The Champagne Fairs

I originally wrote this article for Cointalk.com, and posted it on Feb. 3, 2017. The below update was created on Apr. 16, 2022.

The region of Champagne is today best known for its distinctive sparkling wine. The common belief is that a 17th century monk named Dom Perignon invented the drink, and was said to have likened it to 'tasting the stars.' This has been disputed, and the real inventor of Champagne is unknown, but the region which lends its name to the drink would be an important area for trade long before it was famed for alcohol.

The Bishop of Paris at the fair of Sant Denis, from Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, MS Lat 962, 264r (https://archivesetmanuscrits.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cc62526r)

Map depicting the trade routes of the High Middle Ages. The Champagne fairs acted as a central hub for much of this trade. Image from WorldHistory.biz, but is originally from Agnus Mackay and David Ditchburn's Atlas of Medieval Europe.

A variety of factors were coming together in the twelfth century which would see a resurgence of trade. The end of the Viking invasions lead to a rise in population, which in turn lead to urban growth. The urban growth lead to a growth of markets to sell perishable goods and crafts. Larger seasonal markets, usually held on or near church holy days, began to cater to merchants from outside the local vicinity, carrying non-perishables. These larger seasonal markets were called fairs.

As Italy grew to be the European port for the Silk Road trade to the east, Germany and Eastern Europe grew to be the major silver mining region, and the wool trade from England made the Low Countries the major textile producing region. All three of these areas would meet in Eastern France at the great trade fairs of Champagne. Under the direction of Count Henry I, 'the Liberal,' Champagne would begin hosting six major fairs, spread between four of the county's towns. The towns of Troyes and Provins hosted two fairs each; Lagny and Bar-sur-Aube hosted one each. The region of Champagne became a melting pot of sorts due to the various people throughout Europe who found their way there for the fairs. A special court was established to protect the merchants, and reprisals could be held against certain towns whose merchants misbehaved themselves (these would take the form of not being invited back to the fair).[1] The amount of trade would be massive, and the large ingots of silver brought from Eastern Europe would need to be coined to help provide small change for the merchants.

French Feudal - Champagne

Henry II, r. 1181-97

Troyes Mint, AR Denier, 20.52 mm x 0.9 grams

Obv.: +HENRI COMES, Cross Pattee with annulet in 2nd and 3rd quarters

Rev.: +TRECAS CIVITAS, TEBO Monogram

Ref.: Roberts 4145

Only the towns of Troyes and Provins had mints, ensuring the deniers from these towns circulated frequently during the Fairs. The design of the Troyes deniers is a monogram type reminiscent of many of the Carolingian deniers. It contains the usual cross on one side, and a monogram in the form of a cross on the other. In this case, the monogram spells TEBO, which stands for Thibauld, count of Champagne from 1125-52 and Henry I's father. The bottom of the monogram on this coin is a crescent, rather than an 'O', and Poey d'Avant has suggested this indicates it was minted under Henry I's son, Henry II.[2] D'Avant does not give any reasoning for distinguishing between Henry I and Henry II, other than the degeneration of the monogram. While the theory that the monogram would degenerate is sound, I have not found any real proof of when the changes occurred between or during the reigns of the two Henrys. While the coins of Troyes would frequently be used, in time they would give way to the deniers of Provins.

French Feudal - Champagne

Henry II, r. 1181-1197

Provins Mint, AR Denier 18.4 mm x 1.0 grams

Obv.: CASTRI PRVVINS. Comb of Champagne, 'V' made of three triangles above, annulet on either side, legend beginning at 10hr.

Rev.: +HENRI COMES. Cross Pattee, pellet in first quarter, omega in second, alpha in third, and annulet in fourth

Ref.: Roberts, 4727 variety, De Wit 512-13 variety

The deniers of Troyes denotes the town was a civitas, (or simply a town - cities will come a little later), but this denier from Provins calls the town a castri. We often translate 'Castrum' as 'Castle,' and the genitive case would mean this coin was stating it was from the Castle of Provins. I have been unable to find any evidence of a castle in Troyes, but Provins did have a castle. The castle still stands, and was called Caeser's Tower. It's shape was rather unique for the twelfth century, with four towers in the keep, topped by an octagonal structure. The castle was first built by Thibauld II, and it's likely that the town was built around the castle; since the castle was a center for the count and garrison it likely would have attracted the earliest merchants and markets.

The keep of Caeser's Tower in Provins. Image from GreenTentacle on Imgur.

The top coin was issued by Odo and was sold at the CNG shop. I turned the monogram side 90 degrees to compare to the Provins denier. There were later issues from Odo which more clearly show the monogram starting to evolve into the comb shape that would culminate in the denier provinois.

To return to the coins, the designs on the coins of Provins have some lovely symbolism, which was certainly found to be humorous to many of our merchants. The design is one of a comb (peigne in French) in a field (champ), and is a clear play on words of the county where it was produced and used.[3] According to Philip Grierson, the design is derived from the monogram for the Carolingian King Eudes. The ODO REX of the monogram forms the annulets on either side of the triangle above the comb.

Outside of Champagne, the deniers of Provins appear to have been in competition with the deniers of Paris and the deniers of Tours to be the dominant coin in France. The deniers of Tours had several imitators (the king himself being one), and would ultimately become the standard for France. However, the deniers of Provins would spread widely due to the merchants and would see their design imitated as well. The trade from the Champagne Fairs seems to have seen more Italian good heading north, and more silver heading south.[4] Most of the silver heading to Italy was in the form of ingots, but if it was coined, then it was in the form of the Provins coins used at the Fairs. As such, the Provins denier circulated widely in Italy, and was then imitated by Rome.[5]

Italy - Rome

Roman Senate, c. 12-13th C.

AR Denier, 17.26 mm x 0.9 grams

Obv.: [RO]M[A CAPVT] MV[N]. Legend beginning at 3hr. Comb center, S above with sun to left and moon to right

Rev.: [SENATVS . P.O.R.]. Cross patee, 1st q. moon, 2nd q. pellet, 3rd q. star, 4th q. V

Ref.: Roberts 4733 Variety

Note: Imitative of Champagne

There was such a sparse amount of silver in Europe for the early part of the 12th century that no mint had been in operation in Rome. Thanks to new silver deposits found in Freiberg and its spread south through the Champagne fairs, there was enough silver in Rome that the Senate, in an agreement with the Pope, opened a mint in the 1170s (possibly 76/7) and began striking imitative denier provinois.[6] These imitations can be distinguished by the 's' above the comb, indicating the senate. The legend also defines the senate as the producers, but as these imitations are often crude, it can sometimes be difficult to actually read the legend. My own example is a case in point.

[1] Frances and Joseph Giles, Daily Life in Medieval Times, Illustrated Edition (New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 1990), 340.

[2] Faustin Poey d'Avant, Monnaies Féodales de France, vol. 3 (Paris: Bureau de la Revue Numismatique Française, 1862), 247, cat. #5951. My thanks to @seth77 at Cointalk.com for pointing this out to me.

[3] Philip Grierson, The Coins of Medieval Europe (London: Seaby, 1991), 88.

[4] Peter Spufford, Money and its Use in Medieval Europe (Cambridge: University Press, 1989), 140-1.

[5] Ibid., 141.

[6] Ibid., 109-19, 201-2.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse