Norse headwear
Jul. 7th, 2011 06:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eliskimoI've been feeling dissatisfied with the usual approach to Norse women's headgear in the SCA for some time now. The Jorvik cap and the Dublin cap are fine ... but they don't seem right somehow for high status personas. Of course, it doesn't help when I see the clear SCA anachronism of wearing a crown or baronial coronet over top of one of these caps. That just looks silly.
While the popular image of "Viking" women has them wearing two blonde braids, The Viking Answer Lady website mentions a "typical" Norse hairstyle of wearing the hair uncovered, pulled back in a knotted ponytail -- which could also be described as a bun against the head with a "tail" of hair sticking out from it. Gale Owen-Crocker mentions this style as well in her paragraphs on Viking women in "Dress in Anglo-Saxon England". I had a discussion with Unnr a few years ago where she talked about the possibility of laying a scarf over top of the head, knotting it under the hair against the nape of the neck, and then braiding the tails of the scarf in with the hair in a single plait hanging down the back, giving a similar look to some of the picture stones. Thor Ewing makes a similar suggestion in "Viking Clothing," associating the look with the term "sveigr" used in Norse literature. I'm curious how that would look with a coronet -- if would look less silly than a coronet over a Jorvik hood -- but I haven't tried it yet.
Another possibility for "sveigr" that Ewing mentions is essentially a simple turban, since the word is related to the Old Norse for "to bend or twist". I have seen this look in the SCA, although generally with later period Anglo-Saxons, or with later continental cultures. I'm not sure how it would work with a coronet. The other common word for a woman's headdress in Old Norse according to Ewing is "faldr" which simply means "folded" This is what is usually associated with the Jorvik and Dublin caps, although in Rigsthula, a Jarl's wife is described as having a "high curved headdress" and the word used is "fald." Ewing suggests that might mean a cap into which the hair is stuffed, like some of the women on Oseburg tapestry. Although he doesn't make the connection, it seems to me that would be similar to the later period St. Birgitta cap. Somewhere else (I can't remember where) I've seen the suggestion of Norse women wearing their hair in a similar cap, but made of openwork sprang. Owen-Crocker notes the mention of the Jarl's wife's "curved" headdress and then in another section, points out that some silk caps with linen ties were found at Coppergate. In the two line drawings she includes, the caps look to be pleated and gathered at the point near the ear where the ties attach. That is another headdress I haven't really seen on anyone in the SCA. I'm curious about it.
Something else that Owen-Crocker write that I found interesting is this:
"It has generally been assumed that the 'train' costume and the 'paired brooch' costume are one and the same, but it must be noted brooches are not usually visible on the profile figures depicted in the 'train.' It seems likely that this 'train' costume belongs to a higher rank in Scandinavian society than the 'paired brooch' one; the use of extra material, particularly if it is to trail on the ground, is a symptom of that conspicuous consumption that has marked the wealthy classes throughout much of the history of mankind. In the Icelandic poem Rigsthula it is the woman of the class of jarl who wears a costume with a train, whereas the paired pins and keys belong to the class of carl." (pg. 164)
This, of course, raises a interesting question as to how an SCA queen with a Norse persona should dress ...
However, in this current discussion of headgear it brings me back to something Ewing mentions, that at Birka there are a number of graves where the women were wearing a decorated headband (some across the forehead, some around the back of the head), but these are also graves where the women are not wearing the turtle brooches. He says it is also unclear whether these bands were worn alone, or were associated with either a faldr or sveigr. The Viking Answer Lady says brocaded fillets were worn by Swedish Vikings, but now I'm wondering if the Birka graves might indicate that decorated fillets were more indicative of higher status than a simple east v. west sartorial preference.
Finally, as for the Jorvik/Dublin hoods/caps, both Owen-Crocker and Ewing mention almost in passing that these could have been nightcaps, and not really for day wear, we really don't know. Of course, if they were nightcaps, it makes wearing them with a crown or coronet all the more silly.
I'm sure other people have already discussed this and I'm late to the game, but Norse is my secondary persona and I'll admit I'm not quite motivated enough to join the Norsefolk list just to see what others think.
While the popular image of "Viking" women has them wearing two blonde braids, The Viking Answer Lady website mentions a "typical" Norse hairstyle of wearing the hair uncovered, pulled back in a knotted ponytail -- which could also be described as a bun against the head with a "tail" of hair sticking out from it. Gale Owen-Crocker mentions this style as well in her paragraphs on Viking women in "Dress in Anglo-Saxon England". I had a discussion with Unnr a few years ago where she talked about the possibility of laying a scarf over top of the head, knotting it under the hair against the nape of the neck, and then braiding the tails of the scarf in with the hair in a single plait hanging down the back, giving a similar look to some of the picture stones. Thor Ewing makes a similar suggestion in "Viking Clothing," associating the look with the term "sveigr" used in Norse literature. I'm curious how that would look with a coronet -- if would look less silly than a coronet over a Jorvik hood -- but I haven't tried it yet.
Another possibility for "sveigr" that Ewing mentions is essentially a simple turban, since the word is related to the Old Norse for "to bend or twist". I have seen this look in the SCA, although generally with later period Anglo-Saxons, or with later continental cultures. I'm not sure how it would work with a coronet. The other common word for a woman's headdress in Old Norse according to Ewing is "faldr" which simply means "folded" This is what is usually associated with the Jorvik and Dublin caps, although in Rigsthula, a Jarl's wife is described as having a "high curved headdress" and the word used is "fald." Ewing suggests that might mean a cap into which the hair is stuffed, like some of the women on Oseburg tapestry. Although he doesn't make the connection, it seems to me that would be similar to the later period St. Birgitta cap. Somewhere else (I can't remember where) I've seen the suggestion of Norse women wearing their hair in a similar cap, but made of openwork sprang. Owen-Crocker notes the mention of the Jarl's wife's "curved" headdress and then in another section, points out that some silk caps with linen ties were found at Coppergate. In the two line drawings she includes, the caps look to be pleated and gathered at the point near the ear where the ties attach. That is another headdress I haven't really seen on anyone in the SCA. I'm curious about it.
Something else that Owen-Crocker write that I found interesting is this:
"It has generally been assumed that the 'train' costume and the 'paired brooch' costume are one and the same, but it must be noted brooches are not usually visible on the profile figures depicted in the 'train.' It seems likely that this 'train' costume belongs to a higher rank in Scandinavian society than the 'paired brooch' one; the use of extra material, particularly if it is to trail on the ground, is a symptom of that conspicuous consumption that has marked the wealthy classes throughout much of the history of mankind. In the Icelandic poem Rigsthula it is the woman of the class of jarl who wears a costume with a train, whereas the paired pins and keys belong to the class of carl." (pg. 164)
This, of course, raises a interesting question as to how an SCA queen with a Norse persona should dress ...
However, in this current discussion of headgear it brings me back to something Ewing mentions, that at Birka there are a number of graves where the women were wearing a decorated headband (some across the forehead, some around the back of the head), but these are also graves where the women are not wearing the turtle brooches. He says it is also unclear whether these bands were worn alone, or were associated with either a faldr or sveigr. The Viking Answer Lady says brocaded fillets were worn by Swedish Vikings, but now I'm wondering if the Birka graves might indicate that decorated fillets were more indicative of higher status than a simple east v. west sartorial preference.
Finally, as for the Jorvik/Dublin hoods/caps, both Owen-Crocker and Ewing mention almost in passing that these could have been nightcaps, and not really for day wear, we really don't know. Of course, if they were nightcaps, it makes wearing them with a crown or coronet all the more silly.
I'm sure other people have already discussed this and I'm late to the game, but Norse is my secondary persona and I'll admit I'm not quite motivated enough to join the Norsefolk list just to see what others think.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-08 02:22 pm (UTC)around here everybody wears them with the strings just hanging loose. IMO, looks pretty stupid -- what's the point of having strings if you're not going to use them! And they are ridiculously long
Of course, everybody says (you know, *those* people) that the Viking women didn't wear the "long traditional" triangular kerchief (like we assumed because there aren't any of those in ht archaeological finds, but there are these caps.
And it occurred to me one day, that if you took those strings and tied them around at the nape of the ck under the hair ..... you get what looks like the kerchief, but it's one of those caps.
Somewhere -- I think it was Mistress Thora's set of pages -- there was a discussion about headwear in the context of Norse Pagan versus Christian women.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-08 02:31 pm (UTC)I have one of these caps, made of green silk, and when I wear it, I actually ties the strings around behind my head, over back of the cap. I have no reason to do this except I like the look better.
You mention the earlier assumption that Norse women wore "traditional" triangular kerchiefs (like my mom wore in the 70s). Do you have any idea where that idea came from?
(BTW, feel free to point any of your friends here who might be interested in this discussion).
no subject
Date: 2011-07-08 02:51 pm (UTC)But yeah, I'll do that!
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Date: 2011-07-08 02:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-08 11:56 pm (UTC)The problem with referring to things like Thora Sharptooth when it comes to people not wearing one thing or another, is that she originally wrote that piece 20 years ago, and ideas about what she means changes, too. So her "kerchief as understood and worn in the SCA" might be entirely different to the way scarves are worn in your local group.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-09 12:27 am (UTC)You're right, of course, about shifts in understanding. I didn't mention Thora in my original post mostly because I didn't find her article helpful in what I'm trying to think through. We usually camp across the block from her at Pennsic, but we're not going this year so I can't pop over and I have a chat. I'm think I should probably send her an email, though. Her, and Thor and Gunnora. And maybe find an address to write Gail as well.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-09 12:37 am (UTC)Probably not, it's one of those pictures -- like in "From Viking to Crusader" where there is a picture, but not rigorously footnoted/referenced text to back it up. Which can make for a 'bad' source at times.
I've also seen it in other big, colourful books from the council library, and even though I photocopied the picture (because it was an incredibly cute drawing) I didn't write down the title or even the author. :(
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Date: 2011-07-11 06:34 pm (UTC)Haha, being one of those 14th century types about 50% of the time...I do it because tying the strings presses the fabric close to my ears and is annoying (I also find wearing a band under my chin when I wear veils super-duper annoying and have switched to wearing a kerchief as a foundation most of the time because of that. I just hate the feel of things fastened under my chin). I should poke around to see if I can actually find documentation for it....
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Date: 2011-07-11 06:31 pm (UTC)One of the local Laurels who's gone hardcore into Viking research recently does this, but I'm not sure if she has specific documentation for it.
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Date: 2011-07-13 04:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-09 12:28 am (UTC)There is an argument in the literature, but not so much in reenactment, that the highest class of Norsewoman wouldn't have worn an apron dress-type outfit, but would have been wearing something possibly more Continental/Merovingian in flavour. There are more 'high status' burials towards the end of the Viking Age (around 1000 CE) without brooches, but if that is because of vagaries of preservation, if it really is a high-class thing, or if the paired brooches were unfashionable, or a combination of all three, I'm not sure anyone can say for certain.
But one of the perks of this 'classy' outfit is you get more typical-looking veils than the tiny Dublin examples.
eg. Voss, Denmark ca 1000 CE (p.4 of PDF. I think it is much liklier to be a half-circle veil than what the author reconstructed.), Hvilehoj and Horning also in Denmark and dated to the 10th century had expensive fabrics, but no paired brooches.
and Oseberg, Norway ca. 800 CE possibly included a tunic decorated with clavii and a veil.
Of course, the problem with going that route is that you aren't wearing the tortoise brooches, so you don't look like a 'Viking' any more.
For more info:
Christensen A.E. and Nockert M. 2006. "Osebergfunnet : bind iv, Tekstilene" (Oslo, Universitetet i Oslo)
Krag, A.H. 2007. “Christian influences and symbols of power in textiles from Viking Age Denmark. Christian influence from the continent.” In Ancient Textiles: Production, Craft and Society (Oxbow Books); 237-243.
Madsen, A.H. 1990. "Women's dress in the Viking period in Denmark, based on the tortoise brooches and textile remains" In Textiles in Northern Archaeology: NESAT III Textile Symposium in York 6-9 May 1987 (Archetype Publications); 106-111.
Personally, I think it is possible for the little Dublin caps to have been worn underneath something. There is a single example (and weirdly, the only VA example I can find of internal patching), of a woollen being patched from the inside. In my mind, I can see that you would only do that if you didn't expect for the hole to be seen. So I wear it in lieu of a veil-band.
In: E. Wincott Heckett. 2003. "Viking Age Headcoverings from Dublin" (Dublin: Royal
Irish Academy") pp. 44, 46.
Hope that is useful?
Just remembered!
Date: 2011-07-09 07:36 am (UTC)page 109 of Viking Age Headcoverings in Dublin briefly says:
"Seven hairnets of knotted silk were found in the excavations, as well as a piece of sprang, another kind of mesh made of silk, which might have been used as a headcovering."
That's all it says though, frustratingly. :(
Re: Just remembered!
Date: 2011-07-09 09:01 pm (UTC)To the OP:
no subject
Date: 2011-07-09 09:12 pm (UTC)