Medieval Shopping: MARKETS vs. FAIRS?

Jason Kingsley, the Modern Knight, looks into the differences between two medieval events, markets and fairs. They share some similarities but are also quite different. #medievalhistory #fantasy #history www.kickstarte...
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[@ModernKnight]

Last few hours for my novel Kickstarter, Lord of Blackthorne here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/modernknight/lord-of-blackthorne

[@andrewlall7817]

Got my 'collected pledge' email today, I'm as excited as when I get a notification for a new Modern History TV video 🙂 can't wait for the book.

[@freesaxon6835]

Me too I bought the book for our daughter

[@softballpirate]

These videos remind me of what the History channel used to be. Low key, chill. Experts sharing interesting information!

[@Breakstop]

@@softballpirate … and ALIENS 👽

[@Man_Raised_By_Puffins]

Of course the internet was in black and white in those days and only on for 4 hours a day. We used to get dressed up in our Sunday bests to log into it Cheeseburgers were a penny then!

[@softballpirate]

@ Hahahhah!!!

[@heck3143]

Even the style of the intro. Makes me feel like I'm 8 years old sitting on the living room floor with my dad watching History Channel in 1999.

[@bobdownie.2806]

Yes, the focus on profit as being the highest goal always leads to degeneration. Originally the audience of history channel would have been people who were already relatively highly educated and more intelligent than average. To reach a broader audience, you then dumb things down, which incorporates a larger audience, but inevitably loses the original one. Quite a stupid methodology really, when you think about it. I am all for a free market, but not if the culture it supports has their mind in the gutter. Look to the heavens and seek inspiration wherever you may find it.

[@Volantredx]

What I love about this channel is that it's talking about how people actually lived in history. I'm sick of hearing about kings and knights in battle and what rich jerk fought another rich jerk over a few dozen miles of farm land. I want to know how people lived day to day and what they actually liked to do and how they did it.

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

Great comment. Modern History has done an excellent job bringing more practical and less discussed aspects of medieval life to the forefront, and for that we are indebted to the channel. I would even consider Mr. Kingsley's experiments to be something of practical archaeology. A lot of standard secondary historical literature like university textbooks are basically overviews of government and wars. Eventually it degrades to a list of rulers, dates, battles, and events. One has to dig much deeper to get to more interesting stuff like land tenure, a key part of medieval life that varied widely from place to place and year to year, yet we have understood it traditionally as static classes of peasantry, church, and nobility. A reaction to this traditional view might be Mark Twain's 1889 story "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," in which he brutally criticizes slavery, medieval life, and the British class system via a time travel story as part of Progressive Era zeitgeist. It plays fast and loose with the time period, as Twain admits in the opening. It blends elements of late Roman and high medieval Britain as well as Arthurian legend, fantasy, and Tesla-esque science fiction (Twain and Tesla were friends). As an example, the page boy's full name, Amyas le Poulet, sounds too Norman to be Arthurian Britain. The plucky American engineer Hank Morgan, for the sake of simplicity, renames le Poulet "Clarence" and continues to call him that throughout the story. Humorously, le Poulet never explicitly consents to this but goes along with it without complaining.

[@gobbo1917]

History is written by the victors, not people that failed nor the people that got subjugated. Sorry.

[@hopeofdawn]

@@gobbo1917 Good thing we don't just have to rely on written (biased) history accounts any more then!

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

@@gobbo1917 Untrue and overgeneralized statement. The fall of Constantinople is a situation where we have more sources from the losing side than the winning side, at least sources that are objectively verifiable. If you can read 16th century Ottoman Turkish (heavily influenced by Persian) romantic poetry about the fall to get a near mythological view from the Turkish side, be my guest. Records from British Loyalists, although less numerous than American Revolutionary writings, are still extant. For every piece of "Common Sense" propaganda, there were also "Plain Truth" and "No Taxation, No Tyranny" pamphlets. These sources are just spread throughout the British Empire because Loyalists continued to press their lost property claims from their new homes for decades after the American Revolution and War of 1812. We also have a lot of records from WWII from "failed" and "subjugated" peoples. Arguably more of their work survives than official records left by the Axis powers because those incriminating records were destroyed. Much groundbreaking work in history is done by finding these obscure sources written by "losers" and bringing them to light for a wider audience. If you mean history is "written" by victors who have control and power, perhaps, but today's victors could be tomorrow's losers. All it is a matter of is what is extant and what persists. And nothing extant persists forever.

[@natebalcerak1659]

I agree, wholly.

[@badweetabix]

Over the course of 50 years, I witnessed modern versions close to what Jason describes. It began along the sides of a roadway (which is now a 6 lane highway) where farmers and a handful of local craftsmen would sell their items literally off the back of their pickup trucks. A few years later, they had semi-permanent (seasonal) stalls or kiosk setup. Then they organized and bought a plot of land next to the major road (not yet a highway) and paved it. Then they put a wooden roof/cover which later became covered steel frame roof and finally a small indoor shopping mall which was still basically selling local farm produce with some locally made non-food items such as handmade clothing, blankets, potteries, baskets, and furnitures. The last item was where I bought my rocking chair which I still have after almost 30 years - handmade and still solid as the day I bought it.

[@Padraigp]

Thhats how urban development should happen. Organically. Not just these over designed suburbs that do not work at all. Empty shop fronts cos nobody wants to open a bussiness there and then they get smashed.

[@eekee6034]

@@Padraigp Organic unplanned development is how you get everything from impossible traffic jams to overloaded sewer systems. Bad planning sometimes happens, but it's not as bad as no planning and not as common as good planning, overall.

[@katie.edwards]

Machynlleth in Mid Wales has a market that has been going since medieval times (since 1291). It's on Wednesdays

[@cadileigh9948]

LLwydlo,Yr Trallwng and Llanidloes still have their market hall, in fact I know several towns with halls

[@Tailssonic1999x]

I believe the oldest chartered fair is Hereford May Fair. Though Nowadays it's the can-can and burger vans, of course

[@bucklberryreturns]

My hometown market is recorded as far back as 1256. No doubt they go back further. There was a settlement here prior to the Norman invasion, and the historic market square is directly outside the castle ruins. Likely dates from then as it provided to their needs. However, the castle sits beside (probably on top of too) a Roman fort, so it's possible there has been a market here a thousand years prior. Though chances are that it would have stopped once they f'ed off again! 😂

[@Brianbadonee]

And you can still whip people out of town too....only they actually pay for that now.😂

[@willyrackham2957]

In East Anglia there were ..cold fayers.....fairs in winter time ...I presume they were in other area as well

[@LuxisAlukard]

Still better history teacher than most I've seen in schools, thank you, Sir!

[@ModernKnight]

You're very welcome!

[@masomenos-yt]

I don't know, a built-in judicial system for big public gatherings sound genius to me. The event basically becomes its very own 'micro-nation-with-a-shelf-life' where everyone has not only rights but also duties and obligations within that tiny temporary society.

[@jedidiahwomack83]

Sort of like the festival kids here in America who park their vans together in the desert, letting government become ad hoc affairs mimicking village life.

[@SomeTypicalTourist]

​@jedidiahwomack83 like the RTR in Arizona in a way except with van lifers. A nice event that takes place in January. The town realized early on that they make a ton of money during that time frame

[@89128]

Barnsley South Yorkshire was granted a market charter in 1249 and is still in use. Barnsley was a gathering spot before Domesday of 1086. Three roads converged there: Chesire to Doncaster, Sheffield to Wakefield and Rotherham to Huddersfield. So, it was a convenient place for a market serving a large area.

[@dannyboy-vtc5741]

My small town in the north of croatia, got its charter, called the golden bula, in 1234, by the king Bela IV, while fleeing south from mongolian horde, he took shelter in the town and gave it the golden bula, declaring it the free royal city, so a market charter, and in general tax free trade charter. Afterwatds as he retreated he declared the golden bula to zagreb and other towns as he went toward the adriatic islands where he was finally out of their reach, but we were first in croatia on his path from buda.

[@LynneFarr]

Great video! I love hearing the court records. I was lucky to visit lots of markets with some English friends in the 1990s. My friend said when I found something to buy, let her talk with the stall holder, because the price would go up if they heard my American accent.

[@iainwill3493]

Not true in my experience. We do many fairs. Anyway, glad you visited and enjoyed the experience 😊

[@eekee6034]

@@iainwill3493 Some sellers are fairer than others. :)

[@KateVeeoh]

We still have these weekly markets here in Belgium, it's great 🤓 towns that are close to each other have their market day on a different day. So if you want to go get dried fruits or fresh fish from the market but you can't go to the one in your town on Wednesday, you can go the next town over on a Saturday for example 😅 mostly the same market stalls, but not all! My mum would be like "ohh we need to go to the market in that town on Wednesday because they have the best coffee merchant!". Great childhood memories, and I still buy black pudding from one specific stall at my town's weekly market, no other place will do 😅

[@jc441-i3q]

I've never tried Belgian black pudding. I'm not sure if it's different to the British one but I'd probably try some if I could.

[@mats7492]

Where I live in Germany we still have local farmers markets in the cities 6 different one in 6 different parts of the city So one every day apart from Sunday 😂

[@zazubombay]

Here in Massachusetts in the U.S., we have farmers' markets in the summertime. Each town has theirs on a different day.

[@Hepad_]

Yep we also have them in France !

[@stefanosnikolaidis552]

@@KateVeeoh same here in Greece once a week

[@stephr7637]

There's a pub near where I live in Bristol (naturally in a place called 'Old Market') that has a plaque stating it was the site of the pie poudre court. It's also nice and close to the old prison in the area for anyone who let themselves down with their behaviour!

[@shaunmorrison6448]

I was about to comment the same thing- The Stag & Hounds. I used to live just around the corner.

[@pim4686]

Hi Jason, I was wondering if you know anything about medieval hairstyles? I really enjoyed the videos you made recently about oddly specific laws concerning shoes for example. Is there anything like that about hairstyles and did people do their own haircuts, or was there already a barber/hairdresser profession?

[@NotJustme-dh4bn]

I would guess they didn't cut hair as often as nowadays. Most people cut their own hair. Those barber knifes give me chills. I still like to keep longer hair over winter.

[@kittyprydekissme]

Barber has been a distinct profession throughout recorded history, I think. Razors are extremely dangerous, and people who could afford it usually preferred to have an expert do it.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

@@kittyprydekissme Yep, there were definitely professional barbers and hairdressers in Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt before them.

[@RichWoods23]

@@kittyprydekissme And as the famous paradox goes, who in the town shaves the town barber?

[@eekee6034]

@@NotJustme-dh4bn Tell me about it! This winter, I've discovered the joys of hair over my ears. It more than doubles the insulating value of the thin hats I wear under my helmet, and doesn't add too much to their thickness. It also keeps a surprising amount of cold wind off my earlobes where the hats don't reach.

[@jamessotherden5909]

When my daughter was stationed at RAF Laken Heath, she took us too Cambridge where they had a market set up. What a wonderful time we had going from stall to stall.

[@hcfan109]

I love these tidbits of medieval history. This is how history should be taught. Learn this day to day life stuff, then the big events and dates i hated memorizing in school start to fall into place. These videos of yours sparked a new interest in history for me. Thank you.

[@yevvieart]

this is still how it works in certain parts of the world, and its amazing to know where it came from now! in Poland, some cities have: - "rynek" which is either open monday to saturday OR it is only once a week affair - in my city it is still between town hall and two churches :) - there are market halls "hala targowa" - for example in Warsaw you have one which vaguely matches the architecture described in video (maybe besides the understair cell); - we also have "jarmark" where under a specific banner (xmas, easter) where people come and sell a lot of and it is often a couple days long - there are also "targ" which blend these, and can be a commercial scale expo-style thing, or it can be smaller market the naming has started blend over years but on countryside you can still see the old ways persevering.

[@domino2560]

Largely the similar here in Germany too. I'm even pretty sure that jarmark comes from Jahrmarkt (Year(ly) Market).

[@jeromethiel4323]

@@domino2560 Festivals and holidays too. You see a lot of very well made market stalls that can be set up quickly to sell a wide variety of goods. Last time i was in Germany, it was just like that. One day, nothing. Next day the entire street and market square type area was full of stalls, and all doing a brisk business.

[@Loki_Firegod]

@@domino2560 I was going to reply the same thing - either it's derived from German or the German word is a "Verballhornung" of an older phrase now lost. Wiktionary does say it's from German however, and it goes back to old high German "iārmarchat", so pretty far back.

[@jamegumb7298]

Markt is just a market, stalls of people selling vegetables, fish, tobacco, whatever, for me wednesday and saturday. Never a hall, that is just winkelcentrum or shopping centre. The 2 are very distinct. For specific events, like christmas, there are either beurs or openluchtmarkt or open air market. Distinction usually being if it is in the open air or not, shocker. But a beurs can also be for a thing not events, like computerbeurs, huishoudbeurs, etc,

[@JerryB507]

In my City they shut down the West end block of Market Street, behind the County Courthouse on Tuesdays for a weekly "Market." Everything from local farm fresh produce (you have to be a local farmer to sell produce) to Flea Market finds.

[@necroseus]

I love this type of video. Thank you so much for the breadth of cultural spotlighting you do for the medieval european people of yesteryear :)

[@widgren87]

If I were ever to write a story set in a medieval styled setting, or a detailed DnD adventure, then videos like this would be a great help so thanks for making them ;-)

[@jae1567]

Absolutely!

[@FionavanDahl]

assign the video as homework or screen it beforehand so players have cultural knowledge

[@eostyrwinn5018]

If you are interested in a medieval fantasy RPG setting that goes this level of in depth on medieval life, you should check out Harn

[@edwardroche2480]

Don't forget a troop of gypsies, who traveled around from fair to Fair, entertaining and sharing Foreign w a r e s

[@deepdeepr]

I'm a history teacher and in the last couple of years (since reels and TikTok took off) it's become very hard to give kind of any age a task to read of even watch a video that's not giving me epilepsy the way it's cut. They expect entertainment out of everything and I can totally understand that plain font or a man sitting in a chair talking without engaging memes is too boring. And kinds that were not exposed to gadgets much do so much better in every single subject, their judgement, reasoning and willpower are superior to their peers'. Anyway, thank you Sir for all your effort to inform, not entertain!

[@Just_Call_Me_Tim]

Dang... I don't think I've ever been the first to view or comment on a video, but I'm glad I caught this one! I love this channel!! (Gonna look into your book, too!)

[@LS-yk8zx]

I am an American living in Germany. It is currently 3:00 a.m. on Christmas morning. I'm a bit drunk. I don't know how I ended up here but I am absolutely down the rabbit hole. So genuine and interesting. Keep up the good work ❤

[@bostonrailfan2427]

You mentioned Boston…its namesake has all of what you mentioned as it has an outdoor market held every Saturday since the founding of the city in the 1630s and has had a purpose-built market building with stalls and meeting facilities above that dates back to the 1730s. things have passed through time, but some concepts survive

[@RichWoods23]

I'm from Boston -- the original one -- which has held markets and fairs since 1132. It still has markets on both Wednesdays and Saturdays; I used to work on a market stall when I was a teenager. Even my school (founded in 1555) was licensed to hold a Beast Mart in its schoolyard on each 10th December, so pigs and geese could be sold ready for butchering in time for Christmas. The royal charter for the town's incorporation is today on display in the Guildhall, which was also the place where the troublesome Pilgrim Fathers were imprisoned until those intolerant heretics (ahem!) could be sent on their way to eventually die in the New World before having the chance to oppress too many other sects. Looking at the USA and Project 2025 today, some concepts do indeed survive...

[@ivanstrydom8417]

Love your work sir. You shed so much light on the medieval word where most others always just go to ''Agincourt''.

[@Loki_Firegod]

Definitely need to go to more medieval markets/fairs/festivals next year, this year was very much too little. Although I got to finally wear my near-accurate early 7th century noble gear, which was fun (and it only needs a few more pieces until it's properly ready). Oh wait, you were talking in-period, right. Not too many markets back in the 7th century, as far as I know. Most villages didn't need it because you could just exchange what you needed. Going to the next town or city was propably only done on rare occasions for special purchases. And in larger towns and cities there was regular trade rather than markets. Anyway. As always, a great video - very informative, fun to watch and I could listen to your voice reading the telephone book for hours.

[@ThreadbareInc]

Not sure how common this is outside of the USA, but around here we have farmer's markets that operate similar to medieval markets: sellers put up stalls in an open lot and sell local produce to local buyers. They used to be simple affairs where just farmers sold just vegetables and some meat and dairy, but in larger towns and cities you can find baked goods, preserves, hand-crafts, art, and more.

[@ΣτελιοςΠεππας]

Farmers markets are a thing in Greece too, and I believe they're also a thing in other European countries as well (don't quote me that). Here they mostly retain their farmer centric nature although you have people selling random Chinese made stuff.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

Interesting! I live in Oklahoma in the US, and although I have heard of farmer's markets and know they exist in my area (seasonally), I have never been to one. I had no idea they sold anything besides fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, eggs, and honey. The problem I have with them is that they are usually only open one day a week for only part of the year, and I'm pretty sure they only have one in the entire metro area of almost a million people."

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

@@Grauenwolf That sounds pretty cool! Are they open year round? Seems like they would be in San Diego, since the weather is so nice. I just looked up farmer's markets near me, and it turns out that I was wrong, there is more than one in my metro area (Tulsa) and the one within Tulsa itself is open year round now, but only for 4 hours each Saturday. I guess I should check it out this weekend.

[@josephroach711]

In the Northwest U.S. we have farmers markets and flea markets. Flea markets are almost like garage sales and farmers markets mixed together. Used

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

@@josephroach711 Flea markets exist everywhere, lol. There are absolutely not a Northwest US thing.

[@MrHexygen]

This is really interesting because here in the Netherlands (At least the town I live in) there is a market every Wednesday where you can buy fresh fish, cheese, fruits and a plethora of other things. Sounds quite like what you just described. Also there is a yearly Fair with rides and different stals with snacks and sweets. Quite old tradition here and fun.

[@jeffarmstrong1308]

I'm re-reading Ellis Peters' "St Peters Fair" Thanks to your excellent video I am now reading through new eyes.

[@ModernKnight]

Wonderful!

[@mamma_zoot]

Love your content and this was particularly interesting! I live in Sweden and most towns have a square (torget) where there is a market once or twice a week. I live in a city called Växjö which translates to "road lake" as the people would travel over the lake when it was frozen in the winter to bring their goods to market. In modern Swedish it would be "Vägsjö". Hearing you describe how the markets were there, caused my imagination to go wild as I wondered what it must have been like here.

[@bellofbelmont]

Thanks for your thoughtful video. As a child in Australia (1960's) we called a Fair a Show. It was actually a Pastoral, Agricultural and Horticultural Show. Once a year and a really big deal. Today there are so many specialist shows that the PA&H show is a shadow of its former self. So diluted as to be no longer an annual novelty. Jim Bell (Australia)

[@GlenPeckett]

Northampton’s Market Charter was invoked in recent times to restrict car boot sales, sadly the market is a shadow of its former self.

[@ModernKnight]

How interesting. I'll have to look that up.

[@mikebass3721]

This is also the case with car boot sales restricted to a max number per year at any location within 6 miles of the Leicester market charter

[@synthWizkid]

Thanks for keeping history alive ❤

[@daviddenaldi816]

I love the chair and the cozy setting you host this video in- soooo cool!!!

[@Benevolent_Fafnir]

Another great video!!! On a side note, got the notification today that the Kickstarter was a success! I’m hyped for the final product!

[@jamesanderson6769]

I need the rest of the story on those court cases. Excellent video as always. I'm from a rural area in America and each of the towns have their own little fair themed with something the down has going for it. My town did trout and berry days. It had a parade and stalls and everything.

[@katehirst6046]

I live in rural Brittany and most towns around here have a weekly market (different days) predominantly selling food. Some are in are market square. Back in the UK l loved the markets and fairs held around the old markey halls in Ross-on-Wye and Ledbury.

[@kaiser-of-history]

Your knowledge never ceases to amaze me.

[@deborahdanhauer8525]

That was fascinating! The fairs included about what I thought but I didn’t realize they would attract actual foreigners, and I assumed most or all of them had jousting and the like. The picture you painted of the weekly market was much richer than I imagined it to be. I didn’t know about the enclosed rooms for meetings, or the tiny jails🤗, or how simply paving the area would change the future of the town. Thank you for this one and all those that came before. I always learn something watching your videos. Happy Holidays!🤗❤️🐝☃️🎅🏻🎄

[@michaelkilliany1472]

Now I want to play Manor Lord's and build my town around the market square. I love learning about medieval practices like this. Keep up the great work!

[@gossamera4665]

Manor lords is still lacking in one of the biggest golden rules, namely no settlements without a river or lake.

[@nullvoid4063]

What a delight of a video. Thank you and your production team for putting together such a fun and well informed video. I look forward to seeing more of this passion of yours in the future. Best regards.

[@markwallace1251]

Always a delight my friend, thanks for the information 🙏🏼

[@KlausKlausen-dj7nf]

Regarding the market halls: these structures could differ hugely in Size, construction, region and wealth of the town or city. They could reach from the mentioned wooden structure with a handfull of market stools to the vast multistory market halls in the flemish cities like Bruges, Gent or Antwerp with space for dozends or even hundrets of merchants. Also especially in the germanic area many lager settlements have multiple market squares and they are usually named after the wares that were sold there, for example Salzmarkt --> salt market (sellingplace of salt) or Rossmarkt --> horse market (sellingplace for beasts of burden)

[@karliikaiser3800]

In my hometown in the northeast of Austria we have a "Wochenmarkt" a weeks market every Friday, where vegetables, meat, cheese and stuff alike is sold. Many places in Europe still have this weekly practice of a Market day I would guess...

[@robingray5037]

Thank you for another imformational video. Your presentation style is enjoyable. I wish history in school - university were as well done.

[@benhamilton5692]

The yearly fair - piglets sold in sacks hence "bought a pig in a poke" opening the sack later revealed a cat hence "let the cat out of the bag" was to prematurely reveal the scam. (further poke is related to pocket)

[@jeromethiel4323]

Haha! I knew about the "pig in a poke" thing, but it never occurred to me that "let the cat out of the bag" was related at all. So people actually tried to sell cats as pigs?!? Too funny. "Huzzah! Sir! Why for is thy pig meowing?!?" "The pig is bi-lingual, sir! Very talented, this pig!"

[@WarriorofCathar]

I somehow doubt that. A pig being picked up or put in a bag is particularly noisy. I doubt anyone with half a brain wouldn't realize the bag was unusually quiet.

[@BalrogsHaveWings]

​@@jeromethiel4323 How very Terry Pratchet ❤

[@jeromethiel4323]

@@BalrogsHaveWings Big fan of Sir Pratchet.

[@MusouInken]

@@WarriorofCathar To be fair, that does appear to be the current theory for the origin of the phrase "let the cat out of the bag." I think the idea is that the person is hoping to purchase a very young piglet (a bag certainly wouldn't be practical for pigs of any size) which might be more inclined to go along with what's happening to it than an older pig might be.

[@shinnam]

In S. Korea, there are still 5 day markets. The market for a particular city happens on certain calendar days for example the second and seventh days, 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27. While an adjacent city has their marjet on 3rd and 8th days. Foreigners are generallycharged more😅.

[@thecookiegoblin]

Discovered this channel through recommended. A lot of your content can apply amazingly for anyone's Dungeons and Dragons campaigns! Amazing historical content, keep up the great work!

[@ModernKnight]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@freed14760]

Love Love Love this channel! God Bless and Happy Holidays!!

[@duckpotat9818]

Here in India we still have weekly markets at certain locations for certain types of goods such as grains, groceries etc, and annual fairs for fabrics and books.

[@shoshanaudelson4481]

As a student in Lyon, France I discovered a 20th century continuation. The Foire de Lyon was an Expo in its modern guise

[@StaminatorBlader]

love your videos, could you perhaps do an episode, specifically expanding on the differences between life in the early, high and late middle ages? i am quite curious as to the advancements you hinted at here, thanks.

[@washguy9577]

Thank you for the info. My mind gets carried away with what it must have been like going to one of these events truly fascinating the sights the sounds the smells the interactions.

[@dinahfromkabalor]

I was immediately picturing the market hall which you can visit at the Weald and Downland museum. Nothing compares to seeing these buildings in person; it gives you an actual body memory of interacting with the kind of spaces that our ancestors lived in.

[@OwnersEasyOni]

Love these videos! I’m a California Girl studying British history and these videos are really informative and fun 😊

[@Grim12369]

Really love these videos with source references in them.

[@agabrielhegartygaby9203]

I just discovered your channel and have been binging ‘severely’…. Love your horse training approach [I’m a life long horse person too]

[@ModernKnight]

Welcome aboard!

[@earnestwanderer2471]

I love the part of the intro where you slice the melon in half. It’s almost like one of those samurai anime tropes. As in... “Wait, did he miss?” and then the opponent slides in two pieces.

[@TheWampam]

At least for what is nowadays Germany, markets could also be held less than weekly. Some villages/towns where so small, that they only supported a monthly or quarterly market. Then there where markets like the predecessors of the christmas markets in larger cities, that were only once a year, but explicilty for the supply of locals.

[@thedandyzebra]

what a treasure this channel is. love it so much

[@ModernKnight]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@savannakougar5209]

So wonderful, adore this knowledge! Happy New Year!

[@markstyles1246]

So the Court Of Dusty Boots. Like a traveller would have. I love it.

[@donnaj9964]

Fascinating--especially the court findings! I wish there were some way to find out some of the stories behind them. Thank you very much!

[@John_Conner222]

I thought the difference was that markets sold simple crafted goods and faires were basically filled with young people wearing victorianesque steampunk outfits with various animal horns worn on their heads and elf ears on their ears.

[@danielgreen8581]

Find your content so relaxing and refreshing. I just love to have a bru and watch your video's.

[@212benji]

Where I went to School in Chulmleigh Devon we have an annual fair which has been going for around 750 years. Apparently one of the byelaws of the fair is that you cannot be arrested for being drunk and disorderly while it's happening!

[@ModernKnight]

excellent!

[@cp1cupcake]

I went to a ruin which is supposed to be where some of the oldest arches in the world are (~4000 years old) and the market was right outside of the walls. It was interesting because its been used as a reference for an official "siting outside/by the city gates" meaning he was a adjudicating issues in the market.

[@ianturton6889]

Just love your insights into Medieval life.

[@alexfarkas3881]

The city centre of Kraków with the Cloth Hall looks pretty much exactly like what you describe! So fairs were basically the trade expos of the year. Except nowadays you don't have to make your purchases then and there and you can just exchange business cards with the companies you're interested in, and buy their goods or services later. But the general vibe is the same!

[@OrkElven-b9q]

Thanks again for a very informative and interesting video. I love learning about medieval history from you, easy on the ears and great to see you sitting amongst your weaponry. Opening shot of you riding like a knight on a mission is always good to watch too 😊

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

My appreciation to Mr. Kingsley for his always informative videos. It's a true gentleman and historian who does a fine job with Latin and then modestly admits he needs more of it when most of us don't have any of it. Some random stream of consciousness thoughts in response to various points in the video, some of which I hope will be informative and all of which are open to correction by those who are better informed than I am. "What's the difference between a medieval market and a medieval fair?" One takes you on side quests. The other takes you down the main storyline. Richard I probably used Latin because he spoke French and his English subjects wouldn't have understood him. The clergy would probably have interpreted the Latin for the population if the local priests had any Latin. My guess is certainly the bishops did and probably functioned as a formal law court when royal authority wasn't in force. The pie powder courts sound like the modern evening news and small claims courts judgments being read. Regarding markets, I always find it interesting to compare Eastern and Western Europe during the Middle Ages, especially since the Byzantine solidus was used as a kind of universal currency in the Mediterranean during the early and middle medieval period. While Western Europe was in decline post-Rome, Eastern Europe was ascendant, and while Eastern Europe was collapsing in the face of the Ottomans, Western Europe was ascendant (if in frequent wars). If I recall correctly, Constantinople's main road, the Mese, was considered the widest road in medieval Europe at about 75 feet wide and nearly in continuous use for centuries. For reference, a single lane on a modern American Interstate is about 12 feet wide. You can imagine how huge the Mese and its markets must have looked to the Varangians coming from rural and underdeveloped northern Europe to serve as the Byzantine emperor's bodyguard in the early Middle Ages. The unusual regulations on markets and trades were also present in Constantinople, which had city districts devoted to special trades and even ethnicities. In earlier times, the Eparch, or sort of mayor of the city under the emperor, had various regulatory powers detailed in the Book of the Prefect, which was in force from about the 6th to 11th centuries. During this time, Justinian I's Byzantium had what we might think of as a quasi-modern civil service and welfare state, a holdover from old Rome, with the annual annona bringing grain from Alexandria to subsidize the poor until the Muslim conquests of the 7th century. I would say Byzantium remained somewhat ahead of Western Europe in institutional sophistication until the death of Basil II in 1025. And all of this history and sophistication before the Battle of Hastings in 1066, an event we consider rather early in medieval English history. From the 11th century on, Western European influence grew in Byzantium until by the time of Anna Komnene Byzantine rulers were emulating Western jousts in the Hippodrome. Post-1204 and Fourth Crusade is even more interesting but less documented. Byzantine refugees had to flee to Nicea in Greek Asia Minor, start over, retook the city in 1268 under the Laskarids and Paleologoi, and tried to "remember" the old institutions and ceremonies among the ruins, although with a lot of Western European influence, especially from the Genoese and Venetians. Such influence in the late Byzantine world might even be considered Western Europe's first attempts at colonization before Columbus. Maps of the once contiguous empire from 1204-1453 are a patchwork of unstable, warring, often petty principalities. Even the far away Catalonians had a principality in Athens for a century or so. Much like the Normans, these colonizing petty Western European kingdoms in the East started as raider states that remained successful. It's also interesting that while history doesn't repeat, it does rhyme. Zeno didn't come to the rescue of Rome in 476. Meanwhile, something of a token force of Italians came to the failed defense of Constantinople in 1453. Also, more relevant to the point of the video, I am not sure to what degree the Byzantine solidus appeared in the markets of England, but for a time it was the most stable currency in the European world until displaced by the Venetian ducat. By the 15th century, the debased silver coinage of the Paleologoi was nearly worthless, meaning the Greek Byzantines often conducted business in their own city in the Venetian and Genoese quarters using foreign currency under foreign laws, as by this time Constantine XI was little more than a mayor in a dying relic of a city more appreciated for its monuments, history, faded glory and past prestige than its current status. English historian Donald M. Nicol called Byzantium a "quaint, prestigious fossil." The irony of the leading state of the early medieval world becoming a backwater rump state by the Renaissance, a backwater that was once the eastern half of the mightiest empire in European history, is breathtaking in the breadth and scope of its change. And to think the Ottomans considered this relic of Rome, "Rum," the red apple of Osman's dream, to have been the way the ancient empire really was. How disappointed they must have been when they finally entered the decayed remnant of the city. Their army at 80,000 was larger than the city's population of 50,000.

[@williampoole1742]

Sir Jason! We have answered your call to arms!

[@valianghel3454]

Maybe you wil come next year in Romania to one of oir Medieval Fairs Sir Jason😊

[@mhenzzz]

One topic I would love to see covered is how pregnancy and childbirth worked in the middle ages. Both the practical side and the culture around it.

[@Beryllahawk]

LOVE this! Especially as a veteran game-master for fantasy tabletop. I've created village and town maps by the score over the years, haha, and always there's something in the "middle of town" (even if from that top-down view of a map it's lopsided). A well and a small plaza around it, or as you describe here, a "square" with the town hall/mayor's house on one side and the major temple on the other. (Since all my fantasy games tended to the pantheistic...) It just makes such good sense to make a bit of space for travelers, right - so they won't be getting in the way of local folks quite so much while they haggle over goods! Or in the case of a central water source, making room for people to draw that water up and haul it off. Happily I did know the basic difference between these two - thanks to so much gaming and reading of fantasy novels haha! Something that must have been patterned off the Cambridge Fair makes a prominent appearance in a series of novels about fantastical bards - a harvest time fair that in the books often lasted six entire weeks, tho "officially" only three there was always a great deal more activity on that ground for a good while before AND after, as folks did all the business they could before they had to go home for the winter. The covered market thing is also so practical of an idea - but expensive, I'd imagine, not just for the merchants paying various tolls and taxes but for the town too in the form of all the maintenance. And yet - England being so very blessed with rain, hehe - it seems almost inevitable that SOME form of covering had to come about, either for individual stalls or over a larger area. As you've often pointed out, medieval people weren't stupid! They might have prioritized things a little differently to us today, but they weren't fools, they knew quite well how important it was to make a customer comfortable, and that more profit was likely if they could attract people by such comforts. The court records were a hoot! Really does make one wonder about the stories behind these rulings. It's also fascinating being reminded how long "normal" courts took to do anything. We're all of us too used to relatively fast judicial process - for most cases anyway - even in the US back in, say, the early 19th century. Circuit court and riders, and various other ways to allow judges to travel all round a given county, seemed like such an old concept to me back when I learned about it many decades ago. (And apparently, not every state even has circuit courts) So I assumed for a long long time that medieval nobility would've had such riding judges, or traveling magistrates or the like. But nope! I remain EXTREMELY excited about your book!!! Very much looking forward to it!!!

[@sarahtyster7342]

hence the term 'market town' in the UK.. there are quite a few covered markets still extant in Europe - one in St. Pierre Sur Dives in Normandy is particularly impressive and still has a market on Mondays (I think it's Mondays)

[@inzaghigames]

Thank you so much for the info. Great stuff as always!! I hope you have a wonderful holiday and a most excellent new year!!

[@coldlakealta4043]

Such markets and fairs are quite prominent parts of the fabric of some of Ken Follett's novels

[@rogerauger7766]

As always, interesting and informative. Thanks man. 🙂 👍👍

[@baswar]

Loving how his dressing more and more consistently medieval. One day we're gonna see him talking outside his own castle or thatched cottage

[@MalloonTarka]

It's the third day of Christmas. It's foggy outside. I'm sitting inside with a mug of tea and learning about medieval markets and fairs on KZbin. Life could be worse.

[@markussperl829]

Brilliant! Thanks for putting in the work!

[@gtbkts]

Thanks for the awesome video and all of the amazing content!!

[@ModernKnight]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@GazilionPT]

My town was chartered in 1289 and one of its perks was the right to have a market, not once a week, but twice (on Tuesdays and Fridays). 700+ years later, those are still the official "market days" at the Municipal Market.

[@kathleenorr9237]

Another fascinating insight, thanks Jason

[@thorisrain]

13:11 “Objection! Your Honour, my client was most certainly NOT caught red-handed!”

[@shiftydog6969]

I love markets. It's amazing how I take it for granted when they're really quite amazing places.

[@Vsar426]

Jason! All of your Kickstarter tiers are sold out - congratulations! I wasn’t lucky enough to get one in time and I’m wondering if there will be any additional spaces available in the future? Thanks for your great content!

[@Hdtjdjbszh]

In Hereford, and the surrounding areas there were a lot of "high town halls" including one in Hereford that was roughly 5 meters by 12 meters and "floated" on 24 oaken beams, it really was huge!

[@yajurka]

Fairs are fair, and merchants cheat on markets?

[@Swedishmafia101MemeCorporation]

You're telling me my bottle of snake oil DOESN'T cure lumbago???

[@adrianwebster6923]

In the northeastern US there are alot of county fairs throughout the summer. some are limited to specific weeks/weekends, others take place on weekends for a month or two. Some have shifted to be mostly entertainment with a carnival feel. Rides, games, races, music etc. others have a farmer/country focus where livestock and produce will be sold and sometime prize contests for breeding etc. As a kid in the 80s there was also a local barn where antiques and old tools were sold everyday but it also held weekend auctions for livestock and other stuff.

[@tea2thebagel58]

Dude rides a horse like an absolute king. I'm in.

[@rachelmolina3995]

Easy to do. Very natural.

[@bevis9877]

Weald and Down museum in West Sussex has an original covered market building.

[@danwesche9266]

As a resident of an American city that hosts a state fair every year and also has a farmer's market every week, I totally get all of this.

[@theharper1]

In the town of Rothenburg in Germany, the town square featured the Rathaus (town hall) and shops. You mentioned a lockup; in Rothenburg, they had an iron shame mask chained to the town hall wall, into which miscreants would be locked so the locals could jeer and throw rotten fruit at them. In the museum they also showed shame cages and something like an iron maiden (I thought that the latter was a myth).

[@BoK4711]

Rothenburg op der Tauber is a wonderful old town. But the iron maiden in the museum is in indeed a myth! I read an article about it lately. It is from the 18th century, said the author. Build for a paying audience, who wanted to see how dark the dark middle age has been! 😂

[@theharper1]

@BoK4711 interesting! Disappointing if they're lying about it. Still, the most memorable thing I saw in the museum was a parchment from 935AD.

[@BoK4711]

@@theharper1 🤷‍♀️ I think they belived it themselves until the author dug deeper. She found out, the iron maiden in general was first mentioned in a book 1793 by Johann Philipp Siebenkees. Afterwards they 'found' an iron maiden and it was displayed in Nürnberg. If you interested, you can find the article about it in the book 'Fake History' by Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse. I found it very entertaining to read.

[@theharper1]

@BoK4711 the shame masks and cages were interesting in any case.

[@I_am_Lauren]

Markets being built centrally in a town is such a significant detail. They could have been built on the outer edge of the town so there could be more room but commerce was central to society and so was the market. I guess it functioned as a Medieval Mall if you like. More than just an area for buying things.

[@Doroex]

Absolutely love these vids. Since the holiday season is fast approaching, have you thought about making a video about the celebration of different holidays in medieval europe?

[@TheTimeshadows]

Wonderful presentation. Had you done one like this before? I seem to remember one such from a few years ago.

[@ModernKnight]

Nothing on this subject before, but I may have mentioned markets in passing.

[@Gabrong]

Our small town has Wednesday as marketday but the local big town got its native name from having market on Saturday, although it was called Savaria by the Romans, named after the river flowing through it the Sibaris

[@YorkistRaven]

A very evocative setting for this informative video. Your outdoor garb with cloak is stunning 😍 I love the color choice ❤💙🐗

[@mordsythe]

I grew up less than 10 miles from Northampton. It was the nearest bigger town. My village still has less than 200 people living in it :)

[@jim.bambury]

Love your videos, always learn a lot. Ever thought of doing a Lancelot duLac style serial? 😂. That would be awesome.

[@roundninja]

Economic history, and Simon and Garfunkel, in the same video. This feels like a gift from god to me in particular