Tjele helmet fragment
The Tjele helmet fragment is a Viking Age fragment of iron and bronze, originally comprising the eyebrows and nose-guard of a helmet. Taken with the helmet from Gjermundbu, two fragments from Gotland, and one from Kiev, the Tjele fragment is what remains of one of only five known helmets from the Viking era. It has been in the collection of the National Museum of Denmark since 1850.
Discovery
The Tjele fragment was discovered amidst a collection of smith's tools in 1850,[1] but its significance was not understood until 1984.[2] Originally discovered by a farmer planting saplings by Tjele Manor, between Viborg and Randers, it was sent by the manor's owner to the National Museum of Denmark.[3] In 1858 the collection of tools—two anvils, five hammers, three tongs, plate shears, two files, a chisel, two drawplates, two foundry ladles, a whetstone, a set of balance scales with ten weights, five sickles, a key, three iron nails, an axe, two jingles, a spear-head, bronze wires, fragments of bronze and iron, and the remains of a casket—was published, but the helmet fragment passed over as a saddle mounting.[4][5][6] After leading "an unnoticed existence" for some 130 years despite being on display, the fragment was recognized as the remainder of a helmet by Elisabeth Munksgaard,[7] the assistant Keeper at the museum's Department of the Prehistory of Denmark.[8]
Typology
A date of 950 to 970 has been suggested for the Tjele tools, placing them, and the helmet fragment, towards the end of the Viking Age.[9] A contemporary helmet was found in Gjermundbu, Norway, while fragments from three others were found in Gotland—one in Lokrume and one in Högbro—and in Kiev.[10] These five helmets appear to be descendants of the earlier Scandinavian Vendel Period and Anglo-Saxon helmets, and the end of the line of "crested helmets" that appeared in Europe around the sixth century.[11][12][13]
References
- ^ Boye 1858, pp. 191–192.
- ^ Munksgaard 1984.
- ^ Munksgaard 1984, p. 85.
- ^ Munksgaard 1984, pp. 85–87.
- ^ Leth-Larsen 1984.
- ^ Boye 1858, pp. 197–198.
- ^ Munksgaard 1984, p. 87.
- ^ Jørgensen 1998, p. 5.
- ^ Lund 2006, pp. 325, 329.
- ^ Tweddle 1992, p. 1125–1128.
- ^ Munksgaard 1984, pp. 87–88.
- ^ Steuer 1987, pp. 199–203, 230–231.
- ^ Tweddle 1992, pp. 1086, 1125–1129.
Bibliography
- Boye, Vilhelm (1858). "To fund af smedeværktöi fra den sidste hedenske tid i Danmark". Annaler for Nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie: 191–200, pl. II–IV.
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- "Hjelmfragment Tjele". Nationalmuseets Samlinger Online. National Museum of Denmark. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2017. Template:Da
- Jørgensen, Lise Bender (Autumn 1998). "Obituary: Elisabeth Munksgaard" (PDF). Archaeological Textiles Newsletter. 27: 5–6.
{{cite journal}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Leth-Larsen, Bodil (1984). "Selected Objects from the Stock of the Tjele Smith". Offa. 41: 91–96. ISSN 0078-3714.
{{cite journal}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Lund, Julie (2006). "Vikingetidens værktøjskister i landskab og mytologi" (PDF). Fornvännen. 101 (5): 323–341. ISSN 0015-7813.
{{cite journal}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) Template:Da - Munksgaard, Elisabeth (1984). "A Viking Age Smith, his Tools and his Stock-in-trade". Offa. 41: 85–89. ISSN 0078-3714.
{{cite journal}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Steuer, Heiko (1987). "Helm und Ringschwert: Prunkbewaffnung und Rangabzeichen germanischer Krieger". In Häßler, Hans-Jürgen (ed.). Studien zur Sachsenforschung. Vol. 6. Hildesheim: Lax. pp. 13–21. ISBN 3-7848-1617-7.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) Template:De icon - Tweddle, Dominic (1992). The Anglian Helmet from 16–22 Coppergate (PDF). The Archaeology of York. Vol. 17/8. London: Council for British Archaeology. ISBN 1-872414-19-2.
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