Introduction 5
network analysis has become of particular interest for scholars of the Hanse
because of its ambiguous structure and the increasingly clear importance
of merchant relationships in its function.24 Indeed, network analysis figures
prominently in the works presented in this volume, particularly the contribu-
tion by Ewert and Selzer, who have been instrumental in defining the field of
network analysis in Hanse studies.
This present work is an attempt to bring some of the more recent develop-
ments in Hanse history together for an international audience of scholars and
students for whom the German language presents some difficulty. Rather than
a critique of past scholarship, or a foray into the “cutting edge”, this book is
intended to represent the “state-of-the-field” in Hanse history. In addition to
the essays, this volume contains a bibliography that includes the works cited
in the text as well as important works of scholarship on Hanse history broadly
conceived.
This volume is presented in two sections. The first section presents a nar-
rative of Hanse history from earliest times (Hammel-Kiesow), through the
Hanse’s Golden Age (Sarnowsky), and ending with the late Hanse period
(North). As with any attempts at periodization, the chronological dividing
lines between these three chapters are somewhat arbitrary. As a general rule,
the Peace of Stralsund in 1370 was marked as the beginning of the Golden
Age, and the Peace of Utrecht in 1474 was the most useful date for the start of
the later period. The three authors were not held strictly to this admittedly
arbitrary division, but for the most part honored this periodization scheme.
The contributions in the second section deal with topics of particular interest
in recent scholarship: a separate chapter on the Baltic trade ( Janke), one that
explains the structures of kontors and outposts (Burkhardt), and finally, one
on social networks (Ewert and Selzer). The goal for this volume is to present a
solid treatment of current Hanse scholarship in English, rather than to attempt
any kind of exhaustive survey.
In the first chapter, “The Early Hanses,” Rolf Hammel-Kiesow exam-
ines the earliest evidences for German trade associations in the Baltic and
North Sea. Building on a tradition of settlement archaeology methodologies,
Central Places, Beach Markets, Landing Places and Trading Centres (Stuttgart: Konrad
Theiss Verlag, 2010).
24 Justyna Wubs-Mrozewicz, Traders, Ties and Tensions: The Interaction of Lübeckers,
Overijsslers and Hollanders in Late Medieval Bergen (Hilversum: Verloren, 2008), 29; see
also: Justyna Wubs-Mrozewicz, “Rules of Inclusion, Rules of Exculsion: The Hanseatic
Kontor in Bergan in the Late Middle Ages and its Normative Boundaries,” German History
29 (2011): 2–4.