In 1432, poet John Lydgate was commissioned to commemorate the triumphal entry of Henry VI to London. Setting the scene, Lydgate wrote of ‘this Citee with laude, pris, and glorie/For joye moustred lyke the sonne beem’.1 He described the participants in this civic muster in terms of their clothing: the mayor in red velvet, the sheriffs and aldermen in scarlet furred …
Caroline Barron leads the field on medieval London and her work on its politics, governance, economy and fabric has greatly enhanced our understanding of the late medieval city. It is, however, her interest in and enthusiasm for the men and women who lived and worked in, or were visitors to, the capital, and her ability to inspire that interest and enthusiasm …