The City, the Duke and their Banker: The Rapondi family and the formation of the Burgundian state (1384-1430)

During the second half of the fourteenth and the first half of the fifteenth century, it was particularly hazardous for medieval merchants to invest in government finance. The 'certainty of uncertainty' involved in dealing with princes proved disastrous for innumerable businesses, whether they were modest one-man firms or colossal 'super companies'. Yet, in this same period, the Rapondi, a family active in Bruges but originating from the Italian city of Lucca, achieved a career of more than thir…