50 Hammel-Kiesow
the respective city. As a roughly drawn rule, one can safely assume that the
councils of cities located on a seaboard were dominated by the merchants of
the long distance trade. Meanwhile, one can also assume that in inland cities,
where trades in handicrafts possessed a greater economic importance, there
would be a more pronounced participation on the councils by the craftsmen.
However, in reality, a great many guildsmen (even when the sources could only
list them as such) were of higher status than the merchants. During the con-
stitutional wars of the late thirteenth century (e.g. Erfurt 1283, Braunschweig
1292/94), council participation by the tradesmen was a reality in many inland
cities. Yet, in other cities, long distance traders were successful in excluding
the representatives of elite groups with competing interests from the coun-
cil: in Goslar the lower nobility, in Magdeburg the Episcopal ministerials, in
Hamburg the land-owning families, and in Lübeck the landowners of similar
rank.
From Princely to Municipal Protection of Merchants
As previously noted, major political powers in the Baltic Region continually
attempted to control the most essential elements of the profitable East-West
trade, namely the sea routes and the ports. So far, in tracing the succession
of these powers within the region since the early twelfth century, one must
note the following developments: First, the initial formation of western Slavic
states, including indications for the formation of a ‘Slavic Hanse’; second, the
reign of Knut Lavard, who connected the western and eastern Baltic regions
(facilitated by his marriage to a princess of Novgorod); third, the ascension of
Lothar iii, whose continued expansion in the region was likely only impeded
by his death. About 20 years after Lothar’s death, his grandson, Henry the Lion,
became the protector of the Low German merchants. And while he did not
found Lübeck or select the city’s economically advantageous location, he did
support the Low German merchants of his realm by means of both his power
and his reputation. Beyond the aforementioned dispatch of an emissary to the
northern lands for the purpose of negotiating the peace treaty of Artlenburg
between the Goths and Germans (Artlenburg Treaty), Henry concluded trea-
ties with Sweden, and possibly Novgorod. Under his protection, the merchants
traded and expanded their trade areas while negotiating the treaties he as ruler
had concluded. In short, it was a typical relationship for the era: the ruler uti-
lizing his position of power and authority to provide protection to the long
distance merchants of his realm.