Cloth in 14th Century England

England in the 14th century was a time with a wave of difficulties. There were a number of events that struck the country, contributing to decrease in population, and the fall of the economy. The famine stuck, leaving people with no food to eat, or crops to sell. Another huge contributor was the plague that left a massive amount of people dead. Additionally, 14th century England was filled with numerous battles. In its own way, each of these events affected job availability, and quality of life.




In order to make a living, people began to depend on trade. The buying and selling of cloth was an item that was greatly valued and widely spread. In addition to its importance for trade purposes, cloth served as a major indicator of rank within social classes. As the demand icreased, the cloth industry began to boom. Typically, making cloth was a labor-intensive process and required a large amount of people. The workers varied between men, women, and children. This was difficult, because often workers were putting in long hours, with no days off. The industries began to expand, and people were finding new ways to make mass productions of cloth in a more efficient manner. This positively affected England and its economy. There was a major increase in capital. The quality and expectations of the skills required to work in the industry were enhanced, as well as a seen decrease in unemployment levels overall.




A class that greatly contributed to the expansion of the trade market were the peasants. Despite being looked down on poorly from the upper class, the peasants successfully produced a large portion of the cloth goods that were traded. They were able to raise flocks of sheep in large amounts. This allowed them to produce enough fleece to sell all over the continent. They would then collect the fleece and sell it to English clothiers, or large manufacturers. This allowed for mass production, and readily available wool for trade.



This picture depicts how large amounts of sheep were raised together in order to produce mass amounts of fleece for trade.



The evolution of cloth not only established the English economy during the 14th century, but also established trade. The economy during this time was directionally proportional to the levels of trade production. When cloth production was high, the economy was flourishing, and understandingly, when people were not trading with one another, the economy took a hit. England often traded with neighboring countries. In the 14th century, England and Scotland often went back and forth over the trade of wool. Ultimately the English produced wool that contained a greater quality, while the Scottish had pieces which were thick, and of a lesser quality. This built up the English economy, because the quality of their wool was more valued, they were getting better feedback.




Today, one might not value the importance of an item such as cloth. It has become a regular part of everyday life. However, without the trade and production of cloth, England in the 14th century might not have been able to bounce back from the condition they were in at the time. Cloth, and its market set a platform that allowed for expansion of the economy, jobs for the people of England, and a stronger establishment of trade with other countries.