Trade Fairs

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Trade Fairs are in the medieval world where commerce occurs at any but the most local level. They range in size and importance from local markets to huge international affairs.

The largest fairs in a region often occur in a cycle and never occur simultaneously, meaning the owners of each fair get a period of monopoly. In Western Europe there are a few notable cycles but none more important than the Champagne cycle.

Champagne Cycle

The Champagne Cycle of fairs is the most important in Western Europe, if not the whole of Christendom. It provides an opportunity for goods to move to England, Flanders, Scandinavia and the Baltic from Italy, Spain and the Mediterranean. The region is well-placed, a crossroads of major land routes going east-west and north-south.

The pre-eminence of the Champagne Cycle in recent years is based on the ability of the Counts of Champagne to guarantee to all merchants their personal security and that of their property while at the fairs and when travelling between fairs. They are even known to offer restitution for any goods stolen in transit. In order to make the guarantee work, they prohibit use of their fairs by merchants from places where the ruler refuses to cooperate with the Fair administrators, including the assurance of safe conduct and the pursuit of debtors. The clerks in Champagne are more diligent than most over recording contracts where a fee is involved.

Fair	Dates	Notes
Lagny	January 2nd for 6 weeks
Bar-sur-Aube	Tuesday before mid-Lent for 6 weeks
Provins	May	"fair of St. Quiriace"
Troyes	First Tuesday after the fortnight of St John's Day (June 24th) for 6 weeks	"fair of St. John" or the "hot fair"
Provins	September 14th for 6 weeks	"fair of St Ayoul"
Troyes	Day following All Saints Day (i.e. November 2nd) for 6 weeks	"fair of St. Remi" or the "cold fair"

There are also three smaller and shorter fairs within the cycle, in towns other the main locations.

Champagne Fairs in theory regulate trade during the 6 week fairs: eight days for setting up, 10 days for cloth trading, 11 days for leather trading, 9 days for other trade, followed by four of days for settling up.

Five Fairs of Flanders

The Flanders Cycle comprises fairs successively in Lille, Mesen,Ypres, Torout and Bruges, held between February and November. The Flemish rulers make efforts to keep the roads safe for those going to or from their fairs. The fairs are built on the cloth trade of the region, particular in fine quality woolen and linen goods. Transport by water is the norm in the region and prices are affected by the various tolls charged for using the waterways.

England

The fairs of Boston, Stamford, St Ives (Cambridgeshire), Lynn, Winchester, Northampton and Saint Edmundsbury are major fairs in England. They serve as local fairs but also attract merchants from far afield, including visitors from Flanders, France, Italy, Ireland, Brabant and beyond. The primary purpose of these fairs is the sale of English wool and, to a lesser extent, cloth woven in both England and Flanders. Other English products most in demand overseas are tin, lead, hides and fish.

Fair	Dates	Notes
Stamford	Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday	Owner: Earl Warenne
St. Ives	Easter Monday, for 3-4 weeks	Owner: Abbot of Ramsay. The small town, at a strategic river crossing, is almost taken over by the fair.
Boston	Feast of St John the Baptist for 1 month	Held round St. Botolph's church. Timing means this is the most important fair for wool
Saint Edmundsbury	July 22nd for 6 days (around the feast of St. James 25th July)	Owner: Abbot of St Edmunds
Lynn	July 20th to the feast of the beheading of St John the Baptist (Aug 29th)	Owner: Bishop of Norwich. Famed for offering the best selection of hunting birds.
Winchester	August 31st for 15 days	Held round St Giles' Hill. The most important in the country and known to be visited by redcaps.
Northampton	Feat of St Martin (November 11th) for 8 days

France

There is a fair at Saint-Denis just north of Paris in February, in June (the Lendit fair) and in October. These do not rival those of Champagne or even Flanders as although it does lie on major through-routes for international trade, it is sandwiched betweeb Champagne and Flanders and is therefore overshadowed by them. It does allow international traders to sell into the local region, particularly to the west (Normandy and Brittany).

In the Languedoc, with its proximity to the Mediterranean and outlets to international trade, there are fairs at many towns, such as Nîmes and Carcassonne, but these do not form an established cycle.

Sweden

Scania Market

The Scania Market is a major fish market for herring which takes place annually in Scania, the southern-most part of Sweden. In the last twenty years, it has become one of the most important events for trade around the Baltic Sea and has made Scania a major distribution centre for West-European goods bound for eastern Scandinavia.

The fair takes place from August 24 to October 9, mainly in locations between the two Scanian towns of Skanör and Falsterbo at the southern mouth of Öresund, with much of the connected industry spread out on the surrounding peninsula and into the islands of Denmark. Since the fishermen erect their trading booths and temporary shops close to the area where the herring are spawning, the exact locations of the Scania Market change from year to year.