secondly，fifty—eightquartersofmalt，whichcostseventeenpoundstenshillings，orsixshillingsaquarter，equaltoabouteighteenshillingsofourpresentmoney;thirdly，twentyquartersofoats，whichcostfourpounds，orfourshillingsaquarter，equaltoabouttwelveshillingsofourpresentmoney。Thepricesofmaltandoatsseemheretobehigherthantheirordinaryproportiontothepriceofwheat。
Thesepricesarenotrecordedonaccountoftheirextraordinarydearnessorcheapness，butarementionedaccidentallyasthepricesactuallypaidforlargequantitiesofgrainconsumedatafeastwhichwasfamousforitsmagnificence。
In1262，beingthe51stofHenryM，wasrevivedanancientstatutecalledTheAssizeofBreadandAle，whichthekingsaysinthepreamblehadbeenmadeinthetimesofhisprogenitors，sometimekingsofEngland。Itisprobably，therefore，asoldatleastasthetimeofhisgrandfatherHenryH，andmayhavebeenasoldastheConquest。Itregulatesthepriceofbreadaccordingasthepricesofwheatmayhappentobe，fromoneshillingtotwentyshillingsthequarterofthemoneyofthosetimes。Butstatutesofthiskindaregenerallypresumedtoprovidewithequalcareforalldeviationsfromthemiddleprice，forthosebelowitaswellasforthoseaboveit。Tenshillings，therefore，containingsixouncesofsilver，Towerweight，andequaltoaboutthirtyshillingsofourpresentmoney，must，uponthissupposition，havebeenreckonedthemiddlepriceofthequarterofwheatwhenthisstatutewasfirstenacted，andmusthavecontinuedtobesointhe51stofHenryIII。Wecannotthereforebeverywronginsupposingthatthemiddlepricewasnotlessthanone—thirdofthehighestpriceatwhichthisstatuteregulatesthepriceofbread，orthansixshillingsandeightpenceofthemoneyofthosetimes，containingfourouncesofsilver，Towerweight。
Fromthesedifferentfacts，therefore，weseemtohavesomereasontoconcludethat，aboutthemiddleofthefourteenthcentury，andforaconsiderabletimebefore，theaverageorordinarypriceofthequarterofwheatwasnotsupposedtobelessthanfourouncesofsilver，Towerweight。
Fromaboutthemiddleofthefourteenthtothebeginningofthesixteenthcentury，whatwasreckonedthereasonableandmoderate，thatistheordinaryoraveragepriceofwheat，seemstohavesunkgraduallytoaboutone—halfofthisprice;soasatlasttohavefallentoabouttwoouncesofsilver，Towerweight，equaltoabouttenshillingsofourpresentmoney。Itcontinuedtobeestimatedatthispricetillabout1570。