hanse

ot noun

1. A merchant guild, particularly the Fellowship of London Merchants (the "Old Hanse") given a monopoly on London's foreign trade by the Normans or its successor, the Company of Merchant Adventurers (the "New Hanse"), incorporated in 1497 and chartered under Henry VII and Elizabeth I.
2. The rights and privileges of such guilds, particularly their trade monopolies.
3. A commercial association of Scottish free burghs in the Middle Ages.
4. The Hanseatic League: a commercial association of German towns in the Middle Ages.