Money and the Middle Ages : an essay in historical anthropology

Jacques Le Goff sets out in this book to explain the role of money, orrather of the various types of money, in the economy, life andmentalities of the Middle Ages. He seeks also to explain how, in asociety dominated by religion, the Church viewed money, and how ittaught Christians what attitudes they should adopt towards it andtowards the uses to which it could be put. He shows that, although moneyplayed an important role in the rise of towns and trade and in stateformation, there was no capitalism but only a pre-capitalism in theMiddle Ages, even by their end, in the absence of a truly global market.This is why economic development remained slow and limited, in spite ofsome remarkable success stories. It was a period in which it was asimportant to give money as it was to earn it. True wealth was not yetthe wealth of this world, even though money played an increasingly largerole in reality and in mentalities.No similar discussion ofthis subject, aimed at a wide readership, has previously been published.Written by one of the greatest medievalists, this book will berecognized as a standard work on the topic.