The purpose of this article is to clarify some important aspects of the reconstruction of women's Scandinavian Viking Age costume. In addition, new data and research are presented to more accurately represent women's clothing. The confusion began with archaeological research at Birka, where about 1,100 burials were examined between 1873 and 1895 by Hjalmar Stolpe.

It was assumed that these burials contained "typical Vikings", but research has shown that these burials are either burials of the nobility, or that the deceased were buried in the clothing of noble people.
In addition, according to modern views, the culture of the Viking Age was influenced by the cultures of the Slavs, Wends and Rus. Of course, the influence was two-way, but the extent of this influence is unknown with certainty.
At the early stage of archaeological research (in the 19th century), researchers were more interested in “striking” finds: swords, brooches, etc., while “ordinary” finds, such as textile remains, often remained out of sight. Findings of clothing fragments therefore either simply disappeared or ended up in museum collections for a long time.
Agnes Geijer was the first to show academic interest in the Birka textile finds. By the time her research began, all hope of accurately reconstructing the clothing had already disappeared. At the same time, layers of fabric were preserved on tortoiseshell and other brooches, so it was known how many layers of clothing were worn, but no idea what the individual costume looked like. As a result, her work was published only in 1938.
Geyer reconstructed the undershirt, over which was worn a “pinafore arrangement” with straps that were fastened with tortoiseshell brooches. It was assumed that this robe was open only on one side. However, in the photographs the outerwear has a slit on the other side! Many famous researchers, such as M. Hald in 1950 and Inga Hagg in 1974, continued Geyer's work, and their reconstructions of Scandinavian women's Viking Age costume went into print.
Two famous illustrators have perpetuated the myth of the double cut; Ake Gustavsson in The Viking (1966) and David Mallot in Vikings in England (1981). It is from this literature that the NFPS recommendations for Scandinavian women's Viking Age costume are based. However, Geyer's discoveries have now received a new assessment. Flemming Bau reexamined the problem of costume by comparing information about layers of fabric with pictorial sources: metal Valkyrie pendants, playing pieces, images on rune stones and embroidery. Since these sources are supposed to show noble women, they are ideal interpretive evidence.
Fleming Bau further compares his own constructions with data on folk costume. To test for Slavic influence, she used materials from other Viking Age sites (in Norway, Sweden and Scotland). Its constructions do not cause contradictions. The following is a short summary of the materials, although at the same time it is worth considering that after a century of excavations at Birka, more than 90% of the materials on the tissue remains remain unpublished.

Clothes of the nobility.

Underdress.
These rather simple garments remained without pleats in the 9th century, but were more often pleated in the 10th century. They reached ankle length and were fastened (in the 10th century) at the throat with an ordinary round fibula. Pleated fragments have also been found in Viking York.
Pleated underdresses were not much different from modern pleated hemlines, although the full cutting has not survived. It is assumed that this was a garment with pleats along the entire length of the body, to which pleated sleeves were sewn. These "folded shirts" were tied around the neck with a cord. It seems difficult to determine what role the fibula played in this method. If the fibula was not only a decoration, then it was probably used to fasten the outer garment or for earlier non-pleated underdresses. Many of these brooches have a ring on the back, and in some graves this ring is attached by a chain to a chain system of tortoiseshell brooches. If the outer dress is not worn, then such a fastening system is extremely inconvenient. It is more likely that such brooches fastened outer clothing. Pleated sleeves are reconstructed as having longitudinal (as depicted by Judith Jesch, Gustavsson, Mallot, etc.) or transverse (Fleming Bau) folds. The latter resemble men's and women's clothing of the Saxons and a find from the burial of Mammen with double cuffs. Inga Hegg showed, based on an analysis of corrosion on the backs of the brooches, that the folds ran horizontally, around the arms. Remains of the underwear were also discovered in Hedeby, a large Danish trading center. They were also pleated, or, in a simpler version, with a hem widened by gussets. One of the finds was very long, lined with down and decorated with buttons from the ankle to the hem. Perhaps this is a local variant specific to Denmark.

Dress.
Based on Birka's materials, it was assumed that this clothing was knee-length and decorated with braid. It was also assumed that the outer dress was usually made of silk, and the cuffs of the sleeves were decorated with expensive embroidery. However, a clear picture is still missing. Not all women were buried in full costume, the fabric of different pieces of costume differs, and not all materials were preserved in different graves. In some cases, the dress (if worn) was made of diamond-weave wool OR silk. The same observation can be applied to aprons, although in some cases their straps were made of linen. The same uncertainty is observed in the length of the robe. With such a small amount of surviving materials, it is possible to determine the length of the clothing only from the surviving fragments of braid. At the same time, not every piece of clothing was decorated with braid, and those that survived suffered from decomposition. It is unknown what type of clothing was decorated with braid: a dress or a caftan or a cloak. Moreover, how many fragments of tape were discovered? In the drawings from 1100 burials, Birki Stolpe notes the position of only FIVE fragments out of 4000! There is clearly insufficient data to make informed conclusions about the length and number of garments found. Consequently, the dress can also be considered as a rather short garment with valuable embroidery on the sides, as well as the cuffs of the sleeves. Such a reconstruction leaves three questions open. Firstly, why is the dress so richly decorated (we are talking about silver embroidery and silk) if only aprons were worn over it? Why is the length of the dress so short when the rest of the clothing should be even shorter to show the value of the previous item? Secondly, why is embroidery placed on the sides of the dress when it is often found on the front? In male burials where similar embroidery was found, it is located on the front of the clothing. On the left is a find from burial 735 at Birka (possibly female?), which has inspired many reconstructions, although it is no larger than a beer coaster! A rectangular fragment of embroidery was located on a piece of fabric, which, according to the researchers, was located in the area of ​​the armpit cutout. But in the same way, this fragment of fabric could be located in the area of ​​the neckline! Third question. Why place an embroidered fragment on a garment over which an apron, warm clothes and a cloak were worn? The surviving fragments could have stuck together under the influence of decomposition or could have been a feature of the funeral rite. It is likely that the embroidery could decorate a caftan similar to a man's, or be found in the burial in a combination that was never used in reality. Finds from Hedeby present another version of the dress. The Danish version is much longer than the reconstruction from Birka: the length is almost the same as the length of the undershirt. This variant is much closer in length to later variants from Moselund (Denmark, ca. 1250) or Herjolfsnes (Greenland, ca. 1300).

Apron.
An apron (apron) was worn over the dress. By examining the number of loops that were fastened with tortoiseshell brooches, Fleming Bau identified at least four different complexes. When compared with the "Valkyrie figurines" the following was assumed. The apron was wrapped around the body, with the front part remaining open. Loops were sewn to the upper corners, to which tortoiseshell brooches were attached. Two additional loops were sewn from the back to the middle of the upper edge and, being thrown over the shoulders, were fastened to the front loops with brooches. In the second version, a long bib was added to the apron, which was fastened to the brooches. A beautiful illustration can be seen on the gold figurine for Hnefatafl from Tuze (Tuse, Denmark). The third option added to the previous one (apron and bib) a long train at the back, which was also attached with loops to tortoiseshell brooches. An illustration of this option can be found on a silver figurine of a Valkyrie from Tuna (Tuna, Sweden). The length of the breastplate could vary: on the figure from Tuze the breastplate reaches the ankle, while on the figures from Tuna and Grodinge (Grodinge, Sweden) - bottom left and right, respectively - the breastplate reaches only the knee.

The final option included an apron and pleated train, but no bib. Of course, there could be other options, but only those deserve attention that do not conflict with the Valkyrie figurines (in other words, no side cuts), as well as with the number of loops found on the tortoiseshell brooches. Options for the location of the loops could be as follows (from left to right): . One loop at the bottom, one loop at the top for the first option (apron only). . One loop on top and two loops on bottom for the second option (apron and bib). . Two loops at the top and two loops at the bottom for the third option (apron, bib and train). . Two loops on top and one loop on the bottom for the fourth option (apron and train). Aprons were made of wool or silk, sometimes trimmed with embroidery or a wool or silk border. Information about the material of the train is unknown, but since wool does not retain folds well, the most likely would be silk or linen.

Belts.
No belts were found in the women's burials of Birka, which can be considered as a feature of the burial of the nobility, since it was assumed that there would be maids and workers to perform various housework: a spacious apron and chains would only get in the way in this case. However, the absence of belts can be interpreted as a characteristic feature of the funeral rite. Thus, men were buried with swords, which indicated that they were warriors and could enter Valhalla. In this case, the absence of belts in women's burials should have indicated that they were wealthy enough to have maids and workers to perform daily household needs.
Whether women actually wore the belt is open to speculation. A richly decorated leather belt was discovered in a female burial at Kildonan, Isle of Eigg, Scotland. However, research has shown that the item has a clear Welsh influence and was probably made by Welsh craftsmen. In practice, the tradition of wearing woven belts is probably worth continuing. Moreover, silver belt tips with remains of silk were discovered in some Birka burials. They may have belonged to woven silk belts, and some may have been worn by women.

Outerwear
On top of some aprons, as the finds show, another piece of clothing was worn. It had sleeves, but, unlike the men's caftan, this robe did not fasten with buttons. A brooch was used as a clasp, either three-leafed or disc-shaped round. The outerwear was probably made of silk or woolen tweed.
Considering the presence of various types of decorations on items of women's costume, outer clothing was more than likely decorated with embroidery or braid. It is quite possible that it was the outerwear that was interpreted as a dress. The center shows a variant of outerwear decorated with embroidery from burial 735 Birki.

Cape.
The completion of the costume complex was a cape, which is clearly visible on the Valkyrie figures. However, on the figurine from Kinsta (Sweden) - third from the left - the lower part of the cape is interpreted as a belt. Capes or bedspreads were made of wool or silk and were sometimes trimmed with fur. The capes were fastened near the neck with brooches of various types. They must have been quite open at the front, since some Valkyrie figurines (Tuna, top first from left) and embroideries (Oseberg tapestry (Norway), fourth from left show breast brooches even with a cape on.

Hats.
Headdresses also introduce a significant amount of ambiguity and doubt into the reconstruction of Viking Age women's clothing. According to all the sagas, married women walked with their heads covered. However, none of the figures wear a headdress. Perhaps head coverings were also a matter of Gaelic influence? A sufficient number of them have been found in Dublin, and an embroidered hood was found in Orkney. In addition, there are expensive silk examples of finds from York and Lincoln. However, the radiocarbon dating of the sample from Scotland dates back to the Bronze Age! The recording of the sagas dates back to the 13th century, when both Britain and Scandinavia had long been Christianized, therefore the head coverings may reflect later features borrowed from Christianity. At the same time, in some pagan burials traces of a headdress can be traced. On the tapestry from Ouseberg (8th century AD) the heads of women are covered, while in Christian burials no traces of headdresses were found (unmarried women?). One can only conclude that while Scandinavian women could choose whether or not to wear a head covering, married Christian women were required to cover their heads.

Decorations and jewelry.
Many female burials contain valuable jewelry and items that are needed by the deceased in the afterlife. Many of them are everyday items, others are one-time use items. The list is quite long, but usually includes: keys, a comb, a needle case with needles, a small knife and a whetstone. All these objects were hung from a belt (assuming its presence) or from chains or ribbons of brooches. Some items are positioned specifically: for example, a knife and a needle case are hung horizontally. Many of the items listed are richly decorated. The chains differ from modern ones: twisted links were often used. Just like personal items, small brooches of the lower dress were sometimes attached in chains to tortoiseshell brooches. The tortoiseshell brooches themselves were often connected in chains. This feature makes sense if there was no bib, since without it or the chains the apron turns out to be too fluttery. Sometimes, instead of chains, necklaces made of glass, amber or jet beads were worn. It should be noted that ALL amber and jet buins were polished or carved, in other words, the use of rough, unfinished pieces should be avoided.

Shoes.
Women wore ordinary leather shoes found in various archaeological sites. Woolen socks are poorly preserved in burials, but were discovered during excavations in York. Crochet socks.

Baby clothes.
The children's costume was not a smaller version of their mothers' clothes. Thus, the children of the nobility in Finland also wore expensive clothes and jewelry, but there were no brooches or an apron. If a similar practice existed in Scandinavia, then it is unlikely that a girl or girl could wear an apron and tortoiseshell brooches. The costume reflected social status, wealth and marital status. A girl could be married off at the age of 12-13! The external attributes came partly from the dowry, and partly from the booty plundered by the husband.

Women's costume of the middle and lower classes
It is likely that the system of brooches and chains is characteristic only of the nobility. Women of lower social status wore correspondingly simpler costumes. They probably wore belts to protect their loose clothing from getting caught in the fire of the hearth. In addition, you can assume the presence of an apron (more like a modern one) for housework.

Of course, a noble woman in ceremonial clothes (i.e. with a system of brooches and chains) was unlikely to clean fish. Apparently the costume of lower status Scandinavian women was similar to that of the Anglo-Saxons, with the exception of the pleated sleeves. The issues of headdress and shoes have already been discussed earlier. A brief overview of costume items and their acceptable combinations.

UNDERSHIRT.
The shirt could be pleated with ties at the neck and sleeves OR a regular shirt fastened with a small fibula. Its length should be ankle-length. Material - canvas.

DRESS.
It can be decorated with embroidery or left without it. There could be a short and a longer version. Material - wool or silk.

APRON and FIBULES.
A noble woman should wear an apron, at least in its simplest form. This set of clothing is fastened with large ornamented brooches. The most popular were tortoiseshell brooches, however, box-shaped and other types of brooches or long pins could be used. It should be noted that wearing a noble costume is NOT MANDATORY. The clothes of a middle class woman are no worse, but will cost MUCH less!!!

BELT.
If it is used at all in a suit, it should be a braid made of wool or silk.

OUTERWEAR.
If used, it must be made of wool or silk fabric. The decoration may be similar to the find from Birka (burial 735).

CAPE.
Every noble woman should have this essential part of her costume. It is a short cloak fastened with various brooches. Made from wool or silk, possibly lined with wool or fur and trimmed with fur.

HEADDRESS.
Silk was probably used most often for headdresses. Christian women were required to cover their heads, while pagan women could choose to wear or not wear a head covering.

DECORATIONS.
Jewelry was a characteristic of social status. A string of glass or amber beads should be worn in addition to the brooches mentioned earlier. Some items are required, such as a set of keys and a small knife. They, like other things, were attached with ribbons or chains to one of the brooches of the apron.

SHOES.
The shoes used were typical for the region and period. Socks, if used, are sewn from crocheted strips.

CHILDREN OF THE NOBLE.
The clothing of children of noble parents differed from that of adults. At the same time, the costume must be made of valuable materials, and the jewelry used must be expensive. A typical suit would include an undershirt, probably a dress, as well as a coat and shoes.

CLOTHING OF COMMON WOMEN.
The costume of the commoners looked very similar to the clothing of the Anglo-Saxons. For wealthy people, a linen undershirt is required, over which a woolen dress is worn. The presence of a headdress is likely, while the presence of shoes and some jewelry is mandatory. In addition, additional items are desirable: a grater, a spindle and a spindle, a knife, a chair and a flint.

The text was prepared by Pavel Voronin. Refinement and adjustment - a group of proactive citizens.

All images are taken from free access on the Internet.

Instead of a preface

This text is only a summary of the currently available knowledge on men's costume in the second half of the first millennium AD in Northern Europe in general and Scandinavia in particular. Perhaps you are going to a historical festival for the first time, or you are a fighter who doesn’t want to delve into the sources, or maybe you are a merchant whose purpose of travel is only to sell his goods... In general, if you are one of the above, or perhaps any other category of people for whom it is important to be guaranteed admission to the festival, spending a minimum of effort, and not then receive a “lifetime ban” for not matching their kit with what was declared - this text is for you.

Completeness

For a simple everyday set, you should choose simple materials. It is this rule that will become the main postulate of our entire text. We will not consider at least the least “pretentious”, status things, since our goals do not include a discussion of the sets of warriors, jarls and other nobility. The kit should not contain anything superfluous, and, in particular, nothing that may raise any additional questions. The inclusion of such elements remains at your discretion and leads to independent work with sources in order to justify the presence of such an item in your everyday kit (such work, of course, is welcome, but goes beyond the scope of the task assigned to the compilers of this text).

So, the set we are considering will include: a headdress, a shirt, trousers, shoes, a raincoat, a kind of belt, a container for various small items, a knife. It is also possible to add socks and windings to the set. Shirt and trousers are the same, “underwear” (the second set of trousers + shirt, acting as underwear) is not at all necessary. Despite the great desire of many reenactors to “attach” various pendants, rings, bracelets, etc. to themselves, it is strongly recommended to refrain from this. Our set is positioned as everyday clothing for a common person, and therefore all this is most likely luxury items for him. Any casting, be it silver or bronze, can be perceived as “jewelry,” which undoubtedly costs a lot for such a person. Iron and bronze products will be discussed below, but let’s immediately make a reservation that their number in a set should be limited.

Materials.

For clothing, we recommend choosing woolen fabric (in any case, the festival rules require woolen clothing) with a visible weave, plain or simple twill (2/1, 2/2), and a thread count of 10 to approximately 16 per centimeter (for thick fabric density may be lower due to the significant thickness of the threads used in their manufacture). The colors are natural, corresponding to the color of undyed wool: beige, brown, gray. If you do not understand the features of historical textiles, then you should refrain from using cloth and other felted fabrics, since not always what we can find in the store has a suitable appearance.

Linen fabrics are excluded for the set in question, since it is assumed that for Scandinavia they were an import item and therefore were very expensive. If you have an individual intolerance to wool (allergy, etc.), then you should probably choose a different region or time period.

It is preferable to sew the details of the product with woolen threads. Exceptions to this rule are possible, but they will also require additional justification, and therefore it is better to think again whether it is worth it.

Plain weave

2/2 twill weave

Twill weave 2/1

The historical seams are quite simple. The main ones will be “forward needle” and “connecting”

Seams on textile fragments, Hedeby.

For shoes, you should select leather of natural brown colors (this is what it becomes after tanning, initially it is generally almost white) and of insignificant thickness - 1-2 mm, no thicker (optimally around 1.5 mm). This kind of leather also holds a candle, as we see from numerous materials from the same Hedeby.

You can see a small manual on how to make your own shoes

The belt is suitable for leather up to 3 mm thick. It is best to use the skin of small or large livestock, that is, goats or cows. Despite the significant number of pork bones confirming that pork was firmly part of the Scandinavian diet, the compilers of this manual are not aware of any finds of products made from pig skin.

For accessories, we give preference to wood, bone, horn, and as a last resort we use iron (it’s not cheap either).

Headdress

Our choice is a simple hat. Without fur trim. Hemispherical or caps of different heights (short ones are worn just like that, tall ones with a crease at the back of the head). The easiest way is to use the option of cutting a hat from wedges. It can also be made from felt. For example, a significant number of felt fragments were found in Hedeby. If you want to keep warm, sew a sheepskin hat with the fur inside, like the ancient man from Tollund (swamp mummy, 2-4 centuries BC). You can see possible options for Scandinavian headdresses in the second part of this article

Shirt

Loose in the body, unbelted, knee-length. With small slits on the sides for convenience. It is the loose cut of the body that allows these cuts to be made small. The collar is either navicular (basically oval), or like a blouse. With a navicular collar, its size is calculated so that it corresponds to the circumference of the head, no more. The collar with an offset cut is cut like a shirt from Bernutsfeld or Guddal. We try not to make the sleeves too wide, narrowing them towards the wrist. The narrower the sleeves, the better, the main thing here is to ensure that they do not interfere with movement. Gussets are an extreme measure; ideally there is no need to do them (they are extremely rare in finds). We do not sew wedges into the hem, because they are not needed for the cut we are considering.

This archaic cut seems to be the simplest and does not require additional work with sources for a specific region. At the same time, there are other options, for example in Hedeby. However, since the possibility of their use depends on the specific kit and, again, additional justification is required, these options are not considered in our manual.

Trousers

Quite narrow, almost clingy. They are based on finds in Thorsberg or Damendorf. The cut of the pants from Hedeby can also be taken into account - it is similar to both Thorsberg and Damendorf, but there are still differences. If you make pants with socks like in Thorsberg, then you may no longer need separate socks. The cut of these pants is very specific, so experiment with a scrap rag first. The simplest appears to be one of the two pants found in Thorsberg (pants 2 in the picture below). But perhaps “experiments with a rag” will not seem superfluous to you here either. Recommendations for sewing more complex pants from Thorsberg. Loose pants and, especially, bloomers, which require a significantly larger amount of fabric, cannot be a part of the simple set we are considering.

Thorsberg pants (1)

Thorsberg pants (2)

Pants from Damendorf

Remains of pants from Hedeby

Socks

Either order/make proper low-rise (ankle-length) needle-knitted socks, or sew pants with socks. You can also make highway stockings that reach mid-thigh. The latter are tied to the belt or “loop loops” of the pants.

Coppergate Knitted Sock	Remains of the highway, Hedeby

Windings

In the case of a simple, sparse set, it is possible to use ribbons not only of twill, but also of plain weave. Again, decide whether you need relatively expensive windings in addition to your already quite comfortably fitting tight pants.

Shoes

Choose a simple type, ideally some simple low-rise boots with a strap. If there is such an opportunity, you can even go barefoot, because shoes for everyday wear are for wealthy people.

Belt

You can limit yourself to a piece of authentic rope or recycled leather cord. Or you can make a belt with any simple buckle, for example, an iron one (based on a find from Hedeby), a simple bronze one made of a rod (finds from the Birka garrison) or a bone one (a find from York?) (when choosing, initially try to focus on the region in which , perhaps you will look into it later: regional differences could be quite significant, so there is no guarantee that simple solutions in one territory were popular in another). When considering your options, it is important to remember that finding belts with only one buckle is no exception. In addition, finds of belt “accessories” in general are very rare. For example, out of 1,200 Birka burials, such finds are found in only 2-3 dozen burials.

Cloak

A simple rectangle of thick fabric, with a density of approximately 10 threads per cm. It will replace both your blanket and your hood. For stabbing, you can make a bone cloak needle, of which there are a great many varieties. You can also choose some other inexpensive fastener. The cloak can reach the size of 200x170 cm as in Bernutsfeld, and if we take into account the differences in average height in our day and at that time, it is possible to make it in a larger size.

Wallet/bag

The simplest wallet is made from a round piece of leather fastened with a strap with holes along the edge. Or it is sewn together from one or two pieces of leather in the form of a pouch. The size of such wallets is very small - maximum 10x15 cm.

Knife

It is better to take specimens with the most common types of blade and with a simple wooden handle without threads and leather/metal bolsters (a plate inserted between the handle and the blade). Finds of horn inserts are quite rare and their use in such a simple set remains questionable. The knife must have a simple leather sheath stitched with linen thread.

Knives, Novgorod	Scabbard, Hedeby

The Vikings were on average 10 centimeters shorter than modern people. The man's height was 172 centimeters, and the woman's height was 158-160 centimeters. Of course, individuals could be much taller. Thus, there are burials of Vikings whose height reached 185 centimeters. In addition, archaeologists have proven that noble people in the Viking Age were much taller than their slaves, which was explained by the different “quality of life” of masters and servants.

Initially, the clothing of the people (men and women) living in the northern part of ancient Scandinavia consisted of short fur jackets and pants, a fur headdress and fur boots and gloves.

photo: followthevikings

The tribes living in the south probably dressed according to the German model: in a fur cloak and a jacket made from two skins. Amber beads and animal teeth were used for decoration.

photo: lykosleather

Weapons and utensils were made from flint, bones, horn and similar materials.

photo: followthevikings

Clothes were made from homespun fabric, but sometimes also from fabrics brought by the Vikings.

photo: wyrdvikingdesign

Women wore a loose shirt dress with long wide sleeves, and on top they put on an outer dress-sarafan with unsewn sides, the straps of which were fastened on the shoulders with paired brooches, and at the waist such a sundress was sometimes intercepted by a belt.

photo: followthevikings

In those days, buttons were not yet known and various pins, buckles and brooches were used as fasteners. In many houses, clothes were sewn up at the collar and sleeves every morning.

A shawl, pinned with a brooch, was usually thrown over the shoulders. Among Norman women, shell-shaped, ring-shaped and three-lobed brooches were especially common. The main material for Viking Age jewelry was bronze, often gilded and partially coated with tin or silver. Gold is a rarer material for “Viking” jewelry.

photo: wyrdvikingdesign

Married women covered their heads with a scarf.

Men dressed in a short tunic, tight-fitting pants, tied with ribbons at the waist, and a cloak, which was fastened with a fibula on the right shoulder, so as not to restrict movement in battle and to be able to draw a sword at any time without hindrance. A leather belt was worn around the waist, often with a buckle and a metal tip.

The Normans had soft leather shoes on their feet, which were tied with straps on the calves.

The Scandinavian dresses of the Viking Age - especially ceremonial ones - were distinguished by their extraordinary luxury.

Icelander Egil Skallagrimson received as a gift from a relative a silk cloak that reached to his feet, all embroidered with gold and seated from top to bottom with gold buttons. Indridi, a rich bond from Trondheim, whenever he went to the king, Olav son of Tryggvi, dressed in a red cloth dress; He put a heavy gold hoop on his right hand, and a silk cap woven with gold and trimmed with a chain of the same metal on his head.

As recounted in the Jomsviking Saga, the dress of one jarl was valued at 20 marks of gold. His hat alone had 10 marks worth of gold embroidery. The Viking Bui the Fat raided the estate of this jarl and plundered the house where the earl's jewelry was kept: he took two boxes filled with gold obtained in the raids.

As we already know, women occupied a special position in Norman society. She remained the main person in the estate when her husband went on a Viking campaign. And the symbol of the power of the mistress of the court was a bunch of keys, which was worn on the belt.

In pre-Christian times, that is, during the Viking Age, they wore dresses made of wool and linen. Samples of clothing from this period made from fabric made from animal hair and plant fibers have been preserved. There was coarse fabric (floki) and elegant fabric called vadmal, as well as dark-striped morend fabric.

Thanks to the sea voyages of the Vikings, the Scandinavians became acquainted with luxurious foreign materials. Expensive fabrics were also imported from Russia.

Men wore predominantly gray, brown or black dresses with white or green trim, while women preferred brighter ones. In excavations dating back to before the Viking Age, the following were found: a tunic-like jacket with long sleeves, pants with stockings sewn to them and loops sewn into the upper part for threading a belt through them.

In Schleswig and Jutland excavations also found: a semicircular cloak made of plush-like material; a shirt made of coarse woolen fabric held on shoulder pads, descending below the knees and belted with a long leather belt, woolen bandages and strips used to wrap the legs, leather shoes with cords and two hats made of coarse wool, semicircular and cylindrical in shape.

From the northern sagas and songs, covering the period from the 11th to the 13th centuries, we learn about the clothing that came into use at that time. The men's costume consisted of a shirt, pants, various jackets and raincoats, socks, stockings, shoes and hats. A rather narrow shirt (myrta), with a short chest slit and long sleeves, fit tightly around the neck, and was limited to it in household use. The shirt was made from linen, and for the kings from silk; very often all kinds of embroidery were done along the edges.

Pants were made of linen, cloth and soft leather; they were supported by a belt made of leather or made of the same material as the pants. Long, tapered pants were called broker; Long socks and stockings were worn with them. The shoes consisted of a piece of leather or skin tied to the leg with a belt.

In warm weather they wore jackets made of woolen material, in cold weather they wore fur jackets. A very short jacket that barely covered the hips was worn by representatives of the middle and lower classes.

photo:vikingvalley.no

In the 11th century, men, following the general European fashion, began to appear in long jackets laced to the side with trains; the long sleeves of these jackets were tied to the shoulders with cords.

These jackets were made from two-color cloth, and their sleeves were distinguished by rich trimmings. Noble people were girded with wide metal belts made of separate moving parts, decorated with buckles, precious stones and animal teeth. A knife or sword hung from a short chain attached to such a belt. Stockings with expensive garters and shoes that reached half the calves were put on the legs.

Raincoats were sewn with hoods and long sleeves. Since the 9th century, they have been tightly buttoned. A cloth mask was often attached to them to protect the face from the cold.

There were also cloaks equipped only with slits for the hands (olpa), made from wolf and bear skins for hiking. There were also jackets with a collar that covered the neck (presumably made of leather), called biulfi, which also served only for hiking.

Faldons were cloaks made of fur or wool that were draped over the shoulders.

The fisherman's cloak, which was pulled over the head and looked like a bag, was open on both sides and equipped with ties.

On holidays, they wore cloaks made of thin wool or silk fabric and decorated with embroidered borders. Cloaks were also made from silk, fastened at the shoulder, and they were also decorated with embroidery or fur.

Men loved to dress their wives and daughters beautifully according to their dignity and origin.

There were fathers who found this so important that, when giving their daughter in marriage, they made special conditions about it, like the Icelander Osvivr. When his daughter Gudrun was betrothed to Thorvald, son of Halldor, he, among various conditions, negotiated for her the same number of dresses as other women of equal origin and condition had. Torvald promised the bride that no woman would have such beautiful outfits as hers. Gudrun, after the wedding, showed such zeal for collecting clothes that there was not a jewel in the western quarter of Iceland that she did not want to have.

The headdress of all Scandinavians was a low, wide-brimmed hat, fastened with a narrow strap under the chin and made of leather, fur or felt. Hands were hidden in large mittens in cold weather.

The dress code of the lower classes, despite the influence of fashion, remained the same as in pagan times. This clothing consisted of a jacket with a yellow or green hood, linen trousers laced at the foot (if there were no stockings), a wide-brimmed hat and leather shoes.

Only since the influence of foreigners on Scandinavian clothing did women’s costumes begin to differ from men’s.

A long, sometimes even with a train, shirt with a large neckline appears. Poor women sewed such shirts from canvas or linen, and rich women, who wore them at home without outer clothing, made them from silk with luxurious embroidery along the edges, and the neckline on the chest was covered with a scarf.

The outer dress, according to German-Frankish custom, fit snugly in the upper part of the body, diverging downward in wide folds. The sleeves were either very long or short. The dress was tied at the waist with a cord or leather belt. Women carried a handbag, knives, scissors and keys on their belts.

Men's cloaks served as capes for women, and in harsh weather the head was covered with a hood. Women used the same hats, shoes and gloves as men.

Rich women often also wore something like a headband that covered their braided hair and consisted of colored or gold-embroidered linen ribbons. Wrapped around the head, these ribbons took the form of either a ball, or a sugar loaf, or some other fantastic shape.

Men wore long hair and beards. Only a free man and a virgin girl wore their hair loose over their shoulders: slaves and women of bad behavior had it cut off.

In the North, only blond hair was considered beautiful.

They were quite tolerant (from a beauty point of view) about brown hair color. The beloved folk god Thor had red hair. Therefore, it is not surprising that many kings and noble people are called redbeards in the sagas.

But black hair was considered ugly.

In combination with dark skin and a thick beard, they served as sure “signs” of a sorcerer or a dishonest, vile person. Slaves were usually represented in literature with black hair and dark skin. If, nevertheless, a black-haired person was considered beautiful, this was especially stipulated in the sagas. Thus, one saga says that Storvirk, the son of Starkad, had a beautiful face, although he had black hair.

Men, as we said above, wore long hair, but curls were considered decent only on women’s heads. The Norwegian king Magnus, the bare-legged son of Olav the Quiet, had soft, silky hair that fell onto his shoulders. The Viking Brody had black hair that reached his waist. At the end of the 12th century, at courts they wore hair no longer than up to the earlobe, combed smoothly; They cut them shorter on the forehead.

When describing beauties, they never forget to mention long silky hair. Ragnar Lodbrog, a glorious Viking, after the death of his beloved wife Thora, decided to remain a widower, entrusted the management of the kingdom to his sons, and he himself went on a sea voyage. One summer he arrived in Norway and sent his men ashore to bake bread. They soon returned back with burnt bread and apologized to the king, saying that they had met a beauty and, looking at her, did not get down to business as they should. It was Kraka, a very beautiful girl; her long hair touched the ground and shone like light silk. She became the wife of a famous Viking. The Icelander Hallgerd was considered no less beautiful: despite her tall stature, she could cover her entire body with long hair.

The girls walked around with their hair down; brides braided them; married women, as we have already said, covered their heads with a bandage, blanket or cap.

During excavations, patterned combs were found, which, apparently, were often used. Among the objects discovered by archaeologists are also nail pickers, tweezers, beautiful basins for washing and toothpicks.

There is also historical evidence of the use of eye dye by both men and women.

Ibn Fadlan left in 922 the following description of the “Rus” (Swedes) he saw: “I have not seen people with more perfect bodies than them. They are like palm trees, ruddy, beautiful. They wear neither jackets nor caftans, but men wear a cloak with which they cover one side, with one of the hands coming out of the cloak. Each husband has an axe, a sword and a knife. Their swords are flat, with grooves, Frankish. And from the edge of the nails to the neck they often have images of trees, people and various other things (tattoo. - N.B.). And on the chest of women there is a ring (fibula. - N.B.) attached either from iron, or copper, or silver, or gold, in accordance with the wealth of her husband ". And each ring has a box. Some women wear a knife attached to the ring. On their necks there are several rows of beads made of gold and silver... Their best decoration is green ceramic beads."

Both from the pre-Christian period and from the Middle Ages, all kinds of jewelry remained, which differed sharply both in work and in beauty from the jewelry of other European peoples. At first, the Roman influence was still noticeable on them, but then (in the Viking Age) they became completely independent both in design and execution.

Both sexes wore bracelets, rings and earrings, neck and head hoops, chains, pins, belts and buckles.

Various pendants were also very common. The main types of pendants were pagan and Christian amulets, the most popular of which was considered the hammer of Thor.

Jewelry served not only to “improve” one’s appearance, but was also a demonstration of the family’s wealth.

They had simple shapes and, as a rule, were correlated with a certain weight system so that the cost of such decoration could be easily determined. Sometimes jewelry was cut in half or into unequal parts to pay for a service or product. The kings presented their poets (skalds) with gold and silver hoops for songs of praise.

Vikings often wore horseshoe-shaped brooches on the right shoulder as a clasp for a cloak. However, gradually such brooches became a way to store their wealth. Some examples of such brooches that have survived to this day can weigh up to a kilogram. The pin for such a fibula should be up to half a meter long. It goes without saying that it was impossible to wear such a pin, but as an equivalent of wealth and money it was simply irreplaceable!

Jewelry of that time was most often made of silver. Nevertheless, gold brooches, hoops and hryvnias are also found in treasures and burials.

The most beautiful gold hryvnia was discovered on the island of Zealand near Lake Tisso. During spring sowing, it twisted onto the wheel axle of the seeder. This necklace was woven from thick gold threads of the highest standard and weighed (as archaeologists found) 1900 grams.

Russian hryvnia, which are also often found in Scandinavia, were most often used as a means of payment, because they usually had a standard weight. At the same time, they were often twisted into spirals and worn like hoops.

The man's beauty consisted of tall stature, broad shoulders, a well-built and trained body, bright lively eyes and white skin color. In addition, the man was required to maintain decency in manners and actions. At home he had to be hospitable, cheerful at feasts, eloquent at the Thing, generous to friends, ready to take revenge on enemies, inclined to help relatives and friends, take away wealth from enemies, brave and courageous in any case. And he also had to be good with weapons.

The combat outfit of the Scandinavians in earlier times was quite simple. The armor was a hard felt jacket, trimmed (in all likelihood, at a later time) with metal rings and plates.

At first, like all Germanic tribes, only the leaders used helmets. On one of the belt buckles they found an image of a helmet with a visor and a neck shield. Another such buckle (attributed to the Viking period) depicts a helmet decorated with two bird heads facing each other, sitting on long necks.

The shield of warriors of ancient times was round or oblong.

In the 12th century, chain mail armored shirts with hoods, pants and gloves came into use.

The weapons were the same as those of other Germanic peoples. Firstly, a characteristic short, sharpened only on one side, flexible German sword or long knife (blade length - 44-76 centimeters), called skramasax (or sax); then a long, straight, flat and double-edged sword (the successor to the ancient Roman sword - spatha), an axe, throwing and piercing spears and a bow with arrows.

Until the 11th century, Scandinavian clothing was worn by the Danes; however, the Danes preferred black clothing; Even at major festivals, noble Danes appeared in black silk robes. That’s why contemporary chroniclers always call the Danes “black.” Later, colored clothing also appeared, and during the landing of the Danes in England, they were seen wearing white and red jackets.

Having gained a foothold in the conquered country and adopted Christianity, the Danes abandoned Scandinavian clothing and donned Anglo-Saxon clothing.

The military attire of the Danes was leather armor, with metal plates inserted inside, attached to the leather top with metal rivets.

A tall, hemispherical helmet with a metal nosepiece was worn over a smooth hood.

Almost always, the red-painted shield was either round or crescent-shaped, Phrygian. The leaders wore white shields with emblems painted on them. These red, blue, yellow and green figures on the shields cannot yet be considered actual coats of arms, but they can be considered as prototypes of such.

The Danes used a double-edged sword, an axe, a double ax and a bow and arrows as weapons.

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Goals and objectives of the project work Goal: based on written and material sources, to give a general idea of ​​the women's costume of Scandinavia in the 9th-11th centuries. in the context of reflecting the socio-economic and ethnocultural history of the region. Tasks during the project: 1. Reconstruct a Scandinavian women's costume (based on materials from the burial monuments of Birka, Hedeby), based on the information received, make clothes for the doll; 2. Develop key social and labor educational competencies; social activity, the ability to analyze, compare information, draw conclusions and create with your own hands what is intended; 5. Form aesthetic needs and values.

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Data on women's costume of the Viking Age of the 9th-11th centuries. fragmentary. This is explained by the fact that at the early stage of archaeological study (in the 19th century), researchers were more interested in “striking” finds: swords, brooches, etc., while “ordinary” finds, such as textile remains, often remained out of sight. Findings of clothing fragments therefore either simply disappeared or ended up in museum collections for a long time. Agnes Geijer was the first to show academic interest in the Birka textile finds. By the time her research began, all hope of accurately reconstructing the clothing had already disappeared. At the same time, layers of fabric were preserved on tortoiseshell and other brooches, so it was known how many layers of clothing were worn, but no idea what the individual costume looked like. As a result, her work was published only in 1938. Geyer reconstructed the undershirt, over which was worn a “pinafore arrangement” with straps that were fastened with tortoiseshell brooches. Many famous researchers, such as M. Hald in 1950 and Inga Hagg in 1974, continued Geyer's work, and their reconstructions of Scandinavian women's Viking Age costume went into print. History of the study of Scandinavian costume of the Viking Age

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Clothes of the nobility Undershirts remained without folds in the 9th century, but in the 10th century they were more often pleated. They reached ankle length and were fastened (in the 10th century) at the throat with an ordinary round fibula. It is assumed that this was a garment with pleats along the entire length of the body, to which pleated sleeves were sewn. These "folded shirts" were tied around the neck with a cord. Pleated sleeves are reconstructed with either longitudinal or transverse folds. Inga Hegg showed, based on an analysis of corrosion on the backs of the brooches, that the folds ran horizontally, around the arms.

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Remains of an underdress were also discovered in Hedeby, a large Danish trading center. They were also pleated, or, in a simpler version, with a hem widened by gussets. One of the finds was very long, lined with down and decorated with buttons from the ankle to the hem. Perhaps this is a local variant specific to Denmark. Undershirt with wedges from Birka

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Dress Based on Birka's materials, it was assumed that this garment was knee-length and decorated with braid. It was also assumed that the outer dress was usually made of silk, and the cuffs of the sleeves were decorated with expensive embroidery. However, a clear picture is still missing. Not all women were buried in full costume, the fabric of different pieces of costume differs, and not all materials were preserved in different graves. In some cases, the dress (if worn) was made of diamond-weave wool or silk. The same observation can be applied to aprons, although in some cases their straps were made of linen. The same uncertainty is observed in the length of the robe. With such a small amount of surviving materials, it is possible to determine the length of the clothing only from the surviving fragments of braid.

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Consequently, the dress can also be considered as a rather short robe with valuable embroidery on the sides, as well as on the cuffs.

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Apron (apron) An apron (apron) was worn over the dress. By examining the number of loops that were fastened with tortoiseshell brooches, Fleming Bau identified at least four different complexes. When compared with the "Valkyrie figurines" the following was assumed. The apron was wrapped around the body, with the front part remaining open. Loops were sewn to the upper corners, to which tortoiseshell brooches were attached. Two additional loops were sewn from the back to the middle of the upper edge and, being thrown over the shoulders, were fastened to the front loops with brooches. In the second version, a long bib was added to the apron, which was fastened to the brooches. A beautiful illustration can be seen on the gold figurine for Hnefatafl from Tuze (Tuse, Denmark).

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The third option added to the previous one (apron and bib) a long train at the back, which was also attached with loops to tortoiseshell brooches. An illustration of this option can be found on a silver figurine of a Valkyrie from Tuna (Tuna, Sweden). The fourth option included an apron and pleated train, but no bib. The options for the location of the loops could be as follows (from left to right): One loop on top and two loops on the bottom for 1 option (apron and bib). Two loops at the top and two loops at the bottom for option 2 (apron, bib and train). Two loops on top and one loop on the bottom for option 3 (apron and train). Aprons were made of wool or silk, sometimes finished with embroidery or a wool or silk border. Information about the material of the train is unknown, but since wool does not retain folds well, the most likely would be silk or linen.

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Belts No belts were found in the Birka women's burials, which can be considered as a feature of the burials of the nobility, since it was assumed that there would be maids and workers to perform various housework: a spacious apron and chains would only get in the way in this case. However, the absence of belts can be interpreted as a characteristic feature of the funeral rite. Thus, men were buried with swords, which indicated that they were warriors and could enter Valhalla. In this case, the absence of belts in women's burials should have indicated that they were wealthy enough to have maids and workers to perform daily household needs. In practice, the tradition of wearing woven belts was widespread. Moreover, silver belt tips with remains of silk were discovered in some Birka burials. They may have belonged to woven silk belts, and some may have been worn by women.

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Outerwear On top of some aprons, as the finds show, another piece of clothing was worn. It had sleeves, but, unlike the men's caftan, this robe did not fasten with buttons. A brooch was used as a clasp, either three-leafed or disc-shaped round. The outerwear was probably made of silk or woolen tweed. Considering the presence of various types of decorations on items of women's costume, outer clothing was more than likely decorated with embroidery or braid. It is quite possible that it was the outerwear that was interpreted as a dress. The center shows a variant of outerwear decorated with embroidery from burial 735 Birki.

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The completion of the costume complex was a cape, which is clearly visible on the Valkyrie figures. Cape Capes or bedspreads were made of wool or silk and were sometimes trimmed with fur. The capes were fastened near the neck with brooches of various types. They must have been quite open at the front, since some Valkyrie figurines (Tuna, top first from left) and embroideries (Oseberg Tapestry (Norway), fourth from left show breast brooches even with a cape on.

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Headdresses According to all sagas, married women walked with their heads covered. However, none of the figures wear a headdress. Fragments of head coverings have also been found in sufficient quantity in Dublin, and an embroidered hood has been found in Orkney. In addition, there are expensive silk examples of finds from York and Lincoln. At the same time, in some pagan burials traces of a headdress can be traced. On the Oseberg tapestry (8th century AD), women's heads are covered, while no traces of headdresses were found in Christian burials. One can only conclude that while Scandinavian women could choose whether or not to wear a head covering, married Christian women were required to cover their heads.

This article originally appeared in the Pickestaff Arts and Sciences Issue (December 1994), an East Kingdom publication of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.

Archaeological sources.

Statistically, much more remains of women's clothing (more precisely, fragments of fabric associated with it) have been found than men's clothing. This is mainly explained by the fact that tissue fragments are preserved in corpses in the vicinity of metal (jewelry or other objects) or tannin (a product of wood decomposition); however, a significant number of male burials from the pagan Viking Age represent cremations. In addition, the burial rites of men and women apparently differed.

Women were buried with a lot of metal jewelry (brooches, pins). This means that any fabric adjacent to metal, such as an underdress or overdress, has a good chance of being preserved for centuries. A man's suit, on the contrary, required much less “decoration” for fastening, which implies a natural reduction in the amount of non-ferrous metal in the burial. The only item of clothing that required a metal fastener - the cloak - was very often located near the deceased, but not on him. This means that the preservative effect of the metal applies only to this coat, and not to all layers of clothing that are in direct contact with the metal. Sometimes other metal objects in the grave retain pieces of fabric, but they may not have the slightest connection with clothing, for example, a sail in a burial in a boat; the cloth with which the sword was wrapped; an embroidered pillowcase or coarse cloth that was used to cover the grave.

Due to these difficulties, we are doomed to try to compile a complete picture from scattered and extremely meager fragments. In writing this work, sources of information were limited to articles and books in English, since works in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Icelandic are either unavailable or cause language difficulties. A significant amount of information comes from works on unique single burials, such as the oak log burial from Mammen (Denmark) or the stone sarcophagus burial from Evebo (Norway). These unique burials aroused considerable interest among the scientific community, which led to their publication in English. The Viking Age at various monuments in England, Scotland and Ireland is fairly well covered in English-language publications. A significant number of works in English focus on broad paintings of Viking Age textiles from Denmark or York (England). Publications of materials from Icelandic monuments are extremely few, especially in America, and therefore remained outside the scope of the work.

Aesthetics.

Many Viking Age textiles were made from wool threads with a twill weave. Often the entire thread or fabric was dyed in bright colors. With the replacement of the vertical loom with a horizontal one (around the 10th century), the fabrics became denser and thicker. Therefore, many items of costume, especially rich ones, were made of high-quality, soft and bright fabric.

Some areas had access to linen: England, where linen was produced, or Sweden, where it was imported. Despite the poor preservation of linen, there is significant evidence of its existence in these regions. Silk has been available since around the 9th century, and was used quite freely by some of the people buried at Birka (10th century). Although evidence of the use of cotton has not been found in Viking graves, it is known that in the 10th century. The Byzantine army used a special type of cotton clothing - “bambakion”. The Varangian squad of Constantinople most likely also wore this type of clothing.

Some types of fabrics, linen and wool, were often left undyed. However, wool was usually dyed in bright colors, and there are also finds of linen dyed with madder. The most common colors were red (madder dye), blue (woad dye (Isatis tinctoria)), yellow (mignonette (Reseda luteola) or an unspecified tannin-based dye, possibly onion skins), lilac and violet (lichens or a combination of various dyes) and green (overexposure in an unspecified yellow dye with the addition of woad). Brown fragments of fabric are also known (the dye is nut shells).

Chemical analysis indicates a specific distribution of colors in different regions: red in the Danish Law Region, purple in Ireland, blue and green in Scandinavia. Although this is only a hypothesis, it may indicate certain regional preferences.

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