, in far greater profusion, by Henry II. and Richard I. Though
the organisation of the Merchant Gild was originally distinct from the
organisation of the town, and the two were in theory kept apart, the
Merchant Gild, to which most of the townsmen belonged, usually
encroached upon the authorities of the town, regulated trade to its
own advantage, and practically controlled the choice of officers, the
principal officer being usually styled an Alderman, with power to keep
order and generally to provide for the well-being of the place. In
this way the tradesmen and merchants of the towns prepared themselves
unconsciously for the time when they would be called on to take part
in managing the affairs of the country. Even in these early times,
however, the artisans in some of the trades attempted to combine
together.

12. =Condition of London.=--Of all the towns London had been growing
most rapidly in wealth and population, and during the troubles in
which John had been pitted against William of Longchamps it had
secured the right of being governed by a Mayor and Aldermen of its
own, instead of being placed under the jurisdiction of the King's
sheriff. The Mayor and Aldermen, however, did not represent all the
townsmen. In London, though there is no evidence of the existence of a
Merchant Gild, there was a corporation composed of the wealthier
traders, by which the city was governed. The Mayor and Aldermen were
chosen out of this corporation, as were the juries elected to assess
the taxes. Artisans soon came to believe that these juries dealt
unfairly with the poor. One of the Aldermen, William Longbeard, made
himself the mouthpiece of their complaints and stirred them up against
the rest. Hubert Walter sent a messenger to seize him, but William
Longbeard slew the messenger and fled into the church of Mary-at-Bow.
Here, according to the ideas of his age, he should have been safe, as
every church was considered to be a sanctuary in which no criminal
could be arrested. Hubert Walter, however, came in person to seize
him, set the church on fire, and had him dragged out. William
Longbeard was first stabbed, and then tried and hanged, and for the
time the rich tradesmen had their way against the poorer artisans.

[Illustration: Hall of Oakham Castle, Rutland: built about 1185.]

13. =Architectural Changes.=--Even in the most flourishing towns the
houses were still mostly of wood or rubble covered with thatch, and
only here and