Lead Cloth Seals from Medieval and Early Modern Castles and Fortresses in Sweden and Finland

Cloth and other textiles were among the most important goods traded during the Middle Ages. The production of cloth was regulated and, beginning in the late 13th century, approved by attaching lead seals to the ends of the bales of cloth. In the 15th and 16th century all the cloth traded by, for example, Hanseatic merchants had to carry seals ensuring that it was officially approved. Lead cloth seals were produced and distributed in very high numbers but are rarely found in medieval and early modern excavations. It can be assumed that the finding of a single seal indicates earlier presence of expensive bales of cloth meant for wholesale, i.e. trades articles each with a value of several gold coins.

About half of the cloth seals carry the coats of arms of the town where the cloth was made. In theory, these seals should be easy to identify and date but in practice there is a lack of proper documentation, despite some countries such as England, Belgium and Denmark having detailed find catalogues. Most of the rest of the seals carry maker’s marks or the merchants’ ‘Hausmerken’ on them. Today it is almost impossible to identify these seals or the individual craftsmen or merchants they represent.

Although not a common find on medieval and early modern sites, lead cloth seals are nonetheless an important artefact. They provide evidence of trade, networks, types of fabric and the merchants who sold them, and can also be used for dating.

In Sweden and Finland lead cloth seals are mostly found on two types of sites. The most common type are medieval urban excavations which have provided the largest quantity of these artefacts. The other type of site is less obvious, and not as associated with trade as urban areas, namely the castle. A considerable share of lead cloth seals found in Sweden and Finland are from excavations carried out at castle sites.

This article focuses on the evidence of imported cloth in medieval and early modern castles. Why are cloth seals often discovered there? The written records from these castles not only show that the cloth seals were evidence of trade but that even the wages of military personnel were paid in cloth. The Castle of Raseborg (Finland) is used as a case study but the discussion also includes the rest of the Swedish royal or crown castles inhabited during the early 16th century. Lead cloth seals have been found at almost all of these castles.