Hanse meaning : 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. The rights and privileges of such guilds, particularly their trade monopolies. A commercial association of Scottish free burghs in the Middle Ages. The Hanseatic League: a commercial association of German towns in the Middle Ages. The guildhall of a Hanse. A fee payable to the Hanse, particularly its entrance fee and the impost levied on non-members trading in its area. That part of an elliptical or many-centred arch which has the shorter radius and immediately adjoins the impost.