Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Term: Corrector of the Staple
Definition: A person who writes down and keeps track of the things that merchants buy and sell in a special market town called a staple. The staple is a place where important goods like wool, leather, tin, lead, butter, or cheese are sold. Sometimes, these goods are used in things that are patented, which means they are protected by law. However, the corrector of the staple makes sure that no one tries to control the market for these goods in a way that is unfair to others.
Definition: A corrector of the staple is a clerk who records merchants' transactions at a staple. A staple is a key commodity such as wool, leather, tin, lead, butter, or cheese. It can also refer to a town appointed by the Crown as an exclusive market for staple products.
Example: In medieval England, the wool trade was a staple industry. The Crown appointed certain towns, such as Calais and Antwerp, as staple towns where all wool exports had to be sold. The corrector of the staple was responsible for recording all transactions related to the sale of wool in these towns.
Explanation: The example illustrates how the corrector of the staple was an important figure in the medieval wool trade. They were responsible for keeping accurate records of all transactions related to the sale of wool in staple towns. This helped ensure that merchants paid the appropriate taxes and that the Crown received its fair share of revenue from the wool trade.