Great Britain -- Economic conditions; Great Britain -- Social conditions
Further, that no servant or apprentice of the said mistery be henceforth
admitted to the liberties of Bristol to be a burgess sworn to exercise
the said mistery until it be testified to the court before the Mayor of
Bristol by the said two masters that they are able and well learned in
the said craft of dyeing, to save and keep the goods of the good folk
who are wont to be served for their money in the exercise of the mistery
aforesaid. And if any master of the said mistery make any such servant
or apprentice, if he be not able and well learned in the said craft, as
before is said, he shall incur the penalty of 20s. for each time, to
wit, to the use and profit of the commonalty, as before is said, 13s.
4d., and to the masters for their light, 6s. 8d., without any pardon,
provided always that the Mayor of the town of Bristol have his power and
jurisdiction to accept and make burgesses of each person presented to
him, as has been used and accustomed before these times, these
ordinances notwithstanding.
Further, forasmuch as often before these times divers folk, as well
those who have not been apprentices, servants or masters of the said
mistery, as other folk who are of other misteries, not cunning nor
having knowledge in the aforesaid art of dyeing, have taken upon them to
dye cloths and wools put in woad, as well of good folk of the town as of
the country round, which, by reason of ill management and through lack
of knowledge of the said folk, are greatly impaired of their colours and
many other defects to the great loss and damage of the owners of the
said cloths and great scandal of the town and shame of the whole craft
aforesaid, whereby the masters and apprentices of the said craft of
dyeing go vagrant for lack of work, because the said folk of other
crafts have been occupied in their said craft, to their great mischief
and undoing, therefore it is ordained and assented that henceforward no
manner of man of the same craft nor any other mistery do dye any cloth
or wool, unless it be presented by the said masters that he be good and
able and sufficiently learned in the said craft, upon pain of paying to
the Mayor and Bailiffs of the chamber for the use and common profit, as
before is said, at the first default 6s. 8d., at the second default
13s. 4d., at the third default 20s., and for each default after
the said three defaults 20s., without any pardon, so that the said
masters have for their labour the third part arising from the said
defaults for their light, provided always that all the burgesses of this
town may make their profit for dyeing in their houses their own cloths,
as has been used before these times, these ordinances notwithstanding.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account