T`was I who spake thus, and proclaimed changes in province levels to be
about improvements in development and prosperity, reasoning that all
provinces are already (after 1500 years) at their sustainable maximums
already.
Lets consider a small village of 200 people. About 180 (give or take) are
famers. They make about 2/3s of a sp per day, or 20sp a month. Just below what a laborer can earn, but with steady employment and the last to go hungry in bad times. Farmers are also mostly self-sufficient and not so much in the cash economy, so will be less valuable for guild income. Lets
call them worth half. BTW, there are about 50 adult men, 40 adult women,
and 90 children.
180 people worth 10 sp a month in guild activity comes to 180gp a month as
income (18gp-90gp after most costs, not all costs can be considered until
realm turns figure domain maintenence, court costs, lieutenants, &c). Its
those other 20 people in town that really make a difference. Lets start
off with a single knight who is lord of the village, manor, or whatever
there is here. He may still have rights as lord of the people, or maybe
not, but he has the wealth of a knight. His monthly income is between 80
and 160 gp per month, and hes far and away the villages largest consumer of luxury goods, though he purchases very few common goods. He collects taxes on his estate which supplies his table, he hunts for meat, and so forth. He may also be (for some extra gp) a minor official in some higher nobles
payroll. It really doesn`t matter if the knight is married and has a family
because his income remains based on his estate.
So 180 peasants or yeoman give us 180 gp of guild income, and the knight
gives us 80-160 by himself. There are 19 other folks in town. Five are
clergy. Lets say that we have one 2nd (or 3rd) level priest, two first level priests, and some split 1st level experts/clerics, who can cast 0-level spells. These local priests may have some additional levels of expert too. These guys collect a tithe worth a bit more than the knights
feudal tax. The acolytes are probvided with no less than 30 gp worth of
goods, the 1st level priests more like 45 gp, and their leader, more like
60. As a group, call it 210 gp, and recall that much of this isn`t payroll,
but includes the expences of being a priest, incense, chalicies, repairs to
the tapestry of Ruornil, what have you.
So, 180 peasants, 180 gp, a knight 80-160 gp, 5 priests 210 gp.
In order to serve the needs of the town, the knight, and the priests, the
town will have some craftsfolk. We have 13 people left over. Lets add a squire, the priests pay him to guard their little shrine when they pillgrimage to the town. This guys income comes mostly from the noble, and
some from the priests. Since we add him on top of those guys their incomes
must be enough to support him in addition to their own expences. He makes
15 gp per month, much of it paid in kind. Town needs a shoemaker, one of
the most common occupations. He makes 1 sp per day, thats 3 gp per month. Lets assume he has a wife and son, and that the 3 of them do some farming
too, counting as 2 farmers and 1 showmaker. It gets cold during winter, and
people hunt, so we have a furrier who may sideline as a tanner as well. He
makes more as a furrier (2 sp) than he does as a tanner (1sp), let`s say he
makes 5 gp in a month. If he has a family, and he probabaly does, they are
farming.
Recap. 180 peasants, 180 gp, knight figure 120 gp, 5 priests 210 gp, a
squire 15 gp, shoemaker 3 gp, furrier 5 gp. Note that nearly everyone after
this is going to earn 3gp a month or more. The peasant makes 2 gp a month,
and most of that is food, so they only count for 1 gp. Its the crafts
people where your money really is for guild purposes. For realm tax time,
just double the value of your peasants.
We still have 11 villagers. Lets call them a tailor 2 gp (who makes for
many, repairs only for noble and cleric), his wife the weaver 1 gp, a barber
2 gp, a tavernkeeper 2 gp, a chandler 2 gp, a mason 3 gp, a carpenter 3 gp,
and over at the knight`s keep we have a clerk 3 gp, stable boy 1.5 gp, a
general smith 3 gp, and a miller 3 gp.
Once more 180 peasants 180 gp, 7 town elite 345 gp, 13 townspeople 33.5 gp.
Imagine a town where the proportion of townspeople is bigger. Where we go
from primary crafts (shoemaker &c) to secondary crafts (goldsmith) who
primarily serve other craftsmen and the elite and don`t need to rely on
common peolpe as customers. At a larger town we might add a jeweler, who
cuts gems, works in silver, and even does a little gold work. In a larger
town the gem cutter is one guy, and we have a silver smith who does a little
more gold work. In a big town you may have five jewelers, two silver smiths
who aim at a common market, one who aims at a high market, and a goldsmith.
Towns will concentrate the wealth of the countryside, and big towns will
concentrate the wealth of a province or two. A city like Anuire is a huge
magnet for certain kinds of wealth concentrations. Probabaly much like late
medieval Rome, little industry, but plenty of luxury goods. The imperial
capital doesn`t need 2000 plows this year, but it may need 200 tapestries.
Kenneth Gauck
kgauck@mchsi.com
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