seruicia inde debita et corisueta. Et
dat de fine ij s: Et fecit fidelitatem, &c.

Walterus Perkynes reddidit sursM?n in manws domini dimidiam
acram terre cum Tpertinentibus iacentem in Blakewelleforlong quam
Rosia Adam tenet ad terminum vite. Et dominus concessit pre-
dic^am terram Johanni Hore tenendam sibi et suis in villena^io
et ad volunta^effi domini per seruicia inde dehita et cowsueta. Et
dat de fine ij s. Et fecit fidelitatem. Et est forma talis videlicet
quod dictus Johannes Hore habebit vna?^ di7>iio?iam acram super
hidehulle ad te7•m^n^tm vite sup^-adic^e Rosie et post decessum
dicte Rosie ad supradictum Walterum reuertatnr &c.

RadwZj'j'/ius Henries ha6et licenciam ponendi Galfric?wm filium
suurji ad scolas clericales. Et dat de fine xii d.

Walterus Taillour' reddio?i< sursum in manws domini dimic^iam
acram terre cum pertinert^i6ws iacentein super Astonehulle quam
prius cepit de terris dominicis iux^a terram dicti Walteri. Et
dominws concessit p^'edic^am terram cum pertinen^i^ws Petro filio
Eue Rolfes tenendam si6i et suis in villenagio et ad voluntatem
domini per seruicia inde debita et consueta, Et dat de fine vj d.
Et fecit fidelitatem &c.

Johannes Hughprest et alicia Yxor eius examinata leddiderunt
sursum in manws domini vnum cotagiwm cum curtilagio adiacente
iux^a tenemen^wni Johannis le warde et tres dimio?ias acras terre
vnde vne dim,idia, iacet in le Clayforlong iuxta te?'ram Johannis
Peres et alia dimi<iia acra iacet super le Langelond iux^a terram
Johan?iis Horewode et alia dimidia acra iace< super Eldelayes
iuxta terram Wille^fmi Ponteys. Et dominns concessit dictum.
cotEigitim cum- curtilagio et terra Johanni Hughprest et Alicie
vxori eins ad terminnm vite eorwm. Et post decessum predictornm
Johannis et Alicie predic^a cotagia cum curtilagio et terra cum
suis pertinent ^i^MS remaneant Elene filie predic^ornm Johannis et
Alicie ad terminwm vite sue. Et post decessum dicte Elene

1 f. 48 b.

39—2

612 APPENDIX.

p?*edicta tenementa remaneant heredihus i>redictorum Johannia et
Alicie tenenda de domino in villena^io et ad voluntatem per
virgam' per seruicia eb consuetudines debito et cousueta. Et dat
de fine v s. Et feci^ fidelitatem etc.

Elena atte halle per licentiam donw'ni dimisit Johanni
Martyn duas acras terra ad terminum, xl. annorum proxime
sequentium post datwm istms Curie, sicut isicent super Costouwe
iuxta terram Johannis Pieres. Et dat dumino pro termino
habendo^ iij s. iiij d.

2. HALIMOTlTilf DE Wy^^SELOWE DIE LUNE PROXIMA POST
FLSTim SANCTl DiONISII AN.VO XXIIJ*". Ad WiTTENHAM.

Greneburgh'^

Willelmus Houprest mortuus est qui tenuit de domino vnum
Mesuagium et dhyiidisLra virgate terre cuiws heriettwm vnus bos
precu ij s. Et Johannes filiits eiws est -proximus heres etatis iij
annorum. Et ra^ione minoris etatis co??iniissa est custodia terre
et heredis Johanni attewelle tenenda usqwe ad legitir/iam etatem
heredis per virgam faciendo seruicia et consuetudines. fiinis
condowa^wr propter paupe/tatem. Et fecit fidelitatem.

Johannes Clerk mortwws est qui tenuit de domino vnum
MesMa^mm et vnam virgatam terre cuius heriettwm vnus bos
preci'i iij s. iiij d. Et super hoc venit Anabilia que fuit vxor died
Johannis et clamat habere C07iiunctum statum in dic^o Meswa^io
et terra. Et super hoc vocat recorditm Rotulorwm. Et habet
diem usqne ad proximum.

Johannes Longe mortwus est qui tenuit de domino vnu?n.
Mesnac/inwi et v acras terre cuius heriettwm j luuencws precii
viij d. Et WiWelmus Glius eius est iproximus heres qui venit et
gersu??2mauit* dictz^m Mesna^inm et terram tenendum sibi et suis
in villena^rio per virgam ad voluntatem domini per seruicia et
consuetudines. Et dat de tine xij d. Et fecit fidelitatewi.

WiWehnus Horewod mortuus est qui tenuit de domino vnam
acram et dimidiain terre cmius he?iettn»i vna ouis precii iij d.
Et remanent in manws domini pro defectu heredis.

Emma Clerkes mortua est que tenuit de domino vnam acram
terre cuIms heriettwm vnus bouiculus precii xviij d. Et remanet
in manws domini.

Wille^mns Carpenter mortwns est qui tenuit de domino vnum
cotagiwm et duas acras terre cuiws heriettwm vna ouis precii iij d.
Et remanent in manws domini.

Wille^mtts Wengraue mortwws est qui tenuit de domino vnum^
cotaginm et duas acras terre emus heriettwm vna ouis precii iij d.
Et Kicarc?ns filins ^icardi Wengraue est proximus heres,

1 The formal entry on a villain's holding.

8 F(jr having a lease for a term of years. ^ f. 53 b.

* Gersuiua, a fine paid on completing an agreement. See above, p. 530 n. i.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 613

Johannes Hobbes laortuus est qui tenuit de domino vnuw»
cotagium et iiij*"^ acras terre cuius herietticm viia ouis precii iiij d.
Et dominus concessit dictwm cotagmm et terram Isabelle Hobbes
tenenda ad terminuni vite faciendo seruicia et consuetudines
sine vasto saluo iure cuiush'6et. Et dat de tine xii d. Et fecit
fidelitatem.

Matilda Hobbes mortua est que tenuit de domino vnuw
cotagium et tres rodas terre cuius heriettwm vna ouis Tpi'ecii iij d,
Et Johannes films Joha?inis Hobbes est ^roxim,us heres etatis vij
annorwm. Et ra^tone minoris etatis dominus concessit custodiam
cotagii terre et heredis Isabelle Hobbes tenenda7?i usqzte ad
legitimam etatem heredis in villenagio faciendo seruicia et con-
suetudmes. Et dat pro custodia ha6enda vj d. Et fecit fideli-
tatem.

Alicia Hobbes mortwa est que tenuit de domino dimidiam
acram terre cuius heriettuin vna ouis precii ij d. Et Joharines
films Johannis Hobbes etatis vij awnorum est proxi»iws heres.
Et raiione minoris etatis dominus concessit custodiam terre et
heredis Isabelle Hobbes tenendam usque ad legitimam etatem
heredis faciendo seruicia et cowsuetudines. Et dat pro custodia
ha6enda vj d. Et fecit fidelitatem.

Johawnes Hore mortiius est qui tenuit de domino dimidian\
acram terre cuius heriettwm vnus vitulws p?-ecii iiij d. Et Johanna
soror dicti Johannis est proxim?is heres. que venit et gersujwmauit
dic^am terram tenendam sibi et suis in villena^io ad voluntatem
per seruicia et consuetudines, Et dat de fine vj d. Et fecit
fidelitatem.

Jladulfus Geffes reddif/it sursum, in man?y.s do?nini vnum
cotagiwm et dominus concessit dictum cotagiwm Joha?i?ii Reynald
clerico de Greneburgh tenenditm sibi et suis in villena^rio et ad
voluntatem domini per virgam faciendo seruicia et consuetudines.
Et dat de fine xii d. Et fecit fidelitatem.

^adulfus filiws "Walteri Norton reddidit surswm in manw^
domini vnum cotagiwm continentem, in longitwc^ine xvj pedes et in
latitwc^ine xiij pedes cum curtilagio adiacente. Et dominus con-
cessit dic^wm cotaginm cu7?i curtilagio WilleZmo Wyth tenendum
sibi et suis in \dllenagio faciendo seruicia et consuetudines. Et
dat de fine xii d. Et fecit fidelitatem.

Johannes filitts Radulphi Rolfes mortwws es^ qui tenuit de
domino vnum Mesna5'i?/m et vnam virgatam terre cuius hei-iettimi
vnus bos precii iiij s. Et Juliana Rolfes amita died Johannis
est proximus heres que venit et gersummauit dictwm M.esuagiicm
et te^Tam tenendum sibi et suis in villenagio ad voluntatem
domini per seruicia et consuetudines. Et dat de fine x s.

Juliana Rolfes reddio^i^ sursum in manus domini vnum Mes-
suagium, et vnam virgatam terre cuius heriettwrn vna cista precii
iij d. Et dominus concessit Hadulpho Geffes dictnm M.esuagium
tenendnm sibi et suis in villenagio et ad voluntatem domini per

614 . APPENDIX.

virgam per seruicia et consuetudiwes. Et dat de fine xx s. Et

fecit fidelitatem.

Tastatores ceruisie 'presentant q?<od braciatrtces fregerw?it
assisam, ideo in iniserico7-dia. vij d.

RadwZp/ms de Norton dat domno vj d ad inquirendum de iure
sue de vna acra terre.

Johannes Reynald dat dommo vj d ut inquiratwr de iure suo
de vno cotagio et dir^iidia, acra te?-re.

'Radulphus films Rosie Adam dat doinino pro licencia se
maritandi xij d.

Willehnus Scot debet sectarn et facit defaltam, ideo in misei'i-
cordia iij d.

3. HALIMOTt/Af TENTf/M IBIDEM DIE LUNE PROXIMA POST
FFESTUilf ASSENCJOATS DOMINI AnNO B.EQNI TIEOIS HeNRICI SeXII
QUINTO.

Greneburgh \"

Jura^i ipresentant quod Johannes Ostage debet sectam et iacit
defaltajn, ideo ipse in misericordia.

Item dicunt qwod Ric«rc?us Harry et Walterus Harry apud
Swanburn Thomas Deye et Willefei?xs ijlin.s suits ibic^em sutit
natim et fugitiwt ideo &c.

Precep^wm est Roberto Jauyn firmario manerii de Byggyng
quod distringas Galt'ric/itm Kyng fiUu?n RadztZ/i Kyng per o?/i?iia
bona et catalla sua vbicunqwe infra domura fuerinS i?iuenta ad
soluendwOT, et satisfaciendM7?i ahc' wyght de Greneburgh que?ida/n
ajinuum reddiStt?n eidem aHcie debit?tw, videlicet iij s per annum pro
quadam clausura vocaSa Colettisclose. quociens et quando dict?is
galfridws in solucio?ie dicti redditus deficerit, quod ipveceptum est,
dictws Robertas dicttt?n Galiridum distringat de die in diem et
districSa capta retinere quousq?/.e dictws redditus cum arreragiis,
&ique fuerunt, eidem et aHcie plenavn fuerit satisf actionem «fec.

Dominws concessit Hadulpho eyre sex diraidias acras terre cum
j laye, iacent super Swynehulle extendentes vsqite molendinum de
Greneburgh. Tenenda sibi et suis a dato istius Curie vsqwe ad
finem Ix annorw^n proxwne sequentiuTn completor?im in viWenagio
ad voluntatem domini per Reddeno?o inde annuatim vj pro om?ii-
bus seruiciis et sectis Curie. Et dat de fine j caponem.

Walterus Herry snrsum reddidit in manws do?/imi vnuw
mesuagium et quinque acras et dimidiam terre quondaw Johan?iis
Elyot et Alicie vxoris eius vnde dictum cotagiu?n aitum est inter
tenementum 'Radulphi wengraue et suoweslane, vna acra et dimi-
dia iacet inter cultwra^n vocatani Millehulle in duabws pa?'cellis.
J acra iacet super longcroft et dii7iidia acra iacet super Middul-
furlong et altera dimidia acra est quadam forera- iacens super

1 f. 10 b.

2 Forera; a headland or transverse portion at the end of a field; see Seebohm,
Villaye Community, 4.

MANORIAL RECORDS. 615

WydepoleshuUe. vna acra iacet apwd Blakewelle hegge in ij
-pareellis et dityiidia acra iacet apud almondesmede et alia diniidia
acra subtus jnolendinum doynini cui^^s laeriectum in Tpecunia iij s.
iiij d : et dominus cojicessit dict?t9w cotagium et terram cum
'pertinentibus Roberto Cawode Tenendum sibi et suis in villenagio
ad Yoluntatem domini per seruicia &;c. Et dat dom-ino de fine
vj s. viij d &c.

Testamefitum Johanwis wattes probat^cm est corajn Sratre
Roberto Onnesby Cellario et commissario in hac parte, cuiMS
tenor seqwitur in hec verba. In dei nomi?ie Amen. Ego Jo-
hanna [sic] wattes compos mentis anno domini millesimo ccccxxvij"
condo testame7itiim. menm in hunc modum.. In primis lego
a7iimam meam deo et corpus meum ad sepiliendum in cimiterio
sancti Joliannis Baptiste de Greneburgh. Item monachis saiicti
albani xij d. Item vicarzo de Greneburgh xij d. Item Cle^'ico
eiusdem ecclesie iiij d. Item iiij luminibus eiusdem eccleae dimi-
dium quartermm brasii. It'-m ecclesie de wynge xij d. Item agn'
lary vnam oUam eneaw, potellttm et cistam et j coopertoriwrn et j
TpATcellam linthee. Item Margerie lary j ollam. enea?ri, potellMm
et cistam. Item iratrihus de Aylesbury xij d. Item Wille/mo
Childe filio meo spiriiuali j husselhim hrasii. Et de residwo
bonorwm meoncm non legato constituo Johannem Geffes meum.
execw^orem vt ipse dispona^ bona mea cum adiutor^o Johajinis
Boueton meliore modo quo sciverint deo placere pro a?dma mea
et inde preste^ sa.cvavie7itum. in forma iuris.

C. MUNICIPAL LIFE.

I HAVE here grouped several documents which illustrate the
rights of burgesses, the trade policy they pursued, and the privi-
leges they desired to possess.

I. Charter of Coventry. This Charter was granted by the
Earl of Chester to Coventry, and the privileges were subsequently
confirmed by Henry IT. It has been pi-inted from a transcript in
Trinity College Library, Oo, 2, 20, which I have corrected, with
the kind assistance of the Town Clerk of Coventry, from the
original ; this is in the possession of the corporation of Coventry
and is in beautiful preservation.

It is chiefly instructive because it shows us a city with a
good deal of self-government, while there is no mention of a gild,
or grant of the right to have a gild ; we hear of this right in 1268,
as a matter which was then in dispute (Gross, Gild Merchant, ii.
48). There was a portmanmote, and foreign merchants might be
introduced as comburgenses, but these things might exist without
any gild merchant. The Coventry Gild Merchant obtained a
charter in 1340 and came to be a very important body in the
later history of the city, but it does not appear to have been
an important element in its earliest municipal life.

616 APPENDIX.

^ Ranul/^Aits Comes Cestrie omnibus Baronibtts, et Con-
stabulariis, et Ballivis, et ministris, et hominibus et amicis suis
frawcis et anglis tarn presentibus qwam futuris saXutem.

Sciatis me Burgensibws meis de Covintrie concessisse et dedisse
et hac carta mea confirmasse om?iia que in presenti carta scripta
sunt, videlicet ut bene et honorifice et quiete et in libero burgagio
teueant p?-edicti burgenses et heredes sui de me et de heredihics
meis, sicut unqwam in tempore patris mei vel aliorum sbutecessor um
meorurn melius et firmius et liberius tenuerunt. Om?tes autent
liberas et bonas leges illis concede quas burgenses Lincolnie
meliores et liberiores habeut. Prohibeo et defendo constabulariis
meis ne eos aliqua c&usa in casteilum ad placitum ducant sed
portmotw?/! suum libere habeant. In quo om?iia placita ad me et
ad illos pertinentia iuste tractentur. Quemlibet autem ex semet-
ipsis pro me eligaiit qui sub me super eos iusticia sit, qui leges et
consuetudines sciat, et eos meo consilio in omnibus rationabiliter
omm causa remota custodiat et miJii jura mea tideliter faciat. Si
forte aliquis in inisericordia,Tai meam incident merciatus sit rationa-
biliter per ballivum meum et fideles burgenses curie. Quoscumqwe
autew. mercatores secum ad \'ille emendationem adduxerint, pre-
cipio ut pacem habeant, et nullus eis injuriam faciat vel injuste
eos in curisna mittat. Si vero aliquis extraneus mercator aliquod
inconveniens in villa fecerit in portmoto coram iusticia supra-
dic^a sine ca.usa illud dirigat. His testibus. (fee.

II. Customs of London. These are taken from the same
vol. (Add. 14.252) as the Assize of Bread printed in Appendix A.
They date from the twelfth century and may of course be earlier,
so far as a great part of their contents is concerned. The tirst
extract refers to the position of foreign merchants ; and the next
to a levy of a tifth on moveables. As the London customs were
given to Oxford and many other affiliated towns, they are of
greater interest and importance than those of later date or of
smaller places.

Qt^EDAM CIVITATIS COiV^SUETUDINES SIKE LIBERTATES.

6. Si quis forensis hominem civitatis implacitaverit non
poterit co?nprobare eum per forenses nisi alter de civitate sit. Et
si homo civitatis forensem i??iplacitaverit qui [de\ civitate non sit,
necqwe in ea terram habeat, cum. testibns eum probare non poterit
nisi alter sit de comitatu in quo manet.

11. Mercator foraneus ubi uoluerit in civitate hospitetnr,
sed ad decisionem merces suas non vendat. Si fusco tinctum '
attulerit, vel cordewan no?i minus quam duodenawi simul vendat.
Pannos de serico vel lana vel lino i?itegros uendat. De cera non
minus quam unum. qwarterium. Foraneus mercator nequit pan-
nuw madidum emere vel tincturam facere in urbe, vel opera
aliqua quod ad elves pertineat facere, nee a socio suo vel alio in

1 Dyed cloth.

MUNICIPAL LIFE. 617

urbe emere quod ibi iterum revendat. nee plusqwam xl dies in
adventu suo morari nisi eum impediat morbus aut deljitum quod
civis ei debeat, unde monstrare at probare possit quod vicecomes
et iusticie ei de recto tenendo defecerunt.

12. Mercatores qui londome redeunt et afierunt pannos de
lino et de lano nan debent vendere nisi tantum iij diehus in
ebdomada, scilicet lune, martis, mercurii, et tunc debent religare
trussellos nsque in aliam ebdomadaw, et facere similite?', si
aliqwid restat ad vendendum nichilque vendant ad detail.

13. Hospes domus non potest accipere abqwid de cordagio nee
de pellibws agninis, nee de eMquihus aliis. Sed si ad mercatum
fuerit, vel aliqwis pro eo, bene pereipiat in marcato ut alius.

14. Mereator foranus nequit transgredi spatium trium milia-
rum extra civitatem eundi ad feriam vel ad mercatu??/, (!xtra
urbeni, nee iusticie necqwe vicecomes eis potest dare liceneiam.
Et si vicecomes eum ceperit extra civitatem ultra metas illas cum
pecunia ilia, reducat illos, et cives cum vicecomi^e pecuniam inter
se dividant si vero cives eum ceperint eivium sit omnis ilia
pecunia.

15. Foranus non faeiat forehep' civi necqiie cnm eo emat vel
vendat in civitate nisi civis voluerit.

QUEDAJM" ASSISA FACTA AD HABE-SDAM PECUNIAM DOMFNl REGIS
QtMNDO DABANTUR EI M. M. M. MARCIS [sic] PRO VICECOMITATU.

Constitutum est quod unusqwiscque aldermanTiws et omwea
homines de Wardis suis debent iurare qr^od de singulis xx" sol.
vedditu7xm quos ha6ent ipsi in civitate etc.

Quod in feudo sit, de singulis libris dabunt iiii sol., et de x
sol. ij sol., et de v sol. xii d., et de xxx d. vj d., et de xij d.
qwantum ad hoc pertinebat. Et de redditu hospitttm, arundine vel
iunco, vel alio qwod u6i sit in feudo dabunt de sing^;lis libris ii sol. et
sic usqwe ad xii d. quantum continget. Preterea de suis omnibi'S
catallis et aliis que in manum, hahent sic in domo iacentibws vel
alio mobili catallo ubicunqwe sit, vel citra mare vel ultra et ubicu/i-
que sit, dabunt de libra ij sol., et ita usque ad xii d. q?^antum
pertinebit. Et debent iurare quod pro hae assisa nwllwm catallw?n
necqwe in domo neque in aliqmbws aliis removerunt, nee remo-
bunt [sic] donee ad banc assisam plenarie prebuerint quantum eis
pertinebit. Et de ommbws debitis suis que intelligunt ha6enda, de
quanto intelligunt habere, dabunt quantum de aliis suis catallis,
et de redditibws foranis quos tenentwr [sic] in civitatem et in por-
socu»i qui sint in feudo dabunt iiij sol. de li. sicut preseriptu)?i
est, et de aliis qui non sint in feudo secundum quod dicti/m est
superiws. Et illud debet computari forensibiis in reeeptiowe sua, et
iurent quod nwllwm celabunt qui de civitate sit vel per civitatem
se aduoeet qui hoe sacramentum et adiutor?'?????- no?* faciant, sicut
constitutum et provisuj» est, quin hoc dicant aldermannis et custo-

1 Forestalling.

618 APPENDIX.

dibws ciste ; fene?-atores et feneratrices non iurabunt hoc sac?-a-
uientum. Omnes sint i?tbreviati qui veniunt ad cistam et qui
non veniuwt ; et si qui volunt iurare quod non ha6ent xii d. nee
in reddiiu Vfl catallo demonstre^wr hoc maiori et civibus : et ipsi
hoc emendabunt. JJnusquisque iuret pro gfe et pro uxore et
pueris suis et det pro illis quantiDn illis pertinet ; vel si mavult
veniant illi coram maiore et civib?^s et iurent pro se ip^sis et
solvant. Et bene defendant om?tes alderraan^iii omnibus de
Wardis sui», quod nullus exeat a civitate necq?6e viam domini
nee alibi donee se et suos de hac assisa aq?«etet. Si quis ixutem
horwm faciat aliud. faciat eum inbreviari, et tradat maiori et
ceteris qui omnia sua terras et catalla capiat ad opws civitatis.
Et omnis femina que mercandisam faciat, similiter qtiod per se sit,
et manifeste hoc agat.

III. Recovery op Arrears of Rent. When any tenant
fell into arrears of rent the burgh authorities would sanction
setting a stake up in front of his house (Lyon, Dover, ii. 275),
and after a certain lapse of time, the owner might recover tlie
tenement. The extract from the proceedings of the Reading port-
mote in 1290 occurs by itself in a volume (Camb. Univ. Library,
Dd. ix. 38) which formerly belonged to the Abbey there, and
which contains several of the documents about the conflict
between the towns and monks, which are printed by Coates
and by Gross (Gild Merchant, ii. 202—207).

De Stachia.

Consideratum est per totam comnmnita.tem Burgi Radyng'
qwod omnia, tenem,enta que recuperantii-r per stachiam pro arre-
ragiis reddituu//i ad vainus quatuor annorwm quod ea recuperent?(r
sub hac forma semper hucusqite vsitata videlicet quod quiscuwq^te
dominus fuerit qui aliquem redditurw- in quocumque tenemewto
habuerit ilium redditujw calumpniabit quando per consideratione>/i
curie stachia debeat figi et nisi fecerit clamirtm suum^ tarn de
redditu quava de tenemen^o, amittat in perpetuum. Sic patet in
recordo de portesmoto tento in \igilio apostolorum Symonis et
iude anno regni regis ^dwardi primi post conquestum xviij°.

The rule here laid down was apparently intended to aid the
lessors in recovering their property; it may be compared with
the provisions that were made for enforcing paj^ments from
tenants in arrear by the /Statute of Gloucester^ c. 4 (1278) and 13
Ed. L c. 21 (1285).

IV. Instructions for Italian merchants trading in
London. These instructions are taken from La Pratica del/a
Mercatura of Francesco Balducci Pegolotti of the Company of
the Bardi in Florence. This is a merchant's guide to commercial
practice in all the principal depots of Europe and the Mediter-
ranean. This book was written about 1315 (Peruzzi, Storia del
Commercio e dei hanchieri 71). It was printed by Pagnini in
the third volume of his Delia Decima e delle altre Gravezze in

LONDON COMMERCIAL PRACTICE. 619

Firenze. The original is much contracted and somewhat archaic
in form. I have thought it more convenient to reprint Pagnini's
transcript, rather than to attempt to reproduce the peculiarities
of spelling, «fec. in the MS.

Londra d' Inghilterra per se medesimo.

In Londra d' Inghilterra si ha di piu maniere pesi, e misure,
ai quali, e alle quali si vendono, e comperano le mercatanzie,
come dira qui appresso, e innanzi ordinatamente.

Lana si vende in Londra, e per tutta 1' Isola d' Inghilterra a
sacco, di chiovi 52. pesi per uno sacco, e ogni chiovo pesa libb. 7.
d' Inghilterra.

Pepe, e gengiovo, e zucchero, e cannella, e incenso, e lacca, e
tutte spezierie si vendono in Londra a centinajo di libb e pesasi
in grosso, e dassi libbre 104. per uno centinajo.

Mandorle, e riso, e cera, e stagno, e allume, e ferro, e tutte
cose grosse si vendono in Londra a centinajo, di libbre 112. per
uno centinajo, e pesasi con bilance, che sono piii dure, che quelle,
ove si pesa la spezieria, da 2. per 100. ma tutto dee essere una
bilancia.

Seta cruda si vende in Londra a libbre d' once 18. per una
libbra.

Seta tinta vi si vende a libbre d' once 15. e mezzo per una
libbra.

Canovacci vi si vendono a cento d' alle 120. per 1. cento, e di
5. quartieri 1' alia.

Zendadi vi si vendono a pezza di braccia, di braccia 30. di
Lucca la pezza.

Piombo vi si vende a ciarrea, e ogni ciarrea si e di peso la
montanza del peso in somma di 6. sacca peso di lana, di chiovi
52. per 1. sacco, e di libbre 7. per 1. chiovo.

In Londra si ha 2. maniere di pesare argento, cioe il marco
della Zecca della Torre di Londra, che e appunto col marco di
Cologna della Magna, e 1' altro si d il marco degli Orfevori, cio^
degli Orafi di Londra, che e piii forte, e piu grande marco, che
quello della torre sterlini 5. e un terzo di sterlini 20. per 1. oncia,
6 d' once 8 per 1. marco.

Al marco della Torre di Londra si vende, e compera tutte
maniere d' argenti in piatte, o in verghe, o in monete, o in
buglione per disfare, e nullo uomo, ne cittadino, ne foi'estiere
non osa tenere cambio per cambiare in Londra altri che '1
maestro della Zecca della Torre di Londra.

A marco degli Orfevori si vende, e compera tutte vasella, e
cose d' argento, che 1' uomo avesse a trafficare con gli Orfevori.

Ispendesi in Inghilterra una moneta d' argento, che si chia-
mano sterlini, che sono di lega d' once 11. d' ariento tine per
libbra, e battene la Zecca d' Inghilterra di 3. maniere, che 1' una
maniera si chiamano denari sterlini, che ne vanno in una libbra
peso, come escono della Zecca soldi 20. a conto, o soldi 13. denari 4.

620 APPENDIX.

a conto per 1. marco ; e 1' altra moneta si si chiamano medaglie
sterline, che le 2. vagliono, e si spendono per 1. denaro sterlino,
ed entrane in una libbra, come escono della Zecca soldi 40. a
conto, e soldi 26. denari 8. in uno marco, e 1' altra moneta si si
chiamano sterlini, che gli 4. de' detti sterlini si mettono per 1.
denaro sterlino, ed entrane in una libbra, come escono della
Zecca soldi ... denari .... a conto in uno marco : e tutte a tre
maniere sono d' una lega d' argento, e nulla altra moneta ne
d' oro, ne d' ariento, ne piccioli non si spendono, ne hanno corso
in Inghilterra.

Diritto, e spese di panni, che si paga a chi
gli mette in Londra.

Per carriaggio, ciofe al molo, ove si discarica di nave in terra
alia riva di Tamigia denari 1. sterlino per balla.

E per lo Visconte della villa di Londra denaro 1. sterlino per
panno.

E per gli misuratori della villa di Londra denaro \. sterlino
per panno.

E per muraggio del molo di panni di colore, o mellati denari 2.
sterl. per panno.

Diritto, e spesa, che ha lana a trarnela del Porto di
Londra per portarla fuori d" Inghilterra.

Primieramente per costuma alio Re soldi .... sterl. per sacco
a peso di costuma, cioe quelle, che co' costumieri del Re trovano,
che pesa alio lore peso, quando lo pesano per prendere la costuma,
cioe il diritto del Re, e comunalmente fanno largo peso da . . . •
chiovi per sacco al profitto del mercatante.

E per cortesia a' cherici della detta costuma, cioe agli scrivani
per lo cocchetto, cioe per la lettera suggellata del suggelo della
costuma, per la tratta in somma a tutta la quantita d' uno mer-
catante da 3. in 4. sterlini.

E per diritto de' Visconti di Londra den. 5. per sacco, e piu
in tutto den. \. sterlino, e per vino a' cherici, cioe agli scrivani
del Visconte a tutta la somma den. 2. in 3. sterlini.

E per pesaggio al pesatore della costuma un mezzo sterlino
per scarpigliera.

E per gli baramanni, che traggono le sacca della lana dell'
ostello, e mettoUe sul carro un mezzo den. sterlino per iscarpi-
gliera.

E puotesi ragionare, che comunalmente tutte le sopradette
spese sieno a tutti gli altri porti d' Inghilterra, onde si tragga
lana dell' Isola d' Inghilterra.

E per gli baramanni, cioe per gli bastagi del peso, che la
pongono, e levano del peso, quando si pesano per gli costumieri
del Re, a tutta la quantitade in somma denari 2. in 3. stei'lini.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 621

Seta, zafferano pagano d' entrata a metterle in Londra un
mezzo den. sterlino per libbca.

Come il peso, e la misura cP Inghilterra torna in piii terre

del Mondo, e quelle con Londra, e primieramente,

con Anguersa di Brabante.

Libbre 100. di Londra fanno in Anguersa libb. 100. di spe-
zieria.

Libbre 78. di seta al peso di Londra fa in Anguersa libb. 100.

Con Parigi.

Libbre 100. di Londra fanno in Parigi libb. 96. in 97.
Libbre 4. di seta al peso di Parigi fanno in Londra libb. 3.
di seta.

Carica una di spezierie di Parigi fa in Londra libb. 364.

Londra in Inghilterra con Camo in Normandia.

Alle 100. di canovaccio alia misura di Oamo, fanno in Londra
alle 95. e mezzo a misura di canovaccio, che e 5. quartiere 1' alia,
come debbe essere a tuttuna misura, ma diviene, perche a Londra
in Inghilterra fanno piu larga misura, che a Camo.

Con Aguamor'a di Provenza.

Per ispese di lana a conducerle da Londra d' Inghilterra ad
Aguamorta in Provenza a uno sacco di lana, che se ne fannf) due
balle, che sono una carica, cioe una soma di mulo, che dee essere
4. cantara di Provenza, che sono da libbre 500. di Firenze.

Primieramente per nolo di Londra fanno a Liborno in Gua-
scogna den. 1 2. sterlini per balla monta la soma soldi 2. sterlini.

Per ludimannaggio un mezzo den. sterlino per balla, monta
alia soma den. 1. sterlini.

E per guindaggio a' marinieri della nave, quando si carica a
Liborno della nave un mezzo sterlino per balla, monta alia soma
den. 1. sterlino.

E per salaro della guama, che vi viene suso di Londra a
Limborno den. 1. sterlino per balla monta, alia soma den. 2.
sterlin.

E per la costuma di roani sopra Gironda den. 1. sterlin. per
balla monta alia soma den. 2 sterlini.

Somma le dette 5. partite sol. 2. den. 6. sterlini alia soma di
sol. 3. sterl, 1. fior. d' oro.

622 APPENDIX.

Anche per ispese di conducere Lana dallondra adaquamorta.

E per la costuma di borgo in Guascogna sol. 1. den. 8. per
balla monta alia soma sol. 3. den. 4.

E per la costuma di Vara den. 3. bordellesi per carica.

E per la costuma di Fronzacco appresso di Limborno denari 3.
bordellesi per carica.

E per la costuma di Limborno den. 2. bordellesi per carica.

E per discaricarla delia nave a Limborno, e per portarla all'
ostello, e pesarla, e a pilalla nell' ostello in somma den. 8. tornesi
piccioli per carica.

E per due fune per legare le due balle ciascuna per se a Lim-
borno in somma den. 8. tornesi.

E per ostellaggio, e travaglio dell' oste in Limborno, che le
riceve, e manda da Limborno, e Monpelieri sol. L per balla
monta alia soma sol. 2. tornesi.

E per vettura, e per pedaggio da Limborno a Monpolieri in
somma alia carica da sol. 50. in 60. di tornesi, puotesi ragionare
a comunal pregio lir. 2. sol. 15. di tornesi la carica.

E per ostellaggio dell' oste di Monpolieri, che le riceve, e
manda a tutte sue spese di Monpolieri, ed Aguamorta sol. 2.
denari L per balla, monta soldi 4. denai-i 2. tornesi alia carica.

E per lo diritto della chiaveria d' Aguamorta sol. 5. tornesi
per carica.

E per la tratta del Re di Francia sol. 30. per carica di lana,
e sol. 50. per carica d' agnellina, toccane alia lana soldi 30.
tornesi.

E per ostellaggio dell' oste d' Aguamorta, che la riceve in
casa sua in Aguamorta, e poi la conduce, e carica a tutte sue
spese di bastagi, e di coppani infino messe in galea nel porto d'
Aguamorta sol. \. den. 4. per balla, monta sol. 2. den. 8. per
soma.

Somma per tutte le spese scritte da qui in suso, e d' allato
lir. 5. sol. 3. den. 6. di tornesi piccioli \. fiorino d' oro, den. 8.
bordellesi di sol. 16. uno fiorino d' oro.

Somma per tutte le spese d' Inghilterra ad Aguamorta da
qui in suso, e adietro.

Lire - sol. 2. den. 6. sterlini d' argento di sol 3. uno fior.
d'oro.

Lire — sol. - den. 8. bordellesi di sol. 16. uno fior. d' oro.

Lire 5. sol. 3. den. 6. tornesi piccioli di sol. - uno fior. d'oro.

Che in somma si pub ragionare che sieno da fior. 9. d'oro alia
soma.

V. Privileges desired in other towns. The following ex-
tract from the Staple Rolls (27 — 50 E. III. m. 1 1) among the Tower
Records in the Record Office is of interest in many ways; it is dated
1359, and shows that English merchants continued to frequent
foreign marts despite the disadvantage to which they were put by
the removal of the staple to England. It also shows us a group of
merchants of the staple who were not organised for fiscal purposes,
but for mutual protection and the regulation of trade. The

MUNICIPAL LIFE. 623

extract thus gives a warning against assuming that the fiscal
arrangements were so rigid, or the laws so strictly enforced as we
might have supposed. It is followed by a license addressed
Universis et singulis mercatoribus regni nostri Anglie, granting
leave to elect a governor (custos libertatum mercatorum in
partibus Flandrise) — a privilege for which they had urgently
petitioned. On the whole this group of merchants dealing in a
staple commodity in Flanders, occupied a position closely resem-
bling that of the Merchant Adventurers fifty years later. The
charter of privileges granted by Louis le Male (26 Feb. 1359)
and referred to in the body of this document has been printed by
Varenbergh {Hist, des Relations, 447).

Le roi a touz ceux as queux cestes lertres vendront saluz.
Coment qe entre autres choses en les ordinances de noz estaples
establiz nadgaires en rLotre roialme Dengleterre soit contenuz qe
nul des marchauntz de no^re dit roialme sur forfaiture ne passast
par de la oue leines quirs ou peaux lanutz. Nientmeins, puis oue
bone deliberation oue grantz et autres de no^re conseil p?ir commun
profit de nous et de noire dit roialme si grantames et donasmes
ct»ngie a noz auantditz marchantz quils puissent passer par de la
cue lour dites leines quirs et peaux pwr un temps, paiant a nous les
custumes et subsides ent dues. Et par cause qe la moinoie es
parties de Flandres feust g?-andement empire et les pris des leines
molt araenusee par tant qe noz ditz marchauntz nauoient mies
leur franchises illoeqes tiels come ils ont en deuant ces heures, si
envoiames nadgaires noz messages oue noz lettves especiales a les
trois bones villes de Flandres, en requerant eux qils vousissent
soefi"rir noz ditz marchantz auoir leur franchises auantdites, sur
quoi le comte de Flaundres par cowmun assent de sa te^-re et
especialment a la requeste de ses bones gentz de la ville de Brugges
ad graunte a noz ditz marchantz qils puissent auoir et user souz
la gouernance dun gouernour toutes les fraunchises et libertees
qils soleient auoir asoun temps passe, nient contre esteant qe les
estaples sont tout outrement departiz hors de le dit paiis de
Flaundres, et mis en noire dit Roialme Dengleterre, come en une
chartre ensealle du seal du dit Comte et du seal de la dite ville
de Brugges a nous envoie par noz ditz messages plus pleinement
est contenu, et sur ceo eons done congie et poer a noz ditz
marchantz par noz leitres patentes a durer a noire volunte delire
entre eux vn gouernour conueaable a toutz les foitz qe lour
plerra et mester soit p^r tenir entre eux en la ville de Brugges
lour congregations et assembles a fin qils peussent auoir et
enioier lour franchises et priuileges, issint a eux de nouel
grauntees par le Comte de Flandres, si qe parmi lour assembles
et congregations ne par autre cause noz ditz estaples establiz en
noire dit roialme Dengleterre ne soient emblemiz, enpirez nen-
damages par nuUe voie. Et qe nulle ordinance ne comune soit
faite par les auantditz gouernour et cowipaignie en la dite ville
de Brugges ne aillours pur destourber noz marchantz ne lour

g24 APPENDIX.

vallettes ou servantz, qils ne peussent franchement et peisible-
ment vendre et achater lour marchandises a queles hours qe lour
plerra et a qecunqes persons ou ils verront meutz lour profit
6anz destourbances ou enplechemente de nulla. Nous a tin qe
nous soions le meutz serui de noz custumes des leynes quirs et
peaux lanuz, qe serront amenez hors de noire dit roialme, volons
qe des leines quirs et peux lanutz quaut ils serront charges et les
custumes ent dues paiez, soient les leitres de coket endeutez
prentre les custume?-s et mestres des ditz niefs, et qe lune
•partie soit seale de noire seal de coket, et lautre partie du seal
des mestres des niefs, issint qe les dites custumers la pa?'tie de
lendentwre seale du seal des ditz mestres demwrante denvers eux
eient a noire Escheqer swr lour acompt et les ditz mestres des
niefs lautre partie de la dite endenture seale de noire seal de
coket demwrante denvers eux quant ils vendront as dites parties
des Flandres, liuerent et baillent au dit gouernour pwr faire le
serche illoeqes, a fin qe si nulles leynes quirs ou peaux lanutz
soient trouez nient cokettez ou nient custumez, soient forfaitz
a nous ensemblement oue les niefs en quelles ils serront trouez, le
quele gouernowr enuoiera les parties de les dites endentures
quelles ils auera issint receu des ditz mestres, ensemblement oue
les nouns de ceux qe aueront passe les leines quirs et peaux a
lescheqer Denglete/Te a fin del an des queux forfaitwres des leines
quirs et peaux volons qe lune moite demwerge devers nous et qe
le dit gouernowr eit lautre moitie pwr son serche et trauaille la
forfaitwres des niefs entierment a nous sauuez. Du tesmoignance
de quele chose nous auons fait faire cestes noz leiires ouertes.
Doun souz noire grand seal a Westmiusier le premer iour de
Juyl Ian de noire regne Dengleterre trentieme tierz et des
France vintisme. Per ipsum Regem et consilium.

VI. London Companies in thb time of Henry VIII. Mr
I. S. Leadam has called my attention to the following account of
a dispute between the London Weavers and a Grocer; it led to
proceedings in the Star Chamber in the Hilary Term in the 21st
year of Henry VIII. It has been preserved in the Record Office
(A^iar Chamber, Bundle 19, No. 266) and serves to illustrate
several interesting points : ( 1 ) The claim of a grocer to change
his trade and set up as a weaver, — a claim which was allowed by
the City Authorities ; (2) the position of the Weavers' Company
which was still fiscally independent of the rest of the city and
paid their own ferm to the King ; the point in dispute was not as
to the qualifications of the Grocer, but as to his contribution to
the Weavers' ferm. It thus appears that the Weavers were not
quite on the footing of the other municipal gilds, but were distinct
for fiscal purposes. The special provision for the widows of
weavers and their houses noted on p. 352 above, may have had
reference to these special fiscal arrangements ; (3) the Mayor
was evidently anxious to establish his complete authority over
this gild, so that the memory of their independence survived as a

MUNICIPAL LIFE, 625

practical thing. It is also noticeable (4) that Richard Lee was a
capitalist employer, and that the Weavers' Company took no excep-
tion to the manner in which he was organising his business.

In most humble wyse compleyneth &, sheweth vnto your highnes
your true and faithfull Subgettes and liegemen Robert Hill and

Thomas Darger Baillifes of the Gyld of the Weuers of london

the body of the fFelysshipe of the same Gyld. That whereas the
same Baillifes and ffelisshipes and their predecessours haue helde
& holdene the seid Gyld from the tyme wherof no mynde is the
contrarie of the graunte of your noble progenitours kynges of

[England] haue & hold the same of your highness in fee fferme

And by alle the same tyme haue paid & vsed to pay to your
highnes & your seid progenitours for their seid ffe fierme yerely
xxiiij* in your Escheker for that no weeuer but if he was of the
seid Gyld shuld intromytte in the seid craft within the citee of
London nor in the burgh of Suthwerk. And to haue the sarche
& correccion of all differs & myssbehauyng in the same craft and
the occupacion & exercise thereof And that no weuer that were
not of the seid craft & Gyld shuld resseyue eny threde witliin
the seid citee of eny dwellers of the same for the tyme beyng to
be caried to ether places out of the seid Citee there to be wrought
or weued as in the same Charter more pleinly apperith. Whiche
Gylde & libertas your seid progenitours and their seid predeces-
sours haue pecybly hadde & vsed for the seid fee fferme out of
tyme of mynde. And by all the same tyme haue truly content
& paid to your highnes & your seid progenitours the seid fee
fferme of xxiiij' yerely as it apperith of Record in the seid
Eschequer. Neuerthelees gracious soveraigne lord so it is that
seid Richard Lee of London grocer contrarie to the Tenour of the
seid Charter & contrarie to the vse & priuilege aforseid beyng
noone of the seid Gylde ne contributorie to the seid fee fferme
hath lately of his wilfull mynde set vp the craft of weevyng &
vseth the same in his owne house within the seid citee without
any licence assent or aggreament with the seid Baillifes & fielis-
shipe contrarie to all ryght and consciens. So that therby & by
suche oder mysdoers if they shuld be so suffred the seid Gyld and
your seid fee fi'erme shuld vtterly be decayed & lost ffor the
whiche your seid Oratours compleyne theim ayaist the seid Ric.
Lee before the barons of your Eschequer And therupone the seid
Ric. caused the seid baillifes to be send for to appere before the
maire and aldermene of the seid citee. And there wuld haue com-
pelled them to haue bene bounden by reconysaunce to abide the
award and direccione of the same maire and Aldermene. And
forasmoche as it was then & there openly shewed by the seid
maire &, aldermen and spoken by the mouth of the Recorder &
the Towne Clerk of the seid citee that euery freman of the same
citee shulde set vp & vse the seid craft at his pleser without the
will assent or aggrement of the seid Bailliff'es or ifelisshippe.
Whiche if it shuld be so suffred shuld cause the seid Gyld and fee
flferme to be vtterly decayed & lost as well to the losse of your
c. H. 40

626 • APPENDIX.

hyghnes as of the vtter vndoyng of your seid Besechers and ther-
fore the seid Baillifes denyed so to be bounden. And because they
wuld not ne durst so be bounden the seid maire commytted the
seid Robert Hill to ward & there kept hym without bayle or
maynprise and in lykewyse wuld haue done to the seid Thomas
but that he was so impotent feble & syke that it shuld haue bene
to the great ieopardie of his life. And after vppone compleynt
therof made to your highnes and your most honorable Counsell
It pleased your highnes by the aduyse of your seid counsell to
directe your letter to the seid maire for the delyueraunce of the
seid Robert. Whiche the seid maire wold in no wyse obey, but
send vp the Towne Clerk of the seid citee vnto your highnes
and your seid counsell to abandon to coloure & excuse the said
mater surmysyng that the said Robert was in for oder causes
wherof the contrarie was true. And therupone it pleased your
highnes to directe another letter to the seid maire for to delyuer
the seid Robert incontynent vpone the sight of the same. And
theruppone the seid maire delyuered the seid Robtert at large
vppone suertie founden to come ayenst to hym within the space of iij
oures and to brynge with hym dyuers of his company to here what
direccion the seid maire would take vppone the seid letter. And
so the seid Robtert did and brought with hym dyuers of the most
sadde & discrete of the seid company. And on their comyng the
seid maire at the senyster labour of the seid Lee shewed vnto the
seid Robert and his seid company that the same Robert with oder
of his company shuld be bounded by reconysaunce to abide the
direccion of the seid maire and not to sue ne compleyne in eny
oder place or els the seid Robert with oder of his company shuld
be committed to ward. And because the same Robert and his
company durst not so doe the same maire committed the seid
Robert and iij of his seid company to ward and there kept them
<fe yet doth without bayle or maynprise and wuld suffre no
man to speke with them but onely their kepers and by the meanes
of the seid impprisonement and of the trouble cost & charges that
your seid besechers haue bene put to and the losse of their
occupacion they be lyke to be vtterly vndoyne but if your speciall
grace be shewed to them in this behalfe And allso the seid Gyld
vtterly distroyed and our seid fee fFerme of 24^ by yere vtterly lost.
Please it your highnes the premisses graciously considered to
commaunde the seid maire by your gracious letters to delyuer the
seid Robert & his seid company your oratours out of prisone with-
out delay and to cause the seid maire to appere before your moost
honourable Counsail & your highnes to take such further direccion
for the examinacion & determinacion of the premisses as shall
accorde with right &, good consciens and to send for the seid
Richard Lee to appere before your highnes & your most honour-
able Counsell and there to fynde suertie to recompens and satisfie
your seid oratours for the seid injuries & wronges done vnto theim
by his senyster labour and to haue suche further punysshement as
shall accorde with justice & equite and thus at the reverence of

MUNICIPAL LIFE. 627

God <k in the wey of charite and your seid Oratours shall con-
tynually pray to God for the preseruacion of your most Roiall
astate long prosperously to endure.

Termino hillarye A. R, xxi.

Endorsed : Thomas Hyll and Thomas Barger ceptores london
cont maiore london & Ricardus Lee de eadem grocerum.

The Answere of Richard Lee to the Bill of compleint of
Robert Hill & other Wevers of London.

The said Richard saith that the mater of the said bill is
fayned and of no treuth. And the said Richard seith that he set
many and diuers ffoLkes in werke with spynnyng of woUene yerne
and sette on werk the wevers of the Cite of London to weue his
clothe — till of late tyme the wevers of the said citee perceyving
that the said Richard had grete plente of woUene yerne to weve
wold not weve any woUene yerne of the saide Richard except he
wolde pay for euery brode cloth v* where they were afore that
tyme vsed to take oonly iiij^ & not aboue. And the said Richard
seith that in the Cite of London amonge diuers other custumes
it hath ben vsed oute of time of mynde that euery ffreman
enfraunchesed in any crafte or ffelisshipe of the said citee may &
hath vsed to occupie the craft of the occupacion of wevers aswell
as all other so that they will be contributory to such fee ferme
as the felisshipe of wevers here, and pay yerly to the kinge after
the rate of his occupacion of wevynge as by diuers maters of
record and otherwise shalbe sufficiently proved. Which custume
amonge other hath bene by diuers actes of parliament & other-
wise sufficiently auctorised ratefied and confermed. And the said
Richard saith that he is and of longtyme hath bene enfraunchised
and a freman of the craft or felysshipe of Grocers within the said
Citee. And he so being bought ij brodes lomes for weving of
cloth and afore he occupied the same he came to the Baillives of
the said Wevers and oifred and desired them to be contributory
to their fee ferme after the rate of his occupacion. And the said
Baillives entending to encrese the price of weving of cloth for
their owne covetise, and to the comen herte of the kinges sub-
jectes wolde not agre therunto withoute that, that the said
Richard hath doone or committed any thinge to the contrarie of
the effect of the said Charter or to the losse or dekay of the said
ffelisshipe or fee ferme, and withoute that the said Richard is
gilty of any vnlaufull demenyng sute or vexacione as in the said
bni of complaynt is submytted.

Endorsed : — Ricardus Legh deponit in vim juramenti sui in
hac parte prestiti presentem suum responsim fore verum negat
cetera singula in billa quam eum dederint.

40—2

628 APPENDIX.

D. THE WOOL TRADE IN THE THIRTEENTH
AND FOURTEENTH CENTURIES.

The subjoined list of monasteries, with the prices of wool at
each, is a document which Francesco Balducci Pegolotti incor-
porated in his book^; it is obviously derived from a Flemish
source, and ma}' perhaps be regarded as a monument of some
effort to divert a larger share of English grown wool to Italy.
It may be taken as part of the movement which found expression
in the organisation of direct sea-trade between England and
Italy, and this probably goes back to near the time when the
Umiliati introduced the art of weaving as practised in Flanders
into the immediate neighbourhood of Florence (1250)^ The
letter of Simone Gherardi to Ugo Spini in London in Jan. 1280*,
shows that there was great business activity among Italian wool
buyers at that time. The list may be usefully compared with
the Flemish documents which have been printed by Varenbergh
and Hohlbaum. These are apparently abstracts, while this more
elaborate list gives greater detail.

Pegolotti's book was transcribed by Agnolo del Lotto dalF
Antella, and a copy of this transcript, which was made, ac-
cording to the colophon, by Filippo the son of Niccolaio Fresco-
baldi in 1461, is now in the Riccardian Library at Florence
(No. 2441). It is, under the circumstances, not improbable
that a certain number of clerical errors have been introduced ;
the original spelling seems to have been phonetic, e.g. Chondis-
gualdo for Cotswold. The document has been printed by
Pagnini*, but the present text is not a mere reproduction of
that edition as it has been carefully collated with the MS. by
Dr E. Rostagno. Peruzzi* has given a list of houses — with
attempted identifications — but his transcript was much less care-
ful than Pagnini's. A comparison of the identifications of the
places in the Flemish lists given by Varenbergh^, and more
recently by Dr Liebermann in the Index to Hohlbaum'', has been
of great assistance to me in trying to interpret this interesting
document more accurately. The text is, however, so untrust-
worthy that there is still a considerable element of mere guess-
work ; the few cases, where I have ventured on an emendation,

1 La 'pratica della Mercatura. I am indebted to Mr E. J. Wbitwell (Athenceum,
23 Aug. 1902) for calling my attention to the source of the materials which I had
had before me in a very incomplete form when the second edition of this work
was published.

2 E. Dixon, Florentine Wool Trades in Royal Hist. Soc. Transactions, N.S.
XII. 162.

8 Pagnini, Delia Decima e delle altre Gravezze, n. 324.

* lb. m. 263.

6 Storia del commercio e dei banchieri di Firenze. p. 71.

6 Histoire des relations diplomatiques entre le comte de Flandre et I'Angleterre
an moyen age, p. 214.

7 Hansisches Urkundenbuch, m. 408.

WOOL TRADE. 629

are italicised. The letters C. Cistercian, B. Benedictine, A. C.
Augustinian Canons, G. Gilhertine, P. Premonstratensian, CI.
Cluniac &c., indicate the order to which each house belonged.
The list appears to be drawn up with a careful regard to this
system of classification, and also with considerable attention to
local position. In some doubtful cases of identification I have
preferred a house that is distinctly specified in the Flemish list;
those mentioned in both lists are distinguished by an asterisk.
It must suffice to give Pegolotti's own statement (Cod. 2441, flf.
11^ — 12''; Pagnini, op. cit. ill. p. xx) in regard to the diiierent
qualities of wool.

Chome viene della falda, vuol dire interra, come viene la lana

tonduta di berbicce, cioe della peccora tutto il toxone intero,

che non e levato niente.
Bricciata, vuol dire scielta, e ffattone piu ragione del toxone

della lana.
Buona lana si e la migliore, quando si briscia.
Mq;ano lana si h la mezana ragione della lana, quando si briscia.
Locchi si e la terza ragione della lana, quando si briscia.
Stecchata vuol dire, levato dal toxone della lana pura le zacchere

della lordura della berbiccie appicchata alia lana.
Tovce vuol dire lo toxone della laiia ripieghato, & arrotolato.
Pungnea (sic) vuol dire lo toxone della lana, poi che e brisciata, e

apparecchiato si e '1 ruotolo, e fl'attone ad modo d' una palla

grossa.

§ Inghilterra f. 171.

Inghilterra per lane di magione, e per lane chogliette,
e quante lane ciaschuna magione sogliono avere per

ANNO, E QUELLO CHE FFURONO VENDUTE IN FlANDRA l' ANNO
DEL . . . . B QUELLE MAGIONI, CHE LLE BRISCIANO, sl NE FANNO
3. RAGIONl, CIOi; LA MIGLIORE, CHE SSI DICE BUONA, E MEZZANA,
CHE SSI DICE AMONNANA {sic), E LLA MEND BUONA, CHE SSI
DICE LOCCHI.

Niobottoli {Newhottle, Edinburgh, C.) la buona, marchi 14^,

e 11a mojana mar. 9. e locchi mar. 1^ il saccho, e annone

da 30. sacchi per anno.
*Mirososso (Meh-ose, Roxburgh, C) la buona marchi 16. e 11a

mojana mar. 10.,. e llocchi mar, 8^ il saccho, e annone da

50. sacchi per anno.
Barmicciacche {Balmerino [Balmerinach], C.) la buona mar. 10.

e 11a mojana mar. 7. e llocchi mar. 4. il saccho, e annone

per anno in somma da 14. saccha.
*Chupero (Cupar Angus, Perth, C.) la buona mar. 18A, e 11a

mojana mar. lOi^, e llocchi mar. 9 il saccho, e annone da

30. saccha per anno.
*Chilosola [Kinioss, Elgin, C.) la buona marchi 15. e 11a mojana

marchi 11. e locchi mar. 7^ il saccho, e aimone da 15.

saccha 1' anno.

630

APPENDIX.

Donfermellino {Dunfermline, Fife, B.) la buona marchi 13. e Ua

mojana 8|, e llocchi mar. 6. il saccho, e annone da 15.

saccha 1' anno.
*Dondarnane {Dundrennan, Kirkcudbright, C.) la buona mar. 18.

e Ua mojana marchi 10|, e llocchi mar. 8. il saccho, e

annone da 15. saccha 1' anno.
*Grenellusso (Glenluce, Wigtonshire, C.) la buona mar. 18. e 11a

mojana mar. 11. e llocchi mar. 5 il saccho, e annone da 15.

saccha per anno.
BaUe diruccho^ {Roxburgh) ^

Ghuldinghamo {Goldingham, Ber-
wick, B.)
Ghelzo {Eelso, B.)
Norbonucche {North Beriinck,'B.'N .)
Sansasano-

Grideghorda^ {Geddeworth, Jed-
worth, A.C.)
II tenpo di Bratendoccha {Balan-
trodochy

Chome vengnono della
falda, 6 cchogliette fur-
ono vendute in Fiandra
al sopradetto anno, cioe
... da mar. 9 insino in
marc. 10^ saccho, sic-
chome Simolia® e beUebe
{sic) ricevute dalle dette
magione.

Cogliette.
Di Luizenstrj {Leicester) la

buona marchi 12. saccho.
Di Ledesia {Leeds) mar. 12^

saccho.
Del Pecche {The Peak) mar.

10|- saccho.
D' Elmetta {Elmet) mar. 11. il

saccho.
Di Tresche {Thirsh^) mar. 10|

il saccho.
Di Chondisqualdo {Cotswold)

mar. 11. saccho.

Cogliette.
Di Granno {Grantham) mar. 13.

il saccho.
Di Montingamo {Nottingham)

mar. 11. saccho.
Di Rottolando {Rutland) mar

12. saccho.
Dinponte' mar. 10. e mezzo il

saccho.
Di Veruicche {York) mar. 10^

saccho.

Magioni delV ordine di Cestello.
*01choltramo {Holm Cultram, Cumberland, C.) la buona marchi

18. 6 Ua mojana marchi ... e i locchi mar. 9J U saccho,

6 annone da 40. saccha 1' anno.
*N'io Mostriere In orte bellanda {New Minster, Northumb., C.) la

buona marchi 17|^, e Ua mojana mar. 11. e llocchi mar. 9 J,

e annone da 35. saccha 1' anno.
*Fornace In norto bellanda (/'wrwess, Lanes., C) la buona marchi

1 Mr J. Edwards suggests Roxburgh bales, and calls attention to the form of
the name used by the moneyer, Hugo on Eoch. (Innes, Oriffines Farochiales Scotiae,
I. 466.)

2 Mr J. Edwards suggests the Cistercian Abbey of S. Servan's or Cukoss.
Skene Celtic Scotland, n. 257.

8 I am indebted to Mr Edwards for this identification. Compare lunes
op. cit. I. 366.

^ Chalmer's Caledonia, n. 76, 812. The list is presumably earlier than 1312
when this house was transferred to the order of S. John,

5 This is apparently the port of shipment.

^ I am indebted to Mr WhitweU for this suggestion.

' There are no sufficient data for identification.

WOOL TRADE. 631

ISi^, e 11a mojana mar e i locchi mar. 10. il saccho,

e annone da 30. per anno.
*Chalderea In choppolanda [Colder, Cumberland, C.) torcierj mar.

12. il saccho, e anne 4. per anno.
*Salleo in Chravenna {Scdlay, Yorkshire, C.) la buona marchi 15.

e 11a mojana mar. 10. e llocchi marchi 9. il saccho, e annone

da 16. saccha per anno.
*Giervalese {Jervaidx, Yorkshire, C) la buona mar. 17. e 11a mojana

mar. 10^, e i locchi mar. 9. il saccho, e annone da 50. saccha

per anno.
*Fontana {Fountains, Yorkshire, C.) la buona mar. 21. e 11a mojana

mar. 12. e locchi mar. 9. saccho, e annone da 76. saccha

per anno.
*'Biolanda {Byland, Yorkshire, C.)la buona mar. 17i, e 11a mojana

mar. \1^, e i locchi mar. 9. il saccho, e annone da 35. saccha

r anno.
*.ffivalse {^Rievaulx, Yorkshire, C.) la buona mar. 11^ e 11a

mojana mar. 10^, e i locchi mar. 9. il saccho, e annone da

60. saccha i' anno.
*Miesa In oldaraese (Meaux in Holderness, Yorkshire, C.) la

buona mar 15. e 11a mojana mar. 9. e i locchi mar. 1^ il

saccho, e annone da 25. saccha per anno.
*Chirchistallo In ardona {Kirkstall, Yorkshire, C) la buona mar.

20. e 11a mojana mar. 10^, e llocchi mar. 9|^ il saccho, e

annone da 25. saccha 1' anno.
*Laroccia {Roche, Yorkshire, C.) la buona mar. 17. e 11a mojana

mar. 11. e locchi mar. 7^ saccho, ed annone da 20. saccha

r anno.
*I1 parcho di Liuia [Louth Park, Lines., C.) la buona mar. 19.

e 11a mojana mar. 11^ i<* saccho, ed annone da 30. saccha

r anno.
*Chiricchistede {/{irkstead, Lines., G.) la buona mar. 24. e 11a

mojana mar. 11. e i locchi mar. 9| il saccho, e annone

per anno da 40. saccha.
*Revesbi {Reveshy, Lines., C.) la buona mar. 20. e 11a mojana

mar. 11. e i locchi mar. 9^ il saccho, e annone da 40.

saccha 1' anno.
*Svinsivede (Swineshead, Lines., C) la buona mar. 16. e 11a

mojana mar. 10. e i locchi mar. 8. il saccho, e annone da

6. saccha per anno.
*Lavaldio (Vaudey, Lines., C.) la buona mar. 19^, e 11a mojana

marchi 11|^, e i locchi mar. 10. il saccho, e annone 24.

saccha 1' anno.
*Ruiibrte in Estierewda {Rufford in Sherwood, Notts., C.) la buona

mar. 16|, e 11a mojana mar. 10|, e i locchi mar. 10. il

saccho, e annone da 15. saccha 1' anno.
*Gierondona {Garendon, Leicester, C.) la buona mar. 18. e 11a

mojana mar. 10|, e i locchi mar. 9. il saccho, e annone da

20. saccha per anno'.

1 The head-line to f. 172', seems to have been mistaken by Pagnini for the
title of a new division at this point.

632 APPENDIX.

*Chonbrumera {Cumhermere, Cheshire, C.) la buona mar. 21. e

11a inojana mar. 13 e i locchi mar. 10^ il saccho, ed

annone da 6. saccha per anno.
*Crocchestrende (Croxden, Staff., C.) la buona mar. 21. e lla

niojana mar. 12. e i locchi mar. 11. il saccho, e Annone da

30. saccha per anno.
*Lagraziadio {Grace Dieu, Mon., C.) la buona mar. 16. e lla

mojana mar. 10. e i locchi mar. 7i il saccho, ed annone

da 5. saccha per anno.
*Diolacchrescha (Dieulacres, Sfaff., C.) la buona mar. 16. e lla

mojana mar. 10. e i locchi mar. 8h il saccho, ed annone

da 20. saccha 1' anno.
*Biliguassi (Buildwas, Shrop., C) la buona mar. 20. e lla mojana

mar. 12. e i locchi mar. 10. il saccho, e annone da 20. saccha

r anno.
*Stalleo in Zestri {Stanlaw, Cheshire, G.) la buona mar. 18. e lla

mojana, e buoni locchi mar 10|, e i grossi locchi mar. 7.

saccho, e annone da 10. saccha F anno.
*Morghana {Margam, Glamor., C.) la buona marchi 17. e lla

mojana viene, perb che non fanno ne mojana, ne llocchi,

ma briscialla, 6. pietre per saccho, e annone da 25. saccha

per anno.
*xSietta {Neath, Glamor., C.) quasi vale altrettanto, e parecchiasi

alia medesima maniera, e annone da x saccha 1' anno.
*Lantarname {Llantarnam, Man., C.) lo saccho di due pesi mar.

il saccho, ed e grossa chosa, ed annone da 8. saccha per anno.
*Tanterna {Tintern, Mon., C.) la buona mar 28. e lla mojana

mar. 15. e i locchi mar. 12. il saccho, e annone da 15.

saccha per anno.
*Dora {Dore, Hereford, C) la buona mar. 28. e lla mojana mar. 15.

e i locchi mar. 14. il saccho, e annone da 16. saccha per anno.
*lstanforte {Ystrat Marchel, Montgom., C) marchi 10. i due pesi,

e annone da 12. saccha per anno.
*Biancilancla {Alba Landa, Gaermarthen, C.) mar. 10| saccho di

■due pesi, e annone da 15. saccha per anno.
*Chinchesulda {Kingswood, Wilts., C.) la buona mar. 26. e lla

mojana 15. il saccho, e annone da 25. saccha per anno.
*Istallea In Gildisire^ {Stanlegh, Wilts., C.) la buona marc. 19. e lla

moiana marc. 12. il saccho ed annone da 40. saccha per anno.
Ilchona^ {Hilton, Staffs., C.) la buona marchi 14. il saccho, ed

annone da 8. saccha 1' anno.
*Bellaugholera {BeauUeu^ Hants., C.) la buona mar. 24. e i locchi

mar. 15. saccho, e annone da 25. saccha 1' anno.
*Binendona {Bindon, Dorset, C.) la buona mar. 1^. e lla mojana

mar. 10. il saccho, e annone da 20. saccha per anno.
Letteleccia {Netley [Lettley], Hants., C.) la buona mar. 12. e lla

mojana mar. 7h il saccho, e i locchi mar. 5. ed annone da 12.

saccha per anno.
*La quarriera dell' Ixola di Ghuccho {Quarrer, Isle of Wight, C.)

1 Omitted by Pagnini and supplied from the ms.

2 Not Heona as Peruzzi priuted it.

WOOL TRADE. 683

la buona mar. 20. e 11a mojana marchi 11. e i locchi marchi 9.

e annone da 15. saccha per anno.
*Guarverlea ( Waverley, Sussex, C.) la buona mar. 25. e 11a mojana

mar. 16. e i locchi mar. 14. il saccho, ed annone da 14, saccha

per anno.
*Forde {Ford, Devon, C.) la buona mar. 15. e 11a mojana mar. 10.

e i locchi mar. 9. il saccho, ed annone da 10. saccha per anno.
Bufeltro in Chornovaglia {Buckfastleigh, Devon, C.) la buona

mar. 12|, e 11a mojana mar, 9. e i locchi mar. 7, il saccho,

ed Annone da 10. saccha per anno,
*Labriuiera di Ghontisgualdo [Bruerne, Oxon., C), la buona mar.

25, e 11a mojana mar. 16. il saccho, e i locchi mar, 13, ed

knnone da 12. saccha per anno.
Muinamo {Newenham, Devon, C.) la buona mar. 16, e 11a mojana

mar, 9^ il saccho, et annone da due saccha V anno.
*Pippuelle (Pipewell, Northants., C.) la buona mar. 22. e 11a

mojana mar. 12. il saccho, e annone da 14, saccha per anno.
*Tamo [Thame, Oxon., C.) la buona mar. 27, e 11a mojana mar, 17.

sterlini il saccho, ed annone da 5. saccha per anno.
*Guardona {Wardon, Beds., C.) la buona mar. 16. e Ua mojana

mar. 10. e i locchi mar. 8, il saccho, ed annone da 25,

saccha per anno.
*Bettesdellana (Bittlesden, Bucks., C.) la buona mar. 21. e 11a

mojana mar. 12, e i locchi mar, 10, il saccho, ed annone da

1 2, saccha per anno,
*Chonbo (Combe, Warwick, 0.) la buona mar, 19. e 11a mojana

mar. 12, e i locchi mar. 10. il saccho, ed annone da 18.

saccha per anno.
*Miravalle (Merevale, Warwick, C.) la buona mar. 17. e 11a mojana

mar. 10. il saccho, e non fanno locchi, ed annone da 30.

saccha per anno.
*Basinguecche (Basingwerk, Flint, C.) la buona mar. 17, e 11a

mojana mar, 11. e i locchi mar. 9. il saccho, e annone da

10. saccha per anno.
Fraschelea {Flexley, Glouces., C.) la buona mar. 15. e 11a mojana

mar. 10. e i locchi mar. 8|^ il saccho, ed annone da 6.

saccha per anno.
*Brondislea (Bordesley, Wore, C.) la buona mar. 19. e 11a mojana

mar. 11. e i locchi mar, 11. il saccho, ed annone da 10. saccha

per anno.
*Stalleo in Guarvicche [Stonely, Warwick, C.) la buona mar. 18 e

11a mojana mar. 11. e i locchi marchi 10. il saccho, e annone

da 10. saccha per anno.
*Uborno ( WobV'rn, Beds., C.) la buona mar. 18. e 11a mojana mar.

10. e i locchi mar. 9, il saccho, ed annone da 10, saccha per

anno.
Bufeltro' in Chornovaglia {Buckfastleigh, Devon, C.) la buona

mar. 12^, e 11a mojana mar. 9, e i locchi mar. 7. il saccho

ed annone da 10. saccha per anno.

1 A duplicate entry presumably made in error.

634 APPENDIX.

Chinna [Kinner, Merioneth, C.) la buona mar. 15. e Ha mojana

mar. 9. e i locchi mar. 8. il saccho, ed annone da 8. saccha

per anno.
*Salterrea (^Saltrey, Hunts., C.) la buona mar. 15. e 11a mojana

mar. 9. e i locchi mar. 6^ il saccho, ed Annone da 7. saccha

per anno.
*Bocchesella In Chenti {Boxley, Kent, C.) la buona mar. 15. e 11a

mojana mar. 9. e i locchi mar. 7. il saccho, e annone da 5.

saccha per anno.
*Chonchisala [Coggeshall, Essex, C.) la buona mar. 18. e 11a

mojana mar. 11. e i locchi mar. 9| il saccho, ed annone

da 15. saccha per anno.
*Tilitea {Tiltey, Essex, C.) la buona mar. 17| e 11a mojana mar.

10. e i locchi mar. 8. il saccho, ed annone da 12. saccha

per anno.
*Stanforte {Stratford, Essex, C.) la buona mar. 15. e 11a mojana

mar. 10. e i locchi mar. 7. il saccho, ed Annone da 13. saccha

per anno.
*Iscippitona (Sibton, Suffolk, C.) la buona mar. 14. e Ua mojana

mar. 8. e i locchi mar. 5. il saccho, ed annone da 10. saccha

per anno.
Ponte ruberto (Roberts Bridge, Sussex, 0.) no Ua brisciano, ma 11a

stracchano, mar. 9. il saccho e annone da 3. saccha per anno,
.fi'ilesi in Chondisgualdo (Hailes, Glos., C.) la buona mar. 19. e Ua

mojana mar. 10. e i locchi mar. 7. il saccho, ed knnone da

20. saccha per anno, ed h poi peggiorata.
*Vareale In gualesi ( Vale Royal \Dernhall\ Cheshire, C.) Annone

da 6. saccha, non h di nome.
Barcha noe^ ingualesi Annone da 20. saccha, non h di nome.
Conte^ Ingualesi annone da 6. saccha per anno mar. 9. il saccho.
La magione reale non a lana.

Magioni el" ordini di Promustieri in Inghilterra.

Alnuicche In nortobellanda {Alnwick, Northumh., P.), non bris-
ciano, mar. 10. il saccho, annone da 20. saccha per anno.

*Santa Aghata {Easby, Yorkshire, P.) apparecchiata al modo
della magione toroccea, mar. 13. il saccho, e annone da 10.
saccha per anno.

Choverramo {Corham, Yorkshire, P.) torcea mar. 13. il saccho, ed
annone da 8. per anno.

*Toppolino (Tupholm, LincSi, P.) la buona mar. 20. e 11a mojana
mar. 11. e i locchi mar. 10. il saccho, ed annone da 8. saccha
per anno.

*Berlinghe (Barlings, Lines., P.) la buona mar. 24. e Ua mojana
mar. 14. e i locchi mar. 12. il saccho, e annone da 25. saccha
per anno.

1 Mr Whitwell suggests Aberconway.

2 There are several Welsh Cistercian houses which are not included and this
may possibly be a name for one of them, e.g. Strata Florida and De valle Crucis.

WOOL TRADE, 635

Niuxumi {Neusham, Lines., P.) la buona mar. 21. e 11a mojana

mar. 12. e i locchi mar. 9. il saccho, ed annone da 20. saccha

per anno.
*Crocenstona {Croxton, Leices., P.) la buona mar. 22. e 11a

mojana mar. 12. il saccho, e annone da 25. saccha per

anno.
*Ottubo [Newboth, Lines., P.) torce mar. 16. il saccho, ed annone

da 6. saccha per anno.
*Ija'yualderia (Welbeck, Notts., P.) torcia mar. 11. il saccho, ed

annone da 6. saccha per anno.
Agrestano {Egleston, Yorks., P.) la buona mar. 15. e 11a mojana

mar. 10. il saccho, ed annone da 10. saccha per anno.
Sallebi (Sulleby, Northants., P.) torcia marchi 16. il saccho,

annone da 6. saccha per anno.
Ticcifeltro (Tyclijield, Hants., P.) schracchata mar. 9. saccho,

annone da 15. saccha per anno.
Laballa* {Le Dale, Derby, P.) in torcea mar. 14. il saccho,

annone da 8. saccha per anno.
Ciappi in vestrebellanda (^Shapp, Westmoreland, P.), chome viene

della falda mar. 9. il saccho, e annone da 10. saccha per

anno.
Dereforte icosta a Pportamua {Dureford, Sussex, P.) chome viene

della falda, mar. 9. il saccho, Annone da 10. saccha per

anno.
Becchamo In chosta a Pponte Ruberto* {Beigham, Sussex, P.),

chome viene della falda, mar. 8. il saccho, annone da 5. saccha

per anno.
Santa Indigonda^ (Bradsole, Kent, P.) mar. 7. il saccho, ed h

grossa cosa, annone da 5. saccha 1' anno.
Mieldona^ mar. 7. il saccho, ed h grossa chosa, Annone da 5.

saccha 1' anno.
Bialceffo presso alia Roccea {Beauchief, Derby, P.) torciea mar. 14.

il saccho, annone da 10. saccha per anno.
Baleo In Essecchisi (Bileigh, Essex, P.) come viene della falda,

mar. 7. il saccho, e annone da 6. saccha per anno.
La Ghalea In Sifolco (Langley, Norfolk, P.) come viene della

falda, mar. 7. il saccho, annone da 8. saccha per anno.
Avenebi Ilendisia (Hagneby, Line, P.) torcia mar. 13. il saccho,

annone da 5. saccha per anno.
Samperinghamo {Semperingham, Line, G.) la buona mar. 20. e

11a mojana mar. 10^, e i locchi mar. 9., annone da 25. saccha

per anno.

1 This is identified by Peruzzi with the Premonstratensian Abbey of Torr in
Devonshire.

2 The dedication of Bradsole was to S. Radegund.

3 I have no suggestion to offer. There was a Premonstratensian House at
Bileigh near Maldon in Essex, and a Gilberttne House at Melton in Yorkshire,
but these are both mentioned below in this list. If the preceding and succeeding
identifications are correct there is no help to be derived from geographical
propinquity as to which of the numerous Premonstratensian houses may be
intended.

636 APPENDIX.

*Santa Chaterina di Nicchola [Lincoln, G.) la buona mar. 22^

e lla mojana tratti mar. 12^ il saccho, annone da 35.

saccha per anno.
Averolino {^Uaverholme, Lines., G.) la buona mar. 18. e lla mojana

mar. 10. e i locchi mar 8^ il saccho, annone da 15. saccha

per anno.
*Chatellea [Catteley, Lines., G.) la buona mar. 19. e lla mojana

mar. Wh, e i locchi mar. 8^il saccho, annone da 7. saccha

per anno'.
*Bollintona {Bullington. Lines., G.) la buona mar. 22. e lla mo-
jana mar. 13, e i locchi mar. 9^ il saccho, annone da 18

saccha per anno.
*Sicchisille (Sixhili, Lines., G.) la buona mar. 18. e lla mojana

lOi, 6 i locchi mar. 9. il saccho, ed annone da 18. saccha

per anno.
*Orinesbi {Ormeshy, Lines., G.) la buona mar. 19. e lla mojana

mar. 11. e i locchi mar. 10. il saccho, annone da 18. saccha

per anno,
Marisea [Mattersey, Notts., G.) la buona mar. 19. e lla mojana

mar. 11. e i locchi mar. 10. il saccho, e Annone da 8. saccha

per anno.
*Ghuantona {Walton, Yorks., G.) la buona mar, 16|, e lla

mojana mar. 10 e i locchi mar. 8^ il saccho, e annone

da 40. saccha 1' anno.
*Maltona [Malton, Yorks., G.) la buona mar. 17. e lla mojana

mar. 11. e i locchi mar. 6. il saccho, e annone da 45. saccha

per anno.
Elertana [Ellerton, Yorks., G.) la buona mar. 15. e lla mojana

mar. 9i il saccho, e annone da 10. saccha per anno.
Santo Andrea di Verrvicche {S. Andrews, York, G.) la buona

mar. 15. e lla mojana, mar. 9| il saccho, ed annone da 3.

saccha per anno.
*Sisante {Chicksand, Beds., G.) la buona mar. 16. e lla mojana

mar. 9. il saccho, e annone da 12. saccha per anno.
Soldamo (Shouldham, Norf., G.) la buona mar. 12^, e non fanno

ne mojana, ne llocchi, ma brisciano 3. pietre per saccho, e

annone da 16. saccha per anno.
Clarerchoni {Clattercote, Oxon., G ) la buona mar. 17. e lla mojana

mar. 11. il saccho, e annone da 3. saccha per anno.
*Alvinghamo (Alvingham, Lines., G.) la buona mar. 18. e lla

mojana mar. 10. ei locchi mar. 9. il saccho, e annone da 10.

saccha per anno.
Novelluogho {Newstead, Lines., G.) mar. 15. il saccho, non fanno

mojana, ma brisciane fuori pure i locchi, e annone da 10.

saccha per anno.
Al Ponte {Holland Bridge, Lines., G.) non ha lana quaxi niente.
Miramaudo {Mirmaud, Cantos., G.) non ha lana.

1 A new division occurs in the MS. with the title DeW ordine di Promuxione,
which is probably due to the incorporation of a head-line by a transcriber.

WOOL TEADE. 637

Fordamo Insulfolcho {Fordham, Gambs., G.) ha da uno saccho di
lana intera, e grossissima.

Nonnarie di Danie, che cLnno lane di rinome in Inghilterra.

♦Istanfeltro [Stanfield, Lines., B. N.) la buona mar. 28. e 11a

mojana mar. 16. e i locchi mar. 7. il saccho, ed annone da 12.

saccha per anno, ed k molto megliorata, e vendesi in Fiaudra

mar. 30. il saccho della buona.
*Isticchi Sigualdo {Stykeswold, Lines., C. N.) la buona mar. 20.

e 11a mojana mar. 12. e i locchi mar. 9. il saccho, e annone

da 15. saccha per anno.
*No?iochotono {Ntm Colon, Lines., C N.) la buona mar. 18. e 11a

mojana mar. 10. e i locchi mar. 8. il saccho, ed annone da

10. saccha per anno.
*Ampo]a (Hampole, Yorks., C. N.) torcea mar. 14. il saccho, e

annone da 6. saccha per anno.
Grimesbi {Grimsby, Lines., C. N.) chome viene della falda mar. 17.

il saccho, e annone da 2. saccha per anno.
Eninghe [Heynings, Lines., C. N.) chome viene della falda mar.

13. il saccho, e annone da 2. saccha per anno.
Choccuelle [Gokwelle, Lines., C. N.) chome viene della falda mar.

13. il saccho, et annone da 4. saccha per anno.
Langhalea presso a nontighamo {Langley, Leiees., B. N.) come

viene della falda, mar. 12. il saccho, e annone da 5. saccha

per anno.
Ardena (Arden, Yorks., B. N.) torcia mar. 13. il saccho, annone

da 10. saccha per anno.
Childomo {Kildon, Yorks., C. N.) chome viene della falda mar. 12.

saccho, e annone da 12. saccha per anno.
Rosedalla (Eosedale, Yorks., B.N.) chome viene della falda mar.

10|^ saccho, e annone da 10. saccha per anno.
Sanchimento (Glementsthorp, Yorks., B. N.) stracchata mar. 12. il

saccho, e annone da 3. saccha per anno.
Suino Inoldarnesa (Swinhey, Yorks., C. N.) la buona mar. 14. e 11a

mojana mar. 9. e i locchi mar. 7. il saccho, e annone da 8.

saccha per anno.
Maricche In chosta ricciamonte (Maryke, Yorks., B. N.), chome

viene della falda, mar. 11. il saccho, ed annone da 8. saccha

per anno.
*Vichamo In chosta rivalse (Wyekha7n, Yorks., C. N.), chome

viene della falda, mar. 1 1. il saccho, ed Annone da 4. saccha

per anno.
Anchordona (Ankerwyke, Bucks., B. N.) chome viene della falda,

mar. llj il saccho, e annone da 4. saccha per anno.
jPine chotte appresso di Verruicche a 5. miglia (Thicket, Yorks.,

B. N.), come viene della falda, mar. 12. il saccho, e annone

da 4. saccha per anno.
Monacherone presso di Veruicche (Monketon, Yorks., B. N.),

chome viene della falda, mar. 11. il saccho, e annone da . . .

saccha per anno.

638 APPENDIX.

Endichaino presso di Maltona {Little Maries, Yedingham, Yorks.,

B. N.) mar 11. il saccho torciea.
Leccheborno In chosta alluja (Lekeborn, Louth, C. N.) come viene

della falda mar. 12^ il saccho, ed ^nnone da 3. saccha

per anno.

Tutte magioni d' ordine nero, che d,nno lane in Inghilterra.

*Chisiborno {Guishorough, Yorka., A. C.) ischracchata mar. \2^

il saccho, e ^nnone da 20. saccha per anno.
Nittborgho {Newhurgh, Yorks., A. C.) in torcea mar. 13. il saccho,

6 annone da 13. saccha 1' anno.
*BrindelIintona [Bridlington, Yorks., A. C.) torcea mar. 13^

saccho, annone da 50. saccha per anno.
*Chircamo {Kirkham, Yorks., A. C.) in torcea mar. 14 saccho,

Annone da 30. saccha 1' anno.
Guitebi ostrattone {Whitby, Yorks., B.) i locchi grossi mar. 9^

saccho, annone da 30. 1' anno.
Sellebi {Selby, Yorks., B.) in torcea mar. 12. il saccho, e Annone

da 15. saccha 1' anno.
Nostra Dama di Veruicche {S. Mary's, York, B.), chome viene

della falda, mar. 11. il saccho, e annone da 30. saccha per

anno.
Guarterra {Warre, Yorks., A. C), chome viene della falda, mar.

10 J sacco, ed annone da 20. saccha per anno.
Dradicchisi {Drax, Yorks., A. C.) chome viene della falda mar. 12.

il saccho e annone da 5. saccha per anno.
Santo Usgualdo (aS'. Oswald's, Nostell, Yorks., A. C), chome viene

della falda mar. 12^ saccho, ed annone da 10. saccha per

anno.
Boltrona in Chravenna (Bolton, Yorks., A. C), chome viene della

falda, mar. 12. sacco.
Bria (Blyth, Notts., B.), chome viene della falda, mar. 12. il

saccho, annone da 6. saccha per anno.
Giuirsopo presso abliada {Worksop, Blyth, A. C), come viene

della falda, mar. 12. saccho, ed Annone da 5. saccha per

anno.
Grimesbi Inlendisia {Wellow near Grimsby, Lines., A. C.), come

viene della falda, mar. 14. saccho, annone da 10. saccha per

anno.
Tornolino {Thornholm, Lines., A. C.) la buona mar. 16^ e 11a

mojana mar. 10^ il saccho, e annone da 8. saccha per

anno.
*Bardinaja {Bardney, Lines., B.) la buona mar. 18. e 11a

mojana mar. 11. e i locchi mar. 9. e annone da 15. saccha

per anno.
Marchebi Inlendisie {Markehy, Lines., A. C.) mar. 13|- saccho,

e annone da 12. saccha per anno.
Olesamo Inlendesie (Ailesham, Lines., A. C), chome viene della

falda, mar. 13. saccho, annone da 10. saccha per anno.

WOOL TRADE. 639

Onbrestano In Lendisie {Humhreston, Lines., B.), chome viene

della falda, mar. 13. saccho, e an none 5. saccha per anno.
*Nocchona parcho (Nocton, Lines., A. C.) la buona marchi 20. e

11a mojana mar. 11. e i locchi mar. 9., e annone da 4. saccha

per anno.
Rovincestri In chosta alpecche {Roucester, Staffs., A. C), chome

viene della falda, marchi 12. il saccho, e annone da 10.

saccha per anno.
Derlea [Darley, Derby, A. C.) in torcea mar. 12| saccho, e

annone da 16. saccha per anno.
Dreccheno [Trentham, Staffs.. A. C.) In torcea mar. 14. saccho,

e annone da 10. saccha per anno.
Childirforte (Shel/ord, Notts., A. C.) In torcea mar. 14 saccho,

e annone da 12. saccha per anno.
Chuntorberj {Canterbury, B.'), come viene della falda, mar. 12.

saccho, e annone da 8. saccha per anno.
*Bortona sortretta {Burton-on-Trent, B.) In torcea mar. 14.

saccho, e annone da 25. saccha per anno.
Eenpendona {Repton, Derby, A. C.) in torcea mar. 15. il saccho,

ed annone 25. saccha per anno.
Lentona In chosta a Nontinghamo (Lenton, Notts., CI.) mar. 13^

saccho, e annone da 10. saccha per anno.
Nostra Dama di Luizestrj («S'. Mary's, Leicester, A. C.) In torcea

mar. 13| saccho, ed cinnone da 20. saccha per anno.
Chirbebi {Kirkby, Leicester, A. C), chome viene della falda, mar.

13. il saccho, e knnone da 5. saccha per anno.
Gitterono (Wyttering, Northants., B.), chome viene della falda,

mar. 13. il saccho, et Annone da 5. saccha per anno.
Lalanda (Launds, Leicestershire, A. C), chome viene della falda,

mar. 14. il saccho, e annone da 6. saccha per anno.
*Novelluogho Scirenda {Newstead, Notts., A. C), chome viene

della falda, mar. 12|^ il saccho, e annone da 4. saccha per anno.
Belluere {Belvoir, Lines., B.), chome viene della falda, mar, 13. 11

saccho, e annone da 5. saccha per anno.
Fine vete a 5. miglia presso a Stanforte {Fineshed, Northhants.,

A. C), chome viene della falda, mar. 9. il saccho, ed annone

da 5. saccha per anno, ed h grossa chosa.
Ispaldinghe {Spalding, Lines., B.) In torcea mar. 13. il saccho,

e hannone da 40. saccha per anno.
Tornai presso aspaldinghe {Thorney, Gamhs., B.) istracchata mar.

10. il sacco, e hannone da 6. saccha per anno.

Anche magioni delV or dine nero che d,nno lane.

Diepireghe presso a Stanforte {Deeping, Lines., B.) stracchata
mar. 10. il saccho, ed annone da 5. saccha per anno.

Brono {Bourn, Lines., A. C), chome viene della falda, mar. 10. il
saccho, Annone da 5. per anno.

1 This place name, without any mention of the dedication, and introduced
with such disregard of geographical position, is a little sui-prising. I cannot find
that either Christ Church or S. Augustine's had estates in this district.

640 APPENDIX.

Crolanda {Growland, Lines., B.) Torcea mar. 12. il saccho, e

annone da 30. saccha per anno.
Borgo Sanpiero {Peterborough, Northants., B.), essendo tutta

insieme stracchata, mar. 12. il saccho, ed Annone da 40.

saccha per anno.
Ramixea {Ramsey, Hunts., B.) chome viene della falda, mar. 9.

il saccho, ed annone da 29. saccha per anno.
Donnistabile {Dunstable, Beds., A. C.) la grancia loro di Brandin-

borno {Bradburn) nel Pecche torciea mar. 12. il saccho, e

annone da 8. saccha per anno.
Guiccichonbo ( Winchcombe, Glouces., B.) stracchata mar. 13.

saccho, e annone da 40. saccha per anno.
Euesamo in Chondisgualdo {Evesham, Wore, B.), chome viene

della falda, mar. 12. il saccho, ed innone da 10. saccha per

anno.
Persore (Pershore, Wore, B.) chome viene della falda, mar. 12.

saccho, e annone da 10. saccha per anno.
Chawsberi {Tewkesbury\ Glouces., B.) chome viene della falda,

mar, 12. il saccho, ed anne 8. per anno.
Lofus/eltro in ghondisgualdo {Luffield, Northants., B.) come viene

della falda mar. 13. il saccho, ed Annone da 5. saccha per anno.
E Biudona {Abingdon, Berks., B.) chome viene della falda, mar.

9. il saccho, e annone da 10. saccha per anno.
Santo Andrea di Norettona («S'. Andrews, Northampton, A. C),

chome viene della falda, mar. 10. 11 saccho, e knnone da 3.

saccha per anno.
Os?iea in Chondisgualdo {Osney, Oxon., A. C.) torcea, e brisciata

4. pietre per saccho mar. 13. il saccho, e annone da 25. saccha

per anno.
Nottolea presso a Ttamo a 2. raiglia {Nutley, Bucks., A. C.)

stracchata mar. 12. saccho, e Annone da 8. saccha per anno.
Martona In chosta a Llondra {Merton, Surrey, A. C.) chome viene

della falda, mar. 7. il saccho, e annone da 20. saccha per

anno.
Borcecestri presso a Bracchelea a 4. miglia {Bicester, Oxon.,

A. C.) mar. 12. saccho, e annone da 5. saccha per anno.
La Trinitade di Londra {Holy Trinity, London, A. C.) interra

mar. 8. il saccho, annone 5. saccha per anno.
*Ghualtamo {Waltham, Essex, A. C.) torcea mar. 11. il saccho, e

annone da 20. saccha per anno.
*Santo nogli borgo Sestri {Colchester^, A. C.) la buona mar. 15. e

11a mojana marchi 10. et i locchi mar. 9. il saccho di sol. 13.

den. 4. sterlini d' argento per j°. mar., et annone da 15.

saccha per anno.
Lane chogliette delle chontrade del Norto d' Inghilterra, chon-

perate nel Norto medeximo per via di chogliette, torneranno

in Fiandra il saccho, saccho j°. e cchiovi 12. in Piandra.

1 This seems more probable than any other house of Black Monks or Canons,
with the same termination.

2 This seems more probable from its geographical position than either Chester
or Cirencester. The Colchester abbey was dedicated to S. Botolph and S. Julian.

IMMIGRATION OF ALIENS. 641

Gli pregi chontenuti alle lane schritte di sopra, e adrieto sono
quelle die tiurono vendute in Fiandra ; sicche a chonperalle
in Inghilterra si vogliono avere a ttanto rainore pregio, che
a pportalle poi d' Inghilterra in Fiandra, o in altra parte se
ne faccia buon utile

E. THE IMMIGRATION OF ALIEN CRAFTSMEN
INTO ENGLAND IN NORMAN AND ANGEVIN
TIMES \

Professor Ashley, in the course of a kindly review^ of the
second edition of this book, took exception to the opinion I had
expressed that " there was a large immigration of artisans which
began soon after the Conquest," and to the suggestion I made,
which as I now find had been previously put forward by Dr
Ochenkowski^, as to the probable character of the early gilds of
weavers in English towns (p. 189). He seems to think that there
was no such movement before what he calls the " first great
immigration " in the time of Edward III.* " If we look," he
says, " at the various pieces of evidence which Mr Cunningham
adduces, it will be plain, 1 think, that he has put his theory into
them instead of getting it out of them " ; and in regard to the
definite phrase about the Flemish settlers in Pembroke which I
quoted from Giraldus Cambrensis — gens lanificiis usitatissima — he
urges that "the whole passage is rhetorical," and that "no very
great stress can be laid on any one word in it." Such an expres-
sion of opinion by Professor Ashley made me feel that it was
necessary to examine the available evidence with some care
before issuing a new edition of the volume which contains the
statement criticised. I have had the good fortune to be able to
draw largely on some notes which the late Miss Lamond had
made for me on a topic in which her occasional residence at
Pembroke had given her a special interest. The history of alien
immigrations into England is of more than local importance,
however ; and could only be adequately treated in a book
devoted exclusively to the subject. The sketch of one period,
which 1 now offer, serves to raise several interesting problems
which are closely connected with the main point at issue
between Professor Ashley and myself; his criticism iiivolves
a view of the nature of a Gild Merchant which I cannot accept,

1 A translation of the foUowiug pages has already appeared in the Z.f. Social-
u. Wirthschaftsgeschichte rn.

2 Political Science Quarterly , vi. 155.

8 Englands wirthschaftliche Entwiclcelung, p. 60 n.
■• Economic History, Vol. i. Pt. ii. p. 193.

C. H. 41

642 APPENDIX.

wliile the whole question, of the origin and character of the
early craft gilds will be set at rest, if the hypothesis which
I put forward, and still maintain as tenable, shall be eventually
confirmed. I shall therefore examine in turn :

1. The Francigenae of Domesday, their position and distri-
bution.

2. The openings for industrial enterprise in England in the
eleventh and twelfth centuries, and the facilities which aliens had
for engaging in them.

3. The evidence of, and reasons for, a continued immigration
of Flemings during the twelfth century.

4. The development of building and of trading in the
twelfth century, with some remarks on Gilds Merchant.

5. The development of weaving and the organisation of
weavers in the twelfth century.

1. There seems to be an impression in many quarters that
the Norman Conquest merely changed the surface of English
society. That it did affect the surface is clear enough ; in every
shire large estates passed out of the hands of Englishmen and
were granted to adventurers who had followed William of Nor-
mandy ; the language which Professor Freeman used to accentuate
the legal claims put forward by William and the precise legal
character of the changes he made, tends to obscure the fact that
these changes were very deep, and affected the whole fabric of
society. But the army which William led was composed of
persons of all ranks and classes ; peasants, artisans and merchants
seem all to have had a place in the invading host'. This opinion
is confirmed by a careful consideration of the picture of society
in Norman England which is given us in Domesday Book. There
were immigrants in the lower as well as in the upper strata of
society ; even though the old conditions of land tenure and other
obligations were preserved, the aliens did to some extent lead a
separate life under institutions of their own.

The precise meaning of the tevms, franci"^ sund francigenae^
need not detain us; but few of William's followei's, whether
Normans or Flemings, were French in a strict sense*, and it is
plain that the terms were applied indifferently to all those who
followed William from abroad as well as to men of similar

1 A. D. de la Fontenelle, "Cooperation de Poitevins" in Revue NormancU
(Caen), i. p. 534.

2 In several cases the word/rajicMS does not mean an alien of any kind, but is
used instead of liher and in opposition to villanus; e.g. inter francos et villanos,
Domesday Book (Middlesex, i. 127, a. 1 ; 127, b. 1 ; 129, b. 2 ; 130, a. 1). So too the
arrangements for the pleas (i. 175, a. 2) and for the payment of Kirkscot at Per-
shore (175, b. 1) were probably intended for freemen (franci) though there were
seyer&i francigenae on these estates.

8 Ex Normannis et Flandi-ensibus ac Francis et Britonibus. Gulielmus Gem-
meticensis, in Duchesne, Norm. p. 286, 1. vii. c. 34. The part played by the
Flemings in the Conquest has been discussed with admirable care by M. Gantrel in
the Nouvelles Archives (Ghent), n. pp. 323 — 109. I have been greatly indebted to
this excellent monograph.

* Freeman, Norman Conquest, Vol. in. p. 314.

IMMIGRATION OF ALIENS. 643

extraction who were already settled in England. It was merely
the term in ordinary use, which served to distinguish those aliens
from the natives of the country {angli or anglici). The continued
existence of this class of inhabitants is e'vddenced by the so-called
Laws of William the Conqueror \ The relations between subjects
of the different races were dealt with in some detail ; the pre-
Norman immigrants were to be regarded as merged in the
English inhabitants, and the right of more recent comers to
separate treatment was fully recognised. It may perhaps be said
that the king was anxious to see the two races combined into
one, but that in some cases, especially of recent arrivals, this was
not possible.

Among the tenants in chief in Domesday Book many aliens
are specitied by name; but those who are described a.s /rancigenae
were often below the rank of tenants in chief " ; some had very
small holdings^, and others are enumerated along with the villans
and borderers as servientes* or described as cotarii^. They are
occasionally mentioned in the returns from almost all parts of the
country ; the patient compiler of the Index gave up the enumera-
tion of instances in despair with the words alibi passim, ; but the
distribution appears to have differed a good deal. There were
considerable numbers of them in several towns, such as Norwich',
Shrewsbury'', Southampton^, and Hereford^; we find several
entries respecting them in the neighbourhood of Pershore"*, and
in Cheshire". In this last case t\\Q francigenae seem to be on the
lands of the Earl, and in other instances we find them concen-
trated on the estates of some particular lord^. But though these
entries throw interesting light on the position of the humbler
francigenae they cannot be regarded as exhaustive ; there is other
phraseology which is apparently applied to the men who followed
the leaders in William's army. Such a phrase as homines Gisle-
berti, who demanded unwonted tolls at Bartoia on Humber'^, may
be fairly regarded as applying to immigrants, and it is of constant
recurrence ; on one of Robert de Vesci's Lincolnshire manors the
distinction is pointed explicitly. De supradicta terra et soca

habent iii homines Roberti xil carucatas XJnus quoque

anglicus habet unam carucatam^*. Those who are specified as the
homines of Norman leaders may be fairly regarded as swelling
the numbers of the francigenae of inferior rank.

1 Thorpe, Ancient Laws (Eec. Com.), i. p. 211.

2 A comparison of the Contents, I). B. i. p. 75, a. 1 of the Dorsetshu-e Domesday
■with I. p. 83 serves to show that a number of francigenae held comparatively
siiiaU estates in that county direct from the king.

3 Crec and Gerberie, D. B. i. 232, b. 1 and 2.

4 Ibid. I. 79, a. 2; 174, b. 2; 232, b. 2 (Wimimdewalle). On the status of
Hervientes compare PoUock and Maitland, History of English Law, i. 262.

* See the curious entry at Gistleswurde, ibid. i. 130, a. 1.

6 Ibid. n. 118, a. i Ibid. i. 252, a. 1. 8 Ibid. i. 52, a. 1.

9 Ibid. I. 179, a. 1. lo Ihid. i. 174, b; 175, a and b.

11 Ibid. I. 264, a and b; 265, a and b ; 266, a and b.

12 Such as Hugh of Grantmesnil, both in Warwickshire (ibid. i. 242, a. 1) and
Leicestershire (ibid. i. 232, a and b).

la Ibid. I. 354, b. 1 ; 375, b. 2. " Ibid. i. 363, a. 2.

41—2

644 APPENDIX.

There is another side from which this opinion as to the large
number of such immigrants may be confirmed ; the names of the
jurors who gave evidence in Cambridgeshire have been preserved,
and it is plain that there was a considerable number of franci-
qenae among them\ even if the recurring omnes alii franci et
angli in hoc hundreto^ be treated as a mere formula. There does
not seem to have been any specially large number of francigenae
in Cambridgeshire, so far as can be gathered from Domesday
Booh ; I have noticed eighth Yet the lists of the jurors in the
Inquisitio prove that they were really largely represented among
the smaller tenants ^ We cannot pursue the same inquiry as to
the personnel of the juries in other counties, as the names of the
jurors have only been occasionally preserved" ; but there is every
reason to believe that their composition was similar in the rest of
the country ; at all events they were mixed bodies of francigenae
and English. This comes out in some instances where differences
of opinion are recorded. Thus the opinion of the English jurors
who estimated an estate at £60 is recorded as well as that of the
French praeposituf< who put it at £90*. In South wark the jurors,
both French and English, gave evidence about a suit commenced
but relinquished by the Bishop of Bayeux''. In Berkshire the
English jurors decided against the claim of an Englishman as
unfair^ In Essex one case is noted where the Fi-ench and
English jurors agree", and one where they ditfer^". In Wiltshire
the English protested that an estate valued at £70 ad pensum
was only worth £60 by tale", and that another valued at £18
was only worth £12'^, while the English jurors proved that
William of Pinchengi held a hide and a virgate which rightfully
belonged to Edward of Salisbury and the manor of Stoche^^
The special record of English opinion in these cases exemplifies
the mixed character of the jury, and goes to show that the /ranci-
genae were dispersed through districts in which none are specified.
The tenants mentioned in Domesday Book are, generally
speaking, regarded as subjects of the King, and the commissioners
were not called upon to specify their origin. Now and then a
tenant is simply described as an Englishman, owing to some
accidental circumstance^*, and it is probable that there were far

1 This seems clear from the names themselves, but such evidence is not con-
clusive, as we find a Rohertus who is described as anglicus. Inquisitio Cantabri-
giensis, p. 97. ^ ibid. p. 98.

8 D. B. I. 189, a. 1 ; 197, b. 2 ; 200, a. 1 : '201, a. 2.

4 Two or three of the jurors in each hundred were men holding several hides;
the rest were small tenants whose precise position cannot be identified. Aleranus
francigena (p. 12), who is not mentioned elsewhere, and Gerardus Lotaringus, who
had half a virgate (p. 39) are the two jurors whose foreign extraction is specified
in the Inquisitio.

6 Some Hertfordshire instances occur. Hamilton, Inquisitio Cantabrigensis.
p. 100.

6 B. B. I. 2, b. 1. T Ibid. I. 32, a. 1. « Ibid i. 62, a. 2. (Ai'dintone).

9 Ibid. n. 38, b. 1° Ibid. n. 18, a. " Ibid. i. 65, a. 1.
12 Ibid. I. 70, a. 2. is Ibid. i. 69. b, 1.

1* Possibly because the jurors did not know his name, as in cases of a man who
had held the land in the time of King Edward (D.B. i. 58, b. 2, and 248, a. 2) or
when the land was held by four sons, and it was simpler to describe them as the
sons of an Englishman than to give all their names.

IMMIGRATION OF ALIENS. 645

more francigenae in each county than are directly, or by implica-
tion, described as such'. It was not the business of the commis-
sioners to record the fact that certain tenants were immigrants,
unless for some special reason. In some few cases it is possible
to make at least a guess at the reason. Thus, in some cases, the
francigenae, and the value of their tenancies, are reckoned
separately*, and the detail helps to explain the cause of the rise
in the value of an estate. In Hereford^ the fiscal obligations of
the francigenae were quite different from those of the other
inhabitants, and in towns like Shrewsbury* and Southampton* the
number of the francigenae is mentioned in the course of a
complaint on the part of the burgesses about the pressure of the
old taxation under new circumstances. The facts about the
francigenae are recorded in these and other cases, but we are
justified in regarding them, not as exceptional, but as typical of
a larger or smaller number of similar but unspecified instances.

The evidence of Domesday thus serves to confirm the view
that not only the great leaders but the fighting men obtained a
footing in the new country. It must be remembered, too, that
provision had to be made not only for the soldiers, but also for
those who had supplied the means of transport. William had
been compelled to procure a fleet® as well as to conquer the
country. Part of it was obtained from Flanders, and William
was forced to incur a very special obligation in return ^ But in
one case at least he paid for a ship with a carucate of land*; and
it is possible that this transaction was a type of the bargains he
made with the shipowners of Rouen and Caen. Knyghton" gives
us to understand that a crowd of adventurers flocked to England
and settled on the land. Iste duxit secum in Angliam tantam
copiam et multitudinem variarum gentium, scilicet ISTormannorum,
Picardorum, Britonum, Burgillorum, de quibus magna pars re-
mansit in Anglia ubilibet dispersa. Quidam possessiones habentes
de dicto Willielmo, seu ab aliis dominis sibi datas, quidam vero ex
emptione habentes, sive in ofiiciis sub spe habendi remanserunt.
It was on the whole the policy of the government to ignore the

1 I have only noticed three francigenae in Wiltshire, one on the estates of
Alvred of Marlborough, the other on the estate of Edward of Salisbury (Z>. B. i.
69, a. 2). But the specific appeals to English opinion and specified instances of
English tenants, almost seem to show that the Francigenae were the main element
in the population.

2 Ecesatiiigetone [D. B. i. 69, a. 2). Toritone (ibid. 1. 116, b. 1). It is difficult to
account for the rise in value of so many estates, between the time of the Confessor
and of Domesday, unless the number of tenants of different classes was not only
kept up but increased. Even if the struggle and change of masters left the native
population on the land as large as before, and this seems most unlikely, the
Norman leaders must have been able to add to the numbers of the men on the
land; the disbanded army is at least an obvious source from which such additional
tenants might be drawn.

3 D. B. 1. 179, a. 1. Francigenae vero bnrgenses habent qnietas pro xii denariis
omnes forisfacturas suas praeter tres supradictas.

* Ibid. I. 252, a. 1. s ibid. i. 52, a. 1.

8 Gulielmus Gemmeticensis, in Duchesne Norm. p. 286, estimates it at 3009
ships, 1. vn. c. 34.

7 Varenbergh. Relations, pp. 53 — 55, Kymer, Foedera i. pref. Ad Lectorem.

8 D. B. I. 336, a. 2. 9 Hem-icus de Knyghton in Twysden, p. 2343.

g46 APPENDIX.

differences between the races, at least for fiscal purposes ; and
Orderic asserts that amalgamation went on rapidly and was
promoted by intermarriage'. Still, it is clear from the laws of
William I. that some of the immigrants had a separate status,
and were not taxed in the same fashion as their neighbours, and
there were many causes of disagreement'; these led to open dis-
turbances in several parts of the country, especially in outlying
districts. Gherbord the Fleming had had the earldom of Chester
assigned him, but he did not enjoy it long, and magna ibi et
difiicilia tarn ab Anglis quam ab Gallis adversantibus pertulerat^.
Walcher of Lorraine, the Bishop and Earl of Durham, was a man
of excellent character, but the excesses of his subordinates,
especially of his archdeacons, gave rise to a disturbance in which
he lost his life*, as well as a hundred men, French and Flemings".
The two races may have begun to draw together before the close
of the Conqueror's reign, but they were still very distinct, and
some of the inmiigrants were separately organised.

2. Though the great mass of William's followers seem to
have settled on the land, it is well to remember that there were
other openings for any artisans or merchants who had come in
the army, and who preferred, when the war was over, to betake
themselves to their old avocations, as builders, as merchants, or
in connection with the cloth trade.

(a) Apart altogether from the explicit statement of Orderi-
ciis Vitalis*, we might have gathered that there was a great
demand for building in the century succeeding the Conquest.
Many castles and numberless churches remain to show how
effectively this demand was supplied ; huge structures were
erected both for civil and ecclesiastical purposes. The White
Tower dates from the time of the Conqueroi", and building opera-
tions were going on at the Abbey of Evesham' during his reign.
There was evidently a great demand for masons.

(b) It is obvious too that there were great openings for
merchants. England, from the character of its coast line and of
its rivers, offers admirable facilities to traders, and little use
seems to have been made of them before the Conquest. The
regulations for trading in William's Laws seem to take little
account of fairs, and only one is mentioned in Domesday Book.
There were, of course, plenty of markets, and doubtless there
were travelling chapmen. But a market was, as it is, primarily
the place for offering weekly supplies for the use of the inhabit-
ants of a town ; it is different in character from gatherings like
horse-fairs. These are and were generally held outside the town,
and when first instituted were frequented by foreign merchants

1 Ordericus Vitalis 1. iv. c. 11 (Migne). 2 Knygbton in Twysden 2343.
8 Ordericus Vitalis iv. c. 12 (Miguej. ^ Symeon DuneLm E. S. i. 113 seq.

6 English Chronicle (Rolls Series), anno 1080, Vol. i. p. 351, and n. p. 184.
6 Ord. Vit. IV. c. 11 (Migiie).

"> D. B. I. 175, b. 2; Ibi sunt boves ad unam carucam sed petram trahuut ad
ecclesiam.

IMMIGRATION OF ALIENS. 647

with imported goods. The passage already quoted from Ordericus^
shows how prominent a feature of English life the fairs became
soon after the Conquest. The English taste for imported cloth of
fine make was developed^, while the merchants who visited this
country were glad to purchase English embroidery ^ Encourage-
ment was given them, for William the Conqueror took care to
provide for the security of traders, even in the excitement of his
first entry into London*.

(c) There were also great opportunities for the manufacture
of cloth. England was well adapted for the growing of wool,
and eventually became the chief source of European supply.
Weavers, at the time of the Conquest, could not only get a supply
of materials, but the change in English taste and the demand for
dress of ISTorman fashion^ would also give them a ready sale. It
is of course impossible to prove a negative, but there seems reason
to believe that this art was not practised as a trade in England
before the Norman Conquest ; there is no mention of weavers in
Domesday, and the homespun cloth was probably the result of
women's work as a household occupation. There were thus
plenty of openings for enterprising men, quite apart from oppor-
tunities of settling on the land and living by agriculture.

From what we know of the Normans and their companions,
they were able and ready to take advantage of these openings.
So far as building is concerned it may be said that they created
the demand in England. Their passion for Church building has
left its traces in their Sicilian as well as in their English con-
quests ; while the masons of Caen were well able to execute
work in our country. Again, the river Seine had been the
resort of merchants from time immemorial, and Rouen was the
point at which the trade of North-western Europe was then con-
centrated ; such merchants would be ready to open up new markets.
In regard to weaving it may be said that one section of the
francigenae who followed William already practised this trade on
a considerable scale. Weaving and fulling had been introduced
into Ghent by^ Baldwin the Young, a century before the Norman
Conquest. The art of weaving was well established among the
Flemings'', and they were capable of taking advantage of the
openings for carrying on the cloth trade which the conquest of
England afforded. It is at least worth notice that Gilbert of
Ghent used a small piece of land in Lincolnshire, which had
hitherto been under plough, for his flock of sheep *. This reads
like an anticipation of the enclosing which caused so much
indignation in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; it is at

1 Ord. Vit. IV. c. 11.

2 Ibid. IV. c. 11 (Migne).

8 Gulielmus Pictavensis in Duchesne, Normannorum, p. 211.
< Ibid. 208. 6 Ord. Vit. rv. c. 11.

" Oudegherst, Annates, by Lesbroussart, c. 28, p. 171, note 2.
7 Pertz, Monumenta Germ. Hist. Vol. ii. (Hanover, 1829), Mon. Sangdll. Gesta
Earoli, lib. i. c. 34, p. 747.

e D. B., I. 354, b. 1 (Sudtone).

648 APPENDIX. ,

least possible that he had an eye to the development of the
weaving industry.

3. There is ample evidence that during the eleventh century
there was a continual stream of Flemish immigration into this
country ; there are two main classes who may be distinguished —
those who came as mercenary soldiers, and those who were driven
by stress of circumstances from their own land and attracted to
settle here.

It is not easy to say to which of these classes we should assign
the Flemings of whom we read at the beginning of the reign of
Henry I. They had been attracted to England by the hope of
his mother's protection, but they came in such numbers as to be
a burden to the realm. They were disturbing elements in the
population, and Henry I. determined to deport the whole of them
into Wales ; hence he sent them to Ross, where they might help
to keep the Celts in order ^.

When Henry was dead, however, and the disturbed times of
Stephen began, there was a large incursion of Flemish mercen-
aries. Stephen is said to have spent the whole of Henry's treasure
in procuring soldiers from Flanders and Brittany^; they proved
unruly, and were guilty of repeated outrages, for they even looted
the churches and the burial-grounds ; Stephen's dependence on
William of Ypres — the leader of these mercenaries — was one of
the reasons which alienated many of the Norman nobility from
his cause ^. But others followed the royal example, as we may
see from the story of the Battle of the Standard, in which, by the
way,*a son of Gilbert of Ghent took a leading part^.

Some years later, during the rebellion of Hugh Bigod against
Henry II., there was a new incursion of these military adven-
turers ; their ravages in the eastern counties were startling, and
Norwich was taken in 1174*. In the preceding year there had
been a pitched battle at Bury, when 3,000 mercenaries marching
towards Leicester were slain or captured^. Gervaise of Canterbury
expresses great saV^faction over this massacre. Nam Flandrenses
lupi, Anglicanae copiae ab olim invidentes, naturali negotio
textoria scilicet arte dimissa, Angliam se jam cepisse jactitabant^.
It may seem that this passage is merely " rhetorical," and that it
is unlikely that these military adventurers had any skill in textile
arts. But the phras"" of another chronicler is worth noting.
Ralph de Diceto certainly writes as if some of the individuals
who had come as mercenaries in Stephen's reign were sent back to
work at Flemish looms when Henry II. expelled them. A castris
ad aratra, a tentoriis ad ergasteria Flandrensium plurimi revoca-

1 Gulielmus Malmesburiensis. Gesta Begzim, E. S. Vol. ii. 1. v. p. 477.
•^ Ibid. Bist. iVow. E. S. Vol. ii. lib. i. p. 540.
3 Ord. Vit. (in Migne) 1. 13, c. xm. anno 1137.
* Dngdale, Baronage, i. 400.

s Matthew Paris, E. S. Vol. ii. p. 292. Cf. Eadulph de Diceto, Vol. i. p. 381
(EoUs Series).

6 Ibid. n. p. 290. 7 Gervaise Cant. (E. S.) i. p. 246.

IMMIGRATION OF ALIENS. 649

buntur'. It is at least possible that some of the soldiers who
came from Flanders at the Conquest subsequently were, when
forced to settle, able and willing to take up the trade of
weavers.

But besides these military adventurers there were other
Flemish immigrants who are sometimes distinguishable from
them. Though Henry I. found it advisable to deport so many
Flemings to Wales, he was yet willing to grant an asylum to
other men of the same country in England itself, though on its
farthest border. Early in his reign he allowed a Flemish colony,
who were driven from their homes by an inroad from the sea, to
settle at the mouth of the Tweed ; subsequently in the eleventh
year of his reign he transferred them to Ross, where their com-
patriots were already settled, and to Haverfordwest ^ William
of Malmesbury contrasts their orderly life under the protection
of Henry I.^ with that of the mercenaries who descended on the
land in the time of Stephen. One of the first acts of the second
Henry was to expel these mercenaries from England altogether ;
so efi'ectively was his decree carried out that they passed away
like a dream*. Still there is no reason to suppose that this edict
extended t-o all Flemings, but only to the military adventurers
who would not betake themselves to honest labour. Enough has
been said to show that there was a constant stream of immigra-
tion which began at the Conquest, and continued during the
twelfth century ; and that these immigrants gave rise to frequent
difficulties. In the beginning of the reign of Henry I. a number
were deported to special settlements of their own in Wales, and
the military adventurers were expelled from the kingdom by
Heni-y II.

4. So far we have seen that there were openings for mer-
chants and artisans to engage in certain kinds of enterprise in
England after the Conquest, and that there was continual immi-
gration to England from parts of the Continent where callings
little known in England were successfully practised. It is not
unnatural to put these facts together and to connect the rapid
development of certain sides of industrial life in England in the
twelfth century with the immigrants who came from the Con-
tinent and settled here; and some incidental pieces of evidence
can be adduced which tend to confirm this view.

(a) That there was a great development of building shortly
after the Conquest is obvious from the remains which survive.
The stone churches, indeed the stone buildings of any kind,
erected before the Conquest were probably very few in number,
as wood was a favourite building material; the masonry which
remains from pre-Norman times has some peculiarities of struc-
ture, while the workmanship is coarse though effective. The

1 Eadulphus de Diceto, Hist. i. 297 (EoUs Series).

2 Johannis de Bromton in Twysden, 1003.

3 Gulielmus Malmesburiensis, Hist. Nov. K. S. Vol. ii. p. 561.
* Gulielnius Neubrigensis (Rolls Series), lib. n. c. 1.

650 APPENDTX.

beautiful masonry of the Norman castles and churches could
scarcely have been executed by the less skilled English craftsmen,
while it has its exact parallel in contemporary buildings in Caen.
When we remember, too, the extraordinai-y number of stone
buildings erected in this country in the twelfth century, it is
difficult to see where all the masons could have come from ; frag-
ments of stone work in one church after another go to show that
churches which have been subsequently restored in the fourteenth
or fifteenth centuries, were originally built in ISToi'man times ;
masons were at work in every part of the country, building, afrer
a foreign fashion, and with foreign skill, within a century after
the Conquest. Stone was frequently imported from Caen^ ; and
that there was frequent intercourse^ between the workmen on
both sides of the Channel appears from the simultaneous improve-
ment in the art which took place in both countries in the twelfth
century. In other cases, where Flemish fonts^ are found in the
churches, it seems possible that the fabric was partly due to
Flemish hands. The men of the Low Countries had a high
reputation as builders in the succeeding century, and some were
brought to do work even then ; though by that time the art had
had every chance of taking deep root in English soil. Bishop
Poor of Salisbury employed Flemings in the building of his
magnificent church, and there are traces of their presence at the
erection of LlandafF Cathedral, of Caerphilly Castle, and in
Leicester*, in the thirteenth century. The continued reliance
on foreign skill raises a presumption that the best work of the
preceding age had been done by imported craftsmen ; indeed skill
in any manual art can only be transferred from one land to
another by transferring the men who practise that art.

(b) The rapid development of fairs after the Conquest is a
proof of the growth of trade, and especially of trade at centres
which ahen merchants were free to visit. The fairs in the Low
Countries date from the tenth century, and that of S. Denys is
older still : in the thirteenth century they were frequent enough
in England ; Orderic's reference to them is graphic ; as they came
to be organised here or there* in the Norman and early Planta-
genet times, the foreign merchants would have their best oppor-
tunities of trading. They could also obtain a footing as coiii-
hurgenses in towns where they did not reside, and some of them
even found it worth while to transfer their business altogether
to London, because it was more suitable for traffic than either
Rouen or Caen*.

I cannot suppose, however, that the development of commerce
was so rapid as to bring about the formation of a class of wealthy

1 T. Hudson Turner, Domestic Architecture, p. xxv.

2 Kickman, Gothic Architecture, pp. 78 — 79, 7th ed. 1881.
8 Parker, Introduction, p. 53, note.

* Harris in Archceologia, Vol. n. p. 12 (1773).
6 Chester (Dugdale, Mon. Angl.) n. 386.

6 Vita S. Thomas auctore anonymo II. in Materials for History of Thomas
Becket, E. S. Vol. iv. p. 81.

IMMIGRATION OF ALIENS. 651

traders in a number of provincial towns. The growth of fairs, as
centres of occasional trade, was still going on in this country, and
that is a less advanced phase of commercial history than the
development of permanent marts where mercantile business is
constantly carried on. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
there are signs both in England and France of the growth of
these permanent centres of trade and consequent decay of the
fairs, and of the development of a wealthy class of trading bur-
gesses. But it is an anachronism to assume the existence of such
a class in the petty towns of the twelfth and thirteenth century.
We must not be so much the slaves of language as to assume
that what we understand by a merchant class existed in the
thirteenth century, because there were so many Gildae Merca-
toriae ; artisans who wished to buy materials or sell their goods ^
were dealers, and in this capacity formed a Gild Merchant. This
view of the membership of a Gild Merchant is confirmed by an
inspection of a most interesting document which is imperfectly
summarised in Owen and Blakeway's History of Shrewsbury^ , and
which has been recently re-discovered in the arrangement and
cataloguing of the archives of Shrewsbury. Of the nine members
who belonged to the gild in its earliest phase two were fishermen,
and one was a butcher ; the callings of the other six are un-
specified. Several of the lists of members of the Gild Merchant
of Shrewsbury have been preserved from the thirteenth century',
and men who were described as craftsmen of one kind or another
were frequently admitted : while the number of members is so
large in proportion to the probable population of the town, that
it is impossible to regard the Shrewsbury Gild Merchant as an
exclusive aristocracy which oppressed the poor craftsmen. The
evidence of this early English document and the analogy of
contemporary Gilds Merchant on the Continent* confirm Dr
Gross's opinion that the alleged conflict between merchants and
artisans in twelfth century English towns is a mere myth.

There were not, in the twelfth century, sufiicient merchants
to form an exclusive class with distinctive organisations ; but
there was every reason why neighbours should combine for
trading purposes. I have ventured to suggest elsewhere* that
combined purchasing was the economic object in the formation of
Gilds Merchant ; the right of cavil, or of sharing in the purchases
made from a stranger in the town, would be of great importance
when there were but few opportunities of purchasing at all. As
these opportunities became more frequent, or as other expedients
for combined purchasing were developed, the main economic

1 In a charter of Ranulphus filins Ranulphi confirming the privileges of S.
Werburgh's fail-, Merchants, Brokers, Parmenters, and Cordwainers are specified
as persons attending. Dugdale, Mon. Angl. ii. 388.

•^ Vol. I. p. 102, seq. It existed ta some form in the time of Henry II.

'^ Transactions of Royal Hist. Society, ix. Specimens are printed by Mr Drink-
water in the Shrewsbury Archa:ological Transactions, Second series. Vol. ii. p.
36 seq.

* Giry, ^S". Omer, 275, 281. 6 Economic Review, i. 227.

652 APPENDIX.

object of the Gild Merchant would be gone. Some such expla-
nation is necessary in order to account for the rapid decline in
economic importance of an institution which had been so highly-
prized and so widely extended as the English Gild Merchant.
But whether this suggestion as to their function and the cause of
decline be well founded or not, one thing is clear : the Gild
Merchant in the twelfth century was not an exclusive body of
capitalist traders who held aloof from and oppressed unhappy
weavers. We may now turn to the history of this trade and of
the organisations among weavers.

(c) There is ample evidence that the trade had attained
considerable proportions in certain English centres before the
end of the reign of Henry I., for there were gilds of weavers in
Winchester and other towns in the thirty-first year of his reign.
But we can do little to trace the growth of the industry even in
a city about which our information is so comparatively full. The
inquisition made by Henry himself ' is as silent as Domesday
about weavers among the burgesses, and that of 1148^ only
enumerates one weaver, Aldelmus, and three dyers, Ailwardus,
Drogo and Rogerus. These are the only entries in these returns
from which we can infer the existence of a cloth trade at all; but
there must have been many more workmen engaged in it, as both
the fullers and the weavers of Winchester were organised in gilds
as early as 1131, and each paid the sum of £6 annually as the
equivalent of a mark of gold ^ ; as there are numerous entries in
which no calling is specified there is no conflict in our evidence.

Weavers' Gilds existed in other centres at this date. The
gild in London was perhaps the largest, as it was rated most
heavily : the members had to make an annual contribution of
<£12, and apparently this was beyond their power*. There were
also gilds of weavers at Oxford^ and at Lincoln^ each paying £6,
while at Huntingdon there was a weavers' gild which paid 40/-^.
Subsequently a weavers' gild is heard of at Nottingham^, and
another at York which paid no less than £10^*. They seem to
have been recognised institutions which were increasing in

1 Liber Winton, Z>. B. iv. 531 seq. 2 ibid. 512 seq.

s Pipe Roll (llecord Com.) 31 H. I. p. 37.

« Ibid. 2 H. n. p. 4. In 31 H. I. they paid £16. We find an accumulating
debt till 6 H. II. (Pipe Eoll Soc.) p. 13, when they owed £33: after this they dis-
appear till 10 H. II. p. 21, when they pay at the old rate for three-quarters of a
year. They fell £4 in arrears in 14 H. II. p. 2, but wiped off the debt as well as
the payment for the current year by giving £16 in 15 H. II., Pipe Eoll Soc, p. 170.

5 31 H. I. Rec. Com. p. 2. The corvesarii of Oxford were reconstituted in this
year, as they were fined five ounces of gold de gersoma pro gilda rehabenda, Ibid,
p. 5. Their annual rate was one ounce of gold or 15/- (11 H. 11. p. 69, Pipe Eoll
Soc). It is curious that so many of these gild payments are in gold. The ratio of
gold to silver is not quite clear; in the case of the Winchester Jews thirteen
marks of silver were carried over as a debt of 1 mark of gold (11 H. II. 42, 12 H.
II. 104) ; but this was probably a partial remission, as the debt was eventually dis-
charged (13 H. II. 178) by the payment of £6 in silver. This was the recognised
rate for computing gold payments (15/- for the ounce and £6 for the mark) and
it gives a ratio of \i to 1.

6 31 H. I. Eec. Com. p. 109. 1 31 H. I. p. 48.
8 2 H. II. (Record Com.) p. 39, paying 40/-.

5 10 H. II. (Pipe Roll. Soc.) p. 12, 11 H. II. p. 46.

IMMIGRATION OF ALIENS. 653

number, but the regularity^ of the entries regarding them pre-
cludes the idea that similar organisations existed in other towns
without being mentioned. The character of the Pi]ye Rolls is so
different from that of Domesday that we are justified in regarding
these entries as specifying certain exceptional organisations.

If the conditions of the times have been correctly described
above, and weaving was being introduced into the country, not as
a household occupation but as a trade for the market, we can see
that there was considerable economic excuse for the formation of
gilds with special powers. The men who were working for pur-
poses of trade would wish to have their cloth recognised as
possessing a character of its own, to which the product of house-
hold looms had no claim. They would desire to superintend the
industry, and to give a reputation to the cloth manufactured by
their members ; and the gild system, whatever were the special
privileges they procured^, generally offered the means of attaining
such objects. Gilds, as the organisations of a particular craft, do
not appear to have been known in England before this time ; but
the tradition at least of such organisations had survived in some
of the continental cities, and the thing itself was probably
familiar to the francigenae of the twelfth century. The
cordwainers of Rouen had a gild granted them by Henry I.^ and
the tanners by Henry II.*; while at Cologne there was a gild in
a special department of the weaving trade as early as 1149*.
Another craft unconnected with the cloth trade which had a gild
at this time, were the bakers of London*^. Like the London
weavers they seem to have been too heavily rated ^. It seems
probable that the baking trade in a populous centre was in the
same phase of transition as weaving, and that there was an
economic reason for the formation of these gilds when a useful
art which had been a domestic occupation came to be practised
as a trade for the market.

But whatever the economic reasons for the formation of these
weavers' gilds may have been, it is clear that when once formed
they had not only an economic but a political character. They
were the organs through which a certain amount of taxation was
regularly paid. The annual contributions of the members were
not made as part of the ferm of the town, but were answered
separately by the gild, or by the sheriff on its behalf. The pay-

1 There are however some apparent omissions : there is no entry for Hunting-
don in 6 H. II. and the payment in 7 H. EC. p. 43, is made at the old rate with no
mention of arrears. So the Oxford payment is not mentioned either in 5 or 6

H. n.

2 The Charters of Heiuy 11. and of John to the men of Nottingham, with the
exclusive privilege for cloth within ten leagues may be noted in this connection.

s Ducange, suh voce Corvesarius. This was as we have seen a craft which had
an organisation at Oxford.

* Cheruel, Rouen pendant VEpoque Communale, Vol. i. p. 34.

5 Wauter's Liberies Communales, n. 591. 6 2 H. 11., p. 4 (Rec. Com.).

7 In 4 H. n. Rec. Com. they were £4. 10s. in debt, p. 114 ; in 5 H. II. Pipe Roll
Soc. p. 2, £10. 10s.; in 6 H. II. p. 13, £16. 10s. (ib.). We then hear no more of
them till 10 H. 11. (ib.) p. 21, when they pay for three-quarters of the year at the
old rate (£6 per an.).

g54 APPENDIX.

ments were not special fines', but regular contributions. Occa-
sional payments there were, as when the cordwainers of Oxford
had their gild reconstituted ; but some of these had a political
character, for the Lincoln weavers^ paid 40/- for two fugatores,
that they might have their own customs, according to the King's
Brief. When the weavers of Winchester were reconstituted in
1165, they paid a fine of one mark of gold "pro consuetudinibus et
libertatibus suis habendis et pro eligendo Aldermanno suo"; wliile
they also agreed to pay two marks of gold annually for the future ^
The regular payments also had a political character which comes
out in the first entry respecting the fullers of Winchester, who
contributed a mark of gold "ne disfaciant Utlagos" in 1131*.
Similarly it was a charge in regard to which the payment of
Danegeld by the Huntingdon weavers was taken into account*.
This fiscal® and political character is interesting, for the English
Gilds had their parallel in this point with institutions in Nor-
mandy; according to an inquisition of 1199 the Rouen fullers
and dyers were responsible for the repairs of the walls ^, so that
the organisation of trades for fiscal purposes was in use in Nor-
mandy at the close of the twelfth century.

The employment of trade organisations for fiscal purposes is
of course natural enough, and we find analogies in many places.
But it is interesting to find this fiscal S3^stem existing side by
side in certain towns, with the more usual English metliod of
local taxation and assessment of a house rate. It seems as if the
members of the weavers and other craft gilds were taxed by one
method and the other inhabitants by another, and there is some
evidence that this arrangement survived in London till Tudor
times. I have already suggested that there is a possible explana-
tion of this political anomaly on the supposition that the members
of these gilds were alien settlers for whom a special system was
provided, just as in the Domesday period the francigenae of
Shrewsbury lived under special conditions or were assessed on
special terms. Just as the Steelyard in London, or the Jewry"'
in any town, was a special community with special privileges
and special obligations, so may the gilds of weavers have been — -
a fiscal group of men who were not of, though residing in, the
borough where they lived. The men belonged to trades, which
were at all events simultaneously, if not previously, organised in
the same fashion on the Continent ; and the chief of these trades

1 Such as a to^vn paid to have a gild, Marlborough 9 H. n. p. 46, Pipe
Eoll See.

'■2 31 H. I. (Eec. Com.) p. 114.

3 12 H. n. p. 104, Pipe EoU. See.

* 31 Hen. I. p. 37, Rec. Com.

5 8 H. n. p. 49. Et in suo superplus de Danegeldo, Pipe Roll Soc. xvi. s.

fi Compare the obligations of the bakers in Nottingham in 1378, Notts Records,
I. 197.

7 FreviUe de Lorme, Rouen, p. 122.

8 In the time of Henry 11. however the Jews seem to have made occasional
fines, not regular annual payments like the weavers. Compare Winchester, 11
Henry n. p. 42 and 12 H. n. p. 104,

IMMIGRATION OF ALIENS. 6^5

flourished in Flanders long before it was practised here as a
trade. It is at least a plausible hypothesis that the weavers'
gilds were the political organisation of aliens', who were neither
deported from England by Henry I. nor expelled by Henry II.,
though they were not at once absorbed in the life of the towns
where they lived.

If we assume for the moment that this hypothesis is correct,
it serves to give an adequate explanation of another group of
facts — the evident unpopularity of the weavers as a class in
certain towns in the thirteenth century. The exceptional position
of these aliens, even though it was an onerous one, would give
a focus to the jealousy of francigenae which was felt in the
eleventh and twelfth centuries. In those towns where they were
specially organised for fiscal purposes, and therefore exempt from
contributions to the ordinary burdens, their mere existence —
like that of the francigenae residents in Shrewsbury, — as non-
contributing householders, would be a grievance. Taxation was
felt to be oppressive and was sometimes defrayed with difficulty.
The officers of the Norman Exchequer may have been more
lenient than the modern Income-tax Commissioners, but they
doubtless did not make remissions to a town on account of its
poverty, without due cause^. That the men of Winchester,
Oxford, Beverley and Marlborough should do their best to ex-
clude prosperous weavers, who did not contribute to the rates,
from the privileges of citizenship, was only natural enough.

Such is the suggested explanation which Professor Ashley
says I have read into the facts, instead of deriving it from them.
I am not sure that I understand the distinction he intends to
draw. The elements of mental activity and imagination have a
part to play in the progress of all science ; I put forward my
explanation tentatively as an hypothesis, I have examined a great
deal of evidence which was unknown to me when I wrote, and I
find unexpected confirmations of the hypothesis on every side,
while I have found nothing to conflict with it. The whole
argument rests so much on isolated pieces of evidence and on a
tissue of probabilities that it does not amount to a proof, but
I think there is an increased presumption in favour of the ex-
planation adopted in this book four years ago. At least I trust
I have cleared the ground by giving additional force to Dr Gross's
contention that the alternative explanation of the weavers' dis-
abilities,— owing to supposed oppression by Merchants — rests on
a misconception as to the composition of the Gilda Mercatoria ;
considerable ingenuity wiD be required to reconcile the evidence
now available with that opinion.

1 The names of the weaver and the dyers in the Liber Winton are at aU events
favourable to this opinion.

2 Colchester, 8 H. 11. Pipe Roll Soc. pp. 11 also 62 ; to Cauterbui-y (lb. p. 55)
on account of a fire; to Beverley (1 R. I. Rec. Com. p. 9) for a similar reason.

656 APPENDIX,

F. PROTECTION OF NATIVE INDUSTRY.

Mr Hubert Hall has called my attention to an interesting
proclamation in the Close Rolls, 19 Ed. II. M. 5**, and has kindly
transcribed it for me.

De proclamando ne quis cardones terram Warenciam &c.
extra regnum deferre vel transmittere praesumat.

Rea; vicecomiti l^iorhnvahvelande, salutem. Cum pro com-
jnuni comTTzodo et aisiamento populi regui nos^ri ac terrsiruni
nostr&rum Hihernice et Walliae per nos et consilium nostrum.
ordinatmri sit quod stapula lanarwm coriorwrn et pellium lanutarwrn
in certis locis infra eadem regnum et terras et non alibi teneatwr ;
qwodqwe nullus dictorwm. regni et terrarum, quibwsdam personis
dumtaxat exceptis, utatwr post festum Natalis Dommi proximo
futurwm panno de propria emTptione sua post idem festum extiu
p/-rtedic^a regnum et terras fac^o; jamqwe a nonnullis intellex-
[erimus] quod quam plures de partibMS Flandrisa Brabanciop
et aliarwOT terr&vum exterarwm facturam hujusmodi pannori^m
in regno et terris pro viribws impedire satagentes om?ies cardones
qui Tasles vulgariter nuncupantwr quos in eisdem regno et terris
invenire poterant et sine quibw« hujusmodi panni fieri nequiunt;
nee non terram arti fullonum aptam, Warenciam, way clam
butirum. et alia faciurse pannor?/m necessaria post ordinaciowem
illam emerunt, et ad partes exte?'as duxerunt et transmiserunt
et adhuc indies ducere et transmittere non desistunt, et quod
nequius est, herbam et radices cardonum emerunt et radicit</s
evelli fecerimt ad eas ad partes exteras transmittendas, in ipsius
populi nostri dispeiidium non modicuiTi et jacturam ac ordina-
cioms pr^dtc^fe illusionem manifestam. Nos volentes hujusmodi
maliciis obviare in hac parte tibi pr^cipimws firmiter injungentes
qitod in singulis locis in balliva tua tarn infra libertates qwam
extra ubi expedire videris, publice proclamari et ex parte no^^ra
firmiter inhiberi facias nequis mercator alienigena sive indigena
sive alius quicumqwe hujusmodi cardones terram Warenciam way-
dam butirum aut alia hujws faciurse necessaria extra eadein
regnum et terras sub gravi forifaciura nostra deferre vel trans-
mittere nee hujusmodi herbam seu radices emere vel eveller©
prcBsumat vel deferri aut transmitti, emi vel evelli ad eas ad
partes exteras transmittendas faciat quovis modo. Et si fos
post hujusmodi p?'oclamatio/iem et inhibitiowem inveneris contra
facientes, tunc eos cum cardonibws te?Ta Warencia wayda butiro
herba et radicibi<s illis sine dila^ione arestari et sub aresto salvo
custodiri facias quousqwe aliud a nobis haftueris in mandatis, et
nos de nomhxihus \\om\num ac valore bonoram sic arestandoriiwi
reddas sub sigillo tuo de tempore in tempus distincte et aperte sine
dila^ione certiores. Tes^e Re^e apud Saltwode prime die Junii.

Eodem modo mandatum est singwZis vicecomitibwsper Angliam.

LIST OF AUTHOKITIES.

The dates are those of the editions actually used.

Abrahams, B. L. The Expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290

(1895). 200, 205, 206, 287
Abrahams, I. J. Gaunse, in Transactions of Jewish Histor. Soc. iv. 288
Account of Scotland, Statistical. 121
Acbeubach, H. Die Haubergs-Genossenschaften des Siegerlandes (1863).

118
Adamnan. Life of S. Columha (edited by Reeves 1857). 71
Addison, C. G. History of the Knights Templars (1842). 209, 275
.^Ifric. Grammatica (Somner 1659). 122
Aldhelm. De Laudihus Virginitatis (Migne Lxxxix). 82
Alexander, W. Northern Rural Life (1877). 33, 42, 74, 77
Alfred the Great. Blossom Gatherings (Jubilee Edition 1858). 64
Alfred the Great. Orosius (Jubilee Edition 1858). 84
Allen, A. P. Ambassadors of Commerce (1885). 322
All Suche Proclamaeions as have been sette furthe by the Einges Maiestie

and passed the print (1550). 500, 515, 531, 543
Andrews, C. M. Old English Manor (1892). 73, 78, 86, 111, 168, 234
Annales Monastici (Rolls Series). 192, 301
Annals of Winchester, in Annales Monastici (Rolls Series). 175
S. Anscharii Vita (Migne cxviii). 52, 86
Araskhaniantz, A. Franzosische Getreidehandelspolitik, in Schraoller's

Staats- und socialwissenschaftliche Forschungen iv. 1882. 191
Archceological Journal. See Smirke.

Archbold, W. A. J. Somerset Religious Houses (1892). 571
Archivio Storico Italiano (Firenze 1847). 338
Aristotle. Ethics. 252
Aristotle. Politics. 51, 79, 115, 245, 252
Armstrong, C. Sermons and declarations against Popish Ceremonies,

in R. Pauli, Denkschriften. 303, 437, 447, 497, 519, 544, 556
Armstrong, C. Treatise concerning the staple and commodities of the

realm, in R. Pauli, Denkschriften (1878). 521
Arnold. Chronicle (1811). 125, 197, 554, 568
Ashley, W. J. Early History of the Woollen Industry in England

(American Economic Association 1887). 198, 341, 439
Ashley, W. J. English Economic History (1888). 189, 252, 397, 408,

437, 446, 515, 522, 536, 537, 558, 559, 641

c. H. 42

658 LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

Ashley, W. J. The Anglo-Saxon Township, in The Quarterly Journal

of Economics viii (Boston 1894). 62
Ashley, W. J. The English Manor, introductory chapter to Mrs Ashley's

translation of Fustel de Coulanges on The Origin of Property in

Land.{\8^\). 63,108,111
Ashley, "W. J. Character of Villein Temn-e, in English Historical Review

VIII (1893). 533
Ashley, W. J. Character of Villein Tenure, in Annals of American

Academy i (1891). 533
Ashley W. J. Cunninghamls Growth of English Industry, in Political

Science Quarterly vi. 641
Asser. Annals (Church Historians of England 1857). 81, 85
Avezac-Macaya, M. A. P. d'. Les Navigations terre-neuviennes (1869).

501

Bacon, Sir F. Works (edited by J. Spedding, R. L. Ellis and D. D.

Heath, 1857). 471, 474, 486, 487, 528
Bagehot, W. Economic Studies (1880). 5

Bain, E. History of the Aberdeen Incorporated Trades (1887). 189
Balan, Monumenta Reformationis Lutheranae (1884). 494
Ball, W. AV. R. History of the Study of Mathematics at Cambridge

(1889). 229
Barlow, W. Account of the Analogy betwixt English Weights and

Measures of Capacity, in Philosophical Transactions XLi (1740). 121
Barret, W. Tlie History of the City of Bristol (1789). 417
Bateson, M. Records of the Borough of Leicester (1899). 174, 211, 221,

226, 247, 333, 338, 453
Bateson, M. Laws of Breteuil {Eng. Hist. Review xv). 211, 225
Bateson, M. Cambridge Gild Records (Cambridge Antiquarian Society

1903). 346
Beamish, N. L. The Discovery of America (1841). 45, 46, 83, 89, 90,

93, 105, 114
Beave, A. B. In English Historical Review (1907), xxii. 382
Beazley, C. R. Prince Henry the Navigator (1895). 414, 475
Becon, T. Catechism (Parker Society 1814). 467
Bede. Ecclesiastical History (Bohn's Library), 31, 57, 69, 71, 72, 97, 196
Bede. Lives of the Abbots of Wearmouth (Church Historians of

England). 62, 71, 81
Beer, A. Allgemdiie Geschichte des Welthandels (1860). 423, 425
Benese, Sir R. de. Boke of the measuring of land (1537). 119, 125, 553
Bent, J. T. Genoa (1881). 424

Bergenroth, G. A. Calendar of State Papers (Spanish). 288, 501, 507
Bethmann-Hollweg, M. A. v. Civil-Prozess (1864). 36, 51, 53
Bethmann-HoUweg, M. A. v. Ueber die Germanen vor der Volkerwan-

derung (1850). 50, 51
Bickley, F. B. Little Red Book of Bristol {1^00). 182,341,349
Biddle, N. Sebastian Cabot (1831). 497, 501, 503, 504, 505
Bikelas, D. Seven Essays on Christian Greece (1890). 184
Biui, T. / Lucchesi a Venezia (1853-6). 338
Blake way, see Owen,

LTST OF AUTHORITIES. 659

Blanqiii. History of Political Economy in Europe (1880). 469
Blomefield, F. History of Norfolk (Parkin'.s Edition 1805). 210, 224,

227, 302, 384, 446
Boethius in King Alfreds Worhs (Jubilee Edition 1858). 132
Boileau, E. Livre de Metiers (1879). 349
Boldon Book, in Domesday Book. 175
Bonar, J. Philosophy and Political Economy (1893). 561
Bond, E. A. Loans supplied by Italian Merchants to the Kings of

England, in Archceologia xxviii (1840). 249
Bonwick, J. Romance of the Wool Trade {\?>S1). 314
Book of the Admiralty, Black (Rolls Series). 176, 257, 281, 290
Bourne, H. R. F. English Merchants (1866). 381
Bourquelot, F. Etudes sur les Foires de Champagne, in Memoir es

presentes d I' Academic des Inscriptions, 2« serie, v. 86, 95, 182, 423
Brand, J. History and Antiquities of Neivcastle-upon-Tyne (1789).

279, 286
Brehon Laivs, see Laics.
Brentano, L. On the history and development of Gilds and origin of

Trade-Unions (1870). 189, 443, 525
Brewer, J. Calendar of Letters and Pai^ers {Hen. VIII.). 490,491
Bridgett, T. E. The Holy Eucharist in England (1881). 58
Brinklow, H. Complaynt of Roderyck Mors (E. E. T. S. 1874). 527
Brissaud, L. D. Les Anglais en Guyenne (1875). 268, 318
Brooke, C, Ten yea7-s in Sarawak {1866). 116
Brown, R. Calendar of State Papers (Venetian). 197, 305, 414, 426,

487, 493, 503, 504
Bruysell, E. van. Histoire de la Commerce en Belgique n (1861). 414
Burgon, J. W. Life of Sir T. Gresham (1839). 542
Burnet, G. History of the Reformation (Oxford 1865). 496, 559
Burroughs, Sir J. Sovereignty of the British Seas (1651). 304
Burton Ghartulary, in Collections for the History of Staffordshire v

(1884). 164, 175
Bury Wills, see Wills.

Cccsar. De Bello Gallico. 31, 32, 36, 37, 48, 53

Calendarium Rotulorum Patentium (Record Commission). 300, 312

Calendar of State Papers {Spanish). 288

Calendar of State Papers ( Venetian). See Brown.

Calthrop, H. Reports of Special Cases {\6bb). 345

Cambridge Modern History, i. 379

Camden, W. The History of the Most Renowned Princess Elizabeth

(1688). 484
Camden, W. Anglica &c. a veteribus scripta (Frankfurt 1603). 187
Capgrave, J. De Illustribus Henricis (Rolls Scries). 403
Certain Cavses in Four Supplications (E. E. T. S.). 528, 544
Chalmers, G. Caledonia (1807). 630
Charles, Duke of Orleans. The Debate of the Heralds (1458 — 1461); see

Pyne. 468

42—2

660 LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

Charles the Great. Capitularies, in Pertz, Monumenta Qermanica

Legum HI., also in Migne xcvii. 71, 122
Chaucer, G. Canterhury Tales. 284, .301

Cheruel, P. A. Rouen pendant VEpoche Cominunale (1843). 653
Chesterfield. Records of Burgh of {ISM). 190,221
Cheynev, E. P. Medioeval Manor, in Annals of American Academy iv

(1893). 570
Chronicle, English (Bohn's Library). 32, 45, 50, 53, 61, 70, 83, 85, 89,

96, 136, 149, 154, 646
Chronicon Petrohurgense (Camden Society 1849). 126, 175
Clamageran, J. J. Histoire de VImpdt en France (1867). 403
Clay, R. M. The Medieval Hospitals of England (1909). 204, 247, 300,

408, 530
Clode, C. M. Early History of Merchant Taylors (1888). 444, 523
Clutterbuck, R. History of the County of Hertford (1815). 591
Coates, C. History of Reading (1802). 210
Codex Diplomaticus Lubecensis (Verein fiir Lubeckische Geschichte,

1843). 195
Codex Juris Civilis. 323
Codex Juris Canonici. 251, 255
Coke, J. The Debate between the Heralds of England and France (1550).

519, 535
Coldingham, Correspondence, &c. of, see Raine.
Collection of Ordinances (Society of Antiquaries 1790). 243
Compendium of Kafir Laws and Customs (Printed for the Government

of British Kafiraria 1858). 64
Compotus Rolls. 236, 391, 591
Conybeare, H. C. A. Note on the Pargana Dudhi of the Mirzapur

District (Allahabad 1879). 34
Cooper, C. H. Annals of Cambridge (1842). 60, 129, 150, 451, 452
Coote, C. H. S. Cabot, in Dictionary of National Biography. 501
Coote, H. C. A neglected fact in English History (1864). 55
Coote, H. C. The Romans of Britain (1878). 29, 30, 36, 55, 60, 104,

107, 108
Corbett, W. J. Danegeld in East Anglia (Cambridge Historical

Essays). 163, 175
Corbett, W. J. The Tribal Hidages, in Transactions of Royal Historical

Society xiv. 29, 126
Corbett, W. J. Elizabethan Village Surveys, in Transactions of Royal

Historical Society, N.S. xi. 530
Cotton, J. Memoir of the origin and incorporation of Trinity House

(1858). 498
Cotton, Sir R. An Exact Abridgement of the Records in the Tower of

London (1657). 410, 411
Court of Requests MSS. , in Record Ofl&ce. 455
Craik, G. L. Pictorial History of England (1841). 65, 130
Creighton, C. History of Epidemics in Britain (1891). 330
Creighton, M. Carlisle (Historic Towns 1889). 188
Crescentiis, Petrus de. Agricultura (1548). 238

LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 661

Crowley, R. Select Works (Early English Text Society 1872). 529, 554
Crump and Hughes on English Currency, in Economic Journal v (1895).

283, 326, 354
Crump, C. G. London and the Gild Merchant, in English Historical

Review (1903), xvili. 315. 226
Cullum, J. History and Antiquities of Hawsted (1813). 397
Cunningham, W. Christian Opinion on Usury (1884). 256
Ctmningham, W. Review of Discourse of Common Weal, in Economic

Journal ill (1893). 555, 556
Cunningham, W. Review of Gross's Gild Merchant, in EcoTuymic

Review i (1891). 651
Cunningham, W. Walter of Henley, in Transactions of Royal Hist.

Soc. IX (1895). 238
Cvmningham, W. Alien Immigrants (1897). 162, 292, 432, 525
Cunningham, W. Growth of English Industry and Commerce ii. 65
Cunningham, W. The Corrupt following of Hippodamus of Miletus at

Cambridge, in Cambridge Antiq. Soc. Communications, N.S. iii. 246
Cunningham, W. Essay on Western Civilization. 71, 96, 183, 441
Cunningham, W. Economic Change, in Cambridge Modern History. 379
Curie-Seimbres, A. Essai sur les villes (1880). 267

Dallaway, J. Antiquities of Bristow (1834). 305, 476, 501

Dante. Inferno 208

Davenport, F. G. Classified List of printed materials for English

^Agrarian History, in Radcliffe College Monographs (1894). 571
Davenport, F. G. Decay of Villainage in E. Anglia, in Roy. Hist.

Soc. Trans. N.S. xiv. 402
Davenport, F. G. The economic development of a Norfolk Manor (1906).

238, 397, 401, 405, 462, 528, 529
Davies, J. S. History of Southampton (1883). 218, 221, 446
Defoe, D. Plam, of English Commerce (1728). 515, 557
Delisle, L. Operations financikres des Templiers in Acad, des Inscrip-

tiont, t. XXXIII (1889). 274
Delpit, J. Collection gdnirale des documents francais qui se trouvent en

Angleterre (1847). 186, 197, 221, 249, 291, 341
Dendy, F. W. Merchant Adventurers of Newcastle. 345.
Denton, W. England in the Fifteenth Century (1888). 19, 97, 294,

331, 371, 377, 380, 389, 399, 406, 410, 440, 442, 450, 461, 462, 498
Derby's Expeditions, Earl of, see L. T. Smith.
Dialogus de Scaccario, in Stubbs, Select Charters. 148, 151, 155, 156,

230, 232, 237, 245, 298
Diecimo, G. da. La Giustizia de' Contratti (1775). 255
Die<^erick, I. L. A. Inventaires des Chartres d' Ypres (1853). 306,307
Discourse of the Common Weal, see Hales.
Dixon, E. Craftswomen in the Livres des Metiers, in Economic Journal

v'(1895). 348, 352
Dixon, E. FlMrentine Wool Trades, in Roy. Hist. Soc. Trans. N.S. xii. 628
Documents Historical and Municipal, Ireland (Rolls Series). 197
Domesday Book, passim.
Domesday of St FauVs, see Hala

662 LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

Doubleday, T. True Law of Population (1853). 50, 310

Doublet, J. L'Ahbaye de S. Demjs (1625). 85

Do well, S. History of Taxation and Taxes in England (1884). 152,

153, 296, 400, 548, 549
Drake, F. Eboracum (1736). 205
Drinkwater, C. H. Merchant Gild of Shrewsbury, in Salop Archceolog.

Transactions, N.S. II. 221, 345," 651
Du Chaillu, P. B. The Viking Age (1889). 50
Ducange. Glossarium Manuale ad scriptores medioe et inflmce Latini-

tatis. 653
Duchesne, A. Historice Normannorum Scriptores (1619). 197, 259,

642, 647
Dudley, E. Tree of Commonwealth (Manchester 1859). 464
Dugdale, W. Antiquities of Warivickshire (1765). 448, 522
Dugdale, W. Baronage (1675). 648

Dugdale, W. Monasticon Anglicanum (1817). 180, 650, 651
Duke, E. Prolusiones historical (1837). 387
Duncumb, J. Hereford (1804). 224

Earle, J. Land Charters (1880). 45, 63, 79, 98

Ecclesiasticus. 202

Eden, Sir F. M. The State of the Poor (1797). 310, 439

S. Eligii Vita, in Migne lxxxvii. 86

Elliott, F. A. H. Baroda, in Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency vn

(1883). 26
Ellis, Sir H. Original Letters. Series iii (1846). 289
Encomium Emmce, in Duchesne, Historice Normannorum Scriptores. 197
Endemann, W. Studien in der Romanisch- Kanonisiischen Wirihschafts-

und Rechtslehre (1874). 249
Eulogium Historiarum, R. S. 392
Eumenius. Panegyricus (1611). 56
Exon Doomsday, in Domesday Book iv. 163
Eyton, R. W. Court, household and itinerary of King Henry II. (1878).

148
Eyton, R. W. Key to Domesday, Dorset (1878). 120, 125

Felkin, R. W. Notes on the Madi Tribe, in Proceedings of the Royal

Society of Edinburgh xil (1884). 34
Fenton, J. Primitive Hebrew Land Tenure, in Theological Review xiv

(1877). 48
Ferris, E. Financial Relations of Knights Templars to the English

Crovm, in American Histor. Rev. viii. 274
Finchale Charters, Inventories and Accounts (Surtees Soc. 1857). 243
Fitzherbert, J. Boke of Husbandry {1534:). 552 f.
Fitzherbert, J. Surveyinge (1539). 233, 402, 528, 533, 553
Fitzherbert, R. H. C. The Authorship of the Books of Husbandry and

Surveying {Eng. Histor. Rev. xii). 553
Fleta (1647). 233,' 597
Fontenelle, A. D. de la. Cooperation de Poitevins, in Revue Normande

(Caen). 642

LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 6G3

Fortescue, Sir J. Works (1869). 427, 469

Foville, A. de. Ze morcellement (1885). 401

Fox, F. F. Merchant Tailors of Bristol (1880). 437

Freeman, E. A. The History of the Norman Conquest of England

(1870). 104, 141, 155, 188, 642
Fretton, W. G. Memorials of Bakeri Guild, Cove7itry, in Mid-England

(March 1880). 338
Fretton, W. G. Memorials of Fuller i Guild of Coventry (Printed for the

Master, Warden and Brethren, 1878). 442
Freville de Lorme, C. E. de. Commerce maritime de Rouen (1857). 85,

197, 654
Froissart, Sir John. Chronicles (1803). 267
Froude, J. A. A History of England from the fall of Wolsey to the

defeat of the Spanish Armada (1875). 538
Fuller, T. Church History of Britain (1845). 308
Fuller, T. History of the University of Cambridge (1840). 400, 440
Furnivall, F. J. Ballads from Manuscript (Ballad Society 1868). 529

Gantrel, J. Memoire sur la part que les Flamandes ont prise d, la

conquete d'Angleterre, in Nouvelles Archives Historiques ll. 319

(Ghent 1840). 642
Gasquet, A. Precis des institutions politiques de Vancienne France

(1885). 191
Gasquet, F. A. Great Pestilence (1893). 330, 331, 376
Gay, Bf F. Inquisitions of Depopulations, in Boy. Hist. Soc. Trans.

N.S. XIV. 529
Geijer, E. G. Poor Laws (1840). 51
Genesis. 35

Gentlemav! s Magazine (1737), vol. vii. 400
Gervase of Canterbury. Chronicle (Rolls Series). 274, 648
Gfrorer, A. F. Papst Gregorius VII. (1859). 37, 183, 190
Giles, J. A. History of the Parish and Town of Bampton {IS'iS). 39
Giraldus Cambrensis. De instructione Principum (Angiia Christiana).

280
Giraldus Cambrensis. Itinerarium Camhriw, see Camden, Anglica

Scripta. 187, 209, 641
Giry, A. Histoire de la Ville de S. Omer (1877). 223, 305, 307, 351, 651
Gomme, G. L. Index of Municipal OJ/ices (Index Society 1879). 96, 227
Gomme, G. L. On the traces of the Primitive Village Community, in

Archceologia XLVi (1881). 39
Gomme, G. L. The Village Community (1890). 47, 48, 59, 62, 211
Googe, B., see Pleresbach.

Gottlob, A. Die pdpstlichen Kreuzzugs-Steuern (1892). 207, 272, 274
Gottlob, A. Aus der Camera (1889). 273, 289
Gower, J. Vices of Society, in Political Songs (Rolls Series). 368
Gray, H. L. Yeoman farming in Oxfordshire from the sixteenth

century to the nineteenth, in Quarterly Journal of Economics xxiv

(Feb. 1910). 529
Green, Alice S. Town Life in the Fifteenth Century (1894). 346, 350,

S51, 371, 379, 384, 4C)8, 446, 454," 523

664 LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

Green, E. Survey and Rental of Chantnes etc., in Somerset (Somerset

Record Society 1888). 540
Green, J. R. Short History of the English People (1885). 187
Green, J. R. The Making of England (1881). 58, 61
Gregory the Great, EpiMolae in Migne lxxvii. 238
Grimm, J. Geschichte der deutschen Sprache (1848). 30
Grimm, J. Weisthiimer (1840). 47

Gross, C. Gilda Mercatona (1883). 129, 211, 219, 220, 227
Gross, C. Gild Merchant (Clarendon Press). 190, 191, 210, 217, 219, 220,

321, 222, 223, 225, 314, 345, 348, 364, 416, 468, 495, 615, 618
Gross, C. On the affiliation of burghs, in The Antiquary xil (1885).

220, 223

Gross, C. Exchequer of the Jews, in Anglo- Jewish Exhibition Papers.

201, 202, 204, 205
Grossteste. See Robert.
Grotius. De Mari Libero. 304
Guest, E. Early English Settlements, in Transactions of the ArchoBO-

logical Institute (1849). 49, 51, 58
Gunton, G. Wealth and Progress (1888). 439

Haddan, A. W. and W. Stubbs. Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents

(1881). 70, 84, 85
Hailstone, E. History of Bottisham (Cambridge Antiquarian Society,

1873). 332
Hakluyt, R. Voyages (1599). 312, 415, 419, 420, 421, 504, 505, 506
Hale, W. H. Domesday of St Paul's (Camden Society, 1858). 149, 1 75,

244
[Hales, J.] Discourse of the Common Weal (1893). 322, 446, 456, 552,

561, 563, 564, 565
Hall, H. A History of the Custom- Revenue in England (1885). 149,

150, 276, 277, 278, 308, 313, 549, 550
Hall, H. The Dot System of the Exchequer, in Pipe Roll, 10 Henry II.

Introduction. 156
Hall, H. Introduction to the Red Book of the Exchequer (Rolls Series).

234, 354
Hall, H. Receipt Roll of the Exchequer. 158
Hall, H. The Pipe Roll of the Bishopric of Winchester. 235
Hall, H. Introduction to the Study of the Pipe Rolls (Pipe Roll Society

1884). 156
Hall, H. A formula booh of English official historical documents (1909).

175, 230, 398, 322, 528
Hall's Chronicle; The Union of the Two Noble Famelies, by Edward

Halle (1809), 509, 542
Hanssen, G. Agrarhistorische Abhandlungen (1880). 32, 43, 45, 74,

75, 76
Harland, J. Collectanea (Chetham Society 1866). 309
Harland, J. Mamecestre (Chetham Society 1861). 222
Harland, J. Manchester Court Leet Records (Chetham Society 1864). 213
Harris, M. D. Life in an Old English Town. 174, 436
Harris, W. Observations on Julia Strata, in Archoeologia ii. 650

LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 665

Harrison, W. Description of Ev gland, in Holinshed. 527, 565

Hartshorne, C. H. Itinerary of Edward II. (1861). 242

Hasbach, W. A History of the English Agricultural Labourer (1908).

528, 534, 535
Hayward, Sir J. The Life and Reign of King Edward VL, in Kennett,

Complete History of England (1706) ir. 402
Hearn, W. Arijan Household (1879). 37, 47
Heath, J. B. Some account of the Worshipful Company of Grocers (1854).

494
Hecker, J. F. C The Epidemics of the Middle Ages (Sydenham Society

1846). 330
Hegel, G. W. F. v. Philosophie des Rechts (1840). 99
Hegel, G. W. F. v. Philosophy of History (Bohn's Library). 135
Hellwald, F. v. Sebastian Cabot, in Virchow and Holtzendorff's Samm-

lung, Serie vi. Heft 124. 476, 501
Henricus de Soliaco, Liber (Inquisition of the Manors of Glastonbury

1189) edited by J. E. Jackson for the Roxburghe Club (1882).

168, 175
Herbert of Cherbury , Lord. Life an d Reign of Henry VIII. ( 1 741 ). 485
Herbert, W. The History of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of

London (1837). 324, 382, 383, 384
Heresbach, C. Foure Bookes of Husbandry, translated by B. Goofe

(1577). 319
Hermarfti, F. B. W. v. Staatswirthschaftliche Untersuchunqen (1874),

70, 81
Hermann. De Miraculis S. Marioe Laudunensis (Migne CLVi). 198
Herodotus. 33

Herzfeld, L. Handelsgeschichte der Juden des Alterthums (1879). 72
Heyd, W. Geschichte des Levanthandels (1879). 194, 196, 469, 474

477, 478, 493
Heyking, L. v. Geschichte der Handelsbilanztheorie (1880). 484
Hibbert, F. A. Influence and Development of English Gilds (1891).

220, 225, 340, 345, 446
History, Parliamentary. 251
Hodgetts, J. F. Older England (1884). 29, 49
Hohlbaum, C. Hansisches Urkundenbuch (Halle 1876). 183, 628
Holinshed, R. Chronicles (1587). 187, 336, 388, 498, 564
Holy Trinity, Dublin, Account Roll of, edited by J. Mills (1891). 242
Homer. Odyssey. 51
Household Books. See Finchale, Howard, Manners, Norfolk, Percy,

L. T. Smith, J. Webb, J. Topham.
Howard's Household Book, Lord William (Surtees Soc. 1878). 242
Howell, T. B. State Trials (1809). 403, 534
Hudson, W. Leet Jurisdiction in the City of Norwich (1888). 179,

213, 227, 346
Hunter, J. Mallamshire (edited by A. Gatty 1869). 341, 521
Hunter, W. W. Annals of Rural Bengal (1868). 12, 51, 54
Husbandry. 120, 239
Hutchinson, Roger. Works (Parker Society 1852). 529

666 LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

Huvelin, P. Essai Historique sur le Droit des Marches et des Foires (1 897).

182, .311
Hyndman, H. M. Historical Basis of Socialism in England (1881). 439

Inama Sternegg, G. T. vou. Deutsche Wirthschaftsgeschichte (1879).

45, 47
Innes, C Aricient Laws and Customs of the Burghs of Scotland (Burgh

Records Society, Edinburgh 1868). 189, 219, 221, 257
Innes, C. Scotland in the Middle Ages (1860). 67
Inquisitio Comitatus Cantabngiensis (Royal Society of Literature 1876).

162, 163, 644
Inquisition of Manors of Olastonhury Abbey (Roxburghe Club). 175
Instytution^ or principall groundes of the lawes and statutes of Englande

1544. 534
Institrctis Londonie, De, see Thorpe. 194
Isaiah. 202

Jacob, G. Western India (1871). 37

Jacobs, J. Jews in Augevin England (1893). 151, 200

Jacobs, J. London Jewry, in Anglo-Jewish Exhibition Papers. 200, 206

James I. The trew laiv of free Monarchies, in Workes (1616). 231

Jeake, S. Charters of the Cinque Forts (1728). 218,220,320

Jenks, E. Legal Execution and Land Tenure, in English Historical

Review viii (1893). 43, 76
Jenks, E. Review of Ashley's Economic History, in Economic Journal ill.

402
Jessopp, A. The Coming of the Friars (1889). 273, 331, 389
Jevons, W. S. Principles of Science (1874). 119
Jevons, W. S. Money (1872). 117

John of Brompton Ghronicon in Twysden Scriptores x. i. 649
Johnson, A. H. Disappearance of the small Landowner {\^Q^). 401,528
Jourrmls of the House of Lords. 533
Journal of A sialic Society of Bengal xxxvii, see Mason.
Judicia Civitatis Lonxlonice viii. 29
Jusserand, J. J. English Wayfaring Life (1889). 292, 295, 413

Kay, S. Travels and Researches in Caffraria (1833). 35

Keary, C. F. Vikings in Western Christendom (1891). 48, 52, 57, 87,

89, 91, 96
Keary, G. F. Catalogue of English Coins (1887). 45, 49
Kelham, R. Domesday Book Illustrated (1788). 165, 167
Kelly, P. Cambist (1831). 121

Kemble, J. M. Codex Biplomaticus cevi Saxonici (1848). 129
Kemble, J. M. Saxons in England (1849). 47, 62, 66, 96
Kennett, W. Parochial Antiquities (1695). 451
Kiesselbach, W. Der Gang des Welthandels (1860). 476, 477
Kingdon, J. A. Grocers' Archives (1886). 288, 289, 324
Kitchin, G. W. Winchester (1890). 330
Kitchin, G. W. Winchester Cathedral Records (1883). 452, 453

LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 667

Kitchin, J. Jurisdictions {W51). 214,237

Knyghton, Henry. Chronica, in Twysden. 333, 400, 403, ^45

Kovalevsky, il. M. Bie wirthschaftlichen Folgen des Schwarzen Todes

in Italien, in Z. f. Social- u. Wirtlischaftsgeschiclite ill (1895).

333

Kovalevsky, M. M. Modern Customs and Ancient Laws of Russia (1891).

47, 111

Kovalevsky, M. M. Die oekonomische Entwickelung Europas. 33, 63, 1 79

Laing, S. Chronicles of the Kings of Norway (1844). 52, 87, 100
Lambert, J. M. Two Thousand Years of Gild Life (1891). 279, 340
Lamond, E. Introduction and Notes to Hales' Discourse of the Common

Weal (1893). 446, 456, 552, 563
Lamond, E. Walter of Henley's Husbandry (1890). 76, 120, 238
Langland, W, Piers Floivman. 328, 400
Lappenberg, J. M. History of England render the Saxon Kings (1881).

51, 70, 84, 94
Lappenberg, J. M. UrJcundliche Geschichte des Hansischen Stahlhofes

zu London (Hamburg 1851). 194, 195, 197, 337
Lappenberg, J. M. Hamhurgisches Urkundenbuch (1842). 337
Lapsley, G. T. Accoimt Rolls of a Fifteenth Century Ironmaster, in

English Historical Review xiv. 442
Latimer, H. Sermons (Parker Society 1844). 467, 563
Laveleye, E. de. Primitive Property (1878). 45, 47
Law, Alice, Nouveaux riches of the XIV Century, in Royal Hist. Soe.

Transactions ix (1895). 288, 379
Law, Alice. Eeview of Toum Life, in Economic Review iv (1894). 451
Laws, Brehon, in Ancient Laws of Ireland. 78
Laws of ^thelred, in Thorpe, Ancient Laws. 86, 112, 128, 154, 189

^thelstan, in Thorpe, Ancient Laws. 103, 129, 154

Alfred, in Thorpe, Ancient Laws. 79

Cnut, in Thorpe, Ancient Laws. 154

Edgar, in Thorpe, Ancient Laws. 129, 130

Edward and Guthrum, in Thorpe, xincient Laws. 103, 112

Edward the Confessor, in Thorpe^ Ancient Laws. 129, 131

Hlothere and Edric, in Thorpe, Ancient Laws. 79

Ine, in Thorpe, Ancient Laios. 79, 86, 106

Ireland, Ancient (1865). 78, 86, 121

Scottish Burghs, see Inues.

Wales, Ancient (Record Commission). 40, 41, 77, 78, 123

William, in Thorpe, Ancient Laws. 189, 643

Leadam, I. S. Security of Copyholders, in English Historical Review

VIII (1893). 533
Leadam, I, S. The Inquisition of 1517, in Transactions of Royal Hist.

Soc. VI. VII. VIII. 530, 532, 533
Leadam, I. S. Last Days of Bondage in England, in Law (Quarterly

Review IX. 533
Leadham, I. S. Select Cases in the Court of Star Chamber (Seldeu

Society). 368, 402, 451, 620

668 LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

Leadam, I. S. Select Cases in the Court of Requests (Selden Society).

402, 416
Leet Book in Coventry Municipal Archives. 444
Leland, J. Itinerary, edited by T. Hearoe (1770). .521, 523
Lelewel, J. Oeographie du moyen Age (1852). 196
Lely, F. S. P. Trade Guilds of Ahmedabad, in Gazetteer of Bombay

Presidency iv (1879). 26
Leonard, E. M. Early History of English Poor Relief (1900). 408,

536, 539
Lethaby, W. R. London before the Conquest (1902). 96
Letters <&c. Henry VIII. xix. 542
Levasseur, E. Histoire des classes ouvrihres en France (1859). 190,

191, 333
Lever, T. Sermons, in Arbor's Reprints (1869). 529
Libelle of English Polycye, in Political Songs (Rolls Series). 403, 413,

424, 425, 427, 437, 448
Liber Albus, in Munimenta Gildhalloe (Rolls Series). 224, 323, 340,

360, 361, 365, 383, 569. (4to.) 360, 361, 365
Liber Censualis Willielmi Primi, passim.
Ldber Custumarum, in Munimenta Gildhallce (Rolls Series). 189, 191,

277, 314, 330, 337, 338, 339, 349, 443, 445
Liber de antiquis legibus (Camden Society 1846). 228, 423
Liber Eliensis (Anglia Christiana). 72, 82, 171, 180
Liber miraculorum S. Bertini, in Acta Sanctorum Sept. il (1748). 85
Liber Niger Petroburgensis, see Chronicon Petroburge'ose.
Liber Quotidianus, see Topham.

Liber Winton, in Domesday Book. 129, 174, 652, 655
Lilly, W. S. A Century of Revohition (1889). 231
Lingard, J. The Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church {\Sib). 68
Little, A. G. Black Death in Lancashire^ in the English Historical

Review v (1890). 333
Locke, J. Civil Government, in Works (1794). 92, 275
Loftie, W. J. History of London (1883). 59
Longman, W. History of the Life and Times of Edward III. (1869).

156, 306, 309, 325
Lubbock, Sir J. Origin of Civilisation (1870). 80
Lubecker Urkundenbuch, see Codex Diplomaticus Lvhecensis.
Lyon, J. History of the Town and Port of Dover (1825). 333

McArthur, E. A. The boke longing to a Justice of the Peace, in

English Hist. Review IX (1894). 449
Mackerell, B. History and Antiquities of King's Lynn (1738). 223
Macpherson, D. An7ials of Commerce (1805). 83, 197, 409, 410, 413,

440, 498 . . ^

Madox, T. The History and Antiquities of the Exchequer (1711). 140,

151, 156, 189, 190, 191, 192, 197, 220, 323, 434
Madox, T. Firma Burgi (1726). 151, 187, 191, 217, 309, 314, 341
Maguusson, F. Om de Engelskes Handel paa Island, in Nordisk

Tidskriftfor Oldkyndighed ir. 146 (1833). 418
Maine, Sir H. S. Ancient Law (1870). 98

LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 669

Maine, Sir H. S. Decay of Feudal Property in France and England, in

Fortnightly Review (New Series xxi. 1877). 400
Maine, Sir H. S. Village Commujiities in the East and West (1872).

44, 47, 73, 80
Maitland, F. W. History of a Cambridgeshire Manor, in English

Historical Review IX (1894). 397, 403
Maitland, F. W. Select Pleas in Manorial Courts (Selden Society 1889).

103, 113, 127, 166, 180, 181, 186, 213, 226
Maitland, F. W. The Survival of Archaic Communities, in 77ie Law

Quarterly ix (1893). 24, 40
Maitland, F. W. Doomsday Book and Beyond. 37, 61, 75, 93, 96, 111,

117, 126, 172
Maitland, F. W. Township and Burgh. 73, 96, 99, 174
Maitland, S. R. Dark J^es (1844). 86
Maitland, W. Survey of London ill %0). 195
Major, R. H. The voyages of the Venetian Brothers N. and A. Zeno

(Hakluyt Society 1873). 82
Maiden, Cely Papers (Camden Society). 284, 317
Manchester, Court Leet Records of the Manor of (1884). 213
Manners and Household Expenses (Roxburghe Club 1841). 242
Marcianus, Periplus. 56
Markham, C. A. Records of the Borough of Northampton (1898). 340,

350
Marshall, A: Present Position (1881). 18
Marshall, A. and M. P. Economics of Industry (1888). 16
Mai;fini, A. Manuale di Metrologia (1883). 323, 324
Marx, K. Das Kapital (1872). 118
Mascall, L. Government of Cattel (1600). 528
Mascall, L. The Hushandlye Ordering and Governmente of Poultrie

(1581). 528
Mason, F. Dwellings, Works of Art, Law die, of the Karens, in Journal

of the Asiatic Society of Bengal xxxvii (1868). 34, 42
Mas Latrie, J. M. J. L. de. Relations et Commerce de I'Afrique septen-

trionale (1886). 304
Matthew Paris. Chronica Majora (Rolls Series). 208, 275, 289, 648
Maurer, G. L. v. Geschichte der Markverfassung (1856). 38, 47, 78
Mavor, see Tusser.

Medina. De rebu^ restituendis in Scaccia.
Meitzen. Siedelung und Agrarwesen. 37, 47
Merewether, H. A. and A. J. Stephens. History of the Boroughs (1835).

226
Michaud, J. F. History of the Crusades (1881). 147
MiU, J. S. Logic (1851). 19

Mill, J. S. Principles of Political Economy (1868). 308
Milman, H. H. History of Latin Christianity (1872). 272
Mitchell, A. The Past in the Present (1880). 11
Monachi Sangallensis de Gestis Karoli Imperatoris, in Pertz, Monumenta

Germanica, Scriptorum ii (1829). 647
Montalembert, C. de. Monks of the Viest (1861). 58, 67, 68, 86, 93

670 LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

Montelius, O. The Civilisation of Sweden (1888). 48, 88

Montesquieu. L'esprit des lois. 29

Morant, P. Histori/ of Essex {IIQS). 570

More, Sir T. Supplication of Souls, in English Works (1557). 468

More, Sir T. Utopia (English Keprints 1869). 526

Morgan, L. H. Ancient Society {\S11). 31, 36

Mowat, J. G. L. Sixteen Old Maps of Properties in Oxfordshire. 73

Murray's Handbook for Yorkshire. 450

Nasse, G. The Agncultural Community of the Middle Ages (Cobden

Club 1872). 47
Navelle, E. De Thi-nai au Bla, in Cochinchine frangaise. Excursions

et Reconnaissances xiii (Saigon 1887). 123
Nehemiah. 112
Neilson, N. EconomiQ Condition of the Manors of Ramsey Abbey

(1898). 113, 179
Nelson, H. A poem in honour of the ancient and loyal Society of

Journeymen Tailors (1726). 444
Neumann, Max. Geschichte des Wuchers (1865). 251, 255
News, Illustrated London (1858). 157
NichoUs, J. G. Remarks on Mercers and other Trading Companies, in

London and Middlesex Archceolog. Soc. Trans, iv. 324, 325
Nicholson, Prof. J. S. Principles of Political Economy ill (1893). 390
Nicolas, N. H. Agincourt (1832). 411

Nitzsch, C. W. Ministerialitat und Biirgerthum (1859). 245, 337
Noorthouck. History of London (1773). 292,293,309,383 •

Norden, J. Surveyor's Dialogue (1618). 527, 528, 534
Norfolk, Household Books of John Duke of (Roxburghe Club 1844). 244
Nottingham, Records of the Borough o/(1882). 180, 181, 653, 654
N07, W. Reports of Cases (1656). 403

Oaths, in Thorpe, Ancient Laws. 99, 102

Ochenkowski, W. v. Englands ivirtlischaftliche Entioickelung im

Ausgange des Mittelalters (1879). 342, 343, 641
Oldham, H. Yule. Pre-Columban Discovery of America, in Geographical

Journal (March 1895). 474, 476
Oliphant, M. 0. The Makers of Venice (1887). 468
Oman, C. W. C. The Great Revolt (1906). 384, 400, 404
Ordericus Vitalis. Ecclesiasticoe Historice, in Duchesne, Historice

Normannorum Scriptores. 259 ; also in Migne, 646, 647, 648
Ordinance respecting Dunsetas, in Thorpe, Ancient Laws. 122, 123
Ordonnances des Rois de France de la troisieme Race (1729). 333
Oresme, Nicholas. Tractatus (edited by Wolovvski (1864)). 355, 356,

358, 359
Orridge, B. B. Illustration of Jack Cade's Rebellion (1869). 451
Oudegherst, P. d'. Annales de Flandre (1789). 647
Owen and Blakeway. Shrewsbury (1825). 332, 651

Pcenitentialem Ecgberti, in Thorpe, Anct^cat Laws. 86

LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 67 1

Page, T. W. End of Villainage in England (American Economic

Association). 75, 167, 233, 398
Page, T. W. Die Umwandlung der Frohndienste in Geldrentes (189-).

179, 397, 398
Page, W. Certificates of Commissioners appointed to survey Chantries,

&c. in the County of York (Surtees Society 1892). 522
Pagnini, G. F. Delia Decima e delle altre Gravezze in Firenze (1765-6).

618, 628, 629, 631, 632, 635
Palladius. On Husbandrie (Early English Text See. 1872). 553
Palmer, A. N. Ancient Teyiures of Land on the Marches of North Wales

(1885). 44, 48, 111, 120
Palmer, W. M. The Village Gilds of Cambridgeshire, in Transactions

of the Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire Archaeological Society

(1904), Vol. I, pt. II. 346
Parker, J. H. Domestic Architecture (1853), see Turner. 3, 267, 279
Parker, J. H. Introduction to the Study of Gothic Architecture (1874).

650
Paston Letters (edited by J. Gairdner 1872). 351, 410, 429
Pauli, R. Life of Alfred (Bohn's Library). 85
Pauli, R. Die Haltung der Hansestddte in den Rosenkriegen {Hansische

Geschichtsblatter ii. 1874). 422, 468
Pauli, R. Drei volkswirthschaftUche Denkschriften aus der Zeit Hein-

richs VIII. {Abhand. d. k. Gesellschaft d. }yiss. zu Gottingen,

XXIII. 1852). See Armstrong.
Pearson, C. H. History of England during the Early Middle Ages

(1867). 55, 207, 272
Pearson, C. H. Historical Maps (1870). 64
Peck, F. Stamford (1785). 455

Peckham, J. Registrum Epistolarum (Rolls Series). 204
Pegge, S. Life of Robert Grosseteste (1793). 240
Pegolotti, Francesco B. La Pratica della Mercatura, in Pagnini.

618, 628
Pell, O. C. The Domesday Geldable Hide, in Cambridge AntiquaHan

Society's Communications vi (1887). 126
Pell, O. C. The Ploughland, in Domesday Studies (1888). 77
Pell, 0. C. New view of the geldable unit, in Domesday Studies (1888).

120, 123
Pennant, T. Journey from London to the Me of Wight (1801). 341,

450, 498, 554
Percy, Bp. Household Book of Henry Percy {IS'±1). 242
Peruzzi, S. L. Storia del co7nmercio e dei banchieri di Firenze (1868).

198, 289, 423, 424, 618, 632
Peschel, O. F. Geschichte des Zeitalters der Entdeckungen (1858). 476,

477, 501
Petit-Dutailis, C. Introduction to Reville, Le Soulkvement. 404
Petrie, G. Essaij on the Origin and uses of the Round Towers of Ireland

(1845). 94, 123
Petruskevsky, D. Vozstaine Uota Tailera (1901). 401
Phear, Sir J, The Aryan Village in India and Ceylon (1880). 5, 45,

47, 96

672 LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

Piers Plowman, see Langland.

Pigeonneau, H. Hist, du Commerce de la France (1887). 373, 423, 491

Pipe Rolls, see Roll.

Placita de quo waranto (Record Commission). 224

Placitorum Abbreviatio (Record Commission). 305

Plantagenet- Harrison, G. H. de S. N. History of Yorkshire (1879). 451,

453
Plantagenets, Greatest of all the, see Seeley.
Plato. Laws. 245
Pohlman. IHe Wirthschaftspolitik der Florentinen Renaissance, in

Preisschriften gekrbnt von der jablonowskischen Oesellschaft (1878).

493
Political Poems and Songs (Rolls Series). 448. See Libelle.
Pollock, Sir F. Tlie Land Laws (1883). 106
Pollock, Sir F., and Maitland, F, W. History of English Law (1895).

99, 643
Poulson, G, Beverlac (1829). 344

Powell, Edgar. The Rising in East Anglia in 1381. 400
Powell, Edgar. The Peasants^ Rising in Suffolk, in Transactions of

Royal Historical Society viii (1894). 404
Prior, E. S. Gothic Art in England (1900). 188
Procopius. De bello Gotthico. 48
Procopius. De bello Vandalico. 48
Pryce, C. Memoirs of the Canynges Family (1883). 387
Putnam, B. H. Enforcement of the Statutes of Labourers, in Columbia

University Studies. 329, 334, 336, 379
Pjne, H. England and France in the Fifteenth Century (1870). 387,

435, 439, 468

Radulfus de Diceto. Ymagines Historiarum (Rolls Series). 648, 649

Rae, G. The Country Banker (1885). 362

Rafn, C. C. Antiquities AmericanxB (1837). 83

Raine, J. Catterick Church in the County of York (1834). 441

Raine, J. Correspondence <&c. of Coldingham (Siirtees Soc. 1841). 176

Ramsay, Sir J. H. Lancaster and York (1892). 434

Ranks, in Thorpe, Ancient Laws. 93, 102, 127

Rastell, J. Pastime of People or the Chronicles of Divers Realms (1811).

543
Ratzinger, Q. Volkswirthschaft in ihren sittl. Grundlagen (1881). 465
Reasons for sup'pressing the yearly fair in Brook Field (? 1709). 452
Records of tlie convention of Royal Boroughs (Edinbm'gh 1866). 285, 313
Rectitudines Singvlarum Personarum, in Thorpe, Ancient Laws. 76,

79, 104, 112
Registrum Epistolarum J. Peckham (Rolls Series). 204
Report of Commission on Historical Manuscripts. 221, 333, 350
Industrial Remuneration Conference (1885). 524

London Livery Companies (1884). 324, 325, 383

Scottish Municipal Corporations (1835). 179

LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 673

Report of Skye Crofters Commission (1884). 527

" Consular (Russia No. 2, 1882). 203

of Select Committee of House of Commons on the Woollen

Manufacture, in Reports iii. (1806). 438
Reville, A. Abjuratio Regni, m Revue historique Ij. 594
Reville, A. Le soulevement des travailleurs d' Angleterre en 1381 (1898).

383, 400, 404
Richard, Bishop of London, see Dialogus.
Richard of Devizes. Chronicon (English Historical Society 1846).

179, 200
Rickman, Gothic Architecture {IQS\). 650
Ridgeway, W. Origin of Currency and Weight Standard* (1892). 122,

124, 418
Riehl, W. H. Deutsche Arbeit (1862). 464
Riley, H. T. Memorials of London and London Life (1868). 291, 305,

339, 340, 341, 342, 347, 349, 350, 351, 352, 439, 443, 444, 445, 452
Riley, see Liber Custumarum, Liber Albus.
Robert Grossteste, Epistoloe (Rolls Series). 206
Robert Grossteste. Reules, in Walter of Henley. 239, 241
Roger of Hoveden. Chronica (Rolls Series). 100, 190, 192, 200, 318
Rogers, .J. E. T. The Economic Interpretation of History (1888). 314,

327, 397, 405
Rogers, J. E. T. JThe History of Agriculture and Prices in England

(1866). 390, 397, 439, 440, 450, 462, 463, 535
Rogers, J. E. T. Six Centuries of Work and Wages (1884). 181, 331,

397, 439, 522, 535
Rogers, J. E. T. England before and after tlie Black Death, in the

Fortnightly Review ill (1866). 331, 389
Roll of the Pipe for first year of King Richard I. (1844). 655

31 Henry L (Record Commission). 148, 652, 654

2 Henry II. „ „

652, 653

^ » )j »

653

5 „ (Pipe Roll Soc.)

653

t* II » »

180, 652, 653

7 „ 653

8 „ 654, 655

9 „ 654

10 „ 652, 653

11, 12 „ 652, 654

13, 14, 15. 652

Roscher, W. Nationalokonomik des Ackerbaues (1878). 31, 35
Roscher, W. Geschichte der Nationalokonomik in Deatschland (1874).

404
Roscher, W. Zur Geschichte der englischen Volkswirthschaftslehre, in

Abhandlungen der philol. hist. Classe der k. sacks. Gesell. d. Wissen.

U (1857). 312
Roscher, W. Political Economy (1878). 50
Ross, J. Historia Regum Anglice (1745). 400
Rotuli Chartarum (Record Commission). 219, 425

c. H. 43

674« LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

Rotuli Hundredorum (Record Commission). 176, 177, 178, 179, 180,

181, 182, 195, 198, 216, 218, 219, 220, 233, 23-1
RotuZi de Oblatis et Finihus (Record Commission;. 220
Rotuli Parliamentorum (Record Commission), passim
RotvZi Stapulce. 317, 618
Round, J. H. AncierU Charters (Pipe Roll Society 1888). 12G, 202,

219, 255, 259
Round, J. H. Danegeld and the Finance of Domesday, in Domesday

Studies (1888). 104, 105, 125, 126, 139, 148, 151, 164
Round, J. H. Domesday Measures of Land, in Archceological Review i

(1888). 126
Round, J. H. Mohnen and Holland, in English Historical Review ii

(1887). 578
Roy, W. Rede me and he nott wrotlie, in Arbor's Reprints (1895). 529
Ruding, R, Annals of the Coinage of Great Britain (1840). 49, 117,

164, 283, 326, 327, 328, 542
Russell, F. W. Kelt's Rebellion (1859). 533
Rye, W. History of Norfolk {\mb). 187
Rye, W. Persecution of Jews in England, in Anglo-Jewish Exhibition

Papers. 201, 205, 206
Rymer. Foedera (Record and Original), passim

Sampson, H. History of Advertising (1874:). 3

Sartorius, G. F. C. Urkundliche Geschichte des Ursprunges der Deutschen

Hanse (1830). 195
Savine, A. Bondmen u)ider the Tudors, in Royal Hist. Society Trans.

N.S. XVII. 402
Savine, A. English Monasteries on the eve of the Dissolution, in Vino-

gradofF's Oxjord Studies in Legal and Social History i (1909). 331,

451, 528, 532
Scaccia, S. Tractatus de commerciis et camhiis (1620). 460
Schaffle, A. E. F. Bau und Leben des socialen Korpers (1875). 31
Schanz, Q. Englische Handelspolitik gegen Ende des Mittelalters (1881).

198, 379, 414, 423, 425, 433, 469, 490, 492, 494, 495, 497, 501, 604
Schanz, G. Zur Geschichte der deutschen GeseUenverbande im Mittelalter

(1877). 259, 352, 443
Schloss, D. Methods of Industrial Remuneration (1891). 560
SchmoUer, G. Strassburgs Bliithe (1874). 183
Schmoller, G. Zur Geschichte der nat.-ok. Ansickten wdhrend der

Reformations- Periode, in Zeitschrift fiir die gesam. Staatswissen-

schaft XVI (Tubingen 1860). 467
Schmoller, G. Die historische Entwickelung des Fleischconsums in

Deutschla)id, in Zeitschrift fiir die gesam. Staatswissenschaft xxvil

(Tubingen 1871). 442
Schroeder, R. Lehrbuch der Deutschen Rechtsgeschichte (1889). 80
Scott, John. Berwick upon Tweed (1888). 246
Scott, Sir W. The Monastery. 61, 400
Scrope, G. P. Castle Combe (1852). 579
Scrutton, T. E. Commons and Common Fields {ISSl). 47,77,101,113,

273

LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 675

Seebohm, F. Tribal Custom in Anglo-Saxon Law. 29, 49, 61, 100,

106, 111
Seebohm, F. The English Village Community (1883). 37, 44, 48, 63,

73, 92, 107, 113, 123, 614
Seebohm, F. The Black Death and its place in English History, in

Fortnightly Review (1865). 331, 335
Seebohm, F. The Population of England before the Black Death, in

Fortnightly Review iv (1866). 331
Seebohm, F. The rise in the Value of Silver between 1300 and 1500, in

Archaeological Review iii (1889). 326
Seeley, R. B. The Greatest of all the Plantagenets {ISQO). 209
Selden, J. Mare Clausum. 304
Sellers, Maud. City of York in XVI. Century, in English Historical

Revieio ix (1894). 507, 521, 539
Sellers, Maud. Acts and Ordinances of Eastland Company (Camden

Society 1906). 417
Semichon, G. La paix et la treve de Dieu (1869). 30, 145, 190
Senchus Mor, in A'ncient Laws of Ireland (1865). 123, 124
Seyer, S. Bristol (1821). 453
Shakspere, W. Troilus and Cressida. 559
' Shakspere, W. Henry VI., Part ii. 400

Sharpe, R. R. Calendar of Letters (1885). 185, 197, 218, 249, 281
Sharpe, R. R. Calendar of Wills (1889). 224, 248, 333
Sharpe, R. R. Calendar of Letter Books (1899). 384
Shaw, W. A. History of Currency (1895). 147, 155
Skene, W. F. Celtic Scotland (1876). 48, 67, 68, 95, 630
Smirke, E. Ancient Consuetudinary of the City of Winchester^ in

Archaeological Journal ix (1852). 229, 259
Smirke, E. Winchester in the Thirteenth Century, in Archaeological

Journal vii (1850). 218
Smith, A. An inquiry into the nature and causes of the M^ealth of

Nations. 275, 362
Smith, J. Chronicon-Rusticum-Commerciale, or Memoirs of Wool {VI Al).

439
Smith, Joshua Toulmin. English Gilds (Early English Text Society).

190, 192, 340, 341, 349, 351, 352, 435, 522
Smith, Joshua Toulmin. Discovery of America by the Northmen (1839).

89,90
Smith, Lucy Toulmin. Earl of Derby's Expeditions (Camden Society

1884). 243
Smith, Lucy Toulmin. York Plays (1885). 446
Sohm, R. Entstehung des Stadtewesens (1890). 80, 94
Sombart, W. Der moderne Kapitalismus (1902). 463
Somner, W. Antiquities of Canterbury (1703). 130
Starkey, T. Dialogue in England in the reign of King Henry VIII.

(Early English Text Society, 1878). 490, 526
Statutes of Jewry. 200, 203, 204
Statutes of the Realm (1810) : —
Magna Carta. 290, 434

43—2

676 LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

Assisa Panis et Cervisie. 331, 349, 568
Judicium Pillorie. 569
Statutum de Pistoribus. 263, 320, 569
Assisa de Ponderibus et Mensuris. 121, 124, 130
Les Estatutz de la Jeuerie. 287
Extenta Manerii. 233
Viaus FranciplegiL 237
3 Ed. I. (Les premers Estatuz de Westmuster). 272, c 1. 276,
c. 4. 281, c. 23. 282, c. 31.

6 Ed. I. (Statuta Gloucestr'). 177, 618

7 Ed. I., II. (De viris religiosis). 273
9 Ed. III., 11. c. 11. 292

11 Ed. I. (Statutum de Mercatoribus). 281

13 Ed. I. (Statutum Wyuton'). cc. 4, 5. 280, c. 21. 618. (Statutum

Mercatorum). 281. (Statuta Civitatis London'). 280
18 Ed. I., II. (Qui Emptores). 273

27 Ed. I. (Statutum de falsa Moneta). 283

28 Ed. I. (Articuli super Cartas), c. 20. 284, 441

33 Ed. 1. (Ordinatio Fores te). 217

3 Ed. II. (Statutum apud Staunford). 277
5 Ed. II. 281

12 Ed. II. (Statutum Eborac'), c. 6. 520

1 Ed. III., II. c. 3. 287

2 Ed. III. (Statute of Northampton), c. 9. 312, c. 14. 192, 305

4 Ed. III. c. 8. 300, c. 12. 319

9 Ed. III., I. 292, 300, c. 1, 300, 393 ; ll. 326, c. 1, 396

10 Ed. IIL, III. 309

11 Ed. in. cc. 1—5. 308

14 Ed. IIL, I. c. 21. 327 ; in. 327

17 Ed. III. 328

18 Ed. IIL, u. c. 6. 328
23 Ed. III. 333

25 Ed. III. 398, ii. 334 ; iii. c. 2. 393, c. 3. 320 ; v. c. 12. 328
27 Ed. IIL, I. c. 4. 308, 323, cc. 5, 7. 319, c. 6. 255, c. 7. 320 ; ii.
(Ordinance of the Staples). 278, 315, 317, c. 11. 320, c 14. 329
31 Ed. IIL, I. c. 6. 334 ; iir. .321

34 Ed. IIL c. 9. 443, cc. 9, 10, 11. 335, c. 20. 406

35 Ed. IIL 322

36 Ed. III. c. 8. 333

37 Ed. III. c. 7. 328, 441, cc. 8—15. 310

38 Ed. IIL, I. c. 2. 329, 396, c. 8. 394
43 Ed. III. c. 1. 290

1 R. IL c. 6. 399, c. 7. 406

2 R. 1 1., I. c. 1. 393, c. 3. 426, c. 7. 393

3 R. IL c. 2. 434

6 R. IL, I. c. 2. 395, r. 3. 394, cc. 6, 8. 402 ; n. c. 1. 393

6 R. XL, I. c. 4. 402, c. 8. 394, c. 9. 620

7 R. II. c. 5. 537

LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 677

9 E. IT. c. 2. 402

11 R. II. c. 7. 393

12 R. II. c. 5. 440, c. 6. 407, cc. 3—7. 405, c. 7. 407

13 R. II., I. c. 11. 435 ; li. c. 8. 449 ; in. 391, c. 13. 406

14 R. II. c. 1. 396, c. 2. 395, c. 6. 394, c. 9. 393

15 R. II. c. 6. 408

16 K II. c. 1. 393

17 R. II. c. 2. 435, c. 5. 434, c. 7. 407
2 H. IV. c. 5. 431

4 H. IV c. 6. 435, c. 15. 431

5 H. IV. cc. 4, 9. 432

7 H. IV. c. 17. 440, 508

2 H. v., I. c. 1. 40S, c. 7. 400; n. c. 6. 426

9 H. v., I. c. 11. 327, 432 ; ii. c. 1. 432, c. 9. 327

2 H. VI. c. 6. 432, c. 7. 514, c. 10. 441, cc. 15, 16. 432, c. 17. 441

3 H. VI. c. 1. 443, c. 2. 439

4 H. VI. c. 5. 407

8 H. VI. c. 2. 418, c. 11. 449, 508, c. 23. 439

10 H. VI. c. 3. 418

11 H. VI. c. 9. 435

15 H. VI. c. 2. 407, 447, c. 6. 445, 509
20 H. VI. c. 1. 410, 412
23 H. VI. c. 3. 441, c. 5. 447, c. 12. 448, 534
25 H. VI. 402

27 H. VI. c. 2. 434

28 H. VI. c. 2. 282
33 H. VI. c. 5. 429

3 Ed. IV. c. 1. 414, 433, 438, c. 2. 407, 447, c. 3. 429, c. 4. 430, 441

4 Ed. IV. c. 1. 435, 438, c. 4. 438

7 Ed. IV. c. 1. 441, 516, c. 2. 435

8 Ed. IV. c. 1. 435

12 Ed. IV. c. 2. 433

17 Ed. IV. c. 1. 433, c. 2. 452
22 Ed. IV. c. 3. 428, c. 5. 445

I R. III. c. 6. 452, c. 8. 435, 438, c. 9. 429, 430, e. 10. 433, c. 12, 430
1. H. VII. c. 5. 514, c. 8. 490

4. H. VII. c. 10. 490, c. 11, 515, c. 16. 529

II H. VII. c. 2. 537, c. 5. 304, c. 11. 449, 516, c. 22. 534
12 H. VII. c. 3. 534, c. 6. 416, 511

19 H. VII. c. 5. 513, c. 7. 511, 513, c. 12. 537, a 17. 516, c. 19. 514
3 H. VIII. c. 8. 520, c. 10. 513, 514

5 H. VIII. c. 4. 516

6 H. VIII. c. 3. 535, c. 5. 529

7 H. VIII. e. 1. 529, c. 5. 535

14 and 15 H. VIII. c. 2. 513, c. 3. 516

21 H. VIII. c. 12. 519

22 H. VIII. c. 2. 515, c. 4. 512, c. 12. 537

23 H. VIII. c. 4. 514, f. 7. 490, c. 8. 481, 498

678 LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

24 H. VITT. cc. 1, 2. 514, c. 3. 544, c. 4. 499

25 H. VIII. c. 1. 544, c. 2. 544, c. 13. 526, c. 18. 518

26 H. VIII. cc. 8, 9. 507, c. 10. 550, c. 16. 517, c. 19. 548, 550

27 H. VIII. c. 1. 507, c. 22. 530, c. 25. 538, c. 28. 531

28 H. VIII. c. 5. 512

32 H. VIII. c. 2. 534, c. 14. 491, c. 18. 507, c. 19. 508

33 H. VIII. c. 2. 499, c. 7. 487, c. 15. 520, c. 16. 617, c. 36. 507
84 and 35 H. VIII. c. 10. 519

35H. VIII. c. 4. 507

37 H. VIII. c. 9. 558, c. 14. 498, c. 15. 515, 517

1 Ed. VI. c. 3. 640, c. 5. 517, c. 14. 522

2 and 3 Ed. VI. c. 6. 505, c. 15. 523, 536, 544, c. 19. 499, c. 26. 515,

c. 30. 498, c. 37. 487

3 and 4 Ed. VI. c. 2. 515, c. 16. 541, c. 20. 619, 523, c. 21. 544,

c. 22. 512, 524
5 and 6 Ed. VI. c. 2. 541, c. 5. 533, c. 6. 515, 521, c. 14. 544, c. 18. 490

1 and 2 P. and M. c. 7. 520, c. 14. 526

2 and 3 P. and M. c. 2. 533, c. 5. 541, c. 11. 524, c. 12. 519
5 Eliz. c. 4. 449

18 Eliz. c. 6. 451

18 and 19 C. II. c. 8. 229

22 and 23 C. II. c. 19. 523
Stefifen, G. F. Studien zur Geschickte der Englischen Lohnarbeiter

(1901). 331
Stevens, J. History of Abbeijs {1122). 219
Stevenson, W. H. Review of Domesday Studies, in English Historical

He view v. 126
Stirling, J. H, Lectures on the Philosophy of Law (1873). 99
Stow, W. Annals. 290, 388, 610
Stow, W. Survey. 382, 514

Streatfield, G. S. Lincolnshire and the Danes (1884). 52, 92
Strype, J. Ecclesiastical Memorials (1822). 505, 528, 532, 556
Stubbs, W. The Constitutional History of England (1875). 47, 61,

100, 101, 103, 104, 149, 151, 152, 290, 405
Stubbs, W. Lectures on Mediaeval History. 207
Stubbs, W. Select Charters. 138, 152, 154, 189, 205, 213, 218
Suckling, A. The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk

(1846). 333
Sullivan, W. K. Introduction to O'Curry's Manners and Customs

of the Ancient Irish (1873). 48
Supplication of the poor commons in Four Supplications (Early English

Text Society). 528
Supplications, Four (Early English Text Society 1871). 628, 643
Suppression of the Monasteries (Camden Society 1843). 538
Swinfield, see Webb, J.

Symeon of Durham. Opera omnia (Rolls Series). 646
System of Land Tenure in Ancient Palestine, in Church Quarterly Review

X (i880). 48
Systems of Land Tenure (Cobden Club 1870). 95

LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 679

Tacitus. Germania. 34, 36, 38, 47, 48, 51

Tacitus. Annates. 56

Taylor, I. H. Words and Places (1873). 91

Taylor, I. H. The Ploughland and the Plough, in Domesday Studies

(1888). 126
Thierry, A. Formation and Progress of the Tiers Mat {\S8b). 190
S. Thomas Aquinas. Opusculum de usuris (Venice 1775). 255, 257
S. Thomas Aquinas. Opusc. de regimine principum (Venice 1775). 245
S. Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologica (Venice 1775), 252, 256,

257
Thomas, E. Revemie of the Mughal Empire (1871). 39
Thomas of Ely, see Liher Eliensis.
Thomas of Walsir.gham, see Walsingham.
Thomassin, L. Traitez historiques et dogmatiques (1685). 500
Thompson, J. Essay on English Municipal History (1867). 215
Thompson, J. History of Leicester (1849). 206, 214, 286
Thompson, Pishey. On*the Early Commerce of Boston, in Assoc. Archi.

Soc. Reports and Papers ii (1853). 198
Thompson, Pishey. Boston (1856). 316
Thorkelin, G. J. Essay on the Slave Trade (1788). 87
Thorpe, B. Ancient Laws and Institutions (1840). passim
Thorpe, B. Diplomatarium Anglicum (1865). 117, 128, 129, 154
Thorpe, B. Analecta Anglo- Saxonica (1834). 131
Thucydides. 61
Tickell, J. History of the town and county of Kingston-upon-Hull

(1796). 227, 279
Todd, J. H. S. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland (1864). 68
Topham, J. Subsidy Roll of 51 Ed. III., in Archceologia vu (1785).

386
Topham, J. Liher Quotidianus (1787). 242
Tovey, De Blossiers. Anglia Judaica (1738). 204, 287
Treatise of Planting and Grafting Trees (Early Englisu lext Society).

554
Trevelyan, G. M. An Account of the Rising of 1381, in English

Historical Revieio xili. 404
Trevelyan, G. M. England in the Age of Wycliffe (1899). 397, 404
Tudor Proclamations (1897). 499, 500, 514, 515, 542, 543, 546
Tupper, C. L. Punjab Customary Law (Calcutta 1881). 47
Turner, S. Anglo-Saxons. 123
Turner, T. H. Domestic Architecture. 82, 181, 228, 267, 295, 297,

300, 318, 650, see Parker.
Tusser, T. Five Hundred Points of Husbandry (W. Mavor 1812). 530
Twiss, T. Black Book of Admiralty (Rolls). 304
Twysden, R. Histories Anglicanoe Scriptores X. (1652). 333, 401, 645,

649
Tyndale, W. Doctrinal Treatises (Parker Society 1848). 529

Unwin, G. Industrial Organisation (1904). 444, 446
Unwin, G. The Gilds and Companies of London (1908). 129, 191, 192,
226, 322, 349, 383

680 LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

Varenbergh, E. Relations diplomatiques entre le comte de Flandre et

VAngleterre (1874). 176, 623, 628, 645
Vinogradoff, P. Molmen and Molland, in English Historical Review i

(1886).
VinogradoflF, P. Villainage in £higland (1892). 39, 40, 41, 62, 63, 73,

77, 114, 117, 149, 164, 217
Virgil. Oeorgica. 34
Vita S. Thomce auctore anom/mo, in Materials for History of Thomas

Becket (EoUs Series). 187, 650
Vivas, L. De suhventione pauperum. 536
Vossius, M. Annates Hollandice (1680). 409

Waitz, G. Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte (1880). 37, 43

Walcott, M. E. C Household Expenses in a Salopian Mancyr House,

in Shrewsbury Archceological Collections i (1878). 242
Walker, Bryan. On the Inqwisitio Comitatus Cantabrigiensis, in Cam-
bridge A7itiquarian Society Communications VI (1887). 126
Walker, F. A. Money. 116
Wallace, D. Mackenzie. Russia (New Edition 1905). 33, 42, 47, 259,

399, 401
Walsingham. Gesta Abbatum S. Alhani (Rolls). 400
Walsingham. Historia Anglicana (Rolls). 333, 336, 400, 425
Walter of Hemingburgh. CAromco% (Eng. Hist. See. 1848). 192
Walter of Henley. Husbandry. 120, 237, 238, 239, 552 f., 559
Warnkonig. Flandrische Staats- UTid Rechtsgeschichte {\%Zb). 181, 195,

307
Watson, J. Halifax (1869). 515
Wauters, A. Liberies Communales (1878). 653
Webb, J. Roll of Household Expenses of Bishop Swinfield (Camden

Society 1854). 242, 244, 245
Webb, S. and B. History of Trade Unionism (1894). 340, 346, 347,

352, 444
Weever, J. Ancient Funeral Monuments (1631). 333
Welch, C. History of the worshipful Company of Pewterers (1902). 349
Welsford, J. W. The Strength of England (1910). 266, 383, 393
Westcote, T. View of Devonshire in 1630 (1845). 438
Wharton, H. Anglia Sacra (1691). 86
Wheeler, J. Treatise of Commerce (1601). 416, 497
Whittaker, T. D. History of the original Parish of Wlialley (1876).

527
Whitwell, R. J. Italian BunJcers, in Trans. Roy. Hist. Soc, xvii.

272
Wilkins, D. Concilia Magnae Britannice et HibernicB (1737). 386
William of Jumifeges in Duchesne. 642, 645
William of Malmesbury. De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum (Rolls). 85,

194, 195
William of Malmesbury. De Vita S. Widstani, see Wharton. 86
William of Malmesbury. Gesta Regum (Rolls Series). 648
William of Malmesbury. Historia Nova (Rolls Seriea). 648, 649
William of Newbury (Rolls Series). 649

LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 681

William of Poitou in Dnchpsne. 647
William of Worcester. Itinerary. 3.33, see Dallaway.
Willis, R. Architectural History of Christchurch (1869). 82
Wills from Doctors Commons (Camden Society 1883). 310
Wills and Inventories from the Registers of the Commissary of Bury S.

Edmunds (Camden Society 1850). 310
Winsloio Court Rolls (Cambridge University Library). 570, 586, 610
Witt, J. de. Interest of Holland (1702). 291, 447
Winterbottom, T. Sierra Leone (1803). 34, 39, 40, 47
Wolf, L. The Middle Age of Anglo-Jewish History, in Anglo-Jewish

Exhibition Papers. 204, 287, 288
Wolowski, L. Traitede Nicole Oresnie (1864). 355, 356
Worms, E. Histoire commereiale de la Ligue Hansmtique (1864). 407,

417, 418, 419
Worsaae, J. J. A. Banes and Norwegians (1852). 84, 87, 89, 94
Wright, T. Uriconium (1859). 59
Wright, T. Political Songs of England (Camden Society 1839). 271,

391
Wright, T. Political Songs (Rolls). 368, 403, 413, 424, 425, 427
Wyclif, J. The English works of Wyclif, hitherto unprinted, edited by
F. D. Matthew (E. E. T. S. 1880). 400, 403

Yates, W. History of the Abbey of Bury S. Edmunds (1843). 210

Zeuss, K. Die Deutschen und die Nachbarstamme (1837). 30
Zimmeru, H. Hama Towns (1886). 301
Zosimus. Histories Novae (1679). 55

INDEX.

Abacns, 229 n.

Abbeys, 85, 144, 149 n., 276 n., 386,

530 n., 531 n,, 635 n. See Bene-

dictines.Monasteries, Westminster,

etc.
Abbotsbury, 129 n.
Abbottes Rypton, 455 n.
Aberconway, 634 n.
Aberdeen, 3, 189 n., 301 n., 302 n.;

Trinity Hall, 523 n.
Aberdeenshire, 33 n., 184
Abergavenny, 508
Abingdon, 385 n., 640
Abirdine, see Aberdeen
Abjuracio, 594

Abrahams, B. L., 200, 205 n., 206 n.
Abrahams, I., 287 n., 288 n.
Absentees, 489
Abstinence, 500 n.
Abyssinia, 477
Accounts, 158, 232, 235, 239, 249,

549
Accumulation, 35 ; desire of, 11 ; see

Wealth
Acorns, 388
Acre, fall of, 274
Acres, 41, 42 n., 62, 109, 119, 120,

125 n., 126 and n.
Acton Bumel, 222 n. , 281, 290
Adam Bamme, 361 n.
Adamnan, 71
Aden, 477
Admirals, 410 n., 411, 491

Lord High, 498

Adriatic, 426

Ad valorem, 317, 548

Adventurers, see Merchant

^Ifric, 131, 299, 391 n.

8. iElphege, 87

iEthelfleda, 96

^thelred, 128, 139, 151

Affiliation, 223

Africa, 33 n., 34 n., 185, 416, 475,

477, 554
Aftermath, 40 n., 628
Ager, 38

Agistamentum, 596
Agrestano (Egleston), 635

Agriculture, 18, 22, 61, 92, 380,

552 f., 566, 647
encouragement of, 406, 447,

482, 565

in towns, 227

methods of, 32, 33, 37, 38,

41, 44, 527

Eoman, 55

Se«Husbandry,Three-field, Tillage.

Abmedabad, 26 n.

Aichintune (Eckington), 167 n.

Aids, 138, 150

Ailesham, 638

Ailwardus, 652

Alan, Earl, 141

Alan, the Hornblower, 160

Alba Landa, 632

Alcester, 451 n.

Aldebrand, 198

Aldelmus, 652

Alderman, 195, 222, 227, 339, 340,

360, 382, 383 n., 386, 493, 510, 525
Aldgate, 451
Aldhehn, 82
Ale, 117 n.; see Assize
AleisB, 295 n.
Aleranus, 644 n.
Alexander 11., 189 n.
Alexander the Great, 246 n.
Alexandria, 473
Alfred the Great, 64 n., 65, 79, 66,

84, 85, 88, 94, 131, 132, 142
Alfrithe, 85 n.

Ahens, 206, 320, 548, 550, 641 f.
hostility to, 189, 217, 248, 289,

292, 300, 378, 446

restrictions on, 300, 382, 392,

430

artisans, 189, 306, 308 n., 429,

446, 513, 564, 641 f.

financiers, 249, 289

merchants, 131, 155, 174 n.,

187, 194, 197, 200, 249, 264 n.,
277, 281, 290 f., 302, 308, 315 f.,
320, 393, 419, 550, 650

See Flemings, Italians, Privileges,
Betail.
Alleces, 682

684

iNDEX.

Allotment, 41, 43, ol, 62

Allowances, 157, 158

Alloy, 154, 358

Almoner, 243 n.

Alms, 157, 536

Almshouses, 408

AInuicche (Alnwick), 634

Alnwick, 634

Al Ponte (Holland Bridge), 636

Alresford, 454

Altenstadt, 46

Alum, 425

Alva, the Duke of, 9

Alvah, 42 n.

Alvingham, 636

Alvinghamo (Alvingham), 636

Alvred of Marlborough, 645 n.

Amalfi, 184, 198

Amber, 88

Ambition, 463, 468

individual, 464

national, 468, 469, 479

Ambreslege (Ombersley), 125 n.
Ambrosius, 57
Amercements, 282

America, 84, 91 n., 327 n., 416, 470,
474 n., 476, 479, 483, 488, 499,
501 n., 502

pre-Columban discovery of, 84,

Oolumban discovery of, 473, 475

silver from, 488

Ampole (Hampole), 637
Amsterdam, 409

bank of, 362

Anachronism, 15, 20, 24

Analogy, 25, 107, 144, 189 n., 337,

348, 525, 559 n.
Anarchy, 140, 145, 183, 396, 489
Anchordona (Ankerwyke), 637
Ancilla, 85
Anderida, 59

Andover, 314 n., 345, 454
Andrews, Mr C. M., 44 n., 78 n,,

86 n.. Ill n. , 168 n. , 234 n., 652 n.
Angevins, 9, 188 n., 280 n.
Angles, 54

Angli, 31 n., 643, 644
Anjou, 318 n., 484
Ankerwyke, 637

S. Ansehn, 145, 155 n., 207, 272
S. Anskar, 52 n.
Anstie, 591

Antella, Agnolo d. L. d', 628
Antioch, 185
Antonio, 258
Antwerp, 312, 414, 496
Apothecaries, 181, 382
Apparel, 310
Appleby, 164 n.
Apprentices, 429, 449, 516, 518, 540,

564

Apprentices, disorder among, 509

enticing away, 338, 343, 350

fees of, 511

hostility to foreign, 347 n,, 446,

513

overstocking with, 512, 523

status of, 350 f.

Apprenticeship, 349, 511

Act, 508, 518

Appropriation, 98
Aquinas, see S. Thomas
Aquitaine, 267 n., 393
Arabia, 72, 83, 88, 478
Aragon, 193, 199, 439
Arboriculture, 553, 554
Archangel, 505
Archbishops, 183
Archdeacons, 145, 207, 646
Archery, 406
Archipelago, 477, 494
Architecture, 144, 440

Perpendicular, 440

Arden, 637

Ardena (Arden), 637

Aristotle, 245, 270, 356

Armada, 65

Armorica, 58 n.

Armourers, 339 n.

Arms, 152

Armstrong, Clement, 303 n., 317 n.,

437 n., 447, 497 n., 519 n., 544 n.,

556
Arras, 176 n.

Arrears, 112 n., 127 n., 157
Arrows, 406, 412 n.
Arsenal, 498
Art, 188 n.
Artillery, 433
Artisans, 222, 310, 383, 386, 391,

406, 510, 519, 524, 535, 536, 550,

559, 564 f.

condition of, 310, 386

Danish, 94 n.

Flemish, 143, 186, 226, 304,

306, 641, 647 f., 651

immigration of, 186 f., 304 f.,

564, 641 f.

Italian, 430, 446, 525

monastic, 71, 72, 81, 82 n.

Norman, 144, 187, 369, 647

oppression of, 20 n., 189 □.,

337, 523, 651 f., 655

protection of, 305, 429

village, 3, 72

withdrawing from towns, 509,

518

See Craft gilds, Journeymen, Mer-
chants.
Arts, industrial, 48, 294

Koman, 82

See Crafts.

Arturian, 57

INDEX.

685

Amndel, 148 n.
Arundel, Sir H., 489
Arva, 38
Aryan, 109
Ashehurst, Thomas, 504

Ashley, Prof., 189 n., 193, 198 n.,
252, 341 n., 398 n., 408, 437, 442,
522, 533 n., 536 n., 537, 558, 659,
641, 645

Asia, 31

Aspaldinghe, 639

Aspella (Aspall), 169 n.

Assay, 284, 318

Assessment, 112, 125, 126, 126 n.f
295, 400, 548, 549

of land, 164

of movables, 174

of town rates, 173, 218, 229,

248, 376, 384, 386

of wages, 449, 449 n.

of wool, 628

Assignment of land, 32, 38, 45 n.,
61

by lot, 39 n.

Assize of Ale, 176, 214, 263, 520

Bread, 176, 214, 237, 250, 263,

331 n., 349, 458 n., 520, 576

Buildings, 228

Cloth, 192, 263, 305, 322

Measures, 121 n., 124 n.

Wine, 318, 318 n.

Wool, 315

Aston and Coat, 39 n.
Athens, 95
Atlantic, 91, 473
Aubrey, Andrew, 185 n.
Audit, 235

S. Augustine, 66, 68, 108, 207

Augustinian Canons, 209, 629, 640 n.

Aulnager, 305, 305 n., 308, 322, 434

S. Austin of Hippo, 64 n.

Authority, Royal, 96, 271

Auxerre, 197 n.

Avarice, 487, 562

Avena, 567

Avenebi Ilendisia (Hagneby), 635

Avera, 141, 149

Averolino (Haverholme), 636

Avala, Pedro de, 502, 506

Aylesbury, Richard, 395, 396 n,

Ayrshire, 60 n.

Azores, 476, 477

Bachelors' Guild, 352 n., 444
Bacon, Francis, 471, 486, 487 n.
Bagdad, 85 n.

Bailiff, 176 n., 213, 235 f., 280, 419,
452, 534

of Oinque Ports, 226

Bakberande, 584

Bakers, .S.38 n., 343, 353 n., 491,

653 f. ; nee Assize of Bread
Balance of Power, 479, 483

of Trade, 395, 563

Balantrodoch, 630

Baldwin the Young, 647

Balearic Isles, 199

Baleo in Essecchisi (Bileigh), 636

Balinger, 411 n.

Balk, 44, 73

Ball, John, 400 n.

Balle diruccho, 630

Balmerinach, 629

Balmerino, 629

Balscaddan, 242 n.

Baltic, 83, 84, 301, 418, 422, 473

Bampton, 125

Bangor, 71

Banishment, 286, 594 n.

Bankers, 249, 274, 290, 380, 424

Banking, 362

Baptism, 203

Barbers, 340 n.

Barcelona, 199

Barcha, 634

Bardes, 354

Bardi, 289, 384, 424, 618

Bardinaja, 638

Bardney, 638

Barentona (Barrington), 584

Bargains, 114, 134, 460, 466, 558 n.

in money, 322, 458

extortionate, 257, 364, 557

reasonable, 250

See Gavel.

Barge, 216, 411 n.
Bari, 184
Barley, 74, 119 n.
Barlings, 634

Barmicciacche (Balmerino), 629
Barns, 295

Barnstaple, 173, 385 n., 507
Barnwell Priory, 180
Baroda, 26

Barons of London, 212
Barrington (Cambs.), 570
Bartelot, John, 185 n.
Barter, 114, 115
Bartholomew Pair, 452 n., 496
Barton on Humber, 385 n,, 643
Basadono, Nicoleto, 426 n.
Basil, 339 and n.
Basing, 176 n.

Basingueccha (Basingwerk), 633
Basingwerk, 633
Bastides, 267 n.

Bateson, Miss M., 174 n., 211 n.,
221 n., 247 n., 333 n., 338 n., 453 n.
Bath, 385 n., 451 n., 507
Bath Abbey, 402 and n., 571
Battle Abbey, 209
Battle of the Standard, 648

686

INDEX.

Bay of Biscay, 423
Bayeux, Bishop of, 644
Baynards Castle, 176 n.
Beacons, 498
Beam, King's, 324, 325

Wool, 324

Beauchief, 635
Beaulieu, 632
Becchamo (Beigham), 635
Beccles, 188, 385 n.
Bedale, 451 n.

Bede, 31 n., 56, 60, 69, 70, 71, 72,

108, 196 n.
Bedford, 102, 127 n., 224, 335 n.,

507
Bedfordshire, 61
Bedrepe, 578
Beef, 529
Beeherd, 168
Bee-keeper, 78
Beer, 117 n.; see Assize
Bees, 553
Beggars, 539 n.

impotent, 407, 536

valiant, 334, 335, 537

Behaim, Martin, 476
Beigham, 635

S. Beino, 58 n.

Belgium, 189 n.

Bell, Dr, 509 f.

Bellaugholera (Beaulieu), 632

Bell-metal, 487 n.

BeUs, 294, 430 n.

Belluere (Belvoir), 639

Belvoir, 244, 639

Benedict Biscop, 81

Benedictines, 72 n., 209, 629

Benefices, 331, 560

Benese, R. de, 119 n., 125 n., 554

Bengal, 12 n., 36, 54 n., 103 n.,

389 n.
Bengali, 5
Beowulf, 50 n.

Bergen, 293 n,, 301, 409, 417, 419,
420

Berkeleys, 453 n.

Berkshire, 127, 165 n., 644

Berlinghe (Barlings), 634

S. Bernard, 146

S. Bertin, 85 n.

Berwick, 39 n., 246 and n., 278, 283,
507

Berwickshire, 44 n.

Bettesdellana (Bittlesden), 633

Beverley, 189, 213n., 218, 344, 385n.,
396 n., 655 and n.

Bialceffo (Beauchief), 635

Biancilanda (Alba Lauda), 632

Bicester, 640

Bickley, 182 n., 341 n.

Bildeston, 385 n.

Bileigh, 635 and n.

Bilignassi (Buildwas), 632

Billingsgate, 128

Bills of Exchange, 207, 249, 423, 432

Bindon (Dorset), 632

Bindona (Abingdon), 640

Binendona (Bindon, Dorset), 632

Biolanda (Byland), 631

Biorn, 52 n.

Birmingham, 95, 521

Bishops, 138, 174 n., 183

Bishopsgate, 194, 451

Bisus, 567

Bittlesden, 633

Bixa (Bix), 164 n.

Bjami, 46 n,, 90

Black Death, 237, 250, 310, 314, 351,

370, 37(3, 386, 388, 401, 458, 526,

543, 570, 610

extent of ravages, 330 f., 333 n.

immediateeffects, 298, 332,397,

398

origin of, 329 n.

ultimate effects, 370, 375, 453

Blackmere, 332 n.

Black Monks, 640 n.

Black Sea, 84, 88, 196

Blacksmith, 340 n.

Blackwell Hall, 218, 383

Blakeney, 385 n.

Blakeway, 651

Blanched, 160, 160 n.

Blanket, Thomas, 436

Blood-tie, 28, 45, 99

Blyth, 638

Boadicea, 56

Boc, 68, 99, 207

Boccherelli, 288 n.

Boechesella In Chenti (Boxley), 634

Bocland, 64 n., 68, 99, 104, 105

Bodgers, Corn, 565

Bodleian, 562 n.

Bodmin, 333 n., 385 n., 508

Body economic, 6

Body politic, 262, 356, 560

Boileau, Etienne, 349

Boke of Measuryinge of Lande,

119 n., 125 n., 554
Boldon Book, 175
BoU, 121

Bollintona (Bullington), 636
Bolton in Craven, 638
Boltrona in Chravenna (Bolton), 638
Bonamy of York, 287
Bonar, Mr, 561
Bond's Hospital, 522 n.
Bondsmen, 402, 533, 534
Boniface VIII., 273
Book-keeping, 235
Book of Rates, 549 f.
Books, 431
Boonwork, 107, 167, 168, 234 ; see

PrecarisB

INDEX.

687

Booths, 181
Bordarius, 168, 643
Bordeaux, 302, 320, 410 n.
Border, The, 548
Bordesley, 633

Abbot of, 208

Borecestri (Bicester), 640

Borgo Sanpiero (Peterborough), 640

Borley, 570

Borrowing, see Loans

Bortona sortretta (Burton-on-Trent),

639
Bosphorus, 477
Boston, 198, 246, 278, 385 n., 455,

456

fair at, 181 n., 244, 302 n., 452

Hansards at, 195, 418 ru, 422,

453

staple at, 316 n.

Bosworth, battle of, 457
S. Botolph, 640 n.

S. Botolph's, see Boston

Bottisham, 332

Boundary stones, 80

Bourn, 639

Bovate, 126, 126 n.

Bows, 412 n.

Bowstaves, 433, 434, 487 n.

Bowyers, 340 n., 351, 433

Boxley, 634

Brabant, 266, 268, 306, 312, 315,

341, 415
Brabants, 327
Bradford, 95 n., 187 n.
Bradford (Wilts), 295 n,
Bradsole, S. Kadegund, 635 and n.
Braelers, 340 n., 342 n., 351 n., 443
Branktree (Braintree), 385 n.
Brasiers, 340 n., 513
Brasium, 585
Brass, 132 n.

Bratendoccha (Balantrodoch), 630
Bratfortune (Bretforton), 188 n.
Brawdesters, 353 n.
Brazil, 474 and n., 476, 501, 506
Bread, 530 n., 551 ; see Assize
Breakers of wool, 353 n.
Brecknock, 508
Bredon, 295 n.
Brehon, see Laws
Brembre, Nicholas, 382, 383
Bremen, 183, 420
Brentano, Dr, 189 n., 524 n.
Brest, trade of, 491 n.
Bretagne, Duke of, 386
Breteuil, 211 n., 224; see Laws
Bretigny, 269 n.
Breton, 410 n.
Bretwalda, 66
Brewer, William, 274 n.
Brewers, 353 n., 384 ii., 491
Bria (Biyth), 638

Brian, King, 94 n.

Bribery, 533, 553

Bricstam, 259 n.

Bricstelmestune (Bricklehampton),

167 n.
Bridt,'es, 295, 296

Eoman, 67

maintenance of, 79, 214, 216,

450, 522, 530 n.

decay of, 178

See London.

Bridgewater, 279, 508, 519
Bridgnorth, 96, 507
Bridles, 430 n.
Bridlington, 638
Bridlington Priory, 287
Bridport, 507, 519
Bright, 483

BrindeUintona (Bridlington), 638
Bristol, 93, 222 n., 224, 385, 387,
388, 476, 504

cloth manufacture, 435, 437

customers, 278, 279

decay of town, 453, 507

fair, 244, 451, 496

S. Mary's Redcliffe, 501

merchants of, 416, 492, 501,

602, 504, 525

recovery of debts, 281, 281 n.,

282 n.

slave trade, 86

soap boiling, 179 n.

staple at, 316

Britain, 2, 12, 29, 31, 31 n., 43 n.,
49 n., 51. 54, 56, 56 n., 58 n., 196

Britanny, 266, 410 n., 414, 427, 484,
648

Britons, see Welsh

Broad-cloth, 435

Broggers, see Brokers, 544 n.

Brokers, 360, 364, 651 n.

Bromsgrove, 518

Brondislea (Bordesley), 633

Brono (Bourn), 639

Brotherhoods, 443, 443 n., 523

Brouage, 491 n.

Bruce, Eobert, 424

Bruerne, 633

Bruges, 183, 185, 197, 315, 317 n.,
348, 416, 426

grievances at, 306, 307

staple at, 415 n.

trade of, 394, 494

Bryce, Hugh, 432 n.
Buckfastleigh, 633
Buckingham, 507
Buckinghamshire, 157, 544 n., 610,

633
Bucklers, 510
Bucklersbury, 288 n.
Bufeltro in Chornovaglia (Buckfaaii-

leigh), 633

688

INDEX.

Buil, Friar, 502

BuUders, 187, 188, 228, 267 n.,

330 n., 646, 650
Building, 144, 187, 259, 294, 295,

373, 440, 640, 642, 643, 646 f.,

649 f.
Buildwas, 632
Bulgars, 184
Bullington, 636
Bullion, 256, 359, 362, 394, 431, 433

and n., 496, 545

at the Mint, 328

export of, 329, 378, 895, 433,

467, 542

import of, 329, 364, 377, 433

See Metals, precious.

Bullionists, 329, 563
Buneter, 568
Burellars, 190, 218 n.
Burewelle (Burwell), 169 n.
Burg, see Burgh

Burgesses, 174, 189, 206, 211, 221,
269, 282, 310, 320, 645, 651 f.

French, 173, 188

German, 94 n.

exclusiveness of, 191, 218, 248,

299

and agriculture, 3, 174, 215

and ferm, 216, 645

See Town.

Burgh, 172, 173, 211, 222 n., 269,
341, 393

rate, 173, 216

Burghill, Moreys, 432 n.
Burghs, Five, 93

Scottish, 221 n., 285

Burgomasters, 185, 185 u.
Burgundy, 414, 484

fairs, 370, 422

Burleigh, Lord, 500

Burmah, 34 n.

Burton-on-Trent, 175, 385 n., 639

Bury S. Edmund's, 178 n., 205, 210,

246, 385 n., 648

Abbot of, 175

Butchers, 3, 189 n., 214, 491, 643,

651
Butlerage, 277
Butt, 433 n.
Butter, 499 n., 544 n.
Buyer, 248

Bye laws, 285 ; see Burghs
Byland, 631
Byrca, 52 n.
Byrnie, 50 n.
Byse, John, 350

Walter, 350

Byzantium, 147, 184 ; see Constanti-
nople

Cab fare, 250, 254

Cabot, J., 473, 476, 501, 504

Cabot, Sebastian, 502 n., 504, 505
Cade, Jack, 400 ii.

William, 161 n.

Caen, 188, 645, 647, 650
Caerleon, 608
Caermarthen, 508
Caerphilly, 650

Caesar, 28, 32, 33, 34, 38, 43 n., 54,

98, 107
Calais, 282 n., 300, 364, 494, 548,

550

importance of, 177 n., 197,

303 n., 316 n., 406, 469

staple at, 311 n., 313, 316 n.,

317, 416 n., 434 n.

loss of, 549

Calder, 631
Calendar, 110, 124
Calendering, 516
Calicut, 478
Caliphs, 88
CalHngs, 357
Calshord (Calshot), 304
Calshot, 304 n.
Calthorpe, Lord, 552 n.
Calthrop, Sir H., 345 n.
Calves, 544 n.

Cam, 216

Cambium minutum, 156, 284 n.

Cambrai, 187 n.

Cambridge, 73 n., 96, 173, 178 n.,
179, 187 n., 218 n., 246 and n.,
384 n., 385 n., 401 n., 405, 451,
508

- agricultural character, 3, 174
All Saints (in Castro), 178 n.,

332 n.

S. Benet, 168

Corpus Christi College, 333 n.,

401 n.

decay of, 188 n., 455, 508

fairs, 180, 496

S. Giles, 332 n., 454

gilds, 129

Jews in, 150 n., 206

S. John's Hospital, 178 n.

lawmen, 93

S. Mary's the Great, 440 n.

S. Khadegund, 180

Trinity College, 355 n., 570

Cambridge University, 178 n., 179,

319 n., 401 n., 554 n.
Cambridgeshire, 60 n., 101 n., 126,

141. 162. 163, 165, 169, 216, 332,

404, 456, 644
Campfer, 312 n.
Camp of Refuge, 171
Candia, 494
Candles, 544 n.
Cannibalism, 388
Canon Law, 251, 258, 367, 558
Canonist teaching, 558 f.

INDEX.

689

Canons, see Augustinian
Canterbury, 82, 129, '226, 281 n., 316,
326, 385 n., 416, 507, 639, 655 n.

Archbishop of, 155, 255 n., 386

(Christchurch), 82, 129 n., 130

n., 570, 639 u.

S. Ausjustine, 639 n.

Canynges, William, 387, 413, 416
Caorsa, 208 n.

Cape Cod, 90

Cape of Good Hope, 473, 477

Capital, 5, 11, 16, 368 n., 525, 552

definition of, 4

employment of, 367, 879, 437,

464, 545, 558

formation of, 463, 545, 551, 558

mercantile, 202, 354, 505

power of, 558 f.

See Stock in trade, Money, Interest.
Capitalists, 379, 442, 464, 480, 525,
551 f., 625, 652; see Bnrgesses,
Clothiers, Merchants

clothiers as, 437

oppression by, 447, 624, 545

rise of native, 360, 437, 464

Capitularies, 110, 567

Capons, 388 n. , 544 n.

Cappers, 350, 444

Caps, 430 n., 445

Caption, 276

Carack, 413

Caravans, 115, 477

Carcassonne, 246 n.

Carders, 353 n.

Cardiff, 224 n., 508

Cardigan, 278

Carding, 515 n., 518

Cards, 430

Carhsle, 138, 188, 225, 345

Carmelite, 209

Carpenters, 334, 412 n.

Carpet, 297

Carriers, 334

Carters, 238

Carthusians, 209

Carts, 412 n.

Caruca, 163; see Plough

Carucage, 151, 153

Carucate, 125, 126, 126 n., 128,

163 n., 177, 645
Cash nexus, 397, 399
Caspian, 84, SB *
Caste, 100

Castles, 136 n., 138, 188, 646, 650
Cat, 280

S. Gaterina (see Lincoln), 636
Cathay, 476
Cathedrals, 144, 530 n.
Catteley, 636
Catterick, 441 n. , 450 n.
Cattle, 32, 129 n., 171, 404, 528, 653
breeds of, 55 n.

C. H.

Cattle, as money, 116, 122

trade in, 196, 480

Cauna (Calne), 164 n.

Caursines, 208, 208 n., 255

Causeways, 530 n.

Caverns, 35

Caversham, 244

Cavil, see Gavel

Cawston, 385 n.

Caxton, William, 559

Celts, 37, 60 n., 64 n., 643

Census, 162, 226

Centuriap, 55

Centuriation, 109

Ceolwulf, 102

Ceorlisc, 101 n.

Ceylon, 47 n.

Chains, 410

Chalcheford (Calshot), 304 n.

Chalderea In Choppolanda (Calder),

631
Chamberlain, 339
Champagne, 422

fairs in, 86 n., 182 n., 186 n.,

423 n.
Champion, 528

Chancellor, Lord, 493, 511, 526
Chancellor, Richard, 505
Chancery, 412 n.
Channel, 183, 414, 426 n., 650
Channel Islands, 283
Chantries, 332, 488 n., 531
Chapmen, 67, 79, 128, 646
Charity, 244 n., 259, 556

organisation, 541

Charles the Great, 71, 76, 80 n.,
84, 104 n., 110, 122, 123 n., 128,
190 n., 196, 567
Charles I., 9, 437 n., 483
Charles II., 229
Charles V. of France, 356, 469
Charles, duke of Orleans, 468 n.
Charters, 23, 68, 105, 211, 262, 369

of towns, 211, 213 n., 215,

220 n., 293, 341, 383, 392

■ for gilds, 341, 416, 437 n., 445,

497, 653 n.

for aliens, 197, 292, 293

See Boc, Fairs.
Chase, 32, 176
Chatellea (Catteley), 636
Chaucer, 284 n., 301
Chausberi (Tewkesbury), 640
Cheapness, 299, 319, 322 n., 336 n..

449, 471
Chedworth, Sir Thomas, 332
Cheese, 117 n., 148 n., 307, 499 n..

644 n.
Cheltenham, 454
Chemesege (Kempsey), 166 n.
Chenti (Kent), 634
Chepstow, 138, 279

690

INDEX.

Cherbury, Lord Henry of, 484
Cherry, 55, 554 n.
Cheshire, 120, 169, 386, 643
Chester, 97, 173, 180 n., 226, 283,
446, 508, 640 n., 646, 651 n.

customs of, 174, 220, 222 u.

Earl of, 643

fair, 180 n., 650 n., 651 n,

Gherbord, Earl of, 646

Eanulph, Earl of, 240, 616

Eobert, Archdeacon of, see

Eobert Grossteste

Eoman, 59

trade of, 93, 174, 278

Chesterfield, 190 n., 221 n.
Chesterton, 405

Chests, 540
Chevagium, 597
Chevisance, 361 n., 377
Chichester, 278, 316, 385 n., 507
Chicksand, 636

Childirforte (Shelford, Notts), 639
Childomo (Kildon), 637
Children, 440, 449, 519, 540
Chilosola (Kinloss), 629
Chilwell, 319 n.
Chinchesulda (Kingswood), 632
Chinese, 200
Chinna (Kinner), 634
Chipeham (Chippenham), 165
Chippenham (Gambs.), 165
Chirbebi (Kirkby), 639
Chircamo (Kirkham), 638
Chirchistallo In ardona (Kirkstall),

631
Chiricchistede (Kirkstead), 631
Chisiborno (Guisborough), 638
Choccuelle (Gokwelle), 637
Chonbo (Combe), 633
Chonbrumera (Cumbermere), 632
Chonchisala (Coggeshall), 634
Choudisgualdo (Cotswold), 628, 634,

640
Chondisqualdo (Cotswold), 680
Chornovaglia, 633
Choverramo (Corham), 634
Chravenna (Craven), 631, 638
Christendom, 142, 143, 200, 209, 272,

474
Christian duty, 556
Christianity and usury, 202, 251,

556 f.

civilizing influence, 30, 67, 81,

145, 369, 376

survival of Eoman, 63, 103

Christians, 477

'Christopher,' the, of Hull, 410 n.
Chroniclers, contemporary, 24, 543
Chuntorberj (Canterbury), 639
Chupero (Cupar Angus), 629
Church, 88, 146, 272, 273; see

Christianity

Churches, 144, 168, 188, 231, 448,

646 f.
Churchman, John, 324 n.
Churchwardens, 95 n., 538
Churl, 66, 102
Chylwel (Chilwell), 319 n.
Ciappi (Shapp), 635
Cimbri, 53
Cinque Ports, 218, 220 n., 224 and n.,

226, 279, 283, 287, 320, 508
Circulation, rapidity of, 464, 545
Cirencester, 385 n., 640 n.
Cissor, 245 n.

Cistercians, 72 n., 209, 210, 275, 629 f.
Citeaux, 275 n.
Civilization, Byzantine, 147

Continental, 142

Irish, 93 n.

Eoman, 29, 49 n., 54, 57, 59,

107, 108, 109

Civitas, 44, 55, 172
Clades, 598

Clarence, Duke of, 243 n.
Clarerchoni (Clattercote), 636
Classes, 4, 100 n., 378, 390, 464, 544,
561, 642 f., 651

mercantile, 381

Clattercote, 636
Clee, see Cley
Clemence, Lady, 161
S. Clement, 93 n.
Clement VI., Pope, 291 n.
Clements thorp, 637
Clergy, 168, 407
Clermont, Lord, 469 n.
Cley, 385 n., 420

Clive, 483
Clock makers, 309
Clontarf, 94 n.
Close, 528

Eolls, 656

Cloth, exported, 198, 305, 416, 423 n.,
447, 469, 548

imported, 2 n., 130 n., 180 n.,

190 n., 305, 430, 435, 647

linen, 353 n.

wooUen, 353 n., 428, 430 n.,

435, 515, 518, 520

worsted, 435, 516

See Assize, Drapery, Weaving.
Clothall, 44 n.
Clothes, 129 n.*, 287, 310, 535 ; see

Livery
Clothiers, alien, 428

capitalist, 438, 523, 544 n.,

545, 548, 551 f., 554

artisan, 437, 524

Cloth manufacture, 191, 428, 449,
523, 544 f., 552, 646 f., 652, 658

domestic, 190 n.

encouragement for, 192, 305,

308, 434, 515

INDEX.

691

Cloth manufacture, improvements in,
435, 515

materials for, 193, 305, 425, 426

native, 192, 373, 434

regulation of, 192, 322, 436,

436 n., 441

Cloth workers, 308, 515

Cluniac, 209, 275, 629

Gnight, 130 n.

Cnighten gild, 129, 219

Cnut, 102, 127 n., 128 n., 135, 140,
183

Coal, 1, 2, 12, 279

Coal merchant, 229

Co-aration, 44 n.

Coasts, 410, 411, 498, 646

Cobden, Eichard, 428, 483

Cobham, Sir John de, 450 n.

Cocket, 278

Coggeshall, 684

Cogware, 434

Coinage, 116, 117, 121 f., 154, 158,
284, 326 f., 336 n,, 354, 355, 362,
464, 542, 542 n., 546 f., 564

Anglo-Saxon, 48, 49 n., 89

Arabian, 88

circulation of, 284 and n., 362,

398, 464, 545, 554

cUpping, 286 n., 432, 542

debased, 283, 359, 488, 541,

542 f., 562 f.

denomination of, 358

foreign, 283, 284 n., 316, 326 f.,

362, 543

French, 356

gold, 147 n., 303 n., 327 n.,

328, 329, 358, 432, 543

in Ireland, 94 n.

Scottish, 329

Silver, 328, 354, 358, 535 n.,

542 and n.

See Money.
Coke, John, 519, 535 n.
Colchester, 229, 385 n., 420, 507,

554, 640 and n., 655 n.
Coldingham, 72, 175 n.
CoUeges, 181, 451 n.
Cologne, 183, 194, 197, 318, 653
Coloni, 55
Colonisation, 89
Colony, 55
Columbus, Christopher, 89 n., 473,

475, 476, 501, 502

Bartholomew, 501

Combe, 633

Combinations, of labourers, 352, 443,
523, 536, 544 and n.

of merchants, 292, 300, 643,

544 and n.

Comburgensis, 221, 650

Comes, 102

Comfort, 297, 387, 389, 479

Comitatus, 52, 66
Commendation, 101, 102, 103, 142
Commerce, 9, 17, 18, 183, 262, 353,
367, 368, 380, 473, 647, 556, 566

English, 298, 474, 549 f., 650

intermunicipal, 186, 249, 302,

380

See Merchants.
Commissariat, 277
Commissioners, 162, 163, 177, 295,

632, 549, 644 f., 655
Commodore, 426 n.
Commons, House of, 266, 267, 273,

313, 334, 341, 361 n., 363, 375,

377, 405, 548
Common Council, 383
Common Weal, Discourse of the,

552, 555 f.
Commonwealth, 355, 356, 357, 5G0,

662
Communal prosperity, 247
Communes, 183, 185, 366
Communitas, 356
Community, 78, 78 n., 113, 247,

368

village, 45, 111; see Yillage

See Commonwealth.

Commutation, 106, 113 and n. , 167,

212, 215, 231, 233, 397, 462
Companies, Joint Stock, 505, 525

Drapers, 338, 382

Fishmongers, 382

Grocers, 320 n., 324, 338, 381,

494, 522, 620

Livery, 15, 373, 376, 381, 383 n.,

416, 548

Mercers, 324, 338, 381, 494

Merchant, 130 n., 311, 383 n.,

415, 460, 548

Bussian, 89, 505, 521

Turkey, 494, 521

Vintners, 338, 382, 396 n.

See Merchants.

Comnass, 83

Competition, 22, 115, 250, 544

and customary prices, 335, 458,

460 f.

in trade, 315

of foreigners, 291, 429, 443,

459, 545 n.

Compostella, 413

Compotus Rolls, 235, 236 n., 591

Computation, 119, 123, 124, 125

Confederacy, 399 n., 443

Confiscation, 488, 631

Conies, 544 n.

Connecticut, 90

Conquest, English, 63

Norman, 78, 82, 86, 113, 174,

246, 546, 641

Conredium, 568
Consohdation, 270

44—2

692

INDEX.

Conspiracy, 535 n. ; see Combi-
nations

Constable, 549

Constance, Council of, 468 n.

Constancy of employment, 390, 439 n.

Constantine, 107

Constantinople (Byzantium), 147,
184, 185, 196, 199, 493

Constitution, 6, 28

Consuls, 417, 493, 494, 495

Consumers, 266, 311, 377

Consumption, 297, 318, 322

Conte Ingualesi, 634

Continent, 182, 266, 442, 542, 649,
651, 654

Contract, 134

Contractus trinus, 558 n.

Convention of Eoyal Burghs, 285 n.

Convertible husbandry, nee Hus-
bandry

Coopers, 514

Coopertores, 568

Coote, Mr H. C, 55, 98, 107

Copyholders, 405, 462, 533 n.

Corbett, Mr, 29 n., 163, 175 n.

Cordova, 339 n.

Cordwain, 339

Cordwainers (Corvesarii), 839, 340,
351 u., 352, 443, 614, 651 n.,
652 n., 653 f.

Alien, 514

Corham, 634
Cork, 94 n.

Corn, 12, 195, 236, 403, 451 n., 482

bodgers, 565

. bounty, 458 n., 565

export of, 55 n., 406, 447,

543 n., 565

import, 407, 447

laws, 378, 406, 447, 471, 551

price of, 250, 334, 458, 526 f.,

530 n., 543, 544 n., 547, 568

protection for corngrower, 377,

406 f.

trade in, 55 n., 195

Cornhill, 176 n.

Cornwaille, Ralph, 360, 361, 365, 366

CornwaU, 65, 165 n., 283, 488, 498

Comwallis, Lord, 103 n.

Coronation, 205

Corporations, 548

Corps de Metier, 245 n., 306 n., 349,

352
Corsica, 198

Corvesarii, see Cordwainers
Cosmography, 505
Cost of production, 250, 461
Cosyn, Petrus, 176 n.
Cotarius, 168, 643; see also Cottar
Cotentin, 268

Co-tillage, 78 n. ; see Co-araiion
Cotsetle, 107, 108

Cotswold, 628, 630
Cottagers, 233, 233 n.
Cottages, 233 n.
Cottar, 164, 170, 179
Cottons, 521
Council, 542
Counter, 510
Court, 166 n., 191, 214
Court, Ecclesiastical, 145, 207, 251,
361 n., 367, 377

Leet, 213, 237, 247

Manorial, 113 n., 450 n.

Pie Powder, 181, 452

Court Eolls, 236, 331, 532 n.
Coventry, 174 n., 223 n., 404, 419,

436 n., 446, 456, 507, 552 n., 615

Gilds, 259 n., 364 n., 384, 522

Bakers, 338 n., 343 ; Cappers, 350
Dyers, 438 ; Sheai'men, 442
Weavers, 444

Coverlets, 519
Covilham, Piedro de, 477
Covin, 434
Cow, 107, 530 n.
Cowbridge, 508
Cowes, 492
Cowgate, 523 n.
Cowherd, 238

Craft gilds, 129 n., 336 f,, 383, 436,
441 f., 460, 564, 652 f.

decay of. 375 n., 376, 436, 445,

509, 521, 540

and Gild Merchant, 343 f.,

651 f.

nationalisation of, 436, 441 »

447, 513

objects of, 340, 342, 383 n.,

441, 509, 653

officers of, 284, 430, 519

probable origin of, 190, 337,

653 f.

Crafts, 53, 100 n.. 189 n., 486
Craftsmen, 192, 412 n., 442, 459,

641, 650 f. ; see Artisans
Craven, 631
Crec, 648 n.
Credit, 12, 222, 249, 362, 486 n.,

530 n., 554 n.
Creigbton, Dr, 329 n., 331 n.
Crime, 112, 129, 237, 391, 392
Crunea, 199

Crocards, 283, 283 n., 327
Crocchestrende (Croxden), 632
Crocenstona (Croxton), 635
Crofter, 527

Crolanda (Crowland), 640
Cromer, 385 n.
Cromwell, Thomas, 489, 490
Cross, Market, 80
Crowland, 67, 640
Crowley, 556
Crown, 546

INDEX.

693

Crown rights, 173, 174 n. , 271, 275, 550

jewels, bS-1, 400

See Influence.

Croxden, 632
Croxton, 635
Crusades, 143, 152, 199, 475

objects of, 146

commercial effect of, 89, 147,

186, 196, 198, 205

and towns, 212

Cuhoss, 630 n.

Cultivator, 88, 40 f., 43, 62 f.
Culture, see Tillage
Cumberland, 60 n.
Cumbermere, 632
Cumbria, 60 n.

Cumhal, 86 n.

Cupar Angus, 629

Curia, 295 n.

Currency, see Coinage

Curriers, 514

Curtilages, 233 n.

Custom, 44, 158, 173, 211, 214, 223,

248, 263, 269, 546; see London
Customers, 278, 283, 288, 290, 313,

316
Customs, 128, 174 n„ 277 f., 288,

298, 411, 504, 549 f.

decay in, 434, 490

excessive, 176 n., 277

foreign, 174 n., 308 n.

regulations, 394

revenue, 149, 277, 288, 296,

298, 313, 317, 482, 551

the Great (on Wool), 550

See Customers.

Custom House, 324 n.

Custuma, Nova or Parva, 277, 278

S. Cuthbert, 108

Cutlers, 340 n.

Company, 340, 521

Cyprus, 274

Daggers, 406

Dagobert, 86 n.

Dairy, 238, 528 n.

Damnum emergens, 257

Danegeld, 102, 105, 112, 118, 125,

127, 139, 141, 151, 162, 164, 173 n.,

175 n., 188, 654
Danelagh, 91, 113, 126
Danes, 32 n., 50, 60, 61 n., 82, 87 f.,

113, 142, 173, 369

distribution of, 89, 91, 93, 173

and Hansards, 417

as explorers, 83, 90, 91

as merchants, 88, 93, 114 n.

as plunderers, 2, 61 n., 65, 91,

111, 143

in Ireland, 94 n., 174

Danube, 196, 473
Danzig, 497

Darley, 639

Dartmouth, 480 n., 507

Davenport, Miss F, G., 402 n., 571

Daye, 600

Deacons, 348, 349

Dealers, 381, 651

Death, 330

Debasement, see Coinage

Debts, 171, 287, 395

of foreigners, 282, 302, 426

pressure of, 112, 208

recovery of, 222, 281, 302, 410

registration of, 249

See Money-lending, Usury.

Decay, 14, 26, 373 f., 459, 468, 488,
521 ; see Bridges, Craft gilds, Fair,
Eoads, Shipping, Tillage, Towns

Deccan, 234 n.

Deeping, 639

Deer, 406 n., 527

Deerhurst, 167 n.. 187 n.

Defence, 410, 480

Degree, 558

Delft, 309

De Montfort, see Simon

Denbigh, 224 n.

Denmark, 92, 121, 183, 301, 415, 418,
501 n.

Denton, Mr, 331 n., 389

S. Denys, 84

Deorham, 57, 65, 81

Depeforde (Defford), 167 n.

Depopulation, 404, 448, 527, 531 f.,
565

Deptford, 497, 498

Derbei (Derby), 167 n.

Derby, 102, 223 n., 385 n.

Derby (Lanes.), 162, 167

Dereforte (Dureford), 635

Derlea (Darley), 639

Dernhall, 634

Dersingham, 101 n,

Devonshire, 85 n., 435, 633

Dialects, 58

Dialogue, 555 f.

Diaz, 477

Diepinghe presso a Stanforte (Deep-
ing), 639

Dice, 406, 430 n.

Diet, 310

Dieulacres, 632

Differentiation, 4, 16

Dinner, 309

Dinponte, 630

Diolacchrescha (Dieulacres), 632

Disabilities, manorial, 213

Discontent, 298, 391, 399, 556

Discourse of the Common Weal,
552, 555 f., 561

Discovery, 83, 90, 473 f., 477, 484,
500 f., 554 f.

Displacement of industry, 509

694

INDEX.

Dissolution of monasteries, 450, 530,

538
Distraint, 281

Distress, 370, 371, 440, 533, 544
Ditching, 553
Division, principles of, 18

of employments, 131

of labour, 437

Dixon, Miss, 352
Docks, 498

Doctrine, economic, 353, 354, 355,
359, 562 1 ; see Price, Usury etc.

Documents, 23, 24, 117, 232, 551

Doddington, 332 n.

Dogs, 280, 388, 406 n.

Domain, ancient, 217 and n.

manorial, 106, 164, 165, 233,

332, 576

royal, 148, 152, 175, 217

Domesday Book, 1, 5, 28, 98, 100 and

n., 101, 111, 127, 135, 158, 180,
188, 276, 369, 399 n., 642 f.

compilation of, 162, 177, 233

completeness of, 118, 179

towns in, 93, 172, 220 n.

Dominicans, 209, 238, 443
Dominium, 99 n.
•Dominus Vobiscum,' 505
Domus Conversorum, 204, 288
Doncaster, 97

Dondarnane (Dundrennan), 630

Dondye (Dundee), 301 n.

Donfermellino (Dunfermline), 630

Dooms, 49, 128 n., 129

Dora (Dore), 6o2

Dorchester, 173, 507

Dore, 632

Doria, Theodosius, 476

Dorsetshire, 125, 435, 643 n.

Douai, 307

Douce, 554 n.

Dover, 169, 220 n., 221 n., 283, 300,

300 n., 812 n., 385 n., 498, 548
Dowell, Mr S., 548 n., 549 n.
Dradicchisi (Drax), 638
Drainage, 228
Drapers, 382, 383, 428 n., 515, 520

Company, 338, 382, 437 n.

Draperv, 308

Drax, 638

Dreccheno (Trentham), 639

Dress, 647; see Clothes, Livery

Drinkwater, Mr, 651 n.

Droitwich, 169, 518

DubUn, 94 n., 222 n., 223 n.

■ Holy Trinity, 242 n.

trade of, 93, 105 n., 197

Dudley, E., 530 n.

Dudley, Edmund, 487, 531 n., 545,

556, 557
Dues, see Customs, Tolls
Duke, Mr, 387 n.

Dundee, 301 n.
Dundrennan, 630
Dunfermline, 630
Dunham Magna, 187 n.
Dunstable, 640
S. Dunstan, 88, 142
Dunston, 333 n.
Dunwich, 219, 278
Dureford, 635
Durham, 175, 386 n.

Bishops of, 175, 391 n., 646

Dutch, 304 n., 446, 483, 499
Dutchmen, 307, 308

Dyeing, 426

Dyers, 189, 438, 514, 518, 652, 654,

655 n.
Dyes, 132 n. ; see Woad
Dykes, 280

Eagles, 327

Earl, 141, 174 n.

Earls Barton, 187 n.

Early English, 28, 61

Easby, 634

East, the, 147, 329 n., 333 n., 416,

427, 475 f., 506, 555
East Anglia, 45 n., 61, 91, 92, 181,

435
East Cheap, 176 n.
East Greenwich, 230
Easter, 156, 157
E Bindona (Abingdon), 640
Ecclesiastics, 368 n., 385

foreign, 145, 206 f.

See Court, Christianity, Monas-
teries, Orders.
Ecesatingetone (Ethchilhampton),

645 n.
Economists, 311, 561 f. ; see Political

Economy
Economy, municipal, 245, 357
national, 70, 261, 264, 357, 470,

513, 559, 566

natural, 22, 106, 457, 546

nomadic, 31

village, 70, 77

See Money, Political.

Eden, Sir Frederick, 371

Edgar, 129 n,

Edinburgh, 179, 301, 523 n.

Edmund, Prince, 272 n.

Edward I., 21, 100, 191, 193, 195,
200, 220 n., 235, 246, 249, 261, 298,
300, 304 n., 305, 314, 468, 570

household of, 242, 243 n.

policy of, 175, 232, 263, 270,

273, 285, 330, 375

and coinage, 279, 283, 288, 326,

328, 354

and customs, 150, 278, 311

and foreign merchants, 196,

291, 307 n., 316 n., 318, 326

INDEX.

695

Edward I. and Jews, 151, 201, 204,
286, 380, 384

and legislation, 261, 263, 280 f.

and taxation, 153, 209 n., 229,

274, 277 f.

and towns, 212, 218, 264, 267,

279

Edward II., 193, 234 n., 291, 302 n.,

318, 326, 375, 383, 424, 439, 570,
576, 656

and Staple, 311, 314, 415 n.

and Templars, 274, 380

Edward III., 9, 341, 364, 369, 370,

375, 485, 549 f., 570, 641

policy of, 265 f., 275, 298, 310 f.,

377, 394, 470, 555

and aliens, 209, 292, 300

and coinage, 326 f., 354, 396

and Flemings, 267, 268, 303,

312

and Gascons, 255, 267, 268,

319, 394

and Italians, 289, 380, 334

and middlemen, 320

and Sovereignty of Sea, 268,

303

and taxation, 209, 277, 325

and wages, 250, 334 f.

and weavers, 193, 304 f., 373

Edward IV., 374, 387, 433, 439, 458,

520, 545, 570

and cloth manufacture, 436 f.

and Exeter tailors, 192, 341

and Hansards, 418, 422, 453

and protection, 308 n., 429,

446

Edward VI., 19, 488, 490 n., 495,
497, 542 n., 551, 559, 560, 566

Edward the Black Prince, 268

Edward the Confessor, 2, 77, 85 n.,
88, 99, 102, 104, 105, 106, 110, 118,
126, 139, 141, 151, 158, 163, 165 n.,
171, 217, 220 n., 248, 644 n., 645 n.

Edward the Elder, 96, 102, 117 n.

Edward of Salisbury, 148 n., 644,
645 n.

Edwin, 141

Edyche, 523

Eeis, 171, 172, 181

Egbert, Kmg, 66, 88

Egbert, Archbishop, 69

Eggs, 121, 234, 388 n., 499 n., 526,
529, 606

Egleston, 635

Egypt, 196, 199, 477, 493

Eilesi in Chondisgualdo (Hailes),
634

Elbe, 31 n.

Eleanor, Countess of Leicester, 242

Elertana (Ellerton), 636

S. Eligius, 86 n.

EUot, Hugh, 504

Elizabeth, 21, 264, 288 n., 380, 483,
484, 488, 497, 521, 550, 565, 566

households under, 242 n.

and Hansards, 422

and pasture farming, 331 n.,

463 n.

and serfdom, 402, 533

and wages, 251, 449 n.

EU, 119

Flemish, 435 n.

Ellerton. 636

Elm, 454

Elmet, 630

Elmetta, 630

Elsinore, 87 n.

Ely, 72 n., 385 n., 403 n.

Abbey, 163, 171

Bishop of, 332 n.

Ember Days, 500
Embroiderers, 441
Embroidery, 82, 294, 647
Emperor, Men of, 131, 194, 197
Employer, 4, 379, 407, 437, 441,

442 n., 444, 524, 546, 552, 557 f.,
566, 625; see Master
Employment, 390, 536, 536 n., 557

constancy of, 19, 390, 439 n.

statute of, 396, 431

Employments, differentiation of, 16,

131, 438
Empson, Eichard, 487
Emption, 276
Ems, 409
Enclosing, 44, 440 n., 448, 526, 527,

530 and n., 532, 553 f., 558, 647
Endichamo presso di Maltona (Little

Maries, Yedingham), 638
Enemies, 331 n., 410, 411 n., 412 n.,

434, 456 ; see Pirate
Energy, 10, 475
Enfranchisement, see Serf
English Channel, 300
Engrossers, 214, 321, 324, 448
Engrossing, 250, 320, 524, 543, 544

and n.
Enhancing prices, 292, 300; see Bent
Eninghe (Heynings), 637
Enquiry, Articles of, 1C3, 176
Enterprise, 27, 83, 137, 460, 475,

555, 562, 566, 642

political, 463 n.

Environment, 20, 27
Equality of Taxation, 400 n.
Equator, 477

Eric, King, 417

Bishop, 91 n.

the Bed, 90

Erling, 100 n.

Escelford, Sbelford (Carabs.), 101 n.
Esprit de corps, 464
Esquimaux, 91 n., 114 n.
Essarts, 398 n.

696

INDEX.

Esseburn (A.shburn), 193

Essex, 1(33, 188 n., 3Sb, 400, 435,
4a«, 570. 033 D., G44

Estanlee (Stonely), 632

Estate, management, 71, 235, 398,
553

Estimation, common, 253, 461

Esturmy, William, 419

Ethelred, 194

Euesamo in Chondisgualdo (Eves-
ham) 640

Eumenius, 56 n.

Europe, 211, 442, 479, 555, 618, 647

Evasions, 255

Evesham, 125 n., 518, 640, 646

battle of, 178

Evictions, 529, 532, 553, 618
Evidence, 23 f., 371; see Analogy,

Survivals, etc.
Evil May Day, 509
Exactions, see Extortion
Exchange, 114, 131, 357, 464, 466,

546

limits of, 115, 466

See Bills.

Exchanges, Foreign, 155, 283, 328,
362, 395, 432 n., 469, 481, 486, 542
Exchequer, 140, 150, 283, 655

importance of, 230

organisation of, 156 f., 232

of Jews, 201

Exclusiveness, 262, 393
Exemptions, 454, 400

Exeter, 127, 217 n., 278, 281 n., 316,
351 n., 416 n., 507

Danes in, 93, 173

fair at, 180 n,

gild of, 129 n.

synod of, 287

tailors of, 192, 340, 341

trade of, 278, 316, 416 n.

Exhaustion of Soil, 331 n.
Exhibition, Anglo-Jewish, 201 f.,

205 n.
Exon Domesday, 163, 174
Expediency, 556, 558
Exploration, see Discovery
Exportation, limits to, 78 n., 130,

416; see Bullion, Corn, Wool
Exports, 299, 411, 423, 425, 439,

481
Extensive, see Tillage
Extenta, 167, 233, 234 n., 237, 401,

553, 570, 576
Extortion, 460, 465, 553
of royal officials, 149, 176, 216,

487

See Prices.
Extravagance, 433, 545, 556; see

Legislation, sumptuary

Fabrics, 310

Factories, commercial, 198, 816 n.,
478, 555

industrial, 441, 515 n., 523

Factory Acts, 10

Fair, 3, 94, 98, 151 n., 169, 180,
181 n., 182 n., 199, 324 n., 434,
520, 646 f., 650 f.

aliens at, 194, 282, 293, 393

decay of, 293, 370, 451 f.

growth of, 180, 451

organisation of, 180 n., 282

prolongation of, 181, 182, 452

Aspella, 169

Bartholomew, 452 n., 496

S. Botolph, 181 n., 244, 302 n.,

452

Burgundy, 370, 373 n. , 422

Chester, 180 n., 650 n., 051 n.

S. Denys, 84, 650

Exeter, 180 n.

Herring, 224 n. , 226

Irish, 327 n.

S. Ives, 180 n., 186 n., 226 n.,

244

S. James', Bristol, 451, 496

Manchester, 213 n.

Midsummer, 180, 452

Reach, 451

Eouen, 84

Scarborough, 87 n.

seaside, 52 n., 87 n.

Stamford, 205

Stourbridge, 180, 496

- Troyes, 84

Winchester, 181 n., 452

Fairford, 523 n.

Falcare, 579

Fallow, 34 n., 74, 126 n., 527

Falmouth, 480 n.

Famine, 100 n., 388, 389, 391, 547

Fare, 300

Farmers, 447, 544 n., 553, 559, 660,

562
Farms, Tenant, 398, 462

combining, 526, 529, 559, 560

See Domain.

Farming, high, 447

pasture, 210, 331 n., 379, 403,

442, 448, 462, 480, 526 f., 551, 558,
565

Farming the Eevenue, 148, 216, 288
See Agriculture, Husbandry, Til-
lage.
Farriers, 340 n.
Fathom, 119
Faversham, 341 n., 507
Feasts, 95 n.

F6camp, Abbot of, 303, 303 n.
Fees, 511, 540
Fellowship, see Companies
Fences, 169
Fens, 67

INDEX.

697

Fen ton, Mr J., 48 n.

Ferdinand the Catholic, 288, 479, 491

Ferm, 151 n., 158, 160 n., 176, 216,

624, 853
Fernandez, 477
Fernando of Portugal, 469
Ferrets, 406 n.
Ferry, 216

Feudalism, 107 f., 134 f., 140 f.
Fiandra (Flanders), 629 f., 640 f.
Field, 43 n., 95 f., 173, 529, 532

One, 42 n., 73

Three, 74, 75, 126, 126 n., 527

Fifteenths, see Tenths

Finance, 231, 295, 561
Finchale, 243 n.
Fines, 654

of Companies, 495, 511

to Exchequer, 137, 190 n.,

212 f., 280

manorial, 106, 214, 462, 526,

530 n., 532

Statutory, 334

Fineshed, 639

Fine vete (Fineshed), 839
Finger, 119
Fire, 228, 267 n., 508
Firlot, 121
Firma, 149 n., 592
Firma Burgi, 226
Fiscamp (Fecamp), 303 n.
Fish, 196, 297 n., 309, 310, 321, 389,
479, 499 u., 544 n.

imported, 329, 396

payments of, 117 n., 171 and

n., 172 n., 418

Fisheries, 100 u., 164, 233, 505
Fisherman, 131, 171 and n., 321, 479,

499, (551
Fishing, 12 n., 31 n., 499 n.

trade, 482, 499, 500

Fishmonger's Company, 192 n., 299,

322, 378, 383, 384 n.
Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony, 553 n.
J., 239, 402, 527, 535, 552 f. , 559

E. H. C, 553 n.

Fitz-itichard, William, 338
Flambard, 138

Flanders, 52 n., 181 n., 266, 269 n.,
303, 348, 416, 483, 542, 623, 628,
645 f.

fairs in, 181 n., 650

galleys, 197 u., 414, 423, 425,

426 n., 427, 460

manufactures of, 192, 268,

309 n., 460

pirates, 301 n., 302, 315 n.

towns of, 183, 306, 312, 315,

348

trade with, 176, 268, 290, 305,

311, 329, 416

See Flemings, Low Countries.

Flax, 499

Fleet, the, 228

Fleet (Navy), 304, 411 n., 427 u.,

491, 645
Flemings, 221, 329, 435 n., 642, 649

immigration of, 143, 186 f.,

305, 341, 641 f., 648 f.

as artisans, 189, 649

as bankers, 290

as merchants, 187, 195, 802,

650

as weavers, 60, 186, 226, 305,

341, 641, 647, 649, 653

and Scotland, 348

Fleta, 243, 243 n.

Fletchers (Arrow-makers), 340 n.

Flexley, 633

Flintshire, 169

Flocks, 72, 530

Florence, 199, 289, 380, 427, 476,

478, 493, 6ib, 628
Florentines, 186 n., 198, 208, 290 n.,

417, 424
Wool Merchants, 210, 289, 395,

423, 628
Florins d'Escu, 327
Fluctuations, see Prices
Fluidity of capital, 463
Fodder, 31, 36, 38, 73
Foenus nauticum, 257
Fold, 107
Folkmoot, 63
Folkright, 99; see Land
Font, 650

Fontana (Fountains), 631
Food, 309, 388, 470, 544 and n.
Food rents, 149 n.
Foot, 119, 125 n.

Forcemakers (Casket makers), 340 n.
Forchepe, 617
Ford, 633

Fordamo Insulfolcho (Fordham), 637
Forde (Ford), 633
Fordham, 171 n., 637
Ford's Hospital, 522 n.
Foreign, see Aliens, Towns, Trade
Forera, 614
Foresight, 10, 13
Forest, 64, 217 n., 271
Forest of Dean, 65
Forestallers, 214, 263 n.
Forestalling, 319, 320, 321, 323
Forethought, 11, 32
Forfeiture, 394
Fornace (Furness), 630
Fornagium, 568
Forneett, 405
Fortescue, Sir John, 469
Forth, 95
Fortresses, 294
Forts, 96, 96 n., 498, 547
Founders, 340 u.

698

INDEX.

Fountains, 631
Fowey, 480 n., 508
Fowls, 234
Frames, bardic, 49
France, 108, 140, 145, 333 n., 400,
» 469, 479, 484

commerce of, 197, 291, 293 n.,

356, 373 n., 425

devastation of, 370, 422

fairs in, 84, 370, 373 n., 650 f.

peasants of, 401

towns of, 183, 190 n., 293 n.,

651

wars of, 229, 309, 391, 411 n.,

451, 455, 483, 491, 529

Franchises, Lords of, 334
Francigenae, 173, 642 f. ; see also

French
Franciscan, 82 n., 209, 333 n.
Francus, 642 and n.
Frankfurt, 194 n., 567
Frankpledge, 213, 213 n., 237, 237 n.
Franks, 49 n., 67, 71
Fraschelea (Flexley), 633
Fraternities, 445

See Gilds, Trinity House, etc.
Fraud, 434, 549
Frazer, Mr J. G., 34 n., 35 n.
Free Towns, see Towns
Freedom, Economic, 100

of Trade, 284, 285, 312, 493

Freehold, 282

Freeman, 58 n., 100 n., 642 n.

primitive English, 63, 92

of a town, 189, 280, 282

See Tenants, free.

Freeman, Prof., 642
Free Soldiers, 111
Freights, 491
Freizes, 521
French, 642 f.
Art, 188 n.

pirates, 301 n.

townsmen, 173, 188, 446, 643

Frescobaldi, 424, 628

Frescoes, 25

Friars, 209, 210, 400, 443

Fridays, 500

Friesland, 410 n.

Friscum, 596

Frisia, 31

Frisian, 83

Frith Gilds, 190

Froissart, 267

Frome, 164 n., 169 n.

Frumentum, 567

Fugatores, 654

Fuller, T., 307

Fullers, 306, 438, 442, 518, 647, 652,

654
Fuller's earth, 439
Fulletby, 177

Fulling Mills, 445

Funeral, 539 n.

Furbishers, 340 n.

Furlong, 120

Furness, 630

Furniture, 297

Furrow, 120

Furs, 308, 309, 430 n., 506

Fustians, 525

Pyrd, 104, 127, 152

Gablatores, 167

Gablum, 104, 148

Gafol, 104, 148, 162, 177

Gain, greed of, 257, 460, 479 f., 557 f.

of traders, 114, 257, 394

reasonable gains, 250, 394

Galleys, see Flanders galleys
Gama, Vasco da, 478

Game, 32

Law, 406, 406 n., 409

Games, 94, 406, 467
Gantrel, M., 642 n.
Gardens, 554

Gare, Henrv, 302 n.

John, "350

Garendon, 631
Garsomes, 530 n.
Gascoigne, Aldebrande, 860
Gascons, 197, 249, 290, 291, 318 f.
Gascony, 249

towns of, 212 a., 267 n.

trade with, 255, 267, 268, 290,

304, 319, 406

Gasquet, F., 330 n., 331 n.

Gau, 44

Gaul, 58 n., 67, 81, 108

Gaunse, J., 288 n.

Gavel (Cavil), 191 n., 221 n., 651

Gay, E. F., 529 n.

Gebur, 76 n., 78, 107, 134, 168

Geese, 388, 526, 544 n.

Geld, 105, 112, 127, 162, 167, 177,

180 n., 217 ; see also Danegeld
Geldability, 128
Gem, 132 n.
Genoa, 303, 304 n., 424 f., 473 n.,

476

and the Crusades, 147, 198

Genoese, 413, 414, 476, 494, 502
Gentiles, 202 n.

Gentleman, 525, 558

S. George's Gild, 446 n.

George IV., 136

Gerardus Lotaringus, 644 n.

Gerberie, 643 n.

German Ocean, 31

Germans, 90, 525

ancient, 28, 30, 33, 36, 37, 38,

44, 49, 51 f., 98

in London, 194; see Hansards

Germany, 43 n., 155 n., 259 n.

INDEX.

699

Ckrmany, peasants of, 401 n.

towns of, 94 n., 183, 195

trade of, 195 f., 285, 419, 473

tribes of, 30 n., 52, 54, 107

three-field system, 75

fairs, 86

Yillage community in, 36 n.,

38, 44 n., 46 n., 47 n., 78

See Hanse.
Gersuma (Garsome), 530 n., 612 n.
Gervaise of Canterbury, 648
Gesithcnnd, 101 n.
Gestum, 568
Ghelzo (Kelso), 630
Ghent, 85, 306, 348, 643 n., 647
Gherbord, Earl of Chester, 646
Ghontisgualdo, 633
Ghualtamo (Waltham), 640
Ghuantona (Walton), 636
Ghuldinghamo (Coldingham), 630
Gibraltar, 423, 491 n.

Straits of, 427 n., 476

Gierondona (Garendon), 631
Giervalese (Jervaulx), 631
Gilbert of Ghent, 647 f.
Gilbertine, 629, 635 n.
Gildas, 60

Gildhalla, Teutonica, 195, 422

GUdisire (Wiltshire), 632

GUds, 14, 26, 253, 261, 336 f., 384,

445, 446, 464, 466, 497, 509 f.,

545 I., 548, 624, 651 f.

cnighten, 129, 211, 219, 226

frith, 60 n., 129, 190

— ^ merchant, 130, 186, 189 n., 190,
211, 217, 218 n., 219 f., 223 n., 226
and n., 247, 269, 343 f., 383 n.,
615, 641 f., 651 f., 655

objects of, 190, 221, 259, 342 f.,

383 n., 384, 509 f., 522, 539 f., 653

weavers, 191, 193, 305, 337,

341, 345 n., 352, 624 f., G41, 652

yeomen, 352 n., 443

See Craft gild.

in France, 191, 333 n., 337,

348 n., 349

and tdwns, 191 f., 211, 225 f.,

340, 341, 383 n., 509, 521

Gillingham, 450 n.

Gilpin, B., 656

Gimingham, 534 n,

Giraldus Cambrensis, 86, 187, 280 n.,

641
Girdlers, 347 n., 514
Girdles, 438
Giry, 223 n.
Gislebertus, 643
Gistleswurde (Isleworth), 643 n.
Gitterono (Wyttering), 639
Giuirsopo presso abiiada (Worksop),

638
Glasgow, 95

Glass, 81, 82 n., 132 n., 294, 297,

319 n., 387
Glenluce, 630
Globe, 476, 501
Gloucester, 169, 185, 223 n., 282 n.,

384 n., 385 n., 435, 507
Gloucestershire, 167 n., 177
Glovers, 214, 229, 340 n., 351 n.
Gloves, 430 n.
Goats, 163
Godwin, 141
Gokwelle, 637
Gold, 18, 284, 395, 469, 478, 542,

545, 563

Coinage of, 147 n., 303 n., 328,

329, 358, 432

exportation of, 326, 395, 432,

542 f.

importation of, 132 n.

payments in, 124, 327 n., 396,

652

ratio of, to silver, .^58, 542,

652 n.

Goldsmiths, 284, 327, 328, 441, 545,

563
Good Parliament. 192, 394, 470
Googe, Barnaby, 318 a.
Gothland, 88, 89
Goths, 184
Gourd. 121
Gower, 187
"Grace de Dieu," 413
Grace Dieu, 632
Granborough, 586, 610
Granno (Grantham), 630
Grantchester, 97
Grantesete (Grantchester), 169 n.
Grantham, 385 n., 507, 630
Grapes, 90
Gravasend, 498
Gray, John, Bishop of Norwich,

223 n., 227 n.
Graziers, 463 n., 518, 544 and n.,

548, 551, 553, 565
Grazmg, see Farming, pasture
Great Eastern Eailway, 456
Great Ireland, 91
Great Yarmouth, see Yarmouth
Greece, 27, 122
Greed, 251, 257, 556 f., 562
Greeks, 199
Green, Mr J. P.., 351, 371, 384 n.,

408
Greenland, 82 n,, 90
Greensted, 1S8 n.
Gregorius de Bokesle, 176 n.
Gregory IX., 257
S. Gregory the Great, 85, 108
Greifswald, 420
Greneburgh, see Granborough
Grenellusso (Glenluce), 630
Gresham, Sir Eichard, 542

700

INDEX.

Grideghorda, 630
Grievances, 421, 530, 534
Grimesbi (Grimsbj), 637
Grimesbi Inlendisia (Wallow near

Grimsby), 638
Grimesby, see Grimsby
Grimsby, 302 n., 885 n., 508, 637 f.
Grocers, 3, 324, 381, 382, 520, 62-1 ;

see Companies
Grooms, 406 n.
Gross, Dr C, 129 n., 130 n., 210 n.,

221, 222 n., 223, 223 n., 345. 651,

655
Grossour, 318
Grossteste, see Robert
Grotius, 304 n.
Guardona (Warden), 633
Guarterra (Warre), 638
Guarverlea (Waverley), 633
Guest, Dr, 51 n.

Guiccichonbo (Winchcombe) , 640
Guienne, 266, 267, 268, 484
Guildford, 507
Guildhall, 194, 220 n., 225, 246, 339,

361 n., 384 n., 447
Guinea, 477
Guisborough, 638
Guitebi ostrattone (Whitby), 638
Gulf of Lyons, 304 n.
Gulf Stream, 12
Gulielmus Gemmeticensis, 645 n.
Guns, 412 n.
Gunter's Chain, 120
Gunton, 439
Guy, 307 D.
Guyenne, see Guienne

Haberdashers, 324 n,, 840 n., 382,

520
Hacimey men, 300 n.
Haco, 302
Hadleigh, 385 n.
Hadrian's Wall, 55
Hageleia (Hagley), 165 n.
Hagneby, 635
Hailes, 634
Hainault, 304
Hakluyt, 554
Hale, Archdeacon, 149 n.
Hales, John, 531, 532, 552
Halfdene, 45 n.
Half-hundred, 126
Halifax, 322 n., 515 n.
Hall, 295 n.

mark, 441

HaU, Mr H., 156 n., 158 n., 160 n.,
193 n., 235 n., 354 n., 534 n.,
549 n., 550 n., 597 n., 656

John, 387 n.

Halldor, 83

Hamburg, 52 n., 188, 195, 409, 420
Hampole, 637

Hampshire, 165 n., 454
Hampton (Southampton), 302 n,
Hansards, 195, 293, 407, 417 f.,
496

and Wars of Roses, 422

in Boston, 195, 316 n,, 418 n.,

453

in London, 195, 307, 421, 422,

654

in Lynn, 195

See Emperor.

Hanse, 223 n.

League, 88, 183, 301, 409,

416 f., 492, 497

Towns, 415

Northern, 184

See Gild merchant, Hansard.
Hanssen, 32 n., 43 n., 45 n., 74 n.,

75, 75 n., 76 n.
Harbours, 97, 169, 480 n., 497, 498
Harepipes, 406 n.
Harland, Mr J., 309 n.
Harlaxton, 385 n.
Harleian MSS. (British Museum),

552 n.
Harold, 139, 141, 179 n.
Harold Haarfager, 89
Harris, 12 n.
Harris, Dionysius, 494
Harris, M. D., 174 n., 436
Harrison, W., 565
Harrys, 554 n.
Harvest, 530 n.
Harwich, 385 n., 456, 505
Haslingfelde (Haslingfield), 1C6 n.
Hatfield, 552 n.
Hatteclyf, William, 432 n.
Hatters, 340 n.
Hauochestone, see Hauxton
Hauxton, 101 n.
Havens, 469, 491
Haverfordwest, 224 n., 508, 649
Hawking, 169
Hawkins, Sir John, 505
Hawsted, 404

Hay, 38, 39, 40, 578 n., 606
Hayward, 25, 238, 597
Headington, 454
Headland, 44
Headman, 47, 47 n. , 95 n.
Hearth tax, 105

Heaumers (Helmet makers), 340 n.
Hedgerows, 527, 528, 532
Hedging, 529, 553 £.
Hedingham, 188
Helgeland, 84
Hehgoland, 301
Helluland (Newfoundland), 90
Helmold, 87 n.
Helston, 508
Hemp, 499, 506
Henley, Walter of, 75 n. ; see Walter

INDEX.

701

Henry I., 129, 136 n., 138, 174,
174 n., 177, 191, 218, 652 f.

and coinage, 154

and Flemings, 187, 190, 648 f.,

655

and the Exchequer, 148

Henry 11., 139, 146, 152, 155, 160 n.,

191, 194, 209, 278, 295, 341 n.,
568, 615, 651 n., 653 and n.,
654 n., 655

and coinage, 154

and Flemings, 191, 648 f.

and the Exchequer, 156

Henry III., 143, 152, 160 n., 191,

194, 195, 209, 274 n., 295, 307 n.,
311, 338, 568 n.
Henry IV., 374, 420, 432 n.

and rural employment, 449,

516, 518

and shipping, 409, 410, 414 n.

merchant companies, 415

piracy, 410, 419, 498

Henry V., 327 n., 411, 414 n., 424 n.

432

shipbuilding, 413

smuggling, 492

Henrv VI., 374, 376, 403 n., 414 n.,

432, 441, 449, 454
and piracy, 411

and serfdom, 402

and tillage, 407, 448

Henry VH., 21, 331 n., 376, 391 n.,

432 n., 488, 492, 501, 506, 515, 537

policy of, 471, 500

treasure of, 486, 488, 545

and gilds, 512 f.

and sheep farming, 448, 526,

529

and shipping, 490, 499 f.

Henry VIII., 218, 484. 489, 501,

507, 543, 545, 548, 554 n., .550,
624

fishing, 499

gilds, 511, 512

and coinage, 488, 542

and monasteries, 488

and poor, 538 n., 539 n.

and sheep farming, 529

and shipping, 491, 497 f., 504

and trade, 494

Henry (Bishop of Winchester), 175

Henry of Huntingdon, 130, 196

Henry, "the Navigator," 414 n., 475

Hens, 526, 544 n., 583, 605

Heralds, 435 n., 468

Herbert, W., 382 n., 383, 383 n.

Herbert of Cherbury, Lord, 484

Hercia, 598

Herds, 527, 529

Herdsmen, 398, 528

Hereford, 155 n., 189 n., 223, 223 n,,

282 n., 385 n., 507, 643, 645
Hereward, 72 n., 171

Heriettum, 584

Heriot, 64, 584

Herleston (Harston), 101 n.

Herring, lOOn., 226, 307, 320, 382, 582

Busses, 413

Hertford, 96

Hertfordshire, 61, 181, 404, 591, 644 n.

Heyd, W., 194 n.

Heynings, 637

Heys, 406 n.

Hida, see Hide

Hidaga, 153

Hidages, the Tribal, 29 n.

nidation, 165

Hide (of land), 118 n., 125 f., 151, 163,

164, 165, 170, 171 n., 173 n., 644
Hides, 2, 61, 87 n., 181, 277
High Almaine, 293
Highland, 534
Highway, 451, 530 u.
Higid, 38, 42
Hilton, G32
Hire, 256, 390
Hireling, 429
Historians, 20 n., 24
Histories. 24

History, 7,8, 9, 17, 22, 24, 108, 113, 182
Hitchin, 44 n., 73 n.
Hoards, 117, 137, 207, 208, 274, 288,

296, 364, 367, 468, 545
Hobhouse, Bishop, 96 n.
Hohlbaum, Dr, 628
Holderness, 631
Holdings, 41, 167 f., 211, 528, 532,

531, 553, 643

.subdiyision of, 179, 273, 401

combination of, 211, 529

Holidays, 30, 338, 390, 406 n. , 440 n.,

449, 534
Holinshed, 335 n.
Holland, 291, 410 n., 412 n., 415 n.,

418
Holland Bridge, 636
Holm Cultram, 630
Holton, 240
"Holy Ghost," 413
Holy Land, 147, 205, 212, 274
Homestead, 33
Hondhabbande, 584
Honey, 72, 172
Hoo, John, 547
Hops, 180 n.
Hore, Master, 505
Horncastle, 177, 385 n.
Home, Alderman, 383 n.
Hoi'se bread, 569
Horsei (Horselieath), 103 n.
Horses, 129, 171 n., 180 n., 186 n.,

256, 300, 388, 530 n., 553
Horse-shoes, 412 n.
Horsey, 101 n.
Horticulture, 554
Hospitality, 276 n.

702

INDEX.

Hospitallers, 209

Hospitals, 408, 522

Hospitium, 149

Hostelry, 280, 321

Hosts, 292, 432

Hours of work, 342, 391, 523, 535,

536
Householder, 178, 348, 429, 431, 511,

520, 530 n., 655
Households, 37, 41, 77, 420, 509,

624, 553

accounts of, 242 f.

organisation of, 239 f.

Eoyal, 243, 276

House rate, 218, 654

Houses, 32, 36, 169, 172, 246 n., 256,
295 n., 352, 444, 506, 512, 524, 529,
532, 534, 624

Jews', 201

Tudor, 242. See Steelyard

Houton, 240 ; see Holton
Hoveden, Eoger, 87 n.

How, 450 n.

Howard, Lord High Admiral, 498

Howard, Lord W., 242 n.

Howard, Sir Edward, 491

Hubert, 161

Hugh, Bishop, 175

Bigod, 648

of Grantmesnil, 643 n.

Hugh the Limebumer, 340 n.
Hull, 227 n., 278, 279 n., 316, 385 n.,

411 n., 413, 416, 420, 496, 507
Humbreston, 639
Hundred, 44, 101, 126
Hundred Rolls, 100, 175 f., 198, 216,

233, 271, 311, 369, 404
Hundred Years' War, 298, 422
Hungarian, 89
Huns, 184

Hunting, 12 n., 32, 35 n., 169, 406 n.
Huntingdon, 158, 160, 161, 191,

385 n., 652 f.

Canons of, 160

Huntingdonshire, 158, 160 n., 179,

455 n.
Husbandman, 543, 553, 560, 563,

565
Husbandman's Song, 271 n.
Husbandry, 71, 532 n., 534, 563

Convertible, 75, 527, 528, 529,

532, 553

Treatises on, 71, 238, 239,

552 f.

See Agriculture, Three-field,
Tillage.
Husbands, 405, 534
Husting, 93, 181 n., 224, 452
Huvelin, 182 n., 311 n.
Hyndman, H. M., 439
Hypothesis, 655

Iceland, 45 n., 84, 89, 93, 293 n.,
418, 419, 419 n., 476, 492, 501 n.

Ickneild Eoad, 181

Ideas, 17, 552

Idleness, 537, 556 f.

Ilchester, 508

Ilchona (Hilton, Staffs.), 632

Illuminating, 25, 81

Immigration, 188, 305, 430, 641 f.,
648

Imports, 132, 196, 318, 426 f., 430 n.

policy regarding, 130, 299, 317,

396, 426, 429, 481

Impositions, 550

Impotent Poor, 541

Inch, 119

Incomes, 530 n.

India, 78, 85, 100, 889 n.

analogies with, 26, 33 n., 87 n.,

39 n., 45 n., 47 n., 103 n., 112, 143

routes to, 198, 477

trade with, 478, 505

Indies, 416, 485, 505; see East
Industry, 7, 8, 12 n., 18, 17, 18, 22,

77, 137, 179, 262, 546, 565 f., 642 f.
• depression of, 373, 440

displacement of, 509, 511, 518,

520, 551

domestic, 441

household, 192, 245

local, 65

planting of, 298, 304, 482, 525,

641 f.

regulation of, 842, 343, 880,

481 f., 656

>See Assize, Crafts, Cloth-manu-
facture, Legislation, Protective.
Ine, 76, 79, 101 n.
Infangenethief, 584
Influence, Roman, 20 n., 30, 49 n.,
56, 60, 98, 107 f., 184

of current opinion, 10, 253 f.,

860

of merchants, 270, 353, 374,

379 f., 396, 471

of the Crown, 29, 67, 133,

136, 148, 212, 275, 302 n., 374

of England in India, 144

See Christianity, Danes, Flemings,

Italians, Normans, Papal.
Ingaevones, 30 n.
Ingoldemers (Ingoldmells), 240
Innkeepers, 280, 280 n.
Inquisitio Cantabrigiensis, 162, 163,

644 and n.
Inquisitio Eliensis, 171 n., 174
Inquisitions, 162
Inscriptions, 23, 91 n.
Inspeximus, 212
Institutions to benefices, 330
Intensive, see Tillage
Intercursus Magnus, 494

INDEX.

703

Interest, 208. 256, 366 f., 558 and n.

private, 137, 479, 556, 561

See Usury.

Interpretation of facts, 19, 543

In-town, 33 n.

Inventory, 71, 174, 234

Inward, 141, 149

Ipswich, 97, 222 n., 226 n., 261,

278, 281, 345, 385 n., 507
-Ireland, 120, 146, 283, 308, 480,

501, 548

Danes in, 93 n. , 174

fairs in, 327 n.

land tenure in, 48 n., 112 n.

monastic civilization in, 68 n.,

86, 93 n.

trade with, 86, 173, 180 n.

Irish, 2n., 90, 180 n., 446

in Iceland, 89

Iron, 1, 2, 12, 41 n., 65, 169, 181,

442 n.
Ironworks, 521
Isabella of Spain, 288, 479
Iscippitona (Sibton), 634
Isle of Man, 105 n.
Isle of Wight, 83, 301 n., 425, 529,

632
Ispaldinghe (Spalding), 639

Istallea In Gildisire (Stanlegh), 632
Istanfeltro (Stanfield), 637
Istanforte (Ystrat Marchel), 632
Isticchi Sigualdo (Stykeswold), 637
Italian artisans, 430, 446

Ecclesiastics, 207

financiers, 288 f., 424

merchants, 198, 315, 423 n.,

433, 452 n., 618, 628

Italy, 66, 85 n., 89, 108, 804 n., 423,
468, 474, 628

Black Death in, 330 n.

consuls in, 417

intercourse with, 184, 198, 423,

427 f., 433 n.

and Levant, 147, 184

S. Ives Fair, 180 n., 186 n., 226 n.,

244
Ivory, 114, 115, 132 n.
Ixola di Ghuccho (I. of Wight), 632;

see Quarrer

Jacobs, Mr J., 200, 201, 206 n.

Jacquerie, 401 n.

S. James' Fair, 451, 496

S. James' Day. 83

James I., 21, 231 n.

Jay, John, 501

Jedworth, 630

Jenkinson, 506

Jenks, Prof., 43 n., 76, 534 n.

Jernemuthe (Yarmouth), 321 n.

Jersey, 120

Jerusalem, 147

Jerusalem, Patriarch of, 85 n.

Jervaulx, 631

Jet, 196

Jewels, 274, 275, 395

Crown, 309, 384, 400, 412 n.

Jewry, 654

Jews, 179 n., 200, 206, 208, 252, 360,
363, 367, 654 n.

conversion of, 203, 205, 288

employments of, 86 n., 202 n.

expulsion of, 151, 206, 286,

380, 384

hostility to, 200, 201, 204, 206,

286

status of, 150, 200, 206, 226,

285, 654

Joceus, 205

John, Bishop of Iceland, 419 n.

John de Barton, 303 n.

John de Twyeford, 448

John, King, 143, 146, 151, 152, 176n.,

190 n,, 192, 194, 297, 318, 653 n.
John le Blount, Mayor of London,

339
John of Gaunt, 404, 414 n.
John of Newport, 302 u.
John I. of Portugal, 414 n.
John the Good, of France, 356
Joint-family, 28, 36 n., 41, 45 n.
Joscelin of Haireiz, 160
Journeyman, 347, 351 f., 429, 442 f.,

480, 509, 511 f., 518, 523, 524

gilds, 443; see Servants

Jubilee Book, 384 nn.
Judges, 134, 513

S. Julian, 640 n.

Julius II., 485

Jumi^ges, 86 n.

Jung, Sir Salar, 234 n.

Jurisdiction, 142, 149, 174 n., 207,

224, 227; see Courts
Jus stapulae, 311 n.
Justices of the Peace, 375 n., 445,

449 n., 511, 513, 535 n.

in Eyre, 177, 511

Justinian, 269
Justiniano, Baptista, 494
Just Price, see Price
Jutes, 54, 57

Kafirs, 34 n., 35 n., 64 n.

Kailes, 406

Kampen, 420

Karens, 34 n., 42 n.

Karlsefne, 114 n.

Keary, C. F., 49 n., 57 n., 89 n.

Kegworth, 310 n.

Kelham, 165 n., 167 n.

Kelso, 630

Kemp, John, 193, 305

Kendal, 345

cloth, 434

Kent, 58, 60 u., 61, 350, 383, 400, 404

704

INDEX.

Kentish Cherries, 554 n.

Kersevs, 435

Kett, Robert, 489

Kidderminster, 518

Kidnappers, 410

Kiew, 196

Kildon, 638

Kincardineshire, 42 n.

King, 45, 63, 104, 133, 185, 174 n.,

231, 547 f., 550, 557, 560 f., 563 n.,

564, 624, 648 ; see Crown
King's Beam, 289 n., 324

Brief, 654

Peace, 142, 145, 149, 161, 186,

190 n., 282, 304, 369

Kingston on Hull, 279
Kingswood, 632
Kington, John, 419
Kinner, 634
Kirkby, 639
Kirkham, 638
Kirkscot, 642 n.
Kirkstall, 631
Kirkstead, 631

Knights Templars, see Templars
Knollys, Sir Robert, 450 n.
Knyghton, 333 n., 645
Kovalevski, Dr, 33 n., 47 n., 63 n. ,
330 n., 838 n.

Lahalla (Le Dale), 635
Labour, 4, 5, 18, 22, 398, 546

agricultural, 332, 406, 440,

448 f., 527

and property, 99 n., 275 n.

productive and unproductive,

357

rent, 16, 106

Labourer, 5, 63, 898, 406, 464, 533,
544, 560

free, 168, 879

prosperity of, 20 n., 390, 439 n.

standard of comfort of, 30,

388 f.

Labourers, statutes of, 329, 334, 879,

397, 409, 448, 584

See Hours, Servants.
Labriuiera di Ghontisgualdo (Bru-

erne), 633
Laenland, 64 n.
Lagemanni, see Lawmen
La Ghalea in Sifolco (Langley,

Norfolk), 635
Lagraziadio (Grace Dieu), 632
Lailand (Leyland), 166 n.
Lalanda (Launds), 639
Lambarde, Mr, 552 n.
Lambs, 544 n.
Lammas lands, 174 n.
Lamond, Miss, 238 n., 552 n., 641
Lampreys, 302 n.
Lanark, S

Lancashire, 1, 167 n.
Lancaster, 508

Duke of, 386

Lancastrians, 383, 422, 425, 457. 524
Land, as a factor in production, 4,

5, 18

assignment of, 32, 41, 43, 45 n.,

tenure of, 47 n., 56, 99, 105 f.,

141, 217 n., 398 n., 532, 642

value of. 164, 171 n., 332

Land tax, 112, 296

Landlord, 4, 106, 379, 385, 464, 532,
544, 553 f., 556 ; see Manor, Lord of

Lanfranc, 207

Langhalea (Langley, Leics.), 637

Langley (Leicesters.), 637

Langley (Norfolk), 635

Language, 108

Lantarname (Llantarnam), 632

Lapland, 505

Laroccia (Roche), 681

Lastage, 218

Lateran Council, 286

Latifundia, 110

Latimer, Bp Hugh, 556, 563 n.

La Trinitade di Londra (Holy
Trinity, London), 640

Latten, 132 n., 430 n.

Lauder (Berwicks.), 44 n,, 73

Laugharne, 39 n.

Launceston, 507

Launds, 639

Lavaldio, 631 ; see Vaudey

Lavenham, 373, 885 n. , 440 n.

Laventone (Lavington), 165 n.

Lavualderia (Welbeck), 635

Lawmen, 98, 214

Laws, 263

Brehon, 70, 78 n., 123, 124

Breteuil, 211 n.

Merchant, 182, 182 n., 185,316

Roman, 27, 30, 256

Sociological, 26

Welsh, 44 n., 70, 78 n.

See Canon, Courts, Custom.

Layse, 527, 528

Lead, 2, 65, 196

Leadam, Mr, 368 n., 402 n., 416 n.,

451 n., 455 n., 532 n., 533 n., 624
Leadenhall, 510
League, 120

Leases, 135 n., 167, 405. 528, 544 n.
Stock and Land, 397, 403, 462,

570, 586
Leather, 277, 339, 480 n.
Lecchebomo (Lekeborn), 638
Leconfield, 242
Le Dale, 635
Ledesia (Leeds), 630
Leeds, 60, 630
Leet, 163 n., 227

INDEX.

705

Legatine Council, 105
Legislation, 21, 137, 262 f., 269, 560,
566

sumptuary, 298, 309, 310, 379 ;

see Poor, etc.

Leicester, 102, 211 n., 226, 247,
333 n., 385 n., 507, 547, 630,
648, 650

Jews at, 206, 286 n.

lawmen of, 214

predial services at, 3, 174 n.,

215, 226

Eoman, 59

S. Mary's, 639

Leicestershire, 64:3 n.
Lekeborn, 638
Leland, 521

Lent, 117 n,, 181, 479, 499 n., 500,

527
Lenton, 181, 639
Lentona (Lenton), 639
Leonard, Miss, 44 n., 408, 536, 539
Leopard's head, 284, 441
Lepers, 247 n., 248 n.
Lepers' Hospital, Cambridge, 180
Leprosy, 247 n.

Letteleccia (Netley [Lettley]), 632
Letters, 424, 505, 537

forged, 207

of credit, 249, 553 n.

of Marque, 412 n.

of quittance, 235

of reprisal, 302

of safe conduct, 304, 412 n.,

413

patent, 306, 381 n., 899 n., 411,

445, 507

Lettley, 632

Levant, 147, 477, 478, 494

Levasseur, 190 n., 333 n.

Leverington, 454

Lewebrere, Christin, 221

Lewes, 86 n., 123 n., 508

Lewisbam, 85

Leyland, 166 n.

Libelle of EngUsh Polycye, 427,

457, 469
Liber, 642 n,

Eliensis, 171 n.

Winton, 174, 175, 655 n.

Liberties, 190 n,

Libourne, 268
Licenses, 406, 490, 537
Lichfield, 385 n.
Liebermann, Dr, 107, 628
Ligurians, 199, 424
Lille, 293 n.
Limerick, 94 n.
Limits, 12

of exchange, 115

physical, 14, 474

Limners, 340 n.

C. H.

Lincoln, 93, 173, 281 n., 294, 316,
385 n., 636

bishop of, 161

Countess of, 239, 240

decay of, 316 n., 454 f., 607

Jews at, 201

Roman, 59

S. Catherine's, 636

weavers in, 652 f.

Lincolnshire, 91, 92, 177, 302 n.,

637, 643, 647
Lindsey, 244

Linen," 130 n., 309 n., 479, 520
Linen-drapers, 520
Linen-weavers, 187 n., 309, 309 n.,

353 n.
Lisbon, 474, 476, 478, 501
Liscarret (Liskeard), 165 n.
Lisieux, 355

Liskeard, 165 n., 385 n., 507
Literature, Economic, 552 ; see

Husbandry
Little Maries, 638
Littleport, 234 n.

Liuia, II parcho di (Louth Park), 631
Liverpool, 95 n., 508
Livery, 446, 506; see Companies
Livonians, 419
Llandaff, 650
Llantarnam, 632
Llondra, 640; see Loudon
Lloyd, 501
Load, 124 n.
Load penny, 128 n.

of the Peak, 124 n.

Loans, 151, 208, 256 f., 360 f., 384 f.,

411, 558
■ gratuitous, 208, 259, 364, 530 n.;

see Usury
Locke, J., "99 n., 275 n.
Locks, 81

Lofusfeltro (Luffield), 640
Loiterers, 540
Lollards, 404
Lombard St., 491
Lombards, 287 f., 433

business of, 198, 360, 363

hostility to, 289, 429

See Italians.

Lombardy, 185

London, 178 n., 185, 198, 217 n.,
261, 281, 283, 300 n., 319, 346 n.,
383 n., 385 n., 396, 420, 428,
435, 444, 449, 453, 474, 544 n.,
547, 618, 620, 624, 628, 647, 650,
652 f.

■ Aldgate, 451

apprenticeship in, 345, 449

Assize of buildings, 228, 267 n.,

295

Bishopsgate, 451

Black Death in, 333 n., 351

706

INDEX.

London, Blanchapleton, 511

Bridge, 228

coal in, 279

custom of, 129, 173, 218, 224,

230, 291, 345 f., 348, 361 n., 450,
616

Danish, 93

defence of, 410

Eastcheap, 176 n.

. Flemings in, 187, 221

Gascons in, 197, 318

Gild, 129, 219, 226, 343, 383 n.

Holy Trinity, 640

influence of, 392 f.

ItaUans in, 198, 423 f., 430 n.,

452 n,

Jews in, 205, 288

Lombard St., 491

Mayor of, 191, 227, 337, 339,

342 n., 360, 361 n., 381, 383, 386,
493, 510, 514, 624

Mint in, 155, 283

Police, 280

Portsoken, 130 n.

rating in, 229, 248, 617

Koman, 56, 59

S. Clement Danes, 98

S. Martin's, 510

S. Paul's, 8, 175

shipping of, 197, 491

Templars in, 274

wards of, 180, 212, 383; see

Companies, Steelyard, Weavers

Londra, see London

Longedune (Longdon), 166 n.

Long Island, 90

Long Melford, 373, 440 n.

Looms, 524, 648, 653

Lords, House of, 533

Lorimers, 338

Lorraine, 183, 197

Lostwithiel, 385 n., 507

Lot, 44, 189, 190, 191 n., 216,
221 n., 553

Louth, 385 n.

Louth Park, 631

Loventine, 165 n.

Low Countries, 268, 306, 312, 425,
426 n. , 650 ; see Flanders, Nether-
lands

Lubeck, 183, 195, 409, 420

Lucca, 177 n. , 197, 198, 338 n.

Aldebrand of, 198

Lucrum cessans, 257
Ludlow, 188, 385 n., 507
Luffield, 640

Luizenstrj (Leicester), 630
Luizestrj (Leicester), 639
Lupset, 557
Lushboumes, 327 n.
Lutherans, 536
Luxembourg, 327 n.

Luxuries, 196, 244, 424, 426, 550

Lyme, 507

Lymington, 385 n.

Lynches, 44

Lynn, 221, 227 n., 302, 385 n., 516

decay of, 456

Hansards at, 195, 422

Jews at, 205

trade of, 181, 198, 278, 420

Lynn Bishop, 507

Lyons, 197, 423

Lyons, Eichard, 384, 404

Mc Arthur, Miss, 449 n.

Macerius, 568

Machinery, 444

Madagascar, 477

Madeira, 477

Madi, 34 n.

Maenol, 111 n.

Magna Carta, 9, 192, 290, 434 n.

Magnates, 2C5 n.

Magnificence, 387

S. Magnus, 93

Magyars, 184

Mahommedans, 86 n., 185, 196, 475

Mail, coats of, 50 n.

Maine, Sir H. S., 47 n., 98 n.

Mainz, 194 n.

Maitland, Professor, 37 n., 61 n.,
75 n., 93 n., 96 n., 99 n., 100 n.,
101 n.. Ill, 117 n., 126 and n.,
127, 172 n., 174 n., 181 n., 186 n.,
234 n., 398 n., 643 n.

Maize, 33 n.

Major, 91 n.

Majorca, 426 n.

Malabar, 477

Malabestia, Eichard, 205

Mala tolta, 277

Maiden, Mr, 284 n., 317 n.

Maldon, 385 n., 508, 635 n.

Malmesbury, 127, 523 ; see William

Malt, 172. 530 n., 585

Malteby (Maltby), 310 n.

Malton, 636

Maltona (Malton), 636, 638

Malvern, 169 n.

Malversations, 175, 232

Manasses, 200 n.

Manchester, 213, 213 n., 214, 247,
401 n., 520

School, 552

IMancus, 117, 122
Mandeville, Sir John, 475
Manerium, 112; see Manor
Manor, 163 f., 171, 176, 211, 229 f.,

307 f., 546
accounts of, 171, 232 f., 591

decay of, 375 f., 397, 404 f.,

450

officials of, 237

INDEX.

707

Manor, origin of, 29, 108, 111

• its liscal character, 112, 127,

166
lords of, 5, 45, 99 n., 106,

lil3, 134, 166, 212 f., 340, 398, ^

403 f., 521, 534, 544 ; see Courts
Manor house, 295 n.
Manuel of Portugal, 478
Manufactures, see Industry
Manumissions, 401, 402, 583
Manure, 40 n., 42 and n., 578
Maps, 476, 501, 501 n.
Marchebi Inlendisie (Markeby), 638
Marcianus, 56 n.
Marfleet, 129 n.
Margam, 632
Margaret, Countess of Lincoln, 239,

240
Margaret, Queen of Scotland, 95

Queen of England, 422

Queen of Denmark, 417

Maricche (Maryke), 637
Marisea, 636 ; see Mattersey
S. Mark, 503

Mark, 125, 180, 223 n., 527, 529,

652 and n., 654
Markeby, 638
Market cross, 80
Market-place, 80, 95, 246
Markets, 3, 98, 169, 270, 430 n.,

451 n., 460, 530 n., 544 n., 568,

646 f., 653

and origin of towns, 80, 94 n.,

Markgemeinschaft, 45 n.
Markland (Nova Scotia), 91 n.
Marlborough, 189, 654 n., 655
Marrock (Morocco), 427 n.
Marseilles, 84, 197, 423
Marshall, Walter, Earl of Pembroke,

240
Mart, 312, 496, 651
Martona (Mertcn), 640
Mary, Queen, 451, 519, 549, 550
Maryke, 637
Masham, 451 n.
Mason, Mr, 34 n.
Masonry, see Buildings
Masons, 334, 340 n., 347, 412 n.,

441 and n., 443, 646 f., 650
Massachusetts, 90
Masses, 129 n., 540
Mast, 72
Master, 350, 351 n., 443, 444, 509,

512, 544
Materials, 357, 463

embezzling, 513

for cloth trade, 192f., 308, 425,

438

for shipbuilding, 499

import of, 429, 434

Matilda, Queen, 143, 189

Mattersey, 636
"Matthew," 503
Matthew Paris, 203
May, John, 419 n.
May Fair, 452

Mayor, 227, 333 n., 841, 386, 5U,
514 n., 624

of the staple, 222 n., 312, 316

See London.

Meadow, 38 f., 43, 45, 62, 73, 76, 164
Measures, 118 f., 237, 263, 412 n.,

434
Meat, 73, 196, 499 n., 529 ; see

Rations

price of, 500 n., 543

Meaux, 631
Mecklenburgh, 87 n.
Mediterranean, 122, 143, 185, 197,

417, 473, 474, 493, 618
Medium of exchange, 116, 122, 256
Meitzen, 37 n., 44 n., 47 n.
Melcombe, 456
Meldrede, see Meldreth
Meldreth, 166 n.
Melrose, 400 n., 629
Melton, 635 n.
Mendicancy, 536 n.
Meneschef, 579
Mensura rasa, 577
Mensuration, 554

Mercantile System, 14, 247, 329, 378,
'' 382, 395 f., 433 n., 470, 478 f., 551,

562, 563
Mercenaries, 50, 105, 139, 424, 648 f.
Mercers' Company, 324 f,, 338, 381,

382, 494
Merchants, 16, 54, 181, 270, 338 n.,

353, 468, 556 f., 642, 646 f,, 649 f.,

655

and artisans, 20 n., 189 n.,

223 n., 337, 651 f.

Adventurers, 317 n., 345 n.,

416, 468 n., 494, 496, 497, 511,
519, 623

Danish, 93

Eastland, 383, 418

EngUsh, 128, 291, 319, 338,

374, 377, 381, 387, 410, 412 n.,
415 f., 433, 446, 470, 474, 490, 506,
549, 550, 554, 555, 559, 622

Flemish, 195, 302, 315 n.

Florentine, 198, 20S, 424

German, 194, 197

Lrish, 2 n., 180 n.

Italian, 623

London, 377, 383, 392, 422,

425, 471

Papal, 207, 208, 367, 432

Rouen, 187, 197

Viking, 52 n.

"Welsh, 282 n.; see Alien, Gas-
con, Intiuence, Italian, Staple

45—2

708

INDEX.

Merchant Tailors' Company, 444
Merchet, 100 n., 166 n., 578, 580, 585
Mercia, 102, iLio

Lady of, 102

Meremium, 595
Merevale, 633
Merovingian, 49 n.

Mersey, 2, 127 n., 162 n,, 166 n.
Merton, 554, 640
Messor, 597
Mesta, 314 n.
Metals, 79

precious, 117, 122, 198, 358,

364, 433, 441, 481, 542, 545, 555,
563

transmutation of, 432 n.

See Gold, Silver, Bullion.

Metal working, 294

Metere, 578

Method, 18

Metrology, 118

Mewtas, ^510

Michaelmas, 156, 241 n.

Michelson, 301

Middeltone (Milton), 170

Middle Ages, 416, 528, 546, 562

Middleham, 451 n.

Middlemen, 216, 254, 319, 321, 517,

544 n.
Middlesex, 163, 167, 173 n., 178 n.,

229, 248, 249
Middleton, Prof., 72 n.
Mieldona, 635
Miesa In oldaraese (Meaux in Hol-

derness), 631
Milanese, 487
MUchete, 169 n.
Mildew, 462 n.
Mile, 121
MiUtarv earl, 101
Milk, 499 n.
Mill, 71, 164. 169, 233, 332 n., 400,

445
Mill, J. S., 21

Milton, 170, 171, 171 n., 179
Minerals, 56, 65
Miners, 65, 65 n., 279 n., 480, 488,

498, 554
Mines, 196, 359, 525, 555
Mmt, 153 f., 283, 288, 328, 354, 362,

433, 542, 543, 564

Warden of, 395

Mir, 47 n. , 111 n.

Miramaudo (Mir maud), 636

Miravalle (Merevale), 633

Mirmaud, 636

Mirososso (Melrose), 629

Misery, 298, 526

Missionaries, 30, 49, 54, 60, 66, 81,

86 n., 110, 203
Mistery, 307, 338, 339, 383, 429,
514, 517, 523; see Craft gilds

MixtUionis, 569

Molecatcher, 25, 94

Molmen, 578, 599

Moluccas, 504

Monacherone presso di Veruicche,

637 ; see Monketon
Monarchs, 143, 483
Monasteries, 79, 117 n., 208, 276 n.,

423, 523, 530 and n.

Benedictine, 209, 629

Black Death and, 376

Cistercian, 72 n., 209, 629,

632, 633

Columban, 67 n., 68 n., 71,

72 n.

dissolution of, 403, 450, 488,

626, 530, 530 n,, 531
" influence of, 71, 81

pretended, 69

towns and, 210

wool trade of, 198, 423, 628;

see Abbeys, Monks

Money, 174, 256 f., 327 n., 355 f.,
398, 545, 554

black, 358

commodity, 116, 123, 418

token, 542

See Coinage, Commutation.
Money Economy, 22, 174, 242, 458,

546
Moneyers, 153, 154, 155
Money lending, see Loans
Monketon, 637
Monks, 210

Black, 640 n.

L:ish, 37 n., 89, 93 n.

Eoman, 66, 207

Welsh, 58 n., 89

of Ely, 168

of S. Alban's, 401

See Monasteries.

Monopoly, 19, 151, 250, 292, 299,
309, 315, 325, 333 n., 341, 363,
383, 394, 417, 418, 428 n., 445,
447, 502, 504, 544

Montesquieu, 29 n.

Montgomerie, 508

Montingamo (Nottingham), 630

Montpazier, 246 n.

Montpellier, 86 n. , 199

Monuments, 24, 25, 91 n., 108, 187,
294, 369, 373, 468

Moralists, 254, 255, 270, 556 f.

Morality, 9, 29, 376, 467, 556, 559

commercial, 247, 465

current, 10, 201, 269 ; tee

Christianity

Moray, 184

Morcar, 141

More, Su: Thomas, 468 n., 526, 555

Morghana (Margam), 632

Morina, 605

INDEX.

709

Morocco, 477 ; ser Gibraltar
Mortality, 331 n., 332
Mortmain, 273
Morton, Cardinal, 4S6
Morton's Fork, 487
Moscow, 506
Mount Hope Bay, 90
Moveables, 174, 248, 295
Mowat, J. G. L., 73 n.
Mowing, 334, 579, 599
Muinamo (Newenham), 633
Miiller, Professor, 418 n.
Mundie, Sir John, 510
Municipal Eecords, 246
Municipality, 25, 211, 225, 245, 246,

306, 468, 536, 539
Muniments, 401
Murrain, 397, 462 n., 605
Muscovy, Duke of, 506
Mussulmans, 86 n.; see Mahomme-

dans
Mutton, 307, 529
Mutuum, 256
Myiner, Jakke, 400 n.

Nadford, 164 n.

Nail, 119

Nantes, Edict of, 9

Naples, 525

Nationalisation, see Organisation,

national
Nationalities, 468 n., 470, 479
Naturalisation, 288, 431 u.
Navigation Act in XIV. century, 291,

378, 381 n., 394, 409, 471, 490

in XV. centurv, 414, 427

under Tudors," 490, 551

Na-.-y, 394, 403 n., 409, 410 n., 412 n.,

413, 469, 479, 481, 481 n., 490,

490 n., 491, 499
Naworth, 242 n.
Neath, 632

Necessitas Trinoda, 68 n., 104
Needham, Bobert of, 174 n.
Netrro, 534 n.

Neilson, N., 113 n., 179 n.
Nennius, 60, 108
Netherlands, 307, 424, 494, 495,

509 n.; see Flandera,Low Countries
Netley, 632
Neusham, 635
Neustria, 91, 143
Newboth, 635
Newbottle, 629
Newburgh, 638
Newcastle, 189 n., 281 n., 384 n., 507

custom of, 224, 348

trade of, 278, 279, 316, 416,

420

New England, 51 n., 91 n.
Newenham, 633
New Forest, 404

Newfoundland, 90, 504, 505

Newmarket, 73 n.

New Minster, 630

Newport (Mon.), 508

New Shoreham, 455, 456

Newstead (Lines.), 636

Newstead (Notts.), 639

Newton (Lane), 127 n., 167 n.

Newton S. Giles, 454

New World, 470, 479, 488

Nicholas de Wynton, 176 n.

Nicholson, Prof., 390

Nietta (Neath), 632

Night work, 342

Nihilists, 400 n.

Nile, 199

S. Ninian, 95

Niobottoli (Newbottle), 629

Nio Mostriere (New Minster), 630

Nitzsch, 245 n.

Niuborgho (Newburgh), 638

Niuxumi (Neusham), 635

Nizam, 234 n.

Nobiles, 45

Nobility, 66, 545

Noble (coin), 125 n., 268, 303 n.,

432 n.
Nocehona parcho (Nocton), 639
Nocton, 639
Nomads, 28, 31, 32, 34 n., 64 n.,

99
Nonochotono (Nun Goton), 637
Nonyngton (Honnington), 310 n.
Norbonucche (North Berwick), 630
Norettona (Northampton), 640
Norfolk, ICl u., 302 n., 333 n.,

402 n., 404, 534 d.

assessment of, 163, 507 n.

Duke of, 244 n.

industry of, 193, 305 n., 351,

435 f., 517 n.

Norman buildings, 144, 188 and n.

character, 143

Conquest, 30, 63, 113, 114,

124, 125, 142. 165, 174, 179, 182,
190, 369, 546, 641 f.

influence under Confessor, 88

kings, 137, 140, 151, 154, 208

settlements in Sicily, 185

Normandy, 51, 412 n., 484, 654
Normans, 113, 642, 647 f., 650
Norsemen, 39 n., 51, 82 u., tiS, 89 n.,

91, 91 n., 183, 476
North America, 33 n., 35 n., 84, 473;

see America
Northampton, 102, 198, 281 n.,

340 n., 350 n., 385 n., 451 n., 507

S. Andrew's, 451 n., 640

Northamptonshire, 177 n., 544 n.
North Berwick, 630

North Cape, 84

North-East Passage, 504 n., 505

710

INDEX.

North Eiding, see Yorkshire
North Sea, 57, 301, 410
North Stonebara, 426 n.
Northumberland, 224
Di;ke of, 489

Earl of, 242

Northumbria, 2, 29, 45 n., 57, GOn.,

69, 70, 100 n.
North Wales, 283
North-West Passage, 478, 504, 505,

Norway, 84, 89, 291, 293 n., 302,

303, 415, 421, 492
Norwegian, 418
Norwich, 97, 173, 181, 185, 302 n.,

346 n., 385 n., 410, 508, 516, 525,

643, 648

apprenticeship in, 449, 516

Henry, Bishop of, 404

John, Bishop of, 223 n., 227 n.

decay of, 507, 508

Francigenffi in, 188, 637

gild, 384

Jews in, '205

leets, 179 n., 213, 227

trade of, 281 n., 316, 525

and monks, 210

weaviiig in, 435, 4-11 n., 516, 525

Nostell, S. Oswald's, 638

Nostra Dama di Luizestrj (S. Mary's,

Leicester), 639
Nostra Dama di Vemicche (S. Mary's,

York), 638
Nottingham, 39 n., 223 n., 281 n.,

319 n., 385 n,, 630, 653 n., 654 n.

fair near, 181

French in, 179

price of, 314

weavers in, 191, 652, 653 n.

Nottolea presso a Ttamo (Nutley),

640
Nova Scotia, 90

Novelluogho (Newstead, Lines.), 636
Novelluogho Scirenda (Newstead,

Notts.), 639
Novgorod, 88, 196
Nun Coton, 637
Nuremberg, 476
Nutley, 640

Oath-helper, 101 n.

Oaths, 101 n., 102, 339, 512, 549

Oats, 74, 74 n., 331 n., 509

Ochenkowski, D. W., 641

Oder, 196

Offa, 84, 85, 105

Ohthere, 84

Oil, 132 n., 506, 514

Olaf, 87 n., 93

Olcholtramo (Holm Cultram), 630

Oldham, Mr Yule, 474 n.

Oleron, 491 a.

Olesamo Inlendesie (Ailesham), 638
Oligarchies, 454 n.
S. Omer, 85 n., 293 n.
Onbrestano In Lendisie (Humbres-

ton, 639
Open Field, 44 and n., 73 f., 527,

554
Opera Vendita, 234 n., 236, 391, 595
Opinion, public, 10, 253 f., 313, 354,

360 f., 480, 552
Oppression, by employers, 351, 447,

524, 545

by merchants, 20 n., 189 n.,

337, 340 n., 651 f.

Orchards, 554

Orderic Vitalis, 646 f., 650

Orders, rehgious, 153, 274, 275; see

Cistercian, Cluniac, etc
Ordeum, 567
Ordinances, 415 n.

French, 333 n. , 356

of gilds, 445, 511

Orduuelle (Orwell), 103 n.
Oresme, Nicholas, 354, 355, 356,357,

358
Organisation, mercantile, 313 n.,
415

national, 261, 284, 330, 408,

436, 441, 447, 478, 513

of society, 101, 546 f., 556,

559, 660

parochial, 96 n.

piratical, 301, 409

tribal, 44

Organism, 6, 7, 13, 14
Orinesbi (Ormesby), 636
Ormesby, 636

Orphans, 248 n., 333 n., 408
Ortobellanda ; see Northumberland
Osnea in Chondisgualdo (Osney),

640
Osney, 640
Ostend, 411 n.
Otho IL, 183, 207 n.
Ottubo (Newboth), 635
Ounce, 123, 125, 154, 542
Out-town, 33 n.
Overpopulation, 442
Overtrading, 486
Owen, 651; see Blakeway
Oxen, for wagons, 53
payments in, 117 n., 122

ploucrhing with, 40, 41 n., 62,

77, 106"f., 109, 126 n., 165 L,
171 n., 398, 530 n.

Oxford, 181, 385 n., 507, 652 1

apprenticeship in, 449, 508

custom of, 223 n., 224, 226,

616

Jews in, 286

Merton College Library, 238

S. Michael's, 187 n.

INDEX.

711

Oxford Parliament, 192

weavers in, 189, 191, 652

Oxfordshire, 149 n., 200 n., 528,

544 n.
Oyster dredgers, 341 n.

Pace, 119

Pagan, the Sheriff, 160

Page, Mr, 75 n., 167 n., 179 n.,

233 n., 398 n.
Pageants, 297, 446
Pageham, see Pagham
Pagham, 165 n.
Pagnini, 618, 628 and n., 629
Pagns, 44
Palaces, 297
Palladius, 554
Palmer, Mr, 48 n.
Pampisford, 123 n.
Pannage, 169
Pannagium, 576
Papal agents, 198, 207, 352, 363, 432

corruption, 146

pretensions, 145, 207, 272 f.,

479

taxation, 105, 207, 259, 272 f. ,

363, 378, 423

Papas, 89 n.

Paris, see Matthew

Paris, 191, 197, 268, 274, 356

touch of, 284

Parishes, 95 n., 113, 168, 468 n.

Parisian, 352

Parks, 527

Parker, J, H., 279 n.

Parkestou, 456

Parliament, 253, 267, 313, 317,
333, 336, 369, 374, 415 n., 430,
448, 492, 525, 529 f., 535 n.

Good, 192, 287, 293, 394

Oxford, 192

under Bichard II., 392, 395 t,

405, 408, 471

and aliens, 290, 292, 315 n.

and local institutions, 263, 330,

375

and taxation, 277, 295, 400,

454

• and usury, 255, 361 n.

under Edward I., 153, 261 f.,

279, 286

See Legislation.
Parmenters, 651 n.
Parr, Dame Maud, 310 n.
Partnership, 364, 367, 368
Pasqualigo, Lorenzo, 503
Passages, common, 319
Paston, 410
Paston, Agnes, 410
Pastoral, 35 n.
Pasture, 32, 38, 40, 44, 62, 78, lG9f.,

233, 403 f., 448, 544 n., 565; see

Farming, pasture

Patel, 112

Patent, 501 n.

Pauperism, 539

Payment, in service and kind, 104,
116, 117 n., 121 f., 127, 171, 172,
231, 244, 256, 418, 450, 458, 4G5

by tale, 124, 158, 171, 172,

326 n., 546 f., 644

by weight, 124, 158, 171, 172,

326, 327 n., 546 and n., 547, 644

foreign, 207, 326, 362, 395,

420 n., 433

responsibility for, 216, 654

See Commutation.

Payva, Affonso de, 477

Peace, of God, 145, 186, 190 n.
See Kings, Justices of.

Peak, the, 65, 630

Peasants, 642; see Classes, Culti-
vators, Villagers, Villani

Eevolt, 166 n., 370, 375, 396,

398, 399, 402, 458

I'ecche (the Peak), 630
Peche, 3c4

Peckham, Archbishop, 204
Pecunia locata, 256
Pedlar, 324, 559
Pegolotti, 618, 628 f.
Pelegrym, John, 185 n,
Pelterers, 340 n.
Pembroke, 508, 641

Earl of, 240

Pendant, 63
Pendice, 222 n.
Peninsula, the, 415

Pennaut, T., 341 n., 450 n., 498 n,,

554 n.
Penny, 154, 535 n.

Tower, 123 n.

Pennyweight, 123 n., 154
Pensions, 531 n.
Peppeness, 129 n.
Pepper, 130 n., 181, 478 n.
Pepperers, 229

Perch, 124, 125 n.

Pereyaslav, 203 n.

Periculum sortis, 257

Perot le Taillour, 434 n.

Pershore, 167 n., 640, 642 n., 643

Persia, 506

Persian Gulf, 477

Persians, 184

Persore, 640

Perth, 302 n.

Peruzzi, 424, 618, 628, 635 n.

Peso grosso, 324

Pestilence, 388 f., 456, 508; see Black

Death
Peterborough, 126 n., 175, 246, 455,

640
Peter's Pence, 146, 272
Petitions, 392, 430 n.
Petrie. Dr. 94 n.

712

INDEX.

Pewterers, 340 n., 351 n.

Phear, Sir John, o
Philip and Mary, 505, 519
Philip of Valois, 266 f., 293 n., 306
Philippa, Queen, 9

of Lancaster, 414 n.

Phoenicians, 33 n.

Physical conditions, 12, 14, 97, 460

Physician, 287

Piacenza, 198

Pichertnga, see Pickering

Pickering;, 164 n.

Picot, 170, 171

Picts, 56, 57, 67

Piepowder, 181, 452 ; see Courts

Pieres de Edelmeton, 434 n.

Piers, 498

Piers, William, 288 n.

Pigeons, 544 n.

Pigg's Case, 403

Pigs, 163, 171 n., 234, 526, 544 n.,

553
Pilgrims, 84 n., 95, 283, 369, 413
Pillory, 214
Pilots, 497
Pinder, 25, 96
Pins, 438
Pipe, Great Eoll of the, 158

of wine, 320

Rolls, 158 n., 159 n., 160, 653

Pipewell, 633

Pippuelle (Pinewell), 633
Piracy, 50, 183, 304 n., 346 n., 488,
501, 508

as a trade, 51, 183

channel, 51, 300, 315

operations against, 92, 301 n.,

409

protection against, 300, 304,

374, 498

Pirates, 501

American, 51 n.

Baltic, 301

English, 301, 421, 492

Flemish, 302, 315 n.

Norsemen, 51, 183

Stralsiind, 302 n.

Pisa, 198, 417, 434 D., 485 n.,
493

Pisans, 304 n.

Pistrina, 595

Plague, 329 ; see Black Death, Pesti-
lence

Plantagenets, 144, 182, 265, 650

Plantations, 554

Planters, 480

Plasterers, 334

Plate, 256, 326, 329, 387, 395, 540,
542, 544

Plato, 245

Plenty, 270, 439 n., 447, 470, 471,
555

Plough, 41 n., 42, 44, 44 n., 75 n.,

528, 553, 565, 647
Ploughing, 75, 109, 398
Ploughman, 41 n., 78 n., 119, 131,

132, 238, 310, 391 n.
Plumbers, 340 n.
Plymouth, 385 n., 480 n., 507
Poena Conventionalis, 258
Poitou, 318 n.
Poiwic (Powick), 166 n.
Pole, Cardinal, 555

William de la, 288, 288 n.

Police, 9, 214, 237, 279 f., 292, 466
Policy, commercial, 130, 232, 265,

298, 310, 377, 392, 429, 478,

483; see Edward I., Edward III.,

Eicbard II.
Political conditions, 8, 14, 20
Political Economy, 16, 230, 353,

467, 561

and History, 21; see Econo-
mists

Philosophy, 561

Pollards, 283, 327

Poll tax, 386, 400, 404 n.

Polo, Marco, 475

Pontefract, 385 n., 507

Ponte ruberto (Eoberts Bridge), 634

Poor, 388, 391

Poor, Bishop, 650

Christian duty regarding, 231.

243, 377, 530 n. , 536 f.

municipal provision for, 408,

536 and n., 539

valiant, 335, 537

Poor Law, 407, 489, 537 f.

Pope, 85, 207, 271 f., 443 ; see Papal
Poperinghe, 307

Population, classes of, 101, 168,
464

condition of, 297, 376, 388,

537

decrease of, 330, 370

displacement of, 58, 63, 92

estimates of, 168, 331 n.

increase of, 51, 179, 182, 442

maintenance of rui'al, 406, 470,

481, 531

Port, 129

Porter, William, 185 n.

Portgerefa, 130 n.

Portreeve, 227

Ports, 12, 177 n., 218, 278, 279,

285, 316, 320, 411, 412 n., 426 n.,

480 n., 491
Portsmouth, 507
Portsoken, 130 n.
Portugal, 414, 414 n., 415, 426 n.,

427, 476, 477, 504
Portuguese, 427 n., 473, 477, 478,

485, 488, 504
Possessio, 55

INDEX.

713

Potosi, 488, 555
Pottage, 309
Poulson, 344
Poultry, 234, 528 n., 543
Pound, 123, 165, 359, 546
Poundage, 278, 550
Poverty, 526, 536
Powell, Mr Edgar, 400
Power, 134

balance of, 479, 484

national, 14, 266, 357, 375,

378, 467 f., 470, 481, 551, 558, 566

of the Crown, 21, 66, 133, 135,

148, 275, 302 n., 374

purchasing, 465 ; see Influence

Praepositus, 95 n., Ill, 237
Preachers, 443, 467, 556 f.
Precariae, 234 n., 592 n.
Predial, see Services
Pre-emption, 149
Premonstratensian Abbey, 635 n.
Premonstratensian Canons, 205,209,

629
Prerogative, royal, 149, 154, 213 n.,

271 f., 279, 362, 511, 549
Presteign, 508
Preston, 508
Preston (Kent), 462 n.
Prices, 530 n.

calculated, 253 f., 313 f., 319 f.,

458 f., 465, 544 f.

competition, 253, 459, 465

enhancing, 292, 543

fluctuations of, 390, 460, 543,

547

high, 248, 270, 314, 551

interpretation of, 18, 390, 547

low, 315, 342

medieval doctrine of, 252

normal, 253

reasonable, 248, 250 f., 263,

270, 319 f., 334, 342, 460 f.

rise of, 315, 335, 536, 548 f.

ruled, 416

stability of, 545 f.

See Corn, Wool, etc.

Priest, 162, 164 n., 331, 332, 333 n.

Prima Vista, 502

Prince, 231, 355 f.

Princeps, 45, 52, 53, 102

Printing, 457

Prior, E. S., 188 n.

Prisa recta, 277

Prisage, 149

Prise, 149, 231, 276, 282

Prisons, 388 n.

Privileges, 176, 230, 415, 497, 564

town, 189, 212 f., 217 f., 223,

264, 293

of aliens, 191, 194, 197, 292,

318, 392, 419, 421, 497

of minting, 155

Privy Council, 497

Proclamation, 24, 333, 334, 514 n.,

531, 542 f., 546 n., 656
Proctor, 207 n.
Production, cost of, 461
Productive, see Labour
Profit, 364, 366, 460, 534, 557, 562,

565
Progress, 16, 179, 293, 294, 298, 369,

370, 380, 390, 437
Property, 43, 98, 99 n., 100, 166 n.,

256, 275 n., 557

common, 38, 40, 63, 99, 110,

532

ideal, 44

private, 99

real, 152, 295, 498

Proportion, 560 f., 664
Proprietas, 99 n.

Prosperity, 293, 373, 380, 439, 485

Communal, 247

Protection, of merchants, 79, 137,

300 f., 409 f., 491

of products, 78 n., 130, 193,

305, 821 n., 439, 656

Protective legislation, for corn, 378,

406 f,, 447
for industry, 192, 305, 308, 429,

430, 513, 656; see Navigation Act
Provost, 95 n.
Prussia, 84, 303, 415, 417, 418,

421
Pryce, C, 387 n.
Ptolemseus, 31 n.
Purchases, 244, 651
Purveyance, 276 f., 282
Purveyors, 149, 276, 316
Pyx, 154, 354

Quality of Goods, 342

Quarrer, 632

Quarriera dell' Ixola di Ghuccho,

La (Quarrer), 632
Queenborough, 507
Quick- set hedges, 554
Quit-rents, 397, 398, 462
Quittance, 236
Quo warranto, 177
Quoits, 406

Eaceina, 595

Radman, 164 n., 167

Eadnor, 508

Eadulfus, 170

Rafn, 83

Eailways, 12

Ealph de Diceto, 648

Eamixea (Eamsey), 640

Eams, 439

Eamsey, 113 n., 226 n., 640

Eanulf Flambard, 138, 141

Eanulph, Earl of Chester, 615, 651 n.

45—5

714-

INDEX.

Bate, of gold and silver, 358, 542,
652 n.

of interest, 208, 366 f., 558 ;

see Prices, reasonable. Wages

Rations, 236, 390, 449, 636, 546

Ravenspur, 422

Rayats, 78

Reach Fair, 451

Reading, 210, 217 n., 225, 345, 543

Reaper, 390 n.

Reaping, 215, 334

Receipt Rolls, 158 n.

Recoinage, 432, 487, 563 f.

Recta Prisa, 277

Rectitudines, 106, 168, 230

Rector, 179

Red Sea, 199

Reepham, 385 n.

Reeve, 162

Reformation, 317 n., 467

Reform Bill, 9

"Regent," 492 n.

Regrators, 214, 517

Regulation, see Assize, Craft gild.
Legislation, Organisation, Par-
liament, Protective, Trade

Relative superiority, 479

Relics, 24, 25, 49 n., 96, 108

Relief, see Poor

Remains, Roman, 96, 97, 109

Renpendona (Repton), 639

Rent, candle, 401 n.

charges, 368 n.

competition, 463

difficulties regarding term, 5,

17, 106, 462

ecclesiastical, 175, 530 n.

enhancers of, 467, 480, 526,

544, 553, 556, 563

faU of, 332, 405

fluctuations in, 170, 359

in kind, 22, 117, 117 n., 215,

398

of assize, 233 n., 239, 591

of houses, 316, 519, 536, 618

provender, see " in kind "

above

quit, 212, 397 f., 462

remissions of, 462 n.

royal, 104, 148, 162 n., 176,

217. See Commutation.
Repairs, 169, 176, 194, 507, 522, 654
Representation, 261, 270
Reprisals, 302, 303, 410, 418,419,421
Repton, 639
Resources, 10, 11, 12

military, 141

Responsibility, collective, 216, 283 n.,

570

fiscal, 102, 654

military, 110

police, 292, 343, 466

Responsibility, royal, 231
Restoration, the, 483
Retail trade, 250, 324, 520

. and aliens, 131, 291 f., 382,

392, 429

in books, 431

in wine, 318

Retinues, 391 n., 406, 449
Revenue, collection of, 156, 158, 216,

279, 549

ecclesiastical, 272

expedients for raising, 295,

541 f., 548 f.
. Norman, 148

See Farming, Taxation.
Revesbi (Revesby), 631
Revesby, 631
Rhine, 90, 300
Rhode Island, 90
Rhone, 197, 370
Rhyddlan, 169

Ribble, 2, 127 n., 162 n., 166 n.
Ricardo, 311
Riccardian Library, 628
Richard, Bishop of London, 156, 230
Richard de Malabestia, 205
Richard de Munfichet, 584
Richard I., 143, 152

and assize of cloth, 192

and Jews, 205

and towns, 212

and trade, 194, 197, 424

Richard H., 21, 324 n., 345 n., 374,

384, 416 n., 419 n., 443, 537

and bullion, 394, 431

andmerchants, 375, 381, 392f.,

415

and peasants, 402

and shipping, 291, 394, 409

411, 414, 470, 490

and wages, 251

policy under, 377 f., 409, 447,

470, 482

Richard in., 376, 429, 430, 433, 435
Richard Lee, 625
Riches, natural and artificial, 357
Richmond, 451 n., 453
Ridmerlege (Redmarley), 127 n.
Rievaulx, 631
Riga, 497

Rights, Crown, 149, 154, 175, 213 n.,
271 f., 279, 362

common, 38, 40, 99, 173, 532

manorial, 106, 168, 172, 233,

398 f., 533 n.

of property, 44, 99, 166 n.,

275 n.

town, 172 f., 214, 218, 220

Rings, 292, 543, 544 and n.
Riots, 210, 392

Ripgoos, 600 n.

Risk, 255 f., 320, 361 n., 488, 557 f.

INDEX.

715

Rivalse (Rievaulx), 631

Rivers, 84, 96, 97, 181, 469, 646

Roads, 97, '280

decay of, 372, 450

maintenance of, 79, 214, 296,

522

monastic, 67 n.

Roman, 55, 61, 67, 97, 109

Robbery, 526

Robert de Vesci, 643

Robert Grossteste, Bishop of Lincoln,

206, 239, 244, 554 n.
Robert, Earl of Leicester, 215
Robert of Needham, 174 n.
Robert the Bruce, 424
Roberts Bridge, 634
Roche, 631
Roche Abbey, 531 n.
Rochelle, 197
Rochester, 188, 507

Bishop of, 450 n.

Rod, 120, 124
Rodez, 267 n.

Roger, Bishop of London, 289 n.
Roger of Estra, 216

Earl, 188

Roger of Hoveden, 87 n.

Rogers, Prof. J. E. Thorold, 327 n.,
331 n., 371, 390, 397, 399 n.,
439 n., 440 n., 450, 463 n., 522,
535 n., 546

Roland, 80 n.

Rolandsaule, 80 n.

Roll, see Pipe, Close, Court, Receipt

Rollo, 91

Rolls House, 204

Romans in Germany, 34, 36, 50

in Britain, 2, 30, 54 f., 67,

107 f., 142

Rome, 85

ancient, 27, 95, 202, 203 n.

intercourse with, 66, 110, 197

See Papal.

Romney, 221 n., 222 n., 569

Rood, 120, 120 n., 124, 125 n.

Roots, 388

Ropemaking, 491, 519

Rosaries, 327

Rosedale, 637

Rosedalla, 637; see Rosedale

Roses, Wars of, 391, 453

Ross, John, 404

Ross, 648 f.

Rostagno, Dr E., 628

Rostock, 420

Rottingdean, 456

Rottolando (Rutland), 630

Roucester, 639

Rouen, 84, 85 n., 131, 177 n., 185,

187, 191, 197, 373 n., 645, 647,

650, 653 f.
Round, Mr J. H., 126, 126 n., 164 n.,

255

Routes, to Italy, 67, 85, 197, 423

to Black Sea, 84, 88, 196, 199

trade, to India, 85, 147, 473 f.,

506

Rovergne, 267 n.

Rovers of the sea, 410

Rovincestri, 639 ; see Roucester

Roxburgh, 630

Royal Commissioners, 529

Royston, 73 n.

Ruding, 49 n.

Rufford in Sherwood, 631

Rufforte in Estiereuda, 631; see

Rufford
Rule, Monastic, 204 n., 209
Runes, 49, 91 n.
Russets, 525
Russia, 33, 42, 47, 88, 95 n., 196,

203 n., 399, 401, 473
Russian Company, 89, 505, 521
Rustington, 570, 586
Rutland, 630
Rye. Sussex, 221 n., 498
Rye, 74, 331 n., 543, 569

Sabot, Elias, 287

Sac, 103, 166 n., 179 n., 211 n.

Saddlers, 334, 443, 514

Safe Conduct, 304, 412, 413, 428

Sagas, 52 n., 83, 91

Sahara, the, 475

Sailings, 491

SaUors, 114, 197, 302, 412 n., 482,

490, 499, 537
Saints, 71

S. Albans, 59, 215, 4C0, 400 n.
S. Andrews, 95, 246 and n.
S. Botolph, 640 n.
S. Botolph's Fair, see Boston
S. Clement, 93 n.
S. Cross, 333 n.
S. Denys, 84

S. Giles' Fair, see Winchester
S.IvesFair, 180n., 186n., 226n.,244
S. John's, 502
S. Julian, 640 n.
S. Malo, 301
S. Mary Cray, 350
S. Omer, 177 n., 183, 223 n., 351
S. Oswald's, Nostell, 638
S. Radegund, 180, 635 n.
S. Thomas Aquinas, see Thomas
Saladin Tithe, 152
Salar Jung, 234 n.
Salaries, yearly, 390
Sale, by gross, 431, 431 n.
Salford, 166 n.
Salisbury, 246 and n., 275, 385 n.,

387 n., 435, 507, 650

Earl, 411

Sail, 385 n.
Sallay, 631

Sallebi (SuUeby), 635

716

INDEX.

Salleo in Chravenna (Sallay), 631

Salop, 282 n.

Salt, 72, 73, 132, 169

Salterrea (Saltrey), 634

Saltrey, 634

Samperinghamo (Semperingham),

635
Samson, Abbot, 175
Sanchimento (Clementsthorp), 637
Sandwich, 129 n., 221 n., 278, 316,

333 n., 385 n., 410, 570
San Francisco, 200
Sansasano, 630
Santa Aghata (Easby), 634
Santa Chaterina di Nicchola (Lin-
coln), 636
Santa Indigonda (Bradsole), 635
Santiago de Compostella, 305, 413
Santo Andrea di Norettona (S.

Andrew's, Northampton), 640
Santo Andrea di Verrvicche (S.

Andrew's, York). 636
Santo nogli borgo Sestri (Colchester),

640
Santo Usgualdo (S. Oswald's, Nos-

teU), 638
Saracens, 86 n., 184, 185, 198, 304 n.
Sarclare, 578
Sardinia, 198
Satins, 525
Saturdays, 338, 500
Savage, 114
Savine, 402 n.
Saxon Shore, 51, 61
Saxons, 30 n., 48, 54, 58 n., 61, 83,

85 n., 122
Saxony, 52 n.
Scaldings, 327
Scales, 52 n.

Scandinavia, 183, 417, 418
Scarborough, 385 n. , 454, 492, 498,

507

fair at, 87 n.

piracy at, 301 n.

Scholars, 493, 537

Science, economic, see Political

Economy
Scio, 494

Sclavonians, 426 n.
Scot and Lot, 189, 190, 190 n., 191,

191 n., 216, 219, 221 n., 519
Scotland, 51, 269 n., 303, 548

analogies with, 189 n., 348,

534

contrast with, 141, 189 n., 348

influence on, 224, 312 n., 348

monasteries in, 67 n., 423,

629 f.

towns in, 95, 184, 221 n., 224,

247 n., 285, 348, 523 n.

village community in, 44 n.,

48 n.

Scots, 56, 57, 67

Scott, John, 246 n.

Scott, Sir Walter, 401 n.

Scottish pirates, 301 n.

Scriveners, 340 n.

Scrutton, Mr T. E., 101 n., 113 n.

Scutage, 139, 152, 153, 231, 273, 276

Sea, peril of, 300, 301 n.

Sea marks, 498

Seamanship, 82, 479, 500

Seamen, see Sailors

Sea walls, 522

Search, 513

right of, 430

Security, 134, 367
Sed^'ebrook, 240

Seebohm, Mr, 29 n., 37 n., 44 n.,
48 n., 61 n., 98 n., 100 n., 101 n.,
107, 111 n., 113 n., 167, 326 n.,
327 n., 331 n., 335

Seed, 71, 234, 530 n., 543

Seggebrock (Sedgebrook), 240

Seignorage, 432

Seine, 197, 647

Selby, 638

Selden, 304 n.

Self-government, 211

Self-interest, 556, 562, 566

Self-sufficiency, 13, 70, 72

Sellebi (Selby), 638

Seller, 115, 248, 251, 252, 458, 461 n.

Semitic, 48 n.

Semperingham, 635

Senescalcia, 237 '

Seneschal, 237, 240

Seneschallus, 233 n.

Sentiment, 556 f.

Serf, 37 n., 46, 63, 106 f.. Ill, 134,
376

and Christianity, 30, 107

See Villains.

Serfdom, see Villains

Serrura, 598

Servants, 331 n., 351, 429, 431, 533

wages, 334, 390, 405, 449

See Journeymen, Labourers.

Servi, 85

Services, commutation of, 106, 113,

167, 215, 231, 233, 236, 398 f., 462,

584

enumeration of, 107, 167 n. ,

233, 236, 570 f.

military, 66, 102, 139, 141

■ payments by, 22, 104, 134,

233 f., 236, 553
predial, 99 n., 113 n., 164 n.,

166 n., 167 and n., 174 and n.,

215, 226, 231, 332, 398 f., 402,

462, 534, 570 f.
Servientes, 643 and n.
Servus, see Serf, also Slaves
Seven Cities, 502

INDEX.

717

Severn, 223 n.

Shapp, 635

Shaardelowe, Ela, 310 n.

Sharpe, John, 410 n.

Shaston, 507

Shearmen, 245 n., 437, 515, 518

at Coventry, 442

at Ypres, 307

London, 340 n., 351, 443 n.

Sheep, 107, 163, 388 n., 438, 560,

617

breeds of, 439, 517

price of, 130, 171 n., 544 n.

Sheen Farming, 210, 331 n., 379,

397, 442, 448, 462, 480, 526 f.,

551, 553, 555, 659
Sheepcote, 405
Sheep-run, 526, 529
Sheffield, 214, 340, 521, 539 n.
Shelford (Notts.), 639
Shell, 121

Shepherd, 238, 404 a.
Sheppey, 570
Sherborne, 85, 507
Sheriff, 3, 134, 141, 148, 156 f., 166,

174, 206, 216, 249, 278, 281, 360,

452, 653
Shilling, 122, 154, 535 n.
Ship, 48, 82, 197, 301 n., 403 n.,

427 n., 468 f., 474, 480 n., 498,

645; see Gallevs
Shipbuilding, 82,' 413 f., 482, 498 f.,

506, 535
Shipowners, 291, 383, 394
Shippers, 314, 318, 394
Shipping, 52, 374, 550
decay of, 291, 293 n., 395, 409,

4.1'J. I., 490

See Navigation Acts.
Shipwi-ights, 491, 535
Shoemakers, 214, 334, 491
Shoes, 430 n.

Shops, 3, 3n., 179, 284, 512
Shorehan'., 508
Shouldham, 686
Shrewsbury, 210 n., 281 n., 385 n.

foreigners at, 173, 188, 226,

643, 645, 654 f.

craft gilds at, 446

decay "^of, 173, 507

Earl of, 411

George, Earl of, 539 n.

gild merchant of, 221 n., 345,

651

Siirines, 95, 413; see PilgrimB
Shyiock, 258
Sibton, 634

Sicchisiile (SixhiU), 636
Sicily, 143, 272 n., 647
Sierra Leone, 39 n., 47 n.
Sifolco, 635
Sigeburt, Bishop, 85

Siglmn, 567

Sigurd, 105 n.

Silchester, 59

Silk, 130 n., 132 n., 297, 429, 430 n.,

503
Silkworkers, 338 n., 353 n., 429
Silver, 122 f., 208, 432, 542 f., 560

exportation of, 326, 542

importation of, 196, 395, 469

mining, 65 n,

standard of, 284

ratio of to gold, 358, 652 n.

value of, 327 n., 535 n., 543,

546 f.

See Bullion, Coinage.
SimoHa, 630

Simon, Bishop of Ely, 332 n.
Simon de Montfort, 192, 206, 270,

286 n., 305
Simone Gherardi, 628
Sisante (Chicksand), 636
Sites, 97
Sixhiil, 636
Skill, 342, 475
Skinners, 334

SkraeUngs, 114 n. ; see Esquimaux
Skye, 527
Slaves, 35 n., 45, 53, 58 n., 100 ru,

111, 540

as units of value, 116, 122

hberation of, 100 n.

price of, 123 n.

trade in, 30, 85 f.

Slavs, 196

Sleep, 477
Sleswick, 52 n.
Sliding scale, 250
Sluys, 185, 185 n.
Smelting, 65, 442 n.
Smith, 77, 132, 834, 491
Smith, Adam, 232, 275 n., 413, 470,
480

Henry, 448

Miss L. Toulmin, 241, 243 n.

Mr J. Touhnin, 522

Smuggling, 177 n., 278, 416 n., 492
Soap making, 179 n.

Soc, 103, 166 n., 179 n., 211 n.
Sochemanni, 141

Society, 6, 6, 16, 99 f., 545, 556,
642 f.

Feudal, 107, 137, 379

Modern, 464, 559

See Organisation.

Socmen, 164, 167, 171, 176
Soham, 166 n., 171, 171 n.
SoU, 380, 389, 557

exhaustion of, 442

Soke, 191

Solar, 295 n.

Soldamo (Shouldham), 63G

Soldiers, 111, 412 n., 644

718

INDEX.

Solidus, 122

Somerset, 244, 435, 519, 540

Duke of, 489, 522

Somerset's case, 534 n.
Somertou, 508
Sorbonne, 536 n.
Souls, 420

Sound, the, 84

Southampton, 82 n., 244, 385 n.,
410, 507, 643, 645

Gild at, 217, 221 n.

Italians at, 425, 426 n.

mart at, 496

trade of, 177 n. , 278, 281 n, ,

302 n., 413, 505
Southampton Water, 304 n.
Southous, Walter, 360, 361, 365, 366
Southwark, 93, 644
Sovereignty of the sea, 268, 303,

303 n., 411 n.

Spain, 86 n., 484, 487, 491, 502

and discoveries, 504

economic policy of, 288, 479,

490

trade with, 85 n., 426 n., 427

wool of, 314, 439

See Santiago, Aragon.
Spalding, 639
Spaniards, 315, 485, 555
Spanish Main, 488
Specie, 207

Speculation, 250, 326, 543 n.
Spicerers, 324
Spices, 130 n., 196, 323, 393, 423,

426, 478, 555
Spinners, 438, 515 n.
Spital, 509
Spitzbergen, 506
Spurriers, 340 n.
Stafford, 96, 282 n., 507
Staines, 168 n. , 178 n.
Staircase, 295 n.

Stalleo in Guarvicche (Stonely), 633
Stalleo in Zestri (Stanlaw), 632
Stamford, 93, 198, 277 n., 385 n.,

455

Fair, 192, 205

Stamp, 358

Standard, Battle of the, 648
Standard, double, 471

of cloth, 322 f.

of coinage, 283, 328, 542 f.,

545 f.

of comfort, 297, 386 f., 479

of value, 116, 543, 547; see

Units

Stanes, 168 n., 178 n.

Stanfield, 637

Stanforte (Stratford, Essex), 634

Stanlaw, 632

Stanlegh, 632

Stanton Lacy, 187 n.

Staple, changes in the, 312, 313, 315,
316 n., 317, 416 n., 496 n.

definition of, 311 n.

economic advantages of, 312,

316

mayor of the, 222 n., 312, 316,

416 n.

merchant of the, 313, 317 n.,

415, 495, 496

ordinances of, 316, 438

origin of the, 311, 415 n., 622

towns, 293, 312, 313, 316, 417 f.,

425, 434 n., 493, 501 n.
Staplers, 291, 311, 325, 415 n., 544 n.
Star Chamber, 624
Starkey, Thomas, 526, 537, 555
State, the, 558
Statera, 324
Statistics, 493 n., 539
Status, social, 46, 66, 111, 113, 134,

217, 384, 465

commercial, 222

See Villains, Jews.

Statuta Civitatis, 280

Statute Book, 653

Steamers, 12

Steelyard, 195, 422, 654; see Haa-

sards
Stephanus de Cornhull, 176 n.
Stephen, 136, 139, 151, 154, 155,

209, 648
Sterling, 326
Stervelyng, see Stirling
Stevenson, 126 n.
Steward, 213, 214 n., 452
Stigand, 179 n.
Stint, 416
Stirling, 301 n.
Stoche, 644
Stock, Farm, 45, 72, 77, 106, 126,

165, 171 n., 230, 233, 239, 296,

397, 532
Stock and Land, see Lease
Stock in Trade, 4, 16, 463, 564
Stockfishmonger, 419 n.
Stockholm, 88
Stocks, 537
Stoneham, 426 n.
Stonely, 633
Stop of Exchequer, 289
Stores, 34, 35

Naval, 482, 498

Stortebeker, 301
Stourbridge Fair, 180, 181
Stradcloutis, 597
Straits, 428

Stralsund, 302 n., 420
Strassburg, 183, 245 n.
Strata Florida, 634 n.
Stratford, 507
Stratford at Bow, 391 n.
Stratford (Essex), 634

INDEK.

719

Strathclyde, 60 n.

Streams, tidal, 97

Streets, 246 and n., 506

Stretton Baskerville, 448, 529

Stringers (Bowstring makers), 340 n.

Strozzi, Lorenzo, 417

Stuarts, 380, 396 n., 483

Stump, 523

Sturton, Lord, 411

Stykeswold, 637

Subinfeudation, 176

Subsidy, 277, 278, 296, 487, 519, 561

General, 548, 549, 650

men, 548

Suburbs, 456, 512
Sudbury, 385 n.

Simon of, 404

Sudtoue (Sutton), 647 n.
Suevi, 31 n., 50, 53, 54, 62
Suffolk, 163, 169 n., 400, 435
Sugar, 72, 426 n.

Suino Inoldamesa (Swinhey), G37

Sulleby, 635

Sulphur, 132 n.

Sumptuary laws, see Legislation

Sunday, 30. 406, 440 n.

Supper, 309

Surgeons, 412 n.

Surrey, 161 n., 165 n.

Survey, 233, also see Domesday

Surveying, 553

Survivals, 25, 44n., 60n., 96, 113, 225

Sussex, 60 n., 165 n„ 570

Sutona, 169 n.

Suzerainty, 267, 268

Svinsivede (Swineshead), 631

Swansea, 508

Sweating, 336, 466

Sweden, 51 n., 88, 413 n., 415, 421

Swedes, 183

Swine, 72, 79, 169, 544 n.

Swineherd, 78, 168, 238

Swineshead, 631

Swinfield, Bishop, 242, 244, 245

Swinhey, 637

Swiss, 424

Swords, 48, 406

Swynsty, 405

Symon of Lynn, 195

Synagogue, 288

Syracuse, 426 n.

Syria, 185, 196, 198, 199

System, see Mercantile, Three-field

Tabemarii, 382

Tacitus, 29, 34, 37, 38, 42, 43 u., 51,

56 n., 61, 107
Tacksman, 534
TaUors, 245. 334, 340 n., 491

Merchant, 444

of Exeter, 192, 341

of Bristol, 383, 444

Tale, see Payment

Tallage, 152, 153, 201, 217 n., 519

Tallow, 506, 544 n.

Tally, 157, 158 n., 235

Talmud, 202 n., 286

Tames, 523 u.

Tamo (Thame), 633

Tamworth, 96

Tangmere, 165 n.

Tanners, 214, 229, 514, 653

Tanterna (Tintern), 632

Tapestry, 25

Tapicers, 340 n.

Tariff, 250

Tartars, 477

Taunton, 128 n., 508

Taverner, 318, 319

Taverner, John, 413

Tavistock, 507

Taxation, 262, 359, 550, 561, 653

assessment of, 125, 163 n., 164,

165 n., 174, 295, 521, 548 f., 654

■ certainty of, 104, 296

■ exemptions from, 164 n., 440,

454, 547

equality of, 400 n.

feudal, 138, 148 f.

incidence of, 217, 295, 316,

400, 645

inconvenience of, 276, 325

papal. 105, 198, 207, 259,

272, 363, 378, 423

pressure of, 259, 296, 376, 400,

456, 488, 506, 519, 645, 653, 655

responsibility for, 102, 216

of moveables, 152, 174, 295, 296

in service, 22, 276

See Customs, Revenue.

Tax Rolls, 331 n.

Taylor, Dr Isaac, 126 n.

Team, 103

Teams, 3, 62, 77, 119, 126 n., 163,

165, 171 u., 398, 553
Teasles, 193, 305, 439, 656
Tegulator, 568
Templars, 160, 209, 274, 288

suppression of, 275, 380

Temple, 274, 274 n., 400
Tenant farmers. 397, 398, 462
Tenants, 16, 106, 106 n., 141, 165 f.,

233, 529, 532. 553, 562, 644 f.

Ecclesiastical, 218 n., 273,

530 n.

free, 63 n., 92, 101 n,, 103,

113, 164 n., 233, 273

in chief, 176, 273, 643

of ancient domain, 63 n., 176,

217, 271

See Villains, Serf, etc
Tenby, 187, 508
Tennis ball, 430 n.
Tenth and I'llieenth, 152, 295 f.,

326, 334, 454 f., 507, 520, 547 f.,

651

720

INDEX.

Tents, 412 n.

Terminology, 6, 17, 18, 98, 110, 128

Territorium, 55

Tertiaries, 443 n.

Tettesbury, John, 360

Teutonic Europe, 43

knights, 417

legend, 49

peoples, 31

Tewkesbury, 640
Thame, 633

Thames, 383, 491, 497, 498
Thane-right, 93
Thanet, 57, 61
Thatcher, 77
Theft, 129 n., 526
Thegns, 64, 66, 93, 102

Gild, 60 n.

Theologians, 536, 558
Thetford, 385 n.
Thicket, 637
Thirsk, 630
Thomas, S., 85

Thomas Aquinas, S., 245, 252, 254,

256, 257, 258, 259, 270, 356
Thomas de Basingges, 176 n.
Thomas, John, 504
Thoresby, 240
Thorne, Robert, 504, 555
Thorney, 639

Abbot of, 161

Thornholm, 638

Thorpe, Mr B., 117

Three-field system, 74, 126, 126 n.,

527
Threshing, 334
Thrift, 311

Throseby (Thoiesby), 240
Thrums, 439
Thurkytel, 102
Ticcifeltro (Tychfield), 636
Tichbourne, 117 n.
Tidd S. Giles, 454
Tiles, 387

Tilitea (Tiltey), 634
TiUage, 31, 61, 70, 76, 126 n., 132,

174, 259, 488, 527, 553, 565

decay of, 331 n., 332, 403, 440,

448, 450, 489, 526, 532, 565

encouragement of, 406, 447,

482, 551

extensive, 33, 38 f., 42, 44 n.,

62, 73

intensive, 42, 43, 43 n., 44 a.,

73, 76 n., 99

See Agiiculture, Three-field, Farm-
ing, Husbandry.
TilUngham, 126 n.
Tiltey, 634

Tin, 2, 65, 132, 196, 427, 428, 481
Tine chotte (Thicket), 637
Tintem, 632

Tithe, 44 n., 105, 112, 152, 157

Tofschef, 579

Toft, 38, 62

Token money, 543

Toll, 103, 123 n., 128, 149, 180, 181,
217, 218, 220, 222, 223, 277, 278,
282, 311 n., 321, 452 n., 643

Tolley, John, 345 n.

Tolta mala, 277

Ton, 121, 124, 433 n.

Tools, 133, 463

Toppolino (Tupholm), 634

Toritone (Torrington), 645 n.

Tornai presso aspaldinghe (Thorney) ,
639

Tornolino (Thornholm), 638

Torr, 635 n.

Toscanelli, Paolo, 476

Totnes, 191, 221 n.

Tottenham, 202 n.

Touch, 284, 542

of Paris, 284

Touraine, 484
Tournaments, 309, 455
Tourta, 569

Tower, the, 511, 646

Tower pound, 432

Town-house, 246

Towns, 14, 152, 172, 206, 211, 284,

320, 383 n., 384, 442, 464, 491,

526, 529, 586, 545, 548, 651, 564,

622, 641, 651
agricultural character of, 2,

174, 215, 227

charters of, 211 f., 225, 278, 293

constitutionof, 174, 211, 219f.,

225 f.

- — decay of, 178, 298, 373, 376,
440, 449, 453 f., 468, 488, 506 f.,
612, 518, 520

foreigners in, 174 n., 188,

217 f., 226, 248, 281, 292, 299,
446, 513, 564 f., 643, 645, 660,
655

free, 215, 264, 267 n., 278 f.

market, 94 n., 96, 223 n., 282,

646

origin of, 24, 92 f., 246

planting of, 246

Roman, 59

Scottish, 95, 184, 348

and monasteries, 72 n., 95,

210, 213

See Gilds.
Town hall, 225
Trade, 270, 486, 650

balance of, 395, 563

carrying, 393, 427, 474

centres of, 92 f., 174, 652

coasting, 482

export, 130, 178, 196, 278, 311,

382, 423, 628

INDEX.

721

Trade, foreign, 84, 94, 128, 182, 196,
383 n., 414 f., 506

freedom of, 284

illicit, 278, 418

import, 132 n,, 317, 382, 506

internal, 72, 78, 79, 94, 128,

178, 182, 382, 393, 550

See Boutes.
Trade, the, 491
Trade marks, 441, 513, 516
Traders, 285, 544, 558 n., 647, 651
Trades, 348

Trades Unions, 337, 560 n.
Trading, 62, 246, 488, 642, 651

interest, 211

royal, 486, 488

Tramps, 334, 406, 533, 537
Transition, 144, 489
Transmutation of metals, 432 n.
Travel, see Discovery

Treasure, 829, 396, 469, 545, 561,
563 f., 648

importance of, 377, 433, 470 f.,

481, 486

methods for acquiring, 481

Treasurer, 243

Treasury, 160, 549
Treaties, 410 n.

commercial, 84, 414, 492 f.

Treatise, see Husbandry
Trebizond, 196

Trebuchet, 584

Tree of the Commonwealth, 556

Trees, 55, 67, 109, 554

Trent, 281 n.

Trentham, 639

Trepeslau (Thriplow), 166 n.

Tresche (Thirsk), 630

Tressels, 235

Tret, 569

Trevelyan, Mr G. M., 398 n., 400 n.

Tribal Hidage, the, 126 u.

"Trinity," 413

Trinity House, 497

Trinoda necessitas, 68 n., 104

Tronage, 313, 325

Trone, 324

Troy pound, 123 n.

Troyes fair, 84

Truce of God, 145, 147

Truck, 438, 458, 546

Truro, 456, 508

Tudors, 44, 296, 308 n., 327 n., 374,
379, 380, 414, 457, 471, 483, 488,
534, 543, 549 f., 652, 558, 562, 654

Tiia, 62

Tun, 121, 150, 277, 320

Tuimage and Poundage, 278, 411,
550

Tupholm, 634

Turin, 197

Turkey Company, 494

Turks, 477

Tuscan, 424

Tusser, Thomas, 528

Tweed, 649

Twelf-hynde, 101 n.

Two-field system, 126

Twyford, John de, 448

Twy-hynde, 101 n.

Tyburn, 178 n.

Tychfield, 635

Tyler, Wat, 383, 400 n.

Type, 14, 27, 29, 53, 109, 114, 163

Typhoid, 389

Tyranny, 271, 489

Tyrant, 355

Uborno (Woburn), 633

Ugo Spini, 628

Umiliati, 628

Unemployed, 536, 566; spe Poor

Unfree, 219 ; see Cottars, Serf,

Slaves, Villains
Units, 46, 109, 116 f., 119 f., 120,

125 f., 465
Unwin, Mr, 444, 446 n.
Upland men, 217, 219, 446, 470
Urban V., 317 n.
Uriconium, 59
Usgualdo, S. (Nostell), G38
Usipetes, 53
Usk, 508
Usurpations, 271
Usury, 10, 15, 256, 357, 359, 377,

486, 558
and City ordinances, 224 n. , 361

and Jews, 202, 204, 208, 363

and Papal Merchants, 363

objections to, 255, 361, 366, 463

See Loans.

Utfangenethief, 584
Utility, 461
Utopia, 555
Utrecht, 418, 422

Vagrants, 409, 536
Vale of Belvoir, 244
Vale Eoyal, 634.
Valle Crucis, 634 n.
Value, in use, 115

of estates, 170, 235

units of, 121, 122, 126

Van John, 289, 432 n.

Vareale In gualesi (Vale Fioyal

[DernhaU]), 634
Varenbergh, E., 623, 628, 645 n.
Vaudey, 631
Venetians, 91 n., 424 f., 475, 476,

503, 549

Galleys, 197 n., 414, 425 f.

Venice, 426, 468 n., 473, 493, 498

and the East, 147, 185, 198 f.,

477 f.

722

INDEX.

Venice, Merchant of, 3G3
Verdun, «5 n.
Verruicche (York), 637
Verrvicche (York), 636
Veruicche (York), 637, 638
Verulam, 66, 59, 61
Vervicche (York), 630
Vestments, 310, 540
Vestrebellanda (Westmoreland), 635
Vestry, 95 n.
Vesture, 600

Vichamo (Wyekham), 637
Victual Brothers, 301, 409
Victuallers, 299, 491, 523
Victuals, 520, 523, 536, 544 n.
Vicus, 37 n., 44
Vigils, 500

Vikings, 52 n., 100 n.
Village Community, 36 n., 44 f., 77,
99 n., 101 n., Ill, 113, 275 n.

free, 63, 113

Villages, 3, 34, 37 f., 44 f., 61, 62,
92, 95, 111, 113, 126, 162, 421,
430, 469, 491, 529

migration of industry to, 509,

512, 518, 520

self-sufficient, IB, 70f., 77, 78n.

Villainage, 63 n., 399 n., 402, 534
Villains, 162, 164, 168, 170, 179,

210, 534, 642 n., 643

grievances of, 398, 399

holding of, 77, 167, 168 and n.

revolt of, 399, 401 n., 402

status of, 63, 63 n., 100 n.,

113 n., 167, 168, 217n., 237, 398 n.,
402 n.

taxation of, 282, 296, 462

See Serf, Services.

Villani, 167; see Villains
Villes franches, 267 n.
Vine, 55, 319 n.
Vinetarii, 382

Vineyards, 160, 318, 318 n., 554
Vingorla, 37 n.

Vinogradoff, Prof., 39 n., 40 n., 41 n.,
44 n., 62 n., 63 n., 117 n., 167 n.
Vintners, iJbS, 381 n., 382, 396 u.
Virga, 612

Virgate, 125, 126, 167, 171, 644
Visby. 88

Vivaido, Ugolino, 476
Voet, 409
Vortigern, 57
Voyages, 554
Vynland, 90, 476

Wadon (Whaddon), 103 n.
Wage, 329, 390, 398

assessment of, 228, 251, 334,

405, 449, 534

combinations to raise, 334, 352,

544 and n.

?e, nominal and real, 389

reasonable, 250, 335, 342, 461

Wage-earners, 442 n.

Wager of Battle, 214

Waiaage, 282

Wainscot, 387

Wainshilling, 128 u.

Waitz, 37, 44 n.

Walcher of Lorraine, 646

Wales, 108, 223, 225, 2b3, 648 f.

measures in, 118, 120 n.

tillage in, 40 n., 42 n. , 62

villainage in. 111 n., 402

weavers in, 190, 308

Wallace, Sir D. M., 42
Walsingham, 333 n., 402
Walter of Henley, 238, 552 f.
Walter of Lindsey, 161
Waltham, 640

Walton, 636

Wanderjahr, 352

War, 7, 61, 93 n., 336 n., 557, 563

and free citizens, 92

as a trade, 32, 50

French, 298, 309, 336 n., 391,

455, 484 f., 518

of Roses, 391, 453, 455

Private, 30 n., 145

weapons of, 425

Warbeck, Perkin, 487
Ward, Richard, 504

Warden, of Gilds, 338, 351 n., 464,
512, 513, 516, 519, 525

Goldsmiths, 284, 441

of the Cinque Ports, 220 n., 283

See Mint.

Wardon, 633

Wardrobe, 242, 244

Wards, 180, 212, 383

Warectum, 593

Wareham, 173

Warehouses, 81

Warenne, Earl, 161

Wares, 81, 116, 465, 546, 562, 565

Warfare, 32, 50, 92, 93 n., 231

Warnkonig, 181 n.

Warren, 176

Warriors, 49, 49 n., 50

Warwick, 96, 172 n., 508

Earl of, 422

Warwickshire, 448, 643 n.
Waspail, Ralf, 160

Waste, Common, 32, 40, 41, 43, 45,
46, 62, 72, 77, 99 n., 164, 169,
171 n., 233, 530 n.

Wastel bread, 567

Waston, Richard, 419 n,

Waterford, 94 n.

Water-mill, 78 n.

Water-supply, 82

Watling Street, 91

Waulkers, 189 n. ; see Fullers

INDEX.

723

Waver ley, 633
Wax, 17-2, 244

chandlers, 340 n.

Wealth, 116, 205, 869, 563 f.

accumulation of, 36, 81, 463,

559, 566

desire of, 465

ecclesiastical, 269, 531 n.

national, 357, 468

Weavers, before Conquest, 2, 82, 647

complaints of, 445, 518, 523

Flemish, 60, 143, 187, 189 f.,

190 n., 226, 304 f., 641 f., 647

gilds, 191, 193, 305, 337, 341,

444, 642, 652 f.

in Flanders, 306 f .

in Italy, 197, 338 n.

in London, 191, 306 n., 308 n.,

314, 341, 345 n., 352, 383, 624,
652

See Protective Legislation.
Week-work, 107, 167, 168, 234
Weekly hiring, 524
Weigh, 130
Weighers, 289, 313
Weights, 121 f., 237, 263, 412 n.
Welbeck, 635
Wellow, 638
Wells, 294, 385 n.
Welsh co-aration, 41

Cistercian houses, 634 n.

language, 108

merchants, 282 n.

struggle with, 63, 57 f., 67,

S. Werburgh's ; see Fair, Chester

Wergild, 48, 100 n.

Wessex, 2, 60 n,, 70, 88

West Lidies, 473

West Biding, 515, 530 n.

Westminster Abbey, 173 n., 178 n.

Westmoreland, 635

Wexford, 94 n.

Weymouth, 507

Whales, 131, 506

Wheat, 74, 75

price of, 407, 543, 568

Whepe, 598

Whitby, 68 n., 385 n., 638
White Sea, 84
White Tower, the, 646
Whitsuntide, 127
Whittawyers, 340 n.
Whitwell, Mr, 272 n., 634 n.
Wholesale, 130, 382, 383 u.
Widows, 352, 624
Wigan, 508

Wigmore Abbey, 295 n.
Wi?ton, 60 n.
Wilburton, 234 n., 398
William, brother of Henry II., IGl
Wmiam the Conqueror, 1, 2, 14, 21,
138, 139, 143, 642 f.

William the Conqueror and towns,
173

and Yorkshire, 2, 165

and Jews, 150

policy of, 135, 140 f., 162, 207,

262, 275, 468

taxation by, 126, 148 f., 162, 177

William n„ 137 f., 144, 180 n., 209,

272
WiUiam IH., 21, 358, 565
William IV., 136
William of Malmesbury, 194, 196,

649 and n.

of Pinchengi, 644

of Worcester, 333 n., 413 n.

of Ypres, 648

son of Holdegar, 160

Willis, John, 411 n.
Willoughby, Hugh, 505
Wills, 98 n., 333 n.
Wilsford, 391 n.

Wiltshire, 62 n., .148 n., 295 n., 644,
645 n.

Earl of, 411

Wimelton (Wilmington), 350
Wimpol, 178 n.

Wimundewalle (Wymeswold), 643 n.
Winchcomb, John, 615 n., 523
Winohcombe, 640

Winchelsea, 246 n., 279, 498
Winchester, 162, 217 n., 244, 385 n.,
654 n., 655

Bishop of, 117 n., 128 n., 235

Countess of, 206

• custom of, 223 n., 224, 229

decay of, 330 n., 507

fair at, 181 n., 452

gild of, 129, 219, 259 n.

Statute of, 280

trade of, 316

weavers at, 189 f., 435, 652 f.

Windmill, 401 n., 598 n.

Wine, 1.32 n., 149, 244, 277, 297, 411,
427, 433 n., 471, 490, 544 n., 551

English, 160, 318 n., 553

from Gascony, 197, 290, 302,

318 f., 393

from Germany, 194, 197, 422

from Bouen, 131, 194, 197

Winetunners, 382

Winslow, 570, 686, 610

Wisbech, 384, 454, 522

Wismar, 417, 420

Wita, 127 n.

Witan, 68

Witenagemot, 69

Wiveton, 420

Woad, 425, 490, 490 n., 551

Woburn, 633

Wolf, 483

Wolf, L., 204 n., 287 n., 288 n.

Wolmarus de Estchep, 176 n.

Wolowski, L., 356

724

INDEX.

Wolsey, Cardinal, 490, 510, 529
Women workers, 347 n., 348 n.,

352 f., 515 n.
Wood, 506, 532
Woodbury, 129 n.
Wool, 180 n., 181, 218, 277 f., 283,

303, 515 n., 526, 529, 628
export of, 130, 176, 178, 190 n.,

192, 196, 198, 207, 210, 268, 305,

308 f., 313, 316, 395, 423, 628

growing, 210, 467, 647

policy regarding, 130, 192, 297,

311, 515

price of, 130, 314 f., 317, 462,

544 and n., 628

Spanish, 314 n., 439

staplers, 387 n., 428, 544 n.

weighing of, 288, 313, 323 n,,

325

See Sheep, Staple.
Woolfells, 277, 428
Woollen, burying in, 479, 480

drapers, 520

Woolmen, 615 n.

Worcester, 128 n., 166 n., 175, 226,
2S2 n., 385 n.

Bishop of, 169 n.

decay of, 507, 518

Earl of, 411

gilds at, 221 n.

Worcestershire, 164 n., 167n., IBSn.,

519
Work, 204, 204 n., 556 f., 560 n.
Worksop, 638
Worstead, 305 n.
Worsted, 322, 435, 441 n., 459, 517,

525
Worth, 187 n.

Wreckage, 176, 280, 280 n., 430
Writing, 81
Wnlfstan, 84
Wyckham, 637
Wycliffe, John, 400, 400 n.
Wycombe, 507

Wynkyn de Words, 239 n., 553 n.,

654 n.
Wynselowe (Winslow), 586
Wyttering, 639

Yard, 119, 120
Tardland, 76 n., 107
Yarmouth, 222 n., 246 n., 278,316,
386 n., 420, 520

Black Death at, 333 n.

decay of, 454, 456, 507

fair, 224 n., 226

fishing at, 321

and Cinque Ports, 224 n. , 226,

279, 320

Yarn, 439, 517
Yearly tenancies, 532
Yedingham, 638
Yeoman, 308, 310, 439 n,

farmers, 398

gilds, 352 n., 443, 444

York, 93, 97, 102, 173, 217 n., 218,

224, 281, 294, 303, 306, 316, 385n.,
420, 519, 630
Ai-chbishop of, 287

decay of, 507

gilds at, 521 n.

■ Jews at, 205, 287

poor at, 539

Koman, 2, 69

S. Andrew's, 636

S. Mary's, 6r>8

weavers at, 191, 652

Yorkists, 425, 429, 457

Yorkshire, 1, 126n., 143, 164n., 165,

169, 218, 453, 619, 522 n., 530 n.,

635 n.
Ypres, 187 n., 306, 306 n., 307, 536 n.
Ystrat Marchel, 632
Ytallici, see Italian

Zealand, 306, 412 n., 415
Zealanders, 302 n.
Zeuo, 91 n.

PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY J. B . PEACE, M.A.
AT THE CAMBBIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

8623

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