The Hinterland Connection: Metalworking as Entangled Social Practice

Abstract

For many years and in many articles, archaeologist Ingvild Øye has discussed the relations between medieval urban centres and the agrarian hinterland in Norway. A recurrent topic has been the extent of farming and livestock within urban economic practice, which has led Øye to highly interesting reflections concerning the symbiotic relationship between Norwegian medieval urban communities and their agrarian hinterlands (e.g. Øye 1998, 66-67). Inspired by Øye’s work, I briefly present some tangible changes in medieval urban metalworking in Trondheim (Central Norway) and Tønsberg (Southern Norway) in terms of the use of raw materials, spatial organization, and mass production. Thereafter, I discuss the relationships between urban communities and their hinterlands as entangled social practices.