Somewhere back in 2020 I wrote my first Compleat Anachronist (C.A.) on the unique garments of orphaned children in the Netherlands in the late middle ages, you can find more information here.
Not too long ago I decided to put pen to paper again and I am in the process of writing a second C.A.. I have discovered that there is so much information out there on this particular topic, that I have decided to devote a few blog posts on this because these won’t be featured in the C.A. – there just isn’t enough room.
So, what is going on? I am writing what is slowly becoming a rather large document on the Hanseatic League, one of the first multinationals that was active for almost 300 years. It is a very interesting topic but the Compleat Anachronist cannot be more than 60 pages. I would like to include *everything* I find, but simply can’t.
Wouldn’t a blog come in handy here? Certainly! Because the Hansa League had at least 200 city members in 16 different countries. So many pretty towns! In The Netherlands alone, for ever the focus of this blog, 22 cities were part of the Hansa League!
Between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, a number of Dutch cities, most of them situated in the eastern part of the country, develop into important and prospering trade centres due to their Hansa membership.
The trade in products such as salt, grains, fish, wood, wine, beer, animal skins, and cloth flourishes. The goods are largely transported by sea and by rivers, using cog ships of between fifteen to thirty metres in length. The cities blossom, reinforce their city walls, expand their ports, and merchant homes, warehouses, and offices were built. The riches of the Hanseatic League are still clearly manifest in the cities along the River IJssel, but also in smaller Hanseatic cities such as Stavoren, Hasselt, Tiel, and Doesburg.
One particular town, called Hindeloopen in Friesland, would not become an actual Hansa city BUT because of its close proximity to Stavoren, which was a Hansa city, Hindeloopen benefitted from the League anyways. The Stavoren harbour wasn’t very large and so many ships docked in Hindeloopen. It isn’t clear why exactly Hindeloopen never became an official Hansa city, but the closeness of Stavoren could be an issue. With only 11 kilometres between them, that might have contributed to Hindeloopen’s non-membership. Still, the city prospered and became quite wealthy.
You can see why I can’t include this pretty little town in the new Compleat Anachronist, but you can also see why I just had to share…. 😉
Ava's Corner 