Customers and marts.

Because sales on credit were a normal feature of the Staple trade at this period, new customers of good standing must often have brought letters of introduction, like that which John De Scermere presented to Richard Noneley. No year is given, but the letter was written by Lowis De Moy, the Celys’ ‘Lois De May’, who masquerades in the Public Record Office Index as ‘Allyn Weijlowijs de Moy’, because his valedictory clause, ‘By d'alhu vrij Lowys de Moy’, was misread and mistaken for the whole signature. ‘Lieven Huter Meere’ who is mentioned in the letter may conceivably be the ‘Levyn Demore’ whose name is written on a Cely note of sale to De Scermere (?) in 1478. Quite possibly Noneley sent De Scermere on to George Cely, so that his letter of accreditation came into the Cely collection, from which it was later separated. Translated from its original Flemish, it runs Honoured friend, I recommend me to you and let you know that the bringer of this is a drapier of Ghent. Lieven Huter Meere has prayed me to help him make his acquaintance with the merchants of the Staple of Calais. I understand, moreover, that he is a good young man, and that his business at home is such as to make him a very wealthy clothier, and if he wished to buy eight or ten sarplers of wool here, he should be in good credit. […] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]