The Company and Fellowship of the Gild of Cappers and Feltmakers is one of the few remaining merchant gilds which can trace its origins back to the Middle Ages. In this fascinating study Peter King draws on a wealth of archive material to tell the full story of the Cappers gild from its inception to the present day. In exploring the ways in which the Cappers fitted into the local community, King sheds new light on many aspects of social and economic life in the medieval and early modern periods: from the role of women in the local economy to mystery plays and pageants. This entertaining history will appeal to general and specialist readers alike. It will be enjoyed by those from the Cappers' heartland of Coventry and by historians wishing to understand the workings of the traditional craft gilds.