Scarcely had the City recovered from this calamity when it was called upon to join in suppressing pirates who in time of war and trouble always infested the Channel. The City furnished two ships, one with forty men-at-arms and sixty archers, commanded by Andrew Turk, and one with thirty men-at-arms and forty archers, commanded by Gosceline de Cleve. The fleet destroyed a Spanish fleet and captured twenty-four ships laden with merchandise.
The return of the Black Prince with his royal captive after the battle of Poitiers was an occasion for such a display as the City always loved. A thousand of the citizens, richly clad and well mounted, met the Prince at Southwark: the King of France rode a splendid charger: beside him the victorious Prince rode a little galloway. At the foot of London Bridge they were met by the Mayor, Aldermen, Sheriffs, and the several craftsmen in their liveries and colours. All through the streets the houses were hung with tapestries and glittered with arms and armour of all kinds. It was perhaps the greatest day for the national pride and rejoicing that the City had ever seen.
At the expiration of the Two Years’ truce the war broke out again. A French fleet swept along the coast of Sussex landing an army of 20,000 men, who committed the atrocities common to an invading force, burning towns, destroying crops, killing men. The City of London fitted out a fleet of 80 vessels with 14,000 men, including archers, but these were too late to meet the enemy.
It was at this time that Henry Picard, the Vintner, gave that most famous of all the City banquets, at which he entertained the King of England, the King of France, the King of Scotland, the King of Denmark, and the King of Cyprus, as well as the Black Prince.
The war lingered on for some years, but there were no more glorious victories, and in 1375 peace was concluded. A change was attempted in the constitution of the City; by this the election of Mayor, Sheriffs, and Common Council was placed in the hands of the guilds instead of the wards, but after ten years the new plan was found not to work so well as the old, to which the City returned.
In 1365 an important ordinance was passed concerning what things a tenant in leaving a house might take with him:—
“It is ordained that if any persons hire a tenement, House, or Houses, in the city of London or in the suburbs of the said city, to hold the same for the term of Life, or of Years, or only from year to year, or from quarter to quarter: if the said tenant shall make, or cause to be made, any pentyses or other easements in the said tenement, house, outhouses, fixed with nails of iron or wooden pegs to the premises, or to the soil thereof: it shall not be lawful for such tenant to remove such pentyses or easements at the end of the term, or at any other time to destroy them: but they shall always remain to the landlord of the said premises, as a parcel thereof.”
This ordinance was translated from Latin into English with the following explanation:—
“Whereas nowe of late amonge divers people was sprongen Matter of doute upon the most olde custome had and used in this Cyte of London, of suche thyngys which by tenauntys terms of lyfe or yerys been affixyd unto houses, without specyall lycence of the owner of the soyle, whether they owe to remayne unto the Owner of the Soyle, as Parcel of the same, or ellys whether it shall be lawfull unto suche Tenantys on thende of her terme all suche thyngys affyxed to remove.
Whereupon olde Bokys seen, and many Recordys, olde processys, and judementys of the sayd Cyte, it was declared by the Mayre and Aldermen, for an olde prescrybed custome of the Cyte aforesayd, that all suche easementys fixyd unto houses, or to soyle by suche tenementys, without specyal and expresse lycence of the owner of the soyle, if they be affyxed with Nayles of Irne or of tree, as pentyses, glasse, lockys, benchys or ony suche other, or ellse yf they be affyxed with Morter or Lyme, or of erther or ony other Morter as forneys, leedys, candorous Chemyneys, Corbels, pavemettis, or suche other: or elles yf plantes be roetyd in the grounds, as vines, trees, grasse stounks, trees of fruit, etc., it shall not be laufull into suche tenauntys in the end of her terme, or ony other tyme therin, nor only of them, to put awaye more, or plucke up in ony wyse, but that they shall alway remayne to the ownar of the soyle, as parcels of the same soyle or Tenement.”
At the Good Parliament of 1376 three City Aldermen were charged with malversation. All three were deprived of their posts: one was imprisoned, one fled to Flanders to escape trial, one was deprived of his patent of monopoly. With the design of winning favour from the young heir to the Crown, the City resolved upon presenting him with an entertainment and gifts. The Prince with his mother and his suite was living at the Palace of Kennington.