[11][12] In the 13th century, one member of the community was chosen as Presbyter Judaeorum, or "chief of the Jews", with the physician Elias of London being one notable holder of the post.

[41] There was a grand manor house at Sheen (now Richmond) which was enlarged under the reigns of Edward III and Henry V.[42] In 1433, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester began building work on what would become Greenwich Palace.

They proceeded to attack her ally Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex at the Tower, who promptly switched allegiance to Stephen.

[3] In his absence, the Bishop of Ely William de Longchamp, and Richard's brother Prince John, fought each other for control of England.

[26] Two years later, a man called William Fitz Osbert alleged that the City authorities had dodged this tax, leaving the burden to fall upon ordinary Londoners.

[64] Later that year, the king was forced to agree to the barons' terms as set out in Magna Carta, which was celebrated by a jousting tournament at Harrow.

[64] During the 1263 revolt led by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, called the Second Barons' War,[1] Henry III fled to the Tower while his son, Prince Edward, arrived with an army, looted Temple Church, and stole £10,000 of the city's money.

[1] It was governed by the king's warden for five years; the Lord Mayor, Thomas Fitzthomas, was imprisoned; the city was fined, and the property of 60 Londoners was confiscated.

[65] In 1326, Edward II's wife, Queen Isabella of France, and her partner, Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, went into open rebellion against the king in the London Uprising.

This was a much bigger imposition on poor peasants than on wealthy earls and merchants, and a non-payment campaign started in the nearby counties of Essex and Kent.

They also attacked the priory of the Knights Hospitaller, Newgate Prison, and the Tower of London, where they found another unpopular figure, Simon Sudbury.

On 15 June, the king and the Lord Mayor of London, William Walworth, went to meet one of the rebel leaders, Wat Tyler, at Smithfield.

[68] In 1450, a rebellion formed against high tax rates and unpopular royal officials like the sheriff of Kent William Cromer and James Fiennes, Lord Saye and Sele.

[11] Although there was no police force in this period, some Londoners served as serjeants guarding the city gates, and night watchmen patrolling the streets after dark.

[1] In 1264 during the Second Barons' War, Simon de Montfort's rebels occupied London and killed 500 Jews while attempting to seize records of debts.

[93] Edward I banned Jewish people from moneylending in 1275, leaving many unable to make a living, as they were also not allowed to join the city's trade guilds.

[98] Those found guilty of prostitution might be made to do a walk of penance through London, holding a candle and dressed in their nightgown or a white sheet.

This happened to Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, who walked through London three times in 1441 as punishment for seeking out the services of a witch to ascertain the date of the king's death.

[72] The City strictly controlled the weight of a standard halfpenny loaf, and any baker found to be selling underweight bread might be dragged through the streets on a hurdle behind horses, with his bad loaves tied around his neck.

[94] In 1308, Edward II had the Knights Templar at Temple Church arrested for heresy, following the example of the French king two years earlier, and their property was given to his favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger.

As the Church courts did not use the death penalty, priests could get away with lighter sentences than secular criminals, a practice referred to as the Benefit of Clergy.

[107] In 1377, the theologian John Wycliffe was questioned by the Bishop of London at St. Paul's Cathedral for his criticism of the church's large land ownership and meddling in secular politics.

[32] London's largest regular festival was Bartholomew Fair, taking place at Smithfield every year and hosting jousts and tournaments.

[110] In 1174, the writer William Fitzstephen described Londoners ice-skating on the marsh at Moorfields when it froze over: "Men go to sport upon the Ice: then fetching a Run, and setting their feet at a distance, and placing their Bodies sideways, they slide a great Way".

[96] The writer Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, probably in his parents' house on Upper Thames Street, in 1340,[75] and wrote works such as The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde.

[111] Throughout his career, he had a long friendship with fellow poet John Gower, who wrote works such as Vox Clamantis, Confessio Amantis, and Mirour de l'Omne.

Rather than compete with better-established German presses, Caxton printed many texts in English, including his own translations of religious and secular works.

For example, in 1409, the Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks put on a play called The Creation of the World written by the Lord Mayor of London, which lasted eight days.

[118] Cologne merchants were granted free rent on a hall on the site of the modern Cannon Street station in 1194, which eventually became their base, known as the Steelyard.

[120] If a person wanted to practice a trade in London, they had to belong to the relevant guild, meaning that competition from outsiders could easily be stifled.