Sword Scabbard Chapes

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Viking Age Compendium articles on Swords:
VA Scabbard Chapes.jpg
Sword Scabbard Chapes
Viking Age Compendium articles on Swords:
VA Scabbard Chapes.jpg
Sword Scabbard Chapes


Introduction

This article is about metal fittings that were probably attached to Sword Scabbards. Peter Paulsen comprehensibly covered the subject of Viking sword scabbard chapes in 1953 in his book Schwertortbänder der Wikingerzeit [PAULSEN 1953]. More recently Androshchuk has published an updated typology and catalogue of 174 finds [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]
This article is primarily concerned with Scandinavian and Western European Chape styles. Paulsen discuss a number of Eastern European styles that we have not included here.

English Styles

Archaeology


Borre Style 1

Paulsen's Type II.3
'Chapes with Germanic quadruped motif - Animal Style of the Baltic Region'
Paulsen lists a total of 10 finds of this group [PAULSEN 1953]:pp.48-53
In his opinion they are very similar to Oval brooch of type P48A. [PAULSEN 1953]:p.48

Hedenstierna-Jonson Type II:3
'Chapes with an anthropomorphic figure'
Hedenstierna-Jonson splits this type into 5 Sub-groups [HEDENSTIERNA-JONSON 2002]:fig.4.A5 p.106

  • A - Chapes with animal-like features
  • B - Chapes with a human head
  • C - Chapes with an animal head like oval brooch P48
  • D - Chapes with a distorted or misinterpreted motif
  • Other - Chapes that don't fit any of the 4 above sub-groups

Currently unable to tie sub-group D to Androshchuk lists

Andrshchuk Type 2
'Beast in Borre style with a mask in the middle'
Androshchuk lists 20 finds of this type and dates them to c.970s-980s [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:pp.15-118

Odin as shape-shifting sorcerer and shaman. Protection. [HEDENSTIERNA-JONSON 2006B]:p.321
A small group of sword chapes combining Borre style decoration with a possible Christian motif - the Crucifixion. Possibly originated in Denmark. [HEDENSTIERNA-JONSON 2006B]:p.315

Borre Style 1a

Archaeology
  • England
Paulsen lists 0 finds [PAULSEN 1953]; Androshchuk lists 0 finds [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]
  • Suffolk, England (British Museum BM 1997,0102.1) Their are doubts over the origin of this chape. Similar to chape from Nimschuetz in northern Germany [British Museum Website] [WILLIAMS 2014]:p.107 fig.46, p.268
  • Denmark
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]:no.1; p.49; Androshchuk lists 1 find [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.1; p.268
  • Norway
Paulsen lists 0 finds [PAULSEN 1953]:p.49; Androshchuk lists 1 find [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.9; p.268
  • Iceland
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]:no.3; p.49; Androshchuk lists 1 find [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.5; p.268
  • Germany
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]:no.1; p.49; Androshchuk lists 2 finds [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.2,3; p.268
  • Sweden
Paulsen lists 3 finds [PAULSEN 1953]:no.5,6,7; p.49; Androshchuk lists 6 finds [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.12,13,14,15,16,17; pp.268-269
  • Finland
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]:no.8; p.49; Androshchuk lists 1 find [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.4; p.268
  • Latvia
Paulsen lists 0 finds [PAULSEN 1953]:p.49; Androshchuk lists 2 finds [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.7,8; p.268
  • Ukraine
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]:no.10; p.49; Androshchuk lists 3 finds [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.18,19,20; p.269
  • Russia
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]:no.9; p.49; Androshchuk lists 2 finds [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.10,11; p.268


Borre Style 1b

Archaeology
  • England
  • Iceland
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]:no.4; p.49; Androshchuk lists 1 find [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.6; p.268


Androshchuk considers the Hull find to be a local product as in his words "The style of its decoration does not belong to the Scandinavian tradition..." [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:p.126

Borre Style 2

Andrshchuk Type 3c
'Bird/Beast in Borre/Jelling/Mammen style'
Androshchuk dates this type to the 10th century [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:pp.15-118

Borre Style 2a

Paulsen's Type I.1
'Chapes with Germanic Bird Motif - Scandinavian Group'
Paulsen lists a total of 12 finds of this group [PAULSEN 1953]:pp.17-21

Archaeology
  • Denmark
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]:no.1; p.18; Androshchuk lists 2 finds [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.1,2; p.272
  • Norway
Paulsen lists 2 finds [PAULSEN 1953]:no.2,3; p.18; Androshchuk lists 2 finds [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.5,6; p.272
  • Iceland
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]:no.4; p.18; Androshchuk lists 1 find [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.4; p.272
  • Germany
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]:no.12; p.18; Androshchuk lists 1 find [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.3; p.272
  • Sweden
Paulsen lists 7 finds [PAULSEN 1953]:no.5-11; p.18; Androshchuk lists 8 finds [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.7-14; p.272


Borre Style 2b

Andrshchuk Type ? (Appendix Type 7)
Androshchuk dates this type to the c.1050-early 12th century [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:pp.15-118
Androshchuk lists a total of 6 finds of this group [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:p.275
NOTE: The chapes listed under Type 7 on page 275 bears no resemblance to the description of Type 7 as being "Urnes" on page 118. Androshchuk Type 7 description uses Paulsen's fig.184 [PAULSEN 1953]:p.126 which Paulsen describes as "Gotland Runestone Animal Style." which contains 12 finds. It appears that there may be an error in Androshchuk regarding this type. For our purposes we're defining Andrshchuk Type 7 as listed on page 275.

Paulsen's Type I.1 - Variant
'Chapes with Germanic Bird Motif - Prussian Group'
Paulsen lists a total of 5 finds of this group [PAULSEN 1953]:pp.17-21

Archaeology
  • Poland
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]:no.17; p.20; Androshchuk lists 1 find [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.2; p.275
  • Russia
Paulsen lists 4 finds [PAULSEN 1953]:no.13-16; p.20; Androshchuk lists 4 finds [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.3-6; p.275


A variation on this type only seemingly found in Poland is Janowski's type Ib2. Dated to 900-1025AD. [JANOWSKI 2006]:p.181 [JANOWSKI 2007]:p.157-159.

Borre Style 3

Paulsen's Type II.4
'Chapes with quadruped and Palmette motif'
Paulsen lists a total of 7 finds of this group [PAULSEN 1953]:pp.54-55

Andrshchuk Type 4 (Appendix Type 4)
'Borre interlaced Beast'
Androshchuk dates this type to the 10th century [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:pp.15-121
Androshchuk lists a total of 10 finds of this group [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:p.275

Andrshchuk Type 5 (Appendix Type 4)
'Single intertwined beast in Borre Style '
Androshchuk dates this type c.950-1000 [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:pp.15-121
NOTE: The example chape for Type 5 on page 117 appears in the appendix list as Type 4. The appendix Type 5 entries appear to be of type Paulsen I.1 - Variant.

Archaeology
  • Belorussia
  • Iceland
  • Sweden
  • Finland
  • Latvia

Jelling Style 1

Paulsen's Type II.1
'Chapes with Germanic quadruped motif - Scandinavian group of the 10th century'
Paulsen breaks the total of 19 finds of this group into 2 sub groups: [PAULSEN 1953]:pp.35-44

Andrshchuk Type 6a
'Single Beast in Jelling style'
Androshchuk dates this type to c.950-1000 [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:pp.15-121

More usually found around the Baltic area. [GRAHAM-CAMPBELL 1980]:cat.273.. 19 examples found in 6 different countries (Denmark, Germany, Iceland, England, Sweden & Russia) [ROESDAHL & WILSON 1992].

Archaeology
  • England
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]:no.3; p.38; Androshchuk lists 1 find of type 6a [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.3; p.273
  • Denmark
Paulsen lists 2 finds [PAULSEN 1953]:no.1,2; p.35; Androshchuk lists 2 finds of type 6a [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.1,2; p.273
  • Norway
Paulsen lists 0 finds [PAULSEN 1953]; Androshchuk lists 0 finds [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]
  • Iceland
Paulsen lists 2 finds [PAULSEN 1953]:no.4,5; p.38; Androshchuk lists 2 finds of type 6a [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.6a-8,6a-9; p.273-274
  • Finland


The similarity of the decoration with that of Oval Brooch type P57 has been noted by Paulsen [PAULSEN 1953], Wilson and Klindt-Jensen [WILSON & KLINDT-JENSEN 1966]:100-1 and Graham-Campbell [GRAHAM-CAMPBELL 1980]:cat.273.

Jelling Style 2

Paulsen's Type II.2 'Chapes with Germanic quadruped motif - Swedish group of the 10th century'
Paulsen lists a total of 9 finds of this group. [PAULSEN 1953]:pp.45-47

Andrshchuk Type 6b
'Two intertwined beasts in Jelling Style '
Androshchuk dates this type to c.950-1000 [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:pp.15-121

Archaeology
  • England
Paulsen lists 0 finds [PAULSEN 1953]; Androshchuk lists 1 find [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.1 p.276
  • Norway
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]; Androshchuk lists 1 find of type 6b [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.6b-10; p.275
  • Sweden
Paulsen lists 5 finds [PAULSEN 1953]; Androshchuk lists ? finds of type 6b [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.6b-10; p.275
  • Finland
Paulsen lists 1 find [PAULSEN 1953]; Androshchuk lists ? finds of type 6b [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.6b-10; p.275
  • Russia
Paulsen lists 2 finds [PAULSEN 1953]; Androshchuk lists ? finds of type 6b [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:no.6b-10; p.275

Bird (Falcon) Style

Otherwise known as the 'Birka Bird'. Dated from late C9th to early C11th although at its most popular in the first half of the C10th. Hedenstierna Jonson identifies 67 finds spread mainly in Eastern Europe from Sweden to Byzantium [HEDENSTIERNA-JONSON 2006B]:p.

Bird (Falcon) Style 1

Paulsen's Type I.2a & I.2b
'Chapes with Germanic Bird Motif - Swedish-Varangian Group'
Paulsen groups these into sub groups with a total of 9 finds [PAULSEN 1953]:pp.22-34

Andrshchuk Type 3a
'bird'
Androshchuk dates this type to the 10th century. [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:pp.15-121

Archaeology
  • Norway
  • Maele, Gjerstad B6983 [GRIEG 1947;no.3 p.32]
  • Hedmark C31395b


  • Sweden
    • Birka.



Bird (Falcon) Style 2

Paulsen's Type I.2c & I.2d
'Chapes with Germanic Bird Motif - Swedish-Varangian Group'
Paulsen breaks this group into 2 sub groups with a total of 23 finds [PAULSEN 1953]:pp.22-34

Andrshchuk Type 3b
'bird'
Androshchuk dates this type to the 10th century. [ANDROSHCHUK 2014]:pp.15-121

Archaeology


The travellingnorth.nl blog has a good article about this kind of chape.

Eastern Style

Archaeology
  • Germany
  • Hedeby (Hedeby Viking Museum). Considered to be Eastern and was found in the harbour.[SCHIETZEL 2014]:p.578


See Also

Swords Sword Scabbards

References

Androshchuk, Fedir (2014) Viking Swords. Swords and Social Aspects of Weaponry in Viking Age Societies. [ANDROSHCHUK 2014] ^ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 *
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Cameron, Esther A. (2000) Sheaths and Scabbards in England AD400-1100. British Archaeological Reports: BAR 301 [CAMERON 2000] ^ *
du Chatellier, P. and L. Le Pontois (1908) 'La Sépulture Scandinave à Barque de L'Ile de Groix'. Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Finistère Vol.35. pp.137-232 [CHATELLIER & PONTOIS 1908] ^ *
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Grieg, Sigurd (1947) Gjermundbufunnet en høvdingegrav fra 900-årene fra Ringerike. [GRIEG 1947] ^ 1 2 3 4 5 *
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Hedenstierna-Jonson, Charlotte (2002) 'A Group of Viking Age sword chapes reflecting the political geography of the time'. Journal of Nordic Archaeological Science 13, pp. 103-112 (Available Online) [HEDENSTIERNA-JONSON 2002] ^ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 *
Hedenstierna-Jonson, Charlotte (2006) 'Rus´, Varangians and Birka Warriors'. The Martial Society. (Available Online) [HEDENSTIERNA-JONSON 2006B] ^ 1 2 3 *
Janowski, Andrzej (2006) 'GOTLANDZKI TRZEWIK POCHWY MIECZA Z PRZEDSTAWIENIEM DRZEWA ZYCIA ZE SZCZECIÑSKIEGO PODZAMCZA' [Gotland sword chapes with representations of the Tree of Life]. [JANOWSKI 2006] ^ 1 2 *
Janowski, Andrzej (2007) 'Wczesnośredniowieczne okucia pochew mieczy tzw' [Early medieval sword scabbard fittings]. Trzewiki. [JANOWSKI 2007] ^ *
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