Medieval Price List. The list of medieval prices which follows is by no means complete or thoroughly researched; I merely extracted references from some of the books I have, and I thought others might like to inspect it.
The sources I used are listed at the end. If an item is listed several times, it is because I had several references I wished to record. Datafiles of Historical Prices and Wages. Ancient Coins for Education - What Things Cost in Ancient Rome. When studying Ancient Rome, it is only natural to wonder what the price of everyday items might have been.
In order to fully understand the price of an item, you must also consider the wages workers received at the time the item was purchased. Before you study the information below, it is helpful to understand that professions were valued differently in ancient times than they are today. Likewise, the value of items was different then than now. For instance, in today's world, one might spend 20% of their total income on food, but in ancient times the cost may have been 50% or more of one's total income. In fact, during parts of the history of Rome, food costs were so high that without free wheat subsidies from the government, the common people would not have been able to survive!