Legal Definitions - feneration

Feneration refers to the historical practice of lending money and charging interest on the borrowed amount. While the charging of interest is a fundamental aspect of modern financial systems, historically, particularly in certain cultures and legal traditions, this practice was often viewed with suspicion, regulated strictly, or even prohibited, sometimes being associated with usury (the practice of charging excessively high or illegal interest rates).

• Example 1: In 15th-century Florence, a wealthy textile merchant provides a loan to a younger artisan to purchase raw silk. The agreement stipulates that the artisan must repay the principal amount plus an additional sum, representing interest, within one year.

  Explanation: This scenario exemplifies feneration because it describes the act of lending money (the principal for raw silk) with the explicit expectation of receiving interest (the additional sum) upon repayment, set within a historical context where such practices were common but sometimes debated.

• Example 2: During the early medieval period, a local lord issues a proclamation forbidding his subjects from engaging in "feneration" with one another, citing religious doctrines that condemned the practice of charging interest on loans as sinful.

  Explanation: Here, the lord's proclamation directly addresses and prohibits feneration, illustrating the historical societal and religious objections to the practice of lending money with interest, often equating it with usury or an undesirable activity.