Court of Piepowders

Market Court, also Meßgericht or Meßhandelsgericht, called in the Middle Ages, a court, which ruled prolapsed disputes during a trade fair or a market of all between buying and trading people. Market courts existed in places without stable trade court, as in Trier, where a pillory, which stood as a symbol of the Market Court, is still preserved on the main market.

In England such courts since the Middle Ages under the name Court of Piepowders (regional and piepoudres, pepowder etc. ) were known; the name derives from the Anglo -Norman pié poudrous, literally " dusty feet, " declining, with traveling merchants were called. Some of these market courts met to modern times, the last documented occurred in 1898 in Hemel Hempstead together. In Bristol was up to the formal abolition of all courts market by the court reform 1971 ( Courts Act 1971) still read the court opening annually, even if the court had not met since the end of the annual fair in 1870.