Medieval Food Traditions in Northern Europe

Description

Papers from an International Research Project: The HANSA Network 2001–2006. History can be colourful and even very appetising when different research disciplines are melted together. In this book, botanical data from archaeological excavations are combined with historical knowledge on the use of plants during medieval and early modern times. The result is a comprehensive account of the introduction of new plant foods, including exotic fruits and spices, into the traditional medieval societies of Northern Europe. One of the prime motivating factors for the authors of this book was a desire to summarize and present, for the first time, the botanical data deriving from archaeological deposits excavated in Germany, Northern Poland, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway; countries involved in the trading activities of the Hanse. The geographical frame is centred on Northern and Central Europe, enclosing primarily the countries delimited by the North Sea and the Baltic. Results are presented from an area stretching from Bergen in the west to Tallinn in the east, from Turku in the north to the cities of the Rhineland in the south. Between the 12th and 17th centuries, this great area had one thing in common, the strict control of trading activities exerted by German traders belonging to the Hanseatic League. This comprehensive publication deals with finds of plant material arising from the archaeological excavation of sites dating from this period. Preface 7 Introduction 9 1. Almuth Alsleben / Food consumption in the Hanseatic towns of Germany 13 2. Małgorzata Latałowa, Monika Badura, Joanna Jarosińska, Joanna Święta-Musznicka / Useful plants in medieval and post-medieval archaeobotanical material from the Hanseatic towns of Northern Poland (Kołobrzeg, Gdańsk and Elbląg) 39 3. Ülle Sillasoo and Sirje Hiie / An archaeobotanical approach to investigating food of the Hanseatic period in Estonia 73 4. Terttu Lempiäinen / Archaeobotanical evidence of plants from the medieval period to early modern times in Finland 97 5. Karin Viklund / Sweden and the Hanse – archaeobotanical aspects of changes in farming, gardening and dietary habits in medieval times in Sweden 119 6. Sabine Karg / Long term dietary traditions: archaeobotanical records from Denmark dated to the Middle Ages and early modern times 137 7. Kari Loe Hjelle / Foreign trade and local production – plant remains from medieval times in Norway 161 Synthesis and a mission for the future 181 References 191 Index of the HANSA plant list in English and Latin 217 The authors 223