Children in Medieval Bergen: An Archaeological Analysis of Child-Related Artefacts

'The Bryggen Papers' present results based on the archaeological material from the excavations at Bryggen and other medieval and early sites in the town of Bergen. Known as an Episcopal see and regional royal administrative and residential centre, Bergen developed in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries into the first truly international trading centre of Scandinavia and one of the most important ports of northern Europe, at the same time becoming the first capital of the Norwegian kingdom. The Hanseatic League established one of its four main trading stations or Kontor in Bergen around 1360, lasting into the latter part of the eighteenth century. This volume of the Main Series of the Bryggen Papers concerns children and how child-related objects from archaeological contexts can illuminate children’s presence and everyday life in medieval Bergen. By analysing physical remains reflecting children’s games, behaviour and clothing, the author has been able to provide new information and shed new light on the everyday life of children in a medieval town, and thereby indirectly also on the demographic and social organisation. The study also relates to the wider discussion of how childhood was perceived in the Middle Ages and how children at different stages of childhood were treated.