Sheaths, Scabbards and Grip Coverings
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Archaeologia Medii Aevi Finlandiae X J ANNE H ARJULA SHEATHS, SCABBARDS AND GRIP COVERINGS AND GRIP SCABBARDS SHEATHS, JANNE HARJULA SHEATHS, SCABBARDS AND GRIP COVERINGS THE USE OF LEATHER FOR PORTABLE PERSONAL OBJECTS IN THE 14TH - 16TH CENTURY TURKU JANNE HARJULA SHEATHS, SCABBARDS AND GRIP COVERINGS THE USE OF LEATHER FOR PORTABLE PERSONAL OBJECTS IN THE 14TH - 16TH CENTURY TURKU 1 2 3 Archaeologia Medii Aevi Finlandiae X Suomen keskiajan arkeologian seura – Sällskapet för medeltidsarkeologi i Finland JANNE HARJULA SHEATHS, SCABBARDS AND GRIP COVERINGS THE USE OF LEATHER FOR PORTABLE PERSONAL OBJECTS IN THE 14TH - 16TH CENTURY TURKU 2 3 Editorial Board: Anders Andrén, Knut Drake, David Gaimster, Georg Haggrén, Markus Hiekkanen, Werner Meyer, Jussi-Pekka Taavitsainen and Kari Uotila Editor: Janne Harjula Layout: Jouko Pukkila Cover Layout: Janne Harjula Published with the kind support of Botnia Scan Oy Cigar Factory J. Sundqvist, Pargas, Finland The Olde Hansa Restaurant, Tallinn, Estonia Front cover: Illustration from the Book of Chess by Kunrat von Ammenhausen, the end of the 14th century. From: Ta- mara Voronova & Alexander Sterligov (1996). Western European Illuminated Manuscripts of the 8th to the 16th centu- ries. Parkstone Press/Aurora, Bournemouth, United Kingdom. Original in the Manuscript Department of the National Library of Russia, St. Petersburg. Back cover: Two medieval knife sheaths from the trench extension on the front of Brahe’s Park and from the groundwork pit for a building in Hämeenkatu 17, Turku. From: Niilo Valonen (1958). Turun viemärikaivantolöydöistä. Turun kau- pungin historiallinen museo, vuosijulkaisu 20-21, 1956 – 1957 and Hjalmar Appelgren (1902). Det underjordiska Åbo. Finskt Museum 1901. All photographs in the text section: Janne Harjula/Turku Provincial Museum. Measure unit of the scalebar is one cen- timeter in the artefact photos. ISBN: 951-96801-4-4 ISSN: 1236-5882 Gummerus Kirjapaino Oy Saarijärvi 2005 4 5 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 8 1. INTRODUCTION 9 1.1 Research problem and method 9 1.1.1 Terminology 10 1.2 Leather as an archaeological research material 11 1.2.1 Life-cycle of a medieval leather artefact 11 1.2.1.1 Conservation of leather artefacts 12 2. HISTORY OF THE RESEARCH 13 2.1 Finland 13 2.1.1 Early research 13 2.1.2 After the Second World War 14 2.1.3 Recent research 14 2.2 Sweden 14 2.3 Norway 14 2.4 Denmark 15 2.5 Russia 15 2.6 The Baltic Countries 15 2.7 Poland 16 2.8 Germany 16 2.9 The British Isles 16 2.10 The Netherlands 17 2.11 Discussion on the history of the research 17 3. PREHISTORIC TRADITION 18 3.1 Iron Age knife sheaths 18 3.1.1 Wide, bronze-plated sheaths 18 3.1.2 Sheaths of East Finnish type 18 3.1.3 Sheaths from men’s graves 19 3.1.4 The question about the suspension of the sheaths 19 3.2 Iron Age scabbards 19 3.2.1 Scabbards of the Middle Iron Age 19 3.2.2 Scabbards of the Late Iron Age 20 3.3 Discussion on the prehistoric tradition 21 4. RESEARCH MATERIAL AND THE METHOD OF RECORDING IT 22 4.1 The assemblage of the Åbo Akademi main building site excavation 22 4.2 Other materials from Turku 22 4.2.1 Vähä-Hämeenkatu 13b excavation 23 4.2.2 Uudenmaankatu 6 excavation 24 4.2.3 Old Great Market Place excavation 25 4.2.4 Aboa Vetus museum excavation (the Rettig plot) 25 4.2.5 The Library site excavation 26 4.2.6 Itäinen Rantakatu sewer construction 26 4.2.7 Other construction works in the town area 27 4.2.8 The yard of the outer bailey of the Turku Castle 27 4.3 Method of recording the research material 27 4 5 4.3.1 Measurement 27 4.3.2 Types of stitch holes and seams and their placing 28 4.3.3 Stitch types 28 4.3.4 Type of leather 29 4.3.5 Type of thread 29 5. SHEATHS 30 5.1 Manufacturing technique 30 5.1.1 Materials of sheaths 30 5.1.1.1 Materials of threads 31 5.1.2 Composition 31 5.1.2.1 Seams and stitches 31 Seam and stitch hole types 31 Placing of the seams 32 Stitched seams 32 Riveted seams 33 Thong seaming 34 5.1.2.2 Linings 34 5.1.2.3 Sheath fittings 34 5.1.2.4 Suspension modes 34 Side seamed sheaths 35 Back seamed sheaths 35 5.1.3 Modifications and repairs made by the user 36 5.2 Dimensions 37 5.3 Basic forms of sheaths 38 5.4 Decoration 39 5.4.1 Decoration techniques of sheaths 39 5.4.1.1 Leather tooling and the placement of decoration 39 Division of decoration into decorative panels 40 5.4.1.2 Other methods of decoration 41 5.4.2 Decoration motifs 41 5.4.2.1 Geometric decoration 41 Linear decoration 41 Chevrons 42 Lattice 42 Other geometric motifs 43 5.4.2.2 Interlace decoration 44 5.4.2.3 Plant decoration 44 Foliate decoration 44 Other types of plant decoration 46 5.4.2.4 Zoomorphic decoration 46 5.4.2.5 Markings of the maker’s mark-type 46 5.4.3 Discussion on decoration 46 5.5 Examples of typing the sheaths 47 5.5.1 Sheaths with ‘caps’ 48 5.5.2 Sheaths with excised decoration on the edge 49 5.5.3 Sheaths with rows of suspension slots on the handle 50 5.5.4 Sheaths with paired lunate slits on the handle 51 5.5.5 Sheaths with a space for additional knife or tool 51 5.5.6 Unprofessionally manufactured sheaths 53 5.5.7 Sheaths for special knives or tools 54 5.5.8 The question about the dagger sheaths and the sheaths for puukko-knives 55 5.6 Discussion on sheaths 55 6 7 6. SCABBARDS 58 6.1 Manufacturing technique 58 6.1.1 Materials of scabbards 58 6.1.1.1 Materials of threads 58 6.1.2 Dimensions and forms 58 6.1.3 Composition 59 6.1.3.1 The questions of the inner structure of scabbards and linings 59 6.1.3.2 Seams and stitches 60 Seam and stitch hole types 60 Placing of the seams 61 Stitch types and stitch length 61 6.1.3.3 Suspension modes 62 6.2 Decoration 63 6.2.1 Decoration techniques and motifs 63 6.2.1.1 The question of impressed, longitudinal lines in scabbards 63 6.2.1.2 Other decoration motifs 64 6.3 Discussion on scabbards 64 7. GRIP COVERINGS AND RAIN GUARDS 65 7.1 Grip coverings from swords and daggers 65 7.2 Rain guards from swords 66 7.3 Discussion on the grip coverings and rain guards 67 8. THE MAKERS AND USERS OF THE ARTEFACTS 68 8.1 The documentary evidence of leather artisans in medieval Turku 68 8.2 The unlikely connection between the evidence of leather working and the artefacts found 69 8.3 Plant fibres as the evidence of the area of manufacture? 70 8.4 The reuse of scabbards 71 8.4.1 The phenomenon of cutting the scabbards 71 8.4.1.1 The scabbard fragments and grip coverings of the Åbo Akademi and Old Great Market Place excavations 71 Imprints on the Åbo Akademi scabbards 72 8.5 The use and users of the artefacts studied 72 9. CONCLUDING REMARKS 74 SOURCES 87 APPENDICES 1. Technical properties of the knife sheaths in table format 93 2. Report on fibres from the medieval Åbo Akademi and Aboa Vetus sites, Turku, Finland (by Heini Kirjavainen) 98 3. Index of entries by the group, type and decoration of the artefact 101 Undated or recent sheaths and scabbards from archaeological contexts, excluded from the study 101 4. Catalogue 103 6 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS uring the writing process of this study I have M.A. Heini Kirjavainen, for the analyses of Dbeen fortunate to get advice, information the thread samples of the Åbo Akademi main and confirmation in my ideas when needed. I building site and Aboa Vetus museum materials. express my gratitude to the following persons who have contributed to this work. Ph.D. Geoff Egan, M.A. Jaakko Harjula, for the revision of the English language of the Professor Jussi-Pekka Taavitsainen, Archae- study. ology, University of Turku, for the supervision of the study. M.A. Jouko Pukkila, for doing the layout work for the book. Ph.D. Geoff Egan, Ph.D. David Gaimster, Ph.D. Markus Hiekkanen, Lic.Phil. Aki Pihlman In addition to aid from individual persons, and Conservator Leena Tomanterä, for reading I have been granted financial support, which the text in different phases and for giving has enabled me to concentrate on my study valuable comments. and become familiar with the comparative find materials abroad. This has been an enormous My colleagues in the project From village help. I want to thank the following institutions into town, Ph.D. Sirkku Pihlman, M.A. Jaana for the grants. Riikonen, M.A. Liisa Seppänen and M.A. Mervi Suhonen, for the collaboration in many tasks The Academy of Finland, for financing the concerning the Middle Ages and archaeology in three-year research period, which has enabled general. the making of this study. Conservator Maarit Ahola, for the task of Emil Öhmann Foundation, the Finnish vital importance - the conservation of the Åbo Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Akademi main building site find material - and Finland, for the grants enabling research visits for the numerous discussions concerning the in the Baltic area, necessary for the study.