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The Art of the Deal
Intermediaries of Trade in Medieval Montpellier
Series: - The Medieval Mediterranean, Volume: 37
Author:
Medieval commercial transactions did not occur spontaneously. They were crafted by merchants with the support of numerous personnel on the medieval marketplace: notaries, innkeepers, brokers, transporters, and subordinate personnel of the merchant's entourage.
This study introduces the reader to the challenges of trade in the Mediterranean world and to specific market conditions in the Mediterranean French town of Montpellier. A case study of the business of the Cabanis merchants permits an in-depth examination of the facilitation of trade by intermediaries whose activities are traced in the discovery phase of arranging a deal and in its closing and execution.
Medieval business practice involved multiple layers of personnel. The complexities of medieval trade are revealed in the new emphasis given to those who assisted merchants in their commercial endeavors.
This study introduces the reader to the challenges of trade in the Mediterranean world and to specific market conditions in the Mediterranean French town of Montpellier. A case study of the business of the Cabanis merchants permits an in-depth examination of the facilitation of trade by intermediaries whose activities are traced in the discovery phase of arranging a deal and in its closing and execution.
Medieval business practice involved multiple layers of personnel. The complexities of medieval trade are revealed in the new emphasis given to those who assisted merchants in their commercial endeavors.
Kathryn L. Reyerson, Ph.D. (1974) in Medieval Studies, Yale University, is Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. She has published extensively on medieval social and economic history, particularly of the French Mediterranean, including a co-edited volume
Urban and Rural Communities in Medieval France, Provence of Languedoc, 1000-1500 (Brill, 1998)
'
…an unpretentious innovative book that deserves to be read by all historians…'
Joëlle Rollo-Koster, The American Historical Review, 2005.
Joëlle Rollo-Koster, The American Historical Review, 2005.
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Maps, Charts, and Tables
Introduction 1
1. The Mediterranean Arena of the Medieval European Entrepreneur 17
2. The Local Market Environment in Montpellier 47
3. Members of the Trade Infrastructure 79
4. Personnel of the Mercantile Entourage: Kinship, Partnership, Representation 103
5. The Discovery Phase: Making Connections and Arranging the Deal 143
6. Closing and Execution of the Deal 183
Conclusions 219
Bibliography 227
Index 243
Acknowledgments
List of Maps, Charts, and Tables
Introduction 1
1. The Mediterranean Arena of the Medieval European Entrepreneur 17
2. The Local Market Environment in Montpellier 47
3. Members of the Trade Infrastructure 79
4. Personnel of the Mercantile Entourage: Kinship, Partnership, Representation 103
5. The Discovery Phase: Making Connections and Arranging the Deal 143
6. Closing and Execution of the Deal 183
Conclusions 219
Bibliography 227
Index 243
All those interested in the Middle Ages, social and economic history, history of business, as well as French historians and specialists of the medieval Mediterranean world.