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Medieval Trade Good Ideas?

Bruce McKnight

Troubadour
Looking for brainstorming inspiration and my brain is a little tired.

I have a generic medieval European world. Looking for things that could be trade goods. Ores, gems, wheat, fish, etc. Also thinking about manufactured goods like shoes and armor or even materials like wool or cloth.

Any other ideas for me?
 
Well, in medieval Europe trade was often focused on the orient connection with the Silk Road. Herbs, teas, silk, manuscripts, sugar especially, all of this was big during medieval high end trade.
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
Spices! They were traded all around the place, east-west, north-south. There are Elizabethan recipes that require Nutmeg, that at the time only grew on one [or a few] islands near Java...
Peppercorns were similarly restricted and traded if I remember correctly...
Coffee too was being traded from Africa and the Middle east thanks to contact with various cultures based there.
And my personal favourite... Frankincense... Wars, Crusades, Plagues, Rebellions, Natural Disasters and a host of other things has not stop this from being traded in to Europe for at least two thousand years, and probably closer to four or five thousand years...
It smells really nice too!:)
 

WooHooMan

Auror
I used timber and, to a lesser extent, stone and metal. The setting of this story is an island so building materials are hard to come by. That's for imports. The major export is produce.
So, identify what your country has and what they want.
 

Tom

Istar
Cloth. It was an extremely expensive commodity in Medieval times, and cloth merchants were among the richest and most influential members of the emerging middle class. Fabric dyes were also not only tradeable, but also in high demand. Remember, the Middle Ages were a time when clothing went a long way to indicating a person's power and social status. As a result, lots of money was spent on it.
 

K.S. Crooks

Maester
Trade of skills- You can have people that travel to different places to teach swordsmanship or be swords-for-hire, blacksmithing, singing, story-telling, etc. The trade of medicine and medical knowledge. There could a slave trade in some places, which could help create conflict with other groups of people that don't do this. Hope this sparks a few ideas.
 
Don't forget furs. The right fur is somewhere between fine fabric and gems in value per weight-- sometimes more. And trapping them is a challenge all its own.
 

Saigonnus

Auror
The trade of spirits/ alcoholic beverages was also fairly common as well. France traded with the known world for their wine, cognac, brandy and champagne for centuries.

I agree with what was discussed above. Decide what the country has available and what they need. Those usually dictate what is traded for. As for food; while necessary, much of it isn't that profitable, especially given how easily perishable fruits and vegetables tend to be, especially in warmer climates. Drying fruit might be a way to conserve it for longer, make it worth more and able to be transported for longer distances.

The easiest things to trade are tubers, roots, grains and dried meats of all types. Often times, though livestock was taken to market live and slaughtered by the recipients. The trade of livestock was big business. It was also a good target for bandits, who'd try to steal the livestock during their trip to market.

Along that same lines is the trade of other sorts of animals, beasts of burden, exotic birds and other rare animals could fetch a pretty penny to the right buyers. Nobles tend to buy things that others don't have simply for sake of showing off. Could be a good trade for islanders, where lots of brightly colored birds might migrate to. :)
 

Saigonnus

Auror
@CupofJoe coffee import became really large during the colonial era.

Just because that is how it happened on Earth, doesn't mean it couldn't happen under different circumstances on a different fantasy world. Anything is possible when it comes to fantasy, that is point of the whole thing. I like the idea of coffee sipping sultans in an egyptianesque setting. :p
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
@CupofJoe coffee import became really large during the colonial era.
Just because that is how it happened on Earth, doesn't mean it couldn't happen under different circumstances on a different fantasy world. Anything is possible when it comes to fantasy, that is point of the whole thing. I like the idea of coffee sipping sultans in an egyptianesque setting. :p
I may have been wrong about coffee being traded in the Middle Ages... but I'm sure I read it some where...
As the earliest document evidence is apparently from the 15/16C, it must have happened earlier than that... okay - I'm stretching...
 

Tom

Istar
I may have been wrong about coffee being traded in the Middle Ages... but I'm sure I read it some where...
As the earliest document evidence is apparently from the 15/16C, it must have happened earlier than that... okay - I'm stretching...

It was banned by an English king who feared it was a "satanic drink" from the Arab world. As a result, coffee became a hot smuggling item in Renaissance England.
 

Shreddies

Troubadour
Perfumes and dyes are commodities that might hold a high value if they're exotic or otherwise hard to acquire. Sugar is another. Chocolate, or rather cocoa beans. Glass crafts, or just glass. And pottery, depending on if it's in vogue at the time. Tobacco maybe? Opiates and drugs in general may count, even if, or especially if, they have to be smuggled in or are highly restricted.

I think anything that is rare, seemingly exotic, pleasing to the eye, tasty, or just plain 'nice' will work. If it's rare, and therefore pricey, then people with money will want it so they can flaunt their money.

'These are Peruvian Rain Dancing Frogs, boy. Not some common croaker.'

And depending on how fantastical your world is, they may even trade for things like Sunlight in a Bottle.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
Everything everyone says is correct ... because everything gets traded. I would add: don't forget magic-related stuff. Dragon teeth, oil of this that and the other. Spell books. Would wizards have their own trade network? Hm.

Anyway, let's go at this from the other end. Why do you ask? Does your story need something about some sort of trade transaction? Will the merchant travel with the goods or, more to the point, will the story travel with the goods? Pretty much whatever the story needs, there's an app for that. Oops, wrong century. There's a trade good for that.
 

Bruce McKnight

Troubadour
Anyway, let's go at this from the other end. Why do you ask? Does your story need something about some sort of trade transaction? Will the merchant travel with the goods or, more to the point, will the story travel with the goods?

No particular story reason, I just got pulled down the world-building rabbit hole. I want to be able to throw in that little bit of extra flavor that comes from the casual mention that rain dancing frogs are Peruvian. I started with resource lists from Civ games and used my imagination about as much as I could, but wanted more input.

Thanks for all the help, please let me know if you guys have more ideas!
 
Kings might also lend out mercenaries in exchange for trade goods. Especially of that King's army has a particular or inventive fighting style, or uses a strange weapon extremely well. Both Sweden and Switzerland during then medieval period lent part of their army out - perhaps they were in need of certain resources.

Also, skilled artists where frequently lent out from one royal court to another - so skilled painters, sculpters, architects, tapestry makers, etc etc - all could have been lent in exchange for goods or as an "over-the-top" deal clincher in on going trade negotiations.
 

Lucas

Troubadour
Slaves, salt, silver, gold.

Europe lacked gold and silver, which partially explained European Feudalism.
 
It doesn't have to be sensible or even a commercial need - if its wanted and perceived as rare by someone with money (even if that perception is wrong).

You've only got to see fads such as the great tulip bulb fad of the 17th century for that:Tulip mania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the 19th century there were even professional plant and animal hunters who went out to collect beetles, butterflies - anything novel that was sold to wealthy patrons.

One of the more famous of these was Alfred Russel Wallace (who was co discoverer of Darwin's theory of natural selection. His life history is fascinating.
 
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