Dress brooches and identities - a comparative study of collective identities and dress brooches in early medieval urban and rural sites in South West Scania

Sammanfattning: This thesis concerns early medieval dress brooches from urban and rural sites in South West Scania. The purpose is to investigate similarities and differences between urban and rural sites as well as between the rural places in particular. The main research questions concern the reasons for the similarities and differences, what connections and contact areas are observable according to the dress brooches and how this material can contribute to the discussion about urban and rural identities. The material has not been studied to a large extent before, especially not in any compiling project and is therefore an important piece in understanding the early medieval material culture and the inhabitants in towns and villages in South West Scania. This study is based on the notion that dress brooches were a medium from which people could express their identity. The dress brooches are examined both in terms of types as well as specific objects. Three observations are noticeable in the material in particular; a greater number of objects and types have been retrieved in Lund and more objects with Continental connotations as well as a divergent material among the rural sites. These observations are probably connected to the number of people that were present and visited each site, especially the number of foreign persons. It indicates stronger connections with Continental areas in Lund than among the rural places, especially ‘German’ areas. Lund was therefore a multicultural area with an intensity of social interactions between a lot of different persons. It probably differentiated itself from the villages in terms of contact areas and the kind of people that were present at the site. The material from rural places does instead indicate a strong connection with the urban centre. Collective identities are therefore visible both on a societal level, where the same types of dress brooches have been used in all parts of South West Scania, and on a local level, where different contact areas are visible, leading to varied social interactions at each site. Therefore, urban and rural identities are different on a social level but similar in terms of consumption patterns.