Viking Names
Slodi
Slóði was originally a byname meaning ‘lazy one’. It is extremely rare in West Scandinavia, recorded only once as a personal name and once as a byname and potentially found in a place-name. It is recorded a few times in runic inscriptions in Sweden. Slóði may be the first element in the place-name Sloothby, Lincolnshire; however, there are several other possibilities for this element.
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Viking Names
Stari
Stari (also Starri) is mainly found in Iceland, though there is one in a Swedish rune-stone inscription and it has been suggested as the first element in Staythorpe, Nottinghamshire. It derives from a by-name meaning ‘one who stares’.
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Blog Post
Blazing Saddles? A mysterious Viking object from Leicestershire (Part 1)
Mystery objects are always fun things to debate in archaeology. When something appears to buck the trends of any known design or type, and displays something unseen before, it offers a chance to re-examine items stashed in storage in museums, and maybe most importantly, our own sometimes stodgy thoughts! My research speciality is equitation and equestrian equipment of late prehistory, as my doctoral thesis tried to make sense of Late Iron Age riders across northwest Europe. So many happy hours were spent buried in war booty tack from Denmark, Germany and the Baltic, piecing together the story of the horse in Ireland and Britain! More recently, I’ve been illustrating and cataloguing Viking-Irish bridle assemblages for Dr. B.G Scott, with particular attention to workshop variations on cheek pieces. So , with my horsie head on I have been dragged in to give my tuppence worth on the peculiar little mount recorded in the PAS scheme as LEIC-0A4CB4, and look at it from a very practical equestrian point of view, alongside an archaeological one. Fig. 1 The Mystery Object. (c) Wendy Scott, CC BY 2.0 Found in the Hinckley and Bosworth region of Leicestershire, the small copper alloy and gold mount is described as having “ a rectangular base from which three projections rise. Two are in the shape of animal heads on long necks; each has a mane along the neck made up of grooves, a raised collar at the top of the neck, large circular eyes, and rounded ears decorated with a triquetra. Underneath the chin, each head has a beard-like protrusion. The heads are decorated in the round, but the mane appears on one face only. The central projection is decorated on one face only. At the base is the upper part of a human face, with relief eyes, eyebrows, nose and moustache. Above is grooved interlace decoration which appears to be in the Borre style” (Geake 2004, 334) Despite some past speculation that it may be part of a cheek piece for a bridle, the small attachments on the back (see Fig. 1) rule this theory out. A cheek-piece on the outside of a bit (not to be confused with the leather or fibre strapping which connects to the bit) fulfils the task of stopping a mouthpiece slipping in the horse’s mouth, making the bit ineffective as a means of control. As such, it needs to have certain features, such as a suitable aperture to feed the connecting strapping through to construct the actual bridle, and some evidence that it was large enough to integrate with the mouthpiece (see Fig. 2). Fig. 2 Cheek Pieces by Baroque Horse Store.Image: (c) Baroque Horse Store The aperture on this little artefact is too raw, irregular and small to allow this, although it could, possibly be a decoration from somewhere else on the bridle, potentially the brow band. Based on finds from sites such as Balladoole, on the Isle of Man (Bersu and Wilson 1966), Navan, in Meath (Wilde 1861, 611) and some stuff found around Coleraine some time back, as well as the general archaeological record, I am inclined to feel that Scandinavian riders had rather good seats and rode well. Bridles tend to be functional, with straightforward single-jointed snaffles, rather than the bizarre and cruel bits often seen in the Roman world. Viking bits are often permutations on full cheek snaffles, and occasionally decorated with the exquisite dragonesque forms described by Pedersen (1996-97). Just because I think you’d like to see one up close and personal, I’ve shown in Fig. 3 a specimen from The Hunt Museum in Limerick from my own research – they are delightful things, but as you can see, rather substantial, well in excess of 11 cm in length. Fig. 3. A close-up of a dragonesque cheek-piece, from Hunt Museum, Limerick. Note the use wear at strap junctions.Image (c) R Maguire While the mysterious little Leicestershire object could be a decorative mount off anything, it does resemble the kind of decoration often present on Viking saddles. For more on Viking saddles, see Part 2 of this article. References: Bersu, G. and Wilson, D.M. 1966. Three Viking graves in the Isle of Man (No. 1). Society for Medieval Archaeology. Geake, H. 2005 Medieval Archaeology 49. Pedersen, A. 1996-97. ‘ Riding gear from late Viking Denmark’ Journal of Danish Archaeology 13. 133-161 Wilde, W.R., 1861. A descriptive catalogue of the antiquities of animal materials and bronze in the museum of the Royal Irish Academy. Dublin: Hodges. See Part 2 of this post HERE. Dr Rena Maguire recently completed her PhD at Queen’s University Belfast. Her main research interests lie in Late Iron Age material culture studies, metals and horses.
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Blog Post
The Rich and the Brave: Burials, Weapons, and Warriors
The common association of highly furnished weapon burials containing a male skeleton with warriors is still a highly debated topic and one that has a profound impact on how we view Vikings. Much scholarly ink has been spilled discussing theories surrounding motivations behind grave good deposition and the relation between weapon burials and the deceased in Scandinavia, Britain, and with varying degrees of success. Choosing which theory to apply to a situation is complicated by a variety of factors not least of which is that historical, geographical and chronological context changes how one interprets a ritual depending on the time and place it was practised. Furthermore, there is usually no knowledge of who selected the objects to be deposited and thus no concrete idea why they did so. According to Heinrich Härke, textual sources are the best means with which to attempt to determine motivations but are rarely present for the space and time under review (Härke 2014, 53–54). A Viking sword found at Repton, Derbyshire. (c) Derby Museums and Art Gallery While weapons are highly-visible in archaeological contexts, their use in burials only represents a small segment of the population within a social context that had many different high-status burial practices (Harrison 2015, 314). Secondly, poorly furnished burials are understudied with no definitive comments made about them (Harrison 2015, 314–15; 2008, 166–90). In addition, the relationship between perceived and actual status and the fact that no artefact has a fixed value or meaning but rather its meaning is imposed both complicate the issue further (Harrison 2015, 304). The perceived importance of an individual is heavily influenced by local burial tradition. For example, at Kilmainham/Islandbridge a large number of weapon burials with high-quality swords were discovered which reflects the importance of Dublin between the ninth and tenth centuries while the number of graves containing these high-quality swords may reflect the role competitive display played within Dublin society (Harrison 2015, 304; Harrison and Ó Floinn 2014, 75–93). However, the situation in the former Danelaw is very much the opposite with a general paucity of weapon burials east of the Pennines (Harrison 2015, 304; Graham-Campbell 1980, 379; Richards 2000, 142). Harrison argues that this may be a reflection of the higher value placed on weapons in the Danelaw than in Dublin or elsewhere along the western seaboard (Harrison 2015, 304). One last point to consider when examining burials and grave goods is that the choice of grave goods can reflect how the deceased or those burying them wished their identity to be portrayed can equally affect weapon burials. Moreover, grave goods can underline the hybridity of an individual’s identity. For example, the shield bosses of Kilmainham/Islandbridge combine elements of both Irish small bosses and Anglo-Saxon conical bosses to create a fusion shield boss type only found near Dublin reflecting the distinct local identity of its elites (Harrison 2015, 309; Harrison and Ó Floinn 2014, 122–25; Bøe 1940, 33, 38). So how can weapons in burials be used to potentially identify whether or not individuals were involved in military activities? In simple terms, there is no definitive way of correlating the two but by studying the graves within their historical and geographical context, it may be possible to make a case. One strong indicator that an individual may have been involved in military activities are any signs of trauma on the skeletons, such as those found at Repton, alongside the inclusion of weapons as grave-goods. References: Bøe, Johs. 1940. Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland, Part 3: Norse Antiquities in Ireland. Edited by Haakon Shetelig. Oslo: H. Aschehoug. Graham-Campbell, James. 1980. ‘The Scandinavian Viking-Age Burials of England: Some Problems of Interpretation’. In Anglo-Saxon Cemeteries, edited by Phillip Rahtz, Lorna Watts, and Tania Dickinson, 379–82. British Archaeological Reports British Series 82. Oxford: Archaeopress. Härke, Heinrich. 2014. ‘Grave Goods in Early Medieval Burials: Messages and Meanings’. Morality 19 (1): 41–60. Harrison, Stephen. 2008. ‘Furnished Insular Scandinavian Burial: Artefacts & Landscape in the Early Viking Age’. Dublin: Trinity College Dublin. Harrison, Stephen. 2015. ‘“Warrior Graves”? The Weapon Burial Rite in Viking Age Britain and Ireland’. In Maritime Societies of the Viking and Medieval World, edited by James Barrett and Sarah Gibbon, 299–319. Society for Medieval Archaeology. Leeds: Maney Publishing. Harrison, Stephen, and Raghnall Ó Floinn. 2014. Viking Graves and Grave-Goods in Ireland. Dublin: National Museum of Ireland. Richards, Julian. 2000. Viking Age England. Stroud: Tempus.
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Viking Objects
Viking York Penny (1995-17)
This silver penny was found during demolition work at St Alkmund’s Church in 1967. This type was minted at York for the rulers Sigeferth and Cnut, but this coin has no names, whether of a ruler, a moneyer or a mint. Sigeferth is recorded as being a pirate in Northumbria around 893 and seems to have assumed control after Guthfrith’s death in 895. Cnut is not attested in written sources but Scandinavian tradition places him in Northumbria around the same time. The joint Sigeferth Cnut coins and the sole issues of Cnut were minted around c. 900. This type of penny is known as Mirabilia Fecit from the Latin Cantate Dominum canticum novum, quia mirabilia fecit. Mirabilia fecit means ‘he made it marvellously’ and is the inscription on one side of the coin while the other has the inscription DNS DS REX (‘Dominus Deus rex’ = ‘the lord God almighty is king’).
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Viking Names
Donisthorpe
Donisthorpe, historically belonging to the Repton and Gresley Hundred of Derbyshire, comes from the Norman male personal name Durand (Middle English genitive singular Durandes) and the Old Norse element þorp ‘outlying farm, settlement’. Place-names containing þorp are thought to be later names, or at least rather longer lived, than those containing the Old Norse element by ‘farm, settlement’ because there are more instances of post-Conquest-type elements combined with þorp than by. Donisthorpe is an example of one of these place-names. Donisthorpe is a joint parish with Oakthorpe and they were both transferred to Leicestershire in 1897. These place-names are close in proximity to Boothorpe and Osgathorpe in Leicestershire demonstrating the density of the Old Norse element þorp across the medieval and modern landscape.
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Viking Names
Ashby Parva
Ashby Parva, in the Guthlaxton Hundred of Leicestershire, is an Anglo-Scandinavian hybrid from Old English æsc ‘ash-tree’ and Old Norse by ‘a farmstead, a village’. There may have also been possible influence on the first element from Old Norse eski ‘a place growing with ash-tree’ or Old English esce ‘a stand of ash-trees’. Affixes such as the Medieval Latin parva ‘small’ and Middle English litel ‘little’ were variously added to different forms of the name to avoid confusion with nearby Ashby Magna.
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Viking Names
Carlton Curlieu
Carlton Curlieu, in the Gartree Hundred of Leicestershire, is a partly Scandinavianized form of Old English Ceorlenatun, from Old English ceorl (ceorlena genitive plural, Old Norse karl, genitive plural karla) ‘a freeman of the lower class, a peasant’ combined with Old English tun ‘an enclosure; a farmstead; a village; an estate’. The feudal affix Curlieu is the family name of William de Curley who held the manor in 1253.
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Viking Names
Freeby
Freeby, in the Framland Hundred of Leicestershire, comes from the Old Danish male personal name Fræði (genitive singular Frætha) combined with the Old Norse element by ‘a farmstead, a village’.
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Viking Names
Sysonby
Sysonby, in the Framland Hundred of Leicestershire, comes from the Old Norse male personal name Sigsteinn (Middle English genitive singular Sigsteines) and Old Norse by ‘a farmstead, a village’.
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Collection
Viking Designs
In this collection you can view and download designs based on some of the objects in the Viking Objects collection. The drawings have been made by Adam Parsons of Blueaxe Reproductions. They are open-access and available to use under Creative Commons CC-BY-4.0. They are available to download and print out as jpg, pdf or eps files. breitling breitling watches cheap iwc replica buy replica Rolex datejust