![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lethargic_manThis little book (the main text is only 66 pages) is an interesting introduction to how monetary systems were run differently in the Middle Ages.
For example, we think (or at least I did) of inflation (or, more strictly, flation -- my brother tells me the USA was run on a deflationary basis a century ago) as a characteristic of the way modern economies work, but of mediaeval currencies as being much more stable, only occasionally suffering from inflation.
However, the truth is more complex. For much of mediaeval times, the unitary currency units in the west Mediterranean (gold bezants, florins, etc) were stable, but the fractional currency units (pennies) were not, and suffered from inflation, leading to the number of pennies exchangeable for a gold coin increasing over time. (The solution to this was ingenious, but not discovered until after mediaeval times.) This led to there being essentially two parallel economies, one favouring bulk dealers, the other small buyers, one favouring creditors, the other debtors.
Ever thought the system of pounds, shillings and pence was confusing? (Which system, of 12d to the shilling and 20/- to the pound, was introduced by Charlemagne, I learned.) It wasn't half as confusing as the way people took to dealing with this variable currency. When contemporary accounts talk about a shilling of account, they mean 12d, regardless of how many pennies a shilling coin was worth. So far so good? Now repeat and cook at Gas Mark 6 for several centuries:
For example, we think (or at least I did) of inflation (or, more strictly, flation -- my brother tells me the USA was run on a deflationary basis a century ago) as a characteristic of the way modern economies work, but of mediaeval currencies as being much more stable, only occasionally suffering from inflation.
However, the truth is more complex. For much of mediaeval times, the unitary currency units in the west Mediterranean (gold bezants, florins, etc) were stable, but the fractional currency units (pennies) were not, and suffered from inflation, leading to the number of pennies exchangeable for a gold coin increasing over time. (The solution to this was ingenious, but not discovered until after mediaeval times.) This led to there being essentially two parallel economies, one favouring bulk dealers, the other small buyers, one favouring creditors, the other debtors.
Ever thought the system of pounds, shillings and pence was confusing? (Which system, of 12d to the shilling and 20/- to the pound, was introduced by Charlemagne, I learned.) It wasn't half as confusing as the way people took to dealing with this variable currency. When contemporary accounts talk about a shilling of account, they mean 12d, regardless of how many pennies a shilling coin was worth. So far so good? Now repeat and cook at Gas Mark 6 for several centuries:
The ghost penny equal to 1/384 of the real florin was not only different from, but also more valuable than the real penny, which was always a smaller and smaller fraction of the real florin. And therefore the ghost shilling which represented 12 times the ghost penny (or 1/29) of the real florin) was a unit different from and more valuable than the ghost shilling which represented 12 times the real penny.There; that should teach you to appreciate the currency systems we've got today! :o)
