Haym Soloveitchik, Jews and the Wine Trade in Medieval Europe: Principles and Pressures

Jews and the Wine Trade in Medieval Europe

Book Review: The Wine Trade in Medieval Europe, 1000–1500

The wine trade in medieval Europe 1000–1500

The Economic History ReviewVolume 66, Issue 1 p. 375-376 Book Review Rose, Susan, The wine trade in medieval Europe 1000–1500 ( London and New York: Continuum, 2011. Pp. xviii + 197. 12 illus. 3 maps. 2 tabs. ISBN 9780826425843 Hbk. £65/$120) Evan Jones, Evan Jones University of BristolSearch for more papers by this author Evan Jones, Evan Jones University of BristolSearch for more papers by this author First published: 17 December 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.12005_21Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume66, Issue1February 2013Pages 375-376 RelatedInformation

Vine-growing and wine production were to a large extent part of urban economy in late medieval and early modern Europe. This paper takes issue with the concept of Ackerburgerstadt discussed in German urban history since the beginning of the twentieth century, to come to terms with the intense involvement of towns in agrarian production. By drawing on examples from the city of Vienna and the town of Retz in Lower Austria, it is argued that towns specialized in vine-growing, produced a cash-crop for regional and supra-regional markets, were troubled by class conflicts between vineyard owners and wage labourers, regulated labour relations extensively, and strove to dominate the local wine trade. This does not conform to the concept of Ackerburgerstadt, implying food-crop production for subsistence and a low level of social stratification.