Della mercatura e del mercante perfetto
Encyclopedia
Della mercatura e del mercante perfetto written by Benedikt Kotruljević around 1400 was the first bookkeeping
manuscript
and trade manual. It also goes by the names Of commerce and the perfect merchant, On merchantry and the perfect merchant and On trade and the perfect dealer.
, predating Luca Pacioli
's claim by at least 36 years. The reason Luca Pacioli (1445–1573) has received credit for the Birth of Accounting is because Kotruljević's work was not officially published until 1573. An Italian version was published in Venice in 1573 by Franciscus Patricius. A French translation of this manuscript was published in Lyon
in 1613 under the title "Parfait négociant."
An early copy of Della mercatura e del mercante perfetto from the end of the fifteenth century is at the National Library of Malta
. Another early copy is at Biblioteca Marciana
in Venice.
. The second talks of a merchant's religious commitment. The third is of moral virtues and policies. The fourth is administration of his home and family, and his economic matters.
At the time of the manuscript merchandising was regarded as an art. The "Perfect Merchant" or "Perfect Dealer" was a man of culture motivated
to good moral conduct and honest transactions to everyone he encountered. He had to be very sensitive to local interests in places where he conducted business. He had to know how to assess the political situation and the customary laws in order to successfully conduct his business. Kotruljević wrote in his bookkeeping and merchandising trade manual that not only must a merchant be a bookkeeper-accountant
, but that he must also be a good writer, a rhetorician and a man of letters being diplomatic all the while.
He contrasted the "Perfect Merchant" to sailors and soldiers by saying that they were many times naive of these points. He said they were of such dull mind that when they would drink in a tavern and buy bread at a market they often had delusions of grandeur
and were not very diplomatic.
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions. Transactions include sales, purchases, income, receipts and payments by an individual or organization. Bookkeeping is usually performed by a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping should not be confused with accounting. The accounting process is usually...
manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
and trade manual. It also goes by the names Of commerce and the perfect merchant, On merchantry and the perfect merchant and On trade and the perfect dealer.
History
Several historians show the manuscript being written in 1458 and as the oldest known manuscript on the double-entry bookkeeping systemDouble-entry bookkeeping system
A double-entry bookkeeping system is a set of rules for recording financial information in a financial accounting system in which every transaction or event changes at least two different nominal ledger accounts....
, predating Luca Pacioli
Luca Pacioli
Fra Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli was an Italian mathematician, Franciscan friar, collaborator with Leonardo da Vinci, and seminal contributor to the field now known as accounting...
's claim by at least 36 years. The reason Luca Pacioli (1445–1573) has received credit for the Birth of Accounting is because Kotruljević's work was not officially published until 1573. An Italian version was published in Venice in 1573 by Franciscus Patricius. A French translation of this manuscript was published in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
in 1613 under the title "Parfait négociant."
An early copy of Della mercatura e del mercante perfetto from the end of the fifteenth century is at the National Library of Malta
National Library of Malta
The National Library of Malta began in 1555. It is currently the legal deposit and copyright for Malta. Its collection spans the personal libraries of the Knights of Malta , including archives from the medieval Università dei Giurati of Mdina and Valletta.-Early history:The idea of a public Library...
. Another early copy is at Biblioteca Marciana
Biblioteca Marciana
The Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana is a library and Renaissance building in Venice, northern Italy; it is one of the earliest surviving public manuscript depositories in the country, holding one of the greatest classical texts collections in the world. The library is named after St. Mark, the...
in Venice.
Manuscript content
The manuscript contains four books. The first is of the origin, form, and essence of being a merchantMerchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
. The second talks of a merchant's religious commitment. The third is of moral virtues and policies. The fourth is administration of his home and family, and his economic matters.
At the time of the manuscript merchandising was regarded as an art. The "Perfect Merchant" or "Perfect Dealer" was a man of culture motivated
to good moral conduct and honest transactions to everyone he encountered. He had to be very sensitive to local interests in places where he conducted business. He had to know how to assess the political situation and the customary laws in order to successfully conduct his business. Kotruljević wrote in his bookkeeping and merchandising trade manual that not only must a merchant be a bookkeeper-accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
, but that he must also be a good writer, a rhetorician and a man of letters being diplomatic all the while.
He contrasted the "Perfect Merchant" to sailors and soldiers by saying that they were many times naive of these points. He said they were of such dull mind that when they would drink in a tavern and buy bread at a market they often had delusions of grandeur
Grandiose delusions
Grandiose delusion or delusions of grandeur is principally a subtype of delusional disorder that can occur as a wide range of mental illness, including in two thirds of those in manic state of bipolar disorder, half those with schizophrenia and a substantial portion of those with substance abuse...
and were not very diplomatic.
Sources
- Alfieri, Vittorio (Prof.), La partita doppia applicata alle scritture delle antiche aziende mercantili veneziane, G.B. Paravia, 1891, Original from Columbia University
- Anzovin, Steven, Famous First Facts 2000, ISBN 0-8242-0958-3
- Hangers, Francis M., Historical-criticism on antichitla news, history and literature of 'Dubrovnik: divided into two volumes devoted Exalted and Senate of the Republic of Ragusa, Volume 2, Martecchini, 1803