Difference between revisions of "Fur & Feathers"
From The Viking Age Compendium
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| − | *The Voyage of Ohthere: a cloak of bear's or otter's skin | + | *The Voyage of Ohthere: "a cloak of bear's or otter's skin" |
|Archaeology | |Archaeology | ||
|Discussion | |Discussion | ||
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| − | === | + | ===Duck=== |
| + | {{Evidence | ||
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| + | |Literature | ||
| + | |Archaeology = | ||
| + | *Birka, Sweden: Duck feathers or downs were found in 2 graves (597, 825) [GEIJER 1938: p.133] | ||
| + | |Discussion | ||
| + | }} | ||
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| + | ===Fox=== | ||
| + | {{Evidence | ||
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| + | |Literature = | ||
| + | *Al-Mukaddasi: "steppe foxes, and foxes" | ||
| + | |Archaeology | ||
| + | |Discussion | ||
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| + | ===Goat=== | ||
{{Evidence | {{Evidence | ||
|Art | |Art | ||
|Literature = | |Literature = | ||
*Al-Mukaddasi | *Al-Mukaddasi | ||
| + | |Archaeology | ||
| + | |Discussion | ||
| + | }} | ||
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| + | ===Hare=== | ||
| + | {{Evidence | ||
| + | |Art | ||
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| + | *Al-Mukaddasi: "spotted Hares" | ||
|Archaeology | |Archaeology | ||
|Discussion | |Discussion | ||
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*Birka, Sweden: Marten (grave 557) | *Birka, Sweden: Marten (grave 557) | ||
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| + | ===Sheep=== | ||
| + | Although wool is very common this section deals with non-processed sheep.<br> | ||
| + | {{Evidence | ||
| + | |Art | ||
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| + | |Archaeology = | ||
| + | *Birka, Sweden: Unspun sheeps fleece, probably from a sheepskin blanket, was found in two graves (731, 942)<br> | ||
|Discussion | |Discussion | ||
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|Archaeology | |Archaeology | ||
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| − | *The Voyage of Ohthere | + | *The Voyage of Ohthere: "five reindeer skins" |
|Archaeology | |Archaeology | ||
|Discussion | |Discussion | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | + | ===Seal=== | |
| − | + | ||
{{Evidence | {{Evidence | ||
|Art | |Art | ||
| − | |Literature = | + | |Literature = |
| − | *The Voyage of Ohthere | + | *The Voyage of Ohthere: "two ship-ropes (each sixty ells long), one made of whale's and the other of seal's skin" |
| − | :" | + | |Archaeology |
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| − | |Archaeology | + | |
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|Discussion | |Discussion | ||
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| − | + | ===Whale=== | |
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{{Evidence | {{Evidence | ||
|Art | |Art | ||
| − | |Literature | + | |Literature = |
| − | + | *The Voyage of Ohthere: "two ship-ropes (each sixty ells long), one made of whale's and the other of seal's skin" | |
| − | + | |Archaeology | |
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|Discussion | |Discussion | ||
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<br> | <br> | ||
Revision as of 19:23, 17 July 2013
| Fur & Feathers |
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We have a few good literary sources describing the kinds of furs traded during the Viking Age.
- The Voyage of Ohthere from King Alfred's Orosius. Othere was from Halgoland and traded via Hedeby to London. He described the tribute paid to him by the Finlanders as:
- "Everyone pays according to his substance; the wealthiest many amongst them pays only the skins of fifteen martens, five reindeer skins, one bear's skin, ten bushels of feathers, a cloak of bear's or otter's skin, two ship-ropes (each sixty ells long), one made of whale's and the other of seal's skin." [HAKLUYT 1893:p.178]
- Owen-Crocker describes the Finlanders tribute as "bear or otter skin cyrtles" [OWEN-CROCKER 1998:p36]
- Al-Mukaddasi, Shams Al-Deen Abu Abdallah. 985AD "fur of steppe foxes, martens, foxes, beavers, spotted hares and goats" HOWARD-JOHNSTON 1998:p.69]
A few archeological sites have turned up a number of finds of fur.
- Birka, Sweden: 90 fragments of fur and 100 feathers [HAGG 1986:p.52] were found. Geijer reports of the following types of fur being found: Squirrel (grave 507), Marten (grave 557), Beaver (graves 539, 619, 956, 968). These pieces for fur were probably used as decoration on womens clothing. [GEIJER 1983: p.133] [HAGG 1986: p. 65]
Bear
Art
--
Literature
- The Voyage of Ohthere: "a cloak of bear's or otter's skin"
Archaeology
--
Discussion
--
Beaver
Art
--
Literature
- Al-Mukaddasi
Archaeology
- Birka, Sweden: Beaver (graves 539, 619, 956, 968)
Discussion
--
Boar
Art
--
Literature
--
Archaeology
- Birka, Sweden: The boar bristles found in grave 739 were probably from a brush. [GEIJER 1983: p.133]
Discussion
--
Duck
Art
--
Literature
--
Archaeology
- Birka, Sweden: Duck feathers or downs were found in 2 graves (597, 825) [GEIJER 1938: p.133]
Discussion
--
Fox
Art
--
Literature
- Al-Mukaddasi: "steppe foxes, and foxes"
Archaeology
--
Discussion
--
Goat
Art
--
Literature
- Al-Mukaddasi
Archaeology
--
Discussion
--
Hare
Art
--
Literature
- Al-Mukaddasi: "spotted Hares"
Archaeology
--
Discussion
--
Martin
Art
--
Literature
- The Voyage of Ohthere
- Al-Mukaddasi
- Doomsday book. 1086AD. Mentions martin skins being imported into Chester [OWEN-CROCKER 1998:p36]
Archaeology
- Birka, Sweden: Marten (grave 557)
Discussion
--
Sheep
Although wool is very common this section deals with non-processed sheep.
Art
--
Literature
--
Archaeology
- Birka, Sweden: Unspun sheeps fleece, probably from a sheepskin blanket, was found in two graves (731, 942)
Discussion
--
Otter
Art
--
Literature
- The Voyage of Ohthere: "a cloak of bear's or otter's skin"
Archaeology
--
Discussion
--
Reindeer
Art
--
Literature
- The Voyage of Ohthere: "five reindeer skins"
Archaeology
--
Discussion
--
Seal
Art
--
Literature
- The Voyage of Ohthere: "two ship-ropes (each sixty ells long), one made of whale's and the other of seal's skin"
Archaeology
--
Discussion
--
Whale
Art
--
Literature
- The Voyage of Ohthere: "two ship-ropes (each sixty ells long), one made of whale's and the other of seal's skin"
Archaeology
--
Discussion
--
References
<nocite> GEIJER1938 HAGG1986 HAKLUYT1893 </nocite> <biblio force=false>#Template:Bib</biblio>
