Everyday products in the Middle Ages.

Hansen, Gitte; Ashby, Steven P.; Baug, Irene

doi:10.2307/j.ctvh1dtfs.5

Cited by 2 publications

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“…The call for 'alternative histories' and a 'bottom-up' perspective, as well as a new awareness of the archaeological artefact as a unique source material were followed by material culture studies increasingly concentrating on medieval everyday life and the individuals that populated it. Among these is the anthology Everyday Products in the Middle Ages (Hansen et al 2015) which presents research on producers, traders and consumers in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic region, including social identity, e.g. gender, age, ethnicity and status.…”

Section: Women Gender and Materials Culture In Medieval Archaeology -...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Women in Medieval Bergen. Gender and Material Culture

Mygland

2023

The Bryggen Papers

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Section: Women Gender and Materials Culture In Medieval Archaeology -...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Women in Medieval Bergen. Gender and Material Culture

Mygland

2023

The Bryggen Papers

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“…The principal parts are the bow and the arms, which together constitute the handle, and the blades, which have edges that end in tips. Shears are relatively common finds at archaeological sites, but they are considered everyday objects and comparatively under-researched (Goodall 1990;Hansen et al 2015). Blades and edges of swords, axes, and in particular, knives (Zavyalov & Terekhova 2021) have received significantly more metallurgical attention than the blades and edges of shears, even though the latter are produced with similar techniques.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metallurgical Characterization of Two 11th–12th Century Single-Bow Shears from Sigtuna, Sweden

2023

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Shears, being everyday objects, have received significantly less attention by archaeometallurgists than other edged tools or weapons. Yet, shear blades were forged with the same techniques as blades of, e.g. knives and swords. The most common shear type in ancient times was the bow shears, where the bow had to be flexible so it could be repeatedly bent without cracking or breaking. The shear-maker, therefore, faced the challenge of combining hard steel (the blades) with soft/flexible steel (the bow). In fact, bow shears are one of the first tools to be invented, where metal acts as a spring. Thus, ancient bow shears can be used for investigating the history and development of spring steel technology, which is currently unclear. Here, we present the metallurgical characterization of two 11th–12th c. single-bow shears from Sigtuna, Sweden. Both the blades and the bows of the two shears were found to be of decent quality and much better than in older shears from the Roman period. Although the steel qualities are not quite up to modern standards, this does not in itself prove that the Sigtuna blacksmiths lacked the technological knowledge to make ideal spring steel. Shears are relatively cheap everyday objects intended to be used until they break, at which point they are discarded. Therefore, it might not have been worth the Medieval blacksmiths’ time and effort to perfect the material properties of steel used in shears. The shears’ blades are on par with Medieval-period knife blades, and future studies on ancient shear-making should preferably involve comparisons of shears and knives from the same origins.

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Everyday products in the Middle Ages.

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Women in Medieval Bergen. Gender and Material Culture

Women in Medieval Bergen. Gender and Material Culture

Metallurgical Characterization of Two 11th–12th Century Single-Bow Shears from Sigtuna, Sweden

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