_Germany._—We next turn to _Germany_. We know that the Emperor Charles the Great (Charlemagne) towards the close of the eighth century paid great attention to the commerce of western Europe—a fact indeed which seems difficult to be reconciled with the circumstance that he allowed the priests to make a canon declaring all interest for the use of money to be sinful! It may be that he yielded this point in the hope that commercial dealings would soon explode the fallacy. He recognized in fairs a means of exchange of commodities well suited to the times. The great fairs of his period were those of Aquisgranum (_Aix la Chapelle_) and of _Troyes_. These were frequented during his reign by traders from most parts of Europe. The weight used at the latter fair for dealings in coin—then often accepted by weight only on account of its battered condition—became adopted as the weight for bullion in all parts of Europe—the pound troy. _Flanders._—Our attention is next directed here. The woollen manufactures commenced probably in the latter half of the tenth century (960). At first the sales were mostly to the French, whose thrifty habits enabled them to purchase fine woollen cloths for wear. On account of the scarcity of coin the trade was mostly carried on by barter, to facilitate which Baldwin, Earl of Flanders—who seems to have exceeded most of the sovereigns of that period in desiring the real interest of himself and his subjects—set up weekly markets, and established regular fairs at _Bruges_, _Courtray_, _Torhout_ and _Mont-Casel_, at all which he exempted the goods sold or exchanged from paying any duties on being brought in or carried out. The new trade was thus greatly extended, and it continued to flourish for several centuries—largely due to its being widely known through the fairs of Europe. _France._—Much of the European commerce of the middle ages was transacted at the celebrated fairs of Champagne and Brie. There the merchants of Italy, Spain and France congregated. From far distant climes the Genoese transported thither bales of goods; and busy traders came to meet in open market the infant efforts of Belgian manufacturers from Yprès, Douai, and Bruges. Burgundy sent cloth, Catalonia leather, and the Genoese and Florentines brought silks; while at all the seaports along their coasts vast cargoes were unshipped and placed on the backs of mules to wend their way to the place appointed for the fair. These fairs would begin with the sale of cloth, perhaps for seventeen days; the cloth merchants would settle their accounts prior to the silk merchants entering upon their bargains. In the middle of it all the great cry “Ara” was raised, as a signal for the money-changers to take their seats, and for four weeks they sat for the benefit of the various nationalities who wished to realize their gains in their native coin.