Viking Designs
Drawing of the Winteringham Pendant
A drawing of a cast silver, gilded pendant which has been interpreted as representing an image of Odin and his two ravens Huginn and Muninn. There are a number of close parallels which establish the wide currency of this subject group. These include numerous examples from Russia and two from Sweden, including some with silver gilding. A silver pendant with a related, but distinct design is known from Sjælland, Denmark. With some exceptions, pendants were generally worn by women as part of their Scandinavian dress.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Trefoil Brooch
A reproduction, copper alloy trefoil brooch of a type that would have been common in the Danelaw. Trefoil brooches were characteristically Scandinavian women’s wear. However, many examples found in the East Midlands were probably made in the Danelaw, and may have been copies of Scandinavian styles, instead of being imported from Scandinavia. This example was found near Lincoln. Scandinavian brooches came in a variety of sizes and shapes which included disc, trefoil, lozenge, equal-armed, and oval shapes. The different brooch types served a variety of functions in Scandinavian female dress with oval brooches typically being used as shoulder clasps for apron-type dresses and the rest being used to secure an outer garment to an inner shift. Anglo-Saxon brooches do not match this diversity of form with large disc brooches being typical of ninth century dress styles with smaller ones becoming more popular in the later ninth and tenth centuries. However, since disc brooches were used by both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian women they are distinguished by their morphology. Scandinavian brooches were typically domed with a hollow back while Anglo-Saxon brooches were usually flat. Moreover, Anglo-Saxon brooches were worn singly without accompanying accessories.
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Viking Names
Snitterby
Snitterby, in the Aslacoe Wapentake of Lincolnshire, is an Anglo-Scandinavian hybrid from the Old English unrecorded male personal name Snytra and Old Norse by ‘a farmstead, a village’. It is suggested that the personal name comes from Old English snotor, snytre ‘wise’. The same personal name has been attributed also to Snetterton, Norfolk.
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Viking Names
Barnoldby le Beck
Barnoldby le Beck, in the Haverstoe Wapentake of Lincolnshire, is a difficult name. The first element is likely from the Old Norse male personal name Bjǫrnúlfr, rather than the cognate Old English male personal name Beornwulf, especially taking into consideration the heavy Scandinavian influence in Lincolnshire. The second element is Old Norse by ‘a farmstead, a village’. The earliest reference to the Beck, from Old Norse bekkr ‘a stream, a beck’, is Barnoldby upon Becke 1662 Terrier.
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Viking Names
Tealby
Tealby, in the Walshcroft Wapentake of Lincolnshire, is a very difficult name. To explain the earliest recorded forms Tavelesbi and Tauelesbi in Domesday Book, it has been suggested that the first element contains the East Germanic group-name Taifali, Old English Taflas /Taeflas, detachments of whom are recorded as early as the fifth century. Possibly, this group retained their separate identity for some time in the post-Roman period. Thus, Tealby would originally have been a simplex form of the group-names Taflas /Taeflas, although simplex group-names are rare in English place-names. The second element Old Norse bý ‘a farmstead, a village’ was likely added to the simplex form after Scandinavian occupation of the area.
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Viking Names
Conisholme
Conisholme, in the South Riding of Lindsey in Lincolnshire, comes from Old Danish kunung ‘a king’ and Old Norse holmr ‘an island, an inland promontory, raised ground in marsh, a river-meadow’. The name is topographically appropriate, though what king is evoked by it is uncertain. However, the village of Coningsby, also in the South Riding of Lindsey, is recorded in Domesday Book as having been owned by the king.
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Viking Names
Northorpe
Northorpe, in the West Riding of Lindsey of Lincolnshire was originally a simplex place-name from Old Norse þorp ‘outlying farm, settlement’. Old English norð ‘north, northern’ was prefixed to distinguish Northorpe from Southorpe, which is now a deserted medieval village.
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Viking Objects
Gold Finger Ring (DENO-F22E58)
This gold finger ring is made of a curved rod with a rectangular cross-section and bevelled edges. Rings like this with knotted ends are typically Scandinavian. Some examples of plain rings like this one were strung on bracelets in Scandinavia.
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Viking Objects
Zoomorphic Stirrup Terminal (LEIC-F1C6D4)
This example of an Anglo-Scandinavian stirrup terminal features a beast-like form with a projecting snout and large flared nostrils.
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Viking Names
Hunhild
Húnhildr is a postulated Old Norse female name of possible Anglo-Scandinavian origin. The first element of the name is Hún- of doubtful origin either from Old Norse húnn ‘bear-cub’ or perhaps Primitive Scandinavian hūn ‘high’. The second element of the name is –hildr ‘battle’. The name appears to be the first element in the field-name Hunildehus in Wildmore, Lincolnshire, which was recorded c. 1200.
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Viking Names
Cadeby
Cadeby, in the North Riding of Lindsey of Lincolnshire, comes from the Old Norse male name Káti and Old Norse bý ‘a farmstead, a village’ Cadeby is a joint parish with Wyham.