ABSTRACT
From the moment paper production gained a foothold in southern Europe at the turn of the eleventh century, numerous paper production landscapes were created. In addition to intensive waterpower and a secure supply of linen rags, they were characterised by their close connection to larger urban centres with a high demand for books and—since Gutenberg's invention in Strasbourg—a concentration of printing workshops. The locations of trade fairs where paper mongers would display different qualities of paper played a leading role. Therefore, the trade fairs in Champagne, the Netherlands, Frankfurt, and Nördlingen had strong significance. The chapter presents some of the leading enterprises and their connections to their markets. No fewer than twelve papermakers from Piedmont settled in Switzerland in the fifteenth century, including the Gallicans, who also spread to Upper Germany, where Basel and Freiburg i.Ü. were the main production and sales centres. Ravensburg (first paper mill in 1393) delivered to Augsburg, Ulm, Regensburg, and probably also Munich. Cologne was mainly supplied with paper from Lorraine, as was Metz, and above all from the water-rich Épinal, which boasted at least eight paper mills and its own papermakers' guild—the only one within the bounds of the Holy Roman Empire. The book trade of itinerant traders also supplied rural regions and small towns with reading material. With the Reformation and improvements in the school system, demand increased enormously.
