Norse Bling

The Jewels of the Norse

Hello again my friends! One of our loyal members has requested I write a piece regarding the jewellery our ancestors once wore.

Yes! That's right folks, another article in support of our hipster past.

Some archeological digs that correlate with early Norse history have recovered many different forms of jewellery and accessories at various burial sites, everything from necklaces, rings, brooches and other pieces of flair.

Just like my article on male grooming, manscaping had many purposes,the same applies for jewellery of the Norse people.

The early finds show basic creations, as these were generally treated as currency among the Norse people.Our knowledge of Norse jewelry mainly comes from items discovered in hoards and burial sites.

Vikings wore arm and neck rings, usually made of silver, from which they would hack pieces off to make payment for goods and services. This type of jewelry is referred to as hack silver.
The ancient Vikings rarely wore finger rings or earrings, not until later in their history, but as any good Norman, adaptation and absorption of the cultures they integrated with, rings were eventually worn.

Silver was frequently used to make Viking jewelry. Gold was rarely used. Brooches made out of Bronze and worn by women were the most common jewelry items of the ancient Vikings.

Once again, this shows that the men were somewhat vain in their appearance, but also took the time and effort honing their metallurgy skills in creating pieces for their loved ones.

Over time the designs became more complex and intricate, some of this was simply because they were getting better at their skills, some of this was adaptation or imitation from other cultures. Regardless of which factors were more influential is uncertain, but the consequences were higher quality jewelry that both male and females wore with pride.

Not too shabby for a group of savages hey!? This only reinforces my previous mythbusting article about the Viking men. They adored their women, so much so, they would slave over a hot fire to make beautiful trinkets for them. This certainly does not correlate with a people that were considered war hungry, unkempt and ruthless.

Various archeological finds did uncover that some men did in fact wear rings on their fingers, and occasionally these were made from gold, though arm and neck rings were still the favourite choice through most of the Viking era. Gold was generally a symbol of a greater wealth that separated the average citizen from nobility and was worn with great pride.

Along with the grooming, hygiene and styling of the Norse people, these finds are only confirming how much our male ancestors loved to "Peacock"!

I actually find this humorous and amazing at the same time. There are so many myths regarding the Normans and their earlier heritage, but every time I research I keep finding that these big bad Normans had a soft side. Well, most definitely when they were at home, it seems they put a lot of time aside to help keep their female counterparts happy, by creating them specialised pieces to have on display as they would participate in their daily activities.

I guess, they obviously were not as stupid as some people think, and they realised the importance of the women and found yet another way to show their appreciation. This is still done in modern times, whether it is a bunch of flowers or a necklace, a good man will show his appreciation in a similar way to that of the Norsemen.

If anything, this disappointingly paints a picture that today's gentlemen have less of an idea of how to keep a good woman by their side. This is rather tragic, such a simple principle, slowly forgotten through the ages. If only we could revive these practices, I believe the modern woman would be appreciative that the modern male would be putting more thought into gifts, and also respecting the wishes of a woman when confronted with the unwanted advances of a brutish male.

Rather than get bogged down in a gender equality debate, I shall wrap up this article. I could honestly write all day about male and female jewelry of the Normans and Norse.

Without the men learning these skills, and also having a romantic side that is generally not publicised, the archeological finds would be far less exciting, and possibly make it even harder to decipher our past. The picture below is just a small snapshot of some of the pieces our Norman ancestors wore.

I hope you enjoyed this little fun fact, and I would like to thank one of my loyal fans for inspiring me to write this piece. Till my next article, may you all have a great day. Skol!