The Viking World: A History in ObjectsMain MenuGallery viewA galleryTag Cloudtag cloud pageThemesA path of thematic categoriesAuthor IndexExplore the collection by authorWorks CitedReferencesAdam Bigelow3afa9c7ecebf516bba6609664b1b12f79c54bf77Caitlin Donahue61b7e986e7c71d400e5c803912ed83c0cf65252fCaroline Harvey1783f21a5882b5b4d3d0b6c174d058052a5ff7eaEdward Hershewee701ef220480b51ca728fc9c719bc094cf813655Martin Hoffmana1fd203afd9a84ee8db567e188cf6ed1d269386eTyler Hruby23493f763b312110686cfafc62578fd0ab5f3833Brittany N. Johnsonc1c1763339f8fa953e3c907c6bb8a3bad0c28b2cCarlos Lua Pineda0a28cc23b0aa00b4f24a9e205aeb57fbdb07ff01Moira McConnell710633400590ea38533ea3412c01fc5056288180Clara McCurdy9aec76477d0b55f9c685c47330d6786ec98182e1Elise McIlhaneyef48481634ff342c8b43c9d56f678b2d3562fb69Cameron Meikle669a5682bfbfd603130a26e25628f24eb07e6295Alexander Christopher Newkirk019c2f5b38c043507251d1789e2fdf47e61c3b7fBenja Reilly816c23aa0d444213fb2d1ef33555a15617e08228Oliver Statenc625ae8c3926f5e1a4268bc91d6a6f4cdb1e7fb6Liam Sullivanaa3a1dccb90c7fe4646b61c4af594abbb0c5574aRead Wilder31bf4715220144a665996f2e6cae80a1a8611eadAliza Yazdanicd49f227d88c72331226ddf574bf56c37308cd10Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707dea
1media/Mount.jpg2017-05-17T16:49:34-07:00Bearded Man Mount10object pageplain2017-09-17T13:42:45-07:00ThisAnglo-Saxon made mount, found buried with a group of other artifacts, indicates potential contact between Scandinavian culture prior to the Viking Age, but also is an example of one of the many artifacts that was seized during and buried by vikings in England during the Viking Age.[1]
The mount is in the shape of a mustached and bearded man wearing a horned helmet. The horns rise above the man’s head coming together forming bird’s heads with curving beaks. The back of the mount is flat except for two attachment fittings (only one has survived intact) and a lump of iron that suggests the mount was at one point attached to some iron object. The mount is made from a heavily mercury-gilded copper alloy with inlaid glass eyes and is in very good condition. It is one of the few artifacts found which have a horned figure in them dating to the early seventh century, but was likely not buried until around the ninth century because some of the other artifacts found with the mount (two coins, three Viking-Age weights, four late eighth to eleventh century dress accessories, and a silver neck ring fragment) were made much later. The mount was found on the East Coast of England in Yorkshire county, near Stamford Bridge. It was found using a metal detector along with ten other finds suggesting that it was viking loot when it was buried.
It was initially used as a mount to a saddle, although the design suggests that it was more elaborate and may have been owned by a wealthier individual. Once taken by vikings it may have retained its initial function, but it is possible that it was repurposed purely as a decorative object or was used as a broach. The motif of a mustached man with a horned helmet appears on other artifacts as well including a helmet discovered at Sutton Hoo, buckles, and die and is considered a Swedish specialty indicating that there was some Norse influence on Anglo-Saxon artisans.[2] It has been suggested that the motif of the horned man represents the Norse god Odin (the birds forming the horns may be Odin’s two Ravens Huginn and Muninn) who is mentioned in many Norse stories including “Life in Valhal” in the Prose Edda.[3]
This mount is a prime example of Viking loot taken by Scandinavian raiders in England that shows signed of being repurposed before later being buried. It is possible that the mount was meant to depict Woden, the cognate god worshipped the Anglo-Saxons; however, the location of the find on the eastern coast of England does hint at some form of prior contact with Scandinavian and especially Swedish peoples. This indication of contact is significant because many English sources, including the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles in the year 787 CE act as if viking raiders appeared from nowhere.[4] The mount represents the potential Swedish influences on the making of the mount, but also suggests that the mount was seized and buried in a later viking raid (or potentially during the Battle of Stamford Bridge) during the ninth or tenth century.