I

Of Books and Burial Ships: A Study on 9th and 10th Century Colors

Mazal Fernandez

Undergraduate Senior Thesis Spring 2017 Advisor: Dr. Florin Curta 5th April 2017 II

Table of Contents Cover page ...... I Table of Contents ...... II Acknowledgements and Dedications ...... III Introduction ...... 1 Colors and Symbolism in Five Poetic Poems ...... 4 Colors Inside the Oseberg Ship Burial ...... 23 Conclusion ...... 38 Bibliography ...... 42

III

Acknowledgements and Dedications

Acknowledgements:

To Dr. Florin Curta, for his unbounding patience as well as his expertise on medieval textiles—this thesis

wouldn’t have been possible without you!

To Dr. Sheryl Kroen, whose organized thesis workshop course was integral my thesis’ success;

To Mr. Andrew Welton, who got me interested in archaeology in the first place!

To Melanie Davis, my librarian-in-crime, who would search the ends of the Earth for a hard-to-find

source;

To Dr. Nina Caputo, for being a wonderful source of motivation and a great friend;

Will Johnson, for being my only fellow Medievalist in our workshop Fall ’16;

And finally, to David Portnow, my very patient fiancé, who dealt with all the tears, frustrations, and

emotional turmoil this thesis caused without complaint and only with the utmost support and love. May we build a binyan adei ad (everlasting edifice) based on the foundations of Torah and mitzvos together in

our upcoming marriage.

Dedications:

who always encouraged me to read and ,ז״ל This thesis is dedicated to my Zaidy, Murray Moshe Andler instilled in me a great love for learning.

This thesis is also dedicated to my wonderful nuclear family: my parents, Marco and Myrna Fernandez, who gave me the opportunity to live in Iceland and discover a passion for Scandinavian history; my big sister, Maritza, who always pushed me to do my best in everything and is my closest confidant; and my little brother Maximo, for teaching me that even throughout life’s highs and lows, we can get through it together. - 1 -

Introduction

“So was my , beside the sons of Giuki, As if a leek were grown up out of the grass, Or a bright stone were threaded onto a string, A precious gem, among the nobles.”1

Perception is everything. How the world is seen depends on factors such as one’s culture and upbringing; suffice to say, how the world is perceived in modern day America is different than how a Viking would see his or her world a thousand years ago. What did a Viking see when he or she observed the world? Days of yore did not have the vibrant colors which decorate today’s urban landscape, but that does not mean it was monotone and gray in the 9th century.

In an exercise to understand how the 9th and 10th century was colored, two different primary sources will be used to understand the colors and color usage within the Viking world. The first is a literary work entitled the , complied in the 9th or 10th century.2

The second is an archaeological site from 834, known as the Oseberg Viking ship burial.3 Through a detailed analysis of select poems in the Poetic Edda as well as specific textiles and ornamentations within the Oseberg Viking ship burial, it is hoped that an understanding of Viking color usage will come to light by seeing if there is a visible correlation between the fictional Viking world and that of the actual Viking world in turn-of-the-second-millennium Scandinavia. Although color term and perception work has been done in the past, this thesis aims to fill a gap in the historiography relating to Viking age colors.4

1 Carolyne Larrington, The Poetic Edda (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), 179. 2 Larrington 1996, X. 3 Marianne Vedeler, Silk for the Vikings (Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2014), 3 4 Brent Berlin and Paul Kay, Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1969). - 2 -

It is first important to clarify a few things before delving into the subject matter at hand.

Firstly, why a literary source and archaeological site? Would not either of them suffice on its own?

The answer here is simple: reality does not always reflect fiction, and vice versa. Of course, to the

Vikings, the Norse myths of gods and giants found within the epic and were not fiction; but even so, there can be a lot to learn from comparing literary and physical sources to each other, such as corroborating facts or catching discrepancies.

It is also important to clarify a concept which will be mentioned throughout the paper: that of the “color world.” In this work, a color world refers to how the world is seen by its inhabitants at a certain time and location in the world; this perception may be different depending on a multitude of factors, such as language or acculturation. Perhaps the Norse conception of the word

“blue,” or its connotations, have changed over time, or maybe the color spectrum was wider or narrower than is perceived in the English language. Whichever the case, this term allows for a frame in which to observe colors in a historical way. This then lends itself to a clarification of hue versus color: where color is chromatic and can be expressed as “blue” or “green,” hue expresses

“cerulean blue” or “hunter green.” Hue also allows for a discussion of words not directly related to color terminology but give off a colorful impression, the way “gold” can be interpreted in the mind’s eye as a bright, shining yellow. While it is not always clear to determine the hue of a color in texts and textiles, it is still important to differentiate the two as contrasts between colors are seen through hues, which can be bright or subdued, not through chromatic colors. As will be seen further on, colors may have different meanings in Viking society depending on the shade depicted.

As with any historical source analysis, there are bound to be a few issues—by looking at a physical site and written word, it is hoped that some of these issues will “fill in” for the other. For instance, languages are constantly evolving. Norse may be related to the modern day Icelandic, - 3 - but there are still differences in the nuances of the language. Then, applying an English translation on top of that makes things all the more difficult; what might be one word in Norse might be a whole phrase in English, and what might be “white” in English could be expressed in multiple ways in . In addition, some phrases or words might be literally or metaphorically translated. For the purposes of this paper, Carolyne Larrington’s translation of the Poetic Edda will be utilized unless otherwise noted to keep a semblance of consistency within translations. In any case, by comparing colors utilized for art and textiles, it may give a clearer interpretation of how the colors in the poems examined were, and should be, seen. While physical sources might also have an issue with how the colors are interpreted, it is still less subjective and open to interpretation than literary works.

Another large issue at hand is, of course, aging. Whereas the Poetic Edda has more or less been preserved through various translations and oral transmissions, it is difficult to ensure the preservation of objects and textiles a millennium into the future.5 As such, the degradation of textiles over time due to aging and other factors such as mold or being exposed to the elements, makes it harder to interpret them. In these cases, literary works are integral for describing or pointing research to otherwise unknown topics and issues, as with Viking Age tapestries, as will be discussed in the second chapter of this thesis.

The first part of this work will discuss the Poetic Edda, particularly looking at five poems selected for their colorful imagery. The poems will each be examined for color, color mentions, and any other words which may allude to the Viking color world. Then, the second half will delve into the Oseberg ship burial, where Nordic customs and rituals may be depicted through the

5 Larrington 1996, XI - 4 - luxurious textiles and equipment left within, and colors associated with textiles and objects will be observed for possible meanings. Finally, a conclusion will be developed which will summarize and point to any important prominent deductions gained from comparing the two sources, as well as describing where the results of this thesis may lead. - 5 -

Colors and Symbolism in Five Poetic Edda Poems

“…. Her head-dress was set straight, there was a pendant on her breast, A short, full cape and a blue-stitched blouse….”6

The Poetic Edda is mainly known for its often bloody, yet heroic, imagery of Norse deities and mythological creatures. According to Carolyne Larrington, the poems within the Poetic Edda serve as a “major source of information about Old Norse myth and legend,” especially since the poems themselves probably “pre-date the conversion of Scandinavia to Christianity.” While the plots, themes, and poetic devices of the poems help to depict an image of and possibly even Viking-age beliefs or practices, subtle nuances in the works are easy to miss due to issues with translations such as inconsistencies or insufficient wording between languages.

Although the poems themselves were most likely composed in a pre-Christian Viking society, the extant copies available were compiled later by Christians. It would be naïve not to assume the partiality of these Christian authors; while it may very well be that the poems are untouched and unchanged, it is also very possible that words or passages were omitted—intentionally or not. Even so, there is worth to these poems in cultural and religious contexts: while names may have been changed or phrases obscured, it can be argued that colors mentioned in the texts stayed constant— either because the Christian compilers found them not significant enough to edit or because they were unaware of the connotations of the words utilized. It is through these colors and the symbolism thereof that one can begin to understand turn of the 1st millennium Viking society, through a literary lens.

6 Larrington 1996. 250 - 6 -

Within the next chapter, five poems will be thoroughly examined and analyzed: “Grimnir’s

Sayings,” the “Lay of Volund,” the “Second Lay of Gudrun,” the “Lay of Atli,” and the “Whetting of Gudrun.” Each poem has been chosen for its vibrant descriptions of its events. What is considered “color” will not be limited to words such as red, blue, or green, but will also include a wider spectrum in order to fully understand the descriptor words utilized in the text and the reasons for their usage. For instance, terms such as “shining,” “dark,” and “bright” are often utilized in the texts and give off an impression of hue; therefore, such terms will be noted. This analysis shall also include references to precious metals such as gold and silver. While it may seem to the modern reader that these are only metals and not colors, in the context of the Viking-age world where poems were recited aloud to audiences, every mention of “gold” or “silver” may have been important in terms of keeping an audience’s attention and helping draw an image of each scene as it occurred.

“Grimnir’s Sayings” (or Grimnismal) is the first poem to be examined through the lens of color and symbolism. A good deal of prose precedes the poem, which explains the origins of the protégés of the Norse deities and , and how each took under their wing a son of King

Hraudung. It continues by explaining the dispute between spouses Odin and Frigg, which set the events of this poem into motion. After Frigg calls Odin’s protégé, Geirrod, stingy, Odin enters a bet with her that Geirrod is not stingy but rather hospitable—leading him to begin a monologue under the guise of Grimnir, a disguise of Odin’s. Odin, now Grimnir, visits Geirrod, only wearing a blue cloak and refusing to reveal his identity. Although Geirrod has been warned by Frigg’s maid that a wizard will come to visit, Geirrod nevertheless tortures Grimnir out of suspicion; only

Geirrod’s son, Agnar, is kind to Grimnir. On the ninth night, Grimnir reveals himself to Geirrod.

The poem, a monologue, now begins by elaborately detailing the intricacies of the world of Norse - 7 - mythology, explaining the different levels of worlds and which level is home to which creatures.

Soon enough, Grimnir reveals himself to be Odin, and Geirrod, realizing his mistake, immediately sets to free Odin from his torture; unfortunately, disappointed in his protégé, Odin does not forgive

Grimnir for his mistake. The poem ends with a short epilogue of Geirrod accidentally impaling himself upon his sword for his unhospitable actions, and Odin now taking Geirrod’s son, Agnar, under his favor.7

Including the lengthy prose beginning, Grimnir’s Sayings has 13 color-words, the majority of which Larrington translates as “shining” or “bright.” The poem makes usage of a few popular tropes within the Edda world—for instance, while disguised as Grimnir, Odin wears a blue cloak.

Blue in medieval Scandinavian fiction is used to mark certain characters as murderers, who, as

Sandra Ballif Straubhaar describes, “dressed themselves in dark clothing before foraying out to slay someone.”8 Although the word blue is only used in the prose section of “Grimnir’s Sayings,” the fact that he is wearing a blue cloak is notable. As Odin is attempting to test the limits of

Geirrod’s hospitality, it makes sense that he would dress in ominous blue and why Geirrod would act so violently as to torture a mysterious stranger whose intentions he did not know. In addition, the revelation of Grimnir being Odin in disguise only emerges after Odin’s cloak catches fire:

…He was wearing a blue cloak and called himself Grimnir… The king had him tortured to make him speak and set him between two fires… Then the fire had come so close that Grimnir’s cloak burned. He said: “Hot you are, fire, and rather too fierce; Go away, sparks! My fur cloak singes, though I lift it in the air,

7 Larrington 1996. 50-60 8 Sandra Ballif Straubhaar, "Wrapped in a Blue Mantle: Fashions for Icelandic Slayers?," In Medieval Clothing and Textiles, edited by Robin Netherton and Gale R. Owen-Crocker (Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2005), p. 53 - 8 -

My mantle burns before me.”9

After the cloak has been removed, Odin, who had been silent as Grimnir, chooses to divulge his identity by reciting a monologue heavy with bright and shining imagery. While Grimnir in a blue mantle was silent and dark, Odin revealed is forthcoming and light. This contrast must have been distinctly clear to audiences listening, especially from the dark imagery of the prose section compared to that of the poetic section. For instance, “Frigg sent her handmaid, , to Geirrod.

She told the king to beware a wizard… he was wearing a blue cloak and called himself Grimnir, and would say nothing more about himself” gives a much darker and gloomier impression as opposed to Odin’s elaborate detailing of , from “gold-bright” to Glitnir with its “golden buttresses” and silver roof: “Gladsheim a fifth is called, there gold-bright Valhall

/ rises peacefully, seen from afar… Glitnir is the tenth, it has golden buttresses, / and likewise is roofed with silver.”10

“The Lay of Volund,” also known as Völundarkviða, describes a mythological Norse deity- yet-man named Volund, “the most skil[l]ful of men,” and details his story of love, imprisonment, and subsequent revenge. Volund, abandoned by and waiting for his lover, busies himself by making 700 red gold rings. The Swedish King Nidud hears of Volund’s creation of these gold rings from seemingly nothing and has him captured, hamstrung, and imprisoned on an island so that Volund will make the king treasures until the end of his days. Nidud gives one of Volund’s precious rings to his daughter, Bodvild, and one day, possibly due to jealousy, Nidud’s two curious and greedy sons visit the imprisoned Volund in search of their own treasures. Volund lures in the two boys, decapitates them, makes their heads into treasures, seduces and impregnates Bodvild,

9 Larrington 1996. 51-52. Stanza 1 10 Ibid. 52-54. - 9 - escapes, and ultimately commits his revenge on Nidud for imprisoning him by gifting to him the very treasures that he made with the heads of Nidud’s own sons.11

Taking a general look at the poem, it does not seem out of place in the Poetic Edda— themes such as love, death, and revenge are not new to the Norse poetry, and are in fact popular.

There are odd parts to the story that can only be explained by hypothesizing or piecing together answers from other works; for example, the poem does little to explain who Volund is, describing him as a son from a mortal king, a prince of , and a deity who can create treasure with magic and sprout webbed feet, all simultaneously.12 Details must often be gleaned from different manuscripts, or surmised from subsequent poems.13 While it can be difficult to decipher the exact meaning of the story, it can be surmised that it does include a moral lesson against greed and vanity, expressing the idea that those who are greedy will get their due reward in the end—however bloody.

However, the most significant part about this short poem is its usage of color and color symbolism. There are 21 references to color in its entirety: 9 references to precious metals; 5 are included in the name of the , Swanwhite; 5 references to shining, glinting, and variations of both; and 2 direct references to color, white and brown. As there are only two direct references to color in the poem, it can be argued that the usage of words such as shining or gold are important to the imagery and symbolism of the poem. Again, these words lend an impression of color to an otherwise colorless scene. For instance, it is often mentioned that the gold Volund makes rings out of is red gold, and red gold accounts for a third of the references to precious metals in the poem.14

11 Larrington 1996, 102-107. 12 Ibid. 104, 106 13 Ibid. XI 14 Ibid. 103, 105 - 10 -

It is possible that red gold may have been a rare or especially pricey type of gold, thus accentuating

Volund’s magical smithing powers. In addition, Volund is described as specifically having a

“white neck;” while the symbolism of the color white is unclear from the passage itself, it may be significant in two ways.15 First, while the word hvitr is usually translated as white in English,

Andrei Danilov argues that “the adjective hvitr gives a set of essential features to help the

Germanic reader to exactly and immediately fit the character into the framework of myth reality.”

Accordingly, the word hvitr does not simply give the impression of white, but also includes more connotationally-specific attributes—describing a character using hvitr alludes to the characteristics of wisdom, cunning, beauty, divinity, and fair skin.16 This depiction of Volund is consistent throughout the poem; he can divinely create treasures from seemingly nothing, and displays a certain measure of cunning when he tricks the sons of Nidud. Secondly, Volund’s lover wears white swan feathers herself—meaning that she too has the hvitr attributes. This imagery of Volund and Swanwhite accentuates the appropriateness of their relationship as divine and beautiful figures.17

Finally, the usage of the color “brown” when describing the pelt of a she-bear that Volund hunted goes on to provoke a certain kind of sad emptiness in the rest of the associated stanza, no doubt an allusion to Volund’s lovesickness for Swanwhite: “He went to roast the flesh of the brown she-bear; / high burned with kindling in the very dry fir, / the wind-dried wood in front of

Volund.”18 The stanza is evocative of sadness, with brown being a muted earth tone and the dried fir tree suggesting the feeling of being laid bare and empty. Volund then sits on the bearskin and

15 Larrington 1996,103 16 Andrei Danilov, "Semantics of the Colour Word Hvítr in the Poetic Edda," Sprache Und Kognition (2010): pp. 156-157 17 Larrington 1996, 103. 18 Ibid. 104 - 11 - counts his rings—although he has paranormal powers to make brilliant treasures, his skills do not detract from his feelings of loneliness and abandonment. According to Straubhaar: “it is almost a convention in narrative that the eyes of Icelandic poets unlucky in love are black. This ‘black’ is clearly what we would call ‘brown’ today in English, and modern Icelanders would designate such a person as bruneygr, meaning ‘browneyed.’”19 Although Volund’s eyes are not described as black or brown, he is described as “weather-eyed” in the passage directly proceeding the stanza of the she-bear’s brown pelt.20 It is not the farthest leap of the imagination to make the association between Volund’s lovesickness and the color brown , and in fact the usage of the color brown in the text surely would have typified Volund as “browneyed” to the original audiences.

The third poem, the “Second Lay of Gudrun,” details the lamenting of a figure named

Gudrun. The second Lay, a continuation of the “First Lay of Gudrun,” details of Gudrun’s many anguishes. The poem begins by first establishing the scene: King Thiodrek, an ally of Atli, sits with Atli’s queen, Gudrun; after expressing his grief at losing many of his men in battle, Gudrun herself takes a turn at describing her woes: as a young girl, she was given by her father to a figure named Sigurd; although she loved her new husband, her three brothers were jealous of Sigurd’s prominent position and decided to murder him. Gudrun, upon seeing two of her brothers after they committed the act, was informed of where she could find her husband’s body, along with the news that her third brother had passed away along with Sigurd during the battle. Gudrun then found

Sigurd’s body, did not cry, and, after wandering out of sadness, eventually ended up living with a princess named Thora for three and a half years. Gudrun’s mother, meanwhile, demanded that her sons pay Gudrun compensation for killing her husband, which the brothers oblige to do, but

19 Straubhaar, 56. 20 Larrington 1996, 104. - 12 -

Gudrun rejected their money and gifts. Gudrun’s mother then gave Gudrun a potion of forgetfulness to forget her sorrow, but then she ends up being coerced by her family into marrying a king named Atli—but not before prophesizing her new husband being instrumental in the deaths of her brothers. Upon arriving at her new husband’s home, Atli expresses his concern about a dream where Gudrun skewers him with a poisoned sword—not knowing that Gudrun has already vowed to serve him his own sons for dinner and ultimately avenge both her fallen brothers and her first husband by killing Atli. The poem ends rather cryptically, with Gudrun reminiscing about her original revenge plot; her final actions against Atli are described in the “Lay of Atli,” which will be discussed later in this chapter.21

The bloody, vengeful scenery of this poem is highlighted by its usage of color words such as red, green, and white. Green and white have 1 reference each, but the color red (including variations, such as reddened and red-gold) has 6 mentions. Along with these colors, there are 9 mentions of gold, 1 of silver, and 3 of the term “dark.” These terms help to paint a picture of

Gudrun’s pain and anguish, as well as her desire for revenge. First, readers get a sense of the awe

Gudrun felt toward Sigurd, her first husband: “So was Sigurd beside the sons of Giuki / like a green leek grown up out of the grass, / or a high-antlered stag among the sharp-eyed beasts, / or red-glowing gold next to dull silver.”22 In this passage, Gudrun is comparing Sigurd to her brothers, the sons of Giuki. To her, Sigurd is an impressive figure, one who inspires awe in Gudrun, especially in comparison to her “dull silver” brothers. The green imagery is reminiscent of spring and refreshment, and readers gain the impression of Sigurd as a strong and sturdy figure.

Thus, after Sigurd’s death, Gudrun contrasts this bright symbolism with one of sorrow:

21 Larrington 1996, 196-202 22 Ibid. 196 - 13 -

The night seemed to me as dark as the dark of the moon as I sat grieving over Sigurd; it seemed to me the best of all things if the wolves took my life or if they burned me up like birchwood.23

Like the “Lay of Volund,” these dark descriptions illuminate feelings of lovesickness and even depression. Again, the usage of wood to describe the color brown and the associations thereof emerge; as Gudrun grieves over her lost husband, she feels as brittle as kindling.

The numerous mentions of the term red are also notable. What is interesting is which words are described as red. There are red shields, red cloaks, and red , but the helmets are simply

“towering” and the byrnies “ornamented.” The idea of a red cloak is reminiscent of the blue cloak described in “Grimnir’s Sayings.” Whereas a blue cloak was a forbearer of a murderer, a red cloak in this context seems to have the opposite meaning; instead of someone not to be trusted, it seems that those in red mantles are generally more trustworthy, as depicted through Gudrun’s struggle to trust the red cloaked, dark haired men giving her gifts in compensation for her husband’s murder:

Valdar with the Danes, with Iarizleif, Eymod the third, with Iarizskar— In they went, all most princely, The troops of the Langobards; they had red cloaks, Ornamented byrnies, towering helmets, Girded with short-swords, they had dark hair.

Each wanted to pick out a treasure for me, Pick out a treasure and speak comforting words,

23 Larrington 1996, 197. - 14 -

To see if they could bring me from my great sorrow, Win my trust: I could not come to trust them.24

This lack of trust, as well as her general somberness and depression, is such an issue that it leads Gudrun’s mother to concoct a potion that allows for Gudrun to forget her sorrow; interestingly, the text explicitly mentions how, on the drinking-horn of the forgetfulness potion, there were red runes carved into the side. It may be that the color red, as well as symbolizing trust, may have also been symbolic of magic, positive or negative.

Later on, Atli tells Gudrun of a dream he had in which he discovers that his sons are dead and that she will kill him. According to Danilov, Gudrun, who has been plotting to kill their sons as revenge for Atli’s killings of her brothers, purposefully misinterprets the dream to her new husband. It is interesting here to note two different translations, as different contexts develop depending on which translation is read. The first is Larrington’s translation, the second is

Danilov’s translation, and the last is the original stanza:

“That means men will discuss sacrifice And cut the heads off white sacrificial beasts; Doomed, they will, in a few days, Be consumed by the retinue.”25

“That will be fishermen / sorting their catch Ripping off / white fish’s heads; They [fish] will be dead / while the night still lasts, Before dawn / men will have eaten them.”

24 Larrington 1996, 198-199. 25 Ibid. 202. - 15 -

“Þar munu seggir / um sæing dæma Ok hvítinga / höfði næma; Þeir munu feigir / fára nátta Fyr dag litlu, / drótt of bergja.” 26

The problematic word is hvitinga. Larrington explains hvitinga as deriving from the Norse term hviting (“white thing”), and calls it an obscure reference.27 Danilov, however, explains the term as hvitingr as a “whale of sorts … smaller than most species,” calling to mind the white whale of Moby Dick. Danilov continues with his interpretation, explaining that Gudrun sees “her poor children of royal blood as white whales, showing that they are noble of birth and ‘divine’ as to their mythological essence.”28 Danilov’s argument is a strong one, considering that the word hvitr holds such strong connotations in the world of Norse mythology—whereas after the death of

Sigurd most of the imagery in the “Second Lay of Gudrun” gives off a dark and even foreboding essence, Gudrun’s usage of the word white in this case is evocative of her own redemption—she is not exaggerating when she calls her own sons sacrificial in nature. The fact that the word hvitinga can be translated in two different ways and yet consistently express similar ideas is very important to understanding the numerous connotations that a single word of color could hold to the original

Viking audiences of these poems.

Atlakviða, or the “Lay of Atli” steadily follows through with the rest of Gudrun’s bloody tale of revenge. While not a seamless transition from the “Second Lay of Gudrun,” it holds the same key notes: Gudrun’s brothers have been murdered by her husband, Atli, and she has a revenge plot in place to avenge them—feeding her own children to her husband included. It begins with

26 Danilov, 162. 27 Larrington 1996, 289. 28 Danilov, 162. - 16 -

King Atli inviting Gudrun’s brothers, Gunnar and Hogni, promising them great riches. Gudrun knows that her husband is up to no good, and sends a ring with wolf hair as a warning. Even though they know it is a trap and already owning an enormous about of gold, the two brothers decide to go anyway. Almost immediately, the two brothers are seized, and Gunnar is asked “if he wanted to buy his life with gold.” Unwilling to simply tell Atli where his gold is, Gunnar first requests the heart of his brother, Hogni. Atli’s people first present him with the heart of a cowardly man, which does not fool Gunnar, and he is subsequently shown Hogni’s real heart. Now knowing that he is the only one with the knowledge of where his gold is, he refuses to tell Atli the location, and is subsequently thrown into a snake pit to his death. Upon Atli’s return to his castle after tossing

Gunnar into the pit of snakes, Gudrun awaits him with food and wine, and once he and his men have had their fill she bitterly informs him that they had eaten his own children. Atli drinks himself into a depressed stupor, Gudrun stabs Atli in his own bed and sets the castle alight before escaping.29

23 references to color under the criteria laid out in the beginning of this thesis can be found within the “Lay of Atli.” Similarly with the previous poems, many of the words reference metals— all but one of these are in reference to gold or golden objects, with silver being mentioned once.

There are only three colors—scarlet, gray, and green— and all other mentions of color are descriptive-color words such as “pale,” “bright,” and “darkness.” As gold and riches play a large part in this poem, it makes sense as to its prevalence— it is both the motive for why Gudrun’s brothers went to Atli and why Atli requested her brothers to visit in the first place. Again, like in the “Lay of Volund,” red-gold makes an appearance as the ring Gudrun sent as a warning. It is

29 Larrrington 1996, 210-216. - 17 - possible that its exquisite nature may have made it more of a warning to her brothers—that their

“way is wolf-beset,” or destined to be treacherous, if gold is their motive for visiting Atli.

Meanwhile, the two brighter colors—red and green—are both described when discussing

Huns, and in the context of the Poetic Edda, it can be gleaned that Atli is king of the Huns. The two colors used to describe the Huns are both vibrant, painting a distinctive picture of scarlet armor and green steppes. In comparison, the word “gray” is used in conjunction with descriptions of

Gunnar’s men. It is also notable that the word gray is mentioned in the same stanza as the word

“wolf,” the same beast whose hair Gudrun sent to her brothers as a warning:

“ ‘…I found a hair of the heath-wanderer [wolf] twisted round the red-gold ring:/ Our way is beset if we go on this errand.’ … “‘The wolf will have control over the Niflungs’ inheritance,/ The old grey guardians, if Gunnar is going to be lost….’”30

From the above two segments, from stanzas 8 and 11 respectively, there seems to be a correlation between wolves, dark or pale colors, and a sense of danger or mistrust. The 11th stanza also continues to discuss “dull-coated bears,” further instilling a sense of distrust and obscurity to the reader. Even more interestingly is the fact that all of this pale and monotone imagery of grey wolves and dull bears is cunningly placed between the two colorful descriptions of the red Hun armor and the Hunnic green plains.31 It is as if the author of this poem is trying to depict the Viking world—or at least its legendary heroes and heroines—as obscured and dark, whereas the strong and powerful Huns are colorful and elaborate. Whether this is a reflection of how Nordic peoples

30 Larrington 1996, 211-212 31 Larrington 1996. 211-212, stanzas 4 and 13 respectively - 18 - saw themselves in comparison to far-off warriors such as the Huns, or simply a method to express the impending doom of Gunnar and Hogni it is not easy to say—however, it is visible that these words were not simply placed in a random manner, but rather carefully chosen to express a contrast between the two peoples.

Mentions of gold are not unique to the poetry and prose of the Poetic Edda, and the “Lay of Atli” is no exception. The colorful imagery gold imparts onto this poem is integral to visualizing and understanding the story itself. For instance, when Gunnar and Hogni are invited to Atli’s home with promises of fine items and riches, the two brothers first discuss how much gold they already own. They have bright shields and corslets of gold. Even each sword they own specifically has a gold hilt, and they have “seven store-buildings full of swords.”32 Although the two brothers realize that the trip is most likely a trap, they nonetheless decide to go, perhaps out of a desire to not seem cowardly or overtly cautious—or maybe they are simply greedy for gold, and have an insatiable appetite.

As the story progresses, there are many gold and gold-reminiscent mentions, everything from “sun-bright days” to “golden goblets” and “bright” women.33 Again, this draws one’s attention back to the idea of bright imagery being one of justice or fairness, as with Griminir’s

Sayings. Notably, one of the most fascinating parts of the tale of Atli is when Atli promises to let

Gunnar go if he buys “his life with gold”—most likely meaning that Atli would release Gunnar if he told him where his storehouses of gold were hidden. So invested in keeping his gold to himself and his brother, even if it means that the gold is either his or no one’s, he fools Atli into killing his

32 Larrington 1996, 211 33 Ibid. 213, 215 - 19 - brother (the only other witness to the location of the gold) and dies in a snake pit holding onto the secret.

When Gudrun meets Atli after he has murdered her brothers, she brings a golden goblet in her hand, telling her husband that “you may receive in your own hall,/ gladly from Gudrun, little creatures gone into darkness.”34 It seems apropos that Gudrun would meet her husband with a golden goblet—for greed for gold has been the source of her lamentations and fear—and then discuss darkness in the same stanza. According to Larrington, this part of the poem is intentionally riddling: “In Norse the word signifying ‘gone into darkness’, niflfarna, puns on ‘Niflung,’”

Niflung being the name of Gudrun’s family’s lineage.35 Of course, Gudrun then subsequently feeds her children to her husband, and all throughout the climax of the poem Gudrun is repeatedly referred to as a “bright” woman, even with the many horrors of her plan of revenge. There is a sense of justice—or at least appropriate avengement—and this bright imagery contrasts eloquently with the bloody and dark scene unfolding.

After the last two poems, it seems fitting to complete this section of poetic analysis by discussing the color within the “Whetting of Gudrun.” In this sorry tale, Gudrun laments her past tribulations and woes. After the bloodstained conclusion of the “Lay of Atli,” the prose section begins with Gudrun attempting to drown herself in the ocean. However, instead of drowning, she ends up floating across the water where she meets a king named Ionakr, who becomes her third— and last— husband. They have children together, and one of Gudrun’s daughters from a previous marriage comes to live with her. However, things quickly turn sour in Gudrun’s new life. Svanhild,

Gudrun’s daughter, marries Iormunrekk the powerful.36 An advisor at Iormunrekk’s court named

34 Larrington 1996, 215 35 Ibid. 291 36 Ibid. 234 - 20 -

Bikki suggests that Iormunrekk’s son, , should marry Svanhild, insinuating that his son and new wife were having an affair. Furious, Iormunrekk hangs his son and—unable to stop once even when he learned that it was a lie—has Svanhild trampled by horses.37 The poem then begins with Gudrun hearing the news of the death of her daughter, and she speaks to her sons. She discusses Svanhild’s death and the death of her first husband by Gunnar and Hogni, her brothers.

As she sits by a fire, she also reminisces about her previous husbands, the two sons she slaughtered and fed to Atli, and again speaks of Svanhild’s murder, before requesting a funeral pyre to be built for her—suggesting that she is so overwhelmed with grief from all the misery in her life that she wishes to commit suicide.38

In this harrowing and depressing segment of the Poetic Edda, it would seem surprising that this short poem—in the collection which usually sparse in its color descriptions—has 15 color mentions! Granted, 6 of these mentions are of Svanhild, whose name aptly describes her swan-like features with her beautiful “white-blonde hair” and how she “was like an illustrious ray of the sun.”39 However, there are still plenty of other color words and descriptors here. Unlike the previously analyzed chapter, the “Whetting of Gudrun” only has 1 mention of gold—whereas there are 6 direct mentions to colors. White is mentioned twice, and blue, red, grey, and black are mentioned once each. Finally, there are also two descriptor-color words, “dark” and “shining.”

Also, while not exactly a color word or color descriptor, it may be notable to mention the part where Gudrun discusses the events of the “Lay of Atli” and uses the word “Hniflungs” in her retelling. This alternate spelling of “niflung,” as we saw in the previous poem, sounds close to niflfarna, “gone into darkness.”40 While it does not exactly fulfill the criteria laid out for a color

37 Larrington 1996, 293 38 Ibid. 234-237, 293 39 Ibid. 236 40 Ibid. 236, 291 - 21 - or color descriptive word, if one has been reading the Poetic Edda in sequence, it alludes back to the darkness referred to in the “Lay of Atli.”

The actual color words described in this poem play an important role, as they serve as an important imagery tool to the lamentations of Gudrun. The second stanza has much to be observed:

“ ‘… –since Iormunrekk your sister, Still so young, trampled with horses, White and black, on the paved road, With the grey horses of the Goths, trained to pace slowly.’”

It can be gleaned from this stanza that King Iormunrekk is—at least in this Norse telling— the king of the Goths. Their horses are monochromatic, being shades of white, black, and gray. It sheds a certain sort of chill throughout the stanza, as if Gudrun is expressing not only the horrors of Svanhild’s death, but also the draining of color from the picture; perhaps the Goths are seen as darker, more dangerous characters as opposed to the colorful danger of the Huns. The Huns may be a sort of “brighter” danger—they know that they are dangerous and feared—but the danger of the Goths may have been a more unexpected one and hence the usage of black and gray. After all,

Gudrun did entrust her daughter, dressed in gold and splendor, to the king of the Goths, only for her to be accused of adultery with her step-son.41

Gudrun continues to grieve for her daughter and accuses her sons Sorli, Hamdir, and Erp of not desiring to avenge their half-sister, saying that they must not be strong or brave like her brothers Gunnar or Hogni, or even as fierce as her previous husband, King Atli, to be sitting idly by. Stanza four then brightens the scene, with Gudrun’s son Hamdir taking the stage:

41 Larrington 1996, 236 - 22 -

“Then said Hamdir, the strong-minded one: ‘Little did you praise the achievement of Hogni, When they awakend Sigurd from his sleep. Your embroidered coverlets, the blue and white ones, Were red with your husband’s blood, drenched in the blood of the murder.”

Here Hamdir is trying to set his mother straight. She lauds her brothers’ strength and bravery, but they made her miserable once too by murdering her first husband. As with “Grimnir’s

Sayings,” the blue imagery here is integral. It elevates the ominous and dark imagery in the scene— it is Gudrun’s blue and white coverlets which are covered in blood, which is perhaps apropos as

Sigurd’s murderers were Gudrun’s brothers, and blue is related to death and assassination.42 Also, as in the “Second Lay of Gudrun” and the “Lay of Volund,” the white also means something: it is evocative of the hvitr attributes of Gudrun herself.43

While the simple back and forth of color and poetic interpretations may seem at times exhausting, it is within this context that certain motifs and patterns can be discovered. Colors such as white and blue appear repeatedly—while still uncommon, they appear more often than others, as seen in the case studies above. The rarity of certain colors, or complete absence of others, stands out starkly, and in such a case it begs the question of why those colors were omitted or not included.

However, to this thesis it is still important those colors which do appear, as well as the ever-present color-descriptors or precious metals. To quote Danilov again, each color was “a set of essential features to help the Germanic reader to exactly and immediately fit the character into the framework of myth reality” by using colors repeatedly in similar situations.44 Such a method could

42 Straubhaar “Wrapped,” 53. 43 Danilov “Semantics,” 156-157. 44 Ibid. 156-157. - 23 - ensure the understanding of the poem on behalf of the listener, who may or may not have been told poems in any sort of chronological order. It may or may not have reflected reality—as will be discussed in the next chapter—but this sort of repetition is important to understanding how these poems may have been told in group settings, or composed by skilled scholars.

- 24 -

Colors Inside the Oseberg Ship Burial

“The runes you must find and the meaningful letter, A very great letter …. Do you know how to carve, do you know how to interpret….?”45

After looking at Viking literature, it seems apropos to move now to Viking actualities.

Where literature lacks, archaeology may find answers. In Vestfold, Norway, two women of upper- class status were found buried within a large Viking ship of the 9th century.46 The Oseberg ship burial was discovered and excavated in the early 20th century by Gabriel Gustafson.47 Along with the bodies of two women, also contained within the ship was an extraordinary amount and variety of archaeological finds—the well-preserved ship was laden with “items of personal adornment, household equipment, farming and textile tools and marine equipment.” Among the tools, remains of animals, and equipment, there was also a large stockpile of textiles, notably silks.48 Both the equipment and textiles of the find may be useful in examining and attempting to extrapolate the colors of the Viking world.

Textiles seems an easy choice for identifying colors and color patterns. Marianne Veleder translates the following statement of Haakon Shetelig regarding the fabric remnants found:

“These textiles are among the rarest and most precious in the whole Oseberg find, and will be extensively discussed in a later volume where it should be highlighted that these quantities of fabrics and down form a significant feature of the burial facility.”49

45 Larrington 1996, 34-35 46 Vedeler 2014, 3 47Thorleif Sjovold, The Oseberg Find (Oslo: Universitetets Oldsaksamling, 1969), 7-10 48 Vedeler, 2014, 3 49 Ibid. - 25 -

The above quote stresses the importance of the textile find; if professor and archaeologist

Haakon Shetelig, a foremost authority on the excavation and research on the Oseberg find, expressed his admiration of the textiles found, that unto itself should express to scholars how utterly unique the excavated pieces are to understanding pre-Christian Nordic society.50 The devotion and care which the undertakers of the burial had for the two women in question are expressed in the sheer amount of textiles of various kinds, qualities, and colors found within the ship’s chambers.

However, to focus only on the textiles themselves is also misleading. To get a full scope of the coloring of the Viking world—the purpose of this paper—it is also important to observe the equipment and structures within the ship. Many of the pieces inside the ship—and the ship itself— were elaborately decorated and carved, as would befit a “state-of-the-art” Viking sea vessel.51 For the purposes of this work, only pieces with paint, or paint traces, will be analyzed, such as the so- called “Buddha-bucket.”52 Of concern here is less the construction technique, and more the Viking art.

Through a careful analysis of a handful of textiles and equipment, it is hoped that certain colors, motifs, and patterns will arise to give a better understanding of Viking-age colors. Fabrics will be examined for dyes and patterns, while understanding that some pieces may have come from abroad and do not directly represent Scandinavian dyes or techniques. Aging will also be taken into account, as more plant-based fabrics have all but disintegrated and many of the other works stiffly compacted into “cakes” over time.53 As for the interpretation of the objects within the burial,

50 Sjovold 1969, 8 51 James Graham-Campbell, Viking Art (London: Thames & Hudson, 2013). 51 52 Sjovold, 1969, 35, 44-45 53 Arne Emil Christensen and Margareta Nockert, Osebergfunnet (Oslo: Universitetet I Oslo, 2006), 355; Veleder, 2014, 6 - 26 - a brief discussion will attempt to find traces of paints and correlations with any patterns or motifs on the object in question.

The textiles and ornaments within the Oseberg ship provide more than just a glimpse into the colors and dyes used during this time period. They also express an understanding of 9th century

Viking society, religion, politics, and especially economics. As will be discussed, various pieces were used in religious ceremonies, or were from the Islamic or Byzantine worlds. The usage and storage of these ornaments and clothes can depict important nuances or trade trends, such as the desire for luxury items of a certain color.

Before delving into the discussion of textiles, it is first important to discuss a woman named

Sofie Krafft. Today, and a hundred years ago when these textiles were first uncovered, “the colours and patterns on the Oseberg silk fragments are no longer easy to see. The colours, once so bright on the textile surface, have faded considerably, and now it is very difficult to carry out visual studies of the patterns.”54 Before modern digital scans of the textiles were available, it was nearly impossible to see old patterns and colors. As it turns out, Sofie Krafft applied a technique called aquarelle to observe and sketch the patterns, colors, and motifs of various Oseberg fragments for posterity. The process involves putting textiles of decent shape into water and allowing the water to reawaken dyes within the fabric, letting her to draw and color the designs on the textiles “as she saw them through the water surface.”55 Although all sketches can only be understood as interpretations of the originals, modern UV photos of the same pieces Krafft observed showed remarkable accuracy.56 Even so, her work is notable in that in the decades before modern imagery, most information on the textiles and colors used on the textiles was probably based on her work.

54 Christensen 2006, 11 55 Ibid. 56 Ibid. 11-12. - 27 -

Indeed, many of the depictions within the Osebergfunnet—the foremost compilation of the

Oseberg textiles—are from Krafft’s work, and there will be note if the section is based on an understanding of one of her interpretations. Unfortunately, many of the available images of the textiles in question are in black and white, as they were taken during or right after the excavation of the ship. Thus, much of the interpretation will have to be generalized, based on written documentation by the scholars who have seen the textiles themselves and recorded their findings, such as Krafft. As such, the similar pitfall of color names being lost in translation exists here as well, but this does not mean the information that is provided is not useful; simply, a further explanation and exploration into the area in question is necessary, and far beyond the scope of this work.

The first textiles to be discussed are those of Viking origin—the tapestries, which “rank as the most important.”57 Both the quantity and quality of tapestry fragments are notable, and before the Oseberg find was discovered, the only proof of Viking-made tapestries was limited to literary sources or small fragments. Such an example of literature reflecting this reality of Viking-age tapestry history can be found in the “Second Lay of Gudrun” from the Poetic Edda, which was analyzed in the previous chapter. In the 15th stanza, Caroline Larrington translates the clause

“Hafðu vit á skriftum þat er skatar léku” as “we also made pictures of men’s war-play together,” but another Poetic Edda scholar named Henry Adams Bellows translates it as “on the tapestry wove we.”58 Bringing it back to textiles and tapestries, the Oseberg is the first time scholars were able to actually obtain usable samples and proof of a lasting Viking tradition of tapestry making.

57 Christensen 2006, 353, 355 58 Larrington 1996, 198; Guðni Jónsson Eddukvaeði (Akureyri: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan, 1954), 370 ; Henry Adam Bellows The Poetic Edda: The Heroic Poems, (Mineola: Dover Publications, 2012), 203. - 28 -

The tapestries themselves are “remarkably narrow, between 16 and 23 cm wide” and are adorned with a great variety of figures and motifs, from dragons to women in mantles. There are certain traits in the details which help to distinguish men from women and vice versa; women almost always wear two garments, the dress and mantle on top, whereas men wear “short, sleeveless garment[s]” and may have a sword sheathe on their hip.59 Next to humans, horses are the next most commonly seen figures in these tapestries, alludes toward the importance of horses to Norse society.

The first tapestry fragment to analyzed is simply entitled Fragment 11A. Although the fragment is in very degraded, one can still define a border and picture when looking at it in good lighting:

Figure 1 - Fragment 11A as drawn by M. Storm, 1940. From: Arne Emil Christensen and Margareta Nockert, Osebergfunnet (Oslo: Universitetet I Oslo, 2006), 25. Fig. 1-10

59 Christensen 2006, 355 - 29 -

The picture depicts men and horses parading toward a large building. Some men are walking; others are on horseback. Some are armed and others may or may not be, which is indiscernible as time has worn the picture away in some areas. Other figures and notable parts include a woman, bird, and house. While the tapestry provides much in terms of understanding wefts and weaving techniques, it is lacking in the color department— “there is some red, the rest is greyish white with brownish stains.”60 Faces, facial features, horses, roofs, and other important figures are—or were, thanks to color degradation—outlined in red. Moreover, scholars have little else to say regarding the colorization of Fragment 11A. Even the digital reconstruction is simply various shades of red, gray, and white on an orange-red background.61

The next fragment to be discussed is that of Fragment 18, which consists of three parts.

The first part of Fragment 18A depicts two horses and a rider.62 One horse is red with a gray mane and a gray harness, whereas the other horse is gray with a red mane. There is a “yellowish tinge” on some of the gray parts.63 Fragment 18B, which may or may not be part of the same tapestry, has a border made of diamond-shapes, and are in repeating colors of red and gray—again, the gray has some yellow to it due to aging. Finally, Fragment 18C consists of two pieces—too fragile to separate without damaging both. It depicts a wagon, men holding spears, a woman, and various horses, among a wide variety of other motifs and characters. Unsurprisingly, “the colour is dark greyish brown with traces of red.”64

The last tapestry fragment to be analyzed will be that of 13C. This tapestry fragment was found lying on down, which is most likely why it was preserved and did not disintegrate entirely;

60 Christensen 2006, 358-359 61 Ibid. 26 62 Ibid. 29, 359 63 Ibid. 359 64 Ibid. - 30 - the warp to the fabric is gone. There is a house with triangular tiles and spear-like figures on the roof. Expectedly, the extant colors include gray and red. However, there was at one point a third color, although it is no longer discernible.65

Unfortunately, the tapestries have little information in the way of understanding Viking colors and dyes. Either Scandinavian peoples generally used reds and grays in their works, or simply much of it has faded. In both cases, looking at the only the colors can only give scholars a limited understanding of the tapestries themselves. Looking at weft and weave patterns may be more efficient in this case. It is time to turn to other textiles within the Oseberg ship which may be able to shed light on 9th century Scandinavian colors.

Functional textiles, which make up 965 fragments of the textiles in the Oseberg find, are of various fibers, quality, and usage, and include embroidered garments, bedclothes, and the sail of the ship. Two groups of fragments will be discussed—that of textiles made of broken twill and the remains of the bedclothes belonging to the deceased women.66 This section will also include details on some of the 110 silk fragments found in the burial mound. As there are a multitude of small, textile fragments, the 965 remnants were sorted by various factors such as material and weaving method.67 Therefore, it is difficult to pinpoint specifically one or two especially significant fragments, and as such when discussed, it will be in terms of the groups established by scholars.

The first group of remnants is that of the broken twill fabrics. Broken twill accounts for

366 out of 965 fragments found in the Oseberg burial. Besides the Oseberg find, broken twill has

65 Christensen 2006, 48, 363 66 Ibid. 390-394 67 Ibid. 390 - 31 - only been found in three other Viking finds, as “the pattern was never common.”68 One of the subgroups of broken twill, group K, is interesting in that the fragments are pink colored. However, this is most likely due to discoloration and it is very possible that these pink fragments were actually once white. It is also important to notice that it is the K subgroup textiles that are categorized as possibly making up “the remains or shroud” of one of the deceased women.69 In the other two subgroups, AI-AII, the textiles are various shades of brown. Beyond that, it is not clear what other colors the fragments may have had. However, it is interesting to see the pink fragments of subgroup K, simply because while it is assumed that these fabrics were once white, it may be possible that they had always been pink, had been dyed pink, or had been dyed red and had faded.70

The second group to be discussed is quite fascinating as it involves the remnants of the clothing once worn by the deceased. It is always important to remember that, especially for noble women of such wealth, the deceased are almost always enrobed by someone else; the clothing worn in the tomb might not have reflected the everyday garments or style of the wearer. The first garment consisted of very fine fabrics of red; their luxury suggests that the wearer was the more higher-ranking of the two women interred. Many of the fragments include fine embroidery. There is a lack of brooches in the gravesite, scholars suggest that the reason for that is grave robbery.71

Meanwhile, the second garment which most likely belonged to a high-ranking, but not more so than the other, woman, consists of a blue color. Its style and shape are similar to that of the red garment worn by the other woman, and was also of a high quality. Grave indications suggest that perhaps the second woman also wore a brown tunica over her blue garment.72

68 Christensen 2006, 390 69 Ibid. 393 70 Ibid. 390 71 Ibid. 393 72 Ibid. 393 - 32 -

No less than 110 silk fragments were found at Oseberg, 11.4 percent of total textiles found in the burial. A good portion of the fragments are simply strips of silk. Fortunately, some of the colors found on these remnants are easier to decipher than on the other textiles described above, and Sofie Krafft could “quite clearly” see the colors and patterns on the fragments through the aquarelle method described in the beginning of this chapter.73 The silk fragments numbered 1 and

12 are of particular significance.

Fabric 1, which is composed of approximately 33 of the 110 silk fragments, consists of two wefts. The fabric has at least three colors: red, green, and white; Marianne Vedeler, however, believes that along with red, the fabric may have had white, green, black, or yellow. These new colors probably came to light through “experiments with UV- and IR-photography [that] were conducted in 2010,” four years after Osebergfunnet was published.74 As of today, however, the colors can be described as various shades of brown with speckles of red. When Sofie Krafft did aquarelles of some of these 33 fragments, she described the colors as red, yellow, brown, and beige.75 The fragments are highly decorated, with various patterns of axes and hexagons as well as motifs of birds. Analysis of the motifs and designs, as well as weave and weft patterns, point to

Central Asia in origin.76 However, even though these fabrics were most likely produced in another locale, it does not diminish its importance within Viking society. It may have been that the Vikings perhaps even saw such textiles as being of distinction, which may have been a reason for including them within a high-profile grave. In any case, these foreign items were most likely reinterpreted

73 Christensen 2006, 394 74 Christensen 2006, 394; Vedeler 2014, 10 75 Vedeler 2014, 10 76 Ibid. 10-14 - 33 - through a Viking lens—even the colors and patterns used may have been reinterpreted ad consequently incorporated into the typical Norse style.

The second fabric to be analyzed is that if fabric number 12, which is considered by

Marianne Vedeler to be of a higher quality than fabric 1, and most likely originating in the

Mediterranean or Byzantine world. Fabric 12 consists of 13 fragments, and is patterned with medallions of various motifs, such as humans, heart-shaped flowers, and bands of pearls.77 One of the humans wears a green tunic with red and yellow decoration, and the background is most likely red. The borders of the fabric have a green and red pattern or are green with yellow or red beads.78

Vedeler describes this fabric, and fabrics like it, as a “hunter silk,” with hunting motifs emblazoned across them.79 Again, as described above, since this fabric was most likely created in the

Mediterranean, it is not necessarily indicative of color usage in Scandinavia. However, there may be something said about how the fabric itself was dyed: traces of Kermes vermilio were found, the source of a highly valued red dye. It is possible that this expensive dye had been “mixed with the cheaper madder, suggesting a high class product but within reasonable limits.”80 As the Oseberg ship burial was a grave for two upper-class noble women, the fact that there was a pricey silk entombed with them is again indicative of perhaps the importance—or at least appreciation of— one or both of the women buried. After all, no one buries something in a tomb without an understanding of letting it go most likely forever.

Although it may be easy to overlook, the silks of the Oseberg burial are important to understanding Viking society by way of expressing cultural diffusion and cross-cultural

77 Vedeler, 2014. 16 78 Christensen 2006, 396 79 Vedeler 2014, 17-18 80 Ibid. 17 - 34 - interactions. Marianne Vedeler says “the variety of samite fabrics found in Oseberg, the differences in qualities, patterns, and places of production in one single grave, make them an important source of information to the silk trade and its use in Scandinavia.”81 However, degradation over time has made the colors on these textiles difficult to interpret. Their faded colors and patterns can only help scholars to imagine their once-bright decoration, and extrapolate meanings from those understandings.

If textiles do not hold all the answers to color usage of the Viking age, then perhaps the

Viking art, ornaments, and structures within the ship may be more forthcoming. One of the most fascinating parts of the Oseberg find is the so-called “Buddha bucket.” The pail is named after its two identical handle hinges, which are in the shape of a Buddha-like figure; the bucket “has retained this name even though it has not been possible to find any direct connection with Buddhist art.” The bucket is wooden, and here there is evidence of color. Both Buddha-like figures hold an ornate box, decorated in red, yellow, blue, and white, and the fact that there is still extant color on the Buddha bucket gives great credence to the enameling skills of the metal caster.82

81 Vedeler 201, 9 82 Sjovold 1969, 44-45 - 35 -

Figure 2 - One of the "Buddha"-like figures of the "Buddha bucket." Notice the yellow-on-red and white-on-blue motifs. Photo by Schwitters. From: Thorleif Sjovold, The Oseberg Find (Oslo: Universitetets Oldsaksamling, 1969), II. As can be seen from the image, blue and white are grouped together and red and yellow are grouped together. The yellow T-shapes form a red fylfot in the center of each set of yellow T- shapes. Meanwhile, the blue cross in the center serves as a background for white, almost flowery,

X-shapes. There is not much information regarding the importance of the coloration of the Buddha bucket, but it is interesting to see the usage of the three primary colors in unison with white. These colors may have stood out vibrantly over a thousand years ago when this decorative pail was once used; its eloquent workmanship leads one to understand it as attractive fixture belonging in the home of a person of wealth or noble lineage, not “an ordinary milk can.”83 How the colors and

83 Sjovold 1969, 46 - 36 - motifs is also notable in that each part contrasts beautifully with the other. However, without further information such as what types of paints were used and the purpose of the Buddha bucket, it is impossible to make a generalization about the significance of the colors utilized.

The Oseberg ship also contained driving equipment: a cart and three sleighs. Each has elaborate carvings in its wood, and this luxury again lends itself to an understanding of the importance of the noblewomen interred inside the ship. The cart is most likely the most important of the driving equipment; at 5.5 by 1.5 meters and made with heavy woods and metals, its size lends a sense of heftiness and importance.84 Of note here is the decoration of the cart itself more so than its size, but it is noteworthy to mention the excellence of the overall craftsmanship of the cart. According to Thorleif Sjovold, “there are various indications that the cart was used for religious ceremonies.”85 It is fitting then that one of the most intelligible scenes carved into the wood depicts a man fighting a group of snakes, which “probably illustrates the myth of Gunnar in the Snake Pen.”86 The story of Gunnar and his untimely end in a snake pit was also found in the

“Second Lay of Gudrun,” as was depicted in the previous chapter.87 This correlation is understandable in that the myths and legends found in the Poetic Edda, as well as other Nordic texts, were reflected in artwork and crafts made by the people who believed in the Norse deities.

However, as with the other pieces of driving equipment in the Viking ship, the traces of paint that had been found on the pieces:

“could not be retained in the process of preserving the objects, and have therefore almost entirely disappeared. This decoration [on the cart and sleighs] is so complicated that the colours may well have helped to make it more intelligible.”88

84 Sjovold 1969, 33-34 85 Ibid. 34 86 Ibid. 35 87 Larrington 1996, 215 88 Sjovold 1969, 38 - 37 -

Unfortunately, which trace colors of paints that were found before disintegrating completely is difficult to uncover. In turn, this means that the driving equipment also fails to give much information regarding colors and the colors used to define each character or animal on the decorations, mostly due to a lack of information available. Had there been paint still on the pieces—or at least documentation of the paints which the cart had been found with—it may have lent to a lengthier discussion; so, while it is important to recognize that these pieces had been colored in, the cart cannot lend much data to this work’s overlying thesis.

Overall, the Oseberg Viking ship burial, for all its opulence and detail, expresses the importance of color contrasts. From the above analyzations, most of the colors still extant are reds, browns, and grays. If there was a propensity for red it is not clear to say, but it may be simply that red is an easily preserved color, particularly in textiles, or that red may have been considered a more regal color, fitting of a noblewoman’s grave. The browns and grays are mainly the remnants of degradation of other colors. Further research on the traces of dyes on the textile pieces may help with interpretations of these pieces. However, even without a clear picture of what the degraded colors may have looked like, there is still a clear emphasis on making certain figures or patterns stand out more clearly on a contrasting background. As for the more ornamental or practical equipment found within the ship, it is also hard to say what colors may have decorated them; but even if there was more color on the scenes depicted, it does not mean that it would be much easier to interpret without some sort of written work to reference to or draw parallels from—as was done with the scene on the large cart and its reference to the Poetic Edda. However, as with the textiles, there again is a pointed contrast of colors—as depicted clearly on the “Buddha Bucket,” for instance. Thus, this chapter concludes that what the objects and textiles of the Oseberg express to - 38 - scholars in the way of the Viking world is that there seems to be a pointed effort to have images and scenes depicted in contrast, most likely to make the pictures stand out and put emphasis on certain characters. It is worth it to examine this theme more in the future by observing other textiles and ornaments in Viking ship burials such as those in Tune and Gokstad and seeing if such color contrasts hold in those artifacts as well.89 While there is no clear understanding of the hues of the colors used, the distinction between colors used shows a marked preference toward textiles and decorations with color contrasts.

89 Sjovold 1969, 55, 72 - 39 -

Conclusion

“To all warriors—may your lot be made better; To all ladies—may your sorrows grow less, Now this chain of griefs has been recounted.”90

Archeological finds often preserve information lacking in literary sources. As seen above, it would be disingenuous to expect truthful representations of the world from myths and legends, although trends and commonalities may be found and possibly express ways in which information was passed along. If these literary representations are truthful to the colors of 9th and 10th century reality, then every blue-cloaked person might be mistaken for a murderer, which is not the case.

Likewise, the archaeological finds also cannot be extrapolated to assume that most fabrics were red, as there was clearly a wide range of colored clothing depicted within written works. However, this is not to say that there are no connections with the fictional and real Viking worlds.

All in all, the hypothesis of this work has been a success. Significantly, there does seem to be a correlation between the colors of Poetic Edda and those of the Oseberg Viking ship burial that would lead to a conclusion about the color world of 9th and 10th century Scandinavia: the usage of color contrasts. This can be distinctly seen in both the archeological and literary sources, and the recurrent theme gives reason to pause. Although the poems may have focused more on the brightness of colors whereas the Oseberg articles emphasized hues, the fact remains that the

Oseberg textiles and ornaments point to contrasting colors as being highly desirable in turn-of-the- millennium Scandinavia. This is not unlike the colorful descriptions of royalty and deities inside the Poetic Edda. For instance, the white-blue and yellow-red contrasts of the “Buddha Bucket” are

90 Larrington 1996, 237 - 40 - reminiscent of the green-red of the Huns in the “Lay of Atli,” who are compared to the gray, monochromatic Norse men. However, at times it is not so easy to simply associate colors between the two sources without a full understanding of both. For instance, the second of the garments found within the Oseberg burial were blue, but it does not mean that one of the women was a murderer as may have been assumed were it a poem in the Edda—here there is a definite difference between hues of blue. Even so, it is interesting to note that the blue garment from the Oseberg burial was overlaid with a brown mantle. While she may not have stood out in all-red as the other woman she was buried with, the contrast of the second woman’s clothing may have nevertheless been a symbol of fashion and status in the Viking world.

Another important, but indirectly related to the thesis, aspect was also uncovered, in regards to the scenes depicted in the archaeological source analyzed. From the Oseberg ornaments and textiles, it is evident that there is a trend with stories of Poetic Edda (and by extension other

Norse legendary works) and artwork, so much so that the stories were known and perhaps easily recognized without the need for captions or titles. Of course, colors that had outlined certain details may have helped, but one gets the feeling that the typical 9th century Viking might have understood the images even without help, relying on previous knowledge perhaps gained by listening to these tales on the knee of a parent. It is not new to understand that what is obvious in one culture or society may not be so clear in another (especially one a thousand years in the future), but even so, this knowledge helps to understand the sort of education or upbringing the people in Viking society may have gone through to be properly acculturated to their society’s nuances.

It may be possible to find more of a relationship between the real and fictional Viking realities through other aspects than color. More research might be done, for example, on the wefts rather than the coloration of the Oseberg textiles, or perhaps it would be good to focus on instead - 41 - on possible correlation between literary works and reality in relation to silk and silk trade.91 Or perhaps it would be better to analyze and compare multiple ship burials with multiple literary sources—both fictional and non-fictional—which would probably lead to more answers than the scope of this thesis could provide.

From the gruesome yet epic Norse myths of the Poetic Edda to the astoundingly furnished

Oseberg Viking ship burial, it is clear to see that the Scandinavian world did not lack for culture and creativity. To the Vikings, it may have been a gorgeously colored world, befitting of exploration in the arts—or the colors may have been simply taken for granted, as could be said about many people in today’s cosmopolitan society. How the Vikings colored their world is not as easy of a question as it may have seemed from the outset of this work—and for now, it appears that the exact shades and gradients which made up the Norse world is still to be uncovered, whether in an old dusty volume of poetic epics, or hidden on a missing scrap of tapestry. However, it can assuredly be said that, regardless of the hues of the colors used in texts or tapestries, something as simple as a color contrasted speaks volumes to its intended audience.

91 Vedeler 2014, 111-112 - 42 -

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