Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/588

 504 Outlines of European History surplus for commodities coming from a distance. Merchants and artisans gradually directed their energies toward the production of what others wished as well as what was needed by the little group to which they belonged. The romances of the twelfth century indicate that the West was astonished and delighted by the luxuries of the East — the rich fabrics, oriental carpets, precious stones, perfumes, drugs, silks, and porcelains from China, spices from India, and cotton from Egypt. Venice introduced the silk industry from the East and the manufacture of those glass articles which the traveler may still buy in the Venetian shops. The West learned how to make silk and velvet as well as light and gauzy cotton and linen fabrics. The Eastern dyes were introduced, and Paris was soon imitating the tapestries of the Saracens. In exchange for those luxuries which they were unable to produce, the Flemish towns sent their woolen cloths to the East, and Italy its wines. The Northern merchants dealt mainly with Venice and brought their wares across the Brenner Pass and down the Rhine, or sent them by sea to be exchanged in Flanders (see map). By the thirteenth century important centers of trade had come into being, some of which are still among the great commercial towns of the world. Hamburg, Liibeck, and Bremen carried on active trade with the countries on the Baltic and with England. Augsburg and Nuremberg, in the south of Germany, became im- portant on account of their situation on the line of trade between Italy and the North. Bruges and Ghent sent their manufactures everywhere. English commerce was relatively unimportant as yet compared with that of the great ports of the Mediterranean. It was very difficult indeed to carry on business on a large scale in the Middle Ages, for various reasons. In the first place, as has been said, there was little money, and money is essential to buying and selling, unless people confine themselves merely to exchanging one article for another. There were few gold and silver mines in western Europe and consequently the kings and feudal lords could not supply enough coin. Moreover, the coins