5o6 A. D. 1331. 



venting the exportation of money, and for obliging all perfons arriving 

 in, or departing from, England, to exchange their money with his ex- 

 changers Rationed at the feveral ports, (fee above p. 463) now, by his 

 own authority, licenced fifhermen bringing in herrings and other fifli 

 for the fuftenance of the people of the coimtry, to receive money in 

 payment for their flfh, and carry it away without being obliged to carry 

 it to the exchangers, provided they gave fecurity not to a6l contrary to 

 the tenor of the ordinance, or a£t, referred to. [Fcedera, V. iv, p. 500.] 

 Thofe fifhermen were apparently foreigners, and more fkilful than the 

 fifhermen of England. 



December 29'" — A tafle for foreign horfes appears to have long pre- 

 vailed with the kings and nobles of England. In the year 121 2 King 

 John paid no lefs than 58 marks for two Lombard horfes, bought for 

 him by the agency of a Flemifh knight ; and next year he bought 1 00 

 great horfes from the countefs of Flanders. [Eymer's Coll. ins. V. i, n\ 

 62. — Rot. pat. 1 S Johati. a tergo.'] In 1241 the earl Marlhal rode an 

 Italian horfe, by which he was killed ; and we may fuppofe that Span- 

 ifh and Italian horfes were pretty common at this time in England, as 

 it was thought worthy of remark, that the army of Scotland in 1244 

 had good horfes, though they were not Spanilh or Italian. [M. Paris, 

 PP- 565, 645.] But even the Scots, according to the Norwegian account 

 of Hacon's expedition, had many Spanifh horfes at the battle of Largs 

 in 1263*. In 1309 King Edward II fent to Lombardy for thirty war 

 horfes (' dextrariis') and twelve draught horfes (' jumentis'). In 13 13 

 he fent a merchant to Spain to purchafe thirty war horfes ; and at an- 

 other time he commilTioned two Spaniards to buy war horfes for him 

 in Spain, and put a thoufand marks into their hands. But the death of 

 one of them having put a flop to the bufmefs, Edward III, now 

 defiring to have it accomplifhed, fent an agent to recover the money, 

 and to purchafe fifty horfes f : and in order to forward the bufmefs, and 

 obtain leave to bring the horfes out of Spain and through France, he 

 wrote to the king of Spain, the magiflrates of Burgos, the furviving 

 agent employed by his father, the executors of the deceafed one, and to 

 the king of France. He alfo fent for lix war horfes, or courfers, from 

 Sicily in the year 1335. \Foedera, V. 'in, pp. 124, 394; V. 'vf,pp. 505, 

 561, 658.] By fuch feledions of choice horfes out of every country 

 has the Engli(h breed of horfes been gradually brought to that degree 

 of perfedion, that they are now eagerly fought for in many parts of the 

 continent, and contribute to fwell the vafl amount of the Britifli ex- 

 ports. 



• The Arabian horfe belonging to Alexander 6f, Hil for each. They muft liave been very cofl- 



I, king of Scotland, in the beginning of the ly horfes by the time of their arrival in England, 



twelfth century, was probably a fohtary rarity. Many prices of horfes in tiic lime of Edward I, 



•(• If he allowed 1 000 marks for 50 horfes, the fome as high as 70 marks, may be found in Lil/t_r 



price waa very liberal indeed : no Wfs lliaii (^13, ccnlrarcl. gardcrclg Edw. 1, p. 173 ct pajftm. 



