On the basis of the large numbers of cut-down leather artefacts, it seems that all kinds of leather objects were repaired and reused when they had come to the end of their lives. On the other hand, a large number of shoes found at the ÅA-site were actually in quite good condition when discarded. Their condition would have well allowed their repair for reuse, but for some reason this was not frequently done. Instead, many shoes were discarded after only minor wear and not selected for refurbishment. The material clearly does not support the idea that there was any kind of shortage of leather or shoes. Rather, plenty of material was available for reuse, so much so that it was not fully exploited (Harjula 2008a, 148–150).
Apart from the preparation of hides and shoemaking, the archaeological evidence from Turku related to other distinct leather trades is quite limited. However, it was noticed that the sword scabbard leathers found at the ÅA-site and Old Great Market Square were either cut, torn, or both cut and torn fragments, lacking both the mouth-end and the tip. It could be that these fragments are ones that were stripped from the wooden scabbard cores when the latter were to be reused. In some cases, reuse has been connected to a distinct trade, the work of the sword-polisher (e.g. Blomqvist 1938, 166–168; Bolstad 1991, 135). This craftsman cleaned and polished blades, and furnished them with handles and a scabbard. When the sword was furnished with a new scabbard, the old scabbard was discarded. At both the ÅA-site and the Old Great Market Square site, the sliced scabbard fragments were concentrated in certain areas, together with offcuts, possibly from shoemaking. An established and thus probably professional activity can be suggested, though whether this was the work of specialized sword-polishers’ or other leatherworkers’ is an open question (Harjula 2005a, 71–72). Shoemaking and scabbard making demanded at least partially different skills, but it is conceivable that both skillsets could have been handled by a single individual.
On the basis of leather production waste (currying waste, offcuts), structures (tanning tubs, hide scraping beam) and tools (lasts, awls, shoemaker’s knives, creasers, templates or rough-outs of shoe soles) we know for certain that shoemaking and (probably) full-time manufacture of other types of leather goods took place in Turku from at least the 14th century onwards. Furthermore, the number and variety of leather artefacts found in excavations is very large. Besides shoes, archaeological contexts in Turku also preserve, for example, patten straps, mittens, belts, straps, bags, pouches, cases for wax tablets, sheaths, scabbards, slings and a number of unidentified leather objects (for leather research and the variety of medieval leather artefacts in Finnish excavations, see Harjula 2002; 2004; 2005a; 2005b; 2007a; 2007b; 2007c; 2008a; 2008b; 2009; 2010; Harjula and Hiekkanen 2006; Harjula and Jokela 2003; Harjula and Taavitsainen 2008; Taavitsainen and Harjula 2005).
Even if it can be suggested that the majority of these finds were locally manufactured, there is the possibility that particular artefacts or artefact groups were imported. We might therefore ask, whether there are any indications on artefacts themselves that would support the interpretation of local manufacture or import. Even if urban material culture was in general more or less uniform across the whole medieval Baltic sphere, distinctions may be visible in the selection of raw materials. For example, in the case of Turku’s medieval knife sheaths, the exceptionally good preservation of sewing threads made it possible to analyse their materials. It was found that the prevalent material used in the stitching of knife sheaths was hemp. Thus, the usual assumption that the preferred thread material was linen, has been proven incorrect. The use of hemp for sewing threads may be an indication either of local sheath manufacture, of their import from the Baltic Countries or Russia. Import from Poland or Germany seems less likely, given that these regions were mostly flax cultivation areas in the Middle Ages (Harjula 2005, 70–71). However, these conclusions must, for now, remain speculative.
In Europe, stable isotope ratios of different elements (e.g. of strontium), have been used to determine the local versus non-local geographical origin of textile, leather and bone, in order to reconstruct migration and trade (see for example Carnap-Bornheim et al. 2007). The method is based on the fact that a local, geochemically determined Sr isotopic signature enters the food chain vial soil and groundwater, and ends up in archaeological materials such as bone, teeth and skin. These kinds of natural scientific analyses will probably become more common, and eventually a routine part of archaeological artefact and material studies in Finland in the near future. Combined with more traditional archaeological methods, they will complement archaeological leather research, both in raw-material and artefact-level analysis, and will thus be of great help in tracing the nameless actors once involved in the chains of production and trade.
The kinds of division and specialisation that existed in the leather trade, and how these were handled in practice remain key questions in leather craft-research in Turku. On the basis of the sparse written sources and very rich archaeological material, some conclusions can be drawn.
Tanning was a common and essential task, but based on the parallels from other Nordic Countries, still not a separate trade in medieval Turku. In principle, shoemakers and other possible leather manufacturing trades tanned the skins they needed. Tanning was largely carried out on the outskirts of the town, or by the River Aurajoki, and may have seen cooperation with textile dyers, who could use the same facilities.
Currying was an essential task connected to both tanning and artefact manufacture, placed between these two processes and probably handled by a single person (though perhaps with assistants), who tanned the skins and made artefacts. Currying was not a separate craft in Turku in the Middle Ages. There are archaeological indications of currying only from one site in Turku.
Shoemaking was, besides tailoring, one of the oldest and probably the largest craft in medieval Turku. It is mentioned repeatedly in written sources, and well represented in archaeological material. It is suggested that besides manufacturing shoes, shoemakers also repaired them (i.e. acted as cobblers). On the other hand, based on the poor quality of some repairs identified, a kind of cobbling was also carried out on a non-professional, household level (clump-soling). One may ask who manufactured the one-piece shoes recovered in the town area and from Turku Castle, and which represent a shoemaking tradition different to that which produced turn-shoes? Such one-piece shoes may be seen to continue an Iron-Age shoemaking tradition (Harjula 2008a, 97–101). They may have been made in the countryside, and their occurrence in town and castle may therefore reflect the relationship between these sites and Turku’s rural hinterland.
Shoemakers had to tan the skins they needed. The potential for overburdening the trade was thus considerable, and some kind of division of labour between preparatory phases (tanning, currying), shoe manufacture, selling shoes, repairing them and possibly even selling refurbished shoes might be suggested. Besides, even if there was no official journeyman-apprentice-master system, some kind of unofficial organisation and division of tasks between family members and other workshop people taking part in the trade could have existed. It is also possible that craftsmen’s guilds existed, even if they have left no traces in written records.
The dating and types of shoes from the town area in Turku mostly resemble those found in the towns of central Sweden. Of these towns, the collection from Stockholm has particularly striking similarities in shoe types and datings with Turku. One explanation must be that at the time, these towns were part of the same kingdom of Sweden, and thus maintained close economic and cultural contacts with one other. Moreover, Turku could have been subject to Stockholm; the same ordinances that defined Stockholm shoemakers’ job descriptions, shoe types and even shoe patterns and other details, also concerned Turku (Harjula 2008a, 160–161; for a good example of the differences in shoe styles in Stockholm and Bergen caused by differences in craft organizations, see Wubs-Mrozewicz 2005)
Other possible leather trades mentioned in written documents concerning medieval Turku are the sword-polishers and beltmakers. Renewing of scabbards perhaps by sword-polishers is also represented in archaeological material. The reference to a beltmaker (Claes beltare) as early as 1347 could indicate that even at that early stage of the town’s history, professional division and specialization of some degree between leather artisans had evolved in Turku. Still, there are many leather artefact groups without any indication of their manufacturers. For example, which trade made pouches, bags, mittens, gloves or knife sheaths in Turku? All these artefact groups are well represented in archaeological material, even if there are no written records remaining. Tracing the nameless actors continues.
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