The Story of LondonWheatley, Henry B. (Henry Benjamin)
History
The Story of London
Wheatley, Henry B. (Henry Benjamin)
London (England) -- History
It is worthy of note that during Brembre's mayoralty, in 1378, Nicholas
Twyford, one of the sheriffs, was brought up for contumacy towards the
Mayor, and punished for the same. There had been a conflict in Cheapside
between the goldsmiths and the pepperers (grocers), and John Worsele,
one of the sheriff's suite, was brought before the Mayor as a principal
mover in the strife. Twyford refused to do the Mayor's behests as to the
imprisonment of his follower after arrest.[231]
With the fall of the King, Brembre also fell, and there was a revolution
in the government of the city as well as in that of the country.
Northampton was released from Tintagel Castle, and restored to his
property; and Brembre was tried for his life, condemned to death, and
executed in the Tower in February 1388. The companies who petitioned for
Brembre's punishment were Mercers, Cordwainers, and eight others, all
opposed to the victualling trades.
In 1387 a proclamation was made in the city, by the King's command,
forbidding, on pain of death and forfeiture of goods, all true lieges of
London to speak evil of the King and Queen. The issuing of this
proclamation in the city formed one of the charges of high treason
against Brembre and his followers.
In this same year, 1387, a book of civic regulations called _Jubile_,
promulgated by John de Northampton and his party, was ordered to be
burnt. Mr. Riley refers to the petitions in Parliament for
1386-1387,[232] where we learn from the petition of the Cordwainers
against Nicholas Brembre and his adherents that in this book of _Le
Jubile_ 'were comprised all the good articles pertaining to the good
governance of the said city, and that Nicholas Extone, the Mayor, and
all the aldermen and good Commons of the city had sworn for ever to
maintain them, to the honour of God and the profit of the common people;
but that the said Nicholas Extone and his accomplices have burnt it
without consent of the good Commons of the city, to the annihilation of
many good liberties, franchises and customs of the city.'[233]
The feuds of those days continued to agitate the city for some years,
but at last the differences between the various trades cooled down
somewhat. In 1391, however, a proclamation was issued that 'no person
shall speak or give his opinion as to either Nicholas Brembre or John
Norhamptone' on pain of imprisonment for a year and a day. The preamble
is as follows: 'Whereas many dissensions, quarrels and false reports
have prevailed in the City of London as between trade and trade, person
and person, because of divers controversies lately moved between
Nicholas Brembre, knight, and John Norhamptone, of late Mayors of the
same city, who were men of great power and estate, and had many
friendships and friends within the same; to the great peril of the same
city, and maybe of all the realm.'[234]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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