The ups and downs of the building trade in a medieval city: Tree-ring data as proxies for economic, social and demographic dynamics in Bruges (c. 1200–1500)

Haneca, Kristof; Debonne, Vincent; Hoffsummer, Patrick

doi:10.1016/j.dendro.2020.125773

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…On the left lid, 10 sapwood rings were observed, which allowed a felling date range to be determined. Taking into account the sapwood data published by Wazny (1990), the highest probability density interval (see Haneca et al 2020) indicated that a felling date range was most likely between 1301 and 1317 CE. As such, the dendrochronological dating of the lid and inner (oak) compartments seemed to point toward a common felling date.…”

Section: Dating Results and Chronologymentioning

confidence: 96%

Thinking Inside the Box

Haneca

Deforce

Allemeersch³

et al. 2022

Int. J. Wood Cult.

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A heavy and impressive chest — part of the museum collection of the city of Antwerp — served as a strongbox to securely store the city’s historical documents, including citizen privileges, public liberties, and responsibilities. A recent dendrochronological survey revealed that the tree-ring pattern of the lid dates to 1005–1294 CE, suggesting a felling date early in the 14th century. The Silver fir wood originated from the Vosges mountains in France, and hence was transported to the city of Antwerp that had already developed as an important trade centre along river Scheldt by the 13th century. The tree-ring pattern of the bottom plank could not be measured, but the presence of caulking material in some large cracks and metal clamps (sintels) revealed that this repurposed timber must have originated from a medieval ship. The archaeobotanical analysis of the mosses used as caulking material and of the pollen trapped in these mosses points toward two different locations where the ship was repaired, with at least one location outside the Low Countries. During the examination, a collection of wooden boxes stored inside the chest drew the attention. It was unclear whether the collection of boxes had any connection with the original content in the chest. Tree-ring dating on these wooden boxes made of oak and beech revealed their 14th to 16th century dating. Furthermore, inscriptions proved their relationship with historical documents. The combined dendrochronological, archaeobotanical, and historical examination demonstrates that this medieval chest was a privileged spectator of the city’s turbulent history.

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Section: Dating Results and Chronologymentioning

confidence: 96%

Thinking Inside the Box

Haneca

Deforce

Allemeersch³

et al. 2022

Int. J. Wood Cult.

Self Cite

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“…Living trees in old-growth forests can reach back several centuries to the past (e.g., Martin-Benito et al, 2020). Vast amounts of construction timber from past centuries are preserved in historical buildings, providing information for the last millennium (e.g., Hoffsummer and Mayer, 2002;Seiller et al, 2014;Haneca et al, 2020). Under waterlogged conditions, wooden constructions and objects are preserved for millennia (e.g., Tegel et al, 2012;Rybníček et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The field of dendrochronology offers millennia-long and annually resolved data yielding extensive information on forest composition, structure and possible management as well as anthropogenic species selection, felling activities, timber transport, wood technology and climate (e.g., Kuniholm, 2001;Baillie, 2002;Briffa and Matthews, 2002;Tegel and Vanmoerkerke, 2014;Billamboz et al, 2017;Ljungqvist et al, 2018;Haneca et al, 2020;Muigg et al, 2020). Age/diameter models, also suitable for young individuals with few tree rings, might contribute additional information on forest management (Out et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest History—New Perspectives for an Old Discipline

Muigg

Tegel

2021

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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The scientific field of forest history studies the development of woodlands and their interrelationship with past human societies. During the last decades, the subject has experienced a constant decrease of importance, reflected in the loss of representation in most universities. After 200 years of existence, an insufficient theoretical basis and the prevalence of bibliographical and institutional studies on post-medieval periods have isolated the field and hindered interdisciplinary exchange. Here we present possible new perspectives, proposing wider methodological, chronological, thematic, and geographical areas of focus. This paper summarizes the development of the field over time and recommends content enhancement, providing a specific example of application from Roman France. Furthermore, we introduce a topical definition of forest history. Following the lead of other fields of the humanities and environmental sciences focussing on the past, forest history has to adapt to using other available archives in addition to historical written sources. In particular, historical and archeological timber as well as pollen are essential sources for the study of past forests. Research into forest history can substantially add to our understanding of relevant issues like societal responses to climate change and resource scarcity in the past and contribute to future scenarios of sustainability.

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“…For these series, the sapwood model derived from data published by Hollstein (1980) was used to obtain a probability distribution for the number of expected sapwood rings (see Haneca & Debonne 2012 for details). Then, these probability distributions were first combined and the highest density interval (hdi) representing 95.4% of the date range was computed and considered as the best estimate for the common felling date (see Haneca et al 2020). For the nave, the hypothesis that there is a common felling date is supported by the model (the 'Agreement index' A-model is well above the critical value of 60%), although two series display a relatively low agreement with the common interval for the felling date, which is situated between 1220 and 1224 CE (Fig.…”

Section: Tree-ring Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dating Medieval Ghent (Belgium): Dendrochronological and Typological Survey of the Roofs of Saint Nicholas’ Church

Debonne

Haneca

2023

Int. J. Wood Cult.

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Roof construction is a key element while documenting and studying building traditions in historical towns. In the city centre of Ghent (Belgium), numerous roofs of large monuments (churches, merchants’ halls, town halls) as well as historical houses from the pre-industrial era are still in place. Tree-ring research has been carried out on several intact roof constructions since the 1990s. The dated roofs range from the mid-13th to the 17th century. Recent research has revealed the presence of historical roofs in the church of St. Nicholas, an iconic building in the city’s historical centre. Tree-ring research has dated the roof constructions of the nave and the choir to the first and second quarters of the 13th century, which makes them the oldest preserved examples of carpentry in Ghent and among the oldest in Flanders (northern Belgium). These and other such dating results for the Ghent region allow for the development of a typology for (late) medieval and early modern roof constructions and provide context for a better understanding of the procurement, trade, and transport of building timber from the early 13th century to the early modern era.

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The ups and downs of the building trade in a medieval city: Tree-ring data as proxies for economic, social and demographic dynamics in Bruges (c. 1200–1500)

Cited by 12 publications

References 40 publications

Thinking Inside the Box

Thinking Inside the Box

Forest History—New Perspectives for an Old Discipline

Dating Medieval Ghent (Belgium): Dendrochronological and Typological Survey of the Roofs of Saint Nicholas’ Church

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