--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To ensure that no one gained an advantage…" description: "\"To ensure that no one gained an advantage over anyone else, commercial law [in the 14th century] prohibited innovation in tools or techniques, undersel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa3/barbara-tuchman-3945_advantage_to-ensure-that-no-one-gained-an-advantag_2367709.png" --- # To ensure that no one gained an advantage over anyone… ![“To ensure that no one gained an advantage over anyone else, commercial law [in the 14th century] prohibited innovation in tools or techniques, underselling below a fixed price, working late by artificial light, employing extra apprentices or wife and underage children, and advertising of wares or…” quote by Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa3/barbara-tuchman-3945_advantage_to-ensure-that-no-one-gained-an-advantag_2367709.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa3/barbara-tuchman-3945_advantage_to-ensure-that-no-one-gained-an-advantag_2367709.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa3/barbara-tuchman-3945_advantage_to-ensure-that-no-one-gained-an-advantag_2367709.png) > “To ensure that no one gained an advantage over anyone else, commercial law \[in the 14th century\] prohibited innovation in tools or techniques, underselling below a fixed price, working late by artificial light, employing extra apprentices or wife and underage children, and advertising of wares or praising them to the detriment of others.” [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes medieval commercial restrictions meant to prevent economic inequality, limiting innovation and competition. **In simple terms:** Old laws limited competition. Key Takeaway Recognize how regulation can stifle progress. Themes economics history regulation Mood analytical critical Type historical economic When to use this quote - policy making - business strategy - economic reform Key Concepts market dynamics social equity innovation constraints Questions to Reflect On - Are modern regulations too restrictive? - How can we balance fairness with innovation? A Different Perspective Over‑regulation can hinder beneficial change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [14Th Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/14th-century-302154/) [Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/) [Advertising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advertising/) [Artificial light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artificial-light/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Commercial Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commercial-law-700904/) [Extras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extras/) [Fixed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fixed/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law 14Th](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-14th-5819834/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Prohibited Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prohibited-innovation-3835273/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) [Underselling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underselling-3835274/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Working late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-late/) ## Related quotes > [To ensure that no one gained an advantage over anyone else, commercial law prohibited innovation in tools or techniques, underselling below a fixed price,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/to-ensure-that-no-one-gained-an-advantage-over-anyone-else-commercial/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [We women are great at underselling ourselves and not so great at owning our awesome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-foudy/we-women-are-great-at-underselling-ourselves-and-not-so-great-at/) [Julie Foudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-foudy/) > [The English practice of accommodating the rules of commercial law to commercial practice. The line of causation ran from economic need to legal response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-rosenberg/the-english-practice-of-accommodating-the-rules-of-commercial-law-to/) [Nathan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-rosenberg/) > [The ills and disorders of the 14th century could not be without consequence. Times were to grow worse over the next fifty-odd years until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-ills-and-disorders-of-the-14th-century-could-not-be-without/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ While husbands and lovers in the stories \[of the 14th century\] are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers:… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-of-the-14th-century-are-of/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The social damage was not in the failure but in the undertaking, which was expensive. The cost of war was the poison running through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-social-damage-was-not-in-the-failure-but-in-the-undertaking-which/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ No female iniquity was more severely condemned \[in the 14th century\] than the habit of plucking eyebrows and the hairline to heighten the forehead. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/no-female-iniquity-was-more-severely-condemned-in-the-14th-century/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ No economic activity was more irrepressible \[in the 14th century\] than the investment and lending at interest of money; it was the basis for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/no-economic-activity-was-more-irrepressible-in-the-14th-century-than/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ The Church \[in the 14th century\] gave ceremony and dignity to lives that had little of either. It was the source of beauty and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-church-in-the-14th-century-gave-ceremony-and-dignity-to-lives/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ The nastiness of women \[in the 14th century\] was generally perceived at the close of life when a man began to worry about hell,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-nastiness-of-women-in-the-14th-century-was-generally-perceived-at/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ Woman \[in the 14th century\] was the Church's rival, the temptress, the distraction, the obstacle to holiness, the Devil's decoy. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/woman-in-the-14th-century-was-the-church-s-rival-the-temptress-the/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Modern historians have suggested that in his last years he (Richard II) was overtaken by mental disease, but that is only a modern view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/modern-historians-have-suggested-that-in-his-last-years-he-richard-ii/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ The clergy \[in the 14th century\] on the whole were probably no more lecherous or greedy or untrustworthy than other men, but because they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-clergy-in-the-14th-century-on-the-whole-were-probably-no-more/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Money was the crux. Raising money to pay the cost of war was to cause more damage to 14th century society than the physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/money-was-the-crux-raising-money-to-pay-the-cost-of-war-was-to-cause/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [You see these thick curtains shut out the daylight: artificial light suits me a great deal better; it's absolutely steady, and much more exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/you-see-these-thick-curtains-shut-out-the-daylight-artificial-light/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## More by Barbara Tuchman > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Doctrine tied itself into infinite knots over the realities of sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/doctrine-tied-itself-into-infinite-knots-over-the-realities-of-sex/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The fleet sailed to its war base in the North Sea, headed not so much for some rendezvous with glory as for rendezvous with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-fleet-sailed-to-its-war-base-in-the-north-sea-headed-not-so-much/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Learning from experience is a faculty almost never practiced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/learning-from-experience-is-a-faculty-almost-never-practiced/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [War is the unfolding of miscalculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/war-is-the-unfolding-of-miscalculations/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The poets have familiarized more people with history than have the historians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-poets-have-familiarized-more-people-with-history-than-have-the/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Money was the crux. Raising money to pay the cost of war was to cause more damage to 14th century society than the physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/money-was-the-crux-raising-money-to-pay-the-cost-of-war-was-to-cause/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The power to command frequently causes failure to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-power-to-command-frequently-causes-failure-to-think/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [We seem to be afflicted by a widespread and eroding reluctance to take any stand on any values, moral, behavioral or esthetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/we-seem-to-be-afflicted-by-a-widespread-and-eroding-reluctance-to/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ The clergy \[in the 14th century\] on the whole were probably no more lecherous or greedy or untrustworthy than other men, but because they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-clergy-in-the-14th-century-on-the-whole-were-probably-no-more/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/without-books-history-is-silent-literature-dumb-science-crippled/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Words are seductive and dangerous material, to be used with caution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/words-are-seductive-and-dangerous-material-to-be-used-with-caution/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [“German soldiers, posted as informers, were found dressed as peasants, even as peasant women. The latter were discovered, presumably in the course of non-military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/german-soldiers-posted-as-informers-were-found-dressed-as-peasants/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I ask myself, have nations ever declined from a loss of moral sense rather than from physical reasons or the pressure of barbarians? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/i-ask-myself-have-nations-ever-declined-from-a-loss-of-moral-sense/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) [Explore all 119 Barbara Tuchman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## More Advantage quotes > [Dogmatists have one advantage: they are poor listeners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/dogmatists-have-one-advantage-they-are-poor-listeners/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [All I ever wanted was an unfair advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-wynn/all-i-ever-wanted-was-an-unfair-advantage/) [Garrison Wynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-wynn/) > [Part of the advantage, and part of the result of trying to be a producer and director, are the practical things, you find. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/part-of-the-advantage-and-part-of-the-result-of-trying-to-be-a/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) > [I was born with a silver microphone in my mouth, and that was an advantage. My father wrote books and was also a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dimbleby/i-was-born-with-a-silver-microphone-in-my-mouth-and-that-was-an/) [Jonathan Dimbleby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dimbleby/) > [Like funny men, skilled diners are apparently perceived to have an evolutionary advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/like-funny-men-skilled-diners-are-apparently-perceived-to-have-an/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [For some reason when I decide to pursue something, I never have any fear that it won't happen. I think it's just ingrained in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-blatz/for-some-reason-when-i-decide-to-pursue-something-i-never-have-any/) [Kelly Blatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-blatz/) > [I think I have good hands, so I try to use them to my advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-andreescu/i-think-i-have-good-hands-so-i-try-to-use-them-to-my-advantage/) [Bianca Andreescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-andreescu/) > [My influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. World music from different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rokia-traore/my-influences-are-jazz-blues-european-classical-music-they-are-rock/) [Rokia Traore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rokia-traore/) > [Baseball needs to put the steroids era behind it by having and enforcing tough rules against all kinds of artificial advantages, so that spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/baseball-needs-to-put-the-steroids-era-behind-it-by-having-and/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [Daily contact with some teachers is itself all-sided ethical education for the child without a spoken precept. Here, too, the real advantage of male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/daily-contact-with-some-teachers-is-itself-all-sided-ethical/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [ If \[Donald\] Trump throws 20 million off of health care, that's going to be - if he handles this badly - and it's very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/if-donald-trump-throws-20-million-off-of-health-care-that-s-going-to/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Live in the world you inhabit. Look upon things as they are. Take them as you find them. Make the best of them. Turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/live-in-the-world-you-inhabit-look-upon-things-as-they-are-take-them/) [Robert E. 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