Before banks, nuns lent money: how convents helped power medieval Vienna’s economy

Retirement planning might seem like a thoroughly modern concern, with pensions, investments and annuities forming part of today’s financial toolkit. But these financial tools are much older than they appear. In the later Middle Ages, people were already exchanging lump sums for steady income streams – and, in cities like Vienna, these arrangements underpinned entire urban economies.

Less expected, perhaps, is who helped make this system work. Alongside merchants and elites, communities of nuns quietly emerged…

© La Conversation - mercredi 17 juin 2026