Money and Finance in Central Europe during the Later Middle Ages

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xviii

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2. Introduction: Medieval Finance in Central European Historiography

   1. Introduction: Medieval Finance in Central European Historiography

      • Roman Zaoral

      Pages 1-22

3. Money and Minting

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 23-23

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   2. A New Perspective on the Imperial Coinage

      • Hendrik Mäkeler

      Pages 25-31

   3. The Reception of Imperial Monetary Reforms in 16th-century Northern Germany

      • Michael North

      Pages 32-41

   4. The Kremnica Town Book of Accounts: The Economy of a Mining and Mint Town in the Kingdom of Hungary

      • Martin Štefánik

      Pages 42-56

4. Medieval Court Funding

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 57-57

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   2. Financiers to the Blind King: Funding the Court of John the Blind (1310–1346)

      • Zdeněk Žalud

      Pages 59-75

   3. The Financial Dimension of the Pledge Policy of King Sigismund of Luxembourg in Bohemia (1419–1437)

      • Stanislav Bárta

      Pages 76-86

   4. The Pledge Policy of King Sigismund of Luxembourg in Hungary (1387–1437)

      • János Incze

      Pages 87-109

   5. The Economic Background to and the Financial Politics of Queen Barbara of Cilli in Hungary (1406–1438)

      • Daniela Dvořáková

      Pages 110-128

   6. The Courtly Accounts of Prince Sigismund Jagiello (Late 15th to Early 16th Centuries) and Their Historical Context

      • Petr Kozák

      Pages 129-151

5. Trade and Towns

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 153-153

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   2. Accounting Records of the Town Offices in Bohemia and Moravia: Methodology and Application

      • Pavla Slavíčková, Zdeněk Puchinger

      Pages 155-168

   3. Remnants and Traces: In Search of Wrocław’s Accounting Books (Late 14th to Early 16th Centuries)

      • Grzegorz Myśliwski

      Pages 169-180

   4. Financial Obligations of the City of Gdańsk to King Casimir IV Jagiellon and His Successors in the Light of the 1468–1516 Ledger Book

      • Beata Możejko

      Pages 181-191

   5. Old Interpretations and New Approaches: The 1457–1458 Thirtieth Customs Register of Bratislava

      • Balázs Nagy

      Pages 192-201

6. Church and Money

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 203-203

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   2. Financing a Legation: Papal Legates and Money in the Later Middle Ages

      • Antonín Kalous

      Pages 205-221

   3. St Vitus Building Accounts (1372–1378): The Economic Aspects of Building the Cathedral

      • Marek Suchý

      Pages 222-246

The wealth of the Central European archives, particularly in urban records, has not been fully realised by Western European historians. However, the records are not always straightforward to use and many studies tackle the methodological problems inherent in gathering and analysing medieval sources. This book presents an original review of past and present research of national historiographies on medieval financial history from Central Europe. Covering material ranging from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, it explores the eastern regions of the Holy Roman Empire, including Bohemia, Silesia, Austria and Germany, and extending to Poland and Hungary. The authors firstly discuss the monetary policy of the Holy Roman emperors during the Middle Ages, before moving on to wider aspects of state finance, including credit mechanisms used by rulers. The book then investigates civic records and what they reveal about urban life and trade. It lastly investigates the financial activitiesof the church, from papacy to the cathedral chapters in Prague. Using numismatic and documentary evidence, Money and Finance in Central Europe during the Later Middle Ages provides an invaluable point of comparison with the financial conditions in Western Europe during the Middle Ages.

• methodology
• money
• Nation
• politics
• trade

“This is a valuable collection of essays which demonstrates admirably the willingness of Central European historians to tackle major issues of kingship, finance, minting and money and the pre-Hussite Church, and to arrive at some surprising answers.” (J. L. Bolton,English Historical Review, Vol. 133 (560), February, 2018)

• Charles University, Czech Republic

  Roman Zaoral

Roman Zaoral is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Humanities, Charles University, Czech Republic, where he also obtained an MA in History and PhD in Medieval History. His research interests centre on the economic, financial and numismatic history of central Europe during the Middle Ages.

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