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I

Chapter 5

TOWNS AND FORTRESSES

A. Historical sourcesfor the toum

Sonic of the written historical information concerned with thc carly towns has alrcady been mentioned, such, for example, as thc prcsence of merchants and thc establishment of Christian institutions at various dates. In this chapter we shall concentrate on the whole pattern of towns and on the functions of these centres.¹ We inelude an archaeological invcstigation of the fortresses, while the institutions and activitics of the towns are studied both from the scarcc, but important, written sources and from the archaeological record. Only archaeology providcs information about buildings and craft production; in addition, it yiclds most of the comparative data. The historical sources may, on the other hand, supply a survey (in the case of the major towns) on which centres are functioning, and ho w they function, at a specific period. As before, we shall try to avoid sources written any later than the Viking Age.

Surveying the written sources, Hedeby/Slesvig in south Jylland is first mentioned in 804 as ‘Sliesthorp’ and (in 808) as a ‘portus’ (port) and trading centre.² The identity of Hedeby and Slcsvig is given by an English source from around 1000, which explains that Hedeby is the Danish name for the site, and Slcsvig the Saxon (German) name.³ In about 870 Slesvig (called ‘Sliaswich’), in a source referring to events around 850 (including the erection of the first churches), is again mentioned as a ‘portus’, and in addition as an international trading centre and as a ‘vicus^ł too (cf. the ending of the word ‘Sliaswich’).¹ (‘Vicus’ is a Latin term used for a number of early harbour towns in western Europę.) The word ‘Hedeby’ appears for the first time in an English travclogue (by the Norwegian Ottar) from shortly before 900 as ‘act Haethum’ (at the heathers); Hedeby herc is mentioned as a port and trading centre.⁵ Hedeby appears, incidentally, as ‘Hethabyr’ on two runestones from the site itself, as wcll as from one from the town of Arhus, all in 1000.^B In the German sources of the tenth century,