[Dissertation] Maritime Logistics in the Age of the Northern Crusades

302 Pages·2017·27.804 MB·English

by  Daniel Zwick

M L
ARITIME OGISTICS
A
IN THE GE OF THE
N C
ORTHERN RUSADES

D Z
ANIEL WICK
K MMXVII
IEL

Maritime Logistics
in the Age
of the
Northern Crusades

Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades
der Philosophischen Fakultät
der Christian-Albrechts-Universität
zu Kiel

vorgelegt von
Daniel Zwick

Kiel
31.03.2016

Ein deutsch-dänisches Promotionsprojekt in Zusammenarbeit mit
Cover:
A reproduction of a brass plaque from the 1420’s on Bishop Henry’s sarcophagus in Nousis Church, Finland, commemorating the
Swedish crusade against Finland under King Eric IX and the aforementioned bishop around 1150 (Bengtsson & Lovén 2012, fig. 7).

Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Wolf Müller

Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Jörn Staecker

Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 21.11.2016

Durch den zweiten Prodekan Prof. Dr. Elmar Eggert zum Druck genehmigt: 24.11.16
Supervision and external research collaborations

Role Name Field of expertise Institution
Ph.D. candidate Daniel Zwick M.A. B.A. Maritime Archaeology University of Kiel, Graduate
School Human Developments in
Landscapes (GSHDL)
Principal Prof. Dr. Ulrich Müller Historical Archaeology University of Kiel, Institute of
supervisor Pre- and Protohistoric
Archaeology
External co- Dr. Anton Englert* Maritime Archaeology Viking Ship Museum, Roskilde
supervisor
External co- Dr. Kurt VilladsJensen** Medieval History University of Southern Denmark,
supervisor History Department, Odense
*since Oct. 2014 he is not affiliated with the museum anymore, but has agreed to continue his role as external co-
supervisor.
**in late 2014 he changed his affiliation to Stockholm University.

Acknowledgements

I am most indebted to my external co-supervisor recommendations on literature and for making
Anton Englert, whose support was indefatigable and available manuscripts prior to publication.
who contributed with countless insights, thought-
provoking impulses and constructive criticism to this Particularly Damian Goodburn — the ancient timber
work. His eye for details has — on many occasions specialist of my former employer, the Museum of
— triggered a new thought-process in me whereby I London Archaeology Service — provided very
came to question things that I thought were set in detailed advice on my drafts for paper C and D.
stone. I learnt much whenever I was proven wrong Damian also honoured us with a visit, presenting a
and I came to appreciate to be proven wrong, as this paper at the GSHDL’s bi-weekly colloquium on how
gave me ample opportunity to hone my analytical ship-finds and timber structures can help us to
skills. Anton’s role cannot be over-emphasised reconstruct ancient extinct wooded landscapes. Thus
enough, as I could always rely on his good judgement he demonstrated an important intersection between
and support in difficult situations and a hearty Maritime Archaeology and the general ‘landscapes’
welcome whenever I was on a research visit in theme of my Graduate School.
Roskilde. At this occasion I would also like to extend
my gratitude to other staff members of the Viking I am indebted to Johan Rönnby for making available
Ship Museum (Roskilde) for the welcoming and samples from the Kuggmaren wrecksite, and to
friendly work atmosphere and for allowing me to join Wiebke Kierleis and Helmut Kroll for their guidance
the bådelaug to sail on the Viking ship reconstructions in analysing the samples. I am indebted to Maili Roio
in the late afternoons after having worked in the for making available an unpublished catalogue of
“knowledge mines” of the museum’s library. finds and for sending dendro samples of the Matsalu
and Lootsi wrecksites to Aoife Daly, who was
I thank my principal supervisor Ulrich Müller for commissioned by this author with their analysis.
presenting me with the option to submit my thesis Aoife’s work as such was of central importance in
cumulatively. This option was hitherto mainly many respects, and she kindly provided elucidations
practised in the Natural Sciences but still considered a when necessary.
pioneering path in the Humanities. This “emergency
cable” to pull myself out of the drift-sands came at For correspondence and kind exchange of ideas,
the right time, when I went into all possible directions information, unpublished or hard-to-get publications
with my publications, but not towards the finishing I wish to thank Jon Adams, Jan Bill, Aoife Daly, Jens
line. Despite its somewhat chaotic genesis, the Auer, Dieter Bishop, Anton Englert, Mikael
various strands bundled together in this cumulative Fredholm, Rolf Hammel-Kiesow, Kristof Haneca,
thesis are proof that the particularistic themes — as a Dieter Heckmann, Christina Link, Carsten Jahnke,
reflection of a generously interpreted academic freedom Juhan Kreem, Jens Lindström, José Manuel Matés
on my side — are interconnected after all. Luque, Thijs Maarleveld, Marika Mägi, Oliver Nelle,
Kim Schou Nørøxe, Waldemar Ossowski, Alice
I am also very grateful to my other external co- Overmeer, Reinhard Paulsen, Johan Rönnby, Jürgen
supervisor Kurt Villads Jensen’s feedback on some Sarnowsky, Albrecht Sauer, Mikel Soberón, Katrin
sections with a historical focus, for his
Thier, Mikkel Thomsen, Vello Mäss, Per Kristian participate in the underwater excavation of the Hedvig
Madsen, Peter Marsden, Gustav Milne, Stuart Jenks, Sophia in 2010, organised by Jens Auer, Sunhild
Staffan van Arbin, Jeroen Vermeersch, Stefan Kleingärtner, Thijs Maarleveld and Martin
Wessmann, Christer Westerdahl and Maris Zunde. Segschneider, and an underwater survey of the
This list is probably not complete and thus I would harbour barrier in Flensburg in 2011, organised by
like to extend my apologies to individuals who I may Ruth Blankenfeldt, Erich Halbwidl and Martin
have forgotten to mention. Segschneider. I am particularly grateful for having
been invited to the ‘Hanseatic Trade in the North
For the opportunity to get involved in an orlop-deck Atlantic’ conference 2013 in Avaldsnes, Norway,
survey on Vasa (1628) during my time as Ph.D. organised by Endre Elvestad, Natascha Mehler,
student I wish to thank Fred Hocker. Although not Arnfrid Opedal, Mark Gardiner, Rolf Hammel-
factually related to the topic of my thesis, this gave Kiesow and Claus von Carnap-Bornheim, which gave
me the opportunity to hone my recording skills and me the opportunity to set “my” Beluga Ship —
appreciation of the complexities of shipbuilding. On excavated in Bremen 2007 — into the wider context
the basis of a rigorous critique of a first draft, Fred of other clinker-built shipwrecks.
(now within the capacity of the 2nd examiner)
recommended a thorough revision of the first draft, In October 2014 I also acquired a certificate as
which lead to the current version, resubmitted in Scientific Diver. I am particularly indebted to Roland
March 2016. Although this can be perceived as a Friedrich —a lieutenant commander of the German
setback, this author appreciates the instance of a hard Navy — as our kind, principled and committed
quality control hurdle within a section of the training officer, ably assisted by Fabian Schuster. The
humanities' academic culture, where the "anything training was hard but hearty, and my fellow divers
goes" mentality is seemingly spinning out of control. made this a great overall experience.
Although exasperating at the time, this gave the
author a chance to rethink some earlier assumptions More often than not, the task of writing a doctoral
and to construct arguments and hypotheses in a more thesis was a strain on social life. The only time where
rigorous manner, which added to the overall benefit I could truly escape were the hours spent sailing with
of this work considerably. my firåring Skíðblaðnir, which was even converted
into a ”research vessel” for a sailing expedition into
During my doctoral years I took part in numerous the Stockholm Archipelago in 2010, where I followed
activities like fieldschools, underwater surveys and a leg of a 13th-century route description — King
excavations, workshops and conferences. In 2010 I Valdemar’s Itinerary (section 3.3) — with my brother
had the opportunity to present a paper at the Gentes Tobias Zwick and Alexis McEntyre. My student years
trans Albiam conference in Toronto, Canada, were enriched by all the nice people who joined my
organised by Sunhild Kleingärtner and Sébastian crew on the weekends and the annual Rum-Regatta in
Rossignol. I am grateful for having been invited to Flensburg.
the ‘International Workshop on Underwater
Archaeology’ in Gdańsk 2010 by Waldemar Ossowski Last not least, I would like to thank my parents
and Iwona Pomian, to the ‘Bologna Summer School’ Wolfgang and Gisela Zwick for their indefatigable
by Massimo Capulli in 2011, twice to the ‘Baltic encouragement and continued support during all
Workshop for PhD Researchers in Maritime these years in which I chose the uncertain, stony and
Archaeology’ in Stockholm and Helsinki, 2010 and hazardous path of pursuing a career in the
2011 respectively, organised by Johan Rönnby, Niklas Humanities. Words cannot describe my gratitude and
Erikson, Kristin Ilves, Riikka Alvik and Minna Leino. I therefore wish to dedicate this work...
I am also grateful for having had the opportunity to

to my parents

Wolfgang & Gisela Zwick
List of papers

This is in part a cumulative and monograpic doctoral dissertation. The cumulative part is based on the following
papers published by this author during the doctoral years. The facsimile or manuscript version of the respective
papers are included in the appendix.

A ZWICK 2013: D. Zwick, Dynamics for Cultural Change in the Baltic Sea Region in the Age of the
Northern Crusades – a maritime archaeological perspective.In: S. Kleingärtner, S. Rossignol, D.
Wehner (eds) Landscapes and Societies in Medieval Europe East of the Elbe / Papers in Mediaeval Studies 23,
Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, pp. 329-376.

B ZWICK 2014: D. Zwick, Conceptual Evolution in Ancient Shipbuilding: An Attempt to
Reinvigorate a Shunned Theoretical Framework. In: J. Adams, J. Rönnby (eds.), Interpreting Shipwrecks:
Maritime Archaeology Approaches / Southampton Monographs in Archaeology - New Series 4.
Southampton: Highfield Press, pp.46-71.

C ZWICK forthcoming: D. Zwick, A 15th-century shipwreck with Scandinavian features from
Bremen, Germany. In: B. van Tilburg (ed.) Ships and Maritime Landscapes / 13th International
Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology. Amsterdam. Groningen: Barkhuis.

D ZWICK forthcoming: D. Zwick, Interpreting a Scandinavian-built shipwreck from Bremen in the
context of late medieval clinker constructions and northern European timber trade. In: E.
Elvestad, M. Gardiner, N. Mehler, (eds.), German Trade in the North Atlantic 1400-1700: Interdisciplinary
Perspectives. Arkeologisk museum Stavanger Skrifter. Stavanger.

E ZWICK 2016: D. Zwick, Bayonese cogs, Genoese carracks, English dromons and Iberian carvels:
Tracing technology transfer in late medieval Atlantic shipbuilding. In: Itsas Memoria. Revista de
Estudios Marítimos del País Vasco 8. Donostia/San Sebastián : Untzi Museoa/Museo Naval, pp. 647-680.

CONTENT

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 2
1.1. Principal aims of this study.................................................................................................................................................. 3
1.2. Scope, limitations and some research history................................................................................................................... 3
1.2.1. ‘Maritime Logistics’ — A better way to contextualise shipwrecks? ..................................................................... 3
1.2.2. The ‘Northern Crusades’ — An ahistorical construct or legitimate term? ......................................................... 5
1.3. Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................................ 10
2. The Baltic Sea as a maritime landscape ..................................................................................................... 11
2.1. The physical landscape ....................................................................................................................................................... 11
2.2. The anthropogenic landscape ........................................................................................................................................... 16
2.2.1. Fishing ........................................................................................................................................................................... 16
2.2.2. Navigation .................................................................................................................................................................... 17
2.2.3. Seasonal logistics ......................................................................................................................................................... 22
2.2.4. Ship-finds as remnants of fossilised mobility? ....................................................................................................... 25
2.3. Maritime transit zones and transshipment points ......................................................................................................... 31
2.3.1. The Skagen route (Ummeland) ................................................................................................................................... 33
2.3.2. The Limfjord passage ................................................................................................................................................. 36
2.3.3. The Schleswig – Hollingsted isthmus ...................................................................................................................... 36
2.3.4. Lübeck........................................................................................................................................................................... 38
2.3.5. Jutlandic interfaces: Assessing transitions in shipbuilding technology .............................................................. 40
3. Organising maritime expeditions into uncharted waters: The communication networks of the Baltic
Crusades (1198-1290) ...................................................................................................................................... 44
3.1. A sea of myths: Medieval maritime cosmography......................................................................................................... 46
3.2. Itineraries as lineary networks ........................................................................................................................................... 52
3.2.1. Written and graphic itineraries.................................................................................................................................. 53
3.2.2. Communication monopolies: Controlling geographical knowledge................................................................. 54
3.3. King Valdemar’s Itinerary revisited ................................................................................................................................. 55
3.3.1. Rediscovery and research history ............................................................................................................................. 56
3.3.2. Two routes — one doctrine? .................................................................................................................................... 57
3.3.3. Initiator ......................................................................................................................................................................... 59
3.3.4. A maritime equivalent to a marching route? .......................................................................................................... 59
3.3.5. Successive genesis of a formalised route ................................................................................................................ 62
3.3.6. Links to the leding-organisation ............................................................................................................................... 63
3.3.7. The significance of a detour ...................................................................................................................................... 64
3.3.8. Toponyms as manifestations of real and imagined associations ........................................................................ 64
3.4. The significance of the re-interpretation ......................................................................................................................... 67
4. Ships in frontier zones of the north-eastern Baltic rim (13th century) ........................................................ 70
4.1. The Riga 3 ship and its port .............................................................................................................................................. 70
4.1.1. Foundation and fortification ..................................................................................................................................... 70
4.1.2. The Riga 3 wreck......................................................................................................................................................... 75
4.1.3. Hybrid, intermediate form or variant in its own right? ........................................................................................ 76
4.2. The Matsalu ship-timbers .................................................................................................................................................. 78
4.2.1. Date and provenance ................................................................................................................................................. 78
4.2.2. Construction ................................................................................................................................................................ 78
4.2.3. Floor-timber dimensions as diagnostic feature? .................................................................................................... 83
4.3. Revisiting the Kuggmaren Ship in the Stockholm Archipelago ................................................................................. 84
4.3.1. Date and provenance ................................................................................................................................................. 86
4.3.2. Grain residues .............................................................................................................................................................. 87
4.3.2. Grain and horse transports along the Swedish coast: a hypothesis ................................................................... 88
4.4. The Egelskär Ship in the Finnish Archipelago .............................................................................................................. 91
4.4.1. Date ............................................................................................................................................................................... 92
4.4.2. The ship's cargo and its origins ................................................................................................................................ 92
4.4.3. Contextualising ship and cargo: Cues on origin and destinations ...................................................................... 93
5. Woodland exploitation in the wake of the Prussian and Baltic crusades: Assessing maritime timber trade
and its impact on shipbuilding (14th - 15th century) ...................................................................................... 95
5.1. Wood as managed resource ............................................................................................................................................... 95
5.2. Baltic timber trade ............................................................................................................................................................... 96
5.2.1. Standardised timber products ................................................................................................................................... 97
5.2.2. Trade patterns emerge................................................................................................................................................ 98
5.2.3. Volume of trade ........................................................................................................................................................102
5.3. The case of the Beluga Ship: A Scandinavian wreck, built of Baltic timber and scrapped in a German city? .103
5.3.1. Discussing the preliminary results of the Beluga case study .............................................................................103

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5.3.2. Date and provenance ...............................................................................................................................................104
5.3.3. Construction ..............................................................................................................................................................105
5.3.4. Interim results, statistical problems and new research questions .....................................................................106
5.4. Extending the remit of the study ....................................................................................................................................109
5.4.1. Is there a link between oak imports and shipbuildilding? ..................................................................................109
5.4.2. Cog-boards vs. wainscots ........................................................................................................................................111
5.4.3. Choice or necessity?..................................................................................................................................................111
6. Wrecked in the Rubbles of the Livonian Confederation: Evaluating the transport geographical context of
a shipwreck and a castle (16th century) ......................................................................................................... 114
6.1. The Maasilinn Ship ...........................................................................................................................................................114
6.1.1. Date, provenance and workmanship .....................................................................................................................115
6.1.2. Construction ..............................................................................................................................................................115
6.1.3. The significance of the secondary carvel skin ......................................................................................................121
6.1.4. Discussion ..................................................................................................................................................................128
6.2. Exploring the castle's link to the nearby Maasilinn wreck .........................................................................................129
6.3. Livonia Maritima in retrospect: Applying a Braudelian concept to a maritime transport zone ............................132
7. General Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 137
8. Summary ................................................................................................................................................... 138
9. Zusammenfassung ................................................................................................................................... 139
10. Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 144
10.1. Primary literature, compiled and translated editions.................................................................................................144
10.2. Secondary literature ........................................................................................................................................................145
11. Appendix ................................................................................................................................................. 162
11.1. Transcription of King Valdemar's Itinerary (Utlängan-Tallinn) ............................................................................162
11.2. Naval warfare in the Chronicles of Henry of Livonia .............................................................................................163
11.3. Caulking material from the Kuggmaren wreck ..........................................................................................................165
12. Curriculum Vitae ..................................................................................................................................... 168
13. Cumulative Papers .................................................................................................................................. 169
Paper A .......................................................................................................................................................................................171
Paper B .......................................................................................................................................................................................199
Paper C .......................................................................................................................................................................................225
Paper D .......................................................................................................................................................................................237
Paper E .......................................................................................................................................................................................261

1. INTRODUCTION

Archaeologists define eras of human development in up a vast mercantile network through which Baltic
technical terms, namely the Paleaolithic, Mesolithic bulk commodities were shipped to central and
and Neolithic — i.e. the Stone Ages — and the western Europe, but another underlying factor is
Bronze Age and Iron Age — the Metal Ages (sic!). often forgotten, which can be seen as precondition
This categorisation does not measure up to the most for the export of central European urban culture —
important of all resources used in construction: on which the Hanseatic League was footed — into
wood. Its omittance can be attributed to its the forrested wilderness of the East: The crusading
omnipresence; it is simply taken for granted movement in northern Europe, colloquially known as
throughout all periods. However, particularly for the “Northern Crusades”. The study of the maritime
seafaring cultures the availability of certain wood past in general and conflict at sea in particular has
species, the management of woodlands, timber been almost exclusively the domain of historians.
conversion techniques and workmanship, and its With an ever growing database of shipwrecks and
culmination in artisanry and artistry is of most central other archaeological finds, however, archaeologists
importance. This is nowhere as well reflected as in are increasingly able to complement or even transcent
Viking Age shipbuilding, where ships were not merely the ‘big picture’ drawn by historians. This study aims
utilitarian, but became a strong expression of cultural to bridge the two fields with an archaeological driven
identity in its own right — artefacts of a genuine subject — primarily shipwrecks — embedded in the
“wood culture”. Wood continued to play a great role historically defined period of the Northern Crusades.
after the decline of Scandinavian Viking Age and Several case studies are “outsourced” and have been
woodland products — such as timber, tar, pitch and published as papers in their own right. Therefore this
ash — were exported as bulk commodities from the study is submitted as cumulative (i.e. publication-
Baltic Sea region into central and western Europe and based) thesis and the results of the respective papers
beyond. The Hanseatic League is credited in opening are alluded to in the text.

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