By the Rev. W. II. Jones. 



145 



striking testimony of the extent at that time, of the wool trade in 

 England and the activity of the Flemish weavers. It was, in fact, 

 the great demand for English wool in Flanders, Artois, and Bra- 

 bant, that led to one place on the continent being fixed upon as 

 the " staple " or market for its sale. In the time of Edward II. 

 it was probably fixed at Antwerp (about 1312) ; and a few years 

 afterwards in (1320) several places are named in England as those 

 from which it might be exported ; the object of these enactments 

 being, of course, the collection, with the greater facility, of the 

 customs due to the Crown. 



There is room for doubting the accuracy of the opinions already 

 referred to as to the Merchants of the Staple being an associated and 

 trading company, properly so called, with considerable and exclusive 

 privileges belonging to them. Mr. Duke combats these views and 

 certainly not without a good show of reason. He holds that the 

 Merchants of the Staple were a class of men rather than the 

 members of any particular guild, and by the term itself understands 

 generally any persons who traded in any or all of the staple articles 

 of merchandize at any of the "staples" or public markets where 

 they were appointed to be collected and sold. It was open, he 

 thinks, to any man who was possessed of sufficient capital for the 

 enterprize to become such a merchant, but before he was recognized 

 and duly accredited as such, he was obliged to take an oath to 

 maintain the laws of the " staple." Without doubt most of such 

 men, perhaps all, were members of some " guild ; " — a corporation 

 of this kind existing in every town 1 or place of importance ; — and 

 the fact that writers in speaking of these merchants, do not designate 

 them as belonging to any " company " of the staple, but of some 

 other company, of which, even though ignorant of the craft for 

 the furtherance of which such guild was established, they were 

 members, gives additional weight to the probable truth of Mr. 

 Duke's opinion. It must be remembered also that the Merchants 



1 The charter for the Tailor's Guild at Sarum which is still in existence, and 

 is nicely illuminated, was obtained by William Swayne, whose ' ' Merchant's 

 Mark" may be seen in St. Thomas' Church, where he founded a Chantry. The 

 hall of the same Guild is still standing though ruinous. 



VOL. IX. — NO. XXVI. M 



