A History of Business in Medieval Europe, 1200–1550 (Cambridge Medieval Textbooks) - Softcover

Hunt, Edwin S.; Murray, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521499232 ISBN 13: 9780521499231

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1999

Synopsis

A History of Business in Medieval Europe, 1200-1550, demolishes the widely held view that the phrase "medieval business" is an oxymoron. The authors review the entire range of business in medieval western Europe, probing its Roman and Christian heritage to discover the economic and political forces that shaped the organization of agriculture, manufacturing, construction, mining, transportation, and marketing. Then they deal with the responses of businessmen to the devastating plagues, famines, and warfare that beset Europe in the late Middle Ages. Medieval businessmen's remarkable success in coping with this hostile new environment prepared the way for the economic expansion of the sixteenth century.

About this title

About the Author:

James Murray is an Orthopaedic Specialist Registrar, Great Western Hospital, Swindon and Bath Royal United Hospital, UK.

Review:

"...Hunt and Murray provide a very well informed and intelligent exposition of medieval business developments for the nonspecialist." Choice

"[Hunt and Murry's] basic findings are that business was driven by the demand of the elite for exotic goods, and that the lasting contribution of Medieval business was organization rather than the innovations they imported." Reference & Research Book News

"[Hunt and Murray's] basic findings are that business was driven by the demand of the elite for exotic goods, and that the lasting contribution of Medieval business was organization rather than the innovations they imported." Reference & Research Book News

"This succinct and beautifully written book is a worthy edition to the distinguished series, Cambridge Medieval Textbooks." The Historian

"...at last we have a nuanced alternative to the old orthodoxies and an eminently persuasive one which, while never underplaying the genuine problems of the late medieval economy, creates a scenario in which the early modern economic take-off makes sense." Envoi.

"Hunt and Murray have done a valuable service in producing this textbook...The authors are also to be commended for their ability to transform sometimes technical business jargon into well-crafted, readable prose." Speculum

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0521499232
• ISBN 13: 9780521499231
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288