First Fruits. As it is in modern society, production activity in the Middle Ages was directed to the end of creating a product. It was not, however, always the case that a produced item would be sold. Most of the medieval population, the massive peasantry, never did acquire skills for commercial production purposes. Homemade goods were in the earlier Middle Ages most frequently produced for home use and not for commercial transactions. Production was undertaken simply as part of one's social position both within and without the family. Since, however, medieval society depended more on local than long-distance exchange, any goods that were surplus to a household, modest or wealthy, did circulate, if not strictly speaking for commerce, by barter, gifting, or in payment of taxes or debts. Given the inherent shortages in the medieval economy, virtually...