Towns, Plots, Crafts and Fertility - Traces of a Power Ideology

Abstract

Change is always related to past experience. In this article it is argued that the spatial organization of the earliest towns in Scandinavia, in spite of their novelty, reflected old concepts and beliefs. The hypothesis is that the placing of buildings, the parcelling out of plots etc. in a Viking Age town such as Birka, referred to still vital concepts of fertility, creativity and wealth —and the power over these things. One aspect of the argument is that there existed a metaphorical relationship between the fertile field in the countryside and the productive town plot, where skilful smiths created valuable things.