The sound of silence - A ceramic horn and its role in monasticism in late medieval Iceland

This article tells the story of an early 16th-century ceramic horn and its journey from its production site in the Weser Uplands, Germany, to the remote Augustinian monastery at Skriouklaustur in eastern Iceland, which only existed from 1493 to 1554. The ceramic horn belongs to a group of wind instruments unknown from written or pictorial sources but often found in the archaeological record, especially in Germany. It was most likely taken to Iceland by a pilgrim or merchant. Beyond answers to the question of how it got to Iceland this article offers an interpretation of its use in the monastery as a signalling instrument, to announce diverse tasks that were part of daily life at Skriduklaustur.