Medieval Price List
List of price of medieval items
Courtesy of Kenneth Hodges (hodges@jif.berkeley.edu)
The list of medieval prices which follows is by no means complete or<br>thoroughly researched; I merely extracted references from some of the<br>books I have, and I thought others might like to inspect it. The sources<br>I used are listed at the end. If an item is listed several times, it is<br>because I had several references I wished to record.
Money goes as follows:<br>1 pound (L) = 20 shillings (s)
1 crown = 5 shillings<br>1 shilling = 12 pence (d)<br>1 penny = 4 farthings<br>1 mark = 13s 4d
The French Livre, sou, and denier are equivalent to the pound, shilling<br>and penny (Latin liber, solidus, and denarius).
For ease, I've divided this list into the following sections: tools,<br>horses, food and livestock, books and education, buildings, cloth and<br>clothing, armor, weapons, marriage, funerals, travel, miscellaneous<br>goods, and wages.
Of course, a price list is a misleading guide to a feudal economy,<br>because so many goods were either produced within a household, or<br>supplied by a lord. Retainers could get money, but they would also get<br>food, lodging, weapons (sometimes), and cloth. Knights Templar were<br>provided with clothes, horses, and armor.
TOOLS<br>Item Price Date Source Page<br>2 yokes 4s c1350 [3] 170<br>Foot iron of plough 5d " " "<br>3 mason's tools (not named) 9d " " "<br>1 spade and shovel 3d 1457 " "<br>1 axe 5d " " "<br>1 augur 3d " " "<br>1 vise 13s 4d 1514 [5] 27-28<br>Large biciron 60s " " "<br>Small biciron 16s " " "<br>Anvil 20s " " "<br>Bellows 30s " " "<br>Hammers 8d-2s 8d " " "<br>2 chisels 8d " " "<br>Compete set of armorer's tools £13 16s 11d " " "<br>Spinning Wheel 10 d 1457 [3] 170
HORSES<br>Item Price Date Source Page<br>War Horse up to 50s 12 cen (?) [7] 30<br>War Horse up to £80 13 cen [3] 72<br>Knight's 2 horses £10 1374 " 76<br>High-grade riding horse £10 13th cen " 72<br>Draught horse 10s-20s 13th cen " "
Note: Horse prices varied dramatically; for instance, they doubled<br>between 1210 and 1310. ([3], p. 37).
FOOD AND LIVESTOCK<br>Item Price Date Source Page<br>Wine:<br>Best Gascon in London 4d/gallon 1331 [2] 194<br>Best Rhenish in London 8d/gallon " " "<br>Wine:<br>Cheapest 3d-4d/gal Late 13 cen [3] 62<br>Best 8d-10d/gal " " "<br>Ale (beer comes later):<br>Good 1.5d/gal 14 cen [2] 201<br>Medium 1d/gal " " "<br>Poor .75d/gal " " "<br>Ale:<br>First-rate 1-1.25d/gal 1320-1420 [3] 58<br>Second-rate .75-1d/gal " " "<br>Ale (best):<br>Somerset .75d 1338 [3] 210<br>London 1.25d " " "<br>Beer, good 1d/quart late 16 cen [8] xx<br>Dried Fruit (eg raisins, dates, 1-4d/lb, up<br>figs, prunes), almonds, rice to 6d rare 14 cen(?) [3] 62-63<br>Spices (cinnamon, cloves, mace,<br>pepper, sugar, etc). 1-3s/lb " " "<br>Pepper 4s/lb mid 13 cen [9] 218<br>Pepper 6d/.5lb 1279-1280 [3] 11<br>Saffron 12s-15s/lb 14 cen(?) [3] 62-63<br>Cow (good) 10s 12 cen(?) [7] 30<br>Cow 9s 5d mid 14th [1] 99<br>Cow 6s 1285-1290 [3] 206<br>Ox 13s 1.25d mid 14 cen [1] 99<br>Sheep 1s 5d " " "<br>Wether (castrated ram):<br>Somerset 9d-10d 1338 [3] 210<br>London 1s 5d " " "<br>Pig:<br>Somerset 2s 1338 [3] 210<br>London 3s " " "<br>Fowl 1d " " "<br>2 Chickens 1d 14 cen [4] 78<br>2 Dozen Eggs 1d " " "<br>Goose (in London) 6d (legal)<br>7d-8d asked 1375 [2] 198<br>80 lb cheese 3s 4d late 13 cen [3] 114<br>Salted herring (wholesale) 5-10/1d 1382 [2] 198-199<br>Salt conger 6d each 1422-1423 [3] 69<br>Oats:<br>Somerset 1s/quarter 1338 " 210<br>London 2s 2d per " " "<br>quarter<br>Cost of feeding a knight's or £30-£60, 15 cen [3] 199<br>merchants household per year up to £100
Related note: around 1380, these are the average costs per day of feeding<br>people on an estate ([3], p. 65): lord, 7d; esquire, 4d; yeoman, 3d; and<br>groom, 1d.
BOOKS AND EDUCATION
Item Price Date Source Page<br>Monastary School £2 (approx) 1392-1393 [3] 75<br>per year<br>Schoolmaster at Croyden:<br>Board 2s/week* 1394 [2] 186<br>Instruction 13s 4d/year " " "<br>Oxford:<br>Board 104s/year 1374 " "<br>Clothing 40s/year " " "<br>Instruction 26s 8d/year " " "<br>University:<br>Minimum £2£L3/year Late 14 cen [3] 75<br>Student of good birth £4£L10/year " " "<br>Fencing Instruction 10s/month Late 16 cen [8] xx<br>7 Books £5 (approx) 1479 [3] 76<br>126 Books £113 1397 [3] 77<br>To Rent a book .5d-1d per mid 13 cen [9] 172<br>pecia**
* Source says 2s/day. This is not only insanely high, but the text also<br>claims that the board was the same as at Oxford--i.e., 2s/week or<br>104s/year.
** A pecia is 16 columns of 62 lines of 32 letters, i.e., 31 744 letters,<br>or about 7 500 - 8 000 words. Rental period is not specified, but I<br>would guess a year; books were rented to be copied, and copying the Bible<br>took 15 months. See [9], p. 172.
BUILDINGS<br>Item Price Date Source Page<br>Rent per annum for 138 shops on<br>London Bridge £160 4s 1365 [2] 114<br>Rent for the three London<br>taverns with the exclusive<br>right to sell sweet wines<br>(hippocras, clarry, piments) £200 1365-1375 [2] 195-196<br>Rent cottage 5s/year 14 cen(?) [3] 208<br>Rent craftsman's house 20s/year " " "<br>Rent merchant's house £2£L3/year " " "<br>Cottage (1 bay, 2 storeys) £2 early 14 cen "...