2/7/23

I note this survey book has been reprinted a large number of times, and in a relatively large number of languages. The scholarly community has embraced this as the statement of the "Pirenne thesis, which states that the collapse of the commercial and diplomatic community formed during the Roman Empire, was still largely intact until the mid seventh century. The "Fall of Rome" did not mean the world immediately collapsed into very small groups but that dissolution waited until the irruption of Islam in the seventh century. That matter still is discussed 85 years after this statement. The prose is not lively, but the information is clear. ( )

Accolta con grande entusiasmo alla sua pubblicazione, recensita da studiosi come Marc Bloch o Lucien Febvre, la Storia Economica e Sociale del Medioevo è una delle opere più significative di Pirenne, e un modello fondamentale per tutta la storiografia dell'«età di mezzo». Il punto d'avvio della sua ricerca è da rintracciare nell'individuazione della rottura dell'equilibrio economico dell'antichità con l'incontro-scontro tra arabi e occidentali: tale incontro dette luogo a un nuovo rapporto di forze che modificò la storia sociale, economica e politica di tutto il mondo allora conosciuto.

In edicola il 11/03/200 ( )

Points of interest:
A. Generalization
Exchange and trade had sunk to lowest ebb in ninth century.
One lasting result of Crusades - to give Italian towns mastery of Mediterranean.
Flanders the one industrial area in Middle Ages.
Striking increase in population in 12th century and before and after.
12th adn 13th centuries saw an increase in currency and hence inflation; and at same time a rise in standards of the upper classes; the combined effect was to ruin many of the latter.
The gynecea of Dark Ages (workshops) disappear during 12th century
Pressure for commutation of services came largely from lords, anzious for ready money
Except for Angevin Sicily, no central government in Middle Ages repaired highways.
Again except for 13th century Sicily, no state before 15th century showed any trace of a mercantilist policy. England starts in 15th century.
Princes took advantage of increasing circulation of money by repeated debasements.
Commercial credit can be traced back to 11th century.
Lay schools in towns start in 12th century.
Beginning of displacement of Latin by vernaculars is due to merchants.
Part played by Jews has been exaggerated.
Wine much more popular outside wine-growing countries in Middle Ages than now.
Medieval towns small: Venice, the largest, would have been 100,000, but 20,000 was large.
Towns ceasing to grow from beginning of 14th century. Same true of population in general, save in Eastern Europe.
Peasants from 14th century can no longer hope to make good by going to virgin soil.
At beginning of fifteenth century rates of interest fell from 12-14% to 5-10%.
B. Points of detail
Before 11th century, no trace of communication between Western Christendom and Saracen ports.
Many Islamic and Greek coins have been dug up in Gothland.
St Gerald of Aurillac, on being told he had got a good bargain for his pallium, promptly forwarded the seller more money.
First suspension bridge built in St Gotthard in eleventh century.
Abbey of the Dunes had 36 laybrothers in 1150 and 1248 in 1250 (one way of absorbing surplus population).
Flemish settlers very popular for settling Eastern marches.
From 12th century specialized regional agriculture coming in - eg Gironde for wine, English Cistercians for wool.
Italians first organised fleets for Flanders and England in 1314.
Canonical prohibitions of usury were suspended at fairs [no ref].
Silver substituted for gold from Pepin's time.
Charlemagne introduced the silver pound, divided into 240 pence and 20 shillings.
Gold coins first reintroduced in WEstern Europe in 13th century.
The title of the book is misleading - it is economic history to the exclusion of social, and even in economic history it gives much less attention to agriculture than to trade and finance. Similarly some regions get less than their fair share of attention, especially Spain and Eastern Europe. But so far as it goes it is a quite exceptionally lucid and illuminating book.