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Traders of wool, cloth, spices, wine, and all manner of other goods gathered from across France and even came from abroad, notably from Flanders, Spain, England, and Italy.

The fairs which were held in June and October in Troyes, May and September in Saint Ayoul, at Lent in Bar-sur-Aube, and in January at Lagny were encouraged by the Counts of Champagne who also provided policing services and paid the salaries of the army of officials who supervised the fairs. Fairs boomed in France, England, Flanders, and Germany in the 12th and 13th centuries CE, with one of the most famous areas for them being the Champagne region of France. Prices also tended to be cheaper because there was more competition between sellers of specific items. Trade fairs were large-scale sales events typically held annually in large towns where people could find a greater range of goods than they might find in their more local market and traders could buy goods wholesale. As a consequence of this clustering of trades, many streets acquired a name which described the trade most represented in them, names which in many cases still survive today. Towns also had banks and money-lenders, many of which were Jews as usury was forbidden to Christians by the Church. Those trades which involved goods whose quality was absolutely vital such as goldsmiths and armourers were usually located near a town council's administration buildings where they could be kept a close eye on by regulators. Sometimes location was directly related to the goods on sale such as horse sellers typically being near the city gates so as to tempt the passing traveller or booksellers near a cathedral and its associated schools of learning.

In cities, shops selling the same type of goods were often clustered together in the same neighbourhoods, again to increase competition and make the life of city and guild inspectors easier. Tradespeople usually lived above their shop which presented a large window onto the street with a stall projecting out from under a wooden canopy. In towns, the consumer had, besides markets, the additional option of shops. Besides markets, sellers of wares also went knocking on the doors of private homes, and these were known as hucksters. There were middlemen and women known as regrators who bought goods from producers and sold them on to the market stallholders or producers might pay a vendor to sell their goods for them. Sellers of meat and bread tended to be men, but women stallholders were often the majority, and they sold such staples as eggs, dairy products, poultry, and ale. Sellers of particular goods, who paid an estate owner, the town, or borough council a fee for the privilege to have a stall, were typically set next to each other in areas so that competition was kept high. Typically held once or twice a week, larger towns might have a daily market which moved around different parts of the city depending on the day or have markets for specific goods like meat, fish, or bread. Markets were also organised just outside many castles and monasteries.

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In villages, towns, and large cities which had been granted the privilege of a license to do so by their monarch, markets were regularly held in public squares (or sometimes triangles), in wide streets or even in purpose-built halls. Unknown Artist (Public Domain) Markets & Shops

Medieval europe