Scandinavian relations with Northwestern Russia during the Viking age: The archaeological evidence

1982 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Stalsberg
Keyword(s):  
Viking Age ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Northwestern Russia

Gold as a Means of Exchange in Scandinavian England (c.AD 850–1050)

2018 ◽  
pp. 227-250
Author(s):  
Jane Kershaw
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Ninth Century ◽  
Viking Age ◽  
Archaeological Evidence

The Viking bullion economy is often characterized as a silver economy, based on the weight and fineness of silver objects, regardless of their form. In this chapter, new archaeological evidence from England is presented which suggests that gold objects had a greater monetary role than has previously been appreciated. The material consists of tested gold ingots, hack-gold, and weight-adjusted gold ornaments, found in areas of documented Scandinavian activity and settlement. The date of the items suggests that most belong to the ninth century. A case is made for linking the monetary use of gold with the contemporary activity of the Viking Great Army and their heightened gold resources following Viking raids in western Europe. The mounting evidence for gold bullion highlights the diverse material forms ‘money’ could take in the Viking Age, providing a more rounded and accurate view of Viking Age exchange.

scholarly journals Archaic Martial Traditions in High Medieval Scandinavia: A Glimpse of Viking Age Warfare?

Viking ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beñat Elortza Larrea
Keyword(s):  
Viking Age ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Skaldic Poetry ◽  
Military Transformation ◽  
The Military

Most written evidence regarding warfare in Viking Age Scandinavia originates either from contemporaneous chronicles – recorded by those at the receiving end of Norse attacks – from skaldic poetry, or from high medieval Scandinavian texts. However, these sources often prove problematic: either in the form of chronicles from other parts of Europe, whichoften exaggerate the brutality of Viking raids, or from 13th century Icelandic writers, who embellish accounts of long deceased rulers. This article explores archaic martial features found in 12th- and 13th-century contemporaneous sagas and treatises to identify and analyse the continued influence of Viking Age military practices in high medieval Scandinavia. By comparing information found in three medieval texts to scholarly contributions on Viking Age warfare; skaldic poems; and archaeological evidence, this article aims to identify Viking Age military features that survived the military transformation, which followed the periods of internal struggles that the Scandinavian kingdoms underwent from the 1130s onwards.

The Archaeology of Migrants in Viking-Age and Anglo-Norman England: Process, Practice, and Performance

2020 ◽  
pp. 175-205
Author(s):  
Dawn M. Hadley
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
Viking Age ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Anglo Norman ◽  
And Performance

This chapter discusses the manner in which early medieval archaeologists have attempted, with varying degrees of confidence, to trace migration. It argues that we need to do more than rely on scientific approaches, such as stable isotope analysis, not least because evidence for where a person spent their childhood addresses only one element of their experiences of migration. Through analysis of evidence of craftworking, settlements, diet and cuisine, and burials, the chapter demonstrates that there is ample archaeological evidence for early medieval migration on a variety of scales. It is argued that movement of people is best traced not by study of style and constructed identity, but through socially embedded traits, such as craftworking, animal husbandry, and culinary practices, which reflect a range of social identities, not simply, if at all, the ethnic identities with which debates about migration have routinely, and unsatisfactorily, become entangled.

scholarly journals Pole-weapons in the Sagas of Icelanders

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan H. Orkisz
Keyword(s):  
Viking Age ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Perfect Knowledge ◽  
Final Answer ◽  
Source Of Information

The Icelandic sagas are a major source of information on the Vikings and their fighting prowess. In these stories, several mysterious pole-weapons appear, which are often called “halberds”, for lack of a better word. In order to better identify what these weapons could have been, and to provide a better understanding of how the sagas relate to the Viking-age events they describe, we confront textual and archaeological evidence for several of these weapons (the höggspjót, the atgeirr, the kesja, the krókspjót, the bryntroll and the fleinn), keeping in mind the contextualisation of their appearances in sagas. The description of the use of each weapon allows to pick several candidates likely to correspond to the studied word. Without a perfect knowledge of what context the authors of the sagas wanted to describe, it appears to be impossible to give a final answer. However, we show that some specific types of spears are good candidates for some of the studied weapons.

scholarly journals Pole-weapons in the Sagas of Icelanders: a comparison of literary and archaeological sources

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-212
Author(s):  
Jan H. Orkisz
Keyword(s):  
Viking Age ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Perfect Knowledge ◽  
Final Answer ◽  
Source Of Information

Abstract The Icelandic sagas are a major source of information on the Vikings and their fighting prowess. In these stories, several mysterious pole-weapons appear, which are often called “halberds”, for lack of a better word. In order to better identify what these weapons could have been, and to provide a better understanding of how the sagas relate to the Viking-age events they describe, we confront textual and archaeological evidence for several of these weapons (the höggspjót, the atgeirr, the kesja, the krókspjót, the bryntroll and the fleinn), keeping in mind the contextualisation of their appearances in sagas. The description of the use of each weapon allows to pick several candidates likely to correspond to the studied word. Without a perfect knowledge of what context the authors of the sagas wanted to describe, it appears to be impossible to give a final answer. However, we show that some specific types of spears are good candidates for some of the studied weapons.

Dating religious change: Pagan and Christian in Viking Age Iceland

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orri Vésteinsson ◽  
Árný Sveinbjörnsdóttir ◽  
Hildur Gestsdóttir ◽  
Jan Heinemeier ◽  
Adolf Friðriksson
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Religious Change ◽  
Viking Age ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Burial Rites ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Direct Reflection ◽  
Burial Rite

Mortuary customs frequently provide the principal archaeological evidence for religious identity. Such customs are often seen as a direct reflection of religion and therefore a change of religion should be expected to result in a change in burial rite. There is growing evidence that the relationship is not so straightforward. In this paper we report results from Viking Age Iceland which challenge the previous view of a relatively clear-cut transition from pagan to Christian burial rites. The implication of our findings is that burial rites cannot be expected to change in lockstep with religious ideas. Burial rites reflect a variety of concerns held by those who perform them – and religion, ideology or cosmology may be the least of those. It is one of the characteristics of institutionalized religions like Christianity that they strive to design rituals and control their performance but the assertion of such control does not have to be coterminous with conversion.

scholarly journals The Warrior and the Cat: A Re-Evaluation of the Roles of Domestic Cats in Viking Age Scandinavia

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (27) ◽  
pp. 213-245
Author(s):  
Matthias Toplak
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Cat ◽  
Old Norse ◽  
Viking Age ◽  
Domestic Cats ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Old Irish ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Law Texts

The role of cats in Viking Age society is little investigated and has been dominated by uncritical adoptions of medieval mythology. Based on literary sources, the domestic cat is often linked to cultic spheres of female sorcery. Yet the archaeological evidence indicates an ambivalent situation. Cat bones from many trading centres show cut marks from skinning and highlight the value of cat fur. In contrast, the occurrence of cats in male burials points rather to a function as exotic and prestigious pets. The influence of Old Norse mythology on the traditional interpretation of cats as cultic companions therefore needs critical reconsideration. For this, a broad range of literary and historical sources – from Old Norse literature to Old Irish law texts – will be analysed and confronted with the archaeological evidence for domestic cats in Viking Age Scandinavia. The results will be discussed on a broader theoretical approach, involving concepts such as agency, and embedded in current research on human-animal-relations in order to achieve a more nuanced perspective on the roles and functions of cats in day-to-day reality as well as in the burial context.

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