I wasn't sure whether to post this here in History or in Writing Resources, as it may be of interest to those of use who write medieval-type fantasy, so this might get moved.
I went to an interesting talk the other night on the trade into Southampton in the past, from the Roman period, through Anglo-Saxon settlements and on to the Middle Ages. Most evidence comes from archaeological remains (eg staves of wine barrels, shards of French and Italian pottery and glass etc).
Towards the end the lecturer referred to the Southampton Brokage Books which recorded goods leaving the city by road on which a toll was paid in the C14th and C15th. The books aren't complete, but are still apparently the best documents we have for the period.
One thing that astounded me was the distance some goods were taken. Cart loads were taken to London which was the first surprise. I wouldn't have expected the 80 mile road trip -- until the C18th the best roads in England were still those the Romans built -- to have been cheaper, safer or quicker than the sea route. (I wonder whether customs duties were more expensive or harder to avoid in the capital, though.) But he also said that some goods went as far as the Lake District! And a mill-owner from Birmingham apparently came down to Southampton and bought two millstones and sent for a second cart (he'd come down in one) to take them back to his mill. The odd thing -- apart from the fact Southampton actually had a big millstone selling operation! -- is that the stones were made in Yorkshire and shipped here.
Winchester University has set up the Overland Trade Project which has put the Brokage Books (translated) into an online searchable database.
Here's a page about the books themselves Overland Trade Project - About the Brokage Books
There's an interactive map, which I haven't fully got to grips with (the lecturer warned it was a bit fiddly) which can be used to show where goods were taken, what kind of goods, what carters etc. This screen grab shows "spices" (which includes things like almonds and currants) taken to London -- I can't get it all on the screen, but the illustration box also shows the number of carts making the journey in the years for which they have the books.
While it remains true that most people, even in large towns, wouldn't have moved far from their place of birth, it's clear that there was considerable inland commerce which means carters were travelling all over the country, not just the pedlars we think of going from fair to fair or market to market.
I went to an interesting talk the other night on the trade into Southampton in the past, from the Roman period, through Anglo-Saxon settlements and on to the Middle Ages. Most evidence comes from archaeological remains (eg staves of wine barrels, shards of French and Italian pottery and glass etc).
Towards the end the lecturer referred to the Southampton Brokage Books which recorded goods leaving the city by road on which a toll was paid in the C14th and C15th. The books aren't complete, but are still apparently the best documents we have for the period.
One thing that astounded me was the distance some goods were taken. Cart loads were taken to London which was the first surprise. I wouldn't have expected the 80 mile road trip -- until the C18th the best roads in England were still those the Romans built -- to have been cheaper, safer or quicker than the sea route. (I wonder whether customs duties were more expensive or harder to avoid in the capital, though.) But he also said that some goods went as far as the Lake District! And a mill-owner from Birmingham apparently came down to Southampton and bought two millstones and sent for a second cart (he'd come down in one) to take them back to his mill. The odd thing -- apart from the fact Southampton actually had a big millstone selling operation! -- is that the stones were made in Yorkshire and shipped here.
Winchester University has set up the Overland Trade Project which has put the Brokage Books (translated) into an online searchable database.
Here's a page about the books themselves Overland Trade Project - About the Brokage Books
There's an interactive map, which I haven't fully got to grips with (the lecturer warned it was a bit fiddly) which can be used to show where goods were taken, what kind of goods, what carters etc. This screen grab shows "spices" (which includes things like almonds and currants) taken to London -- I can't get it all on the screen, but the illustration box also shows the number of carts making the journey in the years for which they have the books.
While it remains true that most people, even in large towns, wouldn't have moved far from their place of birth, it's clear that there was considerable inland commerce which means carters were travelling all over the country, not just the pedlars we think of going from fair to fair or market to market.
