0 The Cadture ofthe Medieval Merchant Jago bythe number of is represneatives, if ot by the di Tinetion of products the culture ofthe merchant was one of the major components of the tedieval itellecaal seam. 1 last noteworthy, dtractr, Werner Sombart, wae properly re Ibuke in two cae enays by Hear Pizenne in 2989 and Dy ‘Armando Spor! in gg In choosing i my present subject Thane been moved not bya desire to pleat fora eause that no longer nee defender, but by de wish wo pusue some ofthe Tinks which may be found between Seminar + (ctiled "The {Commercial Revolution of the Cental Middle Ages in Europe’) fad the other fie seminar in thisyenon ofthe Southeastern I obvious for mention, Lave Seminar) penetrates every door, but Terwould be hard to prove that there was much connection be teen love and trade exeept forthe lamed eldest profesion Silicon bemeed thatthe amore of nights for noble ladies pened iuelfgaally to gentlehented merchants apd mer. ‘an daughters inthe dle il novo, The, aly, aerary porto love na ranted indariminately tall women, ve ‘us or mcked, wealthy ot poor, by Bacraco, the sn oF me. Chant and, in his ely cee, himself a reluctant merchant® ‘Agia in the peculiarly belated English Renaisance Seminar 6) thre cetanly ae harming ines in Tove Leters by English Trughers bue merchant culture doer not ser to ave play 4 independ ol. n fact, it might be interesting to compare the tendency to protracted nwa in English Hteracore with the Sail more promacted inulrty of English commercial tech Ise) The Culture ofthe Medical Merchant iran peat did form, othe Hansa world at Sloped i mediel and Renaiance Engand: Ts mevcans ‘seks ree al nt sachet Roma a oo foreign ‘Sfparneeip ander busswe sna cept Michel Psa sete wees iw ow of baie ciency han Seemigt have epee” Fre dtc ink with slic developmen im ery sb ecoteentery Dutch and Heth ae ubjet of Sonia se be poli fre peked up the ealenge of Hetrick Beets Uncen bunks Dev Withee des deuchen Sattar (og) Behe contended hat the eration rensenene nog asco of yes tune hve of saeco tne bok hssugeson heer been eel tested wis shior ttecua storia Ie belongs othe excing bt Slipper Std ot nerplay beeen economies and care,» fld ePhahempeed ter ala seh Frode Ana Ald ‘aeons ground along as Lea wl i eel ee {iS cammereal scans bewee lly the Low Counties ‘change of works of set anthro them of ati Hea Wotts Star re merhandbe ad the nerationa wader hep ireyesopen to ahi poem On #7 awe 987 parner A Sita company of mechan bates wrote ack. from AV enw hseorrpendentsin he re oie "You sy ta You sin pining he ree at which ve want them because {Oe fantom’ since hee ieao pest demand fer thom here. the needs mney.” This harcly prot of ae appreciation! Sighiyinore cncraging however franoe tha app few Taber inthe smell they are gna drawing they wil 1Robett 8, Lopes Superior works of ar were certainly vale as highly as they deserved. Long before Giovanni di Paolo Rucellst (1408-1481) retired from business and started collecting paintings because {he sid) spending money was more fan than tacking it up, the ‘merchant wasan active and diserimsnating ae patron, [st think ‘of Memling’s stupendous Last Judgment, bought by the Medici ‘bank manage in Bruges, loaded on a ship bound for lay, where it wastoadom achurch in Florence captured by Germ pirates and sent to Danzig where i remained inspite ofthe protests of the Florentine government to become the piece de résistance of the local museum. One detail ofthe masterpiece is expecially re suring forthe economic historian the donor and his wife ate realiically portrayed as sanding stark naked bat unafraid in the scales where the sins and virtues of all souls ae weighed. No banker ofthe Pope, no director ofa Medict agency rally eared to be damned slong with vulgat uures. I is rue that Flemish painters delighted in showing the wicked money changer count Inghis money whilea skeleton hrked behind hin shoulder, ready to deliver his prey tothe devil: But Ralian merchants had found gimmicks to eat thet cake and have i, oo, and since they paid the piper, hey called the ene Thave been playing so far with some marginal afiniies be toveen my theme and those of thee of my lear colleagues. However, can ind closer and steadier connections withthe de velopment of writing and the pursuit of knowlege (Seminars 1 and’, "Series of the Scholae Period” and "Aitudes Toward Knowledge in French Rensisance Literature”), Both were e+ sential ingredients of the bread if specialired traning of the ‘medieval merchant. Let me tare with few strong bt, I believe jtifed statement about writing. In all probability the rate of literacy among medieval traders ws second only to that among. ‘the upper clergy. By the thirteenth century, literacy had become so widespread im the Tealian cities 3¢ leet, that it ws virtually taken for granted. At the same ime in Tay, ora lite later ese where, the volume of commercial writing far exceeded that of any other kind of writing fr any other parpone. Admictedly the firs statement cannoc be prove forthe ely a The Culture ofthe Mediceal Merchent Midale Ages, but x notneay all we sy about tat period based ‘on impressions rather than saisiog? Even Piteane, the cham pion of merchant culture in the later Middle Ages, contended that i could not have goe underway before the tenth century or the eleventh Beste early medieval busines transactions were tao puny torque any written documents: but since the second part of the syllogism (that early medieval trade was almost ia Sgifcant) eno longer generally accepted, the fs part has lost fis prop. The fact remains that no commercial records ate in ‘dude in the very small number of documents Surviving fom fe early medieval centuries, and when at long last they occa sionally appear. they generally prove to have Been written by notaries or other ofa who could certify their validity. Neither does there survive any merchanecorrespoadence like the papers fof those Jeish merchants whieh were found aceidentally inthe buried garbage ofan Old Cairo synagogue ehough these, to, are ‘mostly Inter than the tenth centiry. The enlist extant leters tf Halian merchants are ofthe thirtenth century® On the other han, Armando Petrucci tas recently tabulated the subscriptions ‘of puties and witness inthe 180 original documents ofthe ast Sty years ofthe Lombard Kingdom (724-774) The documents falled for ether an autograph signatre of gnu mans (a thatk inthe shape ofthe cron) of 355 ecclesiastics and O33 Lay men, Whereas almost two thirds of the ecclesiastics wrote out their names only 14 percent of the laymen did, Most of te ater ‘were high ofcals or did not specify their profession; among, Tove who did, gives some lukewarm confor to ind a very fet rmonetarti (minters and changerbankers, wheres: a man de Sgnated3¢ "royal physician” merely axed his avi? For the later centuries the difusion of documents wholly written and certified by profesional sribes and notaries makes Aizct text of literacy imposible, but fortunately we have beter tokensof literacy spreading well beyond the ability to write one's ‘own name, Most cogent. ih my opinion, isthe face that in thie teemfcentury Genoa the maser woolmakers, culturally and so ‘ally one note below the merchants, sometimes entrusted the eeping of tecorés and accounting to thei hamblest and lowes (351Robert 8. Lopes scquite i without depending on cao, craft maser oF priest the ly public school information on the abject scered, bu re ou that choos ofthis kind exited in Florence and Poa scaly asthe twelfth century, and in Ghent, the gest enter of the Flemish woolen industry and trade, by 1179, In easly teentheentry Florence, according to. Giovsnn Villani mer Chancand historian ofthe wm, between boys and gia yea eared to read. In at o a ite over 8 tracy" Thus Kay, which i the eleventh cencory had alread Yerildered German visitor by it propensity to send to school ‘cucate girls! No other country before the high Renainance div layed such adangeros indulgence, ut some ofthe wax tablets tse for practic na writing school of fourteenth-entary Li beck, the ental hu af Hanseatic rade, contain ral for bs rrespondence, By the ae fifcenh century. even the Lon Waits had iste rue forbidding any member o tele fulld to take an apprentice unless he could “write and Rede Full literacy among mals ofeoure ison a fw tp in the puriuitof knowledge Beore moving on higher eulural man Fesatons, however, T muse suply ome evidence in suppor of ny third contention, hat inthe ate medieval Kalan ees (and bay many ther pli) mr a ven conection SSily mean tht more srtings have come down tows. Literary 8) The Culture of but most commercial writing war destroyed when the tans tions it recorded had been completed. when the frm was ci solved, of nter, when archive had to make room for more presigious paper, Pal Mayer whisked away Irom the shop of 2 ocer, who had been wing them to wrap hs merch remaining leaves ofthe eldew extant be from of Ord Caio busines corespendence tat had been labeled by a Cambridge archive "commeral papers of no uportance, (Gene fortunately, was one ofthe fst cities that ordered no ries to preserve forever at heme or deposit in the municpal archives all he minutes ofthe sibey ate, mow of {ls for the thirteenth century lone we sll poset alas go Genoese minute books each book containing hundreds of iin ‘utes but thi lew than one percent ofthe ainute books that Genes two hundred registered notaries actualy filled over hunded years" Turning a another claw of documents, we hive the eeepiona archives ofthe Data company fof merchant bankers Prato nese Florence containing about joo books of account and over 90.000 leer exchanged in the midfourtenth century Between the home ofice and. branch agent allover Europe and the Mediterranean word. And, of alarge on, but not one ofthe very args. Records of this hind are not ames ac trary beauty, but cea the drabbest song them hive unexpected fies of hu ‘torand fickerof tragedy. The Teectattore han the tary ‘onomic fet of ie they fer an amon ineedible variety of Information about pola. religous inellecsa 1 sci maltrs,ouching not merely the upper cas but peeple in every station IF might be allawed to sdvertise ny favorite stock inthe historical wade, 1 would ecommend cto the special tention of Young scholars (by which I mean all cholate whowe curity eps them forever young). What is more, busines records have been le tied and belabored snmosenobler writings HenceRobert S. Lopes they offer opportunites to work on the unprinted and to die ‘over the urperted, Then T would submit to my friends and tasters, the paleographers a humble saggetion: that commer al script be included in their coures ot a6 a marginal and ‘optional subject bat as an esetial ne, We ceomomic historians ate willing. teach our stademts how to ead bosiness document (theyae diferent, butt particularly dificult) and yet we need the paleographers’ help in the higher levels of their discipline, the say of serie asa part of intellectual history. Let as gen now tothe pursuit of knowledge. Not surpris: ingly-itwat especially intensive inthe directions that would help Sharpen a merchant's profesional tls. "Whoever i slow in ‘wrung his records cannot ive long without damage and er saysa Genoese poet and merchant of the thirteenth centr, and he ade a more solemn warming: "Make your weighing 9 xc rate that you may never be caught in eror, remembering the Seales in which you are going to be weighed” Dino Compan, the Florentine chronicler and poet in Dante's age, places the abiliry to "write atcounts well Lept and fre from oversight” at the top ofthe virtues that add digaity toa merchant's character" Indeed, the medieval revival of arithmetic takes in 1202 with the Liber Abbaci of Leonaedo Fibonacci of Ps, son of the chiel administrator ofthe Pian extraterritorial counting howe At Bougie (i moder Algeria) A remarkably cleat and compre hensive manual, not surpassed before the high Renaissance i used the socalled Atabie numerals and chose commercial trans ‘actions and partnerships for neary all ofits problems atid ex Aamples. Arabic figures met with some resistance wis std in conservative circles thar they could be Faudulently altered wih ‘out detection—but abridgment, adaptations, and extracts of F bhonae's manual promptly became ubiquitous in Kaly and abroad." More sophisticated calculations of such maters a die ountvatesand conversions from one coinage o stem of weight tw another were further developed in specialized handbooks of ‘commerial practice, of which Iwill speak later. But the most im presive achievement of Taian merchants between the catly thirteenth andthe early fourteenth centuties was the eansforma [8] ‘The Culture of the Medicvel Merchant Yion of accounting fom random garbled mors co a fully de veloped doubleeatry system, substantially the very one tha i used today by the Iaget banks, public corporations, and public sudministations. The only important diference is that we no Tonger use the abacus but the computer. The later cerainly saver time, but s€ magnates the ocatonal lapses of thove who feed it Legal studies, expecially in commercial and maritime law, were smother pura oflering merchants both pleasure and prof it By the fst half ofthe thiceenth century a fair number of Tealian merchants completed thei education 2 the young uni ‘sersty of Bologna. Their example was oon followed by German smerchants, but not by so many as went to Venice to learn both busines contracts and double-entry accounting, for Reman law as taught in the universities did supply general principles and tome technical rales that were constately quoted in medieval Commercial contracts but it was not quite adjusted to the con- tinuous innovations of living commercial and maritime law. ‘Therein lay one of the greatest contributions of the medieval merchant, eho noe only studied but largely created an entirely new body of legislation. Civil and eanon jorisprudence stl ‘erved as it frame, but the mbstance became immensely exible tnd well sied to 3 fr more dynamic economy than that of the ‘lane world." The eales surviving cadiiation of this com posite law comes from ewelfth-century Pls, filly yeatsbelore FFionace’s mathematical book, though theve i probably tll cnlier material in a aly preserved text rom Amalf, The oldest festant manuscript of Pils code, neatly divided into civil and fustmnary aw. in the Yale University Library, Written almost certainly by a notary temporarily hited by the municipal cours, ie bear ine margita the marks of che consinuing additions and changes i dhe ety law and custom. Governed a they were by their own merchants with no interference from royal or feudal ‘upervvor the cities of northern and central aly molded their Jaws asthe pleased, often amending them uneficaly through private arrangement between merchants and notaries, who Be- Temes tothe same cae and sometimes swapped roles, And ever [so]Robert S, Lopes where cites were not free, unoficial collections of customary serchant la, sch asthe Catalan "Consulate ofthe Sea” and the French "Oleron Rolls” formed a body of international uses ‘which no king or lord could safely ignore i he wanted to atact foreign merchants and marines to his markets" Tn turn, merchants had to be knowledgeable about foreign ‘astoms, measurements lls, merchandise, and languages, Latin, the Esperanto of medieval Europe, wasa must. etl was sed in ‘many fiteentvcentury records of Hansa merchant, more com ‘ervatve than the Mediterranean ces, But soone a ater Lain tended tobe edged oat by national and local vernacular. pe ‘nly the informal, autograph papers that merchants began to ‘ee soon a they fel cat thet signatures, in iu of the notarial seal werelnovn well enough tserveascertifation, There were interpreters in every wading center, and the merchants them Selves usualy learned thos foreign terms and sentences that were Indispensable for traveller, Some term, anyway, were the srne everywhere, with borrowings from Arabic, Greek, French, Eng lis, German, and above all Kalan, peacefully coexisting in a lingua franca. Foreign-born wives of mistrener were helpful teachers, Sows 3 long residence abroad. And there were Iiterary ‘ividends, too: nearly all the Ialians who in the thirteenth ea tury wrote respectable Iris in Provengsl were merchants. Bene- Getto Zacraria, Geno's famed merchant admiral and diplomat, _ eto for Philip the Far, in witty and almost flawless French 3 plan of naval warfare agains England, and Benedice Kotulich, ‘merchant from Dubro, gave Italy in Italian, a reatse on the "mercante perfeto,” almone 3 hundred years before Casti= slione gave Europe his memorable book onthe perfect courtier. ‘There were dictionaries of more oudandish languages, The most stunning ithe Codex Cumanicus,a trilingual voeabulay and ‘lementay grammar compiled in 1303, probably by a Genoese Imerchant, which trnsated Latin into Persian and nto Camanie, 4 Turkic language spoken all over the immense Mongolian ex pire, all the way trom the Black Sea tothe South China Sea™ ‘Geograpiy wa another indispensable tol, There were "por: telans” (descriptions of seaports and their approaches) so ace. [60] ‘The Culture ofthe Medieval Merchant rate tat neo hem has helped met identity ples long he ‘Sf andthe Engh couse ate when oing to urope SEINp umn jet tin expensive fora profenor Accompanying, ser inepandenly repre, there were mape-the oldest ‘mc tom ne tuncenthcenury Genoa, the predietfrm fcumcentrcenury Majors, the mow epchsmaking. perhaps the panier of Belgan-borm Mero pewdonym which ech eene, "mechan, When one compar the ode “Tsu! map mae in Gen oan almost contemporary Dt inSumercal English eve (oe Herlord Map, the diference Serween reat and fancy is sking, Crowle wih vey but MSaglaary mone the Hevea Map i fall of ixortons ‘Ghfen tat of Gena is almost ood ay aly nineteenth Century map™ ‘On the phe han, one wits that wedieval merchants had been ect to wie dvr he vel impresion Probe Sip mon them were toby oro ari ht heir infor Rar mgt be ted by competitors to minke thei experience Salat to poste, What itl we knw about the courageous Sipeitea She Vial brothers wear ito the Ane Bet earn for acommere oe tothe dies" ey SSE never have ben seve the explores had nt Thappeare tse thos making shir lve a warming w others SAREE Sain Domenicine B Or tnerexingemarhs abot Me feoptean pos of Wesem Europe Dyantine Trebizond, soe Tu So Minor were comme he Msi ral Uma in the fred Ie of 2 Caio ji where eat werecontned in ggg or gg 3Umat ater inde than infin work but the Genre eo merchants of Den ‘ino did noc edie Happy he chance encounter, in Genoa’s epic amp of Masco Pl the Venetian mercast. with usb Pin srbblr of novel of chivalry, produced one eta aang and native count fare ds thar ever tas been writen, Pls ook cated to Rushllo, then became and remained hough eh Milde Ages what we ‘Sight cal sachronnicaly "ev sll” Judging fom the uber at surviving manners howeey, the etna! cave (1Robert 8, Leper took scribed to ne John Mandel, a clever concoction of ibionaie authentic accounts and of popula legend reached 2 sl larger audience, soften bapens when a popvzr ps hel agsnt a boa fe thle A rember of otra coun fenune merchant vel othe Fa as and othe pars tthe word, ranging trom Other dscption of Sandia inthe ine ot King Aled to Atanas Nikitin’ writing on Cen tral Ain in the age of rs thc Gre, ave cme don a bat tone machete scope sod itee of Polos Mine The rela tivedearth arate sures pity fos amber ef cently nerd nota and lal doctents fiat ha between typ and 345 there wa mow a ach of Tein merchants fo Tada and China. Aly alsin inthe Decameron implies hat that time, Ry ears ater Polos veto to Ven the Gena were more gi than the Venetians boging about thet Fat Ester experiences Fortunately the newly unearthed documents contain valuable economic and usnan intrmaton Which wl for an important adition Poi bok ‘Merchants were bound to be itrewed n everyaipect of tecnlogy and applied sence hat woul increase her pott butter emruton thew Belvo nly evaunted. Only inrecet imesh the iventor emerged rom anonym, More ‘ver one woul expect hat merchants were promote ad sp pliers ofepital mor often tan devsr of oe mechanical at trvanes Everywhere except in aly they lt face ey ied ther hands with ayehing but nk The Halen merchantbaaker ‘es sometines invidiouysepresnted in agrarian France a 3 rey unser who crn with thing bua fen and an nel tocar aay creping the borrower pss in exchange fo pice of apr converte int eperscy needed es, Sch ‘laacteriton, howcver fal Yodo justice tthe fancion of Credit extended fr economic development. The loan shark preyed onthe etutthe ncpa or te prodigal, bu the Merchant preferred to advance fre for the purchase of tal nd th incense of producti. i enreprenership Pah by his Snowledgeof markets platy minerals Indust prod sets and process in dire: coutie, wafarey responsible (6) The Culture of the Medieoal Merchant forte difesion of many technolo inovations that rsd themediey aandad of ving far abone hat elas atiqiy {Whether or mothe elt invented, ene how to piven MSCS stan tie Oxford popes speculated about the slat maging pars, bt tok the Venetian me rts ogee i gars gulé of mars of eeasex™ "Te thintano woul ie moe toro survey fhe poe sic apres merchant clare Lamy Tecommend aw of EAE theta tna ecmomie historians asiy under the mod Cr tle of pts dele meaar. The lee tan among ‘fea unpretentious enqelopediay of commercial science tl rere war ween Pein 1278 atough itis preserved SEPT n incomplete sevntenth.centary copy. 1s central oe, {tha of a oder aunts fi Bind, was formed by Tits of UES caaellable ne met important markets thi qh ‘sen thorcomings together withthe way to ell good grades {oa interor one her ot ncading warspoaton and tae, ‘Eel tat was eed o conver foreign weights and eons nt BMAP uncer Te aon there were model of commercial dene im sulogal eens of arabe snd unfvorble SEUSS eh for operation th commercial and surged serind as, a condemed scount of Pian history. ‘The Seed Se crane erste date ol foundation othe cathedral SE back tot te ln, teterence to the was shat se te tobring Pia’ prespeity oa end. The yatcipaten SEESRaI Pi coming the rt cade is eored wi Gh igh ovensatememt thatthe Pras conquered the Holy Tu Saher ety stro arid om Ar Of the Boo ‘Suave there the onl sem mentioned isthe ramoncrpt of Juunian’sDiget. whch emained the prized posesion ofthe Piano nl the Forentines m tor conquered ist Tee cule the manuscript to Florence, where sll can be en Tae surlogialelends ha sme surprising ggeton Sihathacasnonning mariage with vig bride when under ‘MeAiuence of Veg but crying on boy with ny woman ‘hoists virgin More wisely ee diferent busines activities Telmmended under eleven coneliadansscem to agree ooghly (63)Robert 8. Lopes withthe weather that canbe expected. Under the welfh no bs ness whatsoever allowed, which places the merchant's right to vacation under the protection ofthe sats ‘Stl mre wisely sirology was eased out in all ater manuals butone, the Venetian Zibaldone da Canal, which includerarneng other items an historical compendism sting with Adam and Eve, ahandfl of mathematical exercises, very helpful designs of ships. a few medical recipes and a short anthology of vernaclar poems and prose. To Francesca di Balduceio Pegeoti an agent fof Florence's largest company of merchant-bankers inthe ely fourteenth century, we owe what was probably the bes balanced ofall manuals so far published and studied, Pegooti leaves poetry othe poets and astrology tothe fol, bat oles the fullest Tiss of wares and their distinctive characterises, replaces cle mentary problems with advanced calculations of interest, dis ‘count. and usince explains with cientfc precision several chem fcal and meaallurgcal proces, and coves the whole world of the medieval merchant from Newenle to Peking. Eventhough very encyclopedia of practical busines science deployed part ofits subject mater according to the individual preference of is ‘usually anonymous author, the bulk wae uniform and repetitious if only because a good proportion ofthe raw material detived from oficial regulations and taifs whieh every traveler could read and copy for himelt =" do not want to give the impresion thatthe medieval mer: sénant was invariably dy, colorlew man interested ealy in ake ing money and bind othe loti spheres of culture, He did nat ‘mind reading for pleasure, and sometimes even bought Books, “More often than nota rugged individualist in his own profeion, but eager to share hie risk with hie asoiates and his gains with his elloweitizens in his extracurricular activities he fl fully at ‘ens as leader of his own city. The Kalan commune—that gov. femment of the merchant, bythe merchants, forthe merchant ‘flere hima the best opportunity in histary to attain hie varied goals Without distespeet for Hans Baton, Paul Kristeller, it fenio Garin, and other historians who have vindicated the sin. Cerityofhumaniss pleading for the clasic ial of cive vite i (54) ‘The Culture ofthe Medienat Merchant an age of decadent republicanism and rampant despot, Ibs tnt tat what became mainly «noble utopia the Renaissance Ma sometimes actully Bees way of ie in the medieval cy too paricully in Tay, but to variable extent in other fegios of Euope where cites enjoyed a measure of astonony. This dacs noc mean that tedievl merchants were wesellsh {ari but they did dently the greanes and wellre of thet Ey with choue of theism and ine, ely Believing—10 bonow the unforgetable words of one of President Eisenhower fabinet menberethat ats ood for Geral Motors s good forthe emmay” They were unatingy dediated othe cy ccichwflred them every chance fo self flllment or rather, they were datiated st leat so leng asthe pary was i the sa {le and notin eal, They served thet republic as public of facials asseldiers as iplomats, as propaganda as eemomie flea espers,Incresingly, moreover 35 ie went by, they Served with thei eloquence and ther pes and tis opened 10 them a bacor entrance into iteratore proper. We have no ‘erbatim transcripts oftheir pie speeches ad the extremely Concise minutes of meetings that have een preserved do no ade quel veer te quai and ward of dscns that often Ite wes. hele se tm ecu howe renal found ling expresion i cronies oftheir te Sere, in the pasate para narration of people who had tren utenty witness butte prego tthe event the terchancinsered fie conscious porraitinto thecollective Fepresenation ofthe entire commensty. While Vilehasdouin, Pawvie, and Friar painted x gliering but resvited image {ther nation a parade of lags presided over by god er thd monarchs, Compagnia Villa in Florence, Martino & Cana! in Venice, Catto and Jacopo d'Or in Genoa drew 2 Gensecin of het communis as republic of merchants, $0 id ner, the anonyious author ofthe Journal dun bourgeois de Pars and ino merchant chronicles of Augsburg, Buskard ink and Heitor Malic ‘No profesional seichant, to my nowedge, doubled as an sched sculptor, or pnt and ye fe would not Be off he ic)Robert S. Lopes snark to my that th ty elf seen his work of ats Iatht paces it shope i areden fountains opi eck bridges i town alle and guidhalo and fa beter Intnl refed the cake af the merchant cla that pid forthe building and panned the open pace acordng to 1 ‘eeds and utes” Nowhere shee erent han in evan "nities between pcs nied by nothing eter han the rele ‘fmerchants Sometime ago warsruck by Ge clse semblance O€ the ton all belty of Torun ce Palish btplae of Co ‘erfes) tothe owe bal ely of Bruges: hands an hon Ares of miles farther wes "OF eoote alc istoran tod sme; "Torun i atthe eatern end of a Hans rote, Hansa Imechan peas thie! rm Brage to cone ange Inula replica this Belton the banks ofthe Visa” Nov ong ato. in Chinese ly nes Nanking carious tombstone wi ‘und tad» Gothic irprion commemorating one Cerin Tone, bared therein ga ands Chine sl (ang, ppron mately, "Sen and approved ogetir wth an inne ef he Virgin and Child and enc ofthe martyidom ofS Catering, iconolopaly orthodox bu providing al peronages with Or toa satin ejen Thee nas ome dae abut the posible ‘lntieation of Caterina one and her ter, Dome, a mentioned inthe iscrption, but inate hal the pod ick of fnding a sightly easier notarial document cing Domenico Tine a3 prominent ember ofthe Genose meth suuniy nthe same Chins town hope T haved enough wo sge that test some mei- cramerchantsare stale oe sdmtsin ia one dor or anther into the fal of Iertare and ar T do nee wae to oer ther ier however-notat an inate ot medieval sed ene bance stules There quits diference bemera the metic pareime lowproe involvement of sercant in human nd the tll immersion of any Renarance merchant int world of humanities Leon Bata Albert, the deena of ‘any generations of merchanbankes played down with cu sory mention i noe aint pate the comer aio of is {amily inorder that he might appear more shoroughiy» gentle (00) ‘The Culture ofthe Medievel Merchant saan farmer seeped in all forms of at. Laven il Mayuiice did notallow the failure of his bank to distract im from polities and poety. But dese two instances representa unique phenomenon fm history. Ie happened only once, and in an effore to explain t many students of the Rensisance, from Jakob Burckhardt en, have put forward hypotheses on the interplay of economies and caultae which I will briefly examine ia my final comments here Burethande (the maser of us ll, ough not at infallible one) bile his interpretation on two widely shared assumptions first thae there isa connection between the economic setup and the clara eharacteritics of every elation an ea; and second, that economic and cultural growth are interdependent enough to justify maintaining that economie sce an essential factor nd explanation of cultura distinction, Provided tha the com ‘ection between economics and culture is understood in term of ‘angeniality or compatiblity and not of inet envi, the frst sumption is almost at safe a euism, Brin and stomach are ‘mutually indispensable: they exchange mestges, and some ofthe mestage leave imprints a both ends: OF curse there ae eas but normally what the Middle Ages would have ealed the di logue between the spirit and the Besh i reasonably audible under the louder noieof style, thetri, and inspiration “The second assumption, however that economic and calcual growth go together, is imposible co prove In lat, ii altogeher ‘wrong. Carried to itsextreme, i would make us expec that since the gros national product of the bicentennial United Stats i, ‘ay. 2 thousand times larger than that of Renaissance Florence, tre should nat be content with lw than a thousand Leonardo da Vincis and Guiciardinis Contained within more rexonable limits, tsi wold ela withthe fat that history indicates no ‘consistent correlation beeen economic and cultural peaks. The ge of Louis XIV combined literary and atte Blowing with political power and economic trength, but Bach and Beethoven, Goethe and Schiller were born ina divided and economically backward Germany, Most people wil agree that Vietorian Eng land was richer and more powerful chan Elizabethan England, bu Kipling was not really so great a Shakespeare. Togo back t0 (6Robert 8. Leper the Middle Ages and Renaisanee, nobody believes any more that rospevty began inthe quattrocenta, and most economic histor fans segat he thisteenth century a the all-time high point be fore the eighteenth or early nineteenth century, the fourteenth ‘century as an age of eis and deprenon, and the fitenth asa peviod of moderate, shaky, and incomplete recovery. eis alays posible to quibble in order to rescue an unten able assumption, Nevertheless, given the fats inthe case + hand, ‘seems wiser to look fora correlation that will work. Aware of the fact that the intellectual explosion of the Renaissance came later than the economie spurt ofthe Mile Ages, Wallace Ferg som has suggested that a correlation may nevertheless be pot lated in the form ofa cultural Ig. A two-handed: year lags noe ‘the easiest thing to explain in my opinion, bate brings to wind the three sages which Henri Pirenne observed in the evolution ‘of businesmens families Init fastest and simplest couse 4 man "aises himself from rags to riches by rlenles and single winded Prtuit of gain, his son nurses and expands his eapital while ae: ‘quiving social refinement and awarenew of her sources of Satis faction than money, and the sonsson rejects busines and spends his inherited capital in whatever manner pleases him. The se ‘quence may take mere generations than thre, and does not necessarily destroy capital, Because every generation produces 'ty own firststage businessmen. ‘The economic crisis of the Ire ‘ento, however, leaves the quattrocento with fewer businesmen because it ha inherited few second-stage capitalists, and ie ors ‘elatvely limited opporcunites for bepinsers to complete the frst stage frm rags to riches All his, however, doesnot explain why Renaisance mer: chants spent a lager proportion of time and capital in cultural [purnits than did their medieval predecenors, ‘The only cotre latin of this essentially inteleeal shift with economic con Sidcrations is in my opinion, one of preferential investment. ‘What share of the resoures acquired in business should be fed ‘back to busines, and what share should be invested in culture? Although this is nota question which a teacher at Duke Univer sity can asail without special soulsearching, 1 would suggest st 168) ‘The Culture ofthe Mediewst Merchant a answer, "as much a canbe diverted fom busines without tampering i growths ‘he ni medieval merchant my he spent oo ite for ealture: Had he known ore than Jos read ing and wating. he might have increaed not only hit intllee tual ange but his commercial effceny a1 wel var of what change ine wn toring. one well nigh ithe Renaisance tercant war tlh On thie que ake he ith amend tent. On the eter hand, {have no quai in prcaiming that the late medieval merchant iaveted elle a sbi mount of time, money, and elo. [60]Notes sta eee rn to gn ieee ot ramet 1 fare hed ta Bacar Tar hig of scot e erica eee ae i etm rod ee tot) mean ny ome nee as aan “ch 8 Foca “racnenaip i tapah otal Conese i Ore dian Sper liana, s ugh Sn Sots gh athe i brian eek off toe,C d S Lon the Otro crepesall we Soman Goi rv denn went tater Natl veh des e.g) Oe {olen ewan tet oud Caplan ‘Re of ty te any ae age pet, naga . aie stop Sa acne rele Erin ath sitnd a AS emer lke Catan ta sty aps Tarte ca 2p {tno ca ag on ogg ‘arto heel af Pea ta Sport ce 1, Chiappe (thn, 6-agJ-Le Ga, Marchand banque tmjen Sg Pa sh There mater ne else of Wane mowed tas ens ees, ‘gb uh end tana ore ey ade Sad ‘niall Sony od pcsdiden Seepeogecn Teh Rdoe he Mle re fel ae pas: §Thepe odie [7] ‘The Culture ofthe Medieval Merchant ee erates Sie oni mccain Qa fete Spar ioe heey cetera ena ates mee sae hae nae Sede aie Bop Ae 1 ie iat nS Swept dae eee ret eta ed oa lf pen Eyring ane oad si aw aed een ‘eds andcsmmerial oreponence maybe found i A ap, Stat dt are esl Sie ee a pt na ser rer ee eye oe wr Pinna as Lana Bea nate mon Serum ben erent ‘Ginrat fap commer wings forthe i ure en Segtdieu sre enintece scat tome tae coterie laste tn i ie Te EAE, wy wl may eof na, Borrelia atten ot te ue te ff pects een ‘Sa lo: neione of ri oman in. ot) ao seep eat Poa te Medial fasm (ncn, rok. and BE Kear, er. res ey tes Lips eg ord ie a tot pn wees ae ls On ts am f+ inRobert 8, Leper ‘Mihi Ey om the far sory the Law Merve (abe age, Soa ae aes ‘Schinpareli, ey Vocselns tm anahee ovens ti) He ana Kahane an Se eee ‘Finn cel ly and can ted ae ‘3.0.1. T. Kimble, Geography the Mile ges Loon, ng) sil the er ee pe ‘Landon, 196) Bibligpicinormaion mat oe fond tthe god pper oy Seer ence cpr so all ‘Seudi Ligurt. Bordighera, 1974) syehoneadenmenles SERS ll wm cr rs seen er ‘Bite emits dr carina eos apt Atbog tbat unr ER eee eee ‘eo Mie, ye My eat ae “Eutopeay Mera he Medel Tie pivastern emia eaes a SAGEM latina rascmeocntt top Soe te thew emer tia cage Sap Zee eee eee oder ernie sn pis The Ene han hse of Goch Toc man flies eZee et eee ct es hewn coal hve toe mae ‘cits smi i Bnet Mice may mvaaramne eae yer ee ge spite tet Cuaron er Silat pate dans Wil sEctpe oo ifn dp ions Rae Sepa hanes es tr) ‘The Culture ofthe Medieval Merchant SiNRTA YIN ctr tev eae Gt lata Scns of a rf gale sensei spn Bree Comps Ree ter uaeren a te vows expres in theta ew page canbe ‘qe th al grape were nen - ral