David A. Hinton's book Gold and Gilt, Pots and Pins: Possessions and People in Medieval Britain appears as part of the Medieval History and Archaeology series published by Oxford University Press. A stated goal of the series is to present archaeology in a manner accessible to historians. This book achieves this aim admirably by presenting an encyclopedic discussion of medieval material culture and its social uses in Britain from the fourth to the sixteenth century.
The subject of Gold and Gilt, Pots and Pins is primarily medieval luxury goods retrieved through archaeological excavations. Most of the objects discussed are made of metal, and the emphasis is placed on items made of precious metal. Jewelry and coins figure prominently, though tools and implements are also discussed, as are ceramics and glass and a few textiles. In general, these are the excavated items that could be placed in a display case in a museum. This represents a narrowing of focus from his earlier book, Archaeology, Economy and Society: England from the fifth to the fifteenth century (London: Seaby, 1990), which considered buildings, landscape features, bones, and soil components as well as the portable, manufactured items that are the focus of the present work. His new book analyzes the archaeological record to understand changes in the ways medieval people used valuable objects to communicate social meanings.
As in Archaeology, Economy and Society, Hinton's temporal divisions are based on changing patterns in the medieval material culture, and so they correspond only roughly to centuries. Chapters are primarily descriptive rather than thesis-driven, though his chapter titles and the chronological points at which he divides them indicate the trends he wants to emphasize. Objects are never brought up merely to support an argument. Rather, he begins with the archaeological material, and interpretations, sometimes multiple or contradictory, follow in his discussion as they relate to each piece. Each chapter also attends to regional variations, including explaining what is distinctive about Scotland, Wales, and the northern isles. The text is illustrated with 108 highly legible black and white photographs and drawings and eight pages of color plates.
In the first chapter, "Adapting to Life Without the Legions: From the End of the Fourth Century to the Mid-Sixth," the reader is introduced to the types of objects that will be discussed in the following sections: objects from buried hoards and furnished graves, as well as accidental depositions. The brooches, coins, buckles, ceramic sherds, and plate vessels illuminate issues of ethnicity, authority, social control, local economics, and long distance trade.
In chapter two, "Expressions of the Elites: From the Later Sixth Century to the Later Seventh," material culture is seen to assert and construct cultural identities, which are not necessarily simply a factor of biological or ethnic origin. An important theme in this chapter is the differentiation of the elites through changes in burial practice and personal display, as seen, for instance, at Sutton Hoo. In this period, the elites increasingly directed their material expressions toward one another rather than to foreigners or to their followers. The deepening acceptance of Christianity is another development documented by the archaeological record in this period.
Chapter three, "Kings and Christianity: From the Late Seventh Century to the Early Ninth," is characterized by changes in burial patterns. Deposition of grave goods with the deceased continued to the end of the seventh century (78), but goods were increasingly concealed in purses and pouches rather than worn for display or deposited openly, a pattern that suggests disposal of items associated with the deceased rather than public ostentation at burial. Grave goods became rare in the eighth century, partly due to the scarcity of gold, and largely due to the widespread adoption of Christianity. Anglo-Saxon styles and cultural habits were assimilated or adapted by other groups such as Picts and Britons during this time, though not uniformly. This period was also marked by the emergence of the wics, or major trading centers. These centers facilitated changes in patterns of production and exchange of goods, and also an increase in the use of coins, though much of the new coinage was of silver rather than gold, and was issued in smaller denominations than coins of earlier periods. The highest status items discussed in this chapter are helmets and swords. Hinton effectively turns at several points to Beowulf to illustrate the significance of material goods such as warrior's gear and feasting vessels (e.g. 89, 107).
Chapter four is "Alfred et al.: From the Mid-Ninth Century to the Mid-Tenth." Characteristic of this time are more hoards, more royal rings, more silver niello objects, and fewer coins than in the previous period. Fewer coins but more precious metal may indicate "bullion economy" (119), in which metal was collected by weight or quantity as a commodity to be traded or to give as gifts. Simply manufactured rings of various sizes appear frequently, and would have been ideal for such use. Scandinavian and Irish objects appear in Britain during the ninth century. Also during this time, inscriptions become more common, such as the phrase "Alfred ordered me to be made," on the well-known Alfred Jewel (129). The author considers an increasing number of documentary sources in this chapter, such as such as letters (e.g. 114, 129), wills, (133), charters (123), and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle(128), as they often indicate contemporary uses of or responses to important objects.
"The Epoch of New Dynasties: From the Later Tenth Century to the End of the Eleventh" Hinton's fifth chapter, begins with a different sort of discussion. In this period, Hinton recognizes the emergence of a nation state, which was expressed through royal regalia such as crowns, scepters, and seals. He does not examine these objects themselves, but discusses their representations in ruler portraits in manuscripts and on coins. His analysis of the Bayeux Tapestry is similarly focused on the objects represented in its embroidery rather than on the tapestry itself (143). These representations of royalty are entirely valid inclusions in the book, but the distinction between representation and the objects represented is blurry at times. The use of seals by the nobility introduces a new category of meaningful objects, and one linked to the social structure of the era. Testamentary evidence is used to determine not only what objects existed, but to learn what objects were passed on and to whom.
Chapter six, "Feudal Modes: The Twelfth Century and the First Half of the Thirteenth," covers the change to a land economy. With unfurnished burials being the norm, and high quality metalwork unlikely to be lost, ceramics take up more of the author's attention. Within the category of jewelry, there appears a new interest in gems. Heraldry became popular in this period as a way to express individual identity. Group affiliation was shown through the badges and ampullae first of pilgrims, and soon after for other groups such as guilds and households.
Many of the same concerns continue through chapter seven, "Material Culture and Social Display: From the Mid-Thirteenth Century to the Beginning of the Fifteenth." The author makes increasing use of documentary sources such as inventories, assessments, sumptuary legislation, and royal expenditure records. This last category suggests the importance of lavish display among the highest levels of society. Meanwhile, activities of urban dwellers are represented by a wealth of everyday objects excavated from waterfront dump sites in London.
The final chapter covers "The Wars and the Posies: The Fifteenth Century and the First Half of the Sixteenth. Higher wages in London are expressed by the variety and higher quality of cooking wares and drinking vessels. Merchant trade with the continent was well-established and shows itself through distribution patters of various artifacts. Goods in this period were increasingly purchased on the market, rather than commissioned by their owners from their makers. Jewelry with mottoes and love tokens are represented in hoards, along with private devotional objects such as wearable reliquaries. From this period there are also more costume adornments and fasteners, sometimes of base metals, as well as metal purse-frames. In general, the archaeological record from this time tells us about how people presented themselves during life, whereas the material from the early centuries spoke more about presentation of the dead.
A two-page "Envoi" provides a concise summary of the previous 260 pages. In this reviewer's opinion, anyone intending to read chapters selectively, or any reader not well-versed in medieval archaeological finds, might benefit from reading the "Envoi" prior to delving into other sections of the book.
Hinton's book is very detailed. Any given page may mention a dozen objects from as many sites, all presented with equal consideration. The 106 pages of endnotes point the way for anyone seeking further discussion of a specific object. A reader unfamiliar with the particular artifacts might feel overwhelmed or disoriented by the sheer quantity of objects described in the book. The author's refusal to subordinate individual artifacts to the service of a thesis is both a methodological strength and a challenge to the reader.
The vast array of items covered in the discussion give rise to numerous methodological and interpretive questions. Hinton acknowledges a broad range of these both in the text and the notes, including those he chooses not to use. One methodological area that seems weak is gender. With the exception of a brief discussion types of adornments and gems associated with men and women in the fourteenth century (226), references to gender are really little more than points where the archaeological record implicates women. An opportunity has been missed to elaborate on how material culture was used to define this important set of social categories.
This book is a valuable synthesis of decades of archaeological work on medieval material culture. Hinton brings together numerous site reports and published discussions of specific objects or issues, all of which are documented in the copious endnotes. One should not read this book for a thorough discussion of any single site. Rather, it interprets the totality of medieval British finds in light of the changing material culture across the span of the Middle Ages in Britain. For archaeologists, Gold and Gilt, Pots and Pins will be a good jumping-off point for future studies of the types of objects that appear in the medieval archaeological record. For scholars in other disciplines, it is a useful survey of the objects used for display and exchange during the Middle Ages that can provide necessary background for wherever one finds material objects mentioned in medieval documents.