"Hansen, Hosteliers und Herbergen": Studien zum Aufenthalt hansischer Kaufleute in Brugge im 14. und 15 Jahrhundert (STUDIES IN EUROPEAN URBAN HISTORY (1100-1800))

"During the late Middle Ages, Bruges was one of the most important economic centres in Europe. The city belonged to the Hanseatic system of official commercial settlements (Kontore) in foreign towns, notably Bergen in Norway, Novgorod in Russia, and London in England. Similar in all these enclaves was the necessity to regulate the foreign merchants residence. Unlike in the other three main settlements, from the start, Bruges provided accommodation through local innkeepers. This study shows how innkeepers and Hanseatic merchants interacted on an economic, political and social level. The Hanseatic League's aggressively protectionist trading practices often aroused opposition from other foreign merchants and local traders. The league typically used its full economic weight to protect its commercial privileges, and when this proved inadequate, it threatened to withdraw its trade and occasionally became involved in embargoes and blockades. Under these circumstances, bilateral negotiation methods are therefore of interest as well as the main protagonists in their role as partners and adversaries on the Bruges stage during the 14th and 15th centuries. German text."