Family of Florentine bankers and merchants in the 13c and 14c. In the last half of the 13c they provided regular funding to the crown. Edward III borrowed up to £20,000 a year from the Bardi. However, loans to Edward III during the "Hundred Years' War overstretched their resources and they were bankrupted in 1345. The Peruzzi family also made large loans to Edward, sometimes in concert with the Bardi, and was similarly bankrupted.
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.