THE GOLDSMITH BOURGEOIS OF TURKU
(historical character)
I am a valued craftsman, an aurifaber that means that I handle silver and gold. I come from the other side of the Gulf of Bothnia, but already as a youngster I had to arrive in Turku where I served my apprenticeship with master Gert. The master was strict and had a bad temper. The workdays were long and many times at night I secretly cried because I was both tired and angry. However, I understood that I had to learn the trade thoroughly and become aware of all the right styles. What the richest of the bourgeois and nobility in Turku desire are beautiful and fashionable things: silver belts, chains, rings, goblets and spoons. For the churches I have made plenty of chalices and other beautiful things to honour God. Nevertheless, my apprentices and journeymen don’t always work as hard as I would want them to. Even the buyers take their time in paying me back. Recently, in the spring of this year, the year of God 1459, I finally received a long awaited payment of an entire sum of 16 Swedish marks. The noble master knight and lawyer Henrik Klausson Djäkn owed me this sum, may God have mercy on his soul.
The workshop of the Goldsmith
TPM/P.O.WelinLINKS
Chronology
