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A Companion to Medieval Lübeck 1st
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Hartmut Freytag Antjekathrin
Graßmann Angela Huang Carsten
Jahnke Ursula Radis Anja Rasche Dirk
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A Companion to Medieval Lübeck
Brill’s Companions to
European History
volume 18
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bceh

A Companion to
Medieval Lübeck
Edited by
Carsten Jahnke
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Cover Illustration: St. Mary’s in its former urban context between harbour and market (aerial photo from 1919
© Fotoarchiv der Hansestadt Lübeck).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jahnke, Carsten, editor.

Title: A companion to medieval Lubeck / edited by Carsten Jahnke.
Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2019] | Series: Brill’s companions to
European history ; volume 18 | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019002824 (print) | LCCN 2019003468 (ebook) |
ISBN 9789004393776 (ebook) | ISBN 9789004380684 (hbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Lübeck (Germany)—History—To 1500. |
Lübeck (Germany)—Civilization.
Classification: LCC DD901.L86 (ebook) | LCC DD901.L86 C66 2019 (print) |
DDC 943/.5125—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019002824
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface.
issn 2212-7410
isbn 978-90-04-38068-4 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-39377-6 (e-book)
Copyright 2019 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi,
Brill Sense, Hotei Publishing, mentis Verlag, Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh and Wilhelm Fink Verlag.
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This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.

Contents
List of Illustrations vii

Acknowledgment XIV
Notes on Contributors xv
1 Introduction: “The Queen of the Baltic Coast” 1

Carsten Jahnke
2 The Beginnings and Early Development of Lübeck’s Central

Settlement 18
Ulf Stammwitz
3 Twelfth Century Timber Buildings in Lübeck’s Oldest Quarter 36

Dirk Rieger
4 The Earliest Use of Brickwork in Lübeck’s Secular Buildings: New

Findings of the Excavations 2009–2014 66
Ursula Radis
5 “Building History”: Lübeck in the Architectural History of the Middle

Ages 93
Manfred Finke
6 A Matter of Distance? The Bishops and the City of Lübeck in the Late
Middle Ages 166
Anja Voßhall
7 Between Reclusion and Integration: Monasteries and Convents in

Medieval Lübeck 185
Antjekathrin Graßmann
8 Lübeck: Early Economic Development and the Urban Hinterland 226

Carsten Jahnke
9 Lübeck’s Trade in the Fifteenth Century 253

Angela Ling Huang
vi Contents
10 Art, Belief, and Calculation: On the Churches and Christian

Endowments of Medieval Lübeck 273
Hildegard Vogeler and Hartmut Freytag
11 Hermen Rode: The Painter of Medieval Lübeck and His Art

Production 306
Anja Rasche
12 The “Niederstadtbuch”: A Source for the History of Private Life of

Lübeckers around 1500 352
Harm von Seggern
13 Lübeck’s Confraternities 372

Carsten Jahnke
Index 399
Illustrations
Maps
1.1 The western boundaries of the Baltic Sea 5

1.2 Situation of Lüneburg, Bardowik and Lübeck 6
1.3 Early modern plan of the historical centre of Lübeck’s stratification with
historically significant architecture 8
1.4 Dynamic development of Lübeck up to AD 1200, based on tree-ring dating in
relation to the standardized architecture 9
1.5 Ground plan of the city of Lübeck by M. Seutter, Grund-Riss der kayserlichen
und des Heil. Röm. Reichs freyen Stadt Lübeck, 1757 10
2.1 Early modern plan of the historical center of Lübeck’s height layers with
historically significant architecture 19
8.1 The direct Lübeck hinterland 230
8.2 The broader Lübeck hinterland 233
8.3 Hop-growing areas around Lübeck 242
8.4 Lübeck’s rights for cutting timber 245
8.5 Extent of Lübeck’s timber area 247
9.1 & 9.2 Documented ports in Lübeck’s oversea trade, 1492–96 268
10.1 Lübeck’s city hill in the 13th and 14th centuries 274
11.1 Hermen Rode, dissemination of Hermen Rode’s works 349
Figures
1.1 Prospect of the city of Lübeck seen from the east, Herman Rode, high altar of
St. Nicholas’s Church in Tallinn (1478–1481) 14
2.1 Early dendrochronology of the court developments in the large excavation
project Gründungsviertel 24
2.2 Early dendrochronology of recycled building woods in the large excavation
2.3 Small border trenches as original border markings in the large excavation
2.4 Block structure and parcelling grid before 1158/1159 in the large excavation
3.1 Lübeck. Plan of the excavation parts of the so-called HL150 project
“Gründungsviertel” with connection to the old excavation called HL70 37
3.2 Old Lübeck, castle and settlements 39
viii Illustrations
3.3 Lübeck, Bucu. Slavonic castle and settlement on the Lübeck peninsula 40
3.4 Lübeck, Bucu. Map of Bucu within the Slavonic period before the founding of
Lübeck 42
3.5 Lübeck, Gründungsviertel. Plan of hitherto the oldest building. A post-and-
posthole complex excavated at Braunstraße 16, radio carbon dated to
962 ± 17 BP 45
3.6 Lübeck, Gründungsviertel. h12th-century wattle-and-daub building with two
separate rooms, oven, firepit and loam floor from Fischstraße 19 46
3.7 Lübeck, Gründungsviertel. Block building from Fischstraße 20 49
3.8 Lübeck, Gründungsviertel. Combined architecture of log-and-sill-beam
constructions in full sunken cellar of the late 12th century from
Braunstraße 30 51
3.9 Lübeck, Gründungsviertel. Standardised architecture: large sill plank building
of Fischstraße 19 with huge bakery oven, dendrodated to AD 1163 (+14/-6) 52
3.10 Lübeck, Gründungsviertel. Reconstruction of the constructive framework from
the excavated sill plank building 53
3.11 Lübeck, Gründungsviertel. In situ-standing outhouse from AD 1222
(dendrodated) at Braunstraße 26 54
3.12 Lübeck, Gründungsviertel. Late 12th-century timber building with full sunken
cellar, massive sill beams and posts, wall planks, floor plates and remains of an
internal well 57
3.13 Lübeck, Gründungsviertel. Construction detail of Lübeck’s famous timber
cellars. Sill beams with halving joints and posts with tongues, top plate and
ceiling beams were preserved in a height of more than 2 meters 58
3.14 The genesis of Lübeck as a multicultural process with local and interregional
influences 59
3.15 Dynamic development of Lübeck up to AD 1200 based on dendrodates in
relation to the standardised architecture 61
4.1 Lübeck. The location of the excavation in the Gründungsviertel (area marked
in colour) within the structure of the western part of the city between the
Trave (on the picture’s lower right) and St. Mary’s Church (upper left) with the
adjoining market 67
4.2 Lübeck, Fischstr. 15–17. Photograph of the entire wooden cellar, still partially
filled in with brick stairs connected to the northern cellar wall. The southern
cellar wall reveals remnants of a wall of the above-ground construction 70
4.3 Lübeck, Fischstr. 15–17. Photograph of the entire set of brick stairs 71
4.4 Lübeck, Fischstr. 15–17. Brick stairs, construction of the side stringers 72
4.5 Lübeck, Fischstr. 15–17. The southeastern corner of the wooden cellar with the
remnants of a wall faced masonry, belonging to the above-ground construction
around the cellar 73
Illustrations ix
4.6 Lübeck, Fischstr. 15–17. Brick stairs, interior view of the eastern side
stringer 74
4.7 Lübeck, Fischstr. 21–23. Photograph of the entire second set of brick
stairs 76
4.8 Lübeck, Fischstr. 21–23. Interior view of the southern stringer of the brick
stairs 77
4.9 Lübeck. Assessment plan of the excavation in the Gründungsviertel with
brick buildings from Period V (around 1215 to 1260) 79
4.10 Lübeck, Alfstr. 25–27. Stone foundations of the cellar-less stone
structure 80
4.11 Lübeck, Alfstr. 25–27. Point foundation of a centrally located pillar as a
load-bearing element of presumed vaulting on the ground floor of the stone
structure 81
4.12 Lübeck, Fischstr. 26–24. The remnants of stone structures found in three test
trenches under the floors of newer constructions 83
4.13 Lübeck, Fischstr. 26–24. Section of the southern wall as well as the preserved
stair stringer of the stone structure 84
4.14 Lübeck, Fischstr. 20. The northwestern cellar corner of a small front-facing
house with two preserved steps of stairs on the courtyard side 85
4.15 Lübeck, Fischstr. 18–20. Despite extensive later construction, remnants
of both small front-facing houses could be uncovered under the newer
floors 86
4.16 Lübeck, archival image from the 1930s showing the intact development of
the northern side of the Fischstraße with stately front-facing houses, usually
parlour houses 87
5.1 Castle wall, built in 1181 at the order of Henry the Lion. In the foreground the
Kaiser-tower 95
5.2 Lübeck cathedral. Nave looking east 97
5.3 Lübeck cathedral. Romanesque groin vaults of the nave 98
5.4 Lübeck cathedral 99
5.5–6 Lübeck cathedral, Ground plans of building phases 102
5.7 St. Mary’s in its former urban context between harbour and market 103
5.8 St. Mary’s seen from a crane 105
5.9 St. Mary’s choir. Exterior of the clerestory 106
5.10 St. Mary’s. Central nave looking east in 1955 after repair of war
destruction 107
5.11 St. Mary’s, chancel 108
5.12 St. Mary’s choir 109
5.13 St. Mary’s choir. Passageway above the great arcades 110
5.14 St. Mary’s, vaulting of the Briefkapelle 111
x Illustrations
5.15 St. Mary’s, the nave 112

5.16 The solid masses of the St. Mary’s towers continue in the Romanesque
tradition 115
5.17 Franciscan church St. Catherine’s 119
5.18 Franciscan church St. Catherine’s, the rich decoration of the north transept was
designed to be seen from afar 120
5.19 St. Catherine’s, cross-section of the western bay of the transept 121
5.20 St. Catherine’s, the transept with its two-bay depth, seen from the monk’s
choir 122
5.21 The Holy Ghost Hospital on the Koberg seen from the tower of St. Jacob’s 125
5.22 The Holy Ghost Hospital, Long hall of the sick and infirm 126
5.23 Town hall, situated on the east side of the market 128
5.24 Town hall 129
5.25 Town hall, Hanse-hall in the upper story, seen to north 130
5.26 Schüsselbuden 10 (destroyed 1942) 134
5.27 Mengstraße 16, rear front (demolished 1912) 135
5.28 Königstraße 25, rear front 137
5.29 Königstraße 51, cellar facing the street 138
5.30 Schüsselbuden 2 140
5.31 Fischstraße 19 141
5.32 Hundestraße 92 142
5.33 Kleine Burgstraße 1–17 144
5.34 Fischergrube 20, rear front 145
5.35 Dornes Stift Schlumacherstraße 146
5.36 Hüxstraße 79 147
5.37 Burgtor 149
5.38 Burgtor tower 150
5.39 Holsten gate 151
5.40 Fischergrube 88 (destroyed in 1942) 153
5.41 Former breweries in the Engelswisch 154
5.42 Kohlmarkt 13 155
5.43 Mengstraße 42 156
7.1 Plan of the St. Johanniskloster 1805 187
7.2 Plan of the Katharinenklosters 190
7.3 Drawing of the west-facade of the Katharinenkirche 191
7.4 Ground-plot of the Burgkloster 192
7.5 View of the Burgkirche from the east before its demolition 201
7.6 Memorial of the Crispin family (1323–1455) 202
7.7 Kranenkonvent, Kleine Burgstraße 22 206
Illustrations xi
7.8 Michaeliskonvent corner of St.-Annenstraße/Weberstraße 207

7.9 Ground-plot of the St. Annenkloster 208
7.10 View inside the refectory of the St. Annenklosters 211
9.1 Lübeck’s overall turnover in overseas trade by regions, 1492–96 260
9.2 Share of individual markets in Lübeck’s overseas trade with Livonia 261
9.3 Share of individual markets in Lübeck’s overseas trade with Prussia 263
9.4 Share of individual markets in Lübeck’s overseas trade with Sweden 264
10.1 Tallinn, prospect of the city seen from the East, Herman Rode, high altar of
St. Nicholas’s Church (1478–1481) 276
10.2 Elias Diebel, Lübeck from the East (Lübeck 1552) 277
10.3 Lübeck, St. Mary’s, The Danse Macabre by Bernt Notke (1463) 278
10.4 Lübeck, church of the Holy Ghost Hospital, benefactor painting with ruler of
the world, northern wall 283
10.5 Lübeck, cathedral, triumphal cross by Bernt Notke, 1477 286
10.6 Lübeck, cathedral, choir room with the grave of Bishop Bocholt 288
10.7 Lübeck, St. Anne’s Museum, Passion altar by Hans Memling, visible side,
1491 291
10.8 Lübeck, St. Anne’s Museum, tetterwort under the cross, Passion altar by Hans
Memling, detail from the middle panel, 1491 293
10.9 Lübeck, St. Anne’s Museum, Annunciation, Passion altar by Hans Memling,
back panels, 1491 294
10.10 Lübeck, St. Mary’s Church, Antwerp altar from 1518 298
10.11 Lübeck. St. Mary’s Church, Madonna by Lettner, Benedikt Dreyer, historic
photo 299
11.1 Jacob Müller, 1591 309
11.2 Hermen Rode, Luke retabel from 1484, outer doors 311
11.3 Lübeck, Franciscan St. Catherine’s Church, long house eastward, before
1892 (?) 312
11.4 Hermen Rode, Luke retabel from 1484, gilded strip deviding the inner wings
horizontally 313
11.5 Hermen Rode, Luke retabel from 1484, inner wings, Luke writes his gospel 314
11.6 Hermen Rode, Luke retabel from 1484, outer doors opened 315
11.7 Hermen Rode, Luke retabel from 1484, Saint Luke’s burial 317
11.8 Hermen Rode, Luke retabel from 1484, tombstone, detail of the burial
scene 318
11.9 Hermen Rode, Luke retabel from 1484, Lübeck 319
11.10 Hermen Rode, Luke retabel from 1484, detail after the second transformation:
panoply of Saint Luke 320
xii Illustrations
11.11 Hermen Rode, Luke retabel from 1484, Lübeck after the first transformation:
Luke retable’s presentation 321
11.12 So-called symbol of the painters’ guild 322
11.13 Hermen Rode, high altar retable from 1468 produced for Stockholm’s
Storkyrkan Cathedral 324
11.14 Hermen Rode, Luke retable from 1484, detail of the predella: man of
sorrows 325
Storkyrkan Cathedral, Stockholm 326
11.16 Hermen Rode, Luke retable from 1484, after the first transformation: Luke’s
death 327
11.17 Hermen Rode, Greveraden diptych from 1494, St. Mary’s Church, Lübeck
(destroyed in 1942) 328
11.18 Hermen Rode, Greveraden diptych from 1494, detail of Mary’s death (destroyed
in 1942) 328
Storkyrkan Cathedral, after the first transformation: Maria’s death, detail 330
11.20 Hermen Rode, Greveraden diptych from 1494, detail of Mary’s death: the angel
closes Maria’s eye 331
Storkyrkan Cathedral, Stockholm, right hand outer door, Madonna and Saint
Olaf 332
Storkyrkan Cathedral, after the second transformation 333
Storkyrkan Cathedral, Stockholm, after the second transformation, detail of
Saint Christopher 334
11.24 Hermen Rode, retabel from Salem, after the first transformation 335
11.25 Hermen Rode, shrine to Maria in Sorunda, Sweden 336
11.26 Hermen Rode, retabel in Vansö, right hand outer door: Maria 337
11.27 Hermen Rode, retabel in Vansö, after the first transformation: Saint
Barbara 338
11.28 Hermen Rode, high altar retable of Saint Nicholas’ Church in Reval/Tallinn
from 1481, outer doors 339
from 1481, after the first transformation 339
from 1481, after the second transformation 340
Illustrations xiii
from 1481, after the first transformation, Saint Victor in front of silhouette of the
Hanseatic city of Lübeck 341
11.32 Hermen Rode, retabel from Gadebusch, Staatliches Museum Schwerin, outer
doors 342
11.33 Hermen Rode, retabel from Gadebusch, Staatliches Museum Schwerin, after
the first transformation 343
11.34 Hermen Rode, Greveraden diptych from 1494, outer wing, (destroyed in
1942) 344
11.35 Hermen Rode, Greveraden diptych from 1494, Mary’s death, (destroyed in
1942) 344
11.36 Hermen Rode, Greveraden diptych from 1494, crucifiction, (destroyed in
1942) 345
11.37 Hermen Rode, benefactor’s panel, Lübeck, St. Annen-Musuem 345
11.38 Hermen Rode, Madonna panel in Šternberk 346
11.39 Hermen Rode, portrait of a blond young man, Pinacotheca di Brera,
Milan 348
13.1 Fron-Leichnams Retabel, Elias sendet das Brot, Retable of the Corpus Christi
Guild in the Castle, Lübeck 378
13.2 Detail from the membership roll of the Guild of Corpus Christi and St. Maurice,
showing the members whose surname started with ‘W’ 385
Tables
12.1 Frequent legal transactions in the Niederstadtbuch 1478–1495 354

13.1 First references to confraternities in Lübeck down to the Reformation 374
13.2 Admission of new members to the confraternities of Corpus Christi,
St. Anthony and St. Leonhard at the Castle 375
13.3 Number of participants to the winter- and summer banquets of the Guild of
Corpus Christi and St. Maurice, 1498–1499 384
13.4 Schaffers of three guilds at the Dominican Abbey to the Castle, 1470–1475 386
13.5 Banquet of the Guild of St. Anthony at the Castle, 1470–1475 387
Acknowledgments
Lector benevole
For a long time a compendium about the medieval city of Lübeck for a more
international public has been a desideratum. Before almost every research
about this city was in German and directed to German researchers. I am there-
fore sincerely grateful, that the publishers of Koninklijke Brill not only took
the initiative to create this volume but also had the patience to eliminate the
hurdles of the publishing process.
None of the authors contributing to this volume is an English native speaker.
We are therefore extremely grateful for the translations and language-editing
made by Anna Clart (Leipzig/Berlin) and Julian Daehl (Leiden) which made
this volume possible in the first place. It was not an easy task, to translate the
highly complicated academic German with its many technical terms into an
acceptable English. Julian Deahl has also done the copy-editing of this volume
for which we are more than thankful.
A volume like this with its many pictures and maps lives from the gener-
osity of colleagues, museums, institutions and archives which provide their
material, knowledge and know how. Beside many individuals we are especially
indebted to the St. Anne’s Museum in Lübeck, the division Archaeology and
Historic Preservation of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck and the Archives of the
Hanseatic City of Lübeck. Without their generosity this volume would have
been a very poor one.
And last but not least I have to thank the Brill’s publishing team which un-
complaining has handled all the multi-lingual problems of the editor, the vari-
ety of pictures and all the other small problems of the editing process. Without
your endurance this volume never would have seen the light of the day.
It is my hope that our joint efforts will stimulate a new and lively research
about this city with its many facets and possibilities.
Carsten Jahnke
Copenhagen in December 2018
Notes on Contributors
Manfred Finke
has studied art history and art pedagogy. He published reference books and
numerous articles on Lübeck’s building history.
Hartmut Freytag
Prof. Dr. phil. (1941), Institut für Germanistik, University of Hamburg, is work-
ing on the clerical literature as well of the 11th and 12th c. as well of the 15th and
16th c. He has published about the German and Latin literature of the Middle
Ages and the Early Modern Times.
Antjekathrin Graßmann
Dr. phil., honorary professor at Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel, was
until 2005 director of the Archives of the Hansestadt Lübeck, she was head of
the Verein für Lübeckische Geschichte and the Hansische Geschichtsverein, and
editor of the Zeitschrift für Lübeckische Geschichte 1978–2018.
Angela Huang
Ph.D., is Leader of the Research Centre for Hanse and Baltic History, situated
at the European Hansemuseum in Lübeck. Her main areas of research are
the history of the German Hanse and late medieval economic history, espe-
cially textile history and annuity markets in the 14th–16th centuries. In her
recent book publication, she investigates textile production of Hanse towns in
15th century long distance trade.
Carsten Jahnke
Ph.D. (1998), Habilitation 2004, is Associate Professor of Medieval History at
The Saxo Institute, University of Copenhagen. He has published monographs,
editions and articles on Lübeck’s history, the history of the Hanseatic League,
and the history of Denmark.
Ursula Radis
M.A., is archaeologist living in the Hanseatic City of Lübeck. She specializes in
urban archaeology and researches on medieval and early modern brick archi-
tecture of the Hanseatic cities.
xvi Notes on Contributors
Anja Rasche
Dr. phil., Netzwerk Kunst und Kultur der Hansestädte. Coordinator of the Net-
work Art and Culture of the hanseatic Cities. She studied art history, history
and Slavic studies, specializes in Medieval Art history and History of Art and
Culture of Hanse area especially Lübeck, Wismar and Tallinn.
Dirk Rieger
Dr. phil., is archaeologist at the Archaeological Department of the Hanseatic
City of Lübeck. He specializes in urban archaeology and researches on urban
genesis processes as well as the development of medieval urban architecture.
Harm von Seggern

is Associate Professor for Medieval History at Historisches Seminar, Christian-
Albrechts-Universität Kiel. His fields of work are widespread: Court Culture,
Urbanization, History of the Hansa, History of Media, special themes of gen-
derhistory (prostitution). In the last years, he published two books: Quellen-
kunde als Methode (2016) and Geschichte der Burgundischen Niederlande (2018).
Ulf Stammwitz
M.A., was archaeologist at the Archaeological Department of the Hanseatic
City of Lübeck from 2009 til 2016. He specializes in archaeology of early and
high Middle Ages in northern Central Europe.
Hildegard Vogeler
Dr. phil. (1949), was curator for sacral art of the Middle Ages at St. Annen-
Museum in Lübeck. She has published about the medieval art and art-history,
especially about Lübeck.
Anja Voßhall
Dr. phil. 2013, was research fellow at the Chair of Economic and Social History
at Kiel University and was a scholarship holder at German Historical Institute
in Rome. In her doctoral thesis she examined the canons of Lübeck and their
connections to the papal curia.
chapter 1
Introduction: “The Queen of the Baltic Coast”

Carsten Jahnke
Lübeck in the Middle Ages was the largest city in Northern Germany and the
Baltic Sea region, if not in the whole of Northeastern Europe. The city played
a central political and juridical role in the surrounding territory, and there can
be no doubt that it had enormous economic importance not only for Northern
Germany and the Baltic region, but also internationally. As the permanent sec-
retariat and later as the head of the Hanseatic League, the city on the river Trave
was one of the most important information-intersections in all of Europe.1
But as German nationalism flourished in the 19th and 20th century, the im-
portance of this city and its merchants became ever more exaggerated. The
city became the symbol of the proud German bourgeoisie, the success and ne-
fariousness of German merchants, and proof that German “Seeherrschaft” had
already held sway in the Middle Ages. This concept not only produced many
blind spots in the city’s historiography, but was also the main reason for its
destruction in the Second World War. On Palm Sunday 1942, Allied bombers
targeted Lübeck, thereby reaching and destroying with an airstrike not only
the first German city, but also one of the crown-jewels of Germany’s proud
history.
To a great extent, the results of the Second World War have shaped research
into the history of this town. On the one hand, the Allied bombers destroyed
great parts of Lübeck’s old city centre, wiping out much of its Romanesque
and Gothic past. And in the eagerness to rebuild that accompanied Germany’s
Wirtschaftswunder of the 1950s and 1960s, its remains were also treated less
than carefully. As a result of this history of destruction, large parts of the inner
town were to be carefully excavated, the last areas as late as 2016.
On the other hand, in 1942 the city archives were, for security reasons, trans-
ferred to a mine in Bernburg in Anhalt, where they were taken as spoils of
war by Soviet troops and were brought to the Soviet Union in 1945. Some parts
were distributed over the former Soviet republics and remain there to this day;
others went to the later GDR, where they would be partly used, and were re-
turned to Lübeck on German re-unification; and a third part was returned to
1 Jahnke, “Lübeck and the Hanse”.
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2019 | doi:10.1163/9789004393776_002

2 Jahnke
the re-unified Germany as a gift after 1989.2 Because of this, historical research
into Lübeck came to a virtual standstill between the war and the 1990s, when
the first archive material became available again; a result of this hiatus was
that some of the old national and nationalistic myths were carried over into
the next century.
This resulted in the very German dogma that saw Lübeck solely as the head
and representative of the Hanseatic League. Due to this, the city was until
recently3 neither seen in a wider, international context nor compared to other
cities and emporia around the European coasts nor indeed seen as an urban
organism comparable to other cities. As a result, most German studies on this
city are regional in approach, and, even if they are excellent in their own right,
have a very narrow focus on this city alone or on Lübeck within the Hanse.4
The only German city, that, at least in the perspectives traditional from
the 1930s to the 1960s, was mentioned in the same breath as Lübeck was
Nuremberg, both being proud symbols of German nationalism. But Lübeck, as
an important seaport, powerful political regional player and political and eco-
nomic intersection should not be seen in comparison to this inland town alone,
but can be better compared to contemporaries like Venice, Genoa, Valencia, La
Rochelle, Marseille or later to Amsterdam and Danzig, cities which combined
economic power with regional and interregional influence and which all un-
derwent ups and downs of fortune.
At the same time, Lübeck itself and Lübeck’s institutions, like the Nieder
stadtbuch or its confraternities, can be re-interpreted in the light of current
debates in European economic history.5 The question arises of just how unique
Lübeck was when compared to other emporia in Europe. Had the city on the
Trave features that were unique or were these only regional adaptations of
institutions and ideas, already known on an international stage? But, besides
these ongoing international debates about the macro level, it is the inner-
workings of urban life in Lübeck that are for the historiographical reasons
mentioned above the most neglected parts of the town’s historiography.
This volume shall therefore present developments, that are similar and
comparable to those of other emporia in Europe. At the same time it is also
Lübeck’s very ambiguity – with flourishing archaeological research on one
2 Graßmann, “Rückführung”.
3 Jahnke, “Lübeck and the Hanse”.
4 See e.g. Graßmann, Lübeckische Geschichte.
5 See e.g. Gelderblom, Cities of Commerce, Ogilvie, “ ‘Whatever is, is right’?” or Ewert & Selzer,
Institutions.
Introduction: “ The Queen of the Baltic Coast ” 3
hand, producing new results on a nearly daily basis, and historical research on
the other that was given new impulses if not restarted only in the 1990s – that
has shaped this volume. The following book will not give a master narrative of
the history of Lübeck, which cannot be done properly at the moment, but will
shine some academic light on those fields that are under constant change, like
the pre- and early history of the town, those fields that can now, for the first
time, be re-examined following the return of the city’s archives, or which until
now had been neglected by researchers.
The volume therefore focuses on three fields of research. First, there is the
question of the early development of the town: its design, construction and
architecture will be discussed, with the newest results drawn from art his-
tory and the latest archaeological excavations. Second, the volume will intro-
duce some aspects of the private life of Lübeck’s burghers and thereby also
cast some light on one of the most important sources for Lübeck’s history: the
Niederstadtbücher, which were returned in 1989. And thirdly, religious life, its
institutions and the relationship between the town and its bishop will be filled
out with historical and art-historical insights, a field which until now has not
received much attention.
As this overview clearly shows, the role of Lübeck as head of the Hanseatic
League will be put to one side, as will the town’s economic importance in inter
national trade and the history of the Hanseatic League as such. These ques-
tions are much contested at the moment, and discussion of them fills volumes
of their own;6 moreover, these themes have also have generally tended to fol-
low the old lines of historical research. In contrast, this volume will look at the
traces of archaeological evidence and the historical records of everyday life.
Instead of asking about Lübeck’s (possible) leading role in international trade,
we will look at whether the city could supply its burghers’s needs on a daily
basis and at its role in the hierarchies of trade; instead of positing as a given the
superiority of the Lübeckers, their architecture and art from the town’s foun-
dation onwards, this volume will follow its developments and foreign influ-
ences. And – last but not least – this volume will deal with the Catholic past of
Lübeck, a town whose pre-Reformatian religious life has been mostly ignored
as a consequence of 19th-century conceptions of its inhabitants as unreligious
or crypto-Protestant merchants.
6 See e.g. Wubs-Mrozewicz & Jenks, The Hanse; Jahnke, “Lübeck and the Hanse”; ead., “Hanse –
Überlegungen”; ead., “Aufstieg Lübecks”.
4 Jahnke
1 The Historical Framework: Lübeck in Time and Space
The approach we have chosen holds the risk of fragmentation if it is not placed
into an overall framework of the town’s historical development, insofar as that
framework can be given in the current stage of research. The following notes
should therefore not be understood as the ultima ratio of Lübeck’s history, but
as a composite picture of what was held to be known up to the 1990s supple-
mented by the most recent results of archaeological and historical research,
thus presenting the present state of the field – and the author is well aware that
the half-life of these insights may be very brief indeed.
The city of Lübeck is situated in the southeastern corner of the Cimbrian
Peninsula of Jutland, where the river Wakenitz flows into the river Trave, 27 km
upstream from the Baltic Sea.
Since the 9th century at the latest, the southern part of the Cimbrian
Peninsula was divided between three different groups. In the north, the later
Kingdom of Denmark was under formation, with the city of Hedeby/Schleswig
as its most important and southernmost outpost. South of Hedeby lay a mid-
dle ground with a nearly impenetrable forest, the “iron forest”, Isernho, di-
viding the southern part of the peninsula into an eastern and western part.
The western part was divided into the “German”-Saxon districts, germ. Gaue,
of Dithmarschen, Holstein (Holsatia) and Stormarn (Stormaria), which be-
came part of the Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne. East of the forest,
the tribe of the Obodrites represented the most north-westerly extension of the
Central-European Slavs.
It was in this Obodrite country that Old-Lübeck was founded as a castle
ca. 5 km north of the Lübeck of today. This stronghold at the confluence of
the river Trave with the river Schwartau, known by the Slavic name Liubice
(“The Lovely”),7 existed by the 9th century and underwent extensions until the
middle of the 11th century.8
Besides serving as an Obodrite stronghold, the settlement was of strate-
gic importance for international trade. Since the Christianisation of Western
Europe in the 9th c., the demand for food for the season of Lent had been ris-
ing. One of the most important goods was salted fish, especially salt herring.
This herring could be caught in the south-western part of the Baltic, around
the island of Rügen, but the best source for salt was the town of Lüneburg
(Luneburg), ca. 90 km south of the Baltic. If you travelled from Lüneburg
directly north, you would come to the Saxon border-station of Bardowik; from
7 Adam, Gesta Hammaburgensis II, 15 schol. 66.

8 See the article of Dirk Rieger in this volume.
map 1.1 The western boundaries of the Baltic Sea.

Courtesy of Stuart Jenks
there, the direct way via the next ford over the river Elbe (at Artlenburg) to the
Baltic Sea would lead you to Lübeck.9
The stronghold of Old-Lübeck developed into one of the modest connect-
ing hubs of the area, attracting not only Christian “Germans” and Slavs but also
Scandinavians;10 it was modernised up to the beginning of the 12th c., until it
was destroyed in a Slavic uprising in 1138.11
9 Jahnke, “The city of Lübeck”, pp. 44ff.

10 Ibid.
11 See the article of Dirk Rieger in this volume.
6 Jahnke
map 1.2 Situation of Lüneburg, Bardowik and Lübeck.

Map courtesy of Stuart Jenks
At the same time, the political situation in the Saxon districts changed with
the reign of the powerful duke Henry the Lion (* around 1129/1130 or 1133/35;
1152 Duke of Saxony and 1156 Duke of Bavaria, † August 6th 1195). Until the
present, one of the main sources for the events in regard of Lübeck has
been the chronicler Helmold von Bosau,12 whose words have been accepted
uncritically – including in this volume. But, as the most recent research has
shown,13 Helmold von Bosau was not only biased and partisan in describing
the struggle of two local dynasties, but some of his statements are definitely
wrong. As discussions and further research on Helmold von Bosau have yet to
begin, the history of Lübeck at its transition from Slavic stronghold to Christian
city can only be given in general terms.
What can be said for sure is that the Obodrites in the 11th and 12th c. came
under pressure from their Danish and Saxon neighbours, who as late as 1147
organised a crusade in the Slavic regions. While the Danes and Saxons had
used the Slavic regions as a reservoir for plunder until the first decades of the
12th century, by the 1140s at the latest they had started to conquer and hold
onto the former Slavic areas, and to populate them with Christian settlers. So
it was, Helmold von Bosau tells us, that Count Adolf of Schauenburg came
12 Helmold, Chronica Slavorum.

13 Bock, “Das Ende”, pp. 62–66.
into possession of the area of Old-Lübeck and in 1143 founded a city at a new
location, 5 km to south, giving it the old and commercially successful name of
Lübeck.14 From a historiographical point of view, this information is definitely
wrong,15 but archaeological evidence shows the first traces of activity in the
“new” Lübeck shortly before that time.16
The same question marks can be set against other events, given by Helmod
von Bosau, until 1159, when Duke Henry the Lion re-“founded” Lübeck as a
city with “German” law. Lübeck was only one of many of the projects founded
by the duke in Saxony and Bavaria: beside Ratzeburg and Schwerin in the
same area, he founded nine more, including Regensburg, München (Munich),
Quedlinburg and Braunschweig (Brunswick). In many of his cities, the duke
centralised the secular and clerical power, establishing not only a marketplace
but also a cathedral and bishopric.17
Lübeck was one of the Duke’s most prosperous projects. The new city was
situated on a peninsula between the rivers Trave and Wakenitz on a natural
harbour. Only the northern part of the peninsula is connected to the mainland
and had, from Slavic times, been protected by a castle, formerly called Bucu.
The new settlement was divided into three parts. In the north was the cas-
tle; in the middle of the peninsula, at its highest point, a merchant-settlement
overlooking the harbour, the so-called Gründungsviertel with the church of
Our Lady at the top; and Duke Henry had sited the cathedral on the southern
part, in 1160 or 1163.
Both the structure of the earliest settlement in the merchant town as well
as the architecture of the first buildings remained relatively unknown until
the most recent excavations, though archaeological syntheses had been made
before18 and some nationalistic historical speculation had also been put for-
ward, most prominently by the German historian Fritz Rörig.19 The most recent
excavations in the Gründungsviertel have given a much better understanding
of the development of the first settlement of Lübeck, even if not all its myster-
ies have been solved.20
The city flourished because of the lucrative salt-fish trade and its function as
a hub between Saxony and Westphalia and the Baltic Sea. This can also be seen
in the city’s ground plan, which is oriented south to north.
14 Helmold, Chronica, I, 57.

15 Bock, “Das Ende”, p. 65.
16 See the article of D. Rieger in this volume.
17 For the relationship between Lübeck and its bishops see A. Voßhall in this volume.
18 Legant, Zur Siedlungsgeschichte.
19 Hammel-Kiesow, “Lübeck als Vorbild”.
20 See the article of U. Stammwitz in this volume.
8 Jahnke
map 1.3 Early modern plan of the historical centre of Lübeck’s stratification with
historically significant architecture. Ohnesorge 1909, appendix to the
plate.
map 1.4 Dynamic development of Lübeck up to AD 1200, based on tree-ring dating in

relation to the standardised architecture.
Drawing courtesy of D. Rieger
10 Jahnke
map 1.5 Ground plan of the city of Lübeck by M. Seutter, Grund-

Riss der kayserlichen und des Heil. Röm. Reichs freyen
Stadt Lübeck, 1757.
Courtesy of the Royal Library Kopenhagen.
North is on the left side of the map
After Duke Henry’s re-“foundation” of the city, more and more foreign mer-
chants moved to the Trave. While their backgrounds are open to discussion,
there appears to be evidence of a strong connection between the new bur-
ghers and the nobility of the surrounding areas, who transformed into a mer-
chant elite.21 With the new burghers came not only money and wealth, but also
a new self-identity and new architectural elements. One of the most striking
elements is the use of expensive brickwork in secular architecture, which can
now be dated at least to the 1170s.22 This is the starting point of the transition
to brick building in Lübeck, which shaped the typical prospect of the city until
1942.
Lübeck’s burghers had attained both wealth and self-esteem by 1188 and 1201
at the latest, when the burghers – after internal consultations – twice changed
the lord of the city. In 1188, at a time of struggle between Duke Henry and the
Emperor, the Lübeckers opened their gates to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
21 Jäschke, Burgenses. Jahnke, “Handelsstrukturen”, pp. 156–160.

22 See the article of U. Radis in this volume.
and were incorporated in the county of Holstein. Only a few years later, how-
ever, Dithmarschen, Holstein and Stormarn were conquered by the Danish
kings, who in the autumn of 1201 forced the burghers of Lübeck to submit to
the crown of Denmark. Lübeck was thus a Danish town between 1201 and its
rebellion in 1226/27.
The Danish period marks the real starting point of Lübeck’s wealth and
importance as an international entrepôt. First, the harbour of Lübeck devel-
oped to become the main port of disembarkation for crusaders in the Baltic,
thereby strengthening Lübeck’s connections with its hinterland. Second,
Danish influence helped Lübeck’s merchants enter foreign markets like those
of London or Russia.23 And third, the peaceful Danish intermezzo provided
the precondition for the development of the main reason behind Lübeck’s
later importance: the transit trade between the North (or West) Sea and the
Baltic. Until ca. 1200, the trade between east and west passed through the har-
bour of Schleswig, the successor of Hedeby.24 But in the period of peace under
Danish rule, the Lübeckers opened a trading route between the Trave and
Hamburg, which was finally made secure in 1241.25 Even though this route was
much longer than the one between Schleswig and the west, the “highway” be-
tween Lübeck and Hamburg became one of the most important trading routes
in Northern Europe. This further strengthened the wealth and self-esteem of
the Lübeckers, who rebelled against Danish rule in 1226. By forging documents
granting privileges and bribing the emperor, the Lübeckers turned their city
into an imperial city in 1226/27 – that is, an independent city under the direct
rule of the emperor. In July 1227, they – together with their allies – fought the
Battle of Bornhöved against the king of Denmark and were able to rout the
Danes once and for all. From this year until 1937, the city of Lübeck was an
independent part of the German Empire.
The decades that followed in the 13th c. and at the beginning of the 14th c.
marked Lübeck’s heyday. This was the period when most of the abbeys and
convents were built,26 the battles against the bishops of Lübeck were won27
and the city received its grand architectural structure.28 In this period, the city-
council began building its magnificent townhall with its characteristic features,
that provided archetypes for other townhalls around the Baltic Sea. It was also
23 Jahnke, “Handelsstrukturen”, pp. 164–175.

24 Jahnke, “… und er verwandelte”.
25 Jahnke, “Handelsstrukturen”, pp. 164–175.
26 See the article of A. Graßmann in this volume.
27 See the article of A. Voßhall in this volume.
28 See the article of M. Finke in this volume.
12 Jahnke
the time, when the Lübeck townhouse, the so-called Dielenhaus, with its typi-
cal features was developed and the city became ever more a city of brick. And
it was this period, when the grand churches of the town were built, which not
only created the overall vista of a ‘town of seven towers’, Siebentürmestadt, but
also created an archetype for brick-cathedrals for other cities in the region. In
this period of Lübeck’s history the shape of a medieval Baltic town was creat-
ed, which has been imprinted on the collective consciousness of the Germans
down to the present day. Even though some catastrophes, such as the great fire
of 1276, haunted the city, nothing could change its fundamental success.
Quite to the contrary, the fire of 1276 had long-lasting consequences, im-
pacting not only the shape of the churches and abbeys but also the structure of
the city as a whole. To prevent further devastating fires, in 1276 the city council
ordered that every house possess a stone fire-wall on both sides. These walls,
which survive in ca. 1,000 houses still standing in Lübeck,29 protected the city
from destruction until 1942 – and even then, the fire-walls remained standing
and visible. The walls also gave structure to the construction and appearance
of the city, making it both more uniform and more a city of stone and brick.
The heyday of the 13th and 14th c. shaped not only the townscape, but also
saw the creation of the urban self-government and the establishment of urban
institutions. This can be seen not only in the erection of Lübeck’s magnificent
town hall,30 a symbol of the city’s proud self-government, but also in the cre-
ation of the two series of town books for which Lübeck is famous. These Ober-
and Niederstadtbücher, the “upper” and “lower” town-books, named after their
storage on the ground and upper floors of the town hall, comprise a nearly
complete series extending from 1287 up to 1879 for the Oberstadtbücher and
from 1325 onwards for the Niederstadtbücher, in a total of 348 volumes. These
volumes were “lost” in 1942 and became first available again after 1989 (even
if some volumes still remain in the east). They were never analysed in their
entirety until a very recent study by Harm von Seggern, who also presents
some small parts of his research in this volume.
The city’s growth in the 13th and 14th c. also created problems. Not only did
the settlement area of the Lübeck peninsula become too small for its inhabit-
ants and had to be extended by banking, but the whole hinterland became too
small for the demands of this growing city. The idea that Lübeck had its place,
its needs and its role in the surrounding landscape, as basic and common as
this idea may be, has never been developed before – older research concen-
trated mostly on the town’s leading role in the Hanse and internationally. It is

therefore time to show the strategies used by the burghers and the council of
Lübeck to secure the needs of their own lives,31 in order to clear up some of the
most basic questions of urban history.
The same can be said about the role of the town in general. As older research
assumed that Lübeck grew fully fledged and self-sufficient from its nucleus,
the central and extraordinary role of the city in long-distance commodity trad-
ing is and was one of the cornerstones of older historiography. This view, how-
ever, does not withstand closer analysis: Lübeck was as much a regional trade
hub as a player in international trade.32 Lübeck was part of its surrounding
landscape – obviously, perhaps, but something new in Lübeck research.
From the 15th c. onwards, Lübeck’s importance began a very slow but steady
decline, a process that only ended in 1961, with the construction of the “Iron
Curtain”, which cut all connection with large parts of Lübeck’s hinterland,
or in 1989, when the “states” of the former German Democratic Republic re-
orientated themselves as parts the new Federal Republic of Germany. It was
not that the city on the Trave in the long run slid into a recession or lost its
political position in the Hanseatic League; on the contrary, Lübeck more and
more became the official head of the league and its successor down to the mid
19th c., but other cities – such as Hamburg, Danzig (Gdańsk) or Riga – grew
faster and attained new positions in international and regional trade. From
around 1500, Lübeck was openly struggling with the new situation, a struggle
that was supplemented by the Reformation, which changed the beliefs of the
burghers in the period from 1524 to 1530/31 without any great disturbance.
The city moved into the backwaters of international trade, which now followed
other routes than the highway between the Trave and Hamburg.
These developments from the 15th c. onwards had two consequences. The
Lübeckers remained wealthy, but this became a more conservative form of
wealth that left no room for extensive modernisation. The city’s churches were
thus not only preserved, they were also not ‘modernised’ with baroque spires
or baroque interiors. This saved not only the city’s prospect but also most of
its medieval setting from destruction – until Palm Sunday, 1942. It is therefore
possible to not only obtain a deep insight into the medieval religiosity of the
Lübeckers and an interpretation of their religious art,33 but also to trace some
of Lübeck’s artists, like Herman Rode, and their workshops.34
31 See the article of C. Jahnke in this volume.

32 See the article of A. Huang in this volume.
33 See the article of H. Vogeler & H. Freytag in this volume.
34 See the article of A. Rasche in this volume.
14 Jahnke
figure 1.1 Prospect of the city of Lübeck seen from the east, Herman Rode, high altar of
St. Nicholas’s Church in Tallinn (1478–1481).
photo: St. Stepashko, Tallinn, courtesy of Hildegard Vogeler &
Hartmut Freytag
It was a second result of Lübecker conservatism and the very specific strategies
used by Lübeck to secure its urban hinterland and urban supplies that some
of the Catholic confraternities were not abolished during the Reformation
but existed until 1842 as caritative organisations. Some confraternity archives
have accordingly been preserved from their beginnings in the late 14th cen-
tury down to 1842, and thus giving deeper insights into the religiosity of the
Lübeckers in the last century before the Reformation, as well as into the inter-
mixture of religion, commerce and politics in a late medieval town.35 Lübeck’s
past as a very rich and deeply religious city stands out in the historical land-
scape of Northern Europe, which is normally dominated by later Protestant
architecture and interiors.
2 A Companion to Medieval Lübeck
This companion will primarily show some of the newest trends in historical,
art-historical and archaeological research on this town. As stated earlier, it will
not and cannot offer a master narrative of the history of Lübeck. The shad-
ows and consequences of the past, the hyper-nationalism of the 1840s, 1870s
35 See the article of C. Jahnke in this volume.

and 1930/40s as well as the destruction of 1942 form the backdrop of our re-
search. Overcoming old dogmas and ideas takes time – and new research is
still in a fledgling stage. This is not to invalidate all older research – every gen-
eration looks down on its predecessors with its own arrogance – but the new
knowledge from archaeological excavations and a more neutral and unpreju-
diced body of historical research does and will go on to create another picture
of Lübeck’s history than the one that has prevailed for the past sixty years.
While this will not make older research obsolete, it will produce a more dif-
ferentiated and perhaps more neutral picture of this very important city. Even
if the following epigram by Peter Lindeberg (1562–1596) still remains true:36
Gens humana, situs, comercia, littora, mores

Mars, toga, divitiæ, curia, relligio:
Aretoas inter claras virtutibus vrbes
Efficiunt, tollat, lauta LVBECA caput.
Et decus Europæ, & lumen sit totius Ansæ,
et sit Vandalici pulcra corona soli.
Lübeck in the Middle Ages was an international city; it was the shining light of
the whole Hanse but was also a religious city, deeply rooted in the surround-
ing landscape. Lübeck was the unique and beautiful crowning jewel of the
Wendish cities – if that still stands up as a historical truth.
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Stein Gedächtnisausgabe, Vol. XIX), Darmstadt 1963.
36 Lindeberg, “Lubeca”.
16 Jahnke
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Dorf”, Die Rolle Schleswigs im internationalen Handel des 13. Jahrhunderts”, in:
G. Fouquet, M. Hansen, C. Jahnke & J. Schlürmann (eds.), Von Menschen, Ländern
Meeren, Festschrift für Thomas Riis zum 65. Geburtstag, Tönning 2006, pp. 251–268.
Legant, G., Zur Siedlungsgeschichte des ehemaligen Lübecker Kaufleuteviertels im 12. und
frühen 13. Jahrhundert, Rahden/Westfalen 2010.
Lindeberg, P., “Lubeca”, in: N. Reusner (ed.), Jurisconsulti Urbes Imperiales, Frankfurt
am Main 1651, p. 52.
Ogilvie, S., “‘Whatever is, is right’? Economic institutions in pre-industrial Europe”,

Economic History Review, 60, 4 (2007), pp. 649–684.
Ohnesorge, W., “Überblick über die Topographie des baltischen Höhenrückens von
Lauenburg bis Travemünde, über die Lage und Entstehung Lübecks sowie über den
Charakter der Stadtanlage”, Verhandlungen des 17. Deutschen Geographentages 1909,
(1909), pp. 3–24.
chapter 2
The Beginnings and Early Development of Lübeck’s

Central Settlement
Ulf Stammwitz
The so-called Gründungsviertel, or founding quarter, of the important medi-

eval Baltic Sea trade city on the Trave was early on localized on the western
spur-like continuation of a small ridge that crosses the entire Lübeck penin-
sula from north to south (Map 2.1).1 As written sources contain virtually no
concrete information about the location of the original civil settlement,2 this
has been ascertained primarily on the basis of the general considerations
of geography and transport-geography. In principle, it should be noted that
Lübeck was founded afresh3 on exactly the same spot where a portus nobilis
had already existed earlier.4 Thanks to the general nature of the description,
however, it remains unclear whether the term refers only to a natural hythe or
to a pre-existing man-made landing-place. It is clear that the Lübeck peninsula
had been previously settled in the old Slavic period, as is attested by various
scattered discoveries of early and middle Slavic ceramics5 and the conclusive
evidence of fortress6 and ante-fortress settlements7 as well as the palisade
along the banks of the Trave8 located in close proximity. The latter is dated
exclusively to the old Slavic period, while the fortress and ante-fortress settle-
ments were also in temporary use in the ‘young Slavic’ period. This is primarily
1 Lassen, “Lübeck omkring 1200”, pp. 125–126.

2 The different historical speculations over the localization of the original civic settlement
stretching from the cathedral hill in the south to the marketplace, St. Peter’s hill, and the
Gründungsviertel (founding quarter) in the western city center, all the way to Koberg in the
north (Hammel-Kiesow, “Thesen zur Lage des schauenburgischen Lübecks”, p. 823).
3 The princely residence of Old Lübeck – located only six kilometers away from the later Han-
seatic City – was definitively destroyed in 1138; as a complex Slavic center of settlement, it
and its attendant Baltic Sea trade port had formed the eponymous, functional predecessor of
“New Lübeck” (Walther, “Als aus Liubice Lübeck wurde”, pp. 16–20).
4 Helmold I, 57.
5 Fehring, “Stadtarchäologie in Lübeck 1973–1993”, p. 142.
6 Gläser “Untersuchungen auf dem Gelände”, pp. 72–75.
7 Radis, “Neue archäologische Erkenntnisse”, pp. 70–71.
8 Dubisch, Hähn, Müller, Rohland & Siegfried, “Ein tiefer Blick”, pp. 54–55.
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2019 | doi:10.1163/9789004393776_003

The Beginnings and Early Development of Lübeck 19
Map 2.1 Early modern plan of the historical center of Lübeck’s height layers with
historically significant architecture. Ohnesorge 1909, appendix to the plate.
20 Stammwitz
attested to by several findings of late Slavic ceramics9 and by the discovery of a

hoard of silver that obviously dates from the second half of the 11th century.10
When Count Adolf II von Schauenburg was awarded the Slavic region of
Wagrien (Wagria), conquered in 1139, as a fiefdom,11 he had a new fortress con-
structed on this old site.12 Apart from the back-filled fortress moats, preserved
features include a fortress well13 dating from the winter of 1155/56 and several
oak stakes14 felled in the winter of 1152/53d. The defensive constructions them-
selves, however, were probably erected slightly earlier, their protection en-
abling the fortress to withstand largely unharmed a Slavic military campaign
in 1147 and a subsequent siege.15
Many inhabitants and foreign merchants in civitas et forum were killed, how-
ever, indicating that these spots were apparently not protected by adequate
defenses. Yet it should be noted that the spiritual needs of the inhabitants were
already being served,16 at first presumably only in a simple, provisional church.
This is – it is argued – indicated by a later altar dedication, which were are told
took place in 1150 for the nova civitas Lubecke17 and is probably to be read as
a reference to St. Mary’s Church, which was presumably situated on the mar-
ket from the outset.18 The reported re-construction in 1158/59 of the eccelesias
et menias civitates19 indicates that an additional church may have existed at
9 Gläser, “Untersuchungen auf dem Gelände”, p. 74; Radis, “Neue archäologische Erkennt-
nisse”, p. 71.
10 Apart from several pieces of tin, blanquettes, and fragmented coins, the silver hoard
found in the area of Lübeck’s fortress primarily contains numerous whole mintings that
originate largely from England, with a smaller amount coming from Germany and a
few pieces from Ireland, Bohemia, Italy, and Scandinavia. The coin with the latest first
minting is a North Italian penny of Emperor Henry III, minted between 1046 and 1056
(Wiechmann, “Edelmetalldepots der Wikingerzeit”, pp. 158–63, 309–79). The assumption
that these pieces were deposited a bit later would fit quite well chronologically with the
Slavic ruler Kruto’s alleged construction of Lübeck’s fortress (Helmold I, c. 57), as Kruto
reigned over broad expanses of the western Obodrite realm from 1066 to 1090 (Fritze,
“Probleme der abodritischen Reichsverfassung”, pp. 168–69).
11 Helmold I, c. 56.
13 Fehring, “Grabungsbefunde zum slawischen Burgwall”, p. 88.
14 Dubisch / Hähn / Müller / Rohland / Siegfried, “Ein tiefer Blick in die Geschichte des
Burghügels”, pp. 53–54.
16 A sacerdos et monarchus is also mentioned in the course of the Slavic attack of 1147, slain
while fleeing towards the protecting fortress (Helmold I, c. 63).
18 Am Ende, Studien zur Verfassungsgeschichte Lübecks, pp. 97–105.
19 Helmold, Helmoldi presbyteri Bozoviensis Chronica Slavorum I, c. 86.
the time, perhaps connected to St. Nicholas parish church,20 which became
one of the later cathedral towers. A priest21 mentioned in 1160 in the southern
part of the Lübeck peninsula, however, must be regarded as unconnected, as
his presence was more likely related to the re-location of the seat of the bishop
of Wagria.22 At the latest, the documented construction of a bishop’s orato-
rium and various cathedral monastery buildings23 indicates the start of major
construction projects on the cathedral hill, although these have not been con-
clusively proven by archaeology.24
As the areas open to wider excavation have been restricted by the large-scale
construction and renovation work of recent decades, it has mostly focused
on the northern and central Altstadt,25 where it produced various glimpses of
the fortress and ante-fortress settlement and numerous discoveries from the
central region of the Lübeck peninsula. Various examinations of the central
market square, for example, have revealed that its intensive use as a large,
inner-city open area must have begun by the second half the 12th century at
the latest.26 Finds of ceramic remains also then allowed the establishment
of a comparative starting date for the street Schrangen, which was later used
in a similar manner.27 A significant difference, however, is that there was once
extensive property development there, whose western section was apparently
erected immediately after altering the old, humic topsoil.28
The fortress excepted, settlement remains established dendrochrono-
logically of the city’s early period exist only from the region of the so-called
20 Stoob, “Schleswig – Lübeck – Wisby”, pp. 18–20. St. Peter’s and St. Clemen’s are further
possible candidates for churches that existed before 1158/59 (Schneider, “Die erste Kirche
in Lübeck gebawet”, pp. 177–81).
21 Helmold, Helmoldi presbyteri Bozoviensis Chronica Slavorum I, c. 87. The priest men-
tioned is very probably identical with the first eponymous provost of Lübeck’s cathedral
chapter (Helmold, Helmoldi presbyteri Bozoviensis Chronica Slavorum I, c. 90).
22 The transfer of the old Wagrian bishop’s seat from Oldenburg to Lübeck occurred in the
fall of 1160 on the basis of a canonical law stating that such a seat must always be located
in a densely populated place (Hauschild, Kirchengeschichte Lübecks, p. 41).
24 Schneider, “Die erste Kirche in Lübeck gebawet”, pp. 177–79.
25 Gläser, “Die frühen Siedlungen”, p. 262.
26 Mührenberg, “Der Markt von Lübeck”, p. 126. As a large meeting of the Slavic countryside
population took place on Lübeck’s forum in 1156, on the occasion of a speech by Bishop
Vizelin of Oldenburg (Helmold, Helmoldi presbyteri Bozoviensis Chronica Slavorum I,
c. 84), a large, open area in the inner city is undoubtedly connected to it, presumably
located on the same spot then as today (Am Ende, Studien zur Verfassungsgeschichte,
pp. 100, 105).
27 Müller & Beckmann, “Die Funde”, pp. 83, 129.
28 Mührenburg & Briese, “Der Schrangen zu Lübeck”, pp. 13–20.
22 Stammwitz
Gründungsviertel, or founding quarter, whose narrow traffic axes on the Meng-,

Alf-, Fisch-, and Braunstraße29 directly connect the eastern bank of the Trave
with the market and St. Mary’s Church. The remains of a wooden house from
“around 1184” were first used to prove the presence of a substantiated settle-
ment on the lower Alfstraße dating to the last quarter of the 12th century,30
before the adjacent palisade on the bank of Trave was shown to be significantly
older, from “around 1157”.31 Judging by the row of preserved stakes, the pali-
sade served as a permanent landing stage for flat-bottomed ships with drafts
of up to one meter.32 It obviously constituted an important part of Lübeck’s
port, which initially had the purpose of direct transshipment of long-distance
trade.33 After the large excavation project in the Kaufleuteviertel34 – that is,
the “merchant quarter” – was conducted on several properties located on the
upper Alf- and Fischstraße, an equally old settlement was discovered there
that can be dated to the beginning of Henry the Lion‘s control of the city, at the
latest.35 Among other remains of the oldest settlement development, a single
section of a stake has been preserved, which has been dendrochronologically
dated to “around 1159 (+12/0)”.36 An even earlier building facility, meanwhile,
was only discovered during an excavation conducted immediately afterwards.
The find in question is a wooden square, whose wall planks were all felled
during the winter of 1152/1153.37 Accordingly, an associated settlement must
have already existed in the early foundation period of the city, under Count
Adolf II von Schauenburg.38 A simple drainage channel from “about 1163”39
excepted, further wooden structures have been dendrochronologically dated
to no earlier than the late 1170s and 1180s, but then also include the larger find-
ings of a box well, walled cesspools made of logs and planks, and wooden
29 A closer examination of the early modern map of the city revealed comparatively small
widths, which alone points to a correspondingly great age (Hammel, “Hauseigentum im
spätmittelterlichen Lübeck”, p. 201).
30 Gläser, “Befunde zur Hafenrandbebauung”, pp. 118–21.
31 Schalies, “Archäologische Untersuchungen”, pp. 312–14.
32 Schalies, “Archäologische Untersuchungen”, pp. 312–13.
33 Ellmers, “Die Verlagerung des Fernhandels”, pp. 104–105; Ellmers, “Bodenfunde und an-
dere Zeugnisse”, pp. 15–16; Gläser, “Die Funde der Altgrabungen Alfstraße 36/38 und An
der Untertrave 111/112”, p. 209.
34 The project in question was the first major excavation of the Gründungsviertel, con-
ducted between 1985 and 1990 and augmented from 1994 to 1996 by a small “follow-up
excavation”.
35 Legant, Zur Siedlungsgeschichte, pp. 117–18.
37 Legant, “800 Jahre Stadtgeschichte”, pp. 230–31.
38 Legant, “800 Jahre Stadtgeschichte”, p 293.
39 Legant, “800 Jahre Stadtgeschichte”, p. 239.
cellars constructed according to the Schwellen-Ständer (stud-sill plate) build-

ing technique.40 Larger wooden constructions that are definitely dated ear-
lier by dendrochronology were first discovered during the major excavation of
the Gründungsviertel, conducted between 2009 and 2014 on several properties
on the central parts of Alf-, Braun-, and Fischstraße.41 All finds – a box well
from 1158/59, a log well from 1168/69, a little sunken wooden box from “about
1160 (+14/–6)”, two border fences from 1166/67 and “around 1164 (+14/–2)”, a
wooden cellar from 1166/67,42 a stake-construction from 1162/63, as well as sev-
eral ground-level Schwellen-Ständer constructions from “around 1157 (+14/–6)”,
“around 1161 (+14/–4)”, and “around 1163 (+14/–6)”,43 – are the preserved rem-
nants of what were courtyard constructions between the middle of Alf- and
Braunstraße (Fig. 2.1).44
Because of the extraordinary correspondence between the absolute chrono-
logical dating45 and the written record of Henry the Lion‘s 1158/59 reconstruc-
tion of Lübeck, after the city had burned down, indeed had been abandoned
for a time, a city-wide fire horizon should have lain beneath these findings.46
Instead,47 the excavation revealed only the remnants of an even older prop-
erty development. Although these remains could not be dated dendrochrono-
logically, stratigraphic combinations at least allowed researchers to date them
relatively to the time immediately before the reconstruction horizon, whose
chronology has in turn been dated absolutely. Individual spots showed that
construction remnants of this type were apparently also located directly under
this clearly dateable courtyard constructions.48 Unlike the later constructions,
however, these remains completely lack any wooden construction elements
40 Legant, Zur Siedlungsgeschichte, pp. 69, 72, 85, 93, 95; Legant, “800 Jahre Stadtgeschichte”,
pp. 248, 251, 253.
41 In 2015, the archaeological examinations of the major excavation Gründungsviertel are
to be expanded with an additional small “follow-up excavation”. The generous financial
support of Lübeck’s Possehl-Stiftung allowed the responsible archaeologists to begin aca-
demically evaluating their numerous results immediately after completing their excava-
tion work.
42 Rieger, “Lübecks ältester Holzkeller”, p. 54.
43 Rieger, “Zeitliche Tendenzen”, pp. 132–34.
44 Thanks to the late medieval construction of brick parlor houses with cellars, the front-
facing houses that used to stand in their place were almost completely destroyed.
45 The dendrochronological dating of the major excavation Gründungsviertel was conduct-
ed entirely by Ms. Sigrid Wrobel of the Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut in Hamburg.
47 The major excavation Gründungsviertel found no proof at all of the recorded city fire of
1157/58, in contrast to the upper Alf- and Fischstraße (Legant, Zur Siedlungsgeschichte,
p. 115; Legant, “800 Jahre Stadtgeschichte”, p. 293),
48 Rieger, “Exzeptionelle Hofgebäude”, p. 153.
24 Stammwitz
figure 2.1 Early dendrochronology of the court developments in the large excavation
project Gründungsviertel.
graphic: Hanseatic city of Lübeck, archaeological service
that can be dated dendrochronologically, which could be due either to the flim-
siness of their construction or to an early, severe shortage of timber and fire-
wood. It is possible, however, that the absence of wood could also be explained
by Lübeck’s temporary nature and the alternative new foundation of a civitas
Leonis,49 in the course of which all lumber was simply taken along as part of
the merchant’s personal movables. The later settlement periods show repeated

evidence of the re-use of older timber parts, the oldest examples of which
were already completed in 1142,50 1157/58, 1157/58, “around 1148 (+14/–6)”, and
“around 1153 (+14/–6)” (Fig. 2.2). Although a single object dates from 1146/47,
this is not utimber usable in ship construction, so it can definitely be assumed
that it is generally connected with the older building remains. Interestingly,
such pieces of old wood dating to “around 1108 (+4/–0)”, “around 1131 (+14/–4)”,
“around 1138 (+14/–2)”, “around 1141 (+9/–0)”, and “around 1153 (+14/–6)” had
already turned up during the previous major excavation.51 If we deliberately
exclude a single older artifact,52 it can be assumed that these re-used building
parts already belonged to the early civitas Lubecke, which would consequently
have already been founded53 by the summer of 1142.54 Accordingly, the follow-
ing extensive change in use of large tracts of the humic topsoil would there-
fore have taken place only after Lübeck’s presumed resettlement, following
its massive population losses during the Slavic attack of 1147. In any case, the
remnants of this layer of removal and digging significantly overlay a veritable
“horizon of removal” that caps or completely covers the traces of even older
settlements. As ceramics55 from the Roman Iron Age or early Slavic times have
50 Harder, “Vom Gebrauch des Gebrauchten”, pp. 147–48.

51 Legant, Zur Siedlungsgeschichte, pp. 221, 223, 227. On the property Breite Straße 61, which
lies outside of the Gründungsviertel, a piece of lumber dendrochronologically dated to
the winter half year 1145/46 was discovered within the plank wall of a box well that was
otherwise not built until “around 1174 (+7/-0)” (kind note by Ingrid Schalies, Lübeck).
52 Timber dated to a similarly early time and put to secondary use was also discovered by the
Koberg (“around 1095”), between upper Alf- and Fischstraße (“around 1096” and “around
1122”), and on the lower Mengstraße (“around 1097”), but researchers have been unable
to determine its original provenance with complete certainty (Fehring, “Stadtarchäol-
ogie in Lübeck 1973–1993”, p. 142). Possible candidates are the former buildings of the
princely residence and the monastery as well as the merchant settlement of Old Lübeck,
which were erected during or shortly after the Christian reign of the Slavic ruler Henry
(1093–1127).
53 In contrast to the pessimistic assessment made immediately after the major excavation
Gründungsviertel (Stammwitz, “Aktuelle archäologische Erkenntnisse”, p. 42), which rest-
ed solely on the already available dendro-data, Gabriel Legant had previously reached a
far more optimistic conclusion (Legant, “800 Jahre Stadtgeschichte”, p. 314).
54 Count Adolf II von Schauenburg received Slavic Wagrian land after Henry the Lion‘s wid-
owed mother’s marriage in May 1142 (Helmold, Helmoldi presbyteri Bozoviensis Chronica
Slavorum I, c. 56). As the split planks that were clearly re-used for the floor of a later
wooden cellar in the courtyard at Braunstraße 26 can be exactly dated to the early spring
of 1142, Lübeck must have been founded as early as 1142.
55 Gläser, “Die Funde der Altgrabungen Alfstraße 36/38 und An der Untertrave 111/112”, p. 190;
Schalies, “Archäologische Untersuchungen” pp. 318–19; Drenkhahn, “Die Keramik der
Ausgrabung”.
26 Stammwitz
earlier been found on multiple occasions in this region,56 these traces may
therefore also be of similarly early dates. To date, radiocarbon dating of a post
stump has only revealed that the logging from which it derives took place either
between 1021 and 1053 or between 1080 and 1154.57 It is therefore not possible
to say with certainty whether the building in question had been constructed
already during the late Slavic period or not until the early founding era of the
city, during Count Adolf II von Schauenburg’s reign. However, as all traces of
the oldest settlement scarcely deviate from the linear alignment of the grid
pattern of parcels nor overlap with existing property boundaries in any sig-
nificant way, these remains are most likely to be general debris from the city’s
earliest settlement. Even the oldest border ditches (Fig. 2.3) run along lines
that were subsequently renewed repeatedly with similar boundary mark-
ers such as fences and walls. The “horizon of removal” that lies above it had
therefore been used to level the ground, a measure undertaken only once
building plots had been generally assigned, individual properties fixed, and
the first property development had begun.58 However, this involved not
only the removal of the larger vestiges of earlier settlements but also the com-
plete elimination of the59 ever-expanding vegetation cover of the woodland of
the time. The entire marketplace – which in the beginning was an open area60
56 The findings of the major excavation Gründungsviertel cannot be assessed in detail at this
time, so this question can only be addressed with the excavators’ individual observations.
Apart from several flakes and single cores of flint, the older findings include only certain
portions of late Slavic ceramics, always mixed together with early German shards. The
only certain conclusion is therefore that several Stone Age groups of hunters and gath-
erers were once present, and that the new city inhabitants were in unspecified contact
with the indigenous Slavic population. The recorded individual names of Lübeck’s early
councilmen, however, show that this population already played a non-negligible role in
the city’s development (Gläser, “Das Restslaventum”, pp. 56–57).
57 The radiocarbon dating was performed on October 25th, 2012, by Dr. Alexander Dreves of
the Leibniz-Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Stable Isotope Research of University
of Kiel.
58 It is self-evident that the removal layers of the different excavations on the entire Lübeck
peninsula cannot all be connected to this and that the possibility that they were used for
gardening cannot be completely dismissed. Strong methodological and contentual flaws,
however, should distance researchers completely from the conclusion that an expansive
garden agriculture existed (Legant, Zur Siedlungsgeschichte, pp. 111–15 und Legant, “800
Jahre Stadtgeschichte”, p. 314), and this should no longer be regarded as a valid interpreta-
tional model of the repeatedly observed “horizon of digging over layers”.
59 The palynologic analysis of the “horizon of upheaval layers” by Dr. Walter Dörfler of the
Institute of Prehistory and Early History of the University of Kiel produced a typical
overview of the already existing weald, despite the bad preservation state of the sample,
which consisted merely to 17 per cent or 19 per cent of tree pollen.
60 Mührenberg, “Der Markt zu Lübeck”, p. 126.
figure 2.2 Early dendrochronology of recycled building woods in the large excavation
project Gründungsviertel.
completely free of any construction61 – completely lacks any such removal lay-
ers, which confirms the connection between the processes of digging over the
terrain and the permanent construction.
61 The different remnants of the digging over layers are spread out over almost the entire for-
mer Lübeck peninsula. The marketplace, however, contains no such remnants, although
it is located within the area where they are most highly concentrated, immediately to the
west and east of it (Legant, Zur Siedlungsgeschichte, pp. 113–14).
28 Stammwitz
figure 2.3
Small border trenches as original
border markings in the large
excavation project Gründungsviertel.
graphic: Hanseatic city of
Lübeck, archaeological service
Without anticipating further the results of the major excavation of the

Gründungsviertel, the text will now briefly address the insights recently provid-
ed concerning the early structuring of parcels of land. The entire area exam-
ined between the middle sections of Alf-, Braun-, and Einhäuschen Querstraße
is a block structure, divided into generous sections, bordered on the west by
the Einhäuschen Querstraße and probably also the Krumme Querstraße,
on south and north by the Braun-, Fisch-, and Alfstraße, and on the east by
Schüsselbuden or the market and the churchyard of St. Mary’s.62 The construc-
tion blocks located within this structure measure 138–149 meters and 150–163.5
meters in length and 47.5–61 and 50.5–55.5 meters in breadth, respectively, and
were obviously individually divided into a grid of close-to-rectangular parcels,
which exhibits an impressively high degree of parceling from the start, thanks
to the high number of individual properties. It demonstrates the strong de-
mand for new properties within this area, which was originally the founding
quarter.
The very first parcels have a central block axis running from west to east
that creates relatively uniform property strips of 25.5 to 28 meters in length,

figure 2.4 Block structure and parcelling grid before 1158/1159 in the large excavation project
Gründungsviertel.
but their shorter, narrow edges bordering the street range from 9 to 21.5 me-
ters in length, making their breadth vary quite strongly and already creating
properties of significantly varying surface areas. These areas range from 234
m² to 615 m², indicating that property ownership was very heterogeneous from
the beginning. By also taking into account the patterned distribution of the
preserved remnants of the former property constructions as well as drawing
justified analogical conclusions about the scale of neighboring or earlier and
later parcels, it is possible to reconstruct the entire grid of parcels between
the middle Alf- and Braunstraße that existed before 1158/59 with quite a bit of
certainty (Fig. 2.4). Fundamentally, this overall picture indicates that spacious
properties were not just located in the corner areas of the individual build-
ing blocks, but that larger parcels also existed in the interior zone between
Alf- and Fischstraße, although none at all were located in the interior zone
of the northern Braunstraße. Accordingly, new inhabitants who were more
prominent members of society or important economic figures seem to have
shown less interest in the Braunstraße, which did not lead directly to St. Mary’s
churchyard.63
63 The initial ownership of larger properties is presumably directly connected to the higher
social status of individual citizens of Lübeck (Hammel, “Hereditas, area und domus”,
p. 182).
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we passed a large brook running from north to south towards the
castle of Hasné. This castle, commanded by an aga, is a halting-
place to the caravan from Mecca to Damascus: the water is excellent
for drinking, and we filled our skins with it. This was a necessary
precaution, for we found no more on our seven hours’ march from
thence to Saddad. We arrived there at sunset. Naufal took us to the
sheik, Hassaf Abu Ibrahim, a venerable old man, and father of nine
children, all married, and living under the same roof. He received us
most kindly, and presented us to all his family, which, to our great
astonishment, amounted to sixty-four persons. The sheik having
asked us if we wished to establish ourselves in the village, or travel
into other countries, we told him we were merchants; that war
between the powers having interrupted the communication by sea
with Cyprus, we had been desirous of settling at Aleppo, but finding
in that city richer merchants than ourselves, we had determined to
carry our goods to less frequented places, hoping to make larger
gains. Having then told him in what our merchandise consisted,
“These articles,” said he, “are only useful to the Arabs of the desert; I
am sorry to tell you so, but it will be impossible to get to them; and
even if you should, you run the risk of losing everything, even your
lives. The Bedouins are greedy and audacious; they will seize your
goods, and, if you offer the least resistance, will put you to death.
You are people of honour and delicacy; you could never put up with
their grossness; it is for your sake that I speak thus, being myself a
Christian. Take my advice: expose your goods here, sell all that you
can, and then return to Aleppo, if you would preserve your property
and your lives.” He had hardly left off speaking, when the principal
people of the village, who had assembled to see us, began telling us
alarming stories. One of them said, that a pedler coming from
Aleppo, and going into the desert, had been plundered by the
Bedouins, and had been seen returning quite naked. Another had
learned that a merchant from Damascus had been killed. All agreed
as to the impossibility of penetrating amongst the hordes of
Bedouins, and endeavoured by every possible means to deter us
from the dangerous enterprise.
I saw that M. Lascaris was vexed; he turned to me, and said in
Italian, not to be understood by the others, “What say you to this
account, which has much discouraged me?” “I do not believe,” said I,
“all these stories; and even if they were true, we ought still to
persevere in our project. Ever since you announced to me your
intention to go among the Bedouins, I have never hoped to revisit my
home. I regarded the thirty days you allowed me at Aleppo to enjoy
myself, as my last farewell of the world; I consider our journey as a
real campaign; and he who goes to war, being well resolved, should
never think of his return. Let us not lose our courage: though Hassaf
is a sheik, and has experience, and understands the cultivation of
land and the affairs of his village, he can have no idea of the
importance of our business: I therefore am of opinion that we should
speak to him no more of our journey into the desert, but place our
trust in God, the protector of the universe.” These words produced
the effect upon M. Lascaris, who embraced me tenderly, and said,
“My dear son, I put all my hope in God and in you; you are a man of
resolution, I see; I am most satisfied with the strength of your
character, and I hope to attain my object by the aid of your courage
and constancy.” After this conversation, we went to sleep, equally
satisfied with one another.
We passed the next day in walking about the village, which contains
about two hundred houses and five churches. The inhabitants,
Syrian Christians, fabricate machlas and black abas, and pay little
attention to agriculture, from want of water, which is sensibly felt.
There is only one little spring in the village, the distribution of the
water being regulated by an hour-glass. It scarcely suffices to water
the gardens, which, in a climate where it seldom rains, are
unproductive without watering. Some years there does not fall a drop
of rain. The produce of the soil is hardly enough for six months’
consumption; and, for the remainder of the year, the inhabitants are
obliged to have recourse to Homs. In the middle of the village there
arises an ancient tower of prodigious height. It dates from the
foundation of a colony whose history the sheik told us. The founders
were natives of Tripoli in Syria, where their church still exists. At the
most flourishing period of the Eastern empire, the Greeks, full of
pride and rapacity, tyrannised over the conquered people. The
governor of Tripoli overwhelmed the inhabitants with exactions and
cruelty; these, too few to resist, and unable to bear the yoke,
concerted together to the number of three hundred families; and
having secretly collected together all the valuables they could carry
away, they departed without noise in the middle of the night, went to
Homs, and from thence moved towards the desert of Bagdad, where
they were overtaken by the Greek troops sent in pursuit of them by
the governor of Tripoli. They made an obstinate and sanguinary
resistance; but too inferior in numbers to conquer, and resolved on
no account to submit any longer to the tyranny of the Greeks, they
entered into negotiation, and obtained permission to build a village
on the spot of the battle, agreeing to remain tributary to the governor
of Tripoli. They established themselves at this place, at the entrance
of the desert, and called their village Saddad (obstacle.) This is all
that the Syrian chronicle contains worthy of remark.
The inhabitants of Saddad are brave, but gentle. We unpacked our
goods, and spent some days with them, to prove that we were really
merchants. The women bought much of our red cotton cloth, to
make chemises. The sale did not detain us long, but we were
obliged to await the arrival of the Bedouins in the environs. One day,
having been told that there was four hours from the village a
considerable ruin, and very ancient, in which was a natural vapour
bath, the wonder excited our curiosity; and M. Lascaris, desirous of
seeing it, begged the sheik to give us an escort. After marching four
hours to the southeast, we arrived in the midst of an extensive ruin,
in which there remains only one habitable room. The architecture is
simple; but the stones are of prodigious size. On entering the room,
we perceived an opening two feet square, from which issued a thick
vapour; we threw into it a handkerchief, and in a minute and a half,
by the watch, it was thrown out and fell at our feet. We repeated the
experiment with a shirt, which, at the end of ten minutes, returned
like the handkerchief. Our guides assured us that a machlas, which
weighs ten pounds, would be thrown up in the same manner.
Having undressed, and placed ourselves around the opening, we
were in a short time covered with perspiration, which trickled down
our bodies; but the smell of the vapour was so detestable, that we
could not remain a long time exposed to it. After half an hour we put
on our clothes, and experienced a most delightful sensation. We
were told that the vapour was really very sanative, and cured
numbers of sick. Returning to the village, we supped with an
excellent appetite; and never, perhaps, did I enjoy a more delicious
sleep.
Having nothing more to see at Saddad, or the neighbourhood, we
determined to set out for the village of Corietain. When we spoke of
this to Naufal, he advised us to change our names, as our own
would create suspicion in the Bedouins and the Turks. From that
time M. Lascaris took the name of Sheik Ibrahim el Cabressi (the
Cyprian,) and gave me that of Abdallah el Katib.
Sheik Hassaf having given us a letter of recommendation to a Syrian
curate named Moussi, we took leave of him and our friends at
Saddad, and set off early. After four hours, we came between the
two villages of Mahim and Haourin, ten minutes apart: each contains
about twenty houses, mostly ruined by the Bedouins, who come from
time to time to plunder them. In the midst of these villages is a lofty
tower of ancient construction. The inhabitants, all Mussulmans,
speak the language of the Bedouins, and dress like them. After
having breakfasted and filled our water-bottles, we continued our
journey for six hours, and about nightfall arrived at Corietain, at the
curate Mouss’s, who afforded us hospitality. The next day he
conducted us to the Sheik Selim el Dahasse, a distinguished person,
who received us very kindly. Having learned the motive of our
journey, he made the same observation as the Sheik of Saddad. We
answered him, “that, aware of the difficulties of the enterprise, we
had given up the idea of penetrating into the desert, and should be
satisfied with going to Palmyra, to dispose of our
merchandise.”—“That will be still too difficult,” added he, “for the
Bedouins may still meet you and pillage you.” He then began, in his
turn, to repeat a thousand alarming things about the Bedouins. The
curate confirming all he said, contributed to damp our spirits; when
breakfast was served, which changed the conversation, and gave us
time to recover.
Sheik Selim is one of those who are bound to supply the wants of
the great caravan to Mecca, in conjunction with the Sheik of
Palmyra: and his office gives him some influence over the Arabs: his
contingent consists of two hundred camels and provisions. On our
return home, Sheik Ibrahim, addressing me, said, “Well, my son,
what do you think of all we have heard from Sheik Selim?”—“We
must not,” said I, “pay too much regard to all that the inhabitants of
these villages tell us, who are always at war with the Bedouins; there
cannot exist much harmony between them. Our position is very
different; we are merchants,—we go to sell them our goods, and not
to make war: by acting honourably towards them, I do not apprehend
the least danger.” These words reassured Sheik Ibrahim.
Some days after our arrival, in order to support our character of
merchants, we opened our bales in the middle of the village, before
the doors of the sheik: I sold to the women some articles, which were
paid for in money. The idle people were standing around us to talk;
one of them, very young, named Hessaisoun el Katib, helped me to
take the money, and settle the accounts with the women and
children: he showed great zeal for my interests. One day, finding me
alone, he asked me if I was able to keep a secret. “Be careful,” said
he; “it is a great secret that you must trust to nobody, not even to
your companion.” Having given him my word, he told me that one
hour from the village was a grotto, in which was a large jar filled with
sequins; he gave me one, assuring me that he could not employ the
money, which was not current at Palmyra. “But you,” continued he,
“are going from city to city, and can change it easily; you have a
thousand ways of profiting by the treasure that I have not: however, I
will not give you the whole, but I shall leave the division to your
generosity: you shall come with me to reconnoitre the spot; we can
remove the gold by degrees and in secret, and you shall give me my
share in the current coin.” Having seen and handled the sequin, I
believed in the truth of the story, and gave him a meeting early the
following morning outside the village.
The next morning by daylight I arose, and went from the house as if
to walk. At some paces from the village I found Hessaisoun, who
was waiting for me: he was armed with a gun, a sabre, and pistols; I
had no other arms than a long pipe. We proceeded onwards for an
hour. With what impatience did I look out for the grotto!—at last I
perceived it. We soon entered: I looked on all sides to discover the
jar; and not seeing any, I turned towards Hessaisoun—“Where is the
jar?” said I,—I saw him grow pale—“Since we are here,” exclaimed
he, “learn that thy last hour is come. Thou shouldst have been dead
already, were I not afraid of soiling thy clothes with blood. Before I kill
thee, I will despoil thee; so give me thy bag of money: I know thou
hast it about thee: it must contain more than twelve hundred
piastres, which I counted myself, the price of the goods sold. Thou
shalt see no more the light of day.”
“Give me my life,” said I, in a supplicating tone, “and I will give thee a
much larger sum than that in the sack, and will tell no one of what
has passed—I swear to thee.”—“That cannot be,” said he; “this
grotto shall be thy grave. I cannot give thee thy life without exposing
my own.”
I swore to him a thousand times that I would be silent: I offered to
give him a bill for whatever sum he should fix;—nothing could move
him from his fearful project. At length, tired by my resistance, he
placed his arms against the wall and darted upon me like an enraged
lion, to undress me before killing me. I entreated him again—“What
harm have I done you?” said I,—“what enmity is there between us?
You do not know, then, that the day of judgment is at hand—that
God will demand the blood of the innocent?”—But his hardened
heart listened to nothing. I thought of my brother, my parents, my
friends; all that was dear to me came to my mind;—desperate, I no
longer prayed for protection but from my Creator. “O God! protector
of the innocent! help me! give me strength to resist!” My assassin,
impatient, snatched my clothes: although he was much bigger than I,
God gave me strength to struggle with him for more than half an
hour: the blood flowed abundantly from my face—my clothes were
torn to rags. The villain, seeing me in this state, endeavoured to
strangle me, and raised his arm to grasp my neck. I took advantage
of the liberty this movement allowed me, to give him with both fists a
violent blow in the stomach: I knocked him backwards, and seizing
his arms, I darted out of the grotto, running with all my might. I could
scarcely believe the happiness of being saved. Some moments
afterwards I heard a running after me: it was the assassin. He called
to me, begging me to wait in the most conciliating tone. Having all
his arms, I no longer feared to stop, and turning towards him,
“Wretch,” said I, “what is it you ask?—you would have assassinated
me in secret; but it is you who will be strangled in public.” He
answered me by affirming with an oath, that it had all been a jest on
his part; that he had wanted to try my courage, and see how I would
defend myself. “But I see,” added he, “that you are but a child, since
you take it so.”—I answered, raising the gun, that if he came a step
nearer I would shoot him. Seeing that I was determined to do it, he
fled across the desert, and I returned to the village.
In the meantime, Sheik Ibrahim, the curate, and Naufal, not finding
me return, began to be alarmed. Sheik Ibrahim above all, knowing
that I never went to a distance without acquainting him, after two
hours’ delay went to the sheik, who, participating in his anxiety, sent
out all the village in search of me. At last Naufal, perceiving me,
cried out: “There he is!” Selim thought he was mistaken. I drew
nearer: they could with difficulty recognise me. M. Lascaris
embraced me and wept: I was unable to speak. They took me to the
curate’s, bathed my wounds and put me to bed. At length I found
strength to relate my adventure. Selim sent horsemen in pursuit of
the assassin, giving to the negro the rope that was to strangle him;
but they returned without being able to overtake him, and we soon
learned that he had entered the service of the Pacha of Damascus.
He never returned to Corietain.
At the end of a few days my wounds began to heal, and I soon
recovered my strength. Sheik Selim, who had conceived a great
friendship for me, brought me a telescope that was out of order,
telling me I should be a clever fellow if I could mend it. As there was
only a glass to replace, I restored it and brought it to him. He was so
pleased with my skill, that he gave me the surname of “the
industrious.”
In a short time we learnt that the Bedouins were approaching
Palmyra: some were seen even in the environs of Corietain.
Presently there came one, named Selame el Hassan. We were at
Selim’s when he entered: coffee was brought, and while we were
taking it, many of the inhabitants came to the sheik, and said: “Eight
years ago, at such a place, Hassan killed our relative; and we are
come to demand justice.” Hassan denied the fact, and asked if they
had witnesses. “No,” they replied; “but you were seen passing alone
on the road, and a little after we found our relative lying dead. We
know that there existed a cause of hatred between you: it is
therefore clear that you are his assassin.” Hassan still denied the
charge: and the sheik, who from fear was obliged to exercise caution
with the Bedouins, and besides had no positive proof in the case,
took a piece of wood and said, “By Him who created this stem,
swear that you have not killed their relation.” Hassan took the wood,
looked at it some minutes, and bent down his head; then raising it
towards his accusers, “I will not have,” said he, “two crimes on my
heart,—the one of being the murderer of this man, the other of
swearing falsely before God. It is I who have killed your kinsman:
what do you demand for the price of his blood?”[A] The sheik, from
policy, would not act according to the full rigour of the law; and the
persons present being interested in the negotiation, it was decided
that Hassan should pay three hundred piastres to the relations of the
dead. When it came to the payment of the money, he said he had it
not about him, but that he would bring it in a few days; and as some
difficulty was made of letting him go without security, “I have no
pledge,” said he, “to give; but He will answer for me whose name I
would not profane by a false oath.” He departed; and four days
afterwards returned with fifteen sheep, each worth above twenty
piastres.—This trait of good faith and generosity at once charmed
and surprised us. We wished to make acquaintance with Hassan:
Sheik Ibrahim invited him, gave him a few presents, and we became
intimate friends. He told us that he belonged to the tribe El-Ammour,
whose chief was Sultan el Brrak. This tribe, composed of five
hundred tents, is considered as constituting part of the country,
because it never quits the banks of the Euphrates when the great
tribes retire. They sell sheep, camels, and butter, at Damascus,
Homs, Hama, &c. The inhabitants of these different cities have often
a concern in their flocks.
We one day said to Hassan that we were desirous of going to
Palmyra to sell our remaining merchandise, but that we had been
alarmed by the dangers of the road. Having offered to conduct us, he
made a note before the sheik, by which he made himself responsible
for all the disasters that might happen. Being satisfied that Hassan
was a man of honour, we accepted his proposal.
Spring was come, and the desert, lately so arid, was all at once
covered with a carpeting of verdure and flowers. This enchanting
spectacle induced us to hasten our departure. The night before, we
deposited at the curate Moussi’s a part of our goods, in order not to
awaken either curiosity or cupidity. Naufal wished to return to Homs,
and M. Lascaris dismissed him with a liberal recompense; and the
next day, having hired some moukres, with their camels, we took
leave of the people of Corietain, and having provided water and
provisions for two days, we departed betimes, carrying a letter of
recommendation from Sheik Selim to the Sheik of Palmyra, whose
name was Ragial el Orouk.
After a ten hours’ march, always towards the east, we stopped at a
square tower, extremely lofty and of massive construction, called
Casser el Ourdaan, on the territory El Dawh. This tower, built in the
time of the Greek empire, served for an advanced post against the
Persians, who came to carry off the inhabitants of the country. This
bulwark of the desert has preserved its name till these times. After
having admired its architecture, which belongs to a good period, we
returned to pass the night at our little khan, where we suffered much
from the cold. In the morning, as we were preparing to depart, M.
Lascaris, not yet accustomed to the movements of camels, mounted
his without care; which rising suddenly, threw him down. We ran to
him: his leg appeared to be dislocated; but, as he would not be
detained, after having done what we could, we replaced him on his
seat, and continued our route. We proceeded for two hours, when
we observed at a distance a cloud of dust approaching us, and soon
were able to distinguish six armed horsemen. Hardly had Hassan
perceived them, when he threw off his cloak, took his lance and ran
to meet them, crying out to us not to go forward. Having come up to
them, he told them that we were merchants going to Palmyra, and
that he had engaged before Sheik Selim and all his village to
conduct us thither in safety. But these Bedouins, of the tribe El
Hassnnée, without listening to him, came up to us: Hassan threw
himself forward to stop the road; they attempted to drive him back,
and a battle began. Our defender was known for his valour, but his
opponents were equally brave. He sustained the attack for half an
hour, and at length, wounded by a lance which pierced his thigh, he
retired towards us, and soon fell from his horse. The Bedouins were
beginning to plunder us, when Hassan, extended on the ground, the
blood flowing from his wound, apostrophised them in these terms:—
“What are you about, my friends?—will you then violate the laws of
Arabs, the usages of the Bedouins? They whom you are plundering
are my brethren—they have my word; I am responsible for all that
may befall them, and you are robbing them!—is this according to
honour?”
“Why,” said they, “did you undertake to convey Christians to
Palmyra? Know you not that Mehanna el Fadel (the sheik of their
tribe) is chief of the country? Why did you not ask his permission?”
“I know,” replied Hassan; “but these merchants were in haste;
Mehanna is far from this. I have pledged my word—they believed
me; they know our laws and our usages, which never change. Is it
worthy of you to violate them, by despoiling these strangers, and
leaving me wounded in this manner?”
At these words the Bedouins, ceasing their violence, answered, “All
that you say is true and just; and as it is so, we will take from thy
protégés only what they choose to give us.”
We made all haste to offer them two machlas, a cloak, and a
hundred piastres. They were satisfied, and left us to pursue our
route. Hassan suffered a great deal from his wound; and as he could
not remount his horse, I gave him my camel, and took his mare. We
proceeded for four hours; but the sun being set, we were obliged to
halt at a place called Waddi el Nahr (Valley of the River.) However,
there was not a drop of water in it, and our skins were empty: the
attack in the morning had detained us three hours, and it was
impossible to go further that night.
Notwithstanding all we had to suffer, we were still very happy at
having escaped the Bedouins, and preserved our clothes, which
secured us a little from the cold wind, that affected us sensibly. In
short, between pleasure and pain, we watched with impatience for
the dawn of day. Sheik Ibrahim suffered from his foot, and Hassan
from his wound. In the morning, having disposed of our sick in the
best manner we could, we again set forward, and still towards the
east. At an hour and a quarter from Palmyra we found a
subterraneous stream, the spring of which is entirely unknown, as
well as the place where it is lost. The water is seen to flow through
openings of about five feet, forming a sort of basins. It is
unnecessary to say with what delight we quenched our thirst:—the
water appeared excellent.
At the entrance of a pass formed by the junction of two mountains,
we at length perceived the celebrated Palmyra. This defile forms for
a quarter of an hour an avenue to the city; along the mountain on the
south side extends for almost three hours a very ancient rampart.
Facing you to the left is an old castle, built by the Turks after the
invention of gunpowder. It is called Co Lat Ebn Maâen.—This Ebn
Maâen, a governor of Damascus in the time of the Khalifs, had built
the castle to prevent the Persians from penetrating into Syria.—We
next arrived at a vast space, called Waddi el Cabour (Valley of the
Tombs.) The sepulchres that cover it appear at a distance like
towers. On coming near, we saw that niches had been cut in them to
enclose the dead. Every niche is shut up by a stone, on which is
carved a portrait of its occupant. The towers have three or four
stories, communicating by means of a staircase, commonly in good
preservation. From thence we came into a vast enclosure inhabited
by the Arabs, who call it the Castle. It contains, in fact, the ruins of
the Temple of the Sun. Two hundred families reside in these ruins.
We immediately presented ourselves to Sheik Ragial el Orouk, a
venerable old man, who received us well, and made us sup and
sleep with him. This sheik, like the sheik of Corietain, furnishes two
hundred camels to the great caravan of Mecca.
The following day, having hired a house, we unpacked our goods. I
attended to the foot of Sheik Ibrahim, which was in reality dislocated.
He had long to suffer the pain. Hassan found friends at Palmyra who
took care of him; and being soon recovered, he came to take leave
of us, and went away delighted with the manner in which we
recompensed him.
Being obliged to keep at home for several days on account of Sheik
Ibrahim’s foot, we set about selling some articles, to confirm our
mercantile character. But as soon as M. Lascaris was in a fit state to
walk, we went to visit the temple in all its minutiæ. Other travellers
have described the ruins: therefore we will only speak of what may
have escaped their observation relating to the country.
We one day saw many people engaged in surrounding with wood a
beautiful granite column. We were told it was to burn it, or rather to
cause it to fall, in order to obtain the lead which was in the joinings.
Sheik Ibrahim, full of indignation, addressing me, exclaimed, “What
would the founders of Palmyra say if they beheld these barbarians
thus destroying their work? Since chance has brought me hither, I
will oppose this act of Vandalism.” And having learned what might be
the worth of the lead, he gave the fifty piastres they asked, and the
column became our property. It was of the most beautiful red granite,
spotted with blue and black, sixty-two feet in length, and ten in
circumference. The Palmyrians, perceiving our taste for monuments,
pointed out to us a curious spot, an hour and a half distant, in which
the columns were formerly cut, and where there are still some
beautiful fragments. For ten piastres three Arabs agreed to take us
there. The road is strewed with very beautiful ruins, described, I
presume, by other travellers. We observed a grotto, in which was a
beautiful white marble column cut and chiselled, and another only
half finished. One might say that Time, the destroyer of so much
magnificence, was wanting to place up the first, and to finish the
second.
After having been into several grottoes, and visited the
neighbourhood, we came back by another road. Our guides pointed
out a beautiful spring, covered with blocks of stone. It is called Ain
Ournus. The name struck Sheik Ibrahim. At last, calling me, he said:
“I have discovered what this name Ournus means. Aurelianus, the
Roman emperor, came to besiege Palmyra and take possession of
its riches. It is he probably who dug this well for the wants of his
army during the siege, and the spring may have taken his name,
changed by the lapse of time into Ournus.” According to my feeble
knowledge of history, Sheik Ibrahim’s conjecture is not without
foundation.
The inhabitants of Palmyra are but little occupied about agriculture.
Their chief employment is the working of a salt-mine, the produce of
which they send to Damascus and Homs. They also make a great
deal of Soda. The plant that furnishes it is very abundant: it is burnt,
and the ashes are also sent to those towns to make soap. They are
even sent sometimes as far as Tripoli in Syria, where there are many
soap manufactories, and which supply the Archipelago.
We were one day informed of a very curious grotto; but the entrance
to it, being dark and narrow, was hardly practicable. It was three
hours from Palmyra. We felt a wish to see it; but my adventure with
Hessaisoun was too recent to commit ourselves without a strong
escort: therefore we begged Sheik Ragial to furnish us with trusty
people. Astonished at our project, “You are very curious,” said he:
“what does the grotto signify to you? Instead of attending to your
business, you pass your time in this trifling. Never did I see such
merchants as you.”—“Man always profits,” said I, “by seeing all the
beauties that nature has created.” The sheik having given us six men
well armed, I provided myself with a ball of thread, a large nail, and
torches, and we set out very early in the morning. After two hours’
march we reached the foot of a mountain. A great hole that they
showed us formed the entrance of the grotto. I stuck my nail into a
place out of sight, and holding the ball in my hand, followed Sheik
Ibrahim and the guides who carried the torches. We went on,
sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left, then up and then
down; in short, the grotto is large enough to accommodate an entire
army. We found a good deal of alum. The vault and the sides of the
rock were covered with sulphur, and the bottom with nitre. We
remarked a species of red earth, very fine, of an acid taste. Sheik
Ibrahim put a handful into his handkerchief. The grotto is full of
cavities cut out with a chisel, whence metals were anciently taken.
Our guides told us of many persons who had lost themselves in it
and perished. A man had remained there two days in vain looking for
the outlet, when he saw a wolf: he threw stones at him; and having
put him to flight, followed him, and so found the opening. My length
of cord being exhausted, we would not go further, but retraced our
steps. The charm of curiosity had, without doubt, smoothed the way,
for we had infinite difficulty in gaining the outlet.
As soon as we were out, we hastened our breakfast, and took the
road to Palmyra. The sheik, who was expecting us, asked us what
we had gained by the journey. “We have learned,” said I, “that the
ancients were more skilful than we; for it may be seen by their works
that they could go in and out with ease, whilst we had great difficulty
in extricating ourselves.”
He set up a laugh, and we quitted him to go and rest ourselves. At
night Sheik Ibrahim found the handkerchief, in which he had put the
red earth, all in holes and rotten. The earth had fallen into his pocket.
He put it into a bottle,[B] and told me that probably the ancients had
obtained gold from this grotto. Chemical experience proves that
where there is sulphur there is often gold; and besides, the great
works we had remarked could not have been made merely to extract
sulphur and alum, but evidently something more precious. If the
Arabs had suspected that we were going to search for gold, our lives
would not have been safe.
From day to day we heard of the approach of the Bedouins, and
Sheik Ibrahim was as rejoiced as if he was about to see his
countrymen. He was enchanted when I announced to him the arrival
of the great Bedouin prince, Mehanna el Fadel. He wished
immediately to go to meet him: but I represented to him, that it would
be more prudent to wait a favourable opportunity of seeing some one
of the emir’s (prince’s) family. I knew that, ordinarily, Mehanna sent a
messenger to the Sheik of Palmyra to announce to him his
approach. In fact, I witnessed the arrival one day of eleven Bedouin
horsemen, and learned that the Emir Nasser was amongst them, the
eldest son of Mehanna. I ran to carry the intelligence to Sheik
Ibrahim, who seemed at the height of joy. Immediately we went to
Sheik Ragial, to present us to the Emir Nasser, who gave us a kind
reception. “These strangers,” said Ragial to him, “are honest
merchants, who have goods to sell useful to the Bedouins; but they
have so frightened them, that they dare not venture into the desert
unless you will grant them your protection.”
The emir, turning towards us, said:—“Hope for all sorts of prosperity:
you shall be welcome; and I promise you that nothing shall befall you
but the rain which descends from heaven.” We offered him many
thanks, saying, “Since we have had the advantage of making your
acquaintance, and you will be our protector, you will do us the
honour of eating with us?”
The Arabs in general, and above all the Bedouins, regard it as an
inviolable pledge of fidelity to have eaten with any one—even to
have broken bread with him. We therefore invited him, with all his
suite, as well as the sheik. We killed a sheep, and the dinner,
dressed in the manner of the Bedouins, appeared to them excellent.
At dessert we offered them figs, raisins, almonds, and nuts, which
was a great treat to them. After coffee, when we began to speak of
different things, we related to Nasser our adventure with the six
horsemen of his tribe. He wished to punish them and restore our
money. We earnestly conjured him not to do so, assuring him we
attached no value to what we had given. We would have departed
with him the next day, but he induced us to await the arrival of his
father, who was at eight days’ distance. He promised to send us an
escort, and camels to carry our merchandise. For a greater security,
we begged him to write by his father, which he engaged to do.
The second day after, there arrived at Palmyra a Bedouin of the tribe
El Hassnnée, named Bani; and some hours after, seven others of
the tribe El Daffir, with which that of Hassnnée is at war. These
having learned that there was one of their enemies in the city,
resolved to wait for him out of the town to kill him. Bani having been
told this, came to us, tied his mare to our door, and begged us to
lend him a felt. We had several which wrapped our merchandise; I
brought him one. He put it to soak in water for half an hour, and then
placed it, wet as it was, on his mare’s back, underneath the saddle.
Two hours afterwards she had a strong diarrhœa, which lasted all
the evening, and the next day seemed to have nothing in her body.
Bani then took off the felt, which he returned, well girthed his seat,
and departed.
About four hours after noon we saw the Bedouins of the tribe El
Daffir return without booty. Some one having asked them what they
had done with the mare of Bani, “This,” said they, “is what has
happened to us. Not wishing to commit an insult towards Ragial, a
tributary of Mehanna, we abstained from attacking our enemy in the
city. We might have waited for him in a narrow pass; but we were
seven to one: we therefore resolved to wait for him in the open plain.
Having perceived him, we ran upon him; but as soon as he was in
the midst of us, he uttered a loud cry, saying to his horse, ‘Jah
Hamra!—It is now thy turn,’—and he flew off like lightning. We
followed him to his tribe without being able to catch him, astonished
at the swiftness of his mare, which seemed like a bird cleaving the
air with its wings.” I then told them the history of the felt, which
caused them much wonder, having, said they, no idea of such
sorcery.
Eight days after, three men came to us from Mehanna el Fadel: they
came to us with the camels, and put into our hands a letter from
himself; these are the contents:—
“Mehanna el Fadel, the son of Melkhgem, to Sheik Ibrahim and
Abdalla el Katib, greeting. May the mercy of God be upon you! On
the arrival of our son Nasser, we were informed of the desire you
have to visit us. Be welcome! you will shed blessing upon us. Fear
nothing; you have the protection of God, and the word of Mehanna;
nothing shall touch you but the rain of heaven! Signed, Mehanna el
Fadel.”
A seal was appended by the side of the signature. The letter gave
great pleasure to Sheik Ibrahim: our preparations were soon made,
and early the next morning we were out of Palmyra. Being arrived at
a village watered by an abundant spring, we filled our skins for the
rest of the route. This village, called Arak, is four hours from
Palmyra. We met a great number of Bedouins, who, after having
questioned our conductors, continued their road. After a march of ten
hours, the plain appeared covered with fifteen hundred tents: it was
the tribe of Mehanna. We entered into the tent of the emir, who
ordered us coffee at three different intervals; which, amongst the
Bedouins, is the greatest proof of consideration. After the third cup,
supper was served, which we were obliged to eat a la Turque: it was
the first time this had occurred, so that we burnt our fingers.
Mehanna perceived it.
“You are not accustomed,” said he, “to eat as we do.”—“It is true,”
replied Sheik Ibrahim; “but why do you not make use of spoons? it is
always possible to procure them, if only of wood.”—“We are
Bedouins,” replied the emir, “and we keep to the customs of our
ancestors, which, besides, we consider well founded. The hand and
the mouth are the parts of the body that God has given us to aid
each other. Why then make use of a strange thing, whether of wood
or of metal, to reach the mouth, when the hand is naturally made for
that purpose?” We were obliged to approve these reasons, and I
remarked to Sheik Ibrahim that Mehanna was the first Bedouin
philosopher that we had encountered.
The next day the emir had a camel killed to regale us, and I learned
that that was a high mark of consideration, the Bedouins measuring
the importance of the stranger by the animal they kill to welcome
him. They begin with a lamb, and finish with a camel. This was the
first time we had eaten the flesh of this animal, and we thought it
rather insipid.
The Emir Mehanna was a man of eighty years of age, little, thin,
deaf, and very ill-clothed. His great influence among the Bedouins
arises from his noble and generous heart, and from being the chief
of a very ancient and numerous family. He is entrusted by the Pacha
of Damascus with the escort of the grand caravan to Mecca, for
twenty-five purses (twelve thousand five hundred piastres,) which
are paid him before their departure from Damascus. He has three
sons, Nasser, Faress, and Hamed, all married, and inhabiting the
same tent as their father. This tent is seventy-two feet long, and as
many wide; it is of black horsehair, and divided into three partitions.
In the further one is kept the provisions, and there the cookery is
performed; the slaves, too, sleep there. The middle is kept for the
women, and all the family retire to it at night. The fore part is
occupied by the men: in this strangers are received: this part is
called Rabha.
After three days devoted to enjoying their hospitality, we opened our
bales, and sold many articles, upon most of which we lost more or
less. I did not understand this mode of dealing, and said so to Sheik
Ibrahim. “Have you then forgot our conditions?” said he. I excused
myself, and continued to sell according to his pleasure.
One day we saw arrive fifty well-mounted horsemen, who, having
stopped before the tents, dismounted and sat on the ground. The
Emir Nasser, charged with all the affairs since his father had become
deaf, went to join them, accompanied by his cousin Sheik Zamel,
and held a conference with them for two hours, after which the men
remounted their horses and departed. Sheik Ibrahim, anxious about
this mysterious interview, knew not how to ascertain the motive of it.
Having already been often with the women, I took a coral necklace,
and went to Naura, the wife of Nasser, to present it to her. She
accepted it, made me sit near her, and offered me in her turn dates
and coffee. After these reciprocal acts of politeness, I came to the
object of my visit, and said, “Excuse my importunity, I entreat you,
but strangers are curious and timid; the little merchandise we have
here is the remnant of a considerable fortune, which misfortunes
have deprived us of. The Emir Nasser was just now holding
conference with strangers—that excites our apprehension; we would
know the subject.”—“I will satisfy your curiosity,” said Naura; “but on
condition that you will keep my secret, and appear to know nothing.
Know that my husband has many enemies among the Bedouins,
who hate him for humbling the national pride by exalting the power of
the Turks. The alliance of Nasser with the Osmanlis greatly
displeases the Bedouins, who hate them. It is even contrary to the
advice of his father, and the heads of the tribe, who murmur against
him. The object of this meeting was to concert a plan of attack. To-
morrow they will assail the tribe El Daffir, to take their flocks, and do
them all the mischief possible: the God of battle will give the victory
to whom he pleases: but as to you, you have nothing to fear.” Having
thanked Naura, I withdrew well satisfied with having gained her
confidence.
Sheik Ibrahim, informed by me of all the wife of Nasser had told me,
said that it caused him the greatest vexation. “I was endeavouring,”
added he, “to attach myself to a tribe hostile to the Osmanlis, and
here I am with a chief allied to them.” I did not dare ask the meaning
of these words, but they served to set me thinking.
About sunset three hundred horsemen assembled beyond the
encampment, and marched early in the morning, having at their
head Nasser, Hamed, and Zamel. Three days afterwards a
messenger came to announce their return. A great number of men
and women went out to meet them; and when they had reached
them, they sent up on both sides loud shouts of joy, and in this
manner made their triumphal entry into the camp, preceded by a
hundred and eighty camels, taken from the enemy. As soon as they
had alighted, we begged them to recount their exploit.
“The day after our departure,” said Nasser, “having arrived about
noon at the place where the shepherds feed the flocks of Daffir, we
fell upon them, and carried off a hundred and eighty camels:
however, the shepherds having fled, gave the alarm to their tribe. I
then detached a part of my troops to conduct our booty to the camp
by another road. Aruad-Ebn-Motlac, the chief of the tribe El Daffir,
coming to attack us with three hundred horsemen, the battle lasted
two hours, and night alone separated us. Every one then returned to
his tribe, the enemy having lost one of his men, and we having two
men wounded.”
The tribe of Nasser feigned a participation in his triumph, whereas in
reality they were very dissatisfied with an unjust war against their
natural friends, to please the Osmanlis. Nasser, having visited all the
chiefs, to recount his success, came to Sheik Ibrahim and addressed
him in Turkish; Sheik Ibrahim having observed to him that he spoke
only Greek, his native tongue, and a little Arabic, Nasser began to
extol the language and customs of the Turks, saying it was not
possible to be truly great, powerful, and respected, without being on
a good footing with them. “As for me,” added he, “I am more Osmanli
than Bedouin.” “Trust not the promises of the Turks,” replied Sheik
Ibrahim, “any more than their greatness and magnificence: they
favour you that they may gain you over, and injure you with your
countrymen, in order to employ you to fight against the other tribes.
The interest of the Turkish government is to destroy the Bedouins:
not strong enough to effect this themselves, they wish to arm you
against each other. Take care that you have not some day cause to
repent. I give you this advice as a friend who takes a lively interest in
you, and because I have eaten your bread and partaken of your
hospitality.”
Some time after, Nasser received from Soliman, the pacha of Acre
and Damascus, a message, engaging him to come and receive the
investiture of the general command of all the desert, with the title of
Prince of the Bedouins. This message overwhelmed him with joy,
and he departed for Damascus with ten horsemen.
Mehanna having ordered the departure of the tribe, the next morning
by sunrise not a single tent was to be seen standing; all was folded
up and loaded, and the departure began in the greatest order.
Twenty chosen horsemen formed the advanced guard, and served
as scouts. Then came the camels with their loads, and the flocks;
then the armed men, mounted on horses or camels; after these the
women; those of the chiefs carried in howdahs, (a sort of palankin,)
placed on the backs of the largest camels. These howdahs are very
rich, carefully lined, covered with scarlet cloth, and ornamented with
different coloured fringe. They hold commodiously two women, or a
woman and several children. The women and children of inferior
rank follow directly after, seated on rolls of tent-cloth, ranged like
seats, and placed on camels. The loaded camels, carrying the
baggage and provision, are behind. The line was closed by the Emir
Mehanna, mounted on a dromedary by reason of his great age, and
surrounded by his slaves, the rest of the warriors, and the servants,
who were on foot. It was truly wonderful to witness the order and
celerity with which the departure of eight or nine thousand persons
was effected. Sheik Ibrahim and I were on horseback, sometimes
ahead, sometimes in the centre, or by the side of Mehanna. We
proceeded ten hours successively: all at once, three hours after
noon, the order of march was interrupted; the Bedouins dispersed
themselves in the midst of a fine plain, sprang to the ground, fixed
their lances, and fastened their horses to them. The women ran on
all sides, and pitched their tents near their husbands’ horses. Thus,
as if by enchantment, we found ourselves in a kind of city, as large

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A Companion to Medieval Lübeck 1st

Edition Ulf Stammwitz Manfred Finke

Chess Explained The c3 Sicilian 1st Edition Sam Collins

Starting Out The c3 Sicilian 1st Edition John Emms

The Paper Issue 83 1st Edition Origamiusa

The American Revolution 1774 83 2nd Edition Daniel

Patriot vs Loyalist American Revolution 1775 83 Combat

British Light Infantryman vs Patriot Rifleman American

CRC Standard Curves and Surfaces with Mathematica 3rd

A Companion to Medieval Translation ARC Companions

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bceh

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Jahnke, Carsten, editor.

Copyright 2019 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.

This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.

List of Illustrations vii

1 Introduction: “The Queen of the Baltic Coast” 1

2 The Beginnings and Early Development of Lübeck’s Central

3 Twelfth Century Timber Buildings in Lübeck’s Oldest Quarter 36

4 The Earliest Use of Brickwork in Lübeck’s Secular Buildings: New

5 “Building History”: Lübeck in the Architectural History of the Middle

7 Between Reclusion and Integration: Monasteries and Convents in

8 Lübeck: Early Economic Development and the Urban Hinterland 226

9 Lübeck’s Trade in the Fifteenth Century 253

10 Art, Belief, and Calculation: On the Churches and Christian

11 Hermen Rode: The Painter of Medieval Lübeck and His Art

12 The “Niederstadtbuch”: A Source for the History of Private Life of

13 Lübeck’s Confraternities 372

1.1 The western boundaries of the Baltic Sea 5

5.15 St. Mary’s, the nave 112

7.8 Michaeliskonvent corner of St.-Annenstraße/Weberstraße 207

12.1 Frequent legal transactions in the Niederstadtbuch 1478–1495 354

Harm von Seggern

Introduction: “The Queen of the Baltic Coast”

1 Jahnke, “Lübeck and the Hanse”.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2019 | doi:10.1163/9789004393776_002

1 The Historical Framework: Lübeck in Time and Space

7 Adam, Gesta Hammaburgensis II, 15 schol. 66.

map 1.1 The western boundaries of the Baltic Sea.

9 Jahnke, “The city of Lübeck”, pp. 44ff.

map 1.2 Situation of Lüneburg, Bardowik and Lübeck.

12 Helmold, Chronica Slavorum.

14 Helmold, Chronica, I, 57.

map 1.4 Dynamic development of Lübeck up to AD 1200, based on tree-ring dating in

map 1.5 Ground plan of the city of Lübeck by M. Seutter, Grund-

21 Jäschke, Burgenses. Jahnke, “Handelsstrukturen”, pp. 156–160.

23 Jahnke, “Handelsstrukturen”, pp. 164–175.

29 See the article of M. Finke in this volume.

31 See the article of C. Jahnke in this volume.

2 A Companion to Medieval Lübeck

35 See the article of C. Jahnke in this volume.

Gens humana, situs, comercia, littora, mores

Ogilvie, S., “‘Whatever is, is right’? Economic institutions in pre-industrial Europe”,

The Beginnings and Early Development of Lübeck’s

The so-called Gründungsviertel, or founding quarter, of the important medi-

1 Lassen, “Lübeck omkring 1200”, pp. 125–126.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2019 | doi:10.1163/9789004393776_003

attested to by several findings of late Slavic ceramics9 and by the discovery of a

Gründungsviertel, or founding quarter, whose narrow traffic axes on the Meng-,

cellars constructed according to the Schwellen-Ständer (stud-sill plate) build-

49 Helmold, Helmoldi presbyteri Bozoviensis Chronica Slavorum I, c. 86.

50 Harder, “Vom Gebrauch des Gebrauchten”, pp. 147–48.

Without anticipating further the results of the major excavation of the

62 Legant, Zur Siedlungsgeschichte, pp. 121–23.

1 Jahnke, “Lübeck and the Hanse”.

7 Adam, Gesta Hammaburgensis II, 15 schol. 66.

9 Jahnke, “The city of Lübeck”, pp. 44ff.

12 Helmold, Chronica Slavorum.

14 Helmold, Chronica, I, 57.

21 Jäschke, Burgenses. Jahnke, “Handelsstrukturen”, pp. 156–160.

23 Jahnke, “Handelsstrukturen”, pp. 164–175.

29 See the article of M. Finke in this volume.

31 See the article of C. Jahnke in this volume.

35 See the article of C. Jahnke in this volume.

1 Lassen, “Lübeck omkring 1200”, pp. 125–126.

49 Helmold, Helmoldi presbyteri Bozoviensis Chronica Slavorum I, c. 86.

50 Harder, “Vom Gebrauch des Gebrauchten”, pp. 147–48.

62 Legant, Zur Siedlungsgeschichte, pp. 121–23.