Høvedsmann og Hanseat En sosialhistorisk analyse av forholdet mellom den lokale kongemakt og Det hanseatiske Kontor i Bergen. 1450-1560

Abstract

This thesis has been an attempt to examine the social relationship between the king’s local representative, or the district governor, and the Hanseatic Kontor in Bergen, throughout the late medieval period and in the first decades after the Reformation. I have also, in addition to this, taken a closer look at the influence that the Hanseatic Kontor had over the district governor, and how the same merchants influenced his duties in that regard. The first part of this thesis will include an introduction and a description of the two main parts of this relationship. The second part will then discuss the research problems that is relevant for the main theme. In connection with the theme there is two main research questions. The first question has been as follows: What influenced the social relationship and how did it evolve. It is concluded that the social relationship between the district governor and the Hanseatic merchants was influenced by political and economic factors, and that this relationship improves over this period. The second research question has been: How did the Hanseatic Kontor’s presence in Bergen affect the organization and responsibilities for the district governor? In this case I have found out that the Hanseatic merchant influenced their counterpart to a certain extent. Especially in their encounters with the other citizens of Bergen.