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In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, six fairs a year in the Champagne region of north-eastern France were among the main meeting places of European trade, where Flemish cloth met Italian merchants, Mediterranean spices, credit and currency exchange.

Champagne, France, 12th–13th century

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The story behind the card

The fairs rotated between four towns, Lagny, Bar-sur-Aube, Provins and Troyes, and each lasted several weeks, so that together they filled most of the year. The Counts of Champagne gave merchants safe conduct on the roads, and fair wardens enforced contracts and punished defaulters, so strangers from distant cities could trust each other. Deals were often settled on paper: debts run up at one fair were cleared at its end or carried over to the next, an early step towards modern banking. The fairs declined in the early fourteenth century. Champagne had passed to the French crown when its heiress married the future Philip IV in 1284; royal taxes rose, war disrupted Flemish trade, and Italian ships began sailing directly to Bruges.

Türkçe oku
12. ve 13. yüzyıllarda Fransa'nın kuzeydoğusundaki Champagne bölgesinde her yıl kurulan altı panayır, Avrupa ticaretinin başlıca buluşma yerlerindendi. Flaman kumaşı burada İtalyan tüccarlarla, Akdeniz baharatıyla, kredi ve para değişimiyle buluşuyordu.
Champagne, Fransa, 12.–13. yüzyıl

Panayırlar dört kasaba arasında dönerdi: Lagny, Bar-sur-Aube, Provins ve Troyes. Her biri birkaç hafta sürdüğü için hepsi birlikte yılın büyük bölümünü kaplardı. Champagne kontları yollarda tüccarların güvenliğini sağlıyor, panayır görevlileri de sözleşmelerin uygulanmasını gözetip borcunu ödemeyenleri cezalandırıyordu. Böylece uzak kentlerden gelen, birbirini tanımayan tüccarlar birbirine güvenebiliyordu. Hesaplar çoğu zaman kâğıt üzerinde görülürdü: Bir panayırda biriken borçlar panayırın sonunda kapatılır ya da bir sonrakine devredilirdi. Bu, modern bankacılığa doğru atılmış erken bir adımdı. Panayırlar 14. yüzyılın başında geriledi. Champagne, 1284'te bölgenin vârisi Jeanne'ın ileride IV. Philippe olacak veliahtla evlenmesiyle Fransız tacına geçmişti; ardından kraliyet vergileri arttı, savaş Flaman ticaretini sekteye uğrattı ve İtalyan gemileri doğrudan Brugge'ye gitmeye başladı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Champagne fairs
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