Urban Elite Culture : : A Methodological Study of Aristocracy and Civic Elites in Sea-Trading Towns of the Southwestern Baltic (12th-14th c.) / / Luisa Radohs.

• Superior document: Quellen und Darstellungen zur Hansischen Geschichte
• VerfasserIn: Radohs, Luisa,
• Place / Publishing House: Göttingen, Germany : : Böhlau,, [2023]; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Edition: First edition.
• Language: English
• Series: Quellen und Darstellungen zur hansischen Geschichte.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (693 pages)

Table of Contents

Intro -- Urban Elite Culture -- Cover -- Impressum -- ISBN 978-3-412-52861-4 -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- 1. Introduction -- 1.1 State of research -- 1.1.1 Urban encounter : aristocracy and leading civic groups in medieval towns of the southwestern Baltic -- 1.1.2 Social differentiation in the archaeological record of towns -- 1.2 Aims and research questions -- 1.3 Scope -- 1.3.1 Space and time -- 1.3.2 Social groups : the aristocracy and leading civic groups -- 1.3.3 Empirical material -- 2. Elites - The Theoretical Framework -- 2.1 Elite concept -- 2.2 Practices of identification, representation and distinction through material culture -- 2.2.1 Identity and identification through material culture -- 2.2.1.1 Material signatures of medieval spheres of life and social groups -- 2.2.1.2 Barometer objects -- 2.2.2 The town as a stage ? Representation and distinction -- 3. Methodology: Approaching High and Late Medieval Urban Elites -- 3.1 A reflection on sources and source pluralism -- 3.1.1 Sources and reality -- 3.1.2 Source pluralism and interdisciplinarity -- 3.2 Approaching urban elites - modus operandi -- 3.2.1 Written sources : frames, actors and interactions -- 3.2.2 Archaeological approaches -- 3.2.2.1 Archaeological approach 1 : urban courtly culture -- 3.2.2.1.1 Contexts of use -- 3.2.2.2 Archaeological approach 2 : living standards on medieval urban plots -- 3.2.2.3 Archaeological approach 3 : urban topography of power -- 3.2.2.4 Archaeological approach 4 : stamping identity - seal matrices as carriers of information about status and social conditions -- 3.2.2.5 Archaeological approach 5 : elite material culture in medieval Denmark -- Case Study I: Stralsund (Pomerania, Northern ­Germany) -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 State of research and sources -- 4.3 Written sources -- 4.3.1 The aristocracy.

4.3.1.1 The Princes of Rügen -- 4.3.1.2 Aristocratic families -- 4.3.1.3 Aristocratic scopes of action -- 4.3.2 Civic elites -- 4.3.2.1 Council membership and burgenses in Stralsund -- 4.3.2.2 Tasks and social demarcation of the ruling elite -- 4.3.2.3 Extramural property and citizen fiefs -- 4.4 Archaeological sources -- 4.4.1 Urban courtly culture -- 4.4.1.1 Barometer objects from Stralsund -- 4.4.1.2 Spatial distribution -- 4.4.1.3 Barometer objects from primary deposits and their contexts of use -- 4.4.1.4 Social assignments by means of archaeological finds ? -- 4.4.2 Living standards on medieval urban plots -- 4.4.2.1 The archaeological plot inventory -- 4.4.2.2 Methodological discussion and remarks -- 4.4.2.2.1 Site chronology, archaeological contexts and temporal frame -- 4.4.2.2.2 The identification of plots in the archaeological record -- 4.4.2.2.3 Quantification and classification of the find material -- 4.4.2.3 Analysis of the plots -- 4.4.2.3.1 NAT-analyses -- 4.4.2.3.2 Barometer objects -- 4.4.2.3.3 Building structures -- 4.5.2.4 Concluding remarks and outlook -- 4.4.3 Urban topography of power -- 4.4.3.1 From lordly dependence to communal freedom? Shifting power relations and their imprint on the townscape -- 4.4.3.1.1 Stralsund's earliest urban development -- 4.4.3.1.2 Seats of power : the princely curia, urban aristocratic estates and the town hall -- 4.4.3.2 Built environment and elite expressions -- 4.4.3.2.1 At home with the elites in Stralsund -- 4.4.3.2.1.1 The curia of the family von Osten -- 4.4.3.2.1.2 The house of the councillor family Wulflam -- 4.4.3.2.2 Aristocratic or civic ? Two elite dwellings in comparison -- 4.4.3.3 Elites and the urban space - summarising thoughts -- 4.4.4 Stamping identity - seal matrices as carriers of information about status and social conditions.

4.4.4.1 Seal matrices as an archaeological source -- 4.4.4.2 Seal matrices of the 13th and 14th centuries from Stralsund - sphragistic features and their social significance -- 4.4.4.3 Disposal practice -- 4.4.4.4 Seal matrices as a source for civic elite culture -- 4.4.4.5 The socio-informative value of seal matrices - a reflection -- Case Study II: Næstved (Zealand, Denmark) -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 State of research and sources -- 5.3 Næstved - sea-trading town on the river Suså -- 5.4 Actors, scopes of action and power constellations in medieval Næstved -- 5.4.1 St. Peder's Abbey (Skovkloster) -- 5.4.2 The aristocracy and Næstved -- 5.4.2.1 The Danish kings - royal power in Næstved -- 5.4.2.1.1 Husvolden -- 5.4.2.1.2 Royal residence -- 5.4.2.2 Aristocratic property -- 5.4.2.3 Between journeys, administration, negotiation and last resting place -- 5.4.3 Næstved's civic elites -- 5.5 Archaeological evidence concerning social conditions -- 5.5.1 Barometer objects from Næstved -- 5.5.1.1 Ringstedgade 4 : an elite-home in Næstved ? -- 5.5.1.2 Barometer objects from primary deposits and their contexts of use -- 5.5.2 Special finds and pottery as a starting point for a social topography -- 6. Case Study III: Elite Material Culture in Medieval Denmark - Objects from the National ­Museum of Denmark -- 6.1 Introduction and purpose -- 6.2 Data and source criticism -- 6.3 Analysis -- 6.4 On the trail of elite culture ? Distribution patterns of "high-class" artefacts from medieval Denmark -- 7. Synthesis -- 7.1 Urban elite culture - a socio-historical perspective -- 7.2 Urban elite culture - a material culture perspective -- 7.3 Urban elite culture - a methodological perspective -- 8. Conclusion -- English Summary -- Dansk Resumé -- Deutsche Zusammenfassung -- Bibliography -- I. Unpublished sources and reports -- II. Printed sources -- III. Literature.

List of Abbreviations -- List of Appendices -- Appendices 1 - 15 -- Plates.