THE MEDIEVAL CHURCHYARD AS AN URBAN EMPTY SPACE: TRACING ACTORS AROUND THE CHURCHYARDS OF ST. ALBAN AND ST. CANUTE,ODENSE

The study applies the concept of ‘urban empty space’ as defined by Monica Smith to the adjacent churchyards of St. Alban and St. Canute, the latter being both a cathedral and a shrine for the royal saint, Canute the Holy. The aim is to demonstrate that the churchyard of St. Canute incorporated other temporary functions for the urban society, which subdivided the space into more labile areas or demarcations of use. The demarcations might, according to the concept, become contested areas between various users; thus, the article seeks to identify possible contestants through examining the built environment as well as the artefacts – in the present case, though, limited to the pottery. The article shows that the studied objects can shed new light on the urban empty space of the medieval churchyard. It is also a reminder that urban churchyards are not completely isolated loci of sanctity for the dead but are very much a part of urban life.