Cely Letters

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The Cely Letters are a collection of family correspondence written in the 15th century, which describe the lives and business activities of a family of London wool merchants.[1] Key members were Richard Cely and his wife Agnes and their sons Robert, Richard, and George.[2] This collection is one of the few surviving letter collections from the 15th century, along with the Paston Letters and the Stonor Letters.[3] While the Paston Letters cover a period spanning over 3/4 of a century, the Cely Letters cover a much shorter period of time between 1472 and 1488. The Cely letters were preserved only because they were used as evidence in a lawsuit.[4] The Cely Letters are primary sources of information about the English economy and English society at the end of the Wars of the Roses.[1]

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