Item
Trefoil Brooch (LEIC-BD8163)
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. The decoration on this example features a foliate design. For more information on Scandinavian jewellery in England check out our blog: Brooches, Pendants and Pins: Scandinavian Dress Accessories in England.
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Viking Objects
Trefoil Brooch (LEIC-A43E83)
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. For more information on Scandinavian jewellery in England check out our blog: Brooches, Pendants and Pins: Scandinavian Dress Accessories in England.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Oval Brooches
Oval brooches were used to fasten dresses in the Viking Age. They are diagnostically Scandinavian and indicate a Scandinavian identity wherever they are found. This pair of brooches is a reproduction of a pair found at Adwick le Street near Doncaster. The mismatched pair were buried with a Norwegian woman who died within a generation of the arrival of the Great Army in the mid-ninth century. 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 Objects
Brooch with Backwards-Facing Beast (NLM-08BAEB)
It has been suggested that the beast motif on this brooch represents a horse, but identification is uncertain. This brooch was probably the property of an ordinary person rather than of a member of the social elite. It is of a fairly common type. For more information on Scandinavian jewellery in England check out our blog: Brooches, Pendants and Pins: Scandinavian Dress Accessories in England.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Jellinge-Style Brooch
This brooch contains two S-shaped zoomorphic Jellinge-style designs around a central boss. Brooches like this one were a typical part of female dress. For more information on Scandinavian jewellery in England check out our blog: Brooches, Pendants and Pins: Scandinavian Dress Accessories in England.
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Viking Objects
Square Mammen Style Brooch ( LEIC-6AF276)
This small brooch features a bird depicted in the Mammen style. This style of brooch appears to have been produced in the Danelaw but, generally, Mammen-style decoration is rare in Britain. This brooch from Linwood, Lincolnshire, is paralleled by examples from West Stow Heath, Suffolk, and Bergh Apton, Norfolk, but further examples from Cambridgeshire and East Anglia were found in 2015 and 2016. It is a type which has Carolingian-inspired shapes and Scandinavian decoration. Such brooches were an accessory for women who wore Scandinavian dress. For more information on Scandinavian jewellery in England check out our blog: Brooches, Pendants and Pins: Scandinavian Dress Accessories in England.
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Viking Designs
Drawing of a Trefoil Brooch
A drwaing of a 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. 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 Designs
Drawing of a Lozenge Brooch
Drawing of a copper alloy lozenge brooch in the Borre style. This type of brooch was common throughout the Danelaw in the Viking Age and was used as an accessory by women who wore Scandinavian dress. 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 Objects
Urnes-Style Brooch (LIN-F79A53)
This brooch has a gilded openwork zoomorphic design in the Urnes style. For more information on Scandinavian jewellery in England check out our blog: Brooches, Pendants and Pins: Scandinavian Dress Accessories in England.
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Viking Objects
Copper-Alloy Jellinge-Style Brooch (LEIC-36241D)
This brooch contains two S-shaped zoomorphic Jellinge-style designs around a central boss. For more information on Scandinavian jewellery in England check out our blog: Brooches, Pendants and Pins: Scandinavian Dress Accessories in England.