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IMC 2011: Sessions

Session 222: Famine, Poverty, and Food Entitlements in the Middle Ages

Monday 11 July 2011, 14.15-15.45

Sponsor:Grup de Recerca Consolidat en Estudis Medievals 'Espai, poder i cultura', Universitat de Lleida
Organiser:Flocel Sabaté Curull, Grup de Recerca Consolidat en Estudis Medievals 'Espai, poder I cultura', Universitat de Lleida
Moderator/Chair:Pere Benito i Monclús, Grup de Recerca Consolidat en Estudis Medievals 'Espai, poder i cultura', Universitat de Lleida
Paper 222-aCoins and Coinage in the Origin of Famines and Shortages: A Real Link?
(Language: Español)
Xavier Sanahuja i Anguera, Grup de Recerca Consolidat en Estudis Medievals ‘Espai, poder i cultura’, Universitat de Lleida
Index terms: Economics - Trade, Economics - Urban, Numismatics
Paper 222-bFeeding the Poor in a City at War: The Role of Charity Institutions during Catalan Civil War in Barcelona, 1462-1472
(Language: English)
Pol Serrahima Bàlius, Departament d'Història, Universitat de Lleida
Index terms: Economics - Urban, Social History
Paper 222-cAbundance and Shortage: The Trade Circuit of Meat in European Cities during Late Middle Ages-Barcelona and Rouen
(Language: English)
Ramón Agustín Banegas López, Observatori de l'Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona
Index terms: Administration, Economics - Trade, Economics - Urban, Social History
Abstract

Subsistence crises disrupted peace between rich and poor in medieval societies. This is why royal and municipal governments throughout Europe made a great effort to set strategies and establish institutions to prevent starvation. This session tackles topics such as the organisation of the aforesaid institutions or the extent to which famines provoked changes in the distribution of wealth. Another fundamental issue is that of the underlying causes of subsistence crises, an issue on which recent research is showing that we need to take into account explanations far more complex than the Labrousse-model-based ones. These could include politics, market disruption or even currency fluctuation.