logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2019
45m 23s

Medieval Merchants

Wondery / Patrick Wyman
About this episode

The medieval economy underwent a profound transformation, becoming ever more commercialized and monetized. Merchants helped drive that change, moving goods from place to place and profiting on the returns. Today, we meet some of them: an Italian named Francesco Datini, one of the richest men in Europe, and the Cely family of English wool merchants.


Support this show by supporting our sponsors!


See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Jul 10
Encore: Jakob Fugger: The Richest Man Who Ever Lived?
At the end of the fifteenth century, the center of European banking suddenly swung from its birthplace in Italy to south Germany. The key figure in that transition was Jakob Fugger of Augsburg, maybe the richest man who ever lived.Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: R ... Show More
52m 48s
Jul 8
Encore: The Rise and Fall of the Medici Bank
The Medici name still carries echoes of power and labyrinthine politics. But the Medici got their start as bankers, and built a financial empire that spanned fifteenth-century Europe. Popes, kings, and merchants all did business with the Medici, and the family's power over Floren ... Show More
54m 19s
Jul 3
The Roman Conquest of the Hellenistic World
For most of its history, Rome barely bothered with the Greek east. Then, quite suddenly, Rome exploded onto the scene, laying low the two most powerful Hellenistic warrior-kings of the past century. Within ten years, Rome became the undisputed hegemonic power of the Mediterranean ... Show More
43m 35s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2022
Hanseatic League
Growing from a few North German towns in the late 12th century, the Hanseatic League — a powerful network of merchant guilds and market towns — dominated trade across almost 200 settlements in seven modern-day countries. But how did it function and manage to become so successful ... Show More
25m 13s
May 2023
How the Mediterranean Created Wealth
What does archaeology tell us about how regions in the Mediterranean built their wealth between the 10th and 12th centuries? How did economies grow in Egypt, Tunisia, Sicily, the Byzantine empire, Islamic Spain and Portugal, and north-central Italy? And what were their trading re ... Show More
27m 42s
Nov 2020
Denim Wars | Old Western Blues | 2
It's the mid-1800s and a young wholesaler called Levi Strauss is looking to cash in on the California Gold Rush.But when a wandering tailor approaches Strauss with a revolutionary idea, his business takes an unexpected turn into the world of workwear — and it will change his fami ... Show More
23m 30s
Aug 2018
Revolution | The Populist | 6
Millions immigrated to the United States after its founding, entranced with the promise of a better life. But the country they found was rough and tumble, less developed than the land they left, and had some serious issues. Last week we looked at slavery, and today we'll go insid ... Show More
37m 28s
Dec 2019
Macy’s vs Gimbels - The Frontiersman and the Whaler | 1
It's the mid 1800s and two very different young men set out in the world to make their fortunes. A young boy from Nantucket spends four years at sea on a whaling ship, the other becomes an itinerant peddler in the wilds of Indiana. These two adventurers, R.H. Macy and Adam Gimbel ... Show More
21m 10s
Oct 2021
A family history of France
Following the fortunes of one extended family in a south-western French town in the 18th and 19th centuries, Emma Rothschild’s Cundill Prize-shortlisted book An Infinite History builds up a picture of what life was like for ordinary people in provincial France. She tells Rhiannon ... Show More
43m 6s
Feb 2024
Black Aristocrats of 18th Century England & France
Popular historic dramas like Bridgerton, Hamilton and Sanditon sometimes receive criticism that their diverse casts are historically inaccurate. But in fact there have been people of color in Britain and France since Roman times. By the 18th century the trans Atlantic slave trade ... Show More
31m 5s
Mar 2020
The North Face vs Patagonia - Dirtbags | 1
It’s the 1960s, and two climbing buddies are about to lay the foundations for a new industry.The older of the two is an outdoorsman and part-time blacksmith Yvon Chouinard. His younger buddy is Doug Tompkins, who abandoned his Connecticut rich-kid life to find his kicks in the wi ... Show More
23m 20s
Aug 2022
Abdication | The Traitor King | 3
In the late 1930’s, with England turning their back on their former King and World War II looming, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor face an existential choice: stay loyal to Britain, or side with the enemy?Listen early and ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binge ... Show More
51m 21s
Sep 2022
The Rise of the Vikings
September is Vikings month on Gone Medieval, as Dr. Cat Jarman presents a mini-series about her favourite, specialist subject. Over four episodes, Cat is taking a deep dive into the Viking age, looking at how it all started, how it all ended, and the stories we tell about those p ... Show More
32m 34s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami