4. Relations between German merchants and islanders in the North Atlantic

Abstract

Commercial relations between German merchants and islanders were shaped by the specific trading conditions in the North Atlantic and the great distance from the European continent, which complicated communication. In the words of Wendy Childs, the merchants found “a market essentially underdeveloped by current Western European standards, and one with a very harsh climate. It had a low population, and no permanent towns, not even in harbours, although people might congregate there when ships came in”. The remote and wild character of the North Atlantic islands influenced literary adaptations of the situation in the north, which emphasised its inhabitants’ otherness. Examples are the at-times fantastic or exaggerated descriptions by Gories Peerse and Dithmar Blefken of the natural environment of Iceland and the customs of its inhabitants. Before we begin the analysis of the German merchants’ relations with these inhabitants, it is essential to first look at what it took the merchants to get to the North Atlantic.