Viking Objects
Copper-Alloy Strap-End (NARC-033287)
An incomplete copper-alloy strap-end classified as Thomas’ Class A, Type 1, with zoomorphic terminal and Trewhiddle-style decoration. The decoration is composed of an incised pattern which depicts two semi-circular ears below which are two triangular eyes to either side of the head can be see, flanked by a forked central brow. The central panel bears Trewhiddle-style decoration depicting a beast with serpentine curvilinear tail.
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Viking Objects
Northumbrian Viking Penny (CM.952-2000)
This Sword St. Peter type silver penny is not associated with any particular ruler but was minted in the Viking kingdom of Northumbria. The coin features a sword image which is usually considered to represent the sword of St Peter, whose name features on the same side of the coin, and a hammer which is often taken to be Thor’s hammer, thus mixing the iconography of the Christian and Norse religions. It was found as part of the Thurcaston hoard which was probably buried c.923-925 CE, approximately five years after Leicester had been retaken by Mercia (c.918). The coins in the hoard are Anglo-Saxon, Arabic and Danelaw issues, showing the wide-ranging contacts between societies at this time. After the establishment of the Danelaw, some Viking leaders decided to mint their own coins to solidify their legitimacy in the eyes of the local populace. This created a hybrid economy where some members of the Danelaw used bullion and others used coins. The bullion economy resulted in some coins being cut into pieces to pay for items.
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Viking Names
Gunnhild
Gunnhildr is a very common female name throughout the Viking world. In England, the name has a particularly wide geographical distribution that extends beyond the Danelaw and beyond the Viking Age. Its popularity was most likely influenced by its use in the Danish royal family in the eleventh century, when it was borne by an aunt, a daughter and a niece of King Cnut. The name is also the first element of the place-name Gunthorpe, Nottinghamshire.
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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 Names
Barkby
Barkby, in the East Goscote Hundred of Leicestershire, is a Scandinavian compound from the Old Norse male personal name Bark, from either Barki (genitive singular Barka), or Barkr, Bǫrkr (genitive singular Barkar) combined with Old Norse by ‘a farmstead, a village’. A late form of the name, Mikeberkby, is prefixed by the Old Norse element mikill ‘great’ to distinguish it from its neighbouring daughter settlement Barkby Thorpe.
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Viking Names
Svein
The Old Norse male name Sveinn was one of the commonest in Scandinavia, particularly in Denmark and Sweden, where it is recorded in many runic inscriptions. It occurs as the first element in the Lincolnshire place-name of Swinethorpe. Early forms of this name confirm that it is nothing to do with swine, but rather contains this name. The name continued in use in both Lincolnshire and Yorkshire well into the thirteenth century. It was famously the name of the father of King Knútr, later king of all England. Sveinn was known as ‘Forkbeard’ and died in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, in 1014 according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Bird Pendant
A reproduction bird pendant based on one found at Langford, Nottinghamshire. The nearest parallel to this type of brooch is one from Yaroslavl in Russia. The bird symbol, very similar to the one depicted on this pendant, was used by the Rurik dynasty which had started the conquest of Slavic lands in the mid 9th century and later formed the polity of Rus’. With some exceptions, pendants were generally worn by women as an accessory to Scandinavian dress.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Hacksilver
These white metal reproductions of Viking Age hacksilver are typical of hacksilver finds. The Scandinavians had a bullion economy in the Viking Age and paid for goods by weight of silver rather than by using coins with a set monetary value. Arm rings are one example of wearable wealth that could be cut up to pay for goods when needed.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Wooden and Bone Spoons
Most ordinary people in the Viking Age would have used spoons made of bone or wood. These are typical examples of the types of spoons that people would have had. Wealthier people would have had copper alloy or silver spoons.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Wooden Bowls
Many everyday utensils would have been made from bone or wood. These photographs feature examples of wooden bowls.