ABSTRACT
By the thirteenth century much of the long-distance trade of the larger cities was in manufactured items, particularly woollen cloth. Long-distance trade had always been based on money and controlled by persons with access to mints or serving those who did; but now coin was becoming more common in local trade, giving impetus to city markets. The market for high and medium-quality woollen cloth grew enormously as distribution mechanisms became more sophisticated. Virtually all large cities had multiple markets by the thirteenth century, permanently or semi-permanently used and differentiated by the commodity sold on them. The first city halls in the north were built in the thirteenth century, then were reconstructed or replaced in the fourteenth or fifteenth. From this basic type the city halls became increasingly complicated, usually including a chapel, writing offices and archives, and eventually finance chambers. The military power of the enormous cities veiled their vulnerability to any external stoppage of labour and supplies.
