Medieval Camp

Spice Stall at a Medieval Market

Source: http://www.flosetleo.org/artigianato.html

Frutta e Sale al Mercato Medievale

Fruit and salt at a Medieval market in Italy
The Italians are renowned for their precision in re-enactments. This event is taking place at the Mercato delle Gaite in Bevagna, which is a small town in the province of Perugia, south of Assisi.
The commentator is speaking about the importance of spices in medieval markets because they were a mark of distinction between rich and poor.
The guy selling cloth says that he has come a long way to sell his wares, and that he had to pay a tax to set up a stall. The shears that he uses to cut the fabric were also used for shearing sheep.
At the scribe's stall, a woman is dictating a letter to her brother asking him to return some money she has loaned him, and at the fruit stall they're selling apricots, peaches and cherries. In medieval times, the fruit would not have looked as 'nice' as it does today, but the lady commentator also notes how precise the wares at this market are since items like potatoes, cocoa, turkey and chilli peppers had not been 'discovered' yet. That would occur a few centuries later after Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.
Finally they arrive at the salt stall. Salt was considered to be 'white gold' in the Middle Ages for two main reasons. The first was that it was used to preserve food and secondly because it was actually used as currency in the exchange of goods.
More from the Italian Medieval Market later on ...

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