Helsingborg – var fanns den äldsta staden? : Myten om högstaden och urbaniseringen
(2021) In Gransk : online tidsskrift for Rudersdal Museer, Museum Nordsjælland, Museerne Helsingør og Furesø Museer 2021(1). p.65-109- Abstract
- Already in the 16th century, archbishop Mogens Madsen described the area around the castle on the steep escarpment overlooking the narrowest strait in Öresund, as a vanished Troy. The historian Ludvig Magnus Bååth, who wrote the first academic work on the history of Helsingborg, promoted this narrative of an original urban settlement on the top of the escarpment. The paramount argument for an urban settlement is Canute the Holy's deed of gift to Lund Cathedral in 1085, in which it is stated that the king extracted a specific urban tax from Helsingborg. Ever since Bååth’s work in the early 1920s, archaeological investigations have been undertaken with the aim to confirm this narrative.
The article is a critical examination of the... (More) - Already in the 16th century, archbishop Mogens Madsen described the area around the castle on the steep escarpment overlooking the narrowest strait in Öresund, as a vanished Troy. The historian Ludvig Magnus Bååth, who wrote the first academic work on the history of Helsingborg, promoted this narrative of an original urban settlement on the top of the escarpment. The paramount argument for an urban settlement is Canute the Holy's deed of gift to Lund Cathedral in 1085, in which it is stated that the king extracted a specific urban tax from Helsingborg. Ever since Bååth’s work in the early 1920s, archaeological investigations have been undertaken with the aim to confirm this narrative.
The article is a critical examination of the hypothesis. It comprises a detailed review of archaeological observations in the area. This provides the basis for an interpretation of the original topography, as well as the development of the settlement from the Viking Age to the 14th century.
It is concluded that the hypothesis of a town on the escarpment lacks empirical support. Instead the archaeological results provide evidence for five separate settlements located on conspicuous and strategic positions on the escarpment, controlling the roads down to the beach that functioned as a seasonal market and a landing place. The earliest settlement dates to the 8th and 9th centuries, and functioned as a residence for a praefectus, who maintained the peace at the seasonal market and landing place on the beach below. During the 11th century a crown estate was established at this place, which during the middle of the following century was fortified with the construction of a castle. The other four settlements were established at the same time as the crown estate, during the 11th century. They comprised noble manors, out of which four were facilitated with conspicuous Romanesque churches with adjoining cemeteries. These settlements reflect the growing importance of the seasonal market, but also the establishment of royal power structures and the feudal state. In this early period, the urban tax mentioned in the deed was extracted from the seasonal market, by the crown and the holders of the manors on the escarpment.
The market place attracted permanent citizens and grew to a town during the end of the 13th century. At the same time, a Dominican convent with adjoining cemetery was established immediately south of the castle. Rather than an early medieval town, as suggested by Bååth and others, the first permanent urban settlement on the escarpment was a suburb that had been established in the vicinity of this Dominican convent.
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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/6254e7fc-e874-4d49-ba9e-4e797c83f52f
- author
- Thomasson, Joakim LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2021
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Urbanisering, Helsingborg, Medeltid, Arkeologi, Urbanization, Helsingborg, Medieval, Archeology
- in
- Gransk : online tidsskrift for Rudersdal Museer, Museum Nordsjælland, Museerne Helsingør og Furesø Museer
- volume
- 2021
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 47 pages
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- ISBN: 978-87-88792-17-1
- id
- 6254e7fc-e874-4d49-ba9e-4e797c83f52f
- alternative location
- http://gransk.dk/6-helsingborg-var-fanns-den-aldsta-staden/
- date added to LUP
- 2021-05-16 15:48:13
- date last changed
- 2022-02-22 15:51:00
@article{6254e7fc-e874-4d49-ba9e-4e797c83f52f,
abstract = {{Already in the 16th century, archbishop Mogens Madsen described the area around the castle on the steep escarpment overlooking the narrowest strait in Öresund, as a vanished Troy. The historian Ludvig Magnus Bååth, who wrote the first academic work on the history of Helsingborg, promoted this narrative of an original urban settlement on the top of the escarpment. The paramount argument for an urban settlement is Canute the Holy's deed of gift to Lund Cathedral in 1085, in which it is stated that the king extracted a specific urban tax from Helsingborg. Ever since Bååth’s work in the early 1920s, archaeological investigations have been undertaken with the aim to confirm this narrative.<br/><br/>The article is a critical examination of the hypothesis. It comprises a detailed review of archaeological observations in the area. This provides the basis for an interpretation of the original topography, as well as the development of the settlement from the Viking Age to the 14th century. <br/><br/>It is concluded that the hypothesis of a town on the escarpment lacks empirical support. Instead the archaeological results provide evidence for five separate settlements located on conspicuous and strategic positions on the escarpment, controlling the roads down to the beach that functioned as a seasonal market and a landing place. The earliest settlement dates to the 8th and 9th centuries, and functioned as a residence for a praefectus, who maintained the peace at the seasonal market and landing place on the beach below. During the 11th century a crown estate was established at this place, which during the middle of the following century was fortified with the construction of a castle. The other four settlements were established at the same time as the crown estate, during the 11th century. They comprised noble manors, out of which four were facilitated with conspicuous Romanesque churches with adjoining cemeteries. These settlements reflect the growing importance of the seasonal market, but also the establishment of royal power structures and the feudal state. In this early period, the urban tax mentioned in the deed was extracted from the seasonal market, by the crown and the holders of the manors on the escarpment.<br/><br/>The market place attracted permanent citizens and grew to a town during the end of the 13th century. At the same time, a Dominican convent with adjoining cemetery was established immediately south of the castle. Rather than an early medieval town, as suggested by Bååth and others, the first permanent urban settlement on the escarpment was a suburb that had been established in the vicinity of this Dominican convent.<br/><br/>}},
author = {{Thomasson, Joakim}},
keywords = {{Urbanisering; Helsingborg; Medeltid; Arkeologi; Urbanization; Helsingborg; Medieval; Archeology}},
language = {{swe}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{65--109}},
series = {{Gransk : online tidsskrift for Rudersdal Museer, Museum Nordsjælland, Museerne Helsingør og Furesø Museer}},
title = {{Helsingborg – var fanns den äldsta staden? : Myten om högstaden och urbaniseringen}},
url = {{http://gransk.dk/6-helsingborg-var-fanns-den-aldsta-staden/}},
volume = {{2021}},
year = {{2021}},
}