British History-6
' Merchants and Monks'
RHODA POWER
' Merchants and Monks '. At first glance the linking of the two words seems incongruous. But this afternoon's broadcast will justify the connection by showing how the monks in England once played an active and important part in commerce. The Cistercians, for instance, used to sell wool in Flanders and Italy, two countries that had great cloth industries. Much of the farming work was carried out by lay brothers-men who were recruited from the peasantry.