48 REINHOLD PAULI, 



piperarius, for a peperer by his occupacion and no grocer. To under- 

 stande all ther names of craftes hath ben corporatid within a 140yere^) 

 by reson that London syns that tyme occupied into Flaunders caryeng 

 owt of the reame all such merchandisez into Flaunders, which all straunge 

 nierchauntes before that tyme bought in all havyn townes within the 

 reame, than all havyn townes by processe of tyme decayed in conclusion 

 utterly distroyd as is to see. So as after London hadd goten all the re- 

 course of the hol! riche comodites to passe by ther handes carieng it 

 owt of England into Flaunders, than begane London to brede and en- 

 crease merchaunt adventurers, of which the mercers, that tyme callid 

 lynyn drapers, Avere the first in London, that to bye lynnyn clothe, callid 

 that tyme whit wäre, they to bye it at the first hande in the Loo con- 

 treys in Flaunders , after the narow see was English began first to be 

 adventurers. etc. etc. etc. 



A lettre to my maister I can not teil from whom. 



Please it your Mastership to consider, wher I have bene your ser- 

 vaunt in my mynd this three yers takyng tyme labour and payne to 

 help to sett forth the knoledge of the right order of comen weale of all 

 peple in the realme, to the entent that ye shuld help the kyng to sett 

 it up to be mynestrid in exemplum to all other realmes. And right sory 

 have I been, that your mastership wolde never inwardly see and know 

 the image of the kyng upbering upon his shulders the chirch of Crist 

 in his hevynly manhode, which is signyfied in an ordinary seale of his 

 hedde office. Non other right order can be of a comen weale but by 



1) Von den zwölf grossen, den sog. Livery companies, besitzen nur die Fish- 

 mongers eine Incorporationscharte , die bis auf Eduard I. zurückgeht. Stubbs, Con- 

 stitutional History of England III, 574. 



