Chris Wickham on ‘The Economic Logic of Medieval Societies’: A Response

Abstract

Abstract Chris Wickham’s theory regarding the feudal economy is predicated on the continuing existence and numerical majority of peasant producers with direct access to their means of subsistence. While his theory holds good for the period up to c.1200, after that point, the numbers of those without direct access to their full means of subsistence increased so much that their impact on the economy has to be considered in any explanatory model. Furthermore, subsistence needs to be understood not only as what is needed for biological survival, but also what is needed for social survival and reproduction. Because of the extent of market demand and dependence in the period after c.1200, the economic logic of societies in core regions during this period does not accord well with the model Wickham proposes. It is also, however, not to be understood as capitalist, proto-capitalist, or necessarily leading towards capitalism. This period needs to be understood on its own terms as neither feudal nor capitalist.