International fairs enabled merchants coming from distant
regions to meet one another easier and in easily accessable
places. The merchants at these fairs also enjoyed special
protection from the local authorities. However some of these
authorities were negative towards some visitors, because they
were certain foreigners. At the same time international fairs
enabled these local authorities, which usually organised them,
to tax and control more easily the foreign traders. The
international fairs of Europe, which grew up from the C12th
onwards, atracted many traders from Italy, France, England,
Spain, Germany, Flanders, Brabant, Switzerland and Savoy. The
notable fairs of this time were the fairs of Champagne and
Flander, which have been referred to as what has been called the
'world' economy of the middle ages. These fairs history,
probably dates back to the C10th, but information about them
have only been found from 1114 onwards. The main fairs were held
at Troyes in the summer and five lesser fairs around it