CHAPTER IV.

INDUSTRY, COMMERCE AND LIFE.

The great Guilds and their Position—Guild of Woollen-weavers

(Arte della Lana)—Guild of Cloth Merchants (Catimala)—Guild

of Silk-weavers (Arte della Seta)—Guild of Money-changers

(Cambia)—Tuscan Money-changers Abroad—Positions of

Money-changers in France and England—Bankruptcy of the large

Banks—Financial Distress at Home—Revival of Commerce in

the Beginning of the Fifteenth Century—Customs of the Money

Exchange—General Feeling of the Citizen Class—Regulations

for the Beautifying and Security of the Town—Character of the

Populace—Habits and Customs in the Fourteenth Century—Popular

and Church Festivals—St. John’s Day—Merry-making and Pastimes

of the People—The Florentines in the Beginning of the Fifteenth

Century 67