Cookie Policy

Our website uses cookies to understand content and feature usage to drive site improvements over time. To learn more, review our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Guilds, Wool, and Trade: Medieval England in a Global Economy

Guilds, Wool, and Trade: Medieval England in a Global Economy

Around 1250-1350, an archipelago of trade stretched across Afro-Eurasia. Nick and Trevor explore the role of the wool trade in this system and its impact on England.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.

Key Ideas

Think about the following questions as you watch the video


  1. 02:10 How do Nick and Trevor describe the Afro-Eurasian trade system in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries?
  2. 03:00 Why did people in Flanders and northern Italy buy English wool?
  3. 04:20 Who produced wool in England?
  4. 06:36 How did the wool trade empower the merchant classes? What role did guilds play in this process?
  5. 08:00 Why was wool important for England?