summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/39664-8.txt
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to '39664-8.txt')
-rw-r--r--39664-8.txt9954
1 files changed, 9954 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/39664-8.txt b/39664-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1ace26b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39664-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,9954 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Hansa Towns, by Helen Zimmern
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: The Hansa Towns
+
+
+Author: Helen Zimmern
+
+
+
+Release Date: May 10, 2012 [eBook #39664]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HANSA TOWNS***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Delphine Lettau, Melissa McDaniel, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+ file which includes the original illustrations.
+ See 39664-h.htm or 39664-h.zip:
+ (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39664/39664-h/39664-h.htm)
+ or
+ (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39664/39664-h.zip)
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+ Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+ Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=).
+
+
+
+
+
+The Story of the Nations.
+
+THE HANSA TOWNS.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE STORY OF THE NATIONS.
+
+_Large Crown 8vo, Cloth, Illustrated, 5s._
+
+_Presentation Edition, Gilt Edges, 5s. 6d._
+
+ 1. =ROME.= ARTHUR GILMAN, M.A.
+
+ 2. =THE JEWS.= Prof. J. K. HOSMER.
+
+ 3. =GERMANY.= Rev. S. BARING-GOULD, M.A.
+
+ 4. =CARTHAGE.= Prof. A. J. CHURCH.
+
+ 5. =ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE.= Prof. J. P. MAHAFFY.
+
+ 6. =THE MOORS IN SPAIN.= STANLEY LANE-POOLE.
+
+ 7. =ANCIENT EGYPT.= Canon RAWLINSON.
+
+ 8. =HUNGARY.= Prof. A. VAMBÉRY.
+
+ 9. =THE SARACENS.= A. GILMAN, M.A.
+
+ 10. =IRELAND.= Hon. EMILY LAWLESS.
+
+ 11. =CHALDÆA.= Z. A. RAGOZIN.
+
+ 12. =THE GOTHS.= HENRY BRADLEY.
+
+ 13. =ASSYRIA.= Z. A. RAGOZIN.
+
+ 14. =TURKEY.= STANLEY LANE-POOLE.
+
+ 15. =HOLLAND.= Prof. J. E. THOROLD ROGERS.
+
+ 16. =MEDIÆVAL FRANCE.= Prof. GUSTAVE MASSON.
+
+ 17. =PERSIA.= S. G. W. BENJAMIN.
+
+ 18. =PHOENICIA.= Canon RAWLINSON.
+
+ 19. =MEDIA.= Z. A. RAGOZIN.
+
+ 20. =THE HANSA TOWNS.= By HELEN ZIMMERN.
+
+
+ London:
+ T. FISHER UNWIN, 26, Paternoster Square, E.C.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+
+ [Illustration: VIEW OF HAMBURG.]
+
+
+THE HANSA TOWNS
+
+by
+
+HELEN ZIMMERN
+
+Author of "A Life of Lessing," "Heroic Tales from Firdusi," etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+London
+T. Fisher Unwin
+26 Paternoster Square
+
+New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons
+MDCCCLXXXIX
+
+Entered at Stationers' Hall
+By T. Fisher Unwin
+
+Copyright by G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1889
+(For the United States of America).
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+In bringing before the public what I believe to be the first History of
+the Hanseatic League, it gives me pleasure to think that the impetus to
+write it came from the United States. The work was suggested to me
+by my valued friend, Mr. G. H. Putnam, of New York, a citizen of
+the country in which the principle of federation is best understood
+and most thoroughly carried out. The Hansa was one of the earliest
+representatives of that federal spirit which will, beyond doubt, some
+day help to solve many of the heavy and grievous problems with which we
+of the Old World are struggling; but that day is not yet, and meantime
+we have much to learn both from the successes and failures of the past.
+
+I have, of course, assumed in my readers some knowledge of German
+History, such as they can derive from Professor Bryce's inimitable "Holy
+Roman Empire," or from Baring-Gould's "Story of Germany," one of the
+earlier volumes of this series.
+
+In conclusion, I desire to express my very cordial thanks to Dr. Otto
+Benecke, Keeper of the State Archives of the city of Hamburg, and to my
+uncle, Dr. Carl Leo, Syndic of the same town, for the generosity with
+which they have accorded me valuable assistance in the preparation of
+this volume. I have further to thank Miss L. Toulmin Smith for help in
+revision of the MS., and for many useful suggestions. To my sister, Miss
+Alice Zimmern, and to Dr. Richard Garnett, of the British Museum, I am
+indebted for aid in proof-reading.
+
+ HELEN ZIMMERN.
+
+ FLORENCE,
+ _March 1, 1889_.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+ PAGE
+
+ PREFACE vii
+
+ PROEM 1-7
+
+
+ _PERIOD I._
+
+ I.
+ THE DAWN OF A GREAT TRADE GUILD 11-20
+
+ Teutonic Merchants, 15--Travelling in Early Times, 17--Origin
+ of the Guilds, 19.
+
+ II.
+ FEDERATION 21-29
+
+ The Story of "Winetha," 23--The Island of Gothland, 25--"Salt
+ Kolberg," 27--Unhansing, 29.
+
+ III.
+ FOREIGN TRADE 30-47
+
+ Social Conditions, 31--Enslavement of the Middle Class,
+ 35--Italian Influences, 37--Burgher Home Rule, 43--League of
+ the Baltic Towns, 45--The Title "Hansa," 47.
+
+ IV.
+ THE HANSA FIGHTS 48-69
+
+ The Herring Fisheries, 49--Waldemar, 51--The First Attack,
+ 53--Sack of Wisby, 55--Copenhagen Plundered, 57--Punishment
+ of Wittenborg, 59--The Cologne Federation, 61--Growing
+ Strength of the League, 63--Flight of Waldemar, 65--Treaty
+ of Stralsund, 67--A Curious Chapter in History, 69.
+
+
+ _PERIOD II._
+
+ THE HISTORY OF THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE,
+ FROM 1370 TO THE PUBLIC PEACE OF 1495,
+ DECREED IN GERMANY BY MAXIMILIAN I.
+
+ I.
+ LÜBECK RECEIVES AN IMPERIAL VISITOR 73-81
+
+ Hesitation of Lübeck, 75--Procession from St. Gertrude's
+ Chapel, 77--Lübeck Hospitality, 79--Records of the Visit,
+ 81.
+
+ II.
+ THE TOWNS IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY 82-125
+
+ The Ban of the Hansa, 83--Submission of Brunswick,
+ 85--Prominence of the Cities, 87--Population of Lübeck,
+ 89--Characteristics of the Germans, 91--Independence of the
+ Towns, 93--The Maritime Ports, 95--Exports of the Hansa,
+ 97--Conditions of Trade, 101--Specie, Credit, and Bills,
+ 103--The Extent of Mediæval Trade, 105--The Churches and
+ Religious Buildings, 107--Hanseatic Architecture and Art,
+ 109--Science and Literature, 111--The May Emperor,
+ 113--Customs, Restrictions, and Regulations, 117--Luxury in
+ Dress, 119--The Town Council, 121--The Town-hall,
+ 123--Mediæval Patriotism, 125.
+
+ III.
+ THE VICTUAL BROTHERS 126-136
+
+ Plunder of Bergen, 127--Stortebeker, 129--Simon of Utrecht,
+ 131--Execution of Stortebeker, 133.
+
+ IV.
+ THE FACTORY OF BERGEN 137-147
+
+ History of Bergen, 139--Shoemaker's Alley, 141--Constitution
+ of the Factory, 143--Barbarous Practices, 147.
+
+ V.
+ THE HANSEATIC COMMERCE WITH DENMARK,
+ SWEDEN, AND RUSSIA 148-162
+
+ Skânoe and Falsterbo, 149--The Pious Brotherhood of Malmö,
+ 151--The Hansa at Novgorod, 153--The Court of St. Peter,
+ 155--Furs, Metals, Honey, and Wax, 157--The Lombards
+ _versus_ the Hansa, 159--Ivan the Terrible Sacks Novgorod,
+ 161.
+
+ VI.
+ THE COMMERCE OF THE LEAGUE WITH THE
+ NETHERLANDS AND SOUTHERN EUROPE 163-178
+
+ The Flemish Trade Guilds, 165--Hansa Factory at Bruges,
+ 167--Suspension of Trade with Flanders, 169--Trade with
+ Antwerp, 171--Relations with France, 173--The Hansa in
+ Portugal and Italy, 175--Italian Culture in South Germany,
+ 177.
+
+ VII.
+ THE STEELYARD IN LONDON 179-201
+
+ The Hanseatic Rothschilds, 181--Hanseatics Hated by the
+ People, 183--Rupture with England, 185--The Key to the
+ City's Commerce, 187--Description of the Steelyard,
+ 189--Inner Life of the Factory, 191--The English
+ Conciliated, 193--Depôts throughout England, 195--The
+ Hansa's Part in Ceremonies, 199--Religion of the English
+ Hanseatics, 201.
+
+ VIII.
+ THE ORGANIZATION OF THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE 202-208
+
+ The Diets, 203--Minutes of the Diet's Proceedings, 205.
+
+
+ _PERIOD III._
+ THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE HANSA.
+
+ INTRODUCTION 211-216
+
+ Decay of the Feudal System, 213--The Thirty Years' War, 215.
+
+ I.
+ STORM CLOUDS 217-235
+
+ Charles V. of Germany, 219--Gustavus Appeals to Lübeck,
+ 223--Cruelty of Christian II., 225--Gustavus Lands in
+ Sweden, 227--Lübeck Aids Gustavus, 229--Christian II.
+ deposed, 231--Christian II. Abjures Lutheranism,
+ 233--Christian's Memory, 235.
+
+ II.
+ KING FREDERICK AND KING GUSTAVUS VASA 236-239
+
+ "Put not thy trust in Princes," 237--Gustavus Quarrels with
+ Lübeck, 239.
+
+ III.
+ WULLENWEBER 240-282
+
+ The Religious Movement, 241--Lübeck Espouses Lutheranism,
+ 243--Max Meyer, 245--Capture of Spanish Ships,
+ 247--Christopher of Oldenburg, 251--Congress at Hamburg,
+ 253--Wullenweber's Projects, 255--Disorder in Lübeck,
+ 257--Hostilities in Denmark, 259--Escape of Max Meyer,
+ 261--Battle of Assens, 263--Cologne's Reproach,
+ 265--Nicholas Brömse, 267--Resignation of Wullenweber,
+ 269--Imprisonment of Wullenweber, 271--The Rack, 275--Unfair
+ Trial, 277--Execution of Wullenweber, 279.
+
+ IV.
+ THE HANSA LOSES ITS COLONIES 283-305
+
+ Emancipation of Sweden, 285--New Route to Russia,
+ 287--History of Livonia, 289--Livonia Repudiates the Hansa,
+ 291--Ivan Seizes Livonia, 293--Stupefaction of Germany,
+ 295--War Against Sweden, 297--Warning of the Duke of Alva,
+ 299--Bornholm Ceded to Denmark, 301--Embassy to the
+ Muscovite Court, 303--The League Dissolves, 305.
+
+ V.
+ THE LEAGUE IN THE NETHERLANDS 306-323
+
+ Causes of Failure in the West, 307--Dissension Among the
+ Towns, 309--Depôt Established at Antwerp, 311--Dangerous
+ Innovations, 315--General Insecurity of Commerce,
+ 317--Insubordination of the Hanseatics, 319--The Antwerp
+ Factory in Danger, 321--Trade with the Low Countries, 323.
+
+ VI.
+ THE END OF THE HANSA'S DOMINION IN
+ ENGLAND 324-353
+
+ Restrictions on the English Trade, 325--Complaints of the
+ Londoners, 329--Trade Regulations Broken, 331--Queen Mary
+ Favours the Hansa, 333--English Grievances,
+ 335--Negotiations with Elizabeth, 337--Internal Disunion,
+ 339--The Steelyard Insubordinate, 341--Hamburg Adjusts its
+ Policy, 343--The Good Old Privileges, 345--Conservative
+ Lübeck, 347--Seizure of Hanseatic Vessels, 349--Expulsion of
+ Hanseatics from England, 351--The Steelyard Property, 353.
+
+ VII.
+ THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR KILLS THE LEAGUE 354-364
+
+ Gustavus Adolphus, 355--Wallenstein's Project, 357--Imperial
+ Graciousness, 359--The War Storm Breaks, 361.
+
+ VIII.
+ THE SURVIVORS 365-378
+
+ "Sic transit gloria mundi," 369--Napoleon and the Three
+ Cities, 371--Note, 375.
+
+
+ EPILOGUE 379-386
+
+ INDEX 387
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+ PAGE
+
+ VIEW OF HAMBURG _Frontispiece_
+
+ IMPERIAL CROWN OF GERMANY 4
+
+ COIN OF CHARLEMAGNE 7
+
+ PIRATES 13
+
+ NORMAN VESSEL FROM BAYEUX TAPESTRY 20
+
+ HIGHROAD 33
+
+ ITINERANT MERCHANTS 36
+
+ SALTERS' HALL, FRANKFORT 39
+
+ MEDIÆVAL CITY 41
+
+ ROBBER KNIGHTS 44
+
+ RATH-HAUS, COLOGNE 62
+
+ RATH-HAUS, TANGERMUNDE 66
+
+ SHIPPING HOUSE, LÜBECK 76
+
+ GROCERS' HALL, BREMEN 84
+
+ RATH-HAUS, BRUNSWICK 86
+
+ MÜHLENTHOR, STARGARD 88
+
+ BURGHERS AT TABLE 91
+
+ GERMAN TRADE LIFE 94
+
+ RENSLAU GATE 97
+
+ CROSSBOW 99
+
+ HOHE-THOR, DANZIG 108
+
+ HOLSTENTHOR, LÜBECK 110
+
+ CHILDREN'S SPORTS 115
+
+ DOMESTIC MUSIC 118
+
+ MIDDLE-CLASS OCCUPATIONS IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 122
+
+ SHIP-BUILDING IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY 128
+
+ HELIGOLAND 132
+
+ TOMB OF SIMON OF UTRECHT, HAMBURG 135
+
+ JUSTICE IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 142
+
+ SHIP AT THE END OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 145
+
+ SEAL OF NOVGOROD 162
+
+ STADT-HAUS, BRUGES 164
+
+ RHINE BOAT, COLOGNE 167
+
+ THE PIED PIPER'S HOUSE, HAMELIN 172
+
+ FONTEGO DEI TEDESCHI, VENICE 176
+
+ THE STEELYARD, LONDON 180
+
+ BARDI PALACE, FLORENCE 182
+
+ STEELYARD WHARF, LONDON 187
+
+ THE TRIUMPH OF RICHES, BY HOLBEIN 197
+
+ SEAL OF LÜBECK 205
+
+ PETERSEN-HAUS, NUREMBURG 207
+
+ CHARLES V. 218
+
+ CHRISTIAN II. 221
+
+ HENRY VIII. 249
+
+ SCENE BEFORE A JUDGE 273
+
+ THE RACK 281
+
+ THE HANSA FACTORY, ANTWERP 313
+
+ SIR THOMAS GRESHAM 327
+
+ RATH-HAUS, MÜNSTER 363
+
+ RATH-HAUS, LÜBECK 367
+
+ RATH-HAUS, BREMEN 373
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ [Of the architectural views reproduced in this volume some
+ have been copied from prints in the British Museum, others
+ from drawings and photographs in possession of the
+ authoress, and the remainder from various German
+ authorities. The illustrations of German life and manners
+ are taken from Otto Henne am Rhyn's "Cultur Geschichte des
+ deutschen Volkes," to the publisher of which volume our
+ best thanks are due.
+
+ T. FISHER UNWIN,
+ G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS.]
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: DOMINION OF THE HANSA
+ XIII-XV CENTURIES
+
+ T. FISHER UNWIN, 26, PATERNOSTER SQUARE, LONDON, E.C.]
+
+
+
+
+STORY OF THE HANSA TOWNS.
+
+
+
+
+PROEM.
+
+
+There is scarcely a more remarkable chapter in history than that which
+deals with the trading alliance or association known as the Hanseatic
+League. The League has long since passed away, having served its time
+and fulfilled its purpose. The needs and circumstances of mankind have
+changed, and new methods and new instruments have been devised for
+carrying on the commerce of the world. Yet, if the League has
+disappeared, the beneficial results of its action survive to Europe,
+though they have become so completely a part of our daily life that we
+accept them as matters of course, and do not stop to inquire into their
+origin. To us moderns it seems but natural that there should be security
+of intercourse between civilized nations, that highways should be free
+from robbers, and the ocean from pirates. The mere notion of a different
+state of things appears strange to us, and yet things were very
+different not so many hundred years ago.
+
+In the feudal times the conditions of life on the continent of Europe
+seem little short of barbarous. The lands were owned not only by the
+kings who ruled them with an iron despotism, but were possessed besides
+by innumerable petty lordlings and princelets, who on their part again
+exercised a rule so severe and extortionate that the poor people who
+groaned under it were in a condition little removed from slavery. Nay,
+they were often not even treated with the consideration that men give
+their slaves, upon whom, as their absolute goods and chattels, they set
+a certain value. And it was difficult for the people to revolt and
+assert themselves, for however disunited might be their various lords,
+in case of a danger that threatened their universal power, they became
+friends closer than brothers, and would aid each other faithfully in
+keeping down the common folk. Hand in hand with princes and lords went
+the priests, themselves often worldly potentates as well as spiritual
+rulers, and hence the very religion of the carpenter's son, which had
+overspread the civilized world in order to emancipate the people and
+make men of all nations and degrees into one brotherhood, was--not for
+the first time in its history--turned from its appointed course and used
+as an instrument of coercion and repression.
+
+Such briefly was the celebrated feudal system--a system whose initial
+idea that the rich man should protect the poor, that the lord should be
+as a father to his vassals, is wise and good, but which in practice
+proved itself untenable. Even to-day, after many centuries and
+generations, the only European nations that have wholly succeeded in
+casting off the feudal yoke are those in whose history an entirely
+subversive revolution, like the French, has taken place. In others,
+notwithstanding years of struggle and revolt, not only its memory, but
+some of its customs, still survive; for systems and institutions die
+hard, and continue to exercise mischievous power long after their
+original force is spent. To this survival can be traced a large number
+of the evils that are agitating contemporary Europe; for example, the
+wretched state of Ireland.
+
+That the people of Germany, the country with which we have chiefly to
+deal in treating of the Hanseatic League, was not wholly enslaved and
+crushed out of all individual existence by the state of things that
+reigned from the Baltic to the Alps in the early years of its history is
+due to the two great factors of memory and heredity. Memory, because
+when Tacitus, that most dramatic of historians, wrote his famous book on
+Germany, one of the chief points he noted in this land was that there
+existed an equality among the freeborn, an absence of rank and
+concentration of power. Heredity, because a love of individual freedom
+appears as an inherent quality in the Teutonic race from their first
+appearance in historic legend.
+
+ "Though the mills of God grind slowly
+ Yet they grind exceeding small,"
+
+sings the poet, and all the ages have confirmed the experience that
+might is not suffered to be right for ever, that vengeance falls and
+justice asserts itself, even though the wrong be not righted, or the
+evil avenged for many a long year after the sin has been committed.
+
+"Whom the gods would destroy they first strike with madness," says the
+Latin proverb. It was so with the ambitious rulers of Germany. They were
+not content to be sovereigns of their own empire, they desired also to
+hold in their hand the reins of Italy; the bestowal of the title Holy
+Roman Emperor by the Pope Leo III. upon Charlemagne moved their longing
+and cupidity, so that gradually they grew more occupied with the
+business of the fair peninsula, "the garden of the Empire," as Dante
+calls it, than with the condition of their own ruder and sterner
+fatherland. Added to this they took to fighting among themselves, being
+divided into two rival factions which elected opposing rulers, the
+result being that often no one knew who was head or who was subject.
+
+ [Illustration: IMPERIAL CROWN OF GERMANY.]
+
+Frederick Barbarossa was the last to uphold the real authority and power
+of Germany. He was a true hero of romance, one of the noblest
+expressions of the mediæval character. When he died the real empire
+fell. What remained was but a semblance and a ruin, and it is little
+wonder that Germany plunged henceforth into yet greater anarchy,
+invented the legend that peace and prosperity would not return to her
+until Frederick Red Beard should come back to rule, that giant among
+men, falsely reported dead, but who, in truth, was merely resting, sunk
+in enchanted sleep among the mountains of Bavaria. There he was waiting
+the hour when the ravens should cease to hover around the cloud-capped
+peak to emerge surrounded by the trusty Crusaders who shared his
+slumbers and restore to Germany the golden age of peace and strength.
+
+It is claimed by some that Barbarossa has so returned, that he came back
+as recently as 1870, but whether this be fact or no does not concern us
+here. What does concern us is, that in the reign of Frederick Barbarossa
+we find mentioned, for the first time as a power in the State, a few of
+the many German cities that had arisen under the fostering protection of
+Henry the Fowler. Barbarossa found it useful to encourage the growth of
+that third estate so needful to the healthy existence of the body
+politic. Thus he could pit them against the nobles when it pleased him
+to harass his sometime allies; he could also draw from them the moneys
+that are the sinews of war. In return for such loyal aid the emperor
+freely granted municipal institutions, rights and privileges, exemptions
+and favours, little realizing that in so doing he was creating in his
+own land that very spirit of independence, that breath of modern
+individual freedom, to quench which he was spending his best years and
+strength beyond the barrier Alps.
+
+The policy therefore of the "imperial knights" and "knightly emperors"
+who preceded and followed Frederick, while in one way it tended to
+destroy the unity of Germany as a political state, in the other was the
+means by which the cities of Germany, as well as those of Northern
+Italy, acquired that remarkable independence, that rapid, splendid
+commercial and intellectual development that raised them to the
+condition of almost autonomous communities, and made them the wonder,
+glory, and pride of the Middle Ages. Citizens and burghers became
+freemen, and enjoyed the privileges that fell to this lot. Hence men
+loved to crowd into the towns, and these grew up and flourished apace,
+until they acquired such power and assumed such proportions as their
+first promoters little contemplated.
+
+It was the Lombard league of cities that broke the might of the Holy
+Roman Emperors, as the rulers of Germany loved to style themselves, as
+they styled themselves, indeed, long after the Empire, to quote
+Voltaire, was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire.
+
+Ignominiously driven forth from Italy, the German kings at last turned
+their steps homeward, where they looked to reign with their old strength
+and might, even though the range of their rule had been circumscribed.
+They came back to find that long absences, internal and external feuds,
+pretenders and usurpers, had so weakened their prestige that their
+subjects had learnt to trust to themselves rather than to their
+sovereign heads. And when they did return, at last, it was to find
+themselves confronted with such another league of cities, as had wrecked
+their power abroad, a federation founded for mutual protection and
+defence, under whose ægis alone could peace or shelter be found.
+
+This was the irony of fate indeed. To be sovereigns of the world, the
+German emperors had staked their national existence; staked and lost.
+
+On a murky and disturbed horizon had arisen a brilliant star, the star
+of municipal liberty, helping men to hope for and aspire towards those
+better things, to which it alone could lead them. The political anarchy
+of Germany, increased by forty years' interregnum, not only had given
+birth but strength to the confederation of cities directed against the
+brigandage of the princes and nobles, which we first meet with under the
+name of Hansa, in the year 1241, at a time when both the Papal and
+Imperial thrones were vacant, when in France St. Louis wielded the
+sceptre and was strengthening the power of nobles and the church; when
+in England Henry III. had enraged the barons by his fondness for foreign
+favourites, and when that outburst was preparing which led to the
+formation of a popular faction and upraised the patriot, Simon de
+Montfort; a time, in short, when the long struggle even now waging
+between the people and their rulers was first begun in modern Europe.
+
+ [Illustration: COIN OF CHARLEMAGNE.]
+
+
+
+
+PERIOD I.
+
+
+
+
+I.
+
+THE DAWN OF A GREAT TRADE GUILD.
+
+
+Whether it be that our forefathers were not so prompt to put pen to
+paper as we are, or that they purposely avoided written words and
+inclined to silence from motives of that combined prudence and love of
+mystery-making that distinguished the Middle Ages, the fact remains that
+of the real origin and founding of that great federation of industry and
+intelligence known to after-years as the Hanseatic League, we have no
+accurate knowledge.
+
+We see the tree in full growth, with its widespreading boughs and
+branches; of the modest seedling whence it sprung we are in ignorance.
+We only know most surely that some such seed there must have been, and
+in this case may with certainty infer that the main causes of this
+unique combination were the alliance of the North German cities among
+themselves, and the protective and social alliances formed by German
+merchants who met in foreign parts.
+
+It is obvious that there must have been much commerce, and that it must
+have played an important part before either of these circumstances
+could have arisen. Therefore in order fully to understand the importance
+and bearing of the League we must begin our story earlier than its
+history proper would seem to warrant; only thus can we thoroughly
+comprehend why the Hanseatic alliance in fostering its own interests, in
+aggrandizing and enriching itself, was working also for all humanity,
+since it created and enlarged the idea of public right, and thus sowed
+the seeds of principles then novel, but on which our modern civilization
+is largely founded and with which we are now so familiar that it is
+difficult to realize how matters could ever have been otherwise. Can we
+grasp, for example, a state of things when wrecking was considered a
+legitimate occupation; when the merchandise thus thrown on land became
+the possession of the strand dwellers and the ship's crew their
+legitimate slaves; when barons who deemed themselves noblemen lay in
+wait within their strong castles to pounce on luckless traders, and
+either deprived them wholly of their wares or levied black mail under
+the name of toll; in short, when humanity towards the weak and
+unfortunate was a word of empty sound? Yet so strongly is the love of
+enterprise implanted in the Northman's breast that even these obstacles
+did not deter him from the desire to enlarge his experience and to widen
+the field of his energies. He was the kinsman of those adventurous
+Angles and Saxons who had not feared to cross the boisterous German
+Ocean and to subjugate Great Britain to themselves; in his veins ran the
+blood of those Normans, the scourge and terror of European coasts,
+against whom the peoples knew no better protection than the prayer
+addressed to Heaven in their despair--"_A furore Normanrorum libera nos
+Domine_," a clause that survived in their litanies some time after the
+cause was no longer to be feared.
+
+ [Illustration: PIRATES.]
+
+Indeed it is not easy to distinguish the earliest traders from corsairs.
+It would seem that as occasion served they employed their long narrow
+rowing ships to scour the ocean or to carry the produce of the north,
+above all the much prized amber. It is thought that they bore it down
+even to the Bay of Biscay, nay, perhaps yet further within the Roman
+Empire.
+
+Under the intelligent rule of Charles the Great the activity of the
+Northman assumed a more pacific character, and we meet with the idea of
+merchant and trade guilds, though the latter were not much encouraged by
+the emperor, who feared lest they should contain in themselves elements
+of corporate union and political revolt. But he fostered the growth of
+cities; and in those days trade and commerce filled up even more than at
+the present day the daily life of a citizen. In the Middle Ages the
+expression "merchant" (_mercator_, negotiator) was on the Continent
+actually held as identical with townsman.
+
+It is curious that the early Teuton regarded manual labour as unworthy a
+free man, but did not extend this feeling to commerce, and trading
+became more and more the occupation of the third estate. We find them on
+horseback or in ships traversing many regions to bring their wares to
+market and to enlarge their sphere of action, and gradually as their
+numbers increased they would meet each other at the various foreign
+ports, exchange news, perhaps even wares, and hold together in that
+brotherly spirit that men of one nation and one tongue are wont to feel
+towards each other on foreign soil. Disputes and difficulties with the
+natives must also have been of frequent occurrence, for though the
+merchant, as bringer of news and novelties, was usually a welcome
+visitor at a time when intercourse between nations can hardly be said to
+have existed, yet, on the other hand, he had to reckon with the
+prejudice that regards what is strange as equivalent to what is hostile.
+Hence the merchants very naturally combined among themselves at the
+different ports to protect their common interests, and endeavoured by
+all means in their power to enlist in their favour their own sovereigns
+and those of the lands they visited.
+
+Thus in the lawbook of London, under the reign of Ethelred II. the
+Unready (978), we come across the phrase, "the people of the Emperor
+have been judged worthy of the good laws, like to ourselves." This
+phrase meant that, in cases of wrong done to the foreigner by the
+native, the foreigner should enjoy the protection of the native laws as
+though he were a citizen, instead of being treated as heretofore like an
+alien. "The people of the Emperor" meant in this case the Teutonic
+merchants who traded on the banks of the Thames long before the German
+cities had combined to form their famous league, long before they had
+founded their factories in Russia, Scandinavia, and Flanders.
+
+London was their earliest foreign settlement, and already in the tenth
+century we find that the Germans enjoyed the same rights when their
+ships entered British ports as those possessed by the English. In return
+for this they had at Easter and Christmas to make a donation of two
+pieces of grey and one of brown cloth, ten pounds of pepper, five pairs
+of men's gloves, and two barrels of vinegar. The fact that they thus
+paid toll in kind and not in money is entirely in accordance with the
+ancient usage of guilds and corporations, and the conditions of mediæval
+tenures. Gloves as tokens of good faith and submission, and pepper,
+probably because of its rarity as an Eastern product, were forms of
+payment frequent in early days.
+
+After this first mention we find that year by year the privileges of the
+German were extended in England. The kings desired that they should be
+treated as subjects and friends, and after Henry the Lion had married a
+daughter of Henry II. of England, the alliance grew yet closer. Thus
+special privileges were accorded to them with regard to the sale of
+Rhine wine, of the importation of which into Great Britain we now hear
+for the first time. It is evident that the commerce of England was
+largely in the hands of these foreigners, a circumstance the more
+remarkable when we consider that the English have now for some centuries
+been the great traders of the world.
+
+What hindered the rise of the British in early days was the feudal
+system against which the Germans had rebelled. It was a system
+incompatible with burgher life, with independent industry and
+enterprise. For many years the English trade was practically restricted
+to the exportation of wool, skins, lead, and tin. For where there is no
+middle class there can be no real commerce, and this fact explains the
+widespread power of the German merchants in England. The lessons they
+learnt here they carried farther afield; appearing now as the vanguard
+of civilization, now as the pioneers of Christianity, everywhere as
+traders desirous to fill their coffers, bearing in mind the maxim that
+"union is strength," and clinging closely to one another for mutual
+protection and defence. We must remember that travelling in the tenth,
+eleventh, and twelfth centuries was not what it is to-day. Dangers
+lurked on all sides for the bold mariner who ventured forth in ships of
+small size devoid of compass, load-line, chart, and chronometer. It was
+slow work to make headway under the difficulties put in the mariner's
+path by the elements alone, such as the darkness of night, fogs and
+storms, shoals, quicksands, and rocks, to say nothing of the peril from
+pirates. The fact, too, that, owing to the want of maps, they kept as
+close as possible to land, increased the risks they ran. Arrived at his
+destination, the trader would often have to wait long ere he could find
+a purchaser for his wares, for in those days the merchant himself
+carried his wares to market; there were no commission agents at the
+various ports; there were no posts, nor was the art of remitting money
+understood. In the stormy winter-time, moreover, neither sailors nor
+merchants cared to venture upon the ocean; and owing to the brevity of
+the northern summer it often became needful for them to pass the bad
+season at whatever place they happened to be. Indeed the hazards
+connected with a winter voyage were so great, that in the very earliest
+days of union it was determined by common consent that no merchants
+should send their ships to sea after St. Martin's Day (November 11th),
+and that they should endeavour as far as possible to be in port by
+Michaelmas (September 29th). "To sail after Martinmas is to tempt God,"
+writes an old chronicler. With the 11th of November the winter season
+commenced for the Baltic trading fleet.
+
+Curiously enough a similar custom obtains in Greece to this day. The
+Greek coasters do not sail on the seas from December 6th till after the
+New Year; during this time the ocean is hallowed for new trips.[1] The
+Hanseatics, of course, had to extend the time of exemption in the
+northern seas. In the year 1391 a Hanseatic Diet ordained that no
+Hanseatic merchant should sail forth from a western to an eastern, or
+from an eastern to a western harbour between Martinmas and Candlemas
+(November 11th-February 2nd). The climatic conditions of certain ports
+obliged this rule to be extended to St. Peter in Cathedra (February
+22nd), if they were carrying "precious goods."
+
+It is amusing, however, to find in the older records an exceptional
+clause to the effect that herrings and beer, two of the most important
+exports of the coast towns, could not possibly be subjected to these
+restrictions. The herring, that much prized fasting dish, to the
+preparation and distribution of which the Hansa attached such value, had
+necessarily to be despatched before February 22nd in order that it might
+arrive at its destination before Lent. A no less important reason
+determined the transport of beer, which was brewed in most of the export
+towns, and which might easily spoil in a more advanced season of the
+year. These reasons caused the cities to decide that a ship laden with
+beer, herrings, or dried cod, might go to sea on St. Nicholas Day
+(December 6th) if it were ready laden by that date.
+
+But this was the exception. The rule was for the trader to winter
+wherever he happened to be. In the long, cheerless evenings men liked to
+associate with compatriots who spoke the same tongue, and had the same
+interests and customs. These men of the Middle Ages were specially
+distinguished by their social instincts. They were bound together also
+by the element of a common religion, by the desire to worship together,
+to fulfil, perchance, some holy vow made in an hour of great danger, to
+bury, with the familiar rites of his own Church and country, some less
+fortunate comrade who had expired on foreign soil. Thus were formed
+those Guilds, or Hanse, as they were called, of merchants on alien soil,
+clustering, as a rule, around a church erected by them, and having
+besides a general living and storehouse for the safe custody of their
+goods. There is nothing strange in the fact that such settlements should
+have been formed; what is strange is the power they acquired in the
+course of time, until at last, in some places, they dictated terms to
+the natives of the country; nay, they even made and unmade their
+rulers, until in the end their sway extended from Bergen in the north to
+Venice in the south, from Novgorod and Smolensk in the east to York and
+London in the west.
+
+ [Illustration: NORMAN VESSEL FROM BAYEUX TAPESTRY.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] [Greek: hê thalassa hagiazetai].
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+FEDERATION.
+
+
+The free ocean, owned by no king or ruler, has from earliest times been
+the highroad of nations, and in the life and movement of the last
+eighteen hundred years the Baltic takes a scarcely less important place
+than the lovelier, more poetical, and oft-sung Mediterranean. Even
+to-day it is more frequented than most of the seas; the traffic through
+the Sound being second to that of no other strait.
+
+The Baltic has had its singers too. We need only turn to the strong,
+rugged Norse Saga to find that sea extolled as the nurse of mighty
+heroes, or the scene of giant combats; and the wilder element that
+pervades these heroic tales is in keeping with the rugged iron-bound
+coasts that skirt its waters, which do not invite the cooing of idyls,
+nor lap the fantasy in luscious dreams. Here all is stern life and
+movement; here man must fight hand to hand with nature if he would
+extort from her even the bare necessities for his daily nourishment.
+
+The contrast between the North and the South is nowhere more strikingly
+seen than in the different characteristics of the two seas, and the
+races they have produced. Nor could these characteristics be better
+illustrated than by a comparison between the great commercial Republics
+of Italy and the Hanseatic federation of Germany. The former, though
+individually great, never became a corporate body. Jealousy and rivalry
+were ever rife among them, and in the end they destroyed themselves.
+Where nature is kind men can better afford to be cruel, and need not
+hold together in such close union. Thus it was here.
+
+But if the Baltic is at a disadvantage compared with the Mediterranean
+in climate as well as in size, it is not inferior in wealth and variety
+of its produce. Mighty rivers, watering many lands discharge themselves
+into its bosom, and produce upon their banks rich and needful products,
+such as wheat and wool. In the earth are hidden costly metallic
+treasures, while the sea itself is a well of opulence from the number
+and diversity of the fish that breed in its waters.
+
+It has been well said that since the days of the Hansa, possession of
+the Baltic and dominion of the sea are synonymous terms. The Hansa, the
+Dutch, and the English have necessarily played the first _rôle_ in the
+Baltic trade. But the trade dates from an even earlier time. Thanks to
+coins accidently dropped, and after long years unearthed, we learn that
+by way of the Volga the Northmen brought to their distant home the
+treasures of the far East--spices, pearls, silks, furs, and linen
+garments; and that following the course of the Dwina, the Dnieper, and
+the Oder, they found their way to Constantinople, the Black Sea, and
+even the Caspian.
+
+Canon Adam, of Bremen, a chronicler of the eleventh century, in one of
+those farragoes of fact and fiction in which our forefathers read
+history, tells of a great trading city at the month of the Oder, "Julin,
+the greatest town of heathen Europe."[2] "It is a famed meeting-place
+for the barbarians and Greeks[3] of the neighbourhood, inhabited by
+Slavs and other barbarians. Saxons, too, may live there if they do not
+declare themselves Christians; for the town is rich in the wares of all
+Eastern peoples, and contains much that is charming and precious."
+
+This town of Winetha, of whose exact site we are no longer sure, since
+it has been destroyed by the encroachment of the Baltic, was, and is
+still, a favourite theme of song and legend with German writers. It is
+fabled that it was destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrha, because of its
+sins; for its inhabitants had grown hard and proud and disdainful,
+trusting in wealth, and despising God. On fine and calm days mariners
+can, it is said, behold the city, with its silver ramparts, its marble
+columns, its stirring, richly-dressed population, leading, beneath the
+ocean, the life which they led while their city was still on firm
+ground. Every Good Friday this splendid city, with its towers, palaces,
+and walls, is permitted to rise from the ocean, and sun itself in the
+daylight, to be again submerged on Easter Day, by this annual fall
+recalling to all who might else forget it the severe justice of God.
+
+The extract given above from the old writer impresses on us a fact we
+must bear well in mind, namely, that the Baltic mainland littoral at the
+time the Teutonic merchants began to ply their trade upon its coast was
+not a German possession, but inhabited and owned by a Slavonic people,
+who clung to their pagan creed long after their neighbours in the East
+and West had become converted to the new religion. And, as usual to this
+day, it was the trader who preceded the missionary, and gave the natives
+the first idea of a different code of ethics and morality. In the
+missionary's track, as at this day, followed the soldier, enforcing by
+the sword the arguments that reason had failed to inculcate. It was thus
+that German merchants had founded on Slavonic soil the various cities
+and ports that were later to be the pride and strength of the Hanseatic
+Union. Nor did they rest content with the coast that bounded their own
+lands. They traversed the narrow ocean, touching Finland, Sweden, and
+Russia, and they established on the isle of Gothland an emporium, which,
+in the first Christian centuries, became the centre of the Baltic trade,
+and in which "people of divers tongues," as an old writer calls these
+visitors, met to exchange their products.
+
+A glance at the map will show why this island assumed such importance.
+At a time when the mariner was restricted to short passages, not liking
+for long to lose sight of the shore, this spot naturally made a most
+favourable halting-place on the road to Finland, Livonia, or Sweden. It
+is evident from the chronicles that the Germans soon acquired and
+exercised great power in this island, and that they were accorded
+special privileges. Thus Pope Honorius II. granted them his protection
+for their town and harbour of Wisby, in acknowledgment of the part they
+had played in the conversion of the pagan nations.
+
+There are many testimonies to the ancient wealth and commercial
+importance of the island of Gothland; among them the amount of Roman,
+Byzantine, Anglo-Saxon, and German coins still found on its soil, as
+also the number of ruined churches, many of them of great size and
+architectural beauty, dotted over its area. To this day the island,
+impoverished and depopulated, owns a church to every six hundred
+inhabitants. The churches have fallen into sad decay, but yet remain to
+testify of past prosperity and glory.
+
+As the number of travelling merchants from various cities increased on
+its shores, it was natural that they should hold together more and more
+in a tacit offensive and defensive alliance against the aliens, and that
+when they returned home from their voyages they should speak of the
+mutual benefits rendered and the help that lay in union. Some
+influential persons among them doubtless brought pressure to bear upon
+the rulers and magistracies of the various cities to give their informal
+union an official character. Thus much is certain, that after a time the
+merchants from various cities who traded with the Baltic had united
+into a federation having a common seal and conforming to a common law,
+so that by the middle of the thirteenth century the Hanseatic League was
+practically consolidated, although this name for the association only
+occurs later.
+
+So far, however, the Union only exercised rights abroad. It was from
+Wisby also that the reaction was to come for union at home; but this was
+a little later, when its strength was well matured and established.
+
+What really, in the first instance, led the Germans from their inland
+towns to the shores of the Baltic was the desire to benefit by the great
+wealth that lay hidden in its waters in the form of fish, which could be
+obtained in return for the mere labour of fishing. At a time when all
+Europe was Catholic, or of the Greek Church, and fasts as well as feasts
+strictly observed, the sale of fish was an important industry, and,
+above all, of salted fish, since our forefathers were ignorant of the
+art of preserving these creatures fresh by means of ice. Now, from the
+beginning of the twelfth century until the beginning of the fifteenth,
+when they once more altered their course, each spring and autumn the
+migratory fish, and especially that most prolific and valued of fish,
+the herring, came in great shoals to the shores of Scania,[4] the isle
+of Rügen, and the coasts of Pomerania, tempting the inhabitants of the
+strand and near inland hamlets out on to the waters to secure these
+treasures. Nor had nature herewith ceased her bounties. At certain
+points of the littoral there were salt springs, in which the precious
+draught could at once be pickled; and it is certain that the art of
+preserving the gifts of the ocean from decay was familiar to the Slav
+inhabitants of these districts long before it was known to those of the
+German Ocean. Already, in the eleventh century, "salt Kolberg" was famed
+as an emporium for salted herrings; and the words of a Polish poem of
+rejoicing at a victory won over its inhabitants in 1105 are extant to
+this day. It has more historical than literary value. "Formerly," so
+jubilantly sang the conquerors of the harbour, "they brought us salt and
+stinking fish, now our sons bring them to us fresh and quivering."
+
+Salted herrings became an acknowledged form of tax or tribute, as also a
+medium of exchange for inland produce, and it was the value of these
+small fish that really first roused the cupidity of the inland dweller
+and caused them to compete with and finally oust the pagan Slav. And
+Wisby for a time was their great emporium, whence they extended their
+power, founding among other towns Novgorod on the Lake of Olm. It was to
+Wisby that association dues were paid; it was in Wisby that common money
+was deposited. They were kept in the German Church of Our Lady Maria
+Teutonicorum. For the churches in those times were buildings as much
+secular as religious, being not only places of worship, but also banks,
+storehouses, market-places, and sanctuaries. Four aldermen, selected
+from important cities of the League, namely, Wisby, Lübeck, Soest, and
+Dortmund, had each a key to the common treasure. The rules laid down in
+common council, over which these aldermen presided, and whose execution
+they enforced, were stringent in the extreme. For example, according to
+an old principle of Teutonic laws, a city was made responsible if a
+trader suffered malignant shipwreck or was robbed of his goods within
+its domain, and if these things occurred they were bound to help the
+sufferers to recover their goods or safety.
+
+That it was not always an easy task for the towns to execute this
+command may be gathered from the fact that in the earliest times even
+the Church looked on flotsam and jetsam as its legitimate dues; indeed,
+the revenues of some monasteries and churches were distinctly founded on
+this. Even Papal authority, even excommunication in later days, could not
+for a long while break the force of a barbarous and cruel custom. All
+the booty the waves cast on the shore was designated by the
+well-sounding term of _strandgut_ (property of the shore), and was
+regarded as a gift from Providence. The dwellers on the Baltic shore
+held so naïve a belief with respect to this matter that in their daily
+prayers they innocently asked God to give them a good harvest of
+_strandgut_.
+
+Lübeck in 1287, demanding from Reval, on the basis of its treaties, the
+restitution of stranded property, is told frankly by the governor of
+the city that "however many and long and large letters they may send him
+across the seas," yet his vassals would hold to the rights of their
+land, and "if," he adds, "on your letters or your prayers your goods are
+restored to you, I will suffer my right eye to be put out."
+
+Still by steady persistence the German cities got their will, and of
+course they exercised it first on members of their union. The defaulting
+city had to pay a fine of something like two to three hundred pounds of
+our money to the common fund of the Union, and, in event of a
+recurrence, was threatened with expulsion from the community. This
+punishment was called _unhansing_, and it was inflicted several times,
+and was only atoned for by the heaviest penalties not only of money
+tributes, but often of pilgrimages to some distant sacred shrine, to
+wipe out the disgrace that the city had drawn down, not on itself alone,
+but also on its brethren of the League, by the fact that there could be
+such a black sheep among them.
+
+Such, briefly, was the empire that, by the middle of the thirteenth
+century, was exercised by a community of German men of commerce, who had
+their seat of control, not at home, but on a foreign soil. Such,
+briefly, was the rise of these powerful merchants who not only dared to
+dictate terms to distant cities, but were absolutely obeyed. Such,
+briefly, was the transformation of bands of pirates and adventurous
+traders into a peace-loving and industrious association.
+
+Let us now take a rapid glance at what had occurred meantime in the Holy
+Roman Empire and the towns.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] Julin in Danish, Wolin in Sclavonic, Winetha in Saxon. A learned
+author, pointing out the community of origin of the Venetians of the
+Adriatic, and the Venedes or Vends of the Baltic, draws a parallel
+between the Venice of the Adriatic, and the Venice (Winetha) of the
+north. "Singular destiny," he writes, "this of the two commercial
+cities, which seem the issue of one trunk, that grew up at the same time
+in the Adriatic and the Baltic, almost under the same name, the one to
+arrive at the greatest splendour, enriched by the trade of the East, the
+other to serve as a starting-point for the commerce of the north."
+
+[3] Under the term of Greeks, Adam, and other writers of the period,
+include the Russians, on account of their adhesion to the Greek form of
+the Catholic Church.
+
+[4] It is worth mentioning that on the coast of Scania, once so rich in
+herring fishery, this industry is now almost extinct. The fish rarely
+come into these waters, owing perhaps to the increase of traffic in the
+Sound (for herrings, as is well known, dislike noise and movement and
+seek out quiet seas); or because the great whale fisheries of Greenland
+have altered their course, for whales now pursue less often than
+formerly the shoals of herrings that were thus forced to take refuge in
+the Sound; or this may be simply due to the diminution of the crustacean
+called _Astacus harengum_, on which the fish so largely feeds--the fact
+in any case remains.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+FOREIGN TRADE.
+
+
+It is of importance to the study of the Hanseatic confederation to
+remember that the settlements made by the German merchants in their
+various foreign and distant ports, though permanent in themselves, were
+inhabited almost exclusively by a floating and ever-changing population.
+True, the traders who had done good business in this spot would return
+season after season. But they did not form an established colony, they
+did not take up their permanent abode abroad, and hence the connection
+with their native towns was never broken; they remained ever in touch
+with home. Now the pettiest trader of one of the German cities enjoyed
+in the Steelyard in London, in the St. Peter's Court of Novgorod, in the
+factory of Bergen, in the church of Wisby, and many other places, a
+measure of personal freedom, a number of privileges such as were
+frequently absolutely denied him in his fatherland, or doled out
+grudgingly by his territorial lord.
+
+When the merchants had first appeared abroad they were protected more or
+less by their suzerains. Thus Barbarossa had given them the assistance
+of his strong name, and extorted for them certain important privileges
+from the King of England. The same holds good with regard to the Duke of
+Saxony. But as the emperors grew to care less and less for purely German
+affairs, as the Saxon ducal power was broken, as the German-speaking
+lands became the camp of anarchy, confusion, and lordlessness, where
+rightful and unlawful sovereigns quarrelled with each other, where ruler
+fought ruler, noble robbed noble, where, in short, the game of "devil
+take the hindmost" was long played with great energy, the towns that had
+silently and gradually been acquiring much independent strength,
+perceived that if they would save their prosperity, nay, their very
+existence, they must take up a firm position against the prevailing
+social conditions.
+
+Founded upon trade, with trade as their vital element, it was natural
+that traders also should have a mighty voice in the councils of these
+towns. The councillors indeed were chosen chiefly from among the leading
+merchants, most of whom had been abroad at some time or other of their
+career, and tasted the sweets of wider liberty. None of these were
+insensible to the pressure put upon them by their returning fellow
+citizens that they should struggle in their common interests to maintain
+a position of strength at home, a position which could not fail to
+increase the security of their settlements abroad. For owing to this
+long period of political chaos, the merchants abroad noticed or fancied
+that the name of the Holy Roman Empire no longer carried the same weight
+as formerly; that to threaten those who overstepped their licenses
+towards them with the empire's power had ceased to have any serious
+effect. Yet unless there was some real power at their back, how, at this
+lawless time, could the Germans feel sure that the treaties they had
+made with the aliens would be upheld? Well then, urged the foreign
+traders, what our emperors cannot or will not do for us, busy as they
+are with Italian matters, or with self-destruction, we must do for
+ourselves.
+
+And quietly, unobtrusively, but very securely, they formed among
+themselves that mutual offensive and defensive alliance of whose exact
+date and origin we are ignorant, but of whose great power in later times
+the world was to stand in awe and admiration. The purpose of the union
+was to uphold the respect for the German name abroad by a strong
+association of cities willing and able, if need were, to enforce its
+demands by force of arms.
+
+Mutual protection, moreover, was needed as much, if not more, at home.
+The highroads, never too safe from plundering barons, had grown yet less
+so during the lawless and fighting period that followed the fall of the
+Hohenstauffen dynasty. These, too, must be guarded, or how could
+merchandize be brought from place to place. Peace and security of
+property, being the very corner-stones of commerce, did the merchant
+seek above all to secure, and since nothing in this life can be obtained
+without a struggle, these cities had to fight hard, not only with moral
+force, but often with the sword, in order to extort from their rulers
+these elementary rights of civilization.
+
+ [Illustration: HIGHROAD.]
+
+Thus the Hansa from its earliest origin, though organized for the ends
+of peace, was from its commencement and throughout its existence a
+militant body, ever watchful to punish infringement of its rights, ever
+ready to extend its authority, ever prompt to draw the sword, or send
+forth its ships against offenders.
+
+It is indeed a significant fact, that never once in the whole course of
+its history did it draw the sword aggressively, or against its own
+members. In its domestic disputes it never needed to exercise other than
+moral pressure. But the cities as they grew in power almost assumed the
+proportions of small democracies, and it is well-known that democracies,
+save for purposes of self-defence, are not so ready to rush into wars as
+monarchies. War is the pastime of kings and statesmen; of men who have
+nothing to lose, and perchance much to gain in this pursuit; of men who
+do not stake life and limb, health and home and trade. The wars waged by
+the Hansa were never in one single instance aggressive. Like all
+confederations, whose life nerve is commerce, the Hansa ever sought to
+avoid war, and only seized the sword as _ultima ratio_. It is noteworthy
+that its ships were designated in its acts as "peace ships"
+(_Friedenschiffe_), and even the forts it built for protection were
+described as "peace burgs" (_Friedeburgen_).
+
+The germ of manly independence once awakened in the burghers grew apace,
+and as they felt the benefits of this new spirit they learnt that with
+it they could cow their would-be despotic lordlings, and exact from them
+respect and even aid. Cologne was the first among the older cities to
+emancipate itself. It is hard for us to realize the enslavement of the
+middle class in former days. For example, a merchant might not wear
+arms, no luxury, but an absolute necessity in those wild times.
+Frederick Barbarossa permitted him to carry a sword, but in order that
+there might be no confusion of social castes, he decreed that "the
+travelling merchant shall not gird his sword, but attach it to his
+saddle, or lay it on his cart, so that he may not wound the innocent,
+but yet may protect himself against robbers." The inference in this
+clause, that only a member of the third estate would be likely to hurt
+an innocent person, is amusing in its _naïveté_. As for the peasant, if
+he were found with arms upon him, a lance or a sword, he had to suffer
+severe punishment. The knightly weapon was broken across the back of any
+serf who dared to carry it.
+
+A further instance of want of personal liberty in Barbarossa's days is
+shown by his contempt for commerce and for the trader's knowledge of the
+commercial value of his goods. Thus he decreed that a merchant selling
+his wares in camp must offer them at the price fixed by the
+field-marshal, and if the owner asked more than was deemed just by this
+functionary, who probably knew as much of the value of goods as his
+trusty lance, he lost not only his market rights and his wares, but was
+whipped into the bargain, his head shorn and his cheek branded with a
+red-hot iron. At home his choice of dwelling-houses, of trade, even of
+marriage was interfered with. Is it astonishing, then, that with so
+little personal liberty at home, so much abroad, the townsmen aspired
+to change this state of things, and aided by political events did change
+them, and rapidly too?
+
+ [Illustration: ITINERANT MERCHANTS.]
+
+Nor was it only the merchants returning from abroad who stirred the
+legitimate longings of their stay-at-home brethren. A liberating
+influence came from yet another side; from that very land of Italy, for
+whose sake the German rulers had suffered their own country to endure
+neglect. Travelling Italian merchants on their road to Flanders passed
+through Central Germany, and as they halted in the cities they would
+recount in the long evenings those travellers' tales eagerly listened to
+in days when reading for the most part was an unknown accomplishment,
+and when all information was acquired by ear.
+
+ "... I spoke of most disastrous chances;
+ Of moving accidents by flood and field;
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ And portance in my travel's history:
+ Wherein of antres vast and deserts idle;
+ Rough quarries, rocks, and hills whose heads touch heaven
+ It was my hint to speak."[5]
+
+These Lombards told of the prosperity of their cities and the liberties
+they enjoyed, narrations that sounded like fairy tales in the ears of
+the Northmen. And when the Crusades broke out, and many of them saw with
+their own eyes the glories of the southern cities, when German merchants
+who had followed in the train of the emperor's Roman campaign returned,
+confirming all they had heard from the Italians about commercial
+liberties and privileges, their determination not to be left behind was
+strengthened.
+
+Freiburg (Free City) was the first town founded as the outcome of the
+new liberty, an enlightened prince lending his help and means to that
+end.
+
+Further individual aid was given to the new idea of personal liberty for
+all conditions of men by an apostle of freedom, Arnold of Brescia. This
+eloquent pupil of the French monk Abelard, the enlightened philosopher,
+the lover of Heloïse, himself a priest, was the most powerful opponent
+of the clerical ideas in the twelfth century, which tried to keep down
+the people in order that through their ignorance and dependence they
+might be ruled with absolute and unquestioned sway--ideas by no means
+wholly extinct to this day among this class of men. Banished by the Pope
+as a political and ecclesiastical heretic, Arnold fled to Southern
+Germany, where he preached his doctrines to eager ears, and roused an
+enthusiasm that laid the train for a later Church reformation, and
+helped towards the development of a new social state. He awakened or
+fostered the thought of personal liberty, a liberty not only consistent
+with corporate union, but part and parcel of the same; a condition alone
+worthy a rational human being, who, while doing whatever pleases him
+best, never loses sight of the fact that he has only a right to follow
+this desire so long as his liberty does not trench upon that of his
+neighbour and brother man.
+
+ [Illustration: SALTERS' HALL, FRANKFORT.
+ (_From an engraving in the British Museum._)]
+
+John Stuart Mill had not yet defined the meaning of the much abused
+term, liberty; Madame Roland had not yet ejaculated upon the scaffold
+her true and piteous cry, "Liberty! what crimes are committed in thy
+name!" but Arnold of Brescia understood the meaning of the word, and
+what was equally important, he made his hearers understand it too. He
+did not merely preach vague doctrines, he preached sound political
+economy and social ethics.
+
+And thus the Germans learnt from the Italians both the true meaning of
+liberty and the virtue of municipal institutions, which latter had, in
+the first instance, sprung up in Lombardy from a Germanic root; its
+essential features being a free choice of the civic rulers from the
+fittest elements, a right to govern themselves, and if need be to form
+alliances, and the right to tax themselves. Further, they learnt to
+recognize the principle that the final decision should not rest with one
+person, but with the mass of the inhabitants. This autonomy in all inner
+affairs, founded on Italian models, became in the course of several
+generations the most cherished possession of all those German cities
+whence sprang the Hanseatic League. There was, however, this difference
+that, unlike the Lombard cities, the Germans ever acknowledged the
+supremacy of the emperor, and never developed either into complete
+oligarchies or democracies, though in their statutes when they were at
+the height of their power, it was distinctly stated that decisions in
+important matters did not rest "with the general council, but with the
+people."
+
+ [Illustration: MEDIÆVAL CITY. (_From a drawing by Albert Dürer._)]
+
+In the thirteenth century municipal privileges grew and extended, for
+though the townsfolk were supposed only to elect their own magistrates
+under the sanction of the bailiffs of their respective territorial
+lords, these functionaries, who generally lived in a strong castle
+within the city or just upon its walls, became only too ready to be
+bribed into compliance with the burgher will as the distresses of the
+empire caused their lords to require more and more of the hard cash and
+other solid assistance which the rapid progress of the cities in wealth
+could furnish. Of course circumstances were not the same in all places.
+In many there was open warfare between the lordlings and the townsmen,
+and many a sacked and gutted castle remained to testify to the successes
+of the third estate.
+
+As the baronial strongholds were razed, the towns built up on their
+sites strong citadels, walls, and moats, which they defended by a
+burgher militia hardened to fatigue, brave, determined; who not only
+dared to face the resentment of the barons, but often extorted from them
+by force what they could not up to that date buy from them or obtain as
+a meed of justice. It was no infrequent event in the thirteenth century
+for a town to be besieged by its territorial lord; and these sieges,
+like that of Troy, would last many years, for the art of reducing strong
+places was but little developed, and wars, even if they lasted longer,
+were less terribly destructive than in our day.
+
+The cities, having the wealth, were most frequently the victors, and it
+would even come about that as terms of peace their enemy would hire
+himself out to his vassals as the legal and bound defender of his own
+subjects, for a stated number of years. Further, the cities often bought
+from these princelings the lands outside their walls; the forests,
+mines, brine springs, even the highroads and streams, thus drawing into
+their power anything that might assist in diminishing the danger from
+all that could impede their commerce. They would also ask the cession of
+villages, of tolls; next the right to coin money. In a word, they made
+use of every means that came in their way, in accordance with local and
+momentary circumstances, to extend and consolidate their power.
+
+What wonder that the burghers feeling their strength and seeing the
+weakness of the empire turned its dissensions and disorders to profit,
+and began to make among themselves, quietly and unostentatiously,
+alliances for maintaining peace in their immediate vicinities, for
+keeping the roads cleared of robbers, for opposing the black mail levied
+by their feudal lords, and anything else that offended against "the
+common freedom of the merchant."
+
+Curiously enough such alliances were in direct contravention of the
+existing laws of the German Empire. At the Diet held in Worms, 1231, the
+princes had expressed marked disapproval of such leagues, in which they
+clearly recognized a dangerous rival power. But the cities seemed little
+troubled by this interdict. They, on their part, recognized that the
+time had come for a firm union, and adhesion of the weak against the
+strong, and more and more, as they saw that the empire threatened from
+within and from without was visibly falling asunder. For what respect
+could be felt for a crown which was at last actually put up for sale to
+the highest bidder, and acquired by the rich but otherwise impotent
+brother of the English Henry III., Duke Richard of Cornwall?
+
+ [Illustration: ROBBER KNIGHTS. (_From Fritoch._)]
+
+The towns of the Rhine were the first to form themselves into an
+alliance, a fact that can scarcely surprise us when we remember how
+thickly set is that lovely river with the now ruined strongholds of what
+erst were robber lords. And the Baltic towns were not slow to follow in
+their wake, forming a League "for the benefit of the common merchant."
+These cities even settled the contingent which each town had to place at
+their common disposal, a great stone of possible stumbling being
+skilfully avoided by a phrase which occurs in a contract of 1296: "If
+the fight goes against a prince who is lord of one of the cities, this
+city shall not furnish men, but only give money." The Rhenish section
+alone was able to put into the field some eleven hundred crossbowmen and
+six hundred stout galleys; no mean army in those days.
+
+In a word, the times were out of joint, and the people had to help
+themselves, and did so. Sprung from modest sources, having its origin in
+true neighbourly feeling, what was at first a mere association of
+merchants had developed into an association of cities. The banner under
+which they had grouped themselves bore the device "freedom for the
+common merchant at home and abroad," and this device became the elastic
+but durable bond, which, keeping them together, made them a mighty
+power. Its very elasticity was the cause of its strength, giving it that
+facility of expansion and freedom from rigidity which in more modern
+times has made the glory and the might of England, whose constitution
+is distinguished by a like principle of flexibility.
+
+A naïve North German chronicler of the thirteenth century telling of the
+various alliances formed, writes: "But the matter did not please the
+princes, knights, and robbers, especially not those who for ever put
+forth their hands for booty; they said it was shameful that merchants
+should rule over high-born and noble men." Undaunted, however, by such
+objections, the cities continued to form alliances, to make contracts
+among themselves until these contracts assumed the extent, dignity, and
+importance of those made by the towns with their foreign settlements.
+
+Thus, by slow degrees, cautiously, but very surely, the Hanseatic League
+took its origin, and thus it grew until it became an independent popular
+force, a state within a state. Like everything that the Christian Middle
+Ages called into life, the _Vehmgericht_ (Vehmic Tribunal), Gothic
+architecture, the knightly orders, it bore strongly the impress of
+individuality.
+
+The origin of the name of Hansa is wrapped in some mystery. The word is
+found in Ulfila's Gothic translation of the Bible, as signifying a
+society, a union of men, particularly in the sense of combatants. He
+applies it to the band of men who came to capture Jesus in the Garden of
+Gethsemane. Later on Hansa occurs as a tax on commercial transactions,
+and also as the sum, a very low one, which the various cities paid as
+their entrance fee into the association.
+
+But our League did not yet officially bear that title; it acquired it
+from the date of its first great war with Waldemar of Denmark and the
+peace of Stralsund (1370). Then it won name and rank at the point of the
+sword, and after this it came to be classed among the most redoubted
+powers of the period, being thus by no means the first, and probably not
+the last, example of the lift given to civilization by so barbarous a
+thing as the powder cart.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] "Othello," act i. sc. 3.
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+THE HANSA FIGHTS.
+
+
+Whoever looks on the old Schütting at Lübeck, the building whence the
+herring fishers were wont to start upon their voyages, and notes its
+armorial bearings, three herrings upon a plain gold shield, should go
+back mentally a few centuries and call to mind the fact that the badge
+of this fish is the emblem of a might which many a time set forth from
+this spot bent upon commerce or needful warfare, and which for
+generations exercised great power over Northern Europe.
+
+The district of Scania, which forms the southernmost portion of the
+present land of Sweden, was until 1658 almost exclusively the property
+of Denmark. The Danes, a turbulent and maritime people, had in the early
+times of our era been converted to Christianity at the point of the
+sword by the emperors of Germany, and during the 10th and 11th centuries
+these emperors exercised a recognized suzerainty over the Danish kings.
+Hence German traders easily obtained privileges among a people who were
+by no means inclined to commerce themselves, but who welcomed none the
+less eagerly the products that the strangers brought, above all, the
+heady ale brewed by the Easterlings.
+
+But as the might of the empire declined and the Danes had grown strong,
+thanks to wise rulers, the people grew restive under the restrictions
+imposed upon them, and tried to secure their independence. Under
+Waldemar the Great (1157 to 1182), the country had acquired an important
+position, which his successors strengthened. This increase of might
+coincided with the German depression and with the change of course at
+spawning time that the herring suddenly took in the twelfth century.
+
+Strange that a little fish should have had such great power over
+mankind; yet it is not going beyond the strict truth to state that the
+mysterious wanderings of the herring determined throughout several
+centuries the whole course of northern commerce. During the Middle Ages,
+upon the appearance of the herring now on this coast and now on that,
+the wealth and prosperity of the whole districts depended. Herring
+fishing became a branch of industry that decided the fate of nations. To
+it the Hansa owes a large portion of its riches and its power; in the
+herring fisheries, when in the year 1425 the fish began to spawn in the
+German Ocean, the Netherlands found the foundation stone of their wealth
+and dignity. Indeed, it was said later, with scant exaggeration, that
+Amsterdam was built upon herrings.
+
+Now, as masters of the Belt and the Sound, the Danes were able, if they
+chose, greatly to harass the Hanseatic traders and fishermen. For many
+years they had not put forth their power, or rather the Hanseatic
+towns, with the diplomatic astuteness that greatly distinguished them,
+had averted the possibility of such danger by wise concessions of
+tributes and privileges. Still disputes would arise, things did not
+always go off peaceably, and in 1227 the Hansa towns won their first
+military laurels, defeating the Danes in the battle of Bornhöved and
+permanently weakening the power of their troublesome neighbours in
+Northern Germany.
+
+A few years later Lübeck, almost unassisted, threatened in its
+independence by the Danish king, won a great naval victory over its
+neighbours; and gained yet another in 1249, when Eric II. had ventured
+to attack some of its ships upon the open seas. On this occasion the
+merchant townsmen even seized and sacked Copenhagen and planted their
+flag in Zealand.
+
+It was no very easy position which the Baltic cities (for it was they
+who were chiefly threatened) had to maintain against the Danish kings as
+the power of the latter increased. For with their power, their rapacity
+and cupidity increased also, and this made them look on the rich
+commercial towns with a longing desire to absorb them into their own
+possessions. These, though extensive, were poor, and their inhabitants
+neither industrious nor prosperous. Further, the Danes, Norwegians, and
+Swedes were in constant feud with one another, and each of these states
+turned an eye of greed towards the flourishing Baltic cities, whose
+possession they coveted. The two Scandinavian powers, in particular,
+constantly harassed the German merchants by their scanty comprehension
+of treaty rights, their breaches of faith, and it was not easy work for
+the cities to steer clear between the three kingdoms, that were now at
+deadly feud with one another, now convulsed by civil wars, now united in
+a policy of rapine.
+
+It would be tedious to enumerate the quarrels, jealousies, and feuds
+that agitated these kingdoms during the early years of the fourteenth
+century; to note in detail the trouble they caused to the Hanseatic
+traders, and the need they awoke among them of holding together in as
+close an alliance at home as they had hitherto done abroad. It was
+necessary to be ever wakeful and mistrustful; and to watch jealously for
+the faintest signs of an infringement of privileges.
+
+In 1326 a lad of some twelve summers, whose memory was destined to be
+handed down to posterity as that of a hero of romance, ascended the
+throne of Denmark. In allusion to the famous fable about the election of
+a king of the frogs, an old writer speaks of this event as a choice by
+the frogs of the stork as ruler instead of the log. For Waldemar, as he
+was called, proved indeed no log and no puppet in the hands of his
+ambitious barons. As a mere youth he gave evidence of his strength and
+determination, and under his ægis Denmark acquired great wealth and
+consideration, and would have attained to yet more had not Waldemar,
+with mistaken judgment, drawn the reins too tight, until from a wise
+ruler he became a despot. It was his aim and policy to nationalize his
+country, to drive away the foreigners who utilized it for their warlike
+and commercial ends. He found it small and distracted with dissensions;
+after twenty years' rule he could point to marked success and change,
+for he had made Denmark respected and feared at home and abroad. History
+knows him as Waldemar III.,[6] story and song as Waldemar Atterdag, a
+nickname that well expresses the salient points of his character. For
+the name of Atterdag, which means "there is yet another day," refers to
+the king's constant habit of using this expression in the sense that if
+to-day a goal is not reached, it is not therefore unattainable, that a
+man must wait, never despair, and never lose sight of his aim.
+
+And Waldemar for his part never did. He pursued his purposes with a
+strenuousness and a patience, which contrasted favourably with the
+vacillating attitude of his princely northern contemporaries, and which
+was only matched and finally surpassed by the same strenuous and patient
+policy on the part of the Baltic towns, and especially on the part of
+Lübeck, their astute and diplomatic leader.
+
+Nor was it only good aims that the king followed with such persistence.
+He was an implacable, a relentless enemy, who never forgot an injury,
+and who waited with cruel calmness the day of vengeance.
+
+In Waldemar's state policy there often appeared mixed motives;
+considerations of the most personal character were blended with care for
+the welfare of his state, and when one should alone have been
+considered, both frequently played a part. It was this that led to his
+ultimate ruin; like too many clever people he overreached himself.
+Therefore, while the early years of his reign were really a blessing to
+distracted and impoverished Denmark, of the latter part a contemporary
+chronicler complains that--
+
+"In the times of Waldemar, every tradition of our ancestors, all
+paternal laws, all the freedom of the Danish Church was abolished. The
+rest of the soldier, the merchant, the peasant, was so curtailed, that
+in the whole kingdom no time remained to eat, to repose, to sleep, no
+time in which the people were not driven to work by the bailiffs and
+servants of the king, at the risk of losing his royal favour, their
+lives, and their goods." In a word, Waldemar worked his subjects hard,
+and even the most patriotic singers cannot present him as a wholly
+attractive figure. He is rather a character to be feared than loved.
+
+The Hansa was not slow to recognize this. It saw that it was face to
+face with a man whom no obstacles could deter, to whom even treaty
+obligations were not sacred, and who was liable to be swayed by
+incalculable caprice. That it was right in its estimate and its fears
+Waldemar was not slow to make known, so soon as his power at home was
+fully secured.
+
+The first attack upon the Hansa towns was made by the Danish king in the
+shape of interference with their fishing rights on Scania, breaking the
+contracts which his predecessors, and even he himself, had made, and
+demanding extortionate fees for the renewal of the time-honoured
+privileges. Diplomatic negotiations were entered upon, but Waldemar
+befooled the deputies from the cities, wasting their time with idle
+discussion of irrelevant matters, and refusing to come to a real
+agreement. After long and fruitless debate the ambassadors of the Hansa
+towns departed home anxious and discouraged. Ten weeks after their
+return the cities were startled by the terrible news that Waldemar, in a
+time of perfect peace, without previous warning or declaration of war,
+had suddenly invaded the island of Gothland, and seized, sacked, and
+plundered the rich city of Wisby, the northern emporium of the Hansa's
+wealth.
+
+Such a blow was aimed not only at Wisby, but at all the Hanseatic towns;
+from that moment diplomatic negotiations with Waldemar were no more to
+be thought of. This act meant war; war at all costs and at all risks.
+
+"In the year of Christ 1361 King Waldemar of Denmark collected a great
+army, and said unto them that he would lead them whither there was gold
+and silver enough, and where the pigs eat out of silver troughs. And he
+led them to Gothland, and made many knights in that land, and struck
+down many people, because the peasants were unarmed and unused to
+warfare. He set his face at once towards Wisby. They came out of the
+town towards him, and gave themselves up to the mercy of the king, since
+they well saw that resistance was impossible. In this manner he obtained
+the land, and took from the burghers of the town great treasures in gold
+and silver, after which he went his ways."
+
+Thus the contemporary chronicler of the Franciscans of St. Catherine at
+Lübeck. By a skilful _coup de main_ Waldemar had indeed made himself
+master of Gothland, then under Swedish suzerainty, and of the wealthy
+city of Wisby. His aim had been booty, and he had it in rich measure in
+the shape of gold, of fur, and silver vessels.
+
+Legend tells that the year previous to the attack Waldemar had visited
+Gothland disguised as a merchant, securing the love of a goldsmith's
+daughter, whose father held an influential position in Wisby, and who,
+in her loving trustfulness revealed to him the strength and weakness of
+the island and town, thus helping him to secure the spot that was
+rightly regarded as the key to the three northern realms.
+
+The inhabitants, unprepared, unarmed, had been unable to offer much
+resistance. It was a terribly bloody fight this that raged outside the
+walls of Wisby; the site of it is marked to this day by a cross erected
+on the spot where 1,800 Gothlanders fell.
+
+"Before the gates of Wisby the Goths fell under the hands of the
+Danes,"[7] runs the inscription.
+
+As was the custom among the conquerors of olden days, Waldemar, it is
+related, entered the city, not by means of the gates that had been
+forcibly surrendered to him, but by a breach he specially had made for
+this purpose in the town walls. The gap too is shown to this hour.
+
+When he had plundered to his heart's content, aided in his finding of
+the treasure by his lady love, after he had added to his titles of King
+of the Danes and Slavs, that of the King of Gothland, Waldemar
+proceeded to return home in his richly laden ships. But it was decreed
+that he should not bring his booty to port. A great storm arose in
+mid-ocean. It was with difficulty that the king escaped with his life;
+his ships were sunk, his coveted hoards buried in the waves.
+
+There are still shown at Wisby the two fine twelve-sectioned rose
+windows of St. Nicholas' Church, in which, according to tradition, there
+once burned two mighty carbuncles that served as beacons to light the
+seamen safely into harbour in the day of the town's prosperity. These
+stones, it is said, were torn from their place and carried off by
+Waldemar. The Gothland mariner still avers that on certain clear nights
+he can see the great carbuncles of St. Nicholas' Church gleaming from
+out the deep.
+
+As for Waldemar's lady love, whom it is said he abandoned as soon as his
+purpose was attained, she was seized on by the infuriated townspeople
+and buried alive in one of the turrets of the city walls, known to this
+day as the "Virgin Tower."
+
+It is difficult to decide whether Waldemar foresaw the full danger and
+bearing of his high-handed step; whether he knew what it meant to
+plunder a city like Wisby, one of the strongest arms of the Hansa. He
+had certainly thrown the gauntlet down to the towns; he was quickly to
+learn that the power which some years ago had successfully beaten his
+predecessors had but grown in strength since that date.
+
+On the first news of Waldemar's treachery, the Baltic cities laid an
+embargo on all Danish goods, and then called together a hasty council
+in which it was decreed that until further notice all intercourse with
+Denmark should be forbidden on pain of death and loss of property. Then
+they put themselves into communication with Norway and Sweden in order
+in the event of a war to secure the alliance of these countries, an
+assistance that was the more readily promised because their sovereigns
+were at feud with Waldemar. To defray the war costs it was determined to
+levy a poundage tax on all Hanseatic exported goods.
+
+A fleet was got ready with all possible speed, and when everything was
+in order, the towns sent a herald to Waldemar with a formal declaration
+of war.
+
+In May, 1362, their ships appeared in the Sound, and brilliant success
+at first attended their arms. Copenhagen was plundered, its church bells
+carried to Lübeck as the victor's booty. At Scania the cities looked to
+meet their northern allies, in order in conjunction with them to take
+possession of the Danish strongholds on the mainland. Here, however,
+disappointment awaited them. Whether lack of money or fear had deterred
+the northern kings from keeping their word is unknown; at any rate, they
+did not put in an appearance with their armies.
+
+The Burgomaster of Lübeck, Johann Wittenborg, who commanded the
+Hanseatic fleet, saw himself forced to use the men he had on board for
+the land attack. He held himself the more justified in doing this since
+he deemed he had so thoroughly routed the Danes, that from the side of
+the sea there was nothing to be feared.
+
+This decision was rash, and Wittenborg was to atone for it with his
+life. Already it seemed as if the stronghold Helsingborgs was in his
+hands--he had been besieging it sixteen days with great catapults--when
+Waldemar suddenly appeared with his fleet upon the Scanian coast,
+surprised the Hansa vessels that had been left with but a feeble crew,
+and carried off twelve of the best ships, and most of their provisions
+and weapons. The consequence was that Wittenborg saw himself obliged to
+return with the remnant of his army to Lübeck.
+
+He found the city embittered against him in the highest degree for his
+defeat; though it saw that the main guilt of the disastrous end of the
+war lay with the faithless northern kings. The stern free city deemed it
+right, not only towards itself, but also to its sister towns, to punish
+heavily the unsuccessful leader. Wittenborg had hardly landed ere he was
+arrested, chained, and thrown into a dungeon. Here he dragged out a
+weary year of imprisonment. In vain some of the cities pleaded his
+cause, in vain his friends tried to obtain his deliverance. Lübeck was a
+stern mistress, who knew no mercy, and could brook no ill success. In
+her dictionary, as in that of youth, according to Richelieu in Bulwer's
+play, there might be no such word as "fail." Wittenborg had, of course,
+been at once deprived of his burgomagisterial honours; a year after his
+defeat his head publicly fell under the executioner's axe in the
+market-place of Lübeck. Burial in the councillors' church was denied
+him. He was laid to rest in the cloisters of the Dominicans the spot
+where all criminals were interred in Lübeck during the Middle Ages; the
+spot where, down to our own era, all criminals passing that way to
+execution received from the pious monks a soothing drink as last
+farewell to life. Further, Wittenborg's name is absent from the record
+of the burgomasters; an omission in this place, which doubtless has the
+same meaning as the absence of Marino Falieri's portrait among the long
+row of Doges in the Venetian Palace.
+
+The election of a burgomaster as leader of the troops is quite in
+character with the spirit of those times. Such trade warriors are not
+uncommon in the history of the Hansa. Within the roomy stone hall that
+served as entry and store-room to those ancient dwelling-houses, it was
+usual to see helmet, armour, and sword hanging up above stores of
+codfish, barrels of herrings, casks of beer, bales of cloth, or what not
+besides.
+
+To this day the stranger is shown in the marketplace at Lübeck the stone
+on which Wittenborg sat before his execution, and in the collection of
+antiquities is the chair of torture in which he was borne thither. So
+sternly did the Hansa punish.
+
+There exists an entirely unauthenticated fable that Wittenborg had
+betrayed his trust in return for a dance with the Queen of Denmark,
+promising her as a reward the island of Bornholm. That the fable had
+some currency is proved by the fact that for a long while there survived
+in Lübeck the expression, "He is dancing away Bornholm," when some one
+light-heartedly did an unjustifiable deed. The story has given one of
+the younger German poets, Geibel, the theme for a famous ballad.
+Further, it was fabled that twice a year the Burgomaster and council of
+Lübeck solemnly drank Hippokras out of silver cups made from
+Wittenborg's confiscated property, repeating the while a Low German
+distich that reminded them of their stern duty and their predecessor's
+sad fate. Modern accurate research, pitiless in the destruction of
+picturesque legends has discovered that these cups were not made till
+the sixteenth century, and were paid for by a tax levied on Bornholm,
+then in rebellion.
+
+After the cruel defeat due to Wittenborg, the cities concluded an
+armistice with Waldemar, an armistice that might easily have been
+converted into a permanent peace, for the towns were not eager to fight.
+It was too great an interruption to trade. Moreover, the war expenses
+had exceeded their calculations, times were bad, harvests scant, food
+scarce, and, to crown all, the Black Death had reappeared in Europe and
+was devastating whole districts.
+
+But Waldemar had resolved to break entirely the power of the Hansa. Once
+more he befooled it in diplomatic negotiations, and in the midst of the
+truce attacked its herring settlements at Scania, and captured some
+merchant vessels that passed through the Belt.
+
+The towns held council, Waldemar was offered terms. Yet again he
+befooled them, and when he soon after married his only child Margaret,
+celebrated in history as the Semiramis of the North, to Hakon, heir to
+the thrones of Sweden and Norway, thus preparing the union of the three
+northern kingdoms under one crown, the towns, alarmed at the mere
+prospect, felt that now or never they must secure their independence.
+
+In November, 1367, deputies from the Baltic and inland towns met in
+conclave in the large council chamber of the Town Hall of Cologne, a
+meeting that became the foundation act of the recognized and open
+constitution of the Hanseatic League, and on which account the hall
+still bears the name of Hansa Room. It seems certain that here for the
+first time was drawn up an Act, modified, renewed, altered in course of
+time, but yet always the fundamental basis of the League. There is no
+older Hanseatic document than this of the congress known as the Cologne
+Confederation, when the deputies of seventy-seven towns met to declare
+most solemnly that "because of the wrongs and injuries done by the King
+of Denmark to the common German merchant, the cities would be his
+enemies and help one another faithfully." It was decided that such
+cities as were too weak or too distant to help actively in the war,
+should do so by the contribution of subsidies. It was further enacted
+that such cities as would not join in the war should be held as outside
+the League, with whom its burghers and merchants should have nothing
+more in common, neither buying from, nor selling to, them, nor allowing
+them to enter their ports, or unlade goods in their domains.
+
+ [Illustration: RATH-HAUS, COLOGNE.]
+
+Waldemar was warned of what the cities had resolved against him. He
+replied with an untranslatable pun, in which he likened the Hansa to a
+flock of geese, who deafened him with their cackle. Warned once more,
+Waldemar threatened the cities that he would complain of them to their
+spiritual and temporal lords; among them the Pope and the emperor. The
+cities had forestalled him. They had sent copies of a letter, stating
+their grievances against a king whom they denounced as "a tyrant and a
+pirate," to some thirty spiritual and temporal lords. In the letter to
+the emperor, Lübeck, whence all the letters were dated, excused itself
+in particular for not responding to Charles's recent invitation to join
+his Roman expedition on the plea of its home difficulties, while humbly
+giving thanks for the honour done it by the offer. It also justified
+itself for not paying during the past year to Waldemar a tax decreed by
+Charles, since this king, it wrote, "seeks to withdraw your town of
+Lübeck from the emperor and the empire." It grieved to state that the
+emperor lived too far off to shield by his arms his weak and neglected
+flock in the northern region of the empire. Therefore the emperor's most
+gracious majesty must not take it amiss if the cities, with God's help,
+did something towards their own protection.
+
+Worded with all the servile language of the period, Lübeck yet in this
+letter made it pretty evident to its supreme ruler that it meant to
+stand on its own feet, as it knew too well how unsteady were its
+sovereign's.
+
+Yet, again, Waldemar was warned of the growing strength, the earnest
+purpose of the League, and this time he seems to have been alarmed, for
+he tried to detach from it many of its members, and to win them over to
+his own cause. He received from the towns with whom he opened
+negotiations, the following reply, which proves how perfected and
+tightly secured were already the reciprocal engagements of the League.
+
+"The Hanseatic League," they said, "having resolved on war, they must
+submit themselves to that general resolution which bound them all."
+
+The cackling geese whom Waldemar had despised seemed to have grown into
+formidable eagles overnight. Lordlings and princes too, many of whom had
+private injuries to avenge, had joined the League or promised their
+support. The Hansa had set up a rival and successful king in Sweden, and
+it now proposed nothing less than to dismember Denmark, and to
+distribute its provinces to its own friends and allies. It did not
+desire to retain possession of it. It was ever its policy to restrict
+actual possessions, but to seek that these should be as far as possible
+in the hands of friends who would grant it the concessions and
+privileges needful for commerce. Thus could be applied to it what a
+Roman said of the peoples he subjugated, "I do not ask for gold; I only
+desire to rule over those who have gold." With this difference, however,
+that the Hansa, without wishing to conquer provinces, wished to draw to
+itself whatever profits could be found therein.
+
+It was on the Sunday of Quasimodo, April 16, 1368, that all the Hansa
+ships were to meet in the Sound for a combined attack on Zealand. The
+Easter days approached. All Northern Germany awaited anxiously the
+moment for the decisive combat to commence; when suddenly the cities
+learnt that on Maundy Thursday Waldemar had secretly fled from his
+dominions, alarmed by the decision and strength shown by his enemies. In
+a ship laden with much treasure he had landed on the Pomeranian coasts
+to go further east and avoid the impending squall, leaving a viceroy in
+his stead, whom he authorized to conclude peace or carry on war.
+
+Waldemar's cowardly attitude could not of course alter that of the
+cities. In that same month of April the war began and raged all the
+summer, the Hansa meeting with but little resistance. With the winter
+came a truce, after the fashion of those times, but in the summer war
+was renewed and for two years the Hansa ships harassed the Danish coasts
+and waters, sacked their cities and plundered their treasures. The
+treacherous attack on Wisby was avenged with interest, and the war
+proved so profitable to the League that it settled in congress that it
+should continue until the Danes sued abjectly for peace. Its leader was
+once more a Lübecker, Brun Warendorf, the son of the Burgomaster. He
+died in battle, but the memory of his gallant deeds remains in the
+stately monument the town erected to him in the choir of St. Mary's
+Church. Thus Lübeck honoured those who contributed to her honour.
+
+ [Illustration: RATH-HAUS, TANGERMUNDE.]
+
+By the close of 1369, Denmark was exhausted and the people weary of war.
+They pleaded for peace. On this the seventy-seven cities, whom Waldemar
+had derided as geese, dictated their terms. It was indeed a peace such
+as few kings have signed in the deepest degradation of their empire. For
+the term of fifteen years they claimed two-thirds of the revenues of
+Scania, the possession of its strongholds, the free passage of the
+Sound, and the right for the same fifteen years to veto the choice of a
+Danish ruler, besides a number of other valuable concessions and
+privileges; terms, in short, as humiliating for Denmark as they were
+glorious for the League. The last paragraph of this remarkable Treaty of
+Stralsund, which put the Hansa in the position of a first-class power,
+ran thus:
+
+"Our king, Waldemar, shall seal to the cities the above terms of peace
+with his great seal, if he would remain with his kingdom and not give it
+over to another ruler. If it should be that our lord and king; Waldemar,
+desires to abdicate his land of Denmark during his lifetime, we will and
+shall not suffer it, unless it be that the cities have given their
+consent, and that he has sealed to them their privileges with his great
+seal. Thus, too, it shall be if our lord and king, Waldemar, be carried
+off by death, which God forfend. Then, too, we will accept no ruler but
+in council with the cities."
+
+It is evident from this paragraph that the Hansa still mistrusted
+Waldemar, and feared he would by some subterfuge evade the treaty
+obligations made in his name by his appointed viceroy.
+
+And they had probably not gauged him falsely.
+
+It was further settled that Waldemar must sign this document within
+sixteen months: if he did not do so within this period, the Danish
+council and kingdom would nevertheless be bound to keep its terms "even
+if the king did not seal."
+
+But abject though these stipulations were, complete as was the
+submission of Denmark to the League which they implied, Waldemar signed
+them within the appointed time. He saw that he was defeated, friendless,
+and alone. In vain had he scoured the mainland, and recounted his woes
+to all who would listen, in vain had he begged or bribed for help
+against his enemies. He had made himself too much hated, and even those
+who promised aid failed at the last to keep their word.
+
+With the signature of peace Waldemar also signed away his position, nay,
+perhaps his life. Broken in hope and spirits, his health gave way. Four
+years later (1375) he died, after he had just appealed in vain to the
+towns to restore to him his castles in Scania.
+
+With the peace of Stralsund the German merchants had established the
+supremacy of the Hansa over Scandinavia, and laid the foundation for
+that power over the northern kingdom, which, in the words of King
+Gustavus Vasa, places "the three good crowns at the mercy of the Hansa."
+
+Thus ended the Hansa's great war against the King of Denmark--a war that
+marks an important era in its history and development.
+
+The League henceforth took a changed position, not only in its own
+fatherland, but in the face of all Europe, for nothing succeeds like
+success. Flanders, France, and England, had all to recognize that a new
+power had arisen in the north of Germany. For the war had proved, not
+only how valiantly the League could fight if need arose, but also how
+well organized it was; how it held together for the common weal; how it
+would be not only unwise, but dangerous to resist its demands for trade
+privileges and concessions.
+
+A curious juxtaposition of events was afforded by this chapter of
+history; a German emperor was busy in the interests of Rome, striving to
+bring back the Pope from his long exile at Avignon, and obtaining
+dubious victories over the great Italian family of the Visconti; while
+meantime a league of cities in his own empire was carrying on a
+successful war against the kings of the north, dethroning and defeating
+them. And so far from raising a hand to aid them, the emperor, on paper,
+at least, and by word and protestation, was taking part with Waldemar
+against his own subjects. A curious, a unique condition of things truly.
+
+And herewith we have brought the history of our League to the close of
+what is known as its first period, dating from its origin to the peace
+concluded with Denmark.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] Some writers reckon Waldemar as the fourth of his name, counting as
+the third Waldemar the impostor, who for some years ruled over the land
+under that name. I have preferred to follow the more generally adopted
+reckoning.--H. Z.
+
+[7] "Ante portas Wisby in manibus Danorum ceciderunt Gutenses."
+
+
+
+
+PERIOD II.
+
+_THE HISTORY OF THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE, FROM 1370 TO THE PUBLIC PEACE OF
+1495, DECREED IN GERMANY BY MAXIMILIAN I._
+
+
+
+
+I.
+
+LÜBECK RECEIVES AN IMPERIAL VISITOR.
+
+
+The great war ended, the Hansa, in true merchant spirit, instantly
+busied itself making up its accounts. The poundage toll, instituted to
+cover martial expenses, was at once abolished; credit and debit
+carefully balanced. Examination of its books showed that,
+notwithstanding the long duration of the war, the Hansa had been as
+little a pecuniary, as it had been a military, loser, in its struggle
+against Waldemar's assumptions.
+
+While thus engaged, Lübeck was startled by the intelligence that the
+Emperor, Charles IV., intended to honour "his beloved free Imperial City
+of Lübeck" by a personal visit. Since Frederick Barbarossa no emperor
+had ever passed the city gates, and the town councillors were probably
+not far wrong when they perceived in this proposal a tacit imperial
+acknowledgment of the Hansa's great military victories, victories in
+which Lübeck had played the part of leader. For twenty-eight years
+Charles had worn the imperial crown, and all that time his chief efforts
+had been directed towards extending the power of his family, and the
+home influence of the emperors. He was a shrewd and wily old man, who
+saw the dangers Italy presented to the empire, and wished to avoid them.
+At first, however, he had no proper comprehension of the great power
+that had sprung up within his own domains in the shape of the Hanseatic
+League, nay, indeed, he had sided against his subjects and with
+Waldemar. But now the scales fell from his eyes, and he appreciated, as
+all Europe did, the greatness and the strength of the Hansa.
+
+Of course he did not admit this in words, yet there is little doubt that
+he wished to gain the goodwill of this League, and hoped thus to get
+from it both pecuniary and military support for his dynastic plans.
+
+It was, however, "diamond cut diamond;" the worthy councillors of Lübeck
+were no less shrewd and wily than their imperial master. Needless to say
+that, in accordance with the usage of the age, they indulged in the most
+servile and hyperbolical expressions of their joy and unworthiness to be
+so honoured, but like true merchants they had a good memory, and knew
+that Charles had not so long ago pawned his coronation cloak and some of
+his tolls to one of their federation, and they suspected in their heart
+of hearts that ulterior motives were probably not absent to account for
+this unwonted event. Still, with the wisdom of the serpent, they let
+nothing of this appear, either in their replies to Charles, or in their
+treatment of him. Like their Lombard predecessors, even when in open
+warfare against the emperor's authority, they ever protested in words
+their submission and fidelity to the imperial crown.
+
+It was in the autumn of 1375 that Charles the Fourth entered the gates
+of Lübeck as the city's guest. It is a curious fact that his visit
+coincided with the death of Waldemar on the island of Zealand; but in
+those days of slow communication the news did not reach the emperor till
+after the festivities were over.
+
+On October 22nd, the Emperor, accompanied by the Empress, the Archbishop
+of Cologne, prince-bishops, dukes, earls, and suzerains many and mighty,
+halted before the closed gates of Lübeck. His suite, his armed
+retainers, and those of his party, made such a numerous host that Lübeck
+hesitated awhile ere opening its gates to so great a multitude, not
+feeling wholly sure whether their mission were indeed one of peace, or
+whether an affectation of peace was meant to cover a deceitful attack.
+For such things were not uncommon in those days.
+
+After some preliminaries it was however decided to let them all in. A
+halt had been made outside the walls. Here was situated the Chapel of
+St. Gertrude, patron saint of strangers. The chapel was the property of
+the municipal council, and to obtain relics for it the town had spent
+many sums of money. Among other matters, they boasted of possessing some
+bones of Thomas à Becket, and it is curious to note that they sent over
+to England to buy these at the very time Chaucer was superintendent of
+tolls in the harbour of London, and was writing his immortal "Canterbury
+Tales," in which he derides the frauds constantly practised upon the
+purchasers of such wares; as in his "Pardonere's Tale." Now Charles
+IV. had a great fancy for objects of this nature; he was in the habit of
+making tours in his kingdom in order to collect them, begging them from
+churches or monasteries, and giving in return privileges and sanctions.
+It is possible he also had an eye to St. Thomas's bones, but among the
+rich booty he took with him from Lübeck, we find no mention of such
+relics.
+
+ [Illustration: SHIPPING HOUSE, LÜBECK.]
+
+It was before St. Gertrude's Chapel, then, that Charles and his great
+suite halted, and here he and his empress put on their imperial robes
+previous to entering the city. This done, they were greeted by a
+procession that came forth from the gates to welcome them. It consisted
+of the temporal and spiritual lords of the town, the leading men, and
+the most lovely and notable of its women. They carried before them a
+crucifix and a casket containing relics. Both the emperor and his
+consort kissed these with great fervour. Then two stately horses, richly
+caparisoned, were brought before them, upon which they mounted. That of
+the emperor was led by two burgomasters, that of the empress by two town
+councillors. Eight young patricians carried a baldachino of rich stuffs
+over the heads of the imperial pair. In front of the emperor rode a
+councillor, bearing aloft on a pole the keys of the city; while he was
+flanked by two imperial dukes, carrying respectively the sword and the
+sceptre of the empire. In front of the empress rode the archbishop,
+bearing the imperial globe. Behind followed all the nobles, the suite,
+the men-at-arms.
+
+Such was the procession that moved from St. Gertrude's Chapel on the
+morning of October 22nd. In the space between the outer and inner walls
+of the city the women of Lübeck awaited them ready to greet the guests
+with cheers and song and waving kerchiefs. It was through the stately
+Burg Thor that the great train passed and entered the streets of the
+city, gaily decked out with arras and banners and verdure to bid them
+welcome. They rode the whole length of the town, through the Breite
+Strasse, to the sound of fife and drum, and then made for the cathedral.
+Here they halted, dismounted, and entered. A solemn thanksgiving service
+was held, and the choir sang the Introitus for the feast of the
+Epiphany: "Ecce advenit Dominator Dominus" ("Behold the Lord, the Ruler
+is come"), and then the second verse of the Seventy-second Psalm, "Give
+the king Thy judgments, O God." After this the party once more
+re-formed, and rode along the Königstrasse, till they came to the house
+that was to harbour the imperial guests.
+
+Contemporary chroniclers tell us that all along the route of the
+procession and both by night and day the sounds of military and sacred
+music never ceased. Night was as light as day, thanks to the general
+illumination prescribed by the council; a prescription that, in a city
+thus overcrowded by a martial train and by curious spectators from far
+and near, was as much a matter of safety as of compliment to its guests.
+In those times street-lighting was an unknown luxury, and nocturnal
+brawls of constant occurrence.
+
+The house where Charles halted exists to this day, as also that where
+the empress lodged. They are both corner-houses and boast gables, which
+according to contemporary writers was an indication of an aristocratic
+building. The lodging of the empress was opposite to that of the
+emperor, and a covered way was built across the street to connect them.
+Such road-bridges, springing from the projecting gable windows, were not
+unusual things in the harrow streets of those times. The condition of
+the unpaved roads made them requisite, as these could not be crossed on
+foot with safety or cleanliness.
+
+For the space of eleven days Charles and his train halted at Lübeck, and
+the town spared neither cost nor trouble to entertain him right royally,
+and to impress him with its wealth and importance. Feasts, tournaments,
+rejoicings, followed upon one another; time was not allowed to hang
+heavy upon the emperor's hands. But neither was he allowed to carry out
+his ulterior objects. With great politeness and fulsome flattery Charles
+was made to understand that the Hansa was sure of its own strength, and
+since he had not helped it in the hour of need, it did not propose to
+make great sacrifices to assist him in his troubles. All however was
+done with perfect courtesy, Charles even being permitted on one occasion
+to be present at a meeting of the municipal council when both sides
+exchanged pretty compliments. He even went so far as to address them as
+"Lords." With great modesty they disclaimed this appellation. But the
+emperor insisted on it: "You are lords," he said; "the oldest imperial
+registers know that Lübeck is one of the five towns that have had
+accorded to them in the imperial council the ducal rank, that they may
+take part in the emperor's council and be present where is the emperor."
+
+These five cities were Rome, Venice, Pisa, Florence, and Lübeck.
+
+When Charles left Lübeck he was delighted with the hospitality he had
+there received, but disappointed in his political aims. It is certain,
+however, that he rode out richer than he rode in; to this the account
+books of the city bear testimony, of this the taxpayers told a tale for
+many a long day. Indeed the expenses incurred through this imperial
+visitor were to lead later on to some serious riots of the guilds
+against the municipality.
+
+It was through the _Mühlen Thor_ that Charles departed with his train
+and by order of the town council this gate was walled up for ever behind
+him. It was meant as a piece of subtle flattery to the emperor, a
+suggestion that no mortal was worthy to step where he had stepped,[8]
+but it is not out of keeping with the astute sense of humour that
+distinguished these commercial princes, that the act also covered a
+secret satisfaction in having outwitted their imperial guest and in
+being once more the victors in an encounter with royalty. Certain it is
+that Charles' visit proves that the Hanseatic League had reached the
+apex of power, and that the city of Lübeck was regarded in Europe as
+the head of this organization. Charles' visit was one of the proudest
+moments in her story, and the memory survives in local chronicles.
+
+It also survives in an old picture preserved until quite recently in the
+house where he lodged, and now removed to the rooms of the Municipal
+Antiquarian Society. In this canvas we see the Emperor Charles IV.,
+seated on a large throne-like chair. On either side of him is a leaded
+window. A carpet lies before his feet bordered with black, red, and gold
+cords. The emperor is clothed partly in imperial, partly in episcopal
+robes: a not uncommon mode of representation in those days. He wears his
+hair long, has a long moustache, and his full beard is parted in the
+middle, showing the costly clasp that closes his mantle. His head is
+surrounded by a golden jewelled crown, in his right hand he holds a long
+sword, in his left the imperial globe. The subscription runs: "Anno Dni.
+1376 ipse Sevori Dn. Carolus quartus imperator invictissimus decem
+diebus hac in domo hospitatus est."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[8] Modern, disintegrating criticism, casts doubts on this story, and
+tries to prove that this gate was walled up before Charles' visit, and
+that he did not depart by it. This objection, however, is not fully
+proved, and the contrary tradition so powerfully rooted, and so entirely
+in keeping with the spirit of the age, that I have preferred to
+reproduce it as characteristic, even if untrue.--H. Z.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+THE TOWNS IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
+
+
+Our League had attained its maturity. As we have seen from its origin
+and as we shall see until its decadence, security and extension of
+commerce was its one aim and solicitude. The Hanseatics were at all
+times desirous to extend their markets abroad, to obtain, if possible,
+the monopoly of trade, and it must be admitted that they succeeded
+admirably in achieving the end they had in view. When we look back and
+consider the disorganized state of the empire and the slight support
+they received from their nominal liege lord, it seems strange that they
+did not take this occasion to constitute themselves also into a
+political union, forming independent states after the pattern of the
+Italian commercial republics. In general, the towns in pursuing their
+policy took as little real notice of the authority of the emperor, as
+the emperor of the interests and doings of the towns.
+
+Even our shrewd Hansa merchants, it would seem, were afraid outwardly to
+present a bold front to their rulers, though secretly they defied them
+and circumvented their laws. The very existence of the federation was
+illegal, and in direct contravention to one of the chief clauses of the
+Golden Bull, which forbade all associations and unions within the
+empire. It is no doubt on this account that the Hansa, like the Venetian
+Republic, kept its organization so secret. Even in its own day people
+were but vaguely informed as to the working of its government, and as to
+the number and extent of its dominions.
+
+The very natural question arises now that our League is mature, How many
+cities did it count in its federation? but it cannot be answered with
+precision. Nay, this question can receive no final reply in any period
+of the Hansa's history. The towns that joined did not always do so
+permanently, or were not able to maintain their place, and to fulfil
+their duties. Often, too, they proved restive and were "unhansed," and
+it was no easy or inexpensive matter to be readmitted. The ban of the
+Hansa was more potent than that of pope or emperor. A town that fell
+under it lost its commerce at one blow. Thus, for example, Bremen,
+headstrong and stiff-necked, anxious to play an undue part in the Hansa
+League, saw itself shut out in 1356, because one of its burghers had
+traded with Flanders at a time when such trading was forbidden. The
+municipality, called upon to punish him, took his part, with the result
+that for thirty years the town was "unhansed," thirty miserable years,
+during which "the city was impoverished, grass grew in its streets, and
+hunger and desolation took up their abode in its midst," so writes a
+contemporary eyewitness. Reinstated at last, Bremen had to take up heavy
+responsibilities in atonement for its misdeeds.
+
+ [Illustration: GROCERS' HALL, BREMEN.]
+
+On another occasion Brunswick fell into the hands of discontented
+artizans, who headed a revolt of several towns against the League. A
+fulminating decree was issued by the Hansa with the same results as in
+the case of Bremen. Misery and hunger in this case also proved
+persuasive, and at last, after six years, this proscribed town was
+readmitted. It had to send deputies to Lübeck, who craved pardon in the
+most abject terms, and who had to accept the most humiliating
+conditions. Besides questions of internal management, the Brunswickers
+undertook to build a votive chapel in the town in memory of their bad
+behaviour, and to send pilgrims to Rome who should crave the Papal
+pardon for the murders of councillors committed by the rioters. Two
+burgomasters of Brunswick, and eight of the chief citizens walked humbly
+in procession, bare-headed, bare-footed, carrying candles in their hands
+from the church of our Lady at Lübeck, to the town hall, where in the
+great council chamber of the League, before an enormous crowd, they had
+publicly upon their knees to confess their repentance for what unruly
+passion had caused them to do, and to implore their confederates to
+pardon them for the love of God, and the honour of the Virgin Mary.
+
+ [Illustration: RATH-HAUS, BRUNSWICK.]
+
+More and more did Lübeck come to take the leading place among the
+cities. Her laws ruled at the Hansa diets. They were reckoned the wisest
+ever framed by an autonomous community, and are still quoted with
+respect. The right to use Lübeck law was as eagerly craved by distant
+cities as the Greek colonies craved the holy fire from native altars.
+No wonder Lübeck's merchants loved to quote the proud couplet:
+
+ "Was willst begehren mehr,
+ Als die alte Lübsche Ehr?"
+ ("What more will you desire than the old Lübeck honour?")
+
+Æneas Sylvius Piccolomini, afterwards Pope Pius II., when travelling
+through Europe as Chancellor of the Emperor Frederick III., visited
+Lübeck, and writes of it as the town which surpasses all others in the
+wealth and magnificence of its buildings and churches. The same praise
+is echoed a little later by a rare guest, the Metropolitan of Moscow,
+who passed through Lübeck on his way to Florence, to be present at the
+great church council held there by Eugene IV. Æneas also visited Danzig,
+and says it was so well equipped for land and sea warfare, that it could
+call under arms at least 50,000 men.
+
+The prominence of the cities varied greatly. Circumstances which at one
+time might be to their advantage, might at another time prove adverse.
+Thus Wisby, after its sacking by Waldemar, was the victim of an
+accidental fire, which destroyed all that the Dane had spared. In
+consequence it fell at once from its position of importance, and its
+very site, once the source of its strength, became the cause of its
+downfall, for it proved a most convenient station to pirates. Where the
+merchant had safely halted, he was now in peril of life and goods.
+
+ [Illustration: MÜHLENTHOR, STARGARD.]
+
+To the question put at various times to the Hansa's ambassadors "which
+are the Hansa's cities?" evasive replies were given, either "those towns
+that fought the Hansa's battles;" or a few were enumerated, and the
+list closed with a colossal etcetera, etcetera. For they were not easily
+caught napping, these worthy burghers, and had ever in view "the
+interests of the common German merchants," which they feared might be
+endangered by too much publicity. Still, they had become a power that
+could not be hid, and seeing how well they realized this in most
+respects, it is the more curious that they did not avail themselves of
+their chance of attaining political autonomy. The more curious too,
+because, as a rule, the Hanseatics, like the modern Italians, knew so
+well how to draw profit out of all the dissensions and disorders that
+agitated Europe.
+
+It was indeed a vast dominion that stood under the sway of the Hansa. In
+the course of less than a hundred years there had arisen on the Baltic
+coast, within the area of two hundred and fifty miles, no fewer than
+fourteen cities of first-class importance, not to name those that
+already existed there. Thus the merchants held in their possession the
+mouths of all the great Baltic rivers, on all of which they founded
+harbours and depôts. Germany in that epoch evinced a power of
+colonization which in its successes recalls the most brilliant moments
+of the extension of Greek life in the Mediterranean. In more modern
+times only the North American soil has exercised an attraction similar
+to that of the Baltic coasts, and has shown an equal power of upraising
+cities within a brief space of time. Many of the towns boasted a far
+larger population than they have at this day. Thus Lübeck in the
+fourteenth century counted eighty thousand inhabitants, as against
+forty-eight thousand in 1870.
+
+An interesting contemporary opinion on our merchants is extant from the
+pen of a learned and travelled Italian, Marino Sanudo, a pious Venetian,
+who set forth early in the fourteenth century with a mission to stir up
+the Christian world, and organize a new Crusade, for Askelon, the last
+stronghold of the Romish Church, had fallen into the hands of the
+unbelievers. His first purpose was to gauge the fighting power of the
+various European maritime states, for it was a fleet rather than an army
+that was required. In his journeyings he ventured as far north as the
+Baltic, and thus reports in his letter to Pope John XXII.:
+
+"In Alemannia live many peoples that could prove most useful to us.... I
+have seen with my own eyes that these coasts of Alemannia are quite
+similar to the Venetian. The inhabitants, strong of limb and practised
+in arms, are mostly warriors; others well skilled in dyke-making;
+besides, they are rich, and what is yet more commendable, they show a
+warm zeal for the affairs of the Holy Land."
+
+After enumerating other advantages to be gained from these allies, he is
+however obliged to draw his Holiness' attention to a serious drawback on
+their part, namely, "that the Germans are enormous eaters, which arouses
+anxiety in respect to supplies when the fleet shall find itself in the
+hot regions."
+
+A love for feasting meets us repeatedly in the old chronicle reports on
+the German merchants, and shows that in those days there also held good
+what Hawthorne has more recently expressed, that the Germans need to
+refresh exhausted nature twice as often as any other peoples. Then, as
+now, they were an upright, thorough, massive race, not made of too fine
+a clay and wanting rather on the æsthetic side; a want sure to strike
+the more finely strung senses of an Italian.
+
+ [Illustration: BURGHERS AT TABLE.]
+
+It is certain that the fourteenth century was in many respects the epoch
+when the Hansa cities flourished most actively. Neither before nor after
+did they have so many sided an importance for the whole life of the
+German nation. It was a stirring period in the history of the European
+continent; when the Minnesingers gave place to the Mastersingers; when
+learning, hitherto stored up jealously in the monasteries and the
+libraries of the princes, had found its way out among burghers and
+laymen; when protectors of art and science were more often simple
+merchant princes than noble-born beggars. In a word, it was an epoch
+when the middle class sprang into full being, and took its due and
+proper place as a link between the nobility and the common people.
+
+Towards bringing about this state of things the Hansa had greatly
+contributed. If it failed to emancipate itself entirely from the empire,
+it was yet ever keenly desirous of emancipating itself from its petty
+suzerains. Thus the burghers of Lübeck, Cologne, Goslar, and other
+cities were early forbidden to hold posts under the lord of the domain,
+no matter how lucrative such posts might be. Wismar, engaged on one
+occasion in a dispute with the Dominican monks concerning the repair of
+the town walls, and obliged to cede to these ecclesiastics because the
+lord of the land was favourable to the Church, carefully recorded the
+occasion in its "town book," "in order," as it wrote, "that it might
+remember the circumstance on some future and more favourable occasion."
+"To pay them out" is implied though not expressed in the phrase.
+
+With the same insistence and energy the towns made good their claims
+when it was requisite to protect the burgher in his commerce, this
+source of life to all the cities. Formerly, it is true, the German
+merchants had appeared in the foreign markets as "the men of the
+emperor," but now the emperors had no longer might wherewith to back
+their right, and more efficient protection was called for. This each
+found in his own city. Hundreds and thousands of treaties and letters of
+freedom attest to the fact that the towns recognized their duties
+towards their citizens and practised them most strenuously. Sometimes
+these were written out in the name of a princeling, whose signature it
+was always possible to buy for hard cash; but as time went on the towns
+gradually took an entirely independent stand, so that from France to the
+Russian districts of Smolensk the whole continent was overspread with a
+network of diplomatic and commercial contracts eagerly supported and
+extended by the towns.
+
+The first thing sought for from the territorial lords, was protection
+for person and property from the gang of banditti who dwelt in every
+castle under the leadership of some titled robber; then protection
+against the cruel rights of wreckage and salvage, which declared all
+such goods the property of the territorial lord; further, release from
+imprisonment for debts and other misdemeanours incurred within the
+jurisdiction of the city and to be dealt with by itself alone;
+assistance in obtaining payment of foreign debts; freedom from the
+so-called "judgments of God" in the form of torture, walking on red-hot
+irons, &c.; regulation and diminution of local taxes and tolls on the
+lading or unlading of vessels, the weighing of merchandise; permission
+to fell wood to repair ships; in a word, one and all of the necessary
+permits to render more easy and profitable the intercourse between towns
+and nations.
+
+ [Illustration: GERMAN TRADE LIFE.]
+
+In each foreign country the Hanseatics had always their permanent
+settlement, known as the _Kontor_, and for these they had early obtained
+a species of autonomy that permitted them to exercise jurisdiction
+according to their native laws over their own country people. Defaulters
+were judged by Hanseatic rules, and the "common merchant" found a help
+and support against the foreigners among whom he for the moment resided
+and with whom he traded.
+
+The shrewd towns knew well how to estimate the value of such foreign
+settlements, and it is noteworthy that they never accorded reciprocal
+rights. In vain foreigners pleaded permission to found similar
+settlements in the Hansa's dominions; the towns always skilfully
+declined such requests. Thus in Cologne foreign merchants were not
+allowed to reside longer than six weeks at a stretch, and this only
+three times in the year; therefore only eighteen weeks in all. Similar
+and even more restrictive regulations prevailed in the other cities.
+
+It is curious to note that, until the end of the thirteenth century, it
+was chiefly the inland towns who were the great traders, but when they
+needed for their trade the highway of the ocean, gradually the maritime
+ports had taken the place of importance. One of the chief lines of sea
+traffic was that between Bruges in Flanders and Northern Russia. On this
+route hundreds of ships sailed annually, all owned by the "Easterlings,"
+as the Baltic merchants were called to distinguish them from the inland
+traders. It was not until the fifteenth century that we find Dutchmen,
+Zealanders, and Frisians striving to come into serious competition with
+the Hansa.
+
+A decree that no German merchant might go into partnership with a
+Russian, Fleming, or Englishman, no doubt aided greatly this exclusive
+possession of the Baltic Sea. In Russia waterways led them as far as
+Smolensk; and, later on, they penetrated even further inland, by
+utilizing the roads that had been made by the German knights whose seat
+of might was Pomerania and Livonia. The Marienburg, the chief house of
+the Order, proved a welcome halting station for the merchant travellers,
+where they found safety and shelter. Furs were largely obtained from the
+inner districts of Russia. "They are plentiful as dung there," writes
+the pious chronicler, Adam of Bremen; adding, "for our damnation, as I
+believe, for _per fas et nefas_ we strive as hard to come into the
+possession of a marten skin as if it were everlasting salvation."
+According to him, it was from this cause and from Russia "that the
+deadly sin of luxurious pride" had overspread the West.
+
+ [Illustration: RENSLAU GATE.]
+
+Wax, that played so large a part in mediæval religious rites, and was
+required in great abundance, was furnished by the "honey-trees" of the
+virgin Russian forests. Leather, skins, tallow, and all species of fat,
+were also among the chief products of Russia and the exports of the
+Hansa. In return, they imported into that empire the produce of the
+looms of Germany, England, and Flanders, the fine Flemish cloths, the
+coarser English and German. Silk, too, and linen were valued goods.
+Important also were all manner of worked metal objects, and such wares
+as town industries manufacture. Beer, too, was a valued and most
+profitable article of commerce. This drink was brewed in superior
+excellence in Northern Germany, the hops being grown on the spot.
+Contemporary writers tell how outside all the northern cities hop
+gardens flourished. This beer was never wanting at any carouse in the
+whole stretch of land from Flanders to Finland; a heavy, heady beverage,
+which would now be deemed unpalatable and indigestible. Some specimens
+are preserved to this day in the Danzig _Topenbier_ and the Brunswick
+_Mumme_. To this thirst for ale Hamburg largely owes its prosperity. For
+many long years it was the greatest beer-making town of the North,
+boasting in the fourteenth century no less than five hundred breweries.
+
+From Sweden the Hanseatics fetched copper and iron; in many cases they
+had acquired the sole possession of the mines. Scandinavia also
+furnished skins, as well as the various forest products of wood, potash,
+pitch, and tar. From Blekingen, as at this day, the merchants brought
+granite, and from Gothland and Bornholm limestone, both stones being
+required for those building purposes for which the native material of
+brick did not suffice. Already the Baltic supplied the Netherlands with
+grain.
+
+The Hansa carried in return to Sweden, Finland, and Russia the
+requirements of daily life, since these countries possessed neither
+manufactures nor skilled labour. Down to the altar shrines and the
+psalters of the Church the merchants brought the evidences of civilized
+workmanship to these lands. The very furs they had taken thence were
+returned to their northern homes; of course manipulated and worked up.
+Even the English, more advanced in handicraft, submitted to the same
+_régime_. It used to be said on the European continent in those days:
+"We buy the fox skins from the English for a groat, and re-sell them the
+foxes tails for a guilder." With England indeed the Hansa's intercourse
+was most active, as we shall show more in detail later on.
+
+ [Illustration: CROSSBOW.]
+
+Danzig owes almost all its splendour to the English trade. This city
+dealt largely in Austrian and Hungarian products, which were distributed
+from out its harbour. English crossbowmen received all the wood for
+their bows from Austria by way of Danzig. They were made from the yew
+tree, which was considered especially adapted to this end.
+
+What the German merchant obtained as produce from Russia, Scandinavia,
+and other parts of Europe, not to mention the special productions of his
+own towns, he distributed either at home or in the world-famed markets
+of Bruges and London, for the Hansa was then the only intermediary
+between East and West. For more than three hundred years Bruges
+maintained its place as the central market for the whole of Europe this
+side the Alps. Here could be met traders from all parts; the Lombard
+bankers and money-changers, the Florentine, Spanish, Portuguese, French,
+Basque, English, Scotch, North and South Germans. It was from Bruges
+that the Baltic merchant supplied his home and Northern Germany with the
+products of the East, which the South German had brought from Venice and
+over the Alpine passes along the Rhine. In Bruges he could buy the
+fruits of the Mediterranean, the silks of Florence, the oils of
+Provence, the wines of Spain and Italy. These meetings of merchants were
+wont to take place at stated times, intercourse being thus made surer
+and easier. This custom laid the foundation for those annual fairs for
+the exchange of wares, of which one yet survives in Germany in little
+diminished importance, namely, the great fair of Leipzig, where all the
+German publishers meet to exchange the intellectual productions of the
+year.
+
+Another source of wealth to the cities arose from the circumstance that
+they not only supplied the requirements of the mass, but were also the
+purveyors to the princes and the aristocracy. We find in their books
+that these frequently owed them heavy sums for furs, Flanders cloth, and
+choice wines. They were also most often their bankers, for the towns
+and, above all, Lübeck, the centre of cash transactions, were held
+desirable places for money investments. Even in the distant districts of
+Sweden people knew no better mode of investing capital than to confide
+it to Lübeck merchants.
+
+Of course the conditions of trade were vastly different from those of
+to-day. Above all, the merchant had to act more in person. Posts did not
+exist, orders and contracts, therefore, could rarely be made by letter,
+for it mostly required a special messenger to carry these. It was hence
+almost the rule that the merchant accompanied his wares "over sea and
+sand," as the phrase went. For the sake of greater security, and in
+order also to diminish expenses, many would club together to charter a
+ship. It was usual to interest the captains in the sales of the wares,
+it being held advisable that every one on board should have an advantage
+in bringing the goods safe to land and in their profitable disposal.
+This custom arose from the dangers that lurked from robbers, while
+insurance of goods in transit was yet unknown. By interesting captain
+and crew pecuniarily they were less likely to throw the goods overboard
+in a storm, or to allow pirates quietly to board and rob the vessels;
+both matters of common occurrence.
+
+If it was dangerous to travel by water, it was yet far worse to travel
+by land. Not to mention that there were few roads, that the mud often
+lay piled wheel high, so that the strongest horses could not pull the
+carts; the presence of robbers was a constant cause of fear on the road.
+Many of these were, as we know, the lordlings of the land in disguise,
+and hence they naturally turned a deaf ear to the repeated petitions of
+the merchants to keep the highways in better order. Added to this, each
+lord had the right to demand toll for the passing of his dominions and
+the toll stations were often very close together. Thus, for example,
+within a space of fifteen miles from Hamburg the merchant encountered no
+less than nine. Fortunately the tables of tolls in those days were not
+too complicated. They were generally paid by waggon, or ship load,
+regardless of contents.
+
+The Middle Ages were ignorant of protective taxes. These impediments to
+the useful exchange of international produce were reserved for the
+invention and practice of our more enlightened centuries. It is
+characteristic that the oath which played so great a part in all
+mediæval transactions, social and political, was also employed to settle
+the toll dues of the traveller. A crucifix was held before him; on this
+he swore that he was not defrauding, that the weight of his wares, as
+stated by him, was accurate, and herewith the transaction was completed.
+It was, however, necessary to be most careful not to diverge from the
+toll roads. If a merchant was found on a bye-road his goods were
+confiscated and he himself imprisoned. On this account, too,
+companionship was sought after, the leadership of some one familiar
+with the ground, and hence merchants and merchandize generally moved in
+caravans.
+
+It is worthy of note that all the trade of that time was strictly
+legitimate, and what is known as real merchant's business. Speculation
+hardly existed. Commission and agency dues were not wholly unknown, but
+happily there was not existent that pernicious scourge of modern trade,
+the time bargains, which permit merchandize to be sold a dozen times
+over before it actually exists. It was honest, true trade, which only
+sold what it could show. Therefore, it could uphold and practise the
+axiom, "ware for ware, or for cash." In certain districts, for example
+Russia, barter was more common than money payments. Credit was
+absolutely forbidden in certain towns and in certain branches of trade.
+If credit was allowed the borrower had to find a surety, and to go
+surety was a grave matter, of which the consequences might easily prove
+disastrous, entailing loss of property and often of personal freedom.
+
+Payments were usually made in coined money, but bar silver was also
+employed, especially in Russia, and bills of exchange were not quite
+unknown. The bills were payable as a rule either at Lübeck or Bruges.
+Silver was the chief currency, but in the fourteenth century Lübeck was
+permitted to coin gold. It made guilders after the pattern of the
+Florentine ducats. The gold to coin them with was bought at Bruges. We
+must remember that money had a far higher value in those days than in
+ours, and that if we want to arrive at a just comparison with our own
+times, we must multiply the sums by seventy or seventy-five. The most
+common form of reckoning was the Flemish, _i.e._, one pound, equal to
+twenty shillings at twelve groats each; in a word, exactly the reckoning
+that has survived in England to this day. The pound of money was
+originally a weight. The best money was that of Lübeck, and, above all,
+the English contracted to be paid in pounds of the "Easterlings," their
+generic name for the Baltic merchant. As a survival and abbreviation of
+this phrase we in England say pound sterling to this day. A bad light
+upon the morality and conditions of the period is thrown by the fact
+that the petty kings, seeing that their coins were often refused and
+mistrusted, did not hesitate to coin and give currency to false money
+bearing the imprint of the League. We come across frequent bitter and
+often useless complaints on this subject.
+
+Putting out capital at interest was not wholly unknown in those days,
+notwithstanding the prohibitions of the Church which, founded on the
+text in St. Luke vi. 54, and the Fourteenth Psalm ("qui pecuniam non
+debet ad usuram"), forbade all usury business. The Jews early held this
+branch of trade in their hands. Rates of interest varied from 6 to 10
+per cent. Loans, too, were made to princes, foreign and native, and to
+cities, upon industrial enterprises. Wholly erroneous is the notion that
+capital was inactive, kept in a strong box or an old stocking. That
+great riches were accumulated is proved by some of the old wills and
+account books. Fortunes of a quarter of a million were not unknown. A
+single merchant would often own not only many farms in different and
+distant parts of the country, but whole villages and townships. As for
+the men themselves, we encounter them in every part of the continent,
+the artisan as well as the merchant. Thus, for example, Germans seem the
+favourite shoemakers; we hear of them in this capacity as far off as
+Lisbon. Then, as now, they were renowned as bakers, and no one knew
+better how to salt and preserve herrings and cod-fish.
+
+In Livonia, Esthonia, Gothland, rich merchants died whose nearest heirs
+had to be sought in far off Westphalia. For instance: A worthy shoemaker
+became burgher of Lübeck; then visited Rome and San Jago di Compostella
+as a pilgrim, and afterwards being named shoemaker to the German
+knights, had as his chief debtor for goods supplied a cavalier who
+fought in Sweden. Thus diverse, many-coloured, and full of adventure
+were lives in those times, which we are too often tempted to think
+sleepy and stay-at-home.
+
+It is difficult to gain an idea of the full extent and nature of
+mediæval trade, but this too was far more rich and varied than we
+suppose. Though there was no activity outside Europe, still it can well
+stand beside our modern commerce, and as regards honesty, thoroughness
+of produce and workmanship, it unhappily far eclipses it. Certainly the
+list of articles imported and exported in their variety of needful and
+needless objects, their luxury and magnificence, goes far to disprove
+our notions of the greater simplicity of life in the Middle Ages. For
+supply means demand, and meant this yet more emphatically with our
+practical forefathers.
+
+Apart from the evidences of figures and statistics, the evidences of
+wealth and luxury can also be found in the yet extant monuments of the
+time, and, above all, in the churches. In the Middle Ages the one
+converging point of ideal life was the Church. Everything that went
+beyond the immediate practical needs of daily existence, every form of
+charity, every endeavour after culture, every striving of artistic and
+scientific activity had in those days a religious foundation.
+Imagination, too, came to the aid of this tendency in the shape of the
+possible and probable dangers encountered by "sea and sand," by the town
+traders. Thus in 1401 we find merchants and shippers at Lübeck founding
+"an eternal brotherhood and guild to the honour of God, of Mary His
+beloved mother, and all the saints; above all, the holy true helper in
+need, St. Nicholas, that they may aid and comfort the living and the
+dead, and all those who seek their rightful livelihood on the water,
+many of whom, alas! perish in water troubles, are thrown overboard or
+expire in other ways, dying unconfessed and without repentance; for on
+account of their agonies they could feel neither remorse nor penitence
+for their sins, and who have none who pray for them except the general
+prayers."
+
+Such guilds were by no means rare. Legacies, too, were left for similar
+ends, by which thousands of our money were willed away: churches,
+monasteries, and holy foundations of all kinds raised or aided to pray
+for the benefit of the souls of the dead.
+
+Nor were distant pilgrimages unknown. The merchant would go in person,
+combining business and religion on the road, or he would send a
+substitute, who for a certain sum would visit Rome, the Holy Land, San
+Jago in Spain, or Rocamadour in Guyenne. Such pilgrims by profession
+were frequent. St. Peter, St. James, after them St. John, then St.
+Nicholas and St. Clement as patron saints of merchants, shippers and
+fishermen, and among the women saints St. Catherine, were the chosen
+objects of North German piety. In no town was lacking a leper house, a
+refuge for those troubled with that plague of the Middle Ages, happily
+now almost unknown in Europe. These were dedicated to the Holy Ghost and
+to St. George, the slayer of dragons.
+
+Above all, worship was paid to the Virgin Mary. All the municipal
+churches were dedicated to her. There is not a town that has not its
+church of "Our Lady." The municipal council were put under her especial
+protection. To this day the so-called Beautiful Door of the Mary Church
+at Danzig bears the inscription in golden letters: "Queen of Heaven,
+pray for us!"
+
+ [Illustration: HOHE-THOR, DANZIG.]
+
+These churches and religious buildings of all kinds, many of which
+survive to this day amid surroundings to which they have grown strange,
+speak more eloquently of the Hansa's might than piles of old parchment
+records. All Scandinavia can show nothing to compare with these
+architectural monuments, and we can well comprehend that the Northman
+entering the Elbe, the Trave, or other Baltic rivers, and seeing the
+lighthouses, churches, and mighty buildings of the towns, were awed by
+the Germans' wealth and power and strength, much as we are impressed
+now-a-days when we first set eyes upon Eternal Rome. These buildings
+resembled each other in externals; in each we find the same tall
+graceful steeples rising into the heavens, the same proud, defiant
+battlements and turrets, the same high-gabled many storeyed,
+small-windowed houses, the same tendency to employ bricks as building
+materials, and to use coloured varieties as ornamentation. Of this
+method of building and decoration the Holstenthor of Lübeck is a
+well-preserved example, as indeed these double gates to the towns were
+also a characteristic feature. One, a round tower, resembling greatly
+the Castel St. Angelo of Rome, situated on the south side of Rostock,
+was so strongly built that even the mechanical contrivances of our days
+found it hard work to demolish it when modern progress required its
+removal.
+
+Art was then almost exclusively the handmaiden of religion, and hence it
+is also in the churches we have to seek evidences of what the Hansa
+could produce in this respect. Metal gravestones, rich bindings, cunning
+iron work, attest its taste. Evidence of a love of painting is found in
+many works now preserved in museums of the pre-Holbein day. And,
+incredible though it may seem, they were so famous for glass painting
+that early in the fifteenth century men came from Italy to Lübeck to
+learn perfection in the craft.
+
+ [Illustration: HOLSTENTHOR, LÜBECK.]
+
+Of their domestic architecture little, unhappily, remains to us, the
+practice of building with wood having wrecked most of the cities. Such
+houses as survive, however, testify to the national love of cunning
+carvings and inscriptions of didactic purpose. For it is the keynote of
+that time to express in artistic form its ardent faith and activity,
+and its somewhat rough-and-ready philosophy. Theorizings and
+abstractions were little understood. Thus in old legal codes we see the
+punishments to be inflicted pictorially portrayed. Contempt and mocking
+also took tangible form, and the clergy were by no means exempted from
+such satire. Notwithstanding all the piety of the age, the people were
+ever on their guard against the encroachments of the wily priests. The
+deeds of Reynard the Fox--that favourite national comic epic, so wholly
+in keeping with the Hansa spirit of practical good sense and business
+cunning--was a favourite theme for weaving into arras and carpet; and it
+was common to give a distinct hit at the clergy in the person of the sly
+beast.
+
+It was the custom to depict the Last Judgment in the court of justice of
+each guildhall. That painted in 1341 for Hamburg led to a long lawsuit
+before the Papal Court at Avignon, because the local dean and chapter
+saw in it personal allusions. Thus devoutness did not impede the
+townspeople from rigidly retaining their mental independence of view and
+action.
+
+Science and literature--such as those ages could boast--were, like art,
+more or less pressed into the service of the Church. The only exception
+is to be found in the few popular folk-tales, all comic, like the deeds
+of Eulenspiegel, and in the town chroniclers who were in the pay of the
+municipal council; but activity was not great in this latter domain. In
+most cities, schools were attached to all the parishes, in which the
+children of the wealthy classes learned reading, writing, some
+arithmetic, singing, and a little Latin. These institutions were
+founded in defiance of the priests, who loved to keep the people in the
+darkness and enslavement of ignorance.
+
+Nearly all the merchants and many artizans could read and write, even if
+they did not practise these arts with great facility. Business letters
+were indited either in Latin or German, for the latter tongue was more
+widely diffused for commercial purposes than in our day.
+
+But if the wealth of the towns led them to encourage the gentler aspects
+of life, it also enabled them to give expression to less refined tastes,
+and refinement of taste was never a speciality of these rather
+coarse-grained and boorish Teutons. The Middle Ages were essentially a
+time of animal enjoyment and license; the people loved life and all life
+could offer on the material side. We come across constant records of
+carouses and feasts, at which the manners and customs were--to our
+ideas, at least--most gross. No occasion for merry-making, which meant
+largely eating and drinking, was allowed to slip by unheeded. Nor were
+these occasions few, for the Catholic Church, with its endless list of
+saints, furnishes easy and constant excuses for holiday-making, as we
+see to this day in Catholic countries.
+
+When guilds, corporations, or associations met for convivial
+intercourse, this was pursued according to established rules, some of
+which survive in the student _corps_ of German universities. Breaches of
+regulation were punished by extra rations of beer that were paid for by
+the delinquent. Entrance fees were defrayed by giving a feast to all
+members. In short, they ate hard and drank yet harder, with the result
+that nightly drunken brawls were frequent, the quieter folk often
+lodging complaints concerning disturbed sleep or rioting beneath their
+windows between the younger burghers and the watchman. Occasionally a
+man is banished for molesting the town guard, while intoxicated and
+disorderly, for undue license was not winked at by the town council.
+
+This was also the epoch when flourished those civic games which
+furthered the sentiment of brotherhood, and served, besides, to improve
+the youth of the city in the use and practice of arms. Among these, the
+May games, May processions, May empires, took a foremost place. They had
+their origin in the pagan conception of spring as a fair youth, who, in
+victorious duel, overcame the treacherous winter.
+
+The May emperor was usually elected from among the town council. The one
+who had obtained the wreath during the previous year delivered it up at
+the beginning of May or at Whitsuntide. He would ride out into a
+neighbouring wood "upon his good horse," accompanied by all the
+councillors clad in armour, to the sound of martial music and with the
+town's flag flying. This was called "going to fetch the May." A
+beautiful boy generally headed the procession. What ceremonies went on
+in the wood is not known, but when the procession returned, leading in
+the new May emperor, the boy would bear a flowery wreath upon his long
+pole as token of victory; while all the councillors and the huge crowd
+that followed in their train were decked with green branches and boughs.
+The newly-elected emperor was expected to treat the crowd. After a
+while this grew a heavy and serious expense, and we find it recorded
+that a certain burgher of Stralsund, who knew he would be elected to
+this honour, fled the city. He was, however, followed and brought back,
+made to accept the post and its expenses, and heavily fined into the
+bargain.
+
+As in modern Switzerland, so in mediæval Germany, crossbow shooting for
+prizes gave another occasion for public holiday, the different guilds
+turning out, with banner and music, to do honour to their various patron
+saints. In such wise all adult men were trained to warfare, though the
+armies of the Hansa usually consisted in great part of hired
+mercenaries, easily obtained for ready cash in those days, when fighting
+was held a pleasure far beyond legitimate work. Many records survive to
+attest that these Hansa merchants were skilled in the use of dagger and
+axe. One, for example, a peaceful citizen and trader, with his own hand
+killed a noted pirate who had long rendered the Baltic unsafe. The
+merchant went his road, as the saying was, trusting to God and his own
+right arm. "Whosoever would be a good burgher at Danzig must be
+industrious both in commerce and arms," runs an inscription on the house
+of the crossbow shooters of that city.
+
+ [Illustration: CHILDREN'S SPORTS.]
+
+Later on, as the towns grew more aristocratic in character, the gilded
+youth of the day had games of their own, from participation in which the
+artizan was excluded. These, in many cases, led to such riots and
+uprisings of the populace against the municipality as occasioned the
+"unhansing" of Brunswick and other cities. Foremost among them were
+the so-called "Popinjay Associations," who met to shoot down from a pole
+these bright-coloured birds with which travellers had become acquainted
+in the market of Bruges. It was usual for the winner to treat his
+comrades to a barrel of beer and cakes.
+
+Indeed, without touching upon the innumerable institutions common to
+guilds, trades, patricians, and plebeians, a picture of those times
+would be imperfect. Some of these were instituted for purely hilarious
+purposes, others combined charity and mutual support with carouse and
+license. Thus in Cologne there was a society which met to drink wine,
+and presented to every honoured guest a medal having the inscription,
+"Bibite cum hilaritate." This society imposed on itself certain laws
+regarding the avoidance of bad language, of lawless living, of coarse
+speech and action.
+
+In the North beer was the chief beverage, many companies were dedicated
+to Gambrinus, the "arch-king and inventor of brewing." Here, too, quaint
+rules attest the rudeness of contemporary manners. It was customary to
+exact a monetary fine from those who spilt more beer than they could
+cover with their hand. It seems that even women were not excluded wholly
+from these revels. At least a princely guest, harboured by Lübeck,
+expressed his disapprobation at the presence in the cellar of the town
+hall of patrician ladies, who under cover of their veils, which formed
+for them an incognito, drank hard and enjoyed themselves grossly.
+
+Endless are the rules and regulations of the various calends, ghostly
+brotherhoods, companies, and other names by which they styled
+themselves. Thus, for example, they were forbidden to take the food off
+each other's plates, to call each other certain most injurious names, to
+throw knives and plates at each other, to appear at solemn drinking
+bouts bare-footed, to roll in the mud, to retain arms, hat, and cloak
+when in company, to tap a fresh barrel without the presence of an elder,
+and so forth. Their duties to each other combined social and religious
+obligations. Thus they were often bound to pray for those who, absent on
+travels, could not attend at mass. They gave decent burial to their
+poorer comrades, nursed them when sick, helped them when distressed. A
+pound of wax, half a hundredweight of tallow, a barrel of beer, were not
+uncommon fines for dereliction of duty. Games of chance were universally
+forbidden. Dancing and song were common forms of diversion. The
+shoemakers and tailors of Lübeck were noted for their skill in the
+sword-dance, a dance probably not unlike the Highland reel executed to
+this day by Scotchmen.
+
+ [Illustration: DOMESTIC MUSIC.]
+
+Wit, grace, imagination, were elements mostly absent from the lives of
+these rough Germans. This is nowhere more evident than in their
+amusements. The carnival practices furnished a notable example,
+practices so graceful, so pretty in the South, so rough and rude in the
+North. Two instances will suffice. At Stralsund it was customary to nail
+up a poor cat with which a man fought until he hit it to death, when he
+was mock-knighted by the burgomaster. In Cologne poor blind people were
+let loose in an enclosed space to hit a pig, which should be the prize
+of the successful candidate. The joy of the spectators reached its
+height when the poor blind men struck each other in place of their
+victim. The practices at weddings were too rude for description.
+
+Luxury in dress was most pronounced, and sumptuary laws were repeatedly
+enacted. It seems strange that it was the men even more than the women
+who offended in these respects. Simple, nay, rude as the lives of these
+burghers were in their homes, out of doors they loved to make display,
+especially in the matter of costly weapons and brave horses. Young men
+returning from the wars or the great markets of London or Bruges,
+introduced new fashions and fantasies which changed far more frequently
+than we are apt to suppose. The most conservative dress was the headgear
+of the patricians, the councillors and members of the municipality. This
+consisted for many ages in a long cap of cloth, trimmed with fine fur.
+Before hats or caps came into fashion as coverings, the sight of these
+men in their long fur cloaks, with their heads enclosed in these curious
+hoods, must have had a stately, grave effect. So proud were the
+patricians of this dress that the councillors of Bremen actually forged
+a document early in the thirteenth century, according to which Godfrey
+of Bouillon, accorded to them, during the first Crusade, the permission
+to wear fur and gold chains. The dress, clogging the free action of the
+legs, necessitated a stately slow walk, and its length would seem often
+to have inconvenienced them in those times of unpaved streets and
+mud-coated roads. A certain Evart von Huddessen, the representative of
+Stralsund at the Court of King Erik of Sweden, gained the special favour
+of the monarch on an occasion, when, invited by the king to visit with
+him his pleasure gardens outside the town, he quietly walked through the
+puddles after Erik's horse, instead of waiting like the other
+representatives for their servants to carry for them their trains, which
+they feared to spoil in the mud. "Eh! what are we waiting for here?" he
+cried to his colleagues, "shall his royal highness ride alone? I reckon
+my masters of Stralsund are rich enough that they can make good to me my
+new coat."
+
+Nor were they invariably simple in their homes, though usually so. A
+favourite German folk tale tells how Melchior, of Bremen, had his
+dining-room paved with silver dollars, and even if history or chronicle
+does not confirm this legend, it is thoroughly in keeping with Hanseatic
+modes of displaying wealth. There did exist, for instance, a certain
+Wulf Wulflam, of Stralsund, who sat upon a silver seat, and had his
+rooms hung with costly arras. When he married he, like a royal
+personage, caused the road from his house to the church to be overspread
+with a Flanders carpet, while musicians played day and night before his
+door. No doubt at his wedding appeared also the eighty dishes which at
+weddings was the highest limit allowed to burgher luxury by the
+Hanseatic by-laws.
+
+It would seem, too, that the Hansa representatives when sent to "Hansa
+days" (the meetings of the various cities in common council) after a
+while indulged in great display to impress beholders with the power and
+wealth of their respective cities. This, after a time, assumed such
+proportions that poorer or wiser communities refrained, whenever
+possible, from sending members to the "Hansa days."
+
+Such were the habits and customs of these old burghers. As we see, it
+was a time when men were occupied with the material rather than the
+ideal side of life. A curious medley it presents of egotism and
+altruism, piety and license, love of individuality and strict
+regulation, roughness of living and unbridled luxury, boorishness and
+civilization.
+
+A word must be said of that important institution, the town council, to
+complete this sketch of the German towns during the fourteenth and
+fifteenth centuries. Its constitution varied somewhat of course,
+according to the size and wealth of the cities, but there were certain
+main resemblances. The number of aldermen varied from twelve to
+twenty-four. At their head were two or four burgomasters, who enjoyed no
+special privileges, except that in council they held the office of
+president. The appointment was for life, but they took it in turns to be
+on active duty. Certain limitations of choice as to aldermen existed.
+Thus for long in Lübeck no one could hold that office who earned his
+bread by handicraft. This regulation however did not last. Still
+merchants throughout filled the chief places; as, being travelled men,
+and knowing the requirements of their fellows, they were considered the
+most fit. Next to these, brewers and tailors took a leading part. The
+general constitution of the council may be regarded as in a fashion
+aristocratic, but it was checked in deliberations and decisions by a
+sort of second chamber, the common council. Under their rule the cities
+certainly flourished; the one chamber counselled, the other acted, and
+to be alderman was indeed no sinecure, but rather a post that imposed
+heavy labour. Honour it brought, but scanty remuneration.
+
+ [Illustration: MIDDLE-CLASS OCCUPATIONS IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.]
+
+_Noblesse oblige_ was the proud motto these men acted on. The church
+bells called them to their meetings, which at first were held in the
+municipal church, later in the guildhalls. At Lübeck they always
+assembled first in their own chapel of Our Lady's Church, then went in
+procession to the town-hall. This was the centre of all national life.
+The market-place was built before it, around it were the chief shops. In
+the market-place justice was administered, either in the open air or
+under the open porticos of the guildhall. Civic feasts were held here,
+foreign guests received at this spot. No wonder, then, that the burghers
+spent great sums upon the building and decoration of their town-halls
+and surroundings. They were to them the palladium of civic independence,
+whence law and order, merriment and feasting took their origin. To this
+day the cellars of the town-halls in Germany boast the best wines and
+choicest foods, and though now let out as restaurants they still, many
+of them, show in fresco and carving the remains of ancient splendour. In
+the town-halls were preserved the treasure, the civic documents, and the
+great town books, called into requisition in all disputes. "No witness
+goes beyond the Book" was the axiom of the day.
+
+The market-place was always the largest open place in a city. The
+streets were narrow and tortuous. This was necessitated by the
+circumstance that all towns at that date were walled, and hence their
+extension circumscribed. Each class of workmen lived together;
+shoemakers in one street, coopers in another, and so forth. Their houses
+being small, it was usual for them on fine days to do their work out of
+doors, which gave an animated appearance to the place. At night these
+streets were closed by iron chains drawn across them.
+
+The town life was, in short, but the family life on an extended scale,
+and the municipality watched over the welfare of the inhabitants as a
+father over that of his household. To facilitate commerce and industry,
+and to look after roads and buildings, were among its chief cares. It is
+noteworthy that in some towns regulations existed compelling every one
+who had means to leave in his will a certain sum for repairing the
+highways and keeping the ports in good condition. Many fulfilled this
+provision, even without this order.
+
+Another occupation of the aldermen was to superintend trade, and see it
+carried out on honest principles. Thus, at Novgorod, a bale of linen is
+discovered to be bad, so that "no honourable and good man could be paid
+in such ware." It is sent back to Riga, thence to Wisby, thence to
+Lübeck, where the aldermen had to find out who delivered these goods.
+Punishment for such fraud followed inevitably, and was so heavy that, on
+the whole, few attempted to play these base tricks. We also come across
+complaints that barrels of herrings had been packed fraudulently, good
+and large fish being on the top; small and inferior and even stale ones
+filling the rest of the barrel. As such perishable goods could not be
+returned, the aldermen instituted official herring packers, who were
+responsible for honest action.
+
+In all difficult matters, the advice of the municipality was asked and
+given. It was held "that they knew what others did not know." Thus
+burgher and burgher ruler worked hand in hand, and each man felt himself
+a link of the whole chain. This feeling gave rise to an active
+patriotism, a warm love for their own town, of which instances abound in
+the mediæval chronicles. Many tales are preserved of brawls arising in
+the towns through the vauntings of rival citizens. Thus a certain
+Lübecker meeting a Bremener in a Hamburg inn, boasted so greatly of his
+native town's advantages and made such fun of his companion's aldermen
+that they all but came to serious blows. "You had better mind your words
+and drink your beer in peace," was the friendly advice of a bystander.
+
+Such were these burghs which had grown free and strong through burgher
+industry, and were kept powerful by burgher unity and honesty.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+THE VICTUAL BROTHERS.
+
+
+A serious interruption to the Baltic trade after the glorious peace with
+Waldemar arose from the notorious gang of pirates known to history as
+the Victual Brothers. Upon the principle that all is fair in love and
+war the Hansa, during its campaign against the Danish king, had openly
+countenanced and even abetted piracy, so long as the attacks of the
+robbers were directed against their enemies. The chance of plundering
+under protection was too tempting not to attract a large number of
+adventurers, who for some years carried on their black trade under the
+designation of "Victual Brothers," a name chosen because their
+ostensible aim was to supply with provisions that part of the Swedish
+coast which belonged to the Hansa.
+
+It seems strange to us of to-day to find as the leading spirits among
+these Brothers the names of Moltke and Manteuffel, doubtless forbears of
+the famous modern German generals. These pirates founded masses and
+charitable institutions on the one hand, and robbed and sacked
+remorselessly on the other. Peace being concluded, the Hansa naturally
+had to clear the seas of these pests, but it had been easier to call
+them into activity than to suppress them. A large body of men had found
+profitable employment coupled with stirring adventure; this latter being
+a powerful incentive in those days, and were loth to quit their free
+wild life.
+
+They continued their association, nay, even enlarged it, forming
+themselves into a corporation, after the pattern of the Knights
+Templars, and divided all booty equally among their body. In a brief
+space they became the scourge of all the commercial cities. "God's
+friend and all the world's enemy" was their audacious motto. Masters of
+both seas, the Baltic and the German Ocean, on one occasion they even
+seized, plundered, and burnt down Bergen (1392) and took prisoner the
+bishop. Gothland became their stronghold, and Wisby, once the Hansa's
+glory, was turned into a pirate's nest near which the merchant sailed
+with fear and trembling.
+
+It seems strange, to our modern ideas, even to think that piracy was
+once a reputable calling. It was held as such, for example, in ancient
+Greece, as we may read in Thucydides, book i. chap. 5. No offence was in
+those days either intended or taken if one Greek asked another if he
+were a pirate. In the Baltic, like duelling in more polished climes,
+this practice long survived the positive laws framed against it. Pirates
+would even give back empty ships to merchants, wishing them a happy
+return with fresh and fuller cargoes.
+
+In vain did Margaret of Sweden protest against the audacities of the
+Victual Brothers. She was helpless against them. The measure of her
+impotence can be gauged by the fact that she begged from Richard II.,
+king of England, permission to hire three ships at Lynn for the
+protection of her kingdom. In vain, too, on the days when the Hansa met
+in council, was this theme discussed. For three whole years all fishing
+on Scania had to be abandoned. The result was severely felt throughout
+the length and breadth of Christian Europe, for herrings and other
+Lenten food became rare and costly.
+
+ [Illustration: SHIP-BUILDING IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.]
+
+Stronger and stronger grew these pirates, so that at last it was decided
+to send out an army against them. Once more recourse was had to a
+poundage tax to raise supplies and thirty-five large vessels with three
+thousand men were sent to sea in 1394. After long and arduous struggles
+they at last broke the power of the association, but for long afterwards
+separate bands of pirates, once members of the mighty gang, rendered the
+navigation of these seas a peril.
+
+Legend took possession of these robbers from an early date, and we come
+across them in song and fable. Taking a foremost place were Godeke
+Michelson and Stortebeker, whose special mission it was to harry the
+traders with England. Stortebeker, it is said, was a nobleman, indeed
+noblemen were frequently found in the association. As a youth he had
+been wild and lived so riotous a life that all his property was gambled
+and drunk away. When finally the town of Hamburg, the scene of his
+carouses, in order to pay his debts, deprived him of his knightly armour
+and forbade him the city precincts, he joined the Victual Brothers.
+
+At this time their leader was Godeke Michelson, who hailed the new
+confederate with joy, after testing his strength, which was so great
+that with his hands he broke iron chains like string. And because his
+new ally was also great at drinking--he could pour down huge bumpers at
+one gulp--he bade him lay aside his noble name and renamed him instead
+Stortebeker ("Pour down bumpers"). Once when the pair had plundered the
+North Sea clean they made a descent upon Spain. As was their wont, they
+divided their spoils with their comrades, only on this occasion they
+kept for themselves the holy bones of St. Vincent, stolen from a church,
+bearing them under their coats upon their naked breasts. Hence, says
+legend, they grew invulnerable, so that neither crossbow nor axe, sword
+nor dagger, could harm or wound them.
+
+When the Victual Brothers were conquered by the Hansa and banished from
+the Baltic, these two chieftains with their followers found good friends
+in Frisia, where to this day memories of Stortebeker survive, and the
+chieftain Keno then Broke became his father-in-law, for his lovely
+daughter lost her heart to the doughty pirate, and followed him on to
+his ships and his floating kingdom. For Stortebeker was a king in his
+way. When he made captives who promised him a ransom he let them live.
+But if they were poor and old and weak, he threw them overboard
+relentlessly. If they were poor but strong, and so likely to be of use,
+he tested their strength in this manner. He caused his own enormous
+goblet to be filled with wine. If they could empty it at one gulp they
+were his peers, and he accepted them as comrades. Those who could not
+pass this ordeal were dismissed.
+
+It is said that Stortebeker and Godeke Michelson sometimes had moments
+of penitence concerning the lives they led. In such a moment of remorse
+they each presented the cathedral of Verdun with seven glass windows, on
+which were painted cunningly the seven deadly sins. Stortebeker's
+"mark," two reversed goblets, is depicted in one of them, probably the
+one that treats of gluttony. They also founded a charity for
+distributing bread to the poor.
+
+In 1400, the Hansa sent out a fleet to Frisia to combat these
+chieftains. It was in this war that the Hamburgers attained the honour
+of conquering the Victual Brothers, dispersing their crew and releasing
+their captives. Keno then Broke was carried off into confinement, for he
+had, against his oath and faith, contrived to aid the pirates. With Keno
+the town of Hamburg made a new treaty. It is said that just as it was
+signed and the councillors had left the council chamber, Stortebeker
+managed to slip out of a hiding-place, where he had heard all that
+passed, and joked with his father-in-law at the expense of the Hamburg
+aldermen who had once more put faith in him. Whilst so engaged a certain
+Councillor Naune, who had forgotten his gloves, returned to the hall and
+overheard them. Hence the war broke out afresh. Once more many Victual
+Brothers were captured and beheaded in Hamburg. Their heads were stuck
+upon poles for the warning of all beholders, while the account books
+prove that the executioner received eight pennies per trunk decapitated
+and his servant twenty pennies per body buried. Yet again a fleet had to
+set forth; for as long as Stortebeker and Godeke Michelson were living
+there was no peace possible. Under a Hamburg alderman, Simon of Utrecht,
+who commanded the fleet on board a mighty ship known as the _Coloured
+Cow_, they again set out. The name of this vessel is remarkable, and is
+the first instance we come across in Hanseatic history of a profane
+denomination for a ship. All the others are named after some saint or
+angel, under whose special protection it was supposed to sail. "The
+_Coloured Cow_, from Flanders, that tore through the ocean with its
+great horns," sings the folk-song, the "Stortebeker Lied," which a
+hundred and fifty years ago was still sung by the people. The Victual
+Brothers lay off Heligoland. Towards dark one evening in the year 1402,
+the Hamburg fleet approached them, and a daring fisherman came so near
+that he was able to pour molten lead upon some of their rudders,
+loosening them, and rendering the vessels unseaworthy. Next day the
+battle began. It raged three days and three nights, and only after a
+desperate resistance was Stortebeker conquered.
+
+ [Illustration: HELIGOLAND.]
+
+Some of the pirates fled, many were killed or thrown into the sea; their
+ships, richly laden with booty in the shape of linen, wax, cloth, &c.,
+were seized, and Stortebeker with seventy comrades carried in triumph to
+Hamburg. The cell in which Stortebeker was confined was known as
+Stortebeker's hole as long as it existed. It was destroyed like so many
+of the antiquities of Hamburg in the great fire of 1842. Short work was
+of course made of his trial, and with his companions Stortebeker was
+condemned to death. When he heard his sentence it afflicted him much,
+and he offered the municipality in return for his life and freedom a
+chain of gold to be made from his hidden treasures, so long that they
+could span with it the whole cathedral and also all the town. This offer
+was, of course, indignantly rejected, and next day he was publicly
+executed, together with seventy comrades. In compliance with their dying
+petition they went to death dressed in their best, marching in stately
+procession, and preceded by fifes and drums.
+
+After Stortebeker's death the Hamburgers searched his ships for the
+hidden treasures. Except a few goblets they could find nothing at first,
+until a carpenter broke the main-mast, which was discovered to be hollow
+and full of molten gold. With this fortune the merchants who had
+suffered at Stortebeker's hands were indemnified, the costs of the war
+paid, and out of the remainder a golden crown was made and placed on the
+spire of St. Nicholas Church.
+
+Stortebeker was thus out of the way; but there still remained Godeke
+Michelson. So the Hamburgers with Simon of Utrecht and his _Coloured
+Cow_, once more set forth and once more returned victorious, bearing in
+their train Godeke Michelson, eighty robbers, and the under-chieftain
+Wigbold, of whom it is said that he had been a professor of philosophy
+at Rostock, and had exchanged his chair for the forecastle of a ship.
+These men also were all decapitated in the presence of the burghers and
+municipal council.
+
+It was a heavy day's work for the executioner, and it is related that he
+waded up to his ankles in blood. After it was all ended an alderman
+asked him kindly if he were not much wearied. "Oh no," said the
+headsman, laughing grimly, "I never felt better in my life, and I have
+strength enough left to behead the whole lot of you councillors." For
+this treasonable speech he was at once dismissed from his post.
+
+Various relics exist to this day to keep Stortebeker's memory fresh in
+Hamburg. Among them were a small whistle with which he gave the signal
+to his ships during a storm, an iron cannon nineteen feet long, his
+armour, and the executioner's sword.
+
+But chief of all Hamburg preserved the so-called Stortebeker goblet, a
+silver bumper, from which tradition says he drank. "Whosoever comes to
+Hamburg and does not go to the Ship's Company, that he may drink from
+the goblet of Stortebeker and Godeke Michelson, and write his name in
+the book that lies beside it, has not been in Hamburg," says an old
+writer. This goblet is about a yard and a half high, and holds four
+bottles. A sea-fight is engraved on it, together with other incidents
+out of Stortebeker's life, and some rough rhymes. Once more modern
+criticism, destructive and intolerant of all picturesque legend,
+declares that the cup is of later date than Stortebeker's time, and can
+never have been his.
+
+ [Illustration: TOMB OF SIMON OF UTRECHT, HAMBURG.]
+
+Soon after the death of the pirate chiefs, Hamburg sent an envoy as
+pilgrim to the shrine of San Jago of Compostella. Whether he was
+employed to bear thither the thanks of the city to the saint for their
+victory, or to return to Spain the relics of St. Vincent, history saith
+not. A medal was struck to commemorate the event. It bears Stortebeker's
+portrait and an appropriate inscription. Simon of Utrecht, the
+victorious captain of the fleet, who later won other battles for the
+Hansa, received high honours from Hamburg. When he died he was accorded
+honourable burial, and a gravestone to his memory was put outside St.
+Nicholas Church. Happily it survived the great fire. It shows the crest
+of Simon, a large three-masted vessel, with the figure of a beast at the
+helm; doubtless, the famous "coloured cow;" a swan draws this ship
+through the waves. Below is an inscription in Latin verse, recording the
+hero's feats against the pirates, and enjoining posterity to imitate the
+great deeds of their forbears, that the fame of the city may not be
+diminished.
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+THE FACTORY OF BERGEN.
+
+
+We have seen how great was the Hansa's power in peace and in war; let us
+now cast a glance at the basis upon which the whole proud fabric rested.
+This is to be sought, beyond doubt, in its foreign commerce. How
+enormous the interest they had, especially in the Baltic trade, how
+great, indeed almost exclusive, was their empire in that sea, it is
+difficult to realize. And to retain this empire, to be masters of the
+mercantile relations between the eastern and western extremities of
+Europe, they considered no sacrifice too great. This was the keynote of
+their policy. Their purpose, simple enough in conception, was carried
+out with a disregard of other claims than their own, and often a
+violence which made them encounter resistance, and which in the end was
+largely the cause of their fall.
+
+The political agitations and confusions which disturbed the Scandinavian
+kingdoms early in the fifteenth century were astutely utilized by the
+Hanseatics, who, having their settlements at Bergen and Scania, were
+able to keep out the Dutch and English, then just beginning to attempt a
+rivalry with them in the northern trade. The Dutch were easily
+disheartened. Not so the English; and we read of instances in which the
+Hanseatics and English acted towards one another with a savagery which
+proves that commercial rivalry can excite hearts as bitterly and
+furiously as political or religious fanaticism.
+
+No matter at what cost, monopoly the Germans were resolved to have, and
+they succeeded in forcing the kings of Denmark to place an interdict
+upon English trading. This prohibition corresponded to another that they
+had extorted, according to which all merchandize coming from the extreme
+end of the Norwegian kingdom was obliged to pass through and halt at
+their station of Bergen. The purpose of the latter regulation was to
+concentrate all the productions of the country at a single point; thus
+offering to the Hanseatics the first refusal of goods, and a power of
+dominating the market.
+
+Indeed nowhere did their imperious and self-seeking policy show itself
+in a less amiable light than in the dealings of the Hansa with the poor
+inhabitants of Norway's sterile coasts. The history of their factory at
+Bergen is from its earliest foundation the history of a relentless
+despotism, disfigured by violence and breach of faith in treaties. King
+Haguin had, in 1376, accorded to the German merchants the right to trade
+freely in all the burghs, villages, and harbours of his kingdom, but it
+seemed that they themselves preferred to restrict their business to the
+town of Bergen, which, it is true, combined uncommon advantages. It
+possessed an excellent harbour, the city was shielded by an amphitheatre
+of lofty mountains, and though, as regards climate, it could boast no
+advantages, more rainy days occurring there than at other points of the
+Norwegian coast, yet it had early been the staple of all Norwegian and
+Arctic products. Its geographical situation rendered it equally
+accessible for travellers from the north and south, while its harbour
+was so deep that even ships of considerable draught could anchor almost
+in front of the town's houses.
+
+From the earliest times the inhabitants of Bergen had been traders. In
+1393 they were grievously pillaged by the Victual Brothers; and ere they
+could recover from this misfortune, another pirate, Bartholauer Voet
+(1428), attacked them, just when the English were helping them to
+recover their commerce. It is pretty evident that his attack was
+countenanced, if not commanded, by the Hansa. At sight of his ships the
+inhabitants fled. The crew were thus enabled to land unhindered; they
+plundered everything, down to the bishop's palace and his library; and
+they despoiled the Norman vessels which had come there for the summer
+fishing. They then took their stolen goods to market, returning the
+following Easter for a second visit. This time the inhabitants were more
+on their guard, and made a gallant but vain defence. Once more the city
+was sacked, and the royal and episcopal palace and many private houses
+were burnt to ashes.
+
+Shorn of its wealth, Bergen was now so weak that the conquerors were
+able to dictate their own terms. The city, which for five hundred years
+had been in exclusive possession of the Greenland passage had to
+renounce all maritime traffic. Further, the citizens saw themselves
+forced to pawn their land to the Hanseatics, in return for the mere
+necessaries of life, and as they could rarely redeem these pledges the
+whole city of Bergen gradually fell into the hands of these opulent
+traders.
+
+Expelled from their old dwellings in ancient Bergen, which formed the
+part of the city known as the Bridge, the inhabitants planned to
+establish themselves on the harbour board that skirted the opposite side
+of the crescent. But the insatiable greed of the Hanseatics would not
+suffer them to stay there. The conquerors obtained this also for
+themselves, so that in the end the entire port was in their power.
+
+Thus, and by means of an ever-increasing population of merchants,
+clerks, apprentices, sailors, workmen, they exercised a practical
+suzerainty over the town. Whenever cited to submit themselves to the
+local authorities they claimed the privilege of foreigners; they refused
+to pay city taxes, though they held the rights of citizens, while they
+paid custom duties at a reduction. They openly protected the enemies of
+the king, felled the forests, introduced themselves arbitrarily into the
+houses of strangers; in short, committed every offence with impunity. As
+in London and Novgorod, so in Bergen, the Hanseatic factory formed a
+state within the state.
+
+The Hanseatics, in their arbitrary actions, repeatedly ran counter to
+the Hansa's command and how to keep order at Bergen became one of the
+most difficult problems at "Hansa days." It would seem as if the rude
+climate had exercised a deleterious influence over these naturally
+coarse-grained Germans.
+
+As we have said, the whole harbour board was in their hands. The two
+sides were connected by the so-called Shoemaker's Alley, long the abode
+of strangers at Bergen, a quarter that became after a time the residence
+of all boors and doubtful characters, who shrank from no acts of
+violence, and defended the German monopoly after their own fashion,
+_i.e._, by means of fisticuffs and knives. Thus, as an example: the
+all-important fish market was so situated that the inhabitants of Bergen
+could reach it only by means of this street. Until the Germans had had
+the first pick of newly-arrived goods, the inmates of Shoemaker's Alley
+suffered no one to pass, and woe to those who ventured to disregard this
+prohibition. So completely broken was the might of these northern
+people--the descendants of the Normans, that most warlike race, the
+scourge of ancient Europe.
+
+ [Illustration: JUSTICE IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.]
+
+The side of the harbour known as the Bridge--the Bridge of the lice the
+natives called it in derision--was the actual factory of the Hansa. It
+consisted of so-called gardens, of which nine belonged to the community
+of St. Martin and thirteen to that of St. Mary. Each garden was
+isolated, and formed a separate factory, bearing its own crest and name,
+such as "The Cloak," the "Court of Bremen," &c. The common crest of the
+Bridge was odd enough, presenting half of the German imperial eagle,
+against a crowned cod-fish. Each garden was connected with the sea by a
+drawbridge, so that vessels could anchor in front. The ground-floor
+consisted of workshops and warehouses: in the first were the bedrooms of
+the resident merchants, above were the kitchens. Behind the house were
+mighty cellars, and above these again the "Schutting," a large
+windowless space used as a council chamber. Opening thence was the
+kitchen garden.
+
+Every "garden" was inhabited by at least ten "families," each of whom
+had a husband as chief superintendent and magistrate, to keep order
+among the younger members and apprentices. As a rule the "family" came
+from the same Hansa town. The faults of the very young were punished by
+flogging, those of the apprentices by fines or imprisonment. In the
+summer the heterogeneous "families" dined alone, in the sad winter time
+they all met in the "Schutting," but ate at separate tables. At a fixed
+hour every one had to rise and go to bed.
+
+Superintending the entire factory was a grand council, composed of two
+aldermen, eighteen members, and a secretary, who had to be a doctor of
+laws. When conflicts arose between the different members of a family, or
+between residents and travellers, the matter was referred to the
+aldermen for decision. Grave cases were sent up to the Hanseatic diet.
+The aldermen had further to watch over trade, taxes, and all that
+regarded the business transactions of the colony.
+
+In its time of greatest prosperity the factory at Bergen counted about
+three thousand souls, all vowed to celibacy, which was imposed on them
+under most severe penalties. The fear was that union with the native
+women might lead to the divulging of Hanseatic secrets, or induce the
+men to settle permanently in this spot, and so become denaturalized.
+Members of the Hansa were strictly forbidden to spend a night outside
+the factory. Armed watchmen and savage dogs exercised a rigid guard.
+
+These residents were usually agents for merchants in the Baltic cities.
+After ten years' sojourn, they were obliged to return to their native
+town to give place to new arrivals, who then had to go through the
+various gradations of rank, beginning as office boy, and ending, if luck
+favoured, as alderman. It was a sort of hierarchic organization, of
+which the rules were most rigidly enforced. Entrance dues for vessels,
+fines, and money penances defrayed the general expenses of the factory;
+each town paid for the board, wages, and arming of its representatives.
+Not all members of the Hansa, however, were permitted to trade with
+Bergen, the conditions being purposely made onerous and expensive.
+
+In the same restrictive spirit, and to hinder a great influx of men to
+the factory, a series of probationary ordeals was planned, through which
+every new-comer had to pass. By rendering these tests difficult and
+repulsive they hoped to deter from Bergen the sons of opulent families,
+for whom the advantages to be gained there would be counterbalanced by
+the perils of initiation. These "games," as with grim humour they were
+termed, were entirely in keeping with the grotesque spirit of the age,
+and analogies are to be found, though less gross, in the religious
+orders and the institutions of chivalry. The mildest of them resembled
+in some respects the practices common to British sailors in crossing
+the line. It is scarcely strange, that in the frigid, rigid north, among
+a population naturally rough, far from home, friends, and the more
+refining influences of life, a prey to deadly _ennui_, imagination
+should have taken a fierce and coarse turn.
+
+ [Illustration: SHIP AT THE END OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.]
+
+We cannot sully our pages by detailing the thirteen different "games" or
+modes of martyrdom that were in use at Bergen. Our more civilized age
+could not tolerate the recital. In those days they attracted a crowd of
+eager spectators, who applauded the more vociferously the more cruel and
+barbarous the tortures. The most popular were those practices known as
+the smoke, water, and flogging games; mad, cruel pranks, calculated to
+cause a freshman to lose health and reason. Truly Dantesque hell
+tortures were these initiations into Hansa mysteries. Merely to indicate
+their nature we will mention that for the smoke game the victim was
+pulled up the big chimney of the Schutting while there burnt beneath him
+the most filthy materials, sending up a nauseous stench and choking
+wreaths of smoke. While in this position he was asked a number of
+questions, to which he was forced, under yet more terrible penalties, to
+reply. If he survived this torture he was taken out into the yard and
+plied under the pump with six tons of water.
+
+The "water" game that took place at Whitsuntide consisted in first
+treating the probationer to food, and then taking him out to sea in a
+boat. Here he was stripped, thrown into the ocean, ducked three times,
+made to swallow much sea-water, and thereafter mercilessly flogged by
+all the inmates of the boats. The third chief game was no less
+dangerous to life and limb. It took place a few days after, and was a
+rude perversion of the May games. The victims had first to go out into
+the woods to gather the branches with which later they were to be
+birched. Returned to the factory, rough horse-play pranks were practised
+upon them. Then followed an ample dinner, which was succeeded by mock
+combats, and ended in the victims being led into the so-called Paradise,
+where twenty-four disguised men whipped them till they drew blood, while
+outside this black hole another party made hellish music with pipes,
+drums, and triangles to deafen the screams of the tortured. The "game"
+was considered ended when the shrieks of the victims were sufficiently
+loud to overtone the pandemonic music.
+
+When all the ordeals were ended a herald, who also occupied the _rôle_
+of fool, announced in a loud voice that the games were over, adding the
+fervent wish that the noble practice of ordeals might never be
+abandoned, and that for the honour and prosperity of the Hansa commerce
+and the Hanseatic factory they might ever be held in veneration.
+
+Only those who survived and sustained these rites were admitted into the
+corporation at Bergen and could rise to the highest grades, with the
+prospect of assisting as spectators at the games in which before they
+had themselves played a part. Not till 1671 were these barbarous
+practices, which every year increased in ferocity, suppressed by order
+of Christian V. of Denmark, and only, of course, after the Hansa had
+sunk from its pristine power.
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+THE HANSEATIC COMMERCE WITH DENMARK, SWEDEN, AND RUSSIA.
+
+
+Though the Government of Denmark was more enlightened than that of
+Norway, and though the Danes were jealously desirous of keeping their
+trade in their own hands, they, too, could not free themselves from the
+all-absorbing power of the Hanseatic League. In vain did they endeavour
+to raise up rivals to these traders; in vain did they even encourage
+pirates to attack them; in vain did they institute custom dues and
+taxes; each and all of these measures proved insufficient. The credit of
+the towns was unassailable. The Hanseatics knew how to vanquish all
+obstacles, and finally they found themselves in full possession of all
+their ancient privileges, as well as those which they had extorted in
+concluding peace with Waldemar.
+
+The dissensions of the three northern kingdoms, which lasted for nearly
+fifty years, and which the Hanseatic League were by no means anxious to
+see settled (for, above all else, they feared the union of the three
+northern kingdoms under one head) were admirably utilized. The League
+played off one set of enemies against another, now aided this faction,
+now sided with that, never too openly expressed either sympathy or
+hostility, and yet always contrived so that any advantages accruing were
+theirs.
+
+It was in those troubled times that Lübeck bought from the Danish king
+the town of Kiel and adjoining lands, while the queen pawned her jewels
+to the city in order to raise money for war purposes.
+
+Denmark was of immense importance to the Hanseatic League, not only for
+the grain and cattle it produced, but because it was the key to the
+passages of the Belt and the Sound, the only maritime routes for passing
+from the Baltic to the North Sea. And, above all, the Sound was of
+first-class importance as dominating the coveted province of Scania,
+that mediæval Peru. This tongue of land, which juts out into the sea in
+form of a hook on the extreme south-west of Sweden, and shows to-day two
+miserable towns, Skânoe and Falsterbo, almost buried in driving sand,
+presented in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, from St. Jacob's to
+St. Michael's Day (July 25th to September 29th), a most animated
+spectacle. Nothing more strange is to be found in either hemisphere than
+was the tumultuous life of this arid province. Here each foot of ground
+was jealously disputed by fishermen and merchants.
+
+Englishmen, Flemings, Danes, and peoples of tongues and customs the most
+diverse were found side by side. But the Hanseatics preponderated. They
+established themselves in a species of rude wooden barrack called by
+them Witten, where they at once instituted their peculiar rules and
+privileges, which gave them that united power which in the end enabled
+them to crush out all competition. For the device of the Hanseatics,
+though unexpressed, was "Monopoly," and during these centuries they
+carried it rigidly into effect. The word Witten still survives in the
+name of various fishing stations on the Baltic; for example, one not far
+remote from the old pagan city of Arkona, once the site of a temple,
+where the Christian Saxons bought the right to fish by paying tribute to
+the local god.
+
+The main object of the trade in Scandinavia was herrings, but this
+brought many other industries in its train. Itinerant merchants offered
+cloth, linen, hardware, wine, beer, and many other articles to the
+natives, whose country boasted no handicrafts, as well as to the
+temporary residents. In short, the place became a market for the
+exchange of Western and Eastern products, natural and manufactured. Here
+could be seen the Lübeck cooks busy in extemporized kitchens that formed
+a sort of rude restaurant; here rough taverns in which German drinks
+were obtainable at easy prices; here German shoemakers plied their
+skill; above all, the coopers drove a lively trade, making and mending
+the barrels needed for the precious fish. The import of salt, too, was
+obviously of first-class importance, and this was entirely in the hands
+of the Germans. We might expect that during the busy period when
+thousands of men were hard at work fishing, salting, packing the
+herring, beer should have been drunk in large quantities, but the amount
+consumed almost passes belief. This also was entirely supplied by the
+Hanseatic cities. It was they, too, who shipped the indispensable fish
+and sent it to England, France, the Netherlands, the Baltic, nay, far
+into the centre of Germany, and even to Poland and Russia.
+
+They had not in Scania, as at Bergen, a regularly organized factory, but
+the Witten stood under superintendence, while at adjacent Malmö they
+founded a permanent colony, under the jurisdiction of an alderman, who
+administered Lübeck law and watched over the Witten trade with jealous
+care. Here each town had its guild representative, often its house, and
+here annually a dignitary from Lübeck would pay a passing visit in order
+to adjust quarrels and investigate the state of trade.
+
+The "Scandinavian travellers," as they were named, instituted a number
+of companies with rules of a religious, commercial, and worldly-sensuous
+character. Thus the "Pious Brotherhood of Malmö" buried every poor
+stranger with the same church pomp, costly palls, candles and masses, as
+they would one of their own members. No one was admitted into the
+brotherhood who was at feud with one of its associates. No one might
+enter the common room bearing arms. A member who introduced a guest was
+responsible for his good behaviour. In a word, the regulations were of a
+certain humane character, far different from those which obtained at
+Bergen. They were evidently copied from those of the guilds in the
+Hanseatic and other towns of the Middle Ages.
+
+Until early in the sixteenth century the League retained in undiminished
+vigour its advantages in Scandinavia. To break their power it was
+necessary for the Dutch to discover a better mode of salting the fish.
+Then the fish itself came in smaller shoals to these coasts, and
+appeared instead near Scotland and Ireland, and, worst of all, modern
+Europe became Protestant, and fasting was hence no longer an obligatory
+fashion. Only a few sunken gravestones, still standing amid the
+desolation of this district, bear witness to the former importance of
+the site.
+
+As for the rest of Sweden, the country, though not productive, was still
+of value to the Hanseatics, since they held the entire trade in their
+hands. As from Norway, they exported wood, iron, copper, skins, in a
+word, explored all its resources. In most of the maritime towns they
+exercised certain rights. Thus Stockholm itself was partly in their
+possession, the local administration being half chosen by them. In this
+wise they were able to bring pressure to bear upon the government. In
+short, they disposed of the whole commerce of Sweden, and it was not
+until the days of Gustavus Vasa that their might was rudely and
+completely shaken.
+
+Indeed, in those middle centuries there seemed no limit to the
+Hanseatics' ambition and power. They early cast their eyes towards that
+immense territory in the far north, that Russian Empire which in those
+days was truly an unknown land. With quick traders' instinct they
+recognized that the country was worthy to be included in their vast
+monopoly. When they first established themselves in Russia is not known.
+Towards the end of the thirteenth century we find them in possession of
+a factory at Novgorod, on the river Volchor, a city which, with the
+province that surrounded it, was then an independent republic, for the
+Russia of those days was surrounded by various principalities mostly
+under Tartar rule. The natives were not strong enough to claim as their
+own a rich and populous city, whose liberties were protected by the
+Western Christians, and which had moreover been founded by aliens,
+namely, by one of those enterprising Norman chiefs, who in early times
+were, as we know, the terror of all states and countries.[9]
+
+It is thought that the Hanseatics had another similar establishment at
+Pleskow, a city on the Velika, and perhaps even a depôt at Moscow, but
+undoubtedly Novgorod was their most important station. Here merchants
+and artizans fixed their abode, and drew around them a rich commerce for
+the town. It was the staple for Arctic and Byzantine riches, riches
+which the more barbarian Russians did not understand how to utilize like
+our cunning traders. As early as the eleventh century we hear of a
+German trading settlement at Novgorod. In 1269 the local ruler accorded
+to the Hanseatics, "to the German settlement, the Goths, and all peoples
+of Latin tongue," special freedom in dealing with his province.
+
+As usual, the Hanseatics created a monopoly and jealously excluded all
+strangers. Assigned in Novgorod to a special quarter of the town, they
+built a church of their own, dedicated to St. Peter, and grouped their
+guildhall, shops, stores, and dwelling-houses around it. The quarter
+soon became known as the Court of the Germans at Great Novgorod, or the
+Court of St. Peter. As at Bergen, it was built in such a manner that it
+could be defended, if need be, and at night it was closed and guarded by
+watchmen and fierce dogs.
+
+There is happily preserved for us the Codex of this German colony on the
+Lake of Ilmen. It is called the Skra, an old German word which we
+encounter elsewhere in Hanseatic chronicles. This Skra furnishes a
+lively picture of the strange character of the Court of St. Peter. It
+appears that "the entire council, together with the common consent of
+the wisest of all the German cities," had decreed that the laws here
+laid down should be enforced on all who visited the court, "as it was
+done from the commencement." The non-resident merchants, who always
+travelled in large parties and accompanied by a priest, are spoken of as
+the "summer and winter travellers." They elected from out of their
+number the alderman of the Court of St. Peter. He became head of the
+settlement, received the income, fees, and taxes, and defrayed the
+general costs. The alderman of the dwelling court was the highest
+dignitary and, with the aid of the four wisest, adjudged all quarrels,
+personal or commercial. These aldermen had special privileges in the
+choice of residence, and the aldermen of the "winter travellers" were
+further allowed certain honours and comforts in the great common room.
+The land travellers had to yield to the seafarers in all matters of
+convenience and space. Their priest, too, was regarded as the chief
+ecclesiastic of St. Peter's Court, and to him alone was accorded free
+board and a salary out of the common funds. Any one who refused to
+appear in answer to a summons before the court was subjected to a heavy
+fine. The so-called "rooms" (_i.e._, dwellings) were common to all;
+except that the "winter travellers," secluded from all the world in
+midst of the long Arctic nights, were permitted special privileges. The
+"children's room," the abode of the younger clerks and apprentices, also
+enjoyed rather more freedom from strict rules than was accorded to their
+elders. A master might not dismiss his subordinate until he had brought
+him back to his country; he was also bound to care for him in sickness,
+and might not punish him arbitrarily, or on his own authority alone. As
+at Bergen, and at the Steelyard in London, the whole establishment
+partook of a monastic character, in which most stringent rules
+prevailed. And of these rules none was more strict than that which
+forbad social intercourse or partnership trading with natives.
+
+A special brewery concocted the sweet mead or beer drunk by the thirsty
+brotherhood of St. Peter's; in St. Peter's cauldron was melted down all
+the wax brought in from afar; the wood for firing was felled in St.
+Peter's forests. A monotonous life it was, interrupted only in spring
+and autumn by the arrival of the summer and winter travellers with their
+rich wares. In the cosy warmth of the common room, over endless bowls of
+mead, these far-travelled men, snowed up here and unable to return till
+spring released them, would beguile the long winter evenings with
+anecdote and tales. In this wise the Scandinavian Sagas first penetrated
+into Middle and Southern Germany.
+
+The rules made against the Russians were severe and offensive in the
+extreme. It is evident they were not trusted in the smallest degree. A
+Hanseatic enjoyed the first privilege in all respects. For example, if a
+native was bankrupt, the German merchant to whom he was in debt had the
+first right to be paid before Russian creditors, and the Germans could
+further insist that such a bankrupt should be banished the city with
+wife and child. By way of tax they themselves paid a piece of cloth to
+the ruler of the mainland between their Court and the sea, and a pair of
+gloves to the Russian officials.
+
+For the rest their whole attitude was haughty and overbearing, and it is
+scarcely astonishing that quarrels and risings against them were of
+frequent occurrence. But they almost always kept or at least regained
+the upper hand. Their audacious motto was "Who can stand against God and
+the Great Novgorod?" No doubt many of their rigid measures were
+necessary to a small colony living amid a turbulent and rude population,
+differing from them in manners, language, and religion. The station was
+as difficult to hold as years ago was that of Canton for the English.
+Like the Chinese, the Russians hated the merchants, if for no other
+reason than because they were foreigners. In every possible manner they
+tried to cheat them, adulterating wax, furnishing bad furs, &c., &c. In
+consequence, the alderman of St. Peter's saw himself obliged continually
+to issue new warnings and rules to secure his traders from the Russian
+tricksters. So, for example, the dwellers of the Court of St. Peter were
+enjoined only to buy furs in well-lighted places, where it was easier to
+test their genuineness and excellence, further to accept no large
+consignments that had not been previously subjected to careful scrutiny.
+And notwithstanding the fact that their commerce in Russia was subjected
+to great danger, that they even had several times to close their court
+and withdraw, the Hanseatics clung tenaciously to their Russian
+monopoly, which was one of the chief sources of their wealth. They even
+watched to see that no non-Hanseatic learnt Russian, an indispensable
+acquirement for this trade. Nay, at one time they held the whole
+province of Livonia responsible for hindering such a proceeding. After a
+time, under penalty of one hundred marks, no Russian was allowed to live
+in Livonia. On pain of corporal punishment, they were enjoined to treat
+with Russians only for ready money, or more strictly for ready goods.
+Credit with these barbarians was not encouraged, for it was desirable in
+every way to simplify intercourse, and moreover then, as now, it was
+next to impossible to a foreigner to make good his credit claims before
+Muscovite justice.
+
+The trade consisted in Russian products, furs, metals, honey, and, above
+all, wax, much sought after in those Catholic times, when the
+consumption of this article was wonderfully great. It would seem as
+though some obscure merit were attached to the burning or the gift of
+candles, the origin of which is probably heathen. What the Hanseatics
+brought to market was chiefly Flemish and English cloths and linen, as
+well as divers articles of luxury, eagerly sought after by the various
+princes and sovereigns and by the innumerable Boyars who ranked like
+petty princes.
+
+In those large and small courts a barbaric and gorgeous display was
+common, and ostentatious rivalry existed between the princes. Probably
+this love of exterior pomp is explained by their neighbourhood to the
+East. The Hanseatics astutely utilized this Russian tendency, and spared
+no pains in bringing to market wares calculated to dazzle and please
+these grown children; children in this respect alone however, that they
+could be fascinated by finery and show. In other matters the Russians
+behaved like adults, and they kept a constant watch upon the Hanseatics,
+never neglecting any opportunities of annoying them or hindering their
+trade. Thus, if the League accused the Russians of want of good faith in
+commercial dealings, they returned the compliment, and complaints of
+linen goods as being too narrow, too coarse, or not according to sample,
+were frequent. Often these were justified, as often not. But on several
+occasions the Russians arrested Hanseatics, put them in irons, even on
+one occasion hanged a Hanseatic merchant from the door of the League's
+own factory. The Hanseatics met such insults by threatening to leave
+Novgorod; indeed, carried out this threat several times, but love of
+gain on the one hand, hunger after luxuries on the other, appeased the
+troubled spirits, and peace was re-established on the old footing. These
+treaties of reconciliation were sealed by the Germans with a key in a
+shield, the seal of St. Peter's Court. The Russians swore fidelity by
+kissing the crucifix.
+
+But as such disturbances might always recur, and in order that the
+damage should not prove too heavy to members of the League, it was
+decreed by them in the fourteenth century that no merchant might send
+to or store at Novgorod merchandise exceeding in value the sum of a
+thousand marks. This shows that their position at Novgorod was rather
+that of a hostile encampment than that of a secure and permanent
+settlement.
+
+Above all, the Hanseatics strictly forbade Russia to trade on the sea,
+and any Russian merchant ships that they encountered were captured and
+the captain and crew severely punished.
+
+Early in the twelfth century the clever Lombards, already famous
+throughout Europe for their skill in all banking transactions, tried to
+gain a footing at Novgorod. It seems that their financial shrewdness was
+not always combined with the strictest honesty, and that hence they
+enjoyed an ill fame. Certainly the Hanseatics succeeded in 1405 in
+prohibiting "these dangerous men" from any residence in the Baltic
+cities, while in St. Peter's Court their presence was formally
+proscribed in 1346.
+
+A serious interruption to the commerce of the League with Russia
+occurred in the middle of the fifteenth century, when the Prussian towns
+revolted against the oppressive supremacy of the chivalric order of the
+Teutonic Knights. Like all spiritual powers, when it is a question of
+the goods of this world, the Teutonic Knights fought ardently to regain
+their power, and this warfare long rendered the Baltic dangerous and
+impossible for trade purposes. Indeed, so long and so serious was this
+war that but for the fact that the League was in a sufficiently
+flourishing condition to be able to bear great losses, and also for the
+fact that the Russian trade was worth many sacrifices, the League might
+even then have been permanently crushed.
+
+More serious was the next enemy who arose and who shook to its
+foundations the empire of Hanseatic commerce in Russia. This was the
+Czar Ivan II., known as the Terrible. He had conquered and chased from
+his domains the savage Tartar hordes that annually ravaged it; he was
+ambitious to unite the whole Muscovite kingdom under his sway. Like his
+successors to this day, he hated all that savoured of liberty and
+independence, and was resolved to exclude from his realms everything
+that approached a more advanced civilization and was irreconcilable with
+absolute rule.
+
+He cast a jealous eye on Novgorod, with its political independence and
+its prosperity. Here, he said to himself, were rich spoils to be
+obtained; this power within his own domains must be broken. He tried,
+with success, to gain over to his side a portion of the population.
+These were, however, soon denounced as traitors to the community, and
+the great bell of Novgorod, regarded as the Palladium of popular
+liberty, was rung to call the city under arms. A violent struggle
+ensued, in which Ivan committed many of those acts of cruelty that have
+made his name notorious.
+
+At last, after a gallant resistance, in which especially a woman, named
+Marsa, took a leading part, Novgorod fell into the hands of Ivan, who
+despoiled it of its liberty and riches, and sent its chief inhabitants
+into the centre of his empire and replaced them by his Muscovites;
+burnt, ravaged, pillaged, and sacked, so that at one blow the town lost
+its liberty, lustre, and prosperity. The great bell of freedom was
+carried to Moscow, where to this day it hangs, no longer inciting to
+revolt, but calling the people to prayer. As for the Hanseatics at
+Novgorod, they were taken prisoner and kept in cruel durance. Their
+merchandise was confiscated, and all their possessions, such as church
+ornaments, bells, silver vases, &c., were carried off in triumph to
+Moscow.
+
+This blow came upon them like a thunderbolt, for all their privileges
+had just been reconfirmed by the Russian ruler. But to Ivan no sacred
+treaties were binding. Only after many years and long negotiations did
+the Hanseatics succeed in getting him at least to release their
+prisoners. When he did agree to this most had already died from the
+effects of privation. Of the confiscated goods he would not return a
+bale.
+
+Thus ended the glory of the Hanseatic rule in Russia. It is true that
+under Ivan's son the cities once more endeavoured to open their court on
+the Volchor. But a twenty years' interruption of trade was not easily
+made good. They could not recover their monopoly, which had been usurped
+by Danes and Dutchmen. The last blow to all such efforts came from the
+English, who had discovered a passage to Russia by means of the White
+Sea and Archangel, and hence no longer needed Hanseatic mediation. In
+1603 Czar Boris Gudenow wanted to reinstate the Hansa in its ancient
+privileges. It was too late. The dissensions that agitated Russia did
+not permit the League to derive any profit from his good intentions.
+Commerce had taken another direction, and kept it. When, some time
+after, a traveller passed through Novgorod, all he found to remind him
+of the German colony here were only the ruins of the stone church of St.
+Peter, a single storehouse, and one wooden shanty, which served as
+shelter for him and his servant. Of the former glory and prosperity
+there was no sign.
+
+ [Illustration: SEAL OF NOVGOROD.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[9] Rambaub, in his "History of Russia," says that Novgorod was founded
+by Slavs, but that in the ninth century a castle and fort were built
+there by Rurik the Norman.
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+THE COMMERCE OF THE LEAGUE WITH THE NETHERLANDS AND SOUTHERN EUROPE.
+
+
+Among the Western countries not even England attracted the attention of
+the League so powerfully as did the Netherlands, with their cosmopolitan
+market of Bruges, a market which, as early as the days of King Canute,
+was already of great importance. There was to be found every element
+needful to second their vast ambition and to foster their activity. In
+Flanders lived the most industrious nation in Europe, dwelling in
+opulent cities, having excellent harbours and markets, where all the
+necessaries of life, and all objects of luxury abounded. In these
+markets our traders could find all the articles most eagerly sought
+after by the inhabitants of more northern climes, while they, in their
+turn, could furnish the Flemings with the productions of the North, and
+especially with those which were necessary to a maritime people. Thus
+the League had cunningly got into their hands the whole monopoly of
+hemp, so needful for rope making. Indeed, it must ever be borne in mind
+that the Hansa had the monopoly in those days of the whole industry and
+of all the products of Northern and Eastern Europe. This active and
+profitable commerce was almost entirely carried on by means of the
+factory which the League had established at Bruges. It was here that its
+merchants supplied themselves in their turn with the manufactures of the
+industrious Flemings; with cloth, linen, and the costly tapestries
+admired to our day.
+
+ [Illustration: STADT-HAUS, BRUGES.]
+
+It was at Bruges, then, that the vast ramifications of Flemish and
+Hanseatic trade were united. Fifteen different foreign nations held
+established depôts in the city which was a very artery of commerce.
+Sixty-eight Flemish trade-guilds flourished in the town. It communicated
+with the sea by means of a canal and a not too distant harbour.
+Extensive privileges had been accorded to it by various native princes.
+The inhabitants were proud, rich, and independent. It was said of them
+by a contemporary that the merchant-aristocrats of Bruges "rode to
+tournament yesterday, bottled wine to-day, cut out garments to-morrow."
+A queen of France could not deny that the splendour and luxury of the
+courts were cast into the shade by the pomp and splendour of the maids
+and matrons of commercial Bruges. With these men commerce had already
+become a science, and various peoples who had till then the most
+elementary notions on the point came to the Netherlands to instruct
+themselves. It is surprising to read that, as early as 1310, they had
+instituted at Bruges an insurance office, and that the chief principles
+affecting exchange of values were already understood. These matters were
+novelties even to the Hanseatics, though they owed their prosperity and
+very existence to trade.
+
+The League therefore found itself in a totally different position in
+the Netherlands from that which it occupied in poor or barbarous
+countries like Norway or Russia. Here was no question of submitting a
+whole people to their monopoly; it was rather a matter of obtaining
+gracious concessions and privileges. Hence the factory at Bruges in no
+way resembled those of Bergen and Novgorod, which were armed citadels
+placed in the midst of a more or less hostile people and constantly
+liable to warlike attacks. Here, on the other hand, civilization reigned
+and competition was active. The Hanseatic factory at Bruges partook more
+of the character of a general office and storehouse than that of any
+other factory of the League. But "the Residence of the German
+Merchants," as it was called, was organized in the main like that of its
+brethren. In its most prosperous days the factory consisted of about
+three hundred traders or agents, who executed the orders to buy and sell
+for those Hanseatic merchants who did not come to Bruges in person to
+carry on their trade. These resident merchants were not permitted to
+quit the factory until after a certain number of years' sojourn. During
+this time they were interdicted from associating with the natives. They
+lived in the Hanseatic building under the supervision of six aldermen
+and a council composed of eighteen members, and there were in force for
+them here as elsewhere rigid rules of life, among which the imposition
+of celibacy took a leading place. The factory was partitioned into
+several chief divisions called "districts," where the members from
+different cities abode in almost monastic seclusion. Less rude customs,
+however, prevailed than at Bergen. The Hanseatics being in the midst of
+a polished and luxury-loving people, acquired some of their more
+civilized habits. By way of Bruges comforts and refinements penetrated
+into German homes, and Flemish modes of thought and speech crept into
+German literature.
+
+ [Illustration: RHINE BOAT, COLOGNE.]
+
+The factory at Bruges was in every respect of immense value to Germany
+and the Hansa. It grew into a sort of training college from which came
+forth the most able magistrates and administrators of the Hanseatic
+League.
+
+The head of the factory was a president chosen by the Diet of the
+League. He was changed annually, usually at Whitsuntide, when the
+by-laws of the factory were read and the newly elected had to swear "to
+submit to its statutes, to see that these were observed without fraud as
+far as in him lay and according to his five senses."
+
+As elsewhere expenses were paid by fines and customs dues. These latter
+some cities tried to elude at various times in a spirit of egotistic and
+most short-sighted policy. Chief among these was Cologne which was in
+consequence "unhansed" for some time. Indeed Cologne was always a more
+or less turbulent member of the League. The official meetings of the
+Hanseatic representatives at Bruges curiously enough did not take place
+in their own factory, but were held in the Reventer, that is to say, the
+refectory of the Carmelite convent. Their charters were deposited in the
+church sacristy, or more precisely in the so-called Noah's ark, this
+alliance between sacred and profane things being a common feature of
+those times.
+
+As the might of the League increased at Bruges they insisted that every
+vessel sailing the seas must make an enforced halt at the port of
+Bruges, and thus give the traders a first chance of buying their wares
+or, in any case, of exacting from them a staple toll. Exception was made
+only in the case of ships sailing to England or to the Baltic seaboard.
+The possession of this privilege naturally proved a source of great
+wealth and power to the League, who grew proud and haughty as they
+increased in strength, and even ventured to oppose themselves to the
+Flemings, if they considered that these had in any way offended against
+"the majesty of the Hanseatic nation in the person of any of its members
+or officers." They would then threaten to transport their factory into
+some other city, and once actually carried out the threat. They
+suspended all trade with Flanders, blocked its ports, and refused to buy
+its goods. At the last the murmurs of the artizans thus thrown out of
+work, and the general distress among the people, forced the rulers to
+crave grace and to beg for the return of these masterful strangers, even
+according them new privileges, that is to say, new weapons of
+oppression. For the League, on these occasions of proud resentment, took
+the most menacing of tones and exacted a heavy satisfaction. Thus once,
+because one of its members had been, as it considered, gravely insulted,
+and others murdered, it demanded that a chapel should be built and
+masses founded to pray for the repose of the souls of those who had
+perished; and that a large indemnity should be paid to the relations of
+the dead and to the division of the League to which they belonged. And,
+further, in order to induce this division to return to Bruges, it was
+requisite that one hundred of the chief burghers should come in
+procession to the Carmelite convent and ask public pardon from the
+Hanseatics, and that sixteen of these should go in pilgrimage to
+Santiago de Compastello and four to the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem.
+Only after such expiation would the division allow itself to be
+re-established.
+
+The dissensions and revolutions which, in the fourteenth century,
+convulsed Flanders and caused the sovereignty of the provinces to pass
+into the hands of the Dukes of Burgundy, did not, for a long time, touch
+the commerce of the Hanseatics. Their trade seemed able to cope with the
+subversive influences of tumults, seditions, and civil wars; their
+activity was not discouraged; their great credit enabled them to repair
+all losses, and even to draw profit from these very disturbing influences
+themselves. Each new ruler, guided by the same motives of interest,
+awarded the same favour to this association of strangers, who, in coming
+to their country, nourished its industries and profitably exchanged
+products. Even Charles the Bold--proud and warlike though he was, a
+declared foe to all liberty, attacking at that very time the Swiss
+people, who were striving to gain their national independence--openly
+protected the Hanseatic towns, and interested himself warmly in aiding
+them to overcome the English, with whom they had been at strife.
+
+This good understanding, it is true, was impaired under Maximilian of
+Austria, his son-in-law and successor. This prince was a stranger to the
+Flemings, a German by birth, accustomed to exact blind obedience, the
+son of an emperor and his heir. On all these accounts he was distasteful
+to the Flemings, who rose up in revolt against him, and imprisoned him
+in the Castle of Bruges. It was on this occasion that there happened an
+event made famous in legend. Maximilian's Court jester, who loved his
+master, had formed a plan for his liberation. Horses, rope ladders--all
+were in readiness. The jester himself sprang into the canal that
+separated the castle from the mainland, in order to swim across and aid
+his sovereign. But it happened that his night raid alarmed the swans
+which were kept by the town on this canal. They raised a great noise,
+flapped their wings in anger, and threatened to kill the poor fellow,
+who was obliged to beat a hasty retreat, while his scheme, thus
+discovered, was rendered futile. For four months Maximilian was kept in
+confinement. No sooner was he liberated and master of the empire than he
+took his revenge. This audacity was punished severely, and ended in a
+loss to Flanders of its opulence and a great part of its industry. Above
+all, the town of Bruges had to submit to hard treatment, and ceased from
+that time forwards to be the most flourishing and important market of
+Europe.
+
+The wily Hanseatics had, meanwhile, acted like the proverbial rats that
+abandon the sinking ship. Seeing the course that things were taking,
+they sought to establish themselves elsewhere, and Antwerp, long jealous
+of Bruges, obtained the reversion of its rival's trade: the fruits of
+which it enjoyed until the murderous hordes of Philip II., in their
+turn, crushed Antwerp as Maximilian had crushed Bruges.
+
+ [Illustration: THE PIED PIPER'S HOUSE, HAMELIN.]
+
+No doubt, by means of the Flemish market, the League also treated with
+France, but our knowledge concerning this trade is very scanty. It seems
+certain that they had no regular factory in that country, though for a
+short time they held a depôt at Bordeaux. Probably their trade with
+France was chiefly indirect and by means of Flanders. The fact that for
+so long the greater part of the French seaboard was in the hands of the
+English may have had something to do with this matter. We know,
+however, that successive French kings accorded to them various
+privileges. Louis XI., on one occasion, speaks of them as a "Power," and
+proposed to make an alliance with them against England. Charles VIII.
+yet further enlarged the concessions granted by his father. It is even
+recorded that in case any difficulties arose because of obscurities of
+phrase in a contract made between the League and Frenchmen, these should
+always be interpreted to the advantage of the Hanseatics. They were
+further promised impartial justice, reduced custom dues, and a civil
+standing equal in all respects to that of the natives. The kingdom was
+open to them for trading purposes, and in case of a war breaking out
+between France and a foreign nation, the Hanseatics were allowed to
+continue their commercial connection with that nation without being
+regarded as violating the peace and friendship promised. France, on the
+other hand, reserved to itself the same privileges. But why France was
+willing to concede so much to these strangers does not appear. The
+commerce can in no case have been considerable. The manufactures of
+France in those days were few and limited. Their small navy did not
+require much wood, iron, or hemp. It is true they had their wines and
+their salt, and that in exchange they bought herrings and smoked fish,
+but there was no such lively and profitable intercourse as we encounter
+elsewhere. The land was still too poor, too distracted with wars and
+dissensions to be able to utilize its native riches. Besides this, her
+own direct commerce with the Mediterranean and Latin East, and the
+Crusaders and Italian traders, rendered her more independent of Hansa
+help.
+
+Very scanty are the records that have come down to us concerning the
+trade of the League with Spain. This nation, incessantly occupied in
+wars with the Moors and in chivalrous exploits, neglected and disdained
+trade. They even went so far at times as to interdict it also to others.
+But all that has come down to us concerning the intercourse of the
+Hanseatics with this country is so vague, and borders so much on the
+fabulous, that it cannot be accepted as history. What does seem certain
+is that in 1383 King John of Castile forbade the Hanseatics to have any
+intercourse with his kingdom, that he confiscated eighty-four of their
+vessels, and that in 1441 the factory of Bruges received orders to
+practise reprisals upon the Spaniards and to close to them all the ports
+of the Netherlands. All details, however, are lacking. We only know,
+again, for certain that in 1472 the Spaniards raised the interdict
+against the League. No doubt they had suffered pecuniarily from the
+absence of these active traders. In 1551 Philip II. even went so far as
+to sign a treaty of commerce with the League, in which this prince
+favoured them as much as his predecessors tried to harm them. And this
+treaty, strange to say, was not quite a nullity even at the beginning of
+our own century. On the strength of certain clauses contained in it were
+founded various privileges enjoyed up to that date, in their commercial
+intercourse with Spain, by the cities that were then all that remained
+of the once mighty League--namely, Lübeck, Hamburg, and Bremen.
+
+In Portugal the League was more fortunate than in Spain, and early
+established a factory at Lisbon. From this port they traded with the
+Mediterranean, and came in contact with the flourishing Italian
+commercial republics, as well as with the products of the Levant and
+India, for which Italy was the sole market. But the Italian trade was
+chiefly in the hands of the South German cities, such as Augsburg, Ulm,
+and Nüremberg, and the wares were transported by land. These cities
+formed a counter league among themselves, which, though in a measure
+affiliated to the Hansa, was never quite an integral part. Their sole
+object was the Levant and Italian trade. Already in the thirteenth
+century they had a depôt at Venice, the far-famed Fontego de' Tedeschi,
+which visitors to Venice behold to this day as one of the most lovely
+palaces abutting on the Grand Canal. This factory, however, was very
+differently constituted from that of other cities. The League never
+obtained a monopoly or special privileges in Italy. The Fontego at
+Venice was merely the warehouse or dwelling-house of the German traders,
+without any internal jurisdiction or president.
+
+ [Illustration: FONTEGO DEI TEDESCHI, VENICE.]
+
+They were permitted to sojourn with their wares at stated times in
+Venice, received on their arrival the keys of the fifty-six rooms of the
+building, which on their departure they had to re-deliver to the
+Venetian authorities. In course of time the Germans, gaining refinement
+and acquiring a love of art from their Italian intercourse, spent large
+sums in decorating and adorning this palace, which, however, never
+passed into their real possession. Three Venetian citizens, under the
+title of Visdomini de' Tedeschi, and native secretaries, and a
+"fontegaro," always inhabited the building and kept strict watch over
+the traders, whose commerce was subjected to all manner of tedious
+restrictions. The house, as we have said, was only open to them at
+stated times of the year. They were only permitted to sell to and buy
+from Venetians; all wares exported or imported had to be weighed in the
+public balances, and only this weight was accepted as just. The Italian
+secretaries, one of whom always slept in the Fontego, kept strict
+account of all goods that came to hand or were sent away, and the
+control over these wares was in the power of the Visdomini. Nothing
+might be unladen in the warehouse without permission from one of these
+local officials. But in spite of all these restrictions, which the
+Germans would not have tolerated for a moment at Bergen or Bruges, their
+depôt at Venice was a favourite sojourn, and remained the centre of a
+pleasant, easy, and refined intercourse between Germany and Italy until
+the time of the Reformation. The influence of the Rialto made itself
+felt in Prague, Dresden, Frankfort, and the other South German cities,
+and has placed its imprint upon their literature and art. From Italy
+these cities brought the models to adorn their streets, markets,
+guildhalls, and churches. From Italy they brought the tales and fables
+that delighted listeners long before the days of printing, and awoke the
+native mediæval poetic art, so that the stories of Boccaccio became as
+familiar to the Germans as to the Italians themselves. In spite of all
+the restrictions they placed on their freedom, the foreigners were not
+unwelcome to the proud Venetian signoria. They even spoke of the German
+nation as their "cuorisino" (little heart), and in their sore need,
+during the time of the League of Cambray, formed by the Pope, the
+Emperor and the kings of France and Spain against the Republic of Venice
+(1508), they called upon their German friends for sympathy, and did not
+call in vain. The bond of a common interest, that of trade, bound
+together the proud rich city of the Lagoons and the less powerful, less
+wealthy, but by no means poor or insignificant, cities of Southern
+Germany.
+
+[Decoration Tail-Piece]
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+THE STEELYARD IN LONDON.
+
+
+Nowhere was the Hanseatic power so great as in England. Of none of its
+connections do we possess more ample records. As already stated, England
+was one of the first depôts of the "common German merchant," long before
+these combined under the generic name of Hanseatic. From early days the
+English kings had protected these rich foreigners, who helped them out
+of many a pecuniary difficulty. Indeed they accorded them such
+privileges and monopolies as could not fail to rouse the jealousy of
+their own people. We therefore find in the history of the Steelyard in
+London a mingled record of all passions and interests, hate and favours,
+honour and national prosperity, envy and violence, greed and poverty,
+pride and fear, in a word, a most motley record of which it is not easy
+to frame the contradictory elements into one harmonious picture.
+
+During the long reign of Henry II., and under his sons, Richard Coeur
+de Lion and John, there was an active intercourse between Germany and
+England, encouraged by the marriage of Matilda, daughter of Henry II.
+with Duke Henry the Lion.
+
+ [Illustration: THE STEELYARD, LONDON. (_From an old Print._)]
+
+The rich merchants of Cologne were the earliest to obtain special
+favours. These were accorded by Richard Coeur de Lion, who, halting in
+that city to attend high mass in the cathedral after his release from
+Austrian imprisonment, received there such ample supplies towards the
+heavy ransom money required for his person, that, to show his gratitude,
+he gave to his "beloved burghers of Cologne" a letter of freedom, in
+which he released them from their annual rent of two shillings for their
+guildhall in London, and from all other taxes due to the king upon their
+persons or their merchandise. It was long ere King John, his successor,
+could make up his mind to renew these privileges, but his own
+difficulties with his turbulent barons, and the pressure which the
+merchants could bring to bear by their riches, at last overcame his
+hesitation. Edward I. and his followers further extended these
+prerogatives, for the Plantagenets found the Hanseatic Rothschilds even
+more useful in aiding their war schemes than the skilful alchymists whom
+they had summoned to their Court, and who knew how to shape the Rose
+noble (the money of the period) out of artificial gold. Then, too, the
+Hanseatics were considerate creditors, who did not press unduly, and
+even overlooked a debt if some favour were extended in default of
+payment.
+
+Edward the Third's crown and most costly jewels were long retained at
+Cologne in pawn for a heavy sum of money. The details concerning this
+transaction are preserved to this day in a correspondence deposited in
+the State Paper Office of London. It seems that when the time for
+redemption came the king had not the money. He was in special straits
+just then, for the celebrated commercial firm of the Bardi, at Florence,
+which constituted the very focus of the Italian money business, had
+failed, and the King of England appeared in their books as a debtor for
+the sum of one million golden gulden. The merchants of the Steelyard
+were not slow adroitly to turn the royal perplexity to their profit.
+They undertook to redeem the pawned jewels and offered the king loans of
+more money, although he already owed them much. Edward was in sore need,
+for the wars with France strained his resources to the utmost. He drew
+upon them for thirty thousand pounds, a sum worth fifteen times more
+then than to-day. Thus it came about that the great victories of the
+Black Prince at Crecy and Poitiers were gained in no small degree by the
+help of German capital. Needless to add that the Hanseatic merchants
+showed no diffidence in accepting for their factory important privileges
+in return for these services.
+
+ [Illustration: BARDI PALACE, FLORENCE.]
+
+It was to a German merchant prince that the king let the tin mines
+belonging to the Black Prince in the Duchy of Cornwall. To the same firm
+he ceded a large number of farms situated in different shires for the
+space of a thousand years.
+
+The Easterlings are spoken of in records as the allies of the English
+kings, and there seemed at last no limit to the royal favours.
+
+That the people did not look upon them with the same friendly eye is
+easy to understand. The English, full of a just sentiment of what they
+could do by themselves, and of what they were hindered from doing by
+these foreign monopolists, bore their presence with extreme impatience.
+Feuds and riots were not infrequent, and no royal favours, no Hanseatic
+ships of war could save them from occasional brutal attacks at the hands
+of the mob. Thus during the Wat Tyler rebellion the people pursued the
+hated foreigners even into the sanctuary of the church, murdering
+mercilessly all those who could not pronounce the words "bread and
+cheese" with the pure English accent. But these rebellions were quelled
+by the royal commands, or extinguished themselves by the fact that the
+Hanseatics were also useful to the English people, oppressed by the
+feudal system and engaged in constant wars, whose trade industries were
+thus unable to develop quickly. Nor did such passing storms shake the
+power or the resistance of the Hanseatics. Bloody encounters, rude
+tumults were entirely in keeping with the license and roughness of those
+earlier ages, and were met by the League, more or less, in all their
+foreign stations.
+
+With their usual astuteness they utilized wisely all periods of calm,
+and reckoned with the love of gain to help them in less peaceful
+moments. When the English made things uncomfortable for them at home,
+they revenged themselves upon them at Bruges or at Bergen, paralysing
+their commerce, and harassing their vessels, even forbidding them to
+enter the ports of Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. For verily in those
+days whosoever tried to outwit the Hansa was likely to prove the victim
+of his own plots. Circumstances aided the Germans, enabling them to make
+their power felt just when England had to betray weakness. The feeble
+and stormy period of Henry VI., often deposed and made prisoner, the
+Wars of the Roses, the long and continual hostilities waged with France,
+all favoured the League, and made the English submit to its demands
+rather than attract to themselves yet more enemies.
+
+In no place, not even in Bergen, did the Hanseatics succeed in enjoying
+greater independence. Their factory was privileged, and while benefiting
+by English law, they were quite independent of it. Everything,
+therefore, was favourable to their commerce, and they were hampered by
+no such restrictions as weighed, not only upon other foreigners, but
+upon the English themselves. To give a just idea of the degree of power
+to which their privileges and trade had raised the League, let us cite
+one example. It will serve in lieu of many, and it places in full light
+the almost incredible ascendency which a company of merchant cities,
+isolated and distant from each other, had gained over a great kingdom
+and a proud and valiant nation.
+
+The English Government having been unable or unwilling to repress the
+frequent acts of piracy which its subjects practised against members of
+the League, these also took to piracy, and mutual recriminations ensued.
+The Lübeckers in particular revenged themselves fiercely. They also
+wrote a letter of complaint to the English king, "a letter full of pride
+and audacity," says Henry IV. It then happened that the Danes, at strife
+with the English for other causes, joined themselves to the Hanseatics,
+and united they harassed the English by sea and by land. These, in their
+turn, took possession of the Hanseatic depôt in London, and put in
+prison or killed all who lodged there. The League hearing this broke off
+commercial connection with England, closed their ports and the entrances
+of the Baltic, and seized English vessels on all seas and on all coasts.
+The Hanseatics even landed in England itself, and pitilessly ravaged
+many of the maritime provinces, hanging on the masts of their ships all
+the men they took prisoners. This war at last grew so ruinous for the
+English that they applied to the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, to
+mediate between them and their foes. A congress was assembled at Utrecht
+to put an end to this dire quarrel and to assure peace upon a solid
+basis. The mediator and his counsellors thought it but just to accord to
+the English a part of what they had desired so long, namely, liberty to
+trade in the Baltic and with the Hanseatic ports of Dantzig and Russia.
+This concession greatly favoured the commerce which their merchants were
+ambitious to carry on, or already carried on, notwithstanding all
+obstacles. But for their part the Hanseatics insisted on recovering all
+the privileges they had lost, and on recovering them with usury. In
+fact, by this treaty of Utrecht Edward IV. not only reconfirmed all
+their ancient monopolies, but accorded to them new and important
+favours, proving to what extent the English were still in the power of
+these foreigners. Such was the effect of the fear which the League
+inspired in the English; such, too, was the ignorance of their
+Government, which, being in possession of a power not less great and,
+had they desired, even greater than that of their rivals, allowed
+strangers to deprive them of the most useful of all independent rights,
+that of utilizing for their own profit the resources of their own labour
+and their own soil.
+
+In reading this chapter of the annals of England, it is hard to believe
+that we are dealing with the nation whose ships now scour all the seas,
+whose tonnage exceeds that of all other countries combined, which is the
+greatest trader of the earth, and which trades not only freely, but also
+in that spirit of domination with which its ancestors reproached the
+Hanseatics, and which they endured with so much impatience.
+
+This treaty of Utrecht served for a long while as basis for all
+subsequent treaties between the Hanseatics and the English, and well or
+ill observed, it survived until the reign of Edward VI.
+
+The position held by the Hanseatics in England certainly has no
+counterpart in the international intercourse of the Middle Ages. The
+only exception, perhaps, is the position of Genoa, Venice, and Pisa in
+the Byzantine and Latin empires.
+
+ [Illustration: STEELYARD WHARF, LONDON.]
+
+The chief depôt of the Hanseatics in England was in London, and was
+known first as the Guildhall of the Germans, then as the Easterlings'
+Hall, and finally, as its dimensions grew, as the Steelyard. It was
+situated in Thames Street, on the left bank of the river, close to
+Dowgate, just above London Bridge, in earlier times the only city gate
+that commanded the water. The whole length of this street leading to the
+post gate was lined with the wharves, warehouses, and dwelling-houses of
+the Germans. It is therefore easy to comprehend how they held, by their
+position alone, the key to the whole commerce of the City of London in
+days when goods were almost entirely transported by water-ways. As at
+Bergen, so here, they dominated the whole commercial situation.
+
+There have been many disputes as to the origin of the name Steelyard.
+It has been now pretty well established that it took its rise from the
+fact that on this spot stood the great balance of the City of London,
+known as the Steelyard, on which all exported or imported merchandise
+had to be officially weighed. It was after the treaty of Utrecht in 1474
+that the German factory first took this name, from the circumstance that
+its domain was then greatly enlarged. The whole place was defended by a
+high strong wall, fortress fashion, and there were few windows towards
+the front. This was as a protection from the frequent attacks of the
+London mob, and also as a defence against the robbers anxious to
+penetrate into a storehouse of riches. The chief building, still called
+their Guildhall, was a massive stone structure, of which, until 1851,
+some of the main walls still remained. The northern front, which looked
+towards Thames Street was especially imposing with its many stories, its
+high gabled roof, surmounted by the double eagle of the empire with its
+outspread wings. Three round portals, well protected and clamped with
+iron, were seen on its northern frontage. The centre one, far larger
+than the others, was rarely opened, and the two others were walled up.
+Above these three portals were to be read, in later days, the following
+characteristic inscriptions:
+
+ "HAEC DOMUS EST LAETA, SEMPER BONITATE REPLETA;
+ HIC PAX, HIC REQUIES, HIC GAUDIA SEMPER HONESTA."
+
+ "AURUM BLANDITIAE PATER EST NATUSQUE DOLORIS;
+ QUI CARET HOC MOERET, QUI TENET HOC METUIT."
+
+ "QUI BONIS PARERE RECUSAT, QUASI VITATO FUMO IN FLAMMAM
+ INCIDIT."
+
+The second of these couplets is attributed to Sir Thomas More,
+Chancellor of England, author of the "Utopia," and a good friend to the
+Hanseatics. This great hall was used for the meetings of the merchants
+and for their common dining-room. At one end was a low tower that served
+as depository for the documents and valuables belonging to the merchants
+or the factory. Close upon the river stood another strong building, the
+dwelling of the house master. Here was the capacious stone kitchen, in
+which ample preparations were made for the dinners of week-days and
+festivals. Between these two buildings ran the garden, in which the
+Germans had planted fruit trees and vines. On summer evenings they were
+wont to rest here after the business of the day, while the young people
+among them amused themselves with playing at ball or other recreations.
+It was a pleasant green spot with cool shady arbours, tables, and seats,
+and was frequented, not only by the Hanseatics themselves, but by the
+London citizens; for the League had the permission to sell their Rhenish
+wines in this spot. Threepence a bottle was the average price.
+
+In "Pierce Penilesse, his application to the devil," we read, "Let us go
+to the Stilliard and drink rhenish wine;" and in one of Webster's plays
+a character says: "I come to entreat you to meet him this afternoon at
+the Rhenish warehouse in the Stillyard. Will you steal forth and taste
+of a Dutch brew and a keg of sturgeon?" This garden restaurant was also
+famous for its neat's tongues, salmon, and caviar. It would seem that
+the place was a favourite resort from the days of Prince Hal and Sir
+John Falstaff to those of Lord Herbert of Cherbury, the former the
+embodiment of boisterous enjoyment, the latter of chivalric and pedantic
+learning. A multifarious and varied company indeed that little garden
+harboured in its day, who met in "the Rhenish wine house" to close their
+bargains over their wine cups, for festive carouse or serious talk.
+There could be seen England's most honoured men; bishops, mayors,
+ministers, chancellors, naval and military heroes. Even Shakespeare's
+company of actors, London's merriest _gourmets_, are known to have
+turned in here. The spot did not lie far off the famous "Boar's Head"
+tavern, and Prince Hal's town residence in Cold Harbour Lane abutted
+upon the Steelyard. There, too, assembled the grave ambassadors of the
+Hanseatics, their delegates and merchants, their apprentices and agents;
+a motley crew indeed, who, until the days when the garden in Cosins Lane
+perished in the Great Fire of London (1666), constantly frequented the
+locality, and helped to enhance its wealth and importance. The memory of
+the place was kept up, till quite lately, by a large tavern, bearing the
+sign of the Steelyard, which still stood on the same spot, surmounted by
+a bunch of golden grapes, similar to those which we so frequently meet
+with in the narrow streets of old German towns.
+
+No less busy, no less varied was the inner life of that small state
+within a state. A strange little world with its severe monastic
+discipline, its semi-religious character. In many rooms and halls, in
+warehouses and passages, were crowded a number of masters and men,
+assembled here from some sixty Hanseatic cities, busy superintending the
+stapled wares which arrived by river and were drawn up by means of the
+mighty crane that formed a notable feature in the water frontage of the
+factory. Some wares, too, arrived by way of the crooked streets. These
+entered the building through the small carefully guarded doorways. As
+time went on and there was not room enough for all the guests in the
+main building, adjoining houses were rented for the Hanseatics, but all
+were subject to the same rigid discipline, and were members of the same
+large household. In early days the London merchants had insisted that an
+Englishman should be head inspector of the Hanseatic warehouses, but
+from this they soon freed themselves, alleging that it was giving the
+sheepfold over into the keeping of the wolf. As elsewhere, the
+presidency was assigned to an alderman and twelve councillors. These
+were chosen from the different towns in rotation. As elsewhere, all
+residents had to remain unmarried during the period of this sojourn in
+the Steelyard. Not even the house-master was allowed to have a wife. In
+later years, a Cologne merchant who had decorated, improved, and
+enlarged the garden inn, and turned it into one of the most beautiful
+taverns in London, being a resident for life, was anxious to marry. But
+so sternly did the League hold by their decree of celibacy for their
+absent members, that they only agreed to make an exception in his case
+after fourteen members of the English Parliament had signed a round
+robin petition to the Hanseatic Diet to this effect. Those who
+trespassed against the by-laws of the house as to habits or morals were
+heavily fined. If refractory they were often imprisoned, and at times
+even the aid of the English constables would be called in. But this was
+not frequent. The Hanseatics preferred to manage their own affairs, and
+keep themselves distinct from the natives among whom they dwelt. In
+criminal cases the jury, as is still the custom in England under similar
+conditions, was composed half of Englishmen, half of Germans. At nine
+every evening the portals of the various dwelling-houses were closed,
+and the key given to one of the masters, who took turns to fill this
+office. Whoever played at dice in his room at the tavern, whoever
+entertained non-Hanseatics, whoever let a woman cross the precincts of
+the Steelyard paid a heavy sum, of which half went to the informant.
+Cleanliness was severely imposed both in person and in the use of the
+common sleeping and packing rooms. The fine for contravention in this
+respect was paid in wax, not in money. It was employed for the candles
+which the Hanseatics kept burning on their behalf in the church of All
+Hallows the More. Opprobrious language towards one another, blows or
+drawing of knives was fined by a hundred shillings paid into the common
+fund; a high sum truly if we consider that five pounds sterling was
+worth, in the fourteenth century, about four times its present value.
+They were even forbidden to fence or to play tennis with their English
+neighbours under out paying a penalty of twenty shillings.
+
+Every merchant was bound to have in readiness in his room a full suit of
+armour, and all the needful weapons in case of an attack on the
+Steelyard, or on the Bishopsgate. For the City of London had ceded to
+the Hanseatics this gate, which they had to guard and keep in repair,
+relieving them instead of the annual tax towards the preservation of the
+town walls known as wall-money, of bridge money, and paving money. They
+also managed to obtain special privileges with regard to shipwrecked
+goods; the English being obliged to pay them damages provided that
+something living, if only a dog, or cat, or cock reached the shore alive
+from the shipwrecked vessel. This secured them greatly from the perils
+of wanton wreckage.
+
+In London none of those gross manners and customs prevailed that we find
+at Bergen or Novgorod. The Hanseatics knew that in England they found
+themselves among a people fully their equals, and were careful not to
+offend them in any respect. Indeed they did all they could to conciliate
+them, and were liberal in presents. Thus the Lord Mayor of London
+received from them yearly a cask of the finest sturgeon, or two barrels
+of herring, or a hundredweight of Polish wax. An English alderman,
+annually chosen to adjust disputes between the natives and the
+foreigners, was presented each New Year's Day with fifteen golden
+nobles, wrapped up in a pair of gloves, by way of tender consideration
+for the feelings of the recipient. The Chief Inspector of Customs
+received about twenty pounds sterling, intended probably to make him
+indulgent in the exercise of his duties. And so forth, making as a whole
+a most goodly sum thus wisely spent in fees and in conciliating those
+in power and office. Every point relating to this as well as to the
+inner statutes of the factory was most carefully recorded in writing,
+and has, in large part, been preserved to us. It is a record of most
+quaint regulations, every one of which no doubt had its wise purpose and
+scope.
+
+The Hanseatics purchased from the English the produce of their flocks
+and tillage, that is to say, wool, strong hides, corn, beer, and cheese.
+Wool was from the earliest date one of the chief and most important
+articles of their exportation from England. This was sent to Flanders
+and the Netherlands to be worked up. It was only later, as the English
+learnt to manufacture skilfully this costly produce, that the Hanseatics
+exported the finished goods in lieu of the raw material. The details
+concerning this wool trade show how many places in England were engaged
+in it, and how appropriately the Chancellor of England is seated upon a
+wool-sack as symbol of one of the main sources of England's ancient
+wealth. So valuable, indeed, was this wool trade that a special tax was
+placed upon the wool, a tax which Edward III. repeatedly farmed out to
+Cologne merchants for the space of several years in advance in return
+for ready cash.
+
+Among the articles imported by the League we find pepper, potash,
+various kinds of wood adapted for building ships and making crossbows,
+iron and iron utensils, flax, linen, hemp, grease, fish, corn, and
+Rhenish wines. We even find that they imported French wines after the
+English had lost all their possessions in France with the exception of
+Calais. By their means, too, there came to England Italian and Oriental
+produce, such as choice spices, perfumes, medicines, metals, figs,
+almonds, dates, even gold dust, and jewels, with which they provided
+themselves at Bruges.
+
+A very important branch of trade was that in salted cod-fish, or
+stock-fish as it was called, an article largely used on the Continent
+and in England too in the Middle Ages. With this the English were then
+accustomed to feed their troops when on service. Nor were even living
+creatures lacking among their cargoes, such as choice falcons from
+Norway or Livonia, for which the English nobility, who were then, as
+now, passionately addicted to sport, paid high prices.
+
+Indeed, the Steelyard was one of the staple places for the export and
+import of all the principal necessaries of life before men had thought
+of the products of America.
+
+Nor was London by any means their only depôt. It was the chief, but they
+also had factories in York, Hull, Bristol, Norwich, Ipswich, Yarmouth,
+Boston, and Lynn Regis. Some mention of them is found in Leland's
+"Itinerary." Under an invitation to the Hanseatics to trade with
+Scotland we find the name honoured in legend and song of William
+Wallace. In John Lydgate's poems we also meet with our Hanseatics. In
+relating the festivities that took place in London city on the occasion
+of the triumphal entry of Henry VI., who had been crowned king at Paris
+some months previously, the poet narrates how there rode in procession
+the Mayor of London clad in red velvet, accompanied by his aldermen and
+sheriffs dressed in scarlet and fur, followed by the burghers and guilds
+with their trade ensigns, and finally succeeded by a number of
+foreigners.
+
+ "And for to remember of other alyens,
+ Fyrst Jenenyes (Genoese) though they were strangers,
+ Florentynes and Venycyens,
+ And Easterlings, glad in her maneres,
+ Conveyed with sergeantes and other officeres,
+ Estatly horsed, after the maier riding,
+ Passed the subburbis to mete withe the kyng."[10]
+
+A love of pomp and outward show was indeed a characteristic of the
+Hanseatics in England who thus perchance wished to impress upon the
+natives a sense of their wealth. As times grew less turbulent and the
+German Guildhall less of a fortress, it was handsomely decorated with
+costly paintings and fine carving. Most notable were two large works by
+Holbein, who visited England at the invitation of King Henry VIII.,
+desirous of emulating his rival Francis I. in protecting the fine arts.
+When the painter first came over he lived in one of the quaint houses
+that, before the Great Fire, stood on London Bridge, and some of his
+earliest works seem to have been two commissions for his countrymen,
+whose Steelyard was close by. They were destined to decorate the Great
+Hall, and were tempera pictures representing respectively the Triumph of
+Poverty and of Riches. When in the days of James I. the Steelyard ceased
+to exist as the collective home of the Hanseatics, the towns decided to
+present these pictures to the Prince of Wales, Henry, who was a lover of
+the arts like his younger brother, Charles I., into whose collection
+they passed on Henry's death. Unfortunately, they perished in the great
+fire that destroyed Whitehall. Federigo Zuccari, who saw them during his
+sojourn in London and appraised them as exceeding in beauty the works of
+Raphael, made careful drawings of them, and thanks to these and the
+engravings made after them we are in possession of at least an outline
+representation of Holbein's work. The pictures are conceived in the
+spirit of the age that loved such so-called triumphs in art and poetry.
+The figures, chiefly allegorical, were life size and in the richness of
+fantasy and learning that they display it is permissible to recognize
+the help and advice of Holbein's friend, the Chancellor, Sir Thomas
+More. In many cases the names of the personages represented are written
+beside the figures, after the quaint method of that time.
+
+ [Illustration: THE TRIUMPH OF RICHES, BY HOLBEIN.]
+
+The Triumph of Riches shows a car of Plutus drawn by four white horses,
+driven by Fortune and followed by a motley crowd which includes Justice,
+Usury, Bona Fides, Sichæus, the rich husband of Queen Dido, Pythias (of
+whom Plutarch tells that he so loved gold that once when he returned
+hungry from abroad his wife placed gold before him instead of meats),
+and many figures, for the most part culled from the pages of Herodotus,
+Juvenal, and other classic authors. In the heads of Croesus and
+Cleopatra it is said that Holbein painted likenesses of Henry VIII. and
+Anne Boleyn. In a corner of the picture is written the distich ascribed
+to Sir Thomas More which we have already met with above the central
+portal of the German Guildhall.
+
+The Triumph of Poverty was purely allegorical, and appears to have been
+considered less attractive than the former work, whether on account of
+its treatment, or on account of its less pleasing theme does not appear.
+In this case the car is drawn by two oxen and two asses, designated as
+Negligence and Idleness, Greed and Sloth. This canvas, too, bore some
+Latin verses from More's pen, which, curiously enough, have not been
+incorporated in his collected works.
+
+In all public ceremonies and processions the Hanseatics seem also to
+have taken a notable part; as we mentioned above on the occasion of
+Henry the Sixth's entry. We come across another detailed account when
+Queen Mary went in triumph through London the day before her coronation.
+At Fenchurch the Genoese had dressed up a lovely boy as a girl, who was
+carried before the Queen and greeted her. The Hanseatics had built up a
+hillock in the corner of Gracechurch, whence a fountain poured forth
+wine. On this hillock stood four children who likewise greeted the
+Queen. In front of the Steelyard they had placed two casks of wine, from
+which they poured drink to all who passed. This liberality cost them a
+thousand pounds, and heavy payments to cover such expenses are not
+infrequent in their account books.
+
+In England, contrary to the usual custom, the Hanseatic League never had
+its own church. Perhaps this need was less felt in a land that professed
+the same creed than in Russia. The Germans frequented the parish church
+of All Hallows, contenting themselves with endowing a chapel, altars,
+special masses, and alms. They also presented the church with costly
+stained glass windows, in the decoration of which the German imperial
+eagle figured conspicuously, and with cunningly-carved stalls reserved
+for the use of the Steelyard authorities. As late as the year 1747 these
+seats were still in the possession of the master of the Steelyard and
+the other representatives of the guild. In front of these stalls there
+always burned five of the biggest tapers the church could boast. Indeed
+the Hanseatics were famous for their outward observances of piety, both
+while they were Catholics and after they, as well as the English, became
+Protestants. Of course the Catholic religion made more show. Saint
+Barbara was a saint whom they specially affected, and on her day
+(December 4th) they caused a most elaborate mass to be sung and
+afterwards treated the priest, their English alderman, and the royal
+doorkeeper of the Star Chamber to fruit and wine in the Cosin's Lane
+Garden. At Corpus Christi they joined the great procession of all the
+guilds and notabilities; and on midsummer night, and the eve of St.
+Peter and St. Paul, they illumined their Great Hall after the ancient
+Saxon fashion with Yule fires and torches. After the Great Fire of
+London the League presented All Hallows with a carved oak screen that
+ran the length of the whole church. It was the work of a Hamburg carver,
+and excites admiration to this day. In the centre it shows the large
+imperial eagle, as also the arms of Queen Anne; the main work consists
+of twisted columns and arches.
+
+The Germans in England seem to have adopted the purer Protestant
+doctrines with great caution, if not tardily. At least we have it on
+record, that when in 1526 a commission, headed by Sir Thomas More in
+person, proceeded to make a domiciliary search of the Steelyard for
+writings of Luther, nothing was found but Old and New Testaments and
+German prayer books, while the whole body, both young and old, swore at
+St. Paul's Cross that there was not a heretic among them. Soon
+afterwards the Reformation was firmly established in England, as it
+already was in most of the cities belonging to the League, and from that
+time forward the Steelyard associates attended the English Protestant
+service in All Hallows Church.
+
+Such were the life, the habits, and the nature, of the German community
+that made its English centre in the Steelyard, and which, so long as it
+was in harmony with the times, conferred many advantages not only upon
+themselves, but upon the people among whom they dwelt. For in thrifty
+activity the English in those days could not be compared with the
+Hanseatics, while in point of wealth no one could compete with these
+Germans, excepting only the Italian money-changers of Lombard Street,
+then, as still, a favourite locality of banking houses. But the Italians
+were exclusively occupied with financial transactions, while the Germans
+devoted themselves exclusively to mercantile affairs.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[10] "Lydgate's Minor Poems," Percy Society, p. 4.
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+THE ORGANIZATION OF THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE.
+
+
+The notices that have come down to us about the organization of our
+League are scanty, although we possess a vast number of minutes
+concerning their diets. It is doubtful whether there was even a fixed
+mode of governing and government, whether the whole was not rather in a
+state of flux controlled by the circumstances of the moment. That
+certain traditional modes of administration obtained, however, seems
+indisputable. It raises a smile to read that when some problem seemed
+insoluble, or some venture proved a failure, our naïve Hanseatics
+registered in their books, "of this matter let those think who come
+after us," thus throwing the burden upon the following generation.
+
+There was no fixed place of meeting for the Hanseatic diets, but most
+frequently these were held at Lübeck, because it was situated almost in
+the centre of the various activities of the League. The assemblies were
+held in "the name of all the cities," and those who failed to send
+representatives were begged "not to take it amiss" if conclusions were
+arrived at without their sanction. "Every town shall consider the
+benefit of the others, so far as is in accordance with right and
+honour," runs one of their quaint formulæ. "Should strife arise between
+the cities, which God forbid, they shall settle their dispute according
+to the counsels of the neighbouring towns."
+
+There was also no fixed time for these diets; they were assembled
+according to urgency or press of business, but usually they were annual,
+and met about Whitsuntide, as that feast falls in the fine weather, when
+travelling was easier for the delegates of the northern towns. At the
+close of each diet, the deputies present decided on the time and place
+of the next meeting, and Lübeck and other leading cities were charged
+with the care of making known to the cities unrepresented the decisions
+arrived at by the assembly. But default to send a deputy to the diet was
+not lightly overlooked. Some excuse had to be given, and the validity of
+the excuse was sharply criticized. Sometimes a town might be busy
+resisting its temporal or ecclesiastical lords, an internal revolution
+might have occupied all its energies, the roads might be unsafe, or it
+might have been visited by some public calamity like the Black Death. If
+the diet thought that these pleas were merely subterfuges to save the
+expense of sending a delegate, or to avoid explaining some infraction of
+the rules of the League of which the city in question was guilty, a
+heavy money fine was imposed, and in case of absence three times
+repeated it might even find itself "unhansed," deprived of all the
+pecuniary privileges belonging to members of this powerful association.
+By such rigid measures did the League hold its members together. Nor was
+this all. A deputy who did not arrive in time for the opening of the
+proceedings was fined a gold mark for each day of delay, a fine that was
+not remitted unless the causes for his default were found on scrutiny to
+be in every way sufficient.
+
+On their arrival at the meeting place, the deputies were received in
+state by some member of the local municipal council, and were offered
+the wine of honour. The conferences began about seven or eight in the
+morning, and lasted till one or two in the afternoon. One of the
+burgomasters of Lübeck was usually made president. At the first meeting
+he would thank the members present for having come, and these would
+reply to him in courteous terms. Then when all their credentials had
+been examined, and the excuses of the absent sifted, the diet would
+proceed to the business in hand. This business was heavy and varied,
+covering the external and internal policy of the League, the needful
+moneys to be raised, the state of the various foreign factories. Even
+private quarrels between merchants were heard here in appeal. The diet
+decided on peace and war, sent despatches to foreign kings and princes;
+threatened, warned, exhorted, those who had failed to fulfil treaty
+obligations. Such was its power that it rarely failed to make its voice
+heard, and a threat indited by the city of Lübeck was not put quietly
+into the waste-paper basket by the northern courts. These missives were
+sealed with the seal of the city in which the diet was sitting at the
+time. Just as in their buildings, their guildhalls, and their towers,
+our forefathers knew how to express a quaint conceit, so also in a
+simple seal they understood how to express symbolically a summary of
+their activity. Thus the pious and wise Lübeck bore on its city seal a
+ship with high bulwarks, from whose single central mast waved a flag
+bearing the cross. An ancient pilot steers the vessel through the waves
+with his left hand while his right is raised in admonition. Opposite to
+him sits a youth busy with the ropes, who, with his uplifted right hand,
+seems to point to the help of heaven. This was to symbolize that
+prudence, energy, and pious confidence accompanied Lübeck in all its
+paths. The common Hanseatic seal was only used for foreign affairs. It
+represented the imperial double eagle with the inscription "_Signum
+civitatum maritimarum_."
+
+ [Illustration: SEAL OF LÜBECK]
+
+The decisions arrived at by the diet were all recorded in careful
+minutes, known as "recesses," of which an immense number have come down
+to us, escaping fire and other vicissitudes. They all testify to the
+thoroughly businesslike character that distinguished the League. Among
+other matters we often come across applications from cities to be
+admitted into the Hansa. Their candidature was generally addressed to
+Lübeck, and their claims and resources carefully scrutinized by the
+prudent League. As a rule the demand was conceded. The League was never
+sorry to see its strength grow, and its expenses diminish by being
+divided among a greater number of towns. Such admission, however, was
+made upon unequal conditions, according to the importance, the
+resources, and the situation of the city in question. This inequality
+had struck deep roots also in the very heart of the cities. The
+inhabitants were far removed from enjoying the same prerogatives, the
+Hansa was by no means a democratic association. The most important posts
+were reserved for a certain number of families know as patricians, who
+had distinguished themselves by services for the common weal, or who
+held power in the shape of wealth. An individual, however, could be
+"unhansed" as well as a city, if he had failed to observe some law of
+high commercial consequence, and it was even more difficult for an
+individual to be readmitted than a town.
+
+ [Illustration: PETERSEN-HAUS, NUREMBURG.]
+
+From the inequalities in the position of different members of the League
+there arose conflicts of interest which were to prove "the little rift
+within the lute," that by and by should "make the music mute." For
+instance, the interest of the maritime towns was not always that of the
+inland ones. Schisms and divisions were apt, above all, to take place
+when there was a question of beginning a war, as this could never be
+done without general approbation. Each town was inclined to throw the
+burden on its associates. For as each was solely preoccupied with its
+personal interests, and only entered into the League with a view to the
+profits it could thus obtain, there was always in the minds of the
+delegates a tacit reserve to make as few sacrifices as possible, and as
+time went on they were even ready to abandon their allies, and let the
+League perish if they did not find themselves directly benefited by any
+sacrifice demanded by the common weal.
+
+What held them together at all was, in a word, nothing more noble or
+ideal than personal advantage, the fear through exclusion of losing by
+exclusion, the great advantages that accrued from being a member of the
+League. No wonder that with an ambition so little exalted the Hansa was
+destined not to survive until our own day. For communities like
+individuals must strive after some lofty ideal if their existence is to
+be happy, and to have a sound enduring basis. The wonder is rather that
+seeing what motives animated its members, the defective character of the
+means at its disposal, such as the lack of a standing army, and the
+constant mutations in its form of government, it should have attained to
+such mighty results as we have roughly sketched in this, the second and
+culminating period of its existence.
+
+
+
+
+PERIOD III.
+
+_THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE HANSA._
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+From the law of change to which all human affairs are subject the mighty
+Hanseatic League was not exempt. Great though its power seemed to all
+outward appearance, and rich as were its members, still, for some time
+past, signs of decay and decline had made themselves manifest, here and
+there ominous rents and fissures, that threatened, if not an entire, yet
+a partial fall of the building.
+
+The latter years of the fifteenth and the early years of the sixteenth
+centuries were a time of the greatest moment in the history of modern
+Europe. They mark the transition from the mediæval to the modern spirit,
+embracing two such potent factors in human development as the
+Reformation and the discovery of America. It is almost sad to think that
+the decrepitude of a powerful institution should have coincided with the
+transformation and rejuvenescence of Europe. Yet so it was. So it will
+ever be; we must march onward with our time, or be trodden down.
+
+Many of the ideas of the Hansa had grown effete or were becoming
+gradually obsolete. Individuality in men, independence in nations were
+factors beginning to manifest themselves and to rebel against those
+notions of blind obedience and of selfish monopoly inculcated by the
+Hansa. The time was nearing when the old system of staple, of factories
+was to give place to the busy varied life of the Exchange.
+
+The discovery that the earth was round, not flat, that Ulysses had no
+idle dream when he dreamed that there was another continent beyond the
+pillars of Hercules, was a matter of unspeakable moment to trade. When
+we recollect that almost to the same date belong the discovery of a
+maritime route to the East Indies, and the invention of printing, we
+cannot but recognize that a power, not willing to move with the times,
+but painfully, obstinately clinging to its own ideas and images, had to
+be left behind. The very causes for which the Hansa had been founded,
+insecurity of roads, want of international justice, and other barbarous
+and intolerant conditions, no longer existed. The League itself had
+developed from a liberator into an oppressor. It no longer fitted with
+the changing conditions; it too must change or perish. In vain did it
+point to ancient charters, evoke "inviolable treaties" acquired at the
+point of the sword or by might of wealth. It had to learn that of these
+treaties, as indeed of treaties in general, must be said that which is
+sadly, but too truly said of human promises, that they are "like
+pie-crust, made to be broken."
+
+The spirit of revolution, or rather of change, was abroad. It made
+itself felt in manners, in institutions, in governments. The capture of
+Constantinople by the Turks contributed to the new development. By
+warning Europe of a new and menacing danger, it drew yet more closely
+together the different states which the Crusades had already put into
+relations with one another, and for which the feudal system formed a
+sort of common link. This same event turned the stream of sciences,
+letters, and arts towards Italy. On the other hand, the princes were
+finding out the means of diminishing the power of the feudal lords and
+nobles. The subjugation of the power of these vassals undermined little
+by little the feudal system, and allowed this worn-out institution to be
+replaced by institutions more in conformity with the needs of modern
+society.
+
+Various states, that had been unable to develope their forces, owing to
+the abuse of the feudal system, moved swiftly forward, now that they
+were free from restraint, and, having succeeded in centralizing their
+power desired to give it a firm and equal step in the march onwards.
+Meanwhile the forces that existed in the hands of the rulers were active
+enough to assure the tranquillity of the people, but it was always
+possible to turn them from their destination; war might arise any moment
+out of the very institutions that ought to secure the maintenance of
+peace. The people, recognizing this and fearing lest ambitious rulers
+should form projects of aggrandizement and conquest, had recourse to
+that policy which the Italian republics had already initiated and in
+which Florence took the lead.
+
+The democracy understood full well that it was for their good, and even
+essential to their very existence as a power in the state, that they
+should act upon the forces that determined the government, just as
+these re-acted upon them: that, in a word, they should mutually hold
+each other within the limits of the law and that general security could
+only arise from the equilibrium of the means of attack and defence. This
+new policy which demanded frequent communications between the parties
+interested, gave rise to the system of embassies, itself quite a new
+feature in international and political life, though it was really an
+extension of ideas and systems long ago pursued by the Hansa. In a word,
+the whole method of the world was changing, and it remained to be seen
+whether the Hansa could still keep ahead as it had hitherto done.
+
+While other nations were looking about them all round the globe, the
+Hansa was, as ever, occupied in securing to itself the monopoly of the
+Baltic basin, in order that no other peoples should deprive them of the
+wealth of Scandinavia. And yet this "monopoly of the herring and the
+cod-fish," as it has been named, was steadily becoming less and less
+valuable. More than half of Europe was Protestant and no longer fasted;
+wax was no more required in quantities for Church ceremonials and the
+evidences of personal piety; the imitation of Italian and Spanish
+fashions in dress caused less demand for the furs of the North. The
+English were among the chief commercial rivals of the Hansa at this
+date, and after them the Dutch, those very Dutch whose cities had at one
+time formed part of the League, but who had seceded after the wars with
+Waldemar, finding it more profitable to keep friends with the Danes.
+
+It is strange that this combination of merchants, generally so astute,
+should not have recognized whither the stream of things was tending.
+
+Nor in its perplexities could it find any help from the emperor. The
+German Empire was suffering from the same ills as the League, and with
+equal steps was advancing towards its dissolution. Until now the Hansa
+had gone on its triumphal way in spite of all inner and outer political
+complications, indeed had rather profited than lost by these. This was
+now altered. It was now no longer a body animated by one will, one
+spirit. The disintegrating element of religious discord had entered
+among its members, they were mixed up with the bloody doctrinal wars,
+that followed the Reformation and ravaged Germany, and they were divided
+among themselves on this very point. At last, after the treaty of
+Augsburg (1555), which restored to Germany a more or less agitated peace
+of some fifty years, there followed the terrible, devastating Thirty
+Years' War, which gave the death blow to the League.
+
+The Thirty Years' War left behind it only a heap of ruins. It had
+consequences so disastrous that from some of them Germany has not
+recovered even to this day. It caused her to lag in the onward march of
+progress, and for all her military strength at this present moment, she
+has not yet overtaken her neighbours and contemporaries in many
+important points of civilization, that are more unfailing sources of a
+nation's power than mere brute strength in arms or tactical skill in
+battle.
+
+One of the first serious causes of decline in the Hanseatic power was
+due to the fact that as time went on and conditions of trade altered,
+the interests of the maritime and continental cities were no longer
+identical. The sea-board towns used to furnish to the inland the means
+of selling the produce of industries with profit in the countries east,
+north, and west of the Baltic. The Hanseatic ships and factories
+facilitated this distribution of goods. But when other nations, and,
+above all, the merchants of the Netherlands, and after them the English,
+Danes, and Swedes carried on a part of this commerce with their own
+ships, the inland cities no longer had the same interest in remaining
+united with the maritime. They even thought that their union with the
+League was more onerous than useful, and began to grow restive and would
+no longer pay their dues to the general fund, which consequently became
+much weakened and impoverished. Thus there were not only enemies from
+without, but enemies from within to contend against. "A house divided
+against itself cannot stand" is a saying of which our Hansa was very
+soon to learn the full truth.
+
+But before the final collapse came the League was to know one more
+moment of proud prosperity, a moment which, had it been wisely and
+unselfishly used would have secured to the Hansa a prolonged
+dictatorship in Northern Europe.
+
+After this rapid survey we will consider these events in detail and
+order.
+
+
+
+
+I.
+
+STORM CLOUDS.
+
+
+The centre of the Hansa's power had ever been the Baltic Ocean. On its
+shores the idea of the League had first taken shape: here it had grown
+and flourished, and here also it was to receive its death blow. As we
+have said, in the course of the fifteenth century the Dutch gradually
+came forward as serious competitors of the League. Their geographical
+position made them freer than the Hanseatics; enclosed in a sort of
+inland basin to which at any moment they might lose the key, their
+astuteness was not less keen than that of their rivals, and like their
+rivals they wisely made use of any quarrels or dissensions that might be
+abroad. They were not slow, therefore, to discern that the Scandinavian
+people and also the Scandinavian kings groaned under the heavy despotism
+exercised by these German merchants. They proposed themselves as
+substitutes for the Hansa, offering money and support to the kings and
+easier and better conditions of trade to the natives. These proposals
+were unofficially accepted. Neither rulers nor ruled as yet dared oppose
+themselves openly to the League, but they were not sorry to see its
+power reduced.
+
+ [Illustration: CHARLES V.]
+
+For awhile the Hansa were able to keep their rivals in check, worrying
+them by piracy on the one hand, and insisting on their ancient claims
+and trade rights on the other.
+
+But Charles V. had ascended the throne; the greatest emperor that had
+ever governed in Germany since his namesake Charles the Great. He was
+ruler not only of Germany, but of Spain and the Netherlands, and to the
+latter people he was especially well disposed. He looked with no
+friendly eye upon the League, which made itself a power within his
+territory, and he was not sorry to see it weakened by competition. When
+the Sound, their Danish Hellespont, the gold mine of the League,
+continued to be jealously guarded by them, and its navigation denied to
+other nations, Charles V. declared quite openly that "he would rather
+miss three royal crowns, than that his Burgunders should be excluded
+from the Sound." This was a sort of challenge to the Hansa. Let us hear
+how other circumstances came about to enforce it from other quarters.
+
+It may be remembered that since the days of Waldemar Atterdag, the
+League had always had a voice in the election of a ruler to one of the
+three northern kingdoms, and that it regarded with no friendly eye the
+attempts made at a union of those kingdoms under one common head.
+
+In 1513 Christian II. had ascended the Danish throne. He was an
+unscrupulous and cruel ruler, known to posterity as the Nero of the
+North. Before ascending the throne of Denmark he had been governor of
+Norway, and in that capacity had conceived a bitter hatred against the
+overbearing foreigners, "those German cobblers," as he called them, who
+once even ventured to close against him the gates of his own town of
+Bergen. He had already favoured by all ways in his power the trade of
+non-Hanseatics, and tried to obtain some gentler treatment for the
+oppressed burghers of Bergen. Still so great was yet the fear of the
+Hansa, that when in 1513 Christian was crowned King of Denmark, he made
+no difficulties about renewing all Hanseatic treaties and privileges,
+and only stipulated that the harbours of Norway should also be
+accessible to the Netherlanders. In return he desired their assistance
+against Sweden, with which country he was at war.
+
+For a time the League, and above all Lübeck, were rejoiced at this new
+king and his attitude towards them, but not many years had passed before
+they found out that they had to do with a more logical and altogether
+sterner man than any of his predecessors had been. Christian hated the
+Hansa, and rebelled against the subjection of the Sound, a Danish sea,
+to foreign control, and the absolute sway of the Hansa in his markets.
+Among many unwise words and deeds that live bound up with his memory, it
+was not the most unwise which he repeated after Sigbrit Willem, the
+mother of his beloved and lovely friend, Digveke (Little Dove), "that
+good friendship must be maintained with the Netherlands, and that
+Copenhagen must be made the staple place of the North."
+
+ [Illustration: CHRISTIAN II. OF DENMARK.]
+
+Unfortunately for Christian, though he could repeat Sigbrit's sayings,
+and perhaps also in a measure recognize their wisdom, he had not the
+natural capacity to carry them into execution. This clever woman
+recognized that the aim of the king should be to reinstate the
+Scandinavian Union, to break the power of the aristocracy and the
+clergy, and to free his impoverished people from the fetters in which
+the Hansa had bound them for nine centuries. This was all right and
+well, but it needed to be carried into effect with tact and moderation.
+Christian did not possess these gifts; he made himself personally
+detested by his cruelty and his overbearing manner, he knew not that
+generosity which so gracefully becomes a victor. After conquering
+Sweden, he soiled his victory by causing the most illustrious personages
+of the kingdom to be executed, and still worse he stained his personal
+honour by violating the conditions of an armistice in causing Gustavus
+Ericson, of the house of Vasa, to be carried off captive to Denmark. It
+did not improve matters when Christian explained that he required him as
+a hostage. He caused Gustavus to be shut up in the strong fortress of
+Kalo in Jutland. Here the captive was put on his parole, and it is said
+suffered none of the rigours of custody. But the food put before him,
+salt junk, sour ale, black bread, and rancid herrings, cannot have
+comforted his enforced captivity in the material sense, while he
+confessed to having been maddened by the talk of the soldiers who
+guarded him, and who boasted that they would soon hold all Sweden, and
+jestingly parcelled out among themselves the wealth and beauty of the
+nation.
+
+This young man so unjustly imprisoned was destined to become the avenger
+of his fatherland, and those of his fellow-countrymen who had perished
+upon the scaffold. He resolved to escape, hoping to reach Sweden in time
+to defend his country, or to take advantage of any favourable juncture
+that might arise.
+
+It was in September, 1519, that, early one raw autumn morning, Gustavus
+managed to escape from the Castle of Kalo, disguised as a drover of
+oxen. He made his way to the city of Lübeck, and threw himself upon the
+protection of the burgomaster and council. Needless to say the town gave
+a generous welcome to the man who was foe of their foe--the King of
+Denmark. But it was not long ere his whereabouts became known, and
+Christian sent messengers to Lübeck, demanding in high-handed language
+that Gustavus should be handed over to him. He complained that Vasa had
+effected his escape contrary to his pledged word as a knight. Gustavus
+spoke in his own defence.
+
+"I was captured," he said, "contrary to all justice and all plighted
+faith. It is notorious that I went to the king's fleet as a hostage. Let
+any one who can, point out the place where I was made prisoner in
+battle, or declare the crime for which I deserved chains. Call me not
+then a prisoner, but a man seized upon unjustly, over-reached, betrayed.
+I am now in a free city, and before a government renowned for justice
+and for defending the persecuted. Shall I then be altogether deceived in
+the confidence I have placed in them? or can breach of faith be
+reasonably objected to me by one who never himself kept faith or
+promise? or can it be wondered at that I should free myself from prison
+which I deserved by no fault, except that of trusting to the assurances
+of a king."
+
+The shrewd burgesses who listened to Gustavus's defence were not misled
+by his rhetoric, but motives of policy told in his favour. They knew
+that if Christian were once undisturbed king of the three northern
+kingdoms, he would possess a power which, as he had already shown, he
+would not use to the advantage of the League. Here was a young nobleman
+of fearless character and high talent, a man who hated the king with
+hereditary hatred and personal animosity. Might he not become a thorn in
+his side and a clog upon his movements?
+
+This was the view of the matter taken by the burgomaster of Lübeck and
+put forcibly before his colleagues. It was therefore agreed emphatically
+to refuse the king's demands, and, instead of giving up Gustavus, to
+furnish him rather with the means to return to his own country. "For who
+knows," said the worthy council, "what he may do when he gets there."
+
+To this refusal to deliver up the hostage the King of Denmark replied,
+through his ambassadors, that he should make a house-to-house search for
+his prisoner. That was truly more than the proud city could stomach.
+They answered in the most haughty terms that they should never permit
+such an interference with their home rights and privileges, and in the
+presence of the Danish ambassadors reassured the fugitive of their
+protection and friendship.
+
+When the news of this reply reached Christian, he regarded it as an act
+of great audacity. From this moment he became a yet more embittered
+enemy of the Hansa, whose chief city and spokesman he very properly
+recognized was Lübeck. He harassed them continually in fresh ways; he
+carried on a yet more envenomed war against the Swedes, of whom he knew
+the League to be the secret ally and the chief support.
+
+At first success favoured his arms; he broke faith in all
+directions--plundered, ravaged, sacked. But at last he made the cup of
+wrath against him overflow by his cruel execution of ninety noble
+Swedes, in the autumn of 1520; vaunting the deed in insolent heartless
+words. He had shown them, he said, "how he roasted his Michaelmas
+goose." Further, in his wanton presumption he did not hesitate to give
+active expression to his hatred against Lübeck. When congratulated by
+his councillors that he could now rejoice in the possession of the three
+northern crowns, he replied: "So long as Lübeck is not in my power, I
+cannot be happy in my kingdoms."
+
+Shortly after this, Christian set out for the Netherlands to visit his
+imperial brother-in-law at Ghent. The objects of his journey were
+various. He wanted to obtain the payment of his consort's marriage
+portion; to solicit the emperor's aid against his uncle, Frederick of
+Schleswig Holstein; and yet more to obtain his tacit, if not active
+assistance, against the Hansa towns on the Baltic, and especially
+against Lübeck.
+
+It was on the occasion of this visit that Charles V., accompanied by
+Christian and Margaret of Austria, laid the foundation-stone of Antwerp
+Cathedral. After this ceremony they returned to Brussels, where
+Christian entertained his friends at a banquet. Among the guests was the
+great German painter, Albert Dürer, then visiting the Low Countries. He
+was then and there commissioned to paint the Danish king's portrait--a
+portrait that all contemporaries greatly admired as a faithful
+reproduction of Christian's manly beauty. The artist received thirty
+florins--a sum that seemed to him munificent, and called forth
+expressions of real gratitude.
+
+Soon after, Christian presented a petition to the young and
+inexperienced Charles, in which he begged, as a gift from him, "a little
+town on the German side of his dominions, called Lübeck, so that when
+sometimes he passed over to Germany he might possess a place of his own
+in which to rest." Charles, enlightened by the burgomaster of Cologne to
+the effect that Lübeck was no "little town," but one of the four
+imperial cities, and a chief centre of the Hanseatic League, refused his
+brother-in-law's petition in decisive terms. Nor did Christian fare
+better with his other demands; Charles had been warned against him, and
+had been taught to see in him a possible heretic. It is even related
+that in his anger Christian tore from his neck the Order of the Golden
+Fleece, given to him by the emperor, and trod it under foot in disdain.
+
+Christian returned home to find fresh difficulties awaiting him, for in
+his absence Gustavus Vasa had not been idle. This restless patriot had
+lingered but eight months in the hospitable German city. Young, full of
+enthusiasm and fire, he longed to be actively at work to aid his
+oppressed compatriots; and one morning, in the spring of 1520, after
+confessing his obligations and his gratitude to the Lübeckers, he stole
+over to the Swedish coast in a little fishing-smack, and landed in
+territory that was groaning under Christian's oppressions.
+
+At first, Gustavus, who at once assumed the _rôle_ of leader of revolt,
+could not make himself heard among the peasants. They replied to his
+instigations in their apathy of oppression with, "Salt and herrings will
+not fail us as long as we obey the king, but if we rise we are sure of
+ruin." But Gustavus was undaunted, though he knew a price was put upon
+his head. For months he scoured the country, travelling by by-paths,
+sleeping one night in the woods, another in the open fields; assuming
+now this, now that disguise. Gradually he gathered a following around
+him, which grew in importance day by day. His influence increased above
+all after the tidings of the "Bloodbath," for so the terrible massacre
+came to be called, perpetrated by Christian upon the nobles of
+Stockholm, on the occasion when he offered them a banquet, apparently of
+peace, but which proved to them a feast of death.
+
+Chief among Gustavus's allies were the people of Dalecarlia, among whom
+he went on his mission of revolt dressed in their native dress. This
+land of valleys is inhabited by a people who have many points of
+resemblance with the Scotch Highlanders; thinking themselves, as these
+do, of a superior caste and adhering even to this day to an exaggerated
+and antiquated mode of dress. Like the Highlanders, too, they are
+frugal; they are accustomed to drink only water, and often in case of
+necessity eat bread made of the inner rind of the birch tree, which
+grows so freely in their woods. It is said that one of the Danish
+commanders, learning this, exclaimed "A people who can live upon wood
+and drink water the devil himself could not conquer, much less any
+other. Let us go hence."
+
+When the Danes heard of the army of peasants that was rising against
+them, they at first treated the news with great contempt. "If the skies
+rained peasants," they said, "we would fight them all." But they were
+soon to see that these peasants were not to be lightly despised. It was
+before Upsala that Gustavus's army, aided by troops sent to him from
+Lübeck made its first attack on the Danes. There was a heavy snowfall
+during the battle, in consequence of which the Danish cavalry and
+artillery proved of no avail, while the peasants with their irregular
+mode of warfare were less impeded by the elements. The victory was
+theirs, and the Danes had to confess that their boast was foolish, "For
+when God withdraws his hand from a warrior a poor peasant is as good as
+he."
+
+From this moment success followed success and the prospects of the cause
+of Gustavus grew steadily brighter. His instructions to his followers
+were that "they must teach the tyrant that Swedes must be ruled by love,
+not ground down by cruelty."
+
+In August, 1521, Gustavus was elected administrator of Sweden, and was
+virtually ruler of the land, though the whole was not yet in his
+possession. The time of shifts, disguises, and humiliations was now
+over. The scenes of these, however, the barns where Gustavus threshed,
+the different spots where he was in the greatest peril--are still
+pointed out with veneration by the descendants of those peasants who
+succoured him in his adversity, and boasted that they were the first to
+help him to a crown.
+
+In this juncture Christian saw himself obliged to send out yet more
+ships and men against Gustavus. To meet the re-enforced enemy, Vasa
+turned to Lübeck in 1522 and begged of "his fathers, brothers, friends,
+and dear neighbours of that town," under promise of eternal gratitude,
+to help him against "the tyrant," saying he would in his turn and time
+"accord to them milder privileges and everything that could be to their
+profit." The burghers decided to accede to this request; ten strong
+ships were armed to aid Gustavus Vasa and sent out to meet the Danish
+fleet.
+
+Meanwhile they did not neglect to use the weapons of diplomacy; weapons
+so often successfully employed by them during their career. They
+remembered that Duke Frederick of Schleswig Holstein was uncle to
+Christian II., and that the two had ever been at feud. It occurred to
+them that it would be well to gain the duke as their ally, promising him
+the Danish throne in event of their victory; of course in return for
+important privileges; the Hansa would have been untrue to themselves and
+their traditional policy had they for one moment left out of sight their
+own advantages.
+
+This proposal met with assent, and the consequence was that a powerful
+enemy was thus raised up in the centre of the king's dominions.
+Christian, following the counsel of Sigbrit, planned another wholesale
+massacre of the nobles whom he believed favourable to Frederick's cause.
+The matter got known, and in consequence a council was held by them in
+which they drew up a deed, renouncing their allegiance to Christian and
+choosing Frederick in his place to fill the Danish throne.
+
+A question arose as to who should convey the perilous document to the
+king. A certain monk of Jutland offered to bear the ill tidings. He met
+the king as he was proceeding to one of his castles. Assuming an open
+and cheerful countenance he managed to get himself asked to dinner by
+the king, and continued to amuse him and divert all suspicions till the
+king retired to rest. Then, placing the despatch in one of his gloves,
+he left it on the table, went quietly out and escaped by a boat which he
+had ordered to be in readiness. A page who found the despatch next
+morning carried it to the king.
+
+Christian, who till then had blustered and disbelieved in real danger,
+grew alarmed when he read this unexpected paper. He wrote to those who
+subscribed it saying "that he submitted himself to the emperor and other
+disinterested princes as his judges. As to the massacre at Stockholm, he
+would atone for it; he would fill the country with churches and
+monasteries, and undergo any penance which the Pope might impose. The
+Council and States should have from him fresh securities, if only they
+would retract their step and turn from him this dishonour they had
+meditated." The nobles replied that they acknowledged no tribunal
+superior to their own; that the king had perjured himself so often that
+they could not trust him; that he had confessed himself guilty, that the
+deeds by which he had freed them from their allegiance were known to all
+the world, and that they had chosen the Duke of Holstein as his
+successor.
+
+And indeed Frederick, Duke of Holstein, was proclaimed king of Denmark
+in January, 1523. The Hansa fleet by sea, the support of the clergy and
+nobles by land--that clergy and those nobles whom Christian had
+oppressed--conduced to this result.
+
+A manifesto put forth by Lübeck made known to the Emperor of Germany and
+the Empire how "the city after long patience and repeated prayers, in
+consideration of her oaths and duties towards the Holy Roman Empire and
+remembering the inevitable damage done to body, honour, and goods, had
+taken up arms to prosecute the wanton insurer and aggressor of the Holy
+Roman Empire."
+
+This manifesto was one of the little farces the Hanseatic League loved
+to play with their supposed liege lord and sovereign, the Emperor of
+Germany, each time they took independent action and showed by deeds how
+little they heeded his authority or wishes.
+
+In vain Christian, after his deposition, tried to rally his subjects
+around him. Fearing probably that revenge would be taken upon his person
+for his cruel massacres in Sweden, he decided that discretion was the
+better part of valour. Choosing twenty of his best and fastest ships,
+he placed on board of them all the State papers, all the gold and silver
+that had been hoarded in the public buildings, and the State jewels. On
+April 13, 1523, he, his wife and three children together with Sigbrit,
+"the last packed away in a chest with the treasures," quaintly writes a
+contemporary chronicler, went on board the largest of the vessels,
+whereupon they all set sail for the Netherlands. It was nothing more or
+less than flight, and an acknowledgment that Gustavus Vasa and his ally
+the Hansa, through its representative Lübeck had conquered; that the
+League, though declining in might, was still able, as in the most
+glorious times of its history, to play with kings like dice, deposing
+and installing them.
+
+Two years later the same city of Lübeck was called upon to arbitrate in
+a conflict between the two kings, which it thus had made, Frederick of
+Denmark and Gustavus of Sweden. As the price of its intervention and of
+the sacrifices it had made on their behalf, the city, in the name of the
+League, of course, asked great favours, favours which were accorded by
+treaty, and which were to be the last smiles of Fortune, about to become
+fickle to the union she had favoured so long.
+
+Meanwhile, in June, 1523, Gustavus Vasa had been, by unanimous consent,
+elected King of Sweden. It is amusing to read that Stockholm, the last
+city to surrender to its new ruler, the last faithful to Christian,
+refused, even after it had capitulated, to deliver up the keys of the
+gates to Gustavus. The governor handed them over to two Lübeck
+councillors, present on the occasion, with the words, "We present to
+the imperial city of Lübeck the kingdom and the city, and not to that
+rogue, Gustavus Erikson, who stands there."
+
+It must not be supposed, however, that Christian so quietly and easily
+abandoned his Danish crown to his uncle and rival. He made many attempts
+to enlist the various courts in his favour. Especially did he try to
+gain the help of his brother-in-law, the emperor, but the League was too
+clever and too strong for him. He did get together an army of
+mercenaries, but his means of paying them soon ran out, though to attain
+that end he pawned or sold all his treasures and the queen's jewels. At
+last, he had to fly in terror from his own soldiers who were enraged at
+his inability either to pay them their wages, or at least lead them to
+some town they could plunder.
+
+Nevertheless, Christian was not daunted. He was a man not easily
+dismayed. He intrigued on every hand to regain his kingdom, and at last,
+fancying that the Lutheran doctrines he had embraced prejudiced the
+emperor against him, he formally renounced Protestantism and returned
+into the bosom of the Romish Church.
+
+Christian had not erred in his calculations. This step induced Charles
+to be more favourable to him, and for a while he lent him his
+countenance, soon, however, to withdraw it. Still the brief favour
+sufficed to enable him to get together a strong army to attack Denmark.
+Frederick, alarmed, turned to Lübeck for aid, and did not turn in vain.
+Indeed, his ambassadors admitted that "Lübeckers had shown themselves
+in this time of need, not like mere neighbours, but like fathers to
+Denmark."
+
+After many vicissitudes of fortune, Christian at last abandoned the idea
+of regaining his old rights by force of arms. He craved an interview
+with his uncle and a free passage to Copenhagen. This safe passage was
+accorded to him and its terms were couched in the most sacred and solemn
+words. The Hanseatic representatives enforced the promise on their own
+account. Not suspecting treachery, unwarned, Christian stepped on board
+the vessel that was to convey him to the Danish capital, and arrived in
+Copenhagen with the fond hope that Frederick would receive him like the
+prodigal son. Instead of allowing him to land at once, however, he was
+detained in the harbour for five days, under the pretext that Frederick
+was absent, and at last when permitted to set foot on dry land, he was
+invited to meet the king at Flensburg, and was told that the fleet had
+orders to carry him thither.
+
+Then, and only then, the unfortunate man suspected that he had been
+betrayed. And so it was. Frederick and his councillors pronounced the
+safe conduct null and void; Christian was taken prisoner, and amid
+fierce ejaculations of rage and despair, was locked up in the "Blue
+Tower" of the Castle of Sonderburg. Here for fifteen years in company
+with his favourite dwarf, Christian had to suffer painful confinement
+that only ended with his death. His confinement was unjust, no doubt,
+but it was richly merited.
+
+Unmourned by his relations, or the aristocracy he had oppressed,
+Christian's memory lived among the peasants and lower classes, of whom
+he had been the supposed friend, a friendship that no doubt had no
+higher aim than his own ends, but which never had occasion to show its
+true character. His name, consequently, became a watchword among the
+people, and inspired those who soon after were to be the leaders in
+great convulsions in the Scandinavian provinces. But this is outside the
+course of my history.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+KING FREDERICK AND KING GUSTAVUS VASA.
+
+
+In speaking of Christian's continued aggressions and his death, we have
+somewhat anticipated the course of our story. We left our League in the
+proud consciousness of having made two kings and expelled a third. It
+was but natural that they should now look for some reward in the
+gratitude of Frederick and Gustavus. They thought that the moment had
+come to regain their ascendency in the Scandinavian north. But they were
+to learn the old, old lesson once again: "Put not thy trust in princes."
+
+Frederick was the first to show his colours. It was true that he had
+sworn to the Hansa not only restitution, but extension of all their
+ancient rights and privileges, but when they demanded as a first pledge
+of friendly feeling, that the Baltic should be absolutely closed to the
+Netherlanders, and that indeed no one might trade in that sea but
+themselves, Frederick met them with an inexorable refusal. We should be
+wrong if we regarded this refusal as a mere display of ingratitude on
+the king's part. He saw that the claim was detrimental to the interests
+of his own subjects, whom, after all, he was bound to consider first.
+
+But he went much further. He dissolved the German Society that traded
+at Copenhagen and insisted that all Hanseatics should be subjected to
+the same laws as his own subjects. Further, he took under his protection
+the inhabitants of Bornholm, which island was under the rule of Lübeck,
+having been given up to that city by reason of forfeiture. For the
+natives groaned under the Hansa's rule, and declared "they would rather
+be under the Turks, than under the German, Christian, imperial city."
+
+In vain did Lübeck protest to Frederick; in vain did she remind him of
+his promises, point to his treaties, and recall his written and spoken
+words. She had to ask herself bitterly what she had gained in return for
+the great sacrifices she had made to change the ruler of Denmark. The
+uncle had become the nephew, that was all, and worse than the nephew,
+because less impetuous and passionate, and, therefore, more determined
+and dangerous. Added to this, they fell out about religious matters.
+Frederick encouraged the new faith, while the Queen of Hansa, stubbornly
+conservative in all matters, remained until the spring of 1531 an
+adherent of the old religion.
+
+In 1553 Frederick died. An interregnum of more than a year followed,
+during which the hopes of Lübeck to re-establish her authority in the
+north revived; and were fed and fanned by the Burgomaster Jürgen
+Wullenweber. It was to prove the last flickering of the Hansa's glory.
+
+But before we speak of the agitated period of Wullenweber's ambitious
+plans, let us see how, on his part, Gustavus Vasa showed his gratitude
+to the town to which he owed so much.
+
+Gustavus Vasa had even less consideration than Frederick. During his
+residence in Lübeck he had learned to appreciate the material results
+that sprang from trade, and was secretly resolved that his own subjects
+and not these strangers should benefit by the country's resources. At
+first he, like Frederick, accorded the Hansa munificent charters.
+Indeed, he could not do less than assent to all their demands; he was
+deeply their debtor for money advanced during his wars, for material as
+well as moral assistance. He had no gold or silver to offer them, but he
+could accord them the exclusive use of those gold mines, the Baltic and
+the Sound. The Hansa should have the trading monopoly "for ever and
+ever," so ran the words of the charter.
+
+But as soon as Gustavus felt the crown firmly planted on his head, and
+had in part paid off his debt, he applied himself to securing the
+commercial independence of his country and to making the League
+understand the meaning of the words "for ever," when they occur in a
+promise. He resolutely set his face against the Hanseatic claims for
+monopoly. "Gustavus was an angel at first," piteously writes the Lübeck
+official chronicler; "Alas, that he should so soon have become a devil."
+
+In open assembly, 1526, the king did not hesitate to speak the following
+words of unmistakable clearness: "We must," he said, "withdraw from the
+strangers their unrestricted liberty; we must open the Swedish harbours
+to all ships." Next year even more definite words were spoken in the
+assembly. It was decided "to curtail the Hanseatic privileges without
+further delay, as seriously prejudicial to the kingdom."
+
+There was one way by which Lübeck could retain in leading strings the
+"vassals," as she proudly called them, who had grown over her head. This
+was by means of their still unpaid debts. But Gustavus worked
+unremittingly towards attaining this end. His country, which was poor,
+had been yet further impoverished by wars, but still he succeeded, by
+means of heavy taxation, in raising supplies. He taxed everything that
+he could think of. It is said even hazel-nuts were subjected to this
+burden. Nay he even persuaded various towns and communes to melt down
+their church bells in order to expunge the national debt. By these
+trenchant means he succeeded in reducing it to a small amount by the
+year 1532, and then threatened the Hansa with yet more repressive
+measures, if they ventured to persist in claiming their ancient
+privileges.
+
+No wonder that the ill-humour of the Lübeckers grew from day to day, and
+that they used to say to each other, "This is our thanks for having made
+an ox driver a king."
+
+But Gustavus never swerved from his fixed resolve to make an end of
+Hanseatic privileges and monopolies as far as concerned his kingdom. By
+the time of his death in 1560 the power of the League was broken in
+Sweden beyond all hope or possibility of revival.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+WULLENWEBER.
+
+
+Among the various disintegrating influences at work upon the League we
+have already named the Reformation. The new doctrines were destined at
+first to bring little blessing to the land in which they took their
+birth, and more especially to the Hansa was the purer creed to prove a
+source of dissension, resulting in eventual dissolution. Among other
+causes this was due to the fact that the cities did not all or at the
+same time embrace Protestantism. Thus a schism arose in their very
+midst: the Protestant cities eyeing the Catholic with distrust, and
+_vice versâ_. Moreover, these changes of view and system led to great
+disunion in the various towns themselves, often temporarily weakening
+the authority of the municipality and causing the city to be too much
+pre-occupied to attend to the common affairs and the welfare of the
+entire League. The movement also took different forms in different
+centres. In some it came about quite easily, and found the ground all
+ready prepared; in others, it entered with strife and bloodshed, or with
+fanatical excesses and absurdities, as for example in Bremen, and
+Münster, where the over-excited sect of the Anabaptists held sway.
+
+It was especially in the North, that the trade in indulgences,
+consequent on a Papal need for ready money, found the most rigid
+opponents. The clear-headed burghers resented this demand as an insolent
+defiance of their common sense, and many who had already been half
+unconsciously influenced by the stream of tendency towards a reformed
+faith, manifested in the persons of Wickliffe and Huss, felt that this
+outrageous and unblushing traffic was too much for their credulity. The
+travelling merchants bought Luther's pamphlets, and carried them to
+their various homes. The wandering apprentices learnt the stirring
+psalms of the "Wittenberg nightingale." A new spiritual day was dawning,
+above all for the lower classes, who, ignorant of Latin, the language of
+the Catholic creed, were unable to follow or comprehend the services of
+the church they attended.
+
+It was in consequence of this awakening, and the wider and nobler mode
+of thinking, and the educating force which it implied, that hand-in-hand
+with the religious movement there became manifest also a political
+stirring. The character of this was democratic, and it is not hard to
+understand why it was so. The people who had groaned under the
+oppression of the clergy and of the aristocracy, who almost invariably
+were their allies, began to assert their rights. They could now read the
+Scriptures in the vulgar tongue, and thence could learn that the blind
+submission demanded by the priests was by no means an integral part of
+Christianity. They remembered how the cities had been founded on
+democratic principles; they drew to light old privileges and charters;
+and by their memory and their ardour they made things far from
+comfortable for the burgomasters and patricians who held the government
+of the towns. Especially was their power felt by the arrogant and
+dissolute clergy, whose property they confiscated and devoted to public
+purposes, and whose churches and monasteries they converted into
+almshouses and schools.
+
+It is necessary to realize the absolute moral corruption of the priests,
+monks, and nuns, in order to comprehend the anger of the populace, and
+to excuse the excesses into which they were led by their righteous zeal.
+Nor must it be forgotten that the people had groaned under the Vehmic
+Tribunal, which persecuted heretics, and that they had beheld Christians
+burn their fellow-Christians for the glory of God.
+
+Already, early in the century, Dr. Johann Bugenhagen had been elected
+Bishop of the Lutheran Hanseatic cities, and their need for such an
+office gives us an indication of their numbers and importance.
+Bugenhagen was a man specially suited to work out the reform of
+doctrines and to set in order church affairs, and this work he performed
+for the whole of Northern Germany and Denmark. The new movement gathered
+strength. It advanced like a mighty ocean with resistless power. Only
+Lübeck, of all the northern cities, remained untouched by the storms
+beating around it. True to its stubbornly conservative character it
+continued longer than the rest faithful to the Roman hierarchy. But even
+Lübeck had to yield. The pressure to which it gave way came from the
+people. For some time past these had craved teachers of "the purer word"
+as the new creed was at first called. At first the demands were refused
+on imperial authority, but after a while concessions were made. It was
+needful to conciliate the inhabitants, for the funds of the city were
+low, thanks to the wars for Frederick and Gustavus, and it was foreseen
+that new taxes would be submitted to with a bad grace. Indeed, when in
+1529 the rulers appealed to the guilds to support them in imposing new
+taxes they were answered by a delegation of forty-eight persons who
+replied to the municipal demands in bold terms, of which the upshot was
+that they would treat of "no money questions until the municipality
+should permit the introduction of the evangelical teaching" and the
+sacrament be administered in both forms. This language was unmistakably
+clear, and the city rulers seeing the townspeople were in earnest,
+yielded to all their demands. Thus in 1531 Lübeck openly acknowledged
+the Lutheran creed. The democracy had spoken and triumphed. They had
+made their power felt; they were conscious of their success, and they
+did not mean easily to abandon their newly acquired position of
+importance. The leader and spokesman of this demonstration was Jürgen
+Wullenweber, the man whose ambition and energy were to give to the Hansa
+yet one more proud moment of triumph; one more, and the last.
+
+The origin and the life of Jürgen Wullenweber are to this day wrapped in
+some mystery. It suited the various party factions to represent him
+respectively as an idol and a scoundrel. Even the records that survive
+concerning him in Lübeck are few. But modern research has unearthed
+much, and proved incontestably that Wullenweber, even if personally
+ambitious, was a true and disinterested patriot. Time has thrown round
+his figure a sort of mystical halo. He has been made the hero of many
+German romances, and the protagonist of various German plays.
+
+Of his family little is known except that they came from Hamburg, and
+were no doubt at first wool weavers, as the name implies. Jürgen's name
+does not appear in any Lübeck register until the year 1530, when he was
+chosen a member of the Burgher Committee. He is there described as a
+merchant.
+
+This man had been the chosen spokesman of the democratic party on the
+occasion when they defied the city rulers. Soon after he was elected
+into the municipal council, and it was not long before it was generally
+felt that new blood stirred within that body. In 1533 King Frederick of
+Denmark died. During the interregnum that followed the Danes entered
+into a defensive alliance with the Swedes against their common
+oppressors, the Hansa. The Scandinavian nations wished to emancipate
+themselves from the League's tutelage. Wullenweber at a glance
+recognized the full gravity of the situation. He thought now or never
+the time had come to reassert, if need be by force of arms, the Hansa's
+might; now or never was the moment to punish for their ingratitude and
+faithlessness the two kings Lübeck had created. He called together a
+council, meeting in the guildhall, March 16, 1533, and with eloquent,
+ardent words, he laid before the assembly the whole political situation,
+its gravity, and its possibilities. He showed how the entire Hanseatic
+trade was endangered by the commerce of the Netherlands in the Baltic.
+He urged the bold scheme that Lübeck should take forcible possession of
+the Sound, and thus hold in its own hands the key to that sea.
+
+It was a scheme which had often crossed the minds of the Lübeck
+councillors, but which since the days of Waldemar Atterdag they had
+never tried to carry into effect, recognizing probably that the might of
+the League was not great enough to retain such a point of vantage, even
+if their physical force sufficed to gain it.
+
+Wullenweber's eloquence and self-confidence, however, carried the day.
+The next thing was to consider the matter of funds. Jürgen reminded his
+hearers of the silver and gold ornaments and church decoration
+confiscated by the State in consequence of the Reformation. These he
+said could be melted down. As before, he was listened to and obeyed. He
+spared nothing in his zeal, even the colossal chandelier of St. Mary's
+Church had to go into the melting pot to make cannons. So much for the
+funds. It was now needful to find the men. This was no arduous task.
+Lübeck was a favourite resort for the mercenaries who in those times
+roamed the world in search of adventure and pay. Among these men were
+Max Meyer, a native of Hamburg, destined to become the _condottiere_ of
+the League in its last war.
+
+The figure of Max Meyer is a most romantic one. His parents can never
+have credited what the fairies sang around the boy's cradle, that he
+would become a friend of the great king of England, Henry VIII., and
+have his portrait painted by the most eminent artist of his day,
+Holbein. He was born in the humblest circumstances, and brought up as a
+blacksmith. Two great iron conduits, the work of his hand, are shown in
+Hamburg to this day. He was a tall, strong, fine looking man, with
+lively eyes and large hands, and whoever beheld him at his smithy,
+swinging his large hammer upon the anvil, could not help fancying that
+he beheld some old Norse Viking, who was moulding his own sword, so bold
+and enterprising did he look. And, indeed, a desire for adventures
+stirred in his blood. He knew no rest beside his smithy fire. He felt he
+must go into the world. Already, as an apprentice, he had fought in some
+of the northern disturbances, had served as ensign under Christian II.
+Throwing aside his hammer, he once more ranged the world in search of
+danger and distinction. Coming to Lübeck, in the course of his travels,
+he was engaged by that city to lead the 800 men whom she was sending to
+the emperor as aid against the Turks. A year after he returned to his
+native city, glorious and victorious, rich in booty and honours. Hamburg
+received him as though he were a great and powerful lord, and he
+impressed all his friends and relations by his magnificence. When he
+rode away to return to Lübeck, dressed in a full cuirass, with nodding
+plumes upon his helmet, a local chronicler wrote that "he was so good to
+look upon, that, although he was a blacksmith, yet he was such a fine,
+clever fellow, he could pass anywhere for a nobleman." He left Hamburg
+in triumph, trumpeters heading the procession, in which there were forty
+men in full armour, and two great waggon-loads of booty. The foremost
+men of the city conducted him to the gates.
+
+Arrived at Lübeck, Max Meyer entered it in the same proud manner in
+which he had left Hamburg, greatly impressing the townspeople by his
+wealth and splendour. Among those who saw his entry and beheld him with
+a favourable eye was the rich widow of the Burgomaster Lunte. She lost
+her heart entirely to the handsome blacksmith, and at last she married
+him, sorely against the wish and will of her family. Thus Max Meyer
+became a person of importance in Lübeck, thanks to his marriage and his
+wife's connections, and, consequently, he was thrown into close
+relations with Wullenweber. The latter was not slow to recognize that he
+was dealing with no common person, and that here might be the
+instrumental hand to aid his schemes. And, indeed, Max Meyer soon became
+Wullenweber's close ally.
+
+It was while Lübeck was thus at war with the Netherlands that Max Meyer,
+as commander of the city's war-ships, approached the English coasts,
+hearing that some twenty-four Dutch merchant vessels were sailing in
+these waters. He hoped to capture them and to obtain rich booty. In this
+attempt, however, he failed; but he took, instead, some Spanish ships
+laden with English goods. This was a breach of the peace, since the
+Hansa was not at war with England; but, regardless of this act, Meyer,
+perhaps because in want of provisions, actually sailed into an English
+harbour and anchored his vessel. King Henry, who had heard of his
+presence, and knew him to be a Lübeck captain carrying on hostilities
+against the Netherlands, received him with great honour. The English
+king had his own private reasons for wishing to stand well with the
+Hansa. He knew they were Protestants, and that they were not too well
+disposed to the Emperor Charles, from whom he also had become estranged,
+now that he had grown weary of his Imperial Highness's aunt, the elderly
+Catherine of Aragon. As the Pope would not listen to the scruples of his
+tender conscience about having taken to wife his brother's widow, from
+whom he sought a divorce on that account--according to his own
+showing--he hoped, not wrongly, that the Protestants would take less
+stubborn and unscriptural views of the indissolubility of the marriage
+contract, and he therefore sought to conciliate all Protestant powers.
+
+ [Illustration: HENRY VIII.]
+
+But the England of those days, like the England of ours, was a
+law-abiding country, and three days after King Henry had received Meyer
+with great feasts and honours at Court, the royal guest was arrested as
+a pirate. It was pleaded that he ought to suffer the common penalty of
+piracy, that is to say, death. In these straits the merchants of the
+Steelyard came forward to aid their representative, offering to stand
+surety for him. They succeeded in averting the sentence of death by
+restoring the value of the goods seized; they could not succeed in
+relieving him from the imprisonment which his breach of international
+faith had incurred. Max Meyer had to go to prison, whence he was
+released at last only by the intervention of the municipality of
+Lübeck, though not until he had almost served his time.
+
+Justice satisfied, Max Meyer returned to King Henry's Court, and was
+once more made a welcome guest. Whether he was empowered by the city to
+act as plenipotentiary, or whether, in the first instance, he acted on
+his own account, does not appear. But what is certain is that he made a
+number of proposals to King Henry, to which the latter lent a willing
+ear, that Meyer was knighted by his royal host, and received from him a
+golden chain in token of the honour in which he held him, and that Henry
+further promised him a yearly income of three hundred and a half golden
+crowns. The terms were that the English king should advance a
+considerable sum to Lübeck towards her war expenses--a sum which the
+city promised to refund and to double, out of the first profits derived
+from the conquered Danish kingdom.
+
+Henry's object in this alliance was chiefly to harass and annoy his
+Catholic compeers, and to have a rich Protestant ally in the
+complications that were thickening round him. There was not much result
+from the friendship on either side; but for the moment, the news that
+the King of England was their friend and supporter, gave renewed courage
+to the democratic party in Lübeck. It also gave them ready cash
+wherewith to carry on the war with the Netherlands and their friends the
+Danes. For war it must be. This Wullenweber openly advocated, after
+various vain attempts to induce the Danish king to grant the Hansa's
+requests. Wullenweber himself had on two occasions been sent by Lübeck
+as their ambassador to Copenhagen, and had returned home furious at the
+want of success that met his negotiations. Why should not the Hansa, he
+pleaded, once more play the _rôle_ of king-maker? Gustavus Vasa had
+proved a failure and a disappointment to the League, had broken every
+promise he had made to them. Let a new king be put in his place. Those
+who had helped the Swedish king into power with a hundred marks, should
+help him out of power with five hundred marks, he boasted; adding that
+before the next carnival he should make a masquerade before King
+Gustavus that he would not despise. For Denmark too he had his plan; and
+this was no other than to reinstate Christian II., once the enemy of the
+League. Christian had always opposed the aristocracy and the clergy, and
+had proclaimed himself the friend of the people. Reinstated by the
+Hansa, he would owe them gratitude, so reckoned Wullenweber, and being
+popular with the lower classes in Denmark the League might reckon upon
+their support. To aid him in this enterprise the dictator turned to the
+Count of Oldenburg, a relation of the dethroned king, an intrepid and
+intelligent Lutheran known as the Alcibiades of the North.
+
+Christopher of Oldenburg, at that time thirty years of age, handsome in
+face and stature, was one of those princelings of Germany, of which the
+race is not quite extinct, whose title was their sole fortune and who,
+in former days, were willing to sell their services to any king who
+needed their aid, and in more modern times are utilized to marry the
+redundant princesses of royal parentage, for whom no match can be found
+among the reduced number of reigning houses. These bold _condottieri_,
+whether in search of adventure, of booty, or of a marriage portion and
+ease, had little but their wits to rely upon. Christopher of Oldenburg,
+for example, possessed as his whole patrimony an old convent. He had
+attracted around him, however, a band of devoted troops, free lances,
+willing to follow wherever he led: men without fatherland, faith, or
+ideal, the scum of all lands, whose desire was bloodshed and booty, and
+whose sole religion was obedience to their chosen captain. Christopher
+of Oldenburg was not an ordinary chief. With the military courage of a
+_condottiere_ he combined a bright intellect and a mind of real
+elevation. He was well educated and well read. A copy of Homer
+accompanied him in all his adventures; his passionate desire was to be a
+hero of romance. This was the kind of instrument Wullenweber required;
+the man who could realize, appreciate, and help to carry out his bold
+designs. And these were, in a word, to put the Hansa in possession of
+the Sound. Possessing this advantage, with two obedient monarchs upon
+the respective thrones of Denmark and Sweden, and enjoining the moral
+and material support of the English king, the League would once more be
+as in the days of its greatest glory.
+
+So reasoned Wullenweber, and not without reason. But he was too
+ambitious, or, at any rate, too bold. He had not reckoned with the
+apathy and the economic egotism that dictated the policy of the sister
+towns. He was to play a dangerous game. He staked his all and he lost.
+
+Wullenweber's original plan was to attack Denmark, while carrying on at
+the same time the war with the Netherlands. This proposal, which besides
+being audacious, meant a great outlay of money, alarmed the other
+cities, and, above all, the town of Hamburg. Owing to her endeavours, a
+brilliant congress was assembled within her walls during the month of
+March, 1534, when it was proposed to examine carefully the various
+points of grievance at issue between the Hansa and her opponents. There
+were present delegates from the various Baltic cities, imperial
+councillors, Netherland grandees, and Danish nobles. But none of them
+exceeded in outward splendour the representatives of Lübeck, Jürgen
+Wullenweber and Max Meyer, as they rode into the city of Hamburg,
+dressed in full armour preceded by the chief of Lübeck's militia, by
+trumpeters and drummers, and followed by sixty armed riders. The timid
+Hamburgers glanced at all this military display with some terror,
+feeling assured that such a proud bearing meant that the town that sent
+forth these men would not easily yield its claims. Already, before the
+first assembly of the delegates, Wullenweber had been regarded with an
+evil eye by many of the other Hanseatic envoys. They could not grasp the
+ultimate ends he had in view for the benefit of the League. They thought
+he was inciting to needless expense and disturbance. They did not
+understand, still less did they sympathize with, the democratic wave
+which had swept over Lübeck, and which had brought two such men as
+Wullenweber and Max Meyer to the front. Local chroniclers, speaking of
+this meeting of plenipotentiaries, call the Hamburgers "the peace
+loving," and accuse the Lübeckers of being "the instigators of the woful
+wars."
+
+On March 2, 1534, the Congress was opened by the Burgomaster of Hamburg
+in the grand council chamber of the local guildhall, an historical room,
+unfortunately destroyed in the great fire that devastated Hamburg in
+1842. In an eloquent speech the local magnate described the miseries
+entailed by the war in which the Lübeckers had engaged against the
+Dutch, and urged that peace should be concluded in the interest of the
+common Hanseatic merchants. The burgomaster was followed by an imperial
+councillor, who said the same things in yet stronger terms. Wullenweber
+was visibly angered. His anger was increased when the Dutch envoy rose
+to his feet and claimed that it should be laid down as a principle "that
+the sea and all other waters should be free to the shipping of whosoever
+listed," adding that "if the Lübeckers suffered damage in consequence,
+they should find comfort in God's will and in the mutability of all
+earthly things."
+
+This was too much for Wullenweber's temper to bear. He declared with
+violence that if the speeches continued in this tone and spirit he and
+his colleagues should leave the assembly, and this, in fact, they
+shortly afterwards did. Not only did he leave the assembly, but the city
+also, after he found that all the demands of Lübeck fell on deaf ears.
+But before he left he made a powerful speech in the guildhall, wherein
+he asserted and maintained that all he had done had been done solely for
+the general benefit of the League. He even accused the other Hanseatic
+delegates of being Dutch in sympathy, "a thing," he added, "which they
+and the Dutch would repent of as long as he lived."
+
+He was asked to explain his projects. He sketched a plan almost
+identical in spirit with the Navigation Act of Cromwell; it might indeed
+almost be regarded as its prototype. When taunted regarding the egotism
+of this proposal, when told that the sole purpose that inspired it was
+to prevent the vessels of other powers from deriving a profit out of
+carriage of goods, Wullenweber retorted as angrily as Cromwell might
+have done, and with the same contempt for the petty spirits that could
+see no higher object, nor any larger or wider aims than purely personal
+and financial ones. To Wullenweber's mind there was at stake not only
+vulgar profit, but the control and supervision of the Baltic trade, the
+maintenance of the Hanseatic colonies, indeed of all commercial
+navigation; in a word, of everything that had made the Hansa what it
+was.
+
+The colonial policy pursued by the Hansa, which had been one of its
+sources of strength, became a cause of weakness, and ultimately led to
+its fall. It was based in all essentials upon the same principles as
+those pursued later by other nations with regard to their foreign
+non-European colonies, and which led in time to the loss of these same
+colonies. The chief points were these: that the direct intercourse and
+traffic with the Eastern settlements and their commercial domain were
+reserved exclusively to Hanseatic vessels, and that transport by land
+was forbidden, because in that case it was not so easy to keep watch
+upon business, and to be assured that no Hanseatic laws were
+transgressed. Foreign flags were excluded from all Eastern ports and
+non-Hanseatic merchants not admitted to their markets. All traffic from
+the Eastern cities to non-Hanseatic places, and all traffic with these
+places were to go by way of Lübeck. This is the sum of the Lübeck Staple
+Act, which had a little sunk into abeyance during the late disorders and
+which Wullenweber desired to see fully reinforced. Again, to refer to
+England's dictator, with whom Wullenweber had some points of
+resemblance, this Lübeck staple was neither more nor less than the
+British staple, prescribed by Cromwell's Navigation Act, when it
+excluded foreign flags from American harbours, and interdicted the
+Americans from sending ships to any other European harbour than those of
+the mother-land. Two hundred years separated these two Tribunes of the
+People from each other, and yet, in some respects, their ideals and
+ideas were identical. But to return to the course of our narrative,
+which has been interrupted in order to make clearer the aims the Lübeck
+burgomaster had in view.
+
+Wullenweber grew daily more angered at the tone adopted in the Congress,
+not only from his opponents, but by those from whom he had a right to
+look for support.
+
+On March 12th, accompanied by Max Meyer, and the same military train
+with which he had entered, he left Hamburg, shaking the dust of the city
+off his feet in anger. He was soon followed by the delegates of the
+other Baltic cities. The congress had come to an untimely end, and
+nothing had been settled.
+
+Wullenweber's object in returning so precipitately was twofold. He
+desired to know the wishes of the city under the changed circumstances,
+and he wished to complain of the colleagues who had failed to support
+him. This precipitous return greatly alarmed the citizens, all the more
+because during Wullenweber's absence the aristocratic party had tried to
+lodge various complaints against the absent burgomaster, and to stir up
+the people to revolt and discontent. They had even ventured to insinuate
+that he was guilty of "stealing and treason." Indeed, the tumult in the
+city was so great and seemed so threatening, that many timid spirits
+began to think that discretion was the better part of valour, and that
+it would be well to absent themselves awhile.
+
+Into this state of affairs Wullenweber, by his unexpected return,
+dropped like a bombshell. He saw that energetic steps were needful here.
+He did not hesitate for a moment to take them. A meeting of the
+Forty-six was held, who were charged to invite the burghers to a general
+assembly in St. Mary's Church. More than a thousand persons replied to
+the summons. Wullenweber mounted the pulpit. In ardent words he
+expressed his patriotic intentions, and related in detail the reasons
+for his abrupt departure from Hamburg. He also complained most bitterly
+of the conduct of those who should have supported him. Next day he
+addressed a similar meeting in the guildhall, and spoke, if possible,
+in stronger terms, openly accusing his opponents of envy, and saying he
+was well aware that some among them even intended to attack him at night
+in his house, and to make him prisoner.
+
+The upshot of his two speeches was that the democratic party once more
+gained the upper hand; that it was agreed that Wullenweber should act
+entirely according to his own discretion in the matter with the
+Netherlanders; that three of the municipal councillors inimical to him
+should be removed from their place; and that various burghers, whom he
+designated as "of Swedish or Netherlandish sympathy," should either be
+banished or imprisoned.
+
+With his power thus increased, Wullenweber returned to Hamburg, and the
+congress was reopened. Since, however, he could gain no support from the
+other Hanseatic cities for his policy of continuing the war with the
+Netherlands, he at last consented to accept a truce of four years; a
+truce which he recognized would leave his hands free for the execution
+of his other plans.
+
+Nor did he hesitate for a moment to put them into action. Riders and
+foot messengers were engaged in all directions; the "peace ships" were
+put into war condition; emissaries were sent to the sister towns to
+explain fully the purpose of the new attack upon the Scandinavian North,
+and to ask what assistance they proposed to render in money, ships, and
+men.
+
+Wullenweber's plan was really a stroke of genius, and by no means so
+foolhardy or foolish as his enemies have since tried to prove it. It
+was: to form around the whole Baltic basin a sort of German
+confederation, and had it succeeded, or rather had it not been impeded
+by the petty vacillating policy of the other cities, it would have
+marked a re-birth of the Hansa, and there would have been no power in
+the North that could have opposed it.
+
+In May, 1534, hostilities began with Denmark, and Sweden was also
+threatened with armed intervention, in case the broken promises to the
+Hansa were still left unfulfilled. To the people, the counter promise
+was made that they should have nothing to fear from the Hansa's armies,
+"if they did not second the arrogance of their king."
+
+To this Gustavus replied by demanding help from his brother rulers,
+saying "that it was intolerable that the Lübeckers should put up for
+auction the three good old northern realms, just as if they were their
+market wares."
+
+In a short time the whole North was in flames. At first extraordinary
+success crowned the attacks of the Hansa's fleet and armies, and by
+Midsummer, 1534, almost the entire Danish kingdom was in the hands of
+the Lübeckers. Then fortune somewhat turned, and Lübeck had to see an
+army surround its very walls, much to the consternation of the inmates.
+This danger was however happily averted, thanks to clever negotiations
+and force of arms; but meanwhile things had grown yet more complicated
+and intricate in the Scandinavian question. Party faction and religious
+jealousies prevented corporate action. There was a moment when things
+looked so black that even Wullenweber was daunted, and the confession
+escaped him that "if he were not in the middle of all this muddle, he
+should take good care to keep outside it."
+
+In the midst of these difficulties dawned the year 1535, one of the most
+fatal in the life of the German States; a year destined to unravel and
+settle for ever the northern confusions.
+
+Such a spectacle as the Baltic presented at this period it had not shown
+for many a long day. In the Sound, in all the Danish seas, in all the
+narrow waterways that separated the islands from one another, were seen
+waving from the tall masts of the Hanseatic "peace ships," the flag of
+the League, and in the harbours of Lübeck, Rostock, and Stralsund, more
+ships were put upon a war footing. There was likewise seen the
+white-and-black banner of the Prussian flotilla, sent to aid the
+imprisoned Danish king, while the flags of Denmark and Sweden fluttered
+from their respective vessels.
+
+Nor was the spectacle on land less animated than that on the sea.
+Troops, mercenaries of every land and language crowded the shore of the
+mainland. It was evident that the encounter would be severe, the
+resistance great. The first check came to the Hansa in the shape of the
+capture of Max Meyer, owing to the false information given to him by the
+Danish commandant of Scania. Christian III. was proclaimed king of
+Denmark, and Gustavus Vasa lent the new king his most active aid. Things
+did not look well for the League, but Wullenweber, though he grew
+serious and thoughtful as he learnt the news, was not discouraged. He
+continued to confide "in divine help."
+
+A vast number of intrigues were now set on foot, whose purpose was to
+alienate or conciliate, as the case might be, the various Catholic and
+Protestant kings and princes; thus giving to the entire quarrel a party
+character. Lübeck counted on the assistance of Henry of England, and
+offered the king in return for substantial subsidies the entire kingdom
+of Denmark as his booty.
+
+Meanwhile Max Meyer was fretting at his enforced imprisonment and
+absence from the scene of action. In March, by means of a subtle, but
+not specially honest, subterfuge, he managed to escape from the castle
+that held him, and thanks to his fertility of resource, and to his
+popularity, he soon found himself surrounded by quite a little army, and
+resolved to carry on the war in his own manner, and according to his own
+ideas. It is said that he offered the throne of Denmark to Francis I. of
+France, an offer which that monarch refused. Nor did he forget his old
+friend, bluff King Hal of England, who, in his turn, seems not to have
+forgotten him. Though Henry nominally rejected the proposals made to him
+by Max Meyer, it is certain he continued to give him substantial and
+moral support, so that, owing to English help, Max Meyer was able to
+hold out in the seaboard castle of Vardberg, in which he had ensconced
+himself, until his tragic end. The gateway over its lintel, bore, till
+the time of its destruction, the arms of the Tudor, a delicate
+compliment from Max Meyer to Henry, implying that the castle was in very
+truth the king's.
+
+The first great encounter of the armies took place by sea in the month
+of June. In number and excellence of ships the Hansa had the advantage.
+The Lübeckers were still the best shipbuilders of the northern world,
+and many of the Danish and Swedish vessels sent against them were
+nothing more than herring-boats and fishing smacks roughly put on a war
+footing. If victory depended on strength and numbers alone, it seemed
+assured to the Hansa. Unhappily, among the many secret methods employed
+by the aristocratic party to break the power of the democratic faction,
+there existed bribery and corruption of the ship captains. The usual
+Hanseatic concord was absent.
+
+Indeed, herein is to be found in a great measure the explanation of the
+ill success of the Hansa. When Jürgen Wullenweber dreamed that he would
+revive the days and glories of Waldemar Atterdag he forgot that the
+burgomasters of those days when they set out for battle were followed by
+an army consisting of the burghers themselves, that, for example, in the
+struggle for Scania in 1368, no less than sixteen hundred citizens gave
+up their lives to gain a victory for the League. With the increase of
+wealth had grown up, as is usual, an increase of luxury and idleness.
+Citizens of rich Hanseatic towns contented themselves with keeping watch
+in turns at the city gates, with defending their own city walls, with
+interfering in street brawls and keeping order in the town. But when it
+came to active fighting, to going abroad to battle, they preferred to
+hire the mercenaries with which Germany was overrun, thanks to the
+disturbed state of the land arising out of the continual wars of
+Charles V. Hence arose the class known as _Landsknechte_; hence it came
+about that in those days German often fought against German, and that
+all true patriotic sentiments were extinguished. The rich Queen of the
+Hansa, Lübeck, had of course met with no difficulty in finding numbers
+willing to serve under her flag and to accept her pay, but these men, as
+is but too natural, did not fight with that enthusiasm and ardour which
+men display when the cause is their own. Jürgen Wullenweber was of the
+old Hanseatic type, but the mould that had formed him was broken. His
+contemporaries were not up to the level of his noble and patriotic
+ambition. Had he been ably seconded the whole history of Northern
+Germany might have been transformed.
+
+As we have said, the fleets met in hostile encounter in the month of
+June. After some heavy fighting the heavens themselves interposed in the
+strife. A great storm arose, driving the vessels of the foes asunder.
+Two days later the decisive combat was fought on land. The place of
+encounter was Assens, on the island of Fünen, a spot where human
+sacrifices used to be offered to the great Norse god Odin. This battle
+of Assens ended in the complete discomfiture of the burgher army, and
+there followed immediately afterwards another meeting by sea, when the
+Hansa had to suffer the shame of seeing some of its vessels flee before
+the enemy, while others capitulated in cowardly fashion.
+
+The consequences of these battles made themselves felt instantly. What
+Wullenweber had said the previous year when he was yet the victor was
+now realized, "that it was easier to conquer Denmark than to keep it."
+For not only Fünen, but Zealand and Scania fell off from the
+burgomaster's party after the defeat at Assens, and did homage to
+Christian III. as their king and ruler. Only Copenhagen, Malmöe, and a
+few small towns refused this allegiance, and still offered an armed
+resistance. But it was not to be of long duration.
+
+Meanwhile the close of Wullenweber's proud career approached. It is
+characteristic of the whole course of German history, that the fall of
+Wullenweber, and the ultimate fall of the Hansa, were due not so much to
+external as to internal enemies. Petty jealousies, "particularism," to
+use their own phrase, that is to say, practising a church-steeple policy
+rather than a wide and liberal one, has ever been a danger to Germany.
+It defeated the efforts of Wullenweber, as it did those of the patriots
+of 1848, and of many more before and since.
+
+In July the Hanseatic Diet was called together to consider the state of
+the League's affairs; and on this occasion a number of the cities, and
+chief among them the inland ones, found a much desired occasion to vent
+the wrath and envy which they had long nourished against Lübeck and its
+democratic dictator. A number of attacks, some of them of the most
+despicably petty character, were made against Wullenweber. The Lübeckers
+were told that they had permitted "irregular disorders," and that it was
+they who disturbed the general concord of the common Hansa. Most bitter
+of all were the charges launched by Cologne, the town that had long
+been jealous of the power of her northern sister. Forgetful of the
+whole course of Hanseatic history, she ventured to say that it would
+seem strange to the emperor and other princely potentates, that a town
+like Lübeck should meddle with such great matters as the deposition and
+installation of kings.
+
+To this taunt Lübeck replied with dignity, pointing out that she had no
+wish either to change the faith of the kings or to murder them (as
+Cologne had previously suggested), but that according to treaty she had
+the right to act as she had done, and that she had acted, not for the
+sake of exhibiting her own power, but because of the natural, intimate,
+and needful relationship that existed between Denmark and the Baltic
+towns. Since olden days no king might be elected in Denmark without the
+knowledge of Lübeck, and on this they had ever acted.
+
+The men of Cologne were not abashed by this reference to history. They
+replied that it might be so, and that the Lübeckers had the right they
+would not deny; but they repeated, it made a strange impression upon
+kings and princes that the men of Lübeck should make and unmake kings.
+
+Alas! how were the mighty fallen! What a degradation of sentiment in the
+Hansa when the cause of one was no longer the cause of all!
+
+Some days later, in reply to a similar attack, the Lübeckers replied, in
+the old bold spirit that characterized the Hansa in its best times, "In
+one thing they had made a mistake, and that was when they helped two
+such worthless men as the kings of Denmark and Sweden to power, and had
+further made them great, in return for which they were now ill repaid."
+
+Cologne then tried to shift its recriminations on to the religious
+ground. Glancing at the excesses committed in Münster by the
+Anabaptists, she ventured to question the benefits that had accrued to
+Lübeck and other Hanse cities from the Reformation, concluding with the
+shameless words, "In our city we hang, behead, or drown all heretics,
+and find ourselves very comfortable in consequence."
+
+To most of these attacks Wullenweber as representative of Lübeck had to
+reply in person. He knew too well that many of them were aimed directly
+at himself. He strove hard to keep his hot temper in check and to reply
+with moderation and dignity.
+
+The attitude of these Diet meetings, however, was but to prove the
+prologue to the intrigues which were to eject Wullenweber and his party
+from power, and to break not only the hegemony of Lübeck, but that of
+the whole Hansa--a consummation the opponents certainly did not intend.
+"Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first strike with blindness,"
+says the Latin proverb, and its truth was once more made manifest by the
+attitude of the Hanseatic towns among themselves. They who had ever been
+so strong and so united, now no longer held together in brotherly
+concord, and weakness and disruption were the result.
+
+The instrument that was to spring the chief mine on Wullenweber and his
+party was found in the person of Nicholas Brömse. This man was one of
+the leading personages of the Municipal Council of Lübeck in the early
+days of the sixteenth century, and was burgomaster of the town in the
+days when Gustavus Vasa arrived there as a fugitive. Indeed, he is said
+to have been one of the most zealous friends and protectors of the young
+Vasa. When the Reformation dissensions began to stir in the city, Brömse
+was among the most pronounced opponents of the purer creed, and
+repeatedly, by his personal interference, retarded its introduction.
+Indeed once, after it was officially introduced, he succeeded, in virtue
+of his personal influence with Charles V., in getting the Lutheran creed
+forbidden in the town. In so doing, however, he somewhat exceeded his
+limits; his action aroused suspicion in the council and hatred among the
+citizens; and finally, in 1532, he had to resign his post and fly
+secretly from Lübeck to escape the wrath of his enemies. He made his way
+to the imperial Court, at that time located in Brussels, and there he
+gained the ear and favour of Charles. Thence he watched with anxious
+curiosity the course which events were taking in his native town. He was
+biding his time to revenge himself upon the city that had ejected him,
+and upon the burgomaster who had supplanted him in popular favour.
+
+When Nicholas Brömse learnt how the Hanseatic Diet had censured the
+action of Jürgen Wullenweber, he thought that the time for which he had
+long waited had come. He employed all his personal influence with the
+emperor to induce him to take a decisive step against the city of
+Lübeck, and with good result. For there issued from the imperial council
+chamber, June 7, 1535, a decree, stating that unless within six weeks
+and three days from the receipt of this document the town of Lübeck had
+abolished all democratic innovations and reinstated in the government
+Nicholas Brömse and other councillors banished together with him, the
+town would be declared under the imperial ban.
+
+With Jesuitical astuteness not a word was breathed regarding Church
+reforms, but it was fully understood that a blow was aimed at the
+Lutheran creed quite as much as at Jürgen Wullenweber and the democratic
+party.
+
+A Hanseatic Diet was sitting at Lübeck when this decree arrived. A
+committee was at once chosen to discuss the acceptance of the imperial
+mandate. It decided that obedience must be tendered to the dictates of
+the imperial council. In consequence the democratic party resigned
+power, and Wullenweber, who understood well that the whole was chiefly
+aimed at him, saw that there remained nothing for him to do but follow
+his party.
+
+After delivering before the Diet a speech of great dignity marked by
+unusual moderation, in which he said if it were the will of God and were
+adjudged for the common weal that he should retire, he should certainly
+not refuse, he laid down in August, 1535, the office he had filled with
+such zeal and patriotic ambition.
+
+It is characteristic of popular gratitude that when he returned from the
+guildhall, after completing the deed of renunciation, he was followed by
+a crowd that hissed and hooted him. This people of shopkeepers turned
+upon the man who was their true friend because the wars had
+impoverished them, had slackened their trade, and had brought distress
+within their walls. They did not recognize, or they forgot, that they
+themselves had encouraged the outbreak of these hostilities, and had
+applauded and sustained the man who proposed them; and that had he been
+better supported, his plans would have resulted in their pecuniary
+benefit.
+
+It is evident that his fellow-rulers among the Lübeck Council knew that
+Wullenweber had been wronged, since they offered to bestow on him for
+six years the governorship of a neighbouring dependency. This he
+refused, but before he finally quitted office he took good care that the
+welfare and existence of the new creed should not be endangered by the
+return of the zealous Papist, Brömse, and also that an amnesty should be
+accorded to all political offenders.
+
+Shortly afterwards Brömse entered the city in stately procession,
+preceded by a hundred and fifty horsemen. He proceeded at once to St.
+Mary's Church and took possession of the burgomaster's chair, whence he
+listened to the minutes decided upon by the Hanseatic Diet. The decree
+by no means pleased his Catholic soul that whatever else was reinstated,
+the new religion should be left intact; but he held his peace and
+trusted to time, as he had already done, with good result, while he
+waited at the Court of the Emperor Charles. In this one respect,
+however, he was to be disappointed. Lübeck never again changed its
+creed, or bowed its head to the Papal party.
+
+But where now was the man to find peace who but recently had held as
+ruler both sides of the Sound, who had dared to fling the gauntlet to
+two monarchs, and who had been dictator throughout all Scandinavia?
+Notwithstanding many negotiations, peace had not yet been concluded
+between Lübeck and Denmark. Copenhagen was still held by the Hansa's
+allies. It is easy to understand that the temptation presented itself to
+Wullenweber to make common cause with them, and to try in yet another
+form to gain success for the League. But whether this was really his
+plan or not we have now no means of deciding. The latter years of
+Wullenweber's life are wrapped in much mystery, owing to intentional
+falsification of facts on the part of his enemies. Thus much is certain,
+that in the autumn of 1535 he set forth on a journey northwards, making
+for the province of Halland on the Cattegat, where lay the castle held
+by Max Meyer. Probably he wished to confer with his trusty colleague.
+His friends tried to dissuade him from his intention, reminding him that
+his road led him through the territory of the Archbishop of Bremen, one
+of his most violent opponents. It was impossible, however, to control or
+guide this headstrong and fearless man. Ambition and self-confidence
+made him fall into the trap which his enemies had laid for him.
+
+Nicholas Brömse and his followers, hearing of this journey, at once sent
+messengers to the ecclesiastical prince, and by heavy bribes bought him
+over to their side. In consequence, scarcely had Wullenweber touched the
+archbishop's domains than he was seized and imprisoned, regardless of
+the letter of safe conduct he bore about him. He was carried off to
+Rothenburg, one of the archbishop's castles, and for some weeks the
+world knew nothing of his whereabouts, until his foes had matured their
+plans against him.
+
+Wullenweber's brother, Joachim, at that time one of the Council of
+Hamburg, was the first to be uneasy regarding Jürgen's fate, and he
+succeeded in ascertaining the fact of his imprisonment and the
+perpetrator of the deed. He addressed a letter to the archbishop,
+demanding an explanation of this breach of faith. The audacious prelate
+replied, that "Since it was notorious how designedly and presumptuously
+Jürgen had acted against the will of God, of the emperor, and of the
+spiritual rulers of Lübeck, and how he had spent a night in his, the
+archbishop's domains without his permission, his will or a safe conduct,
+he, as the emperor's relative and as prince of the empire, had held
+himself in duty bound towards his Church to take the man prisoner.
+Further reasons for this step would be made known in course of time."
+
+Armed with this insolent reply Joachim Wullenweber turned to King Henry
+VIII. of England in his sore strait, and implored him to befriend the
+man who had ever befriended him. To this request Henry lent a ready ear
+and he pleaded, but in vain, for his "faithful and honoured friend,"
+with the Council of Hamburg and Bremen, and at last with the archbishop
+himself.
+
+But Brömse and his party were not the men to release their prey when
+once it had fallen into their hands. They were determined to have their
+revenge. They hated Wullenweber; Brömse, in particular, hated him so
+much that it was possible for a contemporary chronicler to declare that
+he even tore Wullenweber's flesh off his bones with his own teeth. This
+no doubt is a baseless charge. Nicholas Brömse, the patrician, with the
+delicate coquettish features of a woman, with the lily white hands that
+were noted among his contemporaries, is not likely to have done such a
+thing. He might be false and cruel, but he could not have been actively
+bestial and ferocious.
+
+What is certain is that Wullenweber's enemies were determined to destroy
+him. So great and powerful a man could not be simply put aside; he had
+to be sacrificed. A truly fiendish scheme of incrimination was opened
+against him; so painful and unfair that it awoke pity even in the
+breasts of his contemporaries. Among them, Maria, at that time regent of
+the Netherlands, was so deeply moved by the burgomaster's fate, that she
+felt herself called upon to demand that the prisoner should at least be
+brought before an imperial governor, in order that his case might have a
+more impartial consideration. But Wullenweber's foes would not listen to
+any mild or merciful counsels. Their chief endeavour was to spread
+abroad a belief that the dictator had acted in concert and sympathy with
+the Anabaptists, at that moment the bogey with which to scare both
+Catholics and Protestants.
+
+ [Illustration: SCENE BEFORE A JUDGE.]
+
+The exact means employed to break Wullenweber's strong spirit during the
+first months of his imprisonment are not known. There is no doubt,
+however, that he was subjected to torture, and that upon the rack he was
+made to acquiesce in statements, many of them quite false, and others
+distorted to serve the purpose of his tormentors. Among the so-called
+confessions were said to be an admission of his Anabaptist leanings, an
+intimation that he had proposed to murder and kill as many nobles as
+possible, that he had abstracted for his own private ends public and
+church property, and other statements, so manifestly out of keeping with
+his previously known character and general bearing, that it is amazing
+to think how his contemporaries, even those most opposed to him, could
+for a moment have given them credit.
+
+Hero though Wullenweber was in the moral sense he was no hero at bearing
+physical pain, and, indeed, the two qualities by no means go together,
+nor does nervous shrinking from pain necessarily imply moral weakness.
+The contrary is often the case. The man of finely strung nerves, to whom
+bodily pain is on this account less supportable than to his more
+coarse-grained brother, is, for that very reason, capable of a
+refinement of sentiment and action equally unknown to the other. The
+beef-built man is apt to be beef-witted.
+
+It is quite certain that all the admissions undoubtedly made by
+Wullenweber were wrung from him under excruciating tortures. Indeed, in
+the hour of his death, and in two letters to his brother Joachim, he
+affirmed that "the jailer of Bremen, together with his mortal enemies,
+had forced him into the admission of political and moral sins." He says
+he was racked again and again, and on one occasion had to swear that he
+would not answer in any other sense than that demanded of him. If he
+failed in obedience to this command he should be torn to little pieces
+on the wheel, but, so God help him, he knew nothing whatever of
+Anabaptists or these other charges. He implores his brother to make
+known all this to his friends at Lübeck, and to beg that some honourable
+men would search his account books, and see whether it be true that he
+had abstracted State moneys. The brother himself might come and hang him
+higher than any thief yet hung, if he could prove that he, Jürgen, had
+stolen anything from the Lübeckers. Finally, he warns the zealous
+Lutherans that the purpose of all that he had to suffer, all that was
+now being done, was to restore the old state of things, and that he
+feared that his foes would effect this in Lübeck of all other places.
+
+Meantime, King Henry of England repeatedly demanded of the Archbishop of
+Bremen that his "beloved and trusty servant, Jürgen Wullenweber," should
+be treated with more clemency. Receiving no reply from the archbishop,
+the king turned to the city of Hamburg for aid to release the imprisoned
+burgomaster. He said he had need of his "innocent servant" for most
+important purposes, and pointed out that it was for the weal, not only
+of his own kingdom, but also, and even more, for that of the German
+nation, that Jürgen should be freed. Baffled on all sides, the king
+demanded at last, that at least the reasons for this confinement should
+be made publicly known.
+
+These reasons could not be given, based as they were on motives of the
+lowest kind, that would not bear the light of day and of judicial
+investigation. The inquiries, however, caused the archbishop and his
+wire-pullers at Lübeck to think it well to remove Wullenweber from his
+prison at Rothenburg to some other more distant place. In consequence,
+he was passed on in the spring of 1536 to the custody of the
+archbishop's brother, Duke Henry of Brunswick, a bigoted Catholic and
+zealous persecutor of heretics. He confined Wullenweber in his castle of
+Steinbrück, a strong fortress situated between the towns of Brunswick
+and Hildesheim. The dark dungeon with its walls ten feet in thickness,
+with its small door but a foot and a half in breadth, are shown to this
+day. Quite recently this inscription has been put up inside it--"Here
+Jürgen Wullenweber lay and suffered. 1536-1537."
+
+Yes, suffered indeed. For a year and a half this unfortunate man
+suffered mental and physical tortures in this hole. On one occasion he
+was racked in the presence of Nicholas Brömse and other burghers from
+Lübeck, and in order that he might recant nothing he had previously been
+made to say, he was racked twice before this public torture came about,
+and threatened with instant death did his answers vary. The duke was
+present on all occasions, it being a special pleasure to him to witness
+the sufferings of heretics. At the end, when the questions and replies
+were read aloud in the presence of the Lübeckers and the lacerated man,
+the duke turned on him harshly, asking, "Jürgen what do you say to all
+this?" "I have said, yes," replied the broken man, in low tones.
+
+A letter written to his brother a few days after this event is
+heart-rending in its accents of despair and sorrow that he had been made
+to incriminate others by enforced false testimony. He begs his brother
+to do his best to make this good; he says he knows that he himself will
+lose his life, though he had two kings of England to friend, but he
+wished to save those who had stood by him and aided him. Brömse and the
+others who persecute him, know well that all the accusations are false,
+but it suits their purpose to put them forward. "Vouchsafe me credit; if
+I am a thief, may you yourself help me on to the gallows; if I am a
+traitor, on to the wheel; if I am an Anabaptist, into the fire."
+
+Thus Wullenweber's confinement dragged on, and public sympathy for his
+fate increased. Seeing this, his persecutors thought it desirable to
+make an end. They announced that "the honest country" should judge
+Wullenweber. They carried out this proposal in the most despicable and
+treacherous manner. On a Monday morning September 24, 1537, a large
+gathering of peasants was assembled in an open space in the
+neighbourhood of Wolfenbüttel. From their midst were chosen twelve
+farmers who had not the smallest knowledge of State affairs, and barely
+comprehended the question at stake against the accused. Then the charges
+made against Wullenweber and to which he had acquiesced under torture
+were read before them. Called upon to reply, Wullenweber boldly, in a
+speech of great dignity, denied the charges, and declared himself
+willing to die to prove his innocence. That he should die was
+unanimously resolved; indeed, the verdict was a foregone conclusion. As
+they were unable to resolve upon the method it was voted that the
+hangman should decide on Wullenweber's punishment. Master Hans, called
+on by the judge, said that he "deemed it right and fitting that
+Wullenweber should be led forth and quartered and his body be torn on
+four wheels, and that he should be judged thus between heaven and earth,
+that he might act in this wise no more, and that others should remember
+how he had been dealt by."
+
+But even after this Wullenweber's enemies were not appeased. They read
+out three more articles of accusation against him, articles which the
+advocate said he could not hear because of the noise made by the crowd.
+Jürgen replied. It was true he had confessed this while in prison, but
+under great pain, and in order to save his body and soul. But in order
+that his soul might not lie before the stern judgment seat of God, he
+herewith exculpated those whom he had inculpated while in prison, and
+begged his gracious lord (Duke Henry was close by) not to stain his
+hands with innocent blood and to bring therewith his (Wullenweber's)
+soul to lasting damnation. He then requested, as a last favour, to be
+permitted to speak a word or two with the emissaries from Lübeck. Most
+unwillingly the two men came into the presence of their late chief.
+"Jürgen, what do you want?" said one of them, in harsh tones that roused
+all the pent-up ire of Wullenweber's soul. In presence of the miserable
+instruments of his oppressors he broke, for the first time, his silence
+of two years' standing.
+
+"This," he said in loud, clear tones: "this is what you have striven
+after so long, even four years ago when you wanted to surprise and carry
+me off by night in my house, which God Almighty did not permit. Now
+after all you have succeeded, that I admit before God. But I also tell
+you before the whole world, that the last articles are false, and that
+what I said in prison, I said under torture and to save my life."
+
+He wanted to add yet more, but the Lübeckers were afraid lest a tumult
+in his favour should arise among the people. One of them urged Master
+Hans, the hangman, to hurry on the execution. But the hangman had a soul
+of mercy. He listened to Wullenweber's prayer, "I have but a short while
+left. Let me say two or three words more, then I will gladly die." And
+yet again he repeated, taking Almighty God to witness, that he had in no
+respect failed in his duty or his obligations to the town of Lübeck;
+that he was no thief, no traitor! Then as though he had done with his
+conscience, with the world, he sank upon his knee, and bent his head to
+receive his death-blow. Master Hans severed the noble head from its
+trunk with one sharp blow. The body was then quartered and torn to
+little pieces on the wheel.
+
+So perished the last great Hanseatic hero and with him the Hansa's
+power. At that time, so great was the fear of his foes, so blindly
+prejudiced the masses, that no one ventured to speak a good word for the
+dead man. But that all did not think that he had suffered justly is made
+manifest by a few little trifles. Thus, for example, a worthy Hamburg
+burgher of the period notes in his private diary the fate that had
+befallen this great man. In the margin he painted a red flaming sword
+and underneath he wrote the words, "This he did not deserve." The same
+man writing a few days later and speaking of his execution and
+quartering, notes again in the margin, "Duke Henry merited this." Even
+the chancellor of Zelle, one day in his cups, ventured the utterance
+that "Wullenweber had died as a martyr to the gospel."
+
+Yes, he had died as a martyr; a martyr to his town and to his faith, and
+the Hanseatic League was not to see the like of him again. He was no
+perfect hero of romance. Indeed his impetuosity and his excitable
+temperament, which caused him to be carried away by his enthusiasms,
+hindered him from developing one of those firm characters that excite
+eternal admiration and respect; he was lacking in moderation, and in
+foresight; but combined with his faults there were grand and noble
+elements, and take him "all in all," he was a man to honour and admire,
+a true patriot, a true friend to the people and their cause.
+
+In the archives of Weimar are deposited and can be seen to this day, the
+acts of interrogation and indictment planned against Wullenweber by his
+enemies; curious documents, well worth the study of a student of
+humanity, as proving how even truth can be distorted to bad ends. In one
+of them Wullenweber's signature is scarcely decipherable; no wonder when
+we learn that he had just before been hung up for four hours by his
+thumbs!
+
+ [Illustration: THE RACK.]
+
+Jürgen's friend and ally Max Meyer had not survived him. He too fell a
+victim to treachery and cruelty. Vardberg's walls were subjected to hot
+bombardment, from which sacks stuffed full of wool taken in booty could
+not preserve them. Then too the hired soldiery had grown restive, their
+wages being in arrear, owing to the delay with which supplies arrived
+from England. In the month of May, 1536, the castle was forced to
+surrender and open its gates to the enemy. Max Meyer was promised a safe
+pass, a promise that in accordance with the usages of the time was
+broken. The whilom blacksmith was delivered over into the hands of King
+Christian III., who caused him to be put in irons. He was then accused
+of all manner of offences, many of them, as in the case of Wullenweber,
+purely imaginary; was tortured, and made to confess to fictitious crime;
+and finally, given over to the keeping of the Danish governor from whose
+guardianship he had months before escaped by his happy ruse. On June 17,
+1536, Max Meyer was beheaded at Helsingoer, and his body quartered and
+torn upon the wheel. So ended this handsome adventurer, and with his
+death, and that of his friend Jürgen Wullenweber, ended also an
+important and picturesque episode in Hanseatic history.
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+THE HANSA LOSES ITS COLONIES.
+
+
+The prominence which we have had to accord to the history of Lübeck in
+the preceding chapters would almost make it appear as though we were
+dealing with the adverse fortunes of only one town, of a town moreover
+that was fighting mainly for its private and special interests and that
+succumbed in the combat. But this conception would be wholly erroneous.
+In those days the German Empire had no maritime commerce save that
+carried on by the Hansa; this commerce had no protection save that
+afforded to it by the League. The League was only powerful so long as
+Lübeck with a firm hand and high spirit held together its various
+members and led and encouraged their more feeble and often vacillating
+steps. For there were few among the cities that heartily supported the
+Queen of the Hansa in these latter days. At the cost of great and real
+sacrifices she insisted that the prerogatives of the League should be
+maintained, and if in return she also asked for some privileges for
+herself, this can scarcely excite wonder. It is therefore obvious that
+the declining power of Lübeck necessarily brought with it an
+enfeeblement of the whole federation.
+
+After the failure of Wullenweber's bold schemes and his ignominious
+death, after the enmity against Lübeck, and consequently against the
+League, that had been fanned to yet greater fury by late events, it is
+easy to understand that the relations of the Hansa to the Scandinavian
+kingdoms suffered an entire change. Denmark was the first to avail
+itself of the liberty it had regained. The country forthwith began to
+draw profit from its "gold mine" the Sound. Then Norway followed suit.
+The town of Bergen, above all, so long oppressed by the League, now took
+its revenge. Gradually as the inhabitants beheld the enfeeblement at
+home and abroad of their rivals they withdrew from them privilege after
+privilege until the time came that the natives of Bergen recovered both
+their commercial activity and their fortune.
+
+The justice of history is less pressed for time than the justice of man,
+but it is yet surer and more inexorable.
+
+This inevitable justice, which punishes the children for the sins of
+their fathers, fell upon the Hanseatics in full measure at Bergen. The
+time actually came when it fell to the people of Bergen to advance funds
+to impoverished or ruined Hanseatics, and, on the principle of returning
+a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye, insult for insult, they advanced
+these moneys under the same hard conditions that had been employed
+towards themselves. The dispossession of the Hanseatics was naturally a
+work of time, but in course of years it became complete. The last
+occasion when the four chief "games" were performed, which according to
+a reporter at the Hanseatic Diet were designed "to keep off rich folks'
+children from Bergen and secure the profits of the trade to poor young
+fellows," seems to have been about 1590.
+
+It is true that up to the eighteenth century German merchants retained
+certain prerogatives in Norway, but they were no longer the Hanseatics
+of the League, they were merely the members of an association reduced to
+slender proportions, an association as impotent to sustain its dignity
+as to restore the rights of its predecessors.
+
+Sweden was no less happy in its efforts after emancipation from
+Hanseatic tutelage. Gustavus Vasa laid the foundations for this
+exemption from tolls, monopolies, and harassing restrictions. He taught
+his subjects the great lesson how to trade to their own profit. After
+his position as ruler was once well assured he did not hesitate to speak
+in open court of the German merchants as "butchers," comparing his
+predecessors to "good milch kine," and adding that he should never
+forgive himself, but should be ashamed before God and man, did he
+sacrifice the well-being of his kingdom to the rapacity and selfishness
+of the Lübeckers. And he kept his word. So long as he lived he
+checkmated the League with all the resources at his command, and he left
+his desire to raise the commercial prosperity of his kingdom as a legacy
+to his son.
+
+Nor was it enough that men had come to hate the Hansa with that fierce
+hatred which is felt towards those who, holding power in their hands
+disgust and oppress their inferiors by overbearing conduct. Even nature
+seemed to turn against them in that dark moment of their national life.
+In the years following the burgomaster's war, as Wullenweber's war grew
+to be called, the herrings which had already failed once or twice during
+the course of the fifteenth century, either entirely abandoned the
+Scanian coasts, or came in such small quantities as not to repay the
+cost of maintenance of the "Witten." There was yet worse in store. Not
+only did the herrings abandon the Hansa, but they favoured their rivals
+the Netherlanders, coming in great masses into their waters, and thus
+enriching them at the expense of their enemies; a circumstance that
+furnished the pious preacher Bonnus with the theme for a sermon, in
+which he pointed out, to his own satisfaction, how this was the direct
+punishment inflicted by Almighty God, for the war so wantonly entered
+upon by the Hansa.
+
+A fresh blow of great force came to the League in the year 1553. The
+English, so long forcibly kept outside the navigation of the Baltic, had
+suddenly opened out for themselves a road to the mouth of the Northern
+Dwina by means of the Arctic Ocean, thus discovering the White Sea, and
+offering a new route to merchants trading with Russia.
+
+The discoverer of this new ocean route was Sir Richard Chancellor, who,
+together with Sir Hugh Willoughby, had been commissioned by an
+association of London merchants, to undertake the search of a road to
+China by way of the icy sea. They set forth in three stately vessels,
+the _Bona Esperanza_, the _Bona Confidentia_, and the _Edward
+Bonaventura_. For four months the ships kept close together, but in the
+region of the North Cape the _Edward Bonaventura_, which Chancellor
+commanded, was separated, owing to ice and storms, from its
+comrades--never more to rejoin them.
+
+Sir Hugh penetrated with his ships as far as the harbour of Artschina in
+Northern Lapland, whence he could not continue his journey, owing to the
+intense cold and the lack of means of sustenance. In this desolate spot,
+he and his whole crew perished. Long after, fishermen found their
+bodies. Beside Willoughby's corpse lay his journal, which closed with
+the desponding words: "Then sent we three men south-east three days'
+journey, who returned without finding of people or any similitude of
+habitation." The diary, which has been lately printed, is a touching
+record of patient endurance and heroic enterprise.
+
+Meantime the more fortunate Sir Richard had penetrated to the spot where
+Archangel is now situated, and where then stood a monastery dedicated to
+St. Nicholas. After resting here, he made his way to Moscow, where Czar
+Ivan held his Court. Here he was received in the most friendly manner,
+remained some months, and was finally dismissed with a royal letter to
+the young King Edward VI., in which Ivan expressed his great wish that
+their two countries should henceforth approach each other in more
+intimate relationship. Nor were these desires of the Czar's fruitless.
+
+After Sir Richard Chancellor's return, and on hearing his report
+concerning the terms under which the Czar would allow the English to
+trade in and with his country, a number of London merchants formed
+themselves into a commercial corporation under the title of "The London
+and Muscovite Company." This company once more despatched Chancellor to
+treat with the Czar, and the result was that by the year 1555, mutual
+trading relations between Russia and England were established.
+
+Now if an earthquake had shaken the whole of Northern Europe, it could
+not have produced a greater commotion in the entire Baltic North than
+did this Russo-Anglican alliance, "The London and Muscovite Company."
+The good understanding between England and Russia was at once recognized
+as a danger of first-class importance to all the merchants along the
+Sound and the Baltic. They saw their entire commerce in imminent danger.
+What did it now avail them that the Sound had been closed for centuries
+against the English ships, if the London merchants could carry their
+goods to Russia by another route? Above all, the Hanseatic League
+recognized the danger that menaced both them and their colony of
+Livonia, the colony of which the city of Bremen was wont to boast that
+it had been the godmother. What would happen, they asked themselves,
+with good reason, if Czar Ivan, already their enemy at Novgorod, should
+also take unto himself Livonia, if he should open its harbours to his
+new friends, and thus obtain for himself the mastery of the Baltic?
+
+In order to fully appreciate these fears, we must remember that the
+province anciently called Livonia embraced all the departments now known
+as Esthonia, Courland, and Livonia; in a word, the whole Baltic coast
+of the Russian continent. This district was entirely governed by the
+Germans. Three hundred years back a priest named Meinhard had founded
+the first Christian Church at the mouth of the Dwina, and from that time
+forward Germany had not ceased to send the flower of its aristocracy,
+the _élite_ of its burghers, its monks and its priests, its merchants
+and citizens, its _landsknechte_ and mercenaries to these northern
+coasts to spread the Christian faith, and to found a German colony.
+
+Colonists of all kinds rapidly established themselves in Livonia, and
+while the industry of the merchants raised prosperous cities and safe
+harbours along the river and the seaboard, the nobles dotted the land
+with their castles and strongholds, and the clergy with their churches
+and convents. It was a special characteristic of this greater Germany
+that it faithfully retained and reproduced the outward features of the
+mother-land. With German speech, German law and German customs had
+become naturalized.
+
+On the gates of the citadels the knights beheld the same coats of arms
+that greeted their eyes at home. In the towns were seen the same
+architectural features, the same tightly-packed gabled houses, with
+their quaint projecting storeys, and their yawning cellars, for the
+storage of goods; the cocklofts, with their heavy, pendant cranes, that
+distinguished the northern cities and made them all resemble, more or
+less, those toy towns of our childhood that come from Nürnberg, and are
+so deftly packed into their box that, once removed, no unskilled fingers
+can replace them.
+
+The monks and the priests, on their part, formed in Livonia their
+accustomed cells, their silent cloisters, the glory and weird wonder of
+the Gothic cathedral, with its tall, pointed spires and steeples, its
+coloured glass windows, through which the northern sunlight broke in
+soft rays, staining the floors of God's house with glory.
+
+In a word, everything here reproduced mediæval Germany. Of the natives
+of the land there was little trace, though some of these still lingered
+in the country and ventured secretly to pay worship to their old deposed
+gods in sacred thickets and on lonely heaths. To this day Livonia
+retains its German character; the German language still reigns supreme
+there, German customs prevail, German names survive. In the times we
+speak of it was entirely under Teutonic sway.
+
+Was this rich, important colony to be lost to the mother-land and to the
+Hansa that had created it? No wonder the League was alarmed.
+
+Nor was it alone in its fears. Sweden and all the West took fright. In
+imagination, they already beheld the East--in the shape of Russia and
+its barbarous dependencies--descending upon them with the weapons
+furnished to them by England. At the instigation of the King of Sweden
+and of the Livonians, who, in 1556, expressed their fears on this
+subject before the Hanseatic Diet, the League, desirous to dispel this
+European peril, warned the Emperor of Germany, the Kings of Denmark,
+England, and Poland, and the Duke of Prussia, not to facilitate Russia's
+projects of invasion by putting at her disposal either the munitions of
+war or the means that would help to civilize her, and thus render her
+yet more redoubtable.
+
+To these requests England turned a deaf ear, for her commercial policy
+then, as now, was a trifle selfish and insular. Judging that the
+distance which separated her from Russia gave her entire security, she
+did not dream of disturbing a traffic which she found lucrative. Queen
+Mary, admonished by the King of Sweden to interdict to her subjects the
+new navigation to Archangel, contented herself by forbidding the
+shippers who traded with the White Sea the exportation of arms.
+
+It was not long before the alarms expressed proved themselves to be
+anything but chimerical. Danger first showed itself in the shape of
+dissension. Livonia, seeing itself suddenly grown of enhanced importance
+to the League, took up certain pretentious airs towards its
+foster-mother. It broke through ancient contracts and statutes, among
+which was a stern interdict against trading on its own account with
+Russia. The next step was to put the Hanseatic League commercially upon
+the same footing as a stranger; and the Livonians were, consequently,
+able to turn against them some of their own laws--for example, that
+which declared that guest should not trade with guest.
+
+Meanwhile Russia, which had now completely thrown off the Tartar yoke
+and was beginning to feel its strength, cast more and more greedy eyes
+towards Livonia, with its rich cities and wide seaboard.
+
+Under pretext of bringing about a fusion of the Greek and Latin branches
+of the Catholic Church, the Czar Ivan had sent successive embassies to
+Germany, who there recruited for him workmen, artists, learned men, and
+officers, all of whom were to aid in putting the newly-welded Russian
+Empire upon a civilized basis. While there, these men had learnt the
+fact that Livonia, which stood under the government of the Teutonic
+knights, had been divided by internal dissensions since the death of the
+Grand Master, Walter von Plattenberg, who, early in the sixteenth
+century, had saved the province from falling a prey to the Russian
+desire for conquest.
+
+Ivan, hearing this, felt the moment was favourable. He saw that the
+German Empire looked on indifferently at what was passing in the extreme
+corner of its possessions--the German Empire always had the knack of
+being indifferent at the wrong and critical moment--he perceived that
+the Hansa League was ill-disposed at that instant to her stubborn and
+disobedient daughter; while Sweden and Denmark glanced with all too
+loving eyes at the German colony on the Baltic Sea. He felt now or never
+was the time for action. Moreover, Livonia had but one friend, and that
+a nominal one, Poland, which masked designs anything but friendly under
+the cover of an amicable alliance; it had but one man on whom it could
+count--the present Grand Master of the Teutonic knights, Gotthard
+Kettler. But this man, though of dauntless courage and a true patriot,
+was condemned to rule over the once bold company of Knights at a moment
+when too long-continued peace and prosperity had sunk them into sloth,
+indifference, and vicious practices.
+
+Under the pretext that a certain toll had not been paid him, Ivan quite
+unexpectedly sent into Livonia a herd of barbarous soldiers, under the
+leadership of the erstwhile Khan of Kasan. The money not being
+forthcoming, this army took possession of Narwa, a port just about to
+enter into the League. Thence they overspread all the province, burning,
+razing, sacking, robbing, and violating.
+
+They met with little resistance. The enervated nobles--"usually so ready
+for a scuffle," says an old chronicler--fell like flies before them, and
+the strongest burghs were quietly delivered over into their hands.
+Dorpat, one of the strongest, opened its gates to the invader without
+the smallest opposition, the citizens having been seized with panic at
+their approach. Here there fell into their hands rich treasure, stored
+in the fort, affording them the sinews of war. Reval, also besieged,
+turned to the King of Denmark for aid against its foes. He sent back the
+Livonian ambassadors laden with a thousand sides of bacon and other
+victuals to stay their hunger, but more effective aid he could not or
+would not afford.
+
+In short Livonia was being rapidly broken up and divided among the
+various greedy nationalities that surrounded her--the two Slavonic,
+Russia and Poland, on the one hand; the two Scandinavian, Sweden and
+Denmark, on the other.
+
+In these sore straits the Grand Master of the Teutonic knights, Gotthard
+Kettler, made "the sad plaint of the Christian Brothers on the Baltic,"
+heard at the Imperial Diet. The Emperor Ferdinand, to whom the Grand
+Master made personal appeal for speedy help, promised his assistance,
+and did send a letter to the Czar, begging him to desist from his
+persecution of the Livonians; but the letter was so lukewarm in its
+wording, and it was so evident from its tenour that the Emperor had no
+intention of following it up by action, that the Czar did not hesitate
+to send a very haughty and defiant reply. In this letter he proved that
+it was not difficult to find excuses for his conduct. The Germans, for
+instance, had oppressed his subjects; had taken from them their
+churches, and converted them into storehouses for their goods; had
+forbidden to his people free-trade in their markets. Some of these
+complaints were doubtless not quite groundless, for we know with what a
+high hand the Hansa was wont to treat the inhabitants of a land they had
+taken under their protection.
+
+Livonia now turned to the League for aid; but the League had been
+offended by the late independent deeds of its colonies, and was not
+inclined to bestir itself much. The Hanseatics did not perceive the
+folly of their action at the time; they did not observe that in thus
+yielding to personal feeling they were losing their finest, richest
+dependency. It seemed as though with Wullenweber all Hanseatic ambition,
+clear-sightedness, and enterprise had sunk into its grave. An able
+scheme which would have rescued the entire colony for the Hansa, at a
+cost of some 200,000 dollars, was allowed to gather dust, unregarded and
+unconsidered, in the archives of Lübeck.
+
+The weakness of Germany, the supineness of the League, the cold
+calculations of the King of Poland, all combined to deprive the hapless
+land of support. It became a prey, on the one side, to the barbaric
+vigour of Ivan IV., and, on the other, to the machinations of Sigismund
+Augustus, king of Poland. By the year 1561 the colony of Livonia was
+lost to Germany and to the Teutonic knights, and was divided among the
+various nationalities that surrounded it, Sweden coming in for no
+inconsiderable portion. Thus fell Livonia, the Russo-Baltic province to
+which in those days was assigned the _rôle_ accorded to the Ottoman
+Empire by a certain class of statesmen in our own time, namely, that of
+a rampart of civilization against barbarism.
+
+As we look back upon the course of history and the state of opinion in
+those times, it seems almost incredible that this fall should have been
+permitted, that neither the Hansa nor Germany should have stretched out
+a hand to help the oppressed colony. Incredible, because at that time
+the whole German and Scandinavian Baltic coast resounded with the cry of
+alarm that the Muscovite was seeking to make himself master of the
+Baltic. It is true that this result, equally bitter for Germany and for
+all Northern Europe, was only accomplished in the days of Peter the
+Great; but the foundations of this Russian Empire over the inland sea
+were laid in those times, and Germany had largely itself to blame for
+the disasters that happened in consequence.
+
+The immediate result of the loss of Livonia was that Lübeck became
+involved in its last war--a war that was to leave it exhausted. These
+hostilities lasted seven years, from 1563 to 1570, and were instigated
+by a desire on the part of Lübeck that the Hansa, though it had lost
+Livonia, should not lose all profits accruing from trade with the
+Russian continent. The quarrel began by Eric XIV., Gustavus Vasa's
+successor, professing that he would reinstate the Hansa in all her
+privileges in his kingdom; but demanding in return from the League far
+more than it had ever possessed in Sweden, namely, a factory and special
+privileges in every town of the League.
+
+When this was not granted he suddenly chose to take umbrage at the fact
+that Lübeck had never ceased to trade with Narwa, although he had, as he
+alleged, repeatedly told the Lübeckers that by so doing they
+strengthened the hands of the Muscovite, the common enemy. He complained
+of this to the Emperor Ferdinand, who, on his part however, was
+satisfied with the reasons for their actions put forward by the
+Lübeckers. Eric who, on his side, was by no means satisfied, now
+demanded in the most emphatic terms that the Hansa should cease all
+navigation to Narwa or to Russia, in order that the Muscovite might not
+be strengthened by the importation of arms. He contended that the
+channels of Finland were not the open sea, but belonged to his
+dominions, and that he had a right to hold sway over them, and to
+capture or harass any vessels he found in their waters.
+
+It is strange indeed to find Lübeck replying to this, that the open,
+rude Baltic had been recognized by nature herself as a free sea; Lübeck
+which had ever contended that this sea was an inland lake and should be
+so treated, that only those should trade in its waters to whom she, its
+mistress, graciously accorded permission. The conclusion of the dispute
+was that Lübeck made an alliance with the Danish king, Frederick II., in
+which it was resolved to carry on war against Sweden. The sister towns,
+apathetic and most unwilling to fight, did not fail, however, to obey
+the Danish king's mandate that they should at once cease from all trade
+and intercourse with Sweden.
+
+On June 9, 1563, the Queen of the Hansa issued her declaration of war
+against Eric XIV. of Sweden. The king, to whom the document was
+addressed, referred it with contempt to the magistrates of Stockholm,
+saying that "kings must write to kings, but burghers and peasants should
+treat with their peers."
+
+But though Eric was so contemptuous, these burghers, whom he professed
+to despise, were to cause him some uncomfortable moments. Not inglorious
+for Lübeck was this last seven years' war waged by her, and its results
+might have been of some consequence had she been supported by the whole
+League. But this was far from being the case. Still she won several
+important victories, and on one occasion captured the Swedish admiral's
+vessel. In the midst of the hostilities Eric was deposed, and here again
+would have been the Hansa's opportunity had it known how to profit by
+it.
+
+But in vain did Lübeck counsel union and implore the other Baltic cities
+to make common cause and crush the common enemy. They only replied
+complaining of the expenses entailed by this thoughtless war, and by
+alleging that more advantage might be obtained by diplomacy. In the end
+Lübeck had to bend to the common sentiment.
+
+Imperial diplomacy was put into motion, resulting in a congress held at
+Stettin, in December, 1570, in which a reconciliation was brought about
+between Denmark, Lübeck, and King John of Sweden; and of which the
+conditions were, that the Hansa might trade with certain Russian cities;
+"so long as the emperor permitted it;" Sweden was also bound over to pay
+some of the outstanding debts which Gustavus Vasa had contracted with
+Lübeck.
+
+King John assented, but no sooner did he feel himself firmly seated on
+his throne than he too forgot all his treaty promises, and once more
+demanded that all Hanseatic commerce with Russia should cease. He
+defiantly styled himself "Lord of the Baltic," assigning as his claim to
+this title the fact that to the Swedish crown had passed the heritage of
+the Hansa, both on the seas and in the Livonian colonies.
+
+An Imperial Diet assembled at Speyer shortly afterwards and discussed
+these new complications, and professed great anxiety for the welfare of
+those deluded subjects of the empire, the Hanseatics. It also made
+sympathetic reference to the fate of Livonia, and made no secret of its
+embarrassment and annoyance at seeing now the Muscovite, now the Pole,
+now the Swede in possession of the Baltic.
+
+But the anxiety and the sympathy did not go beyond words. The Hansa was
+weary; the empire was impotent to aid. It is true that Sweden had
+offered to restore to the Germans all the portion of Livonia she had
+taken for herself in return for the costs of war, but even this proposal
+was allowed to drop. When, by 1579, the Swedes perceived that the empire
+made no effort to regain its lost possession, they quietly assumed that
+none would ever be made, and their assumption did not prove erroneous.
+
+Curiously enough, at the diet held at Frankfort, in the autumn of 1570,
+presided over by the Emperor Maximilian who was ever well inclined to
+the Hansa, and repeatedly urged them to unity, there was also present
+the infamous Duke of Alva, the Catholic butcher, who murdered human
+beings to the glory and honour of God. It was he who urged that by all
+possible means the exportation of armour and fire-arms should be
+hindered, lest the Muscovite, in possession of a European army, should
+one day bring sorrow not only to the Netherlands, but to all
+Christendom.
+
+The German merchant world was to blame, in the first instance, for the
+loss of the prosperous colony; and that this was perfectly understood by
+outsiders is proved by the rough utterance of a Tartar Khan who had been
+imprisoned together with a Livonian. Spitting into the face of the
+latter, the barbarian said, "It serves you German dogs quite right that
+you have lost your province; you first put into the hands of the
+Muscovite the rod with which he whipped us, now he has turned it against
+yourselves and whipped you with it."
+
+But the League's troubles were not at an end with the loss of Livonia
+and their Russian trade. They were to learn by bitter experience, what
+individuals too have to learn, that mankind cannot resist the temptation
+to kick the man or nation that is down.
+
+Bitter ingratitude was first to be shown them by their ally, Denmark, in
+return for all the heavy sacrifices they had made on her behalf. Lübeck
+was treated with overbearing contempt, while the neutral cities were
+punished, as perhaps they more justly deserved, for their cowardly
+policy. Thus Rostock, which had furnished the Swedish admiral with food
+supplies in 1566, was forbidden to trade thenceforth with Scania;
+Hamburg, whose ships had been captured engaged in the same unpatriotic
+business, had to pay a hundred thousand dollars to regain them; and
+Danzig, too, was fined the same sum by the King of Denmark for a like
+offence.
+
+But the keenest humiliation was yet in store for Lübeck herself, in King
+Frederick's behaviour concerning the Island of Bornholm, so long the
+Hansa queen's special possession. First a Lübeck governor was formally
+ejected by the Danes, then the inhabitants of the island, encouraged in
+insubordination by seeing how the authorities at Copenhagen dealt with
+their masters, refused to pay their dues, finally one of the towns even
+forcibly ejected some Lübeck traders. It was ominous that King Frederick
+opposed all mention of Bornholm during the treaties for peace. Suddenly,
+on the 7th of September, 1575, he informed the city of Lübeck, "that as
+the fifty years' possession, accorded to them by his grandfather, would
+have expired on the 19th of the month, he intended to retake possession
+of the island." On the city's replying that the peace of Hamburg had
+extended their right of possession which they held for unpaid Danish
+debts, King Frederick was not ashamed to reply to the council of Lübeck,
+that they should reasonably consider that this treaty was invalid since
+his father, who had made it, was not at that time crowned, and neither
+he nor his councillors had been consulted in the matter. Frederick did
+not for a moment consider that the Hansa had in all respects
+acknowledged the "uncrowned king," and had helped him into his kingdom.
+
+Lübeck felt too weak, too exhausted, seriously to resist the king's
+claims. It sent an embassy to Copenhagen, begging for the extension of
+the possession, held by them as a pledge, for another forty, thirty,
+twenty, fifteen, eight, seven, six, five, or at least one year. Thus low
+had the Queen of the Hansa sunk, thus was she broken, that she could beg
+so abjectly. She begged in vain. King Frederick was deaf to entreaties;
+he saw his rival's weakness, and he profited by it. Had they not had
+enough return for helping Frederick I. to power by holding the island
+fifty years? Lübeck was forced to yield; the only concession that was
+made to her was, that Frederick graciously permitted her to convey one
+hundred tuns of Rhenish wine free of duty through the Sound for the
+space of ten years, to supply the town cellar of the capital. In the
+summer of 1576 Bornholm was formally delivered over to the Danes, and
+the Hansa lost yet another source of wealth.
+
+For a while the League still strove to carry on some trade with Russia,
+at first by Reval, then by Narwa, but in 1587 the latter town was
+finally taken by the Swedes. By good fortune Lübeck and its friends
+found in the Czar, Feodor Ivanowitch, a prince inclined to deal
+favourably with them. Indeed, so well disposed was he, that in the year
+1586 he reduced the existing custom dues by half in their favour, and
+placed at their entire disposal once more the factories Novgorod and
+Plestrow. But in recovering the possession of their establishments, the
+Hansa were far from recovering their monopoly, which time and events had
+undermined for ever. Annoyances without end awaited them from the Swedes
+and the Poles, whose territories they had to cross to arrive at their
+settlements. They were made to pay heavy transit tolls; their goods were
+subjected to annoying, and often disastrous delays; their ships were
+often captured and ransacked by Swedish and Polish pirates, who were
+well aware that their devastations were regarded with no evil eye by the
+home authorities.
+
+The last embassy sent by the old and veritable Hanseatic Confederation
+to the Muscovite Court, in January, 1603, only attained their ends very
+partially, notwithstanding the truly royal presents which they laid at
+the feet of the then reigning Czar, Boris Féodorowitch Gudenow. The
+chronicles tell that the presents consisted of valuable silver-gilt
+vessels, representing ostriches, eagles, pelicans, griffins, lions, also
+a Venus and a Fortuna. Presents were also added for the Czar's son, but
+by an unlucky oversight, the all-powerful Russian Chancellor had been
+forgotten in the matter of gifts; this want of thought lost the
+Hanseatic ambassadors his potent favour.
+
+The ambassadors consisted of councillors from Lübeck and Stralsund, and
+there went with them besides a certain Zacharias Meyer, an old Lübeck
+merchant, who had lived for many years in Russia, and knew the language
+and habits of the people. The embassy met with little success.
+
+The monarch whose geographical knowledge was not very extensive, and who
+confounded the names of the Hanseatic towns who sent him this embassy
+with those that had passed into the possession of Poland, his arch
+enemy, categorically refused to recognize the Hanseatic League as such,
+and would only allow the city of Lübeck to be spoken of, which it seems
+was less unfamiliar to him. Towards this city he showed himself well
+disposed, and very generous, and said it might establish factories and
+storehouses in various localities, according to traditional custom, and
+trade freely without vexatious custom dues as far as Moscow. In return
+he demanded only a money duty on the weight of the merchandise imported,
+no matter of what nature. In vain the ambassadors pleaded that the towns
+could not separate themselves. The Chancellor exclaimed with anger--
+
+"Then we will separate them; the Czar does not know the other towns, and
+those which he knows are in the hands of princes who are his enemies."
+
+And from this decision neither he nor his royal master could be moved.
+This entirely personal favour to Lübeck naturally changed the character
+borne hitherto by the Hanseatic commerce in Russia, and helped yet
+further to fan the fire of discontent already smouldering in the bosom
+of the League. All attempts made by the other cities to profit by the
+advantages conceded to Lübeck remained fruitless; and this city herself,
+though she seems to have preserved these custom privileges until the
+middle of the seventeenth century, does not seem, judging from
+appearances, to have obtained any durable or profitable result from
+them. There always remained the disturbing fact that either Swedish or
+Polish domains must be crossed, or a long _détour_ made by way of the
+White Sea, where again obstacles of yet another kind awaited them.
+
+In very truth the Hanseatic commerce with Russia was slowly dying. Some
+efforts were made to resuscitate it by the cities that remained united
+when Czar Michael Feodorowitch sat on the imperial throne. The Hansa's
+demands were actually supported by the Netherlands. But even goodwill on
+the Russian side was impotent to raise a commerce which had been
+practically strangled by the powerful grasp of Sweden. Gustavus
+Adolphus, it is true, annoyed at the new direction commerce was taking,
+and the consequent loss to his kingdom in transit dues, tried all in his
+power to revive the old movement upon the Baltic. In this spirit and
+with this desire, he concluded various treaties with Russia that obliged
+the Hanseatics to pass through his domains, and especially to touch at
+Reval, the Lübeckers, who held their depot at Novgorod, naturally
+preferring to pass by way of Narwa. But Gustavus Adolphus and his
+successors, after all, did not depart from the previous policy of
+Sweden. He and they, like their predecessors, sought to make themselves
+masters of the entire Baltic commerce, and to impose their intervention
+upon the outside nations, whom they crippled with custom dues. Various
+promises of relaxation which were made to Lübeck by Sweden were ill
+kept. The hand of this country continued to weigh heavily upon all the
+Baltic coasts, until there arose on the scene the figure of Peter the
+Great, who in his turn reduced them to submission, and who made himself
+practically lord and master of the Baltic lands.
+
+Thus ends the history of the Hanseatic commerce with Russia, which might
+be said to have ended already, under Czar Feodorowitch Gudenow, for it
+was no longer one League, but only an individual city that maintained
+communication with Russia in those latter days. The confederation of
+cities known as the Hanseatic League had ceased to march together, or to
+figure by name in the various treaties and negotiations made after the
+accession to power of this Czar.
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+THE LEAGUE IN THE NETHERLANDS.
+
+
+The successive losses of factories and Hanseatic liberties in the
+kingdoms of the North and East, were of themselves a fatal shock to the
+prosperity of the League. It must be remembered that the great
+privileges attained by the League in times past in England, the
+Netherlands, France, and Spain, were all based on the monopoly acquired
+by them in trading in the products of Russia, Denmark, Sweden, and
+Norway. This monopoly, as we have seen in the last chapters, had been
+seriously threatened; factories had been forcibly closed, natives and
+strangers had competed with the Hanseatics; the League's prerogatives
+and charters had been trodden under foot and disregarded.
+
+All the efforts made by the Hanseatics at the end of the fifteenth
+century and in the early years of the sixteenth to expel from the Baltic
+waters their various competitors, had ended in failure. It obviously
+followed that, with the loss of this monopoly, the privileges extorted
+on the strength of it would vanish also; and this was speedily the case,
+for under what pretence of preference could the League now invoke
+special favours at the hands of the Eastern nations?
+
+These general causes of failure in the West were destined to be
+complicated in the case of the Netherlands with the adverse fate which
+befell the town of Bruges at the end of the second period of our story,
+and of which we have already spoken. The disaster which deprived the
+town of its commercial importance also contributed to ruin the Hanseatic
+factory established in that city. Then the Hanseatics themselves were
+not wholly blameless, seeing how at Bruges they repeatedly revolted
+against paying the tax enforced for storage of goods, a tax that was a
+regular condition in the statutes of the League, and which was exacted
+in all its foreign settlements; and, besides this, there are also other
+circumstances to be reckoned with, of a more general character. The
+closing of the factory of Bruges was one of many signs of the course of
+events. A new spirit was abroad affecting commerce and progress in all
+directions, a spirit against which, as we have said, the League
+resolutely set its face, and which it refused to recognize until it was
+too late.
+
+After the invasion of the territory of Bruges in 1488 and the ten years'
+blockade of the harbour of Sluys, by the Emperor Frederick III., to
+avenge the confinement of his son, the city found her trade almost
+ruined. Two important branches were lost to her, by the Italians who
+brought their own silk stuffs to the rival market of Antwerp and by the
+Flemish cloth-workers who had settled in England and likewise sent their
+goods thither.
+
+Under these circumstances the Hansa could scarcely hope for the
+continued prosperity of Bruges. The tumultuous activity that had
+hitherto reigned in the factory gave place to a death-like silence. The
+profit that was lost to the town fell chiefly to the lot of Amsterdam
+and Antwerp, but partly to the fairs held annually in various localities
+of the Netherlands, which benefited by this abandonment and which came
+gradually to attract to themselves all the business of the East.
+
+It must not be supposed, however, that the Hanseatic Diet did not
+observe with dismay the visible and rapid decline of the prosperity of
+this once flourishing factory; but what could they do to hinder the
+general desertion of its merchants? Could they, reduced as they were in
+strength and influence, restore to the city of Bruges its character of
+general depôt for the West? Could they remove the obstruction of the
+Zivin, ordered by the emperor, which, by a canal had connected Bruges
+with the sea? Were they not themselves so weakened that their own
+members refused to pay the imposed dues, violated all the factory laws,
+and traded and made common cause with the natives?
+
+In vain did various diets send ambassadors to Bruges to recall to the
+minds of the faithless traders the laws under which they were
+constituted and by which they were bound to abide. In vain did the
+alderman of the factory itself plead with the men living under his
+charge. The spirit of individualism and insubordination was abroad, and
+since the League could no longer ensure its old profits to its foreign
+members, these no longer found it to their own interests to obey its
+behests, many of which they rightly felt to be antiquated. Add to this,
+that the failure to pay the appointed taxes made negotiations often
+impossible for lack of means, and it will be seen how crippled and
+handicapped was the League in its relations with Bruges.
+
+The Baltic towns, ever the most public-spirited and perhaps also the
+most commercially enlightened recognizing this state of affairs, had in
+1530 combined on a fixed tariff, which they thought should be paid to
+the factory at Bruges for its maintenance. But the other cities would
+not listen to this, and the absence of concord, that of late had made
+itself felt and heard too often in the councils of the League, was
+manifest again on this occasion. Town after town stated through its
+deputies that it would not contribute to this general tax unless some
+special favour were granted to it, unless some special merchandise were
+allowed to pass free into the Netherland domains; the merchandise named
+being usually that in which the bulk of the town's trade consisted. If
+ever an association gave practical exemplification of the homely saying
+of "cutting off one's nose to spite one's face," the League was doing it
+at that moment.
+
+As usual Cologne was one of the most restive and obstructive of all the
+towns. It actually proposed to pay a lump sum of a hundred guilders
+annually, and so be free from all custom duties of whatever kind. By the
+time the dispute was at last decided, and a sum fixed upon by all the
+towns together, the dominion of Bruges had hopelessly passed away from
+the Hansa, and the League was busy with the thought of removing its
+factory to Antwerp.
+
+For they finally admitted that they must cut loose from the old
+moorings; that it was necessary to quit the ancient factory, where
+disunion and grave disorders had crept in. The merchants who had
+deserted had many of them become naturalized citizens of Amsterdam, or
+Antwerp, where they quietly continued their commercial relations with
+the confederated towns, without taking notice either of the
+confederation or of its factories. Under these changed circumstances
+what could be done? There were only two courses possible to the League:
+to afford free trade to the Netherlands, and so renounce its ancient
+methods, or to maintain the old system, and make an attempt to apply its
+principles in a new locality. The first course would have been the most
+rational, and the most in keeping with the spirit of the time. But the
+Hanseatics, as we have frequently had occasion to see in the course of
+our story, were not men easily to lose hold of prey, or to break
+spontaneously with a past that had been glorious and lucrative. They
+decided in favour of the second course, and at once set about seeking
+for the spot which would best secure their interests. Various places
+offered themselves for their choice, such as Bergen-op-Zoom,
+Middlebourg, Haarlem, all of which promised the Hansa considerable
+advantages, in order to attract it to themselves. It would, perhaps,
+have most inclined to Amsterdam, but it could not forget that this town
+had often fought in the ranks of its enemies, and had put forth in the
+Baltic a special activity very prejudicial to its monopoly. Antwerp was
+finally decided upon, for it was manifest already in 1513 that the
+great commercial movement of the epoch seemed inclined to tend towards
+that spot.
+
+The story of the rise of the city into importance is most interesting.
+Formerly its houses had been all thatched with straw. Its inhabitants
+lived on the results of agricultural labour and fishing. Since the
+English merchant adventurers had patronized the town, wretched
+habitations had given place to fine solid houses; ease and wealth had
+taken up their abode among the burghers. As an instance of this, it may
+be mentioned that houses which fifty years previously let for forty to
+sixty dollars of annual rent, now fetched four to eight hundred dollars
+a year. The Hansa asked themselves, very naturally, were not some of
+those good things to fall to their share.
+
+It was in 1545 that it was finally settled by the Hanseatic Diet that a
+depôt should be established at Antwerp, but the negotiations regarding
+it dragged on. It was, however, at once decided, that the factory should
+become, like the factories of the past, an obligatory intermediary of
+all the relations between the Hansa and strangers.
+
+In 1561, the League was fortunate enough to obtain from King Philip of
+Spain the confirmation of the privileges which they had extorted in the
+fourteenth and fifteenth centuries from the Dukes of Brabant, and which
+permitted them to bring in their goods at a minimum rate, and accorded
+to them other valuable privileges. And besides this liberality on the
+part of the ruler of the land, the interested city also showed itself
+willing to further the weal of the League. The Hanseatics were offered
+by the town of Antwerp a spacious tract of land, free of rent, situated
+between two canals, on which they were to be allowed to erect a factory.
+Besides this, Antwerp offered to defray a third of the costs, laying
+down for this purpose the large sum of thirty thousand guilders. Annexed
+to the establishment, which was to be the free possession of the
+confederation, was an open public square, that formed a sort of
+exchange--free to all comers--where prices were to be settled, and sales
+and auctions held. A public balance, adapted to the weights in use among
+the Hanseatics, was to serve in the residence itself, for weighing the
+merchandise imported by them, while the public balance of the town was
+to serve for weighing their purchases. Other very favourable conditions
+with regard to the exportation of unsold goods, and of goods in storage
+and in transit were added. In return for all these favours, the
+Hanseatics had to promise not to abandon Antwerp, unless very real and
+serious causes, such as a war or a plague, should force them thence; and
+that Antwerp should enjoy in Hanseatic cities such commercial liberties
+as were accorded by the League to the most favoured nations.
+
+On May 5, 1564, the foundation-stone of the splendid House of the
+Easterlings, at Antwerp, was laid, with great pomp and ceremony, in
+presence of the local burgomasters and the representatives of the
+League. In four years the stately edifice was finished, and formerly
+handed over to the aldermen of the Hansa, and such Hanseatics as were in
+Antwerp, who were regarded by the city as the representatives of the
+confederated towns.
+
+ [Illustration: THE HANSA FACTORY, ANTWERP.]
+
+The first Hanseatic Syndic General, Dr. Heinrich Sudermann, of Cologne,
+then put the finishing touch to the great work by sketching out for the
+factory a projected code of statutes for its internal management. It was
+laid before the Hansa Diet for revision, approved, and at once
+promulgated. This code enumerated the qualities requisite for admission
+to the enjoyment of Hanseatic privileges, determined the methods of
+nomination, as well as the duties of the various functionaries attached
+to the factory, and other details. The accounts were to be placed under
+the supreme supervision of Lübeck. Further, the merchants were to
+maintain the traditional monastic discipline, were to live under the
+same roof, and partake of their repasts in common in the great hall of
+the factory. A few of the rules recall the old hostile attitude always
+maintained by the League towards strangers. All disputes of Hanseatics
+among themselves were to be submitted to the jurisdiction of the
+factory.
+
+In a word, in the outer magnificence of the factory building, as well as
+in the elaboration and rigour of the statutes, all the ancient
+traditional Hanseatic forms had been revived. Indeed, as regards the
+statutes, these attained at this epoch their greatest scientific
+perfection.
+
+But perfect, correct, traditional, though the forms might be, they were
+no longer in accordance with the times; no longer the expression of the
+epoch that gave them birth. It was easy to foresee that the first
+adverse breath would dissipate them.
+
+And so truly it proved. Indeed, certain complications showed themselves
+before the building was finished, and foreshadowed the nature of the
+troubles to be expected in the future. Money, as usual, was the
+touchstone of discord. Various cities refused to pay in the stipulated
+sums, others protested against the regulations proposed. Danzig even
+went so far as entirely to object to the new settlement as too distant
+from the centre of business, and contended that the pact of the League
+with the town of Antwerp had been concluded too hurriedly, and without
+due consultation.
+
+In consequence of these difficulties, the factory, when completed, found
+itself crippled, and hampered by debts, from which it was never able to
+free itself. This was an unfortunate start, and was entirely due to the
+apathy and bad faith of the cities, among whom it became more and more
+evident that the old spirit of union was rapidly dying out.
+
+Another difficulty was, that the traders began to object to living in
+common under one roof. The reasons in ancient times for this regulation,
+such as the defective conditions of public security, no longer existed
+in these more civilized times. Merchants did not care to submit to the
+often tiresome and petty restrictions on personal liberty involved by
+the monastic rules that existed in the factory.
+
+In vain the Syndic of the League put forward for the consideration of
+these unruly members, that the concentration of all the Hanseatics in
+one factory building made the defence of their privileges more easy,
+while their dispersion in the various towns and villages facilitated
+exactions by the natives and the raising of taxes. In vain he pointed
+to the example of England, where the Hanseatics, thanks to their unity
+of action and of existence, had kept their prerogatives intact during
+three centuries, while, on the contrary, in the Netherlands the spirit
+of isolation had produced in course of time an augmentation of at least
+treble their original dues. In vain he demonstrated that partnerships
+made with foreigners were onerous for the Hanseatics themselves, and
+drew down upon them the too great probability of conflicts with the
+rulers of the Netherlands, who thus would find their interests betrayed.
+
+Expostulations, appeals to the statutes, and menaces, proved powerless
+to change the state of things, or the direction in which affairs were
+tending. There was no longer a strong support to be obtained from the
+League as a body, in return for obedience; its threats were no longer
+followed up by deeds, it had grown too feeble to quell resistance,
+especially such resistance as was made by towns strong in
+themselves--as, for example, Danzig and Cologne.
+
+The jurisdiction of the factory was no longer respected as supreme by
+its own members. It frequently happened, even in the early days of the
+settlement, that Hanseatics residing at Antwerp brought their
+differences before the local tribunals instead of before their own
+court. It is related, that one day one of the Hanseatic aldermen,
+anxious to repress this mode of violating rules, reprimanded a citizen
+of Cologne, one Mathern Schoff, on this account. The accused fell upon
+the official dignitary and belaboured him with his fists. The matter
+created a scandal and was brought before the High Court of Brabant. This
+court took part with the rebellious Hanseatic, with the result that the
+authorities of the factory were forbidden, under the most heavy
+penalties, to take any action against him. They were even threatened
+with the loss of all their privileges.
+
+Such incidents, and a number of others like them, presaged a catastrophe
+at a time not too far distant. But circumstances unconnected with the
+factory rendered its position still more difficult and precarious and
+hastened its fate.
+
+Chief among these external causes was the war between England and Spain;
+the war whose chief incident was the destruction of the great Spanish
+Armada by the force of the elements, which ranged themselves on the side
+of the English Queen. This war, which made the navigation of the seas
+unsafe, was of course a most serious interruption to trade. Nor did the
+destruction of the Armada bring peace to the Hansa. Besides this there
+had broken forth in the Netherlands the great revolt in the cause of
+freedom against the ecclesiastical and civil despotism of Philip II.,
+which was permanently to change the whole state of that corner of
+Europe, and which for the time being absolutely extinguished all trade
+by sea or land. Glorious as these events proved for the cause of liberty
+and of freedom of thought, they were disastrous to the League. Each of
+the militant nations interdicted it from all relation with the other,
+and security for commerce was of course quite at an end.
+
+Now it must be borne in mind that the revolt of the Netherlands began
+while the Hanseatics were still building their new residence at Antwerp.
+The League was no longer, as in old days, strong enough to make its
+neutrality respected, and the consequence was, it had to yield to the
+demands of whichever party was at the moment the strongest. Thus the
+Prince of Orange manifested from 1571 onwards a desire that they should
+interrupt their communications with Spain. As a result, when Antwerp was
+taken, and pillaged by the Spaniards, November 4, 1576, the Hanseatics
+were forced to see themselves treated not as neutrals, but as friends of
+the rebels. Their papers were seized and their goods confiscated; even
+their charter was seized and the price of ransom fixed at the high rate
+of twenty thousand guilders. Further, if we may deduce inferences from
+the minutes of the Hanseatic Diet of the same year, 1576, it would seem
+as though King Philip II., and the Prince of Orange each in their turn
+placed a tax of 10, 20, and even 40 per cent. upon the merchandise
+imported by the Hanseatics into the Low Countries.
+
+The League, in this desperate situation pleaded for help now from one
+leader, now from another, but could obtain no efficient relief or
+support from any side. At last in April, 1577, the Spanish governor of
+the Netherlands offered conditions to a Hanseatic embassy which under
+the circumstances seemed sufficiently advantageous. It was proposed that
+to indemnify them for the losses suffered during the pillage of Antwerp,
+the Hanseatics should for twenty years be completely exempt from all
+taxes imposed in Holland or Brabant, and from half the taxes established
+for Zealand. Besides this the heads of the factory were once more to be
+recognized as alone competent to pronounce judgment in civil suits
+between Hanseatics residing in the Low Countries. On their part,
+however, the Hanseatics would have to submit to the necessities of
+warfare. Further, full latitude was conceded to them in the matter of
+re-exportation of their goods, unless imperious need opposed this, in
+which case they should receive current prices for their merchandise.
+
+That these promises were ill kept, and that the factory, scarcely born,
+was rapidly nearing its end, is proved by the complaints addressed in
+1581 and 1582, to the city of Lübeck by its representatives residing at
+the factory of Antwerp. They pointed out how money was absolutely
+wanting in the establishment; that the Hanseatics, resident and
+non-resident, did not pay the contributions promised; that the Spaniards
+harassed them, and rendered their indebted position yet more difficult;
+that they had no means of enforcing payment, and that if any one city,
+or private person did pay, it was out of pity. Then followed complaints
+of certain cities, especially of Cologne, which sent merchandise to
+foreign agents. The document further states that the rooms, cellars, and
+storehouses of the factory were quite empty; that the imposition or
+rather the faithful payment of some of the various taxes had to be taken
+into serious consideration; and that as the canal duties in Zealand were
+always rising in price, contrary to treaty, it seemed to the
+petitioners advisable that reprisals should be made on the natives of
+that territory, residing in or treating with Germany. Finally, they
+announced to the city that they were about to charge an able secretary
+with the permanent duties of looking after the affairs of the factory,
+if such a plan were pleasing to the town of Lübeck, and if the factory
+was to continue its existence. This last phrase is significant.
+
+Lübeck, in its reply, offered to the factory of Antwerp mere empty
+phrases of consolation, promising in a lukewarm manner to see that the
+outstanding Hanseatic dues were paid, in order that a beginning might at
+least be made. But it opposed the advice given by its representatives at
+Antwerp, to practise reprisals towards the Netherlanders, because in
+that case they would seek for themselves other routes and the Hanseatic
+port would remain abandoned and neglected.
+
+One of the Hansa's earliest and most able historians, commenting on this
+reply from the city of Lübeck makes the following very just remarks:
+"Nothing betokens more clearly the end of the Hanseatics' commercial
+dominion than this last passage in Lübeck's reply to its petitioners.
+Formerly the League would have interrupted all intercourse with the
+country that so misbehaved, and would thus have punished it, would have
+avenged the very smallest infraction of its privileges. Now it did not
+even dare have recourse to this measure for fear of completely
+sacrificing a commerce the pursuit of which had become possible
+independent of the Hanseatics."
+
+A little later than the documents referred to above, an Antwerp
+Hanseatic alderman wrote that he saw no hope for their body, and that
+the debts were of such a nature, so numerous, so onerous, that within
+twenty-four hours the representatives of the factory might be arrested,
+and the factory itself put up for sale. This piece of news did arouse
+the apathy of the cities. Indeed it created such alarm that even Cologne
+showed itself disposed to pay the stipulated taxes faithfully and
+regularly, within the course of the ensuing years. Unfortunately however
+at the point to which the Hansa had come, this tax which was levied on
+goods proved fatal to the Hanseatic commerce, already crippled by other
+custom dues, while it assured an ever-increasing advantage to their two
+commercial rivals, the English and Dutch. It was in consequence of these
+heavy duties, too, that many a Hansa citizen renounced of his own free
+will the liberties that had come to cost so dear.
+
+The Hansa Diet could see no remedy save in their old traditional
+measures. These import duties they insisted must be paid by the towns,
+and to insure this they established payment stations in divers
+localities of the Low Countries, such as Dortrecht and Amsterdam. But
+all these efforts failed to bring about the needful result, and the
+chief alderman at Antwerp was menaced with imprisonment. Indeed, it is
+said he was actually confined for some while.
+
+In sore straits, the Hansa resolved to confide the administration of its
+Antwerp factory to a manager and a secretary chosen from the town of
+Cologne, who in critical moments should seek advice of the towns of
+Lübeck and Bremen.
+
+Unfortunately the best administration in the world--and that of Cologne
+was perhaps not the best--could not restore life to an establishment
+irrevocably doomed. The few promises made, the few guarantees given,
+whether by the United Provinces or by the Spanish Netherlands, were not
+kept. Two Hansa embassies which passed through Antwerp early in the
+seventeenth century--the one bound for England, the other for
+Spain--halted at the factory to inspect it. Their official report sent
+to the Diet was, that this factory was completely fallen into disrepute
+and decay, and that in the general ruin every one thought only of
+himself, and the general interest was not considered. They added, that
+places formerly bustling with commercial life had been converted into
+barns for the threshing of corn.
+
+A faint new hope was excited by the armistice which in 1609 was
+concluded between Spain and the Low Countries; and Bremen was charged
+with the administration of the factory in the place of Cologne. But this
+was a mere passing delusion which was to vanish before the reality; for
+in 1624 the Spanish soldiers took up their headquarters in the factory,
+and never quitted it until after the lapse of nearly thirty years, by
+that time having made its hundred and seventy rooms entirely
+uninhabitable.
+
+A very pardonable, and indeed in this case very laudable, _amour propre_
+made the town of Lübeck too late desirous to restore this factory, which
+recalled the greatness, as well as the decadence, of the Hanseatic
+League. But the Queen of the Hansa, the most patriotic, the most
+energetic of all the cities, was not supported by her confederates in
+this costly enterprise. She therefore saw herself forced to abandon the
+establishment to its fate.
+
+Still, before that date, indeed immediately after the pillage of
+Antwerp, the trade of the Hanseatic League with the Low Countries had
+ceased to be a commerce placed upon a regulated footing and ruled by
+prescribed laws, laws emanating from the factory and punctually and
+faithfully obeyed by the members. A faint activity and revival occurred
+in the seventeenth century when the Dutch and Hanseatics made a mutual
+trade pact. But this proved of little profit to the latter, as far at
+least as their traffic in the Low Countries was concerned; for, like
+impatient heirs, the citizens of the United Provinces endeavoured to
+enfeeble their rivals, to whose succession they looked forward.
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+THE END OF THE HANSA'S DOMINION IN ENGLAND.
+
+
+The Hansa had been more fortunate in England than in the Low Countries.
+Up to the middle of the sixteenth century nothing had occurred that had
+sensibly modified its old relationship with the English nation. Nor had
+the factory diminished in power or the commerce in importance. It is
+true that at various times, now the kings themselves, now the people,
+had grown restive under the heavy monopoly of the Hansa League; but, to
+the kings especially, the League with its riches, its command of ready
+money and of ships, was of great use, and all attempts at restriction of
+privilege ended in failure.
+
+But as Russia became consolidated after she had thrown off the Tartar
+yoke, so England also gained in strength after she had once renounced
+the foolish desire of making herself mistress of France, and after the
+long civil war of the Roses was ended, and a new and peaceful reign
+inaugurated.
+
+Henry VII. left the Hansa privileges intact. The same was the case under
+Henry VIII., who even confirmed and extended them. The patron of Max
+Meyer, the friend of the democratic burgomaster Wullenweber, found it to
+his own interest to have the theological and political support of the
+maritime Baltic cities, and was regardless of the interests and deaf to
+the entreaties of his native merchants. It is true that this
+hot-tempered and capricious monarch several times threatened the League
+with a restriction of their rights. Once indeed his threats seemed so
+likely to take effect that the Hamburgers, in alarm, advised the
+Steelyard authorities to remove from the factory all silver vessels and
+all ready money. However, these threats were not serious; they were
+perhaps but a ruse to extract more pecuniary or moral assistance from
+his allies.
+
+The successive checks, however, which the League was encountering in
+other foreign countries were not without their reactionary effect upon
+England. Various discussions arose between Hanseatic and English
+merchants, and led to more or less violent squalls, which were certainly
+the prelude to the coming tempest.
+
+The Hansa, for instance, complained that they had been suddenly
+forbidden to export English goods into foreign countries, that is to
+say, countries other than Germany proper. Above all, an attempt was made
+to prevent them from carrying English cloth into the Low Countries. This
+traffic the Merchant Adventurers, an association formed partly upon the
+pattern of the Hansa, wished to reserve to themselves alone.
+
+The Hanseatics further revolted against the old-established custom that
+made them all responsible for infraction of privilege, and punished them
+for the wrong done by one or several of their cities against some
+individual Englishman.
+
+On their side the English insisted with much bitterness that the German
+towns refused to render them justice within their dominions; that they
+had even laid violent hands upon such of their compatriots as were
+occupied in fishing in Ireland; and that they had, in the days of
+Christian II., harassed their navigation in the Baltic.
+
+During the hostilities between Francis I. and Henry VIII. the mutual
+recriminations diminished. The German Empire supported the English king,
+and the League had one more opportunity of playing the old game that had
+so often turned to its advantage. Solicited by both parties to lend its
+support, it played off one against the other; and insisting upon the
+neutrality of its members, traded freely and advantageously with both
+combatants.
+
+It is quite certain that, notwithstanding some vexations and disputes,
+King Henry VIII. of England remained until his death the staunch friend
+of the Hansa, as well as of the Low German towns that formed part of the
+Smalkaldic League.
+
+The reign of his young son and successor was to witness the first
+serious shock to the Hansa's power. This boy, who ascended the throne at
+the early age of ten years, confirmed all the Hanseatic privileges on
+his accession. Destined to give some rude blows to the confederation, he
+conformed in the first years of his reign to the ways of his ancestors.
+One incident is worth mentioning in order to illustrate the immense
+influence which the Hansa had gained in England. It was the rule,
+contracted years ago, that the name of the Hansa should figure in all
+treaties between England and France.
+
+ [Illustration: SIR THOMAS GRESHAM.]
+
+But after Edward had reigned a few years he lent willing ear to the
+requests of the Merchant Adventurers, all the more readily that their
+petitions were supported by Sir Thomas Gresham, the honoured founder of
+the London Exchange. This man made clear to the young king and his
+guardian, the Duke of Northumberland, that unless the Steelyard were
+destroyed, the price of exchange could not rise, because the fiscal
+privileges accorded to the Hansa weighed too heavily upon the English.
+Besides this, the men of the Steelyard were subjects of the emperor,
+whom the young Protestant king hated as a persecutor of his fellows in
+the purer faith.
+
+Still the Hansa suspected no real danger from King Edward, and the less
+so, as they had completely acceded to his desire that they should
+abstain from all trade with Scotland. In April, 1551, a plot laid
+against the hated and envied strangers by the London burghers was
+discovered. In the course of the inquiry into the plot, it was needful
+to examine the Hansa's claims. Confiding in the goodwill of the king's
+councillors, the "New Hansa," as Sir Thomas Gresham called the Merchant
+Adventurers, poured forth a long catalogue of grievances against the
+League. It was stated that English merchants had been ill-treated in
+various Hansa cities, notably in Danzig and Stralsund; that the commerce
+of the English was hindered in all possible ways; and that serious loss
+was incurred by the royal treasury from the circumstance, suspected to
+be true, that the Hansa permitted persons foreign to their association
+to enjoy with them the benefit of their privileges.
+
+In the list of complaints retailed before the king by the discontented
+burghers and merchants of London, and by the Merchant Adventurers who
+found themselves less favoured than these foreigners, an attempt was
+evident on the part of the English to place on one footing and to
+consider as equally prohibited, the fraudulent importation by the
+Germans of merchandise belonging to non-Hanseatics, and the importation
+by them of merchandise which belonged to them, but was not produced in
+their territory.
+
+The fact was urged that, since the Hansa paid only the usual custom
+dues, even for the foreign products they imported, and for their
+exportation of English goods to lands outside the rule of the Hanseatic
+League, they were thus able to paralyse with the greatest facility all
+English competition in these different lands.
+
+Certainly nothing better justifies the murmurs of the islanders against
+the foreigners than a comparison of their various commercial
+transactions. From these it appears that the English themselves, in
+1551, exported 1,100 pieces of native cloth as compared with 44,000
+pieces exported by the Hansa League in the same year.
+
+It is true that all these complaints were not new. But this time they
+fell upon more fruitful soil. The government were perhaps all the more
+ready to give an attentive ear, as of late the national commerce had
+taken a very vigorous start, so that the royal treasury might hope for
+considerable receipts, even if the Crown should lose the duties paid to
+it by the members of the League.
+
+In consequence the representative members of the Steelyard were cited
+before the Privy Council, which after a very brief examination of the
+claims brought forward by the Hansa, decided hastily (February 23, 1552)
+"that the Hansa, an illegal body, the names and origin of whose members
+were unknown, had by importation and adulteration of foreign goods
+forfeited the privileges accorded them by Edward VI."
+
+The following day, also in Privy Council, the suppression of all the old
+Hanseatic privileges was decreed and the League placed on an equality
+with all other foreigners, none of whom had special favours granted
+them. This decision seemed to promise that at last the English would
+gain pre-eminence over their redoubtable rivals.
+
+Meantime, the Hanseatic Diet, informed of this step on the part of the
+English Government, sent over an ambassador to treat with the king and
+Council. The result of his efforts was that, in July of the same year,
+the Hansa's privileges were re-established provisionally "as far as was
+reconcilable with the justice, fairness, and honour of the king"--so ran
+the clause.
+
+Of all the negotiations a detailed and interesting account has been
+preserved to posterity in the Diary of the young King Edward, one of the
+most interesting documents for the knowledge of his short reign.
+
+The concession granted to them made the members of the Steelyard think,
+and very rightly, that it would be well for them to put their own house
+in order, and of their own accord to initiate various reforms in their
+body, reforms much needed, for complaints against them had been loud
+and long. They secretly hoped to be in this wise restored to their
+former favoured position.
+
+The disorders, however, in the body of the Steelyard were not, on the
+whole, those from which other foreign factories suffered. The taxes and
+other enforced contributions, both from residents and from the towns
+trading with England, were punctually paid, and the finances of the
+establishment were flourishing. The complaints, moreover, addressed to
+the Diet, that the members of the Steelyard loved luxury, wine, women,
+and gambling too well, and that they rebelled against their
+semi-monastic life, were not more frequent from England than elsewhere.
+
+The difficulties were chiefly that trade regulations were not faithfully
+observed; that rules of the strictest nature, on which largely depended
+the Hansa's success, were circumvented and disregarded. For instance, no
+man who had not attained his majority was by statute allowed to become a
+member of the League and trade on his own account; nor was one who had
+not learnt English for at least six months. This latter precaution was
+the more requisite, as past experience had taught that, by ignorance of
+the native language, these men were apt to compromise the interests of
+the factory. Then there were other abuses that led to grave results,
+such as trading illicitly with natives and then absconding with their
+debts unpaid; the whole factory in such cases becoming responsible for
+the debts.
+
+In 1553, therefore, the members of the Steelyard drew up a series of new
+statutes which they proposed to lay before the King of England for
+approval. If these minutes are well considered it will be seen that
+whatever else was dead or moribund, Hanseatic astuteness was not. The
+new laws, it is true, tended to abolish the abuses that had crept into
+the use of their privileges, but they did not make the least sacrifice
+of the liberties that the Hansa had acquired in the course of years.
+
+King Edward, however, seemed little inclined to consider these statutes,
+or to revoke permanently his somewhat arbitrary decision--a decision
+undoubtedly just towards his subjects. Then happily for the Hanseatic
+League, though not for his country, he died in this same year, and the
+crown passed to his sister, the fanatical persecutor of Protestants,
+Bloody Queen Mary, as the popular mouth has named her.
+
+The new sovereign speedily made it evident that she meant in all
+respects to pursue a different policy from that of her predecessor. The
+first to fall was the Duke of Northumberland, the pronounced enemy of
+the Hansa. Immediately after, the queen showed by various signs that she
+was graciously disposed towards these strangers, who had boldly greeted
+her proclamation as queen against her rival, Lady Jane Grey, by draughts
+of Rhenish wine liberally bestowed upon the populace at the gates of her
+capital. On the occasion of her triumphal entry into London they were
+foremost in welcoming her with pomp and splendour, as we have already
+mentioned in a former chapter.
+
+Scarcely was the queen firmly seated on her throne, than the Syndic
+General of the Hansa, Dr. Sudermann, waited upon her, attended by
+councillors from some of the chief Hansa cities. The result of their
+representations was that one of the first acts of the new queen's reign
+was to annul the royal statute of Edward VI. that so grievously
+threatened the League. This almost unexpected good result was, it is
+whispered, not due merely to Queen Mary's reactionary policy, but also
+to the corrupting influence of Hanseatic gold, judiciously distributed.
+
+Our League thus recovered its entire liberties and rights in the matter
+of export and import, notwithstanding the opposition of Parliament, of
+the Lord Mayor of London, and of the citizens. It is therefore not
+astonishing that they were willing to show themselves liberal on the
+occasion of King Philip's entry as husband of the English queen; and
+that in order to maintain the favour of this couple, various cities,
+especially Lübeck, showed themselves far from friendly to Protestant
+refugees who sought protection in their precincts.
+
+A valuable memorandum, drawn up by the Syndic Sudermann and happily
+preserved to our times, gives a vivid picture of what was implied by the
+Hanseatic privileges in England.
+
+Taking merely into account one article of their commerce, English cloth,
+it appears from this report that from the month of January to the month
+of November, 1554, the Hansa had exported from England 36,000 pieces of
+cloth, as against 1,100 exported by the English themselves, a third dyed
+and two-thirds in the rough; that they only paid for the right of exit
+threepence each piece, while other foreigners paid five shillings and
+ninepence; that they could use their own servants for packing and
+expediting merchandise, and so were relieved of various custom dues;
+that had they not possessed these privileges they would have had to buy
+this cloth on the Antwerp market, paying about £1 sterling more for the
+same; that they further gained £1 on each undyed piece, which they alone
+were allowed to export in this state, and which they resold after having
+had it dyed. If it be further considered that in reality they paid less
+than threepence a piece in the pound as custom duties, because the price
+of goods, fixed in ancient statutes, had gone up, while the Hansa still
+paid at the old figure; if, in short, this and various other matters be
+taken into account, it is no wonder that Syndic Sudermann could prove
+that on English cloth alone the Hansa earned, above that made by other
+foreigners who traded in this branch, a sum of about £61,000 sterling.
+
+Small wonder, therefore, that the trade was as much coveted as it was
+prosperous, and that the mayor and municipal council of London did not
+cease from laying their complaints before the queen. They literally
+pestered her with petitions and demands on this subject.
+
+For some months the Hansa succeeded in averting the storm from their
+heads, but finally the leading members of the Steelyard found themselves
+suddenly cited to appear before the Queen's Privy Council, and had to
+listen to a long catalogue of grievances drawn up by their accusers.
+
+The sum total of these grievances was, that the Hansa did not
+contribute sufficiently to the resources of the English Crown; that it
+was prejudicial to the English navy, because it refused to employ any
+vessels but its own; that it harmed the very quality of English cloth,
+for the makers, seeing the Hansa would be sure to buy, presented them
+often with inferior qualities. An amusing complaint is the following:
+Whereas, say the memorialists, the Hanseatics are all bachelors, they
+greatly injure English trade at Antwerp, because the increased leisure
+this state gives them, allows of their trading more extensively and
+actively. Further, they once more brought forward the time-honoured
+objection that the Hansa would permit of no reciprocity, and while
+nominally allowing the English to settle in their towns, crippled their
+trade by heavy taxation and vexatious regulations.
+
+That these assertions were not without foundation, not even the Hansa
+could deny. They could but point to ancient charters to justify them in
+a measure. The result of this last formal complaint was, however, that
+the Privy Council decided that henceforth the Hansa should abstain from
+importing English cloth into the Netherlands, and that the quantity of
+undyed goods they might export be reduced by two-thirds. They further
+added that any infraction of these orders would result in entire
+suppression of all privileges.
+
+The Hansa, who did not easily own themselves beaten, and who desired at
+all costs to hinder their rivals from supplanting them, sent various
+embassies in the course of the next few years to the Court of England.
+They also once more attempted the agency of bribery and corruption by
+means of Hansa gold, to attain their ends. In vain. Embassies,
+seductions, led to no result; not even a letter which King Philip of
+Spain was induced to indite to his wife, the Queen of England, on their
+behalf, could modify by one iota the decision taken by the Privy
+Council.
+
+Despairing of a good result from these measures, the League resolved to
+have recourse to its ancient mode of exerting pressure upon obstinate
+peoples, by threatening to break off all intercourse with them. The
+measure was, however, likely to have brought destruction to them in
+England; that it did not was due to the circumstance that the towns were
+no longer, as in past days, blindly obedient to the orders issued by the
+Hanseatic Diet. The Hansa, issuing such an order, forgot that they were
+no longer the exclusive masters of the North and East.
+
+Such was the state of things when Queen Mary died, and Elizabeth, the
+Virgin Queen, took into her firm and able hands the reins of the English
+government (1558). It is true that she gave a gracious reception to the
+Hanseatic embassy that waited on her in May, 1560; but between a
+gracious reception and a confirmation of the ancient privileges of the
+League the Hansa were to learn that there lay an abyss she would never
+bridge over.
+
+That the Hansa's power was effectually broken in England ultimately was
+due to that queen and to her wise statesman, Lord Burleigh.
+
+It was soon felt by the nation at large that, with the advent to power
+of Elizabeth, a new spirit was infused into English life and enterprise.
+After a hundred years of weakness, England awoke to renewed life and
+vigour, and with vigour awoke ambition.
+
+The Merchant Adventurers, encouraged by Gresham, put forward their
+desires; and they, too, asked that the Hansa should be kept down. These
+desires were listened to by the patriotic sovereign. She reconfirmed all
+the new tariffs with which the Hansa had been charged by Edward VI., and
+she further made various demands which the Hansa were most unwilling to
+concede; for they implied a strict investigation of the affairs of their
+factory--an investigation that they had no wish to provoke.
+
+In the following years an active correspondence took place between the
+English queen and the Hansa cities, which made it most emphatically
+manifest to the latter that they must renounce all their antiquated
+pretensions; but that, on the other hand, the English queen was willing
+to place them in the category of the most-favoured nation clause, so
+that they would still pay less than other foreigners.
+
+The Steelyard authorities, being on the spot and better able, therefore,
+to estimate the bearings and value of Elizabeth's letters and threats,
+strongly advised the Hansa towns to conform to the queen's concessions
+and demands. They foresaw that worse things were in store were this not
+done. But the League--to whom the smallest and most equitable sacrifice
+always seemed an enormity--resolved, before yielding, to try as a last
+resource what could be effected by endeavouring to obtain the
+intervention of the emperor.
+
+It is strange that, after the lapse of so many years, experience should
+not have taught the Hanseatics that from the German emperor no effective
+help could be obtained. In this case, as in many previous ones, the
+reigning sovereign contented himself by writing a letter of
+remonstrance--a letter so worded that it was easily manifest to the
+recipient that words would not be followed by deeds. Both the Hansa and
+the emperor involuntarily revealed that, even after the ancient special
+privileges were withdrawn, the League would still enjoy great favour in
+England.
+
+The emperor's letter was presented to Elizabeth by the aldermen and
+councillors of the Steelyard. The queen's privy councillors, and
+especially the trusty William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, in reply, made it
+very clear to the deputation that they had nothing to hope for beyond
+the last concessions offered.
+
+Burleigh was the special object of the Hansa's hate. This arose,
+perhaps, from the fact that he had, according to a contemporary
+reporter, insulted one of their ambassadors by accosting him "with
+almost indecent rough speech." But Burleigh's speech can scarcely
+deserve these epithets, if the complaints and remarks are founded on his
+saying, that it was a bad shepherd who desired to pasture the cattle of
+strangers more richly than his own flocks; nor could they complain that
+they were excluded, so long as they might trade as freely as the
+English, and more freely than the French, Flemings, Dutch, Scotch, and
+other nations.
+
+The Hansa, blind, unwise, stuck to its old policy, and like Shylock
+demanded the very letter of its ancient bond. It is true that Elizabeth
+insisted, on her side, that her subjects should be favoured in the Hansa
+towns; that this reciprocity should be granted was already a clause in
+the Treaty of Utrecht, concluded, it will be remembered, in 1474, but it
+had never been carried into effect.
+
+It must be admitted that, all things considered, Queen Elizabeth treated
+the Hanseatics with a good deal of consideration and long-suffering, and
+demanded from them no more than what she had a right to demand. When
+they refused the offer to be placed on an equal footing with the English
+the queen issued an order that their export of English cloth should in
+future not exceed five thousand pieces. Cologne tried to retaliate by
+putting on an import tax, but it was an isolated measure, and had no
+effect.
+
+In a word, the victory remained in the end with the English Government,
+on the side of which fought, not only its own vigorous organization, but
+also the disunion among the Hansa towns, which grew more serious daily,
+and the grave disorders that existed in the Steelyard itself.
+
+For some time past serious complaints had been heard against the
+alderman of the factory, Peter Eiffler, a man who filled this high post
+for several consecutive years. He was accused among other things, of
+having tampered with the funds of the establishment, of having
+administered the factory without the help, or advice of the council; and
+of having divided unfairly among the Hanseatic merchants, the five
+thousand pieces of cloth permitted to them for export. Further, he was
+reproached for having in 1563 made a journey, leaving the Steelyard and
+the care of the treasury to young men incapable of so high a trust, who
+had done great damage to the factory.
+
+After all these accusations had been duly sifted, this unfaithful
+servant of the Hansa was of course deposed from his post of trust, but
+his dismissal brought no fresh order into the shattered condition of
+things. As is frequently the case in the face of a public calamity,
+public spirit was extinct. Each individual thought only of himself, and
+of what he could rescue from the impending general ruin. On the one
+hand, there was the selfishness of the individual towns; on the other,
+the selfishness of the foreign factories. The London Steelyard, seeing
+that the fabric of the League was tottering, tried to save its
+individual existence out of the general wreck. It thought to acquire an
+independent life, and act and trade on its own account. Hence when the
+League knocked at the doors of its strong-room, to obtain the funds that
+should prolong or, as they hoped, even dispel the death agonies of the
+other foreign factories, whether by bribing nobles and kings, or by
+sending embassies to foreign courts, the Steelyard was careful not to
+listen to these demands, thinking of the future, when it might need all
+funds for itself. It was thus that in 1567, the London factory, in reply
+to a reprimand sent it by Syndic Sudermann for delaying to pay a sum of
+over one thousand florins into the public fund, made known to the town
+of Lübeck that this delay must not be imputed to it as a fault, that the
+times were not favourable to saving, that the annual expenses of the
+Steelyard amounted to eight hundred pounds sterling, and that other sums
+no less high had to be expended by it, in maintaining the factories at
+Lynn and Boston. The memorandum went on to explain that, if the English
+establishments were not kept in good repair, they would become forfeit
+to the English Crown. Then, again, the Hansa taxes had grown so heavy
+that no one could bear them. If the Diet wished, the Steelyard would be
+quite ready annually to send its accounts to Lübeck for revision, in
+accordance with the ancient usage, which however did not seem very
+firmly established; but, on the other hand, they would prefer not to act
+thus, since they feared lest their account-books should fall into the
+hands of their enemies, who by inspecting them, would gain an
+undesirable insight into Hanseatic commerce, and might thus perchance
+despoil them of their last privileges. The memorandum winds up by
+saying, that the Steelyard would feel greatly obliged if the League
+would refrain in future from making demands for pecuniary help in times
+of public difficulty.
+
+If this was not the language of insubordination, it is difficult to say
+what else would be. Whither had vanished the blind obedience which the
+League had ever exacted, and till now obtained from all its members, and
+which was the source of its greatness and strength?
+
+Whether all that was stated by the Steelyard in this memorandum was
+true, it is difficult to decide. Substantially no doubt it was so, but
+in the reports of the Hansa Diets during these years, we come across
+frequent complaints of the prevarication practised by the aldermen of
+the London factory.
+
+Perhaps we must not blame either the towns, or the factories too much
+for yielding to the all-powerful instinct of self-preservation. When the
+Hanseatic towns as a whole recognized that they were impotent to
+demolish the rising commerce of England, or to break the firm will of
+its lady sovereign, they were almost forced to desert a cause which was
+a losing one, and to work each for their own separate advantage.
+
+Hamburg was the first among the confederate cities to recognize whither
+matters were tending, and to adjust its policy with a due regard to the
+new spirit of the age. It concluded a convention on its own account with
+England. Matters came about in this wise. The chief foreign trade of
+England was gradually passing into the hands of the Merchant
+Adventurers. Now to this company the Netherlands were closed, owing to
+the conflict raging between Elizabeth and King Philip of Spain. Hence
+these merchants had to seek elsewhere the depôt which they had found in
+the Low Countries for their English merchandise. Owing to its situation
+and its excellent harbour the town of Embden, which did not belong to
+the Hanseatic League, seemed to unite in itself all requisite
+conditions, and it was indeed towards this place that English commerce
+was directed. In consequence Embden, within a brief space, grew most
+prosperous.
+
+This prosperity, however, speedily proved noxious to the city of
+Hamburg, till then one of the great staple towns for the traffic in
+English woollens. Seeing its gains passing thus into the hands of
+strangers, the city deliberated whether the situation could not be
+changed, and whether it would not be wiser, more lucrative, and
+altogether better, to open its own gates to the Merchant Adventurers,
+conceding to them a factory, various privileges, and great commercial
+liberties. Thus it would secure the double profits arising from their
+sojourn, and from the commerce that passed through.
+
+In 1567, Hamburg put this project into execution, concluding a formal
+treaty with the Merchant Adventurers for the space of ten years. It was
+cautious at first not to name a longer term. The experiment was but
+tentative, as it assured those of its burghers, who, clinging to the old
+Hanseatic ideas, opposed the scheme.
+
+That the project was also opposed by the Hansa Diet will be easily
+inferred. Bitter reproaches were addressed to Hamburg by the Diet held
+at Lübeck in 1572. They were told that they had been guilty of treason
+to the common cause. Their delegates replied with warmth, rejecting this
+reproach. They recalled to the memory of their hearers the treaty of
+Utrecht which stipulated reciprocity for England, and they endeavoured
+to prove that their townsmen had acted, not only in no spirit of narrow
+egoism, but in the interests of the entire League, since in consequence
+of their treaty with the Merchant Adventurers, the export of undyed
+cloths from England had been permitted in larger quantities, and that
+the German waters were freed from British pirates. Further they
+contended that every town had a right to think also of its own
+interests. Embden had received the Merchant Adventurers, and had
+extracted profit from them; why then should such profit be grudged to a
+town that was a portion of the Hansa?
+
+The delegates were able to point also to the tangible fact, that in the
+short space of the first two years, the factory of the Merchant
+Adventurers had turned over in Hamburg, the sum of three and a half
+million of dollars.
+
+This was all well and good for Hamburg, but beyond question the treaty
+still further disturbed the relations of the cities towards each other,
+and helped on the pending catastrophe. And the worst of all was that
+Elizabeth could not be induced to reconfer the old Hanseatic privileges,
+even after her subjects had been received by Hamburg.
+
+Still, for the moment, nothing was changed with regard to the new
+position taken up by Hamburg, though the agitation on the subject within
+the League itself continued unabated. When the ten years of treaty were
+ended, and the Hansa was desirous of renewing the convention, then the
+storm broke forth with fresh fury. Appeal was even made by the Hanseatic
+League to the Emperor Maximilian II., who decreed solemnly that no town
+might treat with England without the consent of its allies.
+
+Still the Queen of England did not at once break off all relations with
+the Hanseatic League. She temporized, not being willing to lose for her
+subjects the advantages gained at Hamburg which she hoped to see further
+extended. The Hansa, on its part, demanded that the queen should
+re-confirm its privileges; then it would accord a factory to the
+English. The queen replied that she wished first to see the factory
+accorded; then it would be time enough to speak of the privileges.
+
+In this wise the negotiations did not progress. Each of the parties was
+rolling the stone of Sisyphus, as Elizabeth herself remarked. It was
+quite evident that at that moment the queen was resolved not to resort
+to extreme measures, and though she threatened, she did not carry out
+her threat of putting the Hanseatics on the same footing with other
+strangers. The moment had not yet come. It came later, when she could do
+without certain of her imports, such as raw materials for ship-building
+and for stores of war, among which latter gunpowder took a great place.
+Then, too, before the defeat of the Spanish Armada had occurred, England
+did not feel her maritime power great enough to venture a _coup de
+force_.
+
+Meanwhile, each new meeting of the Hansa Diet put in a stronger light
+the radical difference between the policy pursued respectively by the
+towns of Lübeck and Hamburg. This difference may be said to form the
+tame epilogue to the great tragedy of Wullenweber's failure and death.
+
+The Lübeckers wanted the old privileges, the whole privileges, nothing
+but the privileges. What cared they for the changed condition of the
+world's affairs? Syndic Sudermann's ideal was the restoration of the
+good old customs in the factories, the continuance of every measure that
+in the past had made the Hansa great. But Sudermann was no military
+hero, who could win back privileges at the point of the sword, or "hold
+down foreign nations under his thumb," as the secretary of the Steelyard
+expressed himself. He was a learned, well-nourished, well-paid Hanseatic
+Syndic, thorough, pedantic, earnest, long-winded. It is on record that
+one of his memoranda destined for the Imperial Diet was so long, that a
+hundred and fifty dollars had to be paid in the Imperial Chancery for
+having it transcribed--an enormous sum in those days of cheap
+labour--and that the imperial councillors roundly declared that they
+would not read it at all, if it were not shortened. He it was who on all
+occasions represented Lübeck as her spokesman, and the ideas he
+expressed were those of the city.
+
+Hamburg, on the other hand, could not refrain at times from remarking
+that the kingdom of England, like other kingdoms, no longer presented
+the same aspect as two or three hundred years ago, and that hence
+account must be taken of modifications, and actions be regulated
+accordingly. Its delegates cited the case of Antwerp, pointing out that
+that town's prosperity dated from the days it had opened its gates to
+the English Merchant Adventurers. Till then the houses had been thatched
+with straw, and the inhabitants had subsisted on the profits accruing
+from agriculture and fishing. And now what commercial activity, what a
+busy life was to be seen in the marts of Antwerp, what wealth was found
+among all classes of its burghers! To cite one instance alone:
+dwellings that fifty years ago were taxed at a rental of forty to sixty
+dollars, now cost eight hundred dollars.
+
+But Lübeck would not recede from its old standpoint, and would not
+relinquish its old conservative ideas. It seemed to have none of that
+elasticity of mind that can adapt itself to changed conditions, and
+profit by them. It could but plead repeatedly--how far it was in earnest
+it is hard to tell--that the government of the League might be taken
+from off its shoulders, for the burden had grown too heavy. As a
+substitute it proposed either Cologne or Bremen. It could not find words
+to express the sorrow which Hamburg and other cities had caused by
+relinquishing the general weal for their own private good. It said it
+would itself retire from the League, in which the old sentiments no
+longer lived, were it not held to its duty, or what it deemed its duty,
+by the force of old memories. It could not realize that its system was
+antiquated, its ideas played out. Like some old people, it could neither
+give way gracefully, nor assimilate intelligently the new thoughts that
+sway the younger and rising generation. Like the old, too, it overlooked
+the fact that the young must win, time being in their favour.
+
+In a great Diet held in 1591 the following resolution was actually put
+forward, namely, "that each town present should declare whether it
+intended to remain Hanseatic." This question was indeed significant. It
+should be mentioned that during the sitting of this Diet Syndic
+Sudermann died--a man who deserved well of the League, even if his
+opinions were sometimes narrow and mistaken, and not up to the level of
+the current ideas. Like Wullenweber, he had reaped nothing but
+ingratitude in return for his ardent and patriotic labours.
+
+It is remarkable that Cologne was the first of the cities to reply in
+the affirmative, that she wished to remain in the League, Cologne ever
+so insubordinate and stubborn. Bremen also acquiesced, provided twenty
+more cities sided with Cologne. They stated that they decided thus for
+the sake of their posterity, since, having once acted, they must go
+through with it at all costs.
+
+While all these dissensions were going on in the heart of the League
+itself, England continued in its onward path, evincing that feverish
+activity of commercial enterprise that has ever distinguished it.
+Elizabeth sent ambassadors in all directions, courted and bribed the
+German princelings, distributed her gold everywhere, and by means of her
+spies neglected no means of making herself feared or beloved, or both.
+
+The League meanwhile had to look on with impotence, for it lacked
+resources to do otherwise. Day by day it was losing its influence. It is
+true that both the Hanseatic and the Imperial Diet tried to prevent the
+English from settling in Germany; but the towns that saw their profit in
+receiving them either openly or secretly disobeyed commands which
+neither party could enforce. As a sample of the replies given to the
+Diet by the Hanseatic cities may be cited the case of Stade, which, when
+called to account, answered "That Almighty God had put the English in
+their way, and thus sent them some means of subsistence, in order that
+the citizens might get a bit of bread, and keep off the pangs of
+hunger."
+
+Thus year by year England's influence increased and that of the Hansa
+declined. Then occurred a further cruel blow to the League. In
+consequence of the strained relations between England and Spain,
+Hanseatic trade in that country and in Portugal had risen to some
+importance. The Hansa supplied those countries with grain, munitions of
+war, and shipbuilding materials. Queen Elizabeth naturally looked on all
+this trade with an evil eye, and regarded it as so much support accorded
+to her enemies. She did not fail to make the League acquainted with her
+displeasure, even threatening to treat its cargoes as contraband of war.
+The Hansa in its turn pleaded that it merely exercised the right of
+neutrals, and persisted in not abandoning a lucrative trade.
+
+Then came the defeat of the invincible Armada which left to England the
+empire of the seas, and gave her a boldness and self-confidence which
+she has happily never since lost. Sixty Hanseatic vessels were
+encountered by Norris and Sir Francis Drake about to enter the mouth of
+the Tagus. They were laden with grain to provision the Spaniards. These
+were seized, and no subsequent negotiations ever succeeded in causing
+Elizabeth to release her hold either on the vessels or their cargo.
+
+Needless to say, that this proved the last straw in the load of
+Hanseatic grievances against the queen.
+
+Meanwhile the King of Spain, to compensate the League, and to win it to
+his side, offered to enter into a firm alliance with it. But they would
+not break with the Netherlands, now in full revolt against King Philip.
+There remained only the last and almost hopeless resort, to appeal once
+more to the empire.
+
+On August 1, 1597, after fifteen years of nearly useless solicitation,
+and when it was quite too late to remedy matters, the Emperor Rudolph
+caused an imperial mandate to be issued at Prague, which enjoined the
+English to quit the Empire within the space of three months. This
+mandate was couched in proud and fierce terms against the English queen,
+and menaced with severe punishment those Germans who, on German soil,
+should put themselves into communication with the hated Merchant
+Adventurers of England.
+
+Great was the joy of Lübeck and of several other towns at this order,
+and they kept strict watch that the imperial mandate should be obeyed.
+They hoped from it the most salutary effects in modifying the
+resolutions of Elizabeth.
+
+They had reckoned without their host, or rather they had not duly judged
+the character of their opponents. Driven from Germany, the English found
+a refuge in the Dutch town of Middleburgh, whence they conducted a
+lucrative trade with the empire, awaiting some happy chance that would
+be sure to arise from the now ever active discord in the League, and
+that might reinstate them on the shores of the Elbe and the Rhine.
+
+Elizabeth meanwhile, in 1598, driven to yet further exasperation by a
+Hanseatic attempt to hinder the export of grain to England and Holland,
+sent word to the merchants residing at the Steelyard that they must
+depart out of these premises and quit England within the space of
+fourteen days. The Mayor of London, attended by the Sheriffs, formally
+presented to the authorities of the Steelyard this decree, which
+authorized them to take possession of the building and all that
+pertained to it.
+
+Ten days after this compulsory taking of possession the Germans filed
+out of the Steelyard in orderly procession. The authorities wrote to the
+Hanseatic Diet, stating that, after duly protesting against this
+forcible act, they "marched out of the gate, the alderman at the head,
+and we following him, sad in our souls, and the gate was closed behind
+us; nor should we have cared to have remained another night within the
+walls. God be pitiful."
+
+Thus the last sacrifice was consummated, which had been long demanded by
+Sir Thomas Gresham and his friends, and which the now flourishing
+condition of English trade required. In order that the English merchant
+might thrive unchecked, he had to drive away from his midst his old
+masters, the Hansa, the men who had taught him how to trade, a lesson
+the pupil had learnt too well. Such was the mournful end of the German
+Guildhall on the banks of the Thames; an institution older than the
+Hanseatic League itself; the most honourable monument which Germany
+could point to abroad of her strength and enterprise. Yet it is,
+perhaps, rather the fact that it endured so long, than that it perished,
+that should surprise us. It is certainly wonderful, and much to the
+credit of the English, that musty parchments sealed with the seals of
+the Plantagenets, should have been honoured so late, honoured when
+England's commerce and navy could boast men such as Sir Thomas Gresham,
+Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh.
+
+Of course the Hanseatic League did not at once give up all for lost.
+They intrigued, they negotiated, they even flattered themselves with
+hopes of success. Then suddenly the news of Elizabeth's death broke up a
+congress held with this end in view. The Hanseatics at once cast glances
+full of hope at her successor. They trusted he might prove less
+inexorable. Experience had often shown them that with a change of ruler
+came a change of policy.
+
+But they proved greatly mistaken. The reply received by the first
+embassy they addressed to James I. rudely shattered all their hopes.
+They resumed their intrigues at home, trying to stir up the emperor to
+hinder the export of wool from Germany, and to encourage the manufacture
+of woollen goods at home.
+
+It was the great De Witt who wisely said that the one weak point in the
+German Hansa was that it was not backed by manufacturing interests. They
+were merely carriers and intermediaries, and this made itself felt in
+the days of their decline.
+
+Negotiations, entreaties leading to nothing, and the Germans being
+impotent to hinder, the English soon found their way again into the
+empire with their persons and their goods, and once more Hamburg was the
+first to receive them formally and to conclude a treaty with them. This
+time neither the emperor nor the League protested. It is true the
+Steelyard in London was ultimately restored to the Germans, but the old
+privileges enjoyed with it were gone for ever. Nor was it, when
+restored, regarded any longer as the property of the Hanseatic League
+such as we have known it--a compact body, willing and able to defend its
+rights. It was rather the property of the Germans living in England, and
+this it remained. In 1853 the Steelyard property was sold to an English
+company for building purposes for the sum of £72,500, by the cities of
+Lübeck, Bremen, and Hamburg, the sole heirs of the once powerful
+Hanseatic League. The present Cannon Street Station stands on part of
+the site.
+
+With the death of Elizabeth the history of the Hanseatic League as such
+practically comes to an end in England. Then followed, quickly
+afterwards, the Thirty Years' War, which gave the League a mortal blow,
+from which it never recovered.
+
+Even before the last stroke fell, John Wheeler, a secretary of the
+association of Merchant Adventurers, had declared regarding the
+Hanseatic cities (1601), "Most of their teeth have fallen out, the rest
+sit but loosely in their head." His judgment was verified all too soon.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR KILLS THE LEAGUE.
+
+
+John Wheeler's diagnosis of the condition of the League was too correct.
+It is true that an ostensibly official document enumerates fifty towns
+as forming part of the Hansa League in 1603, but we know that at the
+same time only fourteen had a seat and voice in the Diet and duly paid
+their fees. Indeed, the more we examine the internal condition of the
+League at this period the more we wonder, not that it fell asunder, but
+that it endured so long. It had become utterly disorganized and was
+decaying fast.
+
+In 1606, the Emperor Rudolph II. evoked a feeling of alarm among all the
+towns by suddenly demanding to see their charters, and to know whence
+they derived their privileges and statutes. Thus the results of
+appealing to imperial aid, in the English complications, bore their
+inevitable and unpleasant fruit. The emperor's ulterior aim was of
+course to extract money from the cities, this time in aid of his
+Hungarian wars. As in the days of their glory, the cities knew how to
+protect themselves, and how to escape undesirable inquiries by means of
+subterfuges and evasive answers. Still the first attempt at supervision
+had been made, and was to bear fruit later.
+
+While matters were in this uncomfortable state, there broke forth the
+long, terrible strife known to history as the Thirty Years' War. Its
+causes are to be sought for in those most unhappy differences of
+doctrinal opinions, which, being rooted in mutual intolerance, a want of
+fairness of spirit, and of dramatic insight into the needs of divergent
+mental constitutions, make one man wish forcibly to impose his point of
+view upon his neighbour, under the conviction that it is the only point
+of view, and hence the true one. This intolerant and narrow spirit,
+which more fatally divides individuals and nations than any other form
+of human folly, had reached its climax in the century of the
+Reformation, when not only were Protestant and Catholic opposed to one
+another, but Protestants were also divided among themselves, Calvinist
+and Lutheran persecuting each other with an acrimony quite out of
+proportion to the gravity of the questions at stake.
+
+The details of this most deplorable war fall outside our province, and
+belong to the history of Germany proper. We can but touch on it as it
+concerns our League. When hostilities commenced, the Hansa were to
+realize what even the shadow of a great name implies. Power after power
+made overtures to the League to make common cause with them. Gustavus
+Adolphus of Sweden, was the first. As early as 1621, he sought an
+alliance with the cities, and he counted the more on an affirmative
+reply, that his enmity to Denmark was shared by the League. But they
+refused his offer, saying they wished to enter into no unequal bond,
+assuring the king however, at the same time, that they desired to remain
+good friends with him, and to continue their commercial intercourse.
+
+The fact was that, seeing the agitated and disordered condition of
+affairs in Germany, the Hanseatic League hardly felt it wise to take any
+definite step at this juncture.
+
+Gustavus Adolphus, however, was the more disappointed at their refusal,
+since he had been led to expect different treatment from them. Since the
+time he had ascended the throne, his relations with the League had been
+friendly. An old chronicler tells us how some time before the king's
+marriage, the "honourable Hansa towns" sent ambassadors to Sweden to
+conclude a treaty with Gustavus Adolphus about the Protestant religion,
+and also to treat with him concerning trade privileges. Indeed, the
+latter seems to have been their chief aim. But as they wanted to keep it
+secret, says the writer, they professed that they had been sent to
+congratulate the king upon his marriage. Gustavus Adolphus received them
+in solemn audience, standing and with uncovered head; no small honour to
+pay to a confederation of trading towns. Beside him stood his mighty
+Chancellor, Oxenstjerna. After the king had accorded them a cordial and
+formal reception, he gave them the traditional presents, usually only
+awarded to nobles. Further, he accorded them free board at the cost of
+the city of Stockholm, as often as they did not eat at his royal table.
+In order that no mistake might arise regarding quantity, he informed
+them that in the matter of meat alone, they could count on six oxen,
+twenty-one fat sheep, one reindeer; and as to drink, on four barrels of
+good wine, and three hundred and sixty Swedish dollars to cover their
+other expenses. "This royal treatment mightily pleased the honourable
+delegates," writes our chronicler, and no wonder, when we remember that
+the men of the Hansa were famed for the amount they could eat and drink.
+No wonder, too, that Gustavus Adolphus thought to find in them ready
+allies, if only in return for his good hospitality.
+
+That the King of Denmark, their old foe, should also have courted their
+alliance, seems yet stranger. He too, was refused. So was France, who,
+in 1625, sent delegates to the Hanseatic Diet to sound the members as to
+her chances of success, in forming an offensive and defensive alliance
+with these once so powerful merchants.
+
+The most important and strangest offer of all was the wooing of the
+imperial delegates in the name of Spain, at the Diet held at Lübeck, in
+1627. It appears that Spain stood in need of a friendly commercial navy
+in order to carry on her colonial trade, as well as of a friendly
+maritime power with which to meet the Netherlands. This idea was in
+accord with Duke Wallenstein's project to gain empire over the Baltic by
+means of an imperial navy, thus to surround the imperial crown with a
+new lustre, and the more surely to hold within bounds the recalcitrant
+inland princes. It was not from pure ill will or haughtiness that
+Wallenstein so terrified Stralsund, the town which he besieged so long
+and mercilessly, nor from pure love of well-sounding titles, that he
+styled himself "General and Admiral of the Baltic and North Seas."
+
+The two imperial delegates, who appeared before the Hanseatic Diet at
+Lübeck deigned to speak the quaint formal language that was traditional
+with the Hansa League. They were begging for a favour, and so deemed it
+wise to assume no masterful tones. The emperor's word was said to be
+addressed "to the honourable councillors and other members of the worthy
+city of Lübeck, regarding it as the head of the most ancient Hansa
+League." The ambassadors put before the assembled Hanseatic deputies,
+that the Holy Roman Empire, in its entirety, and the venerable German
+Hansa towns in particular, had suffered grievously from the restraint on
+free navigation which had been imposed on them by foreign potentates;
+and that the German nation had thus the bread taken out of their very
+mouths. Therefore it was the emperor's earnest and ardent desire to
+befriend the towns, and to restore the nation to its former reputation
+and grandeur. A most useful alliance would be proposed to them, and this
+proposal did not come from a foreign power, but was put forward under
+the emperor's patronage and protection. The facts were these,--Spain had
+for some time past declared itself willing to enter into an agreement,
+that all the merchandise, whether exported from or imported into the
+Spanish dominions, should only pertain to the natives of the German
+Empire or to Spanish subjects.
+
+The emperor through his ambassadors admitted that this proposal had at
+first sight seemed to him somewhat grave, and requiring consideration,
+but those competent to judge had demonstrated to him, that such direct
+importation of Spanish and Indian wares into Germany would benefit, not
+alone the Hansa towns, but the whole of Germany, and would serve to
+compensate for the privations and sacrifices imposed by the most unhappy
+war.
+
+The emperor went on to add, that he had ever noted in Lübeck a very true
+and German frankness and fidelity, and that he did not doubt that Lübeck
+would carefully consider this proposal, in concert with the sister
+towns, in order that, after the compact had been duly concluded between
+the emperor and the King of Spain, it might be openly confirmed with the
+help and advice of the Hansa towns.
+
+This was the smooth speaking in which the Hansa's imperial masters chose
+to indulge when it suited their imperial purpose. But decrepit, weakened
+though the Hansa was, it was not easy to catch it napping. Our wary
+merchants felt convinced there was some ulterior motive at the bottom of
+this sudden graciousness, and considered the imperial proposal very
+carefully and thoroughly. What could it mean, that of a sudden these
+jealous Spaniards were willing to share the monopoly of their whole
+colonial trade with the Hansa towns? Our cities feared the Spaniards,
+even when they came laden with gifts. When we recall, said these
+traders, the incessant and endless annoyances which our merchants have
+endured during two centuries while doing business with Spain and
+Portugal, the arrogant demands, the petty frauds and meanness of the
+Spanish consuls in the Hanseatic towns, we must confess that this
+previous knowledge of the character of our would-be allies does not lead
+us to trust their new, gracious, and friendly offers. They remembered,
+further, how a certain consul, called De Roy, was never named in their
+minutes, other than as the "arch enemy of the Hansa towns." They
+recalled, too, the project of a maritime commercial company (an
+_Amirantazgo_), proposed some time back by Spain between the Low Germans
+and Netherlands, which had revealed to the acute Hanseatics that Spain
+was deficient in ships and in capital, and that its real purpose was to
+obtain a fleet for itself on terms as cheap as possible. No, decidedly,
+the Spanish offers were not to be thought of.
+
+Moreover, the Hanseatics very naturally feared an inevitable breach with
+their Scandinavian neighbours if they accepted. They foresaw, too, that
+their adhesion to the plan would give the emperor a sort of right to
+interfere in their commerce and internal arrangements. They had a
+wholesome fear, not without cause, of being placed under the most
+Catholic protectorate of Spain, and, looking ahead, thought they beheld,
+hidden beneath these velvet offers, the claws of the terrible,
+abominable Inquisition.
+
+The whole project was therefore allowed to remain a project. To the
+imperial spokesmen were presented respectively four thousand and two
+thousand dollars, and the Diet resolved to place the proposal _ad
+referendum_. This meant that it was shelved once and for ever.
+
+Nor did the Diet have cause to regret its decision, for soon after the
+King of Denmark, at that moment trying to ingratiate himself with them,
+sent for their perusal letters which he had intercepted. These
+communications were from the emperor, authorizing Count Tilly to secure
+the cities of Lübeck, Hamburg, Bremen, Stade, &c. So much for the
+sincerity of this monarch's vaunted friendship.
+
+And now the war storm long brewing broke over Northern Europe. Germany
+was to pay heavily for her want of religious unity, or at least the want
+of mutual forbearance among her people. At first the Hansa towns had
+hoped that as usual their claims for neutrality would be regarded, but
+Tilly refused to listen to this, probably owing to his secret
+instructions from the emperor. All the northern towns had to suffer the
+full horrors of the war-curse, and they suffered hardly less at the
+hands of their friends than at those of their enemies. Both proved
+equally merciless. In order to escape having a military occupation
+within its walls, Rostock had once to pay 100,000 dollars, and another
+time 150,000 dollars, Wismar was taxed to the sum of 200,000 dollars;
+and Hamburg a sum yet higher. Magdeburg's fate was even more sad; it was
+besieged by the imperial army, pillaged, and given to the flames.
+
+Imperial authority had never appeared so redoubtable to these free
+cities, or so injurious to their religious liberties and their political
+integrity. Wallenstein and Count Schwarzenberg even went the length of
+demanding the Hansa's ships, in order to use them for pursuing the foes
+of their imperial master upon the high seas, and it is easy to
+understand how, in presence of an armed force of a hundred thousand men,
+it was vain for the Hanseatic Diet to object that their deputies had
+received no instructions which could warrant them in acceding to such a
+proposal.
+
+The ports of Rostock, Warnemunde, and the town of Wismar were all
+occupied by the Imperialists, who were also engaged in besieging
+Stralsund.
+
+The history of this siege and the heroism displayed by this city are
+among the most notable features in the Thirty Years' War. Wallenstein
+had rightly judged it as most important for his purpose from its
+geographical position, and had determined it should be his. As Schiller
+says in his play _Wallenstein's Lager_, he had sworn--
+
+ "Rühmt sich mit seinem gottlosen Mund
+ Er müsse haben die Stadt Stralsund,
+ Und wär' sie mit Ketten an den Himmel geschlossen."
+
+This town which, thanks to some succour from outside, succeeded in
+wearing out the enemy, proved what bravery can do even under the most
+unfavourable conditions. At the same time the episode throws a fierce
+light on the low condition into which the League had fallen. In vain did
+the city of Stralsund appeal to the Diet and to the sister cities for
+help. It was only after long reflection and many debates that it was
+decided to advance to this unlucky friend the meagre sum of fifteen
+thousand dollars, and this at interest of 5 per cent.
+
+ [Illustration: RATH-HAUS, MÜNSTER.]
+
+These merchants, once princely and noble, at least in their dealings
+among themselves, had sunk to shopkeepers even in the domestic circle.
+The fact is, that defeat and terror had paralysed and prostrated them.
+Instead of making such a firm resistance as they would have done in the
+past, they had now recourse only to the feeble weapons of tears and
+entreaties in order to procure some gentler treatment for those of their
+members who had fallen into the enemy's hands. Most frequently, too,
+these humiliating steps proved quite futile, and were answered according
+to the temperaments of the generals-in-chief--brusquely and rudely by
+Tilly, politely and cunningly by Duke Wallenstein.
+
+Meanwhile matters went from bad to worse for the Hansa towns and for
+Germany. Even when the empire achieved victories, the people had grown
+too impoverished and too enervated to profit by them. The story of this
+long-confused conflict of thirty years' duration is one of the saddest
+and most depressing in European history.
+
+When in 1648 the peace of Westphalia was at last concluded, it nominally
+restored calm to the whole northern world, including the Hansa towns.
+But the League to all intents and purposes was at an end. The peace
+could restore neither its power, nor its union, and the confederation
+which seemed to have sunk in deep sleep during the war, awoke from its
+long repose only to find itself deprived of nearly all its members, and
+powerless to continue any longer its enfeebled existence.
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+THE SURVIVORS.
+
+
+Although the peace of Westphalia found the Hansa hopelessly broken, yet
+it was not until after this event that the various members fully
+realized their condition. Until then they had anticipated a
+resuscitation with the advent of political calm. When the Hanseatic
+deputies had assembled at the Diet of 1628, the last of which an
+official record exists, they had voted to postpone to a more convenient
+season all proposals that were brought forward for consideration. This
+Diet revealed the confusion into which the Hanseatic accounts had
+fallen. Still even on this occasion various cities pleaded for
+re-admission into the union. It throws a sad light upon the character of
+the delegates to read that those of Brunswick, reporting to that city
+the history of this Diet, should lay great and detailed stress upon the
+fact that they had not been regaled with the customary wine of honour
+and the wonted supply of cakes!
+
+All that was achieved on this occasion was that the cities of Lübeck,
+Bremen, and Hamburg, were charged with the protection of the Hanseatic
+interests, in the name of all the other cities, so far as such interests
+could at present be said to be at stake.
+
+Yet another Diet was summoned in February, 1630, at Lübeck. On this
+occasion there occurred what of late had not been unusual, namely, that
+no Hanseatic delegates appeared, with the exception of those of Bremen
+and Lübeck.
+
+It is a picturesque historical invention, but, unfortunately, like most
+picturesque legends, quite untrue, that on this occasion all the members
+of the most ancient German Hansa put in an appearance, and in Lübeck's
+Hansa Saal decreed, in all solemnity, its own dissolution; that, in
+short, the Hansa was present at its own funeral. As the Hansa never had
+an actual foundation day, so it had no day of dissolution. As its growth
+had been gradual, the result of time and circumstance, so was its decay.
+It had been built up imperceptibly, it passed away almost as
+imperceptibly.
+
+After the Diet of 1630, and again in 1641, the three cities above
+named--Lübeck, Bremen, and Hamburg--made still closer their friendly
+alliance, erecting a species of new Hansa upon the ruins of the old.
+With great modifications this compact survived down to our own times,
+and was not dissolved until forcibly rent asunder, as disturbing to
+Prussian ambition and to Prussian ideas of protective trade. For these
+cities kept up a species of free trade, while all the rest of Germany
+was protective, and to this day, though despoiled and shorn of their
+honour, the cities call themselves proudly the Hanseatic towns. In those
+days their main endeavour was to save as much as possible from the
+general wreck, and to try and keep alive the spirit of the League, of
+which most ambitiously they retained the name. They believed, indeed
+the other cities believed too, that with the restoration of peace they
+could establish themselves upon the old foundations.
+
+ [Illustration: RATH-HAUS, LÜBECK.]
+
+This vain, daring hope, so common to all who suffer from incurable
+disease, did not quit them till the conclusion of the peace so ardently
+desired. This peace inaugurated a state of things incompatible with the
+commercial tendencies of the Hanseatics, and showed indisputably the
+futility of their hopes.
+
+Yet with that doggedness or obtuseness which prevents a man from knowing
+when he is beaten, and which was at all times both the strength and
+weakness of the Hansa, even after facts had been made plain to them,
+they still refused absolutely to accept them. They still hoped against
+hope, to shape the course of events, and as usual Lübeck the energetic
+was to the front in these endeavours.
+
+After the peace of Westphalia, this city tried repeatedly to organize a
+Hanseatic Diet in the old style. It was not until 1669 that a number of
+cities could be found willing to send deputies sufficient to qualify the
+assembly with the name of a Diet. But many of these deputies came only
+to announce that their towns would not in future pay contributions to
+the League, putting forward as their reason either that the war had
+impoverished them too much, or that the changed manner and course of
+trade made them doubt as to the continued utility of their union.
+
+The discussions on this occasion were most animated. It was a stormy
+sitting, but it produced no real result. Too many different and
+absolutely conflicting opinions were advanced. The only conclusion that
+was arrived at was the choice of a certain Dr. Brauer, of Lübeck, to
+fill the honoured post of Hanseatic Syndic.
+
+Vain honour truly, a very sinecure. For our poor old League, already in
+its death throes, did not survive this Diet. After eighteen sittings had
+been held it was made manifest that no accord could be arrived at, and
+the city of Lübeck even doubted if it were worth while to draw up an
+official report of the proceedings. Respect for ancient usages, however,
+prevailed, and the minutes were therefore drawn up in all due form. But
+they had no fact to record, except that the assembly had not been able
+to arrive at a unanimous opinion on any one point put forward.
+
+Speaking of this final moment, the eminent historian of the League,
+Sartorius, writes--
+
+"The constituent elements of the League had been united together in
+silence, and it was also without noise that they were decomposed. No one
+could be astonished at this end, which for some time past have been
+foreseen by any intelligent person."
+
+"_Sic transit gloria mundi_" might have been written on its tomb. Its
+glory had been great and real indeed.
+
+No less a person than the eminent philosopher, Leibnitz, in 1670,
+advised the imperial authorities, of course without result, to revive
+German trade by the re-establishment of the Hanseatic towns. The
+profound indifference of the empire was a fact too great to be overcome.
+The Emperor Charles VI. even went the length of formally forbidding his
+subjects to trade with the two Indies by way of England and Holland. At
+no single princely court of the whole realm was there to be found a
+sound view of commerce and commercial requirements. In the midst of such
+apathy and ignorance it was a real piece of good fortune for Germany
+that, at any rate, the three cities of Lübeck, Bremen, and Hamburg, were
+allowed to keep their independence.
+
+It was in these cities, then, gradually as trade revived and the
+disastrous effects of the Thirty Years' War were somewhat overcome, that
+wealth concentrated itself. Here too was still to be found commercial
+knowledge, activity, and enterprise, while the old name of Hansa was
+discovered to have sufficient power left to conjure with. That German
+industry still found foreign outlet, that it still survived, and proved
+profitable, was henceforward due solely to the three remaining Hansa
+towns.
+
+The empire, meanwhile, whenever it did not harry them by attempts at
+futile restrictions or by foolish criticism of their policy, ignored
+them entirely. This was always for the cities the happiest course,
+allowing them free room to act as they, with their commercial knowledge
+and insight, thought fittest.
+
+But as time went on, and the political state of Germany grew more and
+more abject, it naturally came about that the Germans grew less and less
+respected and feared in the foreign markets, the foreign people with
+whom they had to deal knowing full well that there was no real power to
+back them. They had to see all other strangers preferred before them and
+the name of German become a by-word. Indeed they would be scornfully
+asked what was meant by German, seeing there was no land really so
+styled, and that the country which once bore that name was split up into
+a vast number of small principalities. No wonder that this condition of
+things did not help on German trade. No wonder that under these
+circumstances the foreign policy of the new League, or rather of the
+union of the three towns, for league it could not be called, was a
+policy of weakness, almost of cringing, far different indeed from that
+of their predecessors, who had played with thrones and deposed kings.
+Where once they commanded they had now to plead or flatter, and if these
+methods failed they were driven to observe the _mores mundi_, to use
+their own phrase, and let fly silver balls, unlike the heavy balls used
+in olden times, that is to say, they had to bribe.
+
+After the French Revolution and the European disorders of that time, the
+Hansa towns by common accord of Russia and France were declared to be
+perpetually neutral, a gift of doubtful value. The cities were soon made
+to feel what was meant by owing their existence to aliens.
+
+A little later Napoleon the Great was frequently on the point of giving
+away the Hansa cities, even before he had appropriated them to himself.
+In 1806 he offered them as compensation for Sicily, and, according to
+Lord Yarmouth, would have given them to Hanover if thereby he could have
+procured the peace with England. Sometime after they were destined by
+him to serve as the footstool of the throne he designed for his brother
+Louis in North Germany.
+
+While he was making up his mind they were held by his soldiers, and
+these days of French occupation were spoken of to their dying days by
+the burghers in accents of terror. At last, in 1810, quite suddenly and
+without previous warning, "without due regard and courtesy," as was
+pleaded afterwards at the Congress of Vienna, Napoleon incorporated the
+Hansa towns with the empire.
+
+It was well for them that this period was of short duration, for trade
+was in those days a matter of no small difficulty. Napoleon's mania
+regarding the continental system had reached its culminating point.
+Commerce was carried on either by submitting to grave sacrifices owing
+to the blockade, or by smuggling on a colossal scale. Neither method
+brought with it prosperity or calm.
+
+Then dawned the memorable year of 1813, and with it came the first check
+in Napoleon's victorious path. The citizens of the three Hansa towns
+were among the first in Germany to put on armour and draw the sword for
+the liberation of themselves and of their suffering fellow-countrymen.
+Great oppression, happily for mankind and progress, often produces a
+strong recoil. Enthusiasm knew no bounds; German courage, which seemed
+dead, was revived.
+
+Alas! it was a false hope. Reaction once more got the upper hand after
+Germany was liberated from Napoleon's yoke, and it is a question whether
+the yoke of the native rulers was not even heavier to bear than that of
+the foreign usurper. It was certainly less liberal.
+
+ [Illustration: RATH-HAUS, BREMEN
+ (_From a print in the British Museum_).]
+
+The three Hansa towns, however, fortunately for them, managed to
+secure their independence, though not without a struggle. There were not
+lacking neighbours who gazed at them with covetous eyes, nor others who
+would have looked the other way had some power appropriated them.
+
+At the Congress of Vienna Lübeck was all but given away to Denmark. But
+this was more than the Hanseatic delegates present in the assembly could
+stand. Accustomed of old to lift up their voices boldly, and not to fear
+crowned or anointed heads, they fiercely denounced this project as a
+deed of darkness, and appealed so strongly to the consciences of those
+present, reminding them of the everlasting shame attending a broken word
+or promise, that they actually succeeded in bringing them round to their
+point of view. The project was abandoned.
+
+Thus the towns remained virtually free, while nominally attached to
+Germany, and continued, as of old, as willing, as they were able, to
+serve their country with the talents that had been entrusted to their
+keeping. Their flag again appeared on all the seas, their commerce
+extended in all lands, they even succeeded in concluding favourable
+trade alliances in virtue of the old Hanseatic firm of "the Merchants of
+the German Empire."
+
+But, as ever before, they were not backed by the nation or by any real
+power at home, and now that they were only three towns they could not
+act as in the days of old, when their number extended across Europe.
+
+But since the many hundred little states of which Germany consisted have
+been all absorbed by Prussia, and incorporated under the collective
+name of Germany, even the three Hansa towns, the last to resist and to
+stand out for their autonomy, have had to succumb to the iron hand of
+Prince Bismarck and the Prussian spiked helmet. Hamburg still keeps up a
+semblance of independence, but it is but a shadow, and even that shadow
+is rapidly vanishing from its grasp. Military, protectionist Germany
+does not care to have in its confines a town where free trade and
+burgher independence are inherited possessions. The name of Hansa towns,
+the title of Hanseatic League, is but a proud memory, one, however, to
+which modern Germany may well look back with satisfaction, and from the
+story of the "common German Hansa" it can still, if it chooses, learn
+many a useful lesson.
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+ Since writing the foregoing, the event, long anticipated as
+ inevitable, has taken place, and the last two cities to
+ uphold the name and traditions of the Hanseatic League,
+ Hamburg and Bremen, have been incorporated into the German
+ Zoll Verein, thus finally surrendering their old historical
+ privileges as free ports. Lübeck took this step some
+ twenty-two years ago, Hamburg and Bremen not till October,
+ 1888--so long had they resisted Prince Bismarck's more or
+ less gentle suasions to enter his Protection League. But
+ they foresaw what the end must be; that his motto was that
+ of the Erl King in Goethe's famous ballad:
+
+ "Und bist Du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt."
+ ("And if thou be not willing, I shall use force.")
+
+ Still they, and Hamburg in particular, held out nobly,
+ jealous, and rightly jealous, of the curtailment of those
+ privileges which distinguished them from the other cities
+ of the German Empire. It was after the foundation of this
+ empire that the claim of the two cities to remain free ports
+ was conceded and ratified in the Imperial Constitution of
+ April, 1871, though the privilege, in the case of Hamburg,
+ was restricted to the city and port, and withdrawn from the
+ rest of the State, which extends to the mouth of the Elbe
+ and embraces about one hundred and sixty square miles, while
+ the free-port territory was reduced to twenty-eight square
+ miles. This was the first serious interference with the
+ city's liberty, and others followed, perhaps rather of a
+ petty, annoying, than of a seriously aggressive, character,
+ but enough to show the direction in which the wind was
+ blowing.
+
+ It was in 1880 that the proposal to include Hamburg in the
+ Customs Union was first politically discussed. It met, not
+ unnaturally, with much opposition among the citizens, and
+ especially among the merchant class, of whom these citizens
+ are so largely composed. Not only did it wound the
+ Hamburgers' pride to see an old and honourable distinction
+ abolished, but they feared, and not without reason, that
+ their trade would be seriously affected by such a step. They
+ were afraid that their city would cease to be the great
+ international distributing centre which it had been so long.
+ Hot and animated were the discussions in the Senate, the
+ House of Burgesses, the press, on docks and quays, in public
+ and in private. But the pressure exercised from Berlin,
+ though in appearance gentle, was firm and decided. How could
+ a single city stand against a strong military empire? In
+ May, 1881, therefore, was drafted a proposal to the effect
+ that the whole of the city and port of Hamburg should be
+ included in the Zoll Verein. This was laid before the
+ Senate, who passed a resolution that the treaty should be
+ accepted, stating its conviction that the inclusion of the
+ free ports in the Zoll Verein would not only be beneficial
+ for the empire, most of whose foreign commerce passed
+ through them, but also would increase the prosperity of the
+ cities themselves. Whether the Senate really held this
+ belief, or whether they thought it wise to profess this
+ opinion, does not appear. The proposal was then sent down to
+ the House of Burgesses. Here it did not find such facile
+ acceptance as among the more aristocratic senators; here no
+ real or professed illusions reigned. For seven hours did the
+ fathers of the city discuss the resolution of the Senate in
+ a sitting that will ever be famous among the annals of the
+ town. The speech made by Dr. Petersen, the Commissioner for
+ the Senate, was most impressive, and it touched the hearts
+ of all his hearers.
+
+ He reminded the Assembly that their thousand years' history
+ testified to the fact that the Hamburgers were ever an
+ active, practical, patriotic people, who took life
+ earnestly, caring not only for business and family, but for
+ the common weal. Every good Hamburger has always been ready
+ to sacrifice his feelings and his personal interests for the
+ good of the Fatherland. Let all of them, he urged, even
+ those who could not do it heartily, vote for the measure, in
+ the sure and certain conviction that the "Father City" would
+ flourish and prosper, and increase through the skill, the
+ energy, and, above all, the public spirit of its citizens.
+ Hamburg would still remain the emporium, for the wide world,
+ of the German Fatherland, to which she would be more closely
+ united than ever.
+
+ This speech was followed by much and earnest discussion,
+ after which the proposal of the Senate was at last agreed
+ to as an inevitable measure, and Hamburg was included in
+ the Zoll Verein by one hundred and six votes against
+ forty-six.
+
+ The details for carrying into effect this conclusion have
+ occupied seven years, and the event was finally celebrated
+ with great pomp, the Emperor William II. coming in person
+ to enhance the solemnity of the sacrifice brought by the
+ burghers of the erst free city for the common weal of the
+ German Fatherland.
+
+ As we have said, the step was inevitable sooner or later,
+ and the Hamburgers knew it. The German Empire, so long a
+ fiction, had arisen stronger than ever. It was natural,
+ very necessary, that an anomaly should be abolished which
+ placed the great gateway of foreign commerce outside the
+ customs regulations of the rest of the empire. It was
+ natural for the imperial authorities to desire that their
+ two great commercial ports should be at one with the empire
+ in all respects; that as far as their trade is concerned
+ they should not be in the position of foreign countries,
+ jealously watched by imperial officers lest they might seek
+ to injure the financial interests of the country of which
+ they form a part.
+
+ It is too early to know what effect this step will have
+ upon the trade of the two cities, whether it will check or
+ increase their prosperity. The gain to Germany is certain.
+ The gain to the two cities, but in especial to Hamburg, is
+ something less than problematical. Meantime the last and
+ only privilege the three once powerful Hanseatic cities
+ retain is that of being entitled, like the greatest States
+ in the empire, to send their own representatives to the
+ Bundesrath and to the Reichstag.
+
+
+
+
+EPILOGUE.
+
+
+The once proud and mighty Hanseatic League is dead now, quite dead.
+There remains of it only a noble memory, the record of a high and
+fearless spirit which resisted tyrants petty and great, a spirit which
+recognized the value of independence, and strove with all its strength
+to attain and to maintain this boon. We have traced it from its earliest
+dawn to its recent complete demise; there but remains for us to speak
+its funeral oration. This is soon accomplished, since whether for men,
+for nations or associations, if their deeds speak not for them more
+eloquently than human words, the latter shall avail them little.
+
+The chief title of the Hanseatic League to remembrance is that it was
+the means of spreading higher culture throughout wide tracts of the
+European continent, many of them, in those early times, still sunk in
+utter barbarism; that it introduced Western customs and civilization
+into all domains of private and social life for millions upon millions
+of people. This association is a bright spot that strikes the eye, as it
+looks back across the long, dark abyss of ages past, and we welcome it
+the more gladly because the bond that held this League together was
+neither force nor fear, but free will and clear insight into the
+advantages and necessity of mutual help. To quote the pertinent words of
+Mrs. Sinnett: "These free cities of Germany rise like happy islands
+amidst the wide-wasting ocean of violence and anarchy. Not by war and
+spoil, but by industry, enterprise, and prudent economy, did they
+accumulate the wealth that enabled them to heal so many of the wounds
+inflicted on their country by the iron hands beneath whose grasp art,
+science, even agriculture, by which they subsisted, was perishing. By
+the unions which the cities formed amongst themselves they stemmed the
+torrent of violence and anarchy that was threatening to turn their
+country into a desert peopled by hordes of robbers and slaves; they lent
+the most effectual aid to the Church in her efforts for the peace and
+civilization of Europe; yet they held the balance most firmly against
+the too great preponderance of her power, and rescued the human mind
+from the injurious subjection which she sometimes claimed as the price
+of her benefits when society had outgrown the leading strings that
+guarded its infancy, and felt as a galling restraint what had once been
+a needed protection. The cities built asylums for the widows and orphans
+whom the nobles and warriors had made desolate; they stretched out often
+a helping hand to the poor knight, who was regarding them with envy,
+hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness, taking him into their pay
+as a soldier, and enabling him to get a comparatively honest living,
+instead of wringing 'from the hard hands of peasants their vile trash,'
+or filling some menial office at the court of a prince, and picking up
+the crumbs that fell from the great man's table. Behind their walls and
+bastions the young tree of civil liberty, which was perishing in the
+open country, took root and flourished; there, even whilst striving only
+at first for riches and their peaceful enjoyment, did men learn to prize
+the blessings of social order, justice, and peace. These cities were not
+mere aggregations of men within a narrow space, such as may have existed
+among the most barbarous nations; they were organic bodies animated by a
+living spirit--a spirit of enlightened intelligence, courage, and
+self-reliance, which best supplied what was defective in the religious
+system of the time, and gave a more healthy and manly tone to the
+character both of individuals and of society. The Church, it cannot be
+denied, sometimes taught men, in the pursuit of an imagined perfection,
+to trample on the impulses, and violate the duties of nature; in these
+little republics, on the contrary, though originally they had only the
+attainment of temporal good in view, they rose insensibly to higher
+objects, and not only cultivated the social virtues more effectually,
+but in their struggle to maintain their place in the world, fought in
+many instances a more successful fight against the sins of the flesh,
+through the discipline of the manifold cares of an active life, than the
+recluse of the cloister, with all his fastings and flagellations. Among
+the happy influences belonging to these miniature states was the ardent
+attachment of the free citizens of the Middle Ages to the little spot
+which they had hedged in from the wide wilderness of slavery around,
+where the individual, if not of noble birth, was usually the mere
+helpless victim of arbitrary power. Freedom and honour, the respect of
+his fellows, the happiness of domestic life, the interest and excitement
+of active business, the joviality of social intercourse, a thousand ties
+entwined around him, connected him closely with the city, and even the
+house of his birth; for in those days it was common for men to live and
+die beneath the same roof under which they had been born. The merchant
+regarded his native town with a pride fully equal to that of birth and
+chivalry in the privileged classes, and little envied, we may suppose,
+the life of the solitary feudal lord in his castle, or the anxious and
+dependent position of the courtier. The citizen of a humbler class
+showed, by parading on all occasions the tools and emblems of his trade
+with the same complacency with which a soldier displays his sword, or
+the noble his armorial bearings, that he knew his position and was
+content with it, and felt none of that weak shrinking from his appointed
+place in society or uneasy longing after another, which has since been
+the epidemic malady of the middle classes."
+
+For two centuries and more this guild of merchants made the German name
+respected in European lands, the German flag respected in European
+waters. When the empire had fallen to pieces and there was no union, no
+cohesion left, the Hanseatics remained German and held together
+staunchly and nobly. Though the time of their existence was brief, yet
+it was all-important, not only for their own land, but for all Europe.
+
+To appreciate to its full extent the influence exercised upon Europe in
+general by the Hanseatic League, we must carry our minds back, and
+compare Europe as it was when the League took its rise, with Europe as
+it was when the League declined. The Hansa made its appearance in
+history at a time when barbarism, violence, religious fanaticism,
+political and civil slavery, and dire intellectual darkness overspread
+the whole continent, when liberty and industry, as we understand them,
+were unknown. The constant and active communication kept up by the
+cities of the Hansa, not only among themselves and with all parts of
+Germany, but with the most distant countries, awoke and kept alive the
+intelligence of the people. To the Hanseatics, as to the Italians of the
+same epoch, was reserved the honour of dispelling the obscurity that
+reigned in the mental and material world. The Hansa's glory only pales
+before that of the rival Italian mercantile associations from the fact
+that its energies were somewhat too exclusively confined to
+money-getting. Had these communities arisen in a period of literary
+culture, or among the glorious relics of the art of a brighter age,
+these cities would have presented several more salient points of
+resemblance to the republics of Greece and Italy. It cannot, however, be
+denied that in many of their institutions they improved on the model set
+by the Italian cities, and this more especially in all matters relating
+to morality and rectitude. But they were less grand and large in their
+policy than their Trans-Alpine brethren, and unfortunately for
+themselves, their commercial maxims were always narrow and selfish.
+Monopoly was their watchword, their grand aim. And it was largely in
+consequence of this narrow policy that their ruin overtook them. They
+perished of that disease whereof corporations are apt to perish, namely,
+egotism, the centrifugal force which is perpetually tending to rend
+asunder all human society, and must inevitably do so, when not
+restrained by some powerful antagonistic action.
+
+It is strange that, while so rich commercially, the Hanseatic League
+lacked political ambition. Had they possessed it, there is little doubt
+they might have made themselves independent masters of all Northern
+Germany. But they seem never to have forgotten that they were merchants.
+They were held down by petty motives, smallness of views. Here, again,
+they were unlike the Italians, among whom the trader could develop into
+the aristocrat, as is abundantly proved by the history of the Medici and
+other famous great houses. The reason must be sought, no doubt, in the
+different native temperament of the two nations--the one innately
+refined, the other rougher and more boorish. Though the civic pride of
+the Hanseatics was highly flattered when the kings of the North and the
+princes of Germany trembled before them, they confined their ambitions
+entirely to gaining commercial advantages.
+
+Certain it is that the two powers--the Hanseatic and the Italian
+Republics--each in their respective sphere of action, helped on the
+progress that has changed the entire face of this hemisphere, and that
+they did this by no other means than that of their commercial activity.
+
+For this is the great power of commerce, if practised in its best and
+highest spirit, that it is able to work veritable miracles, bringing
+into contact the extremes of civilization, enlarging and disseminating
+ideas, and helping forward towards that universal brotherhood of man,
+that universal peace and goodwill, which is, and must be, the highest
+ideal of humanity. Not till war is really rooted out from among us, not
+till what is for the benefit of one is held for the benefit of all, not
+until a generous altruism reigns supreme, can mankind be said to be
+thoroughly civilized. Trade and commerce, though apparently egotistic
+factors, work strongly towards this end, even though their action
+proceed merely from motives of self-seeking. War is so serious an
+interruption to trade that men will seek to avert it, even out of a
+simple regard for their own pockets. By fair smiling peace, not only
+traders, but all the world is benefited and made happier. Once let
+nations fully understand and recognize its incalculable benefits, and
+even the lowest and most squalid souls will struggle to uproot this
+remnant of a barbaric spirit which can never evince itself as aught but
+an evil.
+
+The Hansa uprose in a rough age, and hence had to work with the
+rough-made methods of its time; but in its time and in its way it did a
+good work, and posterity cannot withhold from it either gratitude or
+admiration. Its policy, its laws, its constitution, its commerce, its
+immense credit, the sway which it once exercised, the able magistrates,
+merchants, and mariners whom it produced--all these have vanished,
+unable to resist the torrent of time that engulfs good and bad alike.
+But its influence and example have remained, while much of its spirit,
+like many of its ideas and rules, have become incorporated into the
+general stock of the ideas of humanity.
+
+Of the League itself, it is true there remains only an illustrious name.
+For Germany, which gave it birth, there remain memories both of pride
+and regret--memories that should serve as a spur to noble and useful
+emulation.
+
+"The History of Commerce," says Montesquieu, "is the history of the
+intercommunication of peoples." The story of the Hanseatic League is an
+eloquent testimony to the truth of these words.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+ A
+
+ Albert Dürer, 226
+
+ Alva, Duke of, 299
+
+ Amsterdam, 308, 310
+
+ Antwerp, 308, 310
+
+ Armada, 317, 349
+
+ Arnold of Brescia, 38
+
+ Art, 109
+
+
+ B
+
+ Baltic, 21, 45, 89, 217, 260, 286, 296, 309
+
+ Barbarossa, 4, 35
+
+ Bergen, 20, 127, 137, 284
+
+ Bismarck, 375
+
+ Blackmail, 12, 43
+
+ Boris, Gudenow, 161, 302
+
+ Bornholm, 59, 98, 237, 300
+
+ Bremen, 83, 322, 365, 375
+
+ Brömse, Nicholas, 266, 270
+
+ Bruges, 95, 100, 163, 307
+
+ Brunswick, 85
+
+ Burleigh, Lord, 336
+
+
+ C
+
+ Charles IV., 63, 73
+
+ Charles V., 219
+
+ Charles VI., 369
+
+ Christian II., 219
+
+ Christopher of Oldenburg, 251
+
+ Civilizing influence of traders, 24
+
+ Cologne, 34, 61, 95, 168, 179, 264, 309, 319, 321, 348
+
+ Commerce with Denmark, Sweden, and Russia, 148
+
+ Commerce with the Netherlands and Southern Europe, 163
+
+ Copenhagen, 50, 57
+
+ Court of St. Peter, 30, 153
+
+ Cromwell's Navigation Act, 256
+
+
+ D
+
+ Dalecarlia, 227
+
+ Dangers of navigation, 17, 18
+
+ Danzig, 87, 98, 185, 300, 315
+
+ Decline and fall, 209
+
+ Denmark, 48, 51, 57, 148, 219, 250, 259, 260, 284, 300, 357
+
+ Diet of Worms, 43
+
+ Ducal cities, 80
+
+ Duke of Northumberland, 332
+
+ Dürer, Albert, 226
+
+ Dutch, 95, 137, 169, 217, 306
+
+
+ E
+
+ Elizabeth, Queen, 336
+
+ Embden, 342
+
+ End of Hansa dominion in England, 324
+
+ England, 15, 16, 98, 138, 179, 286
+
+ England, end of dominion in, 324
+
+ English towns, 195
+
+ Epilogue, 379
+
+ Ethelred the Unready, 15
+
+
+ F
+
+ Federation, 21
+
+ Feodorowitch Gudenow, 161, 302
+
+ Fights of the Hansa, 48
+
+ Foreign protection, 15
+
+ Foreign trade, 30
+
+ France, 171
+
+ Frederick Barbarossa, 4, 35
+
+ Frederick (of Holstein), 225, 231, 236, 244
+
+ Freiburg, 38
+
+
+ G
+
+ Godeke Michelson, 129, 134
+
+ Gothland, island of, 24, 54, 55, 127
+
+ Gresham, 328, 337
+
+ Gudenow, Feodorowitch, 161, 302
+
+ Gustavus Adolphus, 355
+
+ Gustavus Vasa, 222, 226, 232, 236, 260, 285
+
+
+ H
+
+ Hamburg, 300, 342, 365, 375
+
+ Hansa fights, 48
+
+ Hansa, name of, 46
+
+ Hansa, towns in fourteenth century, 82
+
+ Henry VIII., 248, 271, 326
+
+ Herring, 48
+
+ Holbein, 246
+
+ Holy Roman Empire, 4, 6, 31, 231, 358
+
+
+ I
+
+ Italian merchants, 37, 40, 307
+
+ Italy, 175
+
+
+ J
+
+ Julin, 23
+
+
+ L
+
+ Liberty, personal in twelfth century, 35
+
+ Life in fourteenth century, 112
+
+ Lisbon, 175
+
+ Livonia, 157, 288, 291
+
+ Lombards, 6, 37, 40, 159
+
+ London, 15, 16, 20, 179
+
+ Loss of colonies, 283
+
+ Lübeck, 48, 50, 57, 63, 73, 85, 89, 149, 202, 223, 232, 237,
+ 242, 246, 283, 300, 319, 333, 345, 357, 365, 375
+
+
+ M
+
+ Mary, Queen, 332
+
+ Max Meyer, 245
+
+ Merchant Adventurers, 325, 328, 337, 342
+
+ Meyer, 245
+
+ Michelson, 129, 134
+
+ Municipal privileges, 40
+
+
+ N
+
+ Napoleon, 371
+
+ Netherlands, 217, 250, 306
+
+ Nicholas Brömse, 266, 270
+
+ Northumberland, Duke of, 332
+
+ Norway, 137, 219, 284
+
+ Novgorod, 20, 152
+
+
+ O
+
+ Oldenburg, Christopher of, 251
+
+ Organization of the League, 202
+
+
+ P
+
+ Payments, 103
+
+ Peace of Westphalia, 364, 365
+
+ Personal liberty in twelfth century, 35
+
+ Peter's Court, St., 30, 153
+
+ Petersen, 377
+
+ Portugal, 175
+
+ Protection, foreign, 15
+
+
+ R
+
+ Reformation, the, 241
+
+ Religion, 106, 241
+
+ Rhine towns, 45
+
+ Rudolph II., 350, 354
+
+ Russia, 23, 96, 152, 185, 286, 301
+
+
+ S
+
+ St. Nicholas Church, 56, 133
+
+ St. Peter's Court, 30, 153
+
+ Scania, 26, 48, 53, 57, 60, 149
+
+ Simon of Utrecht, 131, 134, 136
+
+ Sir Thomas Gresham, 328, 337
+
+ Smolensk, 20, 96
+
+ Spain, 174, 311, 349, 357
+
+ Steelyard, 30, 179, 328
+
+ Stock-fish, 26, 195, 214
+
+ Storm clouds, 217
+
+ Stortebeker, 129
+
+ Stralsund, 47, 67, 357, 362
+
+ Sudermann, 314, 332, 347
+
+ Survivors, 365
+
+ Sweden, 98, 149, 152, 222, 259, 285, 296, 355
+
+
+ T
+
+ Teutonic knights, 159, 292
+
+ Thirty Years' War, 215, 354
+
+ Tilly, 361
+
+ Trade guild, 11
+
+ Treaty of Stralsund, 67
+
+ Treaty of Utrecht, 185, 339, 343
+
+
+ U
+
+ Unhansing, 29
+
+ Utrecht, Simon of, 131, 134, 136
+
+ Utrecht, Treaty of, 185, 339, 343
+
+
+ V
+
+ Vasa, 222, 226, 232, 236, 260, 285
+
+ Venice, 20, 175
+
+ Victual Brothers, 126
+
+
+ W
+
+ Waldemar, 47, 49, 51, 75
+
+ Wallenstein, 357, 361
+
+ Westphalia, peace of, 364, 365
+
+ Winetha, 23
+
+ Wisby, 25, 54, 55, 87, 127
+
+ Wittenborg, 57
+
+ Wrecking, 12
+
+ Wullenweber, 237, 240
+
+
+ Y
+
+ York, 20
+
+
+ Z
+
+ Zealand, 64, 319
+
+
+
+
+ * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+ Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
+ been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
+
+ Page 312: "formerly" possibly should be "formally."
+
+ Page 160: "Ivan II." possibly should be "Ivan IV."
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HANSA TOWNS***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 39664-8.txt or 39664-8.zip *******
+
+
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/9/6/6/39664
+
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
+ www.gutenberg.org/license.
+
+
+Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
+paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works. See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+ the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+ you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
+ owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+ has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+ Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
+ must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+ prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+ returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+ sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+ address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+ the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+ you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+ does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+ License. You must require such a user to return or
+ destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+ and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+ Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+ money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+ electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+ of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+ distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809
+North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email
+contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the
+Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
+
+For additional contact information:
+ Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+ Chief Executive and Director
+ gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+ www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
generated by cgit v1.2.3 (git 2.25.1) at 2026-05-01 04:21:52 +0000