Fish, falcons, and sulphur: How was the hanseatic trade in the North Atlantic during the Late Middle Ages and early modern time organized, and how did it affect the local communities? Natascha Mehler presents results from the recent project "Between the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea. Interdisciplinary studies of the Hanseatic League".
From the late 15th to the early 17th centuries Iceland was an important destinations of merchants and sailors from the German cities of Bremen and Hamburg who came to trade for fish, sulphur and falcons. On their way to Iceland many of the Germans also conducted business with the Faroes and Shetland, and they deliberately avoided Bergen which was dominated by merchants from Lübeck. The economic connections between the Germans on the one hand and the islanders on the other hand had a profound impact on the political history and cultural life of Iceland, Shetland and Faroe.
This lecture presents the results of the research project “Between the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea. Interdisciplinary studies of the Hanseatic League” funded by the German Leibniz Association. The focus will be on the methods and results of this project: What do we know about the ships and the crews that sailed North? How was the trade in falcons and sulphur organized?
Natascha Mehler is currently a professor at University of Vienna and an honorary reader at the University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland. She has researched and published widely on topics related to Hansa and other historical archaeology.
The lecture is one of a series of guest lectures presented by the research group Creating the New North (CNN).