artisans

The article examines various elements of the intellectual landscape of London in the XIV–XV centuries, which created and disseminated knowledge of different levels. It is shown that the city has favorable conditions for the realization by citizens of the need to teach literacy not only in Latin and French, but also in English. The social demand of wealthy merchants and artisan masters for secular, practice-oriented knowledge and skills has led to the emergence of new licensed grammar and singing schools, as well as an increasing number of informal schools.

The article is devoted to the study of the social aspect of the life of Tudor London. On the material of the wills the author shows that the majority of the testators are artisans, small traders and merchants of the «Twelve Great Livery Companies» of London. Also, there are representatives of the service sector, gentry and the emerging intelligentsia. Among the recipients of the inheritance numerous church institutions of the city are mentioned. Some wills belong to women: wives or widows of merchants and artisans.

The article on the material of wills examines the social side of the life of Londoners in the era of the late Plantagenets. The author finds out that the majority of testaments refers to a professional community: to merchants and mongers, to artisans and workers in the service sector, as well as to the nascent intelligentsia and administrative apparatus. These categories are disproportionate – the majority of testators belong to the merchants and craftsmen of the townspeople.

The article examines a charity in London at the end of the 15th–16th Centuries based on the material of the wills of merchants and artisans and their widows. The directions of the citizens‘s charity are identified: Church, social, cultural and educational, and specific forms of their manifestation are characterized from a gender perspective.