Power in the Middle Ages was not only made with steel but also with linen. 'The Linen Dictate' examines the rise of European textile centers to the first industrial superpowers. We document the path from the blue flax flower to the white cloth that dominated world trade. It is the story of the Hanseatic League and the Flemish guilds, who financed kings and pressured popes through the export of fabrics. Learn how the lack of clothing triggered social unrest and how technological innovations in spinning made the first mass production possible. We look into the warehouses from London to Novgorod. This book takes you through the dark workshops of the weavers and the grand halls of the cloth merchants. We analyze the effects of textile monopolies on the social structure of Europe and the emergence of the bourgeoisie. A gripping account of a time when the 'White Gold of the Looms' decided the fate of generations. History begins at the thread and ends with wealth.