anja amend-traut inally from Danzig, first worked at a Lübeck master as a visiting journeyman bricklayer without citizen rights when he “met the daughter of the local firework-maker Hans Joachim Rhode” (mit der Tochter des hiesigen Feuerwerkers Hans Joachim Rhode bekandt): “We became friendlier with each other, fell in love, and lived long in the hope of a future happy marriage; but we were overcome by an hour of weakness, fell, and went off the path we had often promised to stay on in stronger hours.” (Wir wurden mit einander vertrauter, gewannen uns lieb, und lebten lange in der hoffnung einer künfftigen glücklichen Ehe; allein eine Stunde der Schwachheit überraschte uns beyde, wir fielen leider, und entfernten uns von demWege auf den wir oft in stärckeren Stunden zu bleiben uns gelobt hatten.)39 Stahl decided to “quickly marry the girl fallen through his fault before she gave birth and to remove all blemish through such marriage” (gefalleneMädgen auf das eiliges noch vor ihrer Entbindung zu heurathen, und durch diese Heurath alle Mackel wieder abzuwaschen) with “all expediency at all possible here in Lübeck” (zwar mit aller der Eile, die hier in Lübeck nur möglich ist).40 This brought him the Lübeck citizenship, but without first having consulted the bricklayers’ guild. Only after his marriage did Stahl apply for admission to the guild as a local journeyman. The bricklayers’ office, however, denied his admission, invoking its constitution, according to which only foreign journeymen who do not “take a wife” (nicht beweiben) and settle, and a maximum number of 42 local journeymen were admitted to office. For this purpose, however, a foreign applicant who wanted to “make himself at home” (häußlich niederlaßen) in Lübeck, had to “become local, which he can achieve by biding his time, namely when no 42 local journeymen are available” (einheimisch werden, und hierzu kann er gelangen, wenn er seine Zeit abwartet, da keine 42 einheimische Gesellen vorhanden sind).41 However, who was already married was no longer capable of being admitted. To appeal against the denial of his request for admission, Stahl first turned to the Lübeck „Wettegericht“, one of three low courts in Lübeck that was primarily in charge of “trade issues” (Gewerbs39 Ibid., subfolder 4, fol. 40. 40 Ibid., subfolder 4, fol. 42. 41 Ibid., [Q] 7, fol. 21. 87
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