The Economic History of Byzantium From
.pdf
Prices and Wages in the Byzantine World |
847 |
for high-ranking persons, however, were reckoned in thousands, even tens of thousands of gold pieces, in line with their personal wealth or their importance to the state. There appears to have been some inflation in prices from the eleventh century on, though antiquity is, admittedly, represented by only one figure.
Table 14
Prices for Slaves
Date |
Place |
Person |
Price |
Source85 |
Tenth Century |
|
|
|
|
944 |
empire |
Russian fugitive |
20 nomismata |
Antoniade`s-Bibicou |
962 |
Aleppo |
Arab adult male |
36 nomismata |
Kamal ad din86 |
962 |
Aleppo |
Arab adult female |
20 dinars |
Kamal ad din |
962 |
Aleppo |
young Arab, male or |
16 dinars |
Kamal ad din |
|
|
female |
|
|
before 963 |
empire |
lost slave |
6 nomismata 4 |
Antoniade`s-Bibicou |
|
|
|
miliaresia |
|
962 |
eastern frontier |
Greek adult male |
30 dinars |
Antoniade`s-Bibicou |
962 |
eastern frontier |
adolescent male or |
15 dinars |
Antoniade`s-Bibicou |
|
|
female |
|
|
before 1000 |
eastern frontier |
Muslim prisoner |
331⁄3 dinars |
Muqqadasi87 |
Eleventh Century |
|
|
|
|
11th century |
Syria |
young girl |
2 dinars |
Bianquis, Syrie, 585 |
|
|
|
(abundance) |
|
before 1050 |
empire |
slave |
20 nomismata |
Peira, Zepos, Jus, |
|
|
|
|
4:83–84 |
before 1059 |
East |
slavewoman |
400 nomismata |
Will of Boilas |
1059 |
Ephesos |
slave |
24 nomismata |
Grumel88 |
Twelfth Century |
|
|
|
|
1134 |
southern Italy |
affranchisement |
13 nosmimata of |
Trinchera, 513 |
|
|
|
Michael VII |
|
before 1200 |
empire |
any slave |
1 pound of |
Rhalles and Potles, |
|
|
|
hyperpyra |
Su´ntagma, 2:500 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
continued |
85Unless stated otherwise, references to slave prices prior to the 13th century are derived from H. Antoniade`s-Bibicou, “De´mographie, salaires et prix au XIe sie`cle,” AnnalesESC 27 (1972): 227–29.
86Cited in Leonis Diaconi Caloe¨nsis Historiae libri X, ed. C. B. Hase (Bonn, 1828), 393. The prices are expressed in “denarii romani,” i.e., nomismata.
87La meilleure re´partition pour la connaissance des provinces, trans. A. Miquel (Damascus, 1983) 209.
88V. Grumel, Les regestes des actes du patriarcat de Constantinople, vol. 1.3 (Paris, 1989), no. 887.
848 MORRISSON AND CHEYNET
Table 14 (continued)
Date |
Place |
Person |
Price |
Source |
Thirteenth Century |
|
|
|
|
1281 |
Pera |
slavegirl (age 10) |
14 hyperpyra |
Bratianu, Notaires, |
|
|
|
|
no. 69 |
1281 |
Pera |
white slavewoman |
31 hyperpyra |
Bratianu, Notaires, |
|
|
|
|
no. 87 |
1281 |
Pera |
white slave |
23 hyperpyra |
Bratianu, Notaires, |
|
|
|
|
no. 88 |
1281 |
Pera |
slavegirl (age 12) |
25 hyperpyra |
Bratianu, Notaires, |
|
|
|
|
no. 100 |
1281 |
Pera |
freed slave |
17 hyperpyra |
Bratianu, Notaires, |
|
|
|
|
no. 114 |
1281 |
Pera |
slave (age 12) |
28 hyperpyra |
Bratianu, Notaires, |
|
|
|
|
no. 115 |
1281 |
Pera |
Abkhazi slavewoman |
28 hyperpyra |
Bratianu, Notaires, |
|
|
|
|
no. 120 |
1281 |
Pera |
white slavewoman |
29 hyperpyra |
Bratianu, Notaires, |
|
|
|
|
no. 126 |
1281 |
Pera |
boy (age 6–7) |
6 hyperpyra 12 |
Bratianu, Notaires, |
|
|
|
carats |
no. 132 |
1281 |
Pera |
boy (age 6–7) |
20 hyperpyra |
Bratianu, Notaires, |
|
|
|
|
no. 143 |
1281 |
Pera |
slavegirl (age 5–6) |
7 hyperpyra |
Bratianu, Notaires, |
|
|
|
|
no. 144 |
1281 |
Pera |
boy (age 8–9) |
16 hyperpyra |
Bratianu, Notaires, |
|
|
|
|
no. 148 |
1289/90 |
Kaffa |
slave |
25–40 hyperpyra |
Balard, Outre-mer, |
|
|
|
|
1: (average) |
1297 |
Ragusa |
slave |
22 hyperpyra |
Krekic´, no. 49 |
Fourteenth Century |
|
|
|
|
1300 |
Crete |
slavewoman |
18 hyperpyra |
Pizolo, no. 173 |
1300 |
Crete |
slave |
24 hyperpyra |
Pizolo, no. 340 |
|
|
|
(affranchisement) |
|
1300 |
Crete |
slave |
20 hyperpyra |
Pizolo, no. 349 |
1300 |
Crete |
2 affranchised slaves |
80 and 50 |
Pizolo, nos. 448, |
|
|
|
hyperpyra |
449 |
1300 |
Crete |
3 Turkish slaves |
65 hyperpyra for |
Pizolo, no. 539 |
|
|
|
all 3 |
|
1300–1302 |
Crete |
a batch |
18–22 hyperpyra |
Brixano, nos. |
|
|
|
|
264–72 |
continued
Prices and Wages in the Byzantine World |
849 |
Table 14 (continued)
Date |
Place |
Person |
Price |
Source |
1317 |
Crete |
Greek slave |
11 hyperpyra |
Rubio´ i Lluch, 107 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slavewoman |
49 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
115 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slave |
26 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
126 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slavewoman |
60 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
131 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slave |
361⁄2 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
132 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slavewoman |
63 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
132 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slavewoman |
55 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
133 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
slavewoman |
63 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
135 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slavewoman |
50 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
136 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slavewoman |
45 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
136 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slavewoman |
36 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
137 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slavewoman |
40 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
137 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slavewoman |
42 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
139 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slavewoman |
32 florins |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
139 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
2 Tatar slavewomen |
99 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
140 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tartar slave |
27 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
|
|
143 |
1350 |
Constantinople |
Tatar slavegirl (age 10) |
48 gold hyperpyra |
Balard, Outre-mer, |
|
|
|
|
2: no. 10 |
1360 |
Kilia |
Tartar and other slave |
24–60 hyperpyra |
Balard, Outre-mer, |
|
|
girls (aged 12–20) |
|
2: nos. 17, 50, 56 |
1360/61 |
Cyprus |
slaves |
25–30 hyperpyra |
Boateriis (average) |
1357/63 |
Cyprus |
Turkish slave |
90 besants |
Richard89 |
continued
89 J. Richard, “Les comptes du collecteur apostolique en Chypre (1357–1363),” Epethrij`" tou' Ke´n- trou Episthmonikw'njErwnw'nj13/16 (1984–87): 1–47.
850 MORRISSON AND CHEYNET
Table 14 (continued)
Date |
Place |
Person |
Price |
Source |
1357/63 |
Cyprus |
Greek slave |
123 besants 12 |
Richard |
|
|
|
denarii |
|
1362 |
Constantinople |
slavewoman |
70 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, 94 |
1362 |
Constantinople |
slavewoman |
52 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, 94 |
1362 |
Constantinople |
slave |
50 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, 94 |
1381 |
Crete |
slavewoman (average) |
96 hyperpyra |
Verlinden90 |
1381 |
Crete |
slave (average) |
64 hyperpyra |
Verlinden |
1382 |
Crete |
slavewoman (average) |
95 hyperpyra |
Verlinden |
1382 |
Crete |
slave (average) |
71 hyperpyra |
Verlinden |
1383 |
Crete |
slavewoman (average) |
95 hyperpyra |
Verlinden |
1383 |
Crete |
slave (average) |
90 hyperpyra |
Verlinden |
1390 |
Pera |
emancipation of |
50 hyperpyra |
Italiens `a Byzance, |
|
|
slavewoman |
|
37 |
before 1400 |
Ragusa |
slave |
120–150 |
Krekic´, |
|
|
|
hyperpyra91 |
“Contributo” |
Fifteenth Century |
|
|
|
|
1436/37 |
Constantinople |
slavewoman |
100 hyperpyra |
Badoer, 90, 13 |
|
|
Abkhazi slavewoman |
(91 hyperpyra) |
Badoer, 90, 13 |
1436/37 |
Constantinople |
slave |
70–90 hyperpyra |
Badoer, passim |
|
|
Tatar slave |
(82 hyperpyra) |
Badoer, 91, 6–7 |
|
|
Russian slave |
(88 hyperpyra 14 |
Badoer, 578, 3 |
|
|
|
carats) |
|
|
|
Tatar slave |
(100 hyperpyra) |
Badoer, 272, 26 |
1443 |
Pera |
Tatar adult male |
98 hyperpyra |
Roccatagliata, |
|
|
|
|
1: no. 12 |
1443 |
Pera |
Greek adult male |
2,200 asperi |
Roccatagliata, |
|
|
|
|
1: no. 53 |
|
|
|
|
|
When one takes the devaluation of the hyperpyron into account, slave prices are seen to have remained remarkably stable from the Justinianic period until the beginning of the fourteenth century. This stability was all the more remarkable in that these prices were the outcome of a real market, partly international in nature. Prices subsequently rose, particularly after 1350, perhaps due to the effect of the plague on the population, despite the pirate warfare in which Turks and Latins were actively engaged.
90All these references are derived from C. Verlinden, L’esclavage dans L’Europe me´die´vale (Ghent, 1977), 2:840–68.
91B. Krekic´, “Contributo allo studio degli schiavi levantini e balcanici a Venezia (1388–1398),” in
Studi in memoria di Federigo Melis, vol. 2 (Naples, 1978).
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Prices and Wages in the Byzantine World |
851 |
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Prices of Luxury Products |
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Table 15 |
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|
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Prices of Luxury Products and Movable Goods |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
Date |
Type of Object |
Price |
Source |
|
Clothes |
|
|
|
|
late 6th century |
silk clothes |
72 solidi |
John of Ephesos, chap. 55, |
|
|
|
|
PO 19:193 |
|
early 7th century |
cover |
36 solidi |
Vie S. Jean l’Aum., chap. 19 |
|
940 |
purple belts and imitations |
11⁄3, 1, and 2⁄3 |
De cer., 470 (App.) |
|
|
|
nomismata |
|
|
940 |
silk tunics (dwdeka` pwla, |
12–6 nomismata |
De cer., 1:473 and Book of the |
|
|
deka´ lia, eJzalia, eJza´ hwla) |
|
Eparch, chap. 8 |
|
1022 |
veil with silver clasp |
2 gold pieces |
Mastaura, 124 |
|
1022 |
one cover and one cloak |
1 gold piece |
Mastaura, 124 |
|
1022 |
two women’s dresses |
1 gold piece |
Mastaura, 124 |
|
1022 |
embroidered woman’s |
2 gold pieces |
Mastaura, 124 |
|
|
gown (?) |
|
|
|
1057 |
coat presented to the abbey |
100 pounds of |
Guillou, 10992 |
|
|
of Farfa |
silver |
|
|
|
scaramangion embroidered |
20 nomismata |
Petrucci, Codice diplomatico, |
|
|
with gold thread |
|
no. 79 |
|
1199 |
gray surcoat |
62⁄3 hyperpyra |
Mu¨ller, Documenti, 77a |
|
1199 |
fustano (one or several?) for |
4 hyperpyra 20 |
Mu¨ller, Documenti, 77b |
|
|
squires |
carats |
|
|
early 13th century |
3 silk caftans |
72 hyperpyra |
Chomatianos, no. 19 |
|
early 13th century |
a tzo´ca |
50 hyperpyra |
Chromatianos, no. 19 |
|
early 13th century |
saffron-colored garments |
10 hyperpyra |
Chomatianos, no. 84 |
|
early 13th century |
a coat and a saffron-colored |
6 hyperpyra |
Chomatianos, no. 84 |
|
|
garment |
|
|
|
early 13th century |
a coat and a small hat |
41⁄6 hyperpyra |
Chomatianos, no. 84 |
|
13th century |
a woolen coat |
several hyperpyra |
Karpozilos |
|
13th century |
a coat from Trebizond with |
12 nomismata |
Karpozilos |
|
|
fur trimming |
|
|
|
1272 |
Sandals (kaligia) |
2 aspra |
Vazeloˆn, no. 86, p. 50 |
|
1272 |
caftan |
12 aspra |
Vazeloˆn, no. 86, p. 50 |
|
continued
92 Argyros, duke of Italy, offered the abbey of Farfa a precious coat, made entirely of silk shot with gold thread (holosericum auroque textum) worth more than 100 pounds of very fine silver: Il Chronicon Farfense di Gregorio di Catino, cited in Guillou, “Production and Profits,” 109.
852 MORRISSON AND CHEYNET
Table 15 (continued)
Date |
Type of Object |
Price |
Source |
1292 |
a wolfskin pelisse |
4 hyperpyra 12 |
Embassy of Edward I |
|
|
carats |
|
1292 |
a rabbitskin pelisse |
2 hyperpyra |
Embassy of Edward I |
1292 |
a red fur |
6 hyperpyra |
Embassy of Edward I |
1292 |
a lambskin fur |
1 hyperpyron 12 |
Embassy of Edward I |
|
|
carats |
|
1292 |
4 sheets |
5 hyperpyra 15 |
Embassy of Edward I |
|
|
carats |
|
1292 |
a pair of common shoes |
17 carats |
Embassy of Edward I |
14th century |
some shoes |
4 ducats |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 3, |
|
|
|
§ 136 |
1292 |
a pair of shoes for a |
1 hyperpyron 15 |
Embassy of Edward I |
|
chaplain |
carats |
|
1292 |
shoes |
8–22 carats |
Embassy of Edward I |
1292 |
boots for a cook |
9 carats |
Embassy of Edward I |
1300 |
a chlamyda |
14 hyperpyra |
Pizolo, no. 258 |
14th century |
two garments |
12 ducats |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 3, |
|
|
|
§ 136 |
14th century |
garment (tsou'pa) |
40 hyperpyra |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 8, § 2 |
14th century |
linen garment (kaba´ dh") |
7 hyperpyra |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 8, § 2 |
1365 |
a new tsou'paand a new |
3 hyperpyra |
Ferrari, “Vatican,” 265 |
|
fousta´ nh |
|
|
1384 |
a silk fusta´ nion |
6 hyperpyra |
Docheiariou, no. 49, l. 17 |
1384 |
2 roucha |
18 hyperpyra |
Docheiariou, no. 49, l. 17 |
1394 |
ambassador’s garment |
50 gold ducats |
Thiriet, Re´gestes, 2:77 |
|
(Mistra) |
|
|
1424 |
a dress (tsou'pa) |
10 hyperpyra |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 35, § 4 |
1436 |
a hat (bereta negra) from |
6 hyperpyra |
Badoer, 280, 9; 329, 5 |
|
near Venice |
|
|
1436 |
cloth for a coat (Badoer) |
33 hyperpyra |
Badoer, 13, 23 |
1436 |
a black coat (Bragadin) |
15 hyperpyra |
Badoer, 53, 5 |
1437 |
making a coat (Badoer) |
4 hyperpyra |
Badoer, 280, 23 |
1438 |
100 panze for its fur trim |
8 hyperpyra |
Badoer, 485, 25 |
1439 |
for having it lined |
6 hyperpyra |
Badoer, 716, 8–9 |
1437 |
cloth and sewing for 5 shirts |
51⁄2 hyperpyra |
Badoer, 346, 22–25 |
|
for slaves |
(1 11⁄10 |
|
|
|
hyperpyra) |
|
|
1 shirt each at |
1 hyperpyron 6 |
Badoer, 346, 31 |
|
|
carats |
|
continued
Prices and Wages in the Byzantine World |
853 |
Table 15 (continued)
Date |
Type of Object |
Price |
Source |
1437 |
14 pichi of cloth for 3 shirts |
2 hyperpyra (1 |
Badoer, 273, 31 |
|
for slaves |
1 hyperpyron) |
|
1437 |
3 pelize, 3 sciavine ( jackets), |
13 hyperpyra (for |
Badoer, 272, 32 |
|
3 pairs of shoes for slaves |
one slave 41⁄3 |
|
|
|
hyperpyra) |
|
1438 |
1 peliza, 1 sciavina ( jacket), |
3 hyperpyra 15 |
Badoer, 362, 13 |
|
1 bereta, and 1 pair of shoes |
carats |
|
|
for slavegirl (age 12) |
|
|
1439 |
1 sciavina, 1 gonela, and |
2 hyperpyra 15 |
Badoer, 624, 7 |
|
1 pair of shoes for slave |
carats |
|
|
(age 13) |
|
|
1453 |
3 coats (marten, fox) |
230 hyperpyra of |
Roccatagliata, 1: no. 35 |
|
|
Pera |
|
Household Goods93 |
|
|
|
1022 |
small cauldron |
1 gold piece |
Mastaura, 124 |
1365 |
cauldron |
1 hyperpyron |
Ferrari, “Vatican,” 265 |
1022 |
cooking pot with feet |
1 gold piece |
Mastaura, 124 |
1384 |
2 cooking pots |
4 hyperpyra |
Docheiariou, no. 49, l. 30 |
1292 |
kitchen knife |
6 carats |
Embassy of Edward I |
1384 |
3 wine carafes |
2 hyperpyra |
Docheiariou, no. 49, l. 30 |
1384 |
mortar and vase |
2 hyperpyra |
Docheiariou, no. 49, l. 31 |
1384 |
one new and one worn |
5 and 9 |
Docheiariou, no. 49, l. 31 |
|
carpet |
hyperpyra |
|
1300–1302 |
featherbed |
20 hyperpyra |
Brixano, no. 449 |
1393 |
featherbed |
25 hyperpyra |
Santschi, Cre`te, no. 1425 |
14th century |
bedcover |
20 hyperpyra |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 8, § 2 |
15th century |
2 bedcovers |
28 and 26 |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 35 |
|
|
hyperpyra |
|
1365 |
2 covers (1 linen and silk, |
2 hyperpyra |
Ferrari, “Vatican,” 265 |
|
1 Egyptian) |
|
|
1365 |
2 linen sheets |
2 hyperpyra |
Ferrari, “Vatican,” 265 |
1365 |
2 pillows |
4 hyperpyra |
Ferrari, “Vatican,” 265 |
15th century |
2 pillows |
5 hyperpyra |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 35 |
15th century |
2 pillows |
12 hyperpyra |
MM 2:406 |
continued
93 For the late period, there are some documents from Frankish Cyprus containing very precise information about the furnishings and equipment in one house: J. Richard, “Guy d’Ibelin, O.P., ´eveˆque de Limassol,” BCH 74 (1950): 108–33; idem, “Les comptes” (as above, note 89).
854 MORRISSON AND CHEYNET
Table 15 (continued)
Date |
Type of Object |
Price |
Source |
1384 |
3 cotton pillows |
8–18 hyperpyra |
Docheiariou, no. 49 |
14th century |
some bolsters (mazela´ ria) |
11 ducats |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 3494 |
1436 |
Badoer’s furniture: |
4 hyperpyra 11 |
Badoer, 45, 12 |
|
1 cypresswood table, |
carats |
|
|
2 stools, 1 cathedra |
|
|
1438 |
cypresswood coffin |
13 hyperpyra |
Badoer, 376, 4 |
1436 |
3 carpete bianche |
3 hyperpyra |
Badoer, 47, 20 |
|
(tablecloths ?) |
|
|
Jewels and Silver Goods |
|
|
|
9th century |
2 pairs of earrings |
10 liters of gold |
DAI, 244 |
1365 |
2 pairs of earrings and |
12 hyperpyra |
Ferrari, “Vatican,” 265 |
|
2 rings |
|
|
1384 |
earrings (pearls and |
48 hyperpyra |
Docheiariou, no. 49, l. 27 |
|
precious stones) |
|
|
1384 |
pendants (pearls and |
36 hyperpyra |
Docheiariou, no. 49, ll. 26–7 |
|
precious stones) |
|
|
15th century |
4 pairs of earrings, each |
? |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 6, § 27 |
|
weighing 4 exagia |
|
|
9th century |
silver table decorated with |
10 liters of gold |
DAI, 244 |
|
gilt animals |
|
|
1022 |
silver bracelet |
2 gold pieces |
Mastaura, 124 |
1022 |
2 bracelets (weight 18 sicla) |
2 gold pieces |
Mastaura, 124 |
1098 |
gold bracelet weighing |
? |
Iviron, 2: no. 47 |
|
2 liters and 12 exagia |
|
|
1365 |
silver bracelets (19 exagia) |
4 hyperpyra |
Ferrari, “Vatican,” 265 |
15th century |
pendants |
150 hyperpyra |
MM 2:559 |
1098 |
a medallion (enkolpion) of 24 |
? |
Iviron, 2: no. 47 |
|
exagia |
|
|
late 11th century |
silver cup of 60 exagia |
? |
Iviron, 2: Synodikon, 7, no. |
|
|
|
115 |
1096 |
silver cup |
130 staters |
Alexiade, 2: 220 |
1300 |
silver cup with 37 nebrites |
13 hyperpyra |
Pizolo, no. 648 |
1314 |
silver-gilt belt |
8 hyperpyra |
Chilandar, no. 27 |
1364 |
silver belt |
18 hyperpyra |
Santschi, Cre`te, no. 14 |
1366 |
belt |
300 hyperpyra |
Vatopedi, ed. Mosˇin, no. 1 |
continued
94 Also to be found are silk coverlets for a price of 10–16 ducats, 4 pairs of sheets worth 16 ducats, and mattresses (strw´ mata) at 10 ducats (gold or silver ?).
|
Prices and Wages in the Byzantine World |
855 |
||
|
Table 15 |
|
|
|
|
(continued) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date |
Type of Object |
Price |
Source |
|
1370 |
2 silver belts (together |
61 hyperpyra |
Santschi, Cre`te, no. 188 |
|
|
491⁄2 uncie) |
|
|
|
14th–15th |
belt |
4 nomismata |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 75 |
|
centuries |
|
|
|
|
15th century |
“Frankish” belt |
50 hyperpyra |
MM 2:419 |
|
15th century |
belt weighing 8 uncie |
? |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 6, § 27 |
|
|
(213 g) |
|
|
|
1368 |
ring with diamond |
40 hyperpyra |
Santschi, Cre`te, no. 91 |
|
14th century |
one balas ruby |
1,522 hyperpyra |
Thiriet, Re´gestes, 1: no. |
|
|
|
|
141095 |
|
15th century |
a collar |
90 hyperpyra |
MM 2:563 |
|
1314 |
2 gold rings of 4 exagia |
? |
Chilandar, no. 27 |
|
1384 |
6 rings |
10 hyperpyra |
Docheiariou, no. 49 |
|
15th century |
2 gold rings weighing 4 |
? |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 6, § 27 |
|
|
exagia |
|
|
|
14th–15th |
one ring |
2 nomismata |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 75 |
|
centuries |
|
19 kokkia |
|
|
1436 |
5 silver spoons weighing 4 |
10 hyperpyra 12 |
Badoer, 13, 20 |
|
|
ounces 6 solidi at 28 |
carats |
|
|
|
hyperpyra per pound |
|
|
|
1436 |
8 silver spoons weighing 6 |
17 hyperpyra 2 |
Badoer, 44, 2 |
|
|
ounces 5 solidi at 30 |
carats |
|
|
|
hyperpyra per pound |
|
|
|
1437 |
2 small cups and 2 spoons |
25 hyperpyra |
Badoer, 300, 19–21 |
|
Icons and Liturgical Objects |
|
|
|
|
514–523 |
gold paten weighing 5 |
360 nomismata |
LP, 1:27197 |
|
|
pounds96 |
|
|
|
continued
95T. Bertele`, “I gioielli della corona bizantina dato in pegno alla Repubblica Veneta nel secolo XIV e Mastino II della Scala,” in Studi in onore di Amintore Fanfani, 6 vols. (Milan, 1962), 2:89–177. The crown jewels were pawned to Venice for the sum of 33,000 ducats in 1343. Constantine XI also pawned a ruby for 9,000 hyperpyra (ibid., 138).
96Justin I presented Pope Hormisdas with a paten decorated with hyacinths, and many other precious objects.
97As we know, the Liber Pontificalis provides an impressive list of gifts presented by Constantine and his successors and various popes to the churches of Rome, thereby supplying their liturgical equipment, and also itemizes the nature and weight of the metal involved. See the commentary by M. Mundell Mango, “The Monetary Value of Silver Revetments and Objects Belonging to Churches,
A.D. 300–700,” in Ecclesiastical Silver Plate in Sixth-Century Byzantium, ed. S. A. Boyd and M. M. Mango
(Washington, D.C., 1992), 123–36.
856 MORRISSON AND CHEYNET
Table 15 (continued)
Date |
Type of Object |
Price |
Source |
523–526 |
gold paten weighing 20 |
1,440 nomismata |
LP, 1:272 |
|
pounds |
|
|
523–526 |
gold chalice weighing 5 |
360 nomismata |
LP, 1:272 |
|
pounds |
|
|
625–638 |
revetments and chandeliers |
1,224 pounds of |
LP, 1:323 |
|
for St. Peter’s |
silver |
|
687–701 |
cross (with emeralds) |
20 pounds |
LP, 1:37598 |
687–701 |
gold chalice of 20 pounds |
1,440 nomismata |
LP, 1:375 |
1143 |
lamp of 20 gold pounds |
1,440 hyperpyra |
Kinnamos, 25 |
|
(Holy Sepulcher) |
|
|
late 13th century |
2 candlesticks |
1,000 hyperpyra99 |
Delehaye, Typika, 94–95 |
late 13th century |
chandelier |
5 pounds of silver |
Delehaye, Typika, 95 |
11th century |
gilt icon |
30 nomismata |
Petrucci, Codice diplomatico, |
|
|
|
no. 76 |
early 13th century |
icon |
7 nomismata |
Chomatianos, no. 84 |
1384 |
7 icons |
2–7 hyperpyra |
Docheiariou, no. 49 |
14th century |
one icon at 24 uncie of |
24 hyperpyra |
Lavra, 3: no. 147, l. 3 |
|
ducats |
|
|
14th–15th |
2 icons and 4 books |
78 hyperpyra |
Schreiner, Finanz, no. 36 |
centuries |
|
|
|
15th century |
icon |
10 hyperpyra |
MM 2:504 |
|
|
|
|
Garments, Jewels, and Icons
We have assembled here everything of value from a couple’s possessions. Our knowledge is very limited, given that there are no inventories containing estimates of goods, apart from a few documents that are more detailed: one marriage contract involving Jews of Mastaura on the Meander dated 1022; the inventory of a minor’s possessions at the beginning of the thirteenth century; a dowry preserved in a Vatican manuscript; the inventory of the reconstituted dowry of a widow named Maria Deblitzene (1384), and a marriage contract from the fifteenth century. Except for the third document, which concerns the Thracian aristocracy, these sources relate to ordinary citizens.
In 1022, each item of the wife’s property, her luxury vessels, dresses, veil, coverlet, rings, and earrings, was valued at between half and two gold pieces. In 1384, the possessions that reverted to Maria Deblitzene were not fundamentally different, with the
98The gift to St. Peter’s in Rome also included a silver dais weighing 120 pounds and six silver lamps weighing 170 pounds.
99Two others for 500 hyperpyra.
