This is a petition from English merchants to the king, about a disagreement over trade in Middelburg in the Netherlands. It was sent in 1426. Catalogue ref: SC 8/126/6265.
The English merchants ask the King to send letters to the officials of Middelburg to return goods taken from certain merchants. They say that although relations between the merchants and the authorities were good, recently some merchants have been badly treated. Therefore, they asked for letters of safe conduct from the authorities of Middelburg. These letters were given but certain merchants were still arrested and imprisoned. They were forced to hand over their keys and goods.
Transcript
For the Duke of Bedford, 18 March.
All of the English merchants that use and frequent the ports of Holland, Zeeland, Flanders and Brabant plead, that for a long time it was usual – and by a good, friendly and old alliance continued between all the English merchants and the merchants of the said ports of Holland, Zeeland, Flanders and Brabant – for merchandise to enter and for bodies (people) and goods to come and go safely, to return, stay and sojourn (that is to say, the said English merchants to and from the said ports of Holland, Zeeland, Flanders and Brabant and the merchants of those ports to and from the realm of England). Until recently when the factors (commercial agents; someone who buys and sells on someone else’s behalf) and attorneys of the English merchants mentioned above who were in the town of Middelburgh in Zeeland were not treated in such a good and favourable way as they had been in every time before, but in a more strange and unfriendly way. So to avoid more trouble and inconvenience that were likely to grow and rise between the said merchants because of hostile reports spoken openly among the common people, the said factors and attorneys to safeguard themselves and save their ship’s goods and their master’s merchandise asked the governors of the said town of Middelburgh to treat their bodies, goods and merchandise well as they had continuously for a long time before. Whereupon a safe conduct (letter) was granted, made and delivered to the said factors and attorneys by the Bailly burghmasters and eskevins of the said town of Middelburgh on behalf of and in the name of their lord, which can plainly be seen in a copy of the same safe conduct letter attached to this plea. And notwithstanding the said safe conduct [letter] the second day of January last the said factors and attorneys were arrested and imprisoned with great violence among felons and man-killers and kept in prison and held for 9 days and 9 nights, being in great dread and worry for their lives, inasmuch that in the said time none of their friends or wellwishers could speak with them and such people who tormented them menaced and constrained them to deliver their keys and tell them where all of the goods of the said merchants were and they broke down the doors of those who would not give up their keys and took their goods away and the said factors and attorneys have no knowledge where, to perpetual distruction of the said merchants unless gracious redress might be had in the said port. So if it pleases the king our sovereign lord by the advice of his very wise council and to the high and mighty prince the Duke of Bedford to grant and command their letters directed to the Bailly burghmasters and eskevins of the said town of Middelburgh for the deliverance of the said factors and attorneys ships’ goods and merchandise or else all of the value of them with all their costs, scathes, harms and damages that they have suffered by the same wrongs in any way for the love of God and by way of charity.
Simplified transcript
For the Duke of Bedford, 18 March.
All of the English merchants that use the ports of Holland, Zeeland, Flanders and Brabant [now the Netherlands] say that for a long time it was normal for merchants to go back and forward freely between the Netherlands and England because of an old agreement between them.
Recently, the English merchants who were in the town of Middleburgh in Zeeland started to be treated badly by the people there. To avoid trouble, the merchants asked the people in charge of the town to give them a safe conduct letter, that said they were allowed to trade in the town and no one would harm them. The people in charge of the town gave them a safe conduct letter.
However, even though they had a safe conduct letter, on January the second all of the English merchants were arrested and put in prison with criminals and murderers and held in prison for nine days and nine nights. They were very worried that they would be hurt, and they could not speak with any of their friends.
While the English merchants were in prison, the people of Middelburgh demanded their keys and stole all their goods. So, the English merchants ask the king and the prince to write a letter to the people in charge of Middelburgh to ask for their goods back, or to ask for the value of all of their goods.
« Return to Medieval agreements and arguments- What language is this petition in?
- How is this different to Source 1 and Source 2?
- Can you read any of the words in Source 3?
- This kind of document is called a petition. What is a petition today? How does a medieval petition look different?
- What happens to the merchants, and what do they want from the king?
- What do you think might have happened next, and how do you think we could find out?