Money, Commerce, and Economics in Late Medieval English Literature (The New Middle Ages)

"This is the first collection of essays dedicated to the topics of money and economics in the English literature of the late Middle Ages. These essays explore ways that late medieval economic thought informs contemporary English texts and apply modern modes of economic analysis to medieval literature. In so doing, they read the importance and influence of historical records of practices as aids to contextualizing these texts. They also apply recent modes of economic history as a means to understand the questions the texts ask about economics, trade, and money. Collectively, these papers argue that both medieval and modern economic thought are key to valuable historical contextualization of medieval literary texts, but that this criticism can be advanced only if we also recognize the specificity of the economic and social conditions of late-medieval England"--Back cover Contents 7 List of Contributors 9 Chapter 1: Introduction: “Greet prees at Market”—Money Matters in Medieval English Literature 11 The Social Context 13 The Theoretical Context 15 Works Cited 19 Chapter 2: Judas and the Economics of Salvation in Medieval English Literature 21 From Manor to Marketplace: Two Accounts of Salvation 22 Judas, Steward to the Apostles 24 Judas as Merchant in the Poetic Tradition 28 The Legacy of Judas in The Merchant of Venice 35 Works Cited 38 Chapter 3: “Whoso wele schal wyn, a wastour moste he fynde”: Interreliant Economies and Social Capital in Wynnere and Wastoure 41 Works Cited 54 Chapter 4: “The ryche man hatz more nede thanne the pore”: Economics and Dependence in Dives and Pauper 57 Creation and Lordschepe 59 Networks of Dependence 62 Conclusion 65 Works Cited 67 Chapter 5: Summoning Hunger: Polanyi, Piers Plowman, and the Labor Market 69 Works Cited 85 Chapter 6: Demonic Ambiguity: Debt in the Friar-­Summoner Sequence 87 Angels and Demons 90 Division of Power in The Friar’s Tale 92 Pentecostal Division in The Summoner’s Tale 95 Works Cited 99 Chapter 7: Death is Money: Buying Trouble with the Pardoner 102 Works Cited 114 Chapter 8: My Purse and My Person: “The Complaint of Chaucer to His Purse” and the Gender of Money 117 I 118 II 126 Works Cited 132 Chapter 9: The Need for Economy: Poetic Identity and Trade in Gower’s Confessio Amantis 135 Works Cited 148 Chapter 10: “Money Earned; Money Won”: The Problem of Labor Pricing in Gower’s “Tale of the King and the Steward’s Wife” 151 Works Cited 162 Chapter 11: Crossing the Threshold: Geoffrey Chaucer, Adam Smith, and the Liminal Transactionalism of the Later Middle Ages 165 Works Cited 184 Index 186 Front Matter ....Pages i-x Introduction: “Greet prees at Market”—Money Matters in Medieval English Literature (Craig E. Bertolet, Robert Epstein)....Pages 1-10 Judas and the Economics of Salvation in Medieval English Literature (Rosemary O’Neill)....Pages 11-30 “Whoso wele schal wyn, a wastour moste he fynde”: Interreliant Economies and Social Capital in Wynnere and Wastoure (David Sweeten)....Pages 31-46 “The ryche man hatz more nede thanne the pore”: Economics and Dependence in Dives and Pauper (Elizabeth Harper)....Pages 47-58 Summoning Hunger: Polanyi, Piers Plowman, and the Labor Market (Robert Epstein)....Pages 59-76 Demonic Ambiguity: Debt in the Friar-Summoner Sequence (Anne Schuurman)....Pages 77-91 Death is Money: Buying Trouble with the Pardoner (Roger Ladd)....Pages 93-107 My Purse and My Person: “The Complaint of Chaucer to His Purse” and the Gender of Money (Diane Cady)....Pages 109-126 The Need for Economy: Poetic Identity and Trade in Gower’s Confessio Amantis (Brian Gastle)....Pages 127-142 “Money Earned; Money Won”: The Problem of Labor Pricing in Gower’s “Tale of the King and the Steward’s Wife” (Craig E. Bertolet)....Pages 143-156 Crossing the Threshold: Geoffrey Chaucer, Adam Smith, and the Liminal Transactionalism of the Later Middle Ages (Andrew Galloway)....Pages 157-177 Back Matter ....Pages 179-185 Craig E. Bertolet, Robert Epstein, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.