The Hanseatic League

Professor Carsten Jahnke, one of the leading historians on the Hanse has kindly granted us an interview where we discuss how the Hanse network functioned and how the perception of the Hanse has changed dramatically over the last 200 years, a story that almost as interesting as the history of the Hanse itself. As listeners of the last season of the History of the Germans might have noticed, I have been relying heavily extensively on Carsten Jahnke's work. many of the episodes discussing the economic structure and the way money transfers worked in the network are based on his research. So if you liked those episodes, you will certanly enjoy this interview. Listen in! And here are some links to research Carsten recommends for those of you who want to follow up further: Christian Manger, Behind the scenes: Urban secretaries as managers of legal and diplomatic conflicts in the Baltic region, c.1470–1540:  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03044181.2022.2098528 [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03044181.2022.2098528] Carsten Jahnke,  Von Mandeln, Narde, Curcuma und Kümmel. Herkunft, Handel und Verbrauch von „exotischen“ Gewürzen und Lebensmitteln im nördlichen Europa, in: Die Ausgrabungen im Lübecker Gründungsviertel II. Archäoparasitologie, Handelsgeschichte, Paläopathologie und Anthropologie, ed. by Dirk Rieger, Lübeck 2022, s. 131-164 Carsten Jahnke,  Hansische Kaufleute und deren Religiosität ausserhalb ihrer Heimat, i: Zapiski Historyczne, Tom LXXXIV, Rok 2019, Zeszyt 1, s. 7-41. There is also a lecture Cartsen gave at the German Historical institute in London on teh perception history: https://www.ghil.ac.uk/publications/podcasts/the-hanseatic-league-as-a-national-project [https://www.ghil.ac.uk/publications/podcasts/the-hanseatic-league-as-a-national-project] The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau [https://www.windrep.org/Michel_Rondeau] under Common Creative Licence 3.0 [https://imslp.org/wiki/Flute_Sonata_in_E-flat_major%2C_H.545_%28Bach%2C_Carl_Philipp_Emanuel%29]. As always: Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com [http://www.historyofthegermans.com/] Facebook: @HOTGPod  Twitter: @germanshistory Instagram: history_of_the_germans Reddit: u/historyofthegermans Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Historyofthegermans [https://www.patreon.com/Historyofthegermans]

Our history of the Hanse has come to an end, not with a bang but with a whimper. Of the things that have remained we have already talked a lot, the ideal of the honourable Hanseatic merchant, the cultural and political links to Scandinavia and the stories. The stories of the famous pirates, Klaus Störtebecker and Hans Benecke, the heroics of the wars fought with Denmark and the antics of Jurgen Wullenwever. But there is something that reminds us of the days when traders speaking low German fed Europe fish, beer and grain. And that are the cultural achievements, the town halls, weighing houses and stores that became symbols of civic pride, the artists whose works adorn churches and palaces across the Baltic sea and last but not least the brick churches that shaped the way these cities still appear..…let’s have a look. And since podcasting is a most unsuitable medium to talk about visual art, I have added a few images to the episode webpage which you can find at Episode 127 - Art & Culture of the Hanse • History of the Germans Podcast [https://historyofthegermans.com/127-2/] The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau [https://www.windrep.org/Michel_Rondeau] under Common Creative Licence 3.0 [https://imslp.org/wiki/Flute_Sonata_in_E-flat_major%2C_H.545_%28Bach%2C_Carl_Philipp_Emanuel%29]. As always: Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com [http://www.historyofthegermans.com/] Facebook: @HOTGPod  Twitter: @germanshistory Instagram: history_of_the_germans Reddit: u/historyofthegermans Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Historyofthegermans [https://www.patreon.com/Historyofthegermans]

Bremen was geographically and politically quite different from the other cities, ploughing its own furrow. In response the other Hansards did not trust the citizens of Bremen. There is also the minor issue that Bremen sheltered a lot of pirates. Still as the Hanse declined politically, Bremen took on an ever-larger role until becoming one of the last three Hanseatic Cities that kept that long-dead medieval relic plodding along until the late 19th century. A story of rebellion, stubbornness, piracy and emigration to America, I thought worth telling. The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau [https://www.windrep.org/Michel_Rondeau] under Common Creative Licence 3.0 [https://imslp.org/wiki/Flute_Sonata_in_E-flat_major%2C_H.545_%28Bach%2C_Carl_Philipp_Emanuel%29]. As always: Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com [http://www.historyofthegermans.com/] Facebook: @HOTGPod  Twitter: @germanshistory Instagram: history_of_the_germans Reddit: u/historyofthegermans Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Historyofthegermans [https://www.patreon.com/Historyofthegermans]

The last two episodes may have left you with a sense of gloom and foreboding about the great Hanseatic cities. But here is the counterintuitive fact, the Hanse may continuously loose political power and economic relevance, but the cities that make up the association are flourishing. Not all of them but some, Hamburg and Danzig in particular. Why it is that the Hanse declines, but the Hansards are doing mightily well is what we are looking into this week. So let’s see…. The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau [https://www.windrep.org/Michel_Rondeau] under Common Creative Licence 3.0 [https://imslp.org/wiki/Flute_Sonata_in_E-flat_major%2C_H.545_%28Bach%2C_Carl_Philipp_Emanuel%29]. As always: Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com [http://www.historyofthegermans.com/] Facebook: @HOTGPod  Twitter: @germanshistory Instagram: history_of_the_germans Reddit: u/historyofthegermans Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Historyofthegermans [https://www.patreon.com/Historyofthegermans] Bibliography: J.K. Dunlop, Hamburg 800-1945, Published by the Anglo-German Club E.V. Philippe Dollinger, Die Hanse, 6. Auflage, 2012

1531-1535, a period of just 4 years is enough to capsize Lübeck’s position as the diplomatic heart of the Baltic Sea, general secretary of the Hanse, ally of both the king of Denmark and the king of Sweden and early member of the Schmalkaldic League. How can that happen? As Edward Gibbon would say: History, in fact, is no more than a list of crimes of humanity, human follies and accidents”. The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau [https://www.windrep.org/Michel_Rondeau] under Common Creative Licence 3.0 [https://imslp.org/wiki/Flute_Sonata_in_E-flat_major%2C_H.545_%28Bach%2C_Carl_Philipp_Emanuel%29]. As always: Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com [http://www.historyofthegermans.com/] Facebook: @HOTGPod  Twitter: @germanshistory Instagram: history_of_the_germans Reddit: u/historyofthegermans Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Historyofthegermans [https://www.patreon.com/Historyofthegermans] Bibliography: Rainer Postel: Der Niedergang der Hanse in Hanse, Lebenswirklichkeit und Mythos: RI [http://opac.regesta-imperii.de/lang_en/anzeige.php?sammelwerk=Die+Hanse.+Lebenswirklichkeit+und+Mythos+1&pk=44068] OPAC (regesta-imperii.de) [http://opac.regesta-imperii.de/lang_en/anzeige.php?sammelwerk=Die+Hanse.+Lebenswirklichkeit+und+Mythos+1&pk=44068] Jahnke, [https://www.reclam.shop/detail/978-3-15-019206-1/Jahnke__Carsten/Die_Hanse] Carsten: Die Hanse | Reclam Verlag [https://www.reclam.shop/detail/978-3-15-019206-1/Jahnke__Carsten/Die_Hanse] Philipp Dollinger: Die Hanse