Norse Mythology & Life 3 Old Norse Mytholog
Colors, Dyestuffs, and Mordants of the Viking Age: An Introduction
Download 3.63 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Viking grooming and hairstyles. Did the Vikings bathe How did they wear their hair
Colors, Dyestuffs, and Mordants of the Viking Age: An Introductionhttp://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikdyes.html Copyright © 1991, 1997, 1998, 1999 Carolyn Priest-Dorman First Things First This article is intended as an aid to people, generally re-enactors, who are engaged in experiments with natural dyestuffs. It is basically a list of which dyes and dyestuffs are known (or strongly believed by experts) to have been used in the Viking Age. It is purposely not detailed with respect to geographic information. That information can be found by consulting the sources listed at the end of the article. Also, for the purpose of this article the term "Viking Age" covers the period 800-1066 in northern Europe (i.e., not just Scandinavia but also the British Isles and the areas bordering the Baltic and North Seas). The international trade enjoyed by these areas permitted the free flow of dyestuffs, mordants, and textiles across wide distances; accordingly, textile products throughout northern Europe shared a basic set of dyestuffs in the Viking Age. Local products varied, of course; see below for more on that subject. Through the use of modern chemical analysis it can be demonstrated that certain plants, chemical coloring agents, and classes of colorants were known and used on textiles from the Viking Age. For more specifics about the types of analysis in current use, see especially the works of Taylor, Tomlinson, and Walton listed below. Based on chemical analyses of actual wool textiles, the following plants were more or less certainly used to dye wool textiles of the Viking Age. Galium boreale (northern bedstraw) Isatis tinctoria L. (woad) Juglans regia (English walnut) Rubia tinctorium L. (madder) Xanthoria parietina (common yellow wall-lichen, also called shore lichen) at least one lichen that yields purples, possibly from Ochrolechia tartarea Based on chemical analyses of actual imported silk textiles, the following dyestuffs were more or less certainly used to dye imported silk textiles available in the Viking Age. Kermes vermilio (a red Old World bug dye) Reseda luteola (weld) Rubia tinctorium L. (madder) indigotin from woad or indigo a lichen purple, possibly from Rocella tinctoris
Diphasium complanatum (also called Lycopodium complanatum, a type of clubmoss probably used as a mordant due to its aluminum content) Genista tinctoria L. (broom) Reseda luteola L. (weld)
Flavone (on silk) Indigotin Luteolin Pseudopurpurin Purpurin The following mordants are fairly certain to have been used to dye textiles of the Viking Age. alum copper (from bronze dyepots) iron tannin (possibly from elm bark, Alnus glutinosa) Colors on Wool Wool, the chief textile fiber of the Viking Age, was available in white as well as many different natural shades of browns and greys. Such shades could be and often were spun and woven without ever being dyed. Wool dyes very easily, though, and many finds of wool from the Viking Age were dyed in once-bright colors. Sometimes a dyer might use a naturally pigmented wool rather than a white one. A report on the analysis of 220 samples of Viking Age textiles mentions 90 samples which yielded evidence of dyes. The samples come from Dublin, Jorvík, and 19 sites in Norway and Denmark; the dyes mentioned are red from madder or bedstraw; a purple derived from lichens; our mysterious yellow X [from an unidentified plant]; and a colorant identified as indigotin, almost certainly derived from woad. The insect dye kermes has also been found, and luteolin, presumably from weld, but only on imported silks. (Walton 1988b, 17) Yellow X is still unknown. Chemical testing has eliminated 25 possible dyestuffs, including weld, broom, buckthorn, heather, chamomile, and saffron (see Walton 1988a for a complete list of dyestuffs tested). Blended colors are also represented. Indigotin was used in conjunction with other dyes to produce several purples (with madder) and a green (with the unidentified yellow). Madder and lichen used in conjunction yielded a red-violet result (Walton 1988, 18, figure 9). Some evidence of brown from walnut shells has also been found, as well as one or two pieces that were intentionally dyed very dark brownish-black with walnut shells and iron (Hägg 1984, 289). The chemical evidence of textiles from several different sites seems to point to a preponderance of particular colors appearing in particular areas: reds in the Danelaw, purples in Ireland, and blues and greens in Scandinavia proper (Walton 1988, 18). This seeming preference could of course be explained by any number of variables--availability of dyestuffs, the differing site climates, or the sheer vagaries of archaeological discovery. However, although it is carefully hedged, there is a hypothesis in the scientific world that this might possibly reflect regional color preferences rather than archaeochemical factors. It is pleasant to think that this sort of "Viking heraldry" might have been practiced. Colors on Linens Linen does not take most historic dyes readily, even when a mordant is used. Accordingly, linen was often bleached or left its natural color (grey if dew-retted, straw if water-retted). Substantive dyes such as woad, however, are fairly successful; accordingly, blue linen may have been more common than we know. There are a few examples of woad- and madder-dyed linens from Birka. Colors on Silks Imported silks may have gotten their colors from plants or other materials not available in northwestern Europe, such as indigo or Tyrian ("royal") purple. No further consideration is given to this issue in this article. Viking grooming and hairstyles. Did the Vikings bathe? How did they wear their hair?By the Viking Answer Lady Personal Grooming in the Viking Age Although the popular image of the people of the Viking Age is one of wild-haired, dirty savages, this is a false perception. In reality, the Vikings took care with their personal grooming, bathing, and hairstyling. Perhaps the most telling comment comes from the pen of English cleric John of Wallingford, prior of St. Fridswides, who complained bitterly that the Viking Age men of the Danelaw combed their hair, took a bath on Saturday, and changed their woolen garments frequently, and that they performed these un-Christian and heathen acts in an attempt to seduce high-born English women1: It is reported in the chronicle attributed to John of Wallingford that the Danes, thanks to their habit of combing their hair every day, of bathing every Saturday and regularly changing their clothes, were able to undermine the virtue of married women and even seduce the daughters of nobles to be their mistresses2. The Arabic observer Ibn Fadlan noted: § 84. Every day they must wash their faces and heads and this they do in the dirtiest and filthiest fashion possible: to wit, every morning a girl servant brings a great basin of water; she offers this to her master and he washes his hands and face and his hair -- he washes it and combs it out with a comb in the water; then he blows his nose and spits into the basin. When he has finished, the servant carries the basin to the next person, who does likewise. She carries the basin thus to all the household in turn, and each blows his nose, spits, and washes his face and hair in it. Ibn Fadlan's main source of disgust with the Rus bathing customs have to do with his Islamic faith, which requires a pious Mohammedan to wash only in running water or water poured from a container so that the rinsings do not again touch the bather. The sagas often describe a woman washing a man's hair for him, often as a gesture of affection. It would be likely that the basin was actually emptied between each bath: Ibn Fadlan would still have felt the basin contaminated by previous use. It does seem here that Ibn Fadlan is exaggerating a bit for effect3. Aside from Ibn Fadlan, almost all sources indicate that the Vikings were the among the cleanliest of all Europeans during the Middle Ages. In the summer, bathing could be preformed in lakes or streams, or within the bath-houses found on every large farm (these would be much like the Finnish sauna, though tub bathing was also used), while in winter the heated bath-house would be the primary location for bathing4. In Iceland where natural hot springs are common, the naturally heated water was incorporated into the bath-house. The Vikings also bathed their hands and faces on at least a daily basis, usually in the morning upon arising. Hávamál suggests that handwashing was customary before meals as well: (4) A drink needeth to full dishes who cometh, a towel, and the prayer to partake; good bearing eke, to be well liked and be bidden to banquet again.5
were offered before a meal"6. It seems clear that regular washing of hands and hair was the norm, and that failing to keep oneself clean was an unusual practice, perhaps reserved for those in mourning. It is said that Oðinn, king of the gods, left his hair unwashed as a sign of mourning for the death of his son Baldr in the poem Völuspá: (31) Baldur I saw the bleeding God, His fate still hidden, Odhinn's Son: Tall on the plain a plant grew, A slender marvel, the mistletoe. (32) From that fair shrub, shot by Hodur, Flew the fatal dart that felled the god. But Baldur' s brother was born soon after: Though one night old, Odhinn's Son Took a vow to avenge that death.
Till Baldur's bane was borne to the pyre: Deadly the bow drawn by Vali, The strong string of stretched gut, But Frigga wept in Fensalir For the woe of Valhalla. Well, would you know more?7 The same is said of Baldr's brother Vali in the poem Baldrs Draumr: (11) [The volva answered] "Rind bears Vali in Western Halls; but one night old, still will Vali slay him: neither cleanses his hands nor combs his hair, til Baldr's slayer he sends to Hel. I was loath to speak, now let me cease"8. Hávamál also suggests that special events such as the Þing merited special grooming efforts: (61) Well-groomed and washed wend to the Thing, though thy clothes be not the best; of thy shoes and breeks be not ashamed, and still less of they steed9. Return To Top
Grooming
Combs Perhaps the most important grooming tool was the comb, which was used not only to smooth and order the hair, but also to help remove any dirt or vermin. Combs were in everyday use at every level of society10. Combs were used as a part of the hair washing process, being used to comb through the wet hair during washing. Some scholars believe that the widespread use of combs throughout the ancient world was due to their utility in controlling lice and nits11. Bone combs are among the most common archaeological finds in Viking contexts. Two types of combs are found: single-piece combs and composite combs. Single-piece combs were made as the name suggests, all in one piece from a single piece of bone or ivory. The majority of such combs have teeth on both sides of the spine. The need for a suitably large piece of material to construct such a comb resulted in most being made from cetacean (whale) bone or imported elephant ivory. The material selection was important, since skeletal materials have a grain just as wood does, and for maximum strength the teeth of the comb must be cut parallel to the grain of the material12.
One-Piece Walrus Ivory Comb with Ringerike Design Although single-piece combs were predominant during the Migration Age in Scandinavia, by the Viking Age they had become much less common. Still, the few one-piece combs known from this era are either made from elephant ivory (and may have been imported from the Mediterranean) or else they are made of cetacean bone, and were generally intricately ornamented. Some experts call these "liturgical combs" although it is doubtful that these were actually used in the liturgy until after the 13th century13. Double-sided combs from the Viking Age, whether one piece or composite construction, usually have fine teeth on one side of the comb and coarser teeth on the other. The fine teeth are extremely close in many cases, and this side was probably used for control of pests in one's hair. The coarser side would have been used to comb out tangles and style the hair. Download 3.63 Mb. Share with your friends:
|