Leg Wraps, Wickelbander and Winningas

Transcription

1 Leg Wraps, Wickelbander and Winningas Spiral leg wraps were a distinctly Anglo-Saxon and Viking style. Fabric finds positively identified as wickelbander (the German word) or winningas (the Anglo-Saxon word) have been found at: Wood Quay, Dublin, 1 item, 10-12th century Milk Street, London, 4 items, late 9th-10th century Coppergate, York, 1 item, 9th-10th century Elisenhof (modern Germany), 17 items, 7th-9th century Hedeby (modern Germany), 7 items, 9th-10th century Niens (modern Germany), 1 item, 7th-8th century Zalatovye, Russia, 1 item (date unknown) King Cnut, shown in the New Minster Liber Vitae, appears to wear leg wraps with garters, 11th c. (Backhouse et. al, pp ). Most wickelbanders found were made from 2/2 warp chevron twill fine grade wool. Most were woven to the desired width (75100mm) while others were hemmed with a single or double roll. Colors varied greatly: identified colors are orange-brown, black, black-brown (all from Elisenhof); dark wool, yellow, red-brown and yellow brown (all from Hedeby); 2 of lichen purple, 1 indigotin (woad blue), and 1 mixed lichen purple and indigotin (from London); and 1 of lichen purple from Coppergate in York. Some were fastened with garter hooks, some with garters circling the upper calf, and some were simply tucked into themselves (Beatson website article). (For a detailed discussion, see Peter Beatson s excellent site: users.bigpond.net.au/quarfwa/miklagard/articles/legwraps2.htm) King Edgar, from the MS Cotton Vespasian manuscript, A. viii, fol. 2v, dated 966 (Campbell, p. 186). Detail from the Franks Casket of 8th century Northumbria with warriors attacking Egil s house. Note baggy pants and wrappings spiraling up the leg depicted on the warriors (Campbell, p. 94). Sunnifa Gunnarsdottir (Charlotte Mayhew) crmayhew@comcast.net September

2 Negotiations between William (seated) and Harold (center), surrounded by William s vassals. Note the cross-garters carefully depicted on the three most-visible Normans. Harold s legs are embroidered in one color and give the impression of some sort of leg wrapping (Bayeux Tapestry, 12th century Norman). Cross Garters Bible of Charles the Bald, 9th cent. (detail, Boucher, p. 161). The evidence for wearing cross garters on the lower legs comes primarily from Frankish, Norman, Celtic and other non-viking sources. While cross garters are certainly period, they are not the best choice for Viking re-enactors. In this scene from the Bayeux Tapestry, the foremost attacking Norman cavalryman wears distinct cross-garters, while the defending Saxon footsoldiers are shown with plain leg wraps (Bayeux Tapestry, 12th century Norman). Sunnifa Gunnarsdottir (Charlotte Mayhew) Ottonian ivory, about 980 AD. Note the lower leg wrappings (Swann, p. 45). crmayhew@comcast.net September

3 Cloaks Cloaks came in a variety of shapes and sizes, from short and rounded to large and rectangular. The largest type is the Migration Era cloaks like the Thorsbjerg one (below right). The shortest are the Hedeby and Mammen type. The Norman and Anglo-Saxon cloaks depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry are somewhere in the middle. Most cloaks were made of fulled wool and sported borders of tabletweaving, embroidery, passmenterie or other decorative trimmings. Illuminated Manuscript (Hägg, Haithabu, p. 173). A depiction of the short, rounded cloak type found at Hedeby and Mammen (Andersson, p. 43). Both William and his messenger wear long, full cloaks pinned at the right shoulder in this panel from the Bayeux Tapestry. This recreation of the Thorsbjerg cloak shows its elaborate tabletweaving (Schlabow, Farbtafel I). Sunnifa Gunnarsdottir (Charlotte Mayhew) crmayhew@comcast.net September

4 Men s Coats or Warrior Jackets Above are the 4 styles of coats described by Penelope Walton Rogers in Cloth and Clothing in Early Anglo-Saxon England. Each of these styles corresponds to Anglo-Saxon grave finds, and some Viking grave finds. Style A is a plain long coat held together at the front with brooches or a tie. It most closely resembles the sketch below right of a Hedeby find. Style B, the Persian Riding Coat, is a kaftan with overly long close-fitting sleeves, a close-fitting neck, and an overlapping front. Style C is also a kaftan that features a looser neckline than B, along with looser sleeves, a separate bodice, and a skirt that is constructed side openings that allow for easy movement. Both Styles B and C were worn by members of the Byzantine court, and both styles are well documented in the Caucasus from the 600s onwards. The kaftan style of coat originated in Central Asia and the style made its way over to the Near East and up to the Norse lands with the Varangians. For Vikings, C is a style found in only a few graves at Birka. Those graves always have cast bronze buttons in them, and often have other decorative metal trimmings. Style D is a shorter jacket with a wrapped body, fastened with a belt. This style resembles artifacts from the Vendel, Valsgarde and Sutton Hoo digs, among others. The Hedeby dig yielded the remains of a short jacket very similar to Style D with a pile-woven trim that lay across the body. (Rogers, pp ). Sketch of warrior from Vendel helm (Hägg, Haithabu, p. 173). Warriors in warrior jackets from the Sutton Hoo helmet plaques (Rogers, p. 211). (Andersson, p. 43) Sunnifa Gunnarsdottir (Charlotte Mayhew) crmayhew@comcast.net September

5 This is one suggested cut for the 9 th century kaftan from Moschevaya Balka, housed in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Dating to the 9 th century, the kaftan is made of bright green silk patterned with senmurvs in pearl roundels. The kaftan has the overlapping front seen above, but its sleeves are short. The original is made of silk and is lined with squirrel fur (Beatson & Ierusalimskaja 1996 via the internet). Sunnifa Gunnarsdottir (Charlotte Mayhew) crmayhew@comcast.net September