Grand Sud Médiéval

This book offers a glimpse on the material culture of medieval Turku, the most important town of Finland in the Middle Ages. In this archaeological study, there are presented and discussed the knife sheaths, sword scabbards and grip coverings from swords or daggers found in archaeological surveys and excavations carried out during the last hundred years in the town of Turku and at Turku Castle. The objects of this study were manufactured of leather, a significant raw material often called ‘the plastic of the Middle Ages’. The whole research material is comprised of 224 artefacts, dated to 14th-16th centuries.

As personal equipment accompanying the owner, the artefacts of this study inevitably reflect the mentality and aesthetic values of their period and society. These have been viewed by studying the decoration of the artefacts. It is also asked where and by whom the objects were made, and who the users were.

All the artefacts have been individually described in text and pictures in the catalogue section of the book. Besides the medieval material, there’s been included a short introduction to Iron Age sheaths and scabbards in Finland in the light of the present knowledge.

The study is a part of the project ‘From Village into Town – Changing Ways of Life in Southwestern Finland from the 10th to the 16th century’. The project was funded by the Academy of Finland in 2001-2003 and carried out in the Department of Archaeology, University of Turku and Turku Provincial Museum.


Publisher: Society for Medieval Archaeology in Finland