68 Sarnowsky
continue or get acceptance and ratification if they were agreed by all towns
involved. The blockade was not only the instrument of an urban alliance intro-
duced and decided on by the assembly of the towns’ representatives, it was
also to be brought to an end by this alliance. Also significant is the terminol-
ogy used in the documents. Nearly every article of the records of the assembly
refers to the Hanseatic League, and several times we find the phrase steden van
der dudeschen hense (‘towns of the German Hanse’).18
Before 1358, the phrase dudesche hense is rare and mostly used by foreign
authorities like the English or Norwegian kings, while the merchants termed
themselves mostly as ‘traders of the Empire’ or ‘common merchant’. It has
been argued that the recurring use of dudesche hense in the documents of
1358 is related to this situation (the blockade of the whole and economically
very powerful county of Flanders), which required a concentration of forces.
Indeed, January 1358 marks the beginning of a new self-awareness of the
towns though the loose urban corporation did not fit into Western constitu-
tional patterns and was addressed as Hanse nearly only in written diplomatic
correspondence.
The next step were negotiations with duke Albert of Bavaria who ruled
over the counties Hainault, Holland, and Zeeland. He granted the Hanseatic
towns wide-ranging privileges for his territories with the consequence that the
Kontor moved to Dordrecht in May 1358. Despite his support, the blockade of
Flanders was not complete because Hanseatic goods came to Flanders partly
via Kampen, Utrecht, and Nijmegen, and partly by merchants who did not
keep to the regulations. Nevertheless, the Flemish dependency on imported
victuals was so great that shortages in their supply nearly resulted in a fam-
ine. Thus, once again the Hanseatic League’s privileges could be secured and
extended by a blockade.19 Count Louis iii and the Flemish towns granted the
rights for the whole county that before only applied to Bruges and the Zwin.
In cases of doubt, the decision should be in favour of the German merchants.
They were allowed to trade also in small quantities and received compensa-
tions from the town of Bruges which also covered debts of their hosts. The
new form of cooperation between the towns had passed its test. From now on,
all common activities of the towns were discussed and co-ordinated by the
assemblies of the towns’ representatives, of which there were 68 between 1356
18 Cf. Thomas Behrmann, “Über Zeichen, Zeremoniell und Hansebegriff auf hansischen
Tagfahrten,” in Die hansischen Tagfahrten, 109–24, at 122; Hammel-Kiesow, Hanse, 64–65.
19 Survey in Peter Stützel, “Die Privilegien des Deutschen Kaufmanns in Brügge im 13. und
- Jahrhundert,” Hansische Geschichtsblätter 116 (1998), 23–63.