![]() ![]() 1515) may have come from that relatively distant region of primary forests. While the Spanish Corpus from the Crucifix is from the second half of the twelfth century and perhaps too early to be of Baltic origin, another sculpture of German manufacture, Christ in the House of Simon (ca. Two particularly fine examples of medieval oak sculptures in the RISD collection merit our attention. For woodcarvers, this was particularly important, as cracks and shears could compromise their work, whether the sculptures were painted (polychromy) or not. These lower-density oaks were also preferred since they had less shrinkage and swelling that occurred with changes in the surrounding humidity. Unlike walnut, which was less durable and smaller in size, oak also had the advantage for woodcarvers of having a uniform wood grain, achieved by small growth rings that lacked irregularities. Oak, a material favored by medieval woodworkers, was valued because it is extremely durable. As forest reserves became depleted, though, the timber industry shifted north and east, and the importance of Riga (Latvia) increased in the Baltic trade later, in the first half of the seventeenth century, Norway became a great timber exporter as well. It was relatively inexpensive to procure and transport timber to Baltic ports, and the entire process-from cutting in the forests to transactions in markets in London, Antwerp, or Amsterdam-could occur in several months. Timber would then be loaded on large seagoing vessels and subsequently transported to trading centers throughout Northern and Western Europe, including Spain and Portugal. Typically, Baltic timber was derived from inland sources, and once felled would be floated down the rivers to ports such as Gdansk (Poland), which was ideally located at the head of the large Vistula River system. From dendrochronology, we now know large quantities of high-grade oak needed to supply Western Europe came from the south coast of the Baltic region-today Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. Tree rings also allow us to discern the year in which the tree was cut down and the rings ceased to be produced. ![]() Identifying similar growth-ring patterns that occur in particular soil conditions and climate allows us to link wood from trees that grew in the same geographical location. 3ĭendrochronology-the scientific discipline of studying tree-rings-now provides valuable information that allows one identify the provenance and date for objects made of wood. The massive scale which timber was exported, for example, can be seen in the changing size of cargo holds on ships-three hundred tons by the fifteenth century and one thousand tons by the sixteenth century. Developing sea trade and inland water traffic connected new timber sources with Northern European markets. This overuse led to deforestation and the search for timber sources farther afield. While one may think that wood was both plentiful and nearby throughout the medieval landscape, timber for building and sculpture in Western Europe was often imported from a considerable distance.īecause of their extensive use, medieval forests were becoming increasingly farmed in densely populated areas, such as Flanders. Oak, and less often walnut, was favored in England, Flanders, and the Netherlands, and also preferred in France from the eighth until the fifteenth century, before elm and beech became desirable. In Germany and Central Europe, lime (or lindenwood) was preferred, while in the Mediterranean region poplar was frequently used. It was also a desired material by medieval carvers for the making of sculpture. The material was used for the construction of buildings and ships, furniture, musical instruments, and even the tools necessary to complete the work. The use of wood as a raw material in the medieval world for a wide variety of functional and artistic purposes was almost as widespread as living nature itself. | Erica Kinias Sources of Wood in the Forests of Medieval and Early Modern Europe It is unfortunate, therefore, that the fundamental importance of wood and timber in the medieval world is often neglected because it survives only in certain environmental conditions in the archaeological record, or in an unpredictable result of preservation and luck through the centuries. ![]() Wood is omnipresent but often invisible in our everyday lives―from modern industry, fuel, and construction to paper goods, furniture, and even art. ![]()
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