This volume of the Main Series of the Bryggen Papers contains an in depth analysis of a hitherto rather neglected category of artefacts among the comprehensive archaeological finds uncovered in Bergen . sheaths and scabbards. The medieval sheaths and scabbards from Bergen represent one of the larger accumulations of this category in northern Europe, and the present work is the first scholarly analysis of this assemblage. The author also compares the sheaths and scabbards from Bergen with similar finds from other medieval towns in Norway, England and German areas in order to gain insight into specific aspects of medieval life and society, as well as cultural contacts and social identities. Dr. Ole-Magne Nøttveit, Archaeologist, former Junior Research Fellow, Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion, University of Bergen; presently, Project Director, Bergen Maritime Museum. The Bryggen Papers (ed. Ingvild Øye) This series present investigations of the archaeological material from the excavations at Bryggen and other medieval and early sites in the town of Bergen. Known as an Episcopal see and a regional royal administrative and residential centre, Bergen developed in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries into the first truly international trading centre of Scandinavia and one of the most important ports of northern Europe, at the same time becoming the first capital of the Norwegian kingdom. The Hanseatic League established one of its four main trading stations or Kontore in Bergen around 1360, lasting into the latter part of the eighteenth century.