This is the first full account of the evolution of the government of London from the tempestuous days of the Commune in the late twelfth century to the calmer waters of Tudor England. Caroline Barron shows how the elected rulers of London developed ways of dealing with both demanding monarchs and quarrelsome city inhabitants. The remarkable survival of the city's own records makes it possible to trace, in unexpected detail, the inner workings of civic politics and government over three hundred years. London was by far the most populous and wealthy city in the kingdom, and its practices were widely copied throughout England. It was, as the Londoners claimed in 1339, the 'mirror and example to the whole land'.
PART I. CITY AND CROWN: THE REALITY OF ROYAL POWER ; 1. The Demands of the Crown ; 2. The Needs of the City ; PART II. CITY AND PROSPERITY: THE CREATION OF WEALTH ; 3. The Economic Infrastructure ; 4. The Manufacture and Distribution of Goods ; 5. Overseas Trade ; PART III. THE GOVERNMENT OF LONDON ; 6. The City Courts ; 7. The Annually Elected Officials: Mayors and Sheriffs ; 8. The Government of London: A Civic Bureaucracy ; 9. From Guilds to Companies ; PART IV. THE PRACTICE OF CIVIC GOVERNMENT ; 10. The Urban Environment ; 11. Welfare Provision ; Epilogue ; Appendix 1: The Mayors and Sheriffs of London 1190-1558 ; Appendix 2: Civic Office-Holders c.1300-c.1500 ; Bibliography ; Index
