Echoes of the Past: Women, Memories and Disc-On-Bow Brooches in Vendel- and Viking-Period Scandinavia

European Journal of Archaeology 24 (1) 2021, 89–107 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Echoes of the Past: Women, Memories and Disc-on-Bow Brooches in Vendel- and Viking-period Scandinavia

ZANETTE T. GLØRSTAD AND INGUNN M. RØSTAD Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Norway

This article examines the development, handling, and depositions of disc-on-bow brooches from the sixth to tenth centuries AD in the Vendel and Viking periods in Norway and mainland Sweden. A revised typological framework is presented, and the context of these brooches explored. The authors discuss their preservation, re-use, fragmentation, and ritual meaning within ongoing social negotiations and internal conflicts from the late Vendel period into the Viking Age. References to the past in Viking- Age society and the significance of women for maintaining narratives of the past are considered, as are levels of access, control, and definition of narratives of the past in times of social redefinition.

Keywords: Vendel, Viking, disc-on-bow brooch, women, past, narratives

INTRODUCTION Here, we explore the social complexities that characterize this period of transition In recent years, research into Viking Age through an in-depth study of the disc-on (c. AD 790–1050) society has explored its bow brooches (Figure 1) in Norway and complex social compositions, group forma- mainland Sweden. Although considered a tions, and social identities (Svanberg, defining artefact of the Vendel period (c. 2003; Downham, 2009; Raffield et al., AD 550–790), there is no up-to-date over- 2016). The reassessments of object-based, view and contextualization of the material. chronological frameworks (Skibsted We present a revised typology of the Klæsøe, 1999) and new dating of trade brooches and use this as a starting point to patterns and maritime ventures (Ashby explore how they were used and curated. et al., 2015; Price et al. 2016; Baug et al., We argue that the disc-on-bow brooches 2018) have furthermore shown that the become increasingly important as mne- early Viking Age comprises multifaceted monic objects during the Vendel period, and overlapping sets of processes and and that this is linked to negotiations and events that extend back to the early eighth conflicts around the past as a political century. One illustrative example of this resource in the late Vendel period and long overlap is the change in jewellery sets early Viking Age. Recent studies have from around AD 700 on the Scandinavian examined the role of the past in the peninsula, including large disc-on-bow Viking Age, including new perspectives on brooches, arm-rings, and the introduction runic stones and picture stones as foci of of domed, oblong brooches (Callmer, remembrance and the re-creation of myth- 1984: 67). ologies and identities (Arwill-Nordbladh,

© European Association of Archaeologists 2020 doi:10.1017/eaa.2020.23 Manuscript received 4 July 2019, accepted 6 April 2020, revised 14 November 2019 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.202.226, on 30 Sep 2021 at 22:32:47, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2020.23 90 European Journal of Archaeology 24 (1) 2021

fifth to seventh centuries and used to dec- orate unique objects made for the political and social elites (Arrhenius, 1985). As garnet decoration gradually went out of use on the European continent from the late sixth to the late eighth centuries, it became increasingly popular in Scandinavia and Anglo-Saxon England to adorn a variety of status objects (Arrhenius, 1985;Adams, 2010; Ljungkvist & Frölund, 2015; Glørstad & Røstad, 2015; Hamerow, 2017;Fernetal.,2019). While largely going out of production by the late eighth century, the brooches remained in circulation until the tenth century, as antiquities, either complete or in fragments. We argue that the development and long-term use of both complete and fragmented brooches reflects ongoing social negotiations and internal social conflicts from the late Vendel period to the Viking Age, and that women were central to these negotiations. This topic inevitably also concerns the question of how the past was integrated and interpreted in Viking-Age society, par- Figure 1. Disc-on-bow brooch, Melhus, Trøndelag, ticularly how defining and engaging with Norway (T6574). Length: 24 cm. © NTNU the past were linked to changing social Norwegian University Museum Trondheim, cohesion and political tension in parts of P. Fredriksen/ CC BY-SA 4.0. Scandinavia. This approach underlines the necessity of considering how Scandinavian society in the Viking Age was influenced 2007; Andrén, 2013) and on interactions by its own past, and how this historicity with monuments and landscapes (Thäte, contributed to shape identities and social 2007; Lund & Arwill-Nordbladh, 2016). strategies within various Norse groups. There has, however, been little attempt to explore this period by combining knowledge gained from typology and detailed THE DISC-ON-BOW BROOCHES, AD contextual studies with theoretical consid- 550–790 eration of socially-constituted temporalities and identities (see Fowler, 2017). The disc-on-bow brooches developed as a In Scandinavia, the disc-on-bow distinct fibula type during the Scandinavian brooches are particularly associated with the Vendel period (c. AD 550–790), with the cloisonné style. The brooches represent first examples known from the early sixth the last and northernmost occurrence of century. They evolved from typological the early medieval use of garnet cloisonné forerunners around the North Sea coast, for exclusive items. This technique was such as relief brooches and fibulae deco- widespread in continental Europe in the rated with filigree, garnets, or other semi-

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.202.226, on 30 Sep 2021 at 22:32:47, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2020.23 Glørstad and Røstad – Echoes of the Past 91

precious stones and glass (Salin, 1904:66; Ørsnes, 1966: 115; Olsen, 2006). The so- called ‘prototypes’, that is small, not yet standardized brooches, reflect the various regional forerunners (Figure 2). Disc-on- bow brooches are found throughout the Vendel period in all of Scandinavia, the majority in Norway and Sweden. The Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea has a high concentration of disc-on- bow brooches with a distinctive development, and there production continued into the eleventh century (Thunmark-Nylén, 2006). The Gotlandic corpus is well pub- lished and illustrated, and Birger Nerman’s studies (1969, 1975) are still key for this type of brooch. Other studies include Gutorm Gjessing’s publication of Norwegian Vendel-period finds (1929, 1934) and Mogen Ørsnes’ (1966)extensive work on the Vendel-period material from Denmark and southern Sweden, as well as Figure 2. Prototype variant, Lunda, Uppland, regional studies from Norway and Sweden Sweden (SHM 32300: A1). Length: 6.5 cm. (Stjerna, 1905; Serning, 1966; Vinsrygg, © Zanette T. Glørstad/ CC BY-SA 4.0. 1979; Gudesen, 1980; Minda, 1989). Ørsnes’ work has proved particularly influential, and several later studies build on his typology, which rests mainly on the minor role as a distinguishing feature; too southern Scandinavian and Gotlandic much emphasis appears to have been material (Gudesen, 1980;HøilundNielsen, placed on this element at the expense of 1987; Olsen, 2006). Consequently, some other more conspicuous traits. We there- characteristics that appear only on brooches fore present a revised typology of disc-on- from Norway and Sweden do not fit into bow brooches from Norway and mainland Ørsnes’ scheme. Several brooches from Sweden, comparable to Ørsnes’ subtypes Norway and mainland Sweden are, for and phases (Table 1). Unlike Ørsnes’ instance, larger than their southern scheme, it does not distinguish between Scandinavian counterparts and include fea- one and three roundels on the footplate. tures absent in that material (Gjessing, Like Ørsnes, we take into account the 1934:138–39). Ørsnes’ typology stresses brooch’s size, the type (or absence) of ‘bird’ one specific element, i.e. the presence of heads shown in profile on the footplate, as one versus three roundels on the footplate, well as the type of ornamentation and its as an overall principle for the subdivisions. distribution on the bow and side of the This is a traditional distinction between brooch. In addition, the revised scheme brooches from Gotland and mainland emphasizes certain characteristics of the Scandinavia, but it is not a consistently headplates, footplates, and bows not men- observed difference (Ørsnes, 1966:106). tioned by Ørsnes. The dating of the Arguably, this characteristic only plays a brooches follows Ørsnes’ three phases,

Table 1. Revised typology with main characteristics of the brooches. Phase Main typological characteristics

Prototypes (AD 525– 575) Bird/animal heads not fully developed or missing Non-standardized form on footplate Non-standardized decoration: stamps only, single garnet inlay, or simple cloisonné Bow decorated with stamps, usually in vertical lines Integrated disc/‘ﬂattened’ bow Low, undecorated sides c. 5–7 cm long

Phase 1 (AD 550–650) Bird/animal heads fully developed Vertical panel on footplate, with cloisonné Bow decorated with stamps, usually in vertical lines Disc separately ﬁtted Circular base for the disc on the bow Headplate, with two roundels set with white inlay or garnets Low, undecorated sides, also increased use of engraved horizontal lines c. 6–10 cm long

Phase 2 (AD 650–725) Bird heads T-shaped cloisonné-filled panel on footplate Triangular or trapezoid panels with Style II decoration on bow Oval base for the disc on the bow Larger area of headplate filled with cloisonné Bow tapering towards disc base Sides increasing in height, introduction of interlace- and waffle-patterns on sides c. 10–17 cm long

Phase 3 (AD 725–790) Bird heads disappear Footplate, headplate and disc covered in complex cloisonné pattern Bow fully decorated/enlarged trapezoid panels decorated in animal style or wafﬂe- patterns Elongated, oval base for disc on the bow Bow with even width Perforations for suspensions ‘Crown’ placed on top of the disc and/or on top of roundels on head- and footplates Broad sides, decorated with animal decoration, interlace-, or wafﬂe-patterns c. 15–30 cm long

although we acknowledge that their abso- THE DATING AND CONTEXT OF lute dates are disputed (Høilund Nielsen, DISC-ON-BOW BROOCHES FROM NORWAY 1987). In practice, the brooches are all dis- AND MAINLAND SWEDEN tinctive with no apparent identical copies; they nevertheless have some common Our review of the Swedish and Norwegian denominators within and across regions. material includes 188 brooches: 119

brooches from the Swedish mainland and secure cremation contexts, and only six come sixty-nine from Norway (Table 2) were from confirmed inhumation burials. Very recorded as either complete exemplars or few burials contain enough human remains as fragments (see Supplementary Material to determine biological sex. Nevertheless, for details). The number of finds from studies of southern Scandinavian burials each phase increases over time, with most point to a strong correlation between bio- finds dating to the later phases. This could logicalsexandtraditional,gendereditems partly be due to the brooches’ increase in (Sellevold et al., 1984;Svanberg,2003:21– size, from c. 6–10 cm long in Phase 1 to 24). Thus, a deceased person buried with up to 25–30 cm long in Phase 3 (e.g. brooches, dress pins, bracelets, six or more Kåsta in Uppland, SHM 5767, 15878). beads, or textile working implements is con- The later brooches, or large fragments of sidered to be gendered feminine. In total, them, are likely to be more visible in cir- seventy-five burials could be archaeologically cumstances of accidental findings or non- determined as feminine, with no objects des- professional excavations. ignating masculine gender identities. Of the For both countries, most brooches come seventeen recorded inhumation burials, only from burials: 124 brooches derive from five individuals have been osteologically burial contexts, which is a very small propor- sexed. Of these, four were assumed to be tion of the burials known from Norway and female,astheywereburiedwithtraditionally mainland Sweden, given that there are feminine objects including beads, brooches, approximately 8000 Viking-Age burials in and textile working equipment (SHM Norway alone (Stylegar, 2010: 71) and 29401: g15, SHM 36009:98, RAÄ 162/ about 1500 burials of the Vendel and Viking A15, VM 27650). One burial, however, period in southern Sweden (Svanberg, 2003: contained remains identified osteologically 19). Of the thirty-nine burials with disc-on- as likely male (UM 43227:79). The deceased bow brooches recorded in Norway, eleven was buried with, among other things, a late were inhumations and thirteen cremations; Vendel-period oval brooch, some forty in the remaining graves, the burial ritual is beads, and a spiral arm-ring. No objects unknown or insufficiently documented. In could be associated with a traditional male Sweden, fifty-nine of the eighty-five gender identity. The burial underlines how brooches from burials are from probable or expressions of gender and its relation to

Table 2. Number of brooches (or fragments) according to the revised typology. Some fragments are too damaged to be classified; for details, see Supplementary Material. Proto 1 1/ 2 2 2/ 3 3 N/A date Total

Norway 5 9 20 5 29 1 69 Burials 2 5 13 19 39 Stray ﬁnds 3 4 7 4 10 1 29 Settlements/workshops 1 1 Mainland Sweden 8 24 4 16 14 29 24 119 Burials 7 22 2 9 11 25 9 85 Stray ﬁnds 1 2 5 3 3 14 Settlements/workshops 1 1 1 15 18 Hoards 1 1 2 Total 13 33 4 36 19 58 25 188

biological sex, or the gendered expression of and to which degree they can be identified fluidsocialroles,maybemorecomplexthan and contextualized. The large proportion previously assumed (see Hedenstierna et al., of cremation burials partly explains the 2017). highly fragmented, and hence difficult to Many brooches are stray finds or have date, brooches in the Swedish corpus. It is no context information. Some fragments possible to exclude certain phases on the are found in settlement contexts and seem basis of some features, but several frag- to have been scrap metal (C52519/14294 ments can only be attributed to a broad from Norway and SHM 5208:32 U 3941 phase. They nevertheless contribute to the and Rasbo 630:1/no. 158 from Sweden). overall chronological distribution and In Sweden, two brooches come from pos- development and are therefore included in sible ritual wetland hoards (SHM 1209 Table 2 as belonging to either one of two and SHM31325, see Lamm, 1986; possible phases (1–2or2–3). Magnus, 1999). It is worth noting that the development of Table 2 presents the corpus. There are agriculture and cultural heritage legislation no significant differences between the affect the archaeological record. For instance, brooches found in Norway and those from metal-detectorists have contributed to several mainland Sweden. A group of eight Phase new finds in Norway over the last decade, 2 brooches illustrates this: on these, an whereas in Sweden private metal-detecting is entire bird’s head is shown on the foot- largely prohibited. Also, the contents of plate under the roundels with garnet many burials were acquired through old or inlays, in contrast to the more common non-professional excavations conducted in design with only a stylized beak under the response to the reorganization of the agricul- roundels, which marks the bird’s eyes tural landscape, with finds reported as far (Gjessing, 1934: 138–39, ‘Trøndsk-Jemsk’ back as 1835. In most cases, these find con- group). This variant occurs in central texts are incompletely documented. Scandinavia, in both Sweden and Norway, and on the west coast of Norway. Another example is the crucible for the crown of a TIME AND FRAGMENTATION late Phase 3 brooch from the production site of Store Förvar on Gotland. This The revised typology and the brooches’ crown has few parallels in Gotland itself, contextual information reveals two main the closest being found north of Lake trends that give a broader perspective on Mälaren in eastern Sweden and in south- their characteristics and use. First, by com- western and central Norway (Rogaland paring the datable burials with the stylistic and Sør-Trøndelag County) (Gustafsson, dating of the brooches, it becomes clear 2017). Despite the many variations within that many brooches were quite old at the the corpus, there are, as demonstrated time of their deposition in burials. Second, above, clear examples of connections what seems to be a cognisant and pro- between the brooches and intra-regional longed use of these brooches is underlined social networks, forming part of a web of by considerable, deliberate fragmentation production and exchange from the Baltic and secondary use of brooch fragments Sea to central Scandinavia from the end of (Figure 3). the eighth century onwards. It is possible to compare the phases of Burial rites including cremation of the manufacture and depositions of seventy of deceased and of the grave goods signifi- the brooches, although the quality of exca- cantly influence how objects are preserved, vation and documentation varies. The

Figure 3. Complete vs fragmented brooches compared to the brooches’ production phase. Where the fragment consists of two elements, both are recorded. For detailed descriptions, see Supplementary Material.

relative dating of the brooches is based on worn and parts are reinforced by adding the revised typology presented above, and metal sheets. The importance of maintain- the suggested phase of the burials is based ing the brooches and brooch fragments on the typological dating of the additional over long periods seems to start in Phase objects in the grave, following established 2. In fifteen burials, brooches typologically Scandinavian chronologies (Høilund dated to the Vendel-period Phases 1–3 are Nielsen, 1987; Røstad, 2016). Comparing found in burials with grave goods typolo- the relative chronologies for separate types gically dated to the late Vendel period or of objects poses challenges, including over- Viking Age, implying that the brooches lapping chronological schemes and diver- were deposited in the burial fifty to 100 ging subdivisions of the schemes in years, perhaps even longer, after produc- question. Nevertheless, in many cases, tion. Among these, the early Phase 2 there appears to be a marked deviation brooch from Ylmheim in Sogndal between the estimated period of produc- (B12215) shows traces of wear and was tion of a brooch and its deposition in a repaired before being deposited in a Phase burial. This ambiguity seems to emphasize 3 burial. In a burial at Svergvollen in an observation made by the Norwegian Kvikne (C25880) the seventh/early archaeologist Guttorm Gjessing on the eighth-century brooch was about 100 years disc-on-bow brooches: ‘… it will surely old or more at the time of burial in the prove that for some reason they have been early ninth century. In the Norwegian preserved for a long time before deposition corpus, seven brooches and brooch frag- in the earth, longer than other types of ments are documented in female burials antiquities’ (Gjessing, 1934: 139–40, with characteristic Viking-Age jewellery authors’ own translation). Several brooches (see Supplementary Material). This could show much wear and repair; the surface in many cases be because a mature woman decoration on the bows and edges are kept fragments or brooches acquired in

youth. Nonetheless, there are also notice- able time intervals. In two cases—the Phase 3 brooches found in a tenth-century burial at Hagbartholmen in Steigen (Ts5281) and in a late tenth-century (possibly close to AD 1000) burial in Fonnås in Rendalen (C8156)—the brooches were 100–150 years old at the time of burial. A similar practice existed, though more difficult to confirm, among Swedish brooches, Figure 4. Bow fragment with worked edges, although thirteen burials could belong to Melø, Vestfold, Norway (C11898). a) front; b) back with secondary pin/catchplate. © Museum the early ninth century (see Supplementary of Cultural History, Oslo, K. Helgeland/ CC Material). BY-SA 4.0. The high degree of fragmentation and occasional reworking is a feature common interlace and animal decoration on the to both Sweden and Norway. Some bow may have amplified their aesthetic burials contain several fragments of the value but also their meaning. The highly same brooch, indicating that it was origin- affective properties of the intricate design, ally deposited complete but damaged, central in retelling and creating political either during cremation or through decay. and cosmological perceptions (Kristoffersen, In other burials, the fragments display 1995; Hedeager, 2005), is likely key to signs of deliberate division and reuse. This understanding their value and impact as phenomenon is recorded in at least fifteen re-used objects. The emphasis put on the finds, and consists of deliberately separated separated discs and crowns could indicate discs, top crowns, headplates, footplates, that this feature was given extra signifi- and separate bow fragments. Some of the cance and representative value. One find detached parts show traces of worked underpinning this hypothesis is an early edges, others are refitted with a pin and Phase 3 disc found in a burial in catchplate to form a new brooch or are Södermanland (SHM 34034, grave 16): perforated for secondary use. Examples the disc had a cord looped through its include a bow fragment with worked central hole (where the rivet would have edges from a female burial at Melø, originally been), and it was placed on a Norway (C11898; Figure 4), fitted with a layer of birch bark and feathers secondary pin and catchplate, and a perfo- (Foghammar-Summanen, 1987). There rated bow fragment from Lien, Norway are also several examples of otherwise (C26134a), indicating a secondary use. complete brooches where the disc is The quantity of fragmented brooches missing and appears to have been inten- increases throughout the period under tionally removed, which could be asso- scrutiny, while the number of complete ciated with the potency of the discs. On brooches decreases. The extent of deliber- an otherwise complete Phase 2 brooch ate vs accidental fragmentation is difficult from Store Skomo in Trøndelag (T7714) to estimate, although clearly many frag- found in a Phase 3 burial, textile fragments are the result of the deliberate and ments covered the bow and the rivet hole targeted breaking up of brooches. In originally intended to fasten the disc. This Phases 2 and 3, this seems to target par- would only be possible if the disc had ticularly two elements: the bow and the been removed before burial and the cloth discs and crowns. The increased use of placed over the dead. The most obvious

example of an intentionally removed disc mobilizing and defining social communi- is the lavish Phase 3 brooch from Tuna in ties (e.g. Connerton, 1989; Halbwachs, Badelunda (Vlm 27650), dated to the late 1992), and the central role of material eighth century: here the disc was removed, culture in re-enacting, manipulating, and but the crown that is normally on top of the negotiating temporal conceptions and disc was re-fastened directly on the bow communal pasts. Several studies elucidate (Nylén & Schönbäck, 1994:94–99). It has, how material culture moves beyond a con- however, not been possible to prove that ventional timeframe of production, use, discs and brooches from separate localities and deposition, and that objects, localities, constituted part of the same object, nor that and rituals are repeatedly re-used and re- parts of the same brooch have been deliber- enacted as mnemonic tools (e.g. Van ately placed in different sections of the grave. Dyke & Alcock, 2003; Williams, 2006). The separate discs and crowns, as well These studies emphasize how recollection as the otherwise complete brooches with of the past, either imagined or historical, missing discs, reveal how the brooches is a dynamic process including different must have been reworked and manipu- types of materialities, objects, actions, and lated, subjected to negotiations about how embodied experiences, forming intricate their different parts and associated affects fields of temporal and social references were to be distributed among the families (Jones, 2007). and groups to which they belonged. The The dating, context, ornamentation, practice of fragmentation could also be and fragmentation of the disc-on-bow interpreted as an act of pars pro toto brooches points to an increase in such (Brück & Fontijn, 2012; Van der Vaart- complex referential practice, with a Verschoof & Schumann, 2020) in which marked change in attitude towards these the separate fragments, with discs and brooches and their separate parts from crowns being particularly expressive, carried around AD 700. During Phase 3, the the ideological and social connotations of development of the brooches becomes the complete brooch, thereby preserving quite extreme: they reach almost unwear- the connection between the previous able proportions, the garnets, interlace, owners, the deceased, and the brooch as a and Style III decoration increasingly social, mnemonic object. Fragments then covers all possible surfaces. This, and the would not only transmit the symbolism of growing number of carefully divided their intact form, but also the enchained brooches and re-used fragments, suggests connotations of past makers and owners that the disc-on-bow brooches became (Chapman, 2000: 39). The traces of delib- gradually more significant as social and erate fragmentation and reassembling thus symbolically-charged objects actively inte- also refer to notions of relations, continu- grated within ongoing political and social ation, bricolage, and identities (Chapman, practice. The cruciform brooches of 2000; Hamilakis & Jones, 2017). Anglo-Saxon England, which increase in size through their period of use likely due to their growing symbolic importance WOMEN AS CUSTODIANS OF THE PAST: (Martin, 2015), constitute a valid parallel. COLLECTIVE MEMORIES AND Oval brooches also see their size increase ‘COSMOLOGICAL AUTHENTICATION’ during the eighth century, and it has been suggested that the latter phenomenon is Key studies have underlined cultural or linked to the growing availability of metal collective memory as essential for and increasing resources through emerging

Figure 5. Triangular section on Phase 3 brooch, Tømmerås, Trøndelag, Norway (T1120). © NTNU University Museum Trondheim, P. Fredriksen/ CC BY-SA 4.0.

urban networks (Sindbæk, 2012). Part of were produced in the final phase of the the brooches’ growing significance and Vendel period. The bow, however, contains prestige may thus be connected to the conspicuously conservative traits, with a display of access to the resources needed narrow, triangular section and a decorative for their production. style largely associated with Phase 2 It is also possible that the gradual brooches (Figure 5). The design of the increase in size facilitated further fragmen- animal figures does nonetheless include tation and distribution of the brooches, traits typical of late Style III, suggesting contributing to enhance their value as that the brooches were produced later, as authenticating objects and thereby distrib- does the dense grid pattern covering the uting a sense of ownership to mythical nar- entire bow (Gjessing, 1934:140–41). All ratives. As noted, the prolonged use and in all, these changes can be seen as reflect- conservation of brooches and fragments are ing growing concerns within the social widespread phenomena, possibly reflecting groups in which the brooches and their how their value as antiques and mnemonic fragments circulated about the brooches’ objects grew in importance during the role as narrative and time-authenticated eighth century and the Viking Age. This objects. corresponds to what seems to be a return The gold foil figures from various parts to conservative styles of decoration during of Scandinavia, largely dating to the the eighth century, with Phase 3 brooches seventh–eighth centuries, constitute an incorporating ornamental details and fea- additional source for exploring the signifi- tures usually associated with older types cance and gendered use of the disc-on- (Gjessing, 1934:139–41; Ørsnes, 1966: bow brooches. The gold foils show minis- 111; Thunmark-Nylén, 2006:51–52, 57). cule images, primarily of single or paired Examples include the brooches from humans. They are mainly interpreted as Tømmerås, Norway (T1120), and Ruda, idealized depictions of members of a social Sweden (SHM 17906): their size and oval- elite, or of gods, or mythological characters shaped centre at the bow indicate that they exhibiting symbols of power. Their

Figure 6. Depictions of idealized women, with detailed renderings of disc-on-bow brooches included in the women’s appearance. a) gold foil from Ekerö/Helgö, Uppland, Sweden (SHM 25075/ 1101); b) silver amulet, Aska, Hagebyhöga, Östergötland, Sweden (SHM 16429/1). © Swedish History Museum, G. Jansson/ CC BY 2.5 SE (a); © Swedish History Museum, C. Åhlin/ CC BY 2.5 SE (b).

meaning is unknown; but their context Freyja (Arrhenius, 1962; Back-Danielsson, suggests that they were associated with 2002; Burstrøm, 2015). centres fulfilling political, economic, and It is also possible that in some cases the cultic functions controlled by the elite brooch formed part of a larger visual (Watt, 2004; Ratke & Simek, 2006). display. The rows of small circles below Despite their minute size, the gold foils the brooch on the Aska amulet could show a remarkable level of detail in the represent a large bead necklace (Arrhenius, depiction of bodies, clothes, and key 1962). This resonates with the grave accessories associated with highly ritua- goods: several burials contain a combin- lized roles or ritual transformations (Back- ation of a disc-on-bow brooch and a large Danielsson, 2002; Hedeager, 2015). set of beads, the most prominent bead Several gold foils show women wearing a necklace containing over 1200 beads disc-on-bow brooch placed horizontally, (Ts5281). An examination of the brooches with the head plate pointing toward the hints at this arrangement being an inte- woman’s right, just under the woman’s grated combination, with the Phase 3 chin (Figure 6a). A disc-on bow brooch is brooches in particular forming part of a also clearly depicted and placed in the larger visual set. At least seven Phase 3 same manner on a silver amulet from brooches from Norway and mainland Aska, Sweden, dating to c. AD 800 Sweden have two small holes perforating (Figure 6b) (Arwill-Nordbladh, 2007). In two protruding lobes on one side of the these depictions, the disc-on bow brooch bow or the plates, in all cases on the same emphasizes what appears to be complex side (Figure 7). In two instances, the holes symbolic images; it has been suggested held small copper alloy loops to affix the that the brooches represent the mythical string of beads, and the brooches appear necklace ‘Brísingamen’ of the goddess designed to accommodate the bead

have been particularly important as family heirlooms, passed down between women in the same lineage (Lillios, 1999; Gilchrist, 2013). In this perspective, the disc-on-bow brooches may represent objects associated with the perpetuation of stories relating to genealogy and family identities, and hence the control and perception of time (Glørstad & Røstad, 2015;Røstad,2018). Arwill-Nordbladh (2007) argues for gendered memorial techniques in the Viking Age, with women’s association with the Figure 7. Extended, perforated lobe on bow, past being more closely bound to oral and Österrekarne, Södermanland, Sweden (SHM 8716). © Swedish History Museum, C. Hedenstierna- ritual transmission mediated through Jonson/ CC BY 2.5 SE. material objects. Such objects would be particularly effective if they possessed exclusive identities referring to ancestors, geneal- arrangements. This underlines how the ogies, and origin myths. brooches must have mostly been worn The challenges of managing and trans- horizontally, with the head plate pointing mitting collective memories and narratives towards the right, as in the gold foil of the past may also be reflected in Norse figures and the Aska amulet. This is con- written sources, especially the Eddic poem sistent with the position of brooches in Hyndlaljod. Hyndlaljod is one of several inhumation burials from northern Norway poems hinting at the complexity of tem- (Glørstad & Røstad, 2015: 195–96). The poral concepts, as well as the significance brooches’ perforated bows or plates, of controlling and understanding time and together with the large number of beads temporal relations in Norse society found in many of these burials, suggest (Clunies Ross, 1994: 234–41). The poem that the brooch and the beads formed a describes how Freyja wakes up the giantess set, and should not be seen as separate cat- Hyndla, so that she might reveal the egories. This is corroborated by contem- ancestors of the protagonist, Ottar, for the porary hoards containing comparable sets latter to claim his inheritance and become of jewellery (Oras et al., 2019: 163–64; see king. Hyndla unveils Ottar’s lineage, con- also Røstad, 2018 with references). necting him to the royal families of the The frequent depictions of disc-on-bow Skjoldungs and the Ynglings, both tracing brooches on gold foil figures emphasize their ancestry back to the gods that they were part of a ritual costume or (Steinsland, 2005: 154–55, 162, 239–41). particular attire worn by specific women Here, Freyja appears as a facilitator reveal- during celebrations, memorials, or religious ing memories and genealogies, and the or social rituals (Burström, 2015). poem illustrates the importance of mythic Ritualized or extraordinary costumes, origins and lineage to gain formal author- including jewellery, are intrinsically linked ity. The poem also alludes to knowledge with class, social roles, or certain forms of of the past and of collective narratives that behaviour or postures. Dress, power, and had to be managed and maintained by ideology are, thus, mutually integrated ele- specialists. It implies that this was not ments. Found in what seems to be exclu- only a potent, but also potentially danger- sively female burials, the brooches may ous, type of knowledge. In this

perspective, the disc-on bow brooches featured increasingly lavish decoration appear as essential for a form of ‘cosmo- during the eighth century, and why they logical authentication’ (Weiner, 1992:4) were kept in circulation by some families combining notions of material agency, his- well into the Viking Age. This could, in toric legitimation, and ritual authority. turn, indicate that similar ideas are detect- able in other material categories, as notions and definitions of relevant time- CREATING A PAST THROUGH frames and pasts could affect different ANTIQUITIES:INSULAR LOOT AND DISC- social groups, with varying reactions and ON-BOW BROOCHES counter-reactions. The material brought back to Following this line of thought, the context Scandinavia from Britain and Ireland and use of the disc-on bow brooches entail (‘Insular’ items) through raiding and aspects of power and hierarchy. Mnemonic trading in the early Viking Age can use- objects benefit those families and indivi- fully contribute to our discussion. duals that have access to and ownership of Regardless of previous use, the majority of the inalienable objects in question. As not the Insular artefacts brought to everyone has equal access to such objects, Scandinavia were incorporated into female their possession and display may be per- dress, or otherwise associated with women ceived as representing a noble good, legit- (Wamers, 1985; Glørstad, 2012; imizing social hierarchies, privileges, and Aannestad, 2018; Heen Pettersen, 2018, distinction. Access to such heirlooms could, 2019). Although these artefacts are often thus, be associated with family memories discussed, few researchers have considered and personal identities, but also remove that they were frequently antiquities them- signal rank, distinction, and authority. selves. Many were unique objects pro- The possession of heirlooms associated duced for the aristocracy or clerical with high social status or genealogy may authorities in Britain and Ireland in the increase in significance at times when late seventh and early eighth century and inherited status is threatened by groups or thus were frequently over 100 years old individuals who have acquired higher when taken to Norway. They share many status through, for example, new political similarities in appearance, maintenance, institutions, new forms of economic trans- and fragmentation with the Phase 3 actions, or the vagaries of war (Lillios, brooches: many are old and gilded, with 1999). This would fit the context of Norse intricate decoration and inlays of precious society in the late Vendel period and early stones. This suggests that they were not Viking Age, from the early eighth into the always random loot but targeted to serve ninth century. The intensification of the primarily as symbolic capital. This would North Sea trade, and the raiding and col- be essential in a world where noble or onization on the British Isles may have mythical heritage controlled the path to contributed to a more volatile political influence and power. If we view these situation in the Norse homelands, com- imports as part of a larger social and promising traditional inherited status. material awareness linked to perceptions This could have resulted in an increased associated with other types of objects, it is emphasis on the mythical concepts and possible that their use in Scandinavia was social distinction represented by exclusive connected to ongoing social negotiations objects. This could explain why the in times of change. Some imports, includ- brooches grew to enormous sizes and ing some ornamental mounts from

Figure 8. Re-used Insular mount, Skedsmo, Akershus, Norway (C15211). Left: front; right: back. © Museum of Cultural History, Oslo, A. Icagic / CC BY-SA 4.0.

reliquaries reworked as brooches (Figure 8), the brooches are depicted as a detailed and may even have alluded to the disc on the highlighted feature of the costume. A bow itself. By including in the women’s deeper understanding of the significance dress Insular items referring to exclusive of this costume element is achieved when objects and fragments, upcoming entrepre- assessing the physical traces of the inclu- neurs and families could create an illusion sion of brooches and brooch fragments in of old lineages and traditions, which was the funeral costume of select women. the traditional means of achieving exclu- They seem to represent an idealized, siveness and influence. gender-based role around what appears to be an active mediation, management, and structuring of knowledge of the past in the CONCLUSION present. It has been claimed that Viking- age society was extraordinarily fixated on The disc-on-bow brooches from Norway the past, and that the social elite was con- and mainland Sweden form a vast and cerned with creating an intricate referential varied corpus, until recently only partially mosaic of memories and mythologies explored. Re-evaluating the entire group (Lund & Arwill-Nordbladh, 2016; has made it possible to identify typological Williams, 2016). It is, however, worth change over time. The objects’ context and noting that there is never a constant or condition has provided a more nuanced homogeneous understanding of the past or perspective on how the production and a single way of communicating this within use of the disc-on-bow brooches consist- society. Citations of the past in a specific ently go beyond typological phasing: the situation through material culture and reintroduction of conservative decorative practice can be interpreted in various, even features, the persistence and repair of the contradictory, terms and be associated with brooches over time, and the curation of different narratives; the past can provoke brooch fragments speak for an ongoing reactions like envy, conflict, rejection, and and attentive interaction with narratives reinterpretation, as references to the past in about the past. essence reflect matters of social interaction. Especially in the later Vendel period, Multiple and sometimes antagonistic the brooches reach enormous dimensions versions of the past will, therefore, exist with lavish decoration. In the contempor- within the same society, depending on dif- ary representations of idealized women, ferences over time, space, and social

position (Innes, 2000). This implies that History Museum in Stockholm and Uppsala during the late Vendel period and the University, for information on recent finds. Viking Age, references to the past were used for different outcomes and to anchor different groups with varying visions of the future. The use of disc-on-bow brooches REFERENCES and their fragments vs jewellery made, for Aannestad, H.L. 2018. The Allure of the example, from mounts of Insular origin, Foreign: The Social and Cultural indicates diverging and contradictory ways Dimension of Imports in Scandinavia in of perceiving and curating the past by dif- the Viking Age. Viking and Medieval ferent social groups. If so, what we see are Scandinavia, 14: 1–19. the contours of conflicts regarding the Adams, N. 2010. Rethinking the Sutton Hoo power to define the past among different Shoulder Clasps and Armour. In: C. Entwistle & N. Adams, eds. Intelligible social groups, expressed through the active Beauty: Recent Research on Byzantine change, manipulation, and appropriation of Jewellery. London: British Museum Press, material culture. Certain groups could, pp. 83–112. through their experience of and contact Andrén, A. 2013. Places, Monuments, and with Britain and Ireland, challenge trad- Objects: The Past in Ancient Scandinavia. Scandinavian Studies, 85: 267–81. itional social norms and authority and tran- Arrhenius, B. 1962. Det flammande smycket. scend existing social classes. Regardless of Fornvännen, 57: 79–101. how this process played out, we should Arrhenius, B. 1985. Merovingian Garnet consider, when we discuss the variety and Jewellery: Emergence and Social Implications. heterogeneity of Norse groups, that their Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antikvitets akademien. identities were anchored both in personal Arwill-Nordbladh, E. 2007. Memory and and societal histories as well as social struc- Material Culture: The Rune Stone at Rök. tures. The major change in jewellery tradi- In: U. Fransson, M. Svedin, S. tions and brooches during the eight century Bergerbrant & F. Androshchuk, eds. reflects innovations in production, style, Cultural Interaction Between East and West: Archaeology, Artefacts and Human Contacts and costume, but these changes must be in Northern Europe. Stockholm: understood as socially conditioned, reflect- Stockholm University, pp. 56–60. ing social and political transformations. Ashby, S., Coutu, A.N. & Sindbæk, S.M. 2015. Urban Networks and Arctic Outlands: Craft Specialists and Reindeer SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL Antler in Viking Towns. European Journal of Archaeology, 18: 679–704. https://doi. To view supplementary material for this org/10.1179/1461957115Y.0000000003 article, please visit https://doi.org/10.1017/ Back Danielsson, I.-M. 2002. (Un)Masking Gender: Gold Foil (Dis)Embodiments in eaa.2020.23. Late Iron Age Scandinavia. In: Y. Hamilakis, M. Plucenniks & S. Tarlow, eds. Thinking Through the Body. London: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Kluwer Academic/Plenum, pp. 179–200. Baug, I., Skre, D., Heldal, T. & Jansen, Ø. J. We would like to thank the two anonymous 2018. The Beginning of the Viking Age reviewers for their thorough and constructive in the West. Journal of Maritime – comments and suggestions. We would also Archaeology, 14: 43 80. https://doi.org/10. 1007/s11457-018-9221-3 like to express our deep gratitude to John Bertram, N.M. 2015. Things of Quality: Ljungkvist, Uppsala University, and to Possessions and Animated Objects in the Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson, Swedish Scandinavian Viking Age. In: A. Klevnäs

& C. Hedenstierna-Johnson, eds. Own and Gjessing, G. 1929. Norske ryggknappspenner Be Owned: Archaeological Approaches to the fra Vendeltiden. Det Kongelige norske Concept of Possession (Stockholm Studies in videnskabers selskab skrifter,8:4–17. Archaeology, 62). Stockholm: Department Gjessing, G. 1934. Studier i norsk merovinger- of Archaeology and Classical Studies, tid: kronologi og oldsakformer (Skrifter University of Stockholm, pp. 23–48. utgitt av det Norske Videnskapsakademi i Brück, J. & Fontijn, D. 2012. The Myth of Oslo II. Hist.-Filos. Klasse, 2). Oslo: Det the Chief: Prestige Goods, Power, and Norske Videnskapsakademi. Personhood in the European Bronze Age. Glørstad,Z.T.2012.SignoftheTimes?The In: H. Fokkens & A. Harding, eds. The Transfer and Transformation of Penannular Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Brooches in Viking-Age Norway. Norwegian Age. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. Archaeological Review, 45: 30–51. https://doi. 197–211. org/10.1080/00293652.2012.670379 Callmer, J. 1984. Aspects on Production and Glørstad, Z.T. & Røstad, I.M. 2015. Mot en Style: An Essay with Reference to the ny tid? Merovingertidens ryggknappspen- Merovingian and Early Viking Period ner som uttrykk for endring og erindring. Material of Scandinavia. In: M. Høgestøl, In: M. Vedeler & I.M. Røstad, eds. J.H. Larsen, E. Straume & B. Weber, eds. Smykker. Personlig pynt i kulturhistorisk lys. Festskrift til Thorleif Sjøvold på 70-årsdagen Oslo: Museumsforlaget, pp. 181–210. (Universitetets oldsaksamlings skrifter, 5). Gudesen, H.G. 1980. Merovingertiden i Øst-Norge: Oslo: Universitetets oldsaksamling, pp. 57–85. kronologi, kulturmønstre og tradisjonsforløp Chapman, J. 2000. Fragmentation in (Varia 2). Oslo: Universitetets oldsaksamling. Archaeology: People, Places and Broken Gustafsson, N.B. 2017. Från kust till kust – Objects in the Prehistory of South Eastern Gjuterifynden från Stora Förvar och Stora Europe. London: Routledge. Karlsös roll i vikingatida fjärrhandel (From Clunies Ross, M. 1994. Prolonged Echoes. Coast to Coast: On the Bronze Casting Volume 2: Old Norse Myths in Medieval Finds from Stora Förvar and Stora Northern Society. Odense: Odense Karlsö’s Part in Viking-period Exchange University Press. Networks). In: P. Wallin & H. Connerton, P. 1989. How Societies Remember. Martinsson-Wallin, eds. Arkeologi på Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gotland 2 - Tillbakablickar och nya Downham, C. 2009. ‘Hiberno-Norwegians’ forskningsrön. Uppsala: Uppsala Universitet and ‘Anglo-Danes’: Anachronistic & Gotlands Museum, pp. 243–52. Ethnicities and Viking-Age England. Halbwachs, M. 1992. On Collective Memory Mediaeval Scandinavia, 19: 139–69. (trans. by L. Coser). Chicago (IL): Fern, C., Dickinson, T. & Webster, L. 2019. University of Chicago Press. The Staffordshire Hoard: An Anglo-Saxon Hamerow, H. 2017. The Circulation of Treasure. London: Society of Antiquaries Garnets in the North Sea Zone, c. 400– of London. 700. In: A. Hilgner, S. Greiff & D. Foghammar-Summanen, M. 1987. Gravarna Quast, eds. Gemstones in the First vid Huddinge centrum – fragment av det Millennium AD: Mines, Trade, Workshops förhistoriska Fullersta (Rapport UV 1987: and Symbolism. Mainz: Römisch- 8.) Stockholm: Riksantikvarieeämbetet. Germanisches Zentralmuseum, pp. 71–74. Fowler, C. 2017. Relational Typologies, Hamilakis, Y. & Jones, A. 2017. Archaeology Assemblage Theory and Early Bronze Age and Assemblage. Cambridge Archaeological Burials. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, Journal,27:77–84. https://doi.org/10.1017/ 27: 95–109. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0959774316000688 S0959774316000615 Hedeager, L. 2005. Animal Representations Gilchrist R. 2013. The Materiality of and Animal Iconography. Studien zur Medieval Heirlooms: From Biographical Sachsenforschung, 15: 231–45. to Sacred Objects. In: H.P. Hahn & H. Hedeager, L. 2015. For the Blind Eye Only? Weiss, eds. Mobility, Meaning and Scandinavian Gold Foils and the Power of Transformations of Things: Shifting Contexts Small Things. Norwegian Archaeological of Material Culture through Time and Space. Review, 48: 129–51. https://doi.org/10. Oxford & Oakville: Oxbow, pp. 170–83. 1080/00293652.2015.1104516

Hedenstierna-Jonson, C., Kjellström, A., Høilund Nielsen & F. Siegmund, eds. The Zachrisson, T., Krzewińska, M., Sobrado, Pace of Change: Studies in Early Medieval V., Price, N., et al. 2017. A Female Chronology. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 115–25. Viking Warrior Confirmed by Genomics. Martin, T.F. 2015. The Cruciform Brooch and American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Anglo-Saxon England (Anglo-Saxon 164: 853–60. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa. Studies, 25). Woodbridge: Boydell Press. 23308 Minda, I. 1989. Ryggknappspännen. Ett Heen Pettersen, A. 2018. Objects from a analysförsök av materialet från fastlandet Distant Place: Transformation and Use of och Öland (unpublished MA dissertation, Insular Mounts from Viking-Age Burials Stockholm University). in Trøndelag, Central Norway. Anglo- Nerman, B. 1969. Die Vendelzeit Gotlands. Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History, Volume II: Tafeln. Stockholm: Almqvist & 21: 60–75. Wiksell. Heen Pettersen, A. 2019. The Earliest Wave Nerman, B. 1975. Die Vendelzeit Gotlands. Volume of Viking Activity? The Norwegian I.1: Text. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell. Evidence Revisited. European Journal of Nylén, B. & Schönbäck, B. 1994. Tuna i Archaeology, 22: 523–41. https://www.doi. Badelunda: Guld, kvinnor, båtar, vol2. org/10.1017/eaa.2019.19 Västerås: Kulturnämnden. Høilund Nielsen, K. 1987. Zur Chronologie Olsen, V.S. 2006. The Development of der jüngeren germanischen Eisenzeit auf (Proto)-Disc-On-Bow Brooches in Bornholm. Untersuchungen zu England, Frisia and Scandinavia. Schmuckgarnituren. Acta Archaeologica, 57: Palaeohistoria, 47/48: 479–528. 47–86. Oras, E., Leimus, I. & Joosu, L. 2019. A Innes, M. 2000. Introduction: Using the Past, Viking Age Gold Hoard from Essu, Interpreting the Present, Influencing the Estonia: Context, Function, and Meaning. Future. In: Y. Hen & M. Innes, eds. The In: J. Kershaw & G. Williams, eds. Silver, Uses of the Past in the Early Middle Ages. Butter, Cloth: Monetary and Social Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Economies in the Viking Age. Oxford: pp. 1–8. Oxford University Press, pp. 145–68. Jones, A. 2007. Memory and Material Culture. Ørsnes, M. 1966. Form og stil i Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sydskandinaviens yngre germanske jernalder. Kristoffersen, S. 1995. Transformation in København: Nationalmuseet. Migration Period Animal Art. Norwegian Price, T., Peets, J., Allmäe, R., Maldre, L. & Archaeological Review, 28: 1–17. Oras, E. 2016. Isotopic Provenancing of Lamm, J.P. 1986. Kan du lösa ormens gåta? the Salme Ship Burials in Pre-Viking Age Presentation av ett unikt fynd från Estonia. Antiquity, 90: 1022–37. https:// Össebygarn i Uppland. Medusa. Svensk www.doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2016.106 tidskrift för antiken,4:33–34. Raffield,B.,Greenlow,C.,Price,N.&Collard, Lillios, K.T. 1999. Objects of Memory: The M. 2016. Ingroup Identification, Identity Ethnography and Archaeology of Fusion and the Formation of Viking War Heirlooms. Journal of Archaeological Bands. World Archaeology,48:35–50. https:// Method and Theory, 6: 235–62. doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2015.1100548 Ljungkvist, J. & Frölund, P. 2015. Gamla Ratke, S. & Simek, R. 2006. Guldgubber: Uppsala: The Emergence of a Centre and Relics of Pre-Christian Law Rituals? In: a Magnate Complex. Journal of Archaeology A. Andrén, K. Jennbert & C. Raudvere, and Ancient History, 16: 3–29. eds. Old Norse Religion in Long-term Lund, J. & Arwill-Nordbladh, E. 2016. Perspectives: Origins, Changes and Divergent Ways of Relating to the Past in Interactions. Lund: Nordic Academic the Viking Age. European Journal of Press, pp. 259–64. Archaeology, 19: 415–38. https://doi.org/ Røstad, I.M. 2016. Smykkenes språk. Smykker 10.1080/14619571.2016.1193979 og identitetsforhandlinger i Skandinavia Magnus, B. 1999. The Assemblage of Hade in ca. 400–650/700 e.Kr (unpublished PhD Gästrikland and its Relevance for the dissertation, Institute of Archaeology, Chronology of the Late Migration Period Conservation Studies and History, in Eastern Sweden. In: J. Hines, K. University of Oslo).

Røstad, I.M. 2018. The Immortal Brooch: Archaeology, 23: 22–42. https://www.doi. The Tradition of Great Ornamental Bow org/10.1017/eaa.2019.44 Brooches in Migration and Merovingian Van Dyke, R.M. & Alcock, S.E. 2003. Period Norway. In: M. Vedeler, I.M. Archaeologies of Memory. Malden (MA): Røstad, S. Kristoffersen & Z.T. Glørstad, Blackwell. eds. Charismatic Objects: From Roman Vinsrygg, S. 1979. Merovingartid i Nord- Times to the Middle Ages. Oslo: Cappelen Noreg. Studie i utvalt materiale frå grav- Damm Akademisk, pp. 73–101. funn. Bergen: Historisk Museum, Salin, B. 1904. Die Altgermanische Universitetet i Bergen. Thierornamentik. Stockholm: Beckmans Wamers, E. 1985. Insularer Metallschmuck in Buchdruckerei. wikingerzeitlichen Gräbern Nordeuropas: Sellevold, B.J., Lund Hansen, U. & Balslev Untersuchungen zur skandinavischen Hørgensen, J. 1984. Iron Age Man in Westexpansion. Neumünster: Wachholtz. Denmark. København: Det Kongelige nor- Watt, M. 2004. The Gold-figure Foils diske oldskriftselskab. (‘Guldgubbar’) from Uppåkra. In: L. Serning, I. 1966. Dalarnas järnålder. Larsson, ed. Continuity for Centuries: A Stockholm: Kungl. vitterhets historia och Ceremonial Building and its Context at antikvitets akademien. Uppåkra, Southern Sweden (Acta Sindbæk, S.M. 2012. Enter the Gripping Archaeologica Lundensia, 48). Stockholm: Beast: Innovations and Actor-networks in Almqvist & Wiksell, pp.167–221. Viking Age Towns. In: R. Berge, M.E. Weiner, A.B. 1992. Inalienable Possessions: The Jasinski & K. Sognnes, eds. N-TAG TEN: Paradox of Keeping-While-Giving. Berkeley Proceedings of the 10th Nordic TAG (CA): University of California Press. Conference at Stiklestad, Norway, 2009. Williams, H. 2006. Death and Memory in Oxford: Archaeopress, pp. 129–35. Early Medieval Britain. Cambridge: Skibsted Klæsøe, I. 1999. Vikingetidens krono- Cambridge University Press. logi – en nybearbejdning af det Williams, H. 2016. Viking Mortuary Citations. arkæologiske materiale. Aarbøger for nordisk European Journal of Archaeology, 19: oldkyndighed og historie 1997: 89–142. 400–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/14619571. Steinsland, G. 2005. Norrøn religion. Myter, 2016.1186882 riter, samfunn. Oslo: Pax. Stjerna, K. 1905. Bidrag till Bornholms befol- . Stockholm: kningshistoria under järnåldern BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES Häggström. Stylegar, F.-A. 2010. Hvorfor er det færre kvinne- enn mannsgraver i vikingtiden i Zanette Glørstad is Associate Professor at Norge? Primitive Tider, 12: 71–80. the Museum of Cultural History, University Svanberg,F.2003.Decolonizing the Viking Age: of Oslo, Norway. Her research interests focus Death Rituals in South-East Scandinavia AD on the construction of social identities, cul- – (Acta Archaeologica Lundensia, 800 1000 tural interaction, and mortuary archaeology in 24). Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International. earlyMiddleAges/VikingAgeScandinavia. Thäte, E.S. 2007. Monuments and Minds: Monument Re-use in Scandinavia in the Address: Department of Archaeology, Second Half of the First Millennium AD Museum of Cultural History, University of (Acta Archaeologica Lundensia, 27). Oslo PO Box 6762 St Olavs plass, NO-0130 Lund: Wallin & Dalholm. Thunmark-Nylen, L. 2006. Die Wikingerzeit Oslo, Norway. [email: [email protected]. Gotlands. Volume III.1: Text. Stockholm: no]. ORCID: 0000-0003-0968-2784. Kungl. vitterhets historie och antikvitets akademien. van der Vaart-Verschoof, S. & Schumann, R. Ingunn M. Røstad is Associate Professor 2020. Connected by More Than Exceptional Imports: Performance and at the Museum of Cultural History, Identity in Hallstatt C/D Elite Burials of University of Oslo, Norway. She specia- the Low Countries. European Journal of lizes in Scandinavian Iron Age/early

medieval materiality, object analysis, and Address: Department of Archaeology, Museum collection management. Her main research of Cultural History, University of Oslo PO interests are archaeological find complexes Box 6762 St Olavs plass, NO-0130 Oslo, and jewellery from AD c. 400–800. Norway. [email: [email protected]].

Les échos du passé : femmes, mémoire et fibules à disque sur arc aux époques Vendel et Viking en Scandinavie

Les auteurs de cet article examinent l’évolution, la manipulation et la déposition des fibules à disque sur arc datant des époques Vendel et Viking (du VIe au Xe siècle apr. J.-C.) en Norvège et en Suède. Elles présentent une révision de la typologie et du contexte de ces fibules et examinent leur persistance, réutilisation, fragmentation et signification rituelle au sein de négociations sociales soutenues et de con- flits internes à la fin de l’époque Vendel et au cours de l’âge des Vikings. Elles considèrent également les références au passé dans la société viking et l’importance des femmes dans le maintien des récits concer- nant ce passé, ainsi que le degré d’accessibilité, de contrôle et de définition de ces récits pendant une période de réorientation de la société. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Mots-clés: époque Vendel, viking, fibules à disque sur arc, femmes, passé, récits

Echos aus vergangenen Zeiten: Frauen, Erinnerungen und Bügelscheibenfibeln in der Vendel- und Wikingerzeit in Skandinavien

In diesem Artikel werden die Entwicklung, die Behandlung und die Deponierung von Vendel- und wikingerzeitlichen Bügelscheibenfibeln des 6. bis 10. Jahrhunderts in Norwegen und Schweden unter- sucht. Eine revidierte Typologie wird vorgeschlagen und der Befund der Fibeln behandelt. Die Erhaltung, Wiederverwendung, Fragmentierung und rituelle Bedeutung innerhalb laufenden sozialen Verhandlungen und inneren Konflikten in der späten Vendelzeit und während der Wikingerzeit werden diskutiert. Bezugspunkte zur Vergangenheit in der wikingerzeitlichen Gesellschaft und die bedeutende Rolle der Frauen in der Erhaltung von Geschichten aus dieser Vergangenheit, sowie die unterschiedlichen Zugangsmöglichkeiten, Übersicht und Bestimmung des Gehalts der Erzählungen in einer Epoche von gesellschaftlichen Veränderungen werden auch erforscht. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Stichworte: Vendel, Wiking, Bügelscheibenfibeln, Frauen, Vergangenheit, Geschichten