Old and New Paris: Its History, Its People, and Its Places, v. 2

by H. Sutherland Edwards

At Paris, the inhabitants showed themselves equally resolved to profit by their position on the banks of the Seine. A society was formed at an early date, under the title of “Society of the Water-Merchants of Paris,” in which were included the principal merchants receiving and distributing their goods by means of the river flowing through the town. This association, mentioned for the first time in documents belonging to the reign of Louis VI., claimed the right of levying sixty sous on every boat which took a cargo of wine to Paris during the vintage.

It was easy enough for the owners of the vessels to come to terms with the proprietors of the castles on the river-banks, who desired only to derive a small profit from the passage of the boats; but it was not so easy to pass the tradesmen of the towns on the Seine, who, finding their interests injured by the detention of the Parisians, complained bitterly, and endeavoured, from time to time, to throw off the yoke of tyrannical Paris. Burgundy on one side and Normandy on the other protested against the pretended privileges of the Hanseatic League, but all in vain. The town of Auxerre made strenuous endeavours at one time to prevent the Parisian merchants from introducing into their town the cargoes of salt sent from Normandy. Rouen was far less accommodating than Auxerre had shown itself. People had forgotten how it was that the merchants of Paris enjoyed such exceptional privileges. But the Parisian burgesses were rich and powerful. Besides their river privileges, they were entitled to half of all the money received in fines; and the richer the citizens of Paris became, the better able they were to pay the various taxes levied in the name of the king. The king, moreover, received half the fines imposed upon smugglers; and anyone who ventured to land the least merchandise without formal permission from the water-merchants was exposed to penalties. The corporation of water-merchants showed no respect for persons in levying its dues. Thus, it seized on one occasion the wine purchased by the Abbé de St. Germain l’Auxerrois, because it had been landed without formal permission. The abbé appealed to the king, who submitted the matter to the Parliament, which, deciding that the abbé had acted within his rights, ordered the seizure to be annulled. The Hanseatic League was sufficiently powerful, however, to prevent the execution of the order, and the Abbé de St. Germain remained without his wine.

Commerce by land had in those days but little importance, partly by reason of the badness of the roads, partly on account of the dangers to which travellers were exposed. There was but one important road to Paris, that of Orleans; and on this road, at Mont Chéry, a post was maintained, where dues were levied on cloth, linen, grain, cattle, sheep, and even hedgehogs. According to the barbarous custom of the time, a Jew was stopped at this post and made to pay for the privilege of entering Paris. He was charged something extra if he carried with him his lamp—probably the lamp with seven branches, used for the celebration of the Sabbath. His Hebrew books were also taxed.

It was only, in fact, by means of the Seine that the Parisians were able with ease to receive goods of all kinds from the outside. Accordingly, the river trade was for a long time the most important branch of the Parisian commerce. The association of water-merchants was looked upon as an association of merchants generally, and, naturally enough, a ship was[{308}] adopted as principal object in the arms of Paris.

The association of water-merchants prided itself on keeping up a constant supply of provisions, and boats were constantly reaching the capital from Burgundy at one end of the Seine or Normandy at the other. It was on Burgundy for many centuries that Paris depended for its wine, and it was not until a certain nobleman, dilapidated in constitution, sought refuge in the Governorship of Gascony, where the wine of the province restored him to health, that Bordeaux gained the good name it has since enjoyed among the Parisians.

Great fairs were held at various points along the course of the Seine, which were scenes at once of commerce and of amusement. Foreign merchants and tradesmen, students from the university, mountebanks, drink-sellers, adventurers, and thieves, were brought together by every fair. Buying and selling came to an end on the ringing of the Angélus, and the scenes which followed partook, more or less, of the nature of orgies. All trades were subjected in mediæval Paris to strict regulations, and for sixty days in the year the Parisians were deprived of fresh bread. There was a master-baker, or “grand panetier,” who was held responsible for the acts of the bakers, his subordinates, on whose behalf he had frequently to appear before the Grand Provost of the capital. The pastrycooks, like the bakers, formed a corporation of their own, with special duties and privileges.

The taverns in the middle ages, as now, were frequented by the lower classes, and they had such a bad reputation that Louis IX., by a special edict, forbade their frequentation. Nevertheless, the tavern-keepers formed a corporation, legally established with its own statutes, and with licences, imposed by the State on very onerous terms. The king’s proclamation, then, against the frequentation of taverns was without effect.

At the different landing-places and stations on the Seine, the goods brought up by boats were cried for sale, preference being always given to the wine imported from the royal vineyards in Burgundy and elsewhere. The Seine is a great thoroughfare costing nothing to keep up, and the chief line of communication between the capital and the Burgundy vineyards. Naturally, too, it was by the Seine that fish was sent to Paris from Normandy and Brittany. Ten kinds of fish are mentioned in the ancient octroi lists as habitually forwarded to Paris. Of these, herrings were, in particular, supplied very abundantly.

One of the most important trade corporations of medieval Paris was that of the butchers, who, throughout French history, have shown a constant tendency to coalesce. At present, however, there is no bond of union between them, except that which results from their being subjected to the same regulations in respect to the prices to be charged.

An entertaining account of the privileges and corporate character of the ancient Paris butchers is given by M. Ducamp, who writes so well in his bulky work on Paris that even the chapter it contains on the abattoir is not only devoid of horrors, but invested with interest.