Financing a rebellious city. Social change, revolts, and inequality among the fiscal elite in fourteenth-century Bruges

Despite frequent uprisings and social unrest during the fourteenth century, inequality among Bruges' fiscal elite remained stable. This counterintuitive finding challenges conventional wisdom linking revolts to rising inequality. The study maps wealth trajectories of the top one percent in Bruges, a key medieval commercial hub, revealing openness within the elite regarding wealth, occupation, lineages, and office-holding. Craftsmen played a pivotal role in both market opportunities and government, potentially at the expense of lower classes. By analyzing fiscal data, the research sheds light on how gradual social transformations and revolts coexisted with elite stability.

Geens, S. (2025). Financing a rebellious city. Social change, revolts, and inequality among the fiscal elite in fourteenth-century Bruges. Socio-Economic Inequalities during the Conjuncture of the Fourteenth Century, 71–96. https://doi.org/10.36253/979-12-215-0705-8.05