For a long time, silk was only produced in Asia, Byzantium and the Islamic Mediterranean region. It was not until the 14th/15th century that silk weaving also became widespread in Italy and Spain. The precious silk fabrics arrive in Northern Europe by sea. The light but delicate goods are transported in barrels and packed in linen cloth. Especially in Bruges, Hanseatic merchants also buy silk – “zide” – for their trade. However, the Hanseatic trade in silk is apparently not very extensive. 

In Tartu, former Hanseatic city (Dorpat) and now Estonia’s second largest city, silk fabrics were also found during excavations. Archaeology can thus establish a connection with (intricately patterned) Italian Lampas silks, which came to northern Europe via the Hanseatic trade. Larger silk pieces, however, were an absolute luxury in the Hanseatic cities. Silk belts, bags, ribbons, braids, fringes and embroidery are much more common. Researchers assume that these small accessories were not only popular among the nobility. Everyone wanted to adorn themselves with a piece of good silk. 

The luxury ordinances, laws on permitted clothing, also mention silk – and the city lords try to limit its use. The clergy of the Hanseatic cities – i.e. the pastors, priests, bishops, etc. – were exempt from the luxury ordinances. Until the Reformation, they liked to wear mass vestments with Christian motifs made of silk. The liturgical calendar of the church determines (to this day) which type and colour of vestment is worn. 

In contrast to the bourgeois garments, ecclesiastical vestments, so-called paraments, from the Hanseatic period are often still preserved. Visitors can currently admire particularly splendid pieces from Gdansk in the St. Annenmuseum (Lübeck). Stralsund also has an extensive collection of such magnificent vestments.