"Justin Broderick" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Charles Talleyrand" wrote in message
...

I'm interested in any time period from ancient Egypt to maybe Napoleon.
I'm just trying to get an order of magnitude informed guess.

I found this fascinating link:
http://www-atm.physics.ox.ac.uk/rowi...me/thesis.html

For reference, Kagan gives one drachma as a good day's pay for a skilled
Athenian craftsman, and there were 6000 drachmas in a silver talent.

Another very interesting reference:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sourc...d-germans.html

I have to admit, I have no idea as to what the value of a marten's head was
in 1229. For that matter, if you were paid in cloaks, exactly how many
cloaks do you need? Do you fob them off to your relatives?

Some of my favourite passages:

"When summer guests come to the torrent, which is called Vorsch the ferrymen
will take them immediately, without any delay, to the fishermen's inn,
where, on arrival, each boat will pay to the ferrymen four loaves of bread,
and a scutella of butter: if they do not want bread, two kunen will be given
in place of each loaf, and three martens' heads for the butter.
To each ferryman will be given eight martens' heads, and one pair of cloaks,
or, in place of the cloaks, three martens' heads. The summer guests will
observe the same law for paying thelony as is given above for winter guests.

When a guest brings skiffs into Novgorod, if such skiffs meet ships in Nü,
each skiff will receive its own price and a gammon of bacon, or five marks
kunen for the gammon. If the skiff meet merchants in Lake Ladoga, or in the
Volga, it will receive half the price, and half the bacon, or three marks
kunen. If any skiff, piloted with other skiffs, does not arrive at the
appointed time, it will lose its fee. If any skiff, piloted, but not laden,
is wrecked or endangered in the descent, it likewise will lose its fee. When
the merchants ascend by skiffs, and perchance some dispute arise between the
merchants and the ferrymen, or if an open quarrel occur, and the strife be
settled by agreement, the dispute should not be aired further."

The whole article is delightful. Thelony of course is tolls. The same
website comments on that in
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/805Chartoll.html , which is also
interesting.

All in all, I would have settled for several marten's heads, a cloak, and a
gammon of bacon, plus a few marks kunen.

AHS