Novgorod and the Hansa

As a political and trading center Novgorod became famous outside of the Slavic world more than one hundred years ago. In the late 10th to early 11th centuries it was a city with a constant presence of Scandinavian warriors – merchants driving the development of the city as the center of international trade (Photo “Novgorodian Marketplace” by A.M. Vasnetsov, 1908-1913). Very early, along with stone churches, stalls, storehouses and wharves, Novgorod saw the opening of two foreign courts (dvors). These courts, Gothic and German, were located in close proximity to the Marketplace of Novgorod and the residence of the Knyaz’ – the Yaroslavovo Dvorische.

  The Gothic court (Gotsky dvor) and the Church of Saint Olaf were founded at the turn of the 11th to the 12th centuries, while the German court (Nemetsky dvor) and the Church of Saint Peter were founded approximately in 1192. What accounts for that early founding of the courts is the main partners of Novgorod in the trade with the West: Gotland, Lübeck, Denmark, Sweden and finally the Hanseatic trading alliance.

There is an extant contractual certificate entered into by Novgorod, the Gothic coast, Lübeck and German cities. Dated to 1192, the document stipulates rules of international trade and proves that the Novgorodians had trade relations with Western Europe.

In the late 1180s, German Emperor Frederic I Barbarossa granted Lübeck a charter, under which “Russians, Goths, Normans and other peoples of the East” were entitled to duty-free trade in the city. Before long, Lübeck became one of the main member cities of the German Hansa, along with Vismar, Rostock, Greifswald and Stralsund. The trade of Novgorod with Lübeck was developing so well that it became the leading one at the end of the 13th century as opposed to trade with other western partners. (Photo: Lübeck’s Burgomaster Heinrich Bremze with his sons. One of the sons was engaged in the trade in Novgorod the Great. The left leaf of the altar, Lübeck, Germany).

In the mid-1350s, the formation of the Hanseatic League was completed. Up until 1494, when Ivan III closed the German court in Novgorod, the Livonian (or Liflyandsky) cities of Riga, Derpt (Tartu) and Revel (Tallinn) had occupied a central position in the Novgorod-Germany trade. The cities had Russian trade courts founded by Novgorodians. The 14th – 15th centuries became the heyday of Novgorod’s trade relations with the main partners of that Novgorod at that time — the Hansa and the Livonian Order. The Niburov peace treaty signed in 1392 by Novgorod and the Hansa put an end to long-lasting disputes between the parties and benefiting both helped maintain strong business ties between Novgorod and the Hansa. For a long time afterwards the Niburov peace molded Novgorod’s overseas trade and served as the basis for solving disputes between Novgorodian and German merchants.

One of the most important sources of information about the history of the Hanseatic trade and Hanseatic Kontore is a charter of the German court, called skra. It was a code of rules governing trade relations and conduct of German merchants. Moreover, this charter provides a detailed record of the organization of the courts and the everyday life of foreign merchants living in Novgorod.

Hanseatic merchants differed not only by the city community they belonged to in the Hanseatic League, but also by walks of life. Owners of property, assets and goods made up the main group of merchants. Each of them had the right to bring two servants or assistants with him to Novgorod. As a rule, these were young men learning the art of the trade.

Around 150-200 merchants lived in two foreign courts of Novgorod at a time. The court was administered by two wardens: one in charge of the court, the other in charge of St. Peter’s Church. These wardens were elected among Hanseatic merchants.

The primary exports to the West were fur, wax and leathers. The most exported goods n the 14th to 15th centuries was the peltry. The sorts of the peltry for sale remained unchanged for a long time. The most selling fur was that of a squirrel, referred to as “pure squirrel” and “decent squirrel” in the sources. The second group of the peltry included more expensive furs like beaver’s skin and belly, fur of ermines, weasels, marten cats, minks and otters. Sables, ermines, marten cats and ferrets were sold in lots of forty, while squirrels were sold in lots of 40 and 1000. (Photo “Novogorodians in the German court”. Wooden carved frieze from St. Nicholas Church in Stralsund (German). The frieze depicts Novgorodians offering pelt for sale to merchants of the German Court in Novgorod.)

The wax of Novgorod origin was sold to the West by discs of 80 kilos each. By the end of the 14th to the beginning of the 15th centuries the weight of one disk had reached 160 kilos. The waxes were clearly differentiated by quality. The first sort had white color, the second was dark-yellow or light-brown and unmingled, finally, the third sort was brown or grey. The wax discs had to be sealed. The goods without that sign could be confiscated and fined.

Due to low cost and high quality of leather and leather ware offered by handicraftsmen from Novgorod, there was a considerable increase in the export of these goods in the 15th century. Among the foremost popular leathers were those of the moose, the cow and the horse. The leather of the sheep and the bull were less demanded but still widely exported. As it may be concluded form the above-stated, Novgorod’s export was mostly based on handicraft and natural wealth. On the contrary, the importation was predominated by textiles, salt, noble and nonferrous metals, weapons, amber, glass, bread, wine, soft goods and horses. The salt was bought not only for food, but also for technical uses and distribution to other regions of the Russian state. It came primarily from Lüneburg – the city located south-west of Lübeck and having one of the richest saline springs in Europe. The silver was imported in the form of coins and ingots, the gold – in the form of coins. The appearance of noble metals in the Novgorod market fostered the development of the jeweler’s trade there.