#Hanseatic League

[vexwerewolf]

Hey, I can't make a post for the Clans and not include the Inner Sphere as well.

[mapsontheweb]

The Hanseatic League was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe, 13th century.

by @LegendesCarto

[vintagegermany]

Lübeck, Germany 1900

[ltwilliammowett]

Model ships in the Holstentor in Lübeck

These enchanting ladies float inside the Holstentor, the remaining western gate which belonged to the city wall of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck. The gate was built between 1464 and 1478 and is today considered a landmark. The models inside the gate date from various times in the 17th - 19th centuries and once hung in churches as votive ships.

[gothic-architecture]

Exterior of the village church of Biestow, near Rostock, Mecklenburg, Germany

(An-d)

[eopederson]

Trebygninger med tegltak, Bryggen, Bergen, 1976.

Thanks to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage district, the physical fabric of Bryggen has not changed much in the past almost half century. There is much more commerce catering to tourism, however. See my photos of the district taken in September 2023 and tagged bryggen.

[wonderjourneys]

Doesburg - Hanseatic League - The Netherlands

Paid in Beer at Tax House

In medieval times workers sometimes got paid in Beer. At this Tax House in #Doesburg. De Waag: The Weighing House.

#VisitHanzeSteden #Hanze #Hanse #DieHanse #Travel #Wanderlust #History #Architecture #Europe

[ihadafriendonce]

ok, here goes. please ignore all the bread. oh wait there were too many, you won't see all any of the breads, hehe

All right if you see this post put in the tags a list of all the Wikipedia pages you have open in your tabs no matter how long they've been there

[wolfie-wolfgang]

Day Trip to Tallinn in Estonia

On the 7th September 2022, during the second week of my trip to Finland, I got a ferry across the Gulf of Finland, in the Baltic Sea, from Helsinki to Tallinn, the capital of the Republic of Estonia. From one country bordering Russia to another, six months after Russia invaded Ukraine, another of its ex-Soviet neighbours. Not that long ago, if I’d been visiting Finland, I would have been tempted…

[ignorethisatyourperil]

Early morning foggy Gdańsk, Poland

[wanderrealms]

Meant to type "hands" typed "Hansa"

[notupforpolo]

what grown ass fucking woman doesn't know what the hanseatic league is fuck off

[gothic-architecture]

Szczecin Cathedral, Pomerania, Poland

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you

[gothic-architecture]

Germany's most northerly hill castle, Burg Stargard, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

(Maria Krüger)

[ifindus]

I didn't know norway has interacted with HRE, could you tell us more about that?👁️

Of course!! Don't mind the essay below ✨

A direct relationship between Norway and HRE is difficult to find due to many reasons. One reason is that while HRE existed (962-1806) Norway was for the most part bound to Denmark and becomes non-existent in international relations. Another reason is the way that HRE was organized made it difficult to have a linear and stable relation. We mainly see potential interactions between HRE and Norway in two different ways: the Hanseatic league, and through wars and treaties.

The Hanseatic league.

The ­Hanseatic League was a guild of German tradesmen founded in the early 1100s, growing into a large organization for all German tradesmen by 1282. The guild was a result of common interests in trade and a need to protection; a network of alliances. They were essentially tradesmen based in the German area (HRE at the time) who banded together to make more profit in other cities and nations. Some foreign cities even getting their own areas where the German tradesmen lived and functioned as they would have under German rule. Bergen is a great example of this, and was the only Norwegian city included in the Hanseatic League trading network with an office, where still today there are areas referred to as the German dock. The League had their own laws and rules their members had to align with and had its high point from the 1300s to the middle of the 1400s.

The Hanseatic League founded the German office in Bergen at a time the Norwegian nation was weakened by the Black Plague. The access to grain from the Baltics was important for Norwegians and in Bergen the Germans got access to dried fish that came south from Northern Norway as well as fish oil, beer, iron, and certain fabrics. From around 1560, however, the Hanseatic League’s power in Bergen diminished as the Norwegian townspeople got a stronger trading position. Still, the Hanseatic League dominated the trade in Bergen until the middle of the 1700s. The Hanseatic office in Bergen was one of the last sold in 1754. The German population living in Bergen interacted with the locals through cooperation, competition, and conflict and had a great influence on the city.

The Hanseatic League was a major force in Northern Europe during the middle ages and more or less controlled all trade in the North, stretching from the Baltics to England. Middle Low German dominated the trading sphere and such has had a great influence of the Norwegian language and terms connected to trade. The Hanseatic League also made it easier for Norwegians to get access to continental goods and a more steady access to grain.

Wars and Treaties.

Firstly, there’s the German-Danish War of 974, where Norway fought along side Denmark against HRE. This is perhaps the only time we see a direct interaction between the nation Norway and HRE. HRE wanted to crush the Danish rebellion and prevent Viking raids further south. Denmark and Norway moved into German territory to ransack, and the first battle ended with a surprising Danish victory. After this battle, Norway returned home. A year later, HRE attacked again and this time they were successful, bringing the war into Denmark and even claiming Danish territory. The wat was a Danish loss.

Then we have the Treaty of Speyer in 1544 where the HRE Emperor recognised Christian III as the rightful king of Denmark and Norway and fully supported him against his rivals (just so far as to not aid them). In return Denmark-Norway would become pro-Hapsburg and respect the rights of the Teutonic Order, as they had had some disagreements over land previously.

Then there was the Danish-Norwegian involvement in the Thrity Years’ War (1618-1648) started in 1625. The war was in large related to a religious conflict within the borders of the HRE, and a want for European dominance between the Hapsburgs (Spain and Austria) and the House of Bourbon (France). The possibility to gain territories and seeing the war as a threat towards protestantism was what prompted Denmark-Norway to enter the war. Denmark was already present in German area due to trade and control of rivers leading into the sea around Denmark. The Danish intervention was financed by the Dutch and the English against HRE. The following battles were a massive failure for Denmark.

The Danish-Norwegian participation in the Thirty Years’ War ended with the treaty of Lübeck, signed in 1629, between HRE and Denmark-Norway. After the treaty, Denmark-Norway contributed to the war on HRE’s side and had to relinquish some territories. HRE and Denmark-Norway also ended up on the same side in the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678), fighting against France, though they were both occupied in different areas of the war and never fought together.

HRE and Denmark-Norway were on opposing side in the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1814), which led to the dissolution of HRE in 1806) and a cede of Norway to Sweden in 1814, but never engaged in any battles against each other.

Summary.

The most extensive and influential interaction between Norway and HRE was within trade and contact through the Hanseatic League, with extensive cultural exchanges affecting language and norms and even local Norwegian politics.

They rarely dealt with each other directly in wars and treaties as the treaties were mainly organized by Denmark and to avoid fighting each other in the wars. The one time Norway as an independent nation fought against HRE in battle, Norway won. And Denmark lost.

[ltwilliammowett]

UPDATE

A small but nice update on the Tallinn Cog that was found in 2022. It was excavated and is now being conserved, and a dendrochonological study was carried out which shows that the wood used to build the ship was cut around 1360, not from the 13th century as initially assumed, but from the 14th century.

The wreck, with an intact rudder

However, the new finds that were made are also exciting, because in addition to leather shoes that were found last time, a wooden spoon from 1300 was found, as well as dead and well-preserved rats, but also a dry compass that is significantly older than the wreck. This could probably date from the 13th century or the early 14th century.

The compass

The fact that the wreck was not filled like other cogs found so far suggests that it sank during a storm. The researchers are excited to see what else the cog will reveal, as the investigation and conservation work is still ongoing.

The remains of a cog from the 13th century, 18. April 2022

In April this year, another spectacular wreck was found in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, in the area of the old harbour. Another shipwreck was found in 2021 on the same site, where construction has been going on for some time. But of its location (at a depth of four metres) and the fact that it would not be in the way of the construction work, no investigation or excavation was authorised.

This wreck, however, lies much higher and so the archaeologists, who were already able to find leather artefacts, cloth and ropes during the first inspection, hope to be able to salvage it.

The wreck itself appears to be a cog from the 13th century and thus to belong to the Hanseatic League. Many cogs have not yet been excavated, so this wreck would be another one that could well explain 13th century shipbuilding.

Hopefully this wreck will be able to be examined and perhaps even recovered in one piece.