At 12:40 AM 6/7/2002 -0400, Lisa Grant Coffin wrote: >Hello > >--- Steven Brust <skzb at dreamcafe.com> wrote: > > >It's strange and complex. In many ways, the culture is about that of > >Renaissance to Reformation Europe (and banking in that period was *very* > >complex--check 16th Century Italy or 17th Century England. Sheesh). But > >it is not at all consistant. <snip> > >I have always found there was an interesting corallary between the banking >systems in The Empire and the historical moneylending practices of both >the jews and the knights templar.........also some of the more dubious >consequences that went along with them...... God, I love having intelligent readers.