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The Economy of Norwegian Towns C. 1250–1350

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The Economy of Norwegian Towns C. 1250–1350 Institutt for historie og religionsvitenskap ved fakultetet for humaniora, samfunnsvitenskap og lærerutdanning. The economy of Norwegian towns c. 1250–1350 A comparative study of the economic functions of towns in Norway, Denmark and England — Olav Elias Gundersen Masteroppgave i historie – mai 2015 Acknowledgements I wish to thank my supervisor, Professor Richard Holt, for all the help he has given me. Without the insightful and intellectually provocative comments he has continually provided throughout my work on this thesis, I do not know how it would have turned out. Thank you. My fellow students in Breiviklia also deserve thanks for providing a great social environment, as well as comments on my earlier drafts of this thesis. I especially want to thank Tor-Ivar for his last minute proofreading of the entire thesis. I also want to thank my parents for their constant support, and my girlfriend, Helene, for always being there for me when I needed encouragement or to take my mind off the thesis. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1: Research questions .......................................................................................................... 2 1.2: Geographical and chronological delimitation ................................................................. 3 1.3: Sources ............................................................................................................................ 3 1.4: Previous research ............................................................................................................ 4 1.5: Method ............................................................................................................................ 7 1.6: Structure of the thesis ...................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2: Towns in Norway, Denmark and England ............................................................. 10 2.1: Defining Norwegian towns ........................................................................................... 12 2.2: Towns in the sagas ........................................................................................................ 18 2.3: The town structure: Buildings and governance ............................................................. 21 2.4: Townspeople ................................................................................................................. 24 Chapter 3: Town industries ...................................................................................................... 28 3.1: Commodity production in England and Denmark ........................................................ 28 3.2: Textile production in Norwegian towns ........................................................................ 30 3.3: Leather workers – Shoemakers in Norway ................................................................... 34 3.4: Production of other goods ............................................................................................. 36 3.5: Summary ....................................................................................................................... 40 Chapter 4: Commercialisation .................................................................................................. 42 4.1: Coins in Norway in the High Middle Ages ................................................................... 43 4.2: Coins in towns ............................................................................................................... 47 4.3: Trade ............................................................................................................................. 51 4.4: Shops, stalls and carts ................................................................................................... 52 4.5: Markets and fairs ........................................................................................................... 58 4.6: Import and export .......................................................................................................... 61 4.7: Norwegian towns – places of consumption or commerce? ........................................... 63 Chapter 5: Fundamental causes ................................................................................................ 66 5.1: Natural limitations and possibilities .............................................................................. 66 5.2: Class relationships ......................................................................................................... 71 5.3: Hanseatic domination .................................................................................................... 75 5.4: Causes working in conjunction – and against to each other ......................................... 78 Chapter 6: Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 82 6.1: How we think about Norwegian towns ......................................................................... 83 6.2: Norwegian towns: A failure? For whom? ..................................................................... 85 6.3: Closing remarks ............................................................................................................ 87 Sources ..................................................................................................................................... 89 Literature .................................................................................................................................. 89 Chapter 1: Introduction When Lewis Mumford wrote his influential book The City in History (1961), he opened by asking the simple question “What is the city?”.1 In the fifty-four years that have passed since, the question has received much attention. Historians have amassed a wealth of knowledge about cities and towns through historical studies and archaeological excavations, and many questions that at the time were unresolved, have since received answers or at least thorough discussion. However, some questions and topics remain open for debate, and one such topic is the elusive Norwegian towns. Norwegian towns were different from their European counterparts both in appearance and function. They lacked walls, for instance, which was a common European town feature, and they were generally quite small. They were also all seaports, except Hamar, which was situated on the shore of an inland lake, Mjøsa. More importantly, as this thesis aims to show, they had a different economic function than European towns. Much of the attention Norwegian historians have accorded towns come in the form of town monographs, but some research has also been done on general town development and urbanisation in Norway. The origins of towns have enjoyed a particularly prominent place in the discussions, and a recent publication, De første 200 årene – nytt blikk på 27 skandinaviske middelalderbyer2 (2008) edited by Hans Anderssson, Gitte Hansen and Ingvild Øye, shows that the debate around this issue is still alive and thriving. Most town histories, while usually being well researched and oftentimes including some comparative elements, are generally of a local character. Few have tried to look at Norwegian towns in the High Middle Ages as a single unit. One exception is Norsk byhistorie (2006), which will be discussed further down. In general, the medieval economy has seen plenty of research and debate. The role of towns in the Norwegian economy has also received attention, usually in the context of long-distance trade. Few, however, have tried to compare the economic function of Norwegian towns with those of other European countries. In the thirteenth century especially, there was a massive urban growth in Western Europe. Old towns were given charters defining their rights and liberties, and new towns were founded rapidly. Behind the new towns were often local aristocrats who saw towns as a potential source of profit.3 One reason for the profitability of towns was that they had a market where goods were traded and from which the lord of the town 1 Mumford 1961: 3. 2 I.e. “The first 200 years – a new look at 27 Scandinavian medieval towns” 3 Miller and Hatcher 1995: 270. 1 could exact a profit. Much of the goods traded were commodities produced in the town itself, which peasants living nearby found essential. Most spectacular was the trade in textiles, which, far from being only high-quality luxury items, became more and more diversified in their quality and were usually produced in towns for a local market. Norwegian urbanisation, it has been alleged,4 did not follow this pattern. Therefore, an examination of the differences between Norwegian and other European towns is needed. The towns chosen for comparisons are those of Denmark and England. Denmark shared strong ties with Norway, culturally, linguistically, and politically, making it a fit object of comparison as one can expect to find some economic similarities or, at the very least, some shared challenges. The differences between Norway and Denmark, such as Denmark’s proximity to the continent as well as their climate and topography, also provides us with some starting points when trying to analyse certain aspects of the urban development. England, on the other hand, had a much larger population, a larger urban production sector and a much more
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