Publication
Title
Au nom de Dieu et du profit : le profit équitable selon Jan van Boendale
Author
Abstract
Historical research on what a just price should be has focused mainly on late medieval theological texts. However, in laic literature too, notions of the just price can be detected without the concept itself being mentioned. Instead of talking about the just price, Jan van Boendale asks questions about what a fair profit would be. Just like producing, the buying and selling of goods were a way of labouring that ought to be well rewarded, especially since it was in the common interest of the city. The pursuit of profit and the gathering of richness formed no ethical problem for this fourteenth-century Antwerp city clerk. Problems only arose when the greedy desire to gain more and more started to dominate consciousness and stimulated merchants or guild masters to start cheating. In response, Boendale stressed the stoic virtue of moderation as a remedy against greed. Still, this was not only a matter of achieving an honest profit. One also had to be moderate when giving alms, which was a reaction against popular preachers who overemphasised the state of sinfulness in which people lived.
Language
French
Source (journal)
Le Moyen Age. - Bruxelles, 1888, currens
Publication
Bruxelles : 2014
ISSN
0027-2841
DOI
10.3917/RMA.203.0611
Volume/pages
120 :3-4 (2014) , p. 611-+
ISI
000354660200001
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Art 
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 22.05.2015
Last edited 09.10.2023
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