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Internet Medieval Sourcebook
Selected Sources: Economic Life
Contents
- Economic Life Before the 11th
Century
- Late Antique Italy
- The Merovingian Era
- The Carolingian Economy
- Anglo-Saxon England
- Celtic World
- Roots of the Commercial Revolution
- Population Growth
- Attitude Towards Work
- The Control and Granting of Rights
- Trade and Commerce
- Money and Coinage
- Credit
- Fairs and Markets
- State Interference in Trade
- Sea Trade
- Long Distance Trade
- Mid-Distance Trade
- The Slave Trade
- The Hanse
- Tolls
- Book-Keeping
- Business Contracts
- Prices
- The Rise of Towns
- The Communal Movement
- Bourgeois Institutions: Gilds
- Craft Gilds
- Gild Merchants
- Legal Controls
- Urban Cultures
- Industries
- General
- Mining
- Tanning
- Cloth Manufacture
- Masonry
- The State and the Economy
- The Church and the Economy
- General
- Tithes
- Tax Exemptions
- Monastic Property
- Slavery and Serfdom
- Economic Thought
- Rural Life
- The Peasantry
- Farming Activity
- Legal Position
- Peasant Customary Obligations
- Peasant Revolts
- Manorialism
- Archeology of Medieval Villages
- The Big Picture
- The Medieval Economy in the Context of Ancient and Modern Economies
- The Crucial Role of Egypt
- World Systems Theory
- The Great Transition
- For issues of real property, and inheritance, see the documents on "feudalism"
in the 10th Century Collapse? section.
Economic Life Before the
11th Century
- Late Antique Italy
- The Merovingian Era
- The Carolingian Economy
- Sale & Transfer of an Estate, 704
- Capitulary of Lestinnes: Appropriation of Church
Property for Military Purposes, 743
- Monetary Regulations of the Carolingians,
750-817
- Capitulary of Frankfort: The Price of Staples,
794
- Charlemagne: Limits on Passage of Merchants,
c. 805-809
-
Charlemagne: Prohibitions on Transactions,
803-806
- Roger of Wendover: Treaty Between Charlemagne
& Offa, 790
- Charlemagne: Restrictions on Tolls, 805
- Charlemagne: Capitulary for the Jews, 814
- Carolingian Capitularies on Serfs & Coloni,
803-821
- Louis the Pious: Duties of the Coloni, 817
- Capitulary of Aachen: Payments on Tributary and
Taxable Land, 817
- Capitulary De Villis,
9th century.
- Asnapium: An Inventory of One of Charlemagne's
Estates, c. 800
- Anglo-Saxon England
- Scandinavia
- Celtic World
Roots of the Commercial
Revolution
- Population Growth
- Attitudes Towards Work
- The Control and Granting of Rights
- Ine, King of the West Saxons: Grant of Lands to the
Church of St. Mary at Glastonbury, 725
- Louis the Pious: Grant of Fishing Rights,
832
- Louis the Pious: Two Grants of Extraction of Salt,
821-833
- Louis the Pious: Grant of Minting Coins to
Abbey of Corvey, 833
- Otto the Great: Grant of Market, Coinage, and
Taxation Privileges to Bishopric of Osnabrück, 952
- Otto I, Emperor: Grant of a Market at Bremen, 965
- Grant of Tolls on the Elbe, 983
- Bishop of Speyer: Grant of Lands & Privileges to
the Jews, 1084
- Henry I, King of England: Grant of Tax Liberties to
London, 1133
- Emperor Conrad III: Grant of Mining Rights to
Abbey of Corvey, 1150
- Jocelin de Brakelond: Grant of Rights of
Pre-emption, 1124
- Jocelin de Brakelond: A Dispute Over the
Exaction of Taxes at Bury St. Edmunds, 1198
- Henry II: Inquest of Sheriffs Regarding the
Forests, 1170
- The Dialogue of the Exchequer: On The Forests,
1177
- Englebert, Lord of Engien: A Grant of Free Roads,
1210
Trade and Commerce
- Money and Coinage
- From The Laws of the Visigoths: On Coinage,
c. 681
- Monetary Regulations of the Carolingians,
750-817
- Louis the Pious: Grant of Minting Coins to
Abbey of Corvey, 833
- Charles the Bald: Edict of Pistes, 864
One of the most complete Carolingian documents on the regulation of coinage and mints.
- Otto the Great: Grant of Market, Coinage, and
Taxation Privileges to Bishopric of Osnabrück, 952
- English Regulations on Exchange, 871-1087
- Æthelred Unrædy: The Laws of London,
978
On money.
- Edward the Elder: Coinage Regulations, c.
902-925
- Edgar the Peaceable: Regulation of Coinage,
Measures, and Price of Wool, c. 959-975
- Henry I of England: Monetary Regulations,
1108
- William of Malmesbury: Counterfeit Money in
the Time of King Stephen, 1140
- Use of the Currencies of Lucca and Pavia, 1182
- Matthew of Paris: King Henry III’s
Reformation of the Coinage, 1248
- Coinage Agreement Between Hamburg and
Lübeck, 1255
- Coinage Agreement Between Hamburg & Lübeck,
1255
- The Value of Foreign Coin in England, 1266
- Credit
- Fairs and Markets
- Dagobert, King of the Franks: Grant of a Fair at St.
Denis, 629
- From The Heimskringla: Northern Fairs, c.
998-1026
- Otto the Great: Grant of Market, Coinage, and
Taxation Privileges to Bishopric of Osnabrück, 952
- Otto the Great, King of Germany: Grant of a Market to
the Monastery of Lorsch, 956
- Edgar, King of the English: Grant of Market Rights to
Medhamstead Minster, 963
- Emperor Conrad: Grant of a Market & Fair
at Donauwörth, 1030
- Henry I, King of England: Grant of a Fair to Ramsey
Abbey, 1110
- Frederick I Barbarossa: Grant of Two Fairs at
Aachen, 1166
- Frederick I Barbarossa: Grant of Two Fairs at
Duisburg, 1173
- Accounts of Medieval Fairs & Markets, c.
998-1250
- Matthew Paris: Grant of a New Fair at Westminster,
1248
- The Great Fair at Thessalonica, (mid 12th Cent).
- Humbert de Romans: On Markets & Fairs,
c. 1270
- State Interference in Trade
- Sea Trade
- Long Distance Trade
- WEB Transmediterrane Geschichte (Transmediterranean History) [Univ of Konstanz] [Internet Archive backup here]
"Transmediterranean History" is an anthology of sources, with comments, intended to facilitate access to transmediterranean topics and their source documentation for researchers, teachers and interested parties. The wiki-based database provides source excerpts in the original and in translation, structured epochally and arranged chronologically. The texts are in original language with side-by-side German translation. Although one cannot yet rely on AI translation, the results of Google translation are quite satisfactory on this site, partly because the German translations are in uncomplicated German. Periods covered are: Before Arab-Islamic Expansion; Aran-Islamic Expansion (7th-9th centuries); New Neighbours (9th-11th centuries); Latin Christian Expansion (11-13th centuries).
- Accounts of the Routes of the Jewish Merchants to the
East, 847
- King Louis the Child of Germany: An Inquiry into the
Tolls of Raffelstettin, c. 905
On Merchants in Eastern Europe.
- An Account of the Goods of a Captured Caravan,
1192
- Pope Innocent III: License to Venice to Trade
With The Saracens, 1198
- Mid-Distance Trade
- The Slave Trade
- The Hanse
- Grants of Privileges at London to the Hanse
of Cologne, 1157-1194
- Henry II of England: Grant of Freedom from Wreck
to Men of Lübeck, 1176
- Siegfried, Archbishop of Bremen: Remittance of the
"Hanse", 1181
- Frederick I of Germany: Charter to Lübeck,
1188
- Theodore, Count of Holland: Grant of a Hanse to the
Citizens of Dortrecht, 1200
- Waldemar the Victorious of Denmark: Grant of
Market Privileges to Men of Lübeck, 1203
- Frederick II of Germany: Grant to Lübeck of
Freedom from Tolls at Cologne & Tiel, 1226
- Grant of a House at Riga to the Men of Lübeck,
1231
- Agreement Between Hamburg and Lübeck for
Protection, 1241
- Lübeck and Hamburg Treaty, 1241.
The beginning of the Hanseatic League.
- The Hanse of Utrecht, 1251
- Coinage Agreement Between Hamburg & Lübeck,
1255
- Tolls
- Tolls on the Rhône, c. 630
- Charlemagne: Restrictions on Tolls, 805
- King Louis the Child of Germany: An Inquiry into the
Tolls of Raffelstettin, c. 905
- List of Tolls Exacted at Billingsgate, c.
978-1016
- Emperor Otto II: Grant of Holdings
and Rights at Bingen, 983
- Theoderic, King of the Franks: Grant of Tolls at
Arras, 1036
An elaborate and classified toll list for the use of the Monastery of St. Vaast, near
Arras.
- Emperor Henry IV: Tolls on Craftsmen at Coblenz,
1104
- Raymond, Count of Barcelona: Exemption of Ships from
Toll, 1118
- Rules of the Toll-Gatherers at Freiburg, 1178
- Emperor Henry IV: Revision of the Tolls of Utrecht,
1122
- Joan, Countess of Flanders: Grant to Weavers of
Exemption from the Taille, 1224
- Henry III, Lord of Ireland: Grant of Tolls in Dublin,
1233
- Henry III, Lord of Ireland: Grant of Tolls in Dublin,
1250
- A List of the Tolls at the Port of Colibre, 1252
- Pepin, King of the Franks: Grant of Exemptions From
Toll, 754
- Emperor Otto II: Grant of Freedom from River Tolls,
976
- Marseilles: Grant of a License to Evade Tolls,
1248
- Business Contracts
- The Leges Henrici Primi: Law of Partnerships,
c. 1109-1118
- Memorandum of Arbitration Concerning a Freight
Charge, 1230
At Marseilles
- An Order to Purchase, 1235
- Partnership Agreements: A Money-lender & a Cooper,
1240
- Partnership Agreements: Purchase of Shares in a Ship,
1248
- Partnership Agreements: For Foreign Trade, 1248
- Partnership Agreements: For Money Changing, 1248
- Apprenticeship Agreements: To a Money-Changer,
1248
- Apprenticeship Agreements: To a Barber,
1248
- Two Apprenticeship Agreements for Weavers [Arras and Marseilles], c. 1250
- Receipt of Deposit From a Money-Changer, 1248
- Bill of Sale, 1248
An example of a bill of sale where the cooper is selling to certain partners a number of
empty barrels, presumably for the wine trade.
- Bill of Lading, 1248
Bills of lading were used in the 13th century, possibly they accompanied bills of exchange
which were used as instruments of credit in order to economize in the shipment of specie.
- Acknowledgment by an Agent of an Order on Goods to be
Sold in Montpellier, 1248
- Lease of a Workshop in Marseilles, 1248
- Order for Sale of English Tin, 1248
- Lease and Guarantee for Rental Property, 1254
At Marseilles.
- A Business Partnership between a Jew and
Christian in Barcelona, 1235-1242 CE
Documents on exploitation of royal mills by Jews and Christians in Barcelona.
- Book-keeping
- Prices
The Rise of Towns
- WEB Medieval English Urban History [website] [Internet Archive backup here]
-
English Medieval Boroughs:
Privileged Urban Communities, ed. David Postles [At Internet Archive, from Leicester]
- The Communal Movement
- Declaration of the Powers of the Count of Toul over
the City of Toul, 1069
- Gesta Arnaldi: The Deeds of
Bishop Arnald of Le Mans and the Le Mans Commune, 1065-1081, trans. Richard Barton
From a compilation known as the Acts of the Bishops Living in the City of Le Mans.The
text also also provides the most detailed evidence for one of the earliest French communes
- that of Le Mans in 1070.
- Guibert of Nogent (1053-1124): Communal
Revolt in Laon, 1115, from Autobiograpy.
- Leges Edwardis Confessoris: The Liberties of
London, c. 1120
- William Clito, Count of Flanders: Charter for Town of
St. Omer, 1127
- Henry I, King of England: Grant of Tax Liberties to
London, 1133
- Theodore, Count of Flanders: Grant of Land for
Gild-Hall of St. Omer, 1151
- Henry II, King of England: Charter Granted to Men of
Rouen, 1153
- Charter of Lorris.
- The Cathedral Chapter of Chartres: The Riot of 1210,
trans. Richard Barton
The circumstances of the Chartres Riot of 1210 described from the viewpoint of the
Cathedral chapter. It provides clear insight into urban social tensions, and also sheds
light on elements of liturgical procedure (particularly the liturgy of excommunication),
on the cult of the Virgin, and on the increasing competency of the French crown in
judicial matters.
- Three Disputes involving the Cathedral Chapter of
Notre-Dame of Chartres, 1215-1224
- Henry III: Documents of the Church of Salisbury in
the Early 13th Century, trans. Richard Barton
- Philip II Augustus: Suppression of Etampes Commune,
1199-1200, trans. Richard Barton
Communes could be suppressed as well as supported by the monarchy.
- John, King of England: Charter of Privileges Granted
to Men of Dunwich, 1200
- John I, King of England: Charter Granted to the
Citizens of Cambridge, 1201
- Ipswich: Account of the
Setting Up of Self-Government, 1200 [At Medieval English Towns] [Internet Archive version here]
- Ipswich: Calendar of Usages
and Customs [At Medieval English Towns] [Internet Archive version here]
- Ipswich: Oaths of Officers
and Burgesses [At Medieval English Towns] [Internet Archive version here]
- Ipswich: Account of
Revenues and Expenditures, 1446/47 [At Medieval English Towns] [Internet Archive version here]
- The Arte della Lana & The Government of
Florence, 1224
- Ancient usages and customs
of the borough of Maldon [At Medieval English Towns] [Internet Archive version here]
- Archbishop Thurstan: Charter Granted to Men of
Beverley, 1130
- Otto of Freising: Chronicle - on Italian Communes 1154, copyrighted
- Philip, Count of Flanders: Charter Granted to the Men
of Bruges, 1190
-
Medieval Tournai: An Academic Resource Center [Was At Kansas, now Internet Acrhive]
-
The Commune of Bugelle (Biella): Documents and Statutes Part I and Part II, 13-15th
Century, full texts in Latin and English [Internet Archive]
- Bourgeois Institutions: Gilds
- Documents Concerning the Origin of Guilds, 884-930
- Craft Gilds
- Adalbert, Bishop of Worms: Grant of a Craft Gild
to Fishermen, 1106-1107
- Henry II of England: Grant of a Gild to the
Tanners of Rouen, 1170
- Henry II of England: Grant of a Gild to the
Oxford Cordwainers, 1175
- Commune of Richirzegcheide: Grant of a Gild to
the Carpenters, 1180
- Charter of Privileges to the Butchers of Paris,
1182
- John, King of England: Grant to London Abolishing the
Weavers' Gild, 1202
- The Law of the Fullers & Weavers of Winchester,
1209
- The Citizens of Brunswick: Grant of a
Goldsmiths’Gild, 1231
- The Garment Cutters of Stendal: Guild Law
Revision, 1231.
- The Regulations of the Garment Cutters' Gild of
Stendal, 1231
- The Regulations of the Weavers' Gild of Stendal,
1233
- Arras: The Charter of the Shearers, 1236 Regulations of the Master Butchers of Tuln, 1237
- Gilds Merchant
- Legal Controls
- Urban Cultures
Industries
- General
- Mining
- Tanning
- Cloth Manufacture
- Masonry
The State and the Economy
- Taxation
- Taxation in Norway, from The Heimskringla
- The Taxes of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
- Gregory of Tours: Opposition to Royal Taxation, c.
575-580
- Gregory I the Great (r.590-604): Concerning Taxation
in Sardinia, Corsica, and Sicily, c. 600
- Capitulary of Lestinnes: Appropriation of Church
Property for Military Purposes, 743
- Capitulary of Aachen: Payments on Tributary and
Taxable Land, 817
- Emperor Henry IV: Exchange of an Estate for a Forest,
1059
- King John of England: Fees for Use of the Great Seal,
1199
- King John of England: Royal Licenses to Export and
Import, 1205-1206
- King John of England: Prisage on Wine, 1205
- Henry III of England: Complaints of Heavy Taxation,
1230
- Emperor Frederick II: The Imperial Precaria, 1241
The Church and the Economy
- General
- Tithes
- Fourth Council of Toledo: Division of the Tithe in
Spain, 633
- The Irish Canons: Collection of the Tithe, c. 750
[early Ireland]
- Charlemagne: Demarcation of the See of Bremen &
Grant of Tithes, 788
- Emperor Louis the Pious: On Tithes, 817
- Emperor Otto the Great: Gift of a Tax to a Convent,
958
- William the Conqueror: Provision for
Peter's Pence, c. 1066-1087
- Leges Edwardis Confessoris: Tithable
Products of the Land, (Written post 1115)
- St. Omer: Collection of the Leper Tithe, 1106
- Raymond, Count of Barcelona: Grant of a Tithe of the
Tolls of Barcelona, 1132
- Henry II, King of England: The Saladin Tithe,
1188
- Margaretta, Countess of Flanders & Hainault: A
Purchase of Tithes and Remission of a Tax, 1246
- Tax Exemptions
- Monastic Property
- Dagobert, King of the Franks: Grant of an Estate to
Monks of St. Denis, 635
- Cartulary of Folquin: Sale of Lands & Privileges to
a Monastery, 708
- An Inventory of Church of Staffelsee, 812
- An Inventory of the Abbey of St. Bertin, 867
- Regulations of the Property of Cluny, 1150
- Cartulary of Saint Trond
- Cartulary of Saint Trond: Richelinde: A Gift of Serfs
to Abbey of St. Trond, 938
- Cartulary of Saint Trond: A Payment of Relief to a
Monastery, c. 1055-1056
- Abbey of St. Trond: Contention Over a Tithe, 1131
- Cartulary of Saint Trond: Folcard of St. Trond: Pledge
of a Beer Tax, 1139
- Cartulary of Saint Trond: A Renewal of Letters of
Freedom, 1172
- Cartulary of Saint Trond: Gerard, Count of Loos: Exaction
of the Head Tax at Brusthem, 1175
- Cartulary of Saint Trond: The Inheritance Laws of
Liège and Brusthem, 1175
- Cartulary of Saint Trond: A Grant of Goods and
Revenues to a Hospital for the Poor, 1200
- Cartulary of Saint Trond: Protection of Revenues from
Property, 1221
- Cartulary of Saint Trond: A Complaint About the Tithe
of Ryckel, 1232
- Cartulary of Saint Trond: A Cession of Meadow-Lands to
Tenants, 1243
- Cartulary of Saint Trond: Robert, Bishop of Liège: Protection
of Fishing Rights, 1246
- Slavery and Serfdom
- Gregory of Nyssa (335-395): Homilies in Ecclesiates, Homily 4: On the Evils of Slavery [At Roger Pearse] [Internet Archive version here]
- Council of Agde: Concerning Slaves of the
Church, 506
- Gregory of Tours: Enslaving Noble Families, 511
- Fifth Council of Orleans: Concerning Freedmen, 549
- Gregory of Tours: Harsh Treatment of Serfs and Slaves,
c. 575
- Gregory I the Great (r.590-604): On Manumission and
Redemption, c. 600
- St. Eligius: Redemption of Slaves, c. 630
- Fourth Council of Toledo: On the Keeping of Slaves,
633 [re Jews]
- The Judgment of Courtisols, 13 May 847, trans Charles West. [At Turbulent Priests] [Internet Archive version here]
Residents of this early medieval village near Chalons-sur-Marne claimed to be free, but lost their case when a considerable number of their neighbours testified against them in court.
- Pope Gregory III: Prohibition on Selling Christians to
Pagans for Sacrificial Rites, 731
- Lullo, Archbishop of Mainz: On Traffic in Ecclesiastical
Serfs, c. 755
- Council of Worms: On the Murder of Slaves, 876
- Peter the Venerable vs. St. Bernard of Clairvaux: On
the Keeping of Serfs, c. 1120
- Innocent III (r.1198-1216): The Keeping of Slaves by
the Jews, 1204
Economic Thought
Rural Life
- The Peasantry
- Farming Activity
- Legal Position
- Codex Justinianus: Protection of Freewomen Married
to Servile Husbands, c. 530 [Vll.24.i.]
- Codex Justinianus: Return of Fugitive Slaves &
Coloni, c. 530 [Xl.48.xii.]
- Codex Justinianus: Application of Patria Potestas
to the Coloni, c. 530 [Xl.48.xiii]
- Codex Justinianus: Children of the Unfree, c.
530 [Xl.48.xxi.]
- Codex Justinianus: Protection of Freemen and
Coloni, c. 530 [Xl.48.xxii.]
- Codex Justinianus: Children of Mixed Marriages,
c. 530 [Xl.48.xxiv.]
- Codex Justinianus: Coloni Bound to the Soil, c.
530 [Xl.51.i]
- Carolingian Capitularies on Serfs & Coloni,
803-821
- Louis the Pious: Duties of the Coloni, 817
- Disputing and Dispute Resolution in Monastic Charters from the Vendômois, c. 1040-1118, trans. Richard Barton.
14 documents from the Cartulaire de la Trinité de Vendôme with reference to monastic life, rural life, dispute resolution, duels.
- Peasant Servitude and Obligations: Rulings by Louis VI and Louis VII of France (12th Century), , trans. Richard Barton.
- Henry, King of the Romans: Concerning Serfs Who
Flee to the Cities of Alsace, 1224
- The Law of Brusthem, 1175, on a mixed marriage
between a slave and a freewoman.
- Manumission of a Villein 1278
- Peasant Customary Obligations
- Peasant Revolts
- Manorialism
- WEB The Open Domesday Book
- For issues of real property, and inheritance, see the documents on "feudalism"
in the 10th Century Collapse? section.
- Description of Manor House at Chingford,
Essex, 1265.
- Domesday Book: Description of Hecham
Manor, Essex 1086.
- Domesday Book: Manors of the Abbey of St.
Peter, Winchester, 1086
- Domesday Book: Description of Huntingdonshire, 1086, copyrighted
- Manorial Management & Organization, c. 1275
- Hundred Rolls: Description of Alwalton
Manor, Huntingdonshire 1279.
- The Pipe Roll of the Bishopric of
Winchester, 1208-1209
Pipe roll records are among the most detail of all medieval sources, and show both the
development of the English administrative system, as well as types and scale of economic
activity.
- Manorial Court Pleas 1246-1249.
- Court Rolls of The Manor of Wakefield,
1274-1297, full text
- Survey of Brydithfield in the Manor of Brandon, Suffolk [in Latin][At Internet Archive, from Kansas]
Transcription of a portion of Kenneth Spencer Research Library MS E112, a
sixteenth-century survey of the ten fields in the manor.
- Archeology of Medieval Villages
- A Medieval English Village: Wharram Percy, archeological account , copyrighted ,
- Laxton Village Survey.
[At Univ. Nottingham]
A web page on an English village which preserved open field farming until the 1930s.
The Big Picture
- WEB Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1270 to Present
- The Medieval Economy in the Context of Ancient and Modern Economies
- World Systems Theory
- The Crucial Role of Egypt
- The Great Transition
- 2ND Monica Green, “Black as Death”, Inference: International Review of Science 4, open-access. [review essyof Bruce Campbell: The Great Transition: Climate, Disease and Society in the Late-Medieval World (Cambridge University Press, 2016) [Internet Archive version here]
The Internet Medieval Sourcebook is part of the Internet History Sourcebooks Project. The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet
Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at
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© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 15 November 2024 [CV]
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