This essay was originally published in Germ an language: Weissen, Kurt ( 2011) : Safran für Deut schland. Kont inuit ät und Diskont inuit ät m it t elalt erlicher und frühneuzeit licher Warenbeschaffungsst rukt uren. I n: Angelika West erm ann ( Hg.) : Beschaffungs- und Absat zm ärkt e oberdeut scher Firm en im Zeit alt er der Welser und Fugger. Husum : Mat t hiesen, S. 61–78. I n order t o m ake t his t ext accessible t o hist orians who are not proficient in t he Germ an language, it was t ranslat ed int o English using t he soft ware DEEPL. However, only t he original t ext should ever be cit ed. Saffron for Germany Continuity and discontinuity of medieval and early modern commodity procurement structures No ot her spice was used in t he Middle Ages in so m any different areas as saffron, crocus sat ivus. I n t he Germ an- speaking world it is first m ent ioned as caferân in a pharm acopoeia writ t en around 1150, 1 and unt il m odern t im es it was used by doct ors as a sedat ive, t o relieve coughs, as an analgesic and digest ive aid. 2 A second field of applicat ion opened up wit h t he developm ent of m ass product ion of t ext iles, whereby large quant it ies were used in t he dyeing of wool, linen and silk, as t he crocin and crocet in in it s flower scars were suit able as direct dyes wit hout st aining. 3 Many paint ers and writ ers also used it as a colour, as it s t one is very close t o gold. I n cosm et ics it was used as face m ake- up and hair t int . 4 1 Luise Bardenhewer, Der Safranhandel im Mit t elalt er. Dissertat ion, Bonn 1914, p. 9 Walafrid Strabon does not m ent ion saffron in his com prehensive bot anical- pham acological work " Hort olus" in t he 9t h cent ury. See Ant onio Pet ino, Lo zafferano nell'econom ia del Medioevo, in: St udi di econom ia e st at ist ica ( Pubblicazioni della Facolt à di Econom ia e Com m ercio dell' Universit à di Cat ania ser. I , 1) , Cat ania 1950/ 1, pp. 155- 250, here: p. 165. in France it was already used by doct ors in t he 11t h cent ury to relieve stom ach aches. Cf. Pet ino ( as not e 1) , pp. 170- 171. 2 Zu den Anwendungsbereichen des Safrans in der Medizin cf. Pet ino ( as not e. 1) , pp. 167–168; Paola Pierucci, The saffron t rade between Middle Ages and Modern Era in t he district of L'Aquila, in: Journal of com m odit y science 40 ( 2001), pp. 125–164. 3 Pet ino ( as not e 1) , p. 177; Manfred Laut enschlager ( ed.) , Der " Liber illum inist arum " aus Klost er Tegernsee. Edit ion, Überset zung und Kom m ent ar der kunst t echnologischen Rezept e ( Veröffent lichung des I nst it ut s für Kunst t echnik und Konservierung im Germ anischen Nat ionalm useum ; 8) , St ut t gart 2005, p. 721. 4 Pet ino ( as not e 1) , p. 177. 1 But it was also a st im ulat ing drug and aphr odisiac. 5 Finally, cooks loved it , as it m ade coloured and spiced food and drinks very pleasing t o t he eye and palat e of t he people of t he lat e Middle Ages. The wide panoram a of fields of applicat ion led t o a great dem and, which was m at ched only by a lim it ed supply, as t he effort involved in harvest ing and processing was very high. The covet ed fabric is only cont ained in t he t hree grain legs, so t hat t hese have t o be plucked and dried by hand im m ediat ely aft er harvest ing wit h great effort . Approxim at ely 10 t o 30 kg of saffron can be obt ained from one hect are of cult ivat ed land, whereby at least 120,000 flowers m ust be harvest ed for each kilogram . 6 An experienced picker can m anage a m axim um of 80 gram s per day. This great input of soil and labour result ed in t he high price of saffron, which could be several t im es t he price of pepper. 7 A pound of saffron is said t o have cost m ore t han a horse. 8 Saffron had a special st at us in t he Middle Ages because of it s value, which is expressed in t he com parat ively sm all quant it y sold and t he fact t hat m any cust om s regulat ions had a special t ariff for it . 9 No ot her spice was so oft en det eriorat ed or even com plet ely falsified by t he addit ion of ot her subst ances, so t hat considerable effort had t o be put int o qualit y cont rol. 10 I t is t herefore not surprising t hat in m any places, especially in t he sout h of t he em pire, t he Kräm erzunft is also called t he Safranzunft , as is t he case in Basel, Zurich and Lucerne. I n great cont radict ion t o t he im port ance of t he saffron t rade in Germ any in t he lat e Middle Ages and early m odern period is t he lim it ed im port ance t hat has been accorded t o it in hist orical scholarship up t o now, because here t he spices im port ed from t he Orient obviously fascinat ed far m ore. For t he Germ anspeaking world, Luise Bardenhewer's dissert at ion from 1914 is st ill t he only 5 Wolfgang von St rom er, Oberdeut sche Unt ernehm en im Handel m it der I berischen Halbinsel im 14. und 15. Jahrhundert , in: Herm ann Kellenbenz ( ed.) , Frem de Kaufleut e auf der I berischen Halbinsel ( Kölner Kolloquien zur int ernat ionalen Sozial- und Wirt schaft sgeschicht e; 1) , Cologne 1970, pp. 156- 175, here: p. 157. 6 Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , p. 8. 7 Pet ino ( as not e 1) , p. 175. 8 Theodor Gust av Werner, Die Repräsent ant en der Augsburger Fugger und Nürnberger I m hoff als Urheber der wicht igst en Handschrift en des Paum gart ner- Archivs über Welt handelsbräuche im Spät m it t elalt er und am Beginn der Neuzeit , in: Viert elj ahrschrift für Sozial- und Wirt schaft sgeschicht e 52 ( 1965) , pp. 1- 41. 9 Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , p. 63. 10 Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , p. 64. 2 represent at ion wit h a m ore com prehensive claim . 11 She based her work on t ranscript ions of docum ent s from t he Great Ravensburg Societ y, which were m ade available t o her by her t eacher Aloys Schult e. As she did not carry out any ot her archival research of her own, t he im port ance of t his com m ercial com pany is overem phasized, especially on t he I t alian m arket . This one- sidedness of perspect ive was furt her reinforced when Schult e published t he result s of his Ravensburg research in t hree volum es in 1923. 12 Aft er all, he was now able t o give L'Aquila considerably m ore space t han in his Hist ory of Medieval Trade, published in 1900, where he allowed him a full t welve lines. 13 While t here is not a single individual st udy of t he Germ ans' involvem ent in t he I t alian saffron m arket s, for Spain t here are essays by Am m ann, Kellenbenz, St rom er, Jaspert and m ost recent ly Rot hm ann. 14 I m port ant cont em porary inform at ion on t he saffron t rade was m ade accessible t hrough t he World Trade Cust om s published by Müller, which were writ t en in t he 16t h cent ury by servant s of t he Paum gart ners, Welser and I m hoff. 15 Ot her edit ions of sources include t he Germ an cust om s books of Barcelona 16 and t he not arial act s of Seville and Cadiz 17 . All furt her fact s have t o be gat hered from individual represent at ions of Germ an t rading com panies. I n parallel wit h Germ an research, t hat of t he m aj or export ing count ries also dealt wit h t he saffron t rade. I n Spain, however, I could not find a single st udy on 11 Bardenhewer ( as in not e 1) . 12 Aloys Schult e, Geschicht e der großen Ravensburger Handelsgesellschaft 1380-1530, ( Deut sche Handelsakt en des Mit t elalt ers und der Neuzeit ; 3) , St ut t gart 1923. 13 Aloys Schult e, Geschicht e des m it t elalt erlichen Handels und Verkehrs zwischen West deut schland und I t alien m it Ausschluss von Venedig, Leipzig 1900, pp. 599- 600. 14 Hect or Am m ann, Deut sch- spanische Wirt schaft sbeziehungen bis zum Ende des 15. Jahrhundert s, in: Herm ann Kellenbenz ( Ed.) , Frem de Kaufleut e auf der I berischen Halbinsel ( Kölner Kolloquien zur int ernat ionalen Sozial- und Wirt schaft sgeschicht e; 1) , Cologne 1970, pp. 132- 155. Herm ann Kellenbenz, Nürnberger Safranhändler in Spanien, in: Herm ann Kellenbenz ( eds.) , Frem de Kaufleut e auf der I berischen Halbinsel ( Kölner Kolloquien zur int ernat ionalen Sozial- und Wirt schaft sgeschicht e; 1) , Cologne 1970, pp. 197- 225; von St rom er ( as not e 5) ; Nikolas Jaspert , Ein Leben in der Frem de. Deut sche Handwerker und Kaufleut e im Barcelona des 15. Jahrhundert s, in: Franz J. Felt en, St ephanie I rrgang, Kurt Wesoly ( eds.) , Ein gefüllt er Willkom m . Fest schrift für Knut Schulz zum 65. Geburt st ag, Aachen 2002, pp. 435-462; Michael Rot hm ann, Märkt e und Messen als wirt schaft liche und kult urelle Begegnungsst ät t en, in: Klaus Herbers ( ed.) , " Das kom m t m ir spanisch vor" . Eigenes und Frem des in den deut sch- spanischen Beziehungen des spät en Mit t elalt ers ( Geschicht e und Kult ur der iberischen Welt ; 1) , Münst er 2004, pp. 607- 630. 15 Karl Ot t o Müller, Welt handelsbräuche ( 1480- 1540) , ( Deut sche Handelsakt en des Mit t elalt ers und der Neuzeit ; 5) , St ut t gart 1934. Werner ( see not e 8) . 16 Konrad Haebler, Das Zollbuch der Deut schen in Barcelona (1425-1440) und der deut sche Handel m it Kat alonien bis zum Ausgang des 16. Jahrhundert s, in: Würt t em bergische Viert elj ahrsheft e für Landesgeschicht e, NF 10 ( 1901) , pp. 111- 160, 331-363. Konrad Haebler, Das Zollbuch der Deut schen in Barcelona ( 1425- 1440) und der deut sche Handel m it Kat alonien bis zum Ausgang des 16. Jahrhundert s, in: Würt t em bergische Viert elj ahrsheft e für Landesgeschicht e, NF 11 ( 1902) , pp. 1- 35; 352-417. 17 Herm ann Kellenbenz, Rolf Walt er ( ed.) , Oberdeut sche Kaufleut e in Sevilla und Cadiz. Eine Edit ion von Not ariat sakt en aus den dort igen Archiven, St ut t gart 2001. 3 Germ an buyers in Barcelona or Zaragoza; 18 in I t aly t he research sit uat ion is som ewhat bet t er. Here, Mussoni already in 1906 wrot e an overall represent at ion of t he m arket in t he Abruzzo cit y of L'Aquila, t he Germ an eagle. 19 I n 1951 Pet ino wrot e an overview of t he im port ance of saffron in t he m edieval econom y, which was based on Bardenhewer, Schult e, Müller and Mussoni, wit hout opening up new source m at erial. 20 However, neit her Mussoni nor Pet ino were t aken not e of in Germ any, so t hat t heir work and t hat of a num ber of younger hist orians on t he econom y in Abruzzo and sout hern I t aly had no im pact on Germ an hist oriography. 21 Of course, what is m issed cannot be m ade up for in a short essay. For t his reason, t his art icle only at t em pt s t o show t he developm ent of t he basic st ruct ures of t he Germ an saffron t rade in t he 15t h and 16t h cent uries and, above all, finally t o review t he I t alian lit erat ure w it h reference t o t he Germ an saffron 18 We are m ore int erest ed in t he Spanish hist ory of t he Germ an cit ies of Valencia and Seville. e.g. Herm ann Josef Hüffer, Las relaciones hispanogerm anas durant e m il doscient os años ( un resúm en) , in: Revist a de Est udios Polit icos 56 ( 1951) , p. 43- 75; Juan Manuel Bello León, Mercaderes ext ranj eros en Sevilla en t iem pos de los Reyes Cat ólicos, in: Hist oria, inst it uciones, docum ent os 20 ( 1993) , pp. 47-84.; Enrique Ot t e, Ant onio Miguel Bernal, Sevilla y sus m ercaderes a fines de la Edad Media, Sevilla 1996; José Ram ón Hinoj osa Mont alvo, Mercaderes alem anes en la Valencia del siglo XV. La " Gran Com pañía" de Ravensburg, in: Anuario de est udios m edievales 17 ( 1987) , pp. 455-468.; Enrique Cruselles Góm ez, Los m ercaderes de Valencia en la edad m edia (1380 - 1450) , ( Colección Hispania; 13) , Lleida 2001.; Máxim o Diago Hernando, Los m ercaderes alem anes en los Reinos Hispanos durant e los siglos baj om edievales. Act ivit y of t he great Com panies in t he Crown of Aragon, in: Julio Valdeón ( Hg.) , Spain and t he "Sacro I m perio" . Processes of changes, influences and reciprocal act ions in t he t im e of " Europeanizat ion" ( 11t h - 13t h cent uries) . [ Conference Spain and t he Holy Em pire: Exchanges, I nfluences and Reciprocal Act ions in the Age of Europeanizat ion (11t h- 13t h cent uries, during t he 13t h, 14t h and 15t h of Oct ober 1999 in Valladolid) ( Hist oria y sociedad; 97) , Valladolid 2002, pp. 299-328. I n Germ any, t he I t alians were fight ing against t he use of cont racept ives in Saragossa. Vgl. María Teresa Sauco Alvarez, Susana Lozano Gracia, Germ án Navarro Espinach, I t aliano en Zaragoza ( siglos XV- XVI ) , in: Hist oria, inst it uciones, docum ent os 30 ( 2003) , pp. 301- 398.; María Teresa Sauco Alvarez, Susana Lozano Gracia, Mercaderes florent inos en la Zaragoza del siglo XV, in: Aragón en la Edad Media 17 ( 2003) , pp. 213- 262. 19 Giuseppe Mussoni, I l com m ercio dello zafferano nell'Aquila nel '500/ '700 e gli st at ut i che lo regolavano, L'Aquila 1906. 20 Pet ino ( see not e 1) . 21 Alessandro Clem ent i, La produzione ed il com m ercio dello saffano nel cont est o della fiorit ura m ercant ile del basso Medioevo all'Aquila, in: Rivist a di Storia dell'Agricolt ura 34 (1994) , pp. 15- 34.; Raffaele Colapiet ra, I l com m ercio dello zafferano in area of L'Aquila bet ween XI V and XVI I cent ury, in: Proposte e ricerche 28 ( 1992) , pp. 111- 117.; Em anuela Di St efano, Produzione e com m ercio dello zafferano m archigiano nel basso Medioevo, in: Propost e e ricerche 59 ( 2007) , PP. 126- 141.; P Gasparinet t i, La " Via degli Abruzzi" e l'at t ivit à com m erciale di Aquila e Sulm ona nei secoli XI I I - XV, in: Bullet in of t he Deput azione Abruzzese di St oria Pat ria 54-56 ( 1964-1966) , PP. 5-103; Orazio Olivieri, Lo zafferano di San Gim ignano, Rom e 2007; Pierucci ( wie Anm . 2) . Zu beacht en ist auch Alfonso Leone ( Hg.) , I l giornale del banco St rozzi di Napoli ( 1473) ( Font i e docum ent i per la st oria del Mezzogiorno d'I t alia; 7) , Napoli 1981, who on p. 570 m ent ions a num ber of Germ an m erchant s in t he Kingdom of Naples, however wit hout cit ing t he source: Enrico Brunellini, Giorgio Besset ( Georg Besserer) in Sulm ona, Arrigo Dax, Bulfardo Cam erer. Cf. Banco St rozzi ( 1981) , p. 570, unfort unat ely wit hout indicat ion of sources. - St rangely enough, Mario del Treppo, in his work on Foreign Merchant s in t he Kingdom of Naples, is silent about a Germ an presence: Mario Del Treppo, St ranieri nel regno di Napoli. Le élit es finanziarie e la st rut turazione dello spazio econom ico e polit ico, in: Gabriella Rosset t i ( Hg.) , I nside t he cit y. St ranieri e realt à urbane nell'Europa dei secoli XI I - XVI ( Europa m edit erranea. Quaderni; 2) , Napoli 1989, pp. 179- 233. 4 t rade in Abruzzo and sout hern I t aly. The following explanat ions will t herefore focus m ore on l'Aquila t han on Zaragoza. 22 Trade in the markets on the periphery of the German economic area The Florent ine Buonaccorso Pit t i report s in his Cronica t hat in 1376 he accom panied a friend t o Buda who was able t o sell saffron bought t here in Venice at a profit of 100% 23 . Despit e t his rem arkable profit m argin, t he saffron consum ed in Germ any was only im port ed t o a sm all ext ent by m erchant s from t he count ry of product ion and was offered for sale at t rade fairs in Frankfurt . The rom anici and t he germ anici m et far m ore frequent ly at t he large int ernat ional fairs and m arket s on t he borders of t he em pire. Saffron was already being offered at t he cham pagne fairs in t he 13t h cent ury by com panies from Tuscany and t heir cust om ers cert ainly included Ger m ans. 24 Far great er sales of saffron were m ade in Venice from t he 14t h cent ury onwards, 25 t hrough t his m arket im port ant shares of t he saffron harvest s in Tuscany, Abruzzo, Puglia, Lom bardy and Marche cam e t o Germ any, but also in sm aller quant it ies in sout hern France and Spain. Venice held a clear suprem acy for t he im port of t his spice across t he Alps. But also on t he ot her big int ernat ional t rading places Bruges, Barcelona, Genoa and Casalm aggiore in Lom bardy, lat er also Geneva and Lyon Germ ans appeared t o buy saffron. The spice was brought t o t hese m arket s and fairs by m iddlem en who had purchased it in t he pr oduct ion area and sold it in sm all sales unit s t o t he m erchant s who had arrived from Germ any. Many of t hese shops can be found in 22 Unfort unat ely, it was not possible for t his art icle t o present t he first result s of research in t he St at e Archives of L'Aquila, because t he eart hquake of 6 April 2009 m ade a st ay in t he Abruzzo cit y im possible. Should t his t ake place in t he hopefully not t oo dist ant fut ure and could be supplem ent ed by work in t he archives of Zaragoza, perhaps it will finally be possible t o present a hist ory of t he saffron t rade t hat does j ust ice t o t he hist orical im portance of t his business. A descript ion of t he archival holdings on t he saffron t rade in L'Aquila cont ains indicat ions t hat research int o Germ an saffron traders could well be profit able. See Vincenzina Celli, Giovanna Lippi, Repert orio di font i archivist iche aquilane relat ive alla produzione e al com m ercio dello zafferano, in: Paola Carucci ( eds.) , Gli archivi per la st oria dell'alim ent azione. At t i del convegno. Pot enza - Mat era, 5- 8 set t em bre 1988] ( Pubblicazioni degli archivi di st at o. Saggi; 34) , Rom a 1995, pp. 894- 926; furt her references are provided by Maria Rit a Berardi, I m ont i d'oro. I dent it à urbana e conflit t i t errit oriali nella st oria dell'Aquila m edievale, ( Mezzogiorno m edievale e m oderno; 5) . 1. ed. it aliana, Napoli 2005, pp. 175- 176, where she list s a num ber of not arial act s in which Germ ans appear. The ext ent and qualit y of t he inform at ion t o be expect ed in the archives of Zaragoza is shown in an essay by Spanish hist orians who have searched for evidence relat ing t o I t alian m erchant s in t he not arial files. See Sauco Alvarez, Lozano Gracia, Navarro Espinach ( see not e 18) ; Sauco Alvarez, Lozano Gracia ( see not e 18) . 23 Buonacorso Pit t i, Cronica, Bologna 1905, p. 38. 24 Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , p. 14. 25 The first evidence of t he purchase of saffron by a Germ an in Venice dat es back t o 1301, see Pet ino ( as not e 1) , p. 186. 5 t he libri m ast ri of Ant onio della Casa and Ruggiero Guadagni in Geneva. I n a few cases from 1460 t o 1464, t he whole j ourney from L'Aquila t o Geneva can even be t raced, since t he Florent ines had sold t he saffron on com m ission from t heir com pat riot Tom aso di Luigi Ridolfi, who in t urn had bought it in L'Aquila and Pisa from Florent ines living t here. Since Ridolfi want ed t o be inform ed in det ail by della Casa about t he success of t he sale, he was also inform ed about t he buyers. The biggest buyer can be ident ified as Hans Ort olf from Nurem berg, who is called Ans Art olfo in t he I t alian t ext ; in Fris Cres Frit z Kress can also easily be ident ified, but who Piero Rodet and Sam Pot iet were, has yet t o be unravelled. 26 Direct trade in the production zone Before t he Germ ans were able t o bring t he spice t o t heir hom eland, t hree Florent ine m iddlem en had already earned m oney from it . This process m ade t he goods considerably m ore expensive and slowed down t he business considerably. I t m ust t herefore have seem ed profit able for sm all t rading com panies t o look for ways t o buy direct ly in t he growing areas and t o elim inat e t he m iddlem en. Wit h t he hope of m aking a large profit , Nurem berg, Basel, Augsburg and m erchant s from m any ot her large cit ies t ravelled t o sout hern France, Saragossa, L'Aquila or Apulia. Som et im es t hey only cam e for a few weeks when t he new saffron cam e ont o t he m arket in Novem ber; som e of t hem also set t led for longer periods of t im e in t he dist ance. Two different form s of organisat ion are t o be dist inguished am ong t hese Germ ans seeking direct t rade. Merchant s wit h a sm all invest m ent capit al and few shareholders lim it ed t hem selves t o act ivit ies in a single cit y or region; t hey were t hus act ive in eit her Zaragoza or L'Aquila. I n Saragossa, t his t ype of t rading com pany includes t he Möt t eli and Ankenreut e, which were 27 split off from t he Ravensburg com pany in 1479, or t he Weyer from Augsburg in 1555. 28 The first Germ ans who appeared in L'Aquila short ly around t he m iddle of t he 15t h cent ury probably also belonged t o t his group of m erchant s specialized in one place. 29 26 Pierucci ( see not e 2) , pp. 134- 135; see ASFi, Cart e St rozziane, Series V, No 1746, c. 134r, 135r, 142v and 146v. 27 Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , p. 42. 28 Mark Häberlein, Brüder, Freunde und Bet rüger. Soziale Beziehungen, Norm en und Konflikt e in der Augsburger Kaufm annschaft um die Mit t e des 16. Jahrhundert s, ( Colloquia August ana; 9) , Berlin 1998, p. 90. 29 Mussoni ( as not e 19) , p. 16, gives t he year 1455 as t he cut - off dat e for t he appearance of t he first Germ ans. However, t his is hardly likely to be correct if a 30- year-old society bet ween Nurem berg and 6 Saffroneros I n addit ion t o t he shops in Bruges and Venice, t he Grosse Ravensburger Gesellschaft also lim it ed it s saffron t rade at t he beginning of t he 15t h cent ury t o direct purchases in Spain. I t is not clear from when on it relied on a perm anent represent at ion of it s own. At least during t he m ost im port ant t rading weeks, however, a Germ an represent at ive of t he com pany seem s t o have been present in Cat alonia. 30 I n Saragossa, t he Ravensburger can be found from 1430, where t hey m aint ained a fact orei unt il 1526. 31 But t his concent rat ion on an im port ant m arket was forced by t hem , when in t he year 1461, a civil war br oke out in Cat alonia, under which t he saffron product ion suffered a high degree. 32 I n t he years 1468, 1472, 1473 and 1477- 1480, t here were no saffron export s from Barcelona. 33 Under t his pressure, t he Ravensburgers decided t o cover t heir dem and for saffron for t he Germ an m arket direct ly in L'Aquila, where, from 1478, t heir represent at ive Thom as im St einhaus is docum ent ed as a buyer of large quant it ies of saffron 34 . The branch in Venice t hus lost it s im port ance and was gradually abandoned com plet ely. 35 This decision by t he Ravensburgers reveals t wo im port ant developm ent s: 1) Venice had lost it s dom inant posit ion in t he t rade of I t alian saffron in favour of L'Aquila. The Serenissim a t ried in vain t o lim it t he dam age by grant ing a series of financial privileges and by rem oving t rade barriers. As early as 1479 it allowed t he m erchant s t o t ransit saffron bought in t he sout h in exchange for a cust om s dut y, t hus abandoning t he cent uries- old principle of Venet ian t rade policy, according t o which any goods im port ed int o Venice had t o change hands here. 36 2) I t s presence on all t he m ain European saffron m arket s had creat ed a new t ype of m arket player, which was soon followed by ot her com panies. This m ove t o I t aly had opened up new st rat egic opt ions for t he Ravensburg- based com pany. From t hen on, t hey were no longer dependent on t he Spanish m arket , but were Aquilanians was dissolved in 1471. Cf. Schult e ( as not e 13) , I , p. 599; Celli, Lippi ( as not e 22) , pp. 896897. 30 Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , pp. 33-34. 31 Schult e ( see not e 12) , I , p. 316; Schult e ( see not e 12) , I , p. 334. 32 Schult e ( as not e 12) , I , p. 329. 33 Pierucci ( see not e 2) , p. 128. 34 Pet ino ( as not e 1) , pp. 199- 200. 35 Schult e ( as not e 12) , I , p. 238. 36 Pet ino ( as not e 1) , pp. 187- 188. 7 able t o t ake advant age of different crop yields and price developm ent s in widely differing cult ivat ion zones for speculat ive purposes. A prerequisit e for t he speculat ive success was t he ext rem ely efficient news syst em t hrough which inform at ion about crop prospect s, price fluct uat ions and t he behaviour of t he com pet it ion could be exchanged. 37 As quickly as possible, t he com pany replanned and decided on t he qualit ies and quant it ies t o be purchased on t he respect ive m arket s based on inform at ion about im port ant developm ent s. 38 I f speculat ion on an expect ed price at one locat ion failed t o m at erialise, it was now possible t o m inim ise t he loss t hrough an offset t ing t ransact ion at t he ot her locat ion or even t o convert it int o a profit . Speculat ive t ransact ions were also m ade on fut ure harvest s. I n L'Aquila, for exam ple, sales cont ract s were concluded wit h producers when t he harvest had not yet been brought in. The farm er received a credit in t he am ount of t he agreed purchase sum and t hen had t o deliver t he ordered goods on t he due dat e under t hese condit ions. I n principle, t herefore, not hing m ore t han a com m odit y fut ures t ransact ion. However, t he Aquilan aut horit ies cancelled such agreem ent s when t hey learned of t hem and qualified t hem as " grandissim o peccat o". 39 The Vöhlin- Welser were t he first t o set up a net work of branches on all t he im port ant saffron m arket s in Europe, following t he exam ple of t he Ravensburgers. I n 1461 Lucas Welser was am ong t he Germ an cust om ers who bought saffron from t he della Casa saffron fact ory in L'Aquila in Geneva. I n 1478, five bales of saffron w ere t em porarily t aken from him in Bologna, which had been bought safely in L'Aquila. Let t ers writ t en bet ween 1481 and 1482 show an experienced saffron m erchant who bought t he spice in Casalm aggiore, L'Aquila and Puglia 40 . Cert ainly connect ed wit h t he saffron m arket s in L'Aquila and Puglia was t he bill of exchange t hat t he St rozzi bank in Naples paid t o t he welserdiener Heinrich Dachs in 1487. 41 For m any years t he Welsers were t he m ost im port ant 37 Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , p. 47: 'Lorenz Meder advises Germ an m erchant s t o be careful when buying saffron in Puglia t o pay at t ent ion t o t he shops of I m hof and Welser t here, who received daily news from all t he saffron m arket s in Puglia. Also, if you want t o t ake saffron from t here to Venice, you should, if possible, use t he ships t hat carry goods of t he Welsers and I m hof, as t hey are reliable. 38 Kellenbenz ( as not e 14) , p. 200 im pressively describes a disposit ion of t he Welser from t he year 1543. 39 Pet ino ( as not e 1) , pp. 199- 200. 40 Pet er Geffcken, Die Welser und ihr Handel 1246- 1496, in: Mark Häberlein, Johannes Burkhardt ( Ed.) , Die Welser. Neue Forschungen zur Geschicht e und Kult ur des oberdeut schen Handelshauses ( Colloquia August ana; 16) , Berlin 2002, pp. 27-167, here: pp. 135–136. 41 Florence. St at e Archives. St rozziane Papers. Series V. Nr. 46 ( Giornale Philippo Strozzi & Gioachino Guasconi Napoli. 1486- 1487) f. 23r. See Geffcken ( wie Anm . 40) , PP. 134- 135. 8 saffron t rading house in I t aly and, according t o t he cust om s books of L'Aquila, always paid t he largest dut y from 1581 t o 1588. I n 42 addit ion t o t he I t alian branches, t he posit ion in Lyon and Spain was also expanded. From 1503 at t he lat est , t hey were act ive in t he saffron t rade in Zaragoza and probably had t heir own branch t here from 1509. As early as 1515 t hey were also t he m ost im port ant m arket part icipant s here. 43 The sam e pat h from Germ any t o I t aly and t hen t o Spain was followed by t he I m hoff in t he first decades of t he 16t h cent ury. Apart from t he Cat fish, t hey soon becam e t he m ost act ive Germ an com pany in L'Aquila and Bari, where t hey appear in t he books as I ncuria. I n addit ion t o t hese locat ions, t heir business net work also included branches in t he im port ant saffron t rading places of Lyon and, from 1537, in Zaragoza. 44 I m hoff and Welser are said t o have been called Safraneros in Spain at t his t im e. 45 The Tuchers, on t he ot her hand, first developed a st rong t rading posit ion in Geneva and Lyon in t he second half of t he 15t h cent ury, and in 1495 a m em ber of t he Saffron fam ily from Zaragoza export ed for t he first t im e. At 46 about t he sam e t im e as t his expansion int o Spain, t heir first represent at ives appeared in I t aly, where t hey opened a branch in Bari in 1510 and, by 1514 at t he lat est , had t heir first buyer in L'Aquila. 47 As t he only m aj or Germ an t rading houses of t he 15t h and 16t h cent uries, t he Fuggers did not concern t hem selves m uch wit h saffron. Their nam e t herefore appears neit her in Saragossa nor in L'Aquila. I n t he I t alian t rading t own t hey at least had saffron bought t hrough t he com pany of Sebast ian Neit hardt in Augsburg. 48 42 Pierucci ( as not e 2) , p. 150, does not recognise t hat t he Belzeri m ent ioned in t he cust om s books refer to t he Welser, but translat es as Belzer. 43 Konrad Haebler, Die überseeischen Unt ernehm ungen der Welser und ihre Gesellschaft er , Leipzig 1903, pp. 37-38; Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , pp. 45- 47; Häberlein ( as not e 28) , pp. 89- 90; Wolfgang Reinhard, Mark Häberlein ( eds.) , Augsburger Elit en des 16. Jahrhundert s. Prosopographie wirt schaft ler und polit ischer Führungsgruppen 1500- 1620, Berlin 1996, p. 935. 44 Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , p. 47. 45 Wer ner ( as not e 8) , p. 28. 46 Johannes Müller, Der Um fang und die Haupt rout en des Nürnberger Handelsgebiet es im Mit t elalt er, in: Viert elj ahrschrift für Social- und Wirt schaft sgeschicht e 6 (1908) , pp. 1- 38; Ludwig Grot e, Die Tucher. Bildnis einer Pat rizierfam ilie, ( Bibliot hek des Germ anischen Nat ionalm useum s Nürnberg; 15/ 16) , Munich 1961, p. 95. 47 Wer ner ( as not e 8) , p. 29. 48 Wer ner ( as not e 8) , p. 29. 9 life abroad The success of a m erchant who want s t o do business in a foreign count ry depends not only on his capit al, but largely on t he skill of his m arket act ion. He had t o overcom e t he language problem , becom e fam iliar wit h local cust om s and build up a net work of part ners wit h whom he could work t oget her. Michael Rot hm ann has published m any im port ant insight s int o t he behaviour of Germ ans in Spain, 49 but very lit t le is known about t heir presence in Aquila, which is why I will focus on t his t rading place in t he following rem arks. There are hardly any t races of Germ an com m unit y life in t he foreign I t alian t own in t he hills of Abruzzo in t he t own's archives. Pierucci also found very few Germ ans in t he account s of t he Florent ine Pasquale di Sant uccio and Mat t eo di Sim one Gondi, who worked as saffron buyers in l'Aquila bet ween 1470 and 1482. Mist akenly, she concluded t hat t he Germ an presence had been great ly overest im at ed. She did not realize t hat t he Germ ans nat urally did not do business wit h Florent ine m iddlem en, which is why t hey had com e t o Abruzzo. Alt hough it is 50 not possible t o draw up precise st at ist ics, t he cust om s books and various individual docum ent s suggest t hat bet ween four and t en Germ an com panies had perm anent branches here. Already in 1462 t he num ber of Germ ans living in Abruzzo for a longer period of t im e m ust have been considerable, because t here is no ot her explanat ion for t he fact t hat Cardinal Agnifili gave t hem a chapel dedicat ed t o Saint Barbara in t he August inian church 51 . Already before 1478 t hey had organized t hem selves in a colony wit h consoli. 52 The battle for market dominance The expense of t ravel, living and t ransport cost s, as well as t he increased risks t o life and lim b, which direct purchasing ent ailed, only m ade sense if t he profit achieved in t his way was significant ly higher t han t he less cost ly form s of t rading. To achieve t his, t he saffron t raders had t o be careful t o obt ain t he best possible condit ions when purchasing t he goods. 49 Rot hm ann ( see not e 14) . 50 Pierucci ( see not e 2) , p. 136. 51 Colapiet ra ( see not e 21) , p. 112. 52 Pet ino ( as not e 1) , pp. 188- 189. 10 A first at t em pt t o gain an advant age t hrough t he concent rat ion of capit al in direct purchase can be seen in t he safari cart el of t he Basler Halbisen- Gesellschaft , which aft er 1420 achieved in Barcelona t hat it was t o be reserved for export t o Frankfurt , Nurem berg and t he ot her t ranshipm ent cent res in Germ any, while Flanders and England were t o be supplied by a Barcelona com pany. 53 I n t his case it was an at t em pt t o elim inat e t he Germ an com pet it ion in order t o be able t o exercise a m onopoly on t he dom est ic m arket s. This approach was unlikely t o have brought any significant advant age for purchasing in Spain. Even in t he 16t h cent ury, purchasing consort ia were form ed several t im es, but t heir effect s on t he local and dom est ic m arket s have not yet been invest igat ed. The " Spanish Saffron Com pany" , a purchasing cart el for saffron of t he Welser, Tucher, I m hoff and Zollikofen from St . Gallen 54 and t he Welser- I m hoff cart el of 1545 should be m ent ioned. 55 The sm aller m erchant s t hen usually had no choice but t o t ake what t he larger ones left t hem or t o t ry t o forest all t hem by skilful act ion. 56 I n I t aly t oo, Germ ans j oined forces for j oint purchasing. A represent at ive of I m hoff from Apulia report s: " I t em anno 1509, [ when] I first saw t he som et hing, a good recholt a of safran was, nam ely 28 in 30, all lined wit h pulsat ing saffron. I bought 15 pawns, but Welser and Grannder also t ailed it and m ade ain pundt nus an eagle. Since 15 pales correspond t o about 7 ½ seam s, t his group had bought about a quart er of t he Apulian annual har vest t his year. 57 This cart el of I m hoff, Welser and Grander got com pet it ion when t he Tucher from Nurem berg, t he Manlich from Augsburg and t he I ngolt from St rasbourg j oined forces in 1514. 58 However, t he Welser- I m hoff cart el was always superior t o it s com pet it ors in t he following decades. Ta ble : Sa ffr on dut y in l'Aqu ila 1 5 4 8 - 1 5 5 1 ( lb.) 59 1548 53 1549 1550 1551 Total Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , pp. 43-44; Johannes Apelbaum , Basler Handelsgesellschaft im fünfzehnt en Jahrhundert . Mit besonderer Berücksicht igung ihrer Form en, ( Beit räge zur schweizerischen Wirt schaft skunde; H. 5) , Basel 1915, pp. 18-26; Schult e ( as not e 12) , I , pp. 322- 324. 54 Kellenbenz ( see not e 17) , p. 30, not e 107. 55 Werner ( see not e 8) , pp. 27-28; Reinhard, Häberlein ( see not e 43) , p. 935. 56 Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , pp. 47-50. 57 Pet ino ( as not e 1) , p. 195. 58 Wer ner ( as not e 8) , pp. 29- 30. 59 Pierucci ( as not e 2) , p. 148 Since Pierucci obviously confused t he figures in t he colum n wit h t he t ot als when com piling her t able, t he correct t able is reprint ed here. The export ers, who were only regist ered wit h t heir first nam e and t he addit ion " Todesco" ( Germ an) , could not be ident ified so far. I t also rem ains unclear who is m eant by Ofriche and Ort ero ( Gart ner?) . The Belzari are cert ainly Welser, t he I ncuria I m hoff, t he Malich Manlich and Rico Reich. 11 Francesco Todisco Bastiano Todisco Cristofano Todisco Bernardo Todisco Narciso Ofriche & Giovanni Ortero Giacomo Belzari Giorgio Belzari Robiano Incuria Andrea Incuria Geronimo Incuria Antonio Malich Ludovico Malich Giorgio Rico 666 882 715 9‘372 519 12‘154 1‘172 1‘695 1‘201 5‘012 1‘481 716 5‘054 3‘126 1‘849 6‘770 2‘890 2‘939 6‘480 2‘240 675 406 19‘639 1‘463 25‘530 1‘550 4‘444 5‘003 3‘138 5‘516 19‘651 6‘184 4‘726 1‘867 882 8‘286 12‘621 9‘908 14‘886 18‘813 675 925 0 1‘463 81‘236 An im pression of t he dim ensions of t he volum e of business can be gained from t he cust om s regist ers, which Pierucci analysed for t he years 1547 t o 1551. During t his period, 81,286 lb. of saffron were purchased by t hirt een Germ an com panies. I f one t akes t he t hree I m hoff com panies t oget her, t hey achieved a share of m ore t han 42 % , t he t wo Welser com panies cam e t o alm ost 28 % , and j ust over 10 % was account ed for by t he part nership of a Narciso Ofriche & Giovanni Ort ero. The rem aining seven com panies were divided int o t he rem aining 20 % . 60 However, t he saffroneros were not cont ent t o be guest s at t he m arket s t o buy as cheaply as possible; t hey want ed t o dom inat e t he business. I n L'Aquila t hey succeeded in gaining t he right of fare la voce as early as t he 15t h cent ury. This was t he privilege of being able t o set each year t he obligat ory pr ice t hat t he farm ers were t o receive. I n doing so, t hey did not always seem t o have t aken sufficient account of t he int erest s of t he peasant s and t he t own, as in 1524 t he Cam erlengo had a m inim um price of 19 carlini. 61 The Germ ans prot est ed successfully against t his rest rict ive m easure t o t he royal capt ain. 62 The st rong dom inance of t he Germ ans in t he saffron m arket s was also at t em pt ed in m onopolies. However, t here was fierce resist ance against t hese m onopolies in t he Em pire and t he Reichst ag's farewell t o Trier- Cologne in 1512 dem anded a t ough act ion by t he I m perial Cham ber Court against " such harm ful 60 Pierucci ( see not e 2) , p. 148. 61 Pet ino ( as not e 1) , pp. 199- 200. 62 Celli, Lippi ( see not e 22) , p. 895. 12 m anipulat ion" , so t hat t he m erchant " was not obliged t o bring t he goods int o one hand and t o put a defence against t he sam e goods according t o his will and liking" . However, when in 1522/ 23 t he I m perial Treasury Caspar Mart h brought charges against I m hoff, Fugger, Grander, Herwart , Höchst et t er, Welser, Rem and t heir associat es and sum m oned t hem t o court , Em peror Charles V personally ensured t hat no proceedings were brought . 63 The saffron t raders t herefore did not see t hem selves hindered in t heir effort s t o achieve a m onopoly, and in 1529 t he I m hoffs in L'Aquila were act ually able t o achieve a t em porary m onopoly for t he saffron t rade in t his cit y by a rat her brazen m ove. 64 The Duke of Orange, Viceroy of Naples, had im posed a penalt y t ax of 120.00 scudi on t he cit y, which could not be found in t he cit y t reasury. Franz I m hoff and anot her Germ an called Angelo Sauro, who had been doing business in Rom e for m any years, offered t o advance t he required sum . I n ret urn, t hey dem anded t hat t he saffron har vest of t hat year be sold t o t hem alone at a price t hey t hem selves had set . What is rem arkable about t his t ransact ion is t hat Angelo Sauro is cert ainly Engelhard Schauer, t he fact or of t he Fugger Bank in Rom e. I m hoff and Fugger had t hus com e t oget her in t his case t o exploit a favourable sit uat ion for a profit . The cit y had t o accept t his offer. I t t hen discovered, however, t hat t he t wo Germ ans had set such a low pr ice for t he purchase of t he spice t hat only a sm all part of t he am ount owed was paid. 65 Despit e t his cert ainly very unpopular act ion by I m hoff, t he Welser com pany, which was a friend of t heirs, was ent rust ed by t he cit y council t w o years lat er wit h t he lease of t he saffron, grain and wine dut y. 66 I n Spain, t he plans of t he Welsers even went a st ep furt her, as t hey were in close cont act wit h t he Germ ans Albert Kuhn ( Albert o Cuon) and Heinrich Ehinger, who had set t led here and who were grant ed t he privilege by Charles V on 27 March 1535 t o plant and t rade saffron in Am erica. 67 Had t his ent erprise been 63 Göt z von Pölnit z, Jakob Fugger. Quellen und Erläut erungen, Tübingen 1951, p. 505; Werner ( see not e 8) , p. 28; Rom an Piot rowski, Cartels and t rust s. Their origin and hist orical developm ent from t he econom ic and legal aspect s, London 1933; Frit z Blaich, Die Reichsm onopolgeset zgebung im Zeit alt er Karls V. ihre ordnungspolit ische Problem at ik, ( Schrift en zum Vergleich von Wirt schaft sordnungen; H. 8) , St ut t gart 1967. 64 Colapiet ra ( see not e 21) , p. 112. 65 Mussoni ( see not e 19) , pp. 19- 20; Gasparinet t i ( see not e 21) , p. 58. 66 Celli, Lippi ( see not e 22) , p. 904. 67 Kellenbenz, Walt er ( see not e 17) , p. 36, not e 122; on t he two Germ an m erchant s in Spain, see Herm ann Kellenbenz, Las relaciones económ icas y cult urales ent re España y Alem ania m eridional alrededor de 1500, in: Anuario de est udios m edievales 10 ( 1988) , pp. 545-554; Bayerische Akadem ie der Wissenschaft en ( eds.) , Neue deut sche Biographie. Vol. 4, Berlin 1959, pp. 344- 345; Herm ann Kellenbenz, Albert o Cuon: 13 successful, t hey would have been able t o cont rol t he chain of goods for t his precious com m odit y from sowing t o sale t o t he m iddlem en in Germ any. Difficulties The presence of t he large com panies in L'Aquila and Zaragoza over m any decades shows t hat t his business m ust have been profit able, even if we cannot subst ant iat e and quant ify t hese profit s wit h fact s from t he business docum ent at ion. But it was also an act ivit y t hat posed special challenges. Large sum s of m oney had t o be liquid in Spain and I t aly t o pay for t he spice loads purchased. The easiest way would have been t o sell your own goods at t he places where saffron was t raded. The Germ ans were only able t o export a ver y sm all am ount of goods t o Zaragoza; t here are 68 no known deliveries of goods t o L'Aquila. This is not surprising, as t here was no m arket for t hese product s here and would not have m ade sense, given t he high t ransport cost s. The Germ ans t herefore sold t heir well- known goods such as silver, copper, m et al goods and t ext iles in t he large t rading cent res such as Valencia, Venice and Bruges, if possible in such a way t hat t hey had t he m oney from t hese t ransact ions available at t he end of Oct ober when t he saffron har vest was com plet ed. From t hese sales point s t he profit m ade had t o be t ransferred t o t he saffron m arket s. Cash played an im port ant role in t his, as bills of exchange t o Zaragoza, L'Aquila and t he t rading places in t he sout h of I t aly w ere oft en difficult t o find. For t he Ravensburgers, t he t ransfer t o Zaragoza was t he rule in t his form . 69 I n t he 16t h cent ury, t he Fuggers helped t he saffron m erchant s at t his place, because t hey had large cash holdings t hat t hey want ed t o export from Spain. So t hey offered loans t o t he Welsers, I m hoff and Bayer for t heir purchases, which had t o be paid aft er t he goods had been sold in Germ any. 70 Auf den Spuren eines Nürnberger Kaufm anns in Valladolid, in: Friedrich Bock ( ed.) , Norica. Beit räge zur Nürnberger Geschicht e. Friedrich Bock zu seinem 75. Geburt st ag die St adt Nürnberg ( Veröffent lichungen der St adtbibliot hek Nürnberg; 4) , Nurem berg 1961, pp. 21- 27. Bet ween 1420 and 1438 there was an at t em pt t o cult ivat e saffron in Basel and Colm ar. However, no direct connect ion can be found between t his failed proj ect and t he business of t he Halbisen- Gesellschaft . See Traugot t Geering, Handel und I ndustrie der St adt Basel. Zunft wesen und Wirt schaft sgeschicht e bis zum Ende des XVI I . Jahrhundert s. 2nd ed., Basel 1886, p. 237; Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , pp. 55-62. 68 Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , p. 41. 69 Schult e ( as not e 12) , I , p. 313. 70 Bardenhewer ( as not e 1) , pp. 47-50. 14 The use of bills of exchange can only be pr oven in very few cases. Unique are t he records of bill of exchange t ransact ions, which t he I m hoff branch in L'Aquila operat ed wit h com pat riot s working t here around 1530. 71 However, t here is lit t le evidence of cooperat ion bet ween t he large int ernat ionally act ive I t alian banks and Germ an saffron t raders. I n 1487 t he St rozzi in Naples honoured a represent at ive of t he Wels fam ily wit h a bill of exchange t hat m ay have been connect ed wit h saffron t ransact ions. 72 At t he sam e t im e t here were also business relat ions bet ween t he bank of Carlo Mart elli & Ant onio Corsi of Florence and t he Welsers. 73 The next bill of exchange t ransact ion is not docum ent ed unt il a hundred years lat er , when Johann Bapt ist Müller, t he fact or of Markus Rehlinger, in l'Aquila one of Crist ofaro Crist ell and Nicolò Pem er ( Christ oph I Christ el & Nikolaus Pem er) 74 ( see Elit es p. 86 no. 146 and p. 615, no. 929) ) prot est ed. 75 Presum ably, however, t here m ust have been m any m ore such t ransact ions, because t he not arial records of l'Aquila oft en cont ain t he nam es of t he big banking houses: Spinelli, Cam bini, Bardi, St rozzi, Medici and Spannocchi. However, t he files are st ill wait ing t o be st udied by Germ an hist orians. 76 An even great er problem was t he prot ect ion of t he saffron sent t o Germ any wit h a seal of t he cit y of l'Aquila. As early as 1498, a series of let t ers from t he Council of Nurem berg t o t hat of l'Aquila began, in which t he Germ ans prot est ed vehem ent ly against t he poor qualit y of t he saffron delivered and because of im purit ies 77 . I n t he m iddle of t he 16t h cent ury, t he com plaint s from t he nort h cont inued t o increase, but all t he prom ises and prom ises of l'Aquila did not br ing any im provem ent in t he sit uat ion. 78 The earnings sit uat ion of t he Germ ans was furt her worsened by st eadily increasing cust om s dut ies, which had risen by 350% bet ween 1531 and 1589, 79 and t he resurgence of I t alian m iddlem en. These offered t he farm ers m ore m oney 71 Werner ( like not e 8) , p. 27-28. His source: ( Cit y Archive Nurem berg, Cons. 31, p. 179) . 72 Geffcken ( see not e 40) , p. 136. 73 Geffcken ( like not e 40) , pp. 134-135. 74 I would like t o t hank Pet er Geffcken for ident ifying t hese m erchant s. 75 C. Marciani, I l com m ercio dello zafferano a Lanciano nel 1500, in: Archivio St orico per le province napolet ane 81 ( 1963) , pp. 139–161. 76 Berardi ( as not e 22) , pp. 175-176. 77 Gasparinet t i ( see not e 21) , p. 58. 78 Mussoni ( see not e 19) . 79 Celli, Lippi ( see not e 22) , p. 895. 15 for t he saffron t han had been agreed upon in t he fare la voce, and in order for t hem t o m ake a profit , t hey cont am inat ed t he goods before offering t hem t o t he Germ ans. I t t hus becam e increasingly difficult t o find flaw less saffron and t o m ake a wort hwhile profit . Finally, on August 1, 1585, t he Augsburg m erchant Markus Rehlinger t urned t o t he Council, also on behalf of his colleagues Johann Welser and Johann de la Palla. 80 Again t hey dem anded an im provem ent of t he cont rol of goods and t he fight against t he m iddlem en. Should t hese dem ands not be im plem ent ed, he openly t hreat ened t he wit hdrawal of t he Ger m ans t o Lanciano: " 81 Significat um m ihi fuit a fact oribus m eis se nullam aliam ob causam Lancianum pet ere quam ut ibi m elius et praest ant ius crocum m ercarent ur" 82 . When t he Council did not react t o t his in t he desired form , as it was powerless against t he st rong I t alian m iddlem en, m any Germ ans m ade good on t heir t hreat ; from 1586 Rehlinger, Welser, I m hoff and Usm er bought saffron at t he m arket s of Lanciano. This was 83 followed by a sm all war bet ween Lanciano, l'Aquila and Nurem berg, which was fought by let t er, in which all part ies accused each ot her of fraud and saffron forgery. 84 When t he Council of Aquila realized t hat t hey had lost t he old profit able business forever, t hey were disappoint ed t o find out in 1593: " Quis Argus, quis Lynceus posset in t ant is t enebris non offendere? O scelest issim os hom ines, ab om ni hum anit at e alienissim os! " 85 1628 is t he last t im e an I m hoff is in t he cit y; 86 from 1630 on t here are no Germ ans at all. 87 However, t he decline in t he saffron t rade w as not t he only problem of l'Aquila, as t he expensive spice had lost m uch of it s form er est eem . Sales declined t hroughout Europe. Sim ult aneously wit h t he decline of t he old saffron rulers, t he econom ic power and im port ance of t he Welser, I m hoff and Tucher who had becom e rich in it also declined. 80 Mussoni ( see not e 19) , p. 92. 81 Celli, Lippi ( see not e 22) , p. 922. 82 Colapiet ra ( see not e 21) , p. 117. 83 Pet ino ( as not e 1) , p. 237. 84 Marciani ( see not e 74) , p. 143; Clem ent i ( see not e 21) , p. 31. 85 Colapiet ra ( see not e 21) , p. 117. 86 Pierucci ( see not e 2) , p. 143. 87 Pierucci ( see not e 2) , p. 152. 16