DOCSLIB.ORG

The Baltic and the Black Sea in Medieval Trade

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Baltic and the Black Sea in Medieval Trade THE BALTICAND THE BLACK SEA IN MEDIEVALTRADE by MARIAN MALO WIST (WARSAW, POLAND) The object of this paper is to give a short outlinc knowledge of the history of l3altic commerce. The of the history of Black Sea and Baltic trade during the literature on Black Sea trade is hardly less extensive: Middle Ages, and to examinethe reciprocalaction of W. Heyd's works are probably the rnost important,but thesetwo importanthistorical phen.omena. Considera- m,uchvaluable information is also given in the writings tions of space exclude the possibility of making an ex- of F. Bruun, Manfroni,C. Bratianuand Canale. The haustivestudy of the enormouscomplex oi problems periodicalpublications Atti della SocietdLigure di Sto- connectedwith the subject,and henceno atternptwill ria Patria ot Genoa, anclZapiski Odeskago, Obshestva, be macjeto deal with matterswhich do not appearto Istorii i Drevnostiei ( Records of the Historical and be ol primary importance. AntiquarianSociety of Odeosa),likewise contain material There is already a very copious literature dealing of great interest. A certain amount has been written rvith the historyof tradeon the Baltic.The outstanding concerningthe Black Sea by Polish authors,but econo- works are those of Daenelle, Schlfer and Rdrig, but riric history has so tar receivecilittle attention. Ku- there are many other German, Dutch and Scandinavian trzeba'sHandel Krakowa z Wschodem(Cracow's trade writers whose works merit attention. Arnongst the with the East), and the writings of D4browski, Kolan- Polish writers on the subject, Kutrzeba, Widajewicz, kowski, Halecki, Charewicz and G6rka are among the Wachowski and Koczy have done much to extend our more important works on this subject. BALTICAND EUXINETRADE IN THE EARLYMIDDLE AGES TRADE IN THE VIKING ERA The great inland waterway,swere used by the The iirst animated contacts between the Black Vikings vfte rpenetratedinto the heart of present-day Sea and the Baltic appeared in early medieval Russia and Ukraine, and reached the Black Sea. times and lasted more or less from the middle of the Scandinavianhistorians affirm that this advance to- 9th to the middle of the llth century. Of the many lvards the south-eastwas conductedacording to a set European peoples who endeavouredto establish com- plan directed by the rulers of Svealand. But this sup- mercial'relations between the Black Sea and the rest of position likewise appears to 'be highly problematical, Europe, the Vikings showed most enterprise and since it is improbable that the ru,lersof such a small energy. According to A. Bugge, and H. and A. Schfick, realm, and one constantly harrassedby warlike nelgh- there rvas an i6,portant mercantilecentre on the Baltic bours, could have developed such lar-reaching and as early as in the 8th century: this was Bjdrko (or comprehensiveplans. It is much more likely that Birca), situated on a small island in Lake lliilar, in various smalI companiesof warriors effected the con- Sweden. These investigatorssuppose that this trading questof the Russianand Ukrainianlanrds on their own settlementwas the point of issue ior the expeditions initiative; they proceeded along the most convenient ot the SwedishVikings to the south-east,and they lind routes,occupied the richer districts and iounded settle- supportfor their surmisein the namesof some settle- ments at the most important economic,strategical and ments in Finlanicland in the Ukraine, for there is a political points. It is, theretore,much more ,probable Bjdrkd on the Gulf of Finland and a Berezany at the that the internal logic of conquest rather than any mouth of the Dnieper. They take this aifinity as evi- previously conceivedplan, was the decisive factor at dence that Swedish Bjorko served as a rnodel tor the work in this case. organization set up by the Vikings, but this theory The chief inland line of communicationfronr the would not appear to be very well grounded. Baltic to the south led from the Culf ot Finland, along voL. ilt- No. t. iil. IANUAR|' 1937 THE BALT{C {N"D THE BLACK SE.{ 15-A{ED{EVAL rR.ADE the Neva and Lake Volkhov, to Novgorod, thenceto the barbarism and cut them off trom the sources oi their Dnieper,along that river to Kiev, and by land to the Byzantine civilization. Rostovtsev and Pokrovsky, Crimea and Kherson. There the Vikings embarked however, point to the influenceof other lactors. They and so reachedMiklagaard (the Great City), as the surmise that the trade of the Russian towns with the Vikings called Constantinople, which so strongly Near East had been chietly based on the products attracted them rvith its polver and fabulous riches. exacted as tribute from the subjected rural population, There was another route which branched off at Nov- and that the coun,tryhad, as a result, been so impover- gorod and ran to the Volga,, towards ltil ancl ished by nrany centuriesof this practice that trade was Bul'gar,thence by the Caspian Sea to Persia and the already dying out, in the 12th century, owing to the other Asiatic countries. The third route ran from iirsufticientsupply of goods. To-day it is ditficult to Novgorod to the sourcesoi the Don, and down that decidewhich of theseviews is more in accordancewith liver to the Sea oi Azov. the lacts: in any case,the point with which the present In time, such townships as Rostow and Kiev paper dealsis the declinein this trade as having been ivere founded by the Vikings, who forced the subjected the causeof a rupture in the economi.crelations between native populationto pay regulartribute in kind. Ac- the Baltic regionand the Greco-Byzantineand Turanian cording to Rostovtsev and Pokrovsky, the stocks of lands. This was of enornroussignificance, as from that merchandisethus accumulated served as the basis ot time the vaststretches oi easternEurope lost their great a lively barter trade with the surppliersof oriental pro- importanceto the economiclife oi the Middle Ages, and ciuce. In addition, however,goods of lvesternEuropean conrmercialintercourse between western Europe and and Baltic provenancewere transportedoverland and the Near East was,maintained through the intermediary disposedof in the East. The Norsemen kept northern oi quite other countriesand trade routes. Europe supplied with the produce of the East, as wit- ness the numerous articles of Byzantine and Arabian BALTIC TRADE IN THE IIth AND I2th CENTURIES origin lound in the Baltic region. The chief centresof ln the meantime,Iar-reaching changes also occu'r- this trade were Kiev, ltil and Bulgar, where Oreek, red on the Baltic. Bjorko was pillaged and burned to Arabian and Persian merchants traded with their Sla- the ground by the Norwegiansc. 1000; the old Swedish vonic and Scandinaviancolleagues; it was there thai emporium never recoveredirom the disasier, and the <telicatcfabrics, spices, essential oils and the other Sigtuna, also situated on Lake M2ilar, supplanted it valirablegoods of the Orient and Near East were and throughoutthe I lth and 12th centuriesremained exchanged for furs, wa.x, certain metals, and slaves. one of the most important ports of call for the transport At times, traciersfrom Kherson or Jrom Asia Minor of orientalgoods to the Danish city of Heidebu.Swedish penetrated farther inland, rvhil'st the Varegian boats merchan'tswere not the only traders who proceeded to appearedon the waters oi the Bosphorus.The Vikings Denmark in pursuit of their calling: the chronicles clid not always come to Constantinopleas merchants: also mention merchantsfrom Novgorod who lourneyed many of thern made the journey especiallyto enlist in to Jutland. At this period, the merchants of Goitland the Varangian Guarcl. The Russ dukes, Oleg and began to play a more and more important r6le in Baltic Sviatoslav, made an unsuccesslulattempt to subject trade. Their island was exceptionaltywell situated for Constantinoplein the year 859 and again in 907, but internationaltrade, and it became the chief centre for more amicablerelations were establishedsoon after. northerncommerce during the 12th and 13ih centuries, The first Russo-Byzanti.netreaiy of commercewas con- especiallyafter the ruin of Sigtuna by a pirate raid in cludeclin 912, and after the conversionto Christianityof I187. The Gottlanderswent as far afield as Novgorod, Vladimir theGreat, the tiesbetween Russia and Bvzantium and we know that they built a church there in 1156. becamemrrch closer and relationsmore intimate. They later establishedtheir 'factories' and warehouses (Gotenhof) in that city-a move of the utmost value to DECLINE OF RUSSLANTRADE WITH THE EAST them, as Novgorodlvas at that time the chief emporium The conquest of the Black Sea region by the for north Russian trade. Valuable furs, iorest and ,products, Piechengyand the Polovtsyin the 11th and 12th cen- agricultural and metals from the Urals were turies caused a radical change in the situation. The bought and sol'd, as were also oriental goods, for the invasionof the nomadsvirtually stoppedcom'munication city maintai,nedrelations with the Asiatic countries. It between northern Europe and the Eastern Empire. is diffioult to state how tar the Gottland merchants Solovyev, Kliuchevsky and Pirenne consider that the contributed to restore commercial relations with the incursions of the Turanian peoples caused an inter- Black Sea lands, whose economic life was, for that ruption in commercial relations between north-eastern nratter,thenr passing through a period of decl,ine. The Europe and the Near East which lasted lor many sparsesource-material available contains no clue which centuries:they certainly plunged the Russianlands into might elucid'atethis point. 38 M. MALOWIST BALTIC AND SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES I TFiE HANSEATICPERIOD THE FIANSA IN BALTIC TRADE unrestrictedtrade in all Poland and in Red Ruthertia, Visby, the capital ot Gottland, lvas undoubtedly which he had just annexed. Creat economicpossibili- the most im,portantmercantile centre on the Baltic in ties now awaited the burghers of Toruf : they aimed the first half of the 13th century, but this period ot consistently at the organization of commerce so that great prosperitywas not of long duration.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Old Norse Mythology — Comparative Perspectives Old Norse Mythology— Comparative Perspectives
    Publications of the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature No. 3 OLd NOrse MythOLOgy — COMParative PersPeCtives OLd NOrse MythOLOgy— COMParative PersPeCtives edited by Pernille hermann, stephen a. Mitchell, and Jens Peter schjødt with amber J. rose Published by THE MILMAN PARRY COLLECTION OF ORAL LITERATURE Harvard University Distributed by HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, England 2017 Old Norse Mythology—Comparative Perspectives Published by The Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature, Harvard University Distributed by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, England Copyright © 2017 The Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature All rights reserved The Ilex Foundation (ilexfoundation.org) and the Center for Hellenic Studies (chs.harvard.edu) provided generous fnancial and production support for the publication of this book. Editorial Team of the Milman Parry Collection Managing Editors: Stephen Mitchell and Gregory Nagy Executive Editors: Casey Dué and David Elmer Production Team of the Center for Hellenic Studies Production Manager for Publications: Jill Curry Robbins Web Producer: Noel Spencer Cover Design: Joni Godlove Production: Kristin Murphy Romano Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hermann, Pernille, editor. Title: Old Norse mythology--comparative perspectives / edited by Pernille Hermann, Stephen A. Mitchell, Jens Peter Schjødt, with Amber J. Rose. Description: Cambridge, MA : Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature, 2017. | Series: Publications of the Milman Parry collection of oral literature ; no. 3 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifers: LCCN 2017030125 | ISBN 9780674975699 (alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Mythology, Norse. | Scandinavia--Religion--History. Classifcation: LCC BL860 .O55 2017 | DDC 293/.13--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017030125 Table of Contents Series Foreword ...................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Contents & Introduction
    e Archaeology of Sound, Acoustics and Music: Studies in Honour of Cajsa S. Lund Gjermund Kolltveit and Riitta Rainio, eds. Publications of the ICTM Study Group on Music Archaeology, Vol. 3 Series Editor: Arnd Adje Both Berlin: Ekho Verlag, 2020 368 pages with 86 gures and 6 tables ISSN 2198-039X ISBN 978-3-944415-10-9 (Series) ISBN 978-3-944415-39-0 (Vol. 3) ISBN 978-3-944415-40-6 (PDF) Layout and Typography: Claudia Zeissig · Kunst & Gestaltung | www.claudiazeissig.ch Printed in Poland Ekho Verlag Dr. Arnd Adje Both, Berlin [email protected] | www.ekho-verlag.com All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Ekho Verlag. © 2020 Ekho Verlag 5 Contents Prefaces and Introduction 11 The Sounds of Former Silence Cornelius Holtorf 13 Pioneering Archaeological Approaches to Music Iain Morley 15 My Tribute to Cajsa, or My Encounter with the Swedish Fairy Godmother of the New Music Archaeology Catherine Homo-Lechner 19 Ears wide open: Listening to the 4D Soundscapes of Cajsa S. Lund Emiliano Li Castro 21 Introduction to the Volume The Archaeology of Sound, Acoustics and Music: Studies in Honour of Cajsa S. Lund Gjermund Kolltveit and Riitta Rainio 6 Contents Chapters 31 Sound Archaeology and the Soundscape Rupert Till 55 Ears to the Ground: On Cajsa Lund’s Legacy and Moving Movements Frances Gill 97 The Rommelpot of the Netherlands as a Case Study in Cajsa
    [Show full text]
  • Destination Sigtuna
    ARLANDA • MÄRSTA • ROSERSBERG • SIGTUNA STAD DISCOVER SIGTUNA WELCOME TO SIGTUNA COME FOR A VISIT! PLEASE VISIT us – three tourist offices are ready to welcome you all year round. If you are travelling to Stockholm Arlanda Airport, you will find the tourist information office in the arrival halls in Terminal 5 and Terminal 2. Arlanda Visitors Center is open around the clock and is staffed between 06–24. The Sigtuna Tourist office can be found at Stora gatan 33 in Sigtuna town. Here you can book guided tours and get help to plan your visit. Visiting address: Stora gatan 33, Sigtuna Postal adress: Box 117, 193 23 Sigtuna Phone: +46 (0)8 591 269 60 E-mail: [email protected] NMÄ NE RK A E V T S WANT TO KNOW MORE? DESTINATIONSIGTUNA.SE FOLLOW US: FACEBOOK.COM/SIGTUNA Trycksak INSTAGRAM.COM/DESTINATION_SIGTUNA 5041 0004 SIGTUNAGUIDE PUBLISHER Destination Sigtuna AB WRITER Anna Forster PHOTO COVER AND CONTENT Linus Hallgren ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Helena Brännström, Lennart Durehed, Marielle Brolin, Ralf Turander MAPS David Karlström 2 WELCOME TO SIGTUNA — WHERE SWEDEN BEGINS Sigtuna, Sweden’s first town was built as a political and religious center of power over 1000 years ago. Sigtuna quickly became a meeting place for people from all over the world, and remains so to this day. Sigtuna is one of the nation’s premier hotel and conference destinations with over 4000 beds ready for you. A unique place to meet and to discover. You will find us less than one hour from Stockholm or Uppsala. Sigtuna is easily accessible with the SL card, car, boat or why not by plane to Sigtuna’s own Stockholm – Arlanda Airport.
    [Show full text]
  • A Knaver in the Works! 1 a Knaver in the Works! Nya Arkeologiska Fynd Ger Instrumentforskningen Problem Jan Winter
    Sigtunafyndet: A knaver in the works! 1 A knaver in the works! Nya arkeologiska fynd ger instrumentforskningen problem Jan Winter När arkeologen Anders Söderberg i februari 2016 presenterade ett arkeologiskt fynd från Sigtuna vid The Archaeology of Sound, Acoustics and Music, A symposium in honour of Cajsa S. Lund i Växjö möttes han av entusiasm eftersom fyndet beskrevs som ”the earliest known key for a possible nyckelharpa”.1 Fyndet åtföljdes av en datering - 1200-talet. Det ökade frågetecknen dramatiskt eftersom de hittills äldsta kända bevarade nyckelharporna är från slutet av 1600-talet.2 Vid samma konferens i Växjö presenterade den polska musikarkeologen Dorota Popławska uppgifter som gjorde gällande att man hittat instrumentlocket från en nyckelharpa nära Wolin vid Östersjökusten. Också detta fynd daterades till 1200-talet. Därmed hade två av varandra oberoende sensationella musikhistoriska fynd dykt upp som i praktiken kullkastade hittills accepterade fakta rörande de allra tidigaste instrumentfynden av nyckelharpa. Sigtunafyndets ursprung och betydelse diskuterades livligt i nyckelharpskretsar under våren 2016, delvis med Söderberg som debattdeltagare. Samma vår visades detta fynd upp i Sigtuna museums utställning Trä 2.0 – tiden är ingenting, åter med tidsbestämningen 1200-talet och presenterad under en stiliserad teckning av en nyckelharpa från 1700-talet. Under sommaren publicerades Sigtunafyndet i den arkeologiska tidskriften Fornvännen under rubriken Medieval string instrument finds from Sigtuna, including the earliest known key for a possible nyckelharpa.3 Att hitta föremål som på något sätt bekräftar det svårtolkade medeltida ikonografiska källmaterialet kring de tidigaste nyckelharporna i Europa är sensationellt. Trots detta har fynden väckt mycket liten uppmärksamhet bland etablerade musikhistoriker och instrumentforskare i Sverige.
    [Show full text]
  • 4. Trade Structure
    TRADE STRUCTURE 4. TRADE STRUCTURE 4.1 Changing Nature of Global Container Trade Container shipping routes can be divided into three main groups: (1) East-West trades, which circle the globe in the Northern Hemisphere linking the major industrial centres of North America, Western Europe and Asia; (2) North-South trades articulating around major production and consumption centres of Europe, Asia and North America, and linking these centres with developing countries in the Southern Hemisphere; and (3) intraregional trades operating in shorter hauls and with smaller ships. North–south routes are Figure 4-1 shows study estimates of the container trade volumes (full export/import containers only) in 2002 and 2015 of each of trade groups. Container trade volumes on the East-West routes will increase from 34 million TEU in 2002 to 70 million TEU in 2015 representing 5.8 per cent of annual average growth rate. The study forecasts suggest that the intraregional trades will show solid growth from 28 million TEU to 72 million TEU with a compound average growth rate of 7.5 per cent per annum over the same period. The North-South trade is also expected to grow at a rate of 6.2 per cent per annum on average, exceeding the growth rate of the East-West trade. Figure 4-1: Container Trade by Trade Group (2002 and 2015) 80.00 70.00 60.00 50.00 2002 40.00 2015 Million TEU 30.00 20.00 10.00 0.00 East-West Intra-Regional North-South/South-South 32 TRADE STRUCTURE 4.2 Asia - North America The biggest deep sea liner route is the trans-Pacific trade between Asia and North America, representing 14.5 million TEU in 2002, equivalent to 43 per cent of the total East-West trade and 19 per cent of the world total.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Sea-Caspian Steppe: Natural Conditions 20 1.1 the Great Steppe
    The Pechenegs: Nomads in the Political and Cultural Landscape of Medieval Europe East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450–1450 General Editors Florin Curta and Dušan Zupka volume 74 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ecee The Pechenegs: Nomads in the Political and Cultural Landscape of Medieval Europe By Aleksander Paroń Translated by Thomas Anessi LEIDEN | BOSTON This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided no alterations are made and the original author(s) and source are credited. Further information and the complete license text can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ The terms of the CC license apply only to the original material. The use of material from other sources (indicated by a reference) such as diagrams, illustrations, photos and text samples may require further permission from the respective copyright holder. Publication of the presented monograph has been subsidized by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education within the National Programme for the Development of Humanities, Modul Universalia 2.1. Research grant no. 0046/NPRH/H21/84/2017. National Programme for the Development of Humanities Cover illustration: Pechenegs slaughter prince Sviatoslav Igorevich and his “Scythians”. The Madrid manuscript of the Synopsis of Histories by John Skylitzes. Miniature 445, 175r, top. From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. Proofreading by Philip E. Steele The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov LC record available at http://catalog.loc.gov/2021015848 Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Origins of the Old Icelandic Learned Prehistory
    MISCELLANEA GEOGRAPHICA – REGIONAL STUDIES ON DEVELOPMENT Vol. 23 • No. 3 • 2019 • pp. 121-124 • ISSN: 2084-6118 • DOI: 10.2478/mgrsd-2018-0038 “Some call Europe, and some call Eneá”: on the origins of the Old Icelandic learned prehistory Abstract By the 12th century, northern territories were fairly well known in Tatjana N. Jackson practice, but there was an urgent need to explain the state of this region in written form. In most national narratives, there is an evident tendency to emphasise the similarity of local history with a more significant and more authoritative (Roman or sacred) history (Mortensen 2005). This paper Institute of World History of the Russian deals with a very specific geographical image—“Europe, or Eneá”—that Academy of Sciences, Moscow, appears on two “textual maps” by an Icelandic historian of the 13th century, Russian Federation Snorri Sturluson, in his Edda, an Icelandic ars poetica (c. 1220), and in his e-mail: [email protected] large compendium of the kings’ sagas entitled Heimskringla (c. 1230). The author demonstrates that the toponym Eneá, going back to the ancient hero Aeneas, was formed by Snorri himself as a result of his immersion in the local Icelandic culture and literature, where the Troy story had, by that time, occupied a significant place. Keywords Knowledge transfer • antiquity • Middle Ages • Old Norse-Icelandic sources • geographical images • toponyms Received: 5 October 2018 © University of Warsaw – Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies Accepted: 26 November 2018 Introduction This paper deals with two “textual maps” by an Icelandic norðri frá fjǫllum þeim, er fyrir útan eru byggð alla, fellr á um historian of the 13th century, Snorri Sturluson, that occur in Svíþjóð, sú er at réttu heitir Tanais.
    [Show full text]
  • Opening Essential Questions? Lesson Objectives
    Silk Road Curriculum Project 2018-2019 Ingrid Herskind Title of Lesson Plan: Silk Road: Cartography and Trade in Ancient and Modern China Ingrid Herskind, Flintridge Prep School, La Canada, CA Lesson Overview: Students will explore the “Silk Road” trade networks by investigating a route, mapping the best path, and portraying a character who navigated the route. Opening essential questions? How did the Silk Road routes represent an early version of worldwide integration and development? How does China’s modern One Belt, One Road project use similar routes and methodologies as the earlier Silk Road project? How is this modern project different? Lesson Objectives: Students will be able to: Students will also apply skills from the Global Competence Matrix and will: • Investigate the world beyond their immediate environment by identifying an issue, generating a question, and explaining its significance locally, regionally, and globally. • Recognize their own and others’ perspectives by understanding the influences that impact those perspectives. • Communicate their ideas effectively with diverse audiences by realizing how their ideas and delivery can be perceived. • Translate their ideas and findings into appropriate actions to improve conditions and to create opportunities for personal and collaborative action. 1 1 World Savvy, Global Competence Matrix, Council of Chief State School Officers’ EdSteps Project in partnership with the Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning, 2010 1 Silk Road Curriculum Project 2018-2019 Ingrid Herskind Length of Project: This lesson as designed to take place over 2-3 days (periods are either 45 min or 77 min) in 9th Grade World History. Grade Level: High School (gr 9) World History, variation in International Relations 12th grade Historical Context: • China was a key player in the networks that crossed from one continent to another.
    [Show full text]
  • The Old Potter's Almanack
    The Old Potter’s Almanack Page 23 THE BRAZING OF IRON AND THE unidentified in pictures in the catalogue (cf. Gebers METALSMITH AS A SPECIALISED POTTER 1981, 120 where figs. 1 and 2 may depict fragments of brazing packages for padlocks). Anders Söderberg Sigtuna Museum Sweden Email: [email protected] Introduction In early medieval metal craft, ceramics were used for furnace and forge linings and for crucibles and containers for processing metals, processes like refining, assaying and melting. Ceramic materials were also used in processes such as box carburisation and brazing, which is more rarely paid attention to. In the latter cases, we are merely talking about tempered clay as a protective “folding material”, rather than as vessels. The leftover pieces from the processes, though, look very similar to crucible fragments, which is why the occurrence of brazing and carburisation easily gets missed when interpreting workshop sites. Yet, just like the crucibles, they tell about important processes and put Figure 1. Map of Scandinavia, Denmark, the Baltic Sea and the spotlight on the metalworkers as skilled potters. the different sites mentioned in this paper (A. Söderberg). Leftover pieces of what probably were clay What are probably the remains of fragments wrappings used in box carburisation, performed as emerging from the brazing of small bells, were found described by Theophilus in book III, chapters 18 and at Helgö and in Bosau (Figure 2; cf. Gebers 1981, 19 (Hawthorne and Smith 1979, 94–95), seem to be 120 figs. 3-6), in early Christian Clonfad in Ireland relatively common at early medieval workshop sites (Young 2005, 3; Stevens 2006, 10) and in a Gallo- in Sweden.
    [Show full text]
  • Andrey Grinev, Phd Student Lomonosov Moscow State
    Andrey Grinev, PhD student Lomonosov Moscow State University REPORT ON THE PROJECT RESEARCH of CULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS between OLD RUS AND SCANDINAVIA in the LATE VIKING AGE (X-XI th centuries) (on materials of collections of objects from organic materials) Stockholm, Sigtuna, Uppsala, Lödöse March – May, 2018 Introduction The Sverker Åström Foundation is the unique organization contributing to the establishment and development of Russian-Swedish relationships in fields of science, art, culture, technology, ecology and so on. Collaboration with this Foundation allows receiving new experience, learning up-to-date methodic and striking up new acquaintances with specialists and colleagues for many young researchers. This project is devoted to the investigation of Russian-Swedish contacts in the Late Viking Age (10 – 11th centuries) basing on the analysis of archaeological sources. Concept Old Rus and Scandinavia are two huge regions, which played an extremely important role in the history of Europe during the Middle Ages. It is well known from writing sources that there were very firm contacts between these territories in the Early Middle Ages, which were reflected through dynastic matrimonies, trading, martial co-operation etc. All these things left their traces in material culture. The problem of relationships between Old Rus and Scandinavia in Early Middle Ages and the problem of archaeological evidence of these contacts is of current importance for many decades. Writing sources (chronicles and sagas), burial rites, weapon, jewellery, and diverse household utensils were under consideration during this period, but despite the long-time research, this problem is not used up. The great part of the material culture, first of all consisting of artefacts made of organic materials (bone and wood), was out of the attention of scholars.
    [Show full text]
  • Trading Centers in the 1000S-1100S the Population Began to Grow
    Trading Centers In the 1000s-1100s the population began to grow. Farmers were growing more food. The number of foreign invaders had declined. A retreat in polar ice had caused good weather. Many peasants left the fields to work in the village. They began to produce products. Nobles began to trade western products for luxury goods from the east. Sugar, spices, silk, and dyes. Trading centers developed on sea routes. The sea routes connected western Europe with the Mediterranean, Russia, and Scandinavia. Two of the earliest and most important trading centers were Venice and Flanders. Venice Venice was an island port in the Mediterranean Sea. It was near the coast of Italy. It was founded in the 500s, by people fleeing from Germans. They traded salted fish for wheat from Italy. They traded with the Byzantines. They exported wheat, wine, and slaves. They traded for fabrics and spices. In the 1100s, Venice became a leading port. Many Venetians became merchants. They learned to read and write. They learned to use money and keep records. Eventually they had a banking system. Italian towns began to make cloth. They sent the cloth to Venice to be shipped. Other Italian towns became shipping centers. The Italian navy removed the Muslims from the Mediterranean Sea. The Near East was open to Europe. Italian trading towns argued about money and trade routes. European Atlantic coast towns soon developed trade routes. By 1530, they were more powerful than Italian towns. Flanders Was an area in modern Belgium of small towns. The Flemish raised sheep. They used the wool to weave cloth.
    [Show full text]
  • Section 3 Step-By-Step Instruction the Wealth of Timbuktu SECTION SECTION “ the Inhabitants Are Very Rich
    Section 3 Step-by-Step Instruction The Wealth of Timbuktu SECTION SECTION “ The inhabitants are very rich. Grain and animals are Review and Preview 3 abundant, so that the consumption of milk and butter is considerable. But salt is in very short supply because it is Students have learned about Native carried here from Tegaza, some 500 miles from Timbuktu.... American cultures in North America The royal court is magnificent and very well organized. This king makes war only upon neighboring enemies and and their interaction through trade. upon those who do not want to pay him tribute. Now they will learn about cultures on ” the continents of Europe, Africa, and —Hassan ibn Muhammad, The Description of Africa, 1526 Asia and how they were linked through trade. � City of Timbuktu in West Africa Trade Networks of Section Focus Question Asia and Africa How did trade link Europe, Afri- ca, and Asia? Objectives Why It Matters While Native Americans were developing Before you begin the lesson for the day, • Learn about the role played by Muslims in diverse cultures and civilizations, other civilizations thrived write the Section Focus Question on the world trade. in Europe, Africa, and Asia. board. (Lesson focus: Europeans, Africans, • Discover how great trading states rose in East Section Focus Question: How did trade link Europe, and Asians exchanged goods, ideas, and Africa and West Africa. Africa, and Asia? influ­ences through trade.) • Find out how China dominated an important trade route across Asia. The Muslim Link in Trade From earliest times, trade linked groups who lived Prepare to Read at great distances from one another.
    [Show full text]