|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
piepowder courts
piepowder courts were the courts attached to fairs and markets and were probably so called because of the dusty feet (pieds poudrés) of the travelling merchants. When the king gave a town or community the franchise to hold a fair or market, he also granted the right to hold a court to decide disputes between merchants at the fair and to deal with criminal offences occurring during the fair. The judges in these courts were merchants. Piepowder courts were popular with the mercantile community, being quick, effective, and not unduly hampered by procedural technicalities. However they gradually declined, especially after statutes limited their jurisdiction in the 15th cent., and by the end of the 16th cent. most had fallen into disuse.
Maureen Mulholland |
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "piepowder courts." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "piepowder courts." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-piepowdercourts.html JOHN CANNON. "piepowder courts." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-piepowdercourts.html |
|
piepowder courts
piepowder courts were the courts attached to fairs and markets and were probably so called because of the dusty feet (pieds poudrés) of the travelling merchants. The judges in these courts were merchants. Piepowder courts were popular with the mercantile community, being quick, effective, and not unduly hampered by procedural technicalities. However, by the end of the 16th cent. most had fallen into disuse.
|
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "piepowder courts." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "piepowder courts." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-piepowdercourts.html JOHN CANNON. "piepowder courts." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-piepowdercourts.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
