This is part of a a collection of summaries on the fourteenth century. You probably should read discussion of money, in particular, before reading this.
| Salaries | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chancellor of England | 350 pounds a year. | 200K ducats, plus some bribery. | D |
| Chancellor of France | 4000 livres a year. | 500K ducats, plus lots of bribery. | D |
| "Lower-level" retainer | 70 pounds a year. | 42K ducats, plus misc.. Also, salary obligation divided by number retainers. | D |
| Knight | 10 sous per day. | On campaign only? | T |
| Knight | 20 sous per day | 1311, on campaign only? | T |
| Banneret | 20 sous per day | Knight with vassals. | T |
| Squire | 6 to 7 sous per day. | On campaign only? | T |
| Archer | 5 sous per day. | France in 1311: Genovese crossbowman? | T |
| Archer | 3 shillings per week. | 1200 ducats for 90 day campaign. | D |
| Professional soldier (not man at arms) | 12 to 18 sous per week. | 1000 to 1500 ducats for 90 day campaign. | D |
| Man at arms (heavy cavalry) | 30 sous per week. | 2400 ducats for 90 day campaign. | T |
| Well-paid artisan | 40 livres per year. | 18 florins per year. | T |
| Carpenter | 1 livre per week | 100 to 150 ducats | D |
| Peasant | 10 sous per year. | "Theoretical". | T |
| English Jester | 3 pence per day. | On the road, plus allowance for shoes. | T |
| Rentables | |||
| War galley | 650 pounds per quarter. | 385K ducats. | T |
| Merchant ship. | 250 pounds per quarter. | 155K ducats. | T |
| Cart and two horses | 1 sous per day. | T | |
| Incomes | |||
| Great Duchy | about 10K livres per year. | T | |
| Duke of Lancaster | 12000 pounds per year. | 7.2M ducats. | D |
| Earl | 3000 pounds per year. | 1.8M ducats. | T |
| Wealthy baron | 6500 livres per year. | 875K ducats. | D |
| Very rich knight | 1000 livres per year. | 150K ducats. | D |
| Wealthy esquire | 500 livres per year. | 66K ducats. | D |
| Noble with minor castle | < 500 livres per year. | 1 to 2 vassal knights | T |
| Modest esquire | 200 to 250 livres per year. | 30K ducats. | D |
| Bourgeois family | 222 livres per year. | 500 florins per year. | T |
| Household of nine with two horses | 133 livres per year. | 300 florins per year. | T |
| Poor knight | < 25 livres per year. | T | |
| Carpenter or mason | 20 livres per year | 2000 to 3000 ducats | D |
| Yeoman farmer | 15 livres per year | Cash income, 1000 to 3000 ducats | D |
| Parish Priest | 25 livres per year | Benefice, 3000 to 4000 ducats | D |
| Bare subsistence | 4 livres per year | 500 to 600 ducats | D |
| Feudal Income | |||
| Rent | 5 sous per acre per year. | 20 to 40 ducats, variable. | D |
| Total | 6 sous per peasant per year. | Spanish order. | T |
| Military Budget | |||
| Estates of Langue d'Oil (i.e. Northern France) | 5M livres in a year (1355), not achieved. | Tax rate: 4% on rich, 5% middle, 10% lowest taxable (income? rent? wealth?), increased 1356. | T |
| Army Expense | |||
| Estates of Langue d'Oil | 167 livres per year. | 5M livres for 30K troops for one year. | T |
| Rule of Thumb, paying salary | 15 livres per man per campaign season. | 2000 ducats per man per campaign season. | D |
| Rule of Thumb, not always paying | 8 livres per man per campaign season. | Get away with about half that by not honouring IOUs. | D |
| Mercenary | 45 livres per man per campaign season. | 20 florins per lance per month. | T |
| Warhorse upkeep | 8 livres a year. | 1100 ducats. | D |
| Mobilisation Obligations (England) | |||
| Archer | if > 5 pounds per year rents. | T | |
| Mounted Spearman | if > 10 pounds per year rents. | T | |
| Man at Arms | if > 25 pounds per year rents. | Usually knight or squire. | T |
| Interest Rates | |||
| Christians | 10, 12.5, 15, 20% | Limited by risk of being branded a "usurer" (sin). | T |
| Jews | > 20%. | Mostly goes to anti-semitic royal taxes. | T |
| Privileges | |||
| Patent of Nobility | 500 livres. | The son of, more or less, the mayor of Paris. | T |
| Ransom of Captives | |||
| Chivalric Restriction | < one year's income, doesn't ruin. | Edward III of England didn't care. | T |
| "Not uncommon" | 750 livres. | 100K ducats. | D |
| King of France | about 2M livre. | 3 to 4 million écus, demanded and agreed, dodgy valuation écu. | T |
| Consumables | |||
| Wheat grain, bushel | 4 sous | 25 to 30 ducats per 36 litres. | D |
| Capital | |||
| House, Peasant | 12 livres | 1200 to 2000 ducats, 600 to 900 square feet. | D |
| Possessions, (prosperous?) peasant | 3 to 7 livres. | 460 to 1000 ducats. | D |
| House, town | 20 to 30 livres. | 3K to 4K ducats. | D |
| House, luxury | 150 to 450 livres. | 20Kto 60K ducats. | D |
| Possessions, Duke | 35000 pounds. | Gloucester, plus horses, etc.. | D |
| Plough | 10 to 12 livres. | Mouldboard? | T |
| Plough | 5 sous. | Mouldboard, 30 to 40 ducats. | D |
| Militaria | |||
| Cheap sword | 3 sous. | 15 to 20 ducats. | D |
| Expensive sword | 1 livre. | 100 to 200 ducats, no gems, etc.. | D |
| Cheap Armour | 4 livres. | "Easily several hundred", obsolete | D |
| Decent chain | 20 to 25 livres. | Several thousand ducats. | D |
| Plate | 75 livres. | "Several times [chain]", from C14. | D |
| Fancy armour | 25 to 50 livres. | Gilded, etc.. | T |
| Warhorse | 25 to 100 livres. | T | |
| First-class warhorse | 300 to 400 livres. | 50K ducats. | D |
| Clothing | |||
| Shoes | 2 to 6 sous. | 15 to 40 ducats. | D |
| Wool tunic | 20 to 30 sous. | 150 to 200 ducats. | D |
| Fur-lined wool tunic | 2 to 3 livres. | 300 to 400 ducats. | D |
| Kit | |||
| Heavy blanket | 2 sous. | 10 to 20 ducats. | D |
| Silk quilt | 4 livres. | 500 to 600 ducats. | D |
| Livestock | |||
| Plough horse. | 8 to 10 livres. | T | |
| Pig, cow, cheap horse, etc. | 1 to 4 livres. | 150 to 500 ducats. | D |
| Expensive riding horse. | 40 livres. | 5000 ducats. | D |
| Cart | 2 livres. | 200 to 300 ducats. | D |
Other material can be found on my home page, including some on alternate history. I welcome feedback at David.Bofinger@dsto.defenceSpamProofing.gov.au (delete the spamproofing).