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"The Shambles" is perhaps the oldest street in current-day York, it's name being derived from the word Shamel which means bench or booth. It was also referred to as Flesshammel, or 'referring to the flesh', a reference to its medieval past as a street of butchers. In Eburacum, The Shambles is the main merchants district of the city, a commercial centre for a variety of trade goods and services. Just about everything a person could ever need can be bought here, of any nature and at any price.
Shambles model ©S. Alsford
Just like the different sections of the city, there are different sections to the Shambles. The more affluent merchants of the finer things in life are spaced along the main streets of the district: The Shambles and Fossgate Lane. But there are a variety of smaller alleyways and lanes that branch off both streets. In some places the lanes are barely wide enough for a single man on horseback to ride along, and some areas are quite dark during the day due to the overhanging buildings (see image below). The streets are paved but often slippery with the remnants of mud, offal and refuse from the shopkeepers and the high level of public traffic. A number of peasants are employed (some conscripted as a means of punishment) to clean the laneways to an acceptable standard.
The tight overhead view of the buildings that line the narrow streets.
Eburacum has a population of almost 10000 people, and using The Domesday Book as a guide, the following services can be found:
The city has many fine jewellers who specialise in crafting jewellery made from locally sourced jet. Other precious stones are imported and the resulting pieces are then exported both overland to Logres and from the port to the North Sea. The port in the city also serves as conduit for locally produced agricultural goods such as wool, livestock and barley. Anyone who has wealth and isn't afraid to spend it can find luxury items ranging from exquisitely embroidered caparisons for their horse, to a well-trained goshawk, and even tapestries large enough to cover a manor wall. Sometimes finding the right merchant for that certain item is an adventure in itself.
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