The subject of this master thesis is Champlevé Ware. This is a glazed table ware from the Middle Byzantine period, dating from the late twelfth to the mid thirteenth century AD. It is often...Show moreThe subject of this master thesis is Champlevé Ware. This is a glazed table ware from the Middle Byzantine period, dating from the late twelfth to the mid thirteenth century AD. It is often referred to as a member of the ‘Aegean Ware’ family. Its greatest characterised feature are the gouged decorations on the vessels. The general research aim is to shed light on the production, distribution and consumption of this pottery type, the last aspect is less explored mainly due to a lack of relevant data. Champlevé Ware was not produced on a single site but in multiple workshops in different locations. It was manufactured within the western Aegean, namely across the Greek peninsula and on the island of Crete. Hitherto, there is substantial archaeological evidence to indicate local productions in the cities of Chalkis (Euboea) and Sparta (the Peloponnese). Presumably, workshops in other places did manufacture Champlevé pottery as well. The productions show regional differentiation as well as connections between workshops. Champlevé Ware circulated mainly around the Aegean Sea, nevertheless, its diffusion was far more widespread. It was exported in significant quantities to western Anatolia and the Black Sea. In more modest numbers, Champlevé Ware has been found in the Levant, the western Mediterranean (Italy and France) and Egypt. The distribution of Champlevé Ware is illustrative of the increasing interregional connectivity due to the establishment of the Medieval Mediterranean sea trade network. Its transportation was strongly maritime based and Western merchants could have been responsible for their wide exportation. Consequently, these vessels reached primarily urban trade centers located near the coast. Distribution of Champlevé pottery did not often penetrate further inland nor small rural sites. This ware type can be considered as a product used by a large part of the Greek population, however further away in remote regions it is possible it acquired the status as an exotic rarity. Its commercialisation overseas suffered from competition with other glazed pottery, which as a result it was sometimes unsuccessful at thriving in foreign markets, especially in the Near East. The iconography of the decorations on Champlevé Ware is interesting. Animal and vegetal designs are most frequently found. Some motif types are excessively repeated and duplicated by potters in different workshops, most noteworthy hare/rabbit and palmette motifs. This suggest artisanal interaction and proposes certain (folklore) socio-cultural connotations to these decorations. The ceramic craftsmen seem to have enjoyed a level of artistic freedom. This resulted in a dynamic and innovative tradition, which produced an array of decoration-styles with relatively short lifespans. Champlevé Ware is a clear example.Show less
The aim of this research is to gain new insights in the changing of cooking practices and eating habits as a result of Frankish influence. To reach this aim, this study strives to seek a relation...Show moreThe aim of this research is to gain new insights in the changing of cooking practices and eating habits as a result of Frankish influence. To reach this aim, this study strives to seek a relation between cooking wares and cooking practices, and diet and eating habits. As a result, it aims to provide valuable information regarding the socio-economic, the cultural, and the local and regional perspective of both cooking practices and eating habits during the Middle to Late Byzantine period (ca. 1200-1500 AD). This research shows that there were indeed changes in cooking practices and eating habits during the Late-Byzantine/Frankish period in the Aegean, and these could have been related to each other. The evidence suggests that smaller, thinner, and taller cooking pots appear somewhere around the middle of the 13th century, replacing the previous globular, thicker ones from the Middle Byzantine period. This change could have been the result of a trend during the Late Byzantine/Frankish period towards more watery dishes, cooked in their own juices. The dietary evidence supports this considerable difference in the Byzantine Aegean diet and the Medieval Western diet, primarily at the higher classes of society. Unfortunately, the effects of Christian Orthodox fasting rules on diet and eating habits or Frankish meat consumption are not visible in stable isotope values from multiple sites in Greece. A socio-economic perspective on the ceramic and dietary evidence during this period could indicate a possible Frankish influence on local cooking practices and eating habits. However, it is not with certainty to say that these changes were actual the result of Frankish influence. From a cultural perspective, it appears that the change to different cooking practices and eating habits in Late Byzantine/Frankish times may not only have been the result of the appearance of the Franks into the scene, but also of growing wealth. Furthermore, it is difficult to distinguish different cooking practices between the higher and lower classes in the Byzantine Aegean or the Medieval West, while substantial variations between town and country or between different local environments must have determined food choice and availability to a certain extent. The local and regional perspective also supports the fact that ceramic and dietary distinctions existed between town, country, and other areas. Urban settlements were more likely to be influenced by a Frankish presence than rural settlements. The experimentation indicates that similar production methods were used for both type of cooking wares. In this regard, it seems very plausible that the Franks did not bring their own potters. The Middle Byzantine way of production seems to have persisted after the Frankish conquest, without noticeable morphological changes.Show less
