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Dissertation by Stef Espeel

Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Antwerp, 2021

This dissertation focuses on the occurrence of food shocks by investigating both the frequency an... more This dissertation focuses on the occurrence of food shocks by investigating both the frequency and intensity of ‘price shocks’ on the grain market in fourteenth-century Flanders, as well as questioning its origins and consequences. The basis is formed by new price series for grain, which were drawn up using a combination of data from both original source material (accounts and financial records) of large landowners and published works for the cities of Bruges, Ghent, Lille and Douai in the county of Flanders and Cambrai just outside it.

The study approaches the price shocks on the grain market along four major axes. The first part investigates the price formation of grain. It mainly tackles the many technical challenges of reconstructing a reliable market price series for contexts where the source material is fragmented. Based on these new price series, the second part looks at the frequency, intensity and duration of price shocks. The long and short-term fluctuations of the grain price as well as the integration between the Flemish cities and in a broader European perspective is addressed. The third part studies the vulnerability of the urban population to price surges and the accompanying food shortages on one hand and on the other, it questions the link between mortality crises of the many plague episodes of the fourteenth century and the subsistence crises. Finally, the fourth part of this study focuses on the large producers and exporters of grain. The organization of their activities on the grain market, the differences between the organization of the agriculture of the regions in which these landlords were embedded and the adaptation of the income and expense strategies of grain by the landlords are key here.

The main concluding points that emerge throughout the dissertation include the unique character and importance of precisely dated prices. This allowed the frequency, intensity of the price peaks, and their influence on the urban population to be accurately studied. The importance of large landowners in the production and distribution of grain, as well as the institutional constraints and the importance of the different social agrosystems are also noteworthy.

Papers by Stef Espeel

Revue belge de Philologie et d’Histoire, 2022

Recent research has again underlined the importance of the 14th century as a period of shocks and... more Recent research has again underlined the importance of the 14th century as a period of shocks and systemic transition embedded in a broader context of environmental instability and societal vulnerability. Disease, warfare and harvest failure frequently caused price shocks in the grain market against which players on the grain market had to adapt and react. Based on several series of late medieval accounts I have studied the adaptations in the income and expense strategies of grain by large ecclesiastical landlords, who acted as large producers, distributors and consumers of grain. Rather than being passive bystanders in the grain market, these landlords actively reacted to the changing socioeconomic realities. With their eye on a durable and long-term food income strategy based on their demographic evolution, they adapted their balance between leasehold and direct management of their arable land, in preference to a
profit-maximizing approach.

The Economic History Review, 2023

At the centre of the debate on pre-industrial economic growth is the study of market integration,... more At the centre of the debate on pre-industrial economic growth is the study of market integration, a topic that has increasingly been the focus of intense scientific interest in recent decades. However, this has remained limited to the early modern and modern periods, mainly due to the availability of relevant data. New grain price series have been constructed for several Flemish cities dating back to the early fourteenth century. As one of the most populated regions in the late Middle Ages, the case of Flanders shows that the extraordinary sequence of price shocks in the mid-fourteenth century had a positive impact on the degree of price integration in the grain market. The Flemish grain market functioned better in times of crisis, but caused prices to rise steadily across the entire integrated system during the prolonged crisis period. Whereas many studies have labelled the late Middle Ages – particularly the fifteenth century – as an age of economic contraction with more isolated trade networks, this study shows that Flanders remained a highly economically integrated region.

Disuguaglianza economica nelle società preindustriali: cause ed effetti / Economic inequality in pre-industrial societies: causes and effect, Jun 16, 2020

Although the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) revised their theoretical model of food sec... more Although the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) revised their theoretical model of food security for over two decades ago, historians have been slow in adopting these new insights to study pre-modern societies. Showcasing the potential of the holistic approach proposed by the FAO, this paper analyses the evolution of food security in the calamitous fourteenth century in Ghent, one the most populated cities at that time. In the long-term, access to food seem to have bettered during the second half of the century thanks to increased wages, wealth and investments into farmland. While these gains can partly be linked to demographic evolutions, we found no evidence of an often-hypothesized Malthusian ceiling before the Black Death.

Mélanges de l'Ecole Française de Rome - Moyen Âge, 2019

Recent research once again framed the fourteenth century as the century of environmental shocks a... more Recent research once again framed the fourteenth century as the century of environmental shocks and systemic transitions. This article will focus on the grain market during the rapid succession of urban 'food shocks' before, during and after the 1348 Black Death. The major Flemish Cities provide a unique context to investigate the origins, impact and consequences of these shocks. Based on new and exciting price series for the cities of Bruges, Ghent, Lille, Douai and Cambrai it will be possible to reconstruct divergences in the impact of the food shocks during this period, but also question the role of large urban ecclesiastical landowners in the management and 'production' of these food crises. In order to do so, this article focuses on adaptations by these landowners on the grain market by altering the frequency, timing and size of their grain transactions. Next to that, it will be tested if there was a presence of preferential trade upheld by these landlords. Such enquiry will contribute to a better understanding of both the causal mechanisms behind these food crises and the way major urban landlords handled and sometimes co-produced these crises.

Keywords: Flanders, medieval economy, food crisis, preferential trade, urban markets

La recherche récente a de nouveau dépeint le XIV e siècle comme celui des chocs environnementaux et des transitions systémiques. Cet article se concentre sur le marché céréalier pendant la période de successions de chocs alimentaires urbains avant, pendant et après la peste noire de 1348. Les grandes villes flamandes offrent un cadre unique pour étudier les origines, les impact et les conséquences de ces chocs. Grâce à une nouvelle série de prix pour les villes de Bruges, Gand, Lille, Douai et Cambrai, il sera possible de décrire les divergences dans l'impact des chocs céréaliers durant cette période, mais aussi de questionner le rôle des grands propriétaires ecclésiastiques urbains dans la gestion et la 'production' de ces crises alimentaires. Pour ce faire, cet article se concentre sur les changements que ces propriétaires ont choisi d'opérer dans la fréquence, le timing et l'ampleur de leur transaction en grains sur le marché céréalier. De surcroît, sera testée l'idée de savoir si ces propriétaires avaient recours au commerce préférentiel. Cette enquête contribue à une meilleure connaissance des mécanismes causaux des crises alimentaires et de la manière dont ces grands propriétaires urbains géraient et parfois «coproduisaient» ces crises.

Mots-clés: Flandres, économie médiévale, crises alimentaires, commerce préférentiel, marchés urbains

Handelingen van het Genootschap voor Geschiedenis te Brugge, 2020

Reviews by Stef Espeel

Stadsgeschiedenis, 2017

Ook dit jaar neemt Stadsgeschiedenis een overzicht op van wat er verschenen is in Belgische en Ne... more Ook dit jaar neemt Stadsgeschiedenis een overzicht op van wat er verschenen is in Belgische en Nederlandse historische tijdschriften en jaarboeken, een rubriek die al sinds 2009 in stand wordt gehouden. De massa aan tijdschriftartikels, working papers op websites en platforms zoals Academia.edu en ResearchGate maakt het immers vrijwel onmogelijk voor de individuele onderzoeker om systematisch alle historische tijdschriften te doorzoeken, wat tot gevolg heeft dat vele bijdragen in lokale stadshistorische tijdschriften onopgemerkt blijven. In samenhang met de jaarlijkse review over de bijdragen in internationale tijdschriften heeft deze rubriek tot doel de laatste ontwikkelingen in het stadshistorische veld te signaleren. 58 historische tijdschriften van jaargang 2015 werden door een groep stadshistorici doorgenomen om uiteindelijk tot voorliggende selectie van 67 verschillende artikels te komen.

Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Antwerp, 2021

This dissertation focuses on the occurrence of food shocks by investigating both the frequency an... more This dissertation focuses on the occurrence of food shocks by investigating both the frequency and intensity of ‘price shocks’ on the grain market in fourteenth-century Flanders, as well as questioning its origins and consequences. The basis is formed by new price series for grain, which were drawn up using a combination of data from both original source material (accounts and financial records) of large landowners and published works for the cities of Bruges, Ghent, Lille and Douai in the county of Flanders and Cambrai just outside it.

The study approaches the price shocks on the grain market along four major axes. The first part investigates the price formation of grain. It mainly tackles the many technical challenges of reconstructing a reliable market price series for contexts where the source material is fragmented. Based on these new price series, the second part looks at the frequency, intensity and duration of price shocks. The long and short-term fluctuations of the grain price as well as the integration between the Flemish cities and in a broader European perspective is addressed. The third part studies the vulnerability of the urban population to price surges and the accompanying food shortages on one hand and on the other, it questions the link between mortality crises of the many plague episodes of the fourteenth century and the subsistence crises. Finally, the fourth part of this study focuses on the large producers and exporters of grain. The organization of their activities on the grain market, the differences between the organization of the agriculture of the regions in which these landlords were embedded and the adaptation of the income and expense strategies of grain by the landlords are key here.

The main concluding points that emerge throughout the dissertation include the unique character and importance of precisely dated prices. This allowed the frequency, intensity of the price peaks, and their influence on the urban population to be accurately studied. The importance of large landowners in the production and distribution of grain, as well as the institutional constraints and the importance of the different social agrosystems are also noteworthy.

Revue belge de Philologie et d’Histoire, 2022

Recent research has again underlined the importance of the 14th century as a period of shocks and... more Recent research has again underlined the importance of the 14th century as a period of shocks and systemic transition embedded in a broader context of environmental instability and societal vulnerability. Disease, warfare and harvest failure frequently caused price shocks in the grain market against which players on the grain market had to adapt and react. Based on several series of late medieval accounts I have studied the adaptations in the income and expense strategies of grain by large ecclesiastical landlords, who acted as large producers, distributors and consumers of grain. Rather than being passive bystanders in the grain market, these landlords actively reacted to the changing socioeconomic realities. With their eye on a durable and long-term food income strategy based on their demographic evolution, they adapted their balance between leasehold and direct management of their arable land, in preference to a
profit-maximizing approach.

The Economic History Review, 2023

At the centre of the debate on pre-industrial economic growth is the study of market integration,... more At the centre of the debate on pre-industrial economic growth is the study of market integration, a topic that has increasingly been the focus of intense scientific interest in recent decades. However, this has remained limited to the early modern and modern periods, mainly due to the availability of relevant data. New grain price series have been constructed for several Flemish cities dating back to the early fourteenth century. As one of the most populated regions in the late Middle Ages, the case of Flanders shows that the extraordinary sequence of price shocks in the mid-fourteenth century had a positive impact on the degree of price integration in the grain market. The Flemish grain market functioned better in times of crisis, but caused prices to rise steadily across the entire integrated system during the prolonged crisis period. Whereas many studies have labelled the late Middle Ages – particularly the fifteenth century – as an age of economic contraction with more isolated trade networks, this study shows that Flanders remained a highly economically integrated region.

Disuguaglianza economica nelle società preindustriali: cause ed effetti / Economic inequality in pre-industrial societies: causes and effect, Jun 16, 2020

Although the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) revised their theoretical model of food sec... more Although the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) revised their theoretical model of food security for over two decades ago, historians have been slow in adopting these new insights to study pre-modern societies. Showcasing the potential of the holistic approach proposed by the FAO, this paper analyses the evolution of food security in the calamitous fourteenth century in Ghent, one the most populated cities at that time. In the long-term, access to food seem to have bettered during the second half of the century thanks to increased wages, wealth and investments into farmland. While these gains can partly be linked to demographic evolutions, we found no evidence of an often-hypothesized Malthusian ceiling before the Black Death.

Mélanges de l'Ecole Française de Rome - Moyen Âge, 2019

Recent research once again framed the fourteenth century as the century of environmental shocks a... more Recent research once again framed the fourteenth century as the century of environmental shocks and systemic transitions. This article will focus on the grain market during the rapid succession of urban 'food shocks' before, during and after the 1348 Black Death. The major Flemish Cities provide a unique context to investigate the origins, impact and consequences of these shocks. Based on new and exciting price series for the cities of Bruges, Ghent, Lille, Douai and Cambrai it will be possible to reconstruct divergences in the impact of the food shocks during this period, but also question the role of large urban ecclesiastical landowners in the management and 'production' of these food crises. In order to do so, this article focuses on adaptations by these landowners on the grain market by altering the frequency, timing and size of their grain transactions. Next to that, it will be tested if there was a presence of preferential trade upheld by these landlords. Such enquiry will contribute to a better understanding of both the causal mechanisms behind these food crises and the way major urban landlords handled and sometimes co-produced these crises.

Keywords: Flanders, medieval economy, food crisis, preferential trade, urban markets

La recherche récente a de nouveau dépeint le XIV e siècle comme celui des chocs environnementaux et des transitions systémiques. Cet article se concentre sur le marché céréalier pendant la période de successions de chocs alimentaires urbains avant, pendant et après la peste noire de 1348. Les grandes villes flamandes offrent un cadre unique pour étudier les origines, les impact et les conséquences de ces chocs. Grâce à une nouvelle série de prix pour les villes de Bruges, Gand, Lille, Douai et Cambrai, il sera possible de décrire les divergences dans l'impact des chocs céréaliers durant cette période, mais aussi de questionner le rôle des grands propriétaires ecclésiastiques urbains dans la gestion et la 'production' de ces crises alimentaires. Pour ce faire, cet article se concentre sur les changements que ces propriétaires ont choisi d'opérer dans la fréquence, le timing et l'ampleur de leur transaction en grains sur le marché céréalier. De surcroît, sera testée l'idée de savoir si ces propriétaires avaient recours au commerce préférentiel. Cette enquête contribue à une meilleure connaissance des mécanismes causaux des crises alimentaires et de la manière dont ces grands propriétaires urbains géraient et parfois «coproduisaient» ces crises.

Mots-clés: Flandres, économie médiévale, crises alimentaires, commerce préférentiel, marchés urbains

Handelingen van het Genootschap voor Geschiedenis te Brugge, 2020

Stadsgeschiedenis, 2017

Ook dit jaar neemt Stadsgeschiedenis een overzicht op van wat er verschenen is in Belgische en Ne... more Ook dit jaar neemt Stadsgeschiedenis een overzicht op van wat er verschenen is in Belgische en Nederlandse historische tijdschriften en jaarboeken, een rubriek die al sinds 2009 in stand wordt gehouden. De massa aan tijdschriftartikels, working papers op websites en platforms zoals Academia.edu en ResearchGate maakt het immers vrijwel onmogelijk voor de individuele onderzoeker om systematisch alle historische tijdschriften te doorzoeken, wat tot gevolg heeft dat vele bijdragen in lokale stadshistorische tijdschriften onopgemerkt blijven. In samenhang met de jaarlijkse review over de bijdragen in internationale tijdschriften heeft deze rubriek tot doel de laatste ontwikkelingen in het stadshistorische veld te signaleren. 58 historische tijdschriften van jaargang 2015 werden door een groep stadshistorici doorgenomen om uiteindelijk tot voorliggende selectie van 67 verschillende artikels te komen.