Liquid Assets, Dangerous GiftsIn this book Valentin Groebner addresses the notions and practices of gift giving in late medieval and early modern Europe between 1400 and 1550. Focusing on the prosperous cities of the Upper Rhine, it explores the uses of gifts in political ritual and the different functions of these donations. Contemporaries spoke of these giftssometimes wine, sometimes coins or other precious metalsas liquid; indeed, the same German word was used for giving a