Faces and figures - myth and mentality in the motives of highly decorated pottery from Bergen

Abstract

Archaeological finds of pottery are often seen as a rather dull and dry material, useful yet for dating purpose and occasionally nice as illustration, but with little relevance for insight into the medieval mentality and society. However, there is a considerable amount of pottery finds from Bergen that can tell stories about the mentality and worldview of contemporary users as few other archaeological objects. In this way, I would count various highly decorated ceramic wares from the late medieval and early modern period as some of the most prominent sources to show eclectic aspects of the colorful life in the old town of Bergen, in the county of Hordaland on the western coast of Norway.