„The Wealth of Wisdom and Reason Which he Acquired as a Merchant“ – the Conception of Trade in Medieval Bulgarian Society

Authors:

Pages: 115-126
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/HOCB1909

Abstract:

The aim of the theme is to present the concept of trade and economic behavior outside the traditional agricultural activity; to outline the image of the merchant, imaginatively constructed in the minds of the medieval Bulgarian population, but actually present on the roads and markets. The distribution of the final result of production was of interest to Balkan society. For this reason, it developed ideological interpretations of the process of production and economic activity. Thus, the relationship between economics and ideology defined certain rules of economic behavior. Specifically for commercial activity, there seems to be a certain hesitancy in the perception of medieval man. And this ambivalence stems not so much from skepticism about money as from the moral corrective regulating its pursuit and distribution. The narratives emphasize diligence in the work performed. And profit, its monetary form, is not to become a value, nor to be followed by vicious acts such as lying and fraud. In this abstract-realist reconstruction of medieval Balkan society, the notion of the merchant emerges, which, in keeping with the Middle Ages, gravitates between contradictory notions of it. But beyond the immanent concept of trade, medieval man inevitably encountered commodity exchange and ideas of profit. And perhaps the message is one of seeking balance - medieval Bulgarian society did not deny or prohibit trade, but invited diligence, the acquisition of good skills in carrying out this activity without it degenerating into greed and malice.

Keywords:

Trade, Merchant, Balkan society, Collective mentality.

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