152 Burkhardt
from 1416, the Hanseatic merchants “played” with Russian women.72 In 1449,
the merchants in London issued an article in the statues prohibiting prostitu-
tion at the rooms of the Stalhof.73 Still, three years later a brawl was reported
following a dispute of some merchants about who should take which women
to his room.74
Usually internal disputes were settled peacefully with the help of other mer-
chants or friends.75 Only when this was not possible did the aldermen or depu-
ties have to pass a sentence. As long as two Hanseatic merchants were involved,
the kontor had the absolute jurisdiction. If the dispute was between a Hansard
and a denizen, the local authorities had to be notified. This made supervising
the merchants’ activities difficult. To make sure offenses were reported to the
aldermen, two merchants in each hostel were appointed to report all offenses.
Because these spies didn’t know the other informants’ identities, the system
ensured that only the aldermen knew all of them, making everybody feel like
they were constantly being watched.
Life at the Hanseatic kontors was as manifold as anywhere. Due to lack of
female influence, the tone might have been a bit rougher than in the mer-
chants’ hometowns, but altogether the kontors were a reflection of the north
European medieval town society with its household hierarchies, interpersonal
networks and activities, and internal organization. The Hanseatic merchants
had very different lives at the four kontors according to local conditions, cli-
mate, customs, and culture. Especially in the kontors in London, Bergen, and
Novgorod, the close life together in a potentially hostile environment strength-
ened interpersonal bonds. We can detect partnerships and social contacts of
merchants who were together as boys at the same kontor years after they went
home and settled as merchants in one of the Hanse towns. The kontors pro-
vided a platform for successful business and gave young men and merchants
the opportunity to become acquainted with different cultures and customs.
They also allowed for strong interpersonal bonds that sometimes lasted an
entire lifetime and could build the base for successful economic and social
networking.
72 Angermann (1989), 175.
73 Jörn (2000), 449.
74 Schubert (2000), 41.
75 Statutes of the kontor in Bergen (1572), § 11.