Talk:Merchants of the Staple

message: I can suffer mouse malfunctions too but these seem to be the statistics for the last 30 days:
* Staple food: views 15,843, discussion views 24
* Staple (fastener): views 5,116, discussion views 10
* Staples: views 3,183, discussion views 5   -disambiguation-
* Staple: views 2,903, discussion views 5   -disambiguation-
* Staple (wool): views 1,079, discussion views 16 see Staple (textiles) below. Wool must be senior to cotton, synthetics etc.
* Staple port: views 982, discussion views 22 (now redirected to Staple Right - why are the numbers so different??)
* Staple (textiles): views 588, discussion views 7 (This, somehow, has to be tied in with Wool above)
* The Staple: views 348, discussion views 22 +Merchants of the Staple +Statute of the Staple
* Staple Act: views 274, discussion views 4   -disambiguation- 
* Staple right: views 273, discussion views 11 this seems to be a continental european concept
* Merchants of the Staple: views 249, discussion views 15 should be an item under The Staple
* Statute of the Staple: views 185, discussion views 15 should be an item under The Staple
* Étaples: views 845, discussion views 3
* Staple, Kent: views 152, discussion views 2
* Staple, Nord: views 149, discussion views 1
* Wool-stapler: views 149, discussion views 3
Should editors let this be a guide as to be the weight accorded to individual articles? Eddaido (talk) 11:58, 18 June 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Readers' votes 

message: Yes, I like history and I've long been aware of merchants of the staple if not very clear about them, felt no need.
I've also long been aware of my descent from Thomas Harrison of East Court Finchampstead Berkshire died 22 February 1603 "squire of the stable" to Queen Elizabeth. He's one of our small number of little treasures as we have very few so notable and distinguished. Recently I spent a lot of time trying very hard to find out exactly what this curious court post might involve. To my surprise the prob. was orthography. He was Surveyor of the Staple to QE. It may be, one day, Wikipedia will tell a reader just what that meant.
There were mayors of the staple and staple courts etc all of them important to trade and they will come out in time on record in an encyclopedia that details total nonentities just because they were aristocrats and the composition of the uniforms of participants in battles . . .  Not knocking it, just pointing out it happens. I see there is today something called a staple loan where a borrower gets prior approval before commitment to purchase - somewhere in Wikipedia tells me its name is from the approval STAPLED to the back of the contract - what's the betting the legal terminology in fact comes from some old trade term.
All I ask is that a Wikipedia reader can find easily just what the (English) Staple was - seek at present and you will find a lot of bent pins and things on/in your way, even in Wikipedia. No, a redirect is not good enough. Its not just notable, its important. They were 'a nation of woolgrowers' long before they were 'a nation of shopkeepers'. "The importance of wool to the English economy can be shown by the fact that since the 14th Century, the presiding officer of the House of Lords has sat on the "Woolsack", a chair stuffed with wool."
What is it against a definition of the Staple followed by Merchants of the Staple etc etc within that article? We learn about merchants as small children (don't we?). The important part of the phrase is the Staple.
Surely it is rational to state what an institution is/was then go into detail about the associated positions and functions.   Now That would lead to the earnestly desired defragmentation. Eddaido (talk) 01:23, 21 June 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Hey there! Start with The Staple Please. An appeal to reason 

message: The body is stated to still exist, but also has the category 'Defunct Companies' - this seems illogical.
Perhaps there should be a specific category for 'bodies which were once economic entities and which are now charitable ones' (using a more succinct definition of course) - which would include eg the Livery Companies of London. Jackiespeel (talk) 09:25, 28 July 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Status