Merchants’ agents and the process of bottom-up harmonization between European towns, fourteenth to sixteenth centuries

Abstract

Abstract Since merchants typically traded between towns, they had to cross legal boundaries on a regular basis. This article discusses one of the instruments they used in order to deal with the challenges of legal pluralism, namely the instalment of proxies. The proxy had to be recognized as a legitimate representative of another merchant and, for that purpose, he carried with him a procuration letter. These letters look remarkably similar considering that they were drafted in different towns across Europe. An analysis of the procurations shows that common rules and norms developed through the constant exchange between merchants and urban authorities.