Routledge Merchant Families, Banking and Money in Medieval Lucca (Variorum Collected Studies)

This volume brings together a series of studies by Professor Blomquist on the evolution of banking in Lucca from the 12th and 13th centuries. They describe how the leading bankers operated, how they invested, and how they pursued their family interests. In particular, they trace the transformation of money changers, or campsores, into deposit and transfer bankers, who deployed their capital in trading ventures as well as in banking. Moreover, the author shows how Lucchese merchant-bankers expanded their operations from Italy, first to the fairs of Champagne and ultimately to all of Europe's major commercial centres. Special attention is given to the use of the exchange contract, or cambium, as an instrument of credit and of transfer. Problems of coinage and foreign exchange are also treated extensively, including the origins of the Tuscan grossi and the Lucchese gold groat. The collection concludes with a study of the cloth trade and another concerning the first consuls in Lucca. Review 'Written with precision and lucidity, [the 16 essays] take us straight to the heart of important issues in the history of thirteenth-century Lucca. The essays are based upon a thorough and enviable knowledge of the city's notarial archives... These essays have had a real impact upon current understanding of thirteenth-century Tuscany and it is a boon to have them collected. Taken together they represent a considerable achievement.' Economic History Review About the Author Thomas W. Blomquist is Emeritus Professor of History at Northern Illinois University, USA.