ABSTRACT
The moral ideals of medieval society derived above all from the Church’s teachings, this being as true for economic ideals as for those of personal morality. One of the few occasions on which Jesus commended the acquisition of goods was in the parable of the talents : the servants who doubled the money which their lord had entrusted to them were praised whereas the one who had merely preserved his intact was condemned. Before considering actual usury cases within the city, it is desirable to note the framework of law and ideals within which they were treated. The process of accommodation, however, was mutual, for the Church did not take an aggressive attitude towards mercantile gains, probably because it stood to gain a share from the wealth which was thereby generated. The answer perhaps must be found in the division which they generally drew between their religious practices and the details of their commercial activities.
