The highlight of any outfit is the accessories – also in the Middle Ages! Bells, appliqués and jewellery were part of the clothing. Sometimes such accessories were of very high quality, as shown by a velvet belt fragment from Gdańsk and a silk purse from Lübeck. The valuable materials come from southern Europe via the Bruges market to the Hanse towns of the Baltic region.

Small bag made of silk damask
The purse is made of silk damask and a brass frame. The frame is decorated on the front with attached stylised lilies and a twisted wire. In the centre there is also a fleur-de-lis attached to an eyelet. The clasp of the bail is made as gothic tracery. On the side are two crescent-shaped lugs, the left of which was used for opening. On the clasp there is an eyelet in the shape of a hand. Further attachments of a chain can be seen in the form of a bent piece of metal. On the bow, “Maria hilf” is engraved on the left of the clasp and a floral motif on the right. The back of the bow is plain. The bag, made of red silk damask, is attached to the bail with silk thread. At the front the thread has been passed through the openings between the fleur-de-lis ornaments, at the back twelve holes have been drilled into the hanger. Only some thread remains of a silk embroidery on the front of the bag. Five pompoms are sewn on at the bottom. The pouches were worn on the belt, usually hanging on a chain and reaching down to the thigh. As far as is known from contemporary depictions, this type of pouch was worn by both men and women.

Buttonholes edged with silk yarn & fabric remnant with three buttonholes
Such silk yarn edgings have survived because silk, unlike the linen yarn normally used for buttonholes and other edgings, does not decompose. That is why such high-quality decorations have survived until today.

Lecture Trade, Money and Politics
On 10 January 2023 Doris Mührenberg and Dirk Rieger will tell about the archaeology of trade in Lübeck as part of the lecture series Handel, Geld & Politik:

Trade, Money and Politics 2022/23 – Research Centre for the History of the Hanseatic League and the Baltic Sea Region (fgho.eu)