Medieval Champagne Fairs
The
medieval Champagne fairs are regarded as the classic exemplars of beneficent
historical institutions that hold important lessons for modern economic
development. These trade fairs operated as the undisputed fulcrum of international
exchange and financial settlements in Europe from c. 1180 to c. 1300 and were
central to the ‘Commercial Revolution’, the huge growth in long-distance trade
during the Middle Ages.
The
fairs were supported by a rich array of public order institutions/ One was a
dedicated public law court which operated throughout each fair. The fair
wardens who decided the cases in this court were princely officials, not
private judges. International merchants also used other levels of the princely
justice system to enforce their contracts – the high tribunal of the ruler of
Champagne, the courts of the ruler’s bailiffs, and the courts of the ruler’s
district provosts. The towns where the fairs were held operated their own
municipal courts, and local abbeys operated special courts at the fairs –
international merchants made use of both. The jurisdiction of these various
legal tribunals which guaranteed property rights and contract enforcement at
the Champagne fairs emanated not from the merchants, but from the public authorities,
since even the municipal and abbey courts operated under devolved jurisdiction
granted by the rulers of Champagne.
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