ON THE PRICE OF LABOUR. 505 



cost becomes comparatively easy; and the student of prices will 

 find that high or low wages of labour were entirely unaffected 

 by any commission paid to middle men. 



It is probable that good workmen had to be sought for. 

 My readers will find that efforts were made to prevent artisans 

 already hired by private persons for extensive works from being 

 imprest for the king's service (Vol. Ill, p. 732), and charges were 

 incurred in presents to the officers of the court and the king's 

 works. The wages paid by Chichele for building All Souls are 

 nearly as high as those customary in London. There is reason 

 to believe that some of the charges incurred for labour by other 

 corporations were dictated by the necessity there was, or 

 appeared to be, to keep specially useful or important artisans to 

 their bargain. Perhaps even at an early date the crown was a 

 better paymaster than the subject. The carpenters at Windsor, 

 four in number (Vol. Ill, p. 587, ii), are each paid 6d. a day for 

 the whole number of days (365) in the year, from Michaelmas 

 1408 to Michaelmas 1409. But though the increase of wages 

 was significant to the recipient, it was comparatively unim- 

 portant in the aggregate of expenditure. 



My reader will find (Vol. Ill, p. 589, iv, and onwards) what 

 was the rate of wages paid when the labourer was boarded, 

 and what was the cost of board. In 1414 the latter is at an 

 average of 8d. a week, in 1416 9?^., in 1417 8^d., in 1418 9^., 

 in 1419 9!^., in 1420 8J^., in 1423 9^d., in 1424 yd., in 1425-7 

 9^., in 1436 Sd. In 1438, the famine year of the fifteenth 

 century, it costs is. 6d. a week. It would seem the King's 

 Hall, by which three charges are incurred, contracted for their 

 labourers' board. I have taken the averages from all kinds of 

 labour, but the maintenance of the artisan is more costly than 

 that of the common or unskilled labourer. Thus in 1438 the 

 former costs 2s. a week, the latter is. 



The rate at which the mason and other artisans are paid 

 does not differ much from that at which the carpenter's services 

 are hired. On an estimate of the first 140 years the wages of 

 the mason, the tiler, and the plumber do not vary beyond a 



