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Eliot Benbow

@ebenbow.bsky.social

906 followers 433 following 32 posts

Research Associate at the Institute of Historical Research working on the Late Medieval London Customs Accounts. Formerly at MoLA. Researching Medieval and Early Modern material culture, trade, devotion etc.

Posts Replies Media

Eliot Benbow @ebenbow.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Just as a small example: here is London searcher William Baldry seizing some goods including 2,000 tennis balls, 58 dozen "coppyn" hats (felt hats) and two small sacks of brushes which had been imported "contra formam statuti" i.e. against the import legislation [TNA E 122/186/3 m.1]

Brief section of text from the searchers account of London Searcher William Baldry

"Et de lviiii s vi de de med[ietate] cix s de p[re]c[io] lviii duo[denis] [58 dozen] de copyn hatts ml ml [2000] de tenys ballys & duo[rum] parv[orum] sacc[orum] cum brusshes ......

The goods were arrested at London on 4th November 1464

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Eliot Benbow @ebenbow.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

A distinct group of London merchants focused on this general importing in the 15th century, especially the Haberdashers who built their wealth in such everyday imports, using this accrued wealth to buy their way into the cloth trade. As the collected imports of Thomas Ostriche (fl. 1423-1454) show.

A selection of the imports of London Haberdasher Thomas Ostriche (fl. 1423-1454) with a pair of bone framed spectacles recovered from the Thames Riverfront excavations at Trig Lane in 1974

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Eliot Benbow @ebenbow.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Behold King's Lynn [TNA E 122/181/39]

Parchment bag with long handle containing a 15th century searchers account for King's Lynn (or Bishop's Lynn as it would have been) TNA E 122/181/39. The bag contains a textual inscription describing the account and a modern call archival catalogue number.

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Eliot Benbow @ebenbow.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

We are looking forward to welcoming everyone to the upcoming London Medieval Society @londonmedievalsoc.bsky.social Colloquium on Women and Knowledge which will be Saturday 22nd November from 10:20-15:00 UK time. 🙂 You can find the zoom registration link here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

The programme for the London Medieval Society Colloquium on Women & Knowledge scheduled for Saturday 22nd November from 10:20 to 15:00 UK time.

The poster features an illumination from a medieval manuscript depicting a group of women seated and standing reading a number of books. Image credit: British Library, Harlety 4431, f. 107

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Eliot Benbow @ebenbow.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

@londonmedievalsoc.bsky.social London Medieval Society will be hosting its first colloquium of the academic year on the 22nd November 2025 on the subject of Women and Knowledge in the Middle Ages. 😊 You can find the Zoom link here: us02web.zoom.us/j/81823681150

This poster provides the details for the London Medieval Society Colloquium on Women & Knowledge.

Saturday 22nd November 10:00-15:00 (UK time) via Zoom

In the centre of the poster is an image from a Medieval manuscript of a group of standing and seated women reading a number of books

Image credit: British Library, Harley 4431, f. 107

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Eliot Benbow @ebenbow.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

Delighted to begin posting on this account by advertising the upcoming London Medieval Society colloquium on Religious Minorities in the Middle Ages. 🙂 The colloquium will be on the 22nd February from 10:00-15:00 and you can register for free via the Zoom link: qmul-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

A poster advertising a London Medieval Society colloquium on the subject of religious minorities in the Middle Ages. The poster features a banner image depicting a scene from a medieval manuscript depicting a group of women in discussion.

The poster details are as follows:

LMS Religious Minorities Saturday 22nd February 10:00-15:00 (UK time) via Zoom

10:10 Virtual Meeting Room Opens
10.20 Welcome and Introduction
10.30 Helen Flatley (Oxford), 'Female Networks in Medieval Toledo: The Formation of a 'Mozarabic Community, 1085-c.1315'
11:15 Break
11:30 Ana Roda Sánchez (Queen Mary London), 'Radicalisation of Jews and Jewish Conversos in 15th-century Toledo (1449-1465)'
12:15 Lunch
13:15 Kerstin Mayerhofer (Vienna), 'Faith Under Fire: Jewish Responses to Christian Dominance'
14:00 Break
14:15 Sarah Ifft Decker (Rhodes College), 'Lost in Translation: Jews and Christian Notaries in the Late Medieval Mediterranean'
15: End of Event

Tickets: Free (Register on Zoom)
www.londonmedievalsociety.com @LondonMedSoc
Image credit: Sarajevo, National Museum, Sarajevo Haggadah (14th c. Catalonia)

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