Credit Finance in the Middle Ages:
Loans to the English Crown c. 1272-1340
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) awarded Dr Adrian Bell and Professor Chris Brooks a major research grant worth just over £350,000 (RES-062-23-0733) to investigate the early and innovative use of credit finance by a succession of English medieval monarchs. This project began in December 2007 and will run for three whole years. It employs a full time Research Associate, Dr Tony Moore.
The study is examining in detail the credit finance arrangements used by Edward I, II and III from both a historical perspective and also will utilise the approaches and models developed recently for modern-day sovereign borrowings. The team outputs will include a volume for the List and Index Society, containing details of the accounts between the Kings and their bankers; an online database of these transactions and a number of publications.
During 2008, the team presented their findings at the Workshop for Institutional Change in Historical Perspective, Centre for Institutional Performance (CIP); the International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds; and at the annual conference of the UK Government department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). In 2009, we presented at Clio, Cambridge University History Society and the Economic History Society Annual Conference (you can download an abstract here). In addition, we presented a poster session at the Movements in the Medieval World Conference at the University of Nottingham 30-31 May (a jpeg of the poster is available). Finally we gave a paper before the 'Thirteenth Century England Conference XIII' at the Sorbonne, Paris in September.
In 2010 we will be presenting papers before the 'Economic History Society Conference' in March and the 'Anglo-American Seminar on the Medieval Economy and Society' in July. We are also hosting a one day seminar at Reading (30th March) on Medieval Credit Finance in conjunction with the 'Sowing the Seeds' Network for Early Career Medieval Economic Historians.
An article introducing some of the project methodology, has been published as 'Interest in Medieval Accounts: Examples from England, 1272-1340', History (October 2009). A collection of edited sources is also being published by 'The List and Index Society' as 'Accounts of the English Crown with Italian merchant societies, 1272-1345'.
Some early findings of the project relating to a medieval 'Credit Crunch' have been published in the January 2009 edition BBC History Magazine - this can be read on the BBC News website - and the Winter 2008 edition of The Historian: the magazine of the Historical Association and Society Now (Spring, 2009). A short summary is also available on the Henley Business School website and for our latest commentary see our article for VOX and also a version in Italian for LaVoce . The project has also been featured in national and regional media, including the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and the Financial Times. An interview is also available to watch on CNBC (the interview starts approximately 1min 30secs into the clip).
The Sources
The credit arrangements between the three Edwards and Italian merchants were crucial for financing England’s ambitious foreign policies and providing for the smooth running of governmental administration. Such loans enabled the Crown to protect itself against predicted and unpredicted fluctuations in future taxation revenues. Substantial data on the credit system during this period survive mainly within the well-kept records of the English Exchequer. A systematic search of the relevant classes within The National Archives (TNA) at Kew for all sources pertaining to loans made to both sovereign and private borrowers is currently being undertaken. This includes the records of the Exchequer, memoranda rolls, issue rolls, pipe rolls, receipt rolls – and especially the classes described as Accounts Various, Foreign Merchants.
Indented account between King Edward II and the Frescobaldi of Florence, TNA E 101/126/21, m.1 (Crown Copyright)
The image shows one half of an indented account between King Edward II and his then bankers, the Italian merchant society of the Frescobaldi of Florence. This section of the document records the sums received by the merchants (or the king's deposits into his account). The corresponding copy of this document also survives. Each party to the account would have received one copy and the indented edges of the two copies would fit together.
The Team
From left to right:
Dr Tony Moore, Professor Chris Brooks, Dr Adrian Bell
Further Information
For more information please contact Adrian Bell: a.r.bell@icmacentre.ac.uk