Dressing the dead more

Dressing the Dead: Gender, Identity, and Adornment rat ble llse in Viking-Age Iceland Michèle Hayeur-Smith he most widespread use of jewellery is as body adomment. This paper will address wo ard rfO- putling forth a hypothãsìs material the social dimension of jewellery and will look at the Icelandic mortuary period and its place in the North Atlantic context. In this paper, I arn from the Viking o¡ the function of the oval brooch and similar Scandinavian 'type' focus :ipsee ¡nd lat- äU¡"rt, in the settlement and early Commonwealth periods of lceland' The both geuders foie be placed on female adomrnent rather than male, though data regarding may be applicable to other areas colonised by the Norse' will be reviewed. This hypothesis general) in the early I am suggesting thar ouui troo"h"s (aiong with pagan burial practice in they representpart of ine settlernent may have changed social significance from that which with personal and cultural identiry, as well as ed at home, to become symbols assãciated being symbolic items connecting the settlers to their cuhural past. will there- Ìet, l¡te by Tu¡ nlsrorucAr- coNTEXT oF EARLY IcBt-RNo 227 700, south-west Norway' istendingabók and Landnámabók)suggest that most settlers came from fled Norway particulJrly from Sogn, Hordaland, and Rogaland and that Norwegian settlers the king Haraldr inn hárfugri (Finehair) (Jones 1986, 44)' Haraldr due the growing power of kings to his authorify, in was atteinpting to subjugats local leaders, free fanners, and petty order to claim rulership over all of Norway (Byock 1993, 53 )' in a new country' When they arrived in Iceland the Norwegian settlers were foreigners At the same time they encountered no native populaand far from their familiar homeland. out by Byock (1993)' tions with whom to compete for resources (Byock lgg3,2).As pointed due to its disdespite its seemingly laige size the interior of Iceland is largely uninhabitable, the coastal regions (Byock 1993, 10). The task of tance from the Gulf Streãm which warms with a limited area of the newcomers was therefore to create a sociefy on this empty island to Byock, the lack of indigenous populations habitable space (Byock 1993, 10). According disputes with later setenabled thé first settlers to claim huge portions ofland, thus creating (e'g' to have been fully inhabited (Hastrup 1985, 8). Early rnedieval literary sources is presumed The settlement of Iceland extended from AD 870-930. By 930 the country tlers (Byock 1993,55). that not Alùìough there were many Norwegian settlers, it has long been acknowledged the dorninant culfure was distinctly fro¡n Norway, though all settlers of Icelancl "u,r't. .scandinavian'(see P. Sawyer, this volume). Language, religion, social organisatiou, and a said to have come chieftain-based society weie similar to the homeland. Many settlers are Isles, or directly (Jones 1986, 49)' from the British Isles, either from Norway via the British to men and crawford (1987), argued that the lcelandic sources make continuous reference 210)' Kristjánsson estimate<l thc women from the Hebrides ancl lreland (Crawford 1987, 265)' V/hatever the number of seulers from the British Isles at 20% (Ikistjirnsson 1998, by a homogeneous population eract numbers of Celtic immigrants, Iceland was not settled sharing the resources of people from Norway. Thcse different cultr¡ral groups were, in efIèct, of a limited area. has bcen In the first 300 years of settletnent, Iceland was a chieftain-bascd society lt absence of institutiolralisecl hierarclescribed as ha.i,ing a clecentralisccl government and an groups: free-rnen chical structures'(Byock 1993,5). I¡ broad tenns there were two social Michèle Hayeur-Smith and slaves. Slavery is said to have disappeared with the Christianisation of' Iceland thus increasing the number of fi'eebom men in the population (McGovern et al. 1988, 25 I ) There were no kings, or lords, but, despite this apparent classlessness, social divisions did exist among the settlers. One cannot suffìciently stress the unique nafure of this colony. The seftlers of Iceland arrived on an empty island, derived frorn a mixed background of Norwegian, Hebridean, Irish and possibly even some Swedish and Danish settlers (Jones 1986,44). It was in this social setting that these populations together created a sociery which came to be known as Icelandic. FBunlB JEwELLER! ADoRNMENT, AND VmrNc BITRIAL cusroMs. Through the visual clues of adornment hurnans are able to convey subtle messages about their social and cultural identiry. This information may be of a particularly personal nature, decipherable only by members of a closed group, or it may operate a cultural level conveying information about group identify to other groups at large. According to some anthropologists,jewellery and adornment, by stressing unique physical features, are expressions of individualify and a means by which human societies can display information regarding group affiliation, values and standards of the group (Cannon 1998, 24; Polhemus and Procter 1978, I l). They constitute part of the vast tool kit used in marking issues of personal and cultural identity. :; ìi 228 Despite the seeming similarities amongst all forms of adornment, they differ in their degrees of importance. A look at past scholarship reveals that jewellery has been given more weight than clothing in rnost culfures. I believe this to be the result of its permanence. Jewellery survives time, clothing does not. Fufthennore, jewellery is often made of materials which themselves are loaded with symbolic meanings of 'preciousness'. Regardless of time and of cultural context, it is jewellery that we offer to mark society's rites of passage and the important moments of life. Jewellery is given at marriage, at birth, at death; jewellery is inheritecl. Jewellery is a constant rerninder of events not only to those who experienced them, but also to their kin. Most of us can relate to having inherited a piece of one's great-grandmother's jewellery and felt pride and a connection with one's past. Jewellery as heirloom, therefore, becomes a comecting agent with one's ancestral group. It establishes an emotional rapport with the past in providing the individual with a sense of belonging, a sense of group identity. Barley described the heirloom in the following rnanner: Their link with the dead may turn them into inâlienable heirlooms or relics, kept by the living as witness to a bond between themselves and the departed (Barley 1995, 85). F¡tr¿¿,le DRESS AND ADoRNMENT oF THE VIrrNc Ac¡ From the archaeological data we know that Mking-Age women wore long garments, the basic outfit consisting of a long chemise with long sleeves fastened at the neck with a brooch (Hägg 1974, 108). A pair of oval brooches were worn at shoulder level attached to the straps of a sleeveless apron or dress, which was r¡/orn on top of the long dress undemeath (Hägg 1974, 108). A string ofbeads or a pendant was frequently hung befween the brooches along with other useful implements: knives, scissors and sometimes keys (Jesch 1991, l7). A wrap or a shawl could be been wom over this outfit; and from evidence recovered at l{edeby, well-to-do wolrcn often wore an ankle length coat over their dress (Jesch 1991, 18). Oval brooches, are wiclespreacl in the burials of Scandinavia. They are consiclered as being among the most typical items of fernale Viking tlress found throughout Scandinavia Gender ldentily and Adornment in Wking-Age lceland US )re ist nd lD' ìis AS and the Viking world (Dommasnes 1982, 73; Owen and Dalland 1999, 147). They are so standardised that they have been used as gender identifiers in Viking burials (Dommasnes 1982,73). Their designs are equally standardised. It is common to find specific brooch types (such as a Petersen 5l), in such retnote areas as Iceland or Gnezdovo in Russia, wherever the Viking presence was felt. Oval brooches are thought to have been produced in the Scandinavian trade centres, such as l{edeby, Birka, Ribe, where metalworking of gold, silve¡ bronze, and iron were said to be among the most important urban activities (Clarke and Ambrosiani 1991,162-163). The archaeological record offers cvidence ofthis local production through discarded moulds, tools, unfinished objects, raw materials, crucibles, and overall workshop debris (Clarke andAmbrosiani 1991, 163). There is no such archaeological evidence from Iceland for the local production ofoval brooches indicating, in all probabili- CS tal 'el ne )s- ry, that the Icelandic examples were imported. Oval brooches went out of fashion in the Scandinavian homelands and the westem settlements during the mid{enth and early eleventh centuries (Jansson 1985,228; Owen and Dalland 1999,147), yet James GrahamCarnpbell has noted that these brooches became more fashionable in Finland, Lagoda and Lawia (1980, 28). FBU¡,I-B ADORNMENT, BURIAL, AND STATUS d1d n)lr re e. In the burial material from Scandinavia, oval brooches appear to be associated with wolnen from aparticular stratum of society. According to Gräslund (1980), oval brooches are found predominantly in female inhumation burials at Birka, less frequently in cremation 229 iOf te ut lo, burials (Gräslund 1980, 8l). Furthermore, as was pointed out by Gräslund, Arbman estimated that 50% of Birka burials contained this type of brooch while the graves from Adelsö had none (Gräslund 1980, 8l). Gräslund attributed this situation to different burial customs in Adelsö and offered the hypothesis that the grave goods in the inhumation burials of Birka reflect more the customs of central Uppland from which the lnore afTìuent members of Birka's population may have originated (Gräslund 1980, 82). Bergliot Solberg (1985) conducted an analysis of gender and stafus on Merovingian and Viking-Age burials from northern, western, and eastern Norway. She attempted to rank social status on the basis ofgrave goods. From 833 female-gendered graves, Solberg's division of status was as follows: Group )- )f l: 5 beads or more, and/or the presence oftextile implements Group 2: at least one conical brooch, or one oval brooch, beads, textile or agricultural implelneuts, miscellaneous items like keys. Croup 3: a conical and/or oval brooch, and the presence ofa third brooch as well as beads, keys, agriculhrral and textile implements (Solberg 1985, 241 -248). le ,h )s For female graves, Group 3 represented the richest graves and encompassed only 16% of all female graves in westem Norway ard l3o/o in eastern Norway (Solberg 1985,247248). Group 2 represented the most common category with 40o/o in westem Norway, 600/o in cer¡tral Norway and 54n/o in eastern Norway (Solberg 1985,241). Solberg's analysis also included a sfudy of male graves following a similar methodology. Her results proved similar to that of females with Group 3 graves reprcsenting the highest status burials but the least ( 1982), for the region of Sogn in wesl enr Norway. I)onlnasues attempted to rank fernale roles ¿rnd status in her sarnple <tf 264 grave.s, of which only 2l3 u,ere suitable for analysis. Althor"rgh there was no menfiotl of tlie frequency ofoval brooches in her description, as they were incorporated under the heading û U p rcpresentativc of thc calegorics. A sirnilar study was carried out by Domrnasnes IS a Michèle ITayeur-Smith of 'jewellery', she did notice that jewellery ranked as a constant artefact category with higher values i¡ wornen's burials while weapons were preferred to jewellery in rnale burials (Dommasnes 1982, 77 -78). What is indicated by these various sfudies is that the oval brooch is an item ofjewellery reserved for women of a certain status. The distribution of oval brooches in Scandinavia indicates that they were given to women who had reached a particular stage in life without necessarily belonging to the princely class. They were definitely not slaves but should perhaps be seen as the quintessential Viking housewife, married, with children, running her own household and farm in the absence of her husband, wife of a bondi or yeoman farme¡ undoubtedly with slaves under her care. One might even suggest that her married status itself rnay have been displayed by her oval brooches, similar to the wedding ring today. Tus eRcsa¡ol-ocrcAt- DAIA FoR lc¡laxo: MALE AND FEMALE GRAVES AND THEIR JEWELLERY This section will present the archaeological data for lceland, looking first at the osteological basis for determining rnale and female graves in the Icelandic context. This discussion is followed by my own data relating to the frequency ofjewellery in male and female 230 graves. In the most recent edition of Kuml og Haugfé, Eldjárn and Friðriksson (2000) established that for all the pagan burials known fiom lceland, of which there are 316, only l8l skeletons exist, and of those, only 108 could be sexed. Forfy-five are definitely male and another fwenfy-eight may be male (the sexing here is uncertaiu based on biological sexing). Another twenfy are dehnite females, with an additional l5 that are potentially female (Table l; Eldjám and Friðriksson 2000,595). The total number of items of jewellery recorded from graves amounts to 162 separate objects (Hayeur-Smith 2002b). Five male graves contained at least one iteln of jewellery, while 40 osteologically sexed male graves did not. In contrast, l2 of the 20 graves with osteologically sexed females contained jewellery while only 8 did not. While some jewellery was found in both male and female graves, the predominant association of jewellery with women's graves is sigrificant at any reasonable of statistical significance, when this distribution is analysed using a simple chi-square test (Table 2: X'z = 17 .35, df : l, p < 0.001). Additionally, within this data set 38 individual items ofjewellery could be attributed to female graves and24 to men's graves (Table 3). An additional 100 pieces ofjewellery came from 'indeterminate graves'for which no definite sexing was available. The apparent association of more jewellery in women's graves is statistically significant (X':ll.9l,df :1, p < 0.001), suggesting not only that women were more hkely to receive jewellery as funerary accompaniments, but also that they were likely to reccivc more items ofjewellery per grave than were men. Tolal Male Male? Femole Fenale? 3 I 6 Graves I8 I Skeletons 108 sexed skeletons 45 (41.7%) 28 (2s.e%) 20 (t8j%) r5 (13.9%) Tablc l. Distrit¡ution of male/feniale graves fro¡r lceland (based on research by lìldjám and }ìriðriksson 2000) Gender ldentity ünd Adornment in Viking-Age Iceland ighials lery rvia lout ?erGraves with iewellery 5 ll.ovç lotal.s tz r.8l [s.2) 8 l7 ll Graves rei thout i ewellery 40 [33.2] u 4.81 20 65 her ner, Column totals 45 rtus of jewellery' Table 2. Contingency tabte of male and female Icelandic Viking-Age graves with and without items each cell, based on the row and column totals. The Chi-square value Bracketed figures indicate expected values for recovered for this distribution (X': l?.135), at one degree offreedom, indicates thatjewellery is more frequently < women's graves than in men's, at any reasonable level of statistical conftdence (p 0 00 I )' as a funerary offering in 'i. ,: i teo)us- Males Females Row lolals 'I rale tab- Number of graves 45 20 [2e.71 38 62 [3s.3] Number of items of jewellery 24 23r r8l and 1C). [3!.71 Column totals 69 [28.3] 58 127 rble rate ery, ste- graves with the numTable 3. Contingency table comparing the number of male and female lcelandic Viking-Age values for ber ofitems ofjewellery associated with each sex in those graves. Bracketed figures indicate expected at one degree cell, based on the row and column totals. The Chi-square value for tltis distribution (Xr = I I .9 I )' each of f¡eedom, in{icates that women's graves contain more jewellery, on average' than men's graves, ât any reasonable level ofstatistical confidence (p < 0.001). lery vith ;tri- Ito lme ) )aît :ive )tns jewellery in What these results indicate is that females were given significantly more yet completely neglect the death than males. Some scholars may find this normal behaviour, fact that wearing jewellery along with other forms of adornment is sensitive to cultural variation, and in some societies it is the men who make greater use ofjewellery than women' In the Norse context, Petré recognised that a common feature for Norway's early Iron Age and jewellery with late Iron Age graves was that weapons were associated with male graves and females (Petré 1993, 149). A similar pattem is noted for Iceland Slmus IDENTIFICATIoN IN IcELANDIC GRAVES In order to establish a system ofstatus identification for Iceland I have taken Solberg's criteria of status clistinction and adapted it to the Icelandic context. I adapted her tripartite division of Group 1,2,3, with Group 3 reflective of the highest status and Group I the lowest. Table 4 indicates the defining characteristics of these groups for both men and women' Using these criteria, the lcel¿ndic buriais with jewellery can bc clividecl as shown in jewellery and Table 5. Note that the graves presented therein are only the graves containing whicli were recorcled as part of this particular research project. I was not able to couduct a similar division I'or ¿ll oilcelandic burials as I did not possess infortnation on the etìtirc btìrial record. Michèle Hayeur-Smith Male Group Female 3 GrouP 3 axe -3 weapons: sword, spear -2 weapon: sword -l boss weapons: sword, spear, -2 -l oval /or tonguc sbaped brooches central brooch, t¡efoil or round brooch iterns of jewellery -shield agricultural, carpentry etc I or more -tools l> items of jewellery (round brooch, -jewellery: ringed pin, belt buckle, strap end, -additional l> -beads cooking or weaving implements, all or -agriculhrral, any combination combs etc) pendant) --beads l> (I or more), and hamess -miscellaneous items (keys, weight scales, shears, -animals equipment -miscellaneous fish weights, knife etc.) Group (gaming pieces, ice spurs, weights, -animals (l or more) and hamess equipment 2 spear/axe boss GrouP 2 -2 232 weapons: -l oval brooch' or other brooch -shield --other item ofjewellery --beads l> -rools -beads item item ofjewellery --l l> ---miscellaneous -textile implements or other (l only) -miscellaneous items (same as above) - I -l animal and harness animal Group I GrouP I boss -l or I item ofjewellery or l> -beads, --l animal or none weapon: axe or shield Table 4. Status identification for Icelandic graves. -l> -1 beads or simple item ofjewellery -additional implernent such as a knife, comb etc animal or nolle Group ììl! :,ì 1 Group 2 Group j Uncertain 0 0 0 0 Total Male Male? Fentale Femole? Double 2 2 2 I 5 5 ) 5 I I I 6 3 t2 4 0 grave* Totals I 0 '7 3 0 4 Unhtown l0 24 9 l8 l8 44 74 l6 16 Table 5. Recorded number of graves with jewellery. (ln my sample oi gravcs with jewellery certaitt graves rvure ¿ouble graves, 2 of which werJmale/femai" gruu". and two of which were male/male gravos witlì the inclusion of a young male child in the latler câlegory.) Gender ldentity and Adornmenî in Viking-Age lceland (whether sexed or As with Norway, Group I burials are more frequent for both sexes, 3 burials are the least comuncertain); Group 2 burials are slightly less common; and Group higher status. This could be mon. Furthermoie, double gruu", upp"ur to be associated with and Vatnsdalur explained in fwo ways: 1) ãouble gràves such as graves from Kaldarhöfði, the individuals in the more artefacts than other graves; or 2) one of 1Uåtn Uoat burials) have where a grave may have been of high status such as the grave of l{afurbjamarstaðir àouble interred with a man' boy is intened with an adult male, and sufstaðir where a woman is all or shears, Ov¡,L nRoocuns AND sTATUS rru Icer¿No we have seen that in the Icelandic burials males outnumber females although was found in westem graves contain more jewellery than males. This is similar to what (Dommasnes 1982, 73)' Norway where only one fourtú of burials were thought to be female of the ratio of male/female burials that possibly only the top echelons female One rnight argue from been disposed of in anothfemales in ,o"i.ty received bgrials while the remaining may have grave goods should be coner manner. In this light even the 'poorest' of female graves with sidered higher status burials in comparison with the rest of the population' to a possible From Iceland there are 44 sepaiate oval brooches with 38 being attributed context is burial context. An addition al 6 aràshay finds for which no precise archaeological well k'own. Of the 38 oval brooches associated with burials, l8 brooches are from 233 documented' described archaeological contexts while another 20 arc not as well the graves using both grave goods (particularly on the basis of If one were to sex the possible argue that inclusion ofoval brooches ii graves) and osteological sexing, one could amounts to 23, andthose without, 16. Under this approach female graves with oval brooches 39. th. totui number of female graves with jewellery could be estimated at the same range of grave goods observed in Norway: a Icelandic Group 3 burials offer array of irnplebrooches, the presence of a third brooch, beads, as well as an pair of oval weaving implements' ments ranging from cooking utensils to agricultural equipment or suggested as the wealthiest category of burial Group to whaimight be Group 3 "o.r"rponds or an other item of jew2 alså display"d ri-iluriti", *iti No.*ay, either one oval brooch Group 2 represents an ellery, beáds, and one category of implement as enumerated above. poo. these graves possibly represented the graves of in-bËtween group. Withort-U"ing u"ry Group 1, also in keepthe female members of househoid's linked to orclinary free-farmers. the least afiluent group of burials' ing with Solberg's finds in Norway, represents P¡rucuLlrurlrs IN THE Icsl¿.Nuc FEMALE BUPJAI's to the presence or specihc behaviours unique to lceland are apparent with regard .rÍ-.--:.--^ r- rôñ^1. hrrr.inlq lrorses âre for-rnd in all three cate. ¡lltCllllp\ ôñrmâ¡C àC Itrl\/e ll¡ ¡UtllO¡W ^t 4UùVI¡VV V¡ u¡r¡¡¡¡q¡o to any specihc stratum of gories, indicating tirat íhe horse heiã no particular significance graves, horses are associated society in early lceland. In contrast in the Birka chamber with equestrian equipspecifically wiih wealth and stafus and they are clearly found together (Ringstedt 1997,10)' The observations ment and *"upnn, that syrnbolise military activity have been discussed by here, concerning female burials, are particular to Iceland and Müller-wille (1971). Both authors remarked on the widespread lceland p."ãn". of horscs in lcelaüdic burials, stating that cver half of the eemeteries in 1911" 120-121,123,162,233' which lrave grave goocls also contained horses (Müller-witle in Ringstedt 1997,10) those without oval Other unique lèatures are apparcrìt in lcelanclic graves parlicrtlirÏly to tlrose with' 'l'hree examples ¿lle prebrooches, and ih.y offer an interesting comparison sented here taken (otle each) from Groups 1,2,3' fungstedt ,S WOre (lggl),as well as sion of Michèle Hayeur-Sntith Group 3 graves without oval brooches. A grave from Komsá, Austur-I{unavatnslisla, is a higher status burial without the presence ofoval brooches and on the basis of its overall assemblage could be classified as a Group 3 burial of considerable wealth (for the description ofthe contents ofthis grave see Eldjárn 1956,96-97). Two tongue shaped brooches with Jellingesfyle decoration from this grave (sirnilar to P137) appear to have been worn in a similar fashion to oval brooches but would have been visually distinct and rare in Iceland (Eldjám 1956, 313). Eldjám dis- cussed the provenance of these tongue shaped Figrrre brooches and mentioned that during Jan Petersen's classification only 8 were known from Norway, while several were said to have been found in Sweden (Eldjárn 1956, 313-314). These tongue l. Tongue-shaped brooch, Konrsá, Austur-Hunavatnsfsla (drawing: M. Llayeur-Smith). Scale: I :1. 234 shaped brooches have been described as being decorated with either foliate omatnent, Borre style, or Jelling style omament. Eldjárn knew of one exalnple from Norway, and one from Birka that were similar to the Icelandic examples (Eldjárn 1956, 313-3 l4). Whatever their place of origin, these brooches appear to have been uncorlmon in Scandinavia. A bell found in this burial has parallels in Iceland and the British Isles, where Batey (1988) identified similar bells from Caithness and England (Batey 198g, 2ts). Viking world. In the absence of the standard oval brooch, the deceased was granted an equally valuable item ofjewellery that would serve to state her social standing in death, as well as that of her surviving kin group. In lceland, being far rarer, tongue shaped brooches may even have been perceived as a superior alternative to the oval brooch, therefore symbolising a woman of the highest social stratum. brooches. In a grave from Hafurbjarnarstaðir, burial, the deceased was an adult female placed in a flexed position and was buried with the following items: a ringed pin with the rinj rnissing, a trefoil brooch \¡/orn on her chest, a knife, a comb, two pebbles óf unusual shape, tluee clam shells, and some iron fragments (Elcljárn 1956,74-15). A stone slab had been placed on the upper part of her body and a whale bone plaque on the lower half (Eleljám tgiS, I +- The Kornsá burial, therefore, offers evidence of unusual and foreign jewellery in a high status female grave from an early lcelandic social setting. This could reflect the internment of someone from a mixed cultural background, or be the result of tra<le and interaction in the Group 2 graves withoul oval Gullbringusfsla, classified as a gïoup 2 fype 7 s). Neither of the items ofjewellery from Hafurbjarnarstaðir are typically Scandinavian in origin. The ringed pin is an lrish type, and is of the polyhedral heaà varianr, said to be the largest group of ringed pins from the Dublin sites (Fannin g 1994,25). The trefoil brooch has parallels from elsewhere in Iceland and Íìom Jarlshof in Shetland, and it has been suggested that they were produced in the British Isles under Scandinavian influence (patersonì997, 649). Both iterns ofjewellery are, therefore, not typically Scandinavian and one might spec, ulate as to the culfural origins of this person. She rnay have been among those imnigrants of mixed Norse/ Ccltic descent, perhaps even Iri.sh or from the northem or western Isles ol. Scotland. Gender, Identity and Adornnlent Group in \4king-Age lceland I graves without oval brooches. The site of Kroppu¡ Eyjafarðars¡fsla, revealcd ffiH msá, rwo burials. The female burial co¡rtaiued a bronze ringed pin of Scandinavian type (Petersen C), as well as what has been described as a folded bronze plate, but which has since been identified as a strap end similar to one found in a Viking burial at Kneep in the outer Hebrides (C. Paterson, pers. cornm.). This type possibly originated in the British Isles. No other grave goods were found in this burial and once again, this assemblage of grave goods suggests either trade and itlteraction with the British isles or a person of mixed ethnic background. Insular or foreign jewellery in Norway is M. ¡of rles een :ish 88, not uncommon and is frequently the result of contact with the British Isles (GrahamCampbell 1984, 38). In the Birka chamber graves, Nils Ringste dt (lgg7), reported that high status burials for women included rare items of Insular jewellery such as crucifixes, 235 igh ent the an AS Figure 2. Scale: 2: Strap-end Eyjafi arðarsysla (drawing: l. reliquary pendants, precious stones, silver charms, and jet bracelets, and he suggested from Kroppur, that these items reflect high status because M- Hayeur-Smith). they suggest a long distance connection and the economic ability to acquire rare products les m- )lr, :ed SS- (Ringstedt 1997 , 7 4). This does not seem to be the case in lceland. Non-Scandinavian and Insular items do appear frequently there in combination with Scandinavian fype material culture evcn in graves representing the lowest rank group identifiable in the burials. This combination also seems, based on the review of burial customs from other North Atlantic regions, to be something linking Iceland and Norse settlement areas in the British Isles. It is the type of Insular material mixed in which makes it unique cornpared to the mainland Scandinavian pattern. The inclusion of this Insular jewellery is in my opinion, the result of the incorporation of non-Scandinavian or mixed settlers from the British Isles who contributed to the colonising population of this island and who are frequently mentioned in the medieval Icelandic historical documents (Hayeur-Smith 2002a;2002b). Having reviewed the archaeological data from Iceland relating to status, burials, grave goods and ilre presence or absence of oval brooches ì¡r f'emale graves, I wouici now iikc to turn my attention and discuss the social implications of these results. I f'eel it is relevant to place this archaeological data into a broader social framework in order to understand the role and place ofjewellery as a status emblem. As my emphasis in this analysis has been on the presence or absence ofoval brooches in graves, I will continue to focus on this type ofjewellery. I believe that the oval brooch, as well as other items of Scandinavian jewellery, rnay have become symbols of status and cultural identity in the social reality of early lceland. 'ee ,ed t4_ tn he raS stt'7 :C,- rts of Michèle Hayeur-Smith Iìigure 3. Oval brooch from Skogar í Flókadal (no. 5030a), l0.8crn x Archaeology of Iceland; illustration: M. I:layeurSmith). 5.5 crn (lnstitute of 236 JBWETTBRv AS A SYMBoL oF PERSoNAL, AND CULTURAL IDENTITY Tun nBnrooM, srATUS, AND ISSUES oF cuLTURAL IDIINTITv s As already discussed, jewellery, adomrnent, and clothing act symbolically on a person's sense of belonging. Female graves with oval brooches, as well as other items of jewellery accompanying them, or the presence of elaborately decorated sword hilts and chapes in male burials, convey this sense of belonging to a colnmu¡lity or group. It is likely that many people continued to perform Scandinavian pagan burial practises in this new country because: (l) it was familiar and they reproduced what they knew; (2) it had enduring spiritual value to many members of the colonising population; and (3) it may also have become a special and unique way of marking their cultural heritage. This feeling of 'uniqueness' in cultural display is prevalent in the heirloom phenomenon and is intimately connected with identity. For example, there is evidence elsewhere in the North Atlantic that the dates of burials do not necessarily coincide with the dates of the jewellery incorporated in them. The Scar burial in Orkney is a case in point. In the Scar burial, an equal armed brooch (also known as a Troms t¡pe brooch) buried with the deceased wornan was already of considerable antiquify when placed in the ground. It was rnade between the eighth and the latter half of the ninth century (owen and Dalland 1999,69). The dating of the grave is somewhat complex. [T]he nost likely date for the grave is sometìme between about AD 895 and 1030 and more probably after 9ó0; while the most likely date for the grave on the basis of the artefactual assemblage is somewhat earlier, from the second half of the ninth or first few decades of the tenth century (Owen and Dalland 1999, 165). b o b ( tr Þ o tr b n tt ti 2 b c ir tl This suggests that the brooch was an heirloom passed down to the deceased (Owen ancl Dalland 1999, 165). In the lcelandic sih:ation, although direct dates ofthe skeletons are nof yet available (J. Arneborg, pers. corrun.), it is possible that ceñain graves with oval brooches are later than the jewellery itself. The oval brooches f¡orn Skogar í Flókactal may be such â case (fig. 3). 'Ihey are Berdal lype brooches with Osebelg style ornament dated to the ninth century (Eldjárn 1956, 19). Althougli we know little of their context, Krisdán Elcllárn considereri Gender ldentity and Adornment in Viking-Age Iceland Figure 4. Oval brooch from Daðastaðir of the P5ld variant, l0.9om x 6.35cm (illustration: M. Hayeur-Smith). 237 them as belonging to a burial, and if Iceland's settlement is securely dated after AD 870, then it is likely that this burial was later than the brooches it contained. As mentioned above, the heirloom connects with one's descent group and establishes a sense of cultural belonging for the dead and the living. In Iceland, I believe that the oval brooch, as well as other Scandinavian artefacts and the burial mode itself, became symbols of cultural identiry connecting the dominant group with its origins. In this context, the oval 'ersOn'S wellery in male ]y peoecause: rl value special :ultural Jentity. ials do :a¡ bur- vnasa rtiquity e ninth (. blv nernd brooch may no longer have signified simply a woman's status, as it probably did in Scandinavia, but may have come to s)¡mbolise far more: where her kin group was from and to which emerging community she belonged. This is particularly striking with oval brooches from two graves at Daðastaðir, NorðurÞingeyjarsfsla (fig. 4), and Ketilstaðir, Norður-Múlasfsla. Both women's graves have elaborate grave goods and have been classified as higher status burials. lntuitively one would tend to equate high-qualify jewellery with higher status, yet both graves produced oval brooches of relatively poor quality and poor rendering. The grave from Daðastaðir is the more elaborate of the two and contained the following grave goods: two oval brooches, a trefoil brooch, bracelet, ringed pin, bead necklace, belt clasp, agricultural implements, textile implernents, a comb, one piece of flint, and a dog (Eldjám and Friðriksson2000,2l2213). The oval brooches from this grave are not an identical pair. While both are P5 I type brooches, onc is a P5 lrÍ typc anri tilc othcr a P5ib. The P5id is of poorer quality ihan iis counterpart. This lower quality of workmanship is apparent in the rendering of the brooch itself; for example, the lack of crispness and clarity of the designs on the various panels of the oval brooch. Fuglesang (l 987) enumerated a number ofcriteria to establish good or poor workmanship. 'en and rble (J. er than írg 3) :entury Quality in tlìis connection is taken exclusively as a criterion ofcrafl in the rendering ofornament, eg.: Are the Flanes of rnoclelling slnooth and unifonn or uneven and serried? Are the walls of relief smoofh or jagged? Is an incised line evenly curved or angular? Are incised lines of even width and depth or are they uncven? Such criteria of teclulical ability reflect the amount of training a crafìsman had, in other wortls u,hether he Jrroduced omanìent regularly or only intcmritlenrly (F-uglesang 1987 , 222). ;idcred Michèle Hayeur-Smith In the case of the Daðastaðir brooches it was likely not their quality that was important but their presence in the grave. It is likely that this sense of 'Scandinavianess' became all the more important far from the homeland, and identily in this new setting was bound to be altered and adapted to the new social environment. In effect, identify is always something in constant flux and will be affected by circumstances, such as foreign domicilify due to colonisation, war, etc. (Gold and Paine 1984,2; Amory 1997,16). Gold and Paine (1984) have argued that particular emotions and attitudes may arise when referring to the 'homeland' or 'mother country' among people living in a new place (Gold and Paine 1984, 1). According to these authors, notions and images of the mother country may evoke a variefy of responses. On different occasions, mother country may arouse any one or several emotions across a wido range: nostalgia or bittemess, insccurity or messianism, nationalism or intemational brotherhood. It is as likely to provoke feelings of elitism as of inferiority. Only exceptionally we think, is it a feeling of indifference (Gold and Paine 1984,2). 238 Both the sense of cultural belonging and ideas of the mother country change with the circumstances of settlement. What people practised in Iceland as funeral behaviour may no longer have carried the same social meaning it originally had in Norway. The symbols may have been modified to suit the current reality, and certain objects placed in graves may have taken on a new symbolic meaning, to become in their own righf 'status' objects worn to promote one's place in the emerging social hierarchy. After all, pagan burial, and one could say all burial, was by its very nafure a symbolic act (Owen and Dalland 1999, 143). Socrnl cLTMATE oF EARLv lcpr-aNp AND eùESTToNS oF IDENTITv The uniqueness ofearly Icelandic society lay in the fact that Scandinavians arrived in a land which was essentially empty. The new society was thus forced into creating itself, not an easy task in a communiry consisting of a mixed group of people frorn both Scandinavia and the British Isles. The cultural element from the British Isles is mentioned in LandnamabóÈ as well as other written sources. According to Jones the settlement of Iceland cannot be disassociated from this region, as a decade or so prior to its discovery explorato- ry voyages to Iceland were carried out from the British Isles (Jones 1986,41). LandnámabóÆ mentions several settlers froln Ireland, the Hebrides, and Scotland whose names aro Celtic. In addition, there are many examples given of Norse settlers whose spouses were non Norse or of tnixed decent. Finally, we know from the written sources that most slaves brought to Iceland in the early period of the settlement were from Ireland and the British Isles (Karras 1988, 49). Fron Landnámabók there is frequent mention of Irish slaves. U- -1""I^-^I o¡¡ vvu¡ ¡rurarru 4i¡u .^^1. a ^-^^¿ uçdr u¡ 1^^. r¡ru¡uu¡r¡g ¡^- ùrdvrs ualtçr¡ tr¡¡lrrlaxt ¡¡w lr¡u¡¡u!¡r\¡ ^ll ^.,^- I-,.t^..1 ^..i ruuÀ ^ Brrdr J^^l ^4 ruur- :-^1..1:-^ r9r¡ ^l^--^Ceirraud, Skjaldbjorn, Halldor, Drad¡it-the rest of them aren't mentioned by nanre (Pálsson and Edwards 1972, l9). Iìjorleifdrifted west along the coast. I{e ran short ofdrinking water, and what the Irish slaves did was to knead together flour and butter saying it was good for thirst (Pálsson and Edwards 1972, 20) 'fherewasamancalledAvang,oflrishdescent,thefirstsetlleratBotri il'álssonandEdwards 1972,25). Even though slavery was said to be offrcially abolished with the advent of Christianity 1000 (Byock 1993,123; Karras 1988,142: Iìastrup 1985,65), Kauas (1988) places the actual clisappearancc of slavery in Icelancl roughly i¡r the mid-twelfth century based on evicletrce from the lcelandic law code Grága.r (Karlas, 1988; 135). I-Iastmp (1985) statrd that LandnámaòdÆ docutnents the abolition of slavery earlier during the landnárn period inAD Gender Identity and Adornment in Wking-Age lceland It but from (Hastrup 1985,62). What is clear from the existence of slavery and its rapid or slow decline and were integratis that from a social perspective a new social strata of freeclmen emerged Some freeded into a formerly stratilied social system (Byock 1993,123; flastrup 1985,62. others may men became tenant farmers, some became landowners (Byock 1993,123), while a social dynamhave joined the ranks of free landless workers (Karras 1988, 144). In such identity ic theie was bound to have been a degree of cultural demarcation at work. Cultural social group may have been affected by such a social environment when more than one interacted with each other, as was argued by Amory Q997): When two groups, whether affrliated hitherto or not, are forced into sharing limited material resources, l6)' ethnicity may assume a preponderant role in dividing and defining each ofthem (Amory 1997' 'ill .o the be 'Gold icular ntry' thors, ,h the ay no imay have ) pro- d say To further cornplicate issues in Iceland, the sociefy itself was undergoing rapid social change. We know that the first settlers claimed large portions of land in more advantageous the agricultural regions resulting in large farms (Byock 1993, 55) and that by the first half of (Vesteinsson 1998, tenth century humans were settled in all habitable regions of the counfry 4). During a later phase of settlement, newcomers were obliged to obtain land from these landowners, which gave rise to tenancy as well as small farms settling around the main farmstead units on land less favourable for agriculture. (Smith 1995,32|;Vesteinsson 1998, had 2). For some authors, such as Byock and Hastrup, the large farms of the early settlement the parcelling become smaller (Byock 1993,56-57; Hastrup 1985, 63). Furthermore, from up of land it is said that it became increasingly diffrcult to distinguish the leading families ulong the settlers, as all landholders benefited from similar rights as freemen (Byock 1993, place S6-57t. Smith and Vesteinsson argued otherwise, stating that less homogenisation took (Smith 1995, 321; and that Iceland's élite maintained its status well into the medicval period Vesteinsson 1998, l9). The process of colonisation, land claiming and land negoti4ting did not occur suddenly need and was undoubtedly gradual, resulting in some possible form of competition and the Norse to distinguish oneself from others. This probably took place either culturally between and Celtic peoples that in turn may have been transformed and expressed by competition between roriul-rt utu, élite versus entrepreneurial free farmers versus ambitious freedmen' jewellery and Undoubtedly the élite tried to maintain its élite status and without a doubt practice, material culture in general was used to negotiate social hierarchy' The pagan burial 239 lina f, not navia :d in eland )rato41). ¿hose pous- most grave-goods, and oval brooches though dated prior to the introduction of Christianity, may may have been one of a multifude of elements used in this socio-cultural distinction. They for some settlers to define themselves as 'the dominant culhave contributed to the necessity d the aves. tural group'. Cultural identity is just one of many hypotheses worth considering when ,scandinavian'máterial culture and funerary display in the early settlement of aaaressing Iceland. ; BßLrocRApHv Amory, P. 1997. Peopie and Identity in Ostrogothic ltaly, 489-554' Cambridge' Arwidsson, G ed., 198?. Birka Barley, s II I, Syslemarische Analysen der Gröberfunde, Stockholm' swiok Links, caithness' , Medieval Archaeologt, N. 1995. Dancing on.the Grave: encounlers wíth death, London'. Fre Batey, C. 1988. 'A Viking-Age lìell from 32, 213-16' anity 'laces oxford and New Brydon, A. and Niessen, s., eds, 1998. Consutning I'ashíon, Årìornng the Tt'ansnaiit¡nul 'Bv'r!/, York. tlyock, J. L. I991. Medieval lccland, Chippenham. 23-'18 Caruron.A. 1998. ''fhe Cultural and Historical Cottexts of Fashiorl', in lìrydon and Nícssen 1998' Cherry, J.F. ed., 1995. Colonizalion oflslands, London. :d on rtated eriod Mìchèle Hayeur-Smith Clarke, Il. and Ambrosiani, t'^tu}åtil".' Ni B. I991. Towns in the Wking Age, Leicester. Mhaonaigh, M. ancl o Floín, R., eds, 1998. Irelantl and scanclinavia in the Early viking Age, Crawford, B. 1987. Scanclinavian Scorland,Leicester. L' H 1982.'Late lron Age in westem Norway. Female Roles and Ranks as Deduced from and Analysis of Burial Customs', Norwegian Archaeologicai Review, 14, l-2,70_g4. Eldjám, K. 1956. Kuml og Haugfé: úr Heiðnu¡n sið á Islandi,Reykjavik. Eldjám, K and Friðriksson, A. 2000. Kunl og Haugfé; ur heiðnum siö á íslandi,2nd edn, Reykajvík. Dolnmasnes, Itanning, T. 1994. I4king Age Ringed pins from Dublin, Dublin. Fuglesang' s' H' 1987. 'The Personal Touch, on the Congress. Oslo: Universitets Oldsakamling Skifler, Ny Rekke Identification ofworkshops', proceedings of the 9. l¡th hking Gold, GL. ed., 1984. Minorities and Mother County Imagery, St John,s. Gold, GL. and paine, R. 1984. .lntroduction,, in Gold 19g4, l-16. Graham-Campbell, J. 19g0. I4king Artifucts, London. 'Western influences on Penauula¡ b¡ooches and ringed pins', inArwidsson 19g4, 3l-3g. Gräslund, -1984- A -s. 1990. Buriar cusîoms, a stuþ of Graves on Björkò. stockholm: Birka IV. Hastrup, K. 1985. Culture and History in Medieval lceland, Oxford. 240 l{ayeur-Smith, M 2002a. 'Viking Age Insular Jewellery from lceland, and its Con¡ection to the westem Isles,, in the 'Proceedings fiom Gall-Ghaidheil: The tsles in ttre viting world', conference, April 3-7, 2000 lv.istern Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, I{ebrides Scotland (forthcoming). b' A social Analysis of viking Jewellery from lceland, unpublished phD rhesis, university of Glasgow. Jansson' r' 1985' ovala sprinnbucklor En studie av vikingatida -2002 standardsmycken med utgångspunkt /rån Björkö- fynden,Uppsala. Jesch, J. 1991. Wonen in the l/ìking Age, Woodbridge. Jones, G 1986. The North Arlantic Saga,Oxford. Haven, conn. and Lonclon. Karras' R M l988 slavery and sociely in Medieval Scandinnia,New J 1998. 'lreland and the lrish in Icelandic Tradition', McGovem' T H', B'igeloq G, Amorosi, T. and Russell, D. Kristjánsson, in Clarke et at. 199g,25g-276. Ecologt, 16, 3, 225_269. 1988. 'Northern Islands, Human Enor and Environmental Degradation: A vew of social and Ecoiogical ctung" in Medieval North Atlantic,, .Ilanaz Müller-wille, M' lgTl Pferdegrab und Pferdeopfer im frtihen Mittelaften Mit einent Beítrag von H. vierck; Pferdegrdber in angelsächsischen England.Amersfort: Berichten van de Rijksdienst voor het oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek 20_21. Paterson' owen' o. and Dalrand, M. 1999. scar; A riking Boat Buriar on sdnday, orkney,East Linton. c 1997''The Viking Age Trefoil Mounts fiom Jarlshof: a reappraisal in the light ofrwo new discoveries' proceedings , of the Society ofAntiquaries of Scotland, tZl Pálsson, H and Edwards, P., trans, 1972. The Book ofSeulemenls, Landnámabok. winnipeg: university Manitoba Icelandic Sh¡dies I Pelersen, J. 1928. Vikingetidens Snykker, Sfavanger. , Sü_eSl . of Petré' B' 1993 'Male and Finds and Symbols -Female . Archaeologt, l, 149-154. Ringstedt, N. in Germanic Iron Age Graves,, current swedísh l997 The Birka chanber-Græes, Economic and sociar Aspecrs,stockhor¡n. Smith' K P 1995 'Londnán: the settlement of Iceland inArchacological and Historical perspective,, in Cherry 1995,319-347. solberg, 8 1985' 'sÕci6l sfdlus in iire Merovingian and Vikrng penods in Norway ftonr Ar.chaeological and I{istorical Sources', Nonvegian Archaeologlcal Review, _2, _256. u*ttiÏ-ill;s lg, | Z4l ]998' 'Patterns of settleurent in Icelancl: a srurty in pre-l,listory,, saga ßook of the wking society, VÍNLAND REVISITED: the Norse worrd ar the 'furn of rhe First Miilenniu¡n Selected Papers from the Viking Millennium Internatjonal Symposium, l5-24 September 2000, Newfoundland and Labrador Shannon Lewis-Sirnpson Cr Editor: Copyright: Prt Historic Sites Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, Inc. Pa reserved' No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any fonn or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All rights LIs Llt ISBN 0-919735-07_X Published by: Llr Inl Historic Sites Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, Inc Box 5542 Sh St Johr's, NL AIC 5W4 S¡ Canada www.historicsites.ca Managing Editor; Cover Design: Catherine Dernpsey Ragged Harbour l)esign James Hiller Aileen MacDonald Sc Pe Advisory Committee: DI an iR. Kevin McAleese paul O'Neill Priscilla Renouf William Schipper Birgitta Wallace Images: BI credited tbroughout the text Pt The Historic s¡tes Assoc¡ation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HSA) is a charitable organization which works to preserve' promote and interpret the history and heritage of our province. The HSA partnered with the Labrador Straits Historical Development corporation and the committee on Medieval studies, Memorial university to organise the symposium' The committee ¡s proud to publish this selection from the papers presented at the v¡k¡ng Millennium lnternational symposium, and thanks its fìnancial supporters: The canada M¡llennium partnership program, The Govemment of Newfoundrand and Labrado¡ parks canada, and st. Anthony Basin Resoulces rnc. Sc Bi TI C, T] K, itz T HMemoríal ff oJ t'tewJountlland A S'r Untversity of Newfoundland ù LaL¡rado¡ Labrador N ú l*I El Straits tf 3åi:î" Jt 3åt?î" 'f ißP'P.p EF XRHT:.\{ËH3èÈ" E C;o\7uRÀ¡rçfrlt-J.r- q¡F lv