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 The Fairs of Champagne in
12th and 13th Centuries
By the year 1000, the Counts of Champagne who ruled over the region had
understood the economic importance of long-distance trade, and used the strategic
geographical position of the towns of Champagne to their advantage. On routes to eastern Europe,
these towns straddled routes from both the North Sea and the Mediterranean
ports, between the trade centers of Flanders and Italy, Flanders looking towards northern and eastern Europe,
and Italy to Byzantium, Africa and the Orient. At that time, Provins was a major crossroads, with nine main
roads and eleven secondary roads converging on it.
The prerogatives granted by the Counts to the merchants
soon gave the fairs a solid reputation, fostered by good commercial practices. The
tradespeople of Provins itself felt the benefit of all this trade, and the local woollen
industry expanded considerably, becoming famous throughout Europe. The fair was also a time of
celebration, with music and juggling shows. |
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Its
siting made the twice-yearly fair one of the main focuses of European
trade, especially in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
The fairs were wholesale-trade affairs. There was no retail trade, which took place at local
markets. Merchants bought goods in bales or casks. The success of the great fairs in Champagne was partly
due to the protection the counts gave to the merchants. They were quite happy to protect them
as the fairs increased their wealth. In fact, within their borders, the Counts organized special fair safe
conducts, escorting at their own cost any convoy of merchants wanting to attend
the fair. This was a definite attraction on the difficult, unsafe roads of
medieval times, when it took six weeks to travel up from Navarre. In Provins
itself, the Counts deployed special fair guards and lieutenants to keep
order. They held courts of justice, demanded the payment of sales taxes, witnessed
contracts, and settled disputes. They could pursue an offender anywhere in Europe.
You must try to imagine the extraordinary bustle of people from all
over Europe trading not only in goods, but also in ideas. Melting pots like this were
essential to social progress. Each country contributed some of its influence, and
Champagne played a key role in literature, art and taste. It was during these good times that the basis for the
wealth of the western world was laid, going hand-in-hand with increasingly refined cultural
aspirations. Similarly, the Church was importing ivory and precious woods and stones from Africa to
decorate religious objects. This period of flourishing trade gradually declined during
the fourteenth century as the trade routes shifted to the high Alpine passes and the straits of Gibraltar became
more popular for shipping. The wars of Religion, plague, and the abolition of merchant prerogatives sealed
the fate of the great fairs of Champagne not only in Provins, but also in Troyes, Lagny and Bar-sur-Aube. |
