Hanseatic cogs, Luebeck. circa 1350

Watercolor 14" x 21"



Towards the end of the twelfth century, north German merchants began to join together for mutual protection. These trading alliances, called “Hanse”, grew to include at least sixty cities plus more than 100 affiliated towns, and dominated trade in north-western Europe for the next four centuries. Known as the “Hanseatic League”, it was a loose but effective alliance that negotiated trading privileges, regulated prices, collected tariffs, maintained primitive navigational aids and provided protection for its members. The trading centers became wealthy with ever increasing trade in furs, lumber, cloth, grain, honey, salt, herring and cod.

Central to the success of the Hanseatic League was the cog. Although the Norse had elegant and seaworthy vessels, they had too small a carrying capacity to satisfy the ambitious Hanseatic merchants. What emerged to fill this need was the cog, a simple, rugged, double ended, clinker built ship with a single mast amidships and setting a single square sail on a yard.