Note 336 — Chapter II · MESSENGERS, ITINERANT MERCHANTS AND PEDLARS

These and other particulars about the way in which fairs were managed at Westminster and Winchester are to be found in a petition with an inquest of the year 1302, 30 Ed. I, in the “Rolls of Parliament,” vol. i. p. 150. The Winchester Fair on St. Giles’ hill, “Montem sancti Egidii,” was one of the most famous English fairs. Langland mentions it, and gives a graphic account of the cheating that went on among unscrupulous merchants. “Visions,” Text C, pas. vii. l. 211.