Money and Its Use in Medieval Europe

This is a full-scale study of the history of money not merely of coinage to have been written for medieval Europe. The book is not limited to one country or to any one period or theme but extracts the most important elements for the historian across the broadest possible canvas. Its scope extends from the mining of precious metals on the one hand to banking including the use of cheques and bills of exchange on the other. Chapters are arranged chronologically rather than regionally or thematically and offer a detailed picture of the many and changing roles played by money in all its forms in all parts of Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Thus money is seen as having differing values for differing parts of individual societies. The book shows money moving and changing as a result of war and trade and other political economic and ecclesiastical activities without regard for national barriers or the supposed separation between ''East'' and ''West''.