Viking Art [1 ed.]

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VIKING ART

Wooden panel from the Stave Church at Horning. The National Museum of Denmark

VIKING ART BY D A V ID M. WILSON AND

OLE KLINDT-JENSEN

CO RN ELL

U N IV E R S IT Y P R E S S

ITHACA, NEW YO RK

F IR ST

PU BLISH ED

IN

IÇ)66

This hook is copyright under the Berne Convention. A part from any fa ir dealing fo r the purposes o f private study, research, criticism or review, as perm itted under the Copyright A ct, ic)5 6 , no portion may be reproduced by any process without written perm ission. Inquiries should be made to the publishers. English edition (C) D a vid M . W ilson and Ole K lindt-Jensen, 19 6 6 Danish edition © Nationalm useet, Copenhagen,

iq 65

F irst published in America, 19 6 6 Cornell U niversity Press L ib rary o f Congress Catalog Card Number: 6 6 -13 8 13

PRINTED

IN

GREAT BRITAIN

PREFACE T h e authors o f this book wish to acknowledge with gratitude the help and co-operation o f their friends and colleagues in many museums in Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, Russia, the Republic o f Ireland and elsewhere, who have received them with kindness and answered tiresome and complicated letters with such patience. W e wish to thank particularly the following scholars who have put their knowledge at our disposal: Professor Holger Arbman, Mr Richard Bailey, M r R . H. M. D olley and Mr Liam de Paor. W e must thank Mr L. Larsen, who took most o f the photographs, Mrs Eva Wilson, who drew many o f the line illustrations, Mrs M. Hyslop, who read the book in proof, Miss J . D avis, who compiled the index, and our publishers for their patience through many a long battle. W e must thank the trustees o f the Leverhulme foundation for a grant which enabled the English member o f the team to spend some considerable time in Scandinavia and the trustees o f the British Museum for giving him leave to do so. W e are further indebted to the N y Carlsberg fund which made a considerable grant towards the cost o f photography and the University o f Århus and the Carlsberg fund for the generous support they gave to the Danish member o f the team. OLE K L IN D T -JE N SE N

,

Arhus M arch 19 6 3

D A V I D M. W I L S O N

,

London M arch 19 6 3

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS T h e copyright o f the follow ing photographs is acknowledged with thanks: Professor H . Arbm an, pis. x x x i d and x x x m b \ A .T .A ., Stockholm, pis. n b , v c , LXi, L x x i, pi.

l iv ;

l x x ii;

M r K . B erg, O slo, pis.

Bodleian Library, O xford, pi. XXXVIII a , XLV A

l ix

xl

Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, and

l x iv c;

c, L x v i a,

Guildhall Museum, London,

x l i;

M r A . Binns, H ull, pi. x x x i x b;

British Museum, pis. x x x e, x x x i a,

l x v ii i , l x v ii i

pi.

l v iii

e, and

l x x iv

x l ii, x l iii

a and c,

a,

lxv

d and

L x x ix a ; Lunds Universitets Historiska Museum, pis. iv a and Museum, D ouglas, pi. XLViii, and

x l ix ;

x l iii

x l iv

National Museum, D ublin, pis.

National Museum, Reykjavik, pi. lxx;

l x x iii

t/,

a ; Manx

b ; National Museum, Copenhagen, pis. x x x v , l x iii

d,

lxvi

L x x v , L x x v i, L x x v ii and l x x v iii c; National Museum, Helsinki, pi. pis. L x ix and

a and

b ; S ir Thom as Kendrick,

pi. XXXII/ an d # ; Irish Tourist Board, pi. Poole, pis. x x x v iii b and c,

x x x ix

l x x v iii

a ; Historisk Museum, Bergen,

lx;

b,

l x v ii ,

x x x ii

e;

State Archaeological Service, Oslo,

Szcecin Museum, pis.

lv

and

lvi

and Universitetets

Oldsaksamling, O slo, pis. ix , x a, x m , x v b and c, x v m , x i x a, x x x a , c, d , LVii. Pis.

x l iv

b, XLV a, and

lxv

b and c are copyright o f D . M. W ilson

and the rest o f the plates are the joint copyright o f the authors. T h e copyright o f the follow ing figures is also acknowledged: Professor Arbm an, fig. 44; British Museum, figs. 45 and 64; Professor S. Lindqvist, fig. 42; the late D r S. Müller, fig. 39; P ro fe sso r O le K lin d t-Jen sen , figs. 5 , 8 a, 9 and 10 ; the N orw egian Government, figs. 16 -3 0 ; the late D r B. Salin, figs. 3, 3 2 -3 4 and 3 6 -38 ; Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, figs. 12 and 58. A ll the other figures (except fig. 53) are the copyright o f Mrs E v a W ilson.

8

CO NTENTS

PREFACE IN T R O D U C T IO N

page

7 I9

P A R T I B Y OLE K L I N D T - J E N S E N

I. Scandinavian A rt before the Vikings II.The Earliest Viking Styles

27 48

P A R T I I B Y D A V I D M. W I L S O N

III.The B or re Style IV.

The Je lliw nge Style

87 95

V.

The Mammen Style

119

VI.

The Ringerike Style

134

VII.The Urnes Style

147

EN VO Y

iö l

B IB L IO G R A P H Y

IÖ 2

IN D E X

I6 9

L IN E IL L U S T R A T IO N S IN THE TEXT

1. Naturalistic animal from the back o f a square-headed brooch from Nordheim, Hedrum, Vestfold, Norway page 2. Naturalistic animal motifs from the Oseberg ship 3. Animal motifs from the Late Roman Iron Age 4. Sword guard from Böda, Öland, Sweden 5. Brooch from grave 3 at Lousgård, Bornholm, Denmark 6. Human mask from Valsgärde, grave 6 7. Style E animal motifs on a disc-on-bow brooch 8. Anglo-Carolingian animal motif 9. Oval brooch from Gudhjem, Bornholm, Denmark 10. Rectangular brooch from Bækkegård, Bornholm, Denmark 11. Detail from fol. ir o f the MacRegol Gospels 12. Detail o f the ornament of an Hibemo-Saxon bronze bucket from Birka, Sweden 13. Animal design from a brooch from Råbylille, Bornholm, Denmark (PI. v a) 14. The division o f the field on the Skabersjö brooch 15 . 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 3 1. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37.

The ornament o f a mount from Solberga, Sweden Detail o f the Oseberg prow The tops o f two bed-posts from Oseberg A long side of the Oseberg cart The ornament o f the Academician’s sledge-pole from Oseberg Detail o f the ornament o f the Academician’s animal-head-post from Oseberg The ‘carolingian’ animal-head-post from Oseberg Back board o f Shetelig’s sledge from Oseberg Large animal with triangular body on the runner o f the fourth sledge from Oseberg The ornament o f the ‘baroque’ animal head post from Oseberg The ornament o f the fragmentary sledge pole o f the baroque master from Oseberg Two animals from the fragmentary baroque sledge pole, Oseberg The ornament o f the complete sledge pole from Oseberg Animal from the complete sledge pole from Oseberg Part o f the runner o f the sledge o f the eclectic master from Oseberg Ornament o f the baroque impressionist’s sledge from Oseberg Animal from the Broa mount shown in pi. x x i b Animal motifs from the Broa mount shown in pi. x x i c Five animals from the Broa mount shown in pi. x x i d Animals from the Broa mount shown in pi. x x i e Animal motif from the Broa mount shown in pi. x x x i g Four animals from the Broa mount shown in pi. x x i h Four animals from the Broa Mount shown in pi. x x n a

II

28 28 29 34 35 36 38 39 41 42 43 44 45 45 46 51 52 53 55 56 57 58 59 61 63 64 65 66 67 68 71 72 72 73 73 73 74

V IK IN G A R T 38. 39. 40. 4 1. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 5 1. 52. 53. 54. 55.

Tw o animals from the Broa mount shown in pi. x x n c Ornament from an oval brooch and strap-end from Sjælland, Denmark The lion from the sword from Ristimäki, St. Karin’s, Finland Animal from the pommel o f the sword from Stora Ihre, Gotland, Sweden Picture stone from Ardre, Gotland The ornament o f the Jellinge cup The ornament from one arm o f a trefoil brooch from Östra Herrestad, Skåne, Sweden Sword scabbard chape from York Motif from a silver drinking-horn mount from Trewhiddle, St Austell, Cornwall Ornament from the lid of a casket (cf. pi. x x x v m a) Ornament from a cross-shaft from Collingham, Yorkshire Strap-end from Sundvor, Rogaland, Norway Gaut’s cross, Kirk Michael, Isle o f Man Ornament from a slab at Kirk Michael, Isle o f Man Ornament o f Thorleif’s stone, Kirk Braddan, Isle o f Man Ornament o f penannular brooches from Skaill, Orkney Ornament o f the rune-stone from Tullstorp, Skåne, Sweden Ornament o f Odd’s Stone, Kirk Braddan, Isle o f Man, see pi. xlv a

74 75 76 77 81 95 96 100 100 102 105 108 no in 113 115 122 124

56. Saddle mounts of horn from Sestovitsy, Ukraine

127

57. Displayed ornament o f bone sleeve from Åmes, Nordmöre, Norway ( c f. p i . x l v b— e) 58. Ornament from a gilt-bronze weather-vane from Källunge, Gotland 59. The Alstad stone 60. The design o f a rune-stone from Götlunda, Västergötland, Sweden 61. The ornament o f the weather-vane from Heggen, Norway (cf. pi. u x )

129 13 1 132 137

62. Animals inscribed on stones at (a) Stora Ek and (b) Norra Äsarp, Väster­ götland, Sweden 63. Snakes heads from rune-stones showing the development towards the Urnes style out o f the Ringerike form 64. Bone pin from the River Thames 65. Animal ornament from the crook o f the crozier o f the Abbots o f Clonmacnoise (cf. pi. l x v ii ) 66. Ornament o f the west gable o f Umes church 67. Inscription from Nora, Uppland, Sweden 68. Ornament from the socket o f Bishop Flambard’s crozier, Durham Cathedral 69. Ornament from the reliquary o f St Lachtin’s arm (cf. pi. lx x v ii )

12

12 8

137 138 142 144 148 152 155 158

PLATES Frontispiece. Wooden panel from the stave church at Homing, Denmark. National Museum, Copenhagen AT TH E E N D

Silver-gilt beaker from Sjælland, Denmark. National Museum, Copenhagen. (b) and (c) Gold leaves from Brangstrup, Fyn, Denmark. National Museum, Copenhagen I I . (c) Silver-gilt square-headed brooch from Gummersmark, Sjælland, Denmark. National Museum, Copenhagen, (b) Gilt-bronze harness mount from Vallstenarum, Gotland, Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm in. (a) Bronze die from Torslunda, Öland, Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, (b) Horse figure of bronze from Veggerslev, Jutland, Denmark. National Museum, Copenhagen, (c) Detail o f gilt-bronze mount o f a scramasax from Valsgärde, Uppland, Sweden, grave 5, Universitets Museum fö r Nordiska Fornsaker, Uppsala. IV . (a) Gilt-bronze brooch from Skabersjö, Skåne, Sweden. Lunds Universitets Historiska Museum, Lund, (fi) Bronze brooch from Kobbeå, Bornholm, Denmark, (c) Bronze brooch from Lousgård, Bornholm, Denmark, grave 12. (d) Gilt-bronze ornament from Lousgård, Bornholm, Denmark, grave 47. h -d : National Museum, Copenhagen. v. (a) Gilt-bronze plate from Råbylille, Møen, Denmark. National Museum, Copenhagen, (b) Gilt-bronze bridle mount from Valsgärde, Uppland, Sweden, grave 13. Universitetets Museum fo r Nordiska Fornsaker, Uppsala. (c) Picture-stone from Martebo, Gotland, Sweden. V i. The prow o f the Oseberg ship. Universitetets Oldsaksamling, ( Viking Ship H all, Bygdøy), Oslo. vu. Detail o f above, vin. Tingl o f Oseberg ship IX . ( a ) The cart and ([b) Shetelig’s sledge, from the Oseberg ship-burial X . Details o f cart from Oseberg ship-burial X I . The ‘Academician’s’ animal-head post from the Oseberg ship-burial XII. Animal-head post 174 from the Oseberg ship-burial. X I II. (a) Detail o f ‘Carolingian’ animal-head post and (b) detail o f a copy o f the ‘first baroque’ animal-head post from the Oseberg ship-burial X IV . The ‘first baroque’ animal-head post from the Oseberg ship-burial X V . (a) Detail o f the complete sledge-pole from the Oseberg ship-burial, (b) Fourth sledge from the Oseberg ship-burial. (c) Detail o f back plate from the fourth sledge. X V I. ( a ) Detail o f the runner o f the fourth sledge from the Oseberg ship-burial. (b-c) Details o f the ornament o f Gustafson’s sledge from the same. X V II. Head o f bed-post from the Oseberg ship-burial. X V III. Head o f tent-post from the Gokstad ship-burial. Universitetets Oldsaksamling ( Viking Ship H all, Bygdoy), Oslo I. (a )

13

VIKING ART X IX .

XX.

X X I.

X X II.

X X III.

X X IV .

XXV.

X X V I.

(a) Reconstruction o f a tapestry from the Oseberg ship-burial. (b) Lid o f a hunting basket from the Gokstad ship-burial. Universitetets Oldsaksamling ( Viking Ship H all, Bygdøy,) Oslo (a) Jet animal figure from Haugsten, Råde, Østfold, Norway. (b) Jet animal from Inderoen, N . Trondelag, Norway, (a) and (b): Universitetets Oldsak­ samling, Oslo, (c) Tw o views o f a bronze brooch from Alva, Gotland, Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, (d) Fragment o f a giltbronze brooch from Gjønnes, Hedrum, Vestfold, Norway. Universitetets Oldsaksamling, Oslo Group o f gilt-bronze mounts from Broa, Halla, Gotland, Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. Group o f gilt-bronze mounts from Broa, Halla, Gotland, Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. (a) Bronze sword-pommel mount from Stora Ihre, Gotland, Sweden, (b) Bronze-gilt figure o f a horse from Birka, Uppland, Sweden, grave 854. (c) Openwork brooch from Othem, Gotland, Sweden, (a-e): Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, (d) Gilt-bronze figure from Kaupang, Tjølling, Vestfold, Norway. Universitetets Oldsaksamling, Oslo, (e) Bronze oval brooch from Ytterdal, Norddal, Sunnmøre, Norway. Historisk Museum, Bergen. ( a ) Bronze oval brooch from Lisbjerg, Jutland, Denmark. National Museum, Copenhagen, (b) Bronze oval brooch from Norway (no provenance). Trond­ heim Museum. ( « ) Silver-gilt female figures from Sweden— Klinta, Köping, Øland; Birka, Uppland, grave 825; Sibble, Grödinge, Småland. (/) Silver figure o f a rider from Birka, Uppland, Sweden, grave 825. (g) Detail o f disc-on-bow brooch from Nygårds, Vesterhejde, Gotland, Sweden. (c-g): Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. (a-c) Details o f a gilt-bronze disc-on-bow brooch from Broa, Halla, Gotland. (d ) Silver-gilt strap-end from Stora Ryk, Färgelanda, Dalsland, Sweden. (e) Detail of gilt-bronze disc-on-bow brooch from Gumbalde, Stånga, Gotland. (a-e) Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. Picture-stone from Tjängvide, Gotland, Sweden.

X X V II.

Gilt-bronze mounts from Borre, Vestfold, Norway. Universitetets Oldsak­ samling, Oslo

X X V III.

(a) Silver-gilt, nielloed brooch from Rinkaby, Skåne, Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, (b) Silver, nielloed trefoil brooch from Åserum, Hedrum, Vestfold, Norway, (c) Bronze oval brooch from Renålen, Ålen, Norway, (d-g) Silver and gilt-bronze (g) pendants from Østborg, Frol, Levanger, Norway. Trondheim Museum.

X X IX .

(a-c) Details o f a gold spur from Værne kloster, Rød, Norway, (d and e) Gold belt-slide and strap-end from the same find, ( f-i) Silver-gilt and gold (h and i) objects from the Hon, Norway, hoard, (a -i) Universitetets Old­ saksamling, Oslo, (j) Gold mount from Lackalänge, Skåne, Sweden, (k) Silver brooch from Finkarby, Taxinge, Södermanland, Sweden, ( j and k) Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. (1) Gold brooch from Vester Vedsted, Jutland, Denmark. National Museum, Copenhagen.

14

PLATES (a -d ) Mounts from the Gokstad ship-burial. Universitetets Oldsaksamling (V iking Ship H all, Bygdøy), Oslo, (e) Bronze, nielloed strap-end from Youlgreave, Derbyshire, England. British Museum, (f-h ) Drum brooch from Martens, Grötlingbo, Gotland. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. X X X I. (a) Silver brooch, possibly from Gotland, Sweden. British Museum. (b) Silver and niello ring-headed brooch, from Birka, Uppland, Sweden, grave 561. (c) Silver brooch from Törsta, Hälsingtuna, Sweden, (b and c) Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, (d) Silver brooch from Jelets, Voronez, U .S.S.R . Hermitage Museum, Leningrad. X X X II . (a -d ) Gilt-silver pendants from a hoard from Vårby, Huddinge, Södermanland, Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, (e) Gilt-bronze mount (perhaps model o f weather-vane) from Rangsby, Saltvik, Åland, Finland. National Museum, Helsinki, (f—g) Silver brooch with inlaid gold plates from Mosnæs, Rogaland, Norway. Historisk Museum, Bergen. X X X III. (a) Gold bracteate Ringsome, Alva, Gotland. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, (b) Bronze mount from Gnezdovo, U .S.S.R. (c) Bronze die from Mammen, Jutland, Denmark. National Museum, Copenhagen, (d) Bronze brooch from Birka, Uppland, Sweden, (e) Silver brooch from Ödeshög, Östergötland, Sweden, (d and e) Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. X X X IV . (a) Silver cup from Jelling, Jutland, Denmark, (b) Silver brooch from Nonnebakken, Odense, Fyn, Denmark, (a and b) National Museum, Copen­ hagen. (c) Silver brooch from Central Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum,. Stockholm, (d) Bronze oval brooch from Morberg, Røken, Buskerud, Nor­ way. (e) Silver brooch from Tråen, Rollag, Buskerud, Norway, hoard. (d and e) Universitetets Oldsaksamling, Oslo. X X X V . The horse collars from Mammen (a) and Søllested, (b) Denmark. N ational Museum, Copenhagen. x x x v i. Details o f Mammen horse collar. National Museum, Copenhagen. x x x v ii. Details o f Søllested horse collar. National Museum, Copenhagen. X X X V III. (a) Silver and niello plate, without provenance. British Museum, (b-c) Frag­ ment o f cross-shaft from St Alkmund’s church, Derby. X X X IX . (a) Fragment o f cross-shaft from St Oswald’s Priory, Gloucester. City Museum, Gloucester, (b) Cross from Middleton, Yorkshire, (c) Fragment o f a cross­ shaft from Dacre, Cumberland. XXX.

XL.

Detail o f shaft o f cross from Gosforth, Cumberland.

X L i.

Detail o f shaft o f cross from Gosforth, Cumberland.

X L ii.

X L ii i .

(a) Hog-backed tombstones from Brampton, Yorkshire, tombstone from Levisham, Yorkshire.

(b) Fragment o f

(a) Fragment o f a cross-shaft from Kirkby Stephen, Westmorland, (b) Gaut’s cross, Kirk Michael, Isle o f Man.

x l iv

.

(a) Stone from Väsby, Skåne, Sweden, o f Man.

xlv

.

(a) Fragment of Odd’s cross-slab from Kirk Braddan, Isle o f Man. (b-e) Bone sleeve from Åmes, Stangvik, Nordmøre, Norway. Trondheim Museum. (/) Bone plaque from River Thames, London. British Museum.

15

(b) Stone from Kirk Maughold, Isle

V IK IN G A R T XLVi. General view and details o f silver, niello and gold brooch from Austris, Tingstäde, Gotland, Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. X L vu. (a) Brooch from Valla, Klinte, Gotland, Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. (b) Bone object from Kastager Strand, Utterslev, Denmark. National Museum, Copenhagen, (c-d) Sword mount from Sigtuna, Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. XLVi il. The Jellinge stone, Denmark. XLix. The Jellinge stone, Denmark. L . Back and front o f wooden figure from Jelling, Denmark. National Museum, Copenhagen. L i . Painted wooden fragment from Jelling, Denmark. N ational Museum, Copen­ hagen. L i i . Inlaid iron axe from Mammen, Jutland, Denmark. National Museum, Copen­ hagen. Liu. Reverse o f axe illustrated in pi. Lii. Liv. The Bamberg casket. Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich. L V . General view and detail o f Cammin casket. Destroyed. L V I. Details o f Cammin casket. Destroyed. L V ii. Stone from Vang, Valdres, Norway. L V iii. (a) Stone from sarcophagus. St Paul’s churchyard, London. Guildhall Museum, London. (b) Gilt-bronze weather vane, Söderala, Hälsingland, Sweden. l ix .

LX. Lxi. LXii.

LXiii.

LXiv. LXV.

Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. (a-b) Bronze-gilt weather vane from Heggen, Modum, Norway. Universitetets Oldsaksamling, Oslo, (c) Gilt bronze plate from Winchester. Winchester Cathedral Library. Tw o wooden panels from Flatatunga, Iceland. National Museum, Reykjavik. (a) Rock-engraving from the Rasmus rock, Jäder, Södermanland, Sweden. (,h) The Gök stone, Härad, Södermanland, Sweden. (a) Detail o f the fragment o f a bronze stirrup from Stenåsa, Öland, Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, (b) Silver-gilt figure o f a bird from a hoard found at Græsli, Tydal, Selbu, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. Trondheim Museum, (c) Silver brooch from Espinge, Hurva, Skåne, Sweden, (d) Silver, nielloed armlet from Undrom, Boteå, Ångermanland, Sweden, (c and d) Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, (e) Gold brooch from Vestvik, Beistad, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Trondheim Museum. ( / ) Gold brooch from Homelund, Home, Øster Horne, Denmark. National Museum, Copen­ hagen. (a) Silver bowl from Lilla Valla, Rute, Gotland, Sweden, (b) Detail o f internal panel o f same. (c) Silver brooch from Gerete, Gotland, Sweden. (a-c) Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, (d) Detail o f the ‘Misach’. National Museum, Dublin. (a and b) Silver crucifixes from Trondheim, Norway. Trondheim Museum. (c) Detail from Caedmon MS. Junius 1 1 . Bodleian Library, Oxford. (a) Fragment o f tombstone from Otley, Yorkshire, (b and c) Detail o f ivory comb without provenance. British Museum, (d) Detail o f MS. Ff.I.23. Univer­ sity Library, Cambridge.

16

PLATES Lxvi. (a) Silver disc brooch from a hoard at Sutton, Isle o f Ely, British Museum. (b) Side panel o f the ‘Cathach’. National Museum, Dublin. Lxvii. The Crozier o f the Abbots o f Clonmacnoise. National Museum, Dublin. L X V lli. Cross slab from Bibury, Gloucestershire. British Museum. L X IX . The north portal of the Umes stave church, Norway. L X X . Portal o f the church at Bjølstad, Heidalen, Norway. L X X i. Rune-stone, Ardre III, Gotland, Sweden. L X X ii. (a) Rune-stone from Skråmsta, Haga, Uppland, Sweden, (b) Rune-stone from Stav, Roslagskulle, Uppland, Sweden. L X X i i i . (a) Base-plate o f drum brooch from Tändgarve, Sweden, {b) Bronze animalhead probably from Gotland, Sweden, (c) Silver and niello crucifix from a hoard from Gåtebo, Öland, Sweden, (a-c) Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, (d) Bronze mount from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, Wisbech Museum. (e) Gilt-bronze brooch from Pitney, Somerset. British Museum. (/) Bronze brooch without provenance. National Museum, Copenhagen. Lxxiv. (a) Morse ivory crozier-head from Aghadoe, Ireland. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. (b) Side o f the Cashel sarcophagus. Lxxv. The shrine of the Bell of St Patrick’s Will. National Museum, Dublin. L X X V I. Details o f the Cross o f Cong. National Museum, Dublin. l x x v ii . Shrine o f the St Lachtin’s arm. National Museum, Dublin. (a and b) Details o f the St Manchan’s shrine. Private Possession, (c) Plate from Holycross. National Museum, Dublin. Lxxix. (a) Sculpture from Jevington, Sussex, {b) Brooch from Gåtebo, Öland, Sweden (with pi. l x x iii c). Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. l x x x . Details of silver bowl from Old Uppsala, Sweden. Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm.

L X X V III.

B

17

INTRODUCTION In this book we have attempted to outline the history o f the art o f the Vikings— a people who were considered by their contemporaries to be barbarians. Our history touches but one facet o f a rich culture which affected the whole o f north-western Europe and, whether the Vikings are interpreted as barbarians or civilizers, the art which they left behind them has an originality and a stature second to none in Europe o f the period from 800-1100. A great historian has summarized the impression which Viking art leaves on the modern mind: ‘T oday, among so many reminders o f those heroic ages, the museums o f the north preserve in their glass cases surprising quantities o f gold and silver: largely the proceeds o f commerce, no doubt; but much o f it also, as the German priest Adam o f Bremen remarked, “ fruits o f brigandage” . It is a striking fact that these precious metals stolen or received as tribute, sometimes in the form o f coins, sometimes as jewellery o f the western type, should usually have been refashioned into trinkets conforming to the taste o f their new owners— evidence o f a civilization singularly sure o f itself.’1 W e have taken these sentences o f Marc Bloch as a key to our understanding o f Viking art. The idea o f a people ‘sure o f itself’ is, we believe, the clue to Viking art. Although there has been much discussion concerning the influences present in Viking art, there have been few attempts to record its content. Every single ornamental element o f each style has been analysed and every nuance has been traced to a hypothetical source; but the traces are so tenuous and the resulting theories so varied that it is difficult to achieve any clear-cut picture o f the main elements which made up the art. It is our belief that the main influence in Viking art was the Scandinavian artistic tradition. W e do not deny that foreign influences are present in the art— at some periods they are very apparent— but we believe that a close and critical examination o f the material which survives indicates that in every case these influences were not merely taken into the art o f Scandinavia, but were quickly submerged in it by a people sure o f their taste. While this is the theme o f the book, we hope that it does not obtrude too noticeably in what we trust is a reasonably sober and considered description and history o f Viking art, for our main purpose has been to present the content o f the art— our interpretation o f that content is secondary to our main purpose and we have tried to avoid special pleading. In this respect the joint authorship o f this book has been o f great advantage to the two individuals concerned, and the reason for this collaboration must be explained here, for it forms one o f the main excuses for the presentation o f this history. The nodal problem in past discussions o f each phase o f Viking art has been to decide the extent o f insular and Continental influence in the stylistic development. In an attempt to achieve true scholarly balance students, British, Irish, German, and Scandinavian, have leant over backwards to avoid charges o f chauvinism. W e felt that the one w ay to achieve a proper 1 Bloch (1961), 18.

19

VIKING ART balance was by a Scandinavian and a Briton pursuing a study o f the subject together. W e have written different parts o f the book, but at all stages we have consulted each other and each has translated his co-author’s w ork into his native language— a method o f analysis as severe as any devised in a human study— we have agreed on most points and we have tried to make our argument coherent, but i f there are occasional contra­ dictions we would ask our critics to remember that this is a collaboration. A recent summary o f the changing ideas concerning Viking art has been presented by D r Christiansson.1 It is unnecessary to repeat his resume in detail here, for his book is readily accessible, but certain facets o f the history o f thought on the subject are essential if we are to appreciate the niceties o f Viking art. Since 1880, when Sophus Müller presented his classic introductory w ork on Scandinavian animal ornament,2 many scholars have tried to explain the influences which made up the art o f the Vikings, among them Salin, Shetelig, Brøndsted, Lindqvist, Åberg, Arbman, Kendrick, Arwidsson, Forssander, Holmqvist, and Bertil Almgren.3 Not one o f these scholars has devoted a book exclusively to a straight history o f the art o f the Viking period, all were in­ terested in a particular aspect o f Viking art and the picture that emerges from their studies is o f three distinct schools o f thought, which interpret Viking art as derivative from (a) Insular (b) Carolingian, or (c) Eastern sources. Few scholars have emphasized the indigenous qualities o f Viking art, which the present authors believe to be inherent in the self-confident nature o f the Viking society and which is made more likely b y the lack o f satisfactory parallels for the various Viking styles in western Europe and in the East. Professor Lindqvist was the first to stress this indigenous element in the art, in one o f the very few contexts where a straight history o f Viking art was required.4 A recent masterly survey o f the same subject by Professor Arbman, while not so explicit, implies a similar view.5 There is an extraordinary reluctance among archaeologists to recognize any original cultural traits in their own country and this is particularly true o f the Viking period, for scholars are obsessed b y the fact that the Viking merchants, pirates and adventurers, penetrated every corner o f the known world and brought back with them goods, customs and souvenirs to their northern homelands. This dramatic side o f Viking history has coloured all aspects o f the study o f Viking civilization and scholars have tended to use this colour in their study o f the art. T h ey have seen the art as a product o f the Viking adventures abroad— its elements having been imported with the slaves and the wine which were brought back to Scandinavia by the pirates and the merchants. It is easy to forget that, during the Viking period, there was a continuity o f culture in Scandinavia — the continuity o f an agricultural society with its demand for the accepted and familiar. It is only in this context o f a stable society that Viking art can be understood, for such foreign influences as were brought into the country by the returning Vikings were immediately adapted to a native idiom by craftsmen who rarely, if ever, moved out o f 1 (1959), 9-31- There is an extensive English summary.

2 Müller (1880).

3 The major works o f these authors are quoted in the bibliography. 4 Lindqvist (1931).

5 Arbman (1961), 118 ff.

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INTRODUCTION Scandinavia. These men travelled with their wares from the farm o f one petty chieftain to the next, or worked at home producing objects for the middlemen; they knew the taste o f their customers and adapted their art to it. This stable aspect o f Viking culture has been neglected b y the historians o f its art, because the first steps in the study o f the subject were taken at a period o f romanticism concerning the Viking adventures, and at a period when Darwinism was being applied to objects as well as organisms. Viking art-historical studies grew up in the atmosphere o f the typological theories o f Oscar Montelius, whose pupil, Bernhard Salin, touched on Viking art in his classic typological study o f animal ornament, D ie altgermanische Thierornamentik} The methods used by Salin have been used by nearly all subsequent historians o f Viking art. A s Salin investigated all Europe in an attempt to explain the growth o f animal ornament from the end o f the Roman period to c. 800, so his succes­ sors (particularly Shetelig and Åberg) felt it incumbent on them to use similar methods to explain Viking art. T h ey analysed it and then sought origins for its original com­ ponents, but in so doing they occasionally lost sight o f the main aim o f their study— the understanding o f the totality o f Viking art. Although analysis and examination o f the origin o f individual features are imperative to the study o f any art, it is the whole art that matters. Shetelig and his successors laid a groundwork b y their analysis, on which all modem study must be based, but, if we examine the whole art in its native setting, we see that they appear to have underestimated the originality and continuity o f Viking culture and o f Viking art. In this book we owe a great debt to our predecessors in the study— without their accurate and minute study we could not possibly attempt to summarize this facet o f Viking civilization. A t this distance o f time, however, we can afford to stand back from the general struggle o f ideas, which reached its climax in the late 1930s with the work o f Arbman, Kendrick, Arwidsson, Forssander and Åberg, and attempt an estimate o f the whole art in the light o f their discussions. O nly one modem scholar has attempted to tackle Viking art in a w ay different from his predecessors. In his brilliant study o f Viking art Bertil Almgren2 has attempted to provide a different analytical approach to the art by the examination o f the curves, conscious and unconscious, used by the Viking artist in constmcting his pattern. The method is an interesting study o f one o f the possible traits o f the mind which guide the hand o f the artist, but the method cannot be applied to a general study o f this sort, as it tends to be at once too particular and too subjective. O nly one scholar3 has tried to adopt A lm grens scheme to a study o f Viking art, and then only as a supplementary method, but the results he produced were not conclusive. The methods used in this book therefore, are the tried analytical and comparative methods o f our predecessors; by the very nature o f the material we are limited in the same w ay that they were limited, but we have one advantage that was not available to them— a knowledge o f their carefully worked out facts and theories, and these we have ’ Salin (1904).

* Almgren (1955).

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* Christiansson (1959).

V IK IN G A R T tried to sift and tailor to a picture that some will find far from original, but which we believe to fit the facts. One o f the primary purposes o f this book has been to erect a chronological sequence for Viking art. This is no easy task, for one style does not die suddenly to be replaced on the next day by a completely different style— styles overlap and linger on, they run softly into each other and there is no one place where one can draw a line and label a style on one side ‘Ringerike’, and the style on the other ‘Urnes’. Not only do styles overlap, they can also be contemporaneous (Borre and Jellinge for example). The distinction between m otif and style is an important one in Viking art, for it accounts for many apparent anomalies— we may see, for example, on the same Gotlandic object, ‘Style E ’ animals alongside ‘gripping-beasts’ (e.g. pi. x x v e). Nevertheless we believe that some sort o f chronological picture can be constructed and our method in so doing must be exposed. In our attempt to construct this chronology we have started from the known and moved to the unknown b y w ay o f the partially known. Our starting point has been the well-dated material, which comes under two heads: ‘personal dating’ and ‘coin dating’. Under the former heading we include objects the manufacture o f which is dated b y an inscription referring to a known historical event or personage— e.g. the Jellinge stone (pi. x l v i i i ) or the Cross o f Cong (pi. l x x v i ) . Such objects are more common towards the end o f our period and are practically unknown at its beginning. Coins provide a second method o f dating. When an object is deposited in a hoard o f coins the date o f deposition is indicated by the date o f the latest coin found in the hoard; this forms a useful date for the object as the latest possible date at which it could be made. Coins can now be so accurately dated, that some o f the results o f this method are quite remarkable. Most o f our dates after 925 are confirmed, or suggested, b y coin evidence. This method only applies to objects found in hoards which contain a con­ siderable body o f coins. It is impossible to date a grave by this method when one or two coins are found amongst the other grave goods. Similarly it is obvious that certain objects were old when placed in the hoard; nevertheless, the provision o f one date in the life o f an object cuts down the margin o f chronological error b y half, while the occurrence o f a number o f hoards containing objects decorated in a similar style allows one to use simple statistical judgments o f probability o f date. When all dating material o f this sort has been sifted, we fall back on more subjective judgments, dating on political probability, for example. The early Manx crosses, and the early ninth century sculptures o f east Yorkshire, have been dated in this book by the probable political situation pertaining in the British Isles at a given time. But in most cases such methods have been used in association with primary methods o f dating — by coin hoard material, for example— or b y rather more reliable secondary methods, such as the comparison o f a Viking style with a style influencing it, or influenced by it, in a well-dated context outside Scandinavia, as, for example, with certain o f the preViking, Vendel styles. The method o f last resort, and the least reliable method from a chronological point

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INTRODUCTION o f view, is typology; whereby a style is seen to develop or degenerate and a relative chronological framework is constructed to fit the process observed. The relative chronology o f an object achieved b y using this method is sometimes confirmed by its recurrent association with other objects, which have also been set in typological sequences. This is, however, a subjective method, and one which we have used with great caution when every other method has failed. These methods are the normal archaeological methods developed by the prehistorians. The material available for this study is unrepresentative, for the art chronicled here is mainly applied art (usually animal ornament) and is o f secondary importance to the object it decorated. The primary purpose o f a brooch is as a dress or cloak fastener; the ornament o f the mounts on the hilt o f the sword is secondary to the purpose o f that weapon. In a few cases we have examples o f art in the primary sense— art for art’s sake — but these are surprisingly few, an odd piece o f sculpture and a number o f objects which might be classified under the heading ars sacra. This book relates, then, the history o f a number o f styles o f the decorative art o f the Viking peoples. W e can make few o f the exclamatory judgments which historians o f the arts of, for example, the Renaissance can make; we can only fulfil our function as archaeological attributionists and catalogue the features o f the art we study. Lastly, we cannot discuss every orna­ mented object, or even every type o f ornament, but we trust that every major problem is touched on or elucidated in the essay that follows: the material used is that which seems to us most important and, i f we have used material familiar to the student, this is because it forms the key to the study.

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PART I BY

O LE K L IN D T -JE N S E N

CH APTER I

SCANDINAVIAN ART BEFORE THE V I K I N G S

Viking art cannot be understood without a proper appreciation o f its roots in the earlier art o f Scandinavia. Such an appreciation is not easy to achieve as the styles o f the preViking era were not mutually exclusive; they frequently overlapped and are even found together embellishing different panels o f the same object. This chapter attempts to order these styles within a general Scandinavian context. In the study o f both pre-Viking and Viking art it is important that the mind should not be fettered b y geographical preconceptions. The distribution o f the various styles was not necessarily limited by the boundaries o f ancient or modern national or physical regions. A constant cultural contact, for example, persisted over a long period, with varying degrees o f intensity, from the Trondheim district o f Norway, across the mountainous Scandinavian backbone, to the G u lf o f Bothnia and Finland. Similarly, at certain stages o f the pre-Viking age, Norway, north Sjælland and south-east Scandinavia were mutually connected by trade. The comparative ease o f sea transport, as against overland travel, was a constant factor in Scandinavia before relatively modern times, and was the reason for the prominence o f the Baltic islands as cultural centres during the first millennium o f our era. Gotland lay, spider-like, at the centre o f the Baltic searoutes, and its web linked it with the only slightly less important islands o f Öland and Bornholm. However great the political and geographical differences between the various Scandinavian districts, their common relationship and tradition played a decisive role in the development o f the art. Much o f the art chronicled in this book is decorative art. It is based on an animal ornament which emerged during the fourth century a d to become a vital element in Scandinavian art. When it first appeared in northern Europe it naturally contained many foreign elements, but, b y the beginning o f the Viking A ge, such elements had become submerged and indigenous traits were completely dominant. Although the major part o f the surviving art is based on animal motifs, a considerable body o f naturalistic art remains, which can be traced into the Viking A ge alongside the more abstract art. While the decorative art o f Scandinavia repeatedly shows a tendency to extreme stylization, resulting sometimes in an almost abstract play o f lines, naturalis­ tic art always retained its contact with reality. Plant ornament, on the other hand— so

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VIKING A R T popular in the rest o f Europe— was o f little interest to the Scandinavian artist. When leaf motifs do occur, they are clearly alien to the indigenous art, and it is not until the Mammen style appears in the late tenth century that foliage is used in successful com­ bination with animal motifs. Throughout this early period, if we are to judge from the surviving material, naturalistic art leads a very shadowy existence. O nly in certain corpuses o f material,, such as the Gotlandic picture stones and certain objects in the Oseberg find, is naturalism o f any great importance. Otherwise it is found in an almost casual fashion, as a lightly engraved decoration on the back o f certain brooches (where it would not normally be seen) (fig. i), on the underside o f the plank o f a ship (fig. 2), or on the base and lid o f a box (pi. x i x b). The assured quality o f such casually drawn scenes is without exception remarkable— the rarity o f such ornament was obviously not due to any lack o f artistic ability. In applied art naturalism was rarely used: decorative, less naturalistic, art took its place. Naturalistic art, how­ fig . i. Animal scratched on the ever, always influenced applied art and we shall demonstrate the back of a square­ ornamental craftsman’s interest in certain naturalistic motifs— it is headed brooch noticeable, for example, how the form o f the horse, with its subfrom Nordheim, Hedrum, Vest­ triangular body and curved neck, lent itself to stylization in decora­ tive art. fold, Norway. Universitetets OldThe importance o f the indigenous artistic elements and the saksamling, Oslo. creative ability o f the individual artist must not be underestimated in an examination o f the sources o f inspiration o f Scandinavian art. This is particularly so when we consider the products o f the outstanding artists o f the Viking period. Their art became the model on which the simpler, more

f ig .

2. Naturalistic animals scratched on the underside o f a plank from the Oseberg ship. Viking ships Museum, Oslo

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S C A N D IN A V I A N A R T B E F O R E T H E V I K I N G S popular art o f the period was based. The stylistic influences o f the major artists repre­ sented at Oseberg, for example, with their originality and sense o f experiment, help us to understand, in some measure, the central elements present in the creation o f the :style. The history o f stylistic development in Scandinavia is based on an increasing interest in animal ornament, which becomes apparent for the first time in the late Roman Iron A ge, when animals appear as decorative features on various objects (fig. 3). Run­ ning deer, or horses, form a frieze round the rims o f the silver beakers from Sjælland (pi. 1 a). These were undoubtedly executed, together with a series o f related objects, under the influence o f Romano-Celtic art— a fact adequately demonstrated by the technique used (repousse work) and b y the form o f the running animals.1 Human masks fig . 3. Animal motifs from the late Roman Iron Age in Scandinavia: (a and b) ‘(fig. 3e), which are so popular an element applied to a disc from Thorsbjerg, Schles­ o f Scandinavian art at this early period, w ig; (