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A Country Merchant, 1495-1520: Trading and Farming at the End of the Middle Ages

Online ISBN:
9780191740954
Print ISBN:
9780199214242
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
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A Country Merchant, 1495-1520: Trading and Farming at the End of the Middle Ages

Christopher Dyer
Christopher Dyer
Emeritus Professor of Local History, University of Leicester
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Published online:
20 September 2012
Published in print:
17 May 2012
Online ISBN:
9780191740954
Print ISBN:
9780199214242
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

A wool merchant on the edge of the Cotswolds, John Heritage of Moreton in Marsh, traded between 1498 and 1520, and kept a record of his business in an account book. At this time commerce played a major role in English society, and although the wool trade was in decline, Heritage was still active in gathering wool from the producers and supplying the London merchants who sent it overseas. He was also making large profits from farming, by grazing large flocks of sheep and selling wool and animals. The general trends in society that are illuminated by this one trader include the importance of the enclosure movement, which enabled a small number of graziers and farmers to supply the market for wool and meat efficiently from specialized pastures. More important, however, were the large numbers of peasant producers who each sold relatively small quantities of wool, but cumulatively provided a high proportion of the surplus. Peasants could make a profit from the skilful management of the open fields which were attached to their villages, and this was not therefore just an age of rampant individualism. The village was still very active, and there were tensions between acquisitive individuals and the peasant communities, which could lead to the collapse of the village, but sometimes the encloser and grazier met with effective resistance.

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