#labor-mobility

#labor-mobility

One of the strongest insights from Dyer's article is the sheer ubiquity of carpenters in medieval England. They appear in villages, small market towns, major urban centres, and forested regions where timber was abundant. Using evidence from the 1379-1381 poll taxes, Dyer estimates more than 10,000 carpenters were active around 1380 - or about one in every 270 people was employed in the craft. Their presence spans every kind of medieval settlement, demonstrating that carpentry was a cornerstone trade, not a marginal or urban-only occupation.