The Torgovaja, or merchant trader's district, stood on the northwest side of the Volokov and continued across the bridge to a central market place on the southeast of the river, connecting it to the Detinets. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the market consisted mainly of stalls but further into time and commercial activity and onto the 12th century, the market had developed to the extent that there were forty two rows of covered booths trading in fish, silverware, leathergoods, religious icons, bread, cloth and weapons. These banks of booths met the river where a long line of quays with river boats, barges and sea-going ships stood as far as the eye could see.
'The streets of Holmgardr were always crowded. Merchants who had been to many countries claimed they had never seen Holmgardr's equal, except perhaps in Miklagard (sometimes called Tsargrad), as Constantinople was then known in Russia. The towns in Germany they said, could not match Holmgardr for size. It was a very big, well-built town, with many handsome buildings. It was easily seen that the residents of Holmgardr were good householders who liked order. The main thoroughfares as well as the side streets were overlaid with wide planks; the ditches were well-swept and clean, plumbing was popular and was made from hollow tree trunks; garbage was collected and disposed of at regular intervals, while sunk into the ground near every house stood a barrel full of water – to be used in the event of fire.'
In the 13th century, the city joined Hanseatic League. The residents of the 'new city' of Holmgardr traded briskly with what was then known as the Hanse, an alliance of German towns ruled by the city state of Luebeck. In the Torgovaya, the traders of the German Courtyard enjoyed special privileges, as did those of the 'Gutaborg,' the traders courtyard which belonged to inhabitants of Gotland Island and the powerful Swedish merchant traders of the city of Visby.
Holmgardr's top export items were wood, amber and furs and pelts from northern and central Rus. These furs were in high demand on the European markets, to be used to make warm clothing and as various garment decoration. The Swedes favoured bear skin; Germans in particular liked squirrel pelts. These valuable furs, those of sable, marten, ermine and mink, were exported in great numbers. The Germans of the Hanse League of trading nations set up trading privileges and treaties with all the kingdoms of the Baltic and had a virtual monopoly on the salt trade. Salt was brought from Lüneburg to the Holmgardr and returning ships carried fish, oxen, grains, furs, silver and amber. Traders, agents and contacts through Norway supplied Holmgardr with narwhal tusks, furs and stockfish to the Germans, as well as local goods. Housewives traded with the Flemish for Scarlett of the finest quality and with the English for broadcloth and wool with Scarlett being the more desirable. Scarlett was a fine and expensive woollen cloth common in Dark Ages and Medieval Holmgardr. The name derives from the Latin 'scarlata,' and that again from the Persian 'saqirlat.' The weaving technique had its origin in central Asia with Scarlett's elasticity coming from the way the yarn was first curled, then twisted. Because of this property, it was often used for hose. The variety of textiles on display in Holmgardr ranged all the way from Flemish and Danish broadcloth to Venetian velvets and Persian silks.
Metal ores (principally copper and iron) and herring came southwards from Sweden and Norway. Holmgardr's second most important export was wax. Into the Christian era, the Orthodox and Catholic churches consumed great amounts of wax. It was exclusively through Holmgardr that the Rus principalities traded in beeswax and tallow in Europe. Hemp wicks were made from the pith of rushes, factories employing hundreds of workers to strip the pithy tissue from inside the stem of the local grass marshes. Trade was very brisk. Counters in the stores of the northern merchants were piled high with furs and walrus tasks. Staid Persians and Armenians would finger mink, ermine, beaver, fox and rabbit furs, while German buyers bargained over blocks of perfumed wax and clerks called out... "Green beads from Hormuz! Swords from Baghdad! Gold from Florence!" Next to the tradesmen’s stores stood the counters of Holmgardrian artisans. Noblemen and merchants milled around the smithy while their wives waited patiently for their rings, bowls or ornaments to go with their furs.' Leather goods were always in high demand. Shoes, boots and pouches were traded, belts always in demand. The Varangian Rus wore extreemly long leather belts tipped with silver buckles; the longer the belt, the more wealth one had on display. In later times, the Russian 'boyars' (noblemen) displayed this same indication of wealth by the long length of their coat sleeves.
Specialized workers in wood produced the intricate carved furniture of the area along with delicate bowls, superbly crafted painted boxes, icons, picture frames, bowls and toys. Wise women told fortunes. Spice dealers bargained for the rarest commodities and flavourings; herbalists touted their wares and cures. Stalls selling poppyseed were common as were those with wild dill and corriander; mustard grew wild in the area, as did fennel. Watercress and dealers in horseradish were common. Other spices sellers shouted for people to come and trade for lovage, parsley, mint, thyme, marjoram, wild caraway, juniper berries and garlic. By the mid 12th century, housewives in Holmgardr had access to Serkland (Arab) cumin, Indian pepper, saffron, ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, anise, mace, cinnamon and bay leaves. Rabbit and hare were common and the Holmgardrian resident sat down to meals of wild boar, fish and game. The housewife could rely on finding market booths selling deer, elk and wood pigeon. She could find hazlenuts from Scandinavia and perhaps inquire if the seller had any 'Königswalnuß' (walnuts) on offer. If not, she would take chestnuts from England. She would have had access to
beef, mutton, lamb, goat and chicken, geese, and ducks both for eggs and meat. Raspberries were sold or traded as were, elderberries, hawthorn berries, cloudberries, strawberries, crabapple and rowan berries. White carrots were on offer, the orange variety not having been developed at that stage in history. Parsnips were eaten as were turnips, celery, spinach, wild celery, cabbage, radishes, lentils and peas. Beets were available along with angelica, mushrooms, leeks and onions. Milk was not the drink we know today but rather used for churning butter, making buttermilk, shyr, whey, curds, and heavily salted cheese. Millet and buckwheat would have been on the grocery list, as would have been barley.
One of the most popular areas of the market were the slave pens. The slaves were called 'thralls' (Old Norse: Þræll). These thralls were mostly from Western Europe, among them many Franks, Anglo-Saxons, and Celts. There is evidence of German, Baltic, Slavic and south European slaves as well as slaves from Byzantium. The slave-trade was one of the pillars of Holmgardr commerce during the 8th, through to the 11th centuries with the Varangian carrying vast numbers of slaves to Miklagard and in turn Arab traders travelling to the Holmgardr slave market on the return journeys.
From the 11th to 14th centuries, it was these merchant companies that pursued Holmgardr's foreign policy. These associations were centred around a patronizing Orthodox church. The biggest and most influential trade association was the “Ivanovo Merchantry” at St. John the Precursor’s church “na Opokakh”. The association brought together well-off merchants trading in wax and other wares with West European countries. Only those who could pay a heavy entrance fee of 50 silver ingots with a total weight of more than 10 kilos were granted membership. Holmgardr's churches were extremely important in trading since they were the only stone structures of the time and it was deemed church cellars were the best place to keep wares and accounting books in. It was merchants, noblemen and the clergy who engaged in trade in a city that was permeated with the spirit of free enterprise.
Return to the Holmgardr Entrance.
Visit the district of Sofijskaja storona.
Return to Germania's Varangian Way.
The Articles of Torgovaja storona:
Write an article for Torgovaja storona...
The Discussions of Torgovaja storona:
|
