Notwithstanding the Civil Wars of the Roses, agriculture was prosperous and foreign trade largely increased. The latter was well represented by Sir Richard Whittington, thrice mayor of London, who, according to tradition, lent Henry V large sums of money, and then at an entertainment which he gave to the King and Queen in his city mansion, generously canceled the debt by throwing the bonds into the open sandalwood fire. There is a fine fresco, representing this scene, in the Royal Exchange, London. Goldsmiths from Lombardy had now settled in London in such numbers as to give the name of Lobard Street to the quarter they occupied. They succeeded the Jews in the business of money lending and banking, and Lombard Street still remains famous for its bankers and brokers. VI. Mode of Life, Manners, and Customs 326. Dress. Great sums were spent on dress by both sexes, and the courtiers' doublets, or jackets, were of the most costly silks and velvets, elaborately puffed and slashed. During the latter part of the period the pointed shoes, which had formerly been of prodigious length, suddenly began to grow broad, with such rapidity that Parliament passed a law limiting the width of the toes to six inches. At the same time the court ladies adopted the fashion of wearing horns as huge in proportion as the noblemen's shoes. The government tried legislating them down, and the clergy fulminated a solemn curse against them; but fashion was more powerful than Church and Parliament combined, and horns and hoofs came out triumphant. EIGHTH PERIOD[1] "One half her soil has walked the rest In poets, heroes, martyrs, sages!" O. W. Holmes Political Reaction--Absolutism of the Crown--The English Reformation and the New Learning Crown or Pope? House of Tudor (1485-1603) Henry VII, 1485-1509 Henry VIII, 1509-1547 Edward VI, 1547-1553 Mary, 1553-1558 Elizabeth, 1558-1603 [1] Reference Books on this period will be found in the Classified List of Books in the Appendix. The pronunciation of names will be found in the Index. The Leading Dates stand unenclosed; all others are in parentheses. 327. Union of the Houses of Lancaster and York. Before leaving the Continent Henry Tudor (S314) had promised the Yorkist party that he would marry Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Edward IV (see Genealogical Table, p. 179), and sister to the young Princes murdered by Richard III (S310). Such a marriage would unite the rival houses of Lancaster and York, and put an end to the civil war. A few months after the new King's accession the wedding was duly celebrated, and in the beautiful east window of stained glass in Henry VII's Chapel, Westminster Abbey, the Roses are seen joined; so that, as the quaint verse of that day says: