Our Legal Heritage, King AEthelbert, 596 to King George III, 1775Reilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage, King AEthelbert, 596 to King George III, 1775
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
The Statute of Laborers of 1351 required all workers, from tailors
to ploughmen, to work only at pre-plague wage rates and forced the
vagrant peasant to work for anyone who claimed him or her. It also
encouraged longer terms of employment as in the past rather than
for a day at a time. Statutory price controls on food limited
profits to reasonable ones according to the distance of the
supply. Later, wages were determined in each county by Justices of
the Peace according to the dearth of victuals while allowing a
victualer a reasonable profit and a penalty was specified as
paying the value of the excess wages given or received for the
first offense, double this for the second offense, and treble this
or forty days imprisonment for the third offense.
A fugitive laborer will be outlawed, and when found, shall be
burnt in the forehead with the letter "F" for falsity.
Children who labored at the plough and cart or other agriculture
shall continue in that labor and may not go into a craft.
A statute of 1363 designed to stop hoarding various types of
merchandise until a type became scarce so to sell it at high
prices, required merchants to deal in only one type of
merchandise. It also required craftsmen to work in only one craft
as before (except women who traditionally did several types of
handiwork). This was repealed a year later.
Where scarcity has made the price of poultry high, it shall be
lowered to 8d. for a young capon, 7d. for an old capon or a goose,
9d. for a hen, and 10d. for a pullet.
The fares for passage on boats on fresh waters and from Dover to
the continent shall remain at their old rate.
Any merchant selling at a fair after it has ended will forfeit to
the king twice the value of that sold.
Anyone finding and proving cloth contrary to the assize of cloth
shall have one-third of it for his labor.
No shoemaker nor cordwainer shall tan their leather and no tanner
shall make shoes, in order that tanning not be false or poorly
done.
All denizen [foreigner permitted to reside in the realm with
certain rights and privileges] and alien merchants may buy and
sell goods and merchandise, in gross, in any part of the country,
despite town charters or franchises, to anyone except an enemy of
the King. They may also sell small wares: victuals, fur, silk,
coverchiefs [an item of woman's apparel], silver wire, and gold
wire in retail, but not cloth or wine. They must sell their goods
within three months of arrival. Any alien bringing goods to the
nation to sell must buy goods of the nation to the value of at
least one-half that of his merchandise sold. These merchants must
engage in no collusion to lower the price of merchandise bought,
take merchandise bought to the staple, and promise to hold no
staple beyond the sea for the same merchandise. An amendment
disallowed denizens from taking wools, leather, woolfells, or lead
for export, but only strangers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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