Scandinavian Late‐medieval Elite Architecture on Land and at Sea. A Spatial Study of the Castle Glimmingehus and the Warship Gribshunden

THIS PAPER COMPARES THE SOCIAL USE OF SPACE in late-medieval castles and warships. The main case studies used are the noble castle of Glimmingehus in present-day Sweden, built 1499 to 1505, and the royal warship Gribshunden, in use from the mid-1480s until its sinking in 1495; we also refer to the later and fully excavated warships Mary Rose and Vasa. Both castles and warships are examples of elite architecture, structures in which different social groups intermingled. They are also structures where all the basic functions were brought together in a single entity,. It is argued that castles and warships share common architectural features related to power, and that some functions and spatial uses were also quite similar. Conversely, at the same time, elements such as heating, light conditions and hygiene, show that the two entities were markedly different. The castle or warship was a private, secluded space where residents shared living conditions, but remained separated by physical and social barriers. Different categories of people probably experienced this in distinctive ways.