This thesis analysed the construction dates of early medieval forts in the Dutch Low Countries to determine their accuracy. The ringforts are generally dated to the last quarter of the 9th century...Show moreThis thesis analysed the construction dates of early medieval forts in the Dutch Low Countries to determine their accuracy. The ringforts are generally dated to the last quarter of the 9th century and placed in an overarching historical narrative that links them to Viking raids. However, recent archaeological research suggests that earlier dates are also possible. For example, the ringfort of Den Burg was recently dated to the 8th or early 9th century with the upcoming OSL (optically stimulated luminescence) method. I selected the forts of Den Burg, Oost-Souburg, Burgh, Domburg, Deventer, and Zutphen and analysed the construction dates based on excavation reports and subsequent data analysis. I also looked at the general characteristics of the forts like shape and the type of inhabitation to determine their similarity. I found that most of the forts, except for Deventer and Domburg, could be older than the late 9th century because they were dated with a terminus ante quem or the methods used indicated a broad construction date. This is because the construction phase of a ringfort is hard to date for 14C- analysis and dendrochronology are almost never possible. This highlights the importance of OSL research in the research of ringforts. I also found that ringforts in the Dutch Low Countries differ in general characteristics. Both findings challenge the narrative of a structured defence system against Viking raids, and show that ringforts have often been interpreted based on assumptions from the historical narrative. Instead, this thesis suggests that the structures were erected at different times, by different actors, and probably for different reasons. Thus, future archaeological research should apply OSL as a dating method and be wary of assumptions from the historical narrative. This way, we can establish accurate construction dates and get closer to uncovering the complex nature of these early medieval fortifications.Show less
This thesis is about the portrayal of women’s sexuality in two thirteenth-century texts: a letter in support of virginity known as Hali Meiðhad (1215-1220), and a guide for medieval religious women...Show moreThis thesis is about the portrayal of women’s sexuality in two thirteenth-century texts: a letter in support of virginity known as Hali Meiðhad (1215-1220), and a guide for medieval religious women known as Ancrene Wisse(1224-1230). It is interesting to see how these texts handle the subject of women’s sexuality, as their audiences were bound by vocation to remain virgins. The women for who these texts were written already knew the rules and regulations of their chosen vocation and, in theory, they should not have needed to be warned about acting upon their sexuality. This thesis explores whether both texts reflect the broader views of their time in their encouragements of virginity, and in their criticisms of marriage and lesbianism, and this is the goal of this thesis.Show less
The aim of the study was to understand what distribution patterns tell us about Carolingian historical and economic processes in the Netherlands, and how this pattern was affected by post...Show moreThe aim of the study was to understand what distribution patterns tell us about Carolingian historical and economic processes in the Netherlands, and how this pattern was affected by post-depositional processes. This was done by investigating coins in relation to geographic layers and changes of distribution patterns through time were studied using 50-year time slices from 750 AD to 950 AD. Coins are mostly found along the coast and near major rivers in the centre of the Netherlands, with hot spots at known Carolingian trade settlements such as Dorestad, Domburg and settlements at the mouths of the Rhine and Meuse rivers. Other hotspots are found at Nijmegen, which was the site of a Carolingian palatium, and the northwest coast of the province of Friesland. While clay rich features of marine and fluviatile deposits favour the preservation of coins, it is likely that coins were mainly circulating in the vicinity of navigable waters. Frisian merchants were renowned in the Carolingian empire and beyond for their prominence in international trade and their core area coincides seamlessly with the coin distribution pattern. Coin circulation appeared to be at its peak during the reign of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious. Circulation then again diminished following political instabilities, Viking invasions and the gradual silting of the river Rhine after the death that were later to become trade centres of importance in the later Middle Ages after Dorestad went defunct in the 850s AD. Coins are infrequently found in many parts of the Netherlands. Large parts of the Netherlands were deemed inhospitable during the Carolingian era due to vast areas of peat bogs that were drained in the late Middle Ages and the modern era. The south and east of the country is characterized by deposits of cover sands was also found to be sparse in Carolingian coins. That the southern provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg were so thinly endowed with coins was a surprise, as these areas are known to have been close to the Carolingian heartland. The poor preservation qualities of metal objects in sand is only part of the answer why this is the case. The river Meuse and the southern provinces were found to have been of little interest to Frisian traders, who conceivably preferred the relatively neutral extremities of the Empire that were conductive to international trade. Perhaps coins in the Netherlands were principally a medium used by merchants in long distance trade, and not as readily used in local and regional trade along rural settlements.Show less
Excavations at the Early Medieval site of Oegstgeest, located in the Dutch Rhine estuary, have yielded the burials of three horses and three dogs. In order to understand why these animals were...Show moreExcavations at the Early Medieval site of Oegstgeest, located in the Dutch Rhine estuary, have yielded the burials of three horses and three dogs. In order to understand why these animals were buried and how their burials relate to the roles these animals fulfilled for the inhabitants of the settlement, a zooarchaeological study of their articulated remains has been combined with a critical analysis of existing literature and previous notions about the nature of Early Medieval dog and horse burials. It is argued that at the buried horses were first used as riding animals and then sacrificed to display wealth and status. The buried dogs on the other hand were considered social companions and buried accordingly after they died. Both the burying of dogs and sacrifice of horses fits a burial pattern specific for the North Sea coast, and could indicate the presence of a local elite at the settlement of Oegstgeest, with the means to keep large dogs and kill valuable riding steeds.Show less
