Reconstructing the Costume of the Viking Age.
By Viktoria
Persdotter, archaeologist and crafstman.
I am an
archaeologist and crafstman who spends a great deal
of time reconstructing Iron Age artefacts and the
manufacturing techniques used. I have taken a special interest in the
reconstruction of the Viking Age costume, working with metal, leather and
textile techniques. During my various experiments and research I have more than
once wondered at both the Viking Age costume itself, and the wats in which it is interpreted
today.
Warp-weighted loom, a common type
of loom during the Viking Age.
For a long time the Viking Age has been, and still is, a very
popular period to interpret in different ways. Costumes are an important way of
creating an atmosphere when putting a prehestoric
period on display, but sadly, much too often, routine habit and ignorance work
together to create far from acceptable costumes and jewellery.
Trying to reconstruct Viking Age clothing is far from easy. Both
textiles and leather are easily perishble materials,
and only fragments remain of the origional clothing.
The usually well preserved metal fittings, like buckles and brooches (usually
made from bronze), can provide hints through their shapes and positioning about
how costimes were fastened. In many cases, due to
metal corrosion, the textiles underneath and around the metal objects are well
preserved.
There are also many pictures of humans from this period, but they
are usually strongly stylised, and it is therefore
hard to detect the finer details of the costumes. Aslo
in the saga literature, costumes are mentioned sporadically.
When reconstructing the Viking Age costume, one must also bear in
mind that what today is regarded as "vikingish"
and often seen in popular interpretaions of this
period, in most cases, has no archaeological counterpart. There are just no
traces of things like battle helmets fitted with cows' horns, metal bras, furry
leg-wrappings made from sheepskin with the wolly side
out and cloths made from sackcloth from the Viking Age (and not from any other
prehistoric period either).
Another popular myth concerns the filthy and unhygenic
Viking Age. Judging from archaelogical and written
records, the hygenic conditions at the time were
reasonable. On the Viking Age farms it was customary to have a bath- house, and
in saga literature bathing and washing is often mentioned. During the Viking
Age, most people lived on solitary farms, which also meant that they also lived
under far better hygenic conditions than the later
inhabitants of the crowded medieval towns did.
In order to produce as authentic reconstructions of the clothing as
possible, it is not enough, however, just to study the archaeological finds.
The Viking Age costume is namely not a phenomenon on its own, but a part of the
society where it was made and worn. The Viking Age costume is a direct product
of the technology, access to raw materials, aesthetic values, living conditions
and ways of showing social rank and affiliation of its time.
There were no uniform costumes in the Nordic countries during the
Viking Age either. Clothing could vary greatly according to local traditions,
season, occasion, social and and personal taste.
It is also of greatest importance to carry out the reconstructions
using a high standard of craftmanship, so as to
obtain an acceptable result, from technical, archaeological, aesthetic and
practical points of view. When museums and similar institutions make
reconstructions, different "simpliflications"
and "improvements" are often made, both regarding construction and
materials. But in most cases trying to make prehistoric clothes more practical
to make and wear has the opposite effect in the end. Since I, myself usually
wear Viking Age clothes and shoes made in as authentic models and materials as
possible, in my daily life and work, I can testify from experience that those
clothes are both practical and comfortable to wear. In many ways they are
superior to modern clothes, especially as I spend a lot of time outdoors
working close to an open fire.
During my work with various ancient techniques, I have noticed that
the distinct shape of the seat in Iron Age trousers found in Danish and German
bogs is most likely a direct result of the working position used at the time.
When I work with wood, bone and antler, I usually sit on the floor or ground,
using my feet and legs as extra hands to hold the work-pieces. I also use the
same working position when working with other ancient techniques like glass
bead making and sewing. Nowadays this working position is seldom seen in the
western world, but is still common in other parts of the world, like rural
areas in Africa and
Sitting on chairs is a rather recent invention, and mostly likely
the Iron Age people mainly worked on the floor- and ground level, which is also indicated by the low, almost ground level located
hearths of the living houses as well as the workshops. The squatting position
was not only used by professional craftsman, but also in the everyday household
and farm work. I am quite convinced thet this working
position is the reason to why the Iron Age trousers found in the bogs of Thorsbjerg, Damendorf, Marx-Etzel and Daetgen have their
distinctive seat construction.
The same kind of seat construction as in the Iron Age trousers can
also still be seen on the trousers of the traditional Sami (ethnic minority in
northern Scandinavia and
The Thorsbjerg trousers,
back and front.
The Damendorf
trousers, pattern
of construction.
As see in the drawings above, the trousers are narrow-legged, wide
in the seat area and made without the median seam seen on modern trousers. I
know from experience that modern trousers with a median seam in the seat will
crack from the stress put on them by working in a squatting or sitting
position. This is just one example that shows that Iron Age clothes were
neither underdeveloped, nor primitive, but a product well adapted to the living
conditions of their time.
Sami trousers from the Swedish
front and back.
In this article, I have tried to present some of the problems and
possibilities connected with the reconstruction of prehistoric costumes in
general, and the Viking Age costumes in particular, as well as pointing out the
importance of practical experiments as a method of understanding ancient
costumes. I hope that I have contributed to evoke thoughts and reflections on
this matter. In the next issue of "Viking Heritage Newsletter" I will
further describe and discuss the female costume of the Viking Age. If you have
any comments or questions, you can contact me at the following address:
Viktoria Persdotter
Utgеrd, Lokrume
S-620 33 Tingstдde
Phone +46 498 27 43
56.
