How Much Did Stuff Cost in the Dark Ages?

By Kim Rendfeld

People who lived in early medieval times had a good idea of what something was worth, even if they rarely used money.

A 15th century illustration of a market

What someone paid in coin or barter depended on many factors: How plentiful was the harvest? Was food scarce because the army needed it for an invasion? How much did the buyer desire the object? How skilled were the buyer and seller at bargaining?

In other words, the real cost of food, fabric, livestock, and slaves was what the buyer was willing to pay. So I’ve used a price list Pierre Riche’s Daily Life in the World of Charlemagne as a starting point when my characters negotiate a purchase rather than an absolute. Still, the list gives us a glimpse into what people of different classes chose to eat, wear, and use for protection:

• Wheat bread cost almost twice as much as oat bread. No surprise, then, that the wealthy favored wheat while peasants might consume rye, barley, or oats.
• A cow, farm dog, and sheep cost about the same, but a bull was worth six times as much. So a pagan who killed a bull to thank a god for a victorious battle was making a true sacrifice.
• A horse cost 20 to 30 times more than a cow and two to three times a male slave. The type of horse is unknown here. A warhorse, used only in battle, was the most expensive animal of all.
• A sword, scabbard, and armor for a warrior cost the same as 20 sheep or more. A peasant family might have thought themselves well off if they had a mix of 16 sheep, cows, and pigs. So, commoners conscripted into the army typically opted for the less expensive spears.
• Apparently fur was a status symbol in early medieval times, too. A sheepskin cloak was about the same price as one living sheep. A sable-lined cloak was worth 10 sheepskin garments, and marten or otter fur cost three times as much as sable. This is why the aristocrats in my novels wear fur-lined cloaks while commoners and slaves use sheepskin garments to protect themselves from the elements.

Prices are not simply what things cost. They reveal what a society values.

Sources

Daily Life in the World of Charlemagne Pierre Riche

Daily Life in Medieval Times by Frances and Joseph Gies

Kim Rendfeld has written two novels set in eighth century Francia and is working on a third. The Cross and the Dragon is a story of a noblewoman contending with a jilted suitor and the premonition she will lose her husband in battle. The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar is a tale of a mother who will go to great lengths to protect her children after she has lost everything else.

To read the first chapters of  Kim's published novels or learn more about her, visit kimrendfeld.com or her blog Outtakes of a Historical Novelist at kimrendfeld.wordpress.com. You can also like her on Facebook at facebook.com/authorkimrendfeld, follow her on Twitter at @kimrendfeld, or contact her at kim [at] kimrendfeld [dot] com.

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