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
12017-05-24T10:09:20-07:00Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707deaMap ViewAustin Mason2An interactive map of all the objects in the collectiongoogle_maps2017-05-24T11:39:30-07:00Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707dea
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1media/E4734 viking bell a.jpgmedia/E4734 viking bell a.jpg2017-05-22T00:14:56-07:00Bell8object pageplain2017-09-21T17:16:42-07:00This small bell made from a cast copper alloy was manufactured during the 10th century and served a more decorative purpose. The small size would have made them impractical for use on livestock. Similar bells have been found in Norwegian burials from the same period. Their characteristic hexagonal shape and clapper design are consistent.[1]
The metalwork, especially the size of the object, supports a view of the Norse as adept craftsman. The bell is barely the length of a person’s thumb from the tip to the first knuckle. Even after centuries of corrosion, the detailing on the bell is still visible. Small flanges where each of the six sides comes together and a raised loop of metal at the top would have been challenging. That there were metalsmiths who could devote this time to items with no functional purpose implies two facts: 1) that the Norse placed a high personal value on their burial rites and 2) that the economy could support these.
This particular bell was recovered by a metal detectorist in Northamptonshire, England. The lines of demarcation cede for the Danelaw in the Treaty of Wedmore (878) place Northampton within its bounds.[2] This bell implies that the Scandinavians were directly colonizing their new territory, rather than ruling it by proxy. If the Norse had chosen to subjugate the local populations, it is unlikely that they would have gone to the effort of forcing their burial rites on the local population.