5 Surprising Artifacts That Will Change How You See Medieval Life
These standout treasures are among more than 900 artifacts on view at William the Conqueror's castle.
Norwich Castle, a mighty medieval fortress built by William the Conquerer after he invaded England in 1066, reopened to the public last month following a landmark $37 million restoration. The castle’s interiors have been returned to their 12th century heyday thanks to a reconstruction of the original great hall, kitchen, and King’s chamber, but the project’s crowning jewel is the new Gallery of Medieval Life.
“You can experience the historic spaces with the textiles and furnishings that you would have had in the period,” said Tim Pestell, curator of archaeology at Norwich Castle, about the reconstruction. “But then you can go downstairs and actually see the real stuff in the medieval gallery.”
In a spectacular blend of old and new, over 900 artifacts fill the gallery’s shiny glass display cases set against the castle’s archaic stone walls. The collection, predominantly archaeological finds from the surrounding region of East Anglia, is complimented by 50 star loans from the British Museum, including well-preserved, luxury objects from across Europe. This considerable wealth of material encompasses ceramics, metalwork, paintings, manuscripts, and textiles, with objects divided into three thematic categories: “Those who fight,” “those who work,” and “those who pray.”
“The Gallery of Medieval Life – A British Museum Partnership” in Norwich Castle keep. Photo: © Norfolk Museums Service.
“Something you can’t do is handle historic objects, and it can be difficult for visitors to see them in context, understand how they would have been used, or the material world around them,” said Naomi Speakman, curator of late medieval Europe at the British Museum. The partnership with Norwich Castle has therefore provided “a really unique opportunity to show medieval objects in an important medieval building.”
Together, Pestell and Speakman have sought to overturn several popular misconceptions about the medieval age. One of these is that the period lacked color, an idea propagated by the many period dramas in which the Middle Ages are recreated with brown tunics and gray stone walls.
In fact, “it was all about color,” said Pestell. “It was all about glitz and glamor. They would have had bright red, blue, green tunics with gold thread woven through it and beautiful jewelry.” Some of this palette has been introduced to the castle’s historic spaces via immersive wall projections, new paintwork, and lively, medieval-style tapestries. “You’ve got in one hit, all of that visual feast they would have had,” said Pestell.
“Gallery of Medieval Life” objects with British Museum curator Dr Naomi Speakman and collection manager Jim Peters. Photo: © The Trustees of the British Museum.
Other misconceptions include the assumption that medieval knowledge and techniques weren’t sophisticated, or that ideas didn’t spread among countries thanks to bustling trade routes. “It was a much more connected world than we might imagine today,” said Speakman.
In particular, the near-omnipotent Christian faith was a unifying force in Europe. “By and large, if you walked into the same church in Iceland or in the south of Italy and you’re getting the same service, the same objects being used, and the same belief system being presented to you,” said Pestell.
Here are five standout treasures from the Gallery of Medieval Life.
Ivory Bobbin
Walrus ivory bobbin found in Norwich Castle Keep, 12th Century. Photo: © Norfolk Museums Service.
This 900-year-old walrus ivory bobbin has particular significance to Norwich Castle, having been discovered underneath its original Norman floor in 1972, when drains were being fixed in the basement. The piece dates all the way back to the 12th century, making it particularly rare, and is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. Though the bobbin had a practical use in weaving or needlework, it is also a finely carved piece of art, with a human head on one end and a dragon’s head on the other. The drilled eyes and stylized hair, including a decorative flick in the dragon’s mane, are typically Romanesque features.
It is just the most exquisite little thing,” said Pestell. “It’s got this beautiful patina to it where it’s been clearly used and polished.”
The bobbin was most likely a personal item belonging to a wealthy noblewoman who lived or stayed at the castle. Though we cannot know the identity of the owner, Pestell has speculated that it might even have belonged to Adeliza, the wife of Henry I, who celebrated Christmas at Norwich Castle in 1121. Or, perhaps, it was chucked away by a member of her entourage.
Labours of the Month
Labours of the Months, April or November. Photo: © Norfolk Museums Service.
A set of 12 stained glass roundels each depict the changing seasons in a classic example of the so-called “Labors of the Month,” a popular theme in medieval art. The castle’s particularly charming examples were originally installed in the house of Thomas Pykerell, a merchant and three-time mayor of Norwich, in the early 16th century. They were removed in the 19th century and eight are known to have survived.
One wintry scene that may represent April or November shows a man in a red tunic dashing into the house as gray clouds filled with rain or snow approach. “It’s this one I love because don’t we all feel the same?” said Pestell. “When I was coming into the office just now, it was spitting with rain and I couldn’t wait to get through the door.”
Being of secular subjects, the roundels offer an unusually evocative insight into daily life in medieval England, a society that was governed by the seasons. “The vast majority of people were tied to farming,” said Pestell. “They were living from one year to the next, not knowing if there was going to be a shortage. Famine was a regular occurrence.”
Other surviving scenes include the pruning of trees for spring in March, the harvesting of grapes in September, and the King sitting before a feast of pie and roast bird in December. These works were most likely by John Wattock, a craftsman who was originally Dutch and is exemplary of the strong influence on East Anglian stained glass from the Low Countries.
Châtelaine de Vergi Casket
Back panel of the Chatelaine de Vergi casket. Photo: © The Trustees of the British Museum.
Paris was once the centre of ivory carving, and this particularly elegant casket from 1320–40, made from elephant tusk, is covered in what Speakman described as a “14th-century comic strip” recounting the popular courtly poem of the Châtelaine de Vergi. She added that it reveals “the interests of medieval nobility as well as the rich crossover between literature and art.”
At just eight inches long, this luxury object was a coveted personal belonging that could be turned over in its owner’s hands and invites close looking. Speakman particularly praised the “crisp” quality of the carving. Sadly, the object’s history cannot be traced further back than the 19th century because objects like these fell out of fashion until that century’s Gothic revival. Experts believe that it was originally used to store keepsakes or jewelry and may even have been a wedding present, despite its disenchanting tale.
The casket’s panels tell the story of a doomed love affair between at châtelaine and a knight that ends in great tragedy after it accidentally involves the Duke and Duchess of Burgundy. In several scenes, the châtelaine’s lap dog plays a starring role in enabling secret liaisons between the young lovers.
Astrolabe
Astrolabe. Photo: © The Trustees of the British Museum.
Described by Speakman as “the computer of the middle ages,” the astrolabe is a scientific instrument dating back to ancient time. Bearing a two-dimensional map of the sky, it was used for many purposes, including timekeeping, navigation, surveying, and astrology. “It tells the visitor quite a lot about how advanced scientific knowledge was in the middle ages,” said Speakman. “And how it was changing at a rapid pace.”
The example on loan to Norwich Castle was made in Spain in the 14th century, which, in the medieval period, saw collaboration between Muslim, Jewish, and Christian craftspeople. Having been developed by Islamic scholars, astrolabes in particular reveal the influence of Islamic science on Western science. For example, this example is engraved with Gothic numerals and letters but the dagger-shaped star pointers, which indicate celestial bodies in the sky, are in the same style found on Islamic astrolabes.
“We are always very keen to show that the medieval world was exceptionally sophisticated,” said Pestell. “The only difference between them and us, is that we’ve had an intervening 600 years of science developing and building on the shoulders of what there was.”
Ashwellthorpe Triptych
The Seven Sorrows of Mary (The Ashwellthorpe Triptych) by Master of the Legend of the Magdalen, about 1520s. Photo: © Norfolk Museums Service.
The Seven Sorrows of Mary, also known as the Ashwellthorpe Triptych, was made in Flanders in the 1520s for the Knyvets of Aswellthorpe, a prominent Norfolk family. It is one of the earliest Flemish altarpieces to have been brought back to England and, Pestell believes, “probably acted as an exemplar for the sorts of art that other families would aspire to own.” At Norwich Castle, it is presented proudly at one of the main entry points into the gallery.
Christopher Knyvet may have commissioned the triptych while on one of his diplomatic missions in the Netherlands for Henry VIII. He is depicted on the left panel with his wife Catherine on the right panel, and both are shown kneeling in prayer beside their patron saint and wearing their heraldry. The altarpiece is a particularly fine example intended for private devotion. The “Seven Sorrows of Mary” in the center refers to seven events of suffering in the life of the Virgin.
The Clever Boy will add that Wikipedia has a useful introduction to the story used on the casket at Châtelaine de Vergy
He will also add that Norwich Castle was always an an impressive museum collection and this report is addressed but is now even more well worthwhile visiting. So to is the city with its rich history and still with a great collection of medieval churches, including the Julian Shrine, alongside the serene Norman cathedral, with its later exquisite enhancements in the vaults and cloisters, sixteenth and seventeenth century urban buildings and a great nineteenth century Catholic cathedral. A city that is very well worth visiting.
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