Appendix II: Descriptive list of commodities

The Port and Trade of Early Elizabethan London: Documents. Originally published by London Record Society, London, 1972.

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'Appendix II: Descriptive list of commodities', in The Port and Trade of Early Elizabethan London: Documents, (London, 1972) pp. 138-151. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-record-soc/vol8/pp138-151 [accessed 27 April 2024]

II. DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF COMMODITIES

The list is an alternative to a full index. Although all the commodities in the calendar are listed below, reference is only made to their first entry. The descriptions do not claim to be comprehensive: a few commodities remain unidentified while others are too familiar to require explanation. The following books have been especially useful in supplementing the Oxford English Dictionary:

H. R. Schubert, History of the British iron and steel industry (1957)

Oskar de Smedt, De Engelse natie te Antwerpen in de 16e eeuw (Antwerp, 1950, 1954)

H. J. Smit, Bronnen tot de geschiedenis van den handel met Engeland, Schotland en Ierland, 1485–1585. Rijks Geschiedkundige Publicatiën, 86, 91 ('S-Gravenhage, 1942, 1950)

E. M. Veale, English fur trade in the later Middle Ages (Oxford, 1966)

T. S. Willan, Tudor Book of Rates

Almonds, 78

Alum, 574

Andirons, iron, 18; latten, 191. See also Latten

Aniseed, 18

Apples, 110

Argentum vivum, see Quicksilver

Argol, 18. The crude bitartrate of potassium which, when purified, becomes cream of tartar.

Arsenic, 710

Ashes, 480; 'rouse', 660; soap, 437. Wood ashes for making lye, the alkalised water used in cloth manufacture.

Awl blades, 45

'Babies', see Dolls

Backs, iron, 234. Probably chimney backs (q.v.).

Bags, leather, 710

Baking pans, copper, 258. See also Pans

Balances, gold, 808; ounce, 64. See also Weights

Balls, 45. See also Tennis balls, Washing balls

Bands, copper, 155

Barber's cases, 771

Barley, 365

Barlings, 602. 'Barlings or fir-poles' in the 1611 Book of Rates.

Barrels, empty, 154

Basil leather or skin, 154. Sheepskin tanned in bark.

Baskets, 717; wicker, 410. See also Hand baskets

Basnets, latten, 18. Small rounded headpieces with ventail or visor. See also Latten

Bastards, 198. A sweet wine; sometimes applied to any kind of sweetened wine.

Bast-ropes, 559

Basts, 563. Any flexible fibrous bark used in rope-making. See also Cables, Cordage, Hawsers, Rope

Battery, 18. Articles of metal wrought by hammering, especially kettles, cauldrons, etc.

Bays, bay berries, 46. Fruit of the bay laurel tree.

Beads, glass, 18

Beams, wooden, 178

Beaver backs, 805

Beaver bellies, 790

Bed pans, 18

Beds, 339; Ghentish, 154; sealed, 624; of silk, 653

Bells, 213; dog, 729; hawk, 759; horse, 18; morris, 298

Beryllia, 472. Oxide of berylium or glucinum, otherwise called glucina.

Blankets, 45

'Blues', 539, see 539n

Boards, cutting, 670; paste, 487

Bodkins, 643

Books, unbound, 38

Bottles, earthenware, 334; stone, 346; wicker, 2

Bottoms, brass and copper, 294

Boultel, 154; Beaupreau ('Beapers'), 340; Rennes, 155. A cloth used for bolting or sifting meal or flour.

Bowstaves, 33

'Box combs', 395. The Book of Rates lists 'box pieces for combs', rated by the thou. and 'combs the box' with half a gross the box. See also Combs

Boxes, 339; painted, 154; soap, 564

Brazil, 143. A red dye made from the wood of the East Indian tree Caesalpina Sappan.

Brimstone, 18

'Brissels', 46. A fabric, associated perhaps with Brussels.

Bristles, 186

Brooches, lead, 458

Brushes, 383; hair, 539; rubbing, 367; weaver's, 156. See also Comb brushes

Buckles, latten, 756; paper, 18

Buckram, 47; French, 636. A linen cloth, usually Flemish and blue-dyed.

Budge, rumney, 576. Lambskins, the name being derived from Bougie in North Africa, whence skins were exported to Flanders and Brabant. Rumney (Roumenie) was the name given to lambskins from Lombardy.

Bugle, 572; glass, 580

Bustian, 45. A cotton or cotton and linen cloth.

Buttons, glass, 340; Milan, 296; steel, 435

Cables, 3. See also Basts

Calf-forrel, 487. Forrel, a vellum-like parchment for book covers.

Calf skins, 785

Cambric ('Camerick'), 503. A fine white linen cloth from Kamerijk (Cambrai) in Flanders.

Camlet, 45; unwatered, 781; watered, 339. A mixed fabric of uncertain composition but often incorporating silk and probably of high quality. See also Grogram camlet

Candle plates, 18; latten, 703

Candlesticks, 146; latten, 213

Candy, 46; brown, 45. Sugar in large crystallised pieces.

Cans, drinking, 740

Canvas, 2; Bar ('barroys' or 'barras'), 18; Castile, 367; 'clincent', 45; cushion, 535; Dutch packing, 45; Newcastle, 46; Normandy, 156; packing, 2; 'spruce', 647; striped, 156; striped with crewel, 405; striped with silk, 389; Tours, 827; Troys, 367; Vitré ('Vetery'), 67; working, 458. Bar canvas was a coarse linen cloth or packing canvas named after the principality of Bar. 'Clincent' may indicate a shiny or burnished canvas (Middle Dutch cleinson, clinsen = cleansed, shiny: English 'clinquant'). See also Poldavis

Capers, 46

Cap-paper, 337. See also Paper

Cap ribands, 18

Caps, taffeta, 771

Caraway seed, 433

Carpets, 45; Ghentish or sealed, 45; 'turney' (? Tournai or Turnhout), 191; Venice, 46

Carrels, 502. A mixed fabric of silk and linen.

Carving tools, 18

'Catlins', 435. ? catlings, a small surgical knife; or catgut for stringed instruments.

Cauls, 259

Chafing dishes, 2; latten, 389. Vessels which hold burning charcoal or other fuel, for heating purposes.

Chain-lace, crewel, 2. See also Crewel

Chains, see Dog chains, etc.

Chamber stools, 155. See also Close stools

Chamois, 466

'Chaps', 594. ? Chapes or metal pieces attached to buckles, scabbard points, etc.

Checks, check pieces, 154; worsted, 45. Fabric woven with a check or criss-cross pattern.

Cheese, Holland, 110

Chests, 297; Danzig, 632

Chimney backs, 365. Iron plates which protected the back walls of fireplaces. See also Backs

Chimney rakes, iron, 178

Chisels, 340

Cinnamon, 45

Citherns, 305. A stringed musical instrument. See also Gitterns

Clapholt, clap boards, 28. A small size of split oak, used for barrel-staves and wainscotting.

Close stools, 259. See also Chamber stools

Cloth(s), coarse, 628; cradle, 339; dyed, 465. See Eeklo, Gelders, Ghentish, Hamburg, Harnesdale, Olonne cloths.

Cloves, 45

Coal-fish, 240. A fish allied to the cod and found in northern seas.

Cochineal, 213

Codsheads, 239

Colombets, 18. An unidentified cloth; perhaps a variation of 'camlet'.

Coloquintida, 466. Or colocynth, the bitter-apple, used as a purgative.

Comb brushes, 45

Comb cases, 435

Combs, 2; halfpenny, 827; horse, 290; paper, 395; pennyware, 64; quarter, 265; wooden, 457. See also 'Box combs'

Compasses, 4

Cooper's tools, 46

Copper, see Baking pans, Bands, Bottoms, Hangings, Nails, Pans, Wire Copperas, 155. Iron sulphate, used in dyeing, tanning and making ink.

Cord, 516

Cordage, 28. See also Basts

Coriander seed, 45

Cork, 113

Corn powder, 18. Gunpowder that has been granulated. See also Gunpowder

Cotton, unspun, 771. See also Cyprus cotton

Cotton-lace, 360

Cotton wool, 234

Counters, 45. Pieces of metal or other material, used in counting or keeping accounts.

Creepers, 146. A small iron 'dog', placed in pairs on a hearth between the andirons.

Crewel, 18. A worsted yarn. See also Chain-lace, Dornick, Girdles

Crewel lace, 64

Croplings, 3. An inferior kind of stockfish.

Crossbow laths, 462

Cruse, stone, 42. An earthenware pot or jar.

Cucumber seed, 522

Cuit, 198. Wine boiled down to a certain thickness and sweetness.

Cumin, 710. A plant, like fennel, with aromatic seed.

Cupboard, 792

Currants, 757

Curtain rings, 211

Cushion cloths, 335

Cushions, 45

Cyperus, 367. Probably sweet cyperus or gelingale.

Cyprus cotton, 18

Damask, 18; for napkins and towelling, 576

Dates, 45; garbled, 463. Garbled = sifted and cleansed.

Deals, 28; Marienburg ('Meighborro'), 599; spruce, 563

Dials, 234; wooden, 340

Diaper towelling, 237; for napkins and table cloths, 576

Dog chains, 18

Dolls ('Babies'), 491

Dornick, 18; caddis, 367; crewel, 46; French, 236; woollen, 155. Dornick, which takes its name from Doornik in Flanders, was a fine linen cloth. Caddis = crewel.

Doubles, 46; hand, 539; iron, 45. The Book of Rates distinguishes between 'double iron plates', rated by the piece, and double or single plates ('white' or 'black') by the cwt. The distinction is not clear. Iron and other metals were commonly worked into sheets or plates and doubling was a normal method of strengthening them. Grey and white were the two basic types of cast iron. See also Plates

Down, 761

Dripping pans, 154

Drugs, 45

Dudgeon, 18. A wood used for the handle of knives, etc.

Ear picks, 463

Eeklo cloth, 157. Eeklo ('Ecclo') was an important centre of linen-weaving. Eels, 564; dole, 89; pimper-, 216; shaft-, 239; stub-, 205. The difference between these types of eel is obscure. They may indicate distinctions in age and colouring.

Epithyme, 522. A plant used in medicine.

Ermine, 805

Falcon, 21. Also entered as tercel-gentle ('tassell gentill') = a male falcon.

Fans, 19

Feathers, 21; ostrich, 591

Felts, felt hats, 415

Fenugreek ('Venecreke'), 730. A leguminous plant cultivated for its seeds, which were used both medicinally and to provide a yellow dye.

Figs, 247; Algarve, 207

Figs-dode and -merchant, 113. '-dode' indicates an inferior kind of fig.

Files, 45; goldsmith's, 259

Fireshovel plates, 45

Fireshovels, 18

Fish, 22; green, 597. See also Coal-fish, Croplings, Eels, Herrings, Lings, Staplefish, Stockfish, Sturgeon, Titlings

Flaskets, 416

Flasks, gun, 678

Flax, 10; bale, 510; bundle, 477; quartern, 488; ton, 477. Bale, etc. presumably indicate the way the flax was packed.

Flax and hair, 465

Flocks, 501

Foin backs, 67. Foin, the skins of stone marten.

Foin potes, 155. Potes ('pouts') are furs from the paws or mains of an animal.

Foin tails, 155

Foin wombs, 67

Forrel, see Calf-forrel

Fox backs, 67

Fox skins, 624

Fringes, 45; half-silk, 45; silk, 191

Frizado, 154. A fine kind of frieze.

Frying pans, 18

Fustian, 46; Genoa, 154; Milan, 210; Naples, 45; Ulm ('holmes'), 18. A cloth of cotton and flax, manufactured principally in Italy and south Germany.

Galls, 18. Oak-apples or gall-nuts, used in making ink, tanning, dyeing and medicine.

Gelders cloth, 582. Probably a linen cloth.

Ghentish cloth, 18. A linen cloth; Ghent was a main centre of production.

Gimlets, wooden, 643

Ginger, 18; green, 53

Girdles, crewel, 389; velvet, 771

Girdling(s), 64; crewel, 155; worsted, 576

Gitterns, 305. See also Citherns

Glass(es), 4; Burgundy, 146; drinking, 155; halfpenny ware, 702; Normandy, 64; Rhenish, 20. See also Beads, Buttons, Looking glasses, Spectacles

Gloves, 572

Glue, 647

Goatskins, 17

Goshawks, 21

Grain berries, 357. The Book of Rates lists grain of Portugal and of Seville, the latter in berries. Both were probably forms of the grainlike insect kermes or alkermes which produced a scarlet dye.

Grains, see Grain berries, Guinea grains

'Greens', 539. Probably green dornick, as listed in the Book of Rates.

Gridirons, 178

Grogram, 155

Grogram camlet, 296

Grogram silk, 62

Guinea grains, 265. Malagueta pepper, obtained from West Africa.

Gum, 296. The Book of Rates lists eight types of gum.

Gum arabic, 191

Gunpowder, 18; serpentine, 341. Serpentine was gunpowder in fine meal, as opposed to the corned or granulated kind. See also Corn powder Guns, see Hand guns

Haberdashery, 750

Halbert heads, 462

Halberts, 156

Hamburg cloth, 21. A linen cloth.

Hammers, 435

Hand baskets, 242. See also Baskets

Hand guns, 810

Hangings, copper, 234

Harnesdale cloth, 18. A linen cloth.

Harp strings, 45

Hat bands, 45

Hatchets, 643

Hats, 340. See also Caps, Felts, Straw hats

Hawks, 186

Hawsers, 28. See also Basts

Hazebroucks ('Hasbrough'), 18. A linen cloth of Hazebrouck in France.

Heath brushes, 6. 'Heath for brushes' in the Book of Rates.

Hedlack, 381. A linen cloth.

'Hedlands', 18. ? a variant spelling of hinderlands.

Hellebore, white, 367. Plant used medicinally.

Hemp, 18; Cologne, 18

Hemp seed, 232

Herrings, 342

Hides, 761; cow, 785; raw, 590

Hinderlands, 21. A linen cloth.

Holland cloth, 18. A linen, probably woven in Flanders and only bleached in Holland.

Honey, 18

Hooks, 572

Hops, 14

Horns, iron, 643

Horns [writing], 678

Horn-tips, 564

Hose, see Silk hose, Stammel hose

Hour glasses, 4

Ink, see Printer's ink

Inkhorns, 2

Inkle, 18. A kind of linen tape, or the thread or yarn from which it is made.

Ireos ('Erius'), 154. Root of the Florentine Iris, used in pharmacy.

'Irims' or 'Iruns', 643. Probably iron-ware, but not identified.

Iron, 63; 'ames', 45; faggot, 557; 'Lukes', 466; 'small square', 18; Spanish, 63; spruce, 145. Willan equates 'ames' with Almayne = Germany, but H. R. Schubert, op. cit., 313 more convincingly takes the word to signify the district of Amiens, a centre of iron manufacture in northern France. Faggot indicates iron in rods and bundles; 'Lukes' = Luik i.e. Liège; 'small squares' were the smaller of the two sorts of cast iron bars which were normally produced in the sixteenth century, being thinner and lighter than the 'long squares'. See also Doubles, Plates; and Andirons, Chimney backs, Horns, Pans, Pots, Rakes, Thread, Wire

Ironmongery, 46

Irons, see Planing irons

Ironware, 435

Iron-works, 522

Isinglass, 627

Jews' trumps, 490

Joiner's tools, 178

Kerseys, dyed, 156

Kettle bands, 463

Kettles, 702

Knives, 18; 'Almaine', 45; Cologne, 212; German, 541; single, 213. Almaine = German.

Lace, 45; narrow, 395; passement ('percement'), 45. Passement was a simple form of lace whereby the threads were passed or interlaced.

Ladles, 178

Lanterns, 4

Lapis calaminaris, 211. Calamine, a zinc ore used medicinally for external application.

Latten, black, 781; shaven, 156. Latten, a mixed metal either identical with or closely akin to brass. Black latten was milled brass in plates or sheets; shaven were thinner sheets. See also Andirons, Basnets, Buckles, Candle plates, Candlesticks, Chafing dishes, Pipes, Plates, Wire

Lead tablets, 64

Lemons, 533

Lignum vitae, 45. Wood from the guaiacum tree, used in medicine.

Lince, 154. Lince = linsey, a coarse linen cloth.

Linen, 156. See also Buckram, Bustian, Cambric, Eeklo, Gelders cloth, Ghentish cloth, Hamburg cloth, Harnesdale cloth, Hazebroucks, Hedlack, Hinderlands, Lince, Linsey-wolsey, Middlegood, Minsters, Olonne cloth, Osnabriicks, Padduck, Soultwich

Lings, 3

Linseed oil, 18. Also called painter's oil.

Linsey-wolsey, 296. A cloth of linen and wool.

Liquorice, 18

Litmus, 18

'Locke persers', 46

Locks, 46; gate, 710; hanging, 211; horse, 710; 'slight', 435. See also Padlocks

Long pepper, 703. Milder than common black pepper, long pepper had medicinal uses.

Looking glasses, 2; crystal, 45; halfpennyware, 45; pennyware, 730; steel, 335

Lutes, 305; Antwerp, 703; Cologne, 466; Venice, 53

Lute strings, 45. Or minikins.

Mace, 45; garbled, 710

Madder, 18; Bruges, 763; German, 46. See also Mull-madder

Malmsey, 53

Manna, 539. The juice of certain sorts of ash tree, used as a purgative.

Maps, 155

Marking stones, 435

Marmalade, 45

Marten, see Foin

Matches, 18

Mattriss cards, 4. Playing cards regarded as defective.

Mazer wood, 617

Middlegood, 3. A linen cloth.

Millstones, 697

Minikins, see Lute strings

Mink, 790; untawed, 15

Minsters, 155. A linen cloth originally from Münster.

Mockado, 18. An imitation velvet, of wool and silk.

Molasses, 539. See also Treacle

Mull-madder, 45. The most inferior of the four qualities of Dutch madder.

Muscatel, 53

Nails, card, 710; copper, 827; great, 155; head, 18; patten, 178; rose, 290; saddler's, 535; small, 18. See also Tacks

Napkins, 285. See also Damask, Diaper

Neckerchief bands, 18

Needle cases, 457

Needles, 45. See also Pack needles

Nigella, 46. 'Anguilla romayne' or 'nigillum romanum', a plant of which the seeds were used for medicinal purposes.

Nightcaps, quilted, 576; quilted linen, 702

Nutmegs, 38

Nuts, 154

Oakum, 10

Oars, 28

Oats, 140

Ochre, 296

Oil, 154; bay, 298; Seville, 272. See also Linseed oil, Rape oil, Train oil

Olives, 242

Olonne cloth ('oulderons'), 213. A linen cloth from Brittany.

Onions, 5

Onion seed, 154

Oranges, 277

Orchil, 365. A red or violet dye obtained from lichens.

Orpiment, 45. Trisulphide of arsenic, used as a pigment.

Osnabrücks ('Ozenbridge'), 3. A linen cloth originally from Osnabrück.

Pack needles, 234

Pack thread, 2; bottom, 462

Padduck, 468. A linen or canvas cloth.

Padlocks, 178. See also Locks

Painter's oil, see Linseed oil

Panele, 291. Brown unrefined sugar.

Pans, copper, 146; earthenware, 731; iron, 45. See also Baking pans, Dripping pans, Frying pans, Warming pans

Paper, 2; brown, 211; printing, 38; writing, 827. See also Cap-paper

Paper-pins, 154

Parchment, 45

Parchment skins, 497. See also Calf-forrel

Paste boards, see Boards

Paving stones, 367

Paving tiles, 365

Penners, 678. Cases or sheaths for pens.

Pens, see Writing pens

Pepper, 18. See also Long pepper

Petticoats, 46

Piercers, 297

Pincers, 259

Pinpillows, 234; cloth, 710; tin, 384

Pins, 18

Pipes, 339; latten, 298; wooden, 516

Pitch, 13

Planing irons, 710

Plates, black or white, 18; 'funi', 294; furnace, 730; iron, 45; latten, 433. See also Doubles, Fireshovel plates

Playing cards, 2. See also Mattriss cards

Playing tables, 36

Points, 64; check, 367; half, 212; leather, 435; thread, 18. Cord fastenings for clothes.

Poldavis, 69. A coarse canvas, taking its name from Pouldavid in Brittany.

Potash, 434

Pots, earthenware, 731; galley, 365; iron, 265; stone, 18

Pottingers, 297. Small basins or soup dishes.

Printer's letters, 228

Printing ink, 228

Prunes, 2

Pumice-stone, 522

Pumping stocks, 228

Purse rings, 11

Purses, velvet, 771

Purse wire, 340

Quicksilver, 155. Or argentum vivum.

Quilts, 383

Rackets, 516

Raisins, 78; 'de lixa', 88; Malaga, 112; Marbella, 87

Raisins of the sun, 38. Sun-dried raisins.

Rakes, see Chimney rakes

Rape oil, 10. Oil from rape seed, for domestic use.

Rasters, 719. Or Rafter = spar, lath.

Rattles, wicker, 4

Razors, 154

Red lead, 18

Remnants, 62

Resin, 1

Rhubarb, 677

Riband, caddis, 433. See also Cap ribands, Thread ribands

Rice, 18

Rings, 4. See also Curtain rings, Purse rings

Rods, 50. For basket-making.

Rope(s), tarred, 36; untarred, 761. See also Bast-ropes, Cables, Cordage, Warps

Rope-yarn, 435

Rosalger, 2. Disulphide of arsenic, used as a pigment.

Roses, 643. Roses for headpieces, i.e. rosettes worn on caps or hats.

Ruffs, 18

Rugs, 339; cradle, 212

'Russels', 259. ? Linen cloth from Roeselare (West Flanders).

Rye, 772

Sack, 137; sherry, 681; Spanish, 355

Sackcloth, 155; striped, 298. A coarse linen cloth.

Salmon, 217; Scotch, 217

Salmon gills, 342

Salt, great, white and bay, 1. Great salt was coarse grained, white was more fine and pure. Bay salt indicates its origin, from Bourgneuf bay.

Saltpetre, 19

'Sanderstock', 643. ? Sandarac, which is listed in the Book of Rates as sandrake, a resin used in the preparation of spirit varnish.

Sarcenet, 18; Bologna, 647; Florence, 462. A fine silk material.

Satin, 18; Bruges, 522; Genoa, 540

Satin silk, 210

Saws, carpenter's, 781; hand-, 46; tenon-, 211; two-hand-, 46; whip-, 46

Says, 18; gartering, 154; Hondschoote ('Honneskott'), 191. A cloth similar to serge.

Scomes, 354. An inferior sort of sugar.

'Sea gills', 406

Sealskins, 805

Seeds, 491; garden, 405

Senna, 46

Shears, 178. 'Sheres for sempsters' in the Book of Rates.

Sheets, packing, 433

Shirt strings, 348

Shuttles, 156; weaver's, 539

Silk, 46; Bruges, 46; ferret ('floret'), 45; Genoa, 540; Paris, 11; 'poll', 296; raw dyed, 389; sewing, 282; short, 163; Spanish or Seville, 146; thrown, 523; undyed, 466. See also Tartarines

Silk cards, 308

Silk hose, 282

Silk nobs, 340

'Sine Alexandrie', 574. Probably some kind of drug: Alexandria (i.e. Egypt) was a noted source of pharmaceutical materials.

'Sirrills', 643. Possibly some kind of saw, from the Latin 'serra'.

Skins, Flanders, 211; Spanish or Seville, 242; counterfeit Spanish, 464. See also Basil leather, Beaver, Budge, Calf-forrel, Calfskins, Chamois, Ermine, Foin, Fox, Goatskins, Hides, Mink, Parchment, Seal, 'Vents', Wolfskins, Wolverines

Snuffers, 46

Soap, 258; black, 708; Castile, 258; Flemish, 513; grey, 702. See also Washing balls

Soap ashes, see Ashes

Soap boxes, see Boxes

Soultwich, 49. A linen cloth, probably from Salzwedel in Germany.

Spades, 155

Spars, 391

Spectacle cases, 458

Spectacles, 395. See also Glasses

Squirts, 272. A tubular piece by which water may be squirted.

Stammel, 18. A woven fabric like linsey-wolsey.

Stammel hose, 653

Standishes, 154; leather, 383. Stands with ink, pens, etc.

Staplefish, 23. Cod or other gadoid fish cured by drying and beating.

Starch, 18

Stavesacre, 574. A plant, the seeds of which were used as an emetic.

Steel, 18; coarse, 643; 'stass', 18. ? 'Stass' (German) = bundle, sheaf.

Stinice, 522. 'Stene' or 'Scinci', small lizards used in medicine.

Stockfish, 49. See also Croplings, Titlings

Stomachers, furred, 155

Straw hats, 154

Sturgeon, 145

Succade, 291. Fruit preserved in sugar, either candied or in syrup.

Sugar, 154. See also Panele, Scomes

Sugar candy, see Candy

Sugar powder, 591

Sumach, 18. Dried and ground leaves, used in tanning and dyeing.

Sword blades, 18

Tablemen, 593. Pieces used in board games.

Tables, 593; walnut, 792. See also Playing tables, Writing tables

Tacks, 465

Taffeta, 18; 'caffaes', 465; Florence, 462; Levant, 45; Lucca ('Lukes'), 465; Spanish, 357; Tours, 156. 'Caffaes', perhaps from caffa, a rich silk cloth.

Tallow, 39

Tankards, 381

Tapestry, caddis, 45; hair, 18; silk, 155; wool, 18

Tar, 559

Tartarines, 234. Rich stuff, apparently of silk and originating in the East.

Teazles, 2. The prickly flower-heads of the fuller's teazle, used for raising a nap on the surface of cloth.

Tennis balls, 46. See also Balls

Tercel-gentle, see Falcon

Tercel-goshawk, see Goshawks

Thimbles, 18

Thread, 18; bottom, 18; Bruges, 18; Cologne, 296; 'copper gold', 576; crossbow, 45; 'housewaies', 611; iron, 335; linen, 393; Lyons, 38; Oudenaarde, 18; Paris, 341; piecing, 155; sister's, 433

Thread cards, 710

Thread-lace, 395

Thread riband, 154

Ticks, 365; Brussels, 435; Turnhout, 18. Turnhout ('Tournold' or 'Tourney') was the main centre of the flourishing Kempen tickweaving industry. Brussels ticks were a relatively new article.

Tiles, see Paving tiles

Tinsel, 572

Tin tablets, 642. ? A children's toy.

Titlings, 3. A small size of stockfish.

Tongs, 18

Tooth picks, 771

Tow, 378

Towelling, see Damask, Diaper

Train oil, 1. Oil from whales, seal and fish—especially cod.

Treacle, 339; Flemish, 154; Genoa, 154. Flemish treacle was not the syrup called treacle but a medicinal compound, used as a salve.

Trenchers, 45; penny, 678

'Tressel garnet', 643. Garnet, a hinge for doors, etc., or tackle used on ships for hoisting in provisions, etc.: tressel = trestle.

Tripe de velours, 298. An imitation velvet.

'Trosies', 595. Probably trusses or ropes used to hold the yards to the main mast.

Trunks, 178. ? Hollow tubes from which darts or pellets were shot.

Turmeric, 365. The root-stock of an East Indian plant, used both as a dye and in medicine.

Turnsole, 46. A violet-blue or purple colouring matter.

Turpentine, 143

Varnish, 45

Velvet, 18; 'garding', 572; Lucca ('Lukes'), 462. Garding, probably 'garden', indicating a flowered velvet, as in 'garden satin'.

Venice gold, 574

'Vents', 155. A fur or skin, probably 'venter' = the under-belly.

Verdigris, 234

Vermilion, 703. The mineral dye.

Vinegar, 4

Wainscots, 7

Walnuts, 351

Warming pans, 191

Warps, 747. Small ropes.

Washing balls, 463. Toilet soap, sometimes perfumed or medicated.

Wax, 28

Weights, brazen gold, 435; gold, 154; pile, 389; troy, 650. Pile weights, usually of brass and fitting one upon another to form a pile. See also Balances

White lead, 45

Wine, Alicante, 472; Burgundy, 623; Canary, 801; Coniac, 579; corrupt, 80; Gascony, 61; Nantes, 621; Oléron, 59; Rhenish, 52; Rochelle, 54; of St. Martin, 224; sweet, 53. See also Bastards, Cuit, Malmsey, Muscatel, Sack

Wire, clavichord, 18; copper, 598; iron, 229; latten, 18. See also Purse wire

Woad, 18; Toulouse, 433

Wolfskins, 805

Wolverineskins, 296

Wood, see Barlings, Beams, Boards, Clapholt, Deals, Mazer wood, Oars, Rasters, Rods, Spars, Wainscots

Wool, 63; Eastland, 154; estrige, 3; hat, 45; Spanish, 46. Estrige is probably a corruption of Estriche and is therefore synonymous with Eastland, i.e. the region of Scandinavia and the Baltic.

Woolcards, 2. An instrument of wire, leather and wood, used for combing wool prior to spinning.

Woollen edging, 383. For decorating hats.

Woollen-lace, 2

Wormseed, 155. The dried flower-heads of various plants, used medicinally.

Worsted, broad, 18; narrow, 191. See also Checks, Girdling, Yarn

Writing pens, 298

Writing tables, 155

Yarn, worsted, 18. See also Crewel