The Late Middle Ages (c.1300–c.1500) saw the development of many of the key economic institutions of the modern unitary nation-state in Europe. After the "commercial revolution" of the thirteenth century, taxes on trade became increasingly significant contributors to government finances, and...

1. Introduction and overview -- 2. The concept of exchange configuration -- 3. Terms and concepts for an analysis of exchange -- 4. Elements of exchange -- 5. A typology of exchange configurations -- 6. Systems of exchange in different phases of development -- 7. The dynamic forces in exchange...