Question w/o research:
How much different is 13th and mid 14th c pottery?
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Eddie Costello
(SCA-Cedric the Just of Dorchester)
--or--
Ceddie
It's going to depend in some extent on geograpic location (as opposed to spatial or temporal, I guess).
I reccomend two books to help answer that question:
For general European -
World Ceramics: An Illustrated History (1977, 5th edition)
edited by Robert Charleston
see pages 111-116
and
For specifically English -
A Corpus of Anglo Saxon and Medieval Pottery From Lincoln
written by Allen Vince, Jany Young, and Victor Naybor
see all pages
Broadly, in England you've got hand-thrown (with some wheel-thrown in certain areas with continental access, as insular wheel-throwing introduced during the Roman occupation disappeared for a while with the Romans)) progressing to slow-wheel then fast-wheel from the 10th - 14th century. Cooking pots became larger, the Saxon small, tall narrow cooking pot was replaced by the wide squat medieval shape. At the same time the spouted pitcher with its applied spout and small strap handles was gradually replaced by the medieval type of jug with a single large handle and a small pinched-out lip.
On the Continent, as well as in England, during the period of the highly decorated/glazed jugs, circa 1250AD-1350AD, though many other forms of pots were made unlazed cooking pots remained most common. There were not medieval pottery plates or cups; these were made in wood and other materials. Begining in the 14th century pottery was produced in graded sizes of similar shape and the earlier tendency for every pot to be different petered out, though there was still intense regional variation. This change was due to the greater industrialization of pottery-making processes and the general needs of mass production.
In Continental Northern Europe, particularly Germany (Lower Saxony & Friesland), the true 'Kugeltopf' ('rounded pot') was developed, the base of which sat comfotably in the ashes of the open hearth, and with the pinching out of rudimentary feet or the addition of three legs the 'Grapen' (tripod cooking pot) was born.
Throughout Northern Europe the outsides of vessels made in the 11th & 1th centuries were still only partially glazed; lead-glaze was mostly used to seal the inside of the pot and to protect the mouth, which was subjected to especially heavy wear, with full outside glazing developing later.
In Germanic regions Proto-stoneware began to replace Pingsdorf ware (a pale clay fired to stoneware hardness, of a red tone shading to violet) in the 12th century. This Proto-stoneware (usually blue-grey, but at times reddish brown or ochre-yellow), from which true stoneware evolved in the 14th century, was from a ceramic point of view superior to lead-glazed pottery. Even in the unglazed state it possessed a stronger and more compact body. If a glassy finish was desired, a wash of vitfifiable clay was used instead of a lead-glaze (which couldn't stand the high temperatures employed.
Cheers,
K. Ken
