Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776: June 2011 (Sixth) EditionReilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776: June 2011 (Sixth) Edition
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 This was repealed a year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.
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