Close supervision of price, quality, weights, measures and hygiene was an expectation in medieval English markets, both large and small, and this made them attractive venues for commerce. Regulation engendered confidence in users of formal markets, tempering the risks involved in commercial transactions. Admittedly, market regulations were often couched in paternal, moral and protective language, offering succour to poorer consumers but also aiding certain vested interests. Middleman activity was curtailed, prices were fixed according to a consensus about prevailing market conditions, and retail trade could be reserved to residents and burgesses through restrictions and tolls. To an extent, such laws dampened entrepreneurial speculation, but they also addressed the flaws of an immature market system. Many trade regulations, especially those promulgated and enforced across the realm, were intended to allay understandable concerns about asymmetrical information, lack of technical knowledge, trust, adverse selection and haphazard supply. In a developing commercial economy, the provision of national standards and common expectations was a vital foundation for market confidence and success.

The development of market regulation in medieval England was a multifaceted process, influenced by a variety of interested parties. The king, government officials, municipal authorities, lords and the church were just some of those who were active in developing market laws that served fiscal, political and social purposes. However, such laws could not be enforced effectively at a local level unless there was a degree of consensus regarding their viability and utility among general market users.