Viking Names
Dalby
Dalby, in the South Riding of Lindsey in Lincolnshire, comes from the Old Norse element dalr ‘a valley’ and Old Norse bý ‘a farmstead, village’. Thus the meaning of the place-name is ‘a farmstead, village of the small valley’, which is topographically appropriate.
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Viking Names
Bjor
Bjórr is an original byname meaning ‘beaver’. It is recorded in a Norwegian runic inscription as the name of a mane who took part in Cnut’s expedition to England and died there (c. 1015). Biur is recorded in Sweden as a byname.
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Viking Names
Audhild
The Old Norse female personal name Auðhildr is a compound formed of the first element Auð-, which is obscure in origin but perhaps auðr ‘wealth’ or from the stem in auðinn ‘that befalls one’ and jóð ‘new-born baby’, combined with the second element -hildr ‘battle’. A woman by the name of Auðhildr was recorded recorded as having lived in the Orkneys in the early twelfth century. Auðhildr is believed to be the first element in the medieval field name of Odelgateland in Stainburn, West Yorkshire. It also appears in medieval Lincolnshire and Yorkshire documents. However, some forms of the name may represent the Continental Germanic female name Odil.
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Viking Names
Howsham
Howsham, in the Yarborough Wapentake of Lincolnshire, is a simplex place-name from the dative plural of Old English hūs or Old Norse hús, both elements have the meaning ‘a house; also sometimes used of a building for special purposes’, so húsum ‘at the houses’. The weakly stressed -um was subsequently interpreted as -ham. This is a common formation in Denmark, so the place-name is likely Danish in origin.
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Viking Names
Ingus
Ingus is possibly an Anglo-Scandinavian formation because it is not attested in Scandinavia and perhaps only survives in the place-name Ings Beck, North Yorkshire. In the twelfth century the place-name was recorded as Ingusbec. The name is possibly a short form of the Old Norse female name Ingiríðr.
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Viking Objects
Decorated Strap-End (WMID-2D6997)
A copper-alloy Thomas Class A Type 1 strap-end with a section at the top which splits into a ‘V’ shape. The strap-end is decorated with what seems to be a stylized face above some interlaced knotwork while the tip features a stylized beast head.
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Viking Objects
Zoomorphic Strap-End (LANCUM-E11AB2)
This Thomas Class B, Type 4 strap-end has a pointed zoomorphic terminal moulded to represent an animal head with large semi-circular eyes and ears in Trewhiddle style. There are possible traces of niello in the recesses. .
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Viking Names
Stein
Originally a byname, Steinn ‘stone’ is a very common personal name across Scandinavia. It appears early and remains fairly common as a personal name in both Norway and Iceland. As a personal name, the later form Sten is fairly common in Sweden and Denmark. Several instances are recorded as a byname in Denmark, possibly as a loan from Sweden. The name may also be found in a place-name in Normandy. It is also the first element in Stenson, Derbyshire.
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Viking Objects
Copper-Alloy Finger-Ring (SWYOR-AA27B1)
This copper-alloy finger-ring seems as if it was made from two strands of twisted wire, but could possibly have been cast. The ropework hoop may have been gilded. Even though similar designs are known from the Viking period, they were also used in other periods as well. Hence, the large date range.
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Viking Objects
Gilded Lead-Alloy Weight (LEIC-C6C96A)
The inset decoration of this weight is probably a reused fragment of an Irish or Anglo-Saxon object. Its importation and re-working is likely the result of Viking intervention. The distinction of weights by embedded objects or other embellishments in various media is a widely recognised feature of some early medieval weights. Weights are an important form of evidence for Viking Age commerce and the use of standards across the different economic systems within which Vikings were integrated. Many of the weights discovered, particularly ones in Ireland and those of Arabic type, suggest that a standardized system of weights existed in some areas. These standard weights, alongside standard values of silver, are what allowed the bullion economy of Viking-occupied areas to function. A bullion economy was a barter economy that relied on the exchange of set amounts of precious metal in various forms, such as arm-rings or coins, for tradeable goods, such as food or textiles. Each merchant would have brought their own set of weights and scales to a transaction to make sure that the trade was conducted fairly.