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Commerce and Capitalism in Late Medieval England: Problems of Description and Theory *
Author(s) -
BRITNELL RICHARD
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of historical sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.186
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1467-6443
pISSN - 0952-1909
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6443.1993.tb00054.x
Subject(s) - capitalism , feudalism , period (music) , middle ages , scope (computer science) , transition (genetics) , coherence (philosophical gambling strategy) , population , social change , economic history , history , sociology , economics , political science , demography , ancient history , economic growth , law , philosophy , aesthetics , mathematics , biochemistry , chemistry , statistics , politics , computer science , gene , programming language
Marx's account of the transition from feudalism to capitalism is usually handled too narrowly in discussions of the later Middle Ages. When its full scope is taken into account the period 1300–1530 is shown to be more a period of arrested development than one of critical importance. The period 1000–1300 showed a much greater shift towards capitalism. By implication, the transition needs analysing as a much longer process than most traditional accounts imply. The article also queries the coherence of accounts of late medieval change that refuse to give autonomous weight to declining population as a cause of social change.