Lopez, Robert and Irving W. Raymond. Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World. New York. Columbia University Press. 1990.
[Milan, c.1390]
The following is an itinerary and an expense sheet for goods a merchant in 1390 sent from Constance on the Bodensee to Bellinzona on the Italian side of
the Alps, interspersed with the actual material I will post remarks about the route and what is happening along the way.
| Itemized Detail |
Distance |
£ |
s. |
d. |
| First of all, in Constance, for the toll of every bale of wool |
|
|
16 |
|
Located on a trade route between Germany and Italy, Konstanz became a free imperial city in 1192. As such the city would collect its own tolls as
mentioned above. Since it was also the seat of a Bishop's diocese he most likely imposed additional tolls, thus the high rate of 16 shillings per bale.
The trip from Konstanz to Rheineck would be by boat down the Bodensee to the Rhine River of which Rheineck appears to have been a port.
| Item, for the carrying of every bale from Constance to Rheineck (water transport on Bodensee) |
50 km |
|
1 |
8 |
| Item, in Rheineck for the toll of every bale as above |
|
2 |
7 |
| Item, for carrying from Rheineck to Blatten, two German miles distant (water transport on the Rhein) |
15 km |
|
5 |
10 |
| Item, for stop in Rheineck |
|
|
2½ |
The rate of 5 shillings 10d for just two German miles or about 15 kilometers, the German mile equaling 7.5 kilometers, appears to be quite high compared
to the other legs of this trip. Could the bales have been transported by cart instead of a boat?
Rheineck was also a toll station on the river and a stopping point for the night. It appears as if 2½d is the going rate for a night's lodging
and food at the stops along this stretch of river.
| Item, for carrying from Blatten to Sankt Peter (water transport on the Rhein) |
45 km |
|
2 |
|
| Item, for stop in Blatten |
|
|
2½ |
| Item, in Sankt Peter for toll |
|
2 |
7 |
| Item, for stop |
|
|
2½ |
| Item, for conveyance from Sankt Peter to Schaan (water transport on the Rhein) |
|
2 |
|
| Item, for carrying from Schaan to Balzers (water transport on the Rhein) |
|
2 |
|
| Item, for stop in Schaan |
|
|
2½ |
| Item, for toll in Vaduz |
|
2 |
|
From Blatten to Balzers the distance is about 45 kilometers. It appears as if this stretch of the river was broken into three legs of about 15
kilometers each; however, the cost on this stretch was only 2 shillings per bale for the same distance as covered above for 5 shillings a bale. We can
assume they are making good use of the river in this area to cut down costs.
Up to and including Balzers three more tolls are collected on the bales. The first two charged the same amount per bale, 2 shillings; whereas Balzers
only charges 8d a bale. Did the citizens at Balzers do this in order to draw business as a stop over away from Vaduz, the seat of the Principality of
Liechtenstein?
| Item, for carrying from Balzers to Mayenfeld (water transport on the Rhein) |
40 km |
|
1 |
9 |
| Item, for toll in Balzers |
|
|
8 |
| Item, for stop at Balzers |
|
|
2½ |
| Item, in Mayenfeld for toll |
|
1 |
3 |
| Item, for stop at Mayenfeld |
|
|
2½ |
| Item, for carrying from Mayenfeld to Zizers (water transport on the Rhein) |
|
1 |
7 |
| Item, for stop at Zizers |
|
|
2½ |
| Item, for carrying from Zizers to Chur (water transport on the Rhein) |
|
1 |
7 |
From Balzers to Chur is again broken into three legs averaging 13.3 kilometers each; as a result the charge per bale is 5d less for the last two and 9d
less for the first one.
The toll at Mayenfeld is not too high compared to the others; however, the Chur toll is almost 3 times higher. Like Konstanz and Vaduz it is an
important political seat.
It is also at Chur that the bales are divided into smaller loads and the means of transportation changes to a land based mode; most likely mules.
| Item, in Chur for toll |
55 km |
|
3 |
5 |
| Item, for stop and division and weighing |
|
|
9 |
| Item, for conveyance from Chur to Trins (land transport) |
|
6 |
|
| Item, for toll in Trins |
|
1 |
6 |
| Item, for stop at Trins |
|
|
2½ |
| Item, for carrying from Trins to Laax (land transport) |
|
6 |
|
| Item, for toll in Laax |
|
2 |
7 |
| Item, for stop in Laax |
|
|
2½ |
| Item, for carrying from Laax to Ruis (land transport) |
|
7 |
6 |
| Item, for toll at a certain bridge |
|
|
10 |
| Item, for toll of the lady of Sacho at Ilanz |
|
1 |
6 |
| Item, for stop at Ruis |
|
|
2 |
| Item, for carrying from Ruis to Truns (land transport) |
|
7 |
6 |
Although the route continues to follow a river, it appears as if it is un-navigatable. This segment was done in four legs averaging 13.75 kilometers.
The transport costs have basically quadrupled for the same distances covered in the previous segment.
Tolls in this segment are for the most part moderate, except for the toll paid to a religious organization, or so it appears.
The last stop on this segment and those hereafter a cheaper, being only 2d for lodging and food.
| Item, for carrying from Truns to Casaccia (land transport) |
78 km |
1 |
5 |
|
| Item, for three stops |
|
|
6 |
| Item, for carrying from Casaccia to Biasca (land transport) |
1 |
8 |
|
The first segment continues following the river to the rest stop before the ascent to the St. Gothard Pass. Casaccia is no longer found on the maps but
may have been in the vicinity of Andermatt.
The next leg was the steep assent and decent to St. Gothards and then the long slope to Biasca. Amazingly there are no tolls in this part of the trip.
| Item, for three stops |
25 km |
|
|
6 |
| Item, for carrying from Biasca to Bellinzona (land transport) |
|
12 |
|
| Item, for stop at Biasca and stop at Claro |
|
|
4 |
This last bit takes us to our journey's end. Although a toll is not mentioned at Bellinzona I believe it was collected upon leaving since there would
have been a customs house in the area to collect the Duke's customary dues on all imports coming into his realm.
For a 304 kilometer trip, it cost this merchant £7 9s 5½d per bale. This means he will have to add this much and more to the price of his
bales at his final destination just to break even. The document does not say how much he paid for the bales, but if we assume one bale was a sack of
wool then a reasonable estimate for original cost for a bale would be as much as £15, may a bit more at the high point of wool sales. Therefore
the costs for this leg alone has caused the price of these bales to go up by at least 50% or about £23.
Compare the cost of this trip with that shown for 'THE COSTS OF SEABORN TRANSPORTATION' and this
one is a little over six times the cost of that one.
|
