Albrecht Waldfurster

A 15th Century Hansa Merchant
Albrecht Waldfurster is a merchant burgher from the Free Imperial Hansa city of Köln. He has traveled the Hansa trade routes in sturdy Hansa cogs from Novgorod in the land of the Rus to Danzig in the territory of the Teutonic Order to Lübeck, “Queen of the Hanseatic League,” to Bergen, where the Norwegians put up the great stores of herring and salt cod that feed all through the winter. He has also served as a factor at the Hansa station in the Steelyard in London.



His good lady wife, known in their community as Hannah die Näherin, keeps the house and the household going while he is out on his merchant round.



They now have a most excellent house not far from the Kölner Dom (the Cathedral), built new for them in 1475, in the most modern style. It is five stories tall, with his city offices on the street level and a walled yard with stables, a carriage house, and a kitchen garden next to the cook-house in back; his warehouses are part of the Hansa enclave on the piers at the Rhein. He has retired from the traveling merchant life, but still manages his mercantile activities from his townhouse in Köln and oversees his gasthaus, zum Wilden Mann, not far away, near the Neumarkt.



Gasthaus zum Wilden Mann


The Gasthaus zum Wilden Mann is a virtual inn serving persona-based recreationists interested in the Hanseatic League and the Northern Renaissance. Its conceptual base is Köln in the last quarter of the 15th Century. The group's focus is on mutual education in the arts, crafts, technologies, and culture of the Northern Renaissance, as they relate to the SCA and the Kingdom of Northshield. Participants in the mail list are encouraged to do so in persona (keeping in mind that few, if any, of us are fluent in Middle-High German). This Group is restricted; please tell the Inhaber (list owner) a bit about yourself when you ask to join.

 The Gasthaus zum Wilden Mann is a typical German Gaststätte. It is located in the Hansa Free Imperial City of Köln, between the Universität zu Köln and the Hansa docks on the Rhein. Its situation near the Neumarkt and not far from the Kölner Dom guarantees that it has a dynamic clientele of students, clerics, merchants, and travelers from distant lands, so the conversation is similarly diverse and need never be dull. Topics of debate range from the significance of Gutenberg’s new printing press, to the conceits of the Nürnberger upstart Albrecht Dürer, to the clothing styles sported by the mercenaries known as Landsknechte. During the last weeks of Kölner Karneval, things get rather festive around Zum Wilden Mann, with the last week being a near riot.



 Gasthaus zum Wilden Mann can provide lodging, storage, and messenger service for its patrons. The bill of fare includes Rhenish wines, beer from Köln (Kölsch), Dusseldorf (Altbier), and Bayern (Pils), and regional cheeses, sausages, and breads. (And, for those who might be interested, Köln is well-known for its beer. Kölsch is also the name of the local dialect. This has led to the common joke of Kölsch being the only language one can drink.)

Philosophical Approach


Folk attempting persona development need to understand that modern geo-political boundaries are wildly different from the roughly equivalent boundaries in period.



Albrecht, for instance, is a merchant burgher from the Free Imperial Hansa city of Köln, where he is now (1485) semi-retired from the traveling merchant life, but still manages his mercantile activities from his townhouse in Köln and oversees his gasthaus, zum Wilden Mann, not far away, near the Neumarkt. At this point in time THERE IS NO GERMANY! The over-arching political entity is the Holy Roman Empire, but the mercantile Hanseatic League threads throughout it as a lifeline, from Novgorod to London, via Danzig, Lübeck, and Bergen. He is, quite arguably, familiar with the politics and economy of Burgundy. He is also aware of the progress of the civil war in England, called by some The War of the Roses and fears for his interests in the Steelyard, should Richard be overthrown. Meanwhile the inter-Nicene feuding of the Italian merchant houses is very disturbing.

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<p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">All of this detail (and it is a broad brush description of my explorations) is what it takes to create a deep, textured persona. Not everyone (likely, not many) wants or needs this level of research, but nuanced descriptions help encourage a more involved understanding of personae in the Society.

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Northern Renaissance
The complete woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer (https://www.librarything.com/work/99920/book/35712459)

Hansa
The Germans in England, 1066-1598 (https://www.librarything.com/work/6270816/book/36227906)

The Hansa: History and Culture (https://www.librarything.com/work/776162/book/36090847)

Holy Roman Empire
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Trade and Banking in the Middle Ages
A History of Business in Medieval Europe, 1200-1550 (https://www.librarything.com/work/324624/book/113175758)

Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World (https://www.librarything.com/work/158362/book/113175979)

Power and Profit: The Merchant in Medieval Europe (https://www.librarything.com/work/41144/book/36060652)

Ships and Shipping in Medieval Manuscripts (https://www.librarything.com/work/8504988/book/111130465)

The Structures of Everyday Life: Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century Volume 1 (of 3) (https://www.librarything.com/work/10560611/book/35347072)

Worldly goods : a new history of the Renaissance (https://www.librarything.com/work/59211/book/35752274)

Fictional Inspirations
The Drawing of the Dark (https://www.librarything.com/work/28056/book/47737064)<p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">

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