whose subjects
began to feel the effect of this commercial disturbance, addressed letters
to the King of England, requesting that their merchants might enter his
realm and stay, and traffic there as formerly. They had never offended the
King or his people; the Countess of Flanders was the sole offender, and
she alone ought to be punished. The matter having received due
consideration, the embargo on the export of wool was taken off with
respect to all countries, except Flanders, with the proviso that no wool
should be exported out of the kingdom without special license from the
king.(295)

By the month of October, 1271, the inquisitors, who had been appointed to
appraise the goods and chattels of Flemings in England, were able to
report to parliament that their value amounted to L8,000 "together with
the king's debt," whilst the value of merchandise belonging to English
merchants and seized by the countess amounted to L7,000, besides chattels
of other merchants. Parliament again sat in January of the new year to
consider the claims of English merchants, when those whose goods had been
taken in Flanders, "and the Londoners more especially," appeared in
person. Each stated the amount of his loss and the amount of goods
belonging to Flemings which he had in hand, and a balance was struck. An
inquisition was, at the same time, taken in each of the city wards, as to
the number of merchants who bought, sold, exchanged, or harboured the
goods of persons belonging to the dominion of the Countess; and also as to
who had taken wools out of England to the parts beyond the sea, contrary
to the king's prohibition.(296) Many Flemings, still lurking in the city,
were arrested, and only liberated on condition they abjured the realm so
long as the dispute between England and Flanders should continue. Nearly
six months elapsed before any further steps were taken by either party in
the strife. The Countess then showed signs of giving way. Envoys from her
arrived in England. She was willing to make satisfaction to all English
merchants for the losses they had sustained, but this was to be subject to
the condition that the king should bind himself to discharge certain
alleged debts, which had been the cause of all the mischief from the
outset, within a fixed time. In the event of the king failing to discharge
these claims, the justice of which he never recognised, the Countess was
to be allowed to distrain all persons coming into her country