History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 131

Wales, and Ireland became staple ports for wool. Before 1340 the staple was again in
the Netherlands, but in 1353 it returned to England. There grew up now an
organization of non-staple merchants in the Netherlands, holding privileges from the
Flemish Count, and also governed by a self-chosen mayor, beside the organization of
the staple merchants in England.
Special privileges for purchasing wool were accorded to the Flemish towns by Edward
III; the staple was held at Bruges, to the advantage of that town, but to the
inconvenience of the country purchasers and of Italian merchants, and therefore to the
loss of the English grower. This was not a lasting evil. The organization of the staple at
Calais and the development of the English cloth manufacture changed the conditions
of trade, and the special privileges of the Flemings were discontinued. In 1363 Calais
was the only staple, but only temporarily, for the staple was taken outside English
territory to Middelburg. In 1388 it was removed back to Calais, and but for a short
interruption in 1390, this town remained the recognized staple for English export.
The staple never remained long in Dordrecht or Middelburg. Though Holland did use
some of the wool, yet by far the greater users were Flanders and Brabant, and so the
staple was more naturally placed at Bruges or Antwerp. In 1348 and 1349, when the
English merchants were in trouble in Flanders, probably owing to the exclusion of
Flemish merchants from the trade, the staple was shifted to Middelburg, but this again
was only a temporary arrangement through force of circumstances. In 1350 it was
again in Bruges. There were further attempts in the last quarter of the 14th century to
bring the staple to Zeeland, and with some success, for in 1383 Duke Albrecht granted
a charter and great privileges of trade and protection to English merchants. The cause
was the risings of the Flemings against their Count, and with the cessation of the
troubles the staple was removed in 1388 from Middelburg to Calais.
The privileges which English merchants sought and obtained in Zeeland in 1389 and
1392 seem to be staple privileges, but refer probably to cloth and not to wool. The
banding of this body of merchants is the first sign of the split which separated the
Merchant Adventurers, dealing in other commodities, from the Merchants of the
Staple, dealing in wool. In 1407 this new body obtained the right to organize
themselves, and in 1408 and 1413 more privileges from Willem VI. It is known that the
foundations of the trade of the Merchant Adventurers was cloth, so they were not
welcome in Flanders, itself a cloth-exporting country. These merchants in Zeeland
were Londoners, and we know that the Merchant Adventurers had their origin in
London.
3. 3.
A large share of English trade was in the hands of Flemish merchants. The trade of
the Flemish cities was more closely connected with the English wool production than
was that of any other country. Ghent, Bruges, Ypres, Courtrai, Arras, and a number of
other cities in Flanders and the adjacent provinces of the Netherlands and France had
become populous and rich, principally from their weaving industry. For the
manufacture of fine fabrics they needed the English wool, and in turn their fine woven
goods were in constant demand for the use of the wealthier classes in England. The
fine cloths, linens, cambrics, cloth of gold and silver, tapestries, and hangings were
the product of the looms of the Flemish cities. Other fine manufactured goods, such as

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