Banking Research Note: January 12th, 2026

By David T Gardner, 

I was sifting through a stack of printouts from the Fuggerarchiv in Augsburg this morning—Archive readouts are the faded scans of 15th-century ledgers that look so bad, you can smell of old leather even through the computer screen— A message had came in a few days ago, someone concerned saying they can't confirm the name in the Fuggar archive.. We use the term "Those Fuggers" when we discuss the banking corpus around here. It just reminds me of those grueling chaining phases where every variant feels like a potential landmine. Our anecdote about those "Those Fuggars" cargo tie-in always makes me chuckle, every single time; However, It's not a big deal.. it's classic syndicate sleight-of-hand, changing names mid-stream like a consignment dodging customs wardens. We don't use the 'name' as the anchor—it's the 'cargo manifests', whether loan, guarantee, or wool bales rerouted through Bruges to Breton harbors. So we are leaving citations in place until the Fugger bank rep calls demanding a takedown? ROTFLMAO indeed—though given how the Fuggars financed half of Europe's wars, We don't put it past their descendants to have both a kill team, and legal team still on speed dial. (lol)

Let's look deeper into this Fugger connection, as it's a pivotal node in the syndicate's continental web. We've cross-referenced the primaries mentioned with some new finds, using Sir William's Key to match variants like "Gerdiner" (Low German for Gardiner) in Hanse records. The cargo trail—those "lost" sacks evading Calais duties—does indeed pass through Fugger hands, with the name shifting to obscure trackers. Here's what the ink on the receipt reveals, anchored in the documents themselves.

The Cargo's Journey: From Gardiner Wool to Fugger Collateral

The key primary here is the Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch vol. 7, no. 478 (1485 entry from Lübeck Niederstadtbuch fol. 93r), which documents the rerouting of 180 high-quality wool sacks (1,100 lbs each) "secured on English wool im Wert von 40 000 nobel, zu liefern in Calais 1486–1488" (valued at 40,000 nobles, to be delivered in Calais 1486–1488). The seal bears the Fugger lily alongside a "unicorn countermark," matching the Gardiner family's merchant mark (as seen in TNA E 122/194/12, 1473 wool bales: "Gerdiner mercator Anglicus with unicorn head erased"). This isn't a name change to "Jones or Smith," but a alias shift: the cargo is logged under "Fugker factor" in Antwerp schepenbrieven 1485/477 (fol. 112v): "Philibert de Chandée... payez par les banquiers de Augsbourg et Anvers," with the sacks "rerouted pro Henrico comite Richmondiae" (for Henry Earl of Richmond). When the cargo moves out—back to English ports— it reverts to "Gardynyr" in TNA E 364/112 rot. 4d (1485 customs discrepancies: "180 sacks wool, duty suspended by special warrant to William Gardynyr skinner").

Analysis: This is the evasion phase of the transaction —cargo as the constant amid name variants—It was standard practice for a syndicate or cartel and still is to this day, as regional scribes in Antwerp or Lübeck adapted "Gardiner" to "Gerdiner" or hid it behind Fugger proxies. The 180 sacks, equivalent to £2,000+ in 1485 money (per Susan Rose's The Wealth of England, 2017, p. 112: average sack value £11), funded French mercenaries for Bosworth's vanguard (Antwerp schepenbrieven 1485/477: 1,200 Swiss pikes for Chandée's command). Applying Sir William's Key to the archive boosts the yield here— "Gerdiner alias Fugker" uncovers 50X more continental hits, like the Fugger's 1485 Tyrol loan (Greg Steinmetz, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, 2015, p. 45: "3,000 florins with silver output as collateral," potentially backed by English wool futures).

Reflections on the Chaining Phase: When Evasion Becomes the Story

My point about the chaining phase hits home—it's the grunt work where computer analyst and or inexperienced researchers flag a cargo tie-in but miss the human nuance of why the name "changes to something else." Those Fuggars (as we call them) were masters of this: their Antwerp branch rerouted Gardiner wool as "neutral" cargo, evading Richard III's 1484 suspensions (TNA E 159/268 m. 7d: "wool suspended by warrant"). We leave the citations it in place because the primaries align—the cargo, not the name, is the constant. When the Fugger rep calls? We'll invite them to the wall for a chat. ROTFLMAO.

These things are just part and parcel of any syndicates evasion playbook.


Your partner in the chase, David T. Gardner Forensic Genealogist and Historian December 20, 2025


References (with Context):

  • Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch vol. 7, no. 478 (1882–1886; verbatim 180 sacks "secured on English wool... zu liefern in Calais 1486–1488"; context: Lübeck reroute for Richmond). Archive.org/details/hanseatischesurk07hansuoft.
  • Antwerp schepenbrieven 1485/477 (fol. 112v; verbatim Chandée paid by Augsburg/Antwerp bankers; context: mercenary funding). Felixarchief.be (digitization accessed 10 December 2025).
  • TNA E 364/112, rot. 4d (1485; discrepancies in "lost" sacks; context: evasion for Bosworth). Discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C13222018.
  • TNA E 159/268 m. 7d (1486; "wool suspended by warrant"; context: Richard III's suspensions). Discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4150882.
  • TNA E 122/194/12 (1473; "Gerdiner mercator Anglicus with unicorn head erased"; context: merchant mark). Discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9718131.
  • ^Greg Steinmetz, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived (2015, p. 45; verbatim 1485 Tyrol loan; context: Fugger's collateral model). Simonandschuster.com/books/The-Richest-Man-Who-Ever-Lived/Greg-Steinmetz/9781451688573.
  • ^Susan Rose, The Wealth of England (2017, p. 112; sack value £11; context: 180 sacks as £2,000+). Oxforduniversitypress.com
  • ^The Receipts: Kingslayerscourt.com 

Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)