Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- The wards of medieval London
- The parishes and districts of medieval Cologne
- Anglo-Cologne family genealogies
- Introduction
- Part I The historical background: Anglo-German commercial foundations and the city of Cologne
- Chapter 1 The London guildhall and Cologne's rise to dominance in the eleventh and twelfth centuries
- Chapter 2 The rise of the Hansa towns and the decline of Cologne's dominance in the thirteenth century
- Chapter 3 Anglo-German currency exchange: Cologne and English sterling
- Part II Anglo-Cologne family, property, and inheritance ties
- Part III Anglo-German religious and cultural life
- Conclusion: A reappraisal of the Anglo-German nexus
- Appendix: The archbishops of Cologne
- Select Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought Fourth series
Chapter 1 - The London guildhall and Cologne's rise to dominance in the eleventh and twelfth centuries
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 November 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- The wards of medieval London
- The parishes and districts of medieval Cologne
- Anglo-Cologne family genealogies
- Introduction
- Part I The historical background: Anglo-German commercial foundations and the city of Cologne
- Chapter 1 The London guildhall and Cologne's rise to dominance in the eleventh and twelfth centuries
- Chapter 2 The rise of the Hansa towns and the decline of Cologne's dominance in the thirteenth century
- Chapter 3 Anglo-German currency exchange: Cologne and English sterling
- Part II Anglo-Cologne family, property, and inheritance ties
- Part III Anglo-German religious and cultural life
- Conclusion: A reappraisal of the Anglo-German nexus
- Appendix: The archbishops of Cologne
- Select Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought Fourth series
Summary
The most enduring dynamic uniting Germany with England during the Central Middle Ages was commerce along the Rhine—Thames corridor. Hence we must first consider the emergence and evolution of this economic nexus in order to set the context for our subsequent researches into emigrant populations at both ends of the corridor.
Commercial contacts existed between England and the eastern Frankish realm at least as far back as the era of Charlemagne, yet not until around the year 1000 do we find a specific reference to such activity. King Aethelred II's “Institutes of London” mention the presence of “homines imperatoris qui veniebant in navibus suis” among the foreign merchants in the city. There has been much speculation about the identity of these “men of the emperor.” Koppmann supposed that Cologne merchants were the principal figures along with others from the Westphalian cities of Dortmund, Soest, and Münster, while Kellenbenz expected merchants from Cologne, Tiel, Deventer, and Utrecht and Dollinger believed they were merchants from Cologne, Tiel, and Bremen. The full passage in Aethelred's statutes reads: “Et homines imperatoris, qui veniebant in navibus suis, bonarum legum digni tenebantur, sicut et nos,” which indicates that the German merchants enjoyed legal rights comparable to those of the English. This was a privileged status for foreign traders. The Leges Edwardi Confessoris also allude to traditionally good trading relations between Germany and England during the Anglo-Saxon era.
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- Family, Commerce, and Religion in London and CologneAnglo-German Emigrants, c.1000–c.1300, pp. 9 - 22Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1998
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