ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the issue of money lending in early modern age society in Prague. During the reign of Rudolph II, Prague was an important centre of politics, power, and culture for the Habsburg monarchy and, with a population of 60–70 thousand, was one of the largest agglomerations in the Central European Region. There was also a Jewish community in the city with a population of 8–9 thousand. The economic boom in the last third of the 16th century attracted a number of foreign merchants to the city; however, significant entrepreneurs from this country were also able to establish themselves. The form of the Prague market at the time was also influenced by the local Jewish merchants and bankers, whose activities were in no way restricted to Jewish consumers or by the boundaries of the Prague Jewish quarter, but were an integral element of all long-distance and local trade in Prague. The money-lending relationships that were formed in this environment are analysed on the basis of the legislation and business practices of the time. The legal environment for trade, as well as the legislative terms that developed in relation to money lending by Jews and Christians during the 16th century in the Bohemian Common Law of the Land, are also described. The development of legal interest rates and other legal regulations concerning money lending are also analysed. These aspects are presented in the context of the business practices of Jewish and Christian wholesalers and financiers in Prague in the Rudolphine era.
