SC - Looking for His Grace...

[Huette von Ahrens]

"Decker, Terry D." wrote:
>> This point is open to question.  In 716, Chilperic II the King of Neustria,
>> abated the taxes on one pound of cinnamon, two pounds of cloves and 30
>> pounds of pepper for the monastery of Corbie in Normandy.  And in 745, the
>> archbishop of Mainz, Wynfrith Boniface, received a gift of pepper from the
>> Roman deacon Gemmulus.
>>
>> There are a number of references which suggest the spice trade did not
>> disappear, but continued through Byzantium into Europe at a slower and more
>> costly pace.

I've been doing quite a bit of research on the Franks (my persona is
Frankish) and I recall from one book that throughout the Merovingian
era, there was quite a lot of squabbling among the Frankish kings as to
who would "get" Provence included in their holdings.  Provence was the
import/export center, and whoever controlled it received the extensive
importation duties on such items as silk, spices, et al.  Importation
continued, though it may not have been practiced as frequently as
before.

- - Clotild