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The Place of Credit and Coin in the Medieval English Economy

In: Enterprise, Money and Credit in England before the Black Death 1285–1349

Author

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  • Pamela Nightingale

    (University of Oxford)

Abstract

This chapter explains the part that money and credit played in the medieval English economy. The currency depended on a positive balance of trade, enabling merchants to bring bullion to the mints to compensate for losses of coin through trade and through payments financing warfare overseas. As mines in Europe became exhausted, causing shortages of bullion, there were periods when there was insufficient coin to maintain healthy sales, leading to recessions. The Crown opposed debasement, and as there were no English banks, credit depended on confidence that it would be repaid, which was influenced by creditors’ sense of the ready availability of coin. Barter only worked well in small communities. Once liquidity was threatened, only the supply of new bullion to the mints could restore confidence, credit, and prosperity.

Suggested Citation

  • Pamela Nightingale, 2018. "The Place of Credit and Coin in the Medieval English Economy," Palgrave Studies in the History of Finance, in: Enterprise, Money and Credit in England before the Black Death 1285–1349, chapter 0, pages 1-26, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:psitcp:978-3-319-90251-7_1
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-90251-7_1
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