Kontakty handlowe Gdańska i Wilna w świetle piętnastowiecznej księgi kupieckiej

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Prekyba; Prūsija; Vaškas; Audiniai; Sąskaitų knygos; Monetizavimas; Kreditas. Keywords: Commerce; Prussia; Wax; Cloth; Account books; Monetisation; Credit.Reikšminiai žodžiai: 15 amžius; Prūsija (Prussia); Prekyba; Vaškas; Audiniai; Sąskaitų knygos; Monetarizmas; Kreditas; 15th century; Commerce; Wax; Cloth; Account books; Monetary policy; Credit.

ENThe article presents the commercial contacts between merchants from Vilnius and Gdańsk, reconstructed on the basis of an account register of merchant of Gdańsk Johan Pyre (formerly known as Johan Pisz or Piß). The book is kept in the State Archives in Gdańsk, and its records document twenty-five years of activity of Vilnius merchants in the Gdańsk market (1426–1451). Its analysis makes it possible to reject the hypothesis presented in the older literature that Vilnius merchants had only indirect contacts with Prussia via the Hanseatic office in Kaunas. Basing on the examined materials, it is possible to conclusively prove the repeated visits of Vilnius merchants to Gdańsk, in spring, in summer for the St Dominic’s Fair, and in autumn, in late September and early October – as well as the possibility to take out a loan or give a payment order in Gdańsk. The register reveals their extensive contacts with Gdańsk merchants, including the city’s elite members. A characteristic form of contact between merchants from these cities is a Gdańsk-Vilnius trading contract, which was a combination of barter, commodity credit, and delivery commitment – in autumn, a Vilnius merchant purchased in Gdańsk Western goods, usually cloth, undertaking to pay in spring, usually in the form of a supply of wax. The delivered lumps of wax testify to a developed processing infrastructure in this city, adapted to the needs of wholesale trade, while the purchased cloth – to the low purchasing power of the Vilnius burghers. The purchasing power of Vilnius merchants, quite average in Gdańsk, was very high compared to Lithuania. Pyre mentioned six partners by name: Peter Gossevytze (Peter Asse), Andreas Kopervysse, Mertyn Vysellevytze, her Nycolae Andressevitze, Mychel Godsevysse, and Mertyn Weperyk. [From the publication]