# Mediaeval price list



## Brian G Turner (May 6, 2013)

I've been researching mediaeval prices for writing research, just to get an idea of actual recorded costs in context (and very aware of potential variability).

Anyway, here are a few links that may be of interest:

A list of prices from named sources from the 14-15th centuries of England:
http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/medprice.htm

A different page covering different sources, and a little less readable:
http://www.florilegium.org/?http://www.florilegium.org/files/COMMERCE/p-prices-msg.html

A page about approaching prices from the aspect of RPG play, though seems more fixated on early Middle Ages or even pre:
http://www.newsfrombree.co.uk/m_econ.htm


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## Dream Walker (May 8, 2013)

It always puzzles me that people insist upon imposing a modern economic system upon a largely credit based society, where people seldom had money as such, trading labour for everyday necessities. In fact that is where the idea of pin money came from. And another day,another dollar.


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## thaddeus6th (May 8, 2013)

Thanks for this list, Brian.

It's not quite the same, but the Knight Unofficial Manual has (I think) some price listings for things like armour, weapons and horses (probably circa the early 14th century). The Medieval Time Traveller's Guide also has some lists of general property and prices, taken directly from historical sources.


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## Brian G Turner (May 8, 2013)

Dream Walker said:


> It always puzzles me that people insist upon imposing a modern economic system upon a largely credit based society, where people seldom had money as such, trading labour for everyday necessities.



It depends upon the period and setting being used - I'm looking to the late mediaeval in a city environment, so to myself it's important to have some idea of relative costs at least to help with maintaining a healthy consistency.

Cheers, thaddeus, I've not finished that book yet.


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## Dave (May 8, 2013)

I think the prices of commodities would be much more likely to go down and up than they do today due to the effects of weather, disease and war, and the knock on effects of poor harvests and lower productivity. It would not only be the price of food and clothes affected, but almost everything you could think of that was manufactured, harvested or mined. There would be a boom during a war and a shortage of labour, but a recession following the end.

Does this help: http://www.history.ubc.ca/faculty/unger/ECPdb/index.html


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