•• JOURNAL OF SWEDISH ANTIQUARIAN RESEARCH 2018:1 Art. Pentz 17-33_Layout 1 2018-02-16 14:37 Sida 17 Viking art, Snorri Sturluson and some recent metal detector finds By Peter Pentz Pentz, P., 2018. Viking art, Snorri Sturluson and some recent metal detector finds. Fornvännen 113. Stockholm. This paper seeks to contribute to a recent debate on the use of private metal detect- ing and its value within archaeology. Specifically it explores – by presenting some recently found Viking Period artefacts from Denmark – how private metal detect- ing can contribute to our understanding of Viking minds. By bringing together the myths as related by Snorri Sturluson in the early 13th century with the artefacts, I argue that thanks to private metal detecting through the last decades, our ability to recognise Viking art as narrative art has improved substantially. Peter Pentz, National Museum of Denmark, Ny Vestergade 10, DK–1471 København K [email protected] Over 60 years ago, Thorkild Ramskou (1953) the main problems in understanding Viking art described Viking art as almost exclusively deco- is the scarcity of reference materials. We largely rative, only functioning as a covering for plain know Norse mythology and its narratives through surfaces. In the rare cases where it was represen- Medieval Christian authors, in particular Snorri. tative, quality was poor. Viking artists, he stated, Hence, the myths have come down to us biased, preferred to portray scenes from myths of the reinterpreted and even now and then propagan- gods and heroic legends. Such scenes functioned dised. Furthermore, what survived is only a selec- as mnemonics; for the viewer they would recall tion. Much is unknown to us today; many tales well-known myths and tales. Despite this, Ram- and myths have been lost. An example of such a skou attempted to trace and identify elements lost myth is probably that of the “meeting of the from one of the more well-known cycles of Vik- two valkyries,” a scene depicted on several small ing belief, the ragnarøkkr, the Twilight of the gods charms, pendants or fittings (fig. 1), and now found and the end of the world. in increasing numbers thanks to amateur metal Today it is acknowledged that the motifs on a detectorists. We have no reference in any known wide variety of highly decorated precious objects myth to such a meeting, and whether the two fe- from the Late Iron Age – bracteates, relief brooches male figures actually are representations of val- etc. – have been selected with a great deal of care. kyries, or if they rather depict diser, norns, shield But tracing Norse mythology in Viking art is still maidens or other beings is not clear at all (Price a challenge. 2002; Pentz 2017a, p. 24). Our understanding of for instance the events The saddle cloth or caparison suspended under of Ragnarøkkr owes much to Snorri Sturluson, the horse is almost always divided into nine rec- who in the 13th century transmitted his know- tangles. That this fabric has a special meaning ledge of old Norse myth, preserved through gen- and symbolism is reinforced by some other de- erations of oral tradition, into writing. One of tector finds, small pendants depicting this deco- Fornvännen 113 (2018) Art. Pentz 17-33_Layout 1 2018-02-16 14:37 Sida 18 18 Peter Pentz Fig. 1. The meeting of two valkyries: a scene from a Fig. 2. Amulet with nine rectilinear shapes. A number probable myth not recorded by Snorri, on a fitting of such amulets have been found by metal detecting found at Sønder Tranders near Ålborg in 2014. This is within the last years. This one was found in 2011 near one of many finds with the same scene found by Havsmarken, Ærø. Inv. no. C39155. Photo: Søren detectorists. All known examples are from South Greve, NMD. Scandinavia and England. It is uncertain whether this distribution pattern reflects Viking Period reality or modern differences in metal detector legislation. Inv. no. C42888. Photo: Roberto Fortuna, National Museum of Denmark (NMD). rated cloth on its own (fig. 2). While the number low-up to his earlier 1997 book). Andrén argues nine appears frequently in Norse mythology (Price convincingly that Old Norse beliefs should be 2013; Holst et al. 2017, p. 53; Pentz 2017a), the studied in a dialogue between archaeology and connection to the two valkyries remains obscure. the narrative tradition of the sagas. One suggestion, however, is that the cloth might Sadly, the quest to find precise archaeologi- represent the textile woven from the causalities of cally contextualised evidence linked to the colour- war known from Darrað’s song, Darraðarljóð, also ful tales of e.g. Snorri, has been more or less unre- called The Valkyrie’s Song, from the Njál’s Saga. warding. There are, though, a few notable excep- This cloth, incorporating skulls and men’s intes- tions, such as Michaela Helmbrecht’s 2012 iden- tines, was woven by twelve women on a loom built tification of a gilded bronze fitting from Uppåkra of weapons, prophesying a bloody battle in Ire- as illustrating the Völundarkviða, showing Way- land, possibly the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 (Pentz land the smith ascending eagle-like after his grue- 2017a). The riding valkyrie with her sword drawn some murder of the young princes and the rape of and the cloth without saddle (?) might, then, cor- their sister. Studies in Viking art in a wider con- respond to the last words of the poem: “start we text, though, linking it to broader social and con- swiftly with steeds unsaddled—hence to battle ceptual dimensions, have proven much more suc- with brandished swords!”. For the weaving of cessful (e.g. Hedeager 1997; Domeij 2006; 2009; destiny in Norse myth, see Bek-Pedersen 2011. Helmbrecht 2011; Neiss 2004). For recent discussions of the poem and its rela- While the quantity of written sources must be tion to Clontarf, see Quinn 2017. regarded as fixed, the archaeological material seems The relationship between Norse mythology to be an inexhaustible source. Thus, archaeology and archaeology and iconography has been inten- is our best opportunity to study the myths of pre- sely explored by Anders Andrén in his 2014 book Christian Scandinavia. As John Hines puts it, Tracing Old Norse Mythology (which is a fitting fol- Fornvännen 113 (2018) Art. Pentz 17-33_Layout 1 2018-02-16 14:37 Sida 19 Viking art, Snorri Sturluson … 19 Archaeology … is the sole basis for writing mately led to the making of the most treasured prehistory, and is thus the best point of ref- possessions and weapons of the gods in Ásgarðr erence for locating the earliest detectable (Skáldskaparmál, ch. 35). In addition to the re- forms of these myths within a concrete placement hair, made of pure gold, the dwarf culture-historical framework master smiths also crafted the spear Gungnir for (2000, p. 166) Óðinn and the ship Skíðblaðnir for Frey (fig. 3). As Elisabeth Arwill-Nordbladh has shown …archaeology is not only an accessible (2016), the theft of Sif’s hair was much more and a substantial source, but also an essen- than a harmless joke. In Viking society hair was a tial basis for understanding what both the significant and highly esteemed part of the body, factual history and the myths of the Viking a sign of social status. Stealing Sif’s hair was not Period and the Middle Ages meant in prac- only damage to her body, it also questioned and tice. challenged her status. It was an offence, and by (p. 174) gaining access her hair, it was implied that Loki gained access to her body as well. Such an impli- Most new finds of Viking art acquired by the cation corresponds well to the contents of Loka- National Museum of Denmark originates from senna, in which Loki accuses the gods of im- non-professional metal detecting. Opinions, re- morality and sexual misconduct. gulations and legislation on the use of metal de- Among the many detector finds are a few, tectors vary between the Scandinavian count- apparently female, figurines are seen en face tear- ries, with Finland and Denmark having the most ing their braided hair (fig. 4). The most expres- liberal approaches (Rundkvist 2008; Wessman et sive of them is a 4.6 cm tall gilded silver figure al. 2016). While the professional view in Den- (Holst et al. 2017, pp. 62, 160 f) found at Tissø on mark is now at the point where most archaeolo- north-western Zealand. This particular example gists recognise the potential of amateur metal de- has a cat-like face. These figurines are usually tecting as a valuable contribution to archaeologi- interpreted as Freyja, goddess of love and war. cal research, the case appears more complex in Nor- The curious gesture, the woman tearing out her way, Iceland and Sweden. There some archaeo- logists still seem to consider almost all non-pro- fessional metal detecting with scepticism (Rund- kvist 2008; Henriksen 2011; Dobat & Jensen 2016). Here I aim to show how archaeological re- Fig. 3. Brooch shaped like a Viking ship with reefed sail; is it Frey's Skíðblaðnir? Found in 2007 at Tjørne- search has benefited from private metal detect- høj, not far from Odense, Funen. Inv. no. C37026. ing, and more specifically, how Viking age finds Photo: John Lee, NMD. found by detectorists can enlighten and contri- bute to our understanding of Old Norse thinking and myth relating to impairment and disability. Sif ’s hair… or Freyja’s? In Snorri’s Skáldskaparmál he tells the tale of the theft of Þórr's wife Sif's beautiful hair. Loki once cut all her hair off.