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The course entertainments that were such a prominent part of the social environment in the late medieval city show that emotions were raw and close to the surface. [...] Most people carried at the very least a small knife. The fact that townsmen jousted and had archery contests and in England were required by the Assize of Arms to keep themselves in a state of readiness meant that they usually had weapons at hand. [...] The statutes concerning illicit weapons were more honored in the breach than in practice. Not a single court case in late medieval Zurich made an issue of violation of the municipal statutes forbidding bearing weapons.
The problem was compounded by the presence of many transients in the cities, who had the means to defend themselves on the unpoliced roads while en route. A Nuremberg ordinance forbade sharp knives that could be concealed. Swords were forbidden to all except the prince's officials and the city Schultheiss, and those "who eat their bread". Other laws forbade citizens to conceal weapons in leggings or shoes. The inns were disorderly. In many cities the hostellers took oaths and posted bond. A Lubeck Bursprake of 1350-1 required guests to leave their weapons in their inns. When guests arrived, the landlord was to take possession of their knives and swords. Enforcement was by the innkeeper, not the city police: if the guests refused to surrender their weapons, the hostellers were to refuse to provide food and drink to them or their horses until they complied. The innkeepers of Paris were required in 1407 to furnish the provost with the names of all guests.
-- David Nicholas,
Quote:
First, that all persons who are not burgesses and freemen of the town of Bristol and who bring there wool, woollen cloth, iron, wood, wine, salt, madder, grain, oil, wax or any other merchandize of avoirdupois should take it to a place specifically designated (by the chamberlain then in office, upon the recommendation of the mayor and common council) as the sole location for the advertisement and sale of all such goods. They are to display and sell the same there alone, and not in any other private location.
[...]
Therefore, it has been the custom since ancient times that every outsider who is not a freeman of the town and who brings there any merchandize for advertisement and sale should pay, for the convenience and benefit in so doing, a monetary duty dictated by the type, quantity and variety of the merchandize they have brought, and according to the length of time they keep the goods in town for showing and selling it.
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