So, how is my “research” going?
The answer is “perhaps” - new sources are going into my stash (Obsidian), information piles on, BUT, the goal remains elusive.
The goal remains, spent my retirement time cycling with my camera to places where trading goods of medieval Cologne had been produced, traded or used.
After the “success” of looking at Rhenish Stoneware I thought that medieaval harnesses might be a good next topic.
Oh my.
Getting the internet to even acknowledge an armour making industry in medieval Cologne was tricky. Mainly because the internet focuses on the flashy princely armour made in places like Augsburg and Nürnberg and ignores the workman like stuff, provided to troops in the 30 and 80 year wars.
Also the scholarly reception of armour and of specific guilds and trades seems to be sketchy. Here I’m open (desperate) for correction.
What we know:
- There is a guild of armour makers (Sarwörter)
- They are the naming guild of the Sarwörter Gaffel, one of 22, which are important parts of the constitutional reforms of 1396 in Cologne. A Gaffel sent elected representatives to the City Council, was responsible for the defence of a section of the city wall, …
- Cologne traded armour
- in the City
- in the Rhine and Maas Region
- south, down the Rhine into France, Switzerland, …
- north, up the Rhine into France, Netherlands, England, Skaninavia and the Baltics
- etc.
But all that is not really cyclable or photographable
Thankfully @bookandswordblog@scholar.social helped with some sources, of which
- Pierre Terjanian, “The Armourers of Cologne: Organization and Export Markets of a Foremost European Armour-making Center (1391-1660),”
- Hermann Kellenbenz und Klara von Eyll eds., Zwei Jahrtausende Kölner Wirtschaft, Band I (Greven Verlag: Köln, 1975)
proved especially helpful.
The “Zwei Jahrtausende …” confirmed what I already knew, but also provided a few hundred suources for my overall “trading goods” search, but also for the harnesses. In the meantime I found a physical copy online for 7 € including shipping, so I’ll never be without it again, even when I get my loaner back to the library.
“The armourers …” went into details and also provided more sources, many of which were downloadable which is kind of ideal for Obsidian ;-)
I’m now more confident, that I can find places to cycle to and photograph.
So, thanks to @bookandswordblog@scholar.social and @mrundkvist@archaeo.social who made the connection
