1. in_ernet_dli_2015_173901_2015_173901_Readings--In-English-Social-History-From-Contemporary-Literature

READINGS

IN

SOCIAL

HISTORY

CAMBRIDGE

UNIVERSITY

PRESS

C.

F.

CLAY,

Manager

LONDON

:

FETTER

LANE,

E.C.4

NEW

YORK

.

THE

MACMILLAN

CO.

BOMBAY

CALCUTTA

MADRAS

MACMILLAN

AND

CO.,

LTD.

TORONTO

:

THE

MACMILLAN

CO.

OF

CANADA,

LTD.

TOKYO

:

MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA

ALL

RIGHTS

RESERVED.

READINGS

IN

ENGLISH SOCIAL HISTORY

FROM

CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE

VOLUME TWO

A.D. 1272—1485

EDITED BY

R. B. MORGAN, M.Litt.

INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS TO THE CROYDON EDUCATION COMMITTEE

AUTHOR OF

A New English Grammar, The Groundwork of English

ETC.

CAMBRIDGE

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS

1921

TO

MY

WIFE

PREFACE

It is a truism that every great political upheaval is followed by a keener and livelier interest on the part of statesmen and the people generally in the social and industrial questions, that, phoeniz-like, arise and demand settlement.

The upheaval caused by the war has focussed the attention of the country upon the necessity for improving the social conditions of the people; and for many years to come legislation in the main will have to deal with the betterment of the conditions of life in its broadest and fullest aspect.

A glimpse at the social conditions of the inhabitants of this country in the past will be a help towards the better understanding of what has gone to make “this little world set in the silver sea” the cradle of a race of shopkeepers (as Napoleon dubbed us), and warriors, as we have proved ourselves to be.

In these little volumes the editor has endeavoured to select from contemporary writers pen-pictures of the country and its inhabitants throughout the centuries : their mode of life ; their food and clothing; their games and recreations ; their feastings and their burials; their methods of fighting on land and sea ; their laws and customs ; their education ; their instinct for trade ; their pageants and their music ; their joys and their sorrows ; in fact, all that goes to make what we call “life.”

In order to tempt his readers to explore for themselves the sources from which the extracts are taken, the editor has, where possible, chosen his selections from such editions of authorities as can be found in any modern reference

vi

PREFACE

library, and to that end, the source of each extract is defined

in detail. In this connection the editor is under a debt of

gratitude to Mr G. Berwick Sayers, the chief librarian of

Croydon’s splendidly equipped public library, for his expert

advice and assistance ; and to him and his staff sincere

thanks are due.

To Mr Walter Blackie, at whose suggestion the work was,

in the first place, undertaken, the editor offers his thanks.

The illustrations have been selected by Mr S. C. Roberts,

of Pembroke College, Cambridge, to whom the editor is

greatly indebted for his generous co-operation.

R. B. M.

10 Wellesley Grove

Croydon

November 1920

CONTENTS

PAGE

Preface

.

.

.

.

.

.

v

ENGLAND UNDER THE LATER PLANTAGENETS

How

the

proceedings

of

a

manorial

court

were

conducted

Lui

Count

de

Baron

1

The

liberation

of

a

serf

.

.

.

.

DUGDALE

4

A

summons

to

parliament

by

Edward

I

STUBBS

5

Some

articles

of

commerce

in

the

fourteenth

century

Patent

Rolls

6

Extracts

from

an

early

court

roll

.

.

.

Court

Rolls

9

A

glimpse

at

London

at

the

beginning

of

the

fourteenth

century

Guildhall

Letter

Books

and

RILEY,

Memorials

11

Cost

of

food

in

Edward

II's

reign

.

.

.

STOW

19

The

expenses

of

an

earl's

household

STOW

20

A

king's

order

for

clothes

A

Letter

of

Edward

II.

22

The

degradation

of

a

knight

.

.

.

STOW

23

Parental

advice

from

a

king

A

Letter

of

Edward

II.

24

"Long-bearded

soldiers"

HOLINSHED

25

The

safe

convoy

of

wool

RYMER,

Foedera

26

Regulations

regarding

weavers

RYMER,

Foedera

26

Penalties

for

a

breach

of

the

peace

.

RILEY,

Memorials

27

A

city

toll

.

.

.

RILEY,

Memorials

28

The

fare

of

a

farmer

LANGLAND,

Piers

Plowman

29

A

London

guild

.

.

.

RILEY,

Memorials

29

The

Black

Death

and

its

effects

ROBERT

of

AVESBURY

and

KNIGHTON

31

`Every

man

shall

serve

the

master

requiring

him'

Statute

of

Labourers

33

viii

CONTENTS

21. Regulations regarding plague fugitives

. Rymer, Fœdera

33

22. Labour conditions after the Black Death

Statutes of the Realm

34

23. Games supplant archery

. Rymer, Fœdera

36

24. Concerning lepers .

. . Stow

37

THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

25. The Canterbury Pilgrims

. . . . Chaucer

39

26. A seaman's pay in Edward III.'s reign

Black Book of the Admiralty

53

27. " This sceptred isle " .

. . . Shakespeare

54

28. The Peasants' Revolt .

. . Froissart

55

29. The livery of the citizens of London on fête-days .

Stow

62

30. A tilting match .

. . Froissart

64

31. The population of some English towns and counties in the reign

of Richard II. .

. Poll-Tax Returns

66

32. A tournament at Smithfield .

Froissart

68

33. The noble housekeeping of Richard II.

Holinshed

70

34. The pageant of a coronation .

. Froissart

70

35. Letters patent to Geoffrey Chaucer

. A Letter of Henry IV.

74

36. The provisioning of an army on the march

A Letter of Henry IV.

75

37. An English merchant ship in A.D. 1413 .

. Icelandic Sagas

76

38. The wages of a king's minstrels .

Rymer, Fœdera

76

39. The building of a king's ship .

A Letter to Henry V.

77

40. The adventures of a rustic in London

. Lydgate

78

41 Extracts from a fifteenth century account roll .

Account Rolls

81

42. " We bee masters of the Narwoe See " .

. . Hakluyt

84

43. A song in praise of good ale

. Fifteenth Century Songs

85

44. Naval pay in the Middle Ages

Black Book of the Admiralty

86

45. " Spare the rod " .

. . Paston Letters

87

46. The defence of a mansion during the Civil War

Paston Letters

88

47. The indenture of an apprentice .

. Ancient Deeds

89

48. Regulation of the price of bread .

. Liber Albus

90

49. The education of a prince .

. A Letter of Edward IV.

91

CONTENTS

ix

50 The library of an English gentleman . Paston Letters 94

51. A medieval love letter . . Paston Letters 96

52 How sanctuary was claimed Sanctuarium Dunelmense 97

53. An Eton boy's letter . . Paston Letters 98

54. A king's wardrobe . . A Letter of Richard III. 99

55. The use of beacons as a means of alarm . . Holinshed 100

56. "The Nut Brown Maid," a fifteenth century ballad Arnold, Chronicle 101

Notes on Sources . . . 106

The editor gratefully acknowledges permission to quote extracts granted by the following owners of copyright material :

The Selden Society (No. 1).

Messrs Ginn & Co. and Professor Cheyney (No 2).

The Delegates of the Clarendon Press (No. 3).

Messrs Methuen & Co., Ltd. (Nos. 5, 41).

The Guildhall Library Committee (Nos. 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d).

Messrs G. Routledge & Sons, Ltd (Nos. 8, 24, 29)

Messrs Chatto & Windus (Nos. 9, 11, 35, 36, 39, 49, 54).

Messrs J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd. (Nos. 17, 30, 32, 34)

H.M. Stationery Office (Nos 19, 26, 44).

Messrs G. Bell & Sons, Ltd (Nos 20, 47).

Messrs Macmillan & Co., Ltd. (No. 28)

Messrs Maclehose, Jackson & Co. (No. 42).

Messrs Constable & Co., Ltd. (Nos. 45, 51, 53).

ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE

Court House, Long Crendon . . . 10

The old Court House or Staple Hall at Long Crendon, in Buckinghamshire, probably belongs to the fourteenth century It was possibily built as a wool-store, and in the fifteenth century was used for the holding of manorial courts.

Photograph by W. H. Marsh.

Seal of the Lord Mayor of London . . 11

This elaborate seal, displaying the images of St Peter and St Paul, with the city arms at the foot, was made in the fourteenth century to replace the old one, which was held to be " uncomely for the honour of the city."

British Museum.

Medieval Domestic Life . . . . 22

These two illustrations are from a French Book of Hours, of the fifteenth century, now in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

MS. Canon. Lit. 99

A Medieval Knight . . . . 23

This illustration is from John of Bedford's Book of Hours, a fifteenth century MS. in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and shows the knight being equipped with plate armour, spurs, and shield.

From F. L. Bowman, Britain in the Middle Ages.

Four Gates of Old London . . . 38

This reproduction of an old print shows four of the gates which originally stood at intervals on the line of the wall round old London, " the great and high wall of the city having seven double gates," as Fitzstephen says. They were finally removed in the middle of the eighteenth century

x

ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE

Geoffrey Chaucer . . . . . 39

This portrait is reproduced from a copy of The Canterbury Tales, known as the Ellesmere MS., which contains portraits also of the characters who figure in the Tales. Most of these portraits are reproduced in the Stories from Chaucer, from which extracts are given in the text.

John Ball Preaching . . . 58

Interview on the Thames between Richard II. and the Insurgents . . . . . 59

A Tournament in the Fourteenth Century . . 70

Coronation of Henry IV. . . . . . 71

These four illustrations have a special interest in that they are copied from contemporary pictures included in MSS. of Froissart's Chronicles. The first pair are from a MS. in Paris, and the second from one in the British Museum. The tournament depicted is one held at St Inglevere, near Calais, where three French knights defended the lists for thirty days against all comers The other three illustrations are sufficiently explained by the text

From H N. Humphreys, Illustrations of Froussart

The Old Library, Lincoln Cathedral . . . 96

The library of Lincoln Cathedral was built about 1420, and a good part of the original structure remains. The roof is an especially fine example of fifteenth century timber-work.

A catalogue of about 1450 refers to several books " lately secured with locks and chains "

From J. W. Clark, Care of Books.

The Sanctuary Knocker, Durham Cathedral 97

To gain sanctuary at Durham Cathedral, the fugitive had first to knock upon the north door. On this door the knocker (made of bronze, and dating from about 1125), still remains.

READINGS

IN SOCIAL HISTORY

ENGLAND UNDER THE LATER PLANTAGENETS

1. HOW THE PROCEEDINGS OF A MANORIAL COURT WERE CONDUCTED [circa A.D. 1277]

Source: La Court de Baron, Maitland and Baildon (Selden Society) Vol. IV.

Here may one find all sufficiently and all fully the whole course of a Court Baron, and the attachments, and the distresses and the plaints, and the accusations and defences, and the delays and days of love,1 and the office of steward how he shall speak when he holdeth the courts.

Of Taking Fish in the Lord's Pond.

The Steward. Walter of the Moor, thou art attached to answer in this Court wherefore by night, and against the lord's peace, thou didst enter the lord's preserve and carried away all manner of fish at thy will, how wilt thou acquit thyself or make amends ? for know that were anyone to prosecute you, you stand in peril of life and limb ; therefore be advised.

The Accused. Sir, my wife had lain abed a whole month and never eaten or drunk anything she could relish, and for the craving to taste a perch she sent me to the bank of

1 Days allotted to the parties to enable them to come to agreement.

II A

1

2 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

the pond, to take one perch only, and that no other fish was taken or carried away. I am ready to do whatsoever thou dost award.

The Steward. Since thou gavest the other day, half a mark to have an inquest, dost thou think that we have forgotten this and wouldst thou now have other law? Therefore this court awards that thou be in the lord's mercy with pledges, etc. And, again, thou art confessing in this court to having taken and carried away a perch in other manner than thou shouldst have done, for thou couldst have come by it in more honest manner. Therefore, for this also thou art in mercy.

The defendant then craves leave to imparl and speaks thus :

Sir, for God's sake do not take it ill of me if I tell the truth, how the other evening I went along the bank of the pond, and saw the fish playing in the water so lovely and bright, and for the great craving I had for a perch I lay down on the bank of the pond and with my hand only and quite simply took and carried away this perch, and I will tell thee the cause of my covetous desire, my companion, that is my wife, had lain in bed a whole month, as my neighbours, who are here well know (and so on as above : he is adjudged by the steward in the lord's mercy.) 1

Of Horse Stealing.

Steward. Bailiff, sir, let the prisoners come before us.

Bailiff. That will I, sir. Lo, they are here.

Steward. For what cause was this man taken?

Bailiff. Sir, for a mare, which he took in the field of C. in other manner than he ought.

Steward (to prisoner). What is thy name ?

Prisoner. Sir, my name is William.

1 Liable to any treatment the lord may choose to employ.

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 3

Steward. William, now answer me by what device thou camest by this mare ? for, at least, thou canst not deny that she was found with thee, and that thou didst avow her for thine own.

Prisoner. Sir, I disavow this mare, and never saw her until now.

Steward. Then thou canst right boldly put thyself upon the good folk of this vill that thou didst not steal her.

Prisoner. Nay, sir, for these men have their hearts big against me, and hate me much because of this ill report which is surmised against me.

Steward. Thinkest thou, William, that there would be any who would commend his body and soul to the devil for thee or for love or hatred of thee ? Nay, verily they are good folk, and lawful and thou canst oust from among them all those thou suspected of desiring thy condemnation, but do thou what is right and have God before thine eyes and give not thyself wholly to the enticement of devils ; but confess the truth and thou shalt find us the more merciful.

Prisoner. Sir, in God's name have pity on me, and I will confess the truth, my great poverty and neediness and the enticement of the devil made me take this mare larcenously, and often have they made me do other things that I ought not to have done.

Steward. God pardon thee : at least, thou hast confessed in this court that larcenously thou tookest this mare ; now name some of thy fellows, for it cannot be but that thou hadst fellowship in thy evil deeds;

Prisoner. Of a truth, sir, never had I a companion in my evil deeds save only the fiend.

Steward. Take him away and let him have a priest.1

1 i.e. Let him be summarily executed.

4 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

2. THE LIBERATION OF A SERF [A.D. 1278]

Source : Dugdale, Monasticon, I (from the translation quoted in Robinson's Readings in European History, I).

To all the faithful of Christ to whom the present writing shall come, Richard, by the divine permission, abbot of Peterborough and of the convent of the same place, eternal greeting in the Lord.

Let all know that we have manumitted and liberated from all yoke of servitude William, the son of Richard of Wythington, whom previously we have held as our boon bondman, with his whole progeny and all his chattels, so that neither we nor our successors shall be able to require or exact any right or claim in the said William, his progeny, or his chattels. But the same William, with his whole progeny, or his chattels, shall remain free and quit and without disturbance, exaction, or any claim on the part of us or our successors by reason of any servitude forever.

We will, moreover, and concede that he and his heirs shall hold the messuages,1 land, rents, and meadows in Wythington which his ancestors held from us, and our predecessors, by giving and performing the fine which is called merchet for giving his daughter in marriage, and tallage 2 from year to year according to our will,—and that he shall have and hold these for the future from us, and our successors freely, quietly, peacefully, and hereditarily, by paying to us and our successors yearly 40s. sterling, at the four terms of the year, namely : at St John the Baptist's day 10s., at Michaelmas 10s., at Christmas 10s., and at Easter 10s., for all service, exaction, custom and secular demand ; saving to us, nevertheless, attendance at our court of Castre every three weeks, wardship and relief,

1 Houses.

2 A tax paid by the occupier of certain kinds of land at the will of the lord.

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 5

and outside service of our lord the King, when they shall happen. . . .

Given at Borough, for the love of lord Robert of good memory, once abbot, our predecessor and maternal uncle of the said William, and at the instance of the good man, Brother Hugh of Mutton, relative of the said abbot Robert, A.D. 1278, on the eve of Pentecost.

3. A SUMMONS TO PARLIAMENT BY EDWARD I. [A.D. 1295]

Source : Stubbs, Select Charters.

The King to the Sheriff of Northamptonshire :

Since we intend to have a consultation and meeting with the earls, barons and other principal men of our kingdom with regard to providing remedies against the dangers which are in these days threatening the same kingdom, and on that account have commanded them to be with us on the Lord's day next after the feast of St. Martin, in the approaching winter, at Westminster, to consider, ordain, and do as may be necessary for the avoidance of those dangers, we strictly require you to cause two knights from the aforesaid county, two citizens from each city in the same county, and two burgesses from each borough, of those who are especially discreet and capable of labouring, to be elected without delay, and to cause them to come to us at the aforesaid time and place.

Moreover, the said knights are to have full and sufficient power for themselves and for the community of the aforesaid county, and the said citizens and burgesses for themselves, and the communities of the aforesaid cities and boroughs separately, then and there, for doing what shall then be ordained according to the common council in the premises ; so that the aforesaid business shall not remain unfinished in any way for defect of this power. And you shall have

6 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

there the names of the knights, citizens, and burgesses, together with this writ.

Witness the King, at Canterbury, on the 3rd of October.

4. SOME ARTICLES OF COMMERCE IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY [A.D. 1305]

Source : The Patent Roll, Pontage for London for the year 1305, translated in The Chronicles of London Bridge by An Antiquary.

The King [Edward I.] to his beloved the Mayor and Sheriffs, and to his other Citizens of London,—Greeting.

Know ye, that in aid of repairing and sustaining the Bridge of London, we grant that from the day of making these presents, until the complete end of the three years next following, the underwritten Customs shall, for that purpose, be taken of saleable goods over the Bridge aforesaid, and of those which cross under the same, that is to say :

Of every poise, or weight of cheese [256 lbs.], fat of tallow, and butter for sale, one penny. Of every poise of lead for sale, one farthing. Of every hundred of wax for sale, twopence. Of every hundred of almonds and rice for sale, one penny. Of every hundred of barley corn for sale, one penny. Of every hundred of pepper, ginger, cinnamon, Brazil-wood, frankincense, quicksilver, vermillion and verdigrease for sale, twopence. Of every hundred of alum, sugar, liquorice, aniseed for sale, one penny. Of every hundred of sulphur, ink, resin, coffras for sale, one farthing. Of every frail [basket] of figs and raisins for sale, one halfpenny ; and of every smaller frail, one farthing. Of every pound of dates, musk nuts, mace, saffron and cotton for sale, one farthing. Of every stone butt of ginger for sale, one penny. Of every hundred weight of copper, brass, tin for sale, one halfpenny. Of every hundred weight of glass for sale, one farthing. Of every thousand of the best grey

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 7

squirrel skins dressed for sale, twelve pennies. Of every thousand of red-skins dressed for sale, six pence. Of every hundred of rabbits for sale, one halfpenny. For every timbria [i.e. a certain number of precious skins] of wolves' skins for sale, one halfpenny. For every timbria of coats of wool for sale, one halfpenny. For every hundredth sheep-skin and goat-skin for sale, one halfpenny. For every twelfth alicum [a kind of vest with sleves] for sale, one penny. Of every twelfth Basane [any article made of tanned leather], for sale, one halfpenny. Of every quarter of woad [blue dye] for sale, one halfpenny. Of every dole [cask] of honey for sale, sixpence. Of every dole of wine, sixpence. Of every dole of corn, crossing over the Bridge, the same going into countries beyond the sea, one penny. Of every bowl of salt for sale, one penny. Of every millstone for grinding for sale, twopence. Of every twelfth handmill for sale, one penny. Of every smith's mill [grindstone] for sale, one farthing. Of every dole of ashes of fish for sale, one halfpenny. Of every hundredth board of oak, coming from parts beyond the seas for sale, one halfpenny. Of every hundred of fir boards coming from parts beyond the seas for sale, twopence. Of every twenty sheafs of wooden staves and arrow heads, for sale, one halfpenny. For all horses laden with serge, stuff, grey cloth and dyed cloth for sale, one penny. Of every hundred ells of linen cloth, coming from parts beyond the sea for sale, one penny. Of every twelfth peplum [mantle or carpet] for sale, one halfpenny. Of every silk or gold cloth for sale, one halfpenny. Of all satins and cloths worked with gold, twopence. Of every twelfth piece of fustian for sale, one penny. Of every piece of sendal [thin Cyprus silk] embroidered, for sale, one farthing. Of every hundred pounds weight of Bateria [beaten work of metal] namely of basin, platters, drinking-pots and cups for sale, one penny. Of all Flanders cloth

8 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

bound and embroidered, for sale, twopence. Of every twelfth pairs of nether-stocks, for sale, coming from the same parts, one halfpenny. Of every hood for sale, one penny. Of every piece of Borrell [coarse cloth] coming from Normandy, or elsewhere, one halfpenny. Of every twelfth Monk's cloth, black or white, one penny. Of every trussel cloth [probably horse-cloth] for sale, the same coming from parts beyond the seas, eighteenpence. Of all English dyed cloth and russet for sale, except scarlet, crossing the Bridge for the selling of the same, twopence. Of all scarlets for sale, sixpence. Of all thin, or summer cloth, for sale, coming from Stamford or Northampton, or from other places in England, crossing the same, one penny. Of every twelfth chalon [carpet or hangings] set for sale, one penny. Of every pound of other merchandise for sale, crossing the same and not expressed above, fourpence. Of every shipload of sea coal for sale, sixpence. Of every ship-load of turf for sale, twopence. Of every load of underwood for sale, twopence. Of every small boat-load of hay for sale, twopence. Of every quarter of corn for sale, crossing the same, one farthing. For a quarter of a seme [horse load or eight bushels] of oats for sale, one penny. For two quarters of groats and brewers grains for sale, one farthing. For every horse for sale of a price less than forty shillings, one halfpenny. For every ox or cow for sale, one halfpenny. For six swine for sale, one halfpenny. For ten sheep for sale, one halfpenny. For five bacon-hogs for sale, one halfpenny. Of every small boat which works in London for hire and crosses by the same, one penny. Of every cart freighted with fish for sale, crossing the same, one penny. For the hull of every great ship freighted with goods for sale, excepting these present, crossing by the same, twopence. For the hull of every smaller ship freighted with the same goods, excepting these present, one penny. For every little boat laden, one halfpenny. For every twelfth salted

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 9

salmon for sale, one penny. For one hundred salted

haddocks for sale, one halfpenny. For one hundred salted

mackerel for sale, one farthing. For every thousand of

salted herrings for sale, one farthing. For every twelfth

salted lamprey for sale, one penny. Of every thousand

salted eels for sale, one halfpenny. Of every hundred

pounds of large fish for sale, one penny. Of every hundred

pieces of sturgeon for sale, twopence. For every horse-

load of onions for sale, one farthing. For every horse-

load of garlic for sale, one farthing. And of every kind of

merchandise not here mentioned, of the price of twenty

shillings, one penny. And, therefore, we command you,

that the said customs be taken, until the aforesaid term

of three years be completed; but at that term the aforesaid

customs shall cease, and be altogether taken away. In

which, etc., for their lasting the term aforesaid. Witness

the King, at Winchester, the seventh day of May. By

writ of Privy Seal.

5. EXTRACTS FROM AN EARLY COURT ROLL [A.D 1307]

Source. Court Roll 153, 68 from the translation in Hone's Manor and

Manorial Records.

Court of Brightwaltham 1 held on the day of the Annun-

ciation of Blessed Mary the first year of Edward II.

Adam, son of Ralph Felix for default at the Lawday; in mercy 2 by pledge of Ralph Felix.

John Messager for the same; in mercy by pledge of

Ralph Teylour.

Avyce le Wynd because she does not prosecute against

John le Nywe, in mercy by pledge of William Fulke, John

atte Cruche (Cross) in mercy for a trespass made on William

Fulkes by taking and carrying away a harrow of said

1 A manor in Sussex belonging to Battle Abbey.

2 Liable to a fine.

10 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

William and detaining it for 3 days whereby the land of the said William lies unharrowed to his damage, and which said trespass he could not deny, but acknowledged same, by pledge of John Newe.

William Fulkes complains of John atte Cross of this, that whereas the said John had sometime granted to aforesaid William 1 acre of land for a term of 10 years, of which term 8 years had gone, and 2 years are to come, the said William had driven his plough to the said land to till it and to make his hay. The said John comes with force and arms and drives away the plough of aforesaid William from the said land, and impeaches him against the covenant between them made, and ejects him from his farm to his damage, etc. And aforesaid John come and says that he did not deliver of grant the said acre to the said William of his freewill, but because it was neglected and poor land, the said William retained the said land in his hands by might, because he was the lord's bailiff. And the said John did not dare to contradict him nor eject him from the said land until the time of sowing last past, and then he ejected him as was lawful to him, and has done him no injury therein. And they speak contrary and put themselves on an inquisiting of 12 jurors. And the jurors say that the said John of his mere and free will granted to the said William the said acre of land for a term of ten years in return for the costs and expenses expended on the said land, and the said John by agreement with him and Warren Wynd delivers (the land) to Sir J. de Watlington ; it is considered that the said William shall have the land for 2 years.

John Dainsere in mercy for damage done in the lord's wood by breaking and cutting down the lord's thorns on the heath, by pledge. Sum 42d.

Court

House,

Long

Crendon

The Seal of William

Mayor of London

anno - 1455

Seal of the Lord Mayor of London

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 11

6. A GLIMPSE AT LONDON AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY

(a) The Keeping of the Peace in the City of London

[circa. A.D. 1309]

Source. Calendar of Letter Books of the City of London Ed. Sharpe

Articles confirmed by the lord the King touching the state of the City and the strict observance of the peace, which articles are sealed with the Great Seal of the King.

These are the articles which our lord the King commands to be kept in his city of London for the preservation of his peace. Firstly, that whereas murders, robberies, and homicides have in times past been committed in the city by night and day, it is forbidden that any one walk the streets after curfew tolled at St Martin le Grand with sword, buckler, or other arm unless he be a great lord, or other respectable person of note, or their acknowledged retainer, bearing a light ; and if any be found doing the contrary they are to be committed to the Tower, and the next day brought before the Warden or Mayor and Aldermen, and punished accordingly. No taverncr to keep his tavern open for wine or beer after curfew, nor admit any one into his tavern, nor into his house, unless he is willing to answer for the King's peace, under penalties named. No one to keep a fencing school by night or day, under pain of imprisonment for forty days, And whereas murderers who have been arrested are often treated too leniently, to the encouragement of others, it is ordained that no prisoner be released by a Sheriff or his officer without the cognisance of the Warden or Mayor and the Aldermen ; and that each Alderman, make diligent search in his Ward for misdoers, and if any such be found, to bring them before the Warden or Mayor and the Aldermen for due punishment if proved

12 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

guilty of the charges brought against them. No foreigner

nor stranger to keep hostel within the City, but only those

who are freemen of the City, or who can produce a good

character from the place whence they have come, and are

ready to find sureties for good behaviour. No broker to

be allowed in the City except those that are sworn before

the Warden or Mayor and the Aldermen. And if any

broker or hosteler be found, in contravention of these

ordinances, after one month from the date of publication

of the same, they are to be arrested and punished in manner

prescribed. . . .

(b) Some “Disturbers of the King's Peace” [A.D. 1310]

Source · Calendar of Letter Books of the City of London. Ed. Sharpe

The Mayor, Sheriffs, and Aldermen proceeded to make

inquisition.

John de Lorymer attached, for that he is indicted in the

Ward of Bradestreet as a misdoer and a common bruiser,

wandering about by night to attack freemen and strangers,

contrary to the peace of the lord the King. Also, because

he is indicted in the Ward of Bassieshaw as a disturber of

the King's peace, and as a doer of many evil things, contrary

to the peace, etc. He appeared, and being asked how he

would acquit himself thereof, he says he is no way guilty,

and puts himself upon the country, etc. And the jury,

by Adam Rugge and others, come and say on their oath

that the said John de Lorymer is guilty of the trespasses

aforesaid. Therefore he is committed to prison, etc.

Oliver de “Maltonc” attached because indicted in the

Wards of Chepe, Tower, and Creplegate for similar practices,

as well as for enticing men to taverns for gambling purposes.

Found guilty and committed to prison.

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 13

Thomas, son of Thomas de "Bolooyngne" attached because indicted in the Wards of Tower, Langbene, Billing-gesgate, Bridge, Bassieshaw and elsewhere, for various offences and for beating the watch in the Ward of Billingges-gate, by procuration of Stephen, the Clerk of St. Mary "atte belle." Pleads not guilty, and puts himself on the country. The jury by Adam and others find him guilty of having assaulted the watch in the Ward of Billinggesgate in Christmas week, anno 4 Edward II., but acquit him of other charges. Therefore, he is committed to prison for his attack on the watch, etc., and is quit as to the other articles, etc.

John de Rokester attached because indicted in the Wards of Vintry, Crepelgate, and elsewhere as frequenting taverns . . . and as having no business whereby to maintain himself nor private means, as they (the accusers) understand, and yet is well clothed etc. He pleads not guilty. . . . Is found guilty and committed, etc.

Master Roger le Skirmisour attached because indicted for holding a school for fencing and drawing young men together, sons of respectable parents, to the wasting of their property and the injury of their characters. Pleads not guilty. . . . Found guilty and committed.

John Baroun attached because indicted in the Ward of Bassieshaw for keeping open house at night, and receiving night walkers and dice players; and John Vantort attached because indicted in the same Ward as being of ill fame. Pleads not guilty. . . . Found not guilty, therefore, let them be therefore quit.

Henry de Kirkelly attached because indicted in the Ward

14 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

of Bisshoppesgate as a receiver of strangers who wound men and afterwards return home. Pleads not guilty. . . . Found not guilty.

(c) The Oath of Searchers of Vintners

Source : Calendar of Letter Books of the City of London. Ed. Sharpe.

Ye shall swear that ye will well and truly survey all the wines cellared for sale within the franchise of the City of London, and then prove and assay in the presence and survey of the Serjeants to you committed and deputes by the Mayor and Aldermen of the said city that they [i.e. the wines] be wholesome and able for man's body, and what ye shall find stinking and unsound ye will without concealment present to the Mayor and Aldermen, to be adjudged according to the ancient custom of the said city. And that ye shall certify to the Mayor and Aldermen the number of vessels containing old wine lying in the cellars aforesaid, neither sparing nor aggrieving any one for favour or hate. And that all pots of tin that ye shall find not sealed in taverns ye will without concealment present to the Chamber. These things aforesaid ye shall well and truly do, so God you help, and His Saints.

(d) The Oath of a Freeman of the City of London

[circa A.D. 1309]

Source : Calendar of Letter Books of the City of London. Ed. Sharpe.

Ye shall swear that ye shall be faithful and loyal unto our lord the King, King of England, and to his heirs Kings, and be obedient to the Mayor and Ministers that keep the City, and the franchises and customs of the city ye shall maintain according to your power, and the said City as

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 15

much as in you is ye shall keep harmless, and partners shall

ye be in all charges touching the City, as in summonses,

contributions, watches, tallages, and other charges, like

other freemen of the City. Ye shall not avow 1 as your

own the goods of foreigners, whereby the King may lose

his custom. Ye shall take no apprentice for less than

seven years, and ye shall cause him to be enrolled as such

within the first year of your covenant, and at the end of

his term, if he has well and loyally served you, ye shall

cause his years to be enrolled. And if you know of any

stranger trafficking in the City, you will warn the Chamberlain

or the Serjeants of the Chamber. Ye shall not implead

any man who is of the franchise of the City outside the

same City, if able to obtain redress before the Ministers of

the City. And if ye shall know of any assembly or con-

gregation made contrary to the peace, ye shall warn the

Mayor for the time being. And ye shall take no apprentice

unless he be a freeman and not a bondsman. All which

points aforesaid ye shall well and truly keep, so God you

help and His Saints.

(e) The Qualifications for a Lord Mayor

Source : Riley, Memorials, II.

The first is, what Aristotle says—that by long experience

of many things men become wise, and long experience no

man can have, except through a long life. Then it appears

that a young man cannot be wise, even if so be that he is

of a good capacity for gaining knowledge. And for this

it is that Solomon says—that evil is it for the land which

has a young king. And nevertheless, a man may be of great

1 An offence known as "colouring" goods, whereby merchant strangers

to facilitate the sale of their goods endeavoured to persuade a freeman to

" avow " them as his own.

16 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

age and of little sense; wherefore the burghers ought to choose such a sovereign [governor] as is not young in the one or in the other.

The second is, that they have regard, not to the power of him or his kindred, but to the nobleness of his heart, and to the honourableness of his manners and of his life, and to his virtuous works that he knows how to do in his house, and in his other jurisdictions. For the house ought to be honoured for the good lord, and not the lord for the good house, and nevertheless, if he is noble in power and in heart, as well as in kindred, certes he is worth the more for it is all things.

The third is, that he have justice, for Tully says, that sense without justice is not sense, but malevolence, and that nothing can avail without justice.

The fourth thing is, that he have good ability and subtle understanding to apprehend all the truth in things, and to understand and to know readily that which is for the best, and to perceive the reason of things. For it is a disastrous thing to be deceived through poverty of knowledge.

The fifth is, that he be strong and stable from greatness of heart, not from malevolence or from vainglory; and that he do not readily believe the sayings of all. Once there was a city, of which no one could be ruler but the best, and so long as this custom lasted, there happened to the community nothing but good; forasmuch as he ought to be honoured as highly as he is worth, who thinks not more of himself than he is worth. For a person ought not to be held as a reputable man for his dignity, but for his works. The wise man loves better to be a lord, than to seem it.

The sixth is, that he be not covetous of money, or led by his other inclinations. For these are two things that cast the sovereign from his throne; and it is a very dis-

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 17

honourable thing that he who does not allow himself to be moved by fear should be biassed by money; and that he who does not allow himself to be overcome by great labour, should be overcome by his inclination. But greatly ought a man to be on his guard that he be not too desirous of acquiring dignity; for many a time does it happen that such persons are not the most fit.

The seventh is, that he be a good speaker. For it is of importance to a governor that he speak better than any one else; seeing that all the world holds for wise him who wisely speaks. But above all things, it is necessary that he take care not to speak too much; because in talking too much there is no lack of error. And as a single string untunes all the lyre, just so by one unhappy word is over-thrown the honour resulting from all reason.

The eighth is, that he be not extravagant in expenditure, not a spender or waster of his substance.

The ninth is, that he be not too irritable, and that he continue not too long in his wrath, or in his indignation. For wrath that has its habitation in authority is like unto a thunderbolt, in that it lets not the truth be known or rightful judgment be given.

The tenth is, that he be rich and magnanimous. For if he is adorned with other virtues, it is only seemly that he be not corrupted with money. And still I praise rather the good poor man than the bad rich man.

The eleventh is, that he hold no other office. For it is not credible that one man shall be sufficient for two such things, or for more than the government of many persons.

The twelfth is the chief of all; that he keep righteous faith with God, and with the people. For without faith and loyalty, right is never preserved.

18 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

(f) Some City Ordinances

Source : Riley, Memorials, III.

Boats.

That Ships and Boats which come by Thames with victuals shall lie one day in peace without selling aught.

Refuse.

That no one shall throw dung, rubbish, gravel, or other refuse into the Thames, nor shall throw water, or other thing, from the windows, but shall carry the same into the streets.

That all the Lanes leading unto the Thames, between Castle Baynard and the Tower, shall be cleansed of all dung and rubbish ; and the Punishment of those who place the same there. . . .

That each person shall make clear of filth the front of his house under penalty of half a mark.

Streets.

That Penthouses, Gutters and Jettees shall be so high that persons may ride beneath, and at least nine feet in height.

That Stalls shall not be more than two feet and a half in breadth and moveable.

That defects in the walls shall be repaired.

That Pavements shall be mended and all refuse removed.

That Bars and Chains shall be made in all the Streets, and more especially towards the water at the Friars Preachers [Blackfriars].

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 19

Swine.

That no Swine shall be found going about in the City,

or in the Fosses thereof.

That such pigstyes as are in the strects shall be re-

moved; and if any swine be found in the streets, let them be

forfeited.

Beggars.

That no one who can gain his sustenance by labour, shall

go about begging.

That no Leper shall be wandering about, or begging within

the City.

That all Mendicants who can work shall be arrested.

Gate Watches.

That the Gates shall be well kept.

That good Watches shall be kept in each Ward.

That Ward shall be kept every night.

That no one shall go at Christmas with a false face.

7. COST OF FOOD EDWARD II'S REIGN [A.D. 1314]

Source: Stow, Annals.

There assembled a Parliament at London to treat of the

state of the Kingdom, and how to bring down the price of

victuals,that were now grown to be so dear, that the common

people were not able to live. It was therefore ordained,

and the King's Writs were published for prices of victuals ;

that the best ox, not fed with corn, should be sold for 16s.

and no more; and, if he was fed with corn, then for 24s.

at most; the best live cow for 12s.; a fat hog, of two years

old, for 3s. 4d.; a fat wether or mutton, unshorn for 20d.,

or shorn, for 14d.; a fat goose for 2±2d.; a fat capon for

2d.; a fat hen for 1d.; two chickens for 1d.; four pigeons

20 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

for 1d. ; and twenty-four eggs for 1d. And those who

would not sell the things for these rates were to forfeit them

to the King.

(N.B.—These prices should be multiplied by at least

twenty, to enable a comparison to be made with our money.)

8. THE EXPENSES OF AN EARL'S HOUSEHOLD [A.D. 1315]

Source : Stow, Survey of London. Ed. Morley.

To touch somewhat of greater families and households

kept in former times by noblemen and great estates of this

realm, according to their honours and dignities, I have

seen an account made by H. Leicester, cofferer to Thomas,

Earl of Lancaster, for one whole year's expenses in the

Earl's home, from the day next after Michaelmas, in the

seventh year of Edward II. until Michaelmas in the

eighth year of the same king, amounting to the sum of

£7,957, 13s. 4½d., as followeth :

To wit, in the pantry, buttery and kitchen, £3,405, etc. ;

for one hundred and eighty four tuns, one pipe of red and

claret wine, and one tun of white wine bought for the house,

£104, 17s. 6d.

For grocery ware £180, 17s.

For six barrels of sturgeon, £19.

For six thousand, eight hundred stock fishes, so called

for dried fishes of all sorts, as lings, haberdines (salt cod),

and other, £41, 6s. 7d.

For one thousand, seven hundred and fourteen pounds

of wax, with vermilion and turpentine to make red wax,

£314, 7s. 4½d.

For two thousand three hundred and nineteen pounds

of tallow candles for the household, and one thousand eight

hundred and seventy of lights for Paris candles, called

perchers (a large wax candle), £31, 14s. 3d.

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 21

Expenses in the earl's great horses, and the keeper's wages, £486, 4s. 3¼ d.

Linen cloth for the earl and his chaplains, and for the pantry, £43, 17s.

For one hundred and twenty nine dozen of parchment with ink, £4, 8s. 3¼ d.

Sum, £5,230, 17s. 7¼ d.

Item, for two cloths of scarlet for the earl against Christmas, one cloth of russet for the Bishop of Anjew, seventy cloths of blue for the knights (as they were then termed), fifteen cloths for officers, nineteen cloths for grooms, five cloths for archers, four cloths for minstrels and carpenters, with the sharing and carriage for the earl's liveries at Christmas, £460, 15s.

Item, for seven furs of variable miniver [or powdered ermine], seven hoods of purple, three hundred and ninety-five furs of budge [lambskin] for the liveries of barons, knights, and clerks, one hundred and twenty-three furs of lambs for esquires, bought at Christmas, £147, 17s. 8d.

Item, sixty-five cloths, saffron colour, for the barons and knights in summer, twelve red cloths, mixed, for clerks, twenty-six cloths, ray,1 for esquires, one cloth, ray, for officers' coats in summer, and four cloths, ray, for carpets in the hall, for £345, 13s. 8d.

Item, one hundred pieces of green silk for the knights, fourteen budge furs for surcoats, thirteen hoods of budge for clerks, and seventy-five furs of lambs for the lords' liveries in summer, with canvas and cords to truss them, £72, 19s.

Item, saddles for the lords' liveries in summer, £51, 6s. 8d.

Item, one saddle for the earl of the prince's arms, 40s.

Sum, £1,079, 18s. 3d.

Item for things bought, whereof cannot be read in my note, £241, 14s. 1¼ d.

For horses lost in service of the earl, £8, 6s. 8d.

1 Ray = striped.

22 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

Fees paid to earls, barons, knights and esquires, £623, 15s. 5d.

In gifts to knights of France, the Queen of England’s nurses, to the Countess of Warren, esquires, minstrels, messengers, and riders, £92, 14s.

Item, one hundred and sixty-eight yards of russet cloth, and twenty-four coats for poor men, with money given to the poor on Maundy Thursday, £8, 16s. 7d.

Item, twenty-four silver dishes, so many saucers and so many cups for the buttery, one pair of paternosters, and one silver coffin, bought this year, £103, 5s. 6d.

To divers messengers about the Earl’s business, £34, 19s. 8d.

In the Earl’s chamber, £5.

To divers men for the Earl’s old debts. £86, 16s. 0¾d.

Sum, £1,207, 7s. 11¾d.

The expenses of the Countess of Pickering for the time of this account, as in the pantry, buttery, kitchen, and other places, concerning these offices, £285, 13s. 6½d.

In wine, wax, spices, cloths, fur, and other things for the Countess’ wardrobe, £154, 7s. 4½d.

Sum, £437, 8s. 6¼d.

Sum total of the whole expenses, £7,957, 13s. 4½d.

Thus much for this Earl of Lancaster.

9. A KING'S ORDER FOR CLOTHES [A.D. 1321]

Source: Letter from Edward II. to his Treasurer, quoted in King's Letters.

Edward, by the grace of God, etc.

We command that ye provide sixteen pieces of cloth for the apparel of ourselves, and our dear companion, also furs, against the next feast of Christmas, and thirteen pieces of cloth for corsets for our said companion and her damsels, with napery, and other things of which we stand in

Medieval Domestic Life

A Medieval Knight

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 23

need, against the said feast; requiring you to assign to Willıam Cassonces, the Clerk of our Wardrobe, one hundred and fifteen pounds, in said manner as may obtain prompt payment of the same for this purpose.

Given at Langley, the 10th day of December, and of our reign the 15th.

10 THE DEGRADATION OF A KNIGHT [A.D. 1322]

Source : Stow, Annals.

Andrew de Herkeley late made Earl of Carlyle, under colour of peace, fayned that he would marry Robert Bruse his sister. Whereupon, the King [Edward II.], reputing him to be a Traytour, caused him to bee taken by his trustie friend Syr Anthony de Lucie, who sent him in yrons strayght to London, where hee was judged before Syr Anthony de Lucy in this manner. Hee was ledde to the Barre as an earle, worthily apparelled, with his sword girt about him, hosed, booted and spurred, etc. Unto whom Syr Anthony spake in this manner : "Syr Andrew" (quoth he), "the King, for thy valiant service, hath done thee great honour, and made thee Earle of Carlisle; since which tyme, thou as traytor to thy Lord the Kyng, leddest his people, that should have holpe him at the batall of Beighland, awaie by the Country of Copland, and through the Earldom of Lancaster; by which means, our Lorde the King was discomfited there of the Scottes, through thy treason and falsenesse; whereas if thou haddest come betimes, he hadde had the victorie; and this treason thou committdest, for ye great summe of golde and silver that thou receivedst from James Dowglasse, a Scot, the King's enemy. Our Lord the King will therefore, that the order of Knighthood, by the which thou receivedst all thy honour, and worship uppon thy bodie, be brought to nought, and thy state

24 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

undone; that other knights of lower degree may, after thee, beware, and take example truely to serve."

Then commanded he to hewe his spurres from his heeles, then to breake his sword over his head, which the King had given him, to keep and defend his land therewith, when he made him Earle, after this, he let unclothe him of his furred Tabard, and of his Hoode, of his Coat of Armes, and also of his Girdle; and when this was done, Sir Anthony sayde unto him, "Andrewe," (quoth he), "now art thou no Knight, but a Knave, and for thy treason, the King will that thou shalt be hanged and drawne, and thine head smitten off thy bodie, thy bowelles taken out of thy bodie and burned before thee, and thy bodie quartered; and thy head being smitted off, afterwarde to bee set uppon London Bridge, and thy foure quarters shall bee sent unto foure good townes of England, that all others may beware by thee! And as Anthony Lucy hadde sayde, so was it done in all things, on the last daie of October.

11. PARENTAL ADVICE FROM A KING [A.D. 1326]

Source: Letter from Edward II to his son, Edward, quoted in King's Letters.

Edward, fair Son,—We have seen, by your letter lately written to us, that you well remember the charges we en-joined you on your departure from Dover, and that you have not transgressed our commands in any point that was in your power to avoid. But to us it appears that you do not keep covenant nor have you humbly obeyed our commands as a good son ought his father, since you have not returned to us, to be under government. . . . Also, we understand that you, through counsel, which is contrary both to our interest and yours, have proceeded to make divers alterations, injunctions and ordinances, without our advice, and contrary to our orders, in the Duchy of

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 25

Guienne, which we have given you; but you ought to remember the conditions of the gift; and your reply when it was conferred upon you at Dover. These things are inconvenient, and must be most injurious. Therefore, we command and charge you, on the faith and love you ought to bear us, and on our blessing, that you show yourself our dear and well beloved son, as you have aforetime done; and ceasing from all excuses of your mother, or any like those that you have just written, you come to us here with all haste, that we may ordain for you and your estate as honourably as you can desire. By right and reason, you ought to have no other governor than us, neither should you wish to have.

Also, fair son, we charge you by no means to marry, till you return to us, nor without our advice and consent.

Edward, fair son, while you are of tender age, take our commandments tenderly to heart, and so rule your conduct with humility, as you would escape our reproach, our grief, and indignation, and advance your own interest and honour. Believe no counsel that is contrary to the will of your father, as the wise King Solomon instructs you. . . . Understand certainly, that if you now act contrary to our counsel, and continue in wilful disobedience, we shall take order in such wise that you will feel it all the days of your life, and all other sons will take example to be disobedient to their lords and fathers.

12. “LONG-BEARDED SOLDIERS” [A.D. 1327]

Source : Holinshed, Chronicle, II.

At the same time, because the English souldiers of this armie (1327) were cloathed all in cotes and hoods embrodered with floures and branches very seemelie, and used to nourish their beards; the Scots in derision thereof made a rime, which they fastened upon the church

26 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

doores of Saint Peter toward Stangate, conteining this that followeth :—

"Longbeards, hartless ; painted hoods, witlesse ; Gaiecoats, gracelesse ; make England thriftiesse."

13. THE SAFE CONVOY OF WOOL [A.D. 1338]

Source : Rymer, Fœdera, V

The King [Edward III.] to his well-beloved and faithful servant, Walter de Ranny, Admiral of the Fleet from the mouth of the river Thames northwards, greeting :

Seeing that certain weighty and important business has taken place between our representatives over sea, and the noble Duke of Brabant, our Kinsman, and some merchants of his duchy ; and among other matters it was agreed that the merchants of the said duchy staying within our Kingdom should be permitted to betake themselves to their own districts, within a certain time, frecly and without hindrance, with their merchandise, and carry with them two thousand two hundred bags of wool, which does not fall within the statute recently made with regard to the taking of wool within the realm for our own use. . . .

We hereby order you to prepare, man and otherwise equip as many ships as may be necessary for the safe convoy of the wool, and have them brought equipped and fitted to the port of Ipswich immediately ; and we order you to see that the ships containing the cargo of wool proceed to Brabant under a safe and secure escort.

April 28.

14. REGULATIONS REGARDING WEAVERS [A.D. 1339]

Source : Rymer, Fœdera V.

The King [Edward III.] to the mayor and officers of his town of Bristol, greeting :

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 27

Whereas, of late with the assent of the bishops, earls,

barons and others in parliament assembled, it was ordained

and agreed that wool should be made into cloth within our

realm, and that all those who wished to make cloth of this

kind should be able to do so in certain places within our

realm without let or hindrance; and that now from Thomas

Blanket and certain others of your town we have heard

that, though they, in accordance with our proclamation, have

set up in their homes different instruments for the weaving

and making of cloth, and have engaged weavers and other

workmen for this purpose; you, paying no regard to these

facts, demand divers sums of money from them when

their instruments were finished and set up, and harass and

annoy them—as they maintain—to their no small expense,

and against the terms of our proclamation. . . .

We, being assured that our proclamation, if observed,

may prove of service to us and our people, and desiring that

the aforesaid Thomas and others wishing to make cloth

in this way, should be protected from wrong and undue

impositions,

Order you to allow the said Thomas and others desiring

to make cloth in this way, to have their instruments for

weaving and making cloth set up in their own homes, and

keep their workmen there with no hindrance, charge, or

undue imposition whatever . . . provided always that the

customs and other charges due to us, if any, be paid to us,

as is proper.

15. PENALTIES FOR A BREACH OF THE PEACE [A.D. 1340]

Source : Riley, Memorials of London, III.

Also, the better to preserve the peace of our Lord the

King, and that each may fear the more to break the peace,

it is ordained that if any one shall draw a sword, . . . or knife,

28 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

even though he do not strike therewith, he shall pay to

the City half a mark, or remain in the prison of Newgate

fifteen days. And if he shall draw blood of any one, let him pay to the City twenty shillings, or remain in the

said prison forty days. And if he strike any one with the

fist, but do not draw blood, let him pay to the City two

shillings, or be imprisoned eight days; and if he draw

blood with the fist, let him pay to the City forty pence, or

be imprisoned twelve days. And let such trespassers

find good surety, before their release, for their good be-

haviour; but nevertheless, let him, upon whom the offence

has been committed, have his recovery (or damages) by

process of law. And let such offences in reference to blood-

shed, against the peace of our Lord the King, be tried from

day to day before the sheriffs, without any essoin 1 or

delay thereon according as shall be most convenient, of

whatever condition the party may happen to be.

16. A CITY TOLL [A.D. 1340]

Source: Riley, Memorials, I

A cart, on entering the City or going forth, shall pay for

Pavage, one penny; a laden horse, one farthing; a cart

that brings sands and potter's clay, three pence per week;

a cart with corn and flour from Stratford, three pence per

week; carts with firewood on sale, shall pay one farthing;

and with charcoal on sale, one penny. But carts and horses

of the great and of others, which bring their victuals or other

goods for their use and for consumption in their houses

shall pay nothing.

1 Excuses for not appearing.

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 29

17. THE FARE OF A FARMER IN EDWARD III'S REIGN

[A.D 1346]

Source : William Langland, Piers Plowman Ed. Burrell (Everyman's Library)

Says Piers, "I have no penny

No, neither goose nor pig

A few curds, a little cream,

And two loaves of beans and bran

And, by my soul, I say

No nor a cook boy

But I have parsley, cabbage, leeks,

And a mare to draw the dung afield

And on this living we must live

By then I hope to have

Then may I do thee thy dinner

But all the poor people

Their beans and baked apples

Onions and salads,

And prepared Piers thus piesent

pullet for to buy,

but only two green cheeses,

and a haver-cake,

baked for my little ones,

I have no salt bacon,

collops to make.

and a cow and a calf

while the drought lasteth,

till Lammas time,

harvest in my croft,

as I fain would do,

fetched their peascods

they brought them in their laps,

and many ripe cherries,

to please Hunger withal.

18. A LONDON GILD [A.D. 1347]

Source : Riley, Memorials, I.

The points of the Articles touching the trade of Hat-makers, accepted by Thomas Leggy, Mayor, and the Alder-men of the City of London, at the suit, and at the request of the folks of the said trade.

In the first place,—that six men of the most lawful and most befitting of the said trade shall be assigned and sworn to rule and watch the trade in such a manner as other trades of the said city are ruled and watched by their wardens.

Also,—that no one shall make or sell any manner of hats within the franchise of the city aforesaid, if he be not free of the same city ; on pain of forfeiting to the chamber the hats which he shall have made and offered for sale.

Also,—that no one shall be made apprentice in the said trade for a less term than seven years, and that, without

1 Unleavened. 2 August 1st. 3 Pea-pods.

30 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

fraud or collusion. And he, who shall receive any apprentice in any other manner, shall lose his freedom, until he shall have bought it back again.

Also,—that no one of the said trade shall take any apprentice, if he be not himself a freeman of the said city.

Also,—that the wardens of the said trade shall make their searches for all manner of hats that are for sale within the said franchise, so often as need shall be. And that the aforesaid wardens shall have power to take all manner of hats that they shall find defective and not befitting, and to bring them before the Mayor and Aldermen of London, that so the defaults which shall be found may be punished by their award.

Also,—where some workmen in the said trade have made hats that are not befitting, in deceit of the common people, from which great scandal, shame, and loss have oftt en arisen to the good folks of the said trade, they pray that no workmen in the said trade shall do any work by night touching the same, but only in clear daylight ; that so, the aforesaid Wardens may openly inspect their work. And he who shall do otherwise, and shall be convicted thereof before the Mayor and Aldermen, shall pay to the Chamber of the Guildhall, the first time, 40d., the second time half a mark, and the third time he shall lose his freedom.

19. THE BLACK DEATH AND ITS EFFECTS [A.D. 1348]

Source. Robert of Avesbury, De Gestis Mirabilibus. Rolls Series

The plague, which first began in the country of the Saracens, spread to such a degree that, without sparing any country, it visited with the scourge of sudden death every place in all the kingdoms stretching from that country northwards, even as far as Scotland. Now in England it started in the county of Dorsetshire, about the festival of

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 31

St. Peter in Chains,1 in the year of our Lord, 1348 ; and immediately spreading with great rapidity from place to place, it attacked between morning and noon a very large number of people in perfect health, and rid them of this mortal life. Not one of these so doomed to death was permitted to live more than three or four days at the most. With the exception perhaps of a few, rich persons of every degree were attacked. On the same day, twenty, forty, sixty, and indeed many more bodies received the rites of burial in the same grave. And about the festival of All Saints,2 the plague came to London, and killed off many people every day ; and it spread to such an extent that, from the feast of the Purification till after Easter, more than two hundred bodies were buried daily in the new cemetery that had just been made near Smithfield, to say nothing of those buried in the other cemeteries of the city. But by the grace of the Holy Spirit it departed from London at Whitsuntide, and went on its way northwards ; and it departed thence about the festival of St. Michael, in the year of our Lord, 1349.

Source : Henry Knighton, Chronicle, II Rolls Series.

The grievous plague penetrated the sea coasts from Southampton and came to Bristol, and there almost the whole strength of the town died, struck as it were by sudden death ; for there were few who kept their beds more than three days, or two days, or half a day ; and after thus the fell death broke forth on every side with the course of the sun. There died at Leicester in the small parish of St Leonard more than 380 ; and in the parish of the Holy Cross more than 400 ; and so in each parish a great number. . . . In the same year there was a great plague of sheep everywhere in the realm, so that in one place there died in

1 August 1st. 2 November 1st.

32 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

one pasturage more than 5,000 sheep, and so rotted that neither beast nor bird would touch them. And there were small prices for everything on account of the fear of death. For there were very few who cared about riches or anything else. For a man could have a horse which before was worth 40s. for 6s. 8d., a fat ox for 4s., a cow for 12d., a heifer for 6d., a fat wether for 4d., a sheep for 3d., a lamb for 2d., a big pig for 5d., a stone of wool for 9d. Sheep and cattle went wandering over fields and through crops and there was no one to go and drive or father them, so that the number cannot be reckoned which perished in the ditches in every district for lack of herdsmen; for there was such a lack of servants that no one knew what he ought to do.

In the following autumn no one could get a reaper for less than 8d. with his food, a mower for less than 12d. with his food. Wherefore, many crops perished in the fields for want of some one to gather them; but in the pestilence year, as is above said of other things, there was such abundance of all kinds of corn that no one much troubled about it.

. . . Priests were in such poverty that many churches were widowed and lacking the divine offices, masses, matins, vespers, sacraments, and other rites . . . but within a short time a very great multitude of those whose wives had died in the pestilence flocked into orders, of whom many were illiterate and little more than laymen, except so far as they knew how to read, although they could not understand.

Meanwhile the King sent proclamation into all the counties that reapers and other labourers should not take more than they had been accustomed to take under the penalty appointed by statute. But the labourers were so lifted up and obstinate that they would not listen to the King's command, but if any wished to have them he had to give them what they wanted, and either lose his fruit and crops or satisfy the lofty and covetous desires of the work-

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

33

men . . . after the aforesaid pestilence many buildings,

great and small, fell into ruins in every city, borough and

village for lack of inhabitants, likewise many villages and

hamlets became desolate, all having died who dwelt there.

20. “EVERY MAN SHALL SERVE THE MASTER

REQUIRING HIM” [A.D. 1349]

Source : The Statute of Labourers. Statutes of the Realm, I, quoted in

Henderson's Historical Documents of the Middle Ages

Because a great part of the people, and especially of

workmen and servants, lately died of the Pestilence, many

seeing the necessity of the masters of great scarcity of

servants, will not serve unless they receive excessive wages,

and some rather willing to beg in idleness than by labour

to get their living. We considering the grievous incom-

modities, which of the lack, especially of ploughmen and

such labourers may hereafter come, have upon deliberation

and treaty with the prelates and nobles, and the learned

men assisting us, ordained that every man and woman in

England of whatever condition they may be, bond or free,

able in body and under sixty years of age, not living by

merchandise, or being an artificer, and not having property

whereby they may live, shall serve the master requiring

him or her.

21. REGULATIONS REGARDING PLAGUE FUGITIVES [A.D. 1349]

Source : Rymer, Fœdera, V.

The King [Edward III.] to the Mayor and Sheriffs of

the town of Sandwich, greeting :

Whereas no small portion of the people of our realm of

England hath died during the present plague, and our

Treasury hath been greatly exhausted and we are given

to understand that many of our people are daily betaking,

II C

34 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

and intending to betake, themselves to foreign parts, with

money which they may have in our realm : We being

advised that, if this exodus be suffered, our realm will soon

be void of men as of treasure, and thus from this there might

arise great danger to us and our realm, unless some suitable

remedy be quickly found therefore ;

And being desirous, in view of the dangers which daily

threaten those who thus depart over sea, especially the

English, to provide for the safety of our realm and people :

We hereby charge you, under the strictest injunctions,

on no account to allow to pass over sea, from your port,

either openly or secretly except by our special orders, any

men at arms, even foreigners, or any others of our realm,

or from anywhere else, of what rank or condition soever,

unless they be merchants, notaries or accredited ambassa-

dors ; and we bid you show such care in this matter that

by your evil conduct you be not deserving of punishment

at our hands hereafter.

Westminster, December 1.

22. LABOUR CONDITIONS AFTER THE BLACK DEATH [A.D. 1350-1]

Source : Statutes of the Realm.

Whereas lately against the malice of servants which

were idle, and not willing to serve after the Pestilence,

without taking excessive wages, it was ordained that such

manner of servants, as well men as women, should be bound

to serve, receiving salary and wages accustomed in the

places where they ought to serve, as in the twentieth year

of the King that now is, or five or six years before ; and that

the same servants refusing to serve in such a manner should

be punished by imprisonment of their bodies; and now,

forasmuch as the King is given to understand in this present

Parliament by the petition of the Commonalty that the

said servants having no regard to the said ordinance, but

to their ease and singular covetousness, do decline to serve great men and other, unless they have wages to double or treble of that they were wont to take, to the great damage of the great men and impoverishing of all the Commonalty : wherefore in the same Parliament by the assent of the prelates, earls, barons, and other great men of the said Commonalty there assembled, to refrain the malice of the said servants, be ordained and established the things underwritten :-

First, that carters, ploughmen, drivers of the plough, shepherds, swineherds, dairymen, and all other servants, shall take wages accustomed the said twentieth year or four years before, so that in the country where wheat was wont to be given, they shall take for the bushel ten pence or wheat at the will of the giver, till it be otherwise ordained. And they shall be hired to serve for a whole year, or by other usual terms, and not by the day ; and none shall pay in the time of hay-making but a penny the day ; and a mower of meadows for the acre five pence, or by the day five pence ; and reapers of corn in the first week of August two pence, and in the second, three pence, and so till the end of August, and less in the country where less was wont to be given, without meat or drink ; and that all workmen bring openly in their hands to the market towns their instruments, and there shall be hired in a common place and not privily.

Also, that none take for the threshing of a quarter of wheat, or of rye over two pence and the quarter of barley beans, pease and oats one penny, if so much were wont to be given . . . and that the same servants be sworn two times in a year before lords, stewards, bailiffs and constables of every town, to hold and do these ordinances ; and none of them shall go out of the town where he dwelcth in the winter to serve the summer, if he may serve in the same town . . . and that those which refuse to take such oath or to perform that they be sworn to shall be put in the

36 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

stocks by the said lords by three days or more, or sent to the next gaol there to remain till they justify themselves.

Also, that carpenters, masons and tilers, and other workmen of houses shall not take by the day for their work but in manner as they were wont, that is to say : a master carpenter three pence and another two pence, a master mason four pence and other masons three pence, and their servants one penny, tilers three pence and their knaves one penny, plasterers and other workers of mud walls and their knaves by the same manner without meat or drink one shilling from Easter to Michaelmas. . . .

Also that cordwainers and shoemakers shall not sell boots nor shoes nor none other thing touching their mystery, in any other manner than they were wont the said twentieth year ; also that goldsmiths, saddlers, horscsmiths, spurriers, tanners, curriers, tanners of leather, tailors and other workmen, artificers and labourers, and all other servants not here specified shall be sworn before the justices to do and use their crafts and offices in the manner as they were wont to do. . . .

23. GAMES SUPPLANT ARCHERY [A.D. 1363]

Source : Rymer, Fœdera, III.

The King [Edward III.] to the Lord-lieutenant of Kent, greeting :

Whereas the people of our realm, rich and poor alike, were accustomed formerly in their games to practise archery —whence by God’s help, it is well known that high honour and profit came to our realm, and no small advantage to ourselves in our warlike enterprises—and that now skill in the use of the bow having fallen almost wholly into disrepute, our subjects give themselves up to the throwing of stones and of wood and of iron ; and some to handball and football and hockey ; and others to coursing and cock-

ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS 37

fights, and even to other unseemly sports less useful and manly ; whereby our realm—which God forbid—will soon, it would appear, be void of archers :

We, wishing that a fitting remedy be found in this matter, do hereby ordain, that in all places in your county, liberties or no liberties, wheresoever you shall deem fit, a proclamation be made to this effect : that every man in the same county, if he be able-bodied, shall, upon holidays, make use, in his games, of bows and arrows, . . . and so learn and practise archery.

Moreover we ordain that you prohibit under penalty of imprisonment all and sundry from such stone, wood and iron throwing ; handball, football, or hockey ; coursing and cock-fighting ; or other such idle games.

24. CONCERNING LEPERS [A.D. 1370]

Source : Stow, Survey of London Ed. Morley.

It is to be observed that leprous persons were always, for the avoiding the danger of infection, to be separated from the sound ; God Himself commanding to put out of the host every leper. Whereupon I read that in a provincial synod, holden at Westminster by Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, in the year of Christ, 1200, the second of King John, it was decreed according to the institution of the Lateran Council, that when so many leprous persons were assembled that might be able to build a church, with a churchyard for themselves, and to have one especial priest of their own, that they should be permitted to have the same without contradiction, so they be not unjurious to the old churches by that which was granted to them for pitys sake. And, further, it was decreed that they be not compelled to give any tithes of their gardens or increase of cattle.

I have, moreover, heard that there is a write in our

38 ENGLAND UNDER LATER PLANTAGENETS

law " de leproso amovendo," and I have read that King Edward the Third, in the twentieth year of his reign, gave commandment to the mayor and sheriffs of London to make proclamation in every ward of the city and suburbs, that all leprous persons inhabiting there should avoid within fifteen days next, and that no man suffer any such leprous person to abide within this house, upon pain to forfeit his said house, and to incur the king's further displeasure. And that they should cause the said lepers to be removed into some out-places in the fields, from the haunt or company of sound people ; whereupon certain lazar-houses, as may be supposed, were then builded without the city some good distance-to wit, the lock without Southwarke, in Kent Street ; one other betwixt the Miles end and Stratford Bow ; one other at Kingsland, betwixt Shoreditch and Stoke Newington ; and another at Knightes bridge, west from Charing crosse. These four I have noted to be erected for the recept of leprous people sent out of the city. At that time also the citizens required of the guardians of Saint Giles Hospital to take from them, and keep continually, the number of fourteen persons leprous, according to the foundation of Matilda the queen, which was for leprous persons of the city of London, and the shire of Middlesex, which was granted. More, the Wardens or Keepers of the Portes, Gates, or Posterns of this city were sworn in the Mayor's Court before the Recorder-That they should well and faithfully keep the same Portes and Posterns, and not suffer any leprous persons to enter the said city.

John Gardener, Porter of the Postern by the Tower, his oath before the Mayor and Recorder of London, on Monday after the feast of Saint Bartholomew, the 49 of Edward the Third :-

That the Gates and Postern be well and faithfully kept in his office and Baylywicke, and that he should not suffer

Ald Gate

Bishops Gate

Moor Gate

Cripple Gate

Four Gates of Old London

Geoffrey

Chaucer

THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

39

any lepers or leper to enter the city, or to remain in the suburbs ; and if any leper or lepers force themselves to enter by his Gates or Postern, he to bind them fast to horses and send them to be examined of the superiors, etc.

THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

25. THE CANTERBURY PILGRIMS [A.D. 1373]

Source : Chaucer, Canterbusy Tales, retold by Margaret C. Macaulay.

At the Tabard Inn.

It chanced that on a certain day in April I had taken lodging at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, ready to set forth with devout intent upon my pilgrimage to Canterbury, when there came to the same hostelry at nightfall a company of nine-and-twenty travellers, whom chance had thrown together, all pilgrims bound for Canterbury, like myself. The rooms and stables of the inn were spacious, the entertainment was of the best, and, not to make more words, that same evening I talked with them all, and joined myself to their company, agreeing to rise early and take the road with them.

A Description of the Pilgrims.

But before I go further with my tale I think it well to set down a description of each of the pilgrims, telling you who they were, and what was their rank, and how they were equipped.

The Knight.

To begin, then, there was a Knight, a gallant man, who from the time when he first rode forth to fight had been a lover of chivalry, of truth and honour, liberality and

40

THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

courtesy. He had fought worthily for his king, and was renowned also for his prowess in distant lands, both Christian and heathen. He had made expeditions in Lithuania and in Russia, no knight of his degree so often ; and many a time in Prussia he had sat at the head of the table above all the knights of other nations there. In Africa, in Turkey, and in Armenia he had harried the infidel ; he had been at the sieges of Alexandria, of Granada and of Algezir, and had taken part in fifteen deadly battles. Thrice he had fought for our faith in the lists at Tramyssene, and each time slain his foe. Everywhere he had won renown ; and though he was so worthy, yet was he modest, and as gentle in his manners as a maiden. Never in all his life had he spoken to anyone a discourteous or unseemly word. He was indeed a very perfect, gentle knight. For his equipment, his horses were good, but he himself was not gaily dressed. His doublet was of plain fustian, all blackened by the marks of his armour, for he had lately come back from the wars, and was making his pilgrimage in thanksgiving for his safe return

The Squire.

With him rode his son, a young Squire of twenty years of age. He was a curly-haired youth of middle height, wonderfully strong and active, who had seen service in Flanders and in France, and had acquitted himself well, hoping thereby to win his lady's love. His gown was short, with sleeves long and wide, broidered all over like a field of red and white flowers. He was as fresh as the month of May, singing and playing on the flute all day long ; a good rider, and an ardent lover, able to compose songs and to write poetry, to joust, to dance, and to draw. With all this he was courteous, humble, and servicable, and carved before his father at table.

THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

41

The Yeoman.

There rode with them one servant only, a Yeoman, clad in a coat and hood of green. Under his belt he bore a sheaf of arrows, sharp and bright, and plumed with peacocks' feathers, well trimmed so that they did not droop in their flight; and in his hand he carried a mighty bow. Well practised he was in all wood-craft, a good forester, as I should guess. His face was brown, his hair close cropped. He wore a gay bracer on his arm; a sword and buckler hung at his side, and a dagger, sharp and well mounted. On his breast was a bright silver brooch with the figure of St Christopher. He carried a horn slung to a green baldrick.1

The Nun.

There was a Nun, too, a Prioress, with a quiet smile on her face, whose name was Madam Eglantine. Well able she was to chant the divine service, and she spoke French fairly and fluently, after the school of Stratford at Bow, for the French of Paris was unknown to her. If ever she swore, it was but by St Loy. Her manners were courteous, and at table she took her food in a seemly fashion, letting no morsel fall from her lips, and dipping only the tips of her fingers in the sauce. She carried her food to her mouth so that not a drop fell upon her breast, and she wiped her lips so clean that no grease was to be seen in her cup after she had drunk. Mirthful she was, too, and pleasant, though she cultivated a courtly bearing, and desired to be held worthy of reverence. Her heart was so kind and pitiful that she would weep if she saw a mouse caught in a trap. Some little dogs, too, she had, which she fed with roast meat, or milk and wastel bread; and sorely she would weep if one of them died or were struck with a stick, so

1 Belt.

42

THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

tender hearted was she and full of feeling. This Prioress

was tall, and had a fair, wide forehead ; her eyes were

grey, her nose well formed, and her mouth was small, soft

and red. She wore a close-pleated wimple and a cloak

neatly fashioned, and on her arm she carried a rosary of

coral beads with green gawdies, from which there hung

a clasp of gold with the device of a crowned “ A,” and below

it the words, “Amor vincit omnia.” With her she had

three priests, and another Nun, who was her chaplain.

The Monk.

Then there was a Monk, a handsome man, well fitted to

be an abbot. He loved hunting, and had many a good

horse in his stables. The bells on his bridle jingled in the

wind as he rode, as clear and loud as the ringing of the

chapel bell. The rule of St Benedict was too old-fashioned

and strict for him, and in the house where he was Prior

he let old things go by, and held to the newer fashions of

the world. It was little he cared for the saying that hunters

are profane men, or that a monk out of his cloister is like

a fish out of water. And I say that he was right. Why

should he lose his wits poring over a book in a cloister, or

labour with his hands as Augustine bids ? Let Augustine

work if he will ; but it is not for such as these. Therefore

this Monk was a hard rider, and kept swift greyhounds ;

for the hunting of the hare was his delight, and he would

spare no cost for it. His sleeves were edged with fine and

costly fur, and his hood was fastened with a gold pin adorned

with a love-knot. His bald head shone like glass, and

so too did his face, and his eyes were bright and roving.

His boots were supple and his horse in fine condition and

as brown as a berry. He was a goodly prelate beyond

all doubt, well-favoured and ruddy ; and a fat swan roasted

was his favourite dish.

THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

43

The Friar.

We had a jolly Friar with us, too, who in all the four orders had no equal for fair speech. He was a pillar of his order, well known and well beloved through all the countryside, and especially by the women; for by his licence he had greater power, he said, to hear confession and grant absolution than a parish priest; and, for those who paid liberally his penances were light; for, as he said, if a man gives to a poor order it is a sign that he is a true penitent; many, though they repent, are unable to weep for their sins because their hearts are so hard, and these instead of tears and prayers may give silver to the poor friars. His tippet was always stored with knives and pins to give away to women. He could play upon the lute and sing a merry song, with a lisp that made his English sweet upon the tongue; and when he played and sang, his eyes twinkled like stars on a frosty night. His neck was as white as a lily, and he was as strong as a champion wrestler. He was courteous and lowly in service when he saw a chance of gain; a man of wonderful powers, and the best beggar of his house. So pleasant was his greeting to the ear, that even though a poor widow had not a shoe to her foot, he would contrive to get a farthing from her before he left. He was well acquainted with the taverns in every town, and was more familiar by far with the inn-keepers than with the lepers and beggars. It was more fitting for a man of his worth to associate with the rich than with the poor; for what profit or advancement could the poor bring him? On love-days especially he was much in request, for then he was not like a poor scholar with a threadbare coat, but his cope was of double worsted, as round as a bell, and he bore himself like a learned doctor, or like the Pope himself. This worthy limitour1 was named Hubert.

1 A begging friar licensed to beg only within certain limits.

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THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

The Merchant.

There was a Merchant, with a forked beard, who rode

in a motley suit, and wore a Flemish beaver hat, and trimly

buckled boots. His opinions on public affairs, which he

delivered in solemn tones, all tended to the increase of

his own gains. At all costs he desired that the sea should

be well guarded between Middleburgh and Orwell, and on

the exchange of French crowns he made good profit. So

well did he use his wits in his bargains and his business,

that no one knew it when he was in debt. A worthy man

he was in truth, but his name I cannot tell you.

The Clerk.

There was a Clerk of Oxford also, long given to the study

of logic. His horse was as lean as a rake, and he himself

was not fat, but had a gaunt and sober look. His short

cloak was threadbare, for as yet he had no benifice, and

he was too unworldly to seek after office. He loved better

to have at his bed's head twenty books of Aristotle's

philosophy bound in red or black, than rich clothes, a fiddle,

or a lute. Yet, though he was a philosopher, he had but

little gold in his coffers, and all that he could get from his

friends he spent on books and on learning, praying diligently

for the souls of those who gave him the means to study;

for that was what he loved best. He spoke no word more

than was needful, and all that he said was formal, brief,

and pithy. All his speech was full of virtue, and glad he

was both to learn and to teach.

The Sergeant at Law.

We had, moreover, a Sergeant at Law, a shrewd and

learned man, full of wise words. He had often sat as Justice

of Assize, and many were the fees and the robes which he

had received by reason of his knowledge and high repute.

THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

45

He was a great purchaser of land, and no entail or mortgages gave him trouble, nor could any flaw be found in his deeds.

Never was there a busier man than he, and yet he seemed even busier than he really was. He could quote every case and judgment from the time of William the Conqueror till now, and all the statutes he knew by heart. He was dressed but plainly, in a coat of two colours, and had a girdle of silk with small bars upon it.

The Franklin.

With him there was a Franklin,1 with a ruddy face and a beard as white as a daisy. He was above all fond of good living, a true son of Epicurus, who held that perfect happiness consists in pleasure; and of a morning he dearly loved a sop in wine. His house was large and his hospitality great; he was a very St Julian in his own countryside. His bread and ale were always good, and better wine had no man than he. Baked fish and meats abounded in his house; and woe to the cook if the sauce were not well-seasoned or the cooking utensils ready! In his hall the table was spread all day, furnished according to the season; his coops held many a fat partridge, his fish-ponds many a bream and pike. He was chairman of the magistrates at sessions, and had been sheriff of the county, and more than a few times knight of the shire. At his girdle there hung a dagger, and a purse of milk-white silk.

The Haberdasher, Carpenter, Weaver, Dyer, Upholsterer.

A Haberdasher and a Carpenter, a Weaver, a Dyer, and an Upholsterer were with us also, all clothed alike in the livery of a noble guild. Their apparel was smart and new, and their knives were not mounted with brass, but all with silver, finely wrought; each one seemed a fair burgess,

1 One whose estate was free of any feudal superior.

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THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

fit both for wisdom and for wealth to sit as alderman at the

high table in a Guildhall : and to this their wives too would

make no objection ; for it is pleasant to be called “ Madam,”

and to go before the rest to vigils, with a mantle carried

after you in royal fashion.

The Cook.

These men had a Cook with them for their journey, who

could roast, boil and fry, bake good pies, and make forced

meat with the best. Well did he know the taste of London

ale.

The Shipman.

In our company, too, there was a Shipman of the west

country, from Dartmouth, for all I know. He rode upon a

pack-horse as best he could, and his skin was burnt brown

by the summer sun. He wore a stuff gown reaching to

his knee, and a dagger slung by a cord about his neck.

A good fellow he was, and many a draught of wine had he

drawn from the cask on the voyage from Bordeaux, while

the owner slept. His feelings were not over fine; if he

fought and gained the victory he threw his prisoners over-

board, and sent them home by water. But for skill in

seamanship he had not his equal upon the seas. He knew

well how to reckon his tides and his currents, and was

acquainted with every haven from Gothland to Finisterre.

Bold he was, and prudent too, and his beard had been

shaken by many a storm. His ship was called the

“ Maudelaine.”

The Doctor.

There was with us also a Doctor of Physic, well versed

in astronomy, and skilful therefore in medicine and in

surgery. In tending his patient he watched carefully for

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47

the right conjunction of the planets, and made images for him under a fortunate ascendant. A good practitioner he was, and knew the cause and remedy of every sickness. He had his apothecaries always at hand to supply drugs and syrups ; for each made gain for the other, and their friendship was of long standing. He knew all the writers on medicine, from Esculapius to Gatesden, though in the Bible he read but little. In his diet he was sparing, eating only what was digestible and nourishing. His clothing was somewhat costly, of scarlet and dark blue, with lining of silk, but in his other expenses he was not lavish, and what he gained in time of pestilence he kept ; for in physic gold is a cordial, and therefore he loved it well.

The Wife of Bath.

Then there was a good Wife from the country about Bath. She was somewhat deaf, which was a pity ; but in clothmaking she surpassed the weavers of Ypres and of Ghent. She would let no woman in the parish go up before her to the offering in church ; if any did so, her wrath put her out of all charity. Her face was bold and red, her teeth set far apart ; and she sat easily upon an ambling nag, a foot-mantle about her broad hips, and a pair of sharp spurs on her feet. Her shoes were new and supple, her hose of fine scarlet, closely tied ; she wore a wimple, and a hat as broad as a buckler. The kerchiefs which she carried as her head-dress of a Sunday were of the finest, and weighed, I dare swear, ten pounds. Five husbands had she married at the church door, besides sweethearts in her youth, of whom we need say nothing ; she had made pilgrimages to many distant lands, to Rome and to Boulogne, to Cologne, and to Saint James in Galicia, and to Jerusalem three times. In company she laughed and talked with the best. She was well acquainted, too, with the remedies for love, for that dance none knew better than she.

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The Parson.

There was also a Parson of a parish, poor in worldly goods, but rich in holy thoughts and works; gentle, diligent, and patient in adversity; a learned man and a true preacher of the gospel of Christ. Full loath was he to lay a curse on those who failed to pay him their tithes; rather would he give to his poor parishioners out of the Church offerings and out of his own substance. A small pittance contented him; he was a true shepherd, and no hireling; and what he preached he first practised himself, setting a noble example to his flock. If gold rust, he was wont to say, what will iron do? If a priest be not virtuous, no wonder if the ignorant lay people should do ill. He did not let out his benefice to hire, leaving his sheep stuck fast in the mire while he ran to London to seek a chantry at St Paul's and sing masses for souls, or to take service as the chaplain of a guild; but he dwelt at home, and guarded his flock against the wolf. His parish was wide, and the houses far apart, but he let no weather, neither rain nor thunder, keep him from visiting his parishioners, high or low; staff in hand, he would go to them on foot, however far away they lived. And, though he was so good himself, yet he was not harsh to sinners, but taught them with wise and gentle words, and tried to draw them heavenwards by his example, though on occasion he could sharply rebuke one who was obstinate, whether of high or low estate. He claimed no reverence, nor ceremony, but taught the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles, and followed it first himself.

The Ploughman.

With him there was his brother, a Ploughman, riding in a smock frock upon a mare. He was a good and true worker, who had carted many a load of manure; he lived in peace and charity with all men, loved God with his whole

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49

heart, alıke in good tımes and in bad, and his neighbour as

himself. On occasion he was ready to dig or thresh for a

poor man without hire; and fully and fairly he paid his

tithes.

There were besides a Reeve, a Miller, a Summoner, a

Pardoner, a Manciple, and myself.

The Miller.

The Miller was a thick-set, short-necked, broad fellow,

big in bone and muscle, who in wrestling matches always

won the ram. He could break any door or lift it off its

hinges by running at it with his head. His mouth was wide,

his beard red as a fox and broad as a spade. He wore a

white coat and a blue hood, and carried a sword and buckler

by his side. He was a loud talker, and a teller of ribald

tales; and clever at stealing corn, and taking three times

his proper toll; but for all that he had a thumb of gold.

He was a good performer, too, upon the bagpipes, and with

these he played us out of town.

The Manciple.

The Manciple 1 was steward and caterer to one of the

Inns of Court, and of him all purchasers of victuals might

take example; for, whether he paid ready money or bought

on credit, he always made a good bargain for himself.

With all his lack of learning, his wit surpassed the learning

of the lawyers who were his masters, and though a dozen

of them at least were fit to be stewards to any lord in

England, yet this Manciple made fools of them all.

The Reeve.

The Reeve 2 was a slender man of choleric complexion,

close shaven, with cropped hair shorn like a priest's, and

1 Steward.

2 Bailiff

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his legs long and lean like sticks. He was a shrewd farmer,

and knew by the weather how his crops would yield. Since

his lord was twenty years of age he had had charge of all

his stock, cattle, horses, sheep, swine, poultry, and dairy,

and made a good profit for himself, though no auditor could

prove his accounts at fault. He knew all the tricks of

the herdsmen, labourers, and bailiffs, so that they feared

him like death. His house was in a pleasant position

on a heath, surrounded by green trees. He had enriched

himself secretly at his lord's expense, and was able now

to earn his gratitude by lending to him on occasion out of

what was in fact his own. In his youth he had learnt

a good craft, and was a skilful carpenter. Baldeswell

in Norfolk was his native place. He wore a long blue

surcoat, tucked up about him like a friar's; and he rode

a dapple-grey called Scot, carrying a rusty blade at his

side, and keeping himself always the hindmost of the

company.

The Summoner1 had a fiery face, with small eyes,

black brows, and a scanty beard. Children were frightened

at his face, which was so blotched and pimpled that no

remedy could amend it. Of all food and drink he loved

best garlic, leeks, onions, and strong red wine; and when

he was drunk, he would shout out like a madman, repeating

tags of Latin, which he had picked up out of some law

decree. He knew all the secrets of the young people of the

diocese, and had them at his mercy. But he was an easy-

going knave, and for a quart of ale would wink at a good

fellow's offences for a twelvemonth, and would bid him care

nothing for the Archdeacon's curse, for it would touch his

purse only, and not his soul. But in this I know well

that he lied, for a guilty man should fear the curse of

the Church, which has power to slay the soul, even as

absolution saves it; and a "Significavit" is a serious

1 One whose duty it was to call offenders into the Church courts.

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51

matter. On his head he had set a garland big enough for

an ale-house sign, and by way of a buckler he carried a

great cake.

The Pardoner.

With him there rode a gentle Pardoner of Rouncival,

his friend and comrade, newly come from Rome, who loudly

sang the song, “Come hither, love, to me!” the Summoner

bearing him company with a bass like the blast of a trumpet.

This Pardoner thought that he rode in the height of the

fashion, his head bare save for his cap, his smooth yellow

hair hanging loose about him like a hank of flax, spread

out in thin locks over his shoulders. For greater freedom

he wore no hood, but kept it packed up in his wallet, and

rode bareheaded in his cap, in which he had fastened a

vernicle. He had full and staring eyes, like a hare, a smooth

face, and a small voice like the bleat of a goat. In front

of him lay his wallet, stuffed full of pardons, all hot from

Rome. From Berwick to Ware there was no such pardoner.

For among the relics in his wallet was a pillow-case which

he said was our Lady’s veil, and a scrap, so he said, of the

sail that St Peter had on his ship at the time when he walked

upon the sea. He had moreover a metal cross set with

stones, and some pigs’ bones in a glass box. But whatever

they were, with these relics he could get more money in a

country parish in the course of one day than the poor parson

got in two months, and with his flattery and knavish tricks

he fooled both priest and people. But for all that, to give

him his due, he was a fine figure in church, and a good

reader of lesson or story; but best of all he sang an offertory,

for when this was done, he knew that he must preach the

sermon, and polish up his tongue to get silver from the

people, as he right well could; so he sang it out merrily

and loud.

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Now I have told you the number, the rank, and the

equipment of our company, and why it was assembled at

this hostelry, the Tabard Inn, hard by the Bell in South-

wark ; and I must tell you further what we did that night,

and afterwards, of our journey and the rest of our pilgrimage.

But first I pray you of your courtesy that you blame me not

for rudeness of speech, though I set down each man's words,

seemly or unseemly, just as they were spoken ; for you

know as well as I do, that if a man undertakes to report a

story, he must tell it as it was told, else he will be telling

it untruly. I crave your pardon also if I have not here

set down the company in their proper order of rank. My

wit, as you will perceive, is small.

The Host.

Our Host made us good cheer, and set us down to supper,

serving us with victuals of the best. The wine was strong,

and we drank right willingly. A fine comely man was our

Host ; there was no fairer burgess in Cheapside ; a stout

fellow, with bright eyes, bold in speech, wise and manly,

and a merry man withal, as he proved that evening. For

after supper, when we had paid our reckonings, he began

to talk and jest with us, and presently he thus addressed

the company :

"My masters, you are right heartily welcome for by my

troth I have not this year past seen so merry a company

together in this hostel as is now assembled here. Fain would

I further your pleasure if I knew how ; and I have thought

just now of a game which will cost you nothing. You are

bound for Canterbury,–God speed you, and the blessed

Martyr reward you ! And well I know that you will

beguile the time upon your journey with tales and jesting,

for there is neither pleasure nor profit in riding together

dumb as stones. Now, I have a plan which will make

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53

sport for you all; and if you are willing to abide by my

judgment and do as I say, I vow by my father's soul you

shall be merry! Hold up your hands if you agree, without

more ado!"

We did as he desired, and bade him say on.

"Listen, then," said he, "my plan is this; each of you

on the journey to Canterbury shall tell two tales, and two

more upon the homeward road. And whichevcr of you

shall tell the best stories shall have a supper at the cost of

us all here in this house when we return. And to make

you the merrier I propose to ride with you myself and be

your guide and the judge of your tales; moreover, which-

ever of you shall refuse to accept my ruling shall pay all

that we spend upon the road. If you consent to my plan,

let me know at once, and I will prepare for the journey

without delay."

Our consent was gladly given; we begged him to do as

he proposed, to be our ruler and the judge of our tales,

and to provide a supper at a certain price, promising to

abide by his decision in all things. Then the wine was

brought in, and having drunk we went to rest.

26. A SEAMAN'S PAY IN EDWARD III'S REIGN [A.D. 1375]

Source: Black Book of the Admiralty Ed. Sir Travers Twiss. Rolls Series.

. . . By auntient custome a marriner is to take for hire

from the Poole of London to Lisbonc twenty shillings from

the portage (carriage) of a tonn (nearly one hogshed).

Item, that from London to Bayon a marriner shall have

ten shillings hire for the carriage of a tonn.

Item, between London, Bourdeaux, and Rochell in

vintage tyme, a marriner shall have eight shillings wages

and the carriage of a tonn, and in tyme of rcice seven shillings

wages and the carriage of a pipe. . . .

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Item, between London and Ireland a marriner shall have

ten shillings wages and the carriage of three dickers (10)

of hydes. . . .

Item, between London and Calais a marriner shall have

five shillings wages without carriage.

Item, between London and Fflanders a marriner shall

have six shillings wages without carriage.

Item, between London and Sluys (probably Sluys) a

marriner used to have twenty shillings wages. . . .

Item, between London and Skone (Scone in Scotland) a

marriner used to have eight shillings and four pence

wages. . . .

Item, between London and Newcastle-upon-Tyne a

marriner shall have four shillings wages and two quarters

of coals free of bulke for carriage.

Item, between London and Berewyke a marriner shall

have eight shillings wages which shal be paid there to the

end that hee may buy such merchandizes as hee shall thinke

good, which shal be laden in the same shipp wherein he hath

the said wages for his carriage.

27. THIS SCEPTRED ISLE [A.D. 1377].

Source : Shakespeare, King Richard II, Act II, Scene i.

Gaunt: This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,

This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,

This other Eden, demi-paradise ;

This fortress built by Nature for herself

Against infection and the hand of war ;

This happy breed of men, this little world,

This precious stone set in the silver sea,

Which serves it in the office of a wall,

Or as a moat defensive to a house,

Against the envy of less happier lands ;

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This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,

This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,

Feared by their breed, and famous by their birth,

Renowned for their deeds as far from home,

For Christian service and true chivalry,

As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry

Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's son ;

This land of such dear souls, this dear, dear land,

Dear for her reputation through the world,

Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it,

Like to a tenement or pelting farm :

England, bound in with the triumphant sea,

Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege

Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,

With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds ;

That England, that was wont to conquer others

Hath made a shameful conquest of itself,

Ah, would the scandal vanish with my life,

How happy then were my ensuing death !

28. THE PEASANTS' REVOLT [A.D. 1381]

Source : The Chronicles of Froissart : translated by Lord Berners, Vol. I.

(Globe Edition). Slightly modified from the text.

In the mean season there fell in England great mischief

and rebellion of the common people, by which deed England

was at a point to have been lost without recovery. . . .

It was a marvellous thing, and of poor foundation, that

this mischief began in England, and to give example to all

manner of people, I will speak thereof as it was done, as

I was informed, and of the incidents thereof. There was

a usage in England, and yet is in divers countries, that

the noblemen have great franchise over the common, and

keep them in servage, that is to say, their tenants ought by

custom to labour their lords' lands, to gather and bring

home the corn, and some to thresh and to fan, and by servage to make their hay and to hew their wood and bring it home. All these things they ought to do by servage, and there be more of these people in England than in any other realm. Thus the noblemen and prelates are served by them, and specially in the counties of Kent, Essex, Sussex and Bedford. These unhappy people in these said countries began to stir, because they said they were being kept in great servage, and in the beginning of the world, they said, there were no bondmen, wherefore they maintained that none ought to be bond, without he did treason to his lord, as Lucifer did to God. . . . And of this imagination was a foolish priest in the county of Kent, called John Ball, for which foolish words he had been three times in the Bishop of Canterbury's prison ; for this priest used oftentimes on the Sundays, after mass, when the people were going out of the minster, to go into the cloister and preach, and made the people assemble about him, and would say thus : "Ah ye good people, the matters goeth not well to pass in England, nor shall not do till everything be common, and that there be no villains nor gentlemen, but that we may all be united together, and that the lords be no greater masters than we be. What have we deserved, or why should we be kept theirs in servage? We be all come from one father and from one mother, Adam and Eve : whereby can they say or show that they be greater lords than we be, saving by that they cause us to win and labour for that they dispensed.

"They are clothed in velvet and camlet furred with grise, and we be vestured in poor cloth : they have their wines, spices and good bread, and we have the rye, the bran, and the straw, and drink water : they dwell in fair houses, and we have pain and travail, rain and wind in the fields : and by that that cometh of our labours they keep and maintain their estates : we be all called their

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bondmen, and without we do readly them service, we be beaten: and we have no sovereign to whom we may complain, nor that will hear us, nor do us right. Let us go to the King, he is young, and show him what servage we be in, and show him how we will have it otherwise, or else we will provide us of some remedy; and if we go together, all manner of people that be now in any bondage will follow us to the intent to be made free; and when the King seeth us, we shall have some remedy, either by fairness or otherwise."

This John Ball said on Sundays, when the people issued out of the churches in the villages; wherefore many of the mean people loved him, and such as intended to no goodness said, how true; and so they would murmur one with another in the fields, and in the ways as they went together, affirming how John Ball said truth.

Of his words and deeds there was much people in London informed, such as had great envy at them that were rich and such as were noble; and then they began to speak among them, and said how the realm of England was right evil governed, and how that gold and silver was taken from them by them that were named noblemen: so thus those unhappy men of London began to rebel, and assembled there together, and sent word to the foresaid counties that they should come to London, and bring their people with them, promising them how they should find London open to receive them and the commons of the city to be of the same accord, saying how they would do so much to the King that there should not be one bondman in all England.

This promise moved so them of Kent, of Essex, of Sussex, of Bedford, and of the counties about, that they rose and came toward London to the number of 60,000. And they had a captain called Walter Tyler, and with him in company was Jack Straw and John Ball: these three were chief sovereign captains, but the head of all was Walter Tyler,

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and he was indeed a tiler of houses, an ungracious patron. When these unhappy men began thus to stir, they of London, except such as were of their band, were greatly affrayed. Then the Mayor of London and the rich men of the city took counsel together, and when they saw the people thus coming in on every side, they caused the gates of the city to be closed, and would suffer no man to enter into the city. But when they had well imagined, they advised not to do so, for they thought they should thereby put their suburbs in great peril to be brent; and so they opened again the city, and there entered in at the gates in some places a hundred, two hundred, by twenty or thirty; and so when they came to London, they entered and lodged; and yet, of truth, most of their people could not tell what to ask or demand, but followed each other like beasts. In like wise these villains and poor people came to London, a hundred miles off, sixty mile, fifty mile, forty mile, and twenty mile off, and from all counties about London, but the most part came from counties before named, and as they came they demanded ever for the King.

The gentlemen of the counties, knights and squires, began to doubt when they saw the people began to rebel; so the gentlemen drew together as well as they might.

This rebellion was well known in the King's court ere any of these people began to stir out of their houses; but the King nor his Council did provide no remedy therefor, which was great marvel.

In the morning on Corpus Christi Day, King Richard heard mass in the Tower of London, and all his lords, and then he took his barge with the Earl of Salisbury, the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Oxford and certain knights, and so rowed down along the Thames to Rotherhithe, where were descended down the hill 10,000 men to see the King and speak with him. And when they saw the King's barge coming, they began to shout, and made such a cry,

John Ball preaching

Interview on the Thames between Richard II and the Insurgents

as though all the devils of hell had been among them. And they had brought with them Sir John Newton, to the intent that, if the King had not come, they would have stricken him all to pieces, and so they had promised him. And when the King and his lords saw the demeanour of the people, the best assured of them were in dread ; and so the King was counselled by his barons not to take any landing there, but so rowed on down the river. And the King demanded of them what they would, and said how he was come thither to speak with them, and they said all with one voice : " We would that ye should come aland, and then we shall show you what we lack." Then the Earl of Salsbury answered for the King, and said : " Sirs, ye be not in such order nor array that the King ought to speak with you." And so with these words no more was said : and then the King was counselled to return to the Tower of London, and so he did.

And when the people saw that, they were inflamed with ire, and returned to the hill, where the great band was, and then showed them what answer they had, and how the King was returned to the Tower of London. Then they all cried out : " Let us go to London," and so they took their way thither : and in their going they beat down abbeys and houses of advocates and of men of the court, and so came into the suburbs of London, which were great and fair, and there beat down divers fair houses, and specially they brake up the King's prisons, such as Marshalsea and others, and delivered out all the prisoners that were within : and then they did much hurt ; and on the bridge foot they threatened them of London because the gates of the bridge were closed, saying how they would bren all the suburbs and so conquer London by force, and slay and bren all the commons of the city. There were many within the city of their accord, and so they drew together and said : " Why do ye not let these good people

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enter into the city ? They are our fellows, and that that

they do is for us." So therewith the gates were opened,

and then these people entered into the city, and went into

houses and sat down to eat and drink. They desired

nothing but it was incontinent brought to them, for every

man was ready to make them good cheer, and to give them

meat and drink to appease them.

Then the captains, as John Ball, Jack Straw, and Wat

Tyler, went throughout London, 20,000 with them, and

so came to the Savoy on the way to Westminster, which

was a goodly house, and it pertaineth to the Duke of

Lancaster. And when they had entered, they slew the

keepers thereof, and robbed and pillaged the house ; and

when they had so done, they set fire on it and clean de-

stroyed and brent1 it. . . . And when they had done that

outrage, they left not therewith, but went straight to the

fair hospital, called St John's, and they brent house,

hospital minster, and all. Then they went from street to

street, and slew all the Flemings that they could find in

church or in any other place, there was none respited from

death.

And they brake up divers houses of the Lombards, and

robbed them and took their goods at their pleasure, for

there was none that durst say them nay. And they slew

in the city a rich merchant called Richard Lyon, whom

before that time Wat Tyler had served in France, and

on a time this Richard Lyon had beaten him, while he was

his varlet, which Wat Tyler then remembered, and so came

to his house and strike off his head, and caused it to be

borne on a spear-point before him all about the city. . . .

The Saturday the King went to Westminster and heard

mass in the church there, and all his lords with him ; and

then he leapt on his horse, and all his lords, and so the

King rode toward London ; and when he had ridden a

1 Burnt

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61

little way, on the left-hand there was a way to pass without

London.

The same morning Wat Tyler, Jack Straw, and John

Ball had assembled their company together in a place

called Smithfield, where every Friday there is a market of

horses, and there were together all of one affinity more

than 20,000, and yet there were many still in the town,

drinking and making merry in the taverns, and paying

nothing, for they were happy that made them best cheer.

And therewith the King came the same way unaware of

them, for he had thought to have passed that way without

London, and with him forty horse. . . . The mayor of

London came to the King with twelve horsemen well-

armed under their coats, and so he broke the press and saw

and heard how Wat Tyler demeaned himself, and said to

him : "Ha, thou knave, how art thou so hardy in the

King's presence to speak such words ? It is too much for

thee to do so." Then the King began to chafe and said

to the mayor : "Set hands on him." And while the King

said so, Tyler said to the mayor : "In God's name, what

have I said to displease thee ?" "Yes, truly," quoth the

mayor, "thou false knave, shalt thou speak thus in the

presence of the King, my natural lord ?" And with these

words the mayor drew out his sword and struck Tyler so

great a stroke on the head, that he fell down at the feet

of his horse, and as soon as he was fallen they environed

him all about, whereby he was not seen of his company.

Then a squire of the King alighted, called John Standish,

and he drew out his sword and put it through Wat Tyler's

body, and so he died.

Then the ungracious people there assembled, perceiving

their captain slain, began to murmur among themselves

and said : "Ah, our captain is slain, let us go and slay them

all," and therewith they arrayed themselves on the same

place in manner of battle, and their bows before them.

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Then the King began a great deed; howbeit all turned to the best: for as soon as Tyler was on the earth, the King departed from all his company, and all alone he rode to these people, and said to them: “Sirs, what aileth you? Ye shall have no captain but me: I am your King: be all in rest and peace.” And so the most part of the people that heard the King speak and saw him among them, were shamefast and began to wax peaceable and depart.

29. THE LIVERY OF THE CITIZENS OF LONDON ON FÊTE-DAYS

Source. Stow, Survey of London. Ed Morley.

1226. The 20th of Henry the Third.

The mayor, aldermen, sheriffs, and citizens of London rode out to meet the King and his new wife, Queen Eleinor, daughter to Raymond Berengarius of Aragon. The citizens were clothed in long garments, embroidered about with gold, and silk of divers colours, their horses finely trapped, to the number of 350, every man bearing a golden or silver cup in his hand, the King’s trumpets before them sounding.

1300. The 29th of Edward the First.

The said king took to wife Margaret, sister of Philip le Beau, king of France; they were married at Canterbury. The queen was conveyed to London, against whom the citizens, to the number of 500, rode in one livery of red and white, with the cognisances of their mysteries embroidered upon their sleeves; they received her four miles out of London, and so conveyed her to Westminster.

1415. The 3rd of Henry the Fifth.

The said king arriving at Dover, the Mayor of London, with the aldermen and craftsmen riding in red with hoods

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63

red and white, met with the king on the Black Heath,

coming from Eltham with the prisoners out of France.

1432. The 10th of Henry the Sixth.

He, being crowned in France, returning to England,

came to Eltham, towards London, and the Mayor of London,

John Welles, the aldermen, with the commonalty, rode

against him on horseback, the mayor in crimson velvet,

a great velvet hat furred, a girdle of gold about his middle,

and a bawdzike of gold about his neck, trilling down behind

him, his three henchmen, on their great coursers, following

him, in one suit of red, all splanged in silver ; then the

aldermen in gowns of scarlet, with sanguine hoods, and

all the commonalty of the city clothed in white gowns and

scarlet hoods, with divers cognisances embroidered on their

sleeves.

1485. The 1st of Henry the Seventh.

The mayor, aldermen, sheriffs, and commonalty, all

clothed in violet (as in a mourning colour), met the king

at Shoreditch, and conveyed him to Paul's Church, where

he offered his banners.

Thus much for liveries of citizens in ancient times, both

in triumphs and otherwise, may suffice ; whereby may be

observed that the coverture of men's heads was then hoods ;

for neither cap or hat is spoken of, except that John Wels,

mayor of London, wore a hat in time of triumph, but differ-

ing from the hats lately taken in use 1 and now commonly

worn for noblemen's liveries. . . . For a further monument

of these late times, men may behold the glass windows

of the mayor's court in the Guildhall, above the dais ;

the mayor is there pictured, fitting in habit, parti-coloured,

and a hood on his head; his sword-bearer before him with

1 Written in 1589.

64

THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

an hat or cap of maintenance ; the common clerk and

other officers bare-headed, their hoods on their shoulders ;

and, therefore, I take it that the use of square bonnets

worn by noblemen, gentlemen, citizens, and others, took

beginning in this realm by Henry the Seventh, and in his

time : and further antiquity, I can see no counterfeit or

other proof of use.

30 A TILTING MATCH [A.D. 1387]

Source. Froissart, Chronicles

On the morrow, Sir John Holland and Sir Regnvald de

Roye armed themselves, and rode into a spacious close,

. . . well sanded, where the tilts were to be performed.

Scaffolds were to be erected for the ladies, the kings, the

dukes, and the many English lords who came to witness

this combat. The two knights entered the lists so well

armed and equipped that nothing was wanting. Their

spears, battle-axes and swords, were brought them, and

each, being mounted on the best of horses, placed himself

about a bow-shot distant from the other, and at times

pranced about on their horses ; for they knew that every

eye was upon them.

All things were now arranged for the combat, which was

to include everything except pushing it to extremity,

though none could foresee what mischief might happen,

nor how it would end : for they were to tilt with pointed

lances, then with swords, which were so sharp that a helmet

could scarcely resist their strokes ; and these were to be

succeeded by battle-axes and daggers, each so well tempered

that nothing could withstand them. It was, indeed, a

perilous combat. Having braced their targets, and viewed

each other through the visors of their helmets, they spurred

their horses, spear in hand. Though they allowed their

horses to gallop as hard as they pleased they advanced

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65

on as straight as a line, as if it had been drawn with a cord ;

and hit each other on their visors with such force that Sir

Reginald's lance was shivered into four pieces, which flew

to a greater height than they could have been thrown.

All present allowed this to have been gallantly done. Sir

John Holland's blow was not equally successful, and I will

tell you why. Sir Reginald had but slightly laced on his

helmet, so that it was held by one thong only, which broke

at the blow, and the helmet flew over his head, leaving Sir

Reginald bareheaded. Each passed the other, and Sir John

bore his lance without halting. The spectators cried out

that it was a handsome course. The knights returned to

their stations, where Sir Reginald's helmet was fitted on

again, and another lance was given to him. Sir John

grasped his own, which was not injured. When ready,

they set off at full gallop ; for they held excellent horses

under them, which they well knew how to manage; again

they struck each other on the helmets, so that sparks of

fire came from them, but chiefly from Sir John Holland's,

who received a very severe blow, for this time the lance

did not break ; neither did Sir John's, but it hit the visor

of his adversary, though without much effect, passing

through and leaving it on the crupper of the horse, and

Sir Reginald was once more bareheaded. " Ah," cried the

English, " he does not fight fair ; why is his helmet not as

well buckled on as Sir John Holland's ? Tell him to put

himself on an equal footing with his adversary." " Hold

your tongues," said the duke, " let them alone; in arms

every one takes what advantage he can. If there is any

advantage in the fastening on of the helmet, Sir John may

do the same ; but for my part, were I in their situation,

I would lace my helmet as tight as possible." The

English, on this, did not interfere further. The ladies

declared that the combatants had nobly justed; they

were also very much praised by the King of Portugal. The

II E

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third course was now begun: Sir John and Sir Reginald eyed each other to see if any advantage were to be gained, for their horses were so well trained that they could manage them as they pleased; and sticking spurs into them, they hit their helmets so sharply, that their eyes struck fire, and the shafts of their lances were broken. Sir Reginald was again unhelmeted; for he could never avoid this, and they passed each other without falling. All again declared that they had well tilted, though the English, with the exception of the Duke of Lancaster, greatly blamed Sir Reginald.

After the course of the lance, the combatants fought three rounds with swords, battle-axes, and daggers, without either of them being wounded. The French then carried off Sir Reginald to his lodgings, and the English did the same to Sir John Holland.

31. THE POPULATION OF SOME ENGLISH TOWNS AND COUNTIES IN THE REIGN OF RICHARD II [a d 1377 and 1381]

Source: Poll Tax Returns: as quoted in Powell, The Rising in East Anglia in 1381.

(These figures are taken from the Poll Tax Returns in 1377 and 1381.)

(a) Towns

Bath . . . . 570 297

Bury St Edmunds . . . 2,445 1,334

Bristol . . . . 6,345 5,662

Cambridge . . . . 1,902 1,739

Canterbury . . . . 2,574 2,123

Chichester . . . . 869 787

Colchester . . . . 2,955 1,609

Coventry . . . . 4,817 3,974

Exeter . . . . 1,560 1,420

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67

(a) TOWNS—continued

Gloucester

2,239

1,446

Hull

1,557

1,124

Lincoln

3,412

2,196

London

23,314

20,397

Newcastle-on-Tyne

2,617

1,819

Northampton

1,477

1,518

Oxford

2,357

2,005

Shrewsbury

2,082

1,618

Southampton

1,152

1,051

Worcester

1,557

932

York

7,248

4,015

(b) COUNTIES

Bedfordshire

20,339

14,895

Cornwall

34,274

12,056

Devonshire

45,635

20,656

Cumberland

11,841

4,748

Dorsetshire

34,241

19,507

Essex

47,962

30,748

Hampshire

33,241

22,018

Huntingdonshire

14,169

11,299

Kent

56,557

43,838

Lancashire

23,880

8,371

Middlesex

11,243

9,937

Norfolk

88,797

66,719

Northamptonshire

40,225

27,997

Rutland

5,994

5,993

Shropshire

23,574

13,041

Staffordshire

21,465

15,993

Suffolk

58,610

44,635

Surrey

18,039

12,684

Westmoreland

7,389

3,859

68 THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

32 A TOURNAMENT AT SMITHFIELD [A.D. 1390]

Source • Froissart, Chronicles

The King of England and his three uncles had received the fullest information of the splendid feasts and entertainments made for Queen Isabella's public entry into Paris; and in imitation of it, they ordered grand tournaments and feasts to be holden in the city of London, where sixty knights should be accompanied by sixty noble ladies richly ornamented and dressed. The sixty knights were to tilt for two days; that is to say, on the Sunday after Michaelmas day, and the Monday following, in the year of grace 1390. They were to set out at two o'clock in the afternoon from the Tower of London with their ladies, and parade through the streets, down Cheapside, to a large square called Smithfield. There they were to wait on the Sunday the arrival of any foreign knights who might be desirous of tilting; and this feast of the Sunday was called the Challengers!

The same ceremonies were to take place on the Monday, and the sixty knights to be prepared for tilting courteously, with blunted lances, against all comers. The prize for the best knight of the opponents was a rich crown of gold, that for the tenants of the lists, a very rich golden clasp. They were to be given to the most gallant tilfer, according to the judgment of the ladies who should be as spectators. On Tuesday the tournaments were to be continued by squires against others of the same rank who wished to oppose them. The prize for the opponents was a courser saddled and bridled, and for the tenants of the lists a falcon. Accordingly when Sunday came, about three o'clock, there pounded from the Town of London, which is situated in the Square of St Catherine, on the banks of the Thames, sixty barbed coursers ornamented for the tournament, and on each was mounted a squire of honour. Then came

sixty ladies of rank mounted on palfreys most elegantly and

richly dressed, following each other, every one leading a

knight with a silver chain completely armed for tilting ;

and in this procession they moved on through the streets

of London, attended by numbers of minstrels and trumpets

to Smithfield. The Queen of England and her ladies and

damsels had already arrived, also the King. When the

ladies who led the knights reached the square, the servants

were ready to assist them to dismount from the palfreys,

and conduct them to the apartments prepared for them.

The knights remained until the squires of honour had

dismounted and brought them their coursers, which having

mounted, they had their helmets laced on, and prepared

themselves in all points for the tilt. When the tournament

began every one exerted himself to the utmost, many were

unhorsed, and many more lost their helmets. The justing

continued, with great courage and perseverance, until

night put an end to it. The company then retired, and

when supper-time was come, the lords and ladies attended.

The prize for the opponents at the tournament was ad-

judged, by the ladies, lords and heralds, to the Count

d'Ostrevant, who far eclipsed all who had tilted that day ;

that for the tenants was given to a gallant knight of England,

called Sir Hugh Spencer.

On the morrow, Tuesday, the tournament was renewed

by the squires, who tilted until night in the presence of the

king, queen, and all the nobles. The supper was as before

at the bishop's palace, and the dancing lasted until day-

break. On Wednesday the tournament was continued by

all knights and squires indiscriminantly. The remainder

of the week was spent in feasting, and the king conferred the

Order of the Garter on Count d'Ostrevant—a circumstance

at which the King of France and many of his people were

much annoyed.

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33. THE NOBLE HOUSEKEEPING OF KING RICHARD II [A.D. 1399].

Source· Holinshed, Chronicle, II.

He kept the greatest port,1 and maintained the most plentiful house that ever any king in England did either before his time or since. For there resorted daily to his court above ten thousand persons that had meat and drink there allowed them. In his kitchen there were three hundred servitors, and every other office was furnished after the like rate. Of ladies, chamberers and launderers, there were above three hundred at the least. And in gorgeous and costly apparel they exceeded all measure, not one of them that kept within the bounds of his degree. Yeomen and grooms were clothed in silks, with cloth of grain and scarlet, over sumptuous ye may be sure for their estates. And this vanity was not only used in the court in those days, but also other people abroad in the towns and countries had their garments cut for otherwise than had been accustomed before his days, with embroideries, rich furs, and goldsmith's work, and every day there was devising of new fashions, to the great hindrance and decay of the commonwealth.

34. THE PAGEANT OF A CORONATION [A D 1399]

Source· Froissart, Chronicles

On Saturday before the coronation, the new King (Henry IV.) went from Westminster to the Tower of London, attended by great numbers, and those squires who were to be knighted watched their arms that night ; they amounted to forty-six ; each squire had his chamber and bath. The next day after mass the duke created them knights, and presented them with long green coats with

1 Retinue.

A Tournament in the Fourteenth Century

Coronation of Henry IV

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71

straight sleeves lined with miniver,1 after the manner of

the prelates. These knights had on their left shoulder a

double cord of white silk, with white tufts hanging down.

This Sunday after dinner the duke left the Tower on his

return to Westminster ; he was bareheaded, and had round

his neck the order of the King of France. The Prince of

Wales, six dukes, six earls and eighteen barons accompanied

him ; and of other nobility there were from 800 to 900

horse in the procession. The duke, after the German

fashion, was dressed in a jacket of cloth of gold, and mounted

on a white courser, with a blue garter on his left leg. He

passed through the streets of London, which were at the

time all handsomely decorated with tapestries and other

rich hangings ; there were nine fountains in Cheapside

and other streets through which he passed, and these per-

petually ran with white and red wine. He was escorted

by a prodigious number of gentlemen, with their servants in

livery and badges ; and the different companies of London

were led by their wardens, clothed in their proper livery,

and with the ensigns of their trade : the whole cavalcade

amounted to 6,000 horse. The same night the duke bathed,

and on the morrow confessed himself, and according to his

custom heard three masses.

The prelates and clergy who had been assembled then

came in procession from Westminster Abbey, to conduct

the King to the Tower, and back again in the same manner.

The dukes, earls and barons wore long scarlet robes, with

mantles trimmed with ermine, and large hoods of the same ;

the dukes and earls had three bars of ermine on the left

arm a quarter of a yard long, or thereabout ; the barons

had but two; all the knights and squires had uniform

cloaks of scarlet lined with miniver. In the procession to

the church, the duke had borne over his head a rich canopy

of blue silk supported on silver stakes, with four golden

1 A fine white fur.

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bells at the corners. This canopy was borne by four

burgesses of Dover, who claimed it as their right. On each

side of the duke were the sword of mercy and the sword of

justice; the first being borne by the Prince of Wales and

the other by the Earl of Northumberland, Constable of

England; the Earl of Westmoreland, the Marshal of

England, carried the sceptre. The procession entered the

church about nine o'clock. In the middle of the church

was erected a scaffold covered with crimson cloth, in the

centre of which was the royal throne of cloth of gold. When

the duke entered the church, he seated himself on the throne,

and was thus in regal state, except having the crown on his

head. The Archbishop of Canterbury proclaimed from

the four corners of the scaffold how God had given them a

man for their lord and sovereign, and then asked the people

if they were consenting parties to his being consecrated

and crowned King, upon which the people unanimously

shouted "Ay," and held up their hands, promising fealty

and homage.

The duke then descended from the throne and advanced

to the altar to be consecrated. Two archbishops and ten

bishops performed the ceremony. He was stripped of all

his royal state before the altar, naked to his shirt, and was

then anointed and consecrated at six places : i.e. on the

head, the breast, the two shoulders, before and behind;

on the back and hands : a bonnet was then placed on his

head, and while this was being done, the clergy chanted

the litany, or the service that is performed to hallow a font.

The King was now dressed in a churchman's clothes, like

a deacon; and they put on him shoes of crimson velvet,

after the manner of a prelate. Then they added spurs

with a point but no rowel; and the sword of justice was

drawn, blessed and delivered to the King, who put it again

into the scabbard, when the Archbishop of Canterbury

girded it about him. The crown of Saint Edward, which

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73

is arched over like a cross, was next brought and blessed,

and placed by the Archbishop on the King's head. When

mass was over, the King left the church, and returned to

the palace, in the same state as before. In the courtyard

of the palace there was a fountain that ran constantly with

red and white wine. The King went first to his closet, and

then returned to the hall to dinner. At the first table sat

the King; at the second, five great peers of England; at

the third, the principal citizens of London; at the fourth,

the new created knights; at the fifth all the knights and

squires of honour. The King was served by the Prince of

Wales who carried the sword of mercy; and on the opposite

side by the Constable, who bore the sword of justice. At

the bottom of the table was the Earl of Westmoreland with

the sceptre. At the King's table there were only the two

archbishops and seventeen bishops.

When dinner was half over, a knight of the name of

Dymock entered the hall completely armed and mounted on

a handsome steed, richly barbed with crimson housings.

The knight was armed for wager of battle, and was preceded

by another knight bearing his lance. He himself had his

drawn sword in one hand, and his naked dagger by his

side. The knight presented the King with a written paper,

the contents of which were, that if any knight or gentleman

should dare to maintain that King Henry was not a lawful

sovereign, he was ready to offer him combat in the presence

of the King, when and where he should be pleased to

appoint.

The King ordered this challenge to be proclaimed by

heralds in six different parts of the town and the hall; and

to it no answer was made.

King Henry having dined and partaken of wine and

spices in the hall, returned to his private apartments, and

all the company separated. Thus passed the coronation

day of King Henry.

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35. LETTERS PATENT TO GEOFFREY CHAUCER [A.D. 1399]

Source : Letter of Henry IV, quoted in King's Letters.

The King, to all to whom these presents may come : Greeting.

It appeareth to us, by inspection of the Rolls of Chancery of Richard, late King of England, the second after the Conquest, that the same late King caused his letters patent to be made to this effect :

" Richard, by the grace of God, etc : Greeting. Know ye, that we, of our special favour, and in return for the good service which our beloved esquire, Geoffrey Chaucer, hath bestowed, and will bestow on us in time to come, have granted to the same Geoffrey twenty pounds ; to be received each year at our Exchequer, at the terms of Easter and St Michael, by equal portions, for his whole life. In witness whereof, we have caused to be made these our letters patent. ourself witness at Westminster, 28th of February, in the seventeenth year of our reign."

It appeareth also to us by inspection of the Rolls of the Chancery Court of the same lately King, that he caused his other letters patent to be made to this effect :

" Richard, by the grace of God, etc. : Greeting. Know ye that, of our especial grace, we have granted to our beloved esquire, Geoffrey Chaucer, one cask of wine, to be received every year during his life, in the port of our city of London, by the hands of our chief butler for the time being. In witness whereof, etc."

We, in consideration that the same Geoffrey hath appeared before us in our Chancery Court personally, and hath made corporal oath, that the aforesaid letters have been casually lost, have thought proper that the tenour of the record of the same letters be transcribed by these presents. In witness, etc.

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75

The King being witness, at Westminster, the 18th day of October 1399.

36. THE PROVISIONING OF AN ARMY ON THE MARCH [A.D. 1400]

Source: Letter from Henry IV. to the Lords of the Council, quoted in King's Letters.

For the King,

Right Dear and Well-Beloved,

Forasmuch as we are not yet provided with wine, flour, grain, beans, and oats, for the expense of our household and army which will be with us in our journey towards the marches of Scotland, we, by the advice of our council, will, hereby command you that, under our privy seal, you cause our letters to be sent in due form to the mayor, sheriffs, and aldermen of our city of London; and to the mayor and bailiffs of the Cinque Ports, and of our towns of Orwell, Yarmouth, Lynne, Saint Botolph, Grimsby, Barton-upon-Humber, Kingston-upon-Hull, Whitby and Scarborough, and other towns where you shall find it convenient that they by sea cause to be brought to our port of Tynemouth and Shields without delay wine, flour, grain, beans and oats, to be there ready to be conveyed to our town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Holy Island, and to our city of Berwick-upon-Tweed, according as they shall be ordered, on our behalf, in order to refresh us and our army there. Promising by our said letters to the aforesaid mayors, sheriffs, and bailiffs, that each who shall so send to us wine, flour, grain, beans and oats, that to them it shall be assigned to have reasonable payment, each to receive it from our customs officers of the same town where he dwelleth; and moreover, you and our treasurer, give them security in the best form and manner that you shall be able, . . . and all the money that you can borrow upon

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our jewels or other our goods whatsoever being under your keeping, or what money by other means you can make to our aid, you, our said treasurer, cause to be conveyed to us without fail. And this omit not, as we trust in you.

Given under our seal at our city of York, the fourth day of July, 1400. . . .

37. AN ENGLISH MERCHANT SHIP IN A.D. 1413

Source : Icelandic Sagas, IV. Rolls Series.

A merchant ship came from England to Iceland. He was hight [named] Richard who was captain, and he had the King of Norway's letters, to the effect that he might sail with his wares into his realm without toll. He landed from his ship east at Horn, and so rode to Skalholt and back under Eyjafelle. Then he got on board his ship and sailed in her to Hrafnarfirth, but he had been allotted a haven before at Eyrarbakki. He would not land there. Many bought wares of him down by the sound. Little was taken of that by many wise men. He sailed away again a little after.

38. THE WAGES OF A KING'S MINSTRELS [A.D. 1415]

Source : Rymer, Foedera, IX.

This indenture made 5th June in the 3rd year of our sovereign lord King Henry, fifth since the Conquest, witnesseth that John Clyff, minstrel, and 17 other minstrels, have received from our said lord the King, by the hands of Thomas, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, treasurer of England, forty pounds as their wages, to each of them 12d. a day for half a quarter of a year, for serving our said lord in the parts of Guyenne or elsewhere.

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77

89 THE BUILDING OF A KING'S SHIP [A D. 1419]

Source A letter written by John Alastie of Bayonne to Henry V., quoted in King's Letters.

Most excellent, most highest, mightiest Prince and most Sovereign Lord, all manner of low subjection aforesaid. Liketh it to your Royal Majesty to know the governance and the making of your Ship at Bayonne. At the making of this letter it was in this estate, that is to wit, xxxvj strakes in height boarded, on the which strakes be laid xj beams ; the most beam is in length xlvj common feet, and the beam of the hameron afore is in length xxxix feet, and the beam of the hameron behind is in length xxxiij feet, from the overmost end of the stem into the post behind is in length a hundred iij and vj feet ; and the stem is in height iiij and xvj feet ; and the post xlviij feet ; and the keel is in length a hundred and xiij feet ; but he is rotted and must be changed.

Also liketh it to your royal Majesty to know that your Ship will not be ready at the term that they have promised you ; and, by that I can see, not this iij or v years hereafter. For the Major and his consorts hath rendered your assize fourpence of the lb. at your great damage, and their profit ; for it is worth thrice as much as they payeth. Therefore, like as I have wrote to your royal Majesty hereafore, for and all the money that cometh of your assize should go to the Ship's works, your Ship would be soon ready, and yet of that little sum that your assize is rendered before they take thereof to their own use. And in this degree your works of your ship might not go forth, and by anything that I can see they will leave of the making of your ship in short time, but if ye make other ordinance thereto.

Also, liketh it to your royal Majesty to know that they may not excuse them by board nor timber, for they might have enow in the country, as good as any may be, and as

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touching to carpenters they may have enow if they would,

but they let them go where they will.

Also liketh it to your royal Majesty to know that I might

not know of no costs nor dispenses, nor in what manner

your money is beset, but like as themselves lust. And I

leaving all mine occupations busy me, and travail me about

the making of your ship.

Most excellent, most highest, mightiest Prince and most

Sovereign Lord, Almighty Jesus have you in His keeping.

Written at Bayon the xxv day of April,

By your poor subject and true liegeman,

John Alcestre.

40. THE ADVENTURES OF A RUSTIC IN LONDON [circa A D 1420]

Source: The poem London Lickpenny, ascribed to John Lydgate. From

the edition by Halliwell of Lydgate's Minor Poems.

[The poor countrymen endeavours to obtain legal justice

in London but his " lack of money " is a drawback. After

visiting the King's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas,

the Court of Chancery, and obtaining no redress, he proceeds

to Westminster Hall.]

In Westmynster hall I found out one,

Which went in a long gown of raye ; 1

I crowched and kneled before hym anon,

For Maryes love, of help I hym praye.

" I wot 2 not that thou meanest," gan he say :

To get me thence he did me bede,

For lack of mony I cold not speed.

Within this hall, neither rich nor yett poore

Wold do for me ought, although I shold dye.

1 Striped. 2 Know.

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Which seing, I gat me out of the doore,

Where Flemynges began on me for to cry,

" Master, what will you copen 1 or by ?

Fyne felt hattes, or spectacles to reede ?

Lay down your sylver, and here you may speede."

Then to Westmynster-Gate I presently went,

When the sonn was at hyghe pryme 2 ;

Cookes to me, they tooke good entente,3

And proffered me bread, with ale and wyne,

Rybbs of befe, both fat and ful fyne.

A fayre cloth they gan for to sprede ;

But wantyng mony I myght not then speede.

Then unto London I dyd me hye,

Of all the land it beareth the pryse ;

Hot pescodies,4 one began to crye,

Strabery rype, and cherryies in the ryse ;

One bad me come nere and by some spyce,

Peper and saffiorne they gan me bede,

But for lack of mony I myght not spede.

Then to the Chepe 5 I began me drawne,

Where mutch people I saw for to stande ;

One ofred me velvet, sylke, and lawne,

An other he taketh me by the hande,

" Here is Parys thred, the fynest in the land ";

I never was used to such thyngs indede,

And wantyng mony I myght not spede.

Then went I forth by London stone,

Throughout all Canwyke 6 streete ;

1 Bargain for. 2 Between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. 3 Paid attention.

4 Pea-pods. 5 Cheapside. 6 Now Cannon Street.

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Drapers mutch cloth me offred anone ;

Then comes me one cryed hot shepes feete ;

One cryde makerell, ryster

1

grene, an other gan greete

3

;

One bad me by a hood to cover my head,

But for want of mony I myght not be sped.

Then I hyed me into Est-Chepe ;

One cryes rybbs of befe, and many a pye ;

Pewter pottes they clattered on a heape ;

There was harpe, pype, and mynstrelsye.

" Yea, by cock ! nay, by cock ! " some began crye ;

Some songe of Jenken and Julyan for their meede ;

But for lack of mony I myght not spede.

Then into Corn-Hyl anon I yode,

Where was mutch stolen gere amonge ;

I saw where honge myne owne hoode,

That I had lost amonge the thronge :

To by my own hood I thought it wronge,

I knew it well as I dyd my crede,

But for lack of mony I could not spede.

The taverncr took mee by the slecve,

" Sir," sayth he, " wyll you our wyne assay ? "

I answered, that can not mutch me greve,

A peny can do no more then it may,

I drank a pynt and for it dyd paye ;

Yet sone a hungerd from thence I yode,

And wantyng mony I could not spede.

[Eventually the rustic returns home with a poor

opinion of London and lawyers.]

1

Rushes.

2

Cry.

3

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81

41 EXTRACTS FROM A FIFTEENTH CENTURY ACCOUNT ROLL [A D. 1425]

Source: Account Roll of the Manors of Maxter Priory, quoted in Hone, Manor and Manonal Records.

Compotus 1 of Sir Richard Parentyn, Prior, and Brother Richard Albon, Canon and Burser there, of all the goods received and delivered by them from the morrow of St Michael the Archangel the third year of the reign of King Henry the Sixth after the Conquest to the morrow of the same feast in the fourth year of the said King's reign.

Necessary Provisions.

And for one great candle bought at the feast of St Kalixtus, Pope this year 2d., and for parchment bought at St Frideswide's fair 6d., and for paper bought at the same time, 4d., and for a box chair bought at London on the feast of St Thomas Apostle, 9s., and in payments to the sub-prior for copperas and galls bought for making ink at the same time 2d., and for 2 lbs. candles bought for the Prior's lantern at Christmas this year, 12d., and for 8 lbs. of wax bought at Oxford the same year to make 2 torches against Christmas for the Prior's Hall, 3s., and for mending an oven of the bakchouse, 1½d., and buttercloth bought for the bakehouse, etc., 10d., and for 2 horse girths with other things bought at the same time for the Prior's stable 6d., and for soap bought for washing the Prior's hall, 1d., and for 19 ells of linen bought for making cloths for the refectory, 5s., and for cloth bought for the bakehouse, 3s. 6d., and for 8 snodes of pack thread bought for making a net for snaring rabbits, 6d., . . . and for 1 lb. of birdlime, 3d., and for a "heres yde" 2 bought for the bakehouse 10d., and for two hand baskets, 7d., and for 4 mats, 13d.

1 Account or Statement.

2 Presumably "hair sieve."

82 THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

Provisions for the Guest House.

For white bread bought at sundry times for the Prior and guests, 3s. 10d., and for beer, to wit, 132½ gallons bought of John Spinan, Alice Bedale and other brewers, 4s. 10d., and for 32 galls. of red wine bought of Richard Brasyer of Burcester 1 at 8d. a gallon, 21s. 4d., and for 3 gallons, 3 quarts of sweet wine bought of the same, at 16d. a gallon, 5s., and for canvas bought at London by Richard Dymby before the feast of St Osith Virgin for making sheets, 3s., etc.

Expenses of Buildings.

To William Hykkedon, working for 4 days making an entrance from the parlour to the Prior's hall, 16d., and for keys bought of John Bette for the same door, 12d., and for hinges, 8d., and to John Coventry with two servants tiling the room called Clykchamber towards the court for 4 days, 3s. 4d., and for 2 iron workers working for 10 days covering with iron the slabs of elm for making the doors and windows, 6s. 8d. And for wainscote bought at Steresbrugge (Stour-bridge), 2s. 3d.

Expenses of the Dormitory.

To William Skerne and his fellows hired to dig stones for walls at the quarry beyond Crokkewell, 23s. 4d., and to divers men hired to break stones in the Priory for making mortar 14d., etc., and to John Chepyn for making and cutting 18 corbelstones to place on the aforesaid wall, 5s. 4d. And to John Coventry of Banbury, tiler, for roofing the aforesaid house, 4li. 1d., and for iron standards weighing 28 lbs. with two ventilators, to wit, vanes of tin bought of the smith at Cherlton to place upon either end of the aforesaid dormitory 5s. 2d., and to divers men hired to take

1 Bicester.

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down and carry away the old timber material and stones,

rod.

Expenses of the Kitchen.

For 20 fowls bought by the cook at the feast of St

Kalixtus, 20d., and for a quarter of beef bought in Burcester

market on the feast of St Thomas Apostle for salting, 16d.,

and for 1 cade1 of red herrings bought of Harmand Banbury,

8d. And for pork bought for the clerks of the lord Arch-

bishop sitting at an inquiry at Burcester the Wednesday

next before the feast of the Conversion of St Paul, 19d.,

and for 1 frayle2 of figs, 3s. 4d., and for 12 lbs. of sparrows'

eggs, 13d., and for 3 couple of green fish with a lyng, 3

congers and a couple of hake, 9s. 7d., and for a great chopper

called a flesh axe, 15d., etc., and for a saltstone bought

for the dovecot, 21⁄2d.

Fees with Wages of Servants.

For fee of John Langston, steward, holding the court

per annum, 26s. 8d. For fee of William Suleman, the

Prior's attorney in London, per annum, 6s. 8d., etc. And

for wages of John Baldwyn, the Prior's groom of the

chamber, this year 13s. 4d. And for wages of William

Puffe, baker, per annum 15s. And for wages of William

Skynner, his assistant, 10s., and for wages of his wife drying

malt this year, 10s. And for wages of William Gulde,

barber this year, 6s., and for wages of Catherine Colyers

making towels for the kitchen this year, 20d., and for wages

of the laundress per annum, 6s., etc.

Wages of Labourers.

For John Leseby, making fences at the sheepfolds of

Wrechwyk and Crockwell, 13d., etc., and to John Soler,

1 Barrel or cask.

2 A basket made of rushes.

cutting 21 cartloads of underwood at Bernwood, 3s. 2d.,

etc., and to a certain stranger hired to drive the plough

and harrow for 12 days, 12d., etc.

42. "WE BEE MASTERS OF THE NARROWE SEE" [A.D. 1430]

Source : Hakluyt, Voyages, II.

Here beginneth the Prologue of the processe of the Libel

of English policie, exhorting all England to keepe the sea,

and namely the narrowe sea1; showing what profite

commeth thereof, and also what worship and salavation to

England, and to all Englishmen.

The true processe of English policie

Of utterward to keep this regne in

Of our England, that no man may deny,

Ner say of sooth but it is one of the best,

Is this, that who seeth South, North, East and West,

That we bee Masters of the narrowe see.

For if this sea bee kept in time of werre,

Who can heere passe without danger and woe ?

Who may escape, who may mischiefe differre ?

What Merchandie may forby bee agoe ?

For needs him must take trewes every foe :

Flanders and Spaine, and other, trust to mee,

Or elles hindred all for this Narrow See.

Therefore I cast mee by a little writing

To shewe at eye this conclusion

For conscience and for mine acquiting

Against God and ageyne abuson,

And cowardise, and to our enemies confusion.

1 The English Channel.

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For foure things our Noble sheweth to me,

King, Ship, and Swerd, and power of the see.

Where bens our ships, where ben our swerds become ?

Our enemies bed for the ship set a sheepe

Alas our rule halteth, it is benowe.

Who dare soell say that lordship should take keepe ?

I will assay, though mine heart ginne to weepe,

To doe this werke, if wee will ever thee,

For very shame to keepe about the see.

Shall any Prince, what so be his name,

Which hath Nobles moch leche ours,

Bee Lords of see : and Flemıngs to our blame,

Stop us, take us, and so make fade the flowers

Of English state, and disteyne our honours ?

For cowardise alas it should so bee.

Therefore, I ginne to write nowe of the sec.

43. A SONG IN PRAISE OF GOOD ALE

Source. A fifteenth century song, reprinted in T. Wright, Songs and

Carols. Percy Socuety.

Bring us in no brown bread, for that is made of bran

Nor bring us in no white bread, for therein is no game,

But bring us in good ale, and bring us in good alc ;

For our blessed Lady's sake, bring us in good ale !

Bring us in no beef, for there is many bones,

But bring us in good ale, for that goeth down at once ;

And bring us in good ale, etc.

Bring us in no bacon, for that is passing fat,

But bring us in good ale, and give us cnough of that ;

And bring us in good ale, etc.

86

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Bring us in no mutton, for that is often lean,

Nor bring us in no tripes, for they be seldom clean ;

But bring us in good ale, etc.

Bring us in no egges, for there are many shells

But bring us in good ale, and give us nothing else.

And bring us in good ale, etc.

Bring us in no butter, for therein are many hairs ;

Nor bring us in no pigges flesh, for that will make us boars :

But bring us in good ale, ctc.

Bring us in no puddings, for therein is all God's good ;

Nor bring us in no venison, for that is not for our blood ;

But bring us in good ale, etc.

Bring us in no capon's flesh, for that is often deare ;

Nor bring us in no duck's flesh, for they slobber in the mere ;

But bring us in good alc, ctc.

44. NAVAL PAY IN THE MIDDLE AGES [A.D. 1450]

Source: The Black Book of the Admiralty. Ed. Sir Travers Twiss.

Rolls Series.

Item, tis to be taken notice of that when the Admirall

rides on horsebacke to gett any men of warr together or

abouts any other business of the King's or the realmes,

if hee be a knight batchellor hee shall have four shillings

sterling a day for his wages, and if hee be an earle or baron

hee shall have for wages according to his estate and degree.

. . . And besides (if the admirall bee knight batchellor)

hee shall have every day at sea four shillings for himselfe

and for each chevalier gooin in his company two shillings,

and for every escuier arme twelvpence a day, and shall

have in consideration of thirty hommes d'armes, at the

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87

end of each quarter of a yeare, one hundred markes, and

so hee shall have for every one, and shall also have for each

archer sixpence a day, and soo everyone of his captaines

shall have their wages of him, and if the admirall is a baron

he shall have six shillings and eightpence a day, and if he

is an earle he shall have thirteen shillings and fourpence

a day. . . .

Item, as to the marriners’ wages upon the voyages of

the King or the admirall, each master of a shipp shall have

sixpence a day, and every constable (or gunner) of the

fleete shall have the same wages by the day.

Item, each marriner shall have threepence halfpenny per

diem, and each marriner shall have sixpence per weeke

for consideration. And each sea boy shall have twopence

halfpenny per diem, the master, gunners, or boys not to

have any certain considerations.

45. “SPARE THE ROD ” [A D. 1451]

Source : The Paston Letters, I. Ed Gairdner.

Erands to London of Augnes Paston, the XXVIII day of

Jenure, the yer of Kyng Henry the Sext, XXXVI.

To prey Grenefeld to send me feythfully word by wrytyn,

who Clement Paston hath do his dever 1 in lernyng. And

if he hathe nought do well, nor wyll nought amend, prey

hym that he wyll trewly belassch 2 hym, tyl he wyll amend ;

and so ded the last mastir, and the best that ever he had

at Caambrege. And say Grenefeld that if he wyll take

up on hym to brynge hym in to good rewyll 3 and lernyng,

that I may verily know he doth hys dever, I wyll geve hyn

X marcs for hys labor, for I had lever 4 he were fayr beryed 5

than lost for defaute. . . .

1 Duty, i.e. work. 2 Thrash. 3 Rule, i.e. ways.

1 Rather. 5 Burned.

88

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And if Grenefeld have do wel hys dever to Clement or wyll do hys dever, geffe hym the nobyll.1

Agnes Paston.

46. THE DEFENCE OF A MANSION DURING THE CIVIL WAR [circa. A.D. 1458]

Source. Paston Letters. Ed. M. D. Jones.

To my right worshipful husband, John Paston.

Right worshipful husband, I recommend me to you, and pray you to get some crossbows and wyndoos2 to bind them with, and quarrels, for your houses here be so low that there may none man shoot out with no long bow, though we had never so much need.

I suppose ye could have such things of Sir John Fastolf if ye would send to him; and also I would ye should get two or three short poleaxes to keep with[in] doors, and as many jackets, and ye may.

Partrick and his fellowship are sore afraid that ye would enter again upon them and they have made great ordinance within the house, and it is told me they have made bars to bar the doors crosswise, and they have made wickets on every quarter of the house to shoot out at, both with bows and with hand-guns, and the holes that be made for hand-guns, they be scarce knee high from the plancher,4 and of such holes be made fire, there can none man shoot out of them with no hand-bows. . . .

I pray that ye will vouchsafe to do buy for me one pound of almonds, and one pound of sugar and that ye will do buy some freise to make of your children's gowns; ye shall have best cheap and best choice of Hays's wife, as it is told me. And that ye will buy a yard of broad cloth

1 Noble, a gold coin value 6s. 8d.

2 Windlasses with which the bow-string was drawn home.

3 An arrow with a square head

4 Floor

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89

of black for one hood for me of 44d. or four shillings a yard,

for there is neither good cloth nor good freise in this town,

As for the children's gowns, and I have them I will do them

maken.

The Trinity have you in his keeping, and send you good

speed in all your matters,

MARGARET PASTON.

47. THE INDENTURE OF AN APPRENTICE [1459]

Source: Ancient Deeds, A 10022, quoted in Select Documents illustrating

English Economic History.

This indenture made between John Gibbs of Penzance

in the county of Cornwall of the one part and John Goffe,

Spaniard, of the other part, witnesses that the aforesaid

John Goffe has put himself to the aforesaid John Gibbs

to learn the craft of fishing, and to stay with him as

apprentice and to serve from the feast of Philip and

James [May 1st] next to come after the date of these

presents until the end of eight years then next ensuing

and fully complete ; throughout which term the aforesaid

John Goffe shall well and faithfully serve the aforesaid

John Gibbs and Agnes his wife as his masters and lords,

shall keep their secrets, shall everywhere willingly do their

lawful and honourable commands, shall do his masters no

injury nor see injury done to them by others, but prevent

the same as far as he can, shall not waste his master's goods

nor lend them to any man without his special command.

And the aforesaid John Gibbs and Agnes his wife shall

teach, train and inform or cause the aforesaid John Goffe,

their apprentice, to be informed in the craft of fishing in

the best way they know, chastising him duly and finding

for the same John, their apprentice, food, clothing, linen

and woollen, and shoes, sufficiently, as befits such an ap-

prentice to be found, during the term aforesaid. And

90

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at the end of the term aforesaid the aforesaid John Goffe shall have of the aforesaid John Gibbs and Agnes his wife

20s. sterling without any fraud. In witness whereof the parties aforesaid have interchangeably set their seals to

the parts of this indenture. These witnesses :-Richard Bascawen, Robert Martyn and Robert Cosyn and many

others. Given at Penzance, 1 April in the 37th year of the

reign of King Henry the Sixth after the Conquest of England.

48. REGULATION OF THE PRICE OF BREAD [A.D. 1410]

Source: Libci Albus; Riley, Memorials.

According to the custom of the City of London an assay of bread ought to be made after the Feast of St Michael

in each year, by four discreet men chosen and sworn thereunto: and according to the proportion in weight

set by such assay, the bakers ought to bake throughout the whole of that year. Of which procedure the following

is the method: the four men so sworn as aforesaid are to buy three quarters of corn, one, namely, upon the pavement

in Chepe, one at Greschircbe, or at Billynggesgate, and a third at Queen-Hythe: of which corn they are to make

wastel (second quality), light bread, and brown bread. And after, with great diligence, they shall have baked such

loaves, they shall present them, while hot, unto the Mayor and Alderman at the Guildhall; and there, while so hot,

such loaves shall be weighed. Then shall be reckoned the price at which the corn aforesaid was bought, and there

shall be allowed for expenses, as to each quarter, the sum of eightpence; the price also shall be reckoned at which

the bran was sold, and shall be subtracted from the purchase price.

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91

49. THE EDUCATION OF A PRINCE [A D 1473]

Source: A letter from King Edward IV. to the Earl of Rivers and the

Bishop of Rochester, quoted in King's Letters.

Ordinances, touching the guiding of our said Son's person.

which we commit to the said Earl Rivers.

First. We will that our said first-begotten son shall

arise every morning at a convenient hour, according to his

age ; and, till he be ready, no man be suffered to come

into his chamber, except the right trusty, the Earl Rivers,

his chaplains and chamberlains, or such others as shall be

thought by the said Earl Rivers convenient for the same

season, which chaplains shall say matins in his presence ;

and, when he is ready, and the matins said, forthwith to

go to his chapel or closet, to have his mass there, and in

no wise in his chamber without a cause reasonable, and

no man to interrupt him during his masstime.

Item. We will that our said son have, every holy day,

all the divine service in his chapel or closet, and that he

offer before the altar, according to the custom.

Item. We will that, upon principal feasts and usual

days of predications, sermons be said before our said son,

and that all his servants be thereat, that may be conveni-

ently spared from their offices.

Item. We will that our said son have his breakfast

immediately after his mass, and between that and his

meat, to be occupied in such virtuous learning as his age

shall suffer to receive. And that he be at his dinner at a

convenient hour, and thereat to be honourably served, and

his dishes to be borne by worshipful folks and squires,

having on our livery, and that all other officers and servants

give their due attendance, according to their offices.

Item. That no man sit at his board, but such as shall

be thought fit by the discretion of the Earl Rivers, and

92

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that then be read before him such noble stories as behoveth to a prince to understand and know ; and that the communication at all times in his presence be of virtue, honour, cunning, wisdom, and of deeds of worship, and of nothing that should move or stir him to vice.

Item. We will that after his meat, in eschewing of idleness, he be occupied about his learning, and after, in his presence, be showed all such convenient disports and exercises, as behoveth his estate to have experience in.

Item. We will that our son go to his even-song at a convenient hour, and that soon after done, to be at his supper, and thereat to be served according as before.

Item. We will that after his supper he have all such honest disports as may be conveniently devised for his recreation.

Item. We will that our said son be in his chamber, and for all night livery to be set, the travers drawn and upon eight of the clock, and all persons from thence then to be avoided, except such as shall be deputed and appointed to give their attendance upon him all night, and that they enforce themselves to make him merry and joyous towards his bed.

Item. We will that it be seen by his council and officers, that sure and good watch be nightly had about his person, and duly kept for safeguard of the same.

Ordinances concerning his household, which we commit unto the said Bishop of Rochester and Earl Rivers.

Item. We will, that every day be said mass in the hall for the officers of the household, to begin at six of the clock in the morning, and at seven matins to begin in the chapel ; and at nine a mass, by note, with children.

Item. We will that our said son have three chaplains, the one of them to be his almoner ; and that he will truly,

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93

discreetly, and diligently give and distribute our said son's alms to poor people, and that the said almoner be confessor to the household, and the other two chaplains to say divine service before our said son.

Item. We will that no person, man nor woman, being within our said son's household, be customable swearer, brawler, backbiter, common hazarder, adulterer, and use words of ribawdery, and especially in the presence of our said son.

Item. We will that the sons of noble lords and gentlemen being in the household with our said son, arise at a convenient hour, and hear their mass, and be virtuously brought up and taught in grammar, music, or other training exercises of humanity, according to their births, and after their ages, and in nowise to be suffered in idleness, or in unvirtuous occupation.

Item. We will that daily, except fasting days, the household of our said son be at the first dinner by ten of the clock, and at supper by four; and every fasting day to go to dinner by twelve.

Item. We will that the hall be orderly served, and strangers served and cherished according to their behaviours.

Item. We will that no person, of what condition soever he be, have any service of the court at meal times to their chambers, or out of the gates; but that they keep our son's chamber, or his hall.

Item. We will that none of our said son's council, treasurer or comptroller, or other officer accountant, nor none of our said son's household, lodge without his court, without a reasonable cause showed, and that the ushers make their lodgings as near together as they conveniently may.

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Item. We will that our said son's porters give good and diligent attendance to the keeping of the gates, so that [it] be not at any time destitute of one of them ; and they, from the 1st of Michaelmas until the 1st of May, be shut at nine of the clock in the evening. and opened in the morning between six and seven, and from the 1st day of May until Michaelmas, the said gates be shut at ten of the clock at night, and to be opened between five and six of the morning, and that the said porters shall not open the said gates after nor afore any of the said hours limited, without a cause reasonable, and license of some of his council, and that they suffer no man to enter the said gates with weapons, but they be left at the same, and no dishonest or unknown person to come in, without his cause be well understood and known ; and that they suffer no stuff to be embezzled out of the gates.

50. THE LIBRARY OF AN ENGLISH GENTLEMAN [circa. A D. 1470]

Source : Paston Letters. Ed. M. D. Jones.

Note.—The original manuscript of this library catalogue is much decayed. It was written on a piece of paper about 17 inches long, and owing to damp, the words in many places are undecipherable.

Inventory of English Books of John Paston in the reign of Edward IV.

1. A book had of my hostess at the George . . . of the Death of Arthur, beginning at Cassibelan Guy, Earl of Warwick.

King Richard Cœur de Lyon.

A Chronicle of Edward the III.

2. Item. A book of Troilus which William Br . . . hath had near ten years, and lent it to Dame . . . Wyngfeld, and there I saw it . . . worth . . .

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95

3. Item, a black book with the legend of Lad[ies,

la[belle Dame] sans Mercy.1

The Parliament of Birds.2

The Temple of Glass.3

Palatysc and Scitacus.

The Meditations of . . .

The Green Knight.4

4. Item, A book in print of the Play of the [. . . ? Chess].5

5. Item, a book lent by Midleton, and therein is :

Belle Dame sans Mercy.

The Parliament of Birds.

Ballad of Guy and Colbrond.

. . . of the Goose, the . . .

The Disputation between Hope and Despair.

. . . Merchants.

The Life of Saint Christopher.

6. A red book that Percival Robsart gave to me; of the

Needs of the Mass.

The Lamentation of the child Ipotes.6

A Prayer to the Vernicle.7

[? A book] Called the Abbey of the Holy Ghost.

7. Item, in quires, Tully de Senectute8 in whercof there

is no more clear writing.

8. Item, in quires, Tully or Cypio,9 de Amicitia, left with

William Worcester.

9. Item, in quires, a book of the Policy of In[? gelond].

10. Item, in quires, a book de Sapientia10 . . . wherin

the second person is likened to Sapience.

1 Possibly Chaucer's Legend of Good Ladies.

2 Possibly Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls.

3 A poem by Lydgate.

4 A popular ballad.

5 This was the only printed book ; the rest were in manuscript.

6 A ballad.

7 A popular legend of the Middle Ages.

8 Cicero's De Senectute.

9 Scipio.

10 Lydgate's Werke of Sapience.

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11. Item, a book de Othea, text and gloss, worth in

quires. . . .

Memorandum ; Mine old book of Blazonings of Arms.

Item, the new book portrayed and blazoned.

Item, a copy of Blazonings of Arms, and the names to

be found by Letter.1

Item ; a book with Arms portrayed in paper.

Memorandum ; my book of Knighthood ; and the manner

of making of Knights ; of Justs, of Tournaments ;

fighting in Lists ; paces holden by soldiers ; and Challenges ;

Statutes of War ; and de Regimine Principum.

Item, a book of new Statute from Edward the IV.

51. A MEDIEVAL LOVE LETTER [A.D. 1477]

Source : Paston Letters, III. Ed. Gairdner.

Unto my right well-beloved Valentine, John Paston, Squire,

be this billet delivered, etc.

Right reverend and worshipful, and my right well-beloved

Valentine, I recommend me unto you, full heartily desiring

to hear of your welfare, which I beseech Almighty God

long for to preserve unto His pleasure, and your heart’s

desire. And if it please you to hear of my welfare, I am

not in good heal of body nor of heart, nor shall be till I hear

from you ; For there wotteth [knoweth] no creature what

pain that I endure. And for to be dead, I dare it not discure

[discover].

And my lady my mother hath laboured the matter to

my father full diligently, but she can no more [dovry] get

than ye know of, for the which God knoweth I am full sorry.

But if that ye love me, as I trust verily that ye do, ye will

not leave me therefore ; for if that ye had not half the

1 Alphabetically.

The Old Library, Lincoln Cathedral

The Sanctuary Knocker, Durham Cathedral

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97

livelihood that ye have, for to do the greatest labour that

any woman alive might, I would not forsake you.

And if ye command me to keep me true wherever I go

I wis I will do all my might you to love and never no mo

And if my frends say, that I do amiss,

They shall not let me so for to do,

Mine heart me bids ever more to love you

Truly over all earthly thing,

And if they be never so wroth

I trust it shall be better in time coming.

No more to you at this time, but the Holy Trinity have

you in keeping. And I beseech you that this billet be not

seen if none earthly creature save only yourself, etc.

And this letter was indited at Topcroft, with full heavy

heart, etc.—By your own,

MARGERY BREWS.

52. HOW SANCTUARY WAS CLAIMED [A.D. 1477]

SOURCE : Sanctuarium Dunelmense, V. (Surtees Society.)

Let it be remembered that on Oct. 6th, A.D. 1477, William

Rome and William Nicholson of the parish of Forsate fled

to the cathedral church of St Cuthbert at Durham, where,

on account of a felony, amongst other things, committed

and publicly confessed by them, namely, the murder by

them some time before of William Aliand, they besought

from the venerable and holy men, Thomas Haughton,

sacristan of the said church, and William Cuthbert, master

of the Galilee there, both brothers and monks of the same

church, that the sanctuary of the church should be favour-

ably extended to them in accordance with the liberties and

privileges conceded to the most glorious confessor Saint

Cuthbert of old ; and by the ringing of a single bell, as

is the custom, this boon was granted them. As witnesses

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called and summoned specially for the occasion there were

present to see and hear those discreet men, William

Heghyngton, Thomas Hudson, John Wrangham and

Thomas Strynger.

53. AN ETON BOY'S LETTER [A.D 1479]

Source: Paston Letters, III. Ed. Gairdner.

To his Worshipful Brother, John Paston, be this delivered

in haste.

Right reverend and worshipful brother, after all duties

of recommendation, I recommend me to you, desiring to

hear of your prosperity and welfare, which I pray God long

to continue to His pleasure, and to your heart's desire;

letting you know that I received a letter from you, in which

letter was 8d., with which I should buy a pair of slippers.

Furthermore, certifying you as for the 13s. 4d., which ye

send by a gentleman's man, for my board, called Thomas

Newton, was delivered to mine host, and so to my creditor,

Mr Thomas Stevenson, and he heartily recommended him

[self] to you.

Also, ye send me word in the letter of 12 lbs. of figs and

8 lbs. of raisins. I have them not delivered, but I doubt

not I shall have, for Alvedir told me of them, and he said

that they came after in another barge.

And as for the young gentlewoman, I will certify you

how I first fell in quaintance with her. Her father is dead;

there be two sisters of them; the elder is just wedded; at

which wedding I was with mine hosts, and also desired

by the gentleman himself, called William Swanne, whose

dwelling is in Eton.

So it fortuned that mine host reported on me ordinary-

wise that I was worthy; so that her mother commanded

her to make me good cheer and so in good faith she did.

She is not abiding where she is now; her dwelling is in

London; but her mother and she came to a place of hers

THE PASSING OF FEUDALISM

99

five miles from Eton where the wedding was, for because it

was right to the gentleman which wedded her daughter.

And on Monday next coming, that is to say, the first Monday

of clene Lent, her mother and she will get to the pardon at

Schene [Shene], and set forth to London, and then abide

in a place of hers in Bow Churchyard ; and if it please you

to enquire of her, her mother's name is Mistress Albarrow,

the name of the daughter is Margaret Albarrow, the age of

her is by all likelihood eighteen or nineteen years at the

farthest. And as for the money and plate it is ready when-

soever she were wedded; but as for the livelihood, I trow

not till after her mother's decease, but I cannot tell you

for very certain, but you may know by enquiring. And

as for her beauty, judge you that when ye see her, if so

be that ye take the labour, and specially behold her

hands. . . .

And as for my coming from [leaving] Eton, I lack

nothing but verifying, which I trust to have with a little

continuance.

Quare, Quomodo non valet hors, valli mora,

Unde di’ (dictum vel deductum?)

Arbore jam videas exemplum. Non die passunt,

Omnia suppleri ; sed tamen illa mora ;

and these two verses aforesaid be of mine own making.

No more to you at this time, but God have you in His

keeping.

Written at Eton, the even of Saint Matthew the Apostle,

in haste, with the hand of your brother.

William Paston, Jun.

54. A KING'S WARDROBE [A.D. 1483]

Source. Letter from King Richard III. to the Keeper of his Wardrobe,

quoted in King's Letters.

We will and charge you to deliver to the bringers hereof

for us the parcels following : that is to say, one doublet of

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purple satin, lined with Holland cloth and interlined with

busk. One doublet of tawny satin lined in likewise; two

short gowns of crimson cloth of gold, the one with drips,

and the other with nets lined with green velvet; one

stomacher of purple satin and one stomacher of tawny

satin; one cloak with a cape of velvet ingrained, the bow

lined with black velvet; one gown of green velvet lined

with tawny satin; one yard and three-quarters course of

silk, meddled with gold, and as much black course of silk

for our spurs; two yards and a half, and three nails of white

cloth of gold for a crynetze for a board; five yards of black

velvet for the lining of a gown of green satin; three pair of

spurs short, all gilt; three pair of spurs long, white parcel

gilt; one banner of sarsenet of Our Lady; one banner of

Saint George; three coats of arms beaten with fine gold

for our own person; five coat armours for heralds, lined

with buckram; forty trumpet banners of sarsenet, etc.

55. THE USE OF BEACONS AS A MEANS OF ALARM [A.D. 1485]

Source: Holinshed, Chronicle, III.

For the custom of the countries adjoining near to the

sea is (especially in the time of war), on every hill or high

place to erect a beacon with a great lantern in the top,

which may be seen and discerned a great space off. And

when the noise is once bruited that the enemies approach

near the land, they suddenly put fire in the lanterns, and

make shouts and outcries from town to town, and from

village to village. Some run in post from place to place

admonishing the people to be ready to resist the jeopardy

and defend the peril. And by this policy the fame is soon

blown to every city and town, insomuch that as well the

citizens as the rural people be in short space assembled

and armed to repel and put back the new arrived enemies

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101

(Whereas if the necessary use of this visible warning were

neglected, the policy of the enemy might privily so prevail,

as that the people should sooner fall into peril irrecoverable,

than they could think on (much less provide) means to

avoid it.)

56. "THE NUT BROWN MAID" A FIFTEENTH CENTURY BALLAD

This ballad, "the masterpiece of English Poetry in the fifteenth century,"

was first printed in Arnold's Chronicle about 1521. The ballad, however, is

undoubtedly of earlier date.

[The hero of the ballad is a proscribed squire, who, on the

point of being taken, has to choose between a shameful

death and a life in the depths of the forest. His betrothed,

who is of noble birth, wishes to share his dangers] :

He. It standeth so ; a deed is do'

Wherefore much harm shall grow

My destiny is for to die

A shameful death, I trow ;

Or else to flee : the one must be,

None other way I know,

But to withdraw as an outlaw,

And take me to my bow.

Wherefore adieu, my own heart true !

None other rede 1 I can

For I must to the green wood go

Alone, a banished man.

She. O Lord, what is this world's bliss,

That changeth as the moon !

My summer's day, in lusty May

Is darked before the noon.

1 Plan.

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I hear you say, Farewell : Nay, nay,

We depart not so soon.

Why say ye so ? whither will ye go ?

Alas ! what have ye done ?

All my welfare to sorrow and care

Should change if ye were gone ;

For in my mind, of all mankind

I love but you alone.

He. I can believe, it shall you grieve

And somewhat you distrain :

But afterward, your pames hard

Within a day or twain

Shall soon aslake, and ye shall take,

Comfort to you again.

Why should ye ought, for to make thought ?

Your labour were in vain.

And thus I do, and pray you to,

As heartily as I can ;

For I must to the green wood go,

Alone, a banished man.

She. Now sith that ye have shewed to me

The secret of your mind,

I shall be plain to you again

Like as ye shall me find.

Sith it is so that ye will go,

I will not live behind ;

Shall it be said, the Nut Brown Maid

Was to her love unkind ?

Make you ready, for so am I

Although it were anon ;

For, in my mind, of all mankind,

I love but you alone.

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103

He. Yet take good heed, for ever I dread

That ye could not sustain

The thorny ways, the deep valleys,

The snow, the frost, the rain,

The cold, the heat, for dry or wete

We must lodge on the plain ;

And us above, none other roof,

But a brake bush or twain :

Which soon should grieve you, I believe,

And ye would gladly than

That I had to the green wood go

Alone, a banished man.

She. Sith I have here been partiner

With you of joy and bliss,

I must also part of your wo

Endure, as reason is.

Yet I am sure of one pleasure,

And, shortly, it is this,

That where ye be, meseemeth, pardie,

I could not fare amiss.

Without more speech, I you beseech

That ye were soon agone,

For, in my mind, of all mankind,

I love but you alone.

He. If ye go thither ye must consider

When ye have lust 1 to dine

There shall no meat be for to gete,

Nor drink, beer, ale, nor wine,

No sheetes clean, to lie between,

Made of thread and twine ;

None other house but leaves and boughs

To cover your head and mine.

Lo, mine heart sweet, this evil diet

1 Desire.

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Should make you pale and wan;

Wherefore I will to the green wood go,

Alone, a banished man.

She. Among the wild deer, such an archer

As men sae that ye be

Ye may not fail of good vittail

Where is so great plentie.

And water clear of the river

Shall be full sweet to me

With which in heal, I shall right weel

Endure, as ye shall see;

And ere we go, a bed or two

I can provide anone;

For in my mind, of all mankind,

I love but you alone.

He. Lo, yet before, ye must do more,

If ye will go with me;

As cut your hair up by your ear

Your kirtle by the knee;

With bow in hand, for to withstand,

Your enemies, if need be;

And this same night, before day-light

To woodward will I flee,

If that ye will all this fulfil

Do't shortly as ye can;

Else will I to the green wood go.

Alone, a banished man.

But these and still sterner tests the Nut Brown Maid is prepared to undergo for her squire, who in the end turns out to be the son of Earl of Westmoreland; and all ends happily in the last verse:

1 Desire.

THE PĂSSING OF FEUDALISM

105

Hc. Ye shall not need further to dread

I will not disparage,

You (God defend !), sith ye descend

Of so great lineage.

Now understand to Westmoreland

Which is my heritage,

I will you bring ; and with a ring

By way of marriage,

I will you take and lady make

As shortly as I can ;

Thus have ye won an earl's son

And not a banished man.

NOTES ON SOURCES

Account Rolls were the annual accounts of the estates of a lord of the manor, made up and presented every Michaelmas on the model of the returns of the sheriffs of the revenues of the Crown, which were sent into the Exchequer These Account Rolls are preserved in the Public Record Office, and are of considerable importance from the light that they throw upon the social and economical conditions of the times. A selection of these rolls is reprinted in Hone's The Manor and Manorial Records (Methuen 1906).

Black Book of the Admiralty is a collection of laws, in Latin and French, relating to the Navy. The original MS. is preserved in the archives of the Admiralty. The book is included in Monumenta Juridica with a translation in the Rolls Series.

Chaucer, Geoffrey, was born about 1340 His name is so well known in literature that further notice of his life is not necessary here His most famous work, The Canterbury Tales, from which selections done unto prose are included in this volume, depicts the social conditions of his age in a manner unrivalled in medieval literature. He died about 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey in that part which has ever since then been known as " The Poets' Corner."

La Court de Baron, a treatise of apparently thirteenth century date which describes the proceedings of a Manorial Court. The MS. is written in Old French, and has been published and translated by the Selden Society, which was founded in 1887 "to encourage the study and advance the knowledge of the history of English law."

Court Rolls, a record of the proceedings of the courts of lords of manors, a large proportion have survived from those in monastic hands. The earliest extant date from the reign of Henry III. A collection of these rolls which afford valuable information on social conditions is to be found in the Public Record Office, and the British Museum Several interesting specimens are printed in Chapter III. of Hone's The Manor and Manorial Records (Methuen & Co., 1906).

Dugdale, Sir William, one of the most famous of English antiquaries, was born in Warwickshire in 1605 He studied law and history and was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant in 1639. During the Great Rebellion

106

NOTES ON SOURCES

107

he adhered to the king's cause and whilst at Oxford, the king's head-quarters, pursued his antiquarian researches. During the Commonwealth

he retired into obscurity, but at the Restoration was promoted Garter King of Arms. He died in 1686. His Monasticon Anglicanum is the recognised authority for the history of English monastic foundations from their institution to their dissolution in the sixteenth century. Its publication was begun in 1658 and a new edition in 6 volumes (8 parts) was published in 1817-30.

Froissart, Jean (1337-1410), was born at Valenciennes. Destined for the church, he soon distinguished himself by his literary ability which eventually brought him before the notice of Queen Philippa, who appointed him clerk of her chapel. He remained at the English Court for several years, and was present at several historic scenes which are described so vividly in his interesting Chronicles.

Guildhall Letter Books, a series of volumes published in 1902 and following years by the Corporation of the City of London under the direction of the Library Committee. They contain selections from the archives of the Corporation preserved in the Guildhall, and afford interesting glimpses of the social conditions of the metropolis.

Hakluyt, Richard, of Dutch descent, was born about 1552 in Hereford-shire. After being educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford, he took holy orders and became Lecturer on Cosmography at Oxford. He resided for some years in Paris, and afterwards became Archdeacon of Westminster. His great work, commonly known as Hakluyt's Voyages, was published in 1589, and enlarged in 1598-1600, it is a wonderful record of the "Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation." He died in 1616 and is buried in Westminster Abbey.

Holinshed, Raphael (d circa 1580), the author of Chronicles which furnished Shakespeare with much of his knowledge of English history. The work as it has come down to us consists of (1) a description of England followed by the history of the country down to the Conquest; (2) a descrip-tion of Ireland, followed by the chronicles of that island; (3) a description of Scotland, followed by a history of that country down to 1571; (4) the history of the English kings to 1577. Holinshed had the assistance of some of the most learned men of his time, including William Harrison, whose description of England in the sixteenth century is of great interest and importance.

Icelandic Sagas, a collection of heroic tales of the early vikings.

Knighton, Henry, a monk of Leicester Abbey, who lived in the reign of Richard II. His Compilatio from 959 to 1366 is valuable in its later parts on account of the original records it contains; for he appears to have had access to sources of information hitherto inaccessible.

108

NOTES ON SOURCES

Langland, William (or Langley), was born probably about 1332 in Shropshire, and is presumed to be the author of The Vision of Willam concerning Piers the Plowman He lived a life of poverty in London, and the poem represents the feelings of the thinking man who recognised the necessity of considerable reforms in church and state.

Liber Albus, a Latin chronicle of the City of London compiled in the year 1419 by John Carpenter, Common Clerk to the city. It is of high value from the light it throws on the condition of London during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries

Lydgate, John, an imitator of Chaucer, was born about 1370 and became a Benedictine monk at Bury St Edmunds He studied at Oxford, travelled in France, and became court poet He received a pension in 1439 but died in poverty about 1451 The poem, London Lickpenny, is attributed to him, and is to be found in the collection of Minor Poems edited by Halliwell in 1840.

The Paston Letters, a series of letters written by and to the members of the family of Paston, of Norfolk, from 1424 to 1506. The importance of this correspondence can hardly be over-rated, since, besides throwing much light on family and political affairs, they present a complete picture of English family life in the fifteenth century.

Poll Tax Returns are the returns preserved in the Lord Treasurer's Office of the figures taken from contemporary documents drawn up on the completion of the collection of the poll-taxes in 1377-1381. This tax was levied in the former year on all persons over 14 years of age and in the latter year on all persons over 15 years.

Riley's Memorials of the City of London, a selection by H. T. Riley of the famous archives of the City of London, preserved in the Record Room of the Guildhall ; a collection unrivalled in its kind by that of any city in the world.

Rymer, Thomas, was born in 1641 at Northallerton, and was the son of a Roundhead gentleman who was hanged in 1664. He studied at Cambridge, and entered Gray's Inn in 1666. He wrote on many subjects, but is chiefly remembered as the compiler of the invaluable collection of historical materials known as the Foedera, extending from the eleventh century to his own time. He died in 1713

Sanctuarium Dunelmense, the sanctuary register of Durham Cathedral, which has been published by the Surtees Society and is of interest from the light it throws on conditions under which sanctuary was claimed and obtained in medieval times.

Songs and Carols of the Fifteenth Century is a collection printed for the first time from the original manuscript and edited for the Percy Society in 1847 by Thomas Wright, who was responsible for the edition of Political Poems and Songs in the Rolls Series and many other historical works of cognate character.

NOTES ON SOURCES

109

Stow, John (1525-1605), a London tailor, who forsook tailoring for antiquarian research and historical study. He wrote a Summary of the

Chronicles of England, Annals of England, and A Survey of London, and assisted Holinshed in his great historical work. He died in great poverty

after James I. had given him a patent authorising him to beg.

Stubbs, William (1825-1901), after a brilliant career at Oxford became Regius Professor of Modern History and later Bishop of Oxford. He wrote

many important and authoritative works on historical subjects and amongst them edited Select Charters and other illustrations of English Constitutional

History from the Earliest Times to the Reign of Edward I. (Clarendon Press, 1870). As its title indicates, this work contains, to use his own words,

"an easily handled repertory of the Origines of English Constitutional History," containing "every constitutional document of importance during

the period it covers."

Printed in Great Britain

by Turnbull & Spears, Edinburgh