Leather Belt Straps
Unless found connected to an item, such as a scabbard, it’s very difficult to determine to what purpose any strap find was originally put. Common uses would include: waist belts, sword belts or baldrics, spur straps, horse harnesses, bag straps, buckled garter straps, shield strap and whips. More confusion is caused by trying to separate out laces, thongs and cords from straps. Generally laces, thongs and cords are thin and are designed to pass through a slit or eyelet. Unfortunately as there is no easy determinate for distinguishing between these and straps there is every chance that some items in the catalogue below should have been omitted and others included. Generally, we have drawn the line at 1cm. Anything with a width of less than 1cm has been excluded and everything wider included.
<<<<<< Cords and thongs, thinner than 1cm, from Hedeby >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Caution is also needed when comparing the number of plain straps to stitched straps. Many reports seem to only detail the more ‘interesting’ items and it is entirely possible that many fragments of plain straps are simply classed as ‘unclassified’ leather remains. There are also types of leather find that are often incorrectly identified as being possible straps. These are shoe and boot top-bands. Fragments of shoe top-bands would present as a folded strap with holes down both sides. Whereas the boot top-bands have pairs of slits in the leather for passing a thong through.
<<<<<<Shoe top-band from Hedeby>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<Boot top-band from London>>>>>>>
The final thing to take into consideration when interpreting this catalogue is that many belt fittings from Viking graves were associated with horse fittings.
Plain Straps
"In general individual straps of un-known function are largely ignored, as for example in Hedeby where merely one strap belonging to a shoe is presented (Ullemeyer 1970, 67)" Translated by Louise Archer from: G. Grenander-Nyberg "Die Lederfunde" in "Die fuehgeschichtliche Marschensiedlung beim Elisenhof in Eiderstedt, Band 5" 1985 Page 225.
