Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Medieval highly decorated redware from Lund and Roskilde : A comparison

Johansson, Erik LU orcid and Langkilde, Jesper (2026) In Lund Studies in Historical Archaeology p.125-132
Abstract
Among historians and archaeologists, the medieval towns of Roskilde and Lund have been perceived as almost twin towns. Both were founded in the late 10th century, with bishop’s seats established in the 11th century. Both quickly rose to become the most politically, economically, and culturally important ecclesiastical centres in southern Scandinavia, with similar urban landscapes dominated by numerous churches and ecclesiastical institutions, generating wealthy, cosmopolitan elite environments. Despite the apparent parallelism between the two towns, comparative studies of material culture have been very few, and none have been carried out within pottery studies. As a first attempt, this paper aims to compare a distinct and easily... (More)
Among historians and archaeologists, the medieval towns of Roskilde and Lund have been perceived as almost twin towns. Both were founded in the late 10th century, with bishop’s seats established in the 11th century. Both quickly rose to become the most politically, economically, and culturally important ecclesiastical centres in southern Scandinavia, with similar urban landscapes dominated by numerous churches and ecclesiastical institutions, generating wealthy, cosmopolitan elite environments. Despite the apparent parallelism between the two towns, comparative studies of material culture have been very few, and none have been carried out within pottery studies. As a first attempt, this paper aims to compare a distinct and easily recognisable medieval ceramic ware: highly decorated redware jugs with decorative elements in white-firing clay. Based on quantitative and qualitative surveys of selected archaeological assemblages, similarities and differences, as well as the potential for further research, will be discussed. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
medieval, redware, pottery, ceramics, Lund, Roskilde, higly decorated
host publication
Skärvor ur det förflutna : En vänbok till Mats Roslund - En vänbok till Mats Roslund
series title
Lund Studies in Historical Archaeology
editor
Hansson, Martin ; Ahlström, Torbjörn ; Bergqvist Rydén, Johanna ; Carelli, Peter ; Gustin, Ingrid ; Håkansson, Anders and Monié Nordin, Jonas
issue
23
pages
7 pages
publisher
Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University
ISSN
1653-1183
ISBN
978-91-90055-54-0
978-91-90055-53-3
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4fc8944a-9ad3-4450-b256-bedc2cd7dff1
date added to LUP
2026-05-01 16:28:49
date last changed
2026-05-20 03:19:09
@inbook{4fc8944a-9ad3-4450-b256-bedc2cd7dff1,
  abstract     = {{Among historians and archaeologists, the medieval towns of Roskilde and Lund have been perceived as almost twin towns. Both were founded in the late 10th century, with bishop’s seats established in the 11th century. Both quickly rose to become the most politically, economically, and culturally important ecclesiastical centres in southern Scandinavia, with similar urban landscapes dominated by numerous churches and ecclesiastical institutions, generating wealthy, cosmopolitan elite environments. Despite the apparent parallelism between the two towns, comparative studies of material culture have been very few, and none have been carried out within pottery studies. As a first attempt, this paper aims to compare a distinct and easily recognisable medieval ceramic ware: highly decorated redware jugs with decorative elements in white-firing clay. Based on quantitative and qualitative surveys of selected archaeological assemblages, similarities and differences, as well as the potential for further research, will be discussed.}},
  author       = {{Johansson, Erik and Langkilde, Jesper}},
  booktitle    = {{Skärvor ur det förflutna : En vänbok till Mats Roslund}},
  editor       = {{Hansson, Martin and Ahlström, Torbjörn and Bergqvist Rydén, Johanna and Carelli, Peter and Gustin, Ingrid and Håkansson, Anders and Monié Nordin, Jonas}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-90055-54-0}},
  issn         = {{1653-1183}},
  keywords     = {{medieval; redware; pottery; ceramics; Lund; Roskilde; higly decorated}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{23}},
  pages        = {{125--132}},
  publisher    = {{Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University}},
  series       = {{Lund Studies in Historical Archaeology}},
  title        = {{Medieval highly decorated redware from Lund and Roskilde : A comparison}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/248952978/johansson_langkilde_2026_s125-132.pdf}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}