Christianization of Fourteenth-Century Gdańsk (original) (raw)

The article studies the dynamics of the construction of a Christian image in fourteenth-century Gdansk, as manifested in architecture, urban space, and artwork. This study demonstrates that the city’s Christian image was not only formed by the Teutonic Knights, a Christian military order that governed Gdansk during this time, but by many social groups representing all strata of the city’s residents, sometimes supported by external powers, in the process of negotiating social and urban statuses. Consequently, the city’s architecture, urban space, and artwork were not only an expression of religious beliefs or of a particular artistic style, but also a manifestation of social, economic, and political identities.