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FRIHUMSAM-Fri prosj.st. hum og sam

Credit and creditability - a new approach to Norwegian economic history c. 1250-1570

Alternative title: Kreditt og kredittverd – eit nytt blikk på norsk økonomisk historie ca 1250-1570

Awarded: NOK 3.9 mill.

Credit and creditability – a new approach to Norwegian economic history c. 1250-1570 This project explores credit’s economic and social role in medieval Norway. The aim of the project is to shed new light on Norwegian economy and society in the middle ages and contribute to a further geographic broadening of the existing scholarship on credit in Europe. By studying why, how and when different actors entered credit relations, I seek to gain new knowledge about restrictions and opportunities embedded in the economic system of the time, and to what extent credit made the economy more flexible in a period of economic change. Furthermore, I wish to explore credit’s social role. Medieval credit was to large extent based on personal bonds of trust between debtor and creditor, and a person who was indebted to one person was often creditor to another. Consequently, large networks of credit existed and I wish to explore to what extent these personal bonds functioned as a social link between people of both genders, with different social backgrounds and from different geographical areas. This aspect is particularly interesting, as networks of credit could stretch from the northernmost periphery of Europe to the very core of international trade.

The aim of the proposed project is to shed new light on Norwegian economy and society in the middle ages and contribute to a further geographic broadening of the existing scholarship on credit in Europe. By studying why, how and when different actors entered credit relations, I seek to gain new knowledge about restrictions and opportunities embedded in the economic system of the time, and to what extent credit made the economy more flexible in a period of economic change. Furthermore, I wish to explore credit’s social role. Medieval credit was to large extent based on personal bonds of trust between debtor and creditor, and a person who was indebted to one person was often creditor to another. Consequently, large networks of credit existed and I wish to explore to what extent these personal bonds functioned as a social link between people of both genders with different social backgrounds and from different geographical areas. This aspect is particular interesting, as networks of credit could stretch from the northernmost periphery of Europe to the very core of international trade.

Funding scheme:

FRIHUMSAM-Fri prosj.st. hum og sam