Kontors and Outposts 145
town when the water was frozen. Furthermore it was forbidden to import goods
that valued at more than 1000 mark lübsch.41 This regulation was likely imple-
mented to reduce the risk of oversupply and the outcompeting of Hanseatic
merchants by large and possibly cheap offers from a rich business man.
Of course, trade at the kontors was much more diverse than can be explained
here. Many more goods were traded in all of the four kontors, every merchant
tried to reach the best conditions, sometimes acting at or beyond legal borders.
Large fines were imposed for those caught in the act, but since our sources only
tell us about the uncovered offences against the statutes, we can only guess
how many merchants defied them in secret. Given the fact that the Hanseatic
towns managed to secure their privileges for several centuries, the large mass
of the merchants still seems to have acted within the framework of legal
regulations.
Trade and its control were the main purposes for the existence of the
Hanseatic kontors. But in the view of the merchants and their staff, social life
and cooperation might have been equally important when they came to one of
the four towns and settled down in the kontors.
Life at the Kontors
Living abroad has never been easy. Even today with information available in
advance, it entails practical and social difficulties to stay abroad for any period
of time. How much more difficult must it have been for a medieval merchant
who entered another cultural sphere with different legislation, customs, and
languages? In most cases, he did not travel there with the purpose of getting
acquainted with the region’s culture. He simply wanted to do business with as
little hindrance as possible. For this purpose, the kontors were the ideal place to
go to. Here the Hanseatic merchant met an organization that was similar to the
one he knew from his hometown. He met people of fellow origin, who knew
his background and expectations and could give him guidance and informa-
tion about local customs and the latest news. Everybody spoke a Low German
dialect, ate the same foods, sang traditional songs, and followed other customs
from the hometowns. In other words, a newcomer could feel at home, leaving
him free to concentrate on business. Since all Hanseatic merchants in London,
Bruges, Bergen, and Novgorod had to report to the kontor, it became the most
important and reliable source of information to the Hansards. Prices, qualities,
political actions, and local incidents were discussed here soon after they got to
41 Burkhardt (2005b), 72.