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Money and prices in thirteenth-

century Venice
a
Louise Buenger Robbert
a
Department of History, University of Missouri-St. Louis,
8001 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63121, USA

To cite this article: Louise Buenger Robbert (1994): Money and prices in thirteenth-century
Venice, Journal of Medieval History, 20:4, 373-390

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 Medieval
Elistory
ELSEVIER Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390

Money and prices in thirteenth-century Venice

Louise Buenger Robbert
Department of History, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 8001 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis,
MO 63121, USA
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Abstract

Prices and salaries rose in Venice between 1173 and 1282. The supply of money also
probably increased. Wine, grain, and commodity prices, as well as magistrates’ salaries, are
here collected from documentary sources to illustrate this rise in prices. Evidence from
silver mining, foreign trade, banking, and diplomacy seems to demonstrate an increase in
the supply of money, but price inflation (the Fisher equation, MV= PT) cannot be
definitely illustrated because velocity and transaction costs cannot yet be established for
medieval Venice. To clarify these prices, this study also briefly describes the coins and
moneys of account used in Venice in this century.

Recent studies have proved a price inflation in England between 1180 and 1220.
P.D.A. Harvey summarized the evidence, and Nicholas J. Mayhew proposed that
it was caused by an increase in the English money supply and pleaded for
additional studies.’ Furthermore, Peter Spufford proposed that the European-
wide commercial revolution of the thirteenth century was accompanied by an
increase in the money supply.’ This paper will carry the investigation to Venice
and demonstrate rising prices and salaries there from 1173 to 1282, and a
probable increase in the quantity of Venetian money.
Although price history has increasingly occupied economic historians in the last
decades, many problems of methodology remain. The price historian must decide
whether to express prices in gold or silver coins, in money of account, or in grams

LOUISE BUENGER ROBBERT is Professor of History. University of Missouri-St. Louis. She was a
student of both Hilmar Krueger and Robert L. Reynolds. She has published numerous articles on the
economy and society of medieval Venice.
’ P.D.A. Harvey, ‘The English inflation of 1180-1220,’ Past & Present, 61 (November 1973) 3-30;
Nicholas J. Mayhew, ‘Frappes de monnaies et hausse de prix en Angleterre de 1180 g 1220.’ in: Etudes
d’histoire monitaire. ed. John Day, (Lille, 1984), 159-78.
‘Peter Spufford, Money and its use in medieval Europe, (Cambridge University Press, 1988).
Industrial prices in Genoa increased during the years 1150 to 1220; William N. Bonds, ‘Some industrial
price movements in medieval Genoa (1155-1255),’ Economy, society and government in medieval
Italy, ed. D. Herlihy, R.S. Lopez, and V. Slessarev (Kent. OH, 1969), 123-40.

0304.4181/94/$07.00 0 1994 - Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

SSDI 0304-4181(94)00809-4
 374 L.B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 37.6390

of silver or gold. Furthermore, he must determine which prices are market prices,
whether prices are seasonal or extraordinary, and whether price series can be
constructed. He should also determine for what time-period and what geographic
area he is investigating prices, and whether or not a long-term trend has emerged.
Price inflation is explained by the celebrated Fisher equation, MV= PT (where
M = quantity of money, V= velocity of exchange, P = prices of commodities, and
T = number of transactions). To apply this formula to medieval Europe is difficult
because the evidence is scarce and difficult to interpret. While numismatists are
developing methods of determining medieval mint output to determine the
quantity of money, historians are looking at political events for evidence of
increase in the money supply. The velocity of circulation of medieval coins is
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difficult to determine. Scattered prices of medieval commodities have survived,

but not in regular series. The number and cost of transactions on any single
medieval marketplace is only vaguely understood. The larger amount of data
available for the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries does establish the general
outline of European price history in these centuries.’ For centuries earlier than
the fourteenth, it can only be estimated. For Venice, twelfth- and thirteenth-
century sources do yield some data and a general trend does emerge. I suggest
that a price inflation occurred in Venice between 1173 and 1282, and that the
quantity of money probably also increased.
First, let us look at the money supply. European mines began to yield more and
more silver after 1170. Much silver was discovered at mines near Freiberg in the
Margravate of Meissen in 1168. In the last quarter of the century, the mines of
Montieri, near Volterra, of Styria and Carinthia began to yield silver. As these
mines began to be exhausted about 1250, Bohemians discovered rich veins of
silver at Jihlava (Iglau), and Pisans discovered silver at Iglesias on Sardinia.
Concurrently, silver mines in the Carpathian mountains began to yield more
silver, as did new mines in Serbia. These discoveries catalogue the new medieval
sources of supply of silver. Silver bars and silver coins were imported to Venice in
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, as I have demonstrated elsewhere.’

’ For example. John Day, The medieval market economy (Oxford, 1987); Harry A. Miskimin, The
economy of early renaissance Europe, 1300-1460 (Englewood Cliffs. NJ, 1969); Douglass C. North
and Robert Paul Thomas, The rise of the Western world, (Cambridge, 1973); Wolfgang von Stromer,
‘Hartgeld, Kredit und Giralgeld. zu einer monetaren Konjunkturtheorie des Spatmittelalters und der
Wende zur Neuzeit,’ in: La moneta nell’economica europea secoli XIII-XVIII, ed. V. Barbagli Bagnoli
(Atti della ‘Settima settimana di studio’ Ser. II, vol. 7, Prato, 1987) 105-25; &tudes d’tiistoire
Montfaire, ed. John Day (Lille, 1984); I prezzi in Europa da1 xiii secolo a oggi, ed. Ruggiero Roman0
(Einaudi. Turin, lY67), xi-xliv; F.P. Braudel and F. Spooner, ‘Prices in Europe from 1450 to 1750.’
in: The Cambridge economic history of Europe, 8 vols (Cambridge, 196661989), vol. 4. ed. E.E. Rich
and C.H. Wilson, (Cambridge, 1967), 374-86; E.H. Phelps Brown and Sheila V. Hopkins, Seven
centuries of building wages,’ Economica N.S. XXII-87 (August 1955) 1955206; and ‘Seven centuries
of prices compared with builders’ wage-rates,’ Economica, N.S. XXIII-92 (November 1956) 296-314.
’ Spufford, Money and its use, 109-21; Mayhew, ‘Frappes de monnaies,’ 168; John U. Nef. ‘Mining
and metallurgy in medieval civilisation.’ Cambridge Economic History, vol. 2, ed. Postan and Rich,
(Cambridge, 1952), 433-41; L. Robbert. ‘Monetary flows-Venice. 1150-1400, Precious metals in
the later medieval and early modern worlds. ed. Richards. (Durham, NC. 1983), 62-7.
 L. B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390 375

Venetian mint history in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries also suggests an
increase in the money supply. After being shut down for about fifty years, the
Venetian mint reopened in the 1160s to strike a few half-denarius coins.
Nevertheless, foreign money was predominant on the Rialto to 1183. In 1172 the
mint produced its first one-denarius piece which did not acknowledge any
dependence upon any foreign power. This first independent denarius weighed
0.37 grams at 23011000 fine silver and bore the name of Doge Sebastian0 Ziani.
Twenty-two years later Doge Enrico Dandolo struck a larger coin, the first
grosso, weighing 2.2 grams at 9651100 fine silver. A fractional coinage was also
created.’ Although the one-denarius coin was not struck after 1205, the old pieces
continued in circulation. In 1268 the mint again issued one-denarius coins, at the
but weighing slightly less6 The striking of these coins enabled
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same fineness,
Venetian merchants to employ local rather than foreign coins in domestic
transactions by 1200. By 1250 the gross0 existed in sufficient quantity to become
the major coin of Venice.’ Because the gross0 coin was not debased by the mint
and because it contained 96511000 pure silver, it was much in demand, especially
in the Muslim world where silver was in short supply. In response, to defend the
grosso, in 1284 the Venetian mint struck its first gold coin, the ducat.X Venice had
advanced from a closed, non-functioning mint before 1160 to a very active mint in
1284, supplying silver coins for domestic and foreign needs. The output of the
Venetian mint had probably increased enormously in 125 years.”
International events suggest that thirteenth-century Venice might have been a
capital market, with a more than adequate supply of money. Richard the
Lionhearted’s ransom from the Duke of Austria in 1193-1194 was negotiated on
the Rialto by Bernardus Teutonicus, a German merchant, who brought silver

’ Smaller coins also came from the Venetian mint in these decades: the half-denaro struck first by
Vitale Michiel, doge from 1156 to 1172, weighing 0.517 grams at 07011000 fine silver; and the
quarter-denaro (quartarolo) weighing 0.78 grams at 03011000 fine silver, first struck by Doge Enrico
Dandolo. All weights and fineness of Venetian coins in this study are from Nicolb Papadopoli, Le
Monete di Venezia, 4 vols (Venice, 1893-1909), vol. 1.
’ The denaro of Sebastian0 Ziani weighed 0.362 grams at 27011000 fine silver; his successor, Orio
Mastropiero, doge 117881192, struck the same denaro with his name, while Enrico Dandalo, doge
1192-1205, struck the last denaro before the fourth crusade and it weighed only 0.37 grams but only
25011000 fine silver. No denari issued from the Venetian mints again (although the old denari
continued in circulation) until the denaro of Doge Lorenzo Tiepolo in 1268 weighing only 0.289 grams
at 250/1000 fine. Papadopoli, Le Monete, 74, 78, 86-7; L.B. Robbert, ‘Reorganization of the Venetian
coinage by Doge Enrico Dandolo,’ Speculum 49 (January 1974) 50-l.
‘L.B. Robbert, ‘Venetian money market,’ Studi Veneziani 13 (1071) 3-94; Robbert. ‘Monetary
flows.’ 53-77; and L.B. Robbert, ‘Sistema Monetario a Venezia prima de1 1300,’ in: Storia di Venezia,
2, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 20 vols (1992-?) vol. 2, 1995.
’ Frederic C. Lane and Reinhold Mueller, Money and banking in medieval and renaissance Venice. 1
(Baltimore, MD, 1985), 174-79; and Robbert, ‘Sistema Monetario’.
‘)Alan Stahl, curator of medieval coins at the American Numismatic Society, New York, has begun
to analyse, so far as is possible. the volume of coinage struck by the medieval Venetian mints. See his
‘Venetian coinage: Variations in production,’ m: Rythmes de la Production monitaire, ed. G. Depeyrot
and T. Hackens, Numismatica Lovaniensia 7 (Paris, 1987). 477-9.
 376 L.B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390

from German-speaking lands to Venice.“’ In 1201, the Crusaders agreed to pay

Venice 85 000 marks of silver in return for transporting them on the fourth
crusade. In March 1203, Crusaders and Venetians agreed that the booty from the
capture of Constantinople should be distributed equally after the crusaders’
transportation bill of 34 000 marks had been paid to Venice.” In mid-century, the
weakened Latin emperor of Constantinople borrowed money in Venice to hire
mercenaries and run the state.” He pawned his royal jewels, his best relics (the
crown of thorns and the arm of John the Baptist), and even his own son and heir.
These familiar examples suggest that large amounts of money were probably
available on the Rialto in the thirteenth century.
To return to the problem of inflation in medieval Venice, we have shown that
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the money supply of Venice probably increased in the thirteenth century because
new European silver mines began production, because the Venetian mint
reopened and expanded, and because large amounts of capital were available on
the Rialto. Did prices and wages also increase? The Tables 1-8, which quote
prices and wages in the city of Venice from 1173 to 1282, demonstrate that they
did. We will therefore have determined for thirteenth-century Venice the upward
movement of two elements (quantity of money and prices) in the Fisher equation,
MV-PT.
To understand Venetian prices, one must also realize that Rialto merchants
kept their accounts and expressed prices in terms of money of account, not in
coins. I3 Their unit was the pound, with its subdivisions, shillings and pennies.
(Latin: libra, solidus, denarius. Italian: lira, soldo, denaro.) The libra equalled 20
solidi or 240 denari. Only the denarius and its fractions were Venetian coins in the
twelfth century; the libra and solidus were accounting units, ‘ghost money’ as
Carlo Cipolla called them.‘“. The libra was identified by the denarius from which
it derived its value. From 1150 to 1282 Venetians usually expressed prices in terms
of the libra denariorum venetialium (lib. den. ven).”
This money of account kept the same name and changed only slightly from 1173
to 1282. The lib. den. ven. was payable in 240 good Venetian denari as issued by

“‘Wolfgang van Stromer, ‘Bernardus Teotonicus e i rapporti commerciali fra la Germania

Meridionale e Venezia prima della istituzione de1 Fondaco dei Tedeschi,’ Cenrro Tedesco di Studi
Veneziani Quaderni 8 (Venice, 1978) 16-20.
I’ Andrea Dandolo, Chronica. ed. Ester Pastorello (Rerum Italicarum Scriptores. X11-1, new ed.
Bologna. 193%1958), 276; Geoffroi de Villehardouin. La Conqu&e de Constantinople, ed. and tr.
Edmond Faral, 2nd edn. (Paris, 1961). vol. I, 27; and L.B. Robbert, ‘Venice and the crusades.’ in: A
History of the crusades, ed. Kenneth Setton. 6 vols (Madison WI, 1969%1989), vol. V, 415-7.
” Robert Lee Wolff, ‘The Latin empire of Constantinople. 1204-1261.’ A History of the crusades.
vol. 2, 661-734.
” For an extended explanation, see Lane and Mueller, Money and Banking, 7-12 and fn. 21.
” Carlo M. Cipolla, Money, prices and civilization (Princeton. NJ, 1956) 38-51.
I5From 1150 to 1183 Venetian prices were often expressed in libra denariorum veronensium, the
libra of Verona, which in these years exactly equalled the lib. den. yen. See Robbert. ‘Venetian money
market,’ 26-37.
 L.B. Robbert / Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390 377

Doge Sebastian0 Ziani between 1172 and 1178. Although the next two doges very
slightly debased the denarius, the lib. den. ven. retained the same value in terms
of silver. The striking of the gross0 in 1194 added a new Venetian coin, but prices
continued to be expressed in terms of the lib. den. ven. Payments in cash would
be made with the assistance of a money changer, who weighed the coins until the
requisite amount of lib. den. ven. in silver was obtained. Because the gross0 coin
was never debased in the thirteenth century, and because the old denari in
circulation declined in pure silver as they wore out and, after 1268, were debased,
the ratio between the gross0 and the denarius climbed throughout the century.
The first gross0 must have been struck to equal 24 denari, but by 1202 the market
ratio 1 gross0 = 26 denari reflected the silver content of the grosso. By 1254, 1
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gross0 = 26$ denari, and in 1282, 1 gross0 = 32 denari.16 At mid-century,

Venetians still kept accounts in lib. den. vet-r., but its value was stated in terms of
grossi: 1 libra = 9 grossi and 5 denari.” After 1271 this libra was the money
standard of Venice and it was called the libra ad grossos.‘R Certain accounts,
however, were kept by law in libra denariorum venetialium parvulorum (the libra
of 240 debased denari). This lib. den. ven. parv. had ever less purchasing power
than the libra ad grossos. When Venetians wished to express very large sums, they
used different moneys of account. Payments abroad were made in terms of money
circulating in each foreign port.‘” After 1266, some large accounts in Venice were
kept in terms of a new money of account, the libra grossorum, which had the
purchasing power of 240 grossi coins, over twenty-three times that of the lib. den.
20
ven.
Prices listed on the tables are in terms of the lib. den. ven., and after 1271, the
libra ad grossos, unless otherwise indicated. Prices reflect the purchasing equiva-
lent of the libra in pure silver, which slipped from 23.85 grams silver in 1173 to
19.3 grams silver in 1269-1280.”
Most Venetian prices have been found in official government documents,
although surviving private documents have also been exhaustively searched for

I’ Robert, ‘Reorganization,’ 57; L.B. Robbert, ‘Monetary flows,’ 5447; and L.B. Robbert, ‘Sistema
Monetario.’
” Lane and Mueller, Money and banking, 124, n. 55. Documents often referred to the denarius as
the parvus, later ltalianized to piccolo. L.B. Robbert, ‘Monetary flows,’ 56; F.C. Lane. ‘The first
infidelities of the Venetian lire,’ in: The medieval city, ed. H.A. Miskimin, David Herlihy and A.L.
Udovitch (New Haven, CT, 1977) 48; and Lane and Mueller. Money and banking, 123-5.
” Libra ad grossos = the libra to the grossus or (translated into Italian) lira a grossi.
I’)See Tables 7 and 8.
“‘Italianized to lira di grossi, Table 6. See also Lane and Mueller, Money and banking, Table 4,
125.
‘I In 1173 the lib. den. veron. like the lib. den. yen. was equivalent to 23.85 grams pure silver. With
the appearance of the grosso, the silver equivalent of the lib. den. yen. remained the same up to about
1202. From 1202 to 1268, the lib. den. yen. equalled 21.8 grams silver, then with the new debased
denaro piccolo, it slipped to either 19.3 grams silver for the lira a grossi or to 17.3 grams silver for the
lira di piccoli. L.B. Robbert. ‘Venetian money market,’ 53-4; L.B. Robbert, ‘Reorganization of the
Venetian coinage,’ Speculum 49 (1974) 56-8; Lane, ‘First infidelities,’ 47-9; and Lane and Mueller.
Monq and banking, 125.
 378 L.B. Rohbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390

prices. The earliest surviving prices are in a decree of maximum prices and market
regulations issued by Doge Sebastian0 Ziani in 1173.22 The next source, with
many prices between 1223 and 1229, is the Liber Plegiorum, the earliest register
of Venetian governmental business which has survived” It includes deliberations
of the Little Council of Venice, the bonds put up by individuals to this Council,
and the losses experienced by Venetian merchants in the war with Ferrara. The
third source is the Liber Officiorum, the first extant volume of deliberations of the
Great Council of Venice.” Organized not chronologically but topically, this
volume gives the texts of the deliberations of the Great Council which were in
effect between 1274 and 1282, including many earlier acts which were still in
force. Not all the acts survive in complete form; some only survive in the register.
Cessi edited both the Liber Plegiorum and the Liber Officiorum. From
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Roberto
these sources, primarily, have come the following prices.
Certain criteria have been used to select the prices given on the tables. Each
price is of an individual item, as stated in the document. These prices prevailed
only in Venice and the lands under Venetian domination, and it is assumed, for
purposes of comparison, that measures of commodities were uniform, but they
probably were not.2” It is assumed that a private person, when appearing before
the Little Council or the Great Council, gave a market price for a commodity
figuring in some legal action. It is also assumed that when a council of Venice
allocated funds to be spent for some commodity, the amount was a market price.
Occasionally the commune decreed a maximum or a minimum price for some
commodity. Only two prices derive from private documents: the value of a string
of pearls in a will and the purchase of wheat and millet in Treviso.‘6
Salaries in Venice between 1173 and 1282 and prices of wine, wheat, and other
miscellaneous commodities are shown in Tables l-8.
Wine prices clearly rose in medieval Venice. The maximum price for wine at
retail (one pound) in the price list of Doge Sebastian0 Ziani in 1173 was 2 d.

22 N. Papadopoli. Le Monete, I, 307-11.

” “Liber Comunis Plegiorum qui nuncupatur ‘Plegiorum’ “, Deliberazioni de1 Muggior Consiglio di
Venezia, vol. I, ed. Roberto Cessi (Accademia dei Lincei, Atti delle Assemblee Costituzionali
Italiane, III-l, Bologna, lY50), hereafter cited as Cessi, Lib. Pleg.
” ‘Liber Officiorum,’ Deliberazione de1 Maggior Consiglio, ed. Roberto Cessi. Vol. II, (R.
Accademia deli Lincei. Atti delle assemblee costituzionali Italiane da1 Medio Evo al 1831, Ser. III,
Parliamenti e consigli maggiori dei comuni italiani) Bologna 1934, reprinted 1970. Hereafter cited as
Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi.
*’ Hocquet pointed out the diversity of measurement systems within the fifteenth-century Venetian
domains. There is no reason to suppose that it was any different two hundred years earlier.
Jean-Claude Hocquet, ‘Mesure Dominante et Mesures Dominees dans la Republique de Venise,
XVe-XVe siecles.’ Acta Metrologiae Historicae 2 (October, 1986) X6-116.
“The pearls: Documenti de1 commercial veneziano nei secoli xi&xiii, ed. R. Morozzo della Rocca
and A. Lombard0 (Documenti e studi per la storia de1 commercio e de1 diritto commerciale italiano,
XX) 2 ~01s. (Rome and Turin, 1Y40), vol. 2. No. 636; the grain: Venice. Archivio di Stato, Codice
Diplomatic0 Veneziano. XIII, 1242-5 (S. Michele di Murano. B. 11) 1242, 10 July, Treviso.
 L.B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390 379

Table 1
Wine prices in Venice, in lib. den. ven

Year Commodity and Source Price

unit of sale

Retail
1173 Wine. pound Papadopoli, I, p. 307 0.0.2
1272 Wine, pound Delib. Magg. Cons.. 0.0.8 and 0.1.0
ed. Cessi, IV-iii,p.320
1281 Wine, pound Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, 3.15.0 and 4.0.0
V-vii, p. 270
Wholesale
1173 Wine, anfora Papadopoli, I, 308 2.0.0
1224 Wine, anfora Cessi, Lib. Pleg., pp. 6-5 8.0.0 and 7.0.0
Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 8.0.0
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1225 Wine, anfora 123

1226 Wine, anfora Cessi, Lib. Pleg., pp. 27-99 7.0.0
1279 Wine. anfora Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, 12.0.0
V-ii, p. 320
1281 Wine, anfora Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, 8.0.0
V-iv, p. 270

Ninety-nine years later, in December 1272, the maximum price for a pound of
wine on the Lido was raised by the Great Council from 8 d. to 12 d. Wine prices in
the taverns had risen from 2d. to 12 d. in 100 years, or an average of 1.7%
annually.*’ Taverners in 1281 were permitted to sell wine at an even higher price.
In contrast to these retail prices for wine, wholesale prices rose more gradually
(Table 1).
On the Rialto, wholesale prices for wine were given in terms of the anfora,
which equaled 680 litres.*’ One anfora of wine was priced at 2 lb. den. ven.,
except that brought from the Greek East, according to the price list of 1173. By
1225 the wholesale price for wine had increased to 7 or 8 lib. per anfora when
wines destined for Venice were stolen by pirates2” Fifty-four years later the
maximum price for wine had risen to 12 lib. den. ven. per anfora in Caorle on the
Venetian mainland. These prices thus present a regular series of rising prices for
one basic commodity. However, in April 1281, according to a Great Council
decree, the wholesale price of wine for innkeepers declined from 10 lib. to 8 lib.

” Papadopoli, Le Monete I, 307-S; Delib Magg. Cons. ed. Cessi. IV-iii, p. 320. Wine was measured
by the libra grossa in Venice, which equalled 480 grams, slightly less than a modern wine bottle holding
750 ml or 694.55 grams or 25.4 ounces. The author is indebted to William Witherspoon for the
equation calculating the annual rate of inflation.
*’ Jean-Claude Hocquet, ‘Tonnages ancien et moderne: Botte de Venise et tonneau anglais,’ Revue
Historique 18112 (199011) 356, gives 1 anfora = 680 litres. Gerhard Rosch, Venedig und das Reich
(Max Niemeyer Verlag, Tiibingen. 1982), 203; (Italian translation) Venezia e l’lmpero, 962-12.50
(Rome, 1985), 314. gives 1 anfora = 600 litres. In terms of the dry measure of capacity, the liter, of
which 3.785 liters = 1 gallon. Thus, 1 anfora = 179.66 or 158.52 gallons.
“) In Venice, 1 anfora = 4 begonciae. Cessi, Lib. Pleg., 63-5.
 380 L.B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390

per anfora, which had been the price in 1225. This reveals that wine prices did
jump up and down. Prices in medieval Europe, as I have explained elsewhere,
were extremely variable.“”
In general, however, thirteenth-century Venetian wine prices increased in
comparison to the price list of 1173. Venetians realized that profits could be made
from vineyards. Numerous documents from twelfth- and thirteenth-century Venice
instruct new husbandmen to plant vineyards. In the 114Os, a landlord expected to
receive one-third of the wine from a vineyard. In the thirteenth century, rents
from vineyards were paid in specified amounts of wine or, if no wine was
produced, in money.“’ The Venetian bishop of Torcello demanded wine annually
from a newly installed priest.‘*
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Wine was shipped throughout the Mediterranean; Greek wine was regularly
sold on the Rialto. Venetian sailors on ships should carry two begoncie wine for
every 3 men, or 27 gallons per man. If the voyage lasted 60 days, this means a
ration of 1.7 liters per man per day.‘” Wine was often stolen from men traveling
by sea, as they testified to the Little Council in the 1220s.“’
Besides wine, Venetian documents also demonstrate rising prices for another
basic commodity, wheat. Wheat prices between 1223 and 1282 are presented in
Table 2.35 All these prices were set by the Commune of Venice, except that in

‘“L.B. Robbert, ‘Twelfth-century Italian prices: Food and clothing in Pisa and Venice,’ Social
Science History 7 (1983) 381-403.
” When wine was not produced in a given year, Venetian landlords demanded cash from their
tenants, but these amounts were not prices because they bore no relation to the price of wine on the
Rialto. For example: a tenant holding a vineyard of the monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore agreed to
pay annually 1 anfora grosso di Chioggia of wine or, if no wine were produced, 7f sol. den. ven.
Venice, Archivio di Stato, Cod. Dip. Ven xiii, 1238-41 (S. Giorgio Maggiore, Proc. 121) Chioggia,
1241, November. Assuming the Chioggian anfora equalled the Venetian anfora, wine in Venice cost 7
or 8 lib. den. ven. per anfora in 1224 and 12 lib. den. ven. in 1279.
” The Bishop of Torcello had installed a new priest in St. Anthony’s parish who owed his superior
two commodities produced in his parish, wine and fish, plus 15 silver coins. and triennally a banquet.
The wine is described as 2 ampulla of pure wine, each ampulla weighing 2 pounds. Ferdinand0
Ughelli, Ralia Sacra, 10 vols (Venice, 1717-1722) vol. V, COB. 1383-4. The ampulla was the
double-handled vessel which preserved wine for the sacrament.
” Plus 1 begoncie water, a sea chest, and a mattress for each man. Gli Sratuti Marittimi Veneziani
fine al 1255, ed. R. Predelli and Adolf0 Sacerdoti (Venice, 1902). 48-9. 1 anfora wine = 4 begoncie. so
1 begoncia = 27 gallons. This very nearly equals the 2 liters wine per man per day which Gino Luzzatto
reported for the Morosini household of Venice in 1343, ‘I1 Costo della vita a Venezia nel trecento,’ in:
Studi di Storia Economica di Venezia (Padua, 1954). 291.
” 1 baxatella (botticella?) of wine worth 25 sol. of Milan stolen, 1222. Cessi, Lib. Pleg.. 116; little
bottles with wine worth 14 libre, stolen 1223, Cessi, Lib. Pleg., 12.5; in 1224 a barrel of wine, a rug,
bingas, and a shirt worth 30 sol. Cessi, Lib. Pleg., 116. The capacity of a botticella or a barrel in the
1220s is unknown. Both were wooden containers of liquid, like a cask, with metal reinforcements on
the outside.
” Compare Phelps Brown and Hopkins, ‘Seven centuries’ and Braudel and Spooner, ‘Prices in
Europe’.
 L.B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390 381

Table 2
Wheat prices in Venice, in lib. den. ven.

Year, Month Commodity and Source Price

unit of sale

1223, November Wheat, stario Cessi, Lin. Pkg., p. 48-4 0.17.0

1223, November Wheat stario Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 48-5 0.17.0
1223, December Wheat, stario Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 51-19 [52-2Oa] 0.18.0
1225, September Wheat and other Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 90-149 0.16.0
grains, stario
1225, October Wheat, stario Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 35-136 0.16.0
1226, November Wheat, stario Cessi, Lib. Pleg., 136-7 0.18.0
1227, September Wheat, stario Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 188-66 0.25.0
1229, February Wheat, stario Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 213-147 0.14.0
7.0.0 per stario
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1239, December Millet A.S.V. Cod. Dip. Ven. XIII, 1238-41

1242, July Wheat, stario; A.S.V. Cod. Dip. Ven. XIII, 1242-S. 0.26.8
Millet, stario S. Michael di Murano B. 11
1282, March Wheat, stario Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. Cessi, II. 0.40.0
i-xxxi, p. 134-5
1282. May Wheat, stario Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, II, 0.42.8
i-xlvi, p. 139
1282, July Wheat. stario Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi. II, 0.40.0
i-liii. p. 140

1242:‘” Grain prices were quoted in solidi per staio, a Venetian dry measure of
volume equal to 83 litres or 2.36 bushels.37
Obviously the price of grain rose every winter as the harvest was consumed.
The prices fell again when the harvest was gathered in July. The earliest surviving
prices, for the years 1223-1226, hover around 17 sol. per staio, but the price of
grain was rising. In September 1227, the price of grain had risen to 2.5 sol. per
staio because unusually severe weather had caused a poor harvest.‘X In February

jhThe prices in 1223, 1225. and 1226 were set by Venice when the Commune sold grain to its
dependencies, Chioggia. Carvarzere, and Iustinople. The prices of 1227, 1229, and 1282 were
promised by the Commune to shippers who would import grain to Venice by sea. The 1242 price
represented a private agreement between two parties.
” Riisch, Venedig. 203. The Venetians had a larger measure for grain also, the moggio, equal to 12
staia. as in Francesco Balducci Pegolotti, La Pratica della Mercatura, ed. Allan Evans (Cambridge.
MA, 1936), 139. A document of 1225 confirms the ratio of 1 moggio = 12 staia in Cessi, Lib. Pleg.. 35.
The Venetian stario was not identical to the stario in other cities as Pegolotti abundantly proves, 151,
145. etc.
“One Venetian requested permission in December 1226, from doge and council, to disobey
Venetian navigation regulations because he could not return to Venice that winter because of the ice.
Cessi, Lib. Pleg.. 139. (For the date, compare the heading p. 136 with the first document on the page.)
Peter Kuniholm’s dendochronological series for the Aegean has similarly marked 1226-7 as the worst
season for tree growth in a century. Peter Kuniholm, vive vote and his ‘Dedrochronological
investigations in the Aegean and neighboring regions, 1983-1986.’ Jourrzal of Field Archaeology 14
(1987) 385-97.
 382 L.B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390

1229, the price of wheat returned to a much lower level: 14 sol. per staio.
Thirteen years later (1242) an isolated price of 26; sol. per staio is recorded.”
Forty years later (March 1282) the price of grain had risen again and the Great
Council guaranteed the price of 40 sol. per stario for wheat imported to Venice
from outside the Adriatic. Three months later they guaranteed the higher price of
42 sol. 8 den. per stario for wheat imported from beyond the Adriatic, especially
from Crete. In July the price of wheat from Crete returned to 40 sol. per stario.4”
These prices demonstrate that wheat prices climbed, even if the surviving prices
would probably have been set only in years of scarcity.
The Commune of Venice attempted to control the sale of the bread grains very
carefully in the thirteenth century to ensure a sufficient supply of bread in the
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city. While the surviving documents quote prices for wheat, other documents
without prices mention trade in millet, rye, and even beans, particularly during
the extreme season of 1226-7. Venice appointed two officials to oversee the grain
supply. They were entrusted with large sums of money to purchase grain, for
which they were accountable. The Venetian state severely punished anyone trying
to corner the market in grain:” Medieval Venetian grain shipments traveled by
sea or by river. Even before 1250 the Venetian state owned ships which traveled
for the purpose of buying grain.42 In order to attract private shippers of grain to
Venice, in 1224 the Commune offered to subsidize grain brought by sea from
regions up to Ancona and Zara at 1 sol. per stario. Grain brought from markets
further away as subsidized at 2 sol. per stario.4’ In the years of scarcity, Venice
sent its citizens to Apulia with bars of gold to buy grainr4 The Commune also
purchased large amounts of grain from Genoese merchants.4s Venetians were
forbidden to export grain to mainland communes with whom Venice was at war.
Ship captains who disobeyed were fined and their cargoes were seized.jh These
regulations demonstrate how medieval Venice attempted to control the price of
wheat.
Prices of fifty-three other miscellaneous commodities have survived from
twelfth- and thirteenth-century Venice. These are given in Table 3. Among these,
the price of horses also increased.
“’ In 1239 a single price for millet, 7 lib. den. ven. per staio, survives. and it is so out-of-line with the
other grain prices that it is not included in the tables. I cannot explain it. Venice, Archivio di Stato.
Cod. Dip. Ven. xiii, 1238-41, Arch. Diplomatic0 B. 10 [11] 1239, December 14.
‘“‘These prices were quoted as 15 grossi and 16 grossi, which at the rate 1 gross0 = 32 denari-
piccoli, yields 480 den (or 40 sol.) and 512 den (or 42 sol. 8 den). See Lane and Mueller. Money and
Bunking, 125. The June shipments had to be certified by a Venetian official (consul or rector), in some
station outside the Adriatic.
” In April 1225. Iohannes Bono de Capite Lupi de confinio S. Crucis posted bond to appear before
doge and council when called to answer to the accusation of making a grain market contrary to justice.
Cessi, Lib. Pleg.. 74. Again in 1266, Delib. de1 Magg, Cons, ed. Cessi. 287-8.
” Cessi, Lib. Pleg.. 43, 188, 191.
” For example: Cessi, Lib. Pkg.. 67, 94. Compare Rosch, Veneziu, 242.
“Cessi, Lib. Pleg., 178, 181, 182.
” Cessi, Lib. Pkg.. 47. 60. 61.
” Rosch. Venedig, 122-3. 153-72.
 L.B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390 383

Table 3
Commodity prices in lib. den. ven.

Year Commodity Source Price

1173 Beef (prime), 1 pound Papadopoli, 1, 307-11 0.0.2

1173 Beef (standard), 1 pound Papadopoh, I. 307-11 0.0.1;
1173 Fish (miscellaneous). 1 pound Papadopoli, I, 307-l 1 0.0.1
1173 Meat (from Lombardy), 1 pound Papadopoli, I, 307-l 1 0.0.4
1173 Meat (from Romania), 1 pound Papadopoli, 1, 307711 0.0.3
1173 Meat (from Slavonia), 1 pound Papadopoli, I, 307-11 0.0.3
1173 Oil. 1 miliarium Papadopoh, 1, 307-11 25.0.0
1173 Pork, 1 pound Papadopoli, I, 307-l 1 0.0.3
1173 Seabass, 1 pound Papadopoli. I, 307-l 1 0.0.3
1173 Shellfish, 1 pound Papadopoli, I, 307- 11 0.0.2
1173 Sole, 1 pound Papadopoh, I. 307-I 1 0.0.3
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1173 Sturgeon, 1 pound Papadopoh, I, 307-11 0.0.3

1173 Trout, 1 pound Papadopoli, I. 307-11 0.0.3
1222 Clogs, 1 pair Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 116 0.6.0
1222 Dolatora (long thin board) Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 116 0.10.0
1222 Mantle Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 116 4.5.0
1222 Shirt and Sarabola (nightgown) Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 116 0.18.0
1224 Galley oar, each Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 59-49 0.4.0
1225 Alum, 1 basket Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 94-160 0.75.0
1225 Balance Cessi, Lib. Pkg., p. 120 0.10.0
1225 Barca (boat), (quality A) Cessi. Lib. Pkg., p. 81-129 5.5.0
1225 Barca (boat), (quality B) Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 81-129 3.0.0
1225 Belt Cessi, Lib. Pleg.. p. 123 1.10.0
1225 Cheese, each Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 121 0.0.9;
1225 Educating an orphan Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 78-116 6.0.0
1225 Eggs. 1 dozen Cessi, Lib. Pleg.. p. 120 0.0.7+
1225 Figs, 1 bundle Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 123 0.12.0
1225 Gray cloth, 1 bale Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 121 62.10.0
1225 Helmet Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 122 0.30.0
1225 Mantle Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 123 3.0.0
1225 Mantle and varnacia (long gown) Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 120 3.0.0
1225 Pepper, 1 basket Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 36-139 170.0.0
1225 Plato (boat). one share Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 81-129 4.6.6
1225 Quarrel, each Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 81-129 0.1.0
1225 Reef-band of a sail Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 120 0.10.0
1225 Sail for Plato (boat) Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 81-129 0.33.0
1225 Sheep pelts, the cargo of a Plato Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 81-129 0.48.0
(boat)
1225 Sword Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 81-129 0.5.1;
1227 Candelabrum and base (silver with Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 187-65 250.0.0
gold plate), weighing 20 marks
1227 Hat Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 170.18; 169.14 0.3.0
1227 Knife Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 170.18; 0.20.0
169-14
1227 Pearls, 1 string Morozzo II, 636 25.0.0
1227 Sword Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 169-14 0.45.0
1227 Sword Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 170.18 0.45.0
1227 Yard and mast, 1 pair Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 181-45 5.0.0
1239 Bancionis (boat) with rigging, one- A.S.V. Cod. Dip. Ven. XIII, 1238- 73.7.0
third of 41. S. Gio. Magg. Proc. 316
124X Canvass, 1 carton Cod. Dip. Ven. sec. xiii, 1246-50 S 3.0.0
Michele di Murano B. 16
 384 L.B. Robber1 I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390

Table 3 (continued)

Year Commodity Source Price

1248 Silver spoon A.S.V. Cod. Dip. Ven. xiii, 0.16.8

1246-50, S. Zacc. B. 37
1249 Horse (quality B) Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. Cessi. 13.0.0
V-l, p. 350
1255 Horse (quality A) Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. Cessi. 100.0.0
I-l. p. 339-340
1268 Insignia for captains of the Delib. Msg. Cons., ed. Cessi, II- 0.0.11
commune. each xlviiii. p, 56
1273 Horse (quality B) Drlib. Magg. Cons., cd. Cessi. III- 20.0.0
iv, p. 347
127H Horse (quality A) Delib. Magg. Cons., cd. Cessi. II-i, 200.0.0
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p. 329
1278 Horse (quality B) Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi. II-i, x4.0.0
p. 329

Salaries of Venetian magistrates rose, like commodity prices, and were

proportional to the responsibilities of the office. Salaries paid to domestic
magistrates were usually paid in Venetian money, but salaries paid to Venetian
office-holders abroad were quoted in foreign money. Quotations in grossi are not
found before 1266, while those in lib. den. ven. appear throughout the century.
Tables 4-8 differentiate between annual and monthly salaries, and between
salaries in Venetian money and foreign money.J7 No salaries were quoted for
periods longer than one year, although some magistrates did serve longer terms.
Many more annual salaries than monthly salaries have survived, possibly because
the magistrate was expected to hire his own assistants. Wherever the record did
not specify either month or year, I decided on the basis of the amount of salary
and the type of office.
Beginning in 1229, the Oaths of Office of the doges of Venice record their
annual salaries.‘+’ Like wine and grain prices, the ducal salaries rose during the
century. Neither Doge Enrico Dandolo, 1192-1205, nor the extremely wealthy
Doge Pietro Ziani, 1205-1229, seem to have received any salary. Their successors
received 2800 lib. den. ven. annually, beginning in 1229; 2000 lib. den. ven. in
1249, 1253, 1268, and 1275, and then 3000 lib. den. ven. in 1280. These salaries
were paid from the Venetian treasury”” and were supplemented each term by

“Venetian magistrates in Romania (the Greek east) were given salaries payable in hyperpera.
Venetian consuls in Alexandria in Egypt in 1271 were paid 7 Egyptian bezants per month. probably
because Venetian officials did not remain long in Alexandria. Magistrates in the Acre were paid in the
Acre money of account, Saracen bezants of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem.
‘“Table 4. Lr Promissioni de1 Doge di Venezia da& origini alla fine de1 deucento. ed. Gisela
Graziato, Fonti per la Storia di Venezia, Sez. I. Archivi Pubblici. (Venice, lY86), 17-18, 34. 53-4, 74.
Y5, and 119-20. See also Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Ccssi. 39. The ducal oaths of office survive,
beginning with Doge Enrico Dandolo in 1192.
-I’)“nostris Cameraris nostri Comunis.” Promissioni, ed. Graziato. 17.
 L.B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390 385

Table 4
Salaries in lib. den. ven. per year

Year Office Source Salary

1226 M. Soranzo, late duke Lib. Pleg., ed. Cessi, 260.0.0 and 130.0.0
of Crete p. 98-172
1229 Doge Iacopo Tiepolo Promissioni, pp. 17-18 2800.0.0
1236 Podesta of Padua Statuti Padova, ed. 4000.0.0
Gloria, II-ii, p. 11
1249 Doge Marino Morosini Promissioni, p. 34 2000.0.0
1253 (m.v.) Doge Ranieri Zeno Promissioni, pp. 53-4 2000.0.0
1256 Associate of count of Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 50.0.0
Ragusa, each of 2 Cessi, II-l, p. 336
1258 Associate of Count of Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. 50.0.0
Zara Cessi, I-iv, p. 335
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1259 Castellan of Castri Novi Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. 75.0.0

Cessi, VI-l, p. 321
1259 Podesta of Tower of Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 75.0.0
Bebbe Cessi, VI-l, p. 321
1266 Notary for chamberlains Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 50.0.0
of the Commune Cessi, XIV-iv, p. 293
1266 Notary of S. Samuele Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 150.0.0
Cessi, III-viii, p. 77
1268 Doge Lorenzo Tiepolo Promissioni, p. 74 2000.0.0
1269 Physician of Minerva Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 100.0.0
Cessi, I-37, p. 149
1269 Rector of Umago Delib. Magg. Cons., II, 250.0.0
ed. Cessi, II-hi, p. 58
1270 Podesta of Chioggia Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 1200.0.0
Cessi, II-iv, p. 318
1270 Podesta of Cittanove in Delib. Magg. Cons., II, 450.0.0
Istria (Emonie) ed. Cessi, II-lviii, p. 59
1270 Podesta of Lido Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 300.0.0
Cessi, IV-i, p. 319
1270 Podesta of Torcello Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 20.0.0. additional
Cessi, X-i, p. 325
1270 Supervisor over usury, Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 30.0.0
ragpickers, and over the Cessi, XIII-iii, p. 222
canals, each of 3
1271 Associate of podesta of Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 40.0.0
Caorle Cessi, V-i, p. 320
1271 Chancellor assisting Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 120.0.0
Chioggian salt overseer Cessi, vii-II, p. 322
1271 Guard to podesta of Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 30.0.0 ad grossos
Caorle Cessi, V-i, p. 320
1271 Overseer of Chioggian Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 200.0.0
salt Cessi, vii-II, p. 322
1271 Physician of Minerva Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 100.0.0
Cessi, I-67, p. 155
1271 Podesta of S. Lorenzo Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 300.0.0
and Parenzo in Istria Cessi, II-lxvii, p. 61
1272 Aycardus physician of Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 100.0.0
the plague Cessi, I-79, p. 157
1272 Notary of vicedominus Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 50.0.0
of Aquileia Cessi, XII-i, p. 326
 386 L.B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390

Table 4 (continued)

Year Office Source Salary

1272 Podesta of Chioggia Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. 1200.0.0

Cessi, Appendix. p. 407
1275 Doge Iacopo Contarini Promissioni, p. 95 2000.0.0
1275 Podesta of Parenzo Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 800.0.0
Cessi, IV-i, p. 331
1275 Public advocate D&b. Mug. Cons.. ed. 100.0.0
Cessi. III-ii. p. 202
1276 Podesta of Emonie D&b. Mug. Cons., ed. 550.0.0
(Cittanove of Istria) Cessi, V-i, p. 332
1278 Associate of podesta of Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 30.0.0
Montone Cessi. VI-i, p. 332
Delib. Magg. Cons., ed.
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1278 Associate to podesta 40.0.0

Farre and Braze Cessi. IV-i. p. 337-8
1278 Councillor to Farre and Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 200.0.0
Braze, each of 2 Cessi, IV-i, p. 337-8
1278 Judge in civil suits, each Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 100.0.0
Cessi, IX-ii, p. 207-8
1278 Podesta of islands Farre Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. 250.0.0 ad parvos
and Braze and bspric Cessi, IV-i, p. 337-8
127X Podesta of Iustinople Delib. Mug. Cons.. ed. 1300.0.0 ad parvos
(Capodistria) Cessi, II-i. p. 329
1278 Podesta of Montone Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 100.0.0
Cessi, VI-i, p. 332
1279 Captain of road in Pado, Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 450.0.0
salary and expenses Cessi, XI-vi, p. 115
1279 Mintmaster, each of 2 Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. 65.0.0
Cessi, XVIII-ii, p. 30445
1280 Consul to Apulia Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 100.0.0
Cessi, XIII-ii, p. 327
1280 Doge Giovanni Dandolo Promissioni. p. 119-20. 3000.0.0
Delib. Magg. Cons., ed.
Cessi, I-lxxx, p. 39
1281 Associate of podesta of Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 100.0.0 ad parvos
Montone Cessi, VI-iv, p. 333
1281 Podesta of Montonc Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 100.0.0 a grossi (raised)
Cessi, VI-iv, p. 333
1282 Nobleman guarding Delib. Mug. Cons.. ed. 100.0.0
against contraband, each Cessi, XII-iii, p. 220-l
of 3

additional revenues from feudal dues owed to Venice from countries in Dalmatia
and Negroponte. Further supplements came after 1249 from fisheries in Chioggia,
and after 1253 from the customs income of Latisane and Porto Gruaro. In 1280,
additional supplements to the ducal income came from 3000 rabbit skins, paid by
Zara, and 180 lib., paid by Raguso. Thus, while the base salary rose only from
2800 to 3000, at each ducal election additional revenues were added from other
sources.
Other salaries of Venetian magistrates reveal that many had to provide for their
personal expenses from their salaries. Among the highest-paid magistrate after
 L.B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390 387

Table 5
Salaries in lib. den. ven. per month

Year Office Source Salary

-
1224 Armed oarsman Lib. Pleg., ed. Cessi, p. 57 3.0.0
1224 Servant to galley captain Lib. Pleg., ed. Cessi, p. 57 1.10.0
1224 Blasio Simiteculo, galley captain, Lib. Pleg., ed. Cessi, p. 57 33.6.8
1224 Crossbowman on galleon Cessi, Lib. Pleg., p. 57 4.10.0
1224 Crossbowman on galley Lib. Pleg., ed. Cessi, p. 57 5.5.0
1224 Giovanni di Vicenza, galleon Lib. Pleg., ed. Cessi, p. 57 14.0.0
1224 Mariner, galley and on galleon Lib. Pleg., ed. Cessi, p. 57 3.0.0
1258 Castle guard at Zara each of 6 Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, I-iv, 0.50.0
p. 335
1261 Captain of guard at 10 northern Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, III-v, 4.0.0
frontier posts p. 263
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1261 Guard at 10 northern frontier posts, Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, III-v, 3.0.0
each p. 263
1270 Bailiff of Constantinople Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, p. 100.0.0
397
1270 Watchmen on Chioggia, each of 6 Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, II-iv, 0.50.0
p. 318
1273 Guard of podesta of Chioggia. each Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, II-v, 3.0.0
of 6 p. 319
1277 Captain of boats at frontier with Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. Cessi, XI- 5.0.0
Este, each iiii, p. 115
1277 Captain of guard at frontier with Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. Cessi, XI- 10.0.0
Este iiii, p. 115
1277 Guard at southern frontier post Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. Cessi, XI- 4.0.0
iiii, p. 115
1279 Scribe of mintmasters Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, 3.0.0
XVIII-ii, p. 304-5
1281 Castellan of Castrum Almesii Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, VI-i, 20.0.0
p. 338
1282 Boy, each of 3 Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, XII- 3.0.0
iii, p. 220-l
1282 Count and servant Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, II- 13.0.0
cxviii, p. 73
1282 Scribe Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, XII- 4.0.0
iii, p. 220-l

the doge, the podesta of lustinople (Capodistria) was given the large salary of
1300 lib. den. ven. ad parvos in 1278, but he was expected to pay for two
associates, 10 ‘boys’, 1 notary, and 6 horses from this salary. Each overseas
governor in 1249 (Constantinople, Crete, Acre, Tyre, Negroponte, Coron, and
Methone) was directed to provide, in the manner befitting a gentleman, for
transportation by sea to his post for himself and his attendants, for weapons and
for food.5” In 1275, the podesta of Parenzo. with 800 lib. den, ven., was cautioned

‘“The document gives the date as January 1248 (modo Veneto). The Venetian civil year began in
March. The Great Council budgeted 40 sol. den. venec. grossorum to each governor for these
expenses, but this entry did not state individual salaries. Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. Cessi, 350.
 388 L.B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390

Table 6
Salaries in grossi

Year Office Source Salary

1266 Nobleman of the grain Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 4.0.0 (raised from 3)
supply, each of 3 Cessi, XII-iii, pp. 287-9
1266 Notary of the XL, each of Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 0.30.0 (raised from 20)
2 Cessi, III-vi-vii, p. 77
1266 Quinque de Pace, each Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 0.80.0
Cessi, II-iv, p. 259
I272 Man over public works, Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 0.10.0
each of 3 Cessi, XI-xvii, p. 214-5
1273 Notary of podesta of Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 0.30.0
Chioggia Cessi, II-v, p. 319
Delib. Magg. Cons., ed.
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I275 Podesta of Murano 200.10.0

Cessi, IX-iii, p. 325
1275 Supervisers of shorelines Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 0.50.0
(of the Lido) Cessi, VI-xxxiiii, p. 95
1276 Consuls (of the sea?) Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 4.0.0
Cessi, I-xvi, p. 257-8
1278 Notary to Farre and Braze De&b. Magg. Cons., ed. 0.20.0
Cessi, IV-i, p. 337-8
1280 Supervisor of Levant Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 0.20.0 (raised from 0.13.4)
markets, each of 2 Cessi, XIII-vii, p. 291
1281 Noble captain who sails to Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 24.0.0
town of Almisium Cessi, V-i-ii, p. 338
1282 Doorkeepers at Council Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. 4.0.0
door, each Cessi, I-xxvii, p. 134
1282 Official over accounting, Delib. Magg. Cons.. ed. 0.40.0
each of 2 Cessi, XV-vi, p. 297
1282 Officials of the watch Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 3.0.0
Cessi, XXIX-i, p. 314
1282 Overseers of pitch and Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 0.40.5
canvass Cessi, II-cxxii, p. 74-S
1282 Superintendent over Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 0.10.0
messengers, each Cessi, VI-lxii, p. 100

not to support a greater entourage than his predecessor. In comparison, Venetian

officials in Istria and Dalmatia in 1269-1278 received salaries between 100 and
450 lib. den. ven.” Venice’s neighbor, the independent Commune of Padua, paid
its podesta 4000 lib. den. ven. from 1236, but this included not only his personal
salary but also his iudicium et militum, his cost of living, any damages he might
incur in the post, and also the tackle for his horse.“*
Professional men earned good salaries. Physicians were paid salaries equal to
colonial governors in 1269, 1271, and 1272. Chancellors and councillors (officials
who assisted podesta) also earned conspicious sums.

” The Great Council appointed the following podesths and rectors: 1269, Umago; 1270, Cittanove
of Istria; 1271, S. Lorenzo and Parenzo in Istria; 1275, Parenzo; 1278, the islands of Brazze and Farre,
opposite Split; 1278, lustinople (Capodistria); 1278, Montone (in Istria). See Table 4.
i2 Statuti de1 Comune di Padova, da1 secolo xii all’anno 1285. ed. Andrea Gloria, (Padua, 1873), 11.
 L. B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390 389

Table 7
Salaries in hyperpera

Year Office Source Salary

1224 (Duke) of Crete Lib. Pleg., ed. Cessi, p. 350

55-35
1224 Bailiff of Negroponte Lib. Pkg., ed. Cessi, p. 450
55-34
1226 Castellan of Coron and Lib. Pleg., ed. Cessi, p. 250
bailiff of Methone, each 101-179
1226 M. Soranzo, late duke of Lib. Pleg., ed. Cessi, p. 225
Crete 98-172
1270 Chamberlain of Crete, Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 150
each of 3 Cessi, II-iv, p. 346
Delib. Magg. Cons.,
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1272 Bailiff of Methone ed. 100

Cessi, IV-iv, p. 349
1273 Associate of bailiff of Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 20
Negroponte Cessi, III-iv, p. 347
1273 Bailiff of Negroponte Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 1000
Cessi, III-iv, p. 347
1275 Duke of Crete Delib. Magg. Cons., ed. 1000 (raised from 900)
Cessi, I-112, p. 163

Table 8
Salaries in bezants

Year Office Source Salary

1224 Consul in Beirut and Lib. Pleg., ed. Cessi. p. 30 sarrac. auri
consul in Tripoli, each 67-75
1271 Bailiff of Acre Del. Magg. Cons., ed. 1400
Cessi, l-iii, p. 352-3
1271 Consuls of Alexandria Del. Magg. Cons., ed. 7 (monthly)
Cessi, V-ii, p. 358
1277 Servant of bailiff of Acre, Del. Magg. Cons., ed. 18
each of 3 Cessi, I-viii, p. 354

At the low end of the scale, the servant of the commander-in-chief of the 1224
expedition down the Adriatic was paid only 1.10.0 lib. den. ven. monthly.
Similarly, in 1282 each of three ‘boys’ hired to assist the nobleman chosen to
guard against contraband was paid only 3 lib. den. ven. monthly.
The gradual increase in wages in the thirteenth century can also be demon-
strated by examining monthly wages of minor military officials. In 1224, crossbow-
men on a galleon earned 4.10.0 lib. den. ven. monthly, while crossbowmen on a
galley earned 5.5.0 lib. den. ven.‘” In 1261 the captains at ten northern frontier

“The crossbowmens’ salaries cited here differ from my earlier estimate in ‘A Venetian naval
expedition of 1224,’ in: Economy, Society and Governmenr, 144. The document states that the four
crossbowmen and the servant on the galley should receive 42 lib. (Cessi, Lib. Pleg., 57 misreads the
ms. by giving 62 lb. Compare Venice, Archivio di Stato, Sala Dipl. Regina Margherita, N. 5. II, 27r.)
If each of these five got equal pay, and the total was 42 lb. for 2 months, each bowman on the galley
(galea) would receive 5.5.0 per month for 2 months. Similarly on the galleon (galiono), three
crossbowmen got 27 lib. for 2 months, so each received 4.10.0 per month.
 390 L.B. Robbert I Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 373-390

posts each earned 4 lib. den. ven. monthly, while in 1277 the captains on the
frontiers of the Duke of Este each earned 10 lib. den. ven., and in 1281 the
captains of the Tower of Almesi each earned 20 lib. den. ven. Simple guardsmen’s
salaries advanced from 3 lib. den. ven. monthly in 1261 to 4 lib. den. ven. in 1277.
Salaries of sea captains show great variation, depending upon the size of the
vessel and the complexity of the voyage.
The Great Council raised salaries for other magistrates besides the doge.
Among domestic magistrates receiving raises were the following examples: in
1266 the three noblemen supervising the grain supply; in 1270 the podestas of
Torcello and Chioggia; in 1271 the podesta of S. Lorenzo and Parenzo; in 1275
the duke of Crete; in 1266 the notary of the Council of Forty and the podesta of
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Cittanova in Istria; in 1280 the supervisors of the Levantine Markets.“4 The

salaries of magistrates in Romania also demonstrate this increase. The duke of
Crete was awarded 350 hyperpera in 1224, but 1000 hyperpera in 1275. The bailiff
of Negroponte received 450 hyperpera in 1224 but 1000 hyperperon in 1273.“5
These examples demonstrate wage inflation in thirteenth-century Venice.
The evidence seems overwhelming that Venice experienced a price and wage
inflation during the years 1172-1282, the years when the lib. den. was the
standard of value. Wine prices increased an average of 1.7% per year between
1173 and 1272, although the silver equivalent of the Venetian pound decreased.
Wheat prices increased, and the salaries of both Venetian magistrates and minor
officials escalated.
In conclusion. I affirm that medieval Venice experienced a wage and price
inflation and probably also an increase in its money supply. Because investigation
has not yet revealed velocity or transaction costs, ML’= PT cannot be illustrated
for medieval Venice. Possibly the European-wide inflation and increase in the
supply of silver had as great an impact on Europeans as did the import of
American silver in the sixteenth century.5h It is hoped that further studies on the
medieval centuries will substantiate this suggestion.

‘A Refer to the tables for sources. Compare Dekb. Magg. Cons., ed Cessi, 291 and 218. Only each
comitus of a galley (the official who commands the rowers) was reduced in salary. In 1282 his salary
was reduced from 18 lb. for himself and two retainers, one armed and one unarmed, to 13 lib. den.
ven. for himself and only one unarmed retainer. This must be a technological change. Delib. Mug.
Cons., ed. Cessi, 73.
“Perhaps this reflects the debasement of the hyperperon by the Palaeologian emperors of
Constantinople, which has been described by Tommaso Bertele, ‘Moneta Veneziana e Moneta
Bizantina,’ in: Venezia e il Levantefino al secolo xv, ed. A Pertusi, vol. 1, par. 1 (Florence. 1973),
65-6, 86; Michael F. Hendy, Srudies in the Byzantine monetary economy, c. 300-1450, (Cambridge,
1985) 525-7; Philip Grierson, Byzantine Coins (London and Berkeley, 19X2), 244-53.
” Spufford, Money and ifs use, 240-I; Mayhew, ‘Frappes de monnaies,’ 160: Harvey, ‘English
inflation,’ 30. See Earl J. Hamilton, ‘American treasure and the rise of modern capitalism.’
Economica (1929) 338-57.