Legal Definitions - assisa venalium

Assisa venalium is a historical legal term that refers to an ordinance or regulation concerning goods offered for sale. In medieval and early modern periods, authorities would enact these regulations to control various aspects of commodities available in markets, such as their quality, weight, measure, or price. The primary goal was often to ensure fair trade practices, prevent fraud, and protect consumers within a specific jurisdiction.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Imagine a bustling medieval town where the local council, concerned about the rising cost of essential foodstuffs, issues a decree setting a maximum price for a standard loaf of bread and a minimum weight for that loaf. This regulation, designed to control the price and quantity of a fundamental commodity sold to the public, would be an example of an assisa venalium. It directly dictates the terms under which bread, a salable good, could be traded.

• Consider a historical decree from a monarch stipulating that all barrels of ale sold in the kingdom's markets must contain a specific volume and adhere to certain brewing standards. This measure was intended to prevent brewers from diluting their product or short-changing customers, ensuring a consistent quality and quantity for a widely consumed beverage. Such a royal order, governing the standards for ale as a commodity for sale, would also be classified as an assisa venalium.