A Cultural History of Money in the Renaissance

In a time before large banking systems, and with paper money just in its infancy, money during the Renaissance meant coinage (mainly gold and silver) and local credit systems. These monetary forms had a significant influence on the ways in which money was understood throughout the period, and shaped discussions on such topics as the meaning of monetary value, the economic, political, religious, and aesthetic uses of coinage, the moral implications of usury and credit systems, and the importance of reputation, both at the state and individual levels. Crucial to the transformation of ideas about money in the period was the growing awareness that the individuals, up to and including the monarch, were powerless to overcome the market forces that determined value and directed the movement of goods and money. Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, A Cultural History of Money in the Renaissance presents essays that examine key cultural case studies of the period on the themes of technologies, ideas, ritual and religion, the everyday, art and representation, interpretation, and the issues of the age.

Stephen Deng is Associate Professor of English at Michigan State University, USA.

List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Series Preface, Bill Maurer, University of California Irvine, USA Introduction, Stephen Deng, Michigan State University, USA 1. Money and its Technologies: Mining, Metallurgy, Minting, and Non-Metallic Monetary Forms, Arturo Giráldez, University of the Pacific, Stockton, USA 2. Money and its Ideas: Justice, Sovereignty, and the Idea of Money as Commodity, Bradley D. Ryner, Arizona State University, USA 3. Money, Ritual, and Religion: God's Stamp and the Problem of Usury, Stephen Deng, Michigan State University, USA 4. Money and the Everyday: Reputation, History, and Symbolism on the Eastern African Coast, Stephanie Wynne-Jones, University of York, UK 5. Money, Art, and Representation: Text, Image, and Message, Barrie Cook, British Museum, UK 6. Money and its Interpretation: Two Early Modern Transactions, David J. Baker, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA 7. Money and the Issues of the Age: Coinage, Sovereignty, and the Liquidity of Imagination, Brian Sheerin, St. Edward's University, Austin, USA Notes Bibliography Index