England's monetary system must rank as one of the outstanding success stories in medieval economic studies. Comparatively plentiful and well-published numismatic material, rich documentary background and generations of dedicated analysis have combined to produce a—by medieval standards—formidably rich body of research. Placing this into broader economic context is the principal goal of the present book, which, in the words of the backcover blurb, aims to examine “the money supply … as one of the main variables in the workings of the economy.” J. L. Bolton is, by and large, successful in this endeavor: his volume is the longest and most important sustained discussion of the economic importance of England's medieval currency now available. It should be read by all those interested in the workings of premodern monetary economics or the medieval economy more widely.

The book is broken down into two parts, the first consisting of three methodological chapters, the second of six chronologically focused chapters; the latter are framed as pairs, each treating the coinage and the monetary economy side by side. These consider three periods in turn, which Bolton characterizes as “a monetized economy” (973–1158), “the emergence of a money economy” (1158–1351) and finally “the money economy challenged” (1351–1489). A money economy is defined (p. 133) as one in which use of coin was normal rather than occasional; in which numeracy and literacy were widespread enough to support extensive use of records and accounts; in which weights and measures were standardized; and in which credit was widely available and debt recovery enforceable. A monetized economy, somewhat more nebulously, was one that did not meet all of these criteria—which essentially define the conditions behind the dramatic growth of the currency in late twelfth- and thirteenth-century England. There can thus be little arguing with Bolton that England before at least about 1200 was not a money economy on these criteria. Indeed, he is right to conclude that it is time for more reserved approach to the economic function of earlier medieval currency (p. 305). But, at least to this reviewer, it is in some respects problematic to judge the tenth and eleventh centuries by the yardstick of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, largely because this means defining the earlier period in terms of what it was not. To some extent this is an unavoidable element of the author's purpose: to show how the currency grew to be a major variable in the economy, it is necessary to highlight the growth of features which made it so, as well as their absence in earlier times. Also, one has to call a chronological halt somewhere, and a study extending back to the dawn of the Anglo-Saxon currency in the seventh century, for example, would swell to enormous bulk and call a whole new range of problems into question. Yet one wonders if there might be room for greater nuance within the opposition between a money economy and a monetized economy. The late Anglo-Saxon and Norman monetary system was in itself a significant advancement on what had come before. During the period c. 973–1158 the rate of monetization and the volume of the currency varied significantly, and important steps were taken towards a uniform national currency as well as wider use of records and accounts (despite the rarity of surviving documents). This period may not measure up to the money economy of the later Middle Ages, but it was a major stepping stone in that direction.

At the heart of Bolton's book, therefore, is the money economy of the later

Middle Ages; his focus is on its establishment, significance, and evolution as new challenges arose. His consideration of its development is sophisticated and well-informed. England remains the focus, though its place in a much larger network of coin-using economies is frequently recognized through discussion of international supply, demand, and prices for silver (and later gold as well). The introductory methodological chapters bristle with important insights and comparisons, and throughout the book Bolton furnishes explanations in terms of general economic theory and statistics as well as arguments specific to medieval history and numismatics. He links the swift rise of the money economy with increasing population: more people meant more demand for food and commodities, which in turn stimulated market exchange beyond established village communities, for which a generalized medium of exchange was essential (pp. 22–28). Growth in the volume of currency hence formed an integral part of the same complex of economic changes as increasing commercialization, urbanization, literacy and accounting, and long-distance trade. The author goes one step further and claims—convincingly—that the money economy came to play a major supporting role in many other economic developments of the Middle Ages, setting himself up in opposition to scholars such as Michael Postan and Robert Brenner who explain economic and social change without reference to the currency. Contraction and expansion of the money supply had serious consequences for society at large, for instance when monetary instability contributed to rising food prices early in the fourteenth century, or when shortfalls in bullion supply brought a severe decline in availability of coin in the late fourteenth century and much of the fifteenth century. The latter crisis in supply, Bolton argues, was met by a range of responses keyed into the nexus between money and rising numeracy and literacy, of which instruments of credit were one, but by no means the only one.

This important book will doubtless provide much food for thought among economists, medievalists, and numismatists. For students, it may prove challenging. Certain sections are highly condensed and will surely prove difficult for a novice to navigate unaided. The absence of a bibliography is also frustrating (although one is available on the author's website). These minor points aside, Bolton's study is a valuable, perceptive, and very welcome addition to the literature on medieval economic history.