Middle Ages 11: The Pulsating Body -- The Medieval World View
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong
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The Value of a Thing
If you got too much of luxury goods, they would lose their ability to mark social distinctions. If there was no wine or beer save being produced in a region for a year or two, then the peasants wouldn't be able to afford any. In addition, and just as importantly, commerce was seen as being morally suspect. So not only did it sort of blur, or or threaten to disrupt, social distinctions, it was also seen as being exploitative and dishonest. Things were understood to have a fair price; this is totally different from the way we think about supply and demand now.
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