in the summer of 1306, bishops and barons and knights
from all around England left their country manors and villages
and journeyed to London. They came to participate in that still
novel democratic experiment known as Parliament, but once in
the city they were distracted from their work by an obnoxious
odor. These nobles were used to the usual stenches of medieval
towns—the animal dung, the unsewered waste, and the rotting
garbage lining the streets. What disgusted them about London
was something new in the air: the unfamiliar and acrid smell of
burning coal. Recently, blacksmiths and other artisans had
begun burning these sooty black rocks for fuel instead of wood,
filling the city streets with pungent smoke. The nobles soon led
popular demonstrations against the new fuel, and King Edward
I promptly banned its use. The ban was largely ignored, so new
laws were passed to punish first offenders with “great fines and
ransoms.” Second offenders were to have their furnaces
smashed.
from all around England left their country manors and villages
and journeyed to London. They came to participate in that still
novel democratic experiment known as Parliament, but once in
the city they were distracted from their work by an obnoxious
odor. These nobles were used to the usual stenches of medieval
towns—the animal dung, the unsewered waste, and the rotting
garbage lining the streets. What disgusted them about London
was something new in the air: the unfamiliar and acrid smell of
burning coal. Recently, blacksmiths and other artisans had
begun burning these sooty black rocks for fuel instead of wood,
filling the city streets with pungent smoke. The nobles soon led
popular demonstrations against the new fuel, and King Edward
I promptly banned its use. The ban was largely ignored, so new
laws were passed to punish first offenders with “great fines and
ransoms.” Second offenders were to have their furnaces
smashed.
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