Den höviska kulturen i Norden : En konsthistorisk undersökning

Sammanfattning: This thesis traces the influence of the continental court society and the concepts of courtliness, chivalry and knighthood on Denmark, Norway and Sweden in the High and Late Middle Ages (c. 1150-1520). Although many of the art objects and texts here discussed are well-known, a comparative study of this kind has hitherto never been attempted. The material presented ranges from castles and palaces, decorated with sculpture, wall paintings and tiles, to tomb sculpture, seals, donor pictures, textiles and small precious objects of ivory, gold and silver. Many of the artefacts are of foreign origin and some of them are also decorated with courtly motifs, e.g. knights, ladies, tournaments, falconers, dancers, musicians and heraldic coats of arms.Since the courtly ideals reached the Scandinavian countries from abroad, the diplomatic and dynastic contacts with Germany, France and England are here emphasized. The importance of the continental court culture is also evident in the written sources, e.g. inventories, household accounts, wills, sagas, mirrors of princes and chronicles. Another interesting phenomenon here examined is the court criticism that can be found in the church art and the clerical literature of the period. Hence it can be stated that a court society and a concept of courtliness,based on French, British and German models, existed in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages, although the economic situation made the Scandinavian court culture comparatively less extravagant.