List of prices of medieval items Courtesy of Kenneth Hodges ([email protected].

edu) The list of medieval prices which follows is by no means complete or thoroughly researched; I merely extracted references from some of the books I have, and I t hought others might like to inspect it. The sources I used are listed at the end . If an item is listed several times, it is because I had several references I w ished to record. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Money goes as follows: 1 pound (L) = 20 shillings (s) 1 crown = 5 shillings 1 shilling = 12 pence (d) 1 penny = 4 farthings 1 mark = 13s 4d The French Livre, sou, and denier are equivalent to the pound, shilling and penn y (Latin liber, solidus, and denarius, I believe, which is where the weird Engli sh abbreviations come from). For ease, I've divided this list into the following sections: tools, horses, foo d and livestock, books and education, buildings, cloth and clothing, armor, weap ons, marriage, funerals, travel, miscellaneous goods, and wages. Of course, a price list is a misleading guide to a feudal economy, ny goods were either produced within a household, or supplied by a rs could get money, but they would also get food, lodging, weapons and cloth. Knights Templar were provided with clothes, horses, and because so ma lord. Retaine (sometimes), armor.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Item 2 yokes Foot iron of plough 3 mason's tools (not named) 1 spade and shovel 1 axe 1 augur 1 vise Large biciron Small biciron Anvil Bellows Hammers 2 chisels Compete set of armorer's tools Spinning Wheel Item War Horse War Horse Knight's 2 horses High-grade riding horse Draught horse TOOLS Price 4s 5d 9d 3d 5d 3d 13s 4d 60s 16s 20s 30s 8d-2s 8d 8d L13 16s 11d 10 d HORSES Price up to 50s up to L80 L10 L10 10s-20s Date c1350 " " 1457 " " 1514 " " " " " " " 1457 Date 12 cen (?) 13 cen 1374 13th cen 13th cen Source [3] " " " " " [5] " " " " " " " [3] Source [7] [3] " " " Page 170 " " " " " 27-28 " " " " " " " 170 Page 30 72 76 72 "

Note: Horse prices varied dramatically; for instance, they doubled between 1210 and 1310. ([3], p. 37). FOOD AND LIVESTOCK Item Price Date Wine: Best Gascon in London 4d/gallon 1331 Best Rhenish in London 8d/London " Wine: Cheapest 3d-4d/gal Late 13 cen Best 8d-10d/gal " Ale (beer comes later): Good 1.5d/gal 14 cen Medium 1d/gal " Poor .75d/gal " Ale: First-rate 1-1.25d/gal 1320-1420 Second-rate .75-1d/gal " Ale (best): Somerset .75d 1338 London 1.25d " Beer, good 1d/quart late 16 cen Dried Fruit (eg raisins, dates, 1-4d/lb, up figs, prunes), almonds, rice to 6d rare 14 cen(?) Spices (cinnamon, cloves, mace, pepper, sugar, etc). 1-3s/lb " Pepper 4s/lb mid 13 cen Pepper 6d/.5lb 1279-1280 Saffron 12s-15s/lb 14 cen(?) Cow (good) 10s 12 cen(?) Cow 9s 5d mid 14th Cow 6s 1285-1290 Ox 13s 1.25d mid 14 cen Sheep 1s 5d " Wether: Somerset 9d-10d 1338 London 1s 5d " Pig: Somerset 2s 1338 London 3s " Fowl 1d " 2 Chickens 1d 14 cen 2 Dozen Eggs 1d " Goose (in London) 6d (legal) 7d-8d asked 1375 80 lb cheese 3s 4d late 13 cen Salted herring (wholesale) 5-10/1d 1382 Salt conger 6d each 1422-1423 Oats: Somerset 1s/quarter 1338 London 2s 2d per " quarter Cost of feeding a knight's or L30-L60, 15 cen merchants household per year up to L100 Source Page [2] " [3] " [2] " " [3] " [3] " [8] [3] " [9] [3] [3] [7] [1] [3] [1] " [3] " [3] " " [4] " [2] [3] [2] [3] " " [3] 194 " 62 " 201 " " 58 " 210 " xx 62-63 " 218 11 62-63 30 99 206 99 " 210 " 210 " " 78 " 198 114 198-199 69 210 " 199

Related note: around 1380, these are the average costs per day of feeding people on an estate ([3], p. 65): lord, 7d; esquire, 4d; yeoman, 3d; and groom, 1d.

Item Monastary School Schoolmaster at Croyden: Board Instruction Oxford: Board Clothing Instruction University: Minimum Student of good birth Fencing Instruction 7 Books 126 Books To Rent a book

BOOKS AND EDUCATION Price Date L2 (approx) 1392-1393 per year 2s/week* 1394 13s 4d/year " 104s/year 1374 40s/year " 26s 8d/year " L2-L3/year L4-L10/year 10s/month L5 (approx) L113 .5d-1d per pecia** Late 14 cen " Late 16 cen 1479 1397 mid 13 cen

Source Page [3] 75 [2] " " " " [3] " [8] [3] [3] [9] 186 " " " " 75 " xx 76 77 172

* Source says 2s/day. This is not only insanely high, but the text also claims that the board was the same as at Oxford--i.e., 2s/week or 104s/year. ** A pecia is 16 columns of 62 lines of 32 letters, i.e., 31 744 letters, or about 7 500 - 8 000 words. Rental period is not specified, but I would guess a year; books were rented to be copied, and copying the Bible took 15 months. See [9], p. 172. Item Rent per annum for 138 shops on London Bridge Rent for the three London taverns with the exclusive right to sell sweet wines (hippocras, clarry, piments) Rent cottage Rent craftsman's house Rent merchant's house Cottage (1 bay, 2 storeys) Row house in York (well built) Craftsman's house (i.e., with shop, work area, and room for workers) with 2-3 bays and tile roof Modest hall and chamber, not including materials Merchant's house House with courtyard Goldsmiths' Hall (in London, with hall, kitchen, buttery, 2 chambers) Large tiled barn Wooden gatehouse (30' long), barn, and drawbridge: Contract Estimated total BUILDINGS Price L160 4s Date 1365 Source Page [2] 114

L200 1365-1375 [2] 5s/year 14 cen(?) [3] 20s/year " " L2-L3/year " " L2 early 14 cen " up to L5 " "

195-196 208 " " 205 "

L10-L15 L12 L33-L66 L90+ L136 L83

early 14 cen [3] 1289 [3] early 14 cen [3] " " 1365 1309-1310 [2] [3] [3] "

205 79-80 205 " 114 79 81 "

L5 6s 8d + 1341 builder's clothing L16 "

Stone Gatehouse (40' X 18'): with all except stone estimated with stone Tower in castle's curtain wall Castle & college at Tattershall Transept of Gloucester Abbey Stonework of church (125', no tower)

L16 13s 4d 1313 L30 " L333, L395 late 14 cen L450/annum 1434-1446 for 13 years L781 1368-1373 L113 13 cen(?) (contract)

[3] " " " [3] "

79-80 " " 81 79-80 "

note: tithes were often calculated at 1d a week for every 20s of annual rent paid (4, p. 208). The following are the estimates of raw materials and labor that went into the tower of Langeais, a rectangular, tapering stone tower built in 992994. The source is [6], pp. 47ff. The dimensions at the base were 17.5 meters by 10 meters; the height was 16m (3 floors); the walls were 1.5m thick, made of two shells filled with loose rock. Limestone in building: about 1050 cubic meters, or 2 600 000 kg Wood in building: 47.5 cubic meters, or 34 600 kg Nails: 3 400, or 50 kg Mortar: 350 cubic meters. To make the mortar: sand: 225 cubic meters, or 360 000 kg limestone: 40 cubic meters, or 160 000 kg green wood: 540 cubic meters, or 286 000 kg Labor Costs, in Average Working Days (AWD): procurement: 14 250 transport: 2 880 labor: unskilled: 63 500 mason: 12 700 smith: 1 600 Item Fashionable gown CLOTH AND CLOTHING Price Date Source Page easily L10, late 14 cen [2] 53 up to L50 1470s " " " 1285-1290 1349-1352 " [3] " " " [3] " " 79 " " " 206 176 " 175 " " " " " 176 " 78 " "

Gentry: Shoes 4d Boots 6d Purse 1.5d Hat 10d, 1s 2d Craftsman's tabard and supertunic 3s Reeve's murrey (dark brown) robe 6s 4d Reeve's red robe 5s 3d Peasants (wealthy): Linen Chemise 8d Shoes 6d Woolen garment 3s Fur-lined garments 6s 8d Tunic 3s Linen 1s Landless serfs' tunics 1d-6d Cloth for peasant tunics 8d-1s 3d per yard Best Wool 5s/yard "Tawny and russet" 6s/yard Silk 10s-12s

1313 [3] " " " " early 14 cen " " " " " mid 14 cen " early 14 cen " 1380 1479-1482 15 cen(?) [3] " "

Furs added to garment The worth of cloth provided yearly by a lord to: esquires yeomen lesser servants

per yard +L2-L3 to garment

15 cen(?)

"

79

2s 11d/yard 1289-1290 2s/yard " 1s 7d/yard "

[3] " "

78 " "

Note: loose tunics take 2.25-2.5 yards. In the late 14th century, shorter doubled (lined) tunics, known as doublets, became fashionable, requiring 4 yards ([3], pp 175,176). Item Mail Ready-made Milanese armor Squire's armor Armor for Prince of Wales, "gilt and graven" Complete Lance Armor Complete corselets Cuirass of proof with pauldrons Normal cuirass with pauldrons Target of proof Morion Burgonet Cuirass of pistol-proof with pauldrons Cuirass without pauldrons Lance Armor Targets of Proof Cuirass with cap Armor of proof Bascinet Armor in a merchant's house (leather?) Total Armor owned by a knight Armor in house of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester Fee for cleaning rust off corselets Fee for varnishing, replacing straps, and rivetting helmet and corselet Barrel for cleaning mail ARMOR Price Date 100s 12 cen(?? L8 6s 8d 1441 L5-L6 16s 8d " L340 L3 6s 8d 30s 40s 26s 8d 30s 3s 4d 4s L1 6s L1 L4 24s L4 L14 2s 8d 13s 4d + 3s 4d to line it 5s L16 6s 8d L103 5d each 1s 4d 9d 1614 1590 " " " " " " 1624 " " " " 1667 1369 Source Page [7] 30 [4] 112 " " [5] [5] " " " " " " [5] " " " " " " 20 185 " " " " " " 189-190 " " " " 68 88

1285-1290 1374 1397 1567 1613 1467

[3] " " [5] [5] [5]

206 76 77 80 90 79

Note: mail is chainmail; almost all the rest is plate-armor. The armor of the kn ight in 1374 was probably mail with some plates; same for Gloucester's. Mail was extremely susceptible to rust, and was cleaned by rolling it in sand and vinega r in a barrel. Pauldrons are shoulder plates; morions are open helms, burgonets and bascinets closed helms; and a target refers to any of a number different kin d of shields. Armor of proof is tested during the making with blows or shots fro m the strongest weapons of the time; if a weapon is listed, the armor does not c laim to be proof against everything, only that it is proof up to that weapon's s trength (eg pistol proof is not musket proof, but may be sword proof). All plate armor was lined with cloth, to pad the wearer, quiet the armor, and reduce wear

between the pieces. This, along with the necessary straps, was a significant am ount of the expense. An armorer asking for money to set up shop in 1624 estimate d production costs and profit for a number of different types of armor: I give t wo examples below ([5], pp. 189-190). Cuirass of proof with pauldrons: plates: 5s 6d finishing, rivets, and straps: 7s 6d selling price 26s Lance armor: plates 14s 5d finishing, et cetera 40s selling price 80s Item Cheap sword (peasant's) Pair of wheel-lock pistols, with tools for them Holsters for pistols Wheel-lock carbine Shoulder belt for carbine Pair of flintlock pistols Flintlock carbine Musket WEAPONS Price 6d Date 1340s Source Page [3] 174 [4] " " " " " " 208 " " " " " "

L2 16s mid 17th 6d " L1 10s " 1s " L2 5s " L1 2s " 16s 6d-18s 6d "

Note: Sorry, folks, that's all I found. It was mandatory in England for all free men to own certain types of weapons and armor. (In 1181 every freeman having goo ds worth 10 marks (1 mark = 13s 4d) had to have a mail shirt, a helmet, and a sp ear. All other freemen should have helmet, spear, and gambeson (quilted armor) [ 4], p. 39.) Later, the government stored arms and armour in churches for use; in the 13th century anyone with an income of L2-L5 (wealthy peasants) had to have bows; archery practice became compulsory on Sundays and holidays. You may know t hat the extreme range of the longbow was 400 yards, but did you know that a stat ute of Henry VIII no one over 24 could practice at a range of less than 220 yard s? (See [4], p. 95 and elsewhere). Note: for guessing prices, see the section on tools (an axe for 5d). An armorer might make 24s a month; say a week to make a decent sword, and you might get a price that way. See the section on books and e ducation for fencing instruction. MARRIAGE Price 13s 4d, 35s 11d, 57s, 63s 4d For serfs, mechet (fees) to lord, depending on wealth 1s-13s 4d Wedding feast, wealthy peasant 20s Wealthy peasant wedding total L3-L4 Dowry for esquire's daughter up to L66 13s 4d Dowry for baron's daughter L1000 + London parents (both sets) each offered couple L100 Item Sample peasant dowries:

Date 14 cen(?)

Source Page [3] 179

14 cen(?) " " 15 cen " 1385

[3] " " " " [2]

179 " " 84 " 154

Note: these costs will be wildly varying depending on circumstance. Item FUNERALS Price Date Source Page

Cheap gentlewoman's funeral (bell-ringing, clergy, food) Brass monument, with a figure incised, on marble base-fitting for lesser aristocrat Bishop Mitford's funeral (with 1450 guests!) Memorial Chapel for Richard Beauchamp, earl of Warwick Bronze effigy on guilded tomb

L7 L8 L130+ L2481 L400

1497

[3]

85 " " " "

early 14 cen " 1407 1439-1463 " " " "

Note: Christopher Dyer gives as a rough rule of thumb 1 year's income for a funeral ([3], p. 85) Item Queen's chariot Lady Eleanor's chariot Chariot Chariot maintence Barge Iron-bound cart Guide for a night Ferry ride per horseman Keeping an earl's warhorse 82 days in summer TRAVEL Price L400 L1000 L8 1-3s/year L10 4s 1d 1d 36s 9.5d Date 14 cen 14 cen 1381 14 cen " c1350 14 cen " 1287 Source [1] [1] [3] " " " [1] " [3] Page 99 99 72 " " 170 129 " 71

Note: [1], pp 126-129, gives the following prices at an inn in 1331. For one day, 3 men with 4 servants spent: Bread, 4d; beer, 2d; wine 1.25d; meat, 5.5d; potage, .25d; candles, .25d; fueld, 2d; beds, 2d; fodder for horses, 10d. The four servants staying alone sleep 2 nights for 1d. Generally, all 7 spend 2d a night on beds; in London, it is 1d per head. MISCELLANEOUS Item Price 6 silver spoons 14s 2 gold rings with diamonds L15 Gold Ring with ruby 26s 8d 3 strings of pearls 70s 6 gold necklaces 100s Fee to enroll an apprentice: with mercers (rich merchants) 2s with carpenters 1s Fee to join guild at end of apprenticeship: with mercers 20s with carpenters 3s 4d Fee to join guild 6s 8d-L3 Fee to gain freedom of a town (to enjoy its exemption from feudal duties, I assume) 3s 4d-20s To empty a cesspit in a city 6s 8d Candles Somerset 1.5d/lb London 2d-2.5d/lb Candles tallow 1.5d/lb wax 6.5d/lb Vat 4d Barrel 3d Date 1382 " " " " 14 cen " " " 14 cen(?) 14 cen(?0 15 cen(?) 1338 " 15 cen(?) 1406-1407 1457 " Source Page [2] 24 " " " " " " " " [2] " [2] " [3] [3] [3] [3] " [3] " [3] " 111 " 111 " 208 208 209 210 " 74 " 170 "

Bottle 2 buckets 1 sheet 1 mattress 4 pillows 3 boards for a bed 2 sheets, 4 blankets 16 bedspreads, 20 sheets, 8 featherbeds Duke's bed of cloth of gold, with blue satin canopy Table Chair Chest with necessaries thereto 2 chests Metal ewer Brass pot Basin and ewer Basin and ewer Towel Coffer 2 stools Ceramic cooking pot

4d 1s 4d 2d 4d 4d 5s 8p L3 1s L182 3s 6d 3d 2s 2d 6d each 6d 2s 8d 2s 8d 6d 1s 8d .5d

" " " " " " 1349-1352 1285-1290 1397 1457 " " " 1349-1352 " " " " " " 1340s

" " " " " " " [3] [3] [3] " " " " " " " " " " "

" " " " " " " 206 77 170 " " " " " " " " " " 174

Note: most of these come from inventories of peasants' belongings. The fine goods would be more expensive. Note about lighting: great houses could use 100 lb of wax and tallow in a single winter night ([3], p. 74). Others, not as rich, would go to sleep earlier. Profession Mercenaries: knight banneret knight man-at-arms or squire Regular Army Esquires, constables, and centenars Mounted archers, armored infantry, hobilars, vintenars Welsh vintenars Archers Welsh infantry Captain Lieutenant Ensign Drummer or trumpeter cavalryman infantry Laborer Crown revenues (at peace) Barons per year Earls per year Sergeant at Law (top lawyer) Chief armorer Other armorers in same shop except "Old Martyn" who made WAGES Wage 4s/day 2s/day 1s/day 1s/day Date 1316 " " 1346 Source Page [4] " " [4] 78 " " 79 " " " " 181 " " " " " 29 " " " 47 182 " "

6d/day " " 4d/day " " 3d/day " " 2d/day " " 8s/day late 16 cen [4] 4s/day " " 2s/day " " 20d/day " " 18d/day " " 8d/day " " L2/year max c1300 [3] L30 000 c1300 " L200-500+ c1300 " L400-L11000 c1300 " L300/year 1455 " 26s 8d/month 1544 [5] 24s/month 1544 " 38s 10d/month 1544 "

Apprentices in same shop Master mason Master carpenter Carpenters' Guild stipend to a sick member Weavers Chantry priest per year Squires per annum Carters, porters, falconers grooms, messengers Kitchen servants Boys and pages Wardens of London Bridges

6d/day 4d/day 3d/day 14d/week 5d/day, no food L4 13s 4d 13s 4d-L1 5s-8s 8d per year 2s-4s/year 1s-6s/year L10/year

1544 1351 " 1333 1407 1379 14 cen 14 cen 14 cen 14 cen 1382

" [2] " [2] [2] [2] [1] [1] [1] [1] [2]

" 24 " 156 146 24 116-117 116-117 116-117 116-117 128

Note: sheriffs of London paid 300L per year, hoping to make a profit from the fines they collected. Note: 30 adult sheep could produce about 20s of wool per year in 1299 ([3], p. 114). Note: To get a VERY ROUGH sense of money, I reproduce the following chart from Dyer ([3], p. 206). These are averages of daily wages in pence. Decade 1261-70 1271-80 1281-90 1291-1300 1301-10 1311-20 1321-30 1331-40 1341-50 1351-60 1361-70 1371-80 1381-90 1391-1400 1401-10 1411-20 1421-30 1431-40 1441-50 1451-60 1461-70 1471-80 1481-90 1491-1500 1501-10 1511-20 Thatcher 2 2.5 2.25 2.5 2.5 3 3 3 3 3.5 3.5 4.25 4 4.25 4.5 4.75 4.5 4.5 5.25 5.5 4.75 5.25 6 5.5 5.75 5.25 Thatcher's mate 1 1 1 1 1.25 1 1.25 1.25 2 2 2.5 2.25 2.75 3 3 3 3.25 4 3.25 3.75 3.75 3.75 3.5 4 4