Pieniądz jako narzędzie wojny (florenos breves et integros) w Polsce pierwszej połowy XVI wieku
Money as Tool of War (florenos breves et integros) in Poland in the First Half of the 16th Century

Summary/Abstract: Money has always been perceived as a tool of war. This is evoked in many anecdotes connected with military actions, its importance has been repeatedly recognised by military historians. However, they usually settled for the statement within the idea that engaging in any military conflict without money or its substitute was impossible. An attempt to delve deeper and to clarify the financial structure behind military actions was rarely made. Particularly with regard to earlier eras, this is understandable, especially since the non-standardised nature of minting and the accounting and monetary systems in place is rather unclear. The introduction of the double-entry accounting system at the turn of the Middle Ages makes such research somewhat easier, but misrepresentations and mistakes are still easily made. Particularly interesting case is the period of the gradual transition from the “marca” system (grzywna obrachunkowa) to the florin system (which fell within the ambit of the “marca” system) which in the reality of Poland took place at the turn of the 15th and the 16th centuries. This process was accompanied by the prevalence of money existing in both forms – as a physical coin and as a virtual value noted in the accounts (including military accounts) which has a limited bearing on currency units and mediums of exchange in the coins circulation (so-called link coin). Among the many important and little-recognised issues, it is worth noting the possibilities offered by the keeping of accounts in the form of written records of military expenditure, among them the manipulation of the rate of the florin. This question will be discussed based on the chosen military ledgers drown up in connection with the wars waged by the last Jagiellon Kings of Poland.

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