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
12017-05-21T09:44:15-07:00Copper Bridle from Gotland12object pageplain2017-09-19T19:25:30-07:00Thisbridle, possibly dating between 850 AD to the late 10th century, is made of a copper alloy.[1] The design appears to be of two creatures, possibly serpents, that intertwine in the middle. The intertwining shape and profile heads are common themes in the Jelling style. The style, often mixed with the Borre style, dates to around the 900 AD to 975 AD.[2] Apart from the design, the bridle invokes an often different type of transportation in the Scandinavian world.
Although Scandinavians were known as a people of the sea, they did ride horses. The Gotland island, for instance, is home to its own group of ponies that appear to have been on the island for more than 4,000 years.[3] The Gotland horses are a smaller breed of horses and were most likely not used for warfare. The vikings were not known to ride horses into battle until the 11th century, but evidence of using horses for riding is clear. Interestingly, various excavations have elucidated that oxen carried goods while horses carried people.[4]
Apart from work animals, horses played a part in mythology. Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse of Odin, carried the god throughout all the universe. Horses were also buried with their owners with the hope that the horses would help the Valkyries carry the body to Valhalla. The bridle, clearly made with intricate details, may have been a piece of the costume for the horses in the afterlife.
Found along with this bridle were hundreds of silver objects. The bridle may have been part of a horde or a burial. Overall, the detail work and style of this bridle shows how intertwined the Scandinavians from Gotland are with horses. Horses provided transportation, as well as an outlet for religious ceremony. This bridle is just a small example of the importance of horses in the Gotland region and Scandinavia in general.
