Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HANSE-TOWNS, n. [Hanse towns.]

Hanse signifies a society; Goth. hansa, a multitude. The Hanse Towns in Germany were certain commercial cities which associated for the protection of commerce as early as the twelfth century. To this confederacy acceded certain commercial cities in Holland, England, France, Spain and Italy, until they amounted to seventy-two, and for centuries this confederacy commanded the respect and defied the power of kings. This confederacy at present consists of the cities of Lubeck, Hamburg, and Bremen.