Enterprise, Money and Credit in England before the Black Death 1285–1349

Description

This book charts the contributions made to the development of the late medieval English economy by enterprise, money, and credit in a period which saw its major export trade in wool, which earned most of its money-supply, suffer from prolonged periods of warfare, high taxation, adverse weather, and mortality of sheep. Consequently, the economy suffered from severe shortages of coin, as well as from internal political conflicts, before the plague of 1348-9 halved the population. The book examines from the Statute Merchant certificates of debt, the extent to which credit, which normally reflects economic activity, was affected by these events, and the extent to which London, and the leading counties were affected differently by them. The analysis covers the entire kingdom, decade by decade, and thereby contributes to the controversy whether over-population or shortage of coin most inhibited its development. Front Matter ....Pages i-xviii The Place of Credit and Coin in the Medieval English Economy (Pamela Nightingale)....Pages 1-26 The Records of the Statutes of Acton Burnell, and Merchants, 1284–1349 (Pamela Nightingale)....Pages 27-50 The Contribution of Alien Creditors to the English Economy, 1285–1289 (Pamela Nightingale)....Pages 51-68 English Wealth and Credit, 1285–1289 (Pamela Nightingale)....Pages 69-97 The Growth of English Credit, 1290–1294 (Pamela Nightingale)....Pages 99-129 Warfare, Currency Confusion and Falling Credit, 1295–1299 (Pamela Nightingale)....Pages 131-154 Recovery and New Patterns of Credit, 1300–1304 (Pamela Nightingale)....Pages 155-183 Monetary Expansion and Economic Growth, 1305–1309 (Pamela Nightingale)....Pages 185-219 Crises, Conflicts and Mercantile Credit, 1311–1329 (Pamela Nightingale)....Pages 221-253 Warfare, Gold and Regional Disparities, 1330–1339 (Pamela Nightingale)....Pages 255-298 English Financiers, a Gold Currency and Plague, 1340–1349 (Pamela Nightingale)....Pages 299-332 Conclusions (Pamela Nightingale)....Pages 333-349 Back Matter ....Pages 351-382