purveyance

purveyance, in English history, the prerogative of the sovereign to compel the sale of goods at a reduced price to maintain himself and his household as they traveled through the country. It was a constant source of grievance from the European Middle Ages into the 17th century. King’s officers compulsorily purchased (purveyed) from the great fairs or in local markets in advance of the king’s itinerant court. Purveyance included not only the acquisition of goods but the hiring of horses and carts to convey the goods and often forced personal labour. Profiteering officials aggravated the hardship, especially when local surpluses were small. The first limitation of this prerogative was won in the Magna Carta (1215), and in the next three centuries several statutes and petitions were issued against its excesses. The custom nevertheless persisted until the 17th century; Francis Bacon spoke against purveyors in the first Parliament of James I. Purveyance fell out of use during the Commonwealth and was abolished in 1660 at the Restoration.