Value is, of course whatever people agree value to be. It's not my period, but
the institution of the Tythe Barn suggests to me that paying taxes, debts etc.
by barter was the norm. Chickens were valuable mostly, of course, because they
had their own P.R. and marketing departments back then. Historians disagree
over whether or not chickens caused the Renaissance. No doubt there are
dissertations currently in progress on chickens in Jacobean Revenge Drama.
David
Sent from my iPad
On Jan 15, 2019, at 5:59 AM, Ursula Stange <Ursula@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
“Chickens used as currency was common in the early to high Middle Ages. Tithe
barns housed payments made to monasteries and convents. “Woodhens” were
chickens paid at Christmastime in trade for dead, dry timber from the lord’s
wooded land.”
https://countrysidenetwork.com/daily/poultry/chickens-101/facts-about-chickens-medieval-times-to-now/
On Jan 15, 2019, at 10:46 AM, Lawrence Helm <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
No mention is made of chickens, but that was probably just an oversight.
Lawrence
