This Medievalists post that I pass on to you tells of an interesting trail left by a broach that a Viking woman buried 1200-years ago wore on her dress. (Ed.)
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When
a female Norwegian Viking died some time during the ninth century, she was
buried wearing a status symbol: a beautiful piece of bronze jewellery worn on
her traditional Norse dress.
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In 2016, this piece of jewellery was found in the soil at Agdenes farm, situated at the outermost part of the Trondheim Fjord in Mid-Norway. Photo: Åge Hojem/NTNU University Museum
|
She
explains that fittings like this were popular among the Norwegian Vikings who took
part in the first raids to the British Isles, at the very beginning of the
Viking age. The fittings were originally attached to horse harnesses, like in
this case, or to religious items such as books, crosiers or altar decorations.
“A
housewife in Mid-Norway probably received the fitting as a gift from a family
member who took part in one or more Viking raids to Ireland or Great Britain.
When she died, the jewellery was given to her as a burial gift. It has stayed
underground until it was found by chance this summer,” Heen Pettersen says.
She
adds that almost all of the similar finds from this era that have been
discovered in Norway have been found in women’s graves that date from the first
half of the 9th century, when the Vikings began to plunder the British Isles.
The
decorations suggest that the jewellery was made in a Celtic workshop, most
likely in Ireland, in the 8th or 9th century. It was originally used as a
fitting for a horse’s harness, but holes at the bottom and traces of rust from
a needle on the back show that it had probably been turned into a brooch at a
later stage.
But
how did a fitting from an Irish horse’s harness end up as a brooch for a
Norwegian Viking woman?
Took the jewellery to her grave
Aina
Margrethe Heen Pettersen is a doctoral student at the Norwegian University of
Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Department of Historical Studies and works with
finds brought to Norway during the Viking age. She will now study the bronze
brooch more closely, which is has been curated and preserved by the
NTNU University Museum.
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| Doctoral student Aina Margrethe Heen Pettersen at the Department of Historical Studies at NTNU will conduct more research on the bronze brooch, which is preserved and maintained by the NTNU University Museum. Photo: Åge Hojem/NTNU University Museum |
She
explains that fittings like this were popular among the Norwegian Vikings who took
part in the first raids to the British Isles, at the very beginning of the
Viking age. The fittings were originally attached to horse harnesses, like in
this case, or to religious items such as books, crosiers or altar decorations.
“A
housewife in Mid-Norway probably received the fitting as a gift from a family
member who took part in one or more Viking raids to Ireland or Great Britain.
When she died, the jewellery was given to her as a burial gift. It has stayed
underground until it was found by chance this summer,” Heen Pettersen says.
She
adds that almost all of the similar finds from this era that have been
discovered in Norway have been found in women’s graves that date from the first
half of the 9th century, when the Vikings began to plunder the British Isles.
Visual status symbols
Being
part of the early Viking raids brought status and prestige to the individuals
who participated, but also to their families. The men who returned alive from
the dangerous journeys gave the objects they had stolen as gifts to female
family members who waited for them at home. The fittings were then turned into
jewellery, and were worn on traditional Norse clothing as brooches, pendants or
belt fittings.
“As
a result, it became clear to everyone that those women had family members who
had taken part in successful expeditions far away. There are traces of gold on
the surface of the jewellery, so it was originally covered in gold. It
therefore appeared to be more valuable than it actually was. In addition, each
piece of jewelry was unique, so the owner did not risk having the housewife
next door turn up with the same piece of jewellery,” Heen Pettersen says.
Jewellery
of this kind has typically been found in women’s graves with relatively few
other burial gifts. This suggests that many of the Vikings who took part in
raids far away did not represent the top layer of the social hierarchy.
Instead, they were “nouveau riche” farmers and fishermen who got the
opportunity to climb the social ladder by taking part in Viking raids.
Strategic location
Agdenes
is strategically located at the south end of the mouth of the Trondheim Fjord,
where it meets the Trondheimsleia Strait. The place is mentioned several times
in the Norse sagas as a gathering place where ships with warriors met before
their journey continued.
Traces
of King Øystein’s Harbour, which was established for military and defense
reasons early in the 12th century, are found just next to Agdenes farm, where
the bronze brooch was discovered. The harbour validates the strategic location
of the place. It is possible that the area served as a natural gathering or
stopping place for ships sailing from the Trondheim Fjord to the British Isles.
From
Mid-Norway, ships probably followed the coastline southwards before they
crossed the open ocean across the North Sea. If the weather was nice and the
wind came from the right direction, they could sail from the southwest of
Norway to the east coast of England or Scotland in just a couple of days. If
they were surprised by bad weather, the journey could be fatal.
The grave has been disturbed
According
to Heen Pettersen, the bronze brooch was found by a private individual with a
metal detector, so it is not a find from an archaeological site. The jewellery
was not found in the original grave, which indicates that the grave at some
point had been disturbed – for example during ploughing or other farming
activities.
The
Viking women who owned this kind of jewellery were typically buried with grave
gifts such as tortoise-shaped brooches, pearls, a knife and a spinning wheel,
in addition to jewelry made from stolen fittings.
“The
new find from Agdenes farm shows that the area was populated in the first part
of the Viking Age. Even though it is a random find, it is a nice reminder that
Mid-Norway was involved in the early contact with the British Isles,” says Heen
Pettersen.
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