Statutory wages of servants in the Inn Valley and Vinschgau in the 14th century
A historical account compares statutory wages for farmhands, maids, and day laborers in the Inn Valley and Vinschgau from the mid-14th century with monetary values in 1820. The overview illustrates the significant decline in money's purchasing power over roughly 450 years, attributed to the influx of precious metals from America and new European mines.
Full transcription
Appendix.
History.
Statutory wages of farmhands, maids, and day laborers in the Inn Valley and Vinschgau around the middle of the 14th century. A chief farmhand received 12 Pf. Bernese coin a year, or 2 fl. 24 kr. according to our money, calculating the Pf. at 12 kreuzer,—two pairs of shoes and soles (it is said) as many as he needed; a chief maid 7 Pf. Bernese coin, thus 1 fl. 24 kr.; and shoes and soles like the farmhand; a day laborer, from St. Michael to St. Vitus, board and 20 Bernese coin, or 1 kreuzer; a female day laborer board and ten Bernese coin, or 1/2 kreuzer; but from St. Vitus to St. Michael the man had, besides board, 30 Bernese coin or 1 ½ kr., and the woman 20 Bernese coin or 1 kr. Reapers and mowers received 40 Bernese coin or 3 kr. Whoever gave more than the law stipulated forfeited 10 Pf. or 2 fl.; and whoever took more forfeited 5 Pf. or 1 fl. to the court and the community. If one compares current service wages with the above, one can calculate by approximately how much the value of money has fallen over about 450 years due to the discovery of new mines in Europe, but especially through the precious metals brought from America.
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"Statutory wages of servants in the Inn Valley and Vinschgau in the 14th century." Der Bote für Tirol, 10 July 1820. https://digital.tessmann.it/tessmannDigital/Zeitungsarchiv/Seite/Zeitung/47/1/10.07.1820/149640/4. https://meran-archive.com/en/artikel/1820-07-10-gesetzlicher-dienstlohn-im-innthal-und-vinstgau-im-14-jahrhundert