498 MUNRO— THE COST OF LIVING [April 20, 



visions for a year on the payments of 2 marks for each man and 4 

 marks for each horse. ^ 



The prices current at the time throw some hght upon the above : 

 in Lincohishire, in 1 181, a goose cost a penny; a sheep, 4d. ; an ox, 

 3s.; a farm horse, 5s.; a pig, is.; scarlet cloth, 6s. 8d. an ell; fine 

 green cloth, 3s.; gray, is. 8d. ; blankets, 3s. an ell. Thus, if Geof- 

 frey's mother had expended her pension in buying live stock, she 

 could have bought 25 horses, 25 oxen, 25 pigs, 25 sheep, and 100 

 geese; or if she had preferred, she could have bought 50 yards of 

 scarlet cloth, say, enough for four or five dresses in the fashion of 

 the day. The difiference in cost between the necessities and the luxu- 

 ries is very noticeable. 



While it is impossible to state the exact cost of living, it is certain 

 that this cost was increasing rapidly for the upper classes, and prob- 

 ably for the middle classes. The rise was due to a variety of causes, 

 and it would be easy to make out a long list, including war, famine 

 and pestilence ; but two appear to have been especially important. 

 First, there was a change in the standard of living. Acquaintance 

 with the east through the crusades led to a desire for the luxuries 

 which were produced at Constantinople and in Asia. Before the 

 first expeditions to the Holy Land spices had been used only to a 

 slight extent in the west of Europe. At the capture of Caesarea, in 

 iioi, the Genoese received over 16,000 pounds of pepper as a por- 

 tion of their booty. This, and other spices, soon came into general 

 use and were imported into western Europe in great quantities. The 

 references in the literature of the day point conclusively to the wide- 

 spread use of spices and their great popularity. 



The costly fabrics of the East were also in great demand, and 

 the heroines of the poems are frequently described as clad in the 

 stufifs made in Constantinople, or farther eastward. No lady was 

 considered well-dressed by the poet unless she had garments im- 

 ported from the East. Oriental rugs became so fashionable that a 

 manufactory for them was established in Paris. Glassware, sugar,. 



' De Wailly estimates a mark as equivalent to 52 francs at the present 



day ; that is, two marks would be equivalent, roughly, to 104 francs, or $20. 



Of course this is entirely misleading, as it would be impossible to furnish 

 transportation and food for a year for $20 per individual. 



