Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/357

Originnl Bocumtnts. ON THE USE OF TIN IN GIRDLES IN THE 14th CENTURY. TnE following writ, enrolled among the letters patent, anno 10, Edward 3, (part ], nieni. 20,) was issued shortly before the creation of the Duchy of Cornwall, and whilst John of Eltham, the king's brother, received the revenues of the Devonshire stannaries as Earl of Cornwall and grantee of the stannaries in that county. It recites the charter which former kings had granted to the tinners of Devon, authorising them to sell at pleasure, and without impediment, all the tin duly weighed at the three coinage towns, viz., Tavistock, Ashburton and Chagford, upon payment of coinage dues. It further recites the complaint of the tinners and their customers that the mayor and bailiffs of Bristol had impeded them in the working and purchase of the tin. It appears that the mayor and bailiffs had forbidden the men of Bristol to use tin in the making of girdles for sale, under colour of certain letters patent granted to the Mystery of Girdlers of the City of London, whereby the artificers of that craft, as well in London as in other cities and boroughs, were restrained from using, in the garniture of girdles of silk, wool, leather or linen, any metal inferior to laton, battery, iron, and steel. If any were worked with lead, pewter, tin, or other counterfeit material, they were to be burnt by order of the mayor or wardens of the trade. The result of this restriction was to check the sale of tin, and thereby to diminish both the coinage dues of the Earl and the revenue of the Queen to whom the farm of Bristol had been assigned, and generally to discourage the tinners and prejudice the commonalty. The writ commands the mayor of Bristol to withdraw the prohibition, and permit the men of that city to work and sell tin, as theretofore they had been used, notwithstanding the above letters to the Girdlers of London to the contrary. I am not sufficiently acquainted with the economy of girdle-making in the 14th century to explain why or in what respect lead, pewter, and tin were con- sidered inferior to laton, battery, iron, or steel, as materials in the composition of a girdle ; or why the foraier should be considered as spurious articles. The latter certainly have the advantage in hardness and wear; but as none of the forbidden metals could well be mistaken for brass, iron, or steel, it is not clear why the government should have taken the trouble to interfere in the matter. It is impossible to give to mediaeval legislatures credit for any remarkable commercial sagacity, or for unmixed honesty of purpose ; and I am the less disposed to do so in this instance, seeing that the personal emolument of the King's brother and consort appears to have been the principle, if not the sole, motive for releasing the complainants from the operation of the King's own ordinance. The earliest of the charters to the tinners of Devon, above referred to, was granted in 33 Edward I., and is printed in Pearce's Stannaries, p. 186. The charter to the Girdlers of London, noticed in the writ, was granted in the first year of the reign of Edward III., (Rot. Pat. 1 Ed. III., part 1, mem. 14). It is recited in two petitions to parliament noticed hereafter.