Cloth Manufacturing in England
By the fourteenth century, the European cloth industry, which had previously been centered mainly in Flanders (northern Belgium), Italy, and Holland, transferred to England, where fewer property taxes and market restrictions made greater profits for cloth makers. In England, the industry’s production methods yielded improved cloth and changed the economy.
A technique called fulling was widely used in England and caused manufacturers to relocate from urban areas of England to different rural villages all over the country. The process of fulling involves submerging a cloth in water (usually containing a natural clay detergent called fuller’s earth) and beating it vigorously. Proper fulling will shrink the cloth, making the fabric tighter and stronger, and make the surface smoother and softer. Three traditional methods of fulling were used: a submerged cloth was beaten with the feet, with the hands, or with clubs. One of these is depicted in an ancient wall painting in Pompeii of a man standing in a trough containing water and pounding a cloth with his feet. These traditional methods were still used in Flanders, Italy, and, for a time, England. But then, in the eleventh or twelfth century (historians disagree on the precise date), a new method was introduced: two wooden hammers were attached to a drum and a crank was turned to raise and drop the hammers on the cloth. The real breakthrough came when this device was hooked to a water mill (one probably constructed to grind grain). As a result, a single operator overseeing a series of hammers could perform the work that had previously required a crew of fullers-and he could do it much more quickly, too.
This is why the historian Eleanora Carus-Wilson observed that the invention of the fulling mill “was as decisive an event [for the woolen industry] as were the mechanization of spinning and weaving in the eighteenth century.’ Whether fulling mills developed in the eleventh or twelfth century, they were so common in the thirteenth century that they revolutionized the English industry, leaving the Continent (the rest of Europe) far behind. Fulling gave English cloth a significant advantage on the international market. With many fewer fulling mills, cloth makers on the Continent could full only some of their cloths, which entailed a large sacrifice in quality.
The ascendance of the fulling mill helps explain the English woolen industry’s marked preference for villages and rural areas on good streams. Such locations had several additional advantages. Moving water was useful for dyers, who needed to rinse excess dye from their cloths. Moreover, locating in rural areas permitted firms to escape the repressive regulations imposed by guilds (professional organizations of practitioners of the trades), to avoid the higher taxes of towns and cities, and to pay lower wages (the cost of living was lower in rural areas than in cities).
Why didn’t the woolen industry on the Continent similarly disperse to small towns and villages? Because in Continental Europe only the cities provided enough freedom and property rights to sustain industry. On the European Continent, the rule of the nobility prevailed in the countryside, and everyone had to fear the local lord’s greed. But in England, freedom and security prevailed throughout the country, and medieval English industrialists did not need to concentrate in crowded expensive, dirty cities-many devoid of water power – as their counterparts in Flanders, in Holland, along the Rhine, and in Italy were forced to do. As a result, the English woolen industry was remarkably decentralized.
Finally, dispersion and relatively unimpeded capitalism may have contributed to the international dominance of English woolens by encouraging the production of more fashionable and attractive products. As the historian A. R. Bridbury put it, to explain the success of the English woolen industry, it is not enough to cite better wools or lower prices; what should be stressed is “art and skill.. the exotic dyeing of these cloths and.. the subtle blending of design and color in their creation.. the search for making cloth which would be more fashionable internationally.” In textile centers on the Continent, the guilds-very traditional in their outlook-often limited experimentation with colors and designs, and originality nearly always suffers when creative people are crowded together and fully aware of one another’ s work. England’s dispersed woolen industry produced greater variations in styles and quality.
1
A technique called fulling was widely used in England and caused manufacturers to relocate from urban areas of England to different rural villages all over the country. The process of fulling involves submerging a cloth in water (usually containing a natural clay detergent called fuller’s earth) and beating it vigorously. Proper fulling will shrink the cloth, making the fabric tighter and stronger, and make the surface smoother and softer. Three traditional methods of fulling were used: a submerged cloth was beaten with the feet, with the hands, or with clubs. One of these is depicted in an ancient wall painting in Pompeii of a man standing in a trough containing water and pounding a cloth with his feet. These traditional methods were still used in Flanders, Italy, and, for a time, England. But then, in the eleventh or twelfth century (historians disagree on the precise date), a new method was introduced: two wooden hammers were attached to a drum and a crank was turned to raise and drop the hammers on the cloth. The real breakthrough came when this device was hooked to a water mill (one probably constructed to grind grain). As a result, a single operator overseeing a series of hammers could perform the work that had previously required a crew of fullers-and he could do it much more quickly, too.
The word “vigorously” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Aconstantly
Bthoroughly
Cperiodically
Dstrongly
2
A technique called fulling was widely used in England and caused manufacturers to relocate from urban areas of England to different rural villages all over the country. The process of fulling involves submerging a cloth in water (usually containing a natural clay detergent called fuller’s earth) and beating it vigorously. Proper fulling will shrink the cloth, making the fabric tighter and stronger, and make the surface smoother and softer. Three traditional methods of fulling were used: a submerged cloth was beaten with the feet, with the hands, or with clubs. One of these is depicted in an ancient wall painting in Pompeii of a man standing in a trough containing water and pounding a cloth with his feet. These traditional methods were still used in Flanders, Italy, and, for a time, England. But then, in the eleventh or twelfth century (historians disagree on the precise date), a new method was introduced: two wooden hammers were attached to a drum and a crank was turned to raise and drop the hammers on the cloth. The real breakthrough came when this device was hooked to a water mill (one probably constructed to grind grain). As a result, a single operator overseeing a series of hammers could perform the work that had previously required a crew of fullers-and he could do it much more quickly, too.
In paragraph 2, what is the author’s purpose in discussing the wall painting in ancient Pompeii?
ATo emphasize that traditional fulling methods had a long history
BTo offer evidence that traditional fulling used in the ancient world produced cloth that was superior to the cloth made later using a mechanized process
CTo describe the most effective of the three traditional types of fulling
DTo explain why the cloth industries in Flanders, Italy, and England discontinued the use of traditional fulling methods
3
A technique called fulling was widely used in England and caused manufacturers to relocate from urban areas of England to different rural villages all over the country. The process of fulling involves submerging a cloth in water (usually containing a natural clay detergent called fuller’s earth) and beating it vigorously. Proper fulling will shrink the cloth, making the fabric tighter and stronger, and make the surface smoother and softer. Three traditional methods of fulling were used: a submerged cloth was beaten with the feet, with the hands, or with clubs. One of these is depicted in an ancient wall painting in Pompeii of a man standing in a trough containing water and pounding a cloth with his feet. These traditional methods were still used in Flanders, Italy, and, for a time, England. But then, in the eleventh or twelfth century (historians disagree on the precise date), a new method was introduced: two wooden hammers were attached to a drum and a crank was turned to raise and drop the hammers on the cloth. The real breakthrough came when this device was hooked to a water mill (one probably constructed to grind grain). As a result, a single operator overseeing a series of hammers could perform the work that had previously required a crew of fullers-and he could do it much more quickly, too.
According to paragraph 2. which TWO of the following occur when cloth undergoes the fulling process? To receive credit, you must select TWO answer choices.
AThe cloth is strengthened and becomes denser.
BThe color is removed from the surface of the cloth
CThe cloth becomes thinner.
DThe size of the cloth decreases
4
A technique called fulling was widely used in England and caused manufacturers to relocate from urban areas of England to different rural villages all over the country. The process of fulling involves submerging a cloth in water (usually containing a natural clay detergent called fuller’s earth) and beating it vigorously. Proper fulling will shrink the cloth, making the fabric tighter and stronger, and make the surface smoother and softer. Three traditional methods of fulling were used: a submerged cloth was beaten with the feet, with the hands, or with clubs. One of these is depicted in an ancient wall painting in Pompeii of a man standing in a trough containing water and pounding a cloth with his feet. These traditional methods were still used in Flanders, Italy, and, for a time, England. But then, in the eleventh or twelfth century (historians disagree on the precise date), a new method was introduced: two wooden hammers were attached to a drum and a crank was turned to raise and drop the hammers on the cloth. The real breakthrough came when this device was hooked to a water mill (one probably constructed to grind grain). As a result, a single operator overseeing a series of hammers could perform the work that had previously required a crew of fullers-and he could do it much more quickly, too.
According to paragraph 2, which of the following developments had the greatest impact on the efficiency of the fulling industry?
APutting an operator in charge of a series of hammers
BUsing water mills in the fulling process
CDesigning fulling machines with hammers and cranks that could be turned by hand
DEmploying a single operator to oversee a crew of fullers
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This is why the historian Eleanora Carus-Wilson observed that the invention of the fulling mill “was as decisive an event [for the woolen industry] as were the mechanization of spinning and weaving in the eighteenth century.’ Whether fulling mills developed in the eleventh or twelfth century, they were so common in the thirteenth century that they revolutionized the English industry, leaving the Continent (the rest of Europe) far behind. Fulling gave English cloth a significant advantage on the international market. With many fewer fulling mills, cloth makers on the Continent could full only some of their cloths, which entailed a large sacrifice in quality.
What can be inferred from paragraph 3 about the role of fulling mills in the cloth industry?
AThe development of fulling mills led directly and quickly to the mechanization of the spinning and weaving of cloth.
BFulling mills were developed in Britain in the eleventh century and spread to the cloth industry on the Continent in the twelfth century, making cloth production profitable there
CThe increased use of fulling mills between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries led to the dramatic growth and dominance of the English cloth industry.
DCloth produced by fulling mills was less popular on the Continent than it was in England, so the cloth industry on the Continent only fulled some of the cloth it produced
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The ascendance of the fulling mill helps explain the English woolen industry’s marked preference for villages and rural areas on good streams. Such locations had several additional advantages. Moving water was useful for dyers, who needed to rinse excess dye from their cloths. Moreover, locating in rural areas permitted firms to escape the repressive regulations imposed by guilds (professional organizations of practitioners of the trades), to avoid the higher taxes of towns and cities, and to pay lower wages (the cost of living was lower in rural areas than in cities).
Paragraph 4 mentions all of the following as advantages of locating cloth manufacturing on good streams in villages and rural areas EXCEPT:
AThe cost of cloth manufacturing was lowered.
BIt was easier to rinse extra dye off cloths.
CCloth manufacturers had more freedom to follow their own rules
DIt was easier to transport finished products to different parts of England
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Why didn’t the woolen industry on the Continent similarly disperse to small towns and villages? Because in Continental Europe only the cities provided enough freedom and property rights to sustain industry. On the European Continent, the rule of the nobility prevailed in the countryside, and everyone had to fear the local lord’s greed. But in England, freedom and security prevailed throughout the country, and medieval English industrialists did not need to concentrate in crowded expensive, dirty cities-many devoid of water power – as their counterparts in Flanders, in Holland, along the Rhine, and in Italy were forced to do. As a result, the English woolen industry was remarkably decentralized.
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
ABecause English industrialists felt free and secure in their cities which were less expensive than cities on the Continent, they at first did not feel the need to move away from cities.
BUnlike other countries throughout the Continent, England provided industrialists more freedom and security outside of city areas than within them.
CIncreased freedom and security in medieval England transformed English cities from crowded, expensive, and dirty places to places where industrialism thrived.
DSecurity and freedom in England allowed English industrialists unlike their counterparts in other places, to avoid dealing with the unpleasant conditions of cities.
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Finally, dispersion and relatively unimpeded capitalism may have contributed to the international dominance of English woolens by encouraging the production of more fashionable and attractive products. As the historian A. R. Bridbury put it, to explain the success of the English woolen industry, it is not enough to cite better wools or lower prices; what should be stressed is “art and skill.. the exotic dyeing of these cloths and.. the subtle blending of design and color in their creation.. the search for making cloth which would be more fashionable internationally.” In textile centers on the Continent, the guilds-very traditional in their outlook-often limited experimentation with colors and designs, and originality nearly always suffers when creative people are crowded together and fully aware of one another’ s work. England’s dispersed woolen industry produced greater variations in styles and quality.
It can be inferred from paragraph 6 that textile workers in England could be more creative with their woolens than textile workers on the Continent because textile worker in England
Ahad less opportunity to be influenced by the work of others than textile workers on the Continent did
Bhad better relationships with the guilds than textile workers on the Continent did
Chad greater access to high-quality wool and dyes than textile workers on the Continent did
Dwere less interested in international fashion trends than textile workers on the Continent were
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[■]The ascendance of the fulling mill helps explain the English woolen industry’s marked preference for villages and rural areas on good streams. [■]Such locations had several additional advantages. [■]Moving water was useful for dyers, who needed to rinse excess dye from their cloths. [■]Moreover, locating in rural areas permitted firms to escape the repressive regulations imposed by guilds (professional organizations of practitioners of the trades), to avoid the higher taxes of towns and cities, and to pay lower wages (the cost of living was lower in rural areas than in cities).
Look at the four squaresthat indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
Meanwhile, cloth making in England continued to succeed as fulling mill production grew.
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
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There were several reasons England became the center of the woolen industry in the fourteenth century.
AEngland began fulling cloth using traditional methods earlier than any other part of Europe, giving England’s textile industry a significant advantage.
BThe development and spread of mechanization of the fulling process in England resulted in increased production of higher quality cloth.
CEnglish textile workers’ independent working environment and freedom from the guilds resulted in more fashionable woolens with unique colors and designs.
DThe success of the English textile industry was based on England’s abundant natural resources, including raw wool and natural dyes.
EThe English woolen industry prospered in small towns and villages where fulling mills could be built along water sources and woolens could be produced more independently.
FOne reason the English woolen industry was so profitable was that it was able to impose higher taxes on woolens bought internationally while keeping taxes low on products sold in England.
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