#viking age

[artschoolglasses]

Steel and silver axe head, Scandinavian, 11th-12th Century

From the Met Museum

[whereserpentswalk]

People don't realize how liminal it is to be a time traveler. How you don't ever really feel like you're in the time you are. Even when you're in your own time, everything is off, your coat was something you bought in interwar France, the book you're reading on the train is from a bookstore you had to visit in Victorian London, even your necklace was given to you by a Neolithic shaman, from a culture the rest of the world can never know. You find yourself acting strange even when in the present, much less in the past you have to work in.

You remember meeting a eunuch in 10th century China, and having him be one of the only people smart and observant enough to realize you were from a diffrent time. You could talk honestly with him, though still you couldn't reveal too much about your time. And it was still so strange hearing him talk casually about work and mention plotting assassinations. You're not allowed to but you still visit him sometimes.

You remember that the few times you were allowed to tell someone everything it was tragic. You knew a young woman who lived in Pompeii, who you had gotten close to, a few days before she would inevitably die. On your last day there you looked into her eyes, knowing soon they'd be stone and ash, that the beauty of her hair would be washed away by burning magma. And you hugged her, and told her that you wanted her to be safe, and told her she was wonderful and that you wanted her to be comfortable and happy. And you let her tongue know the joy of 21st century chocolate, and her eyes see the beauty of animation, knowing she deserved to have those joys, knowing it wouldn't matter soon. And you hugged her the last time, and told her she deserved happiness. And when you left without taking her it was like you were killing her yourself.

You want to take home everyone you're attached to. There's a college student you befriended in eighteen fifties Boston. And you can't help but see him try to solve problems you know humanity is centuries away from solving. And you just want to tell him. And it's not just that, the way he talked about the books and plays he likes, his sense of humor. There's so many people you want him to meet.

You feel the same way about a young woman you met on a viking age longship. She tells stories to her fellow warriors and traders, stories that will never fully get written down, stories that she tells so uniquely and so well. She has so many great ideas. You want so dearly to take her to somewhere she can share her stories, or where she can take classes with other writers, where she can be somewhere safe instead of being out at sea. She'll talk about wanting to be able to do something, or meet people, and you know you're so close to being able to take her, but you never can, unless she accidently finds out way too much then you can't.

You remember the longship that you met that young storyteller on. You were there before, two years ago for you, ten years later for the people on it. The young woman who told you stories wasn't there ten years later, you had been told why then but you only realize now, her uncle, who ran the ship, had been one of the first people to convert to Christianity in his nation. He killed her, either for not converting or for sleeping with women, you're not sure, but he killed her, and bragged about it when you met him ten years later.

You talk to the storyteller on the longship, ask her about the myths you're there to ask her about, the myths that she loves to tell. You look into her eyes knowing it's probably less then a year until her uncle takes her life. You ask her if you think that those who die of murder go to Valhalla. She tells you she hopes not, she doesn't see Valhalla as a gift but as a duty, she hopes for herself to go to Hel, where she wouldn't have to fight anymore. You slip and admit you're talking about her, telling her that you hope that's where she goes when she's killed. You hope to yourself you'll be forced to take her to the twenty first century, you're tempted even to make it worse, you want to have ruined her enough to be able to save her.

[rune-folk]

Sverd i fjell, Stavanger, Norway

July 2024

[illustratus]

Charlemagne anxiously observes the approach of ships carrying Norman raiders by Alphonse de Neuville

[broomsick]

Located in Denmark, Lake Tissø (Týr’s Lake) was probably one of the most prominent Týr cult sites of pre-Christian times. More than 12 000 objects have been excavated in this major holy site, many of which were gold or silver. It was customary to sacrifice weapons, tools or jewelry by throwing them into the waters of the lake, most likely as an offering to Týr or to ancestors. It was home to a large hall, a ritual hörgr and a handful of minor houses (ca. 550 – 650).

Some of the most famous artifacts excavated on the site include the Goats of Thórr brooch (late Iron Age), the 1.8 kg of gold neck ring (10th century), and the Valkyries (2nd is possibly Freyja) of Tissø.

[periodcostumefantasylover]

Emma of Normandy's green cloack in Vikings Valhalla Season 3

[grimmborg-in-the-bog]

Am i a 10th century baddie yet?

After four years of having my viking clothes mostly done, i've finally been made to finish them. My basics were all done back then, but this is more of a fancy summery fit that took a lot more work (especially the weaving)

Dress is based on the Vangsnes pleated dress, it's a super thin wool dyed with madder (the colour is a little uneven sadly)

Woven band is from a similar grave to vangsnes, but in Køstrup, because the vangsnes band is all swastikas

My brooches are NOT historical but just what i have rn :(

Half the beads are made by me, the other half were bought. it might be a bit much ngl but i felt very fancy

[blueiscoool]

Viking-age Treasure Came to Scotland From West Asia

Ten years on from the discovery of the Viking-age Galloway Hoard in south Scotland, experts have revealed that part of the collection came from West Asia.

The collection - described as one of the most important UK archaeological finds of the century - was found by metal detectorist Derek McLennan in 2014.

A lidded silver vessel was discovered still wrapped in its ancient textiles, which is extremely rare, and meant that the surface of the vessel could at first only be seen through X-ray scans.

Experts say the vessel is originally from what is now central Iran and it was transported halfway around the world more than 1,000 years ago. The vessel was found to contain other treasures, like silk and brooches.

Its textiles have now been partially removed and preserved, and the vessel has been cleaned using lasers which removed any green corrosion and revealed details of the design, including crowns, fire altars, leopards and tigers.

This imagery is unusual in western Europe but it is linked with the iconography of Zoroastrianism, the state religion of the Sasanian Empire which was the last Persian empire before the early Muslim conquests from 632AD.

The hoard - which contained more than 5kg of silver, gold and other materials - was discovered on what is now Church of Scotland land near Balmaghie in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire.

Dr Martin Goldberg from the National Museums Scotland said the vessel was "further evidence of the cosmopolitan make-up of the Galloway Hoard".

He said: "We now know that the Viking-age silver that makes up most of the Hoard was melted down from coins and metalwork from early medieval England.

"Some objects, like the lidded vessel, stood out from the rest and the scientific analysis now confirms this.

"It is incredible to imagine how the vessel made its journey halfway round the known world, from Iran to this distant corner of southwest Scotland.”

The artefact from about 900AD is set to go on public display for the first time next week, on loan to the British Museum’s upcoming Silk Roads exhibition in London.

Other objects from the Galloway Hoard will go on long-term display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, while a portion will go on show at Kirkcudbright Galleries.

Dr Sue Brunning, from the British Museum, said: "We're delighted that visitors to Silk Roads will be the first in the world to see this key object from the Galloway Hoard.

"Among its remarkable contents were Scotland's earliest recorded silk, and so it is a highly appropriate inclusion in the exhibition."

[ltwilliammowett]

First fibula chain finished - made by myself

[queenfredegund]

Women in History Month (insp) | Week 1: Leading Women

[sejrart]

Reunion

In 2021, researchers discovered that an 11th century skeleton uncovered from a grave in Otterup, Denmark in 2005 was related to a skeleton found in a mass grave in Oxford, England in 2008. DNA analysis showed them to be half-brothers, uncle and nephew or grandfather and grandson.

The man found in Oxford died young and it's speculated that he died during the St Brice's Day massacre, an attack on all Danes in England ordered by King Æthelred the Unready after an increase in Danish raids on England. The man found in Denmark died around the age of 50, having lived a farmer's life, but not one without combat.

After a century separated by the North Sea, the two relatives were reunited for an exhibition at The National Museum of Denmark.

[artschoolglasses]

Bossed penannular brooch, found in Ireland, 9th-10th Century

From the British Museum

[ithinkwehitametaphor]

Finnish Iron Age Dress. National Museum of Finland.

[woahhhgwendolyn]

Bjorn being Possessive Over You Would Include...

If he is not there to watch over you, there is someone else that he trusts to watch and make sure that you are okay. He is always so worried for you to get hurt or sick. He would hate for you to be either of those things. He feels like he is now responsible for you in certain ways now that you both are in a relationship. Whenever he is there with you, he makes sure to stand close to you or to latch arms together to make sure that you are safe. And during the winters he gives you an extra fur to make sure you do not get cold then get sick. he would also basically hold you down in bed in the morning so that you do not get out of bed before him.

[illustratus]

The Sea Raiders by Albert Goodwin

Depicts four Snekkjas (Viking longships) at sea amidst a flock of seagulls

[nordic-explorer]

The Gokstad ship, constructed in the year 890 AD, was utilized as a burial chamber.

Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2023/03/is-the-shamrock-a-myth-the-truth-behind-5-st-patricks-day-symbols