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The Champagne fairs were the most famous and most important of the medieval trade fairs, and they were the principal sites of the long-distance trade of the High Middle Ages. Held in the towns of the County of Champagne in northeastern France, the Champagne fairs attracted merchants from Italy, Flanders, England, Germany, and the Mediterranean, and they were major centers of commerce, finance, and cultural exchange from the late eleventh to the early fourteenth centuries. The Champagne fairs were not only major commercial events; they were also major financial events, and they were the laboratories of the financial innovations that would shape the European economy for centuries.
The standard English-language treatment is Robert S. Lopez, “The Commercial Revolution of the Middle Ages” (1971), and the indispensable French treatment is Émile Jobbé-Duval, Les Foires de Champagne (1915). The fair tariffs and the surviving merchants’ account books are the primary sources.
The Setting of the Fairs
The Champagne region of northeastern France was ideally situated for the fairs. The region was at the crossroads of the major trade routes of medieval Europe, and it was within easy reach of the major commercial centers of the period — Paris, London, Bruges, Milan, Florence, Venice, and Genoa. The region was also politically stable, and the counts of Champagne were major patrons of the fairs and major beneficiaries of the trade that the fairs generated.
The six major fairs of Champagne were held at the towns of Lagny, Bar-sur-Aube, Provins, Troyes, and other sites in the region. The fairs were held at regular intervals throughout the year, and they formed a continuous cycle of commercial activity that kept merchants on the road for much of the year. The Lagny fair was held in January and March, the Bar-sur-Aube fair in April and May, the Provins fair in June and September, the Troyes fair in July and October, and the other fairs at other times of the year.
The Merchants of the Fairs
The Champagne fairs attracted merchants from across Europe. The Italian merchants — from Genoa, Venice, Pisa, Florence, Lucca, Milan, and Siena — were the most prominent group of merchants at the fairs, and they dominated the trade in luxury goods from the Mediterranean and the East. The Italian merchants brought silk, spices, precious stones, dyes, gold and silver work, glassware, paper, and other luxury goods to the fairs, and they exchanged them for the products of northern Europe.
The Flemish merchants — from Bruges, Ghent, Ypres, Lille, and other Flemish cities — were the other major group of merchants at the fairs, and they dominated the trade in cloth and textiles. The Flemish merchants brought woolen cloth, linen, tapestries, and other textiles to the fairs, and they exchanged them for the raw materials and luxury goods of the Italian and Mediterranean trade.
The English merchants — from London, Southampton, Bristol, and other English cities — were a smaller but important group at the fairs, and they dominated the trade in English wool and tin. The English merchants brought raw wool and tin to the fairs, and they exchanged them for the luxury goods of the Italian and Flemish trade. The German merchants — from Cologne, Lübeck, Hamburg, and other German cities — were a smaller but important group at the fairs, and they contributed to the trade in German metalwork, fur, and other products of the German economy.
The Financial Innovations of the Fairs
The Champagne fairs were major sites of financial innovation, and they were the laboratories of the financial techniques that would shape the European economy for centuries. The bills of exchange, the letters of credit, the partnership contracts, and the deposit and loan operations of the medieval economy were developed or refined at the Champagne fairs, and they were transmitted to the Italian cities and the other commercial centers of Europe by the merchants who attended the fairs.
The bill of exchange was the most important of the financial innovations of the fairs. The bill was a contract between a creditor and a debtor whereby the debtor agreed to pay a certain sum in a certain place at a certain time in return for a corresponding sum received in another place. The bill allowed merchants to transfer money across distances without the risks of carrying cash, and it also allowed merchants to obtain credit for their operations. The bill of exchange was the ancestor of the modern promissory note and bank draft, and it was one of the most important financial innovations of the medieval period.
The deposit and loan operations of the fairs were also important financial innovations. The merchants of the fairs accepted deposits from other merchants and made loans to merchants who needed credit for their operations. The deposit and loan operations of the fairs were the ancestors of the modern commercial bank, and they contributed to the development of the European banking system.
The partnership contracts of the fairs were a further important financial innovation. The partnership contract allowed merchants to pool their resources and to share their risks, and it was a major factor in the development of the large-scale commercial enterprises of the medieval period. The partnership contract was the ancestor of the modern corporation, and it contributed to the development of the European business system.
The Cultural Impact of the Fairs
The Champagne fairs were also major cultural events, and they contributed to the cultural exchange between the different regions of Europe. The merchants of the fairs brought with them the languages, customs, and fashions of their home regions, and they exposed themselves to the languages, customs, and fashions of the other regions they visited. The fairs were major occasions for socializing, feasting, and entertainment, and they served as sites of cultural exchange and innovation.
The fairs also contributed to the development of a common commercial vocabulary and a common commercial culture across Europe. The merchants of the fairs spoke a variety of languages — Italian, French, Flemish, English, German, and others — but they shared a common commercial vocabulary of weights, measures, coins, and commodities that facilitated exchange. The common commercial vocabulary was a major factor in the integration of the European economy, and it contributed to the development of a common commercial culture in the medieval period.
The Decline of the Fairs
The decline of the Champagne fairs began in the late thirteenth century and continued into the fourteenth century. The decline was caused by a variety of factors, including the incorporation of Champagne into the royal domain of France in 1285, the shift of trade routes to maritime channels controlled by the Italian maritime republics, and the decline of the counts of Champagne as major political figures. The Hundred Years’ War between England and France further damaged the fairs in the fourteenth century, and the fairs never recovered from the disruption of the war.
The decline of the Champagne fairs was accompanied by the rise of new fairs in other parts of Europe. The Lyon fairs, established in the fourteenth century, became the major commercial center of southern France, and the Geneva fairs became the major commercial center of the Lake Geneva region. The fairs of Frankfurt, Leipzig, Stourbridge (near Cambridge), and other cities became major commercial centers in the late medieval and early modern periods. The new fairs partly compensated for the loss of the Champagne fairs, but they did not replicate the international character of the Champagne fairs.
The Legacy of the Champagne Fairs
The legacy of the Champagne fairs is significant. The fairs were major commercial events that facilitated the exchange of goods and money across medieval Europe, and they contributed to the development of the European economy. The fairs were also major financial events, and they were the laboratories of the financial innovations that shaped the European economy for centuries. The bills of exchange, the letters of credit, the partnership contracts, and the deposit and loan operations of the fairs were the ancestors of the modern banking system, and they continue to shape the European economy in the modern era.
The Champagne fairs are a major subject of modern historical and economic study, and the scholarship on the fairs has illuminated the complex commercial, financial, and cultural world of medieval Europe. The fairs are commemorated in numerous monuments, museums, and cultural events in Champagne, and they continue to shape the identity of the region in the modern era. The Champagne fairs are a major subject of French national and regional identity, and they are a subject of ongoing debate about the origins of the modern European economy.
Sources
Principal sources used in this article:
- Robert S. Lopez, The Commercial Revolution of the Middle Ages (1971), ch. 5.
Further reading:
- Peter Spufford, Power and Profit (Thames & Hudson, 2002).
For a recent single-volume synthesis with full scholarly apparatus, see the relevant chapter of Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (University of Toronto Press, 2014).