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Power relations and social space: A study of the late medieval Archbishop's Palace in Trondheim1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Tom Saunders
Tom Saunders*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Arts, The Open University in the North West
*
[email: tomsaunders15@netscapeonline.co.uk]
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Abstract

This article concerns the study of power and space within the Archbishop's Palace in Trondheim and, in particular, how the structure and organization of the precinct in the late medieval period formed a medium through which the archbishop's powers were exercised. Its aim is to explore the ways in which the spatial patterning of occupation, as revealed by the recent excavations in the palace, can cast light on the articulation of the archbishop's wealth, status and authority during the turbulent period prior to the Reformation.

The theoretical starting point is a reformulation of Michael Mann's theory of social power and Anthony Giddens's concept of ‘locale’ within a Marxist framework. It is suggested that, in the historical context of the crisis of Scandinavian feudalism, the palace at Trondheim became the focus for overlapping networks of ideological, economic, military and political power. These developments were expressed through the reorganization of the architectural space and the construction of a series of workshop complexes within the walled precinct between c. AD 1500 and 1537. By analysing the archaeological evidence for craft production, in particular minting, this paper considers how the palace formed a locale for the interaction of a specific set of social relations. It consequently examines some of the processes underpinning the expansion of the archbishop's power during the late medieval period, and discusses the social dynamics behind the conflict between the Church and the centralizing, Protestant-leaning forces of the Danish-Norwegian state.

Cet article étudie la relation entre pouvoir et espace au palais de l'archevêque de Trondheim, et en particulier dans quelle mesure la structure et l'organisation de l'enceinte à la fin du Moyen-Age permettaient à l'archevêque d'exercer ses pouvoirs. Le but est d'examiner comment la disposition spatiale des installations, mises à jour lors des fouilles récentes, peut nous éclairer sur la richesse, le standing et l'autorité de l'archevêque durant la période turbulente précedant la Réformation. Point de départ théorique est la reformulation de la théorie sur le pouvoir social de Michael Mann ainsi que l'idée de l'”endroit” telle que Anthony Giddens le perçoit dans un contexte marxiste. Cet article suggère que, dans le cadre historique de la crise du féodalisme scandinave, le palais de Trondheim devenait le centre d'un réseau des pouvoirs idéologiques, économiques, militaires et politiques. Ces évolutions s'exprimaient par la réorganisation de l'espace architectural et la construction d'ensembles d'ateliers dans l'enceinte close entre 1500 et 1537. En examinant les preuves archéologiques de la production artisanale – surtout du monnayage – on se rend compte que le palais était l'endroit où interagissait un ensemble spécifique de relations sociales. En conséquence on examine quelques-uns des processus étayant l'expansion du pouvoir de l'archevêque durant la fin du Moyen-Age, de même qu'on discute les forces sociales engendrant le conflit entre l'Eglise et les puissances centralisantes et pro protestantes de l'état dano-norvégien.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

Die vorliegende Studie untersucht die Verhältnisse von Macht und Raum im erzbischöflichen Palast von Trondheim, hierbei insbesondere, wie die Struktur und Organisation dieses Bezirkes im Spätmittelalter ein Medium formte, durch das der Einfluß des Erzbischofs gestärkt wurde. Es sollen die Möglichkeiten erörtert werden, mit denen anhand der im Palastkomplex ergrabenen Befunde Aussagen zur Äußerung des erzbischöflichen Reichtums, des Status und der Autorität während der turbulenten Epoche vor der Reformation getroffen werden können.

Der theoretische Ausgangspunkt ist eine Neuformulierung von Michael Manns Theorie der Sozialen Macht und Anthony Giddens Konzept des “Schauplatzes” auf marxistischer Basis. Der Verfasser meint, daß der Palast von Trondheim im historischen Kontext der Krise des skandinavischen Feudalismus zu einem Zentrum einander überschneidender Netzwerke ideologischer, ökonomischer, militärischer und politischer Macht wurde. Diese Veränderungen drücken sich durch die zwischen 1500 und 1537 erfolgte Neuorganisation der Bebauung und Raumgliederung sowie die Errichtung einer Anzahl von Werkstattkomplexen innerhalb des befestigten Bezirkes aus. Anhand der Analyse der Gewerbe, insbesondere der Münzprägung, wird in dieser Untersuchung dargelegt, wie der Palast zu einem “Schauplatz” der Wechselwirkungen der unterschiedlichen sozialen Verhältnisse wurde. Weiterhin werden einige der Prozesse, die zu einer Ausdehnung der erzbischöflichen Macht im Spätmittelalter führten, sowie die soziale Dynamik hinter dem Konflikt zwischen der Kirche und den zentralen, eher den Protestanten nahestehenden Kräften des dänisch-norwegischen Staates untersucht.

Keywords

coinsfeudalismhigh-definition archaeologyinternal contradictionslocaleMarxismmintsmonumental architecturearchéologie à haute définitionarchitecture monumentalecontradictions internesendroitféodalismeMarxismeMonnaiepièce de monnaieFeudalismus“High-Definition Archaeology”“Historischer Schauplatz”innere WidersprücheMarxismusMonumentalarchitekturMünzenMünzprägestätten
Type
Articles
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , 2002 , pp. 89 - 111
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 Sage Publications 

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Footnotes

1

A version of this paper was presented at the Fourth Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 25 September 1998 (Saunders 1999).

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