Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Desperate Conversions

"By the year 1100, the hunger for specie was so great that the cannons of Pistoia's St Zeno Cathedral melted down their great crucifix and used it for money. German princes sold their imperial seals. English nobles exchanged their silver sword mounts, and french bishops converted their golden chalices into cash."

David Hackett Fischer, "The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History"

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