"A Commonplace Book: Buying Power of 14th Century Money:
"In the second half of the 14th century, a pound sterling would: (i)
Support the lifestyle of a single peasant laborer for half a year, or
that of a knight for a week. Or buy: (ii)( Three changes of clothing for
a teenage page (underclothes not included) or (iii) Twelve pounds of
sugar or (iv) A carthorse or (v) Two cows or (vi) An inexpensive bible
or (vii) ten ordinary books or (viii) Rent a craftsman’s townhouse for a
year or (ix) Hire a servant for six months…. It should be obvious from
the above list that the conversion rate depends a great deal on what you
buy…""
Stole this from Brad DeLong verbatim. Can't wrap my head around the various conversions. It seems a knight is worth 26 times a peasant or a servant. That's not a bad ratio, given the relationship of the wages of modern CEO's and their lowest employees, but it would seem bad to anyone before 1970.
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