Merry Merry, all! HoHo, Holly Holly! Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor (I think) has a line that goes something like: I had rather than forty shillings I had my book(s)... My query for those of you familiar with 16th C English coinage: what was the equivalent value of those forty shillings? Did it represent a years wage for an artisan, or would it purchase a meal and a pint? I'd look for this myself but, other than my description above, don't really know how to frame the question for a search engine. If there is a site or other resource for such conversions, I'll be grateful for a link. Thanks for looking!
Thank'ee, Davey...that gave me a good place to start. 40s was 2 Pounds, and back then was a substantial pocket of change.
