Bristol

Bristol’s prominence is due to its being the most important port city for trade in the western coast of Albion, and almost all the trade with Eire is done through Bristol. The city also receives a great deal of trade from The Continent, and its not uncommon for Iberian wines or swords made of fine Moorish Steel to be found in the markets here. Bristol is a free city with its own governing council of aldermen and mayor (the current mayor is the powerful merchant William Canynge, who owns no less than 10 merchant ships, the largest private fleet in the kingdom, and is a Lancastrian favorite of the queen), and at about 18000 inhabitants it is the third largest city in the kingdom (after London and York). A significant part of Gloucester is crown land, and the most powerful noble family here is the relatively minor house of Lord Berkeley. The current lord, 60-year old Sir James Berkeley, is known as «James the Just» and is well liked by the people, though his eldest son William (age 29), known as «William Wassail», is well known to be a drunk and something of a scoundrel. His younger son, Maurice «the Lawyer» (who studied law at Oxford) is known to be a far more responsible and serious person, and some have hopes that he will inherit the family title somehow. The Berkeleys are nominally Lancastrian, and the city of Bristol is mostly Lancastrian, but most of the rest of the countryside of Gloucester favors the cause of Richard of York.

Type

Large city

Population

18,000

Owner/Ruler

Sir James Berkeley

Ruling/Owning Rank

Mayor William Canynge