{"id":1967,"date":"2025-08-18T12:05:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T12:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bryggentracteursted.no\/schotstuen-the-fire-room-and-the-hayloft\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T13:56:50","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T13:56:50","slug":"schotstuen-the-fire-room-and-the-hayloft","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bryggentracteursted.no\/en\/schotstuen-the-fire-room-and-the-hayloft\/","title":{"rendered":"Sch\u00f8tstuen, the Fire Room, and the Hayloft"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Hanseatic League and the Sch\u00f8tstue\n<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Sch\u00f8tstuenes and the Fire Room<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Each farmstead at Bryggen housed a number of individual properties, the dwellings. Each farmstead also had common properties, consisting of a quay, sheds, a crane, and a Sch\u00f8tstuen with a fire room. The construction and maintenance of these properties were paid for by all the dwelling owners in the farmstead. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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... Read More <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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The accounts were recorded in the farmstead’s common ledger, the ‘mascopibok’. This book was kept by elected officials. Each farmstead, in fact, had its own administration and court. <\/p>

Each farmstead had a Sch\u00f8tstuen with a fire room at the very back of the row of houses. The Hanseatics adopted the system of shared Sch\u00f8tstuen and fire room from the earlier Norwegian inhabitants of Bryggen. <\/p>

The Norwegian word for this building was ‘skytning’ or ‘skytningsstove’. The Hanseatics changed this designation to ‘Schotstube’ or ‘Schutstaven’. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Use of Sch\u00f8tstuen and the Fire Room\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The main purpose of the Sch\u00f8tstuen was to be a gathering place for the farmstead’s people during the winter months, and in combination with the fire room, it served as a dining area where warm meals were served. While the dwellings at the front of the farmstead were unheated, the Sch\u00f8tstuen was heated from late October to mid-April. During this period, there was less activity in the warehouses and the ‘sj\u00f8stue’ (seaside room), and therefore, much of the day was spent in the Sch\u00f8tstuen. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A Room with many Functions <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Sch\u00f8tstuen was more than just a common room. It also served as: <\/p>

  • Party Venue: Here, parties and feasts were arranged.<\/li>
  • Administration Center: New members \u2013 managers, journeymen, and apprentices \u2013 were registered in the farmstead books.<\/li>
  • Meeting Place for Mascopi: The annual mascopi meeting took place in the Sch\u00f8tstuen.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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    Law and Justice in the Community <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Once a year, a court session was held in the Sch\u00f8tstuen, where the farmstead’s own people could be judged for breaking internal rules. Punishments varied according to rank: <\/p>