Viking Objects
Reproduction York Glass Beads
This necklace with glass beads is based on originals from York. Glass beads were a coveted item with some being imported from as far away as the Middle East. They were manufactured by specialised artisans who would heat various coloured glass rods over a furnace and melt the glass onto a metal stick to form different shaped beads.
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Viking Objects
Mammen-Style Square Brooch (LEIC-0BFA74)
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 Objects
Hammer-Shaped Pendant (LCNCC: 2015.15)
A gold hammer-shaped pendant with an elongated pentagonal head, popularly called a Thor’s hammer pendant, from Spilsby, Lincolnshire. Hammer-shaped pendants are thought to be amuletic pendants designed to represent Thor’s hammer Mjöllnir. They are common in Scandinavia and in areas of Viking settlement in England. Those found in the Danelaw are generally undecorated or simply decorated, and are thought to have been made in England. The purpose of these pendants has been much speculated about, but nothing definite is known about it. Pendants like this have been found made of lead, copper alloy, silver and gold, showing that many different strata of society could have worn them.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Ansate Brooch
A reproduction, copper alloy, ansate brooch based on an example from York. Two copper alloy examples of ansate brooches, also known as equal-armed brooches, were found at 16-22 Coppergate. These brooches are characterised by a narrow arched bow and terminal heads of identical form. The design of the brooches from Coppergate are a variant known as ‘caterpillar’ type. Asnate brooches are dated to between the seventh and ninth centuries though the finds at Coppergate may extend their popularity into the tenth century. The ‘caterpillar’ variety is typically geographically limited to areas bordering the North Sea. The quantity found in England, however, may indicate local manufacture. Brooches were a typical part of female 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
Reproduction Terslev Pendant
Terslev style, where Scandinavian ring-chain patterns are the main decorative component, is a subcategory of the Borre style and takes its name from the silver hoard discovered in Terslev, Denmark. The decoration comprises a series of ring-knots related to the Borre ring-chain. The Terslev style occurs mainly on brooches and pendants, including both high-quality gold and silver jewellery as well as lower-end base metal items. The cast base-metal ornaments, such as those made of copper alloy, were intended to imitate the higher-end gold and silver jewellery, and often employed techniques such as gilding to achieve this. The Terslev designs that occur in England extend the repertoire by introducing new Scandinavian motifs hitherto unrecorded in Scandinavia. 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
Silver Arm-Ring (NLM-1B89B2)
This arm-ring fragment is made from strands of wire wound together into a single twisted or cabled strand with a cast zoomorphic terminal. This object was considered together with a group of fragments of ingots and hack-silver of probably contemporary date which were found nearby (NLM-1B0476). However, the mass of this object did not correspond closely to any of the systems of measurement thought to have been used for bullion transactions at that time. The Vikings arriving in England had a bullion economy where they paid for goods with silver that was weighed to an amount agreed between the buyer and the seller. Hacksilver and silver ingots are the most common evidence for their bullion economy. It took some time for the Scandinavian settlers to adopt a monetary economy like that of the Anglo-Saxons, and both systems were used simultaneously for a while before they fully adopted the new system. They were familiar with monetary economies but they treated coins as just another form of silver before adoption of a monetary economy
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Viking Objects
Viking Bird Brooch (NLM-612074)
This brooch is classified as Weetch’s type 30.C and is decorated with an openwork design representing a bird in profile. 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 Jewellery Die Stamp
A copper alloy die for creating pressed silver or gold pendants. The original on which this is based had traces of interlace decoration. The presence of finds like this suggests that high-status jewellery production took place in the northern Danelaw.
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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 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.