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35-515: Today the Bower has many competitions such as tombolas . There are markets that sell local produce with the main attraction being a large funfair . The Origins of the Bower go back to the reign of Henry II (1154-1189). At that time England had no standing army, as such when the King needed troops to defend the realm he had to raise them by mustering all the able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60 throughout

70-618: A toll also. Around the same time, a series of wars in Italy, most significantly the conflicts between the Guelphs and Ghibellines , disrupted the overland trade routes that connected the Italian cities with France, and Genoese and Venetian merchants opened up direct sea trade with Flanders , diminishing the importance of the fairs. Fernand Braudel also saw the decline as due to the increasing sophistication of communications and distance credit, changing

105-522: A treaty in which the kings of France pledged themselves to take under royal protection all merchants passing through royal territory on their way to and from the Champagne fairs. Eventually even the king became involved; in 1209 Philip Augustus granted safe conduct within France to merchants traveling to and from the Champagne fairs, increasing their international importance. Traditional historians have dated

140-548: Is featured in E. B. White's Charlotte's Web . Champagne fairs The Champagne fairs were an annual cycle of trade fairs which flourished in different towns of the County of Champagne in Northeastern France in the 12th and 13th centuries, originating in local agricultural and stock fairs. Each fair lasted about two to three weeks. The Champagne fairs, sited on ancient land routes and largely self-regulated through

175-606: Is one of the largest fairs in India, where more than 60 million people gathered in January 2001, making it the largest gathering anywhere in the world. Kumbha means a pitcher and Mela means fair in Sanskrit. In the United States, fairs draw in as many as 150 million people each summer. Children's competitions at an American fair range from breeding small animals to robotics, whilst

210-505: The Champagne fairs in northern France, which were spread over six towns for a total period of about six weeks, drawing goods and customers from much of Europe. The Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, still the largest trade fair for the publishing industry, began in the 12th century as a fair for manuscript books. Fairs were usually tied to special Christian feast days , such as the day of

245-518: The King of France , to extend the liberties and prerogatives of the towns, which were founded in the increased security of the feudal settlement following the feudal disorders of the tenth century. The predominance of the Champagne fairs over those of other cities has been attributed to the personal role of the Counts in guaranteeing the security and property rights of merchants and trading organisations attending

280-604: The Rhone , Saône and Seine . The fairs were also important in the spread and exchange of cultural influences—the first appearance of Gothic architecture in Italy was the result of merchants from Siena rebuilding their houses in the Northern style. The phrase "not to know your Champagne fairs" meant not knowing what everyone else did. It was in the interest of the Count of Champagne , virtually independent of his nominal suzerain ,

315-456: The Champagne commodities fairs, the fairs continued to function as an international clearing house for paper debts and credits, as they had built up a system of commercial law , regulated by private judges separate from the feudal social order and the requirements of scrupulously maintaining a "good name", prior to the third-party enforcement of legal codes by the nation-state . To cross the Alps ,

350-527: The Count's castle there, and that at Lagny in the grounds of a Benedictine monastery . The self-interest and the political will of the Counts of Champagne was the over-riding factor. The series of six fairs, each lasting more than six weeks, were spaced through the year's calendar: the fair of Lagny-sur-Marne began on 2 January: the fair at Bar-sur-Aube on the Tuesday before mid- Lent ; the "May fair" of Provins on

385-630: The Roman provinces of Judea and Syria Palaestina , Jewish rabbis prohibited Jews from participating in fairs in certain towns because the religious nature of the fairs contravened the prescribed practice of Judaism . In the Middle Ages , many fairs developed as temporary markets and were especially important for long-distance and international trade , as wholesale traders travelled, sometimes for many days, to fairs where they could be sure to meet those they needed to buy from or sell to. The most famous were

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420-546: The Tuesday before Ascension ; the "fair of St. John" or the "hot fair" of Troyes on the first Tuesday after the fortnight of St. John's Day (24 June); the fair of St. Ayoul of Provins on the Exaltation of the Cross (14 September); the "fair of St. Remi" or the "cold fair" of Troyes on the day following All Saint's Day (that is, on 2 November). Each fair began with the entrée of eight days during which merchants set up, followed by

455-401: The arduous journey on each occasion, delegated agents ( certi missi ) who could receive payment and undertake contracts, and factors, integrated with communications and transportation, and the extensive use of credit instruments in the trade. The towns provided huge warehouses, still to be seen at Provins . Furs and skins traveled in both directions, from Spain, Sicily , and North Africa in

490-525: The caravans of pack mules made their way over the Mont Cenis Pass , a journey that took more than a month from Genoa to the fair cities, along one of the varied options of the Via Francigena . Professional freight-handlers sometimes made the trek while under contract to merchants. P. Huvelin documented the existence, by the second half of the thirteenth century, of a faster courier service that facilitated

525-409: The cloth sales had been concluded, the reckoning of credit at the tables ( banche ) of Italian money-changers effected compensatory payments for goods, established future payments on credit, made loans to princes and lords, and settled bills of exchange (which were generally worded to expire at one of the Champagne fairs). Even after trade routes had shifted away from the north-south axis that depended on

560-522: The commerce of the fairs: each was situated at an intersection or former way-station of Roman roads and near a river, but only Lagny-sur-Marne had a navigable one. Troyes and Provins had been administrative centers in Charlemagne 's empire that developed into the central towns of the County of Champagne and the Brie Champenoise ; the fair at Bar-sur-Aube was held just outside the precincts of

595-415: The days allotted for the cloth fair, the days of the leather fair, and the days for the sale of spices and other things sold by weight ( avoirdupois ). In the last four-day period of the fairs, accounts were settled. In actual practice, arrivals and departures were more flexible and efficient, relying on flexibly formed and dissolved partnerships, which freed the "silent" partners from actually undertaking

630-569: The decline of the Champagne fairs to the subordination of Champagne to the Royal Domain brought about by the marriage alliance of Philip the Fair in 1284. In 1285 Champagne became an integral part of France. "When the special motivation was removed in 1285", Janet Abu-Lughod observes, "the Champagne fairs lost their edge." The effect of the Little Ice Age and population-diminishing black plague took

665-531: The development of the Lex mercatoria ("merchant law"), became an important engine in the reviving economic history of medieval Europe , "veritable nerve centers" serving as a premier market for textiles , leather , fur , and spices . At their height, in the late 12th and the 13th century, the fairs linked the cloth-producing cities of the Low Countries with the Italian dyeing and exporting centers, with Genoa in

700-518: The fairground. These courts were called a pye powder court (from Old French pieds pouldres , literally "dusty feet", meaning an itinerant trader, from Medieval Latin pedes pulverosi ). The chaotic nature of the Stagshaw Bank Fair with masses of people and animals and stalls inspired the Newcastle colloquialism "like a Stagey Bank Fair" to describe a general mess. The American county fair

735-612: The fairs, and in ensuring that contracts signed at the fairs would be honoured throughout Western Christendom . The Counts provided the fairs with a police force, the "Guards of the Fair", who heard complaints and enforced contracts, excluding defaulters from future participation; weights and measures were strictly regulated. Historian Jean Favier has written "the success of the Champagne fairs can be attributed solely to this intelligent policy of applying public order to business." The Counts' concern for protection of this profitable trade extended beyond their borders: Thibaut II negotiated

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770-621: The inhabitants decided that as they enjoyed Bower Day so much they would continue to observe it, a tradition that continues into modern day. Most of the ancient features of the Bower still survive – the Court of Arraye is held in the Guildhall, when the Mayor inspects the “men-at-arms” the procession through the streets includes the Morris Dancers and military bands, and the place of the posies has been taken by

805-500: The kingdom. To enable him to do this, Henry set up a commission of array which had to submit to the King yearly a return of all the men-at-arms available. Every city and town mustered fighting men on one day in the year and sent the figures in to the commission of array. These musters were known as the Courts of Arraye, and in Lichfield the Court of Arraye was always held on Whit Monday. It

840-522: The lead, dominating the commercial and banking relations operating at the frontier region between the north and the Mediterranean. The Champagne fairs were one of the earliest manifestations of a linked European economy, a characteristic of the High Middle Ages . The towns in which the six fairs of the annual circuit were held had some features in common, but none that would have inexorably drawn

875-588: The men-at-arms were paraded around the streets of the city. They were accompanied by the Lichfield Morris dancers with drum and tabor and by people from the churches carrying figures of saints garlanded with flowers. Whitsun being as important festival of the Church, these garlanded figures were known as “posies”. After the Reformation, the figures of saints were replaced by the tableaux representing different trades, but

910-453: The organizations National FFA Organization & 4-H have become the traditional associations. The Sirsi Marikamba Devi Fair of the deity is held every alternate year in the month of March and taken through the city Sirsi, Karnataka . It is attended by a very large number of devotees. It is also most famous and biggest fair (Jaatre) of the India. Devotees from all around the state participate in this enormous event indulging themselves in

945-647: The participants staggered into the Market Place to be dismissed by the Town Clerk. By the time of James II the country had a standing army. Famous regiments such as the Coldstream and Grenadier Guards and the Royal Scots were already in existence, and it was decided that the commission of array was no longer needed. It was abolished in 1690 and Courts of Arraye ceased to exist throughout the country, except in Lichfield where

980-414: The presence of a bishop, sheriff or governor. Later various benefits were granted to specific fairs, such as the granting of a holiday status to a fair or protections against arrest for specific laws for the duration of the fair. Officials were authorised to mete out justice to those who attended their fair; this led to even the smallest fair having a court to adjudicate on offences and disputes arising within

1015-459: The procession. Amusements for children, circuses, variety of shops, dramas and plays and many such things are set up for the people. It depicts the story of the goddess killing Mahishasura . Fairs attracted great numbers of people and they often resulted in public order issues and sometimes riots. The holding of fairs was, therefore, granted by royal charter . Initially they were only allowed in towns and places where order could be maintained due to

1050-486: The saint of the local church. Stagshaw in England, is documented to have held annual fairs as early as 1293 consisting of the sales of animals. Along with the main fair held on 4 July, the city also hosted smaller fairs throughout the year where specific types of animals were sold, such as one for horses, one for lambs, and one for ewes. The Kumbh Mela , held every twelve years, at Allahabad , Haridwar , Nashik , and Ujjain

1085-418: The south via Marseilles , and the highly prized vair , rabbit , marten and other skins from the north. From the north also came woolens and linen cloth. From the south came silk , pepper and other spices, drugs , coinage and the new concepts of credit and bookkeeping . Goods converged from Spain, travelling along the well-established pilgrim route from Santiago de Compostela and from Germany. Once

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1120-790: The tableaux mounted on lorries and trailers. Lichfield customs and traditions Official Website of the Lichfield Greenhill Bower Funfair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre ) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of goods, products, and services, and often include competitions, exhibitions, and educational activities. Fairs can be thematic, focusing on specific industries or interests. Variations of fairs include: The Roman fairs were holidays on which work and business such as law courts were suspended. In

1155-401: The term “posie” was still used to describe them. The introduction of gunpowder led to musketeers being included in the procession. When the procession halted outside the horses of the principal citizens, the musketeers would fire a volley over the house, whereupon the principal citizen was expected to offer cakes and ale to those in the procession. This went on all day, until late in the evening

1190-505: The transfer of letters and market information between north and south for the particular advantage of the Arte di Calimala , the cloth-merchants' guild of Florence , the cities of Siena and Genoa , as well as the mercantile houses. R. D. Face noted that in early February, 1290, it took a courier no more than twenty days to make the journey from Lagny to Florence. Alternatively, north Italian goods were shipped to Aigues-Mortes then up or along

1225-630: Was held at Greenhill where a “Bower House” was erected and decorated with laurel and lilac. Here the men-at-arms mustered before the magistrates with their arms and armor and were regaled with free beef and wine. At the end of the day the magistrates sent a return of the numbers to the Commission of Arraye in London. As an example of this, in 1604 the report of the Commission contained the following: “Leichfield Town, able men 285; armed men 150; pioneers 50; high horses 50”. The tradition started in Lichfield in which

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