A Short History of the Middle Ages Fourth Edition

Plate 5.2: Bowl, North Africa (late 12th cent.). This earthenware bowl (bacino), imported from North
Africa and decorated with pseudo-Arabic writing, once adorned the façade of the cathedral of San Miniato.
Such bowls, evidence of lively trade between the Islamic world and the West, were in great demand by
Italians, not only for the façades of their churches but also for their kitchens.

Merchants invented new forms of collective enterprises to pool their resources

and finance large undertakings. The Italian commenda, for example, was a

partnership established for ventures by sea. The compagnia was created by investing

family property in trade. Contracts for sales, exchanges, and loans became common,