drink. Quality standards and pricing regulations were enacted, especially in
England for bread. The Assize of Bread of 1203 was codified in 1266. From
this time, bread had to be labelled by the baker, so that underweight or poor
quality loaves could be traced to their maker (Figure 21). Each baker had his
own seal which was stamped into every loaf. Prices were set by weight, the
aim being to ensure that everyone could be able to afford this staple food. This
did not entirely stop fraud–some bakers in fourteenthcentury London were
selling bread made from flour mixed with dust or chalk, and one even put
pieces of iron into the loaves, to make them seem to be of the proper weight.
Another staple, ale, was also subject to regulation. Aleconners were
appointed to test beer for quality and price, and to report all infractions to the
court leet. Before the introduction of hops, ale had a very short shelflife, and
was made in many small local or domestic breweries. The aleconner
therefore had to try a great deal of ale, often rather bad. Contrary to what one
might imagine, it was not a popular job, and it was sometimes necessary to
force people into the job. The public saw aleconners as unwelcome
representatives of authority.
The wine trade was another source of much fraud. Wine was often
deliberately mislabelled, or mixed with inferior quality vintages. By 1419, the
law required wine to be labelled with its region of origin and in London,
taverns were required to store wines from different countries separately.
Figure 21. Punishment of a bakerMEDIEVAL CRIME