‘1258.—In this yeare was an exceeding great dearth, insomuch that a quarter of wheat was sold at London for foure and twentie shillings, whereas within two or three yeares before, a quarter was sold at two shillings. It had been more dearer, if great store had not come out of Almaine; for in France and in Normandie it also failed. But there came fiftie great ships fraught with wheat and barlie, with meale and bread out of Dutch land, by the procurement of Richard, King of Almaine, which greatlie releeved the poore; for proclamation was made, and order taken by the King, that none of the citizens of London should buy anie of that graine to laie it up in store, whereby it might be sold at an higher price unto the needie. But, though this provision did much ease, yet the want was great over all the realme. For it was certainlie affirmed that in three shires within the realme there was not found so much graine of that yeare’s growth as came over in those fiftie ships. The proclamation was set forth to restrein the Londoners from ingrossing up that graine, and not without cause; for the wealthie citizens were evill spoken of in that season, bicause in time of scarcitie they would either staie such ships as, fraught with vittels, were comming towards the citie, and send them some other way forth, or else buy the whole, that they might sell it by retaile, at their pleasure, to the needie. By means of this great dearth and scarcitie, the common people were constrained to live upon herbs and roots, and a great number of the poore people died through famine. They died so thicke that there were great pits made in churchyards to laie the dead bodies in, one upon another. ‘1289.—There insued such continuall raine, so distempering the ground, that corne waxed verie deare, so that whereas wheat was sold before at three pence a bushell, the market so rose by little and little that it was sold for two shillings a bushell, and so the dearth increased still almost for the space of 40 yeares, till the death of Edward the Second, in so much that sometimes a bushel of wheat, London measure, was sold at ten shillings. 1294.—This yeare in England was a great dearth and scarcity of corne, so that a quarter of wheat in manie places was sold for thirtie shillings; by reason whereof poor people died in manie places for lack of sustnance.