Everything about The Livre Tournois totally explained
The
livre tournois ("
Tours pound") was:
- one of numerous currencies used in France in the Middle Ages; and
- a money of account (for example, a monetary unit used in accounting) used in France in the Middle Ages and the early modern period.
Circulating currency
The
denier tournois coin was initially minted by the abbey of Saint Martin in the
Tours region of France. Soon after
Philip II of France seized the counties of
Anjou and
Tours in 1203 and standardized the use of the
livre tournois there, the livre tournois began to supersede the
livre parisis (Paris pound) which had been up to that point the official currency of the
Capetian dynasty.
The livre tournois was, in common with the original
livre of Charlemagne, divided into 20
sols (
sous after 1715), each of which was divided into 12
deniers.
Between 1360 and 1641, coins worth one livre tournois were minted, known as
francs (the name coming from the inscription "Johannes Dei Gratia Francorum Rex", "Jean, by the grace of God, King of the French"). Other francs were minted under
Charles V of France,
Henri III of France and
Henri IV of France. The use of the name "franc" became a synonym for livre tournois in accounting.
The first French paper money, issued between 1701 and 1720, was denominated in livres tournois (see "Standard Catalog of World Paper Money", Albert Pick). This was the last time the name was used officially, as later notes and coins were denominated simply in livres, the
livre parisis having finally been abolished in 1667.
Accounting currency
With many forms of domestic and international currency (with different weights, purities and quality) circulating throughout Europe in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period, the use of an
accounting currency became a financial necessity. In the world of international banking of the 13th century, it was the
florin and
ducat which were often used. In France, the livre tournois and the currency system based on it became a standard monetary unit of accounting and continued to be used even when the "livre tournois" ceased to exist as an actual coin.
The official use of the livre tournois accounting unit in all contracts in France was legislated in 1549, but it had been one of the standard units of accounting in France since the 13th century. In 1577 the livre tournois accounting unit was officially abolished and accountants switched to the
écu, which was at that time the major French gold coin in actual circulation, but in 1602 the livre tournois accounting unit was brought back. (A monetary unit of accounting based on the livre parisis continued to be used for minor uses in and around Paris and wasn't officially abolished until
1667 by
Louis XIV).
Since coins in Europe in the Middle Ages and the Early modern period (the French
écu,
Louis,
teston d'argent,
denier, double,
franc; the Spanish
doubloon,
pistole,
real; the Italian
florin,
ducat or
sequin; the German
thaler; the
Dutch gulden, etc.) didn't have any indication of their value, their official value was determined by royal edicts. In cases of financial need, French kings could use the official value for
currency devaluation. This could be done in two ways: (1) the amount of precious metal in a newly minted French coin could be reduced while nevertheless maintaining the old value in livres tournois or (2) the official value of a domestic or foreign coin in circulation could be increased. By reversing these techniques, currencies could be reinforced.
For example:
the worth of an écu d'or, a French gold coin, was changed from 60 sols to 57 sols in 1573.
to curb increasing use of the Spanish real, its official worth was decreased to 4 sols 2 deniers in the 1570s.
Royal finance officers faced many difficulties. In addition to currency speculation, forgery and the intentional shaving of precious metal from coins (which was harshly punished), they'd the difficult problem of setting values for gold, silver, copper and billon coins, responding to the often large influx of foreign coin and the appearance of inferior foreign coins of intentionally similar design. For more on these issues, see Monetary policy and Gresham's Law.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Livre Tournois'.
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