Mercery

[5] In earliest use, the term mercery was amorphous in nature, and described the sale of a wide range of goods, from small items like needles and thread, to expensive materials such as silk or brocade.

The first reference to mercery was in use for foreign merchants from modern-day Germany, France and the Netherlands, who were well-placed geographically to transport luxuries from the East and their own manufactured goods into England.

[6] Bundles of raw silk were brought from Italy into London for silkwomen to make into piece goods such as laces or braids and for embroidery.

From the 12th century on, there was an avenue wherein they could establish direct contact with Italian and other foreign suppliers at major trade fairs in places such as northern France.

Originally an ancient cloth from the Middle East made from flax and cotton, it was replicated in Italy and became increasingly popular and a staple product for mercers to profit from.

[6][7] Besides the trade and manufacture of expensive cloths, mercers were also concerned with a wide variety of piece goods which had a large market in London, as they were more affordable for commoners than supplies of the materials they were made from, such as silk, linen, and cheaper substitutes such as fustian and hemp.

The company capitalised on this opportunity to expand as a driving force of the new England economy, wherein provincial towns previously not visited by mercers soon became part of a complex and established market system of trade.

In addition, to this the development of the mercery trade in the late 13th century was uniquely abetted by the Black Death, due to the drop in population—wherein post-recession ordinary men and women could afford to buy higher standards of clothing to dress themselves better.

The mercers sought to benefit from the turmoil of the period and acquired one of many religious buildings dissolved by Henry VIII and gave a plead of fealty to the Protestant cause of the head of the Church being led by the king.

The percentage of cloth exports of London mercers during that time was no less than 30%, and more importantly the company controlled the competition tightly—other merchants who attempted to sell materials such as silk, linen, fustian, wool and other piece goods independently.

The lack of introspection by the wealthy mercers into the struggle of the merchants who did not profit from the silk trade like the elite did caused the rapid loss of control of the textiles market.

[6][7] The majority of piecegoods sold by mercers used silk as the basis to make a wide variety of dress accessories such as laces, loops and tassels.

Other piece goods that mercers dealt with were manufactured from other materials; they ranged from pins and needles to bells and knives, which were bought less frequently when people had money to spare for useful trinkets.