Description
Book SynopsisA new account of the Mediterranean economy in the 10th to 12th centuries, forcing readers to entirely rethink the underlying logic to medieval economic systems. Chris Wickham re-examines documentary and archaeological sources to give a detailed account of both individual economies, and their relationships with each other.Chris Wickham offers a new account of the Mediterranean economy in the tenth to twelfth centuries, based on a completely new look at the sources, documentary and archaeological. Our knowledge of the Mediterranean economy is based on syntheses which are between 50 and 150 years old; they are based on outdated assumptions and restricted data sets, and were written before there was any usable archaeology; and Wickham contends that they have to be properly rethought. This is the first book ever to give a fully detailed comparative account of the regions of the Mediterranean in this period, in their internal economies and in their relationships with each other. It focusses
Trade ReviewGenuinely field-changing * Hannah Skoda, Books of the Year 2023, BBC History Magazine *
An impressive book that turns the history of the Mediterranean upside down...an extraordinarily rich and wide-ranging reinterpretation of the Mediterranean...a monumental achievement that fully deserves to take its place among classic studies of Mediterranean history. * David Abulafia, Times Literary Supplement *
A comprehensive and ground-breaking study...well-researched, well-written, and thought-provoking... an essential reading for anyone interested in Mediterranean history or the development of the European economy. * Richard Tuttle, World History Encyclopedia *
Nothing short of impressive...a must read * Tobias Daniels, Sehepunkte *
Punchy, eye-wateringly ambitious, and occasionally amusing, The Donkey & The Boat will set the benchmark for debate on this subject for many years to come. * Nicholas Morton, Engelsberg Ideas *
Brilliant... the sheer depth of [Wickham's] research and the breadth of his insights warrants close attention. * Nicholas Morton, Books of the Year 2023, Engelsberg Ideas *
Table of Contents1: Introduction 2: Egypt 3: North Africa and Sicily 4: Byzantium 5: Islamic Spain and Portugal 6: North-Central Italy 7: A Brief History of the Mediterranean Economy in the Tenth to Twelfth Centuries 8: The Internal Logic of Feudal Economies
