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Wednesday 12 April 2023 14.00 - 16.00
O-3 MID03 Navigating the Normative and Juridical Framework in the Burgundian and Habsburg Low Countries
E43
Network: Middle Ages Chair: Klaas Van Gelder
Organizer: Tom De Waele Discussants: -
Tom De Waele : “To avoid all further lawsuits and difficulties”: Conflict, Dialogue and Pragmatic Strategies in Seigneuries of Burgundian and Habsburg Flanders
In the late medieval Flemish countryside, lords at the head of a seigneurie possessed judicial and fiscal rights over the inhabitants of their estate. The exploitation and misuse of such power and surplus-extraction by lords and their officers is extensively and deservedly highlighted by historians. The agency of peasants has ... (Show more)
In the late medieval Flemish countryside, lords at the head of a seigneurie possessed judicial and fiscal rights over the inhabitants of their estate. The exploitation and misuse of such power and surplus-extraction by lords and their officers is extensively and deservedly highlighted by historians. The agency of peasants has also been investigated, though mostly from a top-down perspective, by investigating ordinances and/or lawsuits. One of the well-known strategies for Flemish country-dwellers was buying citizenship from neighbouring towns (outburghership or buitenpoorterschap). Not all peasants could afford citizen rights however, nor was it always a watertight status, as the abundance of conflict between lords and citizens shows [Dombrecht, 2014 & Martyn, 2005].
While the focus on (juridical) conflict between lords and peasants is a relevant perspective, it is not the only possible scope for historical research. Not all disputes were settled in court. In addition, the procedure and/or aftermath of court rulings could be the starting point of further dialogue between parties to negotiate more agreeable terms. Furthermore, inhabitants of the late medieval and early modern seigneurie used a wide range of strategies to evade their fiscal obligations. Ironically, we only have knowledge of tax evasion practices when the tax-payer failed such endeavours. Keeping quiet about property transactions for example was, if discovered, three times as expensive as simply paying the due tax. In such cases, the tax was imposed, as well as a fine worth double the owed sum.
The research strategy and paper I propose aims to supplement the current study of seigneurial lordship and seigneurial surplus-extraction, by reconstructing the arsenal of conflict and dialogue options between lords and peasants as much as possible. Explicitly focussing on this subject allows to combine a diverse amount of source material, which are rarely utilized in a complementary fashion. While the perspective of seigneurial lordship is dominant in seigneurial accounts, correspondence and charters, a more bottom-up approach is allowed by studying sources on jurisprudence. Notes of lawyers on cases concerning seigneurial rights can contain extensive studies of the interests of peasants, recording court rulings in favour of the farmer as well [Gransagne, 2015 & Cazals, 2018]. We seem to discern a more and more pragmatic evolution in the use of courts and informal negotiations, whereby lords chose compromise over expensive lawsuits. A lord for example intervened after a dispute between his bailiff and the town brewers, proposing new measures to sell and attribute brewing rights in order to “avoid all further lawsuits and difficulties”.
The results from this research and paper will provide historians with a more complete toolset and perspective to approach their own case studies with a better understanding of the possibility of available sources, as well as the possible relationships and strategies upheld by lords, seigneurial officers as well as the subjects of seigneurial rule. (Show less)

Adam Hall : Closing the Distance: Hanseatic Traders in Holland and at the Great Council, 1525-1545
The premodern world can be typified as one fraught with dangers to commerce: information asymmetry, moral hazard, violence. Yet historians and archaeologists consistently observe vibrant and even long—distance trading networks throughout history. Merchants clearly found ways to mitigate the risks that doing long-distance trade entailed. This paper looks at the ... (Show more)
The premodern world can be typified as one fraught with dangers to commerce: information asymmetry, moral hazard, violence. Yet historians and archaeologists consistently observe vibrant and even long—distance trading networks throughout history. Merchants clearly found ways to mitigate the risks that doing long-distance trade entailed. This paper looks at the theory of ‘social distance’ (simply put, the differences in norms and beliefs) and ‘legal distance’ (differences in legal practices and normative reference frameworks) pioneered in the field of law and economics, and applies it to the involvement of foreign traders and actors, specifically German-Hanseatic and Nordic in legal proceedings at the main two ‘central’ courts for Holland-Zeeland in the sixteenth century, the Council of Holland and the Great Council. In the past, literature accounting for commercial development in the Burgundian-Habsburg Low Countries has argued for the primacy of cities and their legal institutions in promoting an environment conducive to trade. This has since been revised, at least for late medieval Flanders, towards a model of complementarity and consultation between central and urban levels. I study several cases of commercial conflict brought before the highest court of appeal in the Low Countries, the Great Council, against verdicts and judgments from ‘lower’ courts in Holland-Zeeland between 1525 and 1545. This allows us to discern whether concepts such as legal and social distance can help us in understanding the reasons or strategies involved in choosing to litigate or appear at a central court that is not one’s own. The paper finishes by concluding that closing, or attempting to close, these legal and social distances help us understand why foreign merchants were willing to take their case to and appear at courts that were not theirs or their prince’s. (Show less)

Bente Marschall : Extra-territoriality and Legal Pluralism: Wine and Beer Taxation in Late Medieval Maastricht
The medieval city had a legally divided landscape. It consisted of various ecclesiastical, secular and semi-religious bodies. These different bodies (or extra-territorialities) often had their legal framework and territory within the city's boundaries. These enclaves were the cause of conflict, but they could also provide opportunities for different social groups. ... (Show more)
The medieval city had a legally divided landscape. It consisted of various ecclesiastical, secular and semi-religious bodies. These different bodies (or extra-territorialities) often had their legal framework and territory within the city's boundaries. These enclaves were the cause of conflict, but they could also provide opportunities for different social groups. Data show that city dwellers actively used political and legal pluralism to their own advantage, for instance, to try to evade taxes, avoid prosecution or choose the court that best suited their interests. The city of Maastricht, a condominium of the prince-bishop of Liège and the duke of Brabant, and home to two collegiate chapters, is one of the most evident examples.
This paper will deeply analyse the effect of extra-territoriality on medieval societies, showing how Maastricht's citizens could take advantage of the fragmented legal space. For this research, I will analyse their motivations and strategies in one of the day-to-day businesses of the city, the production and consumption of wine and beer. (Show less)

Jurriaan Wink : Diplomacy to Litigate (or not): Urban Diplomatic Assistance in the North-eastern Low Countries for Traders and Shippers with Conflicts Abroad (ca. 1450-1550)
Those involved in trade and shipping goods in the Middle Ages were exposed to various risks. While little could be done to prevent nature’s unforgiving weather, various rules, agreements, and regulations existed to prevent human shaped problems. In theory, this institutional framework would have protected those involved in trade, allowing ... (Show more)
Those involved in trade and shipping goods in the Middle Ages were exposed to various risks. While little could be done to prevent nature’s unforgiving weather, various rules, agreements, and regulations existed to prevent human shaped problems. In theory, this institutional framework would have protected those involved in trade, allowing them to conduct business smoothly and without conflict. In reality, however, conflicts still occurred from time to time, with adverse financial consequences for those involved, especially the victims. Those involved in trade thus had to find a way to resolve their conflicts and seek restitution for losses. Problems could be resolved or dealt with in several ways, including through informal amicable settlements or by litigating in one of the various courts. Besides trying to resolve a conflict alone, sources reveal that those involved in trade frequently sought (diplomatic) assistance of their local (urban) authorities when dealing with conflicts abroad. Why and when did people do this? What kind of assistance was sought? And, what kind of assistance could be expected and provided?
This presentation explores the questions above by focusing on the urban diplomatic assistance that was requested to and provided by urban authorities of the north-eastern Low Countries during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. This is a context that has received relatively little attention. The focus will be specifically on the cities of Utrecht, Kampen, and Zutphen. It will be argued that urban diplomatic assistance could play an important role for traders and shippers who became embroiled in conflicts abroad. The type of diplomatic assistance that was provided and requested depended on the type of conflict. Sometimes, a legal resolution was to be prevented and seen as highly undesirable. Other times, urban authorities pushed for a resolution in court, essentially bolstering the effectiveness of legal institutions abroad. This presentation will therefore also study whether one can see urban diplomatic assistance related to commercial conflicts as an extension of (foreign) legal institutional frameworks. Finally, it will be explored whether there were differences between the type of assistance provided by the cities of Utrecht, Kampen, and Zutphen. (Show less)



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