Medieval and Modern Matters

This paper discusses the presence and meaning of late medieval tin-glazed pottery of Italian and Spanish origin in inland Flanders (Belgium). In general, tin-glazed wares are very rare in late medieval archaeological contexts from this region. Both the distribution pattern of the archaeological evidence and the presence of this type of ceramics on fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century Flemish paintings, miniatures and tapestry lead to a discussion about their meaning and symbolic use, especially connected to the cult of the Holy Virgin.

The present paper demonstrates how metal detectorists’ collections potentially form an important addition to the extant corpus of early medieval non-ferrous metalwork. Several sites in the Belgian coastal plain featuring rich metalwork assemblages dated to this period are presented. The important questions raised by these artefacts regarding the chronology, nature and socio-cultural affiliations of settlement in the early medieval coastal plain are discussed. In addition, a previously unrecognised, distinct type of openwork disc brooch is described, dated and framed within technical, typological and artistic developments of late tenth- to early twelfth-century north-western Europe, in particular the North Sea area.

The castle of « La Royère » in Néchin (Belgium) was recently the subject of a building archaeology study completed by some archaeological surveys. This research renews the historical knowledge of the site. First designed as a manor house (the late twelfth century), « La Royère » was then transformed to serve as a strategic place by the French King Philip IV’s administration at the early fourteenth century.

Le château de la Royère à Néchin (Belgique) a fait l’objet d’une étude archéologique du bâti et de quelques sondages. Ces recherches ont renouvelé les connaissances historiques du site. Conçu en demeure castrale (fin du xii^e siècle), le château a été transformé en lieu stratégique au service de l’administration du roi de France Philippe le Bel au début du xiv^e siècle.

The reduction of the length of chronological phases is still a major issue in the current chronological debate in early medieval archaeology on the continent. Short phases imply a rapid and steady change of grave goods assemblages and are thought to support the assumption that the dead were buried with their inalienable personal possessions. This article explores the premises that relate to short phases and the chronological method of seriation, which excludes social variables as essential components of the dating process. Various modes of object exchange and transmission are therefore the next discussion in this article. It is suggested that the wide variety of movables from graves were more often subject to prolonged circulation than generally assumed. The discussion of exchange and transmission shows that the chronological debate can be extended with a theoretical component that reflects on the role of the pre-burial life of objects which contributes to the understanding of chronological results.

La diminution des durées en périodisation absolue est au coeur d’un débat sensible sur les chronologies continentales du haut Moyen Âge. De courtes périodes sous tendent des changements rapides et réguliers dans la composition des assemblages mobiliers, et confort l’idée que les défunts sont enterrés avec leurs biens personnels inaliénables. Cet article met en discussion les fondements d’une périodisation courte et les méthodes de sériation utilisée pour les établir. La sériation automatique souffre par ailleurs de l’absence de variables d’ordre social pourtant indispensable à une démarche de datation. Nous aborderons ensuite la variété des modes d’échange et de transmission des biens et suggérons qu’une large variété de mobiliers provenant des sépultures a souvent circulé bien plus longtemps que supposé. La considération des échanges et de la transmission impose d’élargir le débat chronologique à celle, théorique, du rôle des objets avant leur usage funéraire. Elle est indispensable à la compréhension des résultats des chronologies établies.

This article studies the spatial organisation and room specialisation of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century castles and houses in what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, and the border region of north-western Germany. What was the function of the hall in this period and which new rooms were introduced in the castle? These questions will be answered on the basis of the careful study of fifty late medieval inventories from thirty-seven castles and noble houses. The developments in room use and room specialisation will be placed in a comparative, international context and studied concomitantly with the discourse on privacy.

The Grand-Place of Nivelles, heart of the ancient abbey founded in the middle of the seventh century by the Pippinid dynasty, underwent a major redevelopment between 2009 and 2011. During works, a team from the ‘Direction de l’Archéologie du Service public de Wallonie’ intervened to collect a maximum of archaeological finds. This article presents a first synthesis of the research, in addition to observations made after the bombing of 1940, during the reconstruction of the square and the restoration of the collegiate church St. Gertrude.

The excavations provide new data about the abbey from its origins. Several remains belong to a first occupation, seen from Pepin of Landen’s villa, in which the abbey was founded. New information relates to the three abbey churches formerly excavated by Joseph Mertens.

The plan of Our Lady has been defined in its most recent phases and some of the adjoining burials were excavated. On the subject of St. Paul, the excavation completed what we already knew of the plan and its evolution. On the outskirts of St. Gertrude, research has uncovered, to the east, the foundations of corridors known as alloirs, sort of ambulatory around the choir which were still in use in the eighteenth century and, to the west, in front of the Westbau, an area of burials dated between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. The specific conditions of conservation of certain burials in each of these cemeteries have allowed exceptional preservation of wood containers, boxes or coffins dating from that period.

To the west of the square, several tile kilns were dated by archaeo-magnetism from the second quarter of the tenth century. This area of the site has also delivered part of the foundations of the abbess’ residence and several late medieval and modern habitations. These excavations helped to better understand the circulation and market spaces around Our Lady, St. Paul and St Gertrude.

Titus Panhuysen & Babette Ludowici (eds). 2011: Transformations in North-Western Europe (AD 300-1000). Proceedings of the 60th Sachsensymposion 19.-23. September 2009 Maastricht. (Mirjam Kars), p. 275.

Martin Carver & Jan Klápstě (eds). 2011: The Archaeology of Medieval Europe, Vol. 2-Twelfth to Sixteenth centuries. (Roos van Oosten), p. 605.