The first layer

Recreating a Norse persona of the 6th to 8th century is a difficult task. This is the time of Beowulf and not alot of archeological finds have been discovered to support recreating this period. We are left with later remains and hope that they can provide us with a guide to what came before.

"Frome where have you carried

these gold-inlaid shields

these shirts of mail,

masked helms and battle stafts?

I am Hrothgar's messanger and officer.

Never have I seen braver strangers.

I expect youa re here

to find adventure, not asylum.

The brave one answered him,

he of the brave Geats tribe,

hard under his helmet:

"We are Hygelac's table companions.

Beowulf is my name.

I declare to the great lord,

Healfdene's sone, my errand,

if your prince will great us."

In the peom we know that Beowulf and his men wore helmets, mail, and shields inlaid with gold. My last post talked about helmets. This one will discuss the clothing under the armour.

Carolyn Priest-Dorman states in 'An Archaeological Guide to Viking Men's Clothing (1993):

From the Bronze age onward, it seems that the basics of the men's clothing in Scandinavia changed little, consisting of trousers, tunics, coats, and cloaks. While the materials of the garments changed from hide and leather to wool and, ultimately, linen, the cut changed more slowly, if at all. Decoration, on the other hand, seems to have changed quite a bit in the several centuries between Evebo and New Birka.

Iconic evidence in such forms as the Gotlandic picture stones and the Oseberg tapestry suggest that the vikings wore at least two types of leg coverings: a wide, knee-length baggy type and a narrow, full-length, more fitted type.

The smocks (undertunics) worn at Hedeby seem to be of two basic types. Both types share the elements of rounded neckline. rounded armholes for set-in sleeves, and a seperate front and back pannels sewn together at the shoulders (Hagg 1984, 171)

Most were of wool, and some were dyed. Sleeve tapered in width at the lower arm, so that they fit fairly snugly at the wrist, and they could also be cut in more than one peice to achieve a more complicated taper.

At Jorvik in the 8th and tenth centuries, strips of plain tabby-woven silk in bright colors were used to edge overgarments.

The overtunic ould be constructed along the same pattern as the undertunic and made of wool. A richer Hersir would have had a tunic dyed in a bright color with tablet woven strips around the neck and cuffs. There is some evidence the undertunic would be longer than the overtunic, showing a contrasting color at the sleeves and hem.

The young man from a eastern scananavian settlement is wearing a Kafkan overtunic. This variation is typical of the Norse in Russia.The rest of the clothing conforms to what we've been talking about.

Our goal to recreate a Geat from the 8th century is beginning.