History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 132

armour and weapons, glass and furniture, and articles which had been brought in the
way of trade to the Netherlands were all exported thence and sold in England.
The Flemish merchants who habitually engaged in the English trade were organized
amongst themselves in a company known as the ‘Flemish Hanse of London’. A
considerable number of towns held such membership in the organization that the
citizens could take part in the trade and share the benefits and privileges of the
society, and no citizen of these towns could trade in England without paying the dues
and submitting himself to the rules of the Hanse.
Henry III and Edward I had given special protection to Flemings who visited England
to buy wool. Flemish merchants seem to have visited Scotland for the same purpose,
for we find Edward II attempting to stop the traffic. In 1347 a staple was established at
Middelburg, of which Scotsmen appointed the mayor, and after this date the trade was
probably chiefly in the hands of Scotsmen, and Scottish wool passed either to
Middelburg or to the neighbouring port of Vere. Edward III, in his anxiety to conciliate
his Flemish allies, gave them special permission in 1337 to visit England and
purchase the wool which was necessary for the manufactures in each town and
district. When the staple for wool was held in England, the actual export trade would
be generally in the hands of alien merchants.
3. 4.
The great trade in wool with Flanders was carefully organized and its importance is
obvious; the trade with Holland and Zeeland, not so great and hardly organized at all,
tends to have its importance ignored. The intercourse must have been considerable.
Ruinen has compiled statistics for part of the 14th century and shows that about 1319
no less than 162 ships from Holland and Zeeland came to Yarmouth, Lynn, Boston,
and other ports in Norfolk and Suffolk. Between 1310 and 1370 he has details of the
visit of another 144 ships, all except four to east coast ports. There is much less
evidence for the presence of English traders in Holland and Zeeland during the same
per