Od biedy do bogactwa. Kariera ekonomiczna angielskiego chłopa na przełomie XI i XII wieku na przykładzie żywota św. Godryka z Finchale

Abstract

Godric of Finchale (c. 1070/1080) was born into a peasant family in Walpole in East Anglia. He was a merchant who achieved great economic success and became a rich man. His economic career lasted for about 16 years. During this time, he made his way from a beachcomber to a merchant owning shares in two merchant ships. At the end of the 12th century, Reginald of Durham wrote Libellus de vita et miraculis S. Godrici de Finchale. In it, he focused not only on the hermit stage of Godric’s life, but also described a period in which he was a very successful and affluent merchant. In this essay, based on Reginald’s account, I analyze the successive stages of Godric’s economic career and reassess the current views of researchers on Godric’s life. In addition, I supplement them with so far undeveloped topics, such as the description of Godric’s place of birth, and the analysis of the function of bailiff, which was exercised by Godric. At the end of the essay, I also try to answer the question: to what extent was Godric’s career unique at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries?