Viking Age Beads. Lund University History Museum, Lund, Sweden. (mararie / CC BY SA 2.0 )
brooch
Brooches were popular in Viking culture and were everyday essentials used to hold clothing in place. Brooches come in many designs, the main ones being round brooches and oval brooches. The Penannular brooch was worn only by Viking men and was adopted by Vikings from Scottish and Irish settlers; the trend later caught on in Russia and Scandinavia. The brooch would be fastened on the wearer’s right shoulder with the pin facing up, allowing the sword’s grip to be free.
On the other hand, the oval brooch was commonly worn by Viking women. Oval brooches were used to fasten dresses, aprons, and gowns, and were more detailed and ornate than annular brooches. A single brooch would be worn on the shoulder to fasten the wearer’s dress, along with a string of colored beads to add visual appeal. Oval brooches are thought to have gone out of fashion around 1000 AD and were replaced by brooches of more fanciful designs.
Viking oval brooch. History Museum, Oslo, Norway. ( CC BY-SA 2.0 )
Ring
Rings, like most other cultures, were worn around the finger and were extremely popular among the Vikings. There have been many discoveries of finger rings in Viking burial sites; the rings are often of uneven width, most of them have open ends, possibly to allow them to fit different sized fingers with little effort. Note, however, that finger rings only became popular among Vikings towards the end of the Viking Age.
Viking ring in bronze and iron (replica), close-up. (Igor Batenev/Adobe Stock)
eardrop
This is the least common form of Viking jewelry. In fact, earrings did not exist in Viking material culture until they were found in hoards along with other types of jewelry. Nordic earrings are quite complicated and in contrast to modern day earrings, they are worn over the entire ear instead of hanging from the earlobe. Historians believe that “earrings” are of Slavic origin rather than an original concept created by the Norsemen.
Bracelets/Bracelets
Bracelets/armlets or bracelets were extremely popular in Viking culture and like necklaces, bracelets served a dual purpose; decorative and commercial. Some bracelets are very intricate and detailed, crafted from precious metals such as gold and silver. Bracelets represent social status and are a sign of wealth.
Nesting bracelet from Silverdale Hoard. Image by Ian Richardson. ( CC BY-SA 2.0 )
Bracelets come in many different shapes and designs. Some have a spiral design that wraps around the arm multiple times, helping them adhere firmly around the arm and making it easier for the wearer to tear off a portion at the end during commercial transactions. Other bracelets are only long enough to wrap around three-quarters of the arm; These are the most commonly used strips as currency because they are smooth and flat, making them easier to separate whenever necessary.
Viking Jewelry – Fashion with a purpose
The Vikings enjoyed fashion and the appeal of precious metals and they tried to incorporate this into everyday life by crafting beautiful ornate ornaments as described above. However, unlike most cultures, jewelry in Viking culture often had a dual purpose, used both for aesthetic appeal and as a form of currency, like carrying money in a wallet or purse. your.
Clearly, the Vikings were not the barbarians that most people think they were, they were an organized, sophisticated people with a rich culture that had much in common with most other cultures in the world. their era.
