Author:
Nicolle, David, 1944-
ImprintOxford : Osprey Publishing, [2014]
Description48 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm.
Note:HISTORICAL BACKGROUND. Germans and Slavs ; 12th century Wendish and Northern Crusades ; Emergence of powerful towns: Lbeck ; Danish expansion) -- CHRONOLOGY -- EVOLUTION OF THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE. Danish-German rivalry ; The 13th century 'proto-Hanse': Lubeck, Hamburg & Osnabruck ; Maturity of the League: Confederation of Cologne, 1367 ; Organisation and structure -- LAND WARFARE, c.1250-c.1425. Urban society: Ruling classes ; Militias; Merchants and artisans ; Organization ; Princely armies ; Knights and militia ; Mercenaries in Hanseatic service ; Crossbows and other weapons -- MARITIME WARFARE. Regulations ; Ship types ; Assembly and command ; Seamen and soldiers ; Sea battles ; River operations -- SIEGE WARFARE & FIREARMS. Early tradition of fortification ; Defence and display ; Independent towns versus territorial princes ; Security overseas ; Crossbows in siege warfare ; Firearms: Hand guns ; Cannon on land and shipboard ; Manufacturing -- THE 15th CENTURY: THE COSTS OD COMPETITION. Expansion ; Expense and taxation ; Co-operative voyages ; Piracy and privateering ; Rivalry with Denmark & the Union of Kalmar ; Relations with Holstein and Mecklenburg ; Conflict with Castile ; Rivalry with the Dutch ; Rivalry with England.
Bibliography Note:Includes bibliographical references (page 43) and index.
Note:"This is the military history of the most significant cross-border confederation in medieval Europe- the Hanseatic League of independent German trading cities. It describes how wealthy and emboldened mercantile harbour-towns such as Lubeck and Hamburg tested their strength against local feudal princes from the 12th century. They formed their first federations in the 1230s-60s, to combat Baltic pirates and to resist Danish expansion. The volume details how, from 1367 until the 1490s, the mature and wealthy League rivalled the naval power of the various Scandinavian powers, the Dutch and the English. Their story is illustrated with period paintings, photographs, and newly researched colour artwork."--Back cover
