In 1345, Edward III of England defaulted on a massive loan he took from the Peruzzi and Bardi families, which ruined the two banks and led to a financial crisis that lasted throughout the 1340s. What kind of repercussions, if any, would be there for royalty that defaulted on such large debts?

by fjanko
jpoopz

I was going through the FAQ and found an answer in the game of thrones section that covers that

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/24vdac/is_there_a_real_historical_equivalent_of_the_iron/

I don’t know how to link usernames but the first answer goes into it, and there are other answers there that discuss the consequences for the kings

IconicJester

Eddie Hunt showed some time ago ("A New Look at the Dealings of the Bardi and Peruzzi with Edward III" in the Journal of Economic History, 1990) that the size of the Peruzzi and Bardi families' exposure to Edward III's debts was vastly less than has been traditionally claimed. The vast sums they supposedly lent to the English King would have far outstripped both their ability to lend, and the King's ability to borrow. A crisis of that magnitude that utterly wiped out two of the richest banking families would have sent shockwaves though the economy of Florence, but this is not observed. The actual cause of the failure of the Peruzzi and Bardi enterprises' failure was mostly down to domestic political chaos in Florence in the following years, which bankrupted not only the Peruzzi and the Bardi, but also the Acciaiuoli, who notably had not lent any money to the English king.