The Danish Medieval Town

The Danish Medieval Town
MARIANNE JOHANSEN – INGRID NIELSEN
In 1977 Statens Humanistiske Forskningsräd, the Danish Research Council for
the Humanities, initiated a research project called Middelalderbyen, the Medieval
town. The scope of the project was to analyze the physical town, trying
to trace the development in the plans of eleven Medieval Danish towns. The
following will be a summary of the background of this project, its beginning
and programme, and finally of some of the results.
In the early 16th century Denmark was densely dotted with towns, especially
along the coasts of Kattegat, the straits and the Baltic Sea. In fact, only
eleven of a total of c. ninety did not have a neighbouring town within a distance
of 30 km or roughly 20 miles.
The c. ninety late Medieval towns (the „c.“ accounting for some towns
with only a short lifespan) lay within the realm of the late Viking Age kings,
which remained the core of the Danish kingdom all through the Middle Ages.
But only c. 65 of the towns lay within the borders of present-day Denmark.
The territories east of the Sound were ceded to Sweden in 1660, and Schleswig
was conquered by Germany in 1864 and only partly recovered in 1920 after a
plebiscite. To describe the urbanization of Medieval Denmark, one has to take
the whole kingdom into consideration. But the more detailed Danish research
is apt to confine itself to the modern Danish state.
The Medieval period is in Denmark counted as the centuries between the
Viking Age and the Renaissance. The time Iimits are, of course, slightly fluid.
The Church established a Medieval trait in the late Viking Age, and Renaissance
thinking had begun to influence Danish minds in the late Middle Ages.
But generally speaking, the Middle Ages are the period from the mid-11th century
to 1536 when the Reformation of the Church put an end to so many of
the important Medieval institutions.
Towns, being centres of human habitation, early attracted the interest
of historians. In some towns the tradition of historical research goes back to
the 1 8th century. A wave of patriotism after the Schleswig wars (mid- 19th
century) combined with the re-urbanization due to industrialization promoted
the tradition, and the work was carried out by enthusiastic, and sometimes very
knowledgeable, amateurs. Nearly all Danish towns had their history written in
the late 19th century or at least before the Second World War.
36
IL7
I ! ‚:i􀀓 ,.􀂇 ,�., .. o“‚“‚ \ 􀃥….–….. 􀂆,
..,o. ,.. lffltl
– ‚
lll.: Denmark’s bereughs areund 1536, shewn with a 15 lan zene areund each. Repreduced
frem V. Lerenzen, Vore Byer, Kszsbenhavn 1947.
37
The source material employed by the local historians was mostly written
sources to the extent such originals or transcripts were available locally. The archaeological
sources in a modern sense were hardly understood and only extant
Medieval buildings and in some cases ruins were taken into account. Though
Danish prehistoric archaeologists in this period were considered pioneers, developing
excavation methods and interpretations, the concept of stratigraphy
and typology of objects did not infl.uence Medieval archaeology. Stray observations
of odd structures were sometimes recorded, but only rarely systematically
collected. lnvestigations which included digging at some sites of major monuments
as castles or monasteries were primarily aimed at unearthing walls.
Such excavations were carried out by the staff of Nationalmuseet, the National
Museum (Copenhagen).
Some of those employed in investigations and photographic documentation
of the old townscape ventured out to write the first surveys of Medieval
Danish urbanization and town development, e. g. Hugo Matthiessen and Viihelm
Lorenzen. For decades their observations and points of view strongly
infl.uenced the debate, although historians tended to diverge from discussing
cities to discussing the concept of the city, town definitions etc. The tail-end of
this attitude is found in Urbaniseringsprosessen i Norden 1. Middelaldersteder
(Oslo, 1977), the proceedings of the 17th Meeting of Nordic Historians.
In the 1950s it became clear that information revealed from the underground
of the towns could be added to the source material in the archives. The
first excavation applying methods borrowed from the prehistoric archaeology
was carried out in Ribe in 1953, and soon other excavations followed. The
building boom in the 1960s induced the risk of losing enormaus amounts of
archaeological information; but then legislation, the Conservation of Nature
Act of 1969 with its section 49 on rescue excavations, facilitated the conditions
for rescue excavations and thus also to sorne degree archaeological work in the
towns.
Rescue excavations tend to be random excavations. The post-excavational
work presses itself on with great force and may threaten to engulf much of the
resources, both concerning manpower and economy. One way to economize,
at least in the long run, and at the same time increase the scientific profit, is
to stress what could be called pre-excavational work. This was the conclusion
reached in 1976 by a group of students at the then quite young LtErestolen for
MiddelalderarktEologi, Moesgä.rd, the department of Medieval archaeology at
A arhus Universitet. The student group had made a case-study using Hersens
as an example. This work is to be considered a pilot-project for the projekt
Middelalderbyen. Projekt Middelalderbyen was financially supported by the
Research Council which appointed a steering committee with members repre-
38
senting Medieval research in universities, archives and museums. The actual
investigations were handed over to younger scholars. The scientific goal has
been to investigate the origin and the Medieval development of the townscapes
and to set a standard for comparable studies. The methodological goal has been
to maximize the yields of archaeological work, stressing the pre-excavational
phase of investigations. A further incitement to support this course was the
fact that many written sources had become easier to utilize due to a massive
growth in the field of publishing. Practically all Medieval documents are now
accessible in print. The documents include royal grants, bonds, deeds of conveyance,
etc., preserved from some but far from all, ecclesiastical institutions.
Cadastres and other registers are comparatively rare. The written sources had
not been used in a similar context since the pre-War writing of town histories.
To accomplish the thorough analyses, only eleven towns were selected for
the work of the project. These were to be chosen from the 65 Medieval towns in
present-day Denmark. They had to represent the !arger provinces of Denmark,
some main traits according to periodization, and variations in functional and
economic conditions. The discussion of definitions was avoided by choosing
towns which for certain had been regarded as such by Medieval people. Out of
the 25 towns in JyUand, five were selected: Ribe, Horsens, Arhus, Viborg and
Aalborg. From the island of Fyn two out of ten towns were chosen: Odense and
Svendborg. And four of the 25 towns in Sjcelland were investigated: Ncestved,
K�<Sge, Roskilde and the deserted town S� Bornholm were included.
The most flourishing period of Medieval Danish urbanization fell within
the years 1200-1350. Out ofthe c. ninety towns in Medieval Denmark, c. twenty
towns were older and ten younger than 1200 and 1350 respectively. Towns originating
from the 􀞵arly urbanization period are over-represented in the project,
partly due to a desire to reveal urbanization trends during the Viking Age
( c. 800-1050). The five episcopal sees, Ribe, Arhus, Viborg, Odense and
Roskilde, are among these older towns, and they were also considered musts
due to their functional importance. Svendborg, K� the founding boom of the 13th century. None of the 15th century towns was
chosen.
The pre-excavational inventory, besides going through the editions of written
sources, took form of a search in the archives of museums and elsewhere.
One of the fields of interest was observations of archaeological character, another
information on the local geology, especially recordings of the thickness
of cultural deposits. Also copies of old maps have been collected. In 1980 an
interim report on the work was presented to promote discussion preceding the
next phase in the project: archaeological excavations. It had, since the start of
39
the project, been planned to find some sites which seemed to promise a maximum
of results, in view of the scientific goals, from a minimum of digging.
Some excavations were carried out, financially supported by the project, others
were rescue excavations where the pre-excavational work of the project was
made use of. During the following years the digging amounted to an average
of excavations or trial trenches at ten sites per town.
The project is now in its final phase: the publication of the results in a
monograph for each town. The guiding idea of comparability is refiected in
the reports in so far as a common stock of topographical elements has been
investigated with due regard to variations in historical settings and amounts of
written sources. Although the tables of contents may vary, all reports contain
chapters on the basic geographical conditions, the extension of the cultural
layers, boundaries of the town possibly in the shape of defence works, gates,
mills if any, etc. The ecclesiastical institutions have received close attention and
their numbers are in some towns almost overwhelming. Streets and markets
are important features of the infra-structure and are treated accordingly. Also
exploitation of the building plots has been a field of investigation. Town halls
and other secular institutions have, similar to the ecclesiastical institutions,
been described as to their situation and, if possible, their appearance, but not
their functions. The reports include a chapter on the fate of the town caused by
the Reformation with the closing down of monasteries and in some cases parish
churches and the re-organization of the old hospitals. Finally the chronological
aspects are summarized both in Danish and English, and also the captions to
the numerous maps and other illustrations are printed in English. All volumes
have indexes and some various kinds of appendixes.
Till now, i. e. late 1988, five volumes ha.ve been issued in the series ca.lled
Middelalderbyen: „Ribe“ by lngrid Nielsen ( 1985), „KS!Ige“ by Ma.rianne Jo­
hansen {1986), „Naestved“ by Aage Andersen ( 1987), „Odense“ by Anemette
Christensen ( 1988) and „Viborg“ by Hans Krongaard Kristensen (1988) . The
publisher is Centrum in Arhus. These volumes will be briefiy summarized in
the following.
Cultural layers from the 8th century constitute Ribe as the oldest Danish
town. It held already at an early stage interest for the Christian missionaries
and was selected a bishop’s see by the Bremen bishop of the mid-lOth century.
Until 1103 the bishops of H amburg-Bremen held the primate-ship ofthe Danish
Church. Medieval Ribe expanded south of the site of the 8th century settlement.
The city contained, besides the cathedral, four parish churches, four
monasteries, two hospitals, and a royal castle. Fortifications and a water-mill
were built c. 1250. Until the 13th century it was the only important Danish
port of trade with Western Europe, and together with the fiow of imported
40
goods, e. g. stones for the cathedral, came also a spiritual import, such as the
first Franciscan friary in Denmark. The Medieval town plan of Ribe is marked
by many major changes. It has been the purpose of the survey to describe
the features and date the changes. But in a broader perspective the most important
result is perhaps the demonstration of the flexibility of the townscape
characterizing Ribe in the period in question. This must contribute to putting
an end to the belief that Medieval towns are of stable and inflexible types.
Kr!ge, published as volume 2 in the series, is the youngest of the towns selected
for the project. It was founded in the 1280s in response to the kings‘ need
of a harbour at the east coast of Sjrelland to compete with the Roskilde bishop’s
K(l)benhavn (Copenhagen) . The Iayout of streets and the market square clearly
indicate previous planning. The original town plan was only altered in minor
details during the Middle Ages, and thus the town represents the ideal townscape
of the 13th century. Its fortifications were contemporary to the founding.
These Iimits were adequate all through the Medieval period in spite of economic
– and probably also demographic – growth. Excavations seem to indicate that
growth within the city Iimits was made possible by changes in the exploitation
of building plots. After c . 1450 an intensive use of the plots succeeded a more
open building pattern. City life was characterized by trading enterprise, and
the town had only one parish church and one friary instituted as late as 1484.
Ntestved originates from the 12th century. A Benedictine monastery was
founded here in 1 135 at a site which had contained human inhabitation at least
since the 10th century. In 1 140, the settlement was granted borough privileges
by the king. The development of the town greatly depended on the dominating
monastery even after the latter’s relocation in the 13th century to a site outside
the town. During the 13th and 14th centuries, N restved was the leading trade
center of Sjrelland in spite of its harbour being situated c. 5 km from the city.
To some degree it stagnated during the 15th century, but the late Medieval
buildings bear evidence of continued wealth and activity. Considering Danish
conditions in general, a great number of Medieval secular brick-buildings
have survived. The town, which remairred without fortifications, contained two
parish churches, two mendicant friaries and two hospitals.
Most of the Danish towns lay at navigable rivers or by the coast. Viborg is
one of the rare inland towns, situated by Hrervejen, the main communication
line along the watershed north-south through Jylland. Viborg’s oldest history
has for long attracted interest and discussion, the extremely scarce written
sources indicating an origin in the 10th century. It thus came as no surprise that
this dating was confirmed by excavations, but the location of the settlement
revealed in course of the project’s work gave rise to new ideas on both the
origin and the Medieval development of the townscape. C. 1300 a royal castle
41
was established at the city, an enterprise by which the water-level of the Iake,
Viborg S!l!nders!IS, was raised 2 meters, and a built-up area along the shore of
the Iake was sacrificed. The discovery of this submerged area has produced
new fields of investigation for archaeologists. In the late 11th century Viborg
was chosen as a bishop’s see, and in the surroundings of the cathedral twelve
parish churches and four monasteries were erected. Fortifications built c. 1 150
only protected part of the built-up area, with one of the parish churches lying
outside the ramparts.
In 988 an Odense bishop is mentioned in a document as one of the suffragans
of the archbishop of Bremen. Near Odense, at the time of its entrance into
history, lay Nonnebakken, a ring-fort probably of the TreUeborg type which is
dated to c. 980. The oldest settlement layers within the later city boundaries
are dated to the 11th century. The Medieval city contained, besides the cathedral
and chapter, four parish churches, and further five monasteries and two
hospitals were erected in or near the town. A considerable economic expansion
in the late 15th century also induced an expansion of the built-up area to the
north and the west. The city was surrounded by ramparts which were rebuilt
to protect the enlarged community. This de.velopment shows a marked difference
from K!2Sge and its wider living space which allowed expansion within the
originally established Iimits.
The remaining reports will according to the plans be issued in near future.
E. g. volume 1 0 in the series „Middelalderbyen Roskilde“ by Ingrid Nielsen is
due by the end of 1989.
The results of projekt Middelalderbyen are demonstrated in the printed
reports. But the main importance of the project will probably be found elsewhere.
The concept of pre-excavational work has been widely adapted. The
course of the project has demonstrated the practicability of the working pro­
cess. And even if this kind of preparations for future and not yet predictable
excavations is still not quite the norm, at least it tends to be considered the
ideal.
42
MEDIUM AEVUM QUOTIDIANUM
NEWSLETTER 15
QUOTIDIAN UM
SEPTENTRIONALE
ASPECTS OF DAILY LIFE IN MEDIEVAL DENMARK
Edited by
GRETHE JACOBSEN
and
JENS CHR. V. JOHANSEN
KREMS 1988
Herausgeber: Mediwn Aevum Quotid.ianwn. Gesellschaft zur Erforschung der materiellen
Kultur des Mittelalters. Kömermarkt 13, A-3500 Krems, Österreich. – Für den Inhalt verantwortlich
zeichnen die Autoren, ohne deren ausdrückliche Zustimmung jeglicher Nachdruck,
auch in Auszügen, nicht gestattet ist. – Druck: HTU-Wirtschaftsbetrieb Ges. m. b. H.,
Wiedner Haupstraße 8-10, A-1050 Wien.
2
Inhaltsverzeichnis/ C ontents
Introduction 4
N anna Damsholt:
The Legencis of Danish Saints as Sources to Daily Life 7
Brian Patrick McGuire:
D aily Life in Danish Medieval Monasteries 14
Ebbe Nyborg:
Kirchliche Kunst und mittelalterliche Wirklichkeit 23
M arianne Jobansen – Ingrid Nielsen:
The Danish Medieval Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Jens E. Olesen:
In der Kanzlei des Königs.
Die Kanzlei im mittelalterlichen Dänemark 43
Jens E. Olesen:
Tolls and Toll Collectors in Medieval Denmark 60
Bj!llrn Poulsen:
Possibilites et limitations du paysan danois
dans le bas moyen age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Helle Reinholdt – Bodil M!llller Knudsen:
„Women’s Rosegarden“ and „Women’s Herbgarden“ :
Two Symposia on the Sexuality of Medieval Warnen 84
Biographies of the authors 87
Berichte – Besprechungen – Mitteilungen 92
3
Introduction
The articles in this issue all deal with current research on life in medieval Denmark.
Though comprehensive within their respective fields, they represent only
a part of the multi-faceted research currently being undertaken in Denmark, in
spite of the adverse work and job situation of many younger scholars. Due to
a very short deadline for articles, many scholars were unable to comply with
our request for a contribution but expressed interest in participating in international
communication of current research. We hope to bring more articles
on research on medieval Danish life at a later date.
In Denmark, no particular stress is laid on the topic: medieval daily life .
Yet, the by now established social and economic history as well as the renewed
interest in political history, has made historians focus on daily life and on its
material as well as mental aspects. The articles by N anna Damsholt and Brian
Patrick McGuire concern the religion and the Church of medieval Denmark
and their fusion with secular life.
With the development of the discipline of medieval archaeology, our understanding
of the material aspects as well as the physical frames for medieval life
has been greatly expanded. In contrast to the finite number of written documents,
the quantity of archaeological sources keeps increasing, adding valuable
information to our knowledge of medieval society. The challenge to historians
and archaeologists has been to combine and interpret written, artistic and material
sources as Ebbe Nyborg discusses in his article while Marianne Johansen
and Ingrid Nielsen present a project combining achaeology and written sources.
All three authors are historians as well as archaeologists. In this connection, one
might mention the periodical hikuin (published by Forlaget Hikuin, Moesgä.rd,
DK-8270 H95jberg, Denmark) which began in 1974 and appears at irregular
intervals, the latest volume being number 14 (1988). The periodical brings
articles on medieval archaeology primarily in Danish but also in Swedish and
Norwegian with resumes in English. Special issues have been devoted to church
archaeology, urban archaeology, coins and pottery. We should also like to mention
the research tool Nordic Archaeological Abstract (NAA) which indexes all
articles on medieval archaeology (see p. 95).
4
c.n
\
\ C?
\
\
Katlegat \
!:‘
‚
\
\
The Bellic See …,,…-;:;:, Bor􀀡!
— _J
50 km
The Julland peninsular and the Danish islands. The borders of the core of the Medieval kingdom are mark ed with dotted
lines and the modern boundaries with broken lines. The areas in present-day Sweden were the medicval province of Skäne
(Scania), Hailand and Blekinge.
Ingrid Nielsen has also produced the map, accompanying the introduction,
which shows the medieval as weil as the present boundaries of Denmark. As
she and Marianne Jobansen point out in their article, the latter boundary also
determines the boundaries of much archaeological and historical research. In
part to make up for this, meetings have been held between Danish and Swedish
historians and archaeologists (the latter primarily from Skane) dealing with
aspects of the town-country relationship. The publications of these meetings
are mentioned in the article by Bj􀞹rn Poulsen.
The article by Jens E. Oiesen on tolls and toll collection deals with a topic,
hitherto seen as part of political or financial history; but this was, in fact, of
great importance to the common people, especially the many men and women
engaged in trade or commerce whether on international, inter-regional or lo­
cal Ievel. Similarly, his other article, describing the development of the royal
chancellery, rerninds us that bureaucracy and bureaucrats, whether viewed negatively
or positively by contemporaries, are neither modern phenomena nor
ones, appearing during Absolutism.
Bj􀅞rn Poulsen’s article makes us aware that medieval people did not live
and produce in isolation but were integrated into the European economy,
though the extent of involvement and the awareness of international connections
would vary according to time and place. Poulsen also stresses that town
and country, so often seen as mutually exclusive, were both part of the daily
life of many medieval women and men.
The contribution by Helle Reinholdt and Bodil M􀅞ller Knudsen points to
the gender aspect, so often overlooked in traditional history which has concerned
itself mainly with the action of men. We have chosen not to have an
article on “ Women and Daily Life“ which would make women merely one ingredient
in the daily life of men but have urged the authors to include the
gender aspects, making the reader aware that history, whether of daily life or
of extraordinary events, is made by women as weil as men.
September 1988 Grethe Jacobsen, Jens Christian V. Jobansen
6