GERMAN CATHEDRALS AND THE MONETARY ECONOMY IN THE 12TH-CENTURY

In the twelfth century, a period which saw a huge expansion in the use of money in western Europe, German cathedral chapters found themselves in a difficult position. They were exploited economically by their bishops, who also controlled most of the most powerful mints. To cope with monetary fluctuation, they preferred where possible to receive income from their manors in kind. This meant that disposable income for individual canons was not very flexible. Matters were complicated by changes in the manorial system in the twelfth century which had the effect of breaking up the existing systems of food-renders, which had been carefully structured to meet the needs of chapters as communities. In examining the impact of money on the German economy in the twelfth century, cathedral chapters are a particularly valuable subject of study, since they were on the one hand great landowners, and also, on the other hand, often had opportunities for influencing the monetary policy of their bishops. © 1990.