The limited trade of the Saxons was, however, regulated by some salutary provisions, such as that preventing the execution of bargains and sales on Sundays, on which day the people were, without exception, expected to assemble for the performance of their religious duties. The contests, on these grounds, between the clergy and people were as violent then as now, but with this difference, that modern legislation strikes at the humble retailer, whereas in those days the great merchant was equally compelled to obey the law. Not that we are to suppose that no trade was done clandestinely under the guise of these Religious Assemblies—the origin, no doubt, at least partially, of the Statute Fairs of later ages—but this is certain, that bargains, though planned and discussed, could not be completed till the next “lawful” day.
Charlemagne’s first treaty of commerce with England, A.D. 796.
But though the maritime commerce of England made little progress till the reign of Alfred the Great, there can be no doubt that it derived various advantages from the impulse given to that of the neighbouring country of France by the exertions of Charlemagne, as that wise and able monarch is justly deemed to have laid the foundations of French trade with distant countries. Nowhere do we find a more striking instance of his tact than is displayed in his letter to Offa, with the object of renewing the commercial relations between France and England:[474]
“Charles by the grace of God, king of the Franks and Lombards, and patrician of the Romans, to our venerable and most dear brother Offa, king of the Mercians, greeting. First, we give thanks to Almighty God for the sincere Catholic faith, which we see so laudably expressed in your letters. Concerning the strangers, who, for the love of God and the salvation of their souls, wish to repair to the thresholds of the Blessed Apostles, let them travel in peace without any trouble. Nevertheless, if any are found among them not in the service of religion but in pursuit of gain, let them pay the established duties at the proper places. We also will, that merchants shall have lawful protection in our kingdom according to our command; and if they are in any place unjustly aggrieved, let them apply to us or our judges, and we shall take care that ample justice be done to them.”
Extension of French commerce, A.D. 813.
It is, further, no small evidence of the effect produced by the energetic rule of Charlemagne that, only a few years later, the merchants of Lyons, Marseilles, and Avignon, confiding in his power and fame, and in the friendship between him and Harún-al-Rashíd, whose ships were then supreme in the Mediterranean, made a joint plan for sending vessels twice a year to Alexandria, whither no Christian vessels had adventured since it came into the possession of the Muhammedans. The spices of India and the perfumes of Arabia were then for the first time brought direct to their own port of Marseilles by the merchants of France, and one of the most ancient trades was thus re-opened.[475] From Marseilles these goods were conveyed by one of the inland continental routes we have already described, up the Rhône and the Saône, then re-embarked on the Moselle for the Rhine, and, by means of this latter river, distributed through Germany and the northern countries.
Commerce of England harassed by the Danes.
Their ships, and the habits of their owners.
Nor can we doubt that England would have followed where France had so cleverly led the way, but for the ruin caused by the ceaseless incursions of the Danes, who, having effected their first landing on the island of Thanet,[476] soon made good other settlements in the northern and eastern portions of Britain whence they were never wholly expelled till the Norman conquest. As a maritime people the Danes equalled, if they did not surpass, all the nations or tribes of the north of Europe, and possessed, even at this early period of their history, vessels superior and more varied than any of their northern competitors, and rivalling all others for many centuries afterwards. These vessels were chiefly distinguished by the name of Drakers and Holkers; the former of which has been supposed to have derived its name from the figure of a dragon on its bows. These and other vessels are said to have carried the ancient Danish flag of the raven at the top of their masts.
The Holker was originally a small boat, hollowed out of the trunk of a tree, but in process of time the word “hulk” was used evidently for vessels of larger dimensions, adapted for the conveyance of troops, and even for landing them with facility on a beach; hence it is probable that it bore much resemblance to the ordinary barge. But this name was first applied to light vessels used for exploring purposes, or for “scouts,” and other swift craft engaged in carrying despatches. The Danes and most of the other Scandinavian nations had also another kind of vessel they called Snekkar (serpent), apparently shorter in proportion to her breadth, and therefore not unlike the ordinary Dutch merchant galliot of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.[477]