Universitas mercatorum: Kommentare zum Kaufmannsstadt-Projekt in Flandern 1253

"The negotiations between Countess Margareta of Flanders and representatives of the merchants' association of 1252 - and the results of those negotiations - form an informative source for research on the early organisational structures of the Hanse: The Gotland merchants of Lübeck founded a settlement in the west and conceived of themselves from then on as an universitas of the merchants of the Roman Empire. This event was originally presumed to have provided the Hanseatic League with lasting stability. This view of the matter demands critical review and revision, for the negotiations were ini... Mehr ...