ABSTRACT
EARLY English silver is extraordinarily rare; fewer than 300 pieces made before the 1520s survive, a figure which is put into perspective when we consider that one London goldsmith, Robert Amadas who died in 1532, left more than 300 items in stock. For a more positive picture of the importance of silver from the early Middle Ages we must turn to contemporary documents, fleshing out their dry descriptions with examples drawn from the handful of surviving pieces.
