Publisher's Synopsis
In the 13th and 14th centuries Montpellier was one of the major urban centres of the Western Mediterranean; in the same period it was brought finally within the orbit of the kingdom of France. Through her examination of its archives, Professor Reyerson helps to show just how such a city functioned and how the complexities of city life were regulated in the Middle Ages. The first articles deal with migration and real estate; the following ones look at systems of apprenticeship, religious structures, and the operation of commerce. Montpellier owed much of its prosperity to its role as an entrepot in the trade between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, and this international aspect is elaborated in studies on the silk trade and the role of immigrants from Lucca; others focus on local commerce and manufactures. Throughout can be seen a concern to investigate how businesses were run and investments made, by women as well as men, and to examine the legal framework within which all this activity took place.
