42 Chaucer's Mission to Florence in 17,J2 



obtain the money it would cost?^* Where, but in the financial 

 centre of Europe, in Florence? 



With Florentine banks England had had relations for at least 

 three-quarters of a century. In 1299 Edward I was endeavoring 

 to obtain a large sum from the Spini (Rymer, June 12), and two 

 years later Boniface VIII complained that they had been molested 

 in London (Rymer, Sept. 24). In 1317 Edward II sent to 

 Philip V, requesting protection for the Bardi (Rymer. Nov. 23). 

 Before 1345 Edward III must have borrowed large sums from 

 both the Bardi and the Peruzzi. for in that year both these banks 

 failed, dragging down many smaller houses in their fall, and 

 causing widespread misery in Florence. Edward owed the Bardi 

 900,000, and the Peruzzi 600,000 gold florins^'"' (£135.000 and 

 £90,000, respectively — say, normally, $10,125,000 and $6,750,000, 

 but really, in the present year, 1919, much more).^*' 



include the master of the vessel and four other ofificers ; in 1356, 15 

 Aragonese galleys were each to have 30 crossbow-men, besides the rowers, 

 according to Ronciere i. 507, note 2, and cf. i. 267; again, Nicolas, 

 2. 225, tells us of five galleys in 1335, each with 154 rowers and 12 

 crossbow-men). 



'^ The cost per galley to Charles V was 1000 florins a month in 1371 

 (Ronciere 2. 12), and the same to John II in 1356, with the addition of 

 bread {ibid. 2. 507) ; and goo gold florins to Philip VI in 1337 (Nicolas 

 2. 225). Edward's contract with Usodimare and Gay called for 25 francs 

 a month for each of these, 15 each for two companions, 10 for each cross- 

 bow-man, and 7 for each sailor, besides half of all prisoners and goods 

 captured, and everything that could properly be accounted pillage (Nicolas 

 2. 224-5) ; the monthly expense for even this comparatively slight aid was 

 therefore 930 francs. If we suppose the Genoese fleet originally con- 

 templated by Edward to have consisted of 20 galleys, the cost per month 

 would have been £3000 (at least $225,000), not to speak of the probably 

 high salaries of Fregoso and Provan (cf. the scale of wages in the 

 English navy, Nicolas 2. 177, 193-4). 



"Giovanni Villani 12. 54 {Rer. Ital. Script. 13. 934): Diet. Nat. Biog. 

 17- 57; Coulton, Chaucer and his England, p. 126. The rate of interest 

 at this period, owing to debasement of coin, defalcations, repudiation, etc., 

 varied from 20 to 33 per cent. 



^"Notwithstanding, the Bardi did not utterly decline to deal with 

 Edward, for they were bound to him in a large sum of money on the 

 following dates (Cal. Pat. Rolls): Oct. 12, 1364; Sept. 29, 1365; Sept. 

 29, 1366; July 28, 1368; one member of that company on Dec. 10, 1373; 

 while considerable amounts are recorded as having been paid to them for 

 the King on Aug. 16, 1372, and July 7, 1373. These sums, however, 

 probably represented but a fraction of Edward's requirements. 



