The latest publication from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Wrocław is the final outcome of the project Urban Violence Harnessed or Unleashed? Arms and Armour as Elements of Everyday Life in a Medieval and Early Modern Port Town: The Case of Gdańsk, conducted under the direction of Professor Lech Marek (PhD, DSc) as part of the OPUS 18 programme.

This publication explores the role of arms and armour in medieval and early modern Gdańsk through an anthropological lens, departing from traditional studies focused solely on typology, origin, and production. Drawing on archaeological evidence from over 60 sites and a collection of 372 artefacts, the study investigates the social significance, ownership, regulation, and everyday use of side arms (such as daggers, falchions, and swords) within the urban context of a multicultural port town.

It examines how weapons functioned as personal accessories, status symbols, and tools for self-identifi- cation, while also addressing the legal and social constraints on weapon ownership and display. The work analyzes how patricians and other urban groups emulated knightly customs, the implications of sumptuary laws, and the overlap between civilian and military obligations. It also incorporates icono- graphic sources and metallurgical analyses to understand the origins and usage of armour. Ultimately, the study aims to reconstruct the biographies of artefacts and their owners, placing arms and armour within the broader social, legal, and cultural fabric of historical Gdańsk.

The book was published in collaboration with the Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk and Yellow Point Publications.

The contributors are:

Keith Dowen (FSA, FRHistS – Curator of Arms and Armour, including Asian and Medieval European Metalwork, at The Wallace Collection),

Bogdan Kościński (Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk, Department of the Archaeology of Gdańsk),

Zofia Maciakowska (The Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw),

Lech Marek (Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Poland),

Beata Miazga (Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Poland).