Great Britain -- Economic conditions; Great Britain -- Social conditions
The King to all to whom, etc., greeting. Know ye that of our especial
grace and the inspiration of charity, and for the especial devotion
which we bear and have towards the Blessed Virgin Catherine, we have
granted and given licence for us and our heirs, as much as in us lies,
to our beloved lieges, the men of the mistery of Haberdashers within our
city of London, that they may begin, unite, found, create, erect and
establish a gild or fraternity in honour of the same Virgin of men of
the mistery aforesaid and others, and have and hold that gild or
fraternity so begun, united, founded, created, erected and established,
and enjoy and exercise the same to them and their successors for all
future times to endure; and that they and their successors may increase
and augment the same gild or fraternity and hold the gild or fraternity
aforesaid of the said mistery of Haberdashers and any persons whom they
will receive within the fraternity aforesaid, and may elect and make
four wardens from themselves as often as they shall please or need shall
be for the governance, custody and rule of the said fraternity for ever,
as shall best please them; and that the said wardens and their
successors each year may make a livery of vesture of one suit among the
brethren and sisters of the same fraternity, and their meetings and
gatherings in places of our city aforesaid, and there in honest manner
hold and keep their feast of food and drink at the feast of St.
Catherine the Virgin, and make ordinances among themselves as often as
they shall please and as they shall deem most necessary and opportune,
and ordain and rule their mistery and correct and amend defects of their
servants by view of the Mayor of the city aforesaid for the time being
or of any person whom he shall depute hereto in his place, as they shall
deem fit to be done for the greater utility of the commonalty of our
people; and that none within the liberty of the city aforesaid keep a
shop or house of that mistery, unless he be of the liberty of that city,
nor any be admitted to the liberty of the said city in the same mistery,
unless he be presented by the aforesaid wardens or their successors and
by four other good and lawful men of the same mistery, and it be
testified to the Mayor of our said city for the time being that he is
good, faithful and fit for the same. And further of our more abundant
grace and at the supplication of our said lieges, the men of the mistery
aforesaid, we will and grant for us and our heirs, as much as in us
lies, that the same wardens and their successors be perpetual and
capable and the said fraternity be by itself a solid and perpetual and
corporate fraternity, and that that fraternity be hereafter named the
fraternity of St. Catherine the Virgin of Haberdashers in the city of
London, and the said wardens and their successors [the wardens] of the
fraternity of St. Catherine the Virgin of Haberdashers in the city of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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