The Carolingian <i>cocio</i>: on the vocabulary of the early medieval petty merchant
Shane Bobrycki
The word cocio (i.e. petty merchant or broker in classical Latin) was a rare term that after long absence written Latin reappeared several Carolingian texts. Scholars have posited medieval semantic shift from ‘merchant’ to ‘vagabond’. But this article argues consensus is erroneous. continued refer commercial agents, is, small merchants. Furthermore, the term’s appearance capitularies and its subsequent vernacular afterlife together suggest borrowed (unattested) proto‐Romance usage. A corrected history of early use illuminates relationship between spoken as well aspects social, religious, economic period, speaks promise language shed light on realities.
Early Medieval Europe