A Walk through Leicester: being a Guide to StrangersWatts, Susannah
History
A Walk through Leicester: being a Guide to Strangers
Watts, Susannah
Leicester (England) -- Description and travel
In the great choir or chapel called Trinity choir, at the east end of the
great south aisle, (for the aisles of our churches were formerly often
divided into chapels, but of which in this church no traces now remain),
was held a _Guild_ or Fraternity, called _Trinity Guild_, founded in the
reign of Henry the Seventh, by Sir Richard Sacheverel, Kt. and the good
Lady Hungerford. Collections were made four times a year, of the
brethren and sisters belonging to this Society, whatever it might be, for
Antiquaries have not rendered the point sufficiently clear, but from
their meetings being held in churches, it is most probable that they were
of a religious nature. The money when collected was applied to meet
various expenses, but chiefly to pay the wages of their priest, perhaps
their confessor, and to supply their great feast held annually on Trinity
Sunday, for which, according to the account of the steward and wardens,
the following articles were purchased, A.D. 1508.
s. d.
A dozen of Ale 1 8
A fat Sheep 2 4
Seven Lambs 7 0
Thirty Chickens 1 11
Two gallons of Cream 0 8
0.5qr. of Malt 2 0
Fourteen Geese 4 3
From a curious and ingenious Mathematical Essay on the comparative prices
of similar articles in different ages, presented to the society of
Antiquaries, we have here the pleasure of offering to the attention of
our visitor, the following valuable remarks.
"The generality of readers when they look into the records of antient
times, are forcibly struck by the seeming lowness of the prices of
every article of common demand, when compared with the modern prices.
When they find that an ox was formerly sold for a few shillings, and
the price of a quarter of corn calculated in pence, they are led to
envy the supposed cheapness of those ages, and to bewail the
distressing dearness of the present. Nothing however can be more
absurd than the whining complaints founded upon such facts; for since
the cheapness of living depends not so much upon the price given for
every article of prime necessity, as upon the means by which, to use
a common expression, the purchase may be afforded, we must, if we
wish to form a proper judgment on the subject, rightly compare these
means as they existed in different ages, otherwise our conclusions
will be not only idle, but sometimes mischievous.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account