Seite - 243 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

14 Harbourscapes 243 also in the reduction of transaction costs andnew forms of organisation that are alwaysmen- tioned in connectionwith theHanse.51 On the basis of finds fromHaithabu, Schleswig and Lübeck, it is possible to recognise a spatial and functional shift in themovement of goods. Until the 11th and 12thcenturies, long- distance trade was concentrated on prestige goods from northeast Europe (furs, amber, wax and slaves) and goods from the Far East (silks, spices and frankincense). From the 12th and 13thcenturies,Hanseatic tradebuilt itself uponbulkproducts suchasherring, salt, grain, and woollen cloth. In addition to this, the Hanseatic trade played an intermediary role between westernandeasternEurope, aswell asmiddleEurope. At the same time, ‘technoscapes’manifest themselvesmost significantly in the changes to maritime technology. From the archaeological point of view, attention heremust certainly be turned towards ship-types. Whatever the genesis of the ship type Kogge (a single-masted, square-rigged andmostly clinker-built vessel) was, during the 12th century onwards, the cog was absolutely ideal for the requirements of bulk trade. Even if a direct correlation between ship-typesandharbour facilities cannotalwaysbedemonstrated, the increases incargocapaci- ty anddraught for long-distance trading vessels between the later Viking period and theHigh MiddleAges necessitated appropriatemooring facilities.52 The port areas accommodated these new requirements, and the changing logistics were not only displayed in the construction of land bridges and quays, but also in the new forms of packing (barrels) and the relocation of storage spaces. Although objects are the carriers of ideas, and ideas communicate something to other people, the ‘ideoscapes’ in the port areas – which are not always easy to recognise archaeologically – appear in the various concepts of maritime law, customs law, and seller’s rights, andof course also in themunicipal laws. Thequestionof correlationbetweenmaritime andmunicipal law is currently under intensive discussion, as is the differentiation between ship-owners and ships’ crews, as well as between the actual owners of goods and trading agents.53Here, thereseemtohavebeensomefundamentalchangesduring the11thand12thcen- turies in the Baltic area.While the town charter of Schleswig still reflected the significance of themerchants’ guilds, the Lübsche Rechtwas considered a valid form ofmunicipal law, and wasusedas the exemplar for the foundingofmanynewcities in theBaltic region. Taking a general perspective, these three ports certainly represent the power ofwhat Nils Blomkvist describes as the ‘Catholic world system’, which is alsomore than a little visible in the career-specific faith andpractical religiosity of theHanseaticmerchant-class.54 Theport isoftenseenpragmaticallyasaplaceofculturalencounters,and this isparticular- ly clear in the narratives of modern harbour areas. In terms of constantly changing flows of people, it is themobilityof themerchants that first comes tomind.55However, it isnotonly the travels ofWulfstan and Ottar in the 9th century, or the apprenticeship andmerchant’s life of HildbrandVechinchusen in the early 14th century that stand as representatives for this global mobility. Ship-owning familiesweredeeplywoven into theurbannarrative andparticipated in the formation of both the life of the port and that of the city as awhole. Therewere also the travellers from distant locations, for example the Arabicmerchant and diplomat At-Tartûschi fromTortosa in Spain,who visitedHaithabu in 965. A completely different side of the ‘ethno- scapes’ is visible in the slave trade, forwhich earlymedievalHaithabuwas an important hub, butwhich alsopresents archaeologistswithmassive challenges.56 Slaveswerenot only traded in thenorth but also, andmost importantly, in theArabic lands. This example simultaneously 51 Kypta 2016, 151–155. 52 Blobel 2014; Englert 2015, 261–283. 53 Blomkvist 2005, 374–375; Englert 2015, 39–54; Cordes 2017, 71–73. 54 Blomkvist 2005, 30–35;Ayers 2016, 111–146; Jezierski 2016. 55 Christophersen 2017. 56 Fontaine 2017, 479–482. 488.