| Abstract: | In England, between 1305 and 1311, all prices rose significantly. Historians have generally assumed that these high prices led to high profits that enabled landlords to enjoy a period of unparalleled prosperity. A detailed study, however, of the manorial and central accounts of Canterbury Cathedral Priory suggets that this traditional view may not be altogether correct.Inflation did bring with it increased revenues and stimulated extensive investment in agriculture and building. But the priory's regular expenses increased as fast, and, at times, even faster than the extra revenues. Consequently the financial situation of the priory slowly deteriorated. Before the inflation set in, the priory had more than one year's revenue in hand. By 1318 this surplus had been wiped out. Financial equilibrium was finally restored only by the massive sale of relics and the high receipts from oblations. Yet, once prices began to fall after 1326 the priory found that, although its receipts dropped, so did its expenses and it was able to keep within its income. |
