COMMENCEMENT OF MARKETS AND FAIRS.

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one of these it appears that a certain proportion of the price of everything bought and sold in the borough of Lewes was to be paid to the portreeve, the buyer and seller each paying one-half of the The amount of the tax to be paid on the sale of a slave was fixed at four pennies, without reference to the price obtained; the sale of slaves being then, and for a long time afterwards, recognized by law.

tax.

The establishment of markets and fairs tended in those times to counteract the prejudicial effects of the restraints on trade which the regulations we have noticed imposed. The markets were a great convenience to persons living at a distance from towns, and for their accommodation they were fixed, in the first instance, on Sundays, and were held close to the churches, so that those who came from a distance to discharge their religious duties might at the same time purchase the articles they should want during the week. This mingling of religious with secular affairs was not, however, found compatible with the interests of religion; therefore the priests exerted their influence to have the market days changed; and they succeeded in having Saturday substituted for Sunday. To suit the convenience of the country people, the fairs also were fixed on days when they were accustomed to visit the towns to celebrate the festivals of their patron saints. At each of these markets and fairs persons were appointed by the lord of the manor to superintend the sales and to collect the duties levied on them.

The blending of the separate states of the Heptarchy into one monarchy was very beneficial to trade, as it put an end to the internal commotions that were continually distracting attention from the arts of peace and destroying confidence in the possession of property. It had the effect, also, of giving greater importance to the kingdom in the estimation of foreigners, who, consequently, repaired here with their merchandise more freely. The Danish pirates, however, were a serious hindrance to the foreign trade, for they infested the seas in such numbers as to make it dangerous for ships to attempt to cross the channel, until the naval power of England was restored by Alfred. That great king encouraged his subjects to make voyages of discovery and to open new sources of trade abroad. He opened a communication with Asia by sending a priest named Sighelm on a mission of charity to the Coromandel coast, to carry relief to a Christian colony settled there, which he was informed was in great

78

FOREIGN COMMERCE OF KING ALFRed.

distress. That priest, it is stated, penetrated into India, and "brought home jewels of a new kind, with which that country very much abounds."

Foreign commerce greatly increased under the auspices of Alfred, who collected from various sources valuable treasures from the East. Asserius, a monk who wrote a work on the affairs of England at that time, mentions that one morning, after Alfred had made him a grant of two abbeys with all their furniture, he presented him with a very fine silk cloak "and as much frankincense as a strong man could carry."

Commerce declined after the death of Alfred in consequence of the renewed incursions of the Danes; but his grandson Athelstane endeavoured to revive it and to give additional stimulus to commercial enterprise. With that object in view he made a law that “if a mariner or merchant so prosper as to make three voyages over the seas with a ship and cargo of his own he shall be advanced to the honour and dignity of a thane." He also established mints in the principal towns that had foreign trade, to facilitate the coinage of

money.

The number of ships belonging to England had been much diminished after the death of Alfred; but in the middle of the tenth century Edgar made a great effort to increase the commercial navy, which he raised from one hundred ships to three hundred; and some Saxon writers, in their anxiety to magnify the power and glory of that prince, estimate the number of ships at upwards of three thousand. One of the laws made by Edgar to facilitate traffic enacted that all the money coined in the kingdom should be of one standard, and that the Winchester measure should be the only one used. In the succeeding reign of Ethelred, the wittenagemot held at Wantage passed laws for regulating the customs to be paid by ships at Billingsgate. It appears, from the proceedings of the wittenagemot, that there were then residing in London a company of German merchants, called "emperor's men," who were compelled to pay to the king, twice every year, in return for the protection afforded them, a tribute consisting of two pieces of gray cloth, one piece of brown cloth, ten pounds of pepper, five pairs of gloves, and two casks of wine. This company afterwards became well known as the Merchants of the Steelyard.

When Canute the Danc seized possession of the throne he suc

ceeded in improving the commerce of the country by the wisdom of his measures, supported by his extensive authority. In 1031 he made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he entered into treaty with the Emperor Conrad II., by which he obtained liberty for all his subjects, merchants as well as pilgrims, to travel through France free from all tolls. Under the protection of Canute, the merchants of England, especially those of London, flourished and acquired a degree of importance greater than they had previously possessed. At the commencement of the next reign several of them attended the great council of the nation at Oxford, "where there were present nearly all the thanes to the north of the Thames and the seamen of London, who chose Harold to be their king."* The seamen " here mentioned were most probably those merchants who had been raised to the dignity of thane by making three voyages in their own ships, according to the law of Athelstane.

The imports during the greater portion of the Saxon period consisted of books on religious subjects, relics, pictures, and images of saints, vestments for the clergy, and ornaments for the churches. Venice had become the chief depository for the goods from the East, and was visited by British merchants, who brought from that city precious stones, gold, silver, silks, linen, spices, drugs, etc. The principal articles of export from England were slaves, horses, and other animals. Scarcely any corn was exported from this country after the departure of the Romans; the state of internal disorganization which continued for the most part of the Saxon dominion having checked the cultivation of the soil, and the quantity of corn produced was frequently not sufficient for the consumption of the inhabitants. The balance of trade, nevertheless, was in favour of this country, and foreign coin circulated extensively; so much so, indeed, that nearly all large payments for the sale of land, donations to churches, and valuable legacies were made in foreign money. This circumstance is the more remarkable, as the frequent exactions of the Danes, the tribute of Peter's pence to Rome, and coin taken from the kingdom by princes and pilgrims, in their visits to the Continent and to Rome, must have caused a heavy drain on the precious metals in the country.

There is much uncertainty respecting the actual value of the various denominations of Saxon coins. The following are given on "Saxon Chronicle."

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SAXON COINS AND PRICES.

good authorities as an approximation of the weights of the different silver coins, with their metallic values at the present time:—

A curious distinction was made by the Saxons of living money and dead money; the former consisting of slaves, horses, cattle, and other live animals, which, having a fixed value, were regarded as money, to be given in exchange for other commodities.

The prices of the following articles about the end of the tenth century, in metallic value corresponding with an equal amount of silver at the present day, were:

At the same period, an acre of the best land could be bought for four shillings of our money, or for one-third the price of an ass, and the latter animal, it will be observed, sold for double the price of an ox.

The readers of Shakspeare may be somewhat surprised to find the name of Macbeth associated with the progress of commerce in Great Britain; but the records of history have rescued the memory of the "Thane of Fife" from the black obloquy thrown on it by the poet.

MACBETH IN A NEW CHARACTER.

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The ruthless murderer and tyrant of the play was in truth one of Scotland's best kings, and in his reign that kingdom enjoyed considerable foreign trade, founded on its fishery. Macbeth, about the year 1040, made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he "won golden opinions from all sorts of men by his charities, and after his return to Scotland he died peaceably in his bed, undisturbed by the vengeance of Macduff or by the incantations of the "weird sisters.” foreign trade of Scotland was opened as early as the year 836, when the people of the Netherlands resorted there for salted fish, which the Scotch were successful in curing. The Netherlanders, however, at last learned the art themselves, and discontinued their trade with Scotland, from which the natives had derived great benefit.

The

CHAPTER II.

FROM THE CONQUEST TO THE ACCESSION OF HENRY VIII.

THE Norman Conquest was by no means so prejudicial to the interests of commerce as might be supposed. Though the Anglo-Saxons suffered much oppression from the haughty barons, and the pursuits of industry were despised by them, yet other counteracting circumstances more than compensated for that discouragement. The free communication that was opened with Normandy, in the first instance, introduced a greater variety of foreign produce, whilst the frequent expeditions to the Continent excited constant attention to foreign trade and to maritime affairs generally; and when, in the progress of events during the Norman-Saxon period, some of the richest provinces of France became annexed to the English crown, the increased intercourse with those provinces gave additional stimulus to commerce. Another important incentive to the trade of the country was produced by the immigration of Jews, who came over, for the first time, shortly after the Conquest, and those people, who, in an eminent degree, possess the faculty of trading, assisted materially in furthering the progress of commerce. William also invited foreigners to come to this country by offers of protection.

The encouragement given to foreign merchants by the Conqueror and by subsequent sovereigns was displeasing to the people, who

G