Livelihoods and Liberties of Low Countries Immigrants in Late Medieval Lynn

Abstract

This article contributes to burgeoning research on the alien population of late medieval England, that is, residents who had been born outside the realm. It focuses on the borough of Lynn – known as King's Lynn from 1536 – which was one of England's most prosperous port towns throughout the late Middle Ages. Covering the period from 1421 to 1524, during which the majority of immigrants were artisans from the Low Countries, the article traces their participation in both economic and civic life. In doing so, it places the experience of Dutch and other immigrants in Lynn within their wider historical context of alien immigration, both locally and nationally.