Money, banking and credit in mediaeval Bruges: Italian merchant-bankers Lombards and money changers, a study in the origins of banking

Frontmatter 1 PREFACE (page vii) 7 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS (page xiii) 13 LIST OF TABLES (page xv) 15 LIST OF APPENDICES (page xvii) 17 Chapter I: INTRODUCTION (page 3) 21 PART ONE: THE ITALIAN MERCHANT-BANKERS 25 II. THE ITALIAN COLONIES IN FLANDERS: THEIR ESTABLISHMENT, THEIR LEGAL STATUS, AND THEIR SOCIAL LIFE (page 9) 27 III. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ITALIAN MERCANTILE AND BANKING HOUSES WITH BRANCHES IN BRUGES (page 29) 49 IV. THE BUSINESS OF EXCHANGE AND THE MECHANISM OF THE MONEY MARKET (page 48) 70 V. THE VICISSITUDES OF THE MONEY MARKET AND THE PERILS OF INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC LOANS (page 76) 100 PART TWO: THE LOMBARDS OR 'CAHORSINS' 123 VI. THE LEGAL STATUS OF LICENSED USURY (page 99) 125 VII. THE PAWNBROKING OF BUSINESS (page 113) 139 VIII. THE SOCIAL PROBLEM OF CONSUMERS' CREDIT (page 149) 175 IX. THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SECRET USURY AND THE SURVIVAL OF CASUAL CREDIT (page 160) 186 PART THREE: THE MONEY-CHANGERS 195 X. THE LEGAL AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND (page 171) 197 XI. A GENERAL PICTURE OF THE MONEY-CHANGERS' BUSINESS (page 198) 228 XII. THE FLEMISH CURRENCY SYSTEM, THE TRADE IN BULLION AND THE MONEY MARKET (page 220) 252 XIII. BANK DEPOSITS AS MONEY (page 247) 281 XIV. LOANS AND INVESTMENTS (page 293) 331 XV. BANK FAILURES AND PUBLIC POLICY (page 331) 369 XVI. CONCLUSIONS (page 345) 383 APPENDICES (page 361) 399 BIBLIOGRAPHY (page 387) 425 INDEX (page 407) 445