An excellent study of the wine trade has enlightened my in respect to many of the details on Carpenter history. The book is A History of the Vintners Company by Anne Crawford, Constable London, 1977. She presents evidence that argues that merchants like Peter and Oliver Charpenter were major players in the trade, by right of their royal license. Originally I thought Carpenter involvement in court finance and politics dated about the time of Henry Vl. The evidence now points to the 1300s at least, as a starting point. According to Anne Crawford, merchants who actively supported the crown were rewarded with knightships. This explains the Staunton St. John knight John Carpenter who held many manors. In my romantic conception of medieval England I thought all knights were products of knightly families. A wine merchant becoming a knight was something I couldn’t quite imagine. John Carpenter, I now seriously suspect, was a Jean le Carpentier directly related to Eduard le Carpentier, London wine merchant. The documents explicitly mention that Knight John was the son of a John. Could John and Eduard have been brothers, both being the sons of the mentioned John senior? Could this John have been the Jean le Carpenter granted a royal charter to export wool in 1273? Likewise could this whole line be from the Peter le Charpenter granted a royal charter to import wine about 1260? In another letter I will explain the significance of Gascony France and her merchants in England. Peter le Charpenter was a Gascon, as were most of the wine merchants of 1300s. Sincerely, Bruce E. Carpenter