The City of Paris had fairs in great variety, some of which I now proceed to notice.
St. Denis or Lendit Fair.—One of the earliest, perhaps the first, was the mercantile fair of St. Denis, chartered early in the seventh century by Dagobert “in honour of the Lord and to the glory of St. Denys at his festival.” This fair, by reason of the privileges granted, became known under the name of the forum idictum—whence l’indict, and its corruption to landit and lendit. To it came the iron and lead of the Saxons, the slaves of the northern nations, the jewellery and perfumes of the Jews, the oil, wine and fat of Provence and Spain, the honey and madder of Neustria and Brittany, the merchandise of Egypt and the East.
The fair, which lasted ten days from the 10th of October, was opened by a procession of monks from the Abbey of St. Denis; and in later times it was usual for the Parliament of Paris to allow itself a holiday, called Landi, in order that its members might take part in the great marriage-feast of commerce and religion: just as the English Parliament usually finds relaxation in horse-flesh and mammon on the “Derby day” at Epsom!
English merchants frequented this fair in the ninth century, vide Cunningham’s “English Industry and Commerce,” 1882, p. 82.
But St. Denis had another fair, at one time famous, to which tradition has accorded the following origin. The Paris Cathedral received from Constantinople, in 1109, some fragments of the cross, regarded as authentic. The populace could not find room in the church where they were deposited in any one day; hence the bishop carried them in great pomp to the plain of St. Denis, where there was room enough for the vast concourse of worshippers who assembled to contemplate and adore. This ceremony and procession were renewed at stated periods. The schools of the cloister of Notre Dame had early taken part in the processions; and finally the students of the University of Paris claimed it as a patron festival, which it certainly was not.
In process of time a mart or fair became established on the recurrence of this Church festival. The ground was regarded as consecrated for the purpose. On each 12th of June (the day after the festival of St. Barnabas) the procession took place. It was at a later period called the “Feast of the Parchment.”
Early in the morning of the day of procession, the students, attired in their best, assembled on horseback at the top of Mount St. Geneviève, to accompany the Rector of the University, who, arrayed in his scarlet cloak, and wearing his doctor’s cap, proceeded on a mule or hackney, accompanied by the deans, proctors and myrmidons, to the plain of St. Denis, where the market for the sale of parchment was already opened. The rector upon reaching the fair caused to be put aside as much parchment as would be required by the University for the coming year, and received from the sellers a donation equivalent to £100 of the present day. This I assume was the toll paid for the right of holding the fair.
After this the students alighted from their horses, and instead of forming part of the procession back to Paris, amused themselves at the fair. This invariably led to riot and disorder, and not a year passed without blood being spilt. Thus from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the decrees of parliament against the carrying of arms or sticks, which were continually being renewed and always neglected, testify to the gravity of the evil, and to the difficulties of putting an end to it.
At last, in 1566, the fair was transferred from the plain to the town of St. Denis, and at about the same period paper began to supersede parchment even for public documents. The rector, therefore, ceased getting a supply of parchment at the fair, and the students having no further pretext for attending, it speedily fell into disuse. By the beginning of the seventeenth century the only vestige of it left was the general holiday which the rector granted to the students of the University upon the first Monday after the feast of St. Barnabas, vide Lecroix’s “Science and Literature in the Middle Ages,” pp. 34-36.
St. Germain.—This fair was held in a large permanent building specially provided, constituting something like twin market halls, elegantly constructed of timber, and long regarded as models of construction. The two halls embraced nine streets in line intersecting each other and divided into twenty-four sections or aisles; the shops having little rooms or store-houses over them, and behind some of them were open spaces, with wells—regarded as of importance in case of fire, although not proving of much avail when the event occurred. The streets were distinguished by the names of the different trades conducted in them—as Goldsmiths’ Street, Mercers’ Street, &c.
The fair was opened the day after Candlemas Day. It was greatly frequented by traders from Amiens, Beaumont, Rheims, Orleans, and Nugent, with various sorts of cloth and textile fabrics. The goldsmiths, jewellers, and toymen of Paris made a fine display of their wares.
There were brought to this fair, one year with another, some 1,400 bales of cloth and other woollen stuffs, of which the inspector of manufactures at the Custom-house, Paris, was required to keep a particular register. Two inspectors of the fair were required to be present at the opening of the bales of goods. There was also a further inspection made by the Masters and Wardens of the Guilds of Drapery and Mercery.
I find a graphic account of this fair in Lister’s “Travels in France,” 1698, which I here transcribe:
We were in Paris at the time of the fair of St. Germain. It lasts six weeks at least; the place where it is kept, well bespeaks its antiquity; for it is a very pit or hole, in the middle of the Faubourg, and belongs to the great abbey of that name. You descend into it on all sides, and in some places above twelve steps; so that the city is raised above it six or eight foot.
The building is a very barn, or frame of wood, tiled over; consisting of many long allies, crossing one another, the floor of the allies unpaved, and of earth, and as uneven as may be: which makes it very uneasy to walk in, were it not the vast croud of people which keep you up. But all this bespeaks its antiquity, and the rudeness of the first ages of Paris, which is a foil to its politeness in all things else now.
The fair consists of most toy-shops, and Bartholomew-fair ware; also fiance and pictures, joiner’s work, linen and woollen manufactures; many of the great ribband shops remove out of the Palais hither; no books; many shops of confectioners, where the ladies are commodiously treated.
The great rendezvous is at night, after the play and opera are done; and raffling for all things vendible is the great diversion; no shop wanting two or three raffling boards. Monsieur, the Dauphin, and other princes of the blood come at least once in the fair-time to grace it. Here are also coffee-shops, where that and all sorts of strong liquors ... are sold.
Knavery here is in perfection as with us; as dexterous cut-purses and pick-pockets. A pick-pocket came into the fair at night, extremely well-clad, with four lacqueys with good liveries attending him: he was caught in the fact, and more swords were drawn in his defence than against him; but yet he was taken, and delivered into the hands of justice, which is here sudden and no jest.
I was surprized at the impudence of a booth, which put out the pictures of some Indian beasts, with hard names; and of four that were painted, I found but two, and those very ordinary ones, viz. a leopard, and a racoun. I asked the fellow, why he deceived the people, and whether he did not fear cudgelling in the end: he answered with a singular confidence, that it was the painter’s fault; that he had given the racoun to paint to two masters, but both had mistaken the beast; but however (he said) though the pictures were not well designed, they did nevertheless serve to grace the booth and bring him custom.
St. Laurence (or St. Laurent).—So called from its situation near St. Laurence’s Church. It is so ancient that no date can be even approximately fixed for its origin. Its chief traders were goldsmiths and mercers, picture-painters, sempstresses, lemonade-sellers, toymen, earthenware people, gingerbread bakers, &c. &c. To it came people from Amiens, Beauvais, Rheims, and other places of Picardy and Champagne, with light fabrics, both plain and striped, and camlets of all sorts.
The fair seems originally to have lasted but one day; but the period gradually became extended to two months, commencing the day after St. James’s day and ending at Michaelmas. It was proclaimed by sound of trumpet.
These two rival fairs had this peculiarity: they were always open as bazaars. They were not fairs in the usual sense of the term for more than three months in the year. The St. Germain fair was held in the winter, and the St. Laurent in the early part of the summer. The former never recovered its popularity after the fire which destroyed the wooden constructions used during the fair (1763), though by the erection of new galleries, more elegant than the old ones, there was added to the attractions of a fair a dancing-saloon, the Winter Wauxhall, which was well attended for a time.
The St. Laurent fair was held in the upper part of the faubourg of that name, was larger and more elaborately decorated than the St. Germain fair, but it had no Wauxhall, and the only amusements for the frequenters of its Chinese Redoubt were swings and other foreign games.
The St. Ovide Fair.—This was established in August, 1764, and was held in the very centre of Paris, upon the Place Vendôme, then bounded on one side by the church and convent of the Capucines. It was held there for some years, and then transferred to the Place Louis XV., where it did not last long, although it had originally been made fashionable as the Gingerbread Fair. It was at this fair that Nicolet, previous to establishing his theatre des grands danseurs du Roi, displayed the wonderful strength and agility which gave rise to the proverb “de plus fort en plus fort, comme chez Nicolet.”—Lacroix, “The Eighteenth Century,” p. 356.
Onion Fair of Notre Dame.—This fair is held in September, commencing with the feast of Notre Dame, and continuing till the end of the month. It is held on the Isle of Notre Dame, along the Quai Bourbon. A prodigious quantity of black and red onions are brought into the city at this period, the citizens laying in a stock for the whole year.
Pork or Bacon Fair.—This “fair for gammons” is held on the Tuesday in Passion Week in the street of Notre Dame, lasting but the one day only. There is sold at it immense quantities of hams, flitches of bacon, and other salted pork. Many amusing articles have been written concerning it.
The horse and cattle fairs of France were and are very numerous. I shall give but a brief outline of the chief or more remarkable. Those of Chénerailles (a great town of Auvergne) are chiefly famous for their fat cattle, brought for the most part to Paris. The fairs are held the last Tuesday in every month. The fairs of Guibray and Caen are amongst the chief for horses. That of Fontenay, in Poictou, for the horses bred in that province. It is held 24th June, and is one of the most noted in France. The fair at Niort, on 1st December, is chiefly for foals. At Nogent-sur-Seine, is a considerable horse fair, the 11th August. There are three annual cattle fairs at Braisne-le-Comte, near Soissons, viz. on 6th May, 14th September, and 14th December. The greater part of the sales are for Paris. The fairs of Nangis and Crecy in Brie, on 4th July and 29th September respectively, are very considerable, and from these the graziers and butchers in the Isle of France are supplied. Montely is a fair chiefly for cows, great numbers of which are brought by the farmers and peasants about Paris and all the Isle of France. It is held 9th September. There are also several fairs for pigs held in the villages around Paris, and innumerable other cattle and horse fairs of lesser note, not calling for any particular mention.