Figures with Horned Headgear

A Case Study of Context Analysis and Social Significance of Pictures in Vendel and Viking Age Scandinavia

Abstract

This article deals with depictions of humans during the Vendel and Viking Age in Scandinavia. While the iconographic approach has been predominant in earlier research, the point of departure here is the functions pictures may have had in oral societies. As a new approach, the method of context analysis is presented. The main question is how depictions have been used differently by different social groups.

In the following part, a case study is presented. Pictures of a man or woman with horned headgear, the image-bearing objects and their find contexts are analysed. The motif group can be divided into chronologically and spatially different subgroups. In the Vendel Period, the pictures are linked to a male elite-warrior sphere. In the Viking Age, the motif was also used by women. Furthermore, figurines with the motif played a role at certain central places.

This indicates a change in the ritual practice of religion. On this basis, it is suggested that the motif may have had varying meanings, depending on the situational conrext.