Feeding the Brethren: Grain Provisioning of Norwich Cathedral Priory, c.1270-1380

In late medieval England, between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, the vast majority of population, around 85 percent, lived and worked on land. At the same time, England underwent a significant process of urbanisation. Urban centers emerged and expanded, participating in and contributing a great deal to economic and mercantile activities of the country. By the end of the thirteenth century, Norwich grew into the second largest city on England (after London), housing perhaps as many as 20,000 people. At the heart of the city stood Cathedral Priory, one of the wealthiest landlords and one of the most important food producers and distributors in the entire region...