ABSTRACT
The main technological innovation in the late medieval ceramic industry seems to be a tendency, at least in the Midlands, for higher-fired wares. At Chilvers Coton in Warwickshire it has been argued that there is some evidence for the use of larger kilns in the 14th and 15th centuries. In Brittany, the surviving documentary sources have allowed historians to make a detailed study of the late medieval ceramic industry in several communities. Organizational changes are apparent in the 15th century with the emergence of potters’ guilds, which controlled the activities and number of workers. Inter-site analysis of the proportions of decorated and undecorated redwares in Sweden have demonstrated that this was not a useful indicator of wealth with, for example, more decorated wares occurring in rural contexts than in urban contexts. This probably reflects the low price differentials and cultural differences between towns and countryside.
