Free Seven Ages of Paris by Alistair Horne Page B

originating from the expression pour ce que chacun y allait). In 1183 Philippe Auguste had them replaced with two permanent stone buildings designed to protect both goods and vendors from bad weather and from robbery. Although the topography of Paris in the twelfth century is not clear, Les Champeaux were known to have been located on a little mound. As such, the site was protected from the inundations which periodically occurred in the marshy area situated to the north-west. It seems likely that the site also provided a link with Montmartre to the north.
    Under Philippe Auguste, the market entered an era of growth. In 1181, the King incorporated into Les Champeaux the Saint-Ladre or Saint-Lazare fair which was held outside the city limits, probably between the Saint-Laurent church and the Saint-Lazare leper house (that is, at the present-day intersection of Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis and the Boulevard Magenta). The following year, according to some sources, the market was further enlarged by the confiscation and demolition of houses owned by Jews. Philippe, in contrast to his father, was to earn a bad reputation in his dealings with the Jews and their property.
    Economic conditions in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were favourable to the growth of trade, not only in France but in Europe generally. By the creation of new roads, by the development of new needs, by the maintenance of relative peace, commercial relations by land and by water could extend internationally. But there were still problems, since a lone merchant couldn’t hope to succeed by throwing himself into some far-off trade adventure. Thus an individual’s first care was to place himself under the protection of someone stronger. Everywhere merchants encountered depredation, protectionist land magnates, fiscal barriers and tolls. To begin negotiations allowing the purchase of distant goods, to guarantee the transport in security of the goods and their sale on the market, merchants had to form themselves into companies and assemble together in approved places and at certain times of the year. Hence, it was only to be expected that Paris, capital of a kingdom and a European city by virtue of her university, should have become a large commercial centre, especially with a well-placed site on the Right Bank available for such use. In establishing Les Halles, Philippe struck a blow for Paris as a major trading centre of Europe. Down through the ages, through repeated rebuilding and expansion, the market continued on Philippe’s original site, with the surrounding area retaining much of its original flavour—until Presidents de Gaulle and Pompidou evacuated the whole congested complex out to Rungis, on the way to Orly Airport, in the 1960s.
    THE UNIVERSITY
    Over the years from Abélard to Philippe Auguste, the University of Paris had grown up to become a significant force in the land, along with the monarchy, the nobility and the Church. From earliest days, its students had keenly and liberally involved themselves in city life, outside the walls of Academe—so much so that in the south transept of Notre-Dame a series of reliefs shows scenes from student life, as well as depicting a medieval seminar in progress (though they are listening closely, the participants appear to be taking no notes). In 1200 the new century began with a brawl between town and gown in Paris, grave enough for the King, Philippe Auguste, himself to get involved. An account given by the English chronicler Roger of Howden describes how a band of German students wrecked a tavern and severely beat the owner. In a punitive raid, Thomas, the royal prévôt of Paris, attacked the Germans’ hostel with urban militia; as a result some Parisian students from the University were killed.
    Outraged by this incident, the University’s professors joined their students in demanding redress and suspended teaching, threatening to leave Paris in a body. Here, as in later centuries, the most potent