A History of Business in Medieval Europe,1200–1550,demolishes the widely held view that the phrase “medieval business” is an oxymoron.The authors review the entire range of business in medieval western Europe, probing its Roman and Christian heritage to discover the economic and political forces that shaped the organization of agriculture, manufacturing, construction, mining, transportation, and marketing.Then they deal with the responses of businessmen to the devastating plagues,famines,and warfare that beset Europe in the late Middle Ages.The remarkable success in coping with this hostile new environment was “a harvest of adversity” that prepared the way for the economic expansion of the sixteenth century. Two main themes run through the book. First, the force and direction of business development in this period stemmed primarily from the demands of the elite.Second,the lasting legacy of medieval businessmen was less their skillful adaptations of imported inventions than their brilliant innovations in business organization. Edwin S. Hunt is a retired businessman and former adjunct professor of history at the University of Cincinnati. He is the author of The Medieval Super-companies. James M. Murray is Associate Professor of History at the University of Cincinnati.He is the author of Notarial Instruments in Flanders,1280–1452. Cambridge Medieval Textbooks A HISTORY OF BUSINESS IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE, 1200–1550 A HISTORY OF BUSINESS IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE, 1200 1550 – EDWIN S. HUNT JAMES M. MURRAY published by the press syndicate of the university of cambridge The Pitt Building,Trumpington Street,Cambridge,United Kingdom cambridge university press The Edinburgh Building,Cambridge cb2 2ru,UK http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk 40West 20th Street,New York,ny 10011-4211,USA http://www.cup.org 10 Stamford Road,Oakleigh,Melbourne 3166,Australia © Edwin S.Hunt and James M.Murray 1999 This book is in copyright.Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1999 Printed in the United States of America Typeface Bembo 10/111/ pt. System QuarkXPress [BTS] 2 A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A history of business in medieval Europe,1200–1550 / Edwin S.Hunt, James M.Murray. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-521-49581-4 (hc.).– isbn 0-521-49923-2 (pbk.) 1. Europe – Commerce – History. 2. Banks and banking – Europe – History. 3. Europe – Economic conditions. 4. Economic history – Medieval,500–1500. I. Hunt,Edwin S. II. Murray,James M.,1954– . hf3495.h57 1999 330.94¢01 – dc21 98-38599 isbn 0 521 49581 4 hardback isbn 0 521 49923 2 paperback CONTENTS List of illustrations page ix Introduction 1 Part I Before the Black Death: progress and problems 1 Economics,culture,and geography of early medieval trade 11 2 Tools of trade:business organization 31 3 Traders and their tools 52 4 The politics of business 75 5 Business gets bigger:the super-company phenomenon 99 Part II Business in the late Middle Ages: a harvest of adversity Introduction 125 6 The new business environment of the Middle Ages 132 7 Business responses to the new environment 151 8 The fifteenth century:revolutionary results from old processes 178 9 Sources of capital in the late Middle Ages 204 10 A new age for business 226 vii viii Contents Conclusions 246 Notes 250 Further reading 260 Index 269 ILLUSTRATIONS Business centers and maritime trade routes,High Middle Ages 6 Organizational structure of the Peruzzi Company,July 1,1335 107 Trading,tourism,and silver-mining centers of late medieval Western Europe 130 Principal factors affecting money supply in medieval Europe, 1350–1550 141 ix