| Act of Parliament | |
.svg) | |
| Long title | Latin:Assisa Panis et Cervisie |
|---|---|
| Citation | Stat. Temp. Incert |
| Territorial extent | |
| Dates | |
| Repealed | 10 August 1872 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872 |
| Relates to | |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
TheAssize of Bread and Ale (Latin:Assisa panis et cervisiae) (Stat.Temp. Incert) was a 13th-century law inhigh medieval England, which regulated the price, weight and quality of thebread andbeer manufactured and sold in towns, villages and hamlets. It was the first law in British history to regulate the production and sale of food.[1][2] At the local level, this resulted inregulatorylicensing systems, with arbitrary recurringfees, and fines and punishments for lawbreakers (seeamercement).[3] In rural areas, the statute was enforced bymanorial lords, who held tri-weeklycourt sessions.[4]
The law was amended by the Bread Bread Acts of 1822 and 1836, which stipulated that loaves should be sold by the pound, or multiple thereof[citation needed], and finally repealed by theStatute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 125).
Bread regulation was the most significant and long-lasting commercial law in medieval England. The first bread assize law dates back to the 13th century, but its origins are even older. This law can be traced back to proclamations from the reigns ofHenry II andJohn that regulated the purchasing requirements of the royal household.[5]
These assizes adjusted the weight of bread according to the price of wheat. The price of bread was always the same, even though the price of grain fluctuated. Instead, when the price of grain increased, the weight of bread was reduced accordingly. For every increase in the price of wheat, the weight of a loaf fell.[5] The Assize of Bread and Ale set the price ofale and the weight for afarthing loaf of bread.[6] The act reduced competition and was purportedly given at the request of the bakers ofCoventry, embracing several ordinances ofHenry III's predecessors.[7]
The expensive equipment associated with brewing and baking, particularly theoven, created a commercial market for the goods. This resulted in a perceived need for regulations controlling quality and pricing, and checking weights, to avoid fraudulent activity by food providers.[8]
Some versions of the statute include an explanatory third paragraph which begins:
By the Consent of the whole Realm ofEngland, the Measure of our Lord the King was made; that is to say: That anEnglish peny, called aSterling, round and without anyclipping, shall weigh 32Wheat Corns in the midst of theEar, and 20d. do make anOunce, and 12 Ounces onePound, and 8 Pound do make aGallon of Wine, and 8 Gallons of Wine do make aLondon Bushel, which is the Eighth Part of aQuarter.[7][9]
The assize presented an established scale, then of ancient standing, between the prices of wheat and of bread, providing that when thequarter (~240 L / 6.9 US bushel if the gallon is taken to be thewine gallon) of wheat was sold at twelvepence, the farthing loaf of the best white bread should weigh six pounds sixteen shillings (~2.5 kg / 5.6 lbavdp if the pound is taken to be the troy pound). It then graduated the weight of bread according to the price of wheat, and for every six pence added to the quarter of wheat, the weight of the farthing loaf was reduced; until, when the wheat was at twenty shillings a quarter, it directed the weight of the loaf to be six shillings and three pence (~120 g / 4.1 oz avdp)..
The assize of bread was in force until the beginning of the 19th century, and was only then abolished in London.[10]
In a similar manner, the assize regulated the price of the gallon of ale, by the price of wheat, barley, and oats, stating that,
when a quarter of wheat was sold for three shillings, or three shillings and four-pence, and a quarter of barley for twenty pence or twenty-four pence, and a quarter of oats for fifteen pence, brewers in cities could afford to sell two gallons of ale for a penny, and out of cities three gallons for a penny; and when in a town (in burgo) three gallons are sold for a penny, out of a town they may and ought to sell four.[11]
Over time, this uniform scale of price created opportunities forarbitrage that made it extremely inconvenient and oppressive; and by theBrewers and Coopers Act 1531 (23 Hen. 8. c. 4) in the 16th century, it was enacted that ale-brewers should charge for their ale such prices as might appear convenient and sufficient in the discretion of thejustices of the peace within whose jurisdiction where the ale-brewers lived. The price of ale was regulated by provisions like those stated above, and the quality was ascertained by officers of great antiquity, calledgustatores cervisiae, that is, "aletasters" orale-conners, chosen annually in thecourt-leet of each manor, and were sworn "to examine and assay the beer and ale, and to take care that they were good and wholesome, and sold at proper prices according to the assize; and also to present all defaults of brewers to the next court-leet."[11]
The assize likely led to the term 'baker's dozen', as bakers would include an extra loaf to ensure that they did not violate the law.[12]
In the cities ofYork andGloucester, the tradition has been revived in recent years, and is known as theSheriff's Assize of Ale.[13][14]
The act was extended toIreland byPoynings' Law 1495 (10 Hen. 7. c. 22 (I)).
The whole act was repealed forEngland and Wales by section 1 of, and the schedule to, theStatute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 125) and forIreland by section 1 of, and the schedule to, theStatute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 98).