Von friesischen Fernhändlern und Kranen in Mainz : der Rhein als mittelalterliche Handelsroute
Loading...
Date issued
Authors
Editors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Reuse License
Abstract
This article examines the Rhine as a key trade and transport route from the early Middle Ages to the beginning of the 19th century, focusing on Mainz as an exemplary case study situated within a comparative context. Starting from the question of the continuity of ancient transport structures, the article demonstrates how, following the end of Roman rule, the Rhine developed from a border region into one of the most significant north-south connections in Europe. Particular attention is paid to the long-distance trade of the Frisians in the 8th and 9th centuries, their settlements and trading quarters in Mainz and Worms, and the integration of the Rhine into extensive networks linking the Frankish Kingdom, England and Scandinavia. Wine, timber, grain, salt, fish, metals and textiles characterised the flow of goods; wine and timber, in particular, proved to be key bulk commodities in Rhine trade.
For the High and Late Middle Ages, the article analyses the increasing intensification of trade relations, the emergence of urban centres of gravity, and the relationship between Mainz, Cologne and Frankfurt. Due to its location at the mouth of the Main and at the junction between the upper and lower Rhine waterways, Mainz emerged as an important transhipment and distribution centre, particularly for wine, timber and goods for trade fairs. The focus is also on the development of a complex port and commercial infrastructure comprising warehouses, weighing stations, storage yards, storage and transhipment points, as well as stationary and floating cranes. These facilities served not only to manage the growing volumes of goods from a technical perspective, but also to control, document and legally safeguard trade.
The right of storage is understood here not as a static or strictly enforced monopoly, but as a malleable set of economic and legal claims to authority. Whilst customs duties, escort duties and transhipment requirements placed a burden on the movement of goods, they simultaneously enabled the financing of urban infrastructure and contributed to the stabilisation of supra-regional markets. In addition, this article examines Mainz’s market and early shipping as an early form of regularly organised public transport and communication services.
Overall, the Rhine emerges as a sustainable, institutionally regulated and technically engineered economic and communications system, whose medieval structures – despite political upheavals and growing criticism of trade privileges – continued to have an impact right up until the abolition of the traditional staple rights in the 19th century.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Published in
Mainz - Stadt am Strom : Katalog zur Sonderausstellung im Stadthistorischen Museum Mainz 30. April 2022 bis 30. April 2023, Brüchert, Hedwig, Förderverein Stadthistorisches Museum Mainz e.V., Mainz, 2022